Talks of Senior Monks Volume - 1

8/10/2019 Talks of Senior Monks Volume - 1

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LIST OF CONTENTS

Volume 1

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Name Subject/Occasion Date Page

No.1. Swami Virajananda To the newly ordainedSannyasins andBrahmacharins

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Talk delivered by Swami Virajanandaji Maharaj to thenewly ordained Sannyasins and Brahmacharins in 1948

hae much 7leasure in meeting you this eening andaddressing you a *ew words a*ter you hae ta'en the sacredows o* Brahmacharya and Sannyasa. 5ou must remember that

these ows signi*y a huge res7onsibility on your 7art and aburdern+ which you hae to shoulder all through your li*e withutmost 7atience+ caution and courage. The duties that theyenjoin are surely ery di:cult to *ollow to the *ullest e;tent.

t is no doubt a great 7riilege to be ordained as abrahmacharin or a Sannyasin in the Order+ which bears the greatname o* Sri uality is certainly not abundant+ i* not rare+ among thethousands o* Sannyasins o* our country. 5ou must there*ore beery care*ul to maintain in your character this singular *eature o*our &ath+ i=.+ utmost sincerity o* 7ur7ose.

Sannyasins should not thin' that they hae transcendedthe duties o* the brahmacharins. n our &ath there is+ in *act+ notmuch distinction made between a brahmacharin and aSannyasin. Both hae to 7ursue a similar course o* li*e with thesame ideals and as7irations. ?ell+ haing now ta'en this ow+consider that you hae become the standard3bearers o* Tha'urand Swamiji. 5ou shall hae to e;7ress in your li*e the ideal+

which they lied and le*t *or us to lie. n your daily behaiourwith other 7eo7le+ they should be made to *eel that they arereally in the 7resence o* a s7iritual *orce. * you *ollow your idealwith 7erseerance and humility+ surely you will become such as7iritual *orce. Peo7le will s7ontaneously draw s7iritualins7iration *rom you. 9et not the good name o* our Order be

jeo7ardised by any word or deed o* yours. 5ou 'now that a greatreerence 7eo7le entertain *or a


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ja7a+ meditation and 7rayers. This will 'ee7 u7 the balance o*your li*e.

% li*e o* e;clusie meditation has o* course its joy andbeneAt. Nobody doubts that. But there are di:culties too. 5oucannot reach that li*e by a sudden jum7. %*ter seeral years+ bygradual 7re7aration you become At *or that. &any sadhus in

their oer3=eal hae attem7ted it only to And 7ain*ul *rustrationand the reason is their unmethodical 7rocedure. They hae notthe necessary 7re7aration and then tried to go to an e;cess.?hat usually ha77ens in thisC 4or the Arst *ew months youcontinue your s7iritual 7ractices with great *erour+ deoting tenor twele hours o* a day to ja7a and meditation. This yearning iso* course good. t gies you a taste o* joy and 7eace o* dee7 and7rolonged concentration. 5ou also And a real change within you.but then one cannot 'ee7 u7 the strain *or long. Naturally a dri*toccurs sitting *or long hours becomes then a routine wor'. The*ormer ardour goes away. * such a state o* things comes to you+my adice is to ta'e again to the li*e o* serice.


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serice to the world+ your mind becomes automatically 7ure andyou are on the way to sel*3realisation.

One great beneAt o* unselAsh wor' is that it hel7s us todetect our own *ailings. Subconsciously we nourish manywea'nesses within ourseles. Ordinarily we are not conscious o*them. Only when we come in contact with 7eo7le+ in the course

o* the wor'+ they a77ear be*ore us with all their ugliness and wethen see really we are not so s7iritual as we thought ourseles tobe. O* course we must not be discouraged by the discoery o*these wea'nesses. Neer mind *ailure. %lways try to rise againeach time you hae *allen *rom the ideal. ery occasion o**ailure gies you *resh illumination *or studying your own sel*Gde*ects there will be. Nobody is born 7er*ectG but then your aimshould be to recognise and correct these errors. Sometimes itha77ens that you become un7o7ular among your *ellow wor'ersand the *riends and the deotees o* the %shrama. 5our duty thenshould be to as' yoursel* why it is so. ?hen 7eo7le are s7ea'ingill o* you+ there must hae been something wrong in your ownbehaiour. * you behae 7ro7erly with 7eo7le with loe and agenuine s7irit o* serice+ they are sure to become slaes o* yourloe. Serice wins not only the heart o* 6od but also the heartso* your *ellowmen also. 9et there*ore your dealings with othersbe *ull o* loe. ?hen you lie inside a body o* such an %shrama+try to be sym7athetic and hel7*ul to others. * you And onebrother o* yours is wor'ing harder than you+ just try to reliee a7ortion o* his burden. That would go to enhance *ellow3*eeling+mutual understanding and thereby cement the li*e o* the

organi=ation. remember+ when was at %lamba=ar &ath+ SwamiSaradananda once gae me a aluable 7iece o* adiceH I* youwant to earn the loe o* others+ eFace the ego.(

Serice done in the 7ro7er s7irit is also the most satis*yingthing to one(s own sel*. t brings s7ontaneous bliss and 7eace o*mind in the easiest way. t is di:cult to meditate but ery easyto sere. eryone can do that. 4or my sel* should li'e to saythat i* am gien another lease o* li*e would at once choose *ormysel* those days o* Baranagar which were 7assed in loing anddeoted serice to the disci7les o* Sri uestion o* sa*etysim7ly because one is A*ty or si;ty.


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as long as you are liing. Neer there*ore trust your mind. * youare not su:ciently cautious+ it may gradually tem7t you to ice.

The Arst indulgence may not seem to be o* great conse>uencebut i* you hae not cared to chec' yoursel*+ unconsciously youwill be going down and one day you will discoer to your utterdismay that the de7th o* your descent has been tremendous.

5ou will then And it too di:culty to turn bac'. The mostlamentable ruin will be your *ate. So you hae to remain eryigilant in your dealings with women and money. %lways haerecourse to 'ee7 discrimination. O* course you hae to lie andwor' in society+ you cannot aoid coming into contact withwomen. But try to bring into your mind also the ideal o*motherhood. 9oo' u7on all women as your mother+ also see thatyour contact with them is limited to only so much as is re>uired*or Tha'ur(s wor'. 5ou need not be ery intimate with them ortoo obliging them+ doing all sorts o* wor' *or them. Sometimesyour mind may lead you to thin' that there is nothing harm*ul inma'ing intimacy in such and such a case. But then it is erydi:cult to understand the dee7ly hidden sub3conscious motieso* the mind. They o*ten deceie us. The best thing is then neerto trust your mind. en *rom a ery high s7iritual leel it maydrag you down to a 7itiable de7th any day. There is no >uestiono* your haing led a 7ure religious li*e *or A*teen or twenty yearsor more. Don(t thin' too much o* your s7iritual attainments. Thesnare o* My may entra7 you at the slightest unguardedmoment. So always remain ery+ ery care*ul.

n your dealings with others you hae to 'now that you are

a man o* culture. 5our tal' must be digniAed and behaiour 'indand sym7athetic. ?e o*ten And that sdhus+ *rom a sense o*su7eriority+ treat the 7eo7le roughly. t is easy to see that by thisthey not only degrade themseles but also become un7o7ular.Peo7le hae great regard *or our Order. ?hen they chance tomeet any one o* our sdhus+ they thin' that they will. Not bedeceied in any manner. See that+ by word or deed you don(tinjure this *aith o* theirs. * you behae discreditably withanybody+ it brings discredit to the Order. Kee7 this ideal alwaysbe*ore you. n eery action o* yours+ discriminate whether youare going to lower the ideal by that. * you can thus deelo7 a

strong loe *or the ideal you will neer go astray. Be humblealways. ?ithout humility it is di:cult to be s7iritual.

should li'e to add also a *ew words about 7racticality andcommon sense in our daily li*e. By being sdhusyou must notbecome *ools. 5ou must learn how to do a thing in the 7ro7erway. ?hen you are in an ashrama+ always try to hae 'nowledgeo* eerything. There are so many diFerent 'inds o* wor' in ourcentres+ e.g.+ 7uja+ o:ce wor'+ coo'ing+ gardening+ householdmanagement+ nursing and the li'e. t will be good i* you haesome 7ractical ac>uaintance with as many o* them as you can.?ho 'nows what situation you will hae to *ace at what timeC *you are an all3round wor'er you will be o* immense hel7 to Sri6uru &aharaj(s wor' under all circumstances. So don(t see' tobe com7artmental. Do your own allotted duties but also see

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what others are doing. Su77ose you don(t 'now gardening. By7utting in an hour(s labour daily in this direction+ you can easilygrow use*ul egetables in the ashrama. Otherwise you will haeto buy those things. 6ardening is a ery 7leasing occu7ation too.t would not only be beneAcial economically+ but also re*reshingto health and mind.

Then let me 7oint out to you another danger in thesdhus li*e that we hae noticed in a number o* cases. %*tersome years o* austere liing and o* actie li*e o* serice+ manysdhuseither *rom a deterioration o* health or loss o* energy orowing to some such cause deelo7 monomania. They go onbrooding oer their sel*3created com7laints and ma'ethemseles miserable. %lways try your best not to hae this sorto* melancholia. Be always cheer*ul under all circumstances.

need not tell you much about the necessity o* sim7leliing. % sdhushould not surely go *or com*orts and ease. Byindulging in them you gradually become selAsh and body3centred. Sometimes+ com*orts will come unas'ed *or+ butbecause they hae come+ there is no reason why you shouldgie yoursel* unto them. 5ou are a sdhu. 5our dharma isvairgya. ase and lu;ury are not *or you. O* course+ when youare sic' under medical adice you hae to ta'e s7ecial dietsometimes+ say macher jholand mil'+ but you should not ma'eit a 7ermanent business. Don(t thin' that you cannot get onwithout them. The ow o* 7oerty is as much a sacred ow *orthe Sannyasin as the ow o* 7urity.

