Sumi Roy, a bubbling youngster from Guwahati, Assam is one of the newest sevaks of Chinmaya Mission. She was a member of the National Cadet Corps for over four years and later on joined the National Service Scheme for another six years, organising awareness and empowerment programs. She won the District Youth Award in 2007 and the State Youth Award in 2008. She is an inspiration to all. Here she is talking to us on how she found her true calling, Service. Where and how did your association with the Chinmaya Mission begin? When I was in college, my professor who was the secretary of the youth wing of the Mission (CHYK) asked me to take part in a play called ‘Surya 108’. Also, two of my friends who had done the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) inspired me to join the course. These were my first associations with the Mission activities. Then I joined YEP and there was no turning back. When was it that you decided you wanted to serve the Mission full time? At the end of our Yuva Veer course, we were in a satsanga with Pujya Guruji. He asked whether any one of us would like to the join the Mission full time. Some people, including me, raised our hands and he wondered out loud how many of us would keep our promises. I had raised my hand on impulse, but I still had not made up my mind. Later on, when I went back to my centre – CORD Sidhbari – Kshama didi enquired about my plans after the service period. She is someone who deeply inspires me and she told me not to leave it there, but to continue serving the society in whatever way possible. And I realised in the depths of my heart that I could relate and identify with service as my passion. Hence, if I joined any corporate office, I would not be able to fulfill my desire to serve properly. I also found that it is one way of giving to society the knowledge I had gained. So I grabbed the opportunity and joined the Assam branch of Chinmaya Mission. To dedicate one’s life to service, one needs a role model or inspiration. Did you have any who inspired you to go the ‘other way’? Well, the first person who inspired me, instilled confidence and made me what I am today is my Guru – Swami Mitrananda. He came into my life when I was in search of guidance and showed me the way. I remember one incident that happened as we were nearing the conclusion of our course. I was being interviewed by Swamiji, and he asked me where I would like to be posted for serving. And my reply was that I wished to go back to Assam, to which Swamiji remarked that I should learn to step out of my comfort zone. This made me understand where I stood and where I have to reach if I have to achieve my heart’s desire. The other person who inspired me is Kshama didi. Mitranandaji had told me once that Kshama didi was a person who dedicated her entire life to serve the needy. She has been serving people for over 25 years now. He looked at me in the eye and said that he was looking for another ‘Kshama Metre!’ I don’t think I can reach the standards she has set, but this line will always inspire me to reach greater and greater heights. What is the need for such organisations like Chinmaya Mission (CM) today? Well, Chinmaya Mission is an organisation that awakens people to the glory of their own culture. It has empowered millions of all ages, from all walks of life to live a life of higher ideals. Such organisations keep people inspired and act as a guiding light in keeping this culture of ours alive. What do you do for the Assam Chinmaya Mission? My main work in Assam CM is administration. I also help in coordinating and organising yajnas and camps. I take value education classes for youngsters and kids, inspiring and motivating them to live a life of higher ideals. As a woman, did you find any difficulties when you were serving in Sidhbari? In YEP, Swamiji had put each person in the place which is right for that person. Serving at CORD is not easy. It requires passion and commitment. For example, you may have to walk across a hill to reach a village; you may be alone and there would be no houses. At first, such obstacles seemed to be difficult, but soon I was able to overcome all these minor obstacles. All you need is clarity on what you want and the willingness to take up the responsibility and be accountable. It doesn’t matter whether you are a boy or a girl – in the final tally, only your faith and your availability matters. How would you like to define YEP and how life has changed after YEP? YEP is a 3 month residential course based on dynamic living through study of the scriptures and thought-provoking activities to mould, the leaders of tomorrow. After the course, the Yuva Veers go out and serve the country for a year. This way they grow for life. It reaffirms the statement made by our Pujya Gurudev that the “Youth are not useless, but used less!” This is YEP in a nutshell. My life in Assam gave me limited exposure to the world, and deep down I aspired for something more. That is the main reason I joined YEP. And surely, after I joined YEP, my vision broadened and I became more receptive. In my opinion, YEP is a course that brings out the best in an individual and gives one a glimpse of what lies beyond his/her narrow vision. It guides the youth to think and live positive. For me, YEP has been my backbone. It has kept me straight on the path and given me the strength to overcome all obstacles. Before YEP I was really confused whether I should work for money or for satisfaction, but now things have changed. You have been here for the past fourteen days, how has this Sevaks’ Camp changed your outlook on the Mission? Till now I was involved in only one part of the Mission, but in this camp I got to see the whole picture. The different aspects of the Mission, its vastness and various activities which influence the lives of millions were seen. It is like having known a book by its cover. To understand the depth of the book, all its pages have to be explored and understood. Also, it was a great opportunity to meet people who have been associated with Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda and served the Mission for many years. I was able to learn from them as well as draw inspiration hearing their stories and experiences. Now I know that I took the right decision. What are the areas where you feel you can help the Mission? After attending the camp, I am sure I can help in areas such as CORD – rural development activities. We are already planning to conduct medical camps in rural schools, help in creating awareness of our books and publications. Also I may be able to coordinate the translation of certain books into Assamese with the help of the Devi group members there. So, how do you see your journey from here? Right now, I want to focus on doing what I have to do. I have not looked too far into the future. I only want to keep serving. I am CM, for life!

