Volume-4 Issue -15 January 2019 Annual subscription Rs. 100/-| | |

What is the purpose of Enlightenment?

V.A.P. SHARAVANAN - 99942 05880

Dr. N. KAILASAM - 94432 90559

K.S. JEEVAMANI - 97891 65555

www. sribagavathmission.org

www.sribagavath.org

E-mail : sribagavathmission@gmail.com

Cell : 90926 46260, 98651 34075

SRI ESPARI GRAPHICS, Salem-3.

This book Designed by

31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem - 636 003. Tamilnadu India

Book Inside

“When we take responsibility to manage and regulate our emotions it leads to mental struggle. This is the root cause for all our psychological problems. Enlightenment is nothing but an intellectual understanding that “we don't have to hold any of our psychological experiences”. -Sri Bagavath

English

Greetings to all the Family members of Sri Bagavath

Mission.

Stocks of the following books of Sri Bagavath have

exhausted:

1) Smash Your Sorrows.

2) Is terrorism necessary?

3) Practical realities of Enlightened Life.

We have planned to release these books in a fresh look

and feel by adding some more chapters in these books.

However printing of these books has been delayed due

to shortage of funds. Benevolent hearted friends, who

can afford to donate funds towards this mission, can

offer donations. It will be very useful to spread the

ideologies of Sri Bagavath.

We appeal to all those friends who can afford

donations, to support us by sending donations the

following Bank Account:

HDFC Bank, Sri Bagavath Mission,

A/c No: 15907620000075, by

NEFT IFSC: HDFC0001590,

Car Street Branch, Salem.

With Love,

Sri Bagavath Mission.

Appeal

What is the purpose of Enlightenment? 3

Editor’s Voice 6

Question & Answer 7

Gallery 9

4 day Enlightenment at Sri Bagavath Bhavan 10

Zen Story - Lust and Liberation 11 & 12

In the last Spiritual retreat in Chennai during September 2018, a participant raised this question.

He asked – “Why do we have to attain Enlightenment?”

Most of the people who participate in these spiritual programs come up with the question “How to attain Enlightenment?” Nobody comes to our program with this ques t ion “Why one has to a t ta in Enlightenment?”

Even then, it is not surprising for a common man to ask this question “Why Enlightenment?”

Ordinary people don't know what Enlightenment is. If we ask them to attain Enlightenment, it is natural for them to ask this question –“Why should I attain this?”

Leave aside these ordinary people.

Let us consider only the people who are involved in spiritual seeking. What will be their response?

What is Enlightenment?

Some people mention about some spiritual experiences they had after getting enlightened.

When this question was asked to J.Krishnamurthy, he said – “there is no such state called Enlightenment”.

A person who is recognized as an Enlightened master himself says that there is no such state of Enlightenment.

In reality, does an Enlightened state exist or not?

What do the Vedanta Shastras say about this?

We have an idea about us.

We consider ourselves as one which comprises of body and mind.

We consider ourselves as something that has birth and death.

Actually, our true nature is neither of body nor of mind.

Our true nature is of Atma-soul, which is beyond body and mind.

Our true nature is something which does not have birth and death, something that is eternal and blissful.

If we do not know us as Atma, it is ignorance.

Recognizing ourselves as the Atma which is beyond body and mind is Enlightenment - this is how Shastras describe.

When we consider ourselves as one related to body and mind, all the problems related to this body and mind affect us as though they are our own problems.

Only when we consider ourselves as Atma, which is beyond body and mind, we get rid of all the above mentioned problems.

Getting freed from these problems is considered as Liberation- Mukti in Shastras.

By attaining liberation, we get freed from the impact of pleasure and pain.

During the working hours, in our office we are seriously involved in our official works.

One of our office colleagues gets a

January 2019 -3-

What is the purpose of Enlightenment?

- Sri Bagavath

phone call. He immediately comes to us rushing and says –“there is anews that a fire accident has broken out and the houses in your area are burning”.

Anxious after hearing this news, we immediately rush to reach there using our vehicle.

On entering the street, our house and the terrace is visible. We get shocked to see thick smoke fumes coming out of the terrace.

