Any individual:
is welcome to join the Chinmaya Mission; irrespective of caste, creed or nationality.
The gamut of activities of the Mission allows one to choose an activity suitable to their personality, age and area of interest. Chinmaya Mission has something to offer for everyone – from newborns onwards!
If God were to fulfill the desires of people according to their prayers then the Impartial Lord would become “partial” towards those who pray.
Then how does God fulfill the desires of His devotees?
Lord Krishna says “Whatever form a devotee seeks to worship with “faith” that “faith” of his I make firm in him”. (Bhagavad Gita 7/21)
From the material Standpoint, when we pray, and deter¬mine to achieve something we develop a “faith” in the goal and confidence in ourselves to do so. Faith is a, growing belief rooted in understanding. As this “faith” increases, the mind becomes more and more efficient. A single-pointed mind is indeed a mighty force against which no obstacles can stand for long. This “faith” irrespective of the chosen goal, is that which ultimately takes each one of us to our success.
Then what? How does one gain the fulfillment of his desire?
Reinforced with that “faith” in his chosen field man works harder. The Lord admits that by “His” grace that “faith” increases and consequently the efforts also increase with the increase of “faith”. We put forth more and more efforts and as a result our desires are fulfilled. So, to say that we have been praying for years and our prayers have never been heard is the complaint of not those who pray but those, who only beg, without constantly striving hard to achieve.
From the spiritual standpoint, this verse is a very impor¬tant one as it has carved out a distinct character for the Hindus—their unbelievable sense of tolerance towards all other religions in the world. The Hindu knows that “Truth is one; sages call it by different names.” In what¬ever form man worships his God with “faith”, in that form God shall be revealed to him.
Both in material and spiritual successes the secret of achievement is one and the same. If one desires the worldly things one gains them; if the spiritual experience, then one gains that too. If one’s desires are materialistic •then one will seek them through worldly “devatas” (powers) and find one’s immediate fulfillment.
Efforts remaining the same, the results depend upon whether we strive out-worldly for the passing joys, or dive inward to reach the permanent Bliss in the Self. In short, we can have what we wish for, if only our powers of wishing are powerful enough. Prayer brings about the necessary mental integration in ourselves, and assures our success in any field of endeavor.
Remember, prayer is not beggary. Nor is it merely an exaggerated glorification of some unknown entity called God repeated mechanically by the mouth in a language which is unknown to the devotee. Prayer is invocation with the mind contemplating on the greater Reality of Life, the Essential Life that energizes, activates, thrills the inert world of matter into living creatures, expands itself and in this expansion it soars higher into kingdoms of joyous experiences and true unfoldments.
If there is no God, are we not wasting our time trying to be good?—asks the man in the cartoon. And if there is a God he must be far too good-natured to want to punish us if we act wrongly. So either way it hardly matters how we act. We might as well have our cake and eat it too! This is the argument projected in seeking complete free¬dom in morality. But the busy man of the world has per¬haps forgotten that it is not because there is a God above who is too mean to allow us to get away with all our bad deeds but perhaps he is too good not to give us what we demanded, and that we get “rewarded” or “punished”, or get conducive or in conducive results by the very fact of our choosing to act in a particular way. It is within a certain freedom that we carve out our own future. SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA here explains very clearly the Law of Karma which is so much mis¬understood by some.
“Each moment of our life, we are not only living the fruits of the past actions, but also creating those of tomorrow. Each of our actions has got its own time-limit for its fruition. Every action has got its own reaction; certain actions give their reaction immediately while others will provide their reactions only after interval. The Law of Karma is based upon the final conclusion that this life is not an end in itself but is just one of the little incidents in the Eternal Existence of each of us. Let us suppose that we have just “fallen” from truth or Reality into this momentous and calamitous misunder¬standing, then we should not have such a dissimilar scheme, of each Ego living its own life of special joys and woes. When we enquire, why there are such differences we are driven to the conclusion that, having risen from different “causes”, each of us should mani¬fest as a different “effect”. Effects depend upon their causes. This life in which we are living is only one of our incarnations, the result of our past actions, but we do not appreciate it or understand it because we are viewing life from a very circumscribed point of view.