The two-year Vedanta course at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai demands rigorous personal discipline, deep devotion and intense scriptural study Chinmaya Mission’s training program is no ordinary course of study. It is a 24/7 commitment of body, mind and soul to an immersive spiritual adventure. A recent graduate, Vivek, recounts his extraordinary experience.
Challenges and Fulfillment. When I lived in a university residence, I often heard students complain about how difficult it is to live in close quarters with others. I also heard some of my married friends whine endlessly about living with their spouse. Both these situations are trying, but there is always a chance to escape—which is what we always do. We try to run away from our mind via entertainment, relationships, even work.

Living in Sandeepany was a thousand times more challenging. All that I had ever depended on was taken away: cell phone, television, restaurants, friends—I was only left with my mind. I was forced to live with the minimum; and if I could not handle this, I suffered. There was no escape from this suffering but to face it and transcend it. Classmate Vimal had a similar experience: “Only after studying at Sandeepany did I realize that happiness is independent of outer circumstances; that it resides in my own heart. One is forced to spend time in solitude, in ruminating, in silent searching, in discovering, in fighting the uprising of negative tendencies within.” For some, the experience was too much. Of the 60 of us who began, ten left before completion for a variety of reasons, including being dismissed.

To act in life “WITHOUT ANY EXPECTATION OF RESULTS” would seem to be an almost impossible method.

This fundamental truth, very well known and easily com¬prehended by all, is, in the language of the Geeta, a simple statement: “If success you seek, then never strive with a mind dissipated with anxieties and fears for the fruits.” In this connection it is very interesting to dissect carefully and discover exactly what the Shastra means when it says: “Fruits-of-action.”

In fact, the reward of an action, when we understand it properly, is not anything different from the action itself. An action in the PRESENT, when conditioned by a FUTURE-time, itself, appears as the fruit-of-the-action. In fact, the action ends, or fulfils itself, only in its reaction, and the reaction is not anything different from the action; an action in the present, defined in terms of a future moment, is its reaction. Therefore, to worry over and get ourselves pre-occupied with the anxieties for the rewards-of-actions is to escape from the dynamic PRESENT and to live in a FUTURE that is not yet born! Wrong imaginations are the banes of life, and all failures in life can be directly traced to have risen from an impoverished mental equanimity, generally created by unintelligent entertainment of fears regarding possible failures. Almost all of us refuse to undertake great activities, being afraid of failures, and even those who dare to undertake noble endeavors, invariably become nervous ere they finish them, again, due to their inward dissipation. To avoid such wasteful expenditure of mental energy and work with the best that is in us, dedicated to the noble cause of the work undertaken, is the secret prescription for the noblest creative inspi¬ration; and, such work must always end in brilliant success. This is the eternal law of activity in the world. The future is always carved out in the present. To¬morrow’s harvest depends upon today’s ploughing and sowing. If one becomes unhealthy and inefficient in the present certainly he has no reason to hope for a greater future.

In short, the Lord’s advice here is a call to man not to waste his present moment in fruitless dreams and fears, but to bring his best—all the best in him—to the PRESENT and vitally live every moment, the promise being, that the future shall take care of itself, and shall provide the Karma-Yogin with the achievements divine and accomplishments supreme.