But on reaching the house, we come to know that our house is not under fire.

The fumes originating from the nearby street seemed like it was coming out of our terrace when we saw it from the distance. So it has created such kind of anxiety within us.

When we realized that the accident is not related to our house, the anxiety vanished and our mind became peaceful.

Shastras explain this phenomenon in this way. “Similarly, when we realize that the impact to the body and mind is actually not an impact to our true self, our mind also gets peace”.

As per Shastras, we have to recognize ourselves as Atma, which is beyond body and mind.

All the Vedanta Shastras give importance to Mukti - Liberation than Enlightenment.

Enlightenment is only a path. This is a path which leads us to Liberation.

We have been taught so many strange concepts and states of existence in the name of Enlightenment and Liberation.

Some Enlightened Masters say that they saw the entire world as one and not separate from their self.

Some Enlightened Masters say that they experienced a state of bliss after attaining Enlightenment.

Is seeing “the entire world as one” the benefit of Enlightenment?

Is attaining a state of bliss the benefit of Enlightenment?

Experience of oneness with the world

and a state of bliss can happen only with the contribution from the body and mind.

Experiences of body and mind can't be considered as something related to Atma.

All the so called spiritual experiences are similar to the worldly experiences, which is of body and mind.

As long as we give importance to the experiences of body and mind, we only give importance to the body and mind.

What will happen to those experiences of body and mind if we don't give importance to them?

All those experiences which are arising will die down on their own. That is the natural status of an experience.

Let us consider that all those experiences which arose have died down on their own. Won't new experiences arise again?

New experiences will keep arising every moment.

When we don't give importance to such experiences, they will simply die down on their own as they came up.

When no importance is given to the experiences of body and mind, they die down on their own with ease.

Instead, let us assume that we give importance to those experiences. What will happen then?

What do we mean by giving them importance?

We feel happy; peaceful; or excited. We like these experiences. A demand sets in our mind expecting these experiences stay with us forever.

Similarly emotions like worry, fear, anger, shame occur in us. We don't like these. We expect that these emotions should pass away immediately. We also expect that these emotions should not occur in us again.

What are we doing in both these instances?

In both these situations, we take responsibility and ownership in our hands to

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manage the emotions which arose in us.

What will happen if we stick out our hand into a free flowing water current in a river?

If we stick our hand into the running water, either to stop the flow or to speed up the flow, water will start spinning around our hand.

Similarly, if we start acting against our emotions, either by favoring them or rejecting them, it leads to conflicts and a twisted state of mind.

Thus a disturbance sets in into the free flowing state of mind.

This leads to a mental struggle inside and disturbs our psychological liberation.

Actually, psychological liberation is a natural phenomenon.

The hurdles to this natural happening alone are artificial. These disturbances and the internal conflicts are artificial.

An understanding that 'giving importance to the experiences of body and m i n d i s i n c o r r e c t ' i s c a l l e d a s Enlightenment.

Only by understanding this, the internal conflicts cease to exist.

When our internal conflicts cease to exist, all our body and mind experiences are in a free flowing movement and they vanish on their own.

We consider this understanding that “we don't have to hold any of our psychological experiences and only trying to hold them is wrong” as Enlightenment.

This is not an experience; this is only an intellectual clarity.

This is an intellectual understanding only.

Enlightenment is not an experience.

It is only an intellectual understanding.

The emotions occur in our body and mind on their own. It is natural.

It is quite natural that whatever appears will also disappear the next moment.

There is no need for any of our efforts here.

They appear and disappear on their

own.

We call this phenomenon of free flowing emotions of appearing and disappearing easily and naturally as Pravaagam.

Shastras call this as Mukti-Liberation, Moksha and so on.

Only if we have an intellectual understanding and clarity that we don't have to hold back the emotions of body and mind, we will be able to allow this free flow of emotions.

Enlightenment allows the natural functioning of our mind.

The natural functioning of our mind is called as Liberation - Mukti.

When our mind functions in a natural state, it always remains fresh.

The past vanishes on its own.

If any of those emotions are useful for our external actions, we can use them for performing those external actions.