5ou hae come at a time when the direct disci7les o* Sri

6uru &aharaj hae all 7assed away. ndeed you are un*ortunatenot the hae seen and lied with at least some o* them. Theleadershi7 o* our great organi=ation has now *allen on me+ whoam+ as you see+ 7ractically inalid+ with 7rolonged 7hysicalailment and cannot there*ore discharge my duties in the way should hae li'ed to. So+ don(t ta'e me as your e;am7le. am*ully conscious o* my *railties and limitations. Surely you cannotho7e to And in me that burning renunciation and s7iritualitywhich one *ound in Tha'ur(s disci7les. ?hat wonder*ul austerelies they led. They were u7 *or the ideal een at the cost o*their lies. ?hen we were young we had be*ore us these shining

lies to ins7ire and to 7ush us towards the idea. 5ou+un*ortunately miss this adantage. 5ou hae to struggle byyoursel*. t comes to this then+ that you hae to e;ert yourselesall the more to maintain your s7iritual lies. O* course Sri 6uru&aharaj+ Eoly &other+ Swamiji and the a7ostles are there ins7irit to always hel7 and guide you 7roided you are earnest.

9astly+ should li'e to stri'e a note o* warning to you+ i.e.'ee7 yourseles clear o* the growing gang o* the naiskarmyasiddhaswho oc' to some o* our Seashramas and other centresby ta'ing adantage o* the goodness o* the heads o* those%shramas. They are obsessed with the idea that their health isbro'en+ They are no more ca7able o* any actie serices+ theyhae done enough *or the &ission+ haing wor'ed *or ten orA*teen years. They thin' that they hae earned a 7ension and

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claim that it is the duty o* the order to 7roide *or their com*ortsand all sort o* so called necessities *or the rest o* the lies. Thissel*3retired and neer to be satisAed sadhus go on 7ouring outenomous criticisms against the authorities+ that they do not getany loe and sym7athy *rom them and are sadly neglected.

Their contentions are sheer nonsense. Do you thin' that i* they

hae really bad health and become inalid by discharge o*strenuous wor' *or the order+ the authorities should be so hardhearted and callous as to leae them in the lurchC n 7oint o* *actgenuine cases inariably receie the care and treatment thatthey could hae neer dreamt o* i* they had led a worthy li*e.

They hae a ery blotted idea o* their worth and o* their socalled serice to the order. Brooding always oer their imaginary7hysical troubles they hae reduced themseles to do nothingand are utterly selAch and sel*3centred. They bring degradationand ruin u7on themseles and sow the seeds o* *urtherdegradation and ruin to the Sangha. Eaing called *rom theSwamiji(s ideal o* laying down one(s li*e *or renunciation andserice they are traitors to the cause. hae no words strongenough *or their condemnation. * one o* them is as'ed to ta'eu7 some light wor' *or hal* an hour a day+ they would *orthwith7roduce some 7uerile e;cuse *or their inability. But i* a ladydeotee re>uests same man to ta'e her *amily *or 7ilgrimage+say to


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Talk elivered by Swami !chalanandaji Maharaj at theMonks" #on$erence% 194&

This sacred 7lace where we hae assembled to discuss the7ast+ 7resent and *uture actiities o* the &ath and &ission+ is theEead>uarters o* the Organisation established by uest to theadministratie heads o* the &ath and &ission and to the heads

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and managers o* the branch centers is that they should manageall the actiities through loe along with rules and regulations.?or'ers should also in their turn show 7ro7er res7ect to theseniors and 7er*orm their allotted wor'. They should 'ee7 it inthis their minds that this is all Tha'ur(s and Swamiji(s wor'. nthis way only our li*e will become *ull o* sweetness and the

organisation will also run well.%t this aus7icious moment would li'e to let you hear a*ew words o* warning *rom the address o* Srimat SwamiSaradanandaji &aharaj+ )hairman o* the uestion also raised automaticallythat due to this e;7ansion the tremendous s7irit o* renunciationand loe towards the ideal that we had at the beginning o* ourmoement has demised to a great e;tent. The wor' that weused to do out o* great loe has now become the cause o*slaery and o* bondage due to our will to gain name and *ame+our loe o* 7ower+ and our haing too much attachment towardsthe glory o* our 7ast. uesting you to 7artici7ate in this conention witha true and sim7le heart and to e;amine the 7ros and cons o* allthe actiities 7er*ormed by us and to see whether you haemoed aside *rom the glorious ideal o* ours in order to do the

need*ul *or this sur7rising e;7ansion. Eold on to the ideal Armly+*or within that ery ideal lies the Kundalini o* stored u7 strength*or eery moment. udge yourseles and other in its shininglight. n the year 1$, he uttered all these words. %*ter that+ along twenty years hae 7assed. n the meantime the e;7ansiono* the Sangha has been great+ and along with this many *aultsand blunders and ill *eelings hae risen amongst us. There*ore+we should all become ery watch*ul+ and we should 7er*orm ourwor' 'ee7ing that bright+ 7ure ideal in *ront o* us by all means.Otherwise+ great danger looms large.

S7irituality is the li*e *orce o* the sangha.


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&aha7urush maharaj used to say+ The im7ortance o* meditationand ja7a was there in the 7ast+ it is here in the 7resent and it willbe there in the *uture also. By leaing aside meditation and a7a+wor' done in the s7irit o* the ideal o* Tha'ur and Swamiji isim7ossible. ?or' and worshi7 should go hand in hand. n thisway all o* our teachers hae told us to 7er*orm sadhan3bhajan

seriously along with our wor'. ?e also 'now it in the heart o* ourheartsG but on account o* the e;7ansion o* actiities and the lac'o* 7ro7er hands+ the %shramas hae come to such a state thatthe wor'ers a*ter Anishing their wor' do not And su:cient time*or serious s7iritual 7ractice or study. en i* a little timeremains+ that also is s7ent in e;ternal aFairs+ such as readingnews7a7ers+ s7ea'ing ill o* others+ discussing other(s aFairs+ anduseless gossi7. Thus there remains no time *or s7iritual 7ractice.Swamiji wanted to build a man3ma'ing institution+ but in courseo* time we are going to swere *rom that ideal. There*ore+ both7arties+ the heads o* the centers as well as the wor'ers+ shouldbe care*ul about it. t is a bounden duty *or the heads to ma'e allarrangements *or those who a*ter 7er*orming wor' *or sometimewant to s7end sometime in s7iritual 7ractice in solitude. t is byno means 7ro7er *or a 7articular 7erson to create unrest and ill3*eeling amongst others by e;7anding wor' unnecessarily at hisown whim.

Swamiji said in the rules and regulations o* the math thatdue to lac' o* renunciation and austerity+ lu;ury deours u7 anorganisation. So the s7irit o* renunciation and austerity must be'e7t burning. 4or that reason alone he used to send een


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this ideal o* sacred sannyasin has come to+ *ailing in the handso* incom7etent 7ersons li'e us. 5ou are all aware o* the *act thatwithin a ery short 7eriod we hae lost a *ew eminent wor'ers*or their unresrtrained intimacy with householders in the nameo* wor'. Should we not be care*ulC Swamiji told us to sere 7oor7eo7le being ins7ired by his hearty and true sym7athy he

named them Daridra Narayan. But gradually we are *allingdown *rom that ideal also. ts reason is unrestrained mi;ing withhouseholders. %t their re>uest and 7rayer+ in many cases we areto do many wor's against our will. But+ *or that am not as'ingthat we hate anybody. Our duty is to *ollow the moderate 7ath+'ee7ing our Sadhu3li*e in tact.

do not want to s7ea' any more. Standing on thethreshold o* this insigniAcant li*e o* mine tell you *rom my7ersonal e;7erienceH Brothers+ you are all Sri


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Talk elivered by Swami Sankaranandaji Maharaj on theoccasion o$ the +i,th Monks" #on$erence% on -.1/.1908

Dear brothers+?ith today(s 7roceedings this session o* the mon'(s

con*erence comes to a close. The use*ulness and im7ortance o*

such a gathering in an organi=ation li'e ours cannot be oer3em7hasised. 4or+ besides the o77ortunity *or joint discussionsand consultations on our common 7roblems and di:culties+ it7roides+ 7articularly to those wor'ing in distant centres+ anoccasion *or renewal o* mutual contacts+ thereby cementing thebond o* brotherhood+ a *actor so ital to the li*e o* a religiousorder. &oreoer+ this &ath+ being the 7ermanent abode o*

Tha'ur+ is the holiest o* all our 7laces o* 7ilgrimage+ and7eriodical isits to it+ on account o* the blessed occasions o* theEoly &other+ Swamiji and his 6urubhais+ reie the s7iritual*erour dormant in each o* us. 5ou now go bac' to your diFerentAelds o* actiity with renewed igour and with your s7iritualbalance restored.

5ou are all aware that our Organisation is based on as7iritual *oundation. Bere*t o* s7iritual strength+ neither theolume o* wor' nor e;uberance o* energy can enable us tomaintain the Armness o* our stand. So ho7e that a*ter all theinterchange o* ideas+ eery one o* you will so thin' and act as to'ee7 u7 the real s7irit which Swamiji e;7ected *rom us all.


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Talk elivered By Swami Sankaranandaji Maharaj to theirst Batch o$ Brahmachari Trainees on 1-.20.190& on the

*ccasion o$ the )nau,uration o$ Trainin, #entre

?e Eindus are taught by our religion to beliee that a jiaa*ter 7assing through "! la'hs o* births gets a human body. This

belie* is also current among the Buddhists and the inhabitants o*)hina. This human birth+ so rarely attainable+ is the highestcom7ared to all other incarnations o* ia+ mainly because *romthe human birth alone the jia can attain diinity and eenliberation. n this human birth the jia+ *or the Arst time+ is ableto discriminate right *rom wrong and can also strie to ac>uirediinity and liberation. This struggle may continue *or manybirths+ it is true+ but no such eFort is altogether *ruitless.

n the 6ita the 9ord says+ ucUnam rUmatWm geheyogabhraXYobhijWyate.

The 5ogi may suFer a tem7orary setbac' in his 7resent li*ebut being born again amidst *aourable enironment he will beable to resume his march towards liberation.

Sri Sri Tha'ur has said+ ZThe aim o* human li*e is thereali=ation o* 6odZ. 6etting this human birth+ those who do nottry to reali=e 6od+ are e>uialent to suicides as the J7anishadsays+ 3

%suryW nWma te lo'W andhena tamasW[tW\] tWmste 7retyWbhigacchanti ye 'e cWtmahano janW\ ]]

Lsho7anisad Q #M

5ou hae embraced monastic li*e only to reali=e 6od. %ndthe 7ath to 6od3reali=ation has been clearly shown by Sri Sri

Tha'ur and Swamiji. 5ou should consider it your 7rime duty to*ollow the 7resented 7ath and lead a 7ure li*e. Practice is at theroot o* all endeaours. The Shastras re*er to 7ractice andrenunciation as the 7rinci7al means. Now+ what are you to7ractiseC eryday with steadiness you are to 7ractise s7iritualdisci7lines+ sing bhajans+ and study etc. %s regards meditation+the directions o* the 6uru must be *ollowed e;actly. Otherallotted duties should also be 7er*ormed daily with 7unctuality.