The fear in man about the hereafter has risen from his failure to appreciate the logical continuity and the per¬fect sequence that is ever found in life. To consider that death is the end of an existence which started with the accident of birth, is a philosophy too rudimentary to be considered complete and exhaustive. In fact, it is only with a stretch of imagination that we can consider such a theory as a philosophy.

Daring intellects, bravely pushing ahead in the quest to understand and comprehend the laws of life and the meaning and purpose of the universe, cannot but accept that the existence of an individual in its present embodiment is but a single pearl in the necklace of Infinite Beauty, adorning the bosom of Truth. The present is the product of the past, and thought by thought, action by action, knowledge by knowledge we are creating for ourselves in the present the blue-print of our future. Therefore, the Hindus believe in the previous lives as well as in future births for all embodied souls; this is otherwise called the theory of re-incarnation.

The hereafter is ordered by the actions, performed and the motives entertained here. Actions in life can be mainly classified as good and evil; and the pursuers of evil can only slip down the path of evolution. Those who are doing good work alone can start their climb on to the higher points on the tower of their spiritual progress. Even here, there is a distinction between (a) actions performed with desires and (b) those that are performed in a spirit of dedicated love and in a sense of divine worship. Those who are employing themselves in the worship of the Lord with desire for heavenly enjoyments will, after their death, reach those planes-of-consciousness which are conducive for exhausting all such desires, and having exhausted these desires therein, they will take their birth again, here in the world, “in the houses of the pure and prosperous.” In short, all burning desires of every human being will be fulfilled at one time or another or the desires are strong enough and are accompanied by intense activities appropriate for their fulfillment. Those who are pursuing selfless worship of the Lord without the desire for heavenly enjoyments gain more and more easy integration, and as a result of it, they become dynamic minds capable of the highest medi¬tation. The more integrated a personality, the more spiritual he becomes, and therefore, he must be given a chance to fulfill himself, not in heaven, which is a place for enjoyment, but he must arrive right here to strive more diligently and achieve the highest. Such an ego-centre (jeeva) as soon as it leaves one embodiment immediately comes to manifest itself in a conducive atmosphere, where it can continue its pilgrimage without any obstruction. It being an aspiring heart, it should necessarily come to be “born only in a family of wise-men-of-meditation.”

This theory gives a lot of insight into the present day fallacy which gives such an exaggerated importance to one’s unhealthy environments and makes everyone polish against one’s surroundings. No doubt, in some ways than is a creature of his environments; but the same statement, when viewed through the glasses of philosophy gives also insight into the fact that the individuals in their own freedom, had themselves order¬ed in the past their own present environments. By merely changing his environments, the individual concerned cannot progress; a habitual drunkard may still conti¬nue drinking on the sly, even, if he were to be brought into a dry city to live among teetotalers.

Examples like Sankara, Christ, Buddha, and other great masters can be considered as supporting this philoso¬phical theory. Such men of brilliant genius, who, from their very early youth, exhibit super-human knowledge and godly wisdom, are no doubt, rare. Such a born-yogi completes his education much more easily than others, since, to him, it is not an education that is needed, but only a revision, or a recapitulation. In a very short time, he discovers that knowledge is bubbling up from within himself and to him study is but a redis¬covery of a digested knowledge which was already lying, dormant in him.

A man who had in the past lived the life of self-control, study, and practice gathers unto himself those cultural traits and he, in this life, in spite of himself and in spite of all his adverse circumstances, environments and con¬ditions of life, cannot but instinctively come to exhibit— in his attitudes to life, and in his behavior towards the things and beings in the world—a tranquility and a balance, which are a surprise even to himself.

This is no mere theory. The truth of statement is amply evident everywhere in any society, in all strata of its life, in all its professions and in all departments of its activities. Each one of us has an instructive bent of mind, and we are all irresistibly drawn towards it in spite of ourselves. This pull is most powerful when arising from our essential evolutionary tendencies. Even a candid chieftain can, overnight, turn himself to be a determined seeker and, ere long, become a great poet of the land, as Valmiki did in the past. Hundreds of such examples could be noted from our recent history and even amidst us today. In all those cases, the only satis¬factory explanation will be that the individual mind-and-intellect was expressing through its given physical structure its own characteristic tendencies which it had acquired by itself in its past incarnations, through its own willful actions and deliberate motions.