But as far as our psychological system is concerned, none of the emotions are superior or inferior.

Any emotions can occur in us, there is nothing wrong with this.

We can use them if they are needed for our external actions.

But no emotions are needed for our psychological wellbeing .If we simply ignore the unwanted emotions they will vanish on their own.

As far as emotions are concerned, all of them are natural and divine.

Only actions can be classified as right and wrong or good and bad.

It is only natural for emotions to occur in our mind.

It is natural for those emotions which appear, also to disappear on their own.

This phenomenon of disappearance is superior to appearance.

This act of disappearance is the freedom for these emotions.

This is Liberation – Mukti. This is the benefit of Enlightenment.

January 2019

Greetings to all the Bagavath Path travellers from your co-traveller.

We convey our New Year Greetings to all.

We have published a colour edition of 2019 st

Calendar, on the 1 of January, at Sri Bagavath Bhavan. This calendar contains Sri Bagavath Ayya's thought provoking ideas on Enlightenment. The cost of this calendar is Rs.100/=. Those who need it can buy and benefit. You can gift it to your friends too.

Moreover, there were two Enlightenment retreats that were conducted very well – one

nd thretreat from 22 December to 25 December,2018 and another Enlightenment Confirmation retreat

st ston 31 December and 1 January,2019. In between these programmes, Sri Bagavath gave his keynote address during the three-day program called Ultramind, conducted in Yercaud, by Acu Healer Sri.A.Umar Farooq.

There was a three-day class by Healer t h t hBaska r, f r om 28 December t o 30

December,2018 at Sri Bagavath Bhavan. In this programme, Ayya gave his keynote address on

th30 morning. In continuation of this, there is an Enlightenment retreat planned to be conducted in

th thEnglish between 24 and 27 January,2019. We request you all to participate in this retreat and tell your friends also about this opportunity.

Moreover, in the last month's edition of Bagavath Path, due to the shortage of funds for printing the books – 'Is terrorism needed?', 'Smash Your Sorrows' and 'Practical realities of Enlightened life' - we had appealed to you all to offer donations towards printing these books.

Following is the list of donors who accepted our request and donated:

Sri. Sankaranarayanan, KumbakonamSmt. Anita Karunakaran, Sri. Jayaram, CanadaSri. Vishnukumar, BangaloreSri. Karthikeyan, Vijayamangalam

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Sri. Gopinath, TiruppurSmt. Menaka Sivakumar, ErodeSri. Mayilvahanam, MaduraiSri. A. Kumar, KatpadiSmt. Sivakami, ThanjavurSri. Gunalan, CoimbatoreSri. P. Thirumurthy, ErodeSri. Rajesh, SalemSri. Jai @ Sathyasai Aranganath,

AustraliaSmt. Umadevi, TheniSri. Rajasekar, BangaloreMalaysia DeviSri. M.S.Murugavel, ChennaiSri. Rathnasamy, TiruppurSri. M. Sankar, MetturSri. J. Swaminathan, BangaloreSri. Rajesh Subramaniam, MelbourneSmt. Vijayalakshmi, ChennaiHealer Devarajan, SalemSri. Shanmugasundaram, Pudukkotai

On behalf of Sri Bagavath Bhavan, we express our gratitude to all these good souls. Based on the available funds on hand, we have published the books – 'Is Terrorism needed?', 'Smash Your Sorrows'– in a new look, with additions of some more chapters. We have also decided not to expect donations for the books that are going to be published newly. We will print these books from the income generated by sale of these books. Hence we have changed the price of these books from a gift price to commercial price. These books can set the mankind free from all the worries and distress. By benefiting through buying these books and recommending to your friends at the commercial price, you are not only involving in the management expenses of Sri Bagavath Mission, but also becoming a part of Sri Bagavath Miss ion 's serv ice tha t takes Ayya 's Enlightenment ideologies to all around the world.

With Thanks,Sri Bagavath Mission, Salem.