Now, from where does Purushartha come in if Prarabdha orders every action? That we have been given by the Divine Being a limited freedom is the truth. For example we cannot bend a piece of rail as it is, but supposing this rail-piece is beaten out and made into a chair, the rail matter becomes very easily pliable. Similarly, man, though he has taken his body to live a fixed Prarabdha, can reach the Supreme Goal of life by living the freedom allowed to him from moment to moment. And there is provision for us to discriminate and act rightly. For example, is there not a certain amount of freedom in cho¬osing whether we should go to a cinema or a satsang? There are two ways to deal with each challenge. Two distinct paths are open to us. The path of the Good and the path of the Pleasant. Often we are at a loss to decide which path to pursue. There is a tussle between Satan and God within us at such a moment of trial.
Man is his mind. When one does some actions, repeate¬dly, one’s mind gets fixed with certain impressions. It is in a world of reactions related to the outer world-of-objects that we live. The quality of one’s experiences depends upon the quality of the mind which one brings up to undergo the experience.
The future is not a mystery, an unknown miracle that man must wait for its stunning revelations. The past modi¬fied in the present alone is the future. The freedom to modify the past, and thereby create a future, for the better or for the worse, is Purushartha: self-effort. Thus, the Law of Karma when correctly understood is the greatest force of vitality in our philosophy. It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant, God, who, it is believed, has created us so weak or fearful to live of our lives of limitations and pains. If we are weak or sorrowful it is because of our own willful actions. In our, ignorance, we in the past had pursued certain negative values of life, and like a Frankenstein, their fruits have come up now to give us the pattern of circumstances we are living today.
Never mind. Take heart. By careful self-policing, detect the wrong tendencies in us. Eliminate them through constant and willful effort. Develop positivity and thus come to be the God of your own future life. “Be a God I”.
Swami Tejomayananda has churned out quality work and done enormous justice to the role he is playing as Gurudev, Swami Chinmayanandaji’s successor.
As you enter his kutia, you often hear strains of Worldspace. Actually the world is His space!
From humble beginnings as a village schoolboy to being the global head of the Chinmaya Mission, he has come a long way. From an ordinary brahmachari to a Sanyasi, an acharya of many Vedanta courses to the resident swami abroad, he has done it all. He wears the mantle of Headship rather lightly. His simplicity belies his stature.
Swami Tejomayananda sits in his kutia multi-tasking—meeting people, answering phone calls, taking decisions, replying to letters, giving darshan and prasad, all in a span of half an hour. Quotes, punch lines and jokes flow naturally from him. This bearded, round-faced, affable “Guruji” as he is lovingly called, is very much aware of cricket and politics as he is of scriptures and music. He fields questions with ease and straight forwardness in this freewheeling interview.
EXCERPTS OF THE INTERVIEW WITH BRNI VIVIDISHA CHAITANYA
‘Spirituality’ is a loosely used term these days. What is your definition of spirituality?
Spirituality does not lie in doing something special. Its essence is in being one’s own true divine self. In short spirituality is your feeling of oneness with all beings.
This seems a little too difficult. How can a layman who is caught up in the rat race of the outside world practise spirituality?
Don’t you feel a feeling of oneness with your own body? Don’t you feel love and concern for every limb or part of your body? Similarly a spiritual soul is filled with love and concern for all beings.
Come to think of it, every layman practices spirituality to a smaller or greater level with or without awareness. Doesn’t a family member feel oneness with the whole family? Similarly NGOs and many other social organizations express spirituality through their work. If only one becomes conscious of one’s spiritual nature, one will find it most practicable and fulfilling.
What is the single quality of a genuinely spiritual soul?
Humility, because he realizes that the real doer of all things is God and he is merely an instrument.
As the head of the Mission, you have to interact with people of diverse mindsets and natures. How do you manage this?
As I told you, the vision of spirituality comes in very handy here. I accept each person as he or she is and do not become judgmental at any point of my interaction with him.
But what happens if something goes wrong between the two of you?
In all such situations one should try to talk it out and make up as soon as possible. If a relationship goes beyond repair, then become better, not bitter.
Your dedication to your Guru, Swami Chinmayananda is very moving. What is it about Gurudev that exactly influenced you?
