Bharatham : Uthishtatha-Jagratha : (wef-05/11/2012. )

31/01/2017. In this view of renunciation no torturing of the body was involved. On the contrary, the Master took pains to keep his body always healthy, so that it could be put to efficient use in the service of God’s children. In the early years of his mission, he used to go for long evening walks. In the winter months he used to play badminton in the Ashram itself. When work increased, he could not find sufficient time for these. So he got a tennis ball and racket and played on the wall for a few minutes, whenever he felt the need for relaxation. After those few minutes, the Master would be ready again for another spell of work. As he grew old he did some simple exercises on the bed itself. He never missed his Asanas and Pranayama. These practices kept his body fit for work. Sri N. Ananthanarayanan  To be continued ...

25/01/2017. 1. Underlying these many facets of the Master’s personality was his spirit of renunciation. One day, when he saw his disciple, Savitri Asopa, gaze with wonder at a particularly arresting portrait of his, he himself commented, "You can sit like that only if you have renunciation." Renunciation was the key to the Master’s personality. It was his very essence. He was a Sannyasin first and last. 2. Sharada, one of the Master’s many biographers, put it beautifully in her Vignette of Sivananda: "His is a face of renunciation," she says, "and to understand that face is to understand Hinduism." 3. But to the Master, renunciation did not mean untidy dress and unkempt hair. He was scrupulously clean and showed by personal example that decency should be maintained even in the standard of a Sannyasin’s dress. To him renunciation meant renunciation of the ego, of "I" and "mine". It meant giving up attachment. Tru

Opinion 24/01/2017.  975.                 All Members,          Respected family members of this great holy Nation. Sub : Today, the State Governments, abuse politics, by pressure tactics, arrogant manners, disagree in each and everything, examples ..Kejariwal, Mamata, Mulayam, Lalu, Congress, Communists, UDFand LDF, DMK and AIADMK .. so on.. Ref : WHY OUR GREAT EMPIRES COULD NOT PREVENT FOREIGN INVASIONS ? Answer - Absence of UNITY 1.Once upon a time Bharatham was ruled by various empires beginning with Mourya --- to chera, chola Pandya of south. 2. Now the question arises then how they failed to prevent Islamic invasions in the beginning and later christian rule? 3. Main Reason, Bharatham was not a united force then, 4. Now  we did not learn any lessons from our experience in the pre- independent  days, 5. At present, we still divided, though there is a cetral Government at Delhi, 6. The states are ruled by various regional parties, who always dis

17/01/2017. 71. Simplicity, spirit of service, compassion, cosmic love, unrestrained generosity, deep devotion—these were but a few of the many facets of the integrated personality of Swami Sivananda. There were others, like fearlessness, serenity, humility, wisdom. One or the other of these diverse aspects of the Master’s personality predominated at a particular time. When devotees offered worship to his feet, he sat with an in drawn look radiating serenity. When the Master conversed with his dear disciples, he spoke like a loving mother. When he delivered a public discourse, wisdom flowed from his lips, and the admonishing finger was often raised to warn the audience of the dangerous consequences of pursuing sense pleasures. At the time he gave Sannyas initiation, he inspired awe and reverence in the novice. When he exchanged innocent pleasantries with his guests, he bubbled with humour and good cheer. Sri N. Ananthanarayanan  To be continued ...

11/01/2017. 70. 1. Devotion was deep-rooted in the Master, whether for his Guru or for his Ishta-Devata, whether for saints or for sacred places. He would never take his lunch without doing worship at a small altar he had in his own room. In this one act he claimed total privacy. Only once did his personal attendant by accident witness a spectacle the Master was lying on the ground in full prostration before the Deity! This prostration was not a mechanical one, nor was the worship. To the Master his Deity was intensely more real than all worldly phenomena. 2. On a Sivaratri night, when the Master came to the Ashram Mandir to offer worship, Swami Venkatesananda watched him closely. He thereby learnt the difference between real worship and ritualistic worship. Venkatesananda described in vivid detail what he saw: 3. "I was watching. Hardly on one face could I detect real, living faith. Some threw the bael leaves on the Linga; some half-sleepily allowed the leaves to dr

04/01/2017. 69 If a generous disposition was one of the hall-marks of the Master’s personality, self-reliance was another. He believed in a life of hardship and endurance. He would never entrust to others a work which he himself could do. When on tour people would garland him as soon as he stepped down from the train. Immediately, without waiting for a coolie, and without giving a chance to his devotees, the Master would carry his bedding or trunk on his own head and come out of the station. "Rely on your own self," he would say. "Be humble. Do not be puffed up with the pride of Gurudom." Gurudom? No, not with the Master. He was dead against it. On Guru Purnima day in 1944, the devotees gathered in the Ashram to offer the traditional worship of the Guru. The Master was reluctant. He somehow gave the slip and briskly walked to a rest-house a few yards away. The devotees found him out. The Master then tripped over to the nearby Ram Ashram. The group went afte