K.S. JEEVAMANI, Cell: 97891 65555Editor's Voice

January 2019

: You think that you can escape from the cruel clutches of thoughts by not converting them into thinking. You also mistook this as the understanding given by Ayya. We can't prevent an impactful thought to not get converted into thinking. We don't have anything to do in our mind. An understanding that we can't do anything about it is Enlightenment. Even when unwanted thoughts get converted into thinking in spite of our control and this resulting in chemical changes in our body leading to anxiety, the understanding that we can't do anything about it is the right understanding. Thoughts getting either converted to thinking or not getting converted is not under our control. Understanding this psychological failure and inability is Enlightenment as per Sri Bagavath Ayya.

Consecutive death of two of your friends has affected you badly. It is natural for anyone in this situation to be affected with such fear. All these incidents such as 'watching your friend dying even before reaching the hospital, another friend also dying in the same manner after few days' has created this fear in you. So you are stuck with

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Question & Answer

V.A.P. SARAVANANCell: 99942 05880

this fear of death and worried if that will happen to you also. You are not able to do night trips as before because of not being able to face this fear of death. This fear haunts you whenever you are in a lonely situation. The chemical changes happening in your body due to this fear leads to anxiety, sweat and other bodily symptoms. So the fear caused by these repeated worries creates some health problems in you, weakens your body.

What do we have to understand here? - Fear is also a thought. Fear is related to our m e n t a l s y s t e m , a p s y c h o l o g i c a l phenomenon. So, we have to understand that we don't have any work to do for getting rid of this psychological fear. At the same time, the fear which occurs in us serves as a stimulant to protect ourselves in a sensible way. Actually, fear has come only to help us. Using this fear as a stimulant, you have to plan properly to travel during the night without losing sleep. We have to use this fear as a stimulant to do healthy exercises to maintain good health.

For whatever reasons none of these efforts should be applied to manage the fear in our mind. Efforts like trying to avoid fear,

Can fear of death be overcome?

Question : I am running a textile business on my own. After reading Sri Bagavath Ayya's books, I

am definitely feeling better than before. Even then, the consecutive death incidents of my two

close friends of my age due to heart attack has impacted me in a big way. I am constantly

worrying if this will happen to me too and I am stuck with the fear of this possibility. I am not able to

continue going in the night time and go on a business related trip as I was doing earlier because

of this fear. Thanks to the Intellectual understanding given by Ayya, I am able to let go most of my

thoughts without converting them into thinking. But I am unable to manage this fear which gets

converted into thinking and the resulting anxiety it causes in my body. However hard I try, the

understanding given by Ayya is not helping me in this situation. Why is this so? What is my

mistake here? Have I misunderstood the point completely? How do I get rid of this?

January 2019

trying to change this emotion and meditating to divert our focus elsewhere, expecting God to support etc. should not be applied. None of these efforts will help us. As far as our internal system is concerned, we have to be in the state of a King ; - who had lost everything in a war, whose hands are tied behind and surrounded by enemies, who kneels down and bows down to them without any way out to escape, who is unarmed and in a state of surrender.

Let us look at this example. We are walking alone in a street during night time. Let us assume a dog comes towards us barking with an intention to have a bite. Only if fear arises in us, we can immediately run away and protect ourselves from that dog. The fear which came about in our mind is not meant for managing our mind. It acts as a driving tool to protect ourselves in the external world. We don't have to modify or regulate or shape up all the unwanted emotions in our mind. Instead

we can use those emotions as a stimulant to act in the external world.

Even then, sometimes unwanted fear may arise in us even in a secure situation. What can we do about it? Let us look at this same example from a different perspective. We escaped from the dog and reached our home. We are now safe. Even then, the fear about that dog continues to persist in our mind. Do we have to do anything now to get rid of this fear? We can ignore this fear when we don't have any external actions to perform. When we give full freedom to this fear, we also become completely free from this emotion fear.

We don't have any action to do in our mind. We can use the emotions arising in our mind as a driving tool for any external actions if needed. When there is no necessity to perform any external actions, letting them go makes the emotions which came on their own to die down on their own.

5 Days Special Retreat on Enlightenment at YercaudBy Living Master Sri Bagavath

Venue: House of Peace (Glass House), Yercaud.