In my childhood, I was pretty much influenced by saints like Swami Ramdas, Swami Vivekananda, etc. I used to read about their relationship with their gurus and was very fascinated about the rapport shared between a Guru and a shishya. Subconsciously, my desire for a guru must have been very strong. This desire became a reality when I decided to follow Gurudev.
What moved me most about Gurudev was that he fathered me and taught me things big and small with boundless love. Then next thing that moved me was his humane and compassionate approach to people around him. An American once told Gurudev, “Attitude shows altitude”, to which Gurudev promptly rejoined “No. Attitude shows depth!” This depth in Gurudev was so spontaneous and evident in his dealings with people or situations.
How did you conceive of Chinmaya Vibhooti, that mammoth project on 100 acres of land in Kolwan, as a tribute to your Guru?
I realized that a great master starts his work with a vision and an organization run by him remains vibrant only if his vision is kept alive. Otherwise it becomes stagnant and the followers get distracted. It was to keep Gurudev’s vision aflame that Chinmaya Vibhooti was conceived. It is very necessary for all of us devotees and disciples to be aware of his vision, which is now reflected, in our Mission statement – “To provide to individuals from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and the practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become positive contributors to society”.
One of Pujya Gurudev’s great gifts was his ability to inspire children, youth and adults equally- and to sustain their enthusiasm and inspiration to lend their hearts and minds to the many tasks at hand. That enthusiasm and dedication, to his vision, are to this day rippling through many mission centers around the world. They also continue to come up with new projects and sustain those already established.
What is your single solution for all the social evils like corruption, violence, etc?
All evils are only expressions of the ignorance of spiritual knowledge. Just as the doctors begin with symptomatic treatment of diseases, but slowly work to eradicate the very cause of diseases, we must eradicate spiritual ignorance to treat all our social ills.
It is the vision that makes all the difference. A narrow vision is divisive, a broad vision is expansive but a spiritual vision is all-inclusive.
Should politicians be made aware of this vision, since they are channels of change?
Definitely. For them spirituality should translate into rising above individual party interests. They should identify with the entire nation. In short the message for them is “Nation before self!”
What stirs your heart?
The sublime heights I am transported to while reflecting or discoursing on the Upanishads. While that is for my intellect, my heart rejoices in the grace of my Lord Rama in each and every moment and event of my life. Then there is classical Indian music for my devotional and emotional appeal.
Finally, why are you not for the media at all?
I often find that they misquote what is said and then you have to call another press conference to qualify your stand. Also there is no end to the number of newspapers or TV channels who would seek interviews with you, if you consent to one of their requests. Then there are these photo shoots, which take up a lot of your time. So I think it is better to keep on doing your best and let your work do all the talking.
Swami Purushottamananda’s 75th Jayanti (Birth Anniversary) was on 21st May 2011. At the time of his Mahasamadhi Rupali Vadekar recited a Marathi Poem as homage to him. Today, as we remember him, we reproduce below the English translation of the Marathi poem. We are thankful to Shri Ravindra Damle for providing us with the translation. If you understand Marathi, we recommend the original poem at this link.
Saw one lonely cloud, In the hot summer day
Was facing heat from sun, But appeared happy and gay
Don’t know from where it came, But surely arrived on time
With a bagful of moisture, On an urgent call from ground
Dark with a sharp silver lining, Carrying life’s load on its back
Smearing rays hitting its back, Seen challenging that severe wroth
Forgetting lashing rays on its back, Came forward with open arms
Keeping the sun away from the land, As if swallowing all that warmth
With serene coolness in his touch, As if that’s his true nature
Took away the heat from all, Without showing any stature
Even modesty shied looking at him, The cloud was such a gem
Running for others emptying own self, Inclined always not for name
Gave life to thirsty people, Made butter of parched soil
Burst in with such a vigour, Took away the ‘I’ ness forever
So much absorbed in moist nature, That he lost his own form
And without knowing by any one, Dissolved in the giant cosmos
Tapovanji Maharaj was not a person he was a presence, a fragrance, a light, a joy, a glow; something to be experienced. It is difficult to explain, or describe him and as such impossible to communicate him. He was not a saint of the ordinary order, he was indeed a miraculous thing and a great luck for the society that he lived in our times.