Sri Sri Tha'ur has said+ ?or' is+ so to say+ the Arst cha7tero* the Boo' o* 9i*e. ery one must wor'. t is not 7ossible *orany one to remain without doing any wor'. That wor' which isdone without attachment 7uriAes the mindG the 7uriAcation o*the mind leads to reali=ation o* 6od. %s you hae chosen the li*eo* renunciation+ eery wor' you do must be dedicated *or thereali=ation o* 6od.


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n his article entitled Einduism and Sri


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wor'+ then the de*ects o* the mind will not be cured. ?e saw adeotee who would get u7 secretly in the last 7art o* the nightand swee7 the whole math com7ound. To the best o* hisca7acity he would 7er*orm Tha'urZs wor' and consider himsel*blessed. ?e And a demonstration o* this silent and selessserice in the li*e o*


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7ractice no wor' can become sel*3less. Tha'ur would say &anythin' that they are doing sel*3less wor' but >uite un'nowinglythey *all ictims to desires and attachment. Only those who7ro7erly 7ratise ja7a and meditation can maintain an attitude o*detachment in the midst o* wor'.

6od3reali=ation is 7ossible in this ery li*e+ 7roided youde7end on him and 7ro7erly *ollow his instructions and always7ray thusH Bless me+ 9ord+ with your ision. en at the eryend o* li*e many sadha'as hae reali=ed him through his grace.

Ta'e the case o*


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Talk elivered by Swami Sankaranandaji Maharaj on the*ccasion o$ the 3inth Monks" #on$erence% on /.11.19&1

Dear brothers+t is Sri Tha'ur(s will that should 7er*orm the 7leasant

duty o* inaugurating this session also o* our &on's( )on*erence

to which+ welcome you all most heartily.During the last three years we lost some o* our brothersand amongst them a *ew distinguished Swamis whose loss isirre7arable.

The 6eneral Secretary(s re7ort will gie you the detailsabout our actiities and it will be your duty and tas' to assessthe gain and loss+ and to suggest im7roements or remedialmeasures that might be needed. would howeer li'e to re*erhere one im7ortant eent. am glad to tell you that theresolution o* the &on's( )on*erence o* 1-$ with res7ect to thesetting u7 o* a se7arate and inde7endent women(s organi=ationhas been im7lemented su:ciently ahead o* the target date. The?omen(s &ath+ which was started in 1-! on the occasion o*Eoly &other(s birth centenary+ became a com7letelyinde7endent institution in %ugust 1-+ with a se7arate Board o*

Trustees. On the mission side+ o* the three institutions meantcom7letely *or women+ two+ i=.+ the ?omen(s ?el*are )entreand the &atri Bhaan+ hae been trans*erred to the


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7er*ormance o* Sri Tha'ur(s wor' according to the mottoItmano mokshrtham jagaddhitya ca(. But it will be tragic i* onthe contrary we become egoistic by doing wor' in the name o*Sri Tha'ur. Such wor'+ instead o* hel7ing us to achiee *reedom+only results in additional bondage *or us. t is there*ore high timeto And out how *ar organi=ationally s7ea'ing we hae been able

to mould our lies according to the ideal that Swamiji heldbe*ore us.There are no doubts 7roblems be*ore our organi=ation

today as there hae always been in the 7ast+ and will be in the*uture. Such 7roblems are ineitable in any dynamicorgani=ation+ *or 7roblems and li*e are inse7arable. %ll that weneed is an intros7ection to And out their root causes and the willto remoe such causes by reitali=ing our s7iritual li*e. &ye;7erience and long association with the direct disci7les o* Sri


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man7ower and aFect adersely the standard o* e:ciency o* ourserice sim7ly because *unds by way o* big donations and grantsare *orthcomingC %re we sure that they are not raising ourstandard o* liing with more ease+ com*ort and een lu;uries andwe are not dri*ting away *rom our ideal o* I7oerty( and also*rom the 7oor masses o* our countryC

These are some o* the >uestions should li'e you to thin'and discuss.&ay Sri Tha'ur+ Eoly &other+ Swamiji and all other direct

disci7les o* Sri Tha'ur guide your deliberations and hel7 you toeole measures *or the solidarity and s7iritual well being o* ourSangha.

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Talk elivered by Swami Vishuddhanandaji Maharaj onthe inau,uration o$ the 5robationers" Trainin, #entre on1-.20.190&

shall s7ea' a *ew words sitting itsel*. Swami&adhaananda has told you in his s7eech about the goal o* our

li*e+ what should be our ideal+ and what ty7e o* education andtraining we should hae+ etc.n one word+ the goal o* our li*e is Tha'ur. * we thoroughly

scan the 6os7el+ we And two essential ideasH I6o *orward( is oneGand the other+ Ium7+ die dee7@( ?e hae to go within+ we haeto enter the cae o* the heart. Dharmasya tattvam nihitamguhymIThe Truth+


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Sadhanas Ee has brought and distributed to us 7earls and jewelso* s7iritual 'ingdo@ Ee did the wo' o* the diine &other as aninstrument in Eer hand.

%t the time o* a celebration+ the deotees brought Tha'urto Beni Pal(s garden house. They were all highly delighted by thecom7any and conersations o* Tha'ur and when they e;7ressed

their gratitude+ Sri


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Messa,e o$ Swami Madhavanandaji Maharaj on SwamiVivekananda Birth #entenary on 1.21.19&-

Sisters and Brothers o* the ast and the ?est+Please allow me to e;tend to you all my hearty greetings

and good wishes on this historic occasion o* the Arst birth

)entenary o* Swami Vie'ananda. Eis earthly career was a brie*one+ but it was 7ac'ed with e7och3ma'ing s7iritual reali=ationsand their wide diFusion in the ast and the ?est ali'e.

n his youth+ sitting at Da'shineswar at the *eet o* hisgreat &aster+ Sri uity. On this 7rinci7le+ he adised them to build u7 agreat nation out o* ndia(s diergent races with diergentlanguages and customs+ which+ though a slow 7rocess+ would yet

gie lasing results+ and to re*rain *rom using *orce to attain >uic'and s7ectacular results+ which would be short3lied. ?eld theariety into a unity+ he said+ without destroying anything+ *orsuch destruction will ma'e the nation so much the wea'er and7oorer. Ee as'ed his countrymen to loo' with 7ride on what thenation had attained in the 7ast+ and hae *aith in the *uturedestiny o* their motherland. I am one o* the 7roudest men eerborn+ I he says+ Iit is not *or mysel*+ but on account o* myancestry. t has gien me strengthR raised me *rom the dust o*the earthR may you hae the same 7ride.(


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nothing will be able to resist its tidal *ury(G Ineer is she going toslee7 any more+ no outward 7owers can hold her bac' any more+*or the inAnite giant is rising to her *eet.( Ee e;horted them tohae *aith in themseles+ to gie u7 lethargy and to wor' hard tobuild the *uture ndia. IEae *aith in yoursel*(+ he said+ Iotherwisethere is no salationG hae *aith and be strong+ that is what we

need(G IR. )all u7on the slee7ing soul and see how it awa'es.Power will come+ glory will come+ and eerything that ise;cellent will come(H INo great wor' can be done withoutsacriAceR lay down your com*orts+ your 7leasures+ your name+*ame or 7osition+ nay een your lies(G IR ?hat our countrywants are muscles o* iron and neres o* steel+ gigantic willswhich will accom7lish their 7ur7ose in any *orm+ een i* it meansmeeting death *ace to *ace(. IR Thou brae one+ 7roudly7roclaim. am an ndian+ eery ndian is my brother+...the soil o*ndia is my highest heaen+ the good o* ndia is my good+ andre7eat and 7ray day and night+ O Thou 9ord o* 6auri+ O Thou&other o* the Jnierse+ ouchsa*e manliness unto meR. &a'eme a &%N@ I

This message o* strength+ *aith+ energy and solidarity iss7ecially needed today in our 7resent crisis.

The )entenary year will witness the reerberation o* histhoughts+ which will be a 7erennial source o* creatie s7iritualeducation *or man+ endowing him with a ision and the resoleto bring about unity+ harmony and *ellowshi7 between man andman and a nation and a nation.

&ay the s7irit o* the great Swami+ who awa'ened ndia and

united the ast and the ?est+ ins7ire us all to lie and wor' tothis end in the light o* the li*e3giing mottoH I&tmanomokshartham jagaddhitaya cha4or one(s own liberation andwel*are o* the world.(

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6uestions o$ S7iritual Seekers !nswered by SwamiMadhavanandaji Maharaj

(uestion)?hat is reali=ationC&ns*er)


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(uestion)?hat is discriminationC&ns*er)Discrimination is a sim7le thingH discerning what

is real and what is unreal. That is the sense in which the wordhas been used in the Vedanta Philoso7hy. 6od alone is real+meaning 7ermanent+ neer losing Eis identity or e;istence eitherin the 7ast+ 7resent or *uture and the world is unreal+ meaning it

does not last during all these three times. t may last *or a shorttime+ the 7resent+ but it will not last eternally+ as 6od does. So to'now that lasts eternally+ as 6od does. So to 'now that in ourmind+ not actually reali=ing it+ but to 'now through our intellectthat 6od is only real and the world unreal+ meaning tem7orary+e7hemeral+ that is called discrimination. That is one o* thenecessary things *or an as7irant o* 6od reali=ation+ according toVedanta.

