Kathopanishad : ( 04/03/2013. )

Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF) : Since the inception of Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF) it has been CIF’s privilege to host camps and workshops facilitated by stalwarts such as Prof. VN Jha in Sanskrit and Indic studies.  A ten day workshop on ‘Prabhakara Mimamsa’ by Prof. VN Jha was inaugurated yesterday by Swami Advayananda.  The workshop is specially organised to commemorate (late) Prof. Ujjwala Jha.  Swamiji fondly reminisced on how Prof. VN Jha and Prof. Ujjwala Jha played an important role in laying the foundation for the growth of CIF as well as Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth.  Echoing Swamiji’s thoughts Prof. VN Jha spoke on how CIF has transformed over the years and expressed his gratitude to Swamiji for being an integral part of his family.  He then went on to announce the release of the publication ‘Ujjwala-Śāstra-vaibhavam’ – a collection of research articles by various renowned scholars, compiled and edited by Dr. Arun Kumar Mishra....

======================================================================= Wednesday, February  01, 2023. 06:00 Discourse - 4.3. Post -22. ======================================================================== Our soul within may be compared to the Lord seated in a chariot. This body of ours, this individuality, this personality, may be regarded as a chariot in which is seated the soul- consciousness. The chariot is driven by a charioteer, a driver. The intellect in us is the charioteer. The reins are the operations of the mind. The horses which pull or drag this chariot are the senses—the eyes, ears, etc. The roads along which this chariot is driven by the charioteer with the help of the horses are the objects of the senses. All this is made possible by a joint activity of the Atman, the senses and the mind. This is a very concise and beautiful description, symbolic, dramatic, full of meaning and profundity. This chariot is to be driven right to the Abode of Vishnu—tad vishnoh para...

========================================================================= Tueday, January 17, 2023. 06:30 Discourse - 4.2. Post -21. ===================================================================== This resentment is sometimes expressed in speech and action, but oftentimes it is hidden in the mind itself. We are always in a state of resentment. We have a mood of our own, which is not compatible with inner satisfaction, not conducive also to the pleasure or the good of other people. We put on what Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj used to call a castor oil face, always. We are not pleased. We are never pleased with anything. There is always a complaint regarding every thing that happens anywhere in the world. If it rains, we complain, “Oh, it is raining!” If it burns hot, we say, “Oh, the hell, how hot it is!” You cannot go forward, you cannot go backward, you cannot speak low, you cannot speak loud. Whatever you do is subject to criticism. This is a subtle mischief which the personality p...

========================================================================== Sunday, January 01, 2023. 07:00 Discourse - 4.1. Post -20. ======================================================================== The grand destination, this wondrous structure of the Universe, the goal of life is not easy of approach. The Upanishad cautions us: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- uttiṣṭhata jāgrata; prāpya varān nibodhata. Do not be under the notion that you can get this blissful experience in a trice. Awake! Arise! Stop not till the goal is reached! Seek refuge with men of wisdom. Know it, then, by surrender to them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā; durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti. Subtle is this path, difficult is this way, hard it is to enter the citadel of this mysterious yoga. I...

 ========================================================================= ========================================================================= Wednesday, December 14, 2022. 07:00. Discourse - 3.8  Post -19. ========================================================================= Avyakta is that inscrutable, indescribable precondition of the manifestation of all things, we call prakriti, maya, avyakrita, and so on, though all these terms do not convey a true meaning of what it is. The presupposition, the pre-condition, the necessity, the cause behind the expression of this Universe in its visible form is avyakta. Every effect must have a cause. If the Universe is to be regarded as an effect, logically speaking, there must be a cause thereof. This is the Seed of all things. And beyond this final Cause, is the Causeless Cause, the unmoved Mover, the Purusha. Beyond the Avyakta is the Purusha. The Purusha is Supreme. What is this Purusha? Purusha is a term we apply to what ...

 ========================================================================= CHINMAYA INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION- (CIF) Hari Om. It is always a joy to share the achievements of all who connect with CIF through our Home Study Courses.  Twenty two students from the Chinmaya Sagar zone, Mumbai, completed CIF’s Advanced Vedanta Course facilitated by Sevak Smt. Jasmine Asher, under the guidance of Swami Swatmananda (Chinmaya Shivam).  On 30th October, Swami Swatmanandaji graced the graduation ceremony and handed out the Course Completion Certificates to the students.  Chinmaya International Foundation congratulates the 22 Sadhakas and Smt. Jasmine Asher! ========================================================================= Friday, November 25, 2022. 07:00. Discourse -3.7  Post -18. ========================================================================= Here we come to a halt, as it were, because of exhaustion of all our available resources. Beyond the intellect you...

 ======================================================================== ======================================================================== Monday, November 07, 2022. 07:00. Discourse -3.  Post -17. ========================================================================= Having guarded ourselves adequately with a knowledge of the difficulty of acquiring this mystery of mysteries in our experience, we try to understand what the Lord Yama, the great teacher of the Katha Upanishad, must have spoken as the final word to Nachiketas. Even when Yama comes to the main point in question, he does not hit it directly. He tries to approach it gradually. This is the technique of the teaching of any science or art. When you speak on any subject or teach a particular branch of learning, you should not forthwith go to the subject at the very beginning itself. That would be difficult for the student to comprehend. You must follow what they call the Socratic method of teaching.  Yo...