It was only to unveil Him, at all levels that we tried to take the message. We did it all to unveil Sri Tapovan Mahima. He was ever established in his own Self and expressing it in his smile, in his looks, in his graciousness, in his study or teaching, in all his words. Whatever he did was only a glorification and the reflection of the Infinite Self in him. It is that Master who is your grandsire in this organization and we thought that there must at least be a symbol……and he is being now brought here to be present and be a witness—a Silent Witness, of what we are doing.
The only way to communicate Him is that you also study the Upanishads and the Geeta and learn to live the righ¬teous life and to experience what Swami Tapovanam is.
“The love of Radha and Krishna is symbolic of the eternal love affair between the devoted mortal and the Divine Radha’s yearning for union with her beloved Krishna is the soul’s longing for spiritual awakening.”
Every aspect of Krishna and His deeds is pregnant with deep mystical symbolism indicating the highest Truth. One must have the subtle-sensitivity of a poet, the ruthless intellect of a scientist, and the soft heart of the beloved in order to enter into the enchanted realm of mysticism. Art can be fully appreciated only by hearts that have art in them.
In Sanskrit, the world Krishna means “dark”, indicat¬ing the Supreme Consciousness. Pure Consciousness is said to be “dark”, not as opposed to “light,” but in the sense that it is unseen by or unknown to one as long as one remains footed in earthly experiences, ex¬periences limited to the realms of perceptions, emotions, and thoughts gained through the physical body, and the intellect.
Consciousness is the pure Self, the sentient Life Principle which enlivens one’s material equipments to function in their respective realms. Consciousness is the very subject of all experiences and therefore cannot be objectively experienced.
The incarnation of Krishna represents the descent of the infinite Brahman to the material world. The ever-smiling, lotus-eyed Krishna with a garland of flowers around His neck is described as being blue in color and wearing yellow clothes. Blue is the color of the infinite and whatever is immeasurable can appear to the mortal eyes only as blue. Vast expanses in nature, such as the sky at midday or the ocean at its depths, appears blue to human perception. Yellow represents the earth. Anything buried in the earth gathers a yellowish hue; and in fire, earth (mud, silica) emits a yellow hue. Hence the blue form of Krishna clothed in yellow appro¬priately suggests pure, infinite Consciousness come down to earth to play in His finite form.
This infinite Lord dwells in the core of our persona¬lity as the very Self in us, for whatever exists in the macrocosm also takes place within the human heart, or the microcosm. The one infinite Reality has become the world of endless forms. Therefore, every form in the universe is, in a sense, but a representation of the primeval Truth.
The infinite, all-pervading Truth, donning the finite form of a human being, gives the impression that the Truth is fettered and limited. This idea of the illimitable Truth seeming to be limited is well brought out by the fact that Krishna is said to have been born in prison. His tyrant uncle, Kamsa, imprisoned Krishna’s father, usurped the throne of Mathura, and reigned along with his own cruel minister, Chanura. As long as these two men were in charge of Mathura, there was confusion and chaos everywhere. Krishna destroyed the tyrants and restored peace and order in the land. Similarly, our bosom is usurped by two evil forces, namely, the ego and egocentric desires, which cause agitations, worries, and anxieties within. When these two forces are con¬quered by one’s higher nature, the original glory and splendor of the pure Self is restored,
Krishna, as the Consciousness, or Atman, resides in the core of one’s personality. It remains confined, as it were, within the five layers of matter constituting the human personality (food, vital air, mental, intellectual, and bliss sheaths). However, Atman, being subtler than the matter vestures, is not bound or limited by them.
Though the infinite Being seems to be limited and confined to a human embodiment, it is ever free and un-contaminated. The pure Self within is never affected or bound by one’s material equipment (upadhis), that is, the body, mind, and intellect. Though the divine child Krishna was born in prison, neither the iron bars nor the prison guards could confine Him. Vasudeva, His father, safely carried Him out of prison in spite of the severe restrictions imposed upon him.