(uestion)Eow can we 7ractice discriminationC&ns*er)By always haing this idea in our mind because

things on which we dwell mentally+ they gain u77ermost *ootingin our mind+ they ta'e root in our minds. ?e hae admitted thisworld+ this tangible world o* ours+ its alue to us+ as it were. ?ehae attributed alue to it+ not that in itsel* it has alue. Butbecause we hae conceied+ because we hae thought+ that theworld is im7ortant in certain res7ects+ there*ore it has alue tous. So i*+ we bring this idea to our mind all the time or at least asmuch o* the time as 7ossible6od alone is real+ all else istem7orary+ non37ermanent+ e7hemeral+ this idea itsel*+ bringsin us a sense o* awareness and this is 7racticing discrimination.%nd there is no Ihow( to itsim7ly you just wish to do it and not

in theory alone but in 7ractice. 5ou hae to set about it+ youhae to go about it+ just as you do *or other things. ?hen youare thirsty+ what do you doC 5ou drin' some wateryou arerestless till you secure water. So+ this thought must be 'e7tbe*ore the mind as *ar as we can+ in the best way 7ossible.

That is the waythere is not 7articular way how we can7ractice discrimination.

* we 'ee7 our eyes o7en+ ears o7en and see whatthings are ha77ening in the world this 7ermanence is altogetherabsent *rom the world.

en in our li*etime so many 7eo7le+ so many near and

dear ones 7ass away *rom usso many things that we try tocling to+ sli7 away through our Angers. Our body changes >uite*ast sometimes. %nd this is the way. * we bring to our mindthese salient *acts that are ta'ing 7lace eeryday be*ore oureyes and ears+ that will be 7racticing discrimination+ not to shutour eyes to that. n our attachment to the world+ let us not *orgetthis *act that the world is always changing+ changing andchangingour bodies are changingG youth+ wealth+ 7osition+eerything will change. Only 6od alone will remain 7ermanent.So this *ati* we try to remember+ try to hammer it into ourmindsthat will be the best way to discriminate.

(uestion)Eow can we deelo7 sel*3surrenderC&ns*er)Sel*3surrender really can come a*ter our *aculty *or

sel*3e;ertion has been e;hausted. Be*ore actually 7roceeding to

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do certain things on our own account+ we cannot e;7ect sel*3surrender. %nd com7lete sel*3surrender that is the last thing thatwe can e;7ect to get. That is+ a*ter haing tried our ery bestand seeing all the time that there is some *orce+ call it Diine orsome other *orce that hel7s us and then only we can succeed+and that we do not succeed when that hel7 is lac'ing+ we

gradually come to the idea o* sel*3surrender. But one leads to theother3sel*3e;ertion leads to sel*3surrender. True sel*3surrendercan come only to the 7erson who has struggled his ery best.

5ou remember Sri


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9ord(s name and it can go on re7eating+ but that will not 7roduceany eFect whatsoeer. But in 7ro7ortion as we attach our mindsto the 9ord(s name+ certainly there is great beneAt to us. %ndthey say+ according to the intensity with which we utter thename+ the results come >uic'er and >uic'er. en by utteringthe name a single time we may get su:cient 7urity into the

mind+ that will gie us the reali=ation o* god.Similarly+ meditation is another means. ?orshi7+ritualistic worshi7 is another means o* attaining deotion.%ssociation with Sadhus+ with saints+ with men who haeactually reali=ed the 9ord+ that is one o* the best things andeasiest things to begin with. n their com7any we are constantlyreminded o* 6od. ?hat we want to attain they hae alreadyattained+ so by being in their com7any we also are induced to*ollow in their 7ath+ to attain their serenity which we seebeaming out *rom the *ace o* these great men.

Besides holy association+ reading good scri7tures+and reecting on their meaning is hel7*ul. Those who cannotactually meditate they can do otherwise. mean+ instead o*doing it inwardly+ i* they cannot+ they can 'ee7 hel7*ul 7icturesand meditate u7on them. * they beliee in *orms o* 6od+ eenthe immanence o* 6od can be meditated u7on. &editation is agreat hel7. n this way+ this *orm o* Karma+ wor' withoutattachment+ serice to others+ serice to 6od in man+ that is alsoone o* the great ways o* attaining deotion. So through all thesemeans+ and any number o* means+ one can attain deotion.

%ctually+ i* we want to be e;act+ may say that the

ery *act that the >uestioner has 7ut to me this >uestion+ thatmeans already he or she has got deotionG otherwise+ he wouldnot hae *ramed this >uestion. So creating deotion+ actuallyinitiating deotion *or the Arst time+ that is e;tremely di:cult butwhen once it has been stimulated through the grace o* the 9ordor through our own 7ast Karma+ whateer you call it+ then youcan add to it and increase it and Anally+ through the hel7 o* thatdeotion+ you can attain 6od Eimsel*. So+ as said about themeans o* attaining deotion+ that is+ increasing deotion in anymeasure+ there are ery many means. One or more o* them onecan ta'e.

(uestion) Eow can you reconcile sel*3eFort and sel*3surrenderC

&ns*er)This has already been answered. ?e begin withsel*3eFort+ because the absence o* sel*eFort is inertia+dullness+ tamasG that does not come to anything. %nd sel*3eFort+when 7er*ected+ will at once lead us to sel*3surrender.

(uestion)?hat is the diFerence between an e;traordinarygreat saint and an incarnationC

&ns*er)The diFerence is in the tremendous diFerence o*7ower. % great saint becomes a saint through sel*3e;ertion+ andan incarnation is born an incarnation. That is+ incarnation is 6odhaing assumed esh+ 6od in a human body or any other body.Swami Vie'ananda said+ I%ny other animal+ a cat *or instance+ i*it tries to conceie o* 6od+ it will imagine 6od as a big cat and so

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on.( %nyway+ as human beings+ let us conAne incarnations to6od in the human *orm. %nd a 6od in human *orm is born a 6od+born an incarnation. So+ there is an ocean o* diFerence in 7owerbetween a man who has become a saint+ and an incarnation whois really acce7ted as such. The diFerence is as between the7oles+ or li'e that between the glow worm and the sun. en that

will be 7owerless to describe the immense diFerence betweenthe 7owers and ca7acities o* a saint and an incarnation.(uestion)?hom will you call an incarnationC

&ns*er)By the amount o* s7iritual 7ower that a 7erson willradiate+ we will 'now whether he is an incarnation or not. n theArst 7lace+ there will be no realm o* the s7iritual Aeld which willbe un'nown to him and secondly + he will 'now a way how tocommunicate that to others+ because incarnations come *or thesa'e o* others. 4or their own sa'e they need not hae come atall. 6od is always in Eis own im7erial land+ whereer that maybe+ whether inside our heart or beyond+ 7robably in both 7laces.Ee need not hae incarnated+ but it is *or the sa'e o* others+deotees+ that Ee is born. %nd to remoe ini>uity also+ to showman'ind the 7ath to reali=ation an incarnation is born.

So when we see a mani*est e;7ression o* s7iritual 7ower o*an inAnite degree there we can ta'e *or granted that anincarnation has been born. %lso by the amount o* loe+ by theamount o* 7atience+ by the amount o* sacriAce undergone toameliorate the conditions+ to hel7 others+ there we 'now that anincarnation is 7resent. %n incarnation is not subject to the eils+to the tem7tations and other things+ to which we 7oor human

beings are subject. Things where een mighty saints *ail orcannot lie u7to the highest standard+ incarnations willautomatically+ s7ontaneously go through those 7hases.

O* course+ incarnations that we read o* in our boo's do notalways a77ear to us to hae shown the same amount o*mani*estation+ s7iritual mani*estation. %nyway+ there may begradation among them or not+ but een the least among themwill be much greater+ as said+ than an ordinary saint. So therewe see the tremendous mani*estation o* s7iritual 7ower alongwith that 7urity+ unselAshness+ loe and all those blessed>ualities which we as7ire a*ter and do not attain. There again+

rest assured that there is 6od Eimsel* mani*est.(uestion)Eow to 'now and beliee in 6odC

&ns*er) Seeing those signs+ which we hae alreadymentioned+ we 'now+ we can understand that there is 6od7resent. Ee is an incarnation and belieing in Eim+ meaningactually+ we And that these are *actsG they are not stories only.?e hae not heard o* these things *rom somebody else+ but wehae eriAed them with our own ears+ with our own eyes ormind. There is a reason to beliee+ because such 7ower cannotcome *rom an ordinary 7erson. %nd history shows that by haing*aith in such an incarnation+ haing come within the orbit o* his7ower+ many 7eo7le hae been su7remely blessed.

?e can also beliee in Eim.

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Eow do we beliee in ordinary thingsC ?e beliee inelectric light when we see its e:cacy. This eFect o* 7ower togie light+ 7ower to gie energy+ 7ower to do many other thingsGit is in that way that we beliee in the ordinary things o* theworld. Similarly in the case o* the incarnation o* 6od+ also+ byseeing Eis 7ower mani*ested be*ore our ery eyes+ seeing Eis

soul3saing >ualities+ seeing how Ee remoes the eils o*ignorance *rom 7eo7les( mind we beliee. en the sinners attheir touch become saints. Then+ o* course we 'now+ there is anincarnation+ and belie* naturally *ollows in such cases+ becausehuman mind a*ter all cannot go against such eidence o* actualmani*estation.

(uestion) ?hy is not Eoly &other considered anincarnationC

&ns*er)Eoly &other is considered an incarnation+ so it isnot a correct >uestion. O* course+ she chose to hide her identityin that o* Sri


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&ns*er) That one is a >uestion o* haing to And outwhether in actual records that we hae o* the history o* diFerentreligions+ anyone measures u7 to this 7articular ty7e o* non3attachment+ mentioned in the scri7ture. The ideal is there+ onemust be as unattached as 7ossible to things+ but whether thesesaints actually are unattached or not+ we cannot really judge.

Sometimes they 7robably ma'e a show o* some 'ind o*attachment. ?hen a 7erson does something wrong be*ore one(seyeG well+ he has to be chastised+ he has to be rebu'ed. Butthese great saints+ i* they are really great saints+ they will neerbe aFected by anger+ but they will just ma'e a show o* anger.

