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Volume: 1Issue :23
10th December, 2009ThursdayNachiketanjali
NACHIKETA TAPOVAN ASHRAMGairan Tanda, Kodgal Village, Jadcherla Mandal, Mahaboobnagar Dist-509301
Ph: +91-40-23113887 Mobile: 98491 68937 www.nachiketatapovan.orgE-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Our best work is done; our greatest influence is exerted, when
we are without thought of self.
I can never refuse
anyone who addresses
me as Mother.
- Sarada Devi
16
BOOK-POST
TO,
Let us open ourselves to the one Divine Actor, and let Him act,
and do nothing ourselves.
For Private Circulation only
Tapovan's Balayogis
Our little shimmering stars of Nachiketa Tapovan Vidya Mandir
love to express themselves in the form of drawings, paintings
and poems. Here's a glimpse of the magic of our star!
We love them all dearly!
Kasim
Anand
NACHIKETA TAPOVANPlot No.70, Phase I, Kavuri Hills, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad 500 033
Phone No. 040 23113887 Mobile No. 9849168937Regd. By Govt. of A.P. (Regd. No. 53/IV/99)
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EDITORIAL
Subhadra K.
As desire increases, so increases the power of pleasure, so the
power of pain.
Contents Page No.
Message by Swamiji 3Mataji's Message 4Eternal Values 5Spiritual Quest 6Celebrations 7Ashram 8Reader's Article 10
Upanishad 11Publications & Events 12Upcoming Events 13Sponsor Options 14An Appeal 15
Quotes bySwami Vivekananda
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor
Subhadra K.
Editorial Consultants:
Annapurna R.Sowja A.
Despite the infrastructure provided in
religious literature to get over the problems
in life, there still lurk doubts among even
those who hold to Gods feet, as why they
are being subjected to grief though they
offer worship and prayers to God. The
sufferings and pleasures are related to the
past actions. People have to experience theconsequences. We adore the rose and enjoy
its fragrance. But the rose comes with the
thorns. If we want the rose we have to accept
the thorns. It comes as a package.
Adopting devotional exercises will certainly
enable us to gain moral strength. The grief
will be mitigated. Seeking the company of
the pious, devout and selfless people is one
of the methods of developing devotion. The
reason is that they dont indulge in idle
gossip. Their thoughts are always pinned toGod. They will not hanker after material
benefits. As such, in their midst, we will also
be acquiring the traits which make us eligible
to approach God. It is equally important to
choose friends who will be in a position to
give us only genuine and proper guidance,
when we need it badly. Friendship so secured,
after due discrimination, should remain
everlasting like a treaty made in good faith.
The best example is that of the rain water.
It pours down on different surfaces of the
earth but when dug out, it bears the
characteristics of the soil through which it
flowed. Human mind has the tendency to
change in accordance with the traits of
companions. Keeping good company is
essential for facing the currents bravely.
3This is the one central idea in the Gita: work incessantly, but be
not attached to it.
Intention
Swami Nachiketananda
There was a beautiful girl in a small
village. She always had to go to the
forest to get firewood. One day when
she was collecting firewood, four
youngsters caught and tried to
physically assault her. She was bold
and courageous and put up a fight but
in front of four devils she was helpless.One passerby who was young,
energetic and handsome saw this
occurrence and fought with those guys
and saved her life. She thanked that
gentleman for saving her life. Then
he said "It is getting dark and my house
is nearby so come with me, spend the
night in my house and tomorrow I shall
drop you at your house". She had no
other option than to accept his
proposal as it was getting dark and her
village was quite far away.
When they reached his house he
offered tea and asked her to take a
bath. He gave his clothes too. While
she was taking bath he prepared
dinner. Then they both had dinner
together. After dinner when it was
time to go to bed, he caught her
hands and in a gentle voice asked her
if she can share the bed with him. She
was stunned and shocked. That
moment she felt that she had lost herinner strength. She felt as if somebody
is pouring hot oil in her ears. She felt
those are not the helping hands of a
saviors but the shackles which will
create a permanent mark on her.
Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
The same
young girl who
was able to
fight against
four devils was
not able to
fight against
one devil. Inthat very
moment everything started flashing in
front of her eyes and she remembered
how her mother brought her up and
shown the path of divinityhow she
nurtured and shaped her while going
through the turmoil of lifehow she
starved and fed herhow she used to tell
the stories of Ma Sita, Savitri and Kunti
and tried to infuse tender valueshow
she taught her to fight against
corruption, wrong act and gave her tight
hugs whenever she was in distressand
today?
No matter how knowledgeable we are,
we feel helpless in such situations. Action
devoid of good intention will always
damage the very purpose of life. There
are people who can guide and mould if
needed, but before that it is important
for every human being to understand the
intention. Situations are bound to be
there with or without good intentions.Hence it is time for the beautiful girl
hidden in every human being to decide
the course of life, to reorganize inner
strength and thrash if it is wrong or accept
if it is right.
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4That wonderful poem, without one note in it, of weakness
or unmanliness.
Swami Shivanandamayi
Application of Gita
Gita Jayanthi is a
wonderful and auspicious
day in the history of
Sanatana Dharma. Today is
the day when a new Veda,
Panchama Veda has taken birth. Today
is the day when lord of the lords, Sri
Krishna imparted the Brahma Vidya,the Yoga shastra to Arjuna. So it was a
true Gita Jayanti in Arjunas life, thats
why he had a glimpse of Vishwaroopa;
that was the Gita Jayanti in Arjunas
life but not in our life.
What I feel personally is just by
reading Bhagavad Gita hundreds and
thousands of times and trying to
analyze, by having discussion for hours
together on Bhagavad Gita, we can
understand but we may not experience
Bhagavad Gita. Understanding andexperiencing are two different aspects.
When you experience Bhagavad Gita
that day will be the true Gita Jayanti in
your life.
How to experience Bhagavad Gita?
Sometimes you may feel
attachments, relationships,
responsibilities, family and society are
the few obstacles on the path of
spirituality. But once you experience
Bhagavad Gita, all the obstacles
become powerful tools on the path ofspirituality.
Bhagavad Gita is a Sanjeevani for
each and every individual in the
universe. By following Bhagavad Gita
a warrior can learn the art of yuddha,
a Bhakta can draw divine nectar, a Yogi
can find the way of Union with the
Supreme soul, a Sanyasi can find true
renunciation, a Jnani can draw a true
knowledge, a house holder can bring
balance between family life and
spiritual life etc There are many
streams of Yoga given by Lord Krishna
to the mankind. Bhagavad Gita is auniversal message and a timeless
wisdom which helps us to cross this
ocean of Samsara.
When Arjuna wanted to escape
from the Dharma Yuddha, Jagadguru
Sri Krishna removed the clouds of
ignorance from Arjunas mind by
singing the divine song of Brahma
Vidya and made him experience the
ultimate spiritual reality of the
Brahman. Bhagavad Gita or this
divine song is going on in us constantly,but we are not paying attention to it.
If you experience Bhagavad Gita you
can listen to that divine song. To
experience Bhagavad Gita you need
not by-heart entire Bhagavd Gita.
Take any one sloka which you like most
and practice it in your daily life, then
the day will come when you can
experience entire Bhagavad Gita, like
Sant Meera and Sant Tukaram. That
day is a true Gita Jayanthi in your life.
Then you will not only celebrate GitaJayanthi once in a year, but every
moment of your life. You can
experience that essence of Gita in
every breath of life. Jai Ma Gita, jai
Ma Gita , Jai Ma Gita.
5Infinite faith and strength are the only conditions of success.