Krishna is described as the infinite, omnipresent, omni¬potent, and omniscient Reality. Yet His revered mother Yasoda saw only her child in Him. On one occasion, the little boy Krishna was suspected of having eaten mud. The mother chided Him, but the boy denied having eaten mud. Krishna was only telling the truth, for the earth is included in His universal form. He is the Whole.
How can the Whole Being eat its own part? The eater and the eaten cannot be one and the same. The Lord tried to explain, but the mother could not measure the magnitude and stature of His Infinite Being in her own child. Upon her insistence, the boy opened His tiny mouth and revealed, to her utter amazement, the entire universe within.
Lord Krishna plays the flute, producing enchanting music. The flute, by itself, cannot create music. It is an inert, insentient piece of matter. But when the Lord plays it, divine music emanates from it and enchants everyone. Similarly, the human body is, by itself, inert and insentient. It contains the sense organs and the mind-intellect equipment (the holes in the flute) through which the Consciousness expresses Itself. Radha’s Love for Krishna.
It is said that, long ago, Krishna left His dwelling place in the highest heaven. He came to earth, bringing with Him the things and inhabitants of that idyllic para¬dise of peace: cow, peacocks, nightingales, and the cowherds and milkmaids (gopis) who loved Him.
Krishna the beloved boy of Brindavan, is pictured amid the dancing gopis. Much criticism has been leveled against Krishna’s association with these milkmaids. Little do the critics realize that the Lord is ever an un¬concerned and unaffected witness of the milkmaids’ dance, even though He may be in their midst. Krishna is like the Consciousness within, which vitalizes one’s thoughts (gopis) but remains unperturbed and unaffected by them. The self is ever immaculate, uncontaminated by the thoughts in one’s bosom. Thus, if the lives of such god-men are read without understanding their mystical symbolism one comes to wrong, and at times absurd, conclusions.
The gopis performed their obligatory duties through¬out the day in constant remembrance of Krishna. Their limbs were ceaselessly engaged in activity, while their minds were ever attuned to the Lord. This, in short, is the essence of Karma Yoga, that is, the dedication of one’s actions to a higher altar working without ego and egocentric desires. Such activities exhaust one’s exist¬ing vasanas (inherent tendencies) and also prevent the formation of any new vasanas. When one thus strives hard and reduces his vasanas to the minimum, their last lingering traces are liquidated by the Lord Himself, even without one’s knowledge. Hence Krishna is also described as a thief stealing the butter which the gopis had carefully stored in their apartments.
The most beautiful and the most beloved of all gopis was Radha. The love of Radha and Krishna is symbolic of the eternal love affair between the devoted mortal and the Divine. In relation to God, it is said that we are all women. Radha’s yearning for union with her beloved Krishna is the soul’s longing for spiritual awaking to be united with the one Source of peace and bliss from which it has become separated. This long-forgotten pain of separation is the root cause of all suffering. To rediscover our Oneness is the source of all happiness and fulfillment. In this sense, Krishna is the fulfillment of all desires.
Every human being is constantly seeking a share of peace and happiness, and since one does not know the real source of these, one seeks them in the midst of sense objects. But when, in devotion, one comes to turn one’s entire attention towards the higher and the nobler, one experiences the Immortal, the Infinite—as intimately as one experienced the world and its changes before. Bhagawan Himself says in the Bhagavatam: “The mind that constantly contemplates upon the sense objects irresistibly comes to revel in their finite joys, and the mind that learns to constantly remember Me comes to dissolve into Me and revel in Me”. Radha represents this state of devotion and consequent merging with the Lord.
Puranas and Puranic Gods have been objects of ridicule and criticism all these years. And especially charges leveled against Lord Krishna are many and varied. (Some typical questions asked by students are answered here by Swami Chinmayananda.)
Puranic literature is never to be read as a history or biography. It is written in the style of the Vedas— Mystic style. Though it explains the story of the Mahabharata, it is at once a Song of the Soul’s Adventure to rediscover itself.
Veda Vyasa a Vedic Teacher, a master mind, a man of full realization^-when he took the pen, in his maturity, he did not do so only for writing a love story or a novel. Krishna is painted through-out the Mahabharata as Sri Krishna Paramatman.
Story by story, incident by incident, the canvas of Mahabharata reveals a word-picture of the science of self-mastery; the spiritual self development—both in theory and practice.