(uestion)Vie'ananda says+ IThin' you are *ree and youwill become *ree.( ?ill you 7lease e;7lain thisC

&ns*er)The whole unierse+ according to Vedanta+ is a7rojection o* our own mindG as we thin'+ so we see+ so we *eel+so we become. Naturally+ we are thin'ing o* ourseles now atthis moment+ as human beings+ limited conAned to our body+liing in s7ace+ time and under causality+ and so on. There*ore+we thin' we are entirely diFerent *rom 6od. But i* we thin'diFerently+ i* we beliee that we are essentially one with 6od+that 6od is 7laying hide and see' with us. Ee is inside us andoutside us+ and we are adancing towards Eim by eery 'ind o*e;7erience that we are haing+ well+ then+ really+ we area77roaching *reedom. 6od is *ree+ and by thin'ing that we arereally *ree+ in 7ro7ortion that we succeed in thin'ing that we are*ree+ *ree we shall surely become. Because+ a*ter all+ the mindhas a tremendous inuence oer the 7hysical body+ een and o*

course+ oer our actions. nstead o* thin'ing we are wea'+ we aredown trodden+ we are inArm+ and so on+ the o77osite *act+ whichis the real *actbut at 7resent we are not aware o* itthatthought has to be 'e7t in mindH that is all Swami Vie'anandasays. That is+ by thin'ing wrongly we hae become humanbeings+ 7uny+ cribbed+ conAned+ and so on+ but by thin'ing in thecorrect way+ that we are chi7s o* Diinity or+ een better still+ weare always one with Diinity+ by holding that thought+ as *ar as7ossible be*ore our mind+ certainly we are on the way to*reedom.

(uestion)?hen we read+ IThe ternal )om7anion(+ in that

boo' we And that &aharaj+ Swami Brahmananda+ em7hasi=edmeditation. ?hen we read Swami Vie'ananda we And mostem7hasis on dynamism and 7ublic serice. ?hat do you say tothisC

&ns*er) t sim7ly means that there are diFerent ways o*attaining reali=ation. t is not that only one way is there+ and thatmust be *ollowed by eerybody. &aharaj and SwamiVie'ananda had diFerent tem7eraments and though theirreali=ation was o* the same Diinity+ but still one belieed morein the 7ractice that he *ollowed would hel7 the generality o*man'ind. %nd o*tentimes+ &aharaj addressed 7eo7le whosetem7erament would suit this ty7e o* thing+ this meditation+ andSwamiji s7o'e *or the general body o* 7eo7le+ Ee lectured to7eo7le+ to big audiences which &aharaj seldom+ i* eer+ did. So+

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naturally+ there may be diFerence. 4or ordinary 7eo7le+ *or7eo7le in a grou7+ in a large grou7+ one can s7ea' o* thesethings+ dynamism and 7ublic serice. %nd as to 7ublic sericealso+ &aharaj neer said+ Idon(t do it(+ but he laid more em7hasison meditation. On the ground+ he e;7lained it also+ that with amind that is 7uriAed by meditation a larger amount o* wor' can

be done. Otherwise+ the 7erson who does wor'+ he sim7ly getslost in the world. n coming in contact with so many *orces+ withso many 7ersons and so many situations one loses onesel*. Oneloses+ almost+ the s7irit o* the wor'. n that way+ to hel7 us indoing the wor' 7ro7erly+ doing the serice 7ro7erly+ he as'ed usto 7uri*y our mind+ to shar7en our mind through meditation+because in meditation we see where and how *ar we haeadanced. t is no use only claiming su7ernatural 7owers or eryhigh s7iritual 7owerG there we ta'e stoc'+ as it were+ o* how *arwe are adanced+ how *ar yet we hae to go+ and in that way weare better 7re7ared *or the ne;t day(s duty. So+ really+ thereshould not be seen any contradiction between the two. ?e maysay+ that dynamic 7ublic serice is one way to uite ha77y+ andeeryone o* the centres is doing >uite good wor' in the way o*dissemination o* ideals and i* 7ersisted in+ they will 7roducemore and more good to larger and larger sections o* the 7eo7le.Eere+ between those who gie the teachings out and those whoimbibe the teachings+ and in all the cenres that we hae isited+it has been our 7leasure to see that there is a large amount o*

coo7eration 7resent. So the *uture centrainly is ery bright.(usetion) ndia has many adantages s7iritually in her

great traditions etc. )an one lie a serious s7iritual li*e in%mericaC

&ns*er)S7iritual li*e can be lied eerywhere. O* course+as the >uestionoer says+ 7robably *or attaining s7irituality+ theconditions in ndia are more 7ro7itious+ just as some Aelds are*ertile and with a little eFort+ much 7roduce can be hadG orconersely+ in an arid land much eFort has to be s7ent *orirrigation and other thingsG then only results are obtained. Oncecertainly can lie a serious s7iritual li*e in %merica+ but theeForts re>uired may be a little more. One must be 7re7ared *orthat.

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n this connection+ am reminded o* an illustration+our great Swami Turiyananda+ one o* the disci7les o*ualiAcation+ that is necessary. Ee must not 7ro*ess one thingand inwardly be something else. * there is an im7er*ection+ he orshe should try to remoe that to the best o* their ability and 6odwill certainly hel7.


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things automatically you see here and there on both sides+ as itwere. They only mar' the stage to which you hae arried. Thereis no necessity o* itG een i* there are no milestones the road willbe just the same and your journey will not hae been in ainG i*you are adancing+ you will be adancing+ you hae adanced.

The miracles are rather hindrances. * we 7ay our attention to

miracles and thin' that they are also 7art o* the s7iritual li*e+they are more a hindrance than a hel7. O* course+ they can bedis7ensed with+ and they should be dis7ensed with. ?e must doour 7art o* thing+ irres7ectie o* what side3eFects may come.Seeing some light+ this or that or hearing something 'nowingwhat is ha77ening at a distance+ these are all unnecessarythingsG they come just in the wa'e+ and we must not allowourseles to be caught in their meshes.

(uestion) n order to 7ractice renunciation must onebeliee in reincarnation or on a*ter3li*eC

&ns*er)t is not necessary. t is not a com7ulsory doctrinethat one must beliee in. * one argues su:ciently well+ one isconinced whether there must be reincarnation or there must bean a*ter3li*e. But it is not necessary. ust *or 7ractisingrenunciation absolutely one has not to beliee in reincarnation ora*ter3li*e. uestion o* belie* only. * we are imbued with renunciation+ i* *or

a higher and nobler ideal we just sacriAce our lower craingsthat is renunciation. %nd that does not go hand in hand with any'ind o* belie* in *uture li*e or 7ast li*e or any other thing.

(uestion)One o* the greatest obstacles to deelo7ment inthe s7iritual li*e is sloth. Eow can one oercome itC

&ns*er)Sloth is also 7art o* human nature+ as it were. 5ouhae heard o* the three ingredientssatta+ rajas and tamas.Satta is serenity+ balanceG rajas is actiity and tamas is inertiaor sloth. So+ sloth comes under the lowest element in our naturethat has to be oercome by increasing the actie side o* ournature and the serene side o* our nature. n the

Vie'achudamani o* Shan'aracharya there is a erse which saystamas has to be oercome by satta and satta+ when it isim7roed+ when it is heightened+ automatically dies. That is+ itdoes not leae its bad eFects altogetherG we go beyond thegunas. The three ingredients o* which our constitution is made+ shall not be slowG shall not be 7rocrastinating+ shall not bedilatory+ because my objectie is to reali=e the 9ord in this eryli*e+ and li*e is not unlimited. %t best it is only a number o* years+and i* can 7ay my attention to so many other things+ why notstruggle a little more so that the thing most desire will beachieed within a short time+ rather than so many other thingscoming to me Arst and ma'ing


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Talk o$ Swami Madhavanandaji Maharaj on the occasiono$ the inau,uration o$ the Trainin, #entre on 1-.20.190&at 0.22 7m.

Today is a day o* great 7leasure to us. On this &k+aya#,t-yday the Training )entre is being inaugurated by the graceo* Sri Sri Tha'ur. ?e had been endeaouring *or this since long+.

This issue was discussed in the Trustees( meetings and be*orethat in the &on's( )on*erenceG 7reiously it was scheduled to bemade at )ossi7ore. But erecting buildings+ etc. *or the 7ur7osewould consume more time and the starting o* the Training)entre would hae been delayed much thereby. To me it seemsthat the *oundation o* the Training )entre in the Belur &ath itsel*has been 7rudent *rom all 7oints o* iew. The result o* the*oundation o* the Training )entre here in this congenial s7iritualatmos7here would be ery good+ am sure.

neer mean to say that this is the only centre *or trainingour brahmacharis. Neither do mean that the trainings that wereso *ar being im7artecd to the brahmacharis in our ariouscentres were *utile or worthless. Both the training in theres7ectie centres and the training here in this Training )entreshould 7roe com7lementary to each other. No centre shouldthin' that since the Training )entre has been *ounded in theBelur &ath+ they hae no more res7onsibility o* training thebrahmacharis. But centring round the training here+ they should

continue to train the brahmacharis as they had been doingbe*ore hand. The whole o* our li*e should constitute o* training.%ll the branch centres should train+ *ollowing the trail here at thehead>uartersthat(s e;tremely im7ortant.

t is a matter o* great sacriAce on the 7art o* theres7ectie centres to reliee and send brahmacharis here. Theother monastics o* the centres who shoulder the duties allottedto the brahmacharis and reliee them+ attest to the intimatebrotherly *eeling amongst us. The training that was beingim7arted in the res7ectie centres would continue as be*ore+rather it would continue better than be*ore. ?hen this Arst batch

will+ a*ter the com7letion o* their tenure here+ come out+ manywould learn *rom their lies.

?hat sort o* education these brahmacharis+ who haecome renouncing their hearth and home+ would receie hereC

Tha'ur3Swamiji is our ideal. Dwelling u7on their 7ure andimmaculate lies and imbibing thereby a bit o* their s7irit and7urity is our aim. Only adice does not su:ceG one has to learnand imbibe the s7irit *rom e;em7lary lies. Swamiji has toldmany things regarding the training o* the brahmacharis in hise7istles+ in conersations elsewhere and more 7recisely+ in the

rules o* the &ath. So+ our aims and ideals are already set.?e are ery much glad to hae Bhaa &aharaj as the7riest in the wor' o* this Training )entre. Bhaa &aharaj accededto ta'e the charge as soon as bec'oned. see+ wheneer any

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one is needed *or any s7eciali=ed wor'+ by the inAnite grace o*Tha'ur+ someone com7etent comes *orward to ta'e the chargeand the wor' ourishes. had to 7raise Bhaa &aharaj in his7resenceG ho7e nobody would ta'e any oFence.