Date: 1-5-2019 Wednesday Evening 4.00 p.m to 5-5-2019 Sunday Evening 3.00 p.m

Topics:

1. Clarity on Enlightenment 2. Psychological and Physical Problems 3. Who am I? 4. Thought and Thinking 5. Manolaya & Manonasa 6. Karma – Fate 7. Confirmation on Enlightenment.

?Yercaud is a wonderful Hill station. Participate with family in the exclusive summer retreat and enjoy.

?Separate accommodation and bedding facility for men and women are available. Rooms are available for families only – 10 rooms (on priority basis).

?The sharing expenses for food and accommodation is Rs.6000 per person.

?It is necessary to register in advance before 31st March 2019 as we have accommodation only for 90 persons.

Sri Bagavath Mission31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem – 3

Mobile: 9994205880, 9789165555

Methods of Registration:

1. M.O, D.D or Cheque can be drawn in the name of Sri Bagavath Mission payable at Salem

2. Direct Payment: Do Money Transfer to: Sri Bagavath Mission, HDFC A/c No. : 15907620000075, NEFT IFSC: HDFC001590 and inform us.

3. Online Registration: visit www.sribagavathmission.org and register through Credit or Debit Card.

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Gallery

Participants of Ultra Mind (ACU Healers) @ Yercaud with Sri Bagavath.

2019 Bagavath Mission Calendar Release

Healer Baskar with Sri Bagavath

Sri Bagavath with participants of Enlightenment Confirmation Camp.

During the new book release “Is Terrorism Necessary?” thSri Bagavath with participants of Enlightenment Retreat @ Salem (22 – 25 Dec 2018 Camp).

January 2019 -9-

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Expense share : Rs.4000/= per person.

Kindly inform about your visit well in advance.

Those who cannot afford to pay this can request separately.

Al l are welcome! Get clar i ty on Enlightenment..

· There is separate accommodation facility for gents and ladies.

· As there is accommodation space for only 50 persons, admission is restricted to 50 and advance booking is a must.

Date :

(Note: The Important class starts at

6 pm on 7-Mar-2019.

Seekers would get clarity only if they

attend this session from the beginning.)

Advance booking can be done in the following ways:

M.O., D.D. or Cheque : Senders of these payment modes are requested to draw in favour of Sri Bagavath Mission, payable at Salem.

Direct Payment : Those who want to pay directly in the bank can pay in the following Bank Account:

HDFC Bank, Sri Bagavath Mission,

A/c No: 15907620000075

NEFT IFSC: HDFC 0001590,

Car Street Branch, Salem.

Sri Bagavath Mission, 31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapettai, Salem -3.

Cell : 9994205880, 9789165555

There will be an Enlightenment Retreat in March-2019 , at Sri Bagavath Bhavan, Salem.

Venue :

Sri Bagavath Bhavan,

Jarugu Foothills, Kodambakkadu,

Periya Gowndapuram, Karipatti (PO), Salem – 636106.

Four-day Enlightenment Retreat in March-2019 at Sri Bagavath Bhavan.

7-Mar-2019 - 1 pm to

10-Mar-2019 - 3 pm

January 2019

A Prince approached Lord Buddha to get initiated. He wanted to attain Liberation-Mukti. On the first day Buddha sent the Prince to a household to beg for alms. The Prince begged for alms from the house where he was sent by Buddha. He got alms. He ate the food and returned to Buddha. He pleaded to Buddha, “Please pardon me. Please do not send me again there”.

Buddha asked, “What happened?”

He replied, “When I was going towards the house, I had thought of all my favourite food items. When I was at the house, the lady of the house served all my favourite food items. I thought it was just accidental. When I finished eating, I remembered about my habit of taking rest for a few minutes after food at my home. Then I thought who would remind me of taking that rest that day. At that moment, the woman requested to me, “Please take rest for a while after your food. Please shower your grace. My household will become holy”. I was quite surprised. I thought this was also just accidental. I consoled myself thinking her request was just a sheer coincidence with my thought. “

“When I started relaxing, during my rest I again thought that the cot and the mattress were not my own. I thought that I was sleeping on someone else's mat under someone else's roof. The woman immediately said, “Bikshu! The bed is not yours. Nor is it mine”. I was puzzled a lot. Everything that happened again and again cannot be just accidental.