Now to your questions:
(a) He indulged in petty thefts in his childhood.
Ans.: Krishna stole like a thief. Thefts of what and from whom? If a doctor cuts open a carbuncle and draws its contents out and allows the bad blood to drain off, we don’t call it a crime, in a* much as the doctor has done it, in his better knowledge and efficiency, upon the patient who thereafter would feel happy. Krishna looted the material possessiveness and the vanity of possession from the hearts of his devotees and chastened them. The “childhood of Krishna” means only the early “awakening of the spiritual urge” in a seeker. When one has taken to the Path of God, one finds one’s thoughts have no more that negative ‘vasana-giving-sting1 in them—they become purer and purer in his bosom as one constantly contemplates upon the Self, Lord Krishna.
(b) He was very fond of running about with women.
Ans.: In Sanskrit, thought is feminine and the Copies of the Yamuna banks are all the dancing thoughts that live their individual pursuits of “churning experiences and gathering the butter of new impressions”. Krishna is the Central Self, the Pure Awareness in us.
(c) He Married 16008 Wives.
Ans.: The entire human thought possibilities fall under 16008 families. In each family is an indefinite number of specimens. All of them are coupled with conscious¬ness or else they have no existence. Krishna is married to 16008 wives! Each thought is his consort. This means that each thought in the life of man is borrowing its entire existence and fulfillment in life from the Atman. After releasing them from the prison house of ego and egocentric desires, He married them!
(d) He played the fool, stole clothes and asked the Gopis to approach Him naked with their hands upraised away from the Yamuna waters.
Ans.: Unless you go naked unto Him He is not revealed. The Self clothed in matter is the ego, and the ego cannot realize the Self unless it becomes naked again. The ego is the Gopi. She undresses on the Yamuna banks and enters the water to cleanse herself. Dropping our nega¬tivities and animalisms for the time being we enter the pooja-room or out the Guru’s presence or the temple, to revel in the joyous atmosphere of contemplation of the divine. After the bath the Gopis used to come and wear their old clothes; ordinary seekers after their religi¬ous moods take back upon themselves the good old animalistic personalities.
When this is continued for some time the Light of Con¬sciousness emerges out of its hiding place and steals forward to loot away the dirty bundle of false values of egoism and selfishness. When the practice of taking regular dips in the Shastra-study is under-taken by the ‘lovers of the Lord’, they soon, one day, discover that their old clothes have disappeared. They learn to approach truth without their ego-dress, without their matter enve¬lopments! And the naked Self, re-discovers its own identity with the Paramatman. After this inward experi¬ence, the matter vestures are given back to them. The Jeevan Muktas—the liberated ones—live within the garb of flesh, and yet are ever-free, after their Sri Krishna-darshan.
A literature is to be read in its appropriate spirit Srimad Bhagavat was read in the past only by students who knew the entire Science of the Self. They could read in the picture the true import. “Madonna and the Child” is a picture of blissful ecstasy for allovers of painting;* the same picture is a self-debasing, self-insulting lusty picture for the low, volup¬tuous sensualists. We often see the outer world through a film of what we have already in us.
Those steeped in the philosophy of the flesh, when they enter this haven of joyous mystic symbolism, can enjoy only the superficial meaning. They get really con¬fused. They rave at it. And we, a generation who had to reach miserably our own culture in the leaky boats of the British, and read our own culture through books published by them, we, who are taught from our childhood in the missionary high schools and colleges—we, poor victims of a villainous treachery against the greatest culture of the world—believed them.
Let us try to unlearn, the unhealthy ideas that have been taught to us by a foreign imperialist hand-maiden. Read independently the pages of our sacred Bhagavat. You will see clearly a new meaning and a healthy message in every line.
Remember Lord Krishna was 8 years old when He was in Brindavan. “He married 16008 girls” and danced with them in the moonlit-nights on the banks of Yamuna— are the complaint of the sadistic non-Hindus. But why blame them? How many Hindus know the real import of the Bhagavat? Suppose your son of 8 years old is in the midst of 160080061 women, unless you are not in your own senses, you will not say that the boy is seducing them all!
• Bhagavat—a famous purana.