So long+ wor' and worshi7 were going on in our country*ollowing the old tradition. But Swamiji stressed+ I?or' is

worshi7(+ as our ideal. &any a time we hae to get busy witharious wor'sG but eery wor' is Tha'ur(s wor'this must beremembered. %s one 7er*orming Tha'ur(s worshi7 is directlysering Eim+ so is one who is loo'ing a*ter Tha'ur(s bhoga7re7aration in the 'itchen. Similarly other wor's+ 7reaching+ etc.all are Eis worshi7. The relie* wor' that we underta'e+ wee;ecute also as Tha'ur(s worshi7. Other 7eo7le also wor'G cler'sin the o:ce wor'G but their attitude is com7letely diFerentISomuch money get and so much serice gie in return.( But ourattitude towards wor' is com7letely diFerent.

ISerice toJ-vaas the serice to Shia(this is our idealde7icted by Swamiji. Practical %daita and worshi7 are not twodiFerent things. The aim o* each and eery wor' o* ours is Itoattain liberation *or ourseles and to strie *or the wel*are o* theworld(tmano mok+rtham jagaddhitya ca. %s i* Tha'urEimsel* comes assuming arious *orms *or receiing our sericesuch attitude we should always cherish in our minds. ?hen Eecomes as sic' 7erson+ our duty is to sere the sic' and thussere Eim. Sometimes Ee comes in the *orm o* the ignorant andim7arting 'nowledge and training would be Eis worshi7 then.

Sometimes 7eo7le *eel that there are contradictions

between the teachings o* Tha'ur and Swamiji. But a littlereection will show that there is no diFerence. n Tha'ur was theculmination o* all the 7athsnana+ Karma+ Bha'ti and 5oga+though through the 6os7el Eis deotional attitudehaktihvaseems to hae been 7redominant+ yet in Eim lies theculmination and synthesis o* all the *our 7aths.

&any a 7ast aderse samskrasin us goad us to behaewrongly. To restrain and eradicate those samskrasis one s7ecialaim o* training and education. The Training )entre being *oundedhere+ we+ the seniors too+ hae to shoulder great res7onsibilities.* the new brahmacharis learn and see here in this Training

)entre cam7us+ one way and see the other way in us outsidethis cam7us then that won(t be conducie to their real training.So our lies should be more attuned and restrained so that theycan learn there*rom. That will lead to mutual wel*are. nmoulding their lies+ both these brahmacharis and we+ theseniors share e>ual res7onsibility.

7ray and also beliee that by the 6race o* Tha'ur thebrahmacharis *rom Training )entre would enrich the $anghali*e+being trained in the ideal o* Tha'ur3Swamiji. Perha7s+ 7ersonally won(t lie to see that. But Armly beliee that one day it wouldcertainly ourish to a great e;tent and our as7irations wouldcome to *ruition. By our concerted eFort and by the blessingsand goodwill o* all+ this Training )entre will enhance the glory o*the $angha.

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%gain 7ray and conclude.

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Talk ,iven by Swami *mkaranandaji Maharaj to the newbrahmacharis o$ the Trainin, #entre at ankur,achi

o,adyan on 2&.24.190.

To become a Sadhu+ one needs to learn neatness andcleanliness+ and the Ishilas( Li.e.+ good decorum+ manners and

eti>uettesM. These ciic >ualities are to be 7ro7erly cultiated inall your wor' and always. Swamiji has clearly 7ointed out thesethings in his Iualthere is no diFerence between the >ualiAed and the non3>ualiAed.

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n those days we did not bother about clothings+ shirtings+and the li'e. ?e had no shoes. Bedding consisted o* one blan'etand one coarse mat. Sometimes someone o* us might beblessed by the I%rasadi( shoe or cha77al o* the seniors. recollect that once &aha7urushji 7roided me with a genjeewhen he noticed me liing bare body. The standard o* our meal

was rice+ 7ulse+ chachari La hodge37odge o* egetable7re7arationM. Besides each o* us would almost inariably suFer*rom malaria thrice a yeareen the healthy ones too. &edicineaailable was only chincona La 'ind o* raw >uinineM which wasaailable in those days *rom 7ost o:ces. Diet consisted o* 7lainbarley water. m7roed diet+ i.e.+ rice and juicy curry LjholM wouldbe aailable only *or three days a*ter the remission o* *eer.4rom the *ourth day we would hae to sit *or the common *ood inthe general line in the dining hall. S7ecial diet was vtpi leuand these were 7luc'ed *rom &ath(s own garden.


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reading. That is why training under a 7rece7tor is ery muchnecessary.

t is not su:cient only to go through Kathamrita LThe6os7elM to understand Sri Sri Tha'ur Q the embodiment o* inAniteideas. t is really ery di:cult to understand the true sense o*the words o* the Kathamrita. %s much &aster &ahasay L&M

understood+ he jotted it downG but we don(t And the com7lete7icture through Kathamrita. t is only 7ossible to understand SriSri Tha'ur through Swamiji. Sri


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#onversations between Swami Vireswaranandaji Maharajand the Brahmacharins o$ Trainin, #entre on 1th:anuary%19& at Belur Math

&aharajH %ll right+ now as' >uestions.BrahmachariH &aharaj+ about that last >uestion which you

hae answered last time you said that in our organisation +since we come *or a s7iritual li*e we must 7ay more attention toour s7iritual deelo7ment and not concern ourseles with whatothers are doing. Now one 7ractical di:culty &aharaj+ Lis thereM.Sometime when we go *or collection or canassing *or ourmaga=ine or attend some 7ublic *unctions etc. ?e will hae to*ace some >uestions *rom the 7eo7le outside concerning theorganisation as a whole. n what we hae to answer it. Say *ore;am7le+ about our wor' in the relie* centres Q such thing theysay *or e;am7le+ our educational institutions or hos7ital wor'and etc.+ in the hostel admission+ *or e;am7le+ some o* themwho had e;7erienced directly there about their own children.

They say R .&aharajH 5ou see+ *or that you tell+ can not answer you

unless hear the other side. %ny way+ can not gie you ajudgment on what you 7resent. would li'e to 'now the otherside o* the >uestion. Then only can say any thing. &any*ellows say li'e that in there own way and they accuse the7eo7le. They don(t understand that the &ission can not go anddo all sorts o* things+ what eer they li'e. t is not always li'ethat. They re7resent one 7articular side and they don(t see all

sides. They say+ Oh@ &y son has not been admitted. This is whatha77ened wrong. This has neer ha77ened. t is all "+ bosh L*alseM. They don(t understand the strict 7rinci7le that&ission has *ollowed. They will say any thing and eerything.

That sort o* accusation will be against eery institution+educational or hos7ital or anything. Not only uestion come *or judgement you can not e;7ressanything. Sometimes what we hear is also not ery correct. ?ealso get in to the general gossi7. The best answer *or me is that+what you hae said hae heard but+ would li'e to hear theother side be*ore gie my judgement. 4inish@ 5ou need not gointo the details about it. t may be correct. 5ou may 'now it is

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correct or wrong or may not. This doesn(t matter. 5ou gie himan answer+ a straight when you are to gie an o7inion youmust hear both sides.

BrahmachariH Shall read the ne;t >uestion+ &aharajC&aharajH %ll right. %re all these >uestions 7ut by you only

and nobody elseC

BrahmachariH No &aharaj. Because we are in a grou7 the>uestions3 that is being read LlaughterM.&aharajH 5ou hae written down thereCBrahmachariH &aharaj+ we hae as'ed a *ew 7eo7le.&aharajH 5ou are collecting the >uestionsC

BrahmachariH 4rom a *ew hae collected the >uestions.%nother BrahmachariH t is re7resentatie+ &aharaj.BrahmachariH ?hat are the means by which we can re3

orient the highly indiidualistic tendencies so dee7 rooted inndian monasticism so as to ma'e our Order not merely anaggregate o* indiiduals+ but an ideal community+ neither toodiFused nor too regimentedC

&aharajH ?hat do you mean+ what do you mean by thatC

BrahmachariH &aharaj+ here normallyR .&aharajH uestion ariseC 5ou seeC uestion again.

BrahmachariH ?hat are the means by which we canreorient the highly indiidualistic tendencies so dee73rooted inndian monasticism+ so as to ma'e our Order not merely anaggregate o* indiiduals+ but an ideal community neither toodiFused nor too regimentedC

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&aharajH By *ollowing Swamiji(s ideal o* tmanoMokshrtham Jagaddhitya caThat is the only thing. uestion.

The >uestion being read once more.&aharajH Swamiji(s ideal i* you *ollow+ eerything is there.

Tha'ur(s ideal o* renunciation combined with the s7irit o* serice

is not only with outside 7eo7le+ this s7irit o* serice will also beamongst ourseles. %nd that will be a ery close3'nitcommunity. ?hat is thereC That brotherly *eeling will be there i*you hae got that idea o* serice een with res7ect to ourseles+amongst us who are liing together in this Organisation. So your>uestion is answered. Sim7ly you *ollow Swamiji and eerythingwill be O.K. Then do you agreeC %ll o* youC

%ll BrahmacharinsH 5es &aharaj+ yes &aharaj G LlaughterM.&aharajH Then raise your hands and ote *or me G R Lloud

laughterM.BrahmachariH &aharaj+ one side+ our concern is mainly *or

our own s7iritual li*e and a 7art o* it is what little wor' has beenallotted to me do it 7aying more attention to my s7iritual li*eR .