Puzzled, I asked the woman, “Are my thoughts reaching up to you? Are you able to know my stream of thoughts?”

She said, “By intense practices and by meditating continuously, my thinking has become a kind of nothingness. Now I am able to see others' thoughts also”. Hearing this, I started getting anxious and rushed back shivering. Please do not send me again there”.

Buddha did not stop there and went on to ask him why.

The Prince hesitatingly said, “How would I explain that? Looking at that beautiful woman, I started getting lustful thoughts. I tried to control the thoughts but I could not. It is ok if I get thoughts of food and rest. But getting lustful thoughts on her is not good. I did not know what to do. She must have felt bad about me. She did not express that to maintain her dignity. How can I go there again and face her? How will I go and seek alms again from that house? Please do not send me again there”, he said.

Buddha said, “You should go there only. This is a part of your spiritual practice. Until you get the understanding of your minds functioning and thoughts, you should keep going there only. This time you just leave your thoughts on their own way. Don't bother much about your thoughts. Your job is to seek alms. Concentrate only on that”.

The Prince went to that house again the next day. While on his way, he thought, “I

Lust and Liberation

-11-January 2019

should be very careful today not to get those unnecessary thoughts”. He did not have any problem until he reached the house. When he reached the house and saw the beautiful woman, he started getting lustful thoughts in an uncontrolled manner. He was struggling a lot. She looked at him compassionately. To him, it appeared that she was looking at him contemptuously. He rushed back before she went in to bring food for him. He went to Buddha and said, “In spite of my effort to control, I could not bring the thoughts under my control. Please do not send me there hereafter. Pardon me”.

Buddha said, “Do not try to control your thoughts. That is impossible”. The Prince asked, “If I do not control those thoughts, will it not grow and result in my indulgence in wrong activities?”

Buddha said, “You will get entangled in that net only when you struggle to control. It is an unnecessary act”.

The Prince asked, “What should I do then? What should I do so that those thoughts do not occur in me?”

Buddha said, “There is a way out there for this”.

The Prince said, “Master please let me know that”.

There was a mirror close by. Buddha took the Prince near the mirror and made him stand in front of that. He said to the Prince, “I am going to give you a very important work”.

The Prince asked, “Please tell me what I should do?”

Buddha said, “Ensure that your image does not reflect in this mirror. Observe closely”.

The Prince asked, “How is that possible? Until I observe, will my image not continue to reflect in the mirror?”

Buddha explained: “Similarly until you put in your effort to avoid any thought, you will only be a form of that thought. Mind is like a mirror. The thoughts and emotions that occur in the mind are like the reflections of the images. There is no need to control or manage them”.

The Prince asked, “How should then we eliminate those thoughts?”

Buddha asked, “Did you create those thoughts?”

The Prince replied, “No. The thoughts came about on their own”.

Buddha explained, “Something that came about on its own will go away on its own. It is not your responsibility. All thoughts will occur naturally. You will know that only after they occur. It will go away the same way it came about, on its own. There is no need to take responsibility for the thoughts. Only when you take responsibility for the thoughts, it will become 'thinking'. It is enough if you understand this truth”.

Now the Prince understood very clearly. The next day, he went to the woman's house. He met that beautiful woman. He started getting lustful thoughts. However he was totally detached from the thoughts with a clear understanding that the thoughts had come about naturally. Since he did not struggle and battle against the thoughts, they disappeared on their own. He became pure and was free like a freely flowing stream. The woman understood that the Prince was now in liberation. She worshipped him.

Registration Number of the Registered Postel Registration Number : TN/WR/SL(E)/22/2018-2020 Posted at Salem HOP 636001. On 10th of every month.

News Paper TNTAM/2014/57698

Published by Shri. V.A.P. Sharavanan on behalf of the Sri Bagavath Mission, 31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem-636 003. Tamilnadu. India.Printed by Shri. R. Jayavel at Sree Jayavel Press, 08/11, Gandhi Maidanam, Ammapettai, Salem-636 003. Editor : Shri. K.S. Jeevamani Cell : 97891 65555