R. Annapurna
Eternal Values
Whenever I am on the city roads
commuting, I cant help notice the chaos,
rashness, recklessness, and lack of chivalry
spilling among the citizens of Hyderabad
which is more or less a unit of India. Each
person is looking out only for him/herself
and walking in a daze. And what is with the
suicides in our state? Somewhere along the
course of time Suicide superseded guns andknives as a weapon whose domain is
expanding every day from domestic to
academic, social and political fields. Looking
at all this one cant help wonder as to what
happened to the tenets on which our
culture is based. Why is there a wide gap
between what we can do and what we do,
what we learn and what we apply, what
we talk and what we deliver!
We could find answers to our questions in
the teachings of Revered Srimat Swami
Ranganathanandaji Maharaj. Swamiji was
born on 15th December 1908 in Thrissur near
Trichur in Kerala. We pay a humble tribute
to the Great Karmayogi of the Modern
age by regurgitating his teachings from the
following excerpts from My Life is My Work
published by Nachiketa Tapovan.
In fact, in all civilized societies
more human beings of Sattvik type
are present. We have to treat
even a criminal with some
respect. We are very rough
in dealing with other human
beings. A little element ofSattva
must come into our lives. Whenpeople think about this, they get
the impulse to change from tamas
to rajas and from rajas to sattva.
That is the importance of this
science of three gunas
All culture is the product of
discipline of the impulses; and
culture is specifically a human
phenomenon A little gap
between the input and output,
even the most ordinary men have.Just put a little stop between input
and output. Suppose somebody
abuses me; immediately I abuse
back. Dont do so; that means you
are an animal, an automaton as
we say "If the action is one
unit the reaction can be ten units,
or it can be no unit. You are
handling your own mind. You are
creating a sense of calmness
within. Great achievements will
come thereby.Today if we want to develop our
nation into a powerful one, we
need to change the mind of the
people, make it a trained mind, not
a stuffed brain.
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6The Impersonal God seen through the mists of
sense is personal.
SPIRITUAL QUESTSwamiji answers questions from the seekers.
Questions are welcome from everyone.
They can be e-mailed to [email protected]
Will the knowledge of Ayurveda
help a sadhaka on the spiritual
path?
Ans: Yes. Any kind of knowledge
helps a sadhaka while treading thespiritual path. Knowledge is a
beautiful means of transport
through which sadhakas can
transform their lives and cross the
ocean of samsara. About Ayurveda,
there are many herbs which can be
a wonderful substitute for hunger,
lethargy, and so many other hurdles
in life. But how to use those herbs
while treading spiritual path is more
important. Now-a-days people are
administering herbs only to damagethemselves and others physically,
mentally, emotionally and
spiritually. They are enjoying
temporary happiness and paying
heavily for that experience,
whereas genuine sadhakas will
never entertain herbs and will follow
the path and food habits intended
for. Ayurveda says, food should be
taken like a medicine, similarly herbs
also can be taken like a medicine.
No doubt Ayurveda is a wonderful
storehouse for genuine sadhakas
but a disastrous knowledge for the
person who just started journey into
spirituality without knowing the real
purpose of using it for higher
dimensions of life.
What are the major obstacles in a
sadhakas life?
Ans: Thought is the biggest hurdle on
the path of spirituality. If sadhaka is
practicing as per guidelines set by qualifiedsouls then there is possibility to go beyond
the thought, whereas without guideline
and proper understanding if sadhakas try
to march towards their goal, they get
entangled into thought itself.
Take the example of Japa. Japa is a
divine thoughtbut still it is a thought. If
we are going to cling onto it, then no
matter whether we pass through divinity,
we may get only glimpse of it but not the
total experience. It is like we are
travelling by train and having a glimpse
of a beautiful city sorrounded by nature.
But still it is a glimpse not the real city. If
we want to experience the city then we
need to get down from the train and
enter into city to experience it.
Paramhamsa Ramakrishna used to have
Kali Darshan. Once His Guru told him to