&aharajH That is not Swamiji(s ideal i* you *ollow LthisM. 5ouresere eerything *or you Arst and then comes Swamiji(sserice. That is+ LSwamiji(s serice comesM a*ter hae doneeerything what is necessary+ including een my gossi7+ myreading news 7a7er+ hearing radio. %ll these things will do andwhat little time is le*t+ will do this thing LSwamiji(s sericeM and

then Lit isM Anished. That is our ideal@ %h@@ That sort o* thing isnot what Swamiji wanted. 5ou hae to dedicate your li*e to theserice o* humanity. 5ou see+ there is a >uestion o* the otherthing. So i* you do that it will be all right. %nd *or the dedicationo* your li*e to the serice o* humanity it also must be bac'ed byyour s7iritual meditation and ja7am etc. Otherwise it may beery di:cult *or you to 'ee7 this s7irit in your serice. So bothwill be there and so i* eeryday you get u7 ! o(cloc' andmeditate *or two hours and then a*ter you get u7+ dedicate yourli*e *or the rest o* the day to the serice o* Swamiji(s and

Tha'ur(s+ by doing all 'inds o* wor' that is allotted to you+ all

that is there+ then it will be all right. Then again you in theeening meditate. But what we generally do is+ you see+ we what you hae told that indiidualistic old tendency o* sadhu li*e+

5ou see+ must meditate+ must read scri7tures+ must do thisand eerything. %ll that thing in regular order and i* there be anytime le*t will do serice. That sort o* thing will not do. %nd thatserice also will be ery hard+ hal*3hearted way. ?hat is thealue o* that sericeC * you dedicate your li*e to the serice o*humanity+ then there is no >uestion o* your suFering+ yourhealth+ your inconeniences+ your slee7lessness+ nothing willcome. That is dedication. 5ou will understand it i* you ta'e u7some wor' which you li'e and which you And will be conenientto you and you get some name and *ame and 7eo7le come andsay+ohG ery goodG ery goodG There you see+ you will go on

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wor'ing in the night without hesitation. But you see+ yourattachment to that wor' ma'es you do that. But normally any'ind o* wor' you don(t do li'e that. The distinction you must Andout. ?ith a just intros7ection+ a little bit+ you will And out. %7erson who build u7 %shrama+ does more wor'. Ee wor's dayand night. But a 7erson who ta'es u7 the wor' a*ter him+ he

re>uires hal* a do=en 7ersons to hel7 him. %h G LlaughterM. ?hatdoes that meanC 5ou just see@ Study your organisation. n acertain 7lace+ some Sadhu will build u7 a hos7ital or a school. Eededicates the li*e+ you see+ gies the whole li*e to it and hewor's *or it and ma'es it a success. 5ou see@ %*ter him the7erson who goes is not able to tac'le with the situation. Ee says+Oh@ what is this being done. This is a R all this is R and hewants R . can(t carry on the wor' unless get more hel7 andhal* a do=en wor'ers. %nd the Eead >uarters has to su77ly hal*a do=en wor'ers. s that the sense o* dedicationC The 7ersonwho built it had dedication. But the 7erson who goes a*ter him+there is no dedication. Ee thin's something+ that a 7erson hasdone and it has come on my shoulders. Somehow should do it3this 'ind o* attitude. Or i* suddenly that 7erson died due to somereason or became illG he could not Anish the wor'. The ne;t7erson who goes there+ he does not ta'e u7 and see theidealism with which that 7erson wor'ed+ and does not dedicatehimsel* to that. But will sim7le condemn him+ this is not what aSadhu should do. This not idealism. %ll these oci*eroustendencies are there now+ coming u7 sim7ly because you don(t*ollow Swamiji.

Once Sharat &aharaj LSwami SaradanandajiM remar'ed+5ou see+ in our %shramas. long bac'+ Sharat &aharaj told when went with him+ and what the 7reious mandoes the ne;t man does not *ollow+ continue the same 7olicy. Ee

just leaes it and begins a *resh with his new ideas and all that.So what that man+ 7erson+ had achieed are all gone+ or isneglected and he begins something new. That continuation o*7olicy is not there and there*ore no %shrama could grow 7ro7erlyand eery %shrama when there is change o* hands+ gets a setbac'. That should not be+ it must be a continuous 7olicy o* theman who goes+ you see+ ta'e u7 the old thread and continue it.

Then it will be all right. But i* you don(t do it+ that is only the 7layo* your ego. Oh@ hae done something newG hae changed it+this was not correctG so on R all these sorts o* ideas. Nobodythin's+ nobody is humble enough to go and ta'e 7lace where hehas le*t+ and continue it+ in the s7irit o* dedication. Otherwisehow can the institution growC Lust then a li=ard started chir7ingMyou see+ the li=ard says it is >uite trueG Lroaring laughterM are youall satisAed with the answerC

%ll BrahmacharinsH 5es &aharaj+ 5es &aharaj.&aharajH Jnless you ta'e u7 with a s7irit o* dedication+ you

see+ nothing can be achieed whether it can be with yourmeditation or reading o* scri7tures or studying o* scri7tures or itmay be wor'+ serice R anything. That s7irit o* dedication mustbe there. 5ou gie your whole heart *or it and do it. Do you 'now

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how some 7eo7le do wor'C n an %shrama wor' is diided. Oneha77ens to be in the o:ce and then is gien 7uja wor'+ third isgien general management3eerything. Now suddenly+ you see+rain comes and there will be little bit wind+ and you 'now whatha77ens normally in our %shramsC will tell you. Tha'ur(s room+bed room+ windows are 'e7t o7en+ *or airing+ now+ when the

rains come the water s7lashes the cot. But the 7erson who isthere+ they don(t close. That is 7ujari(s business. LtM doesn(tmatter i* Tha'ur gets wet LlaughterM and 7ujari is not to be seenanywhere+ he has gone somewhere. %nd all these warmclothings are gien outside to the sunG rain comes+ that isgeneral manager(s businessG you seeG nobody thin's+ that is&ath 7ro7erty and must remoe it. Ee will only see that hiscloths are there+ he comes and ta'es it and leaes the rest in therain. These are all what hae seen and am telling you. Nowyou see+ just3this all what hae seen ha77ening in our%shramas. uestions and thin' will *ail and *ail miserably. Thatdetail nobody remembers+ what is there3 at best he will beable to say+ what wor' that he has done. Ee will be satisAed withthat. But he has no idea o* the wor' that is being done there byothers. * any >uestion is as'ed about the shrine room he willsay+ I don(t 'now(. %nd all these don(t mean that we arededicating our li*e to 6uru &aharaj. So you see+ there is one7roerb+?hateer LisM your sadhana+ so will be your *ruit. Nosadhana+ no *ruit.

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So much o* com*ort is there today+ com7ared with what weused to hae. 5ou see+ i* one used to get ill here+ Lthe 7resentPresident &aharaj(s >uartersM the sagu+ that diet *or him wouldcome in the morning+ early morning at 1H O(cloc'G you see+early morning at 1H O(cloc' LlaughterM. %nd that would be7resered and gien to him at $H O(cloc' in the noon. %nd the

night sagu will come at 11H O(cloc' in the night. 5ou see a*terTha'ur(s bhog was oer and those 7eo7le who had gone *orL*oodCMsu77ose+ somebody L7atientM is staying here+ andothers hae gone L*or *oodCM+ the coo' will not L7re7areM+ yousee+ that diet Luntill the Bhoga was all coo'edM. erything wascoo'ed in the LsameM 'itchen. There was no se7aratearrangement. So a*ter the Tha'ur(s bhog was oer+ and *ood *orSadhus was 7re7ared and sered+ a*ter that he will 7re7are saguand that sagu will be brought by those who had gone *rom hereto ta'e their *ood. They will get it at 11H o(cloc' at night. %ndhe will say+ get u7+ get u7+ don(t slee7. 6et u7 and you can ta'esaguG %h@ LlaughterM. That was the condition. But now you haegot all sorts o* com*orts. But with these com*orts we are notsatisAed. There was no electric light. There was no lanternhanging in *ront o* Bharat &aharaj(s room+ you see+ and therewas one light on the stair case *or 7eo7le who used to go u73one hurricane lantern and those who wanted to go to bathroomyou see+ there was no attached bathrooms. Ee will ta'e thatlantern and go do you 'now how much distanceC Beyond ourdinning hall. 5ou hae to go 3 there was a gate there nearly1 yards or more than that. ?hateer the condition what eer

it was raining or nothing mattered 3 whether it was at midnightyou hae to go there. But now you hae got attached bathroom+but they want *or eery room an attached bathroomG LlaughterM.

5ou are not to go outside the building+ but still+ you see+ theywant attached bathrooms.

The amount o* wor' turned out by indiiduals at that timeyou see+ he used to turn out wor' 3 at least ! 7eo7le wor' today.%nd he could get accustomed all 'inds o* wor'. Now when one issent *rom here to &adras he says+ I?hat wor' am to doC( * the%sstt. Secretary by mista'e says+ 5ou hae to go to re7lace theo:ce man 3 you hae to do the o:ce wor'. Then he will go and

do only o:ce wor'. %nd i* the local &ohanta says+ Iust do littlebit o* bhandari( s wor' or some other wor'G you see he will say+ Ihae come here only *or the o:ce wor'.( Ee has become .).S.O:cer LlaughterM. 5es+ this is ha77ening. Because hae run thisOrganisation *or # years. 'now all the mentalities o* the7eo7le 3 LlaughterM. So when they used to as' me+ used to tell+ I4rom swee7ing to the court3yard u7 to Tha'ur(s Puja you hae todo eerything. ?hateer the &ohanta as's you+ you hae to do(.

That(s all. ?hat can say. neer told him anything li'e that. tmay be any 'ind o* wor'3it may be swee7ing the courtyard or itmay be doing Tha'ur(s 7uja or anything. %nd actually one 7ersonused to do all 'inds o* wor'. ?e were in &adras+ you see+eeryone who was there at that time he could do o:ce wor'+ hecould do 7ac'ing as well as big bo;es you see+ boo's *or 7ostal

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7ac'ing as well as big bo;es *or railway trans7ort and then hecould do 7roo* reading+ he could do 7uja+ then Tha'ur(s bhandar+the coo'ing bhandar+ your see+ tending cows+ doing all thegarden wor's and all these3eery 'ind o* wor' that was in the%shrama. They were ca7able o* doing it. Nobody said+ I can(t dothis thing+ can(t do that thingG am not accustomed to do this(.

5ou see+ eerybody was eager to do een the coo'ing. 4ormonths together there was no coo'+ and we coo'ed+ bothmorning and eenings+ we had to coo'. But now don(t thin'anybody will ta'e 7leasure in coo'ing. O* course+ i* one is *orcedto do+ he may do and burn his Angers or do something li'e thatLlaughterM. But with =eal to coo' and try to get the best *ood7re7ared *or 6uru &aharaj+ with that *eeling+ don(t thin'anybody will go and do it. But with 7leasure+ with great joy+ Ii*coo'ing is gien+ one ta'es to it great joy+ that he gets anoccasion to gie good dishes to Sri 6uru &aharaj(. ?ith this idea+ don(t 'now how many ta'e to coo'ingC

The morning tea+ tell you one o* my own e;7eriences. am so *ond o* tea and een now am *ond o* tea+ you seeLlaughterM. But when Arst came and tea was sered in *ront o*Bharat &aharaj(s room+ there was one Kanai &aharaj3he used toget hot water in the 'ettle and 7our3o* course+ there were notmany at that time. So hot water was 7oured in 'ettle. The teawas being 7re7ared there+ but couldn(t go and ta'e the tea.Because &aharaj LSwami BrahmanandajiM would get down andcome to the lawn *or wal'ing and he will go bac' and sit underthe mango tree3be*ore he returns. The courtyard had to be

swe7t because a*ter he sits the courtyard cannot be swe7tbecause the dust may go. So *or days together had to gowithout tea. could not get tea3LlaughterM. t was being 7re7aredand eerybody was ta'ing tea LlaughterM. But there was joy+because had to do it *or &aharaj. So that *eeling was there thatbe*ore he comes+ will Anish the courtyard. So not ta'ing LteaMwas am7ly com7ensated the other way LlaughterM.

Swami %tmabodhananda L5ou hae not seen him he7assed away in 1-M+ you see+ when he Arst came here to the%shrama+ he got small 7o;. There was no R . t was di:cult atthat time to treat. Then Baburam &aharaj LSwami PremanandajiM

said+ I5ou better go to your *riends in )alcutta( and gae himmoney just to cross the rier. Because &ath was ery 7oor3hecould not gie much3the carriage *are could not be gien. So hegae just one anna or something li'e that or two 7aise. Eecrossed the rier and *rom there he went to Su'ia street wal'ingGwithout any murmur+ without any *eeling in his mind+ that whatwas done to him was not correct. That was the best thing to bedone. But now+ as' you how many o* you will And li'e that C *you are as'ed to go home and get yourseles cured 3 . %re wehere to sere ourseles or hae come to sere othersC 5ou see+such a big %rogya Bhaan is getting ready LlaughterM. Twodoctors and do n(t 'now how many nurses will be thereC %nadi&aharaj is being tried to ta'e charge. %h@ so all these com*ortsare there.

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5ou see+ Li* you remember+ when you le*t home M we le*thome with the ideas that we will be Sanyasins and we will be7re7ared to slee7 under tree and ta'e *ood whateer is gien+you see C That idea was there when we le*t home. But a*tercoming to the Organisation all this has changed. %nd now anycom*ort is gien is not su:cient. Do you thin' all this is correctC

%nd &aharaj Lmeaning himsel*CM is telling coc' and bull(s storyLlaughterM. Now3a3days somebody says something+ you at onceget angry. %nd you at once taunt a re7ly again. But when wecame+ when we were sitting *or *ood+ and coo' was sering+there was one coo' Prabha'ar+ he used to sere+ he was aterror to us. * we sim7ly as'ed something little more+ he used totell+ %h+ )alcutta babus hae come hereLlaughterM IBs/ ekrakam dhamak lgto( Lloud laughterM. %nd we could not sayanything to him. 2uietly ta'ing+ coolly 7oc'eting his RLlaughterM. * you are true to Swamiji(s ideal+ eerything will beall right. 5ou will And no di:culty whatsoeer. erything will besmooth liing+ eerybody will be loing to you and will And theOrganisation a heaen and you will be able to s7end your li*eery 7eace*ully and with great joy+ i* you are able to do that. Butunless you dedicate your li*e according to Swamiji(s ideal+ it willnot be 7ossible to get all what you wanted when you le*t home+you hae to 7ay *or it.

Baburam &aharaj gae one story one day. There was ahaw'er saying IDo you want 7rema LloeMC Do you want 7rema+Deotion to 6odC Then all 7eo7le wanted some 7rema. Deotionto 6od+ eerybody wants. Then they said gie *or


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Talk elivered by Swami Vireswaranandaji Maharaj to the3ewly *rdained Brahmacharins on /&./.194 at .-2 5.M.

(ll not gie you any sermon. shall gie you some 7racticalhints as to how you may be able to combine the 6od3reali=ationwith Tha'ur3Swamiji(s wor's without conict.

1. 5ou should not *orget during wor's that the wor' is *ors7iritual deelo7ment. ?or'ing and retaining the desiresma'e no s7iritual 7rogress+ only the ego increases by it.

Tha'ur(s wor's are to be done eFectiely. But it is so easyto *orget. * you are told to go elsewhere then you willargueH3 I started wor's here. Eow can goC( * this is really

Tha'ur(s wor'+ you must be ready to detach yoursel* andgo and come without notice. IThis 7lace does not suit me( this sort o* thin'ing creates chaos.

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intros7ect as to how much wor' actually you did *orTha'ur.

0. 5ou must hae initiatie. 5ou try to aoid wor' and youincrease wor' beyond ca7acity both are bad.

". * organi=ation is bad+ wor' becomes bad you shouldbear this thing in mind. Swamiji cursed whoeer would try

to s7lit the organi=ation.. 5ou should aoid going to *ootball matches+ tal'ies+musical 7er*ormances+ dances+ 7arties Lsocial gatheringsMetc. Eari &aharaj rebu'ed one BrahmacharinHa77reciation o* beauty o* a building indicates desires.

1. 5ou should always remember that you are a membero* the


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4irst o* all let me tell you something about your duties andwhat you hae to do. uiet. Lwhile he thuscom7ared our T.). with that Seminary his *ace wore a garb o*e;treme sadness and utter dissatis*action. %*ter a 7ause hecontinuedM.

Now the >uestion is what is the diFerence between theway o* li*e in this organisation with that in the traditional order o*

mon's. %re they sameC The answer is yes and no. The common*eatures is that we both stand *or the same ideal+ i=. realisationo* 6od. The diFerence is that they meditate and study and don(tdo any wor'G they do some IPraachan( and that(s the only waythey 'ee7 contact with the society. But we do arious 'inds o*wor'. ?hy did they abandon wor'C Because *or 6od realisationone has to constantly meditate *or long hours and wor' isdistractie. The meditation should be li'e oil 7oured *rom oneessel into anotherG or+ as it is gien in the 6ita+ it is li'e anunic'ering ame o* lam7.

Since wor' is distracting+ Swami Suddhanandaji once told

to Swamiji+ ?hy don(t you allow us to 7ractice meditation *orlong hoursC 5ou yourseles hae done that in your early lies. Solet us Arst realise 6od and then we shall wor'. Swamiji re7lied+4or that you should hae come earlier LlaughterM. Swamiji was7ointing out that one has to be an %dhi'ari to 7ractice suchcontinuous meditations.

Swamiji has set a new ideal *or us+ i.e.+ continuousmeditation can be 7ractised through wor' also. 6od is bothtranscendent and immanent. Eere we meditate u7on theimmanent as7ect o* 6od. This is why Swamiji eleated the wor'to worshi7. %s we worshi7 the deity in the tem7le by owers+sandal 7aste+ etc.+ so we worshi7 the 7atients by medicines+injections+ diet+ etc.+ or the aficted by way o* giing *ood+

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clothes and other relie* materials+ or giing education to theignorant children.

t is also the need o* the time. Preiously the nation waswell organised and it too' care o* itsel*. So the Sadhus contentedthemseles in 7reaching wor' only. Thus they 'e7t the nationalidel burning all the time. This is one great thing they hae done.

But now the situation is changed. conomically 7eo7le haebecome ery 7oor. So Swamiji started this Order with the mottotmano mokshrtham jagaddhitya ca. Social wel*are is notour aim+ our aim is 6od3realisation. ?e do serice to humanityas worshi7 to 6od and so social wel*are comes as a by37roduct.

The Training )entre was started so that you may hae aclear conce7tion about these ideas and ideals o* ourorganisation. t is not merely meant *or the study o* theJ7anishads and the 6ita. They are secondary. t also seres the7ur7ose o* coordination since you all come *rom the arious7arts o* the country and here you hae the o77ortunity o* liingtogether.

Then the Training )entre was started in the Eead>uartersso that you can get an idea o* our whole organisation. So *ar youwere loo'ing at the organisation through one window+ i.e.+through the Eead o* your )entre. But now it is as i* seeing theorganisation *rom the terrace and getting an oerall iewincluding its de*ects and adantages. Eere you can see thesenior Swamis and try to imbibe their good >ualities in you. O*course+ there may be some disgruntled Swamis+ but you shouldnot *eel worried about them. These cases may be *ew. Eoweer+

warn you against that.Nowadays And that the s7irit o* the missionary =eal is *astdisa77earing *rom the organisation. n our time there was neerso much com7laint about e;cessie wor'. ?e used to do all ty7eo* wor'. But+ now i* someone is 7osted as an o:ce3wor'er hewon(t do any wor' other than that in the o:ce. Ee won(t wor' intem7le or in the Bhndror clean essels or clean the tem7le.Ee is as i* an % S O:cer de7uted by the Eead 2uarters. Thisattitude was neer there 7reiously.

Once told a Brahmachari to ta'e some article to SwamiSantaswaru7anandajiG he was then liing in the building where

Kesah &aharaj lies now L i.e. the 9ibrary BuildingM. But theBrahmachari re*used to go and said + % serant can do thiswor'. ?hy should goC Then told him+ 5ou see+ ourorganisation is li'e a *amily+ an he is one o* our brothers. Eewent to %merica *or doing Tha'ur(s wor' and now he has comebac' a*ter $ years. t is my duty to go 7ersonally and gie thisthing to him. But now hae become old and it is not easy *orme to go there. So re>uest you to go there on my behal*. Thenthe Brahmachari understood the situation and went there. donot blame him *or he did not 'now the idea behind wor'. O*course+ this is an e;treme case and most o* you would notbehae the same way. ?ould you re*use to goC

This dis3obedience is now becoming 7rominent more andmore . The juniors are not obeying the seniors. ?hen they are

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as'ed to some LOut3o*3the wayM wor'+ they re*use. This is abreach o* conduct. But they are s7ared because 7erha7s the7resent authorities are ery lenient. LSmilingM 7reiously therewas no mercy. * there was any breach o* conduct+ Baburam&aharaj would say+ Du pais diye nad- pr kare de(( L 6ie himhal* an anna so that he can go across the rierM. Ee would be

turned out immediately as that was the Eigh )ourt decision.There were no barristers to 7lead *or him. Now3a3days een i* amember commit serious mista'es there will be barristers tode*end him in the eery 7ossible way. They don(t understandthat i* a bad bric' is used *or the construction o* a house+ it mayeentually crac' the whole building.

Now we receie so many com7laints about the oFensiebehaiour o* our Sadhus with the deotess. By oFensiebehaiour mean rough be

Talks of Senior Monks Volume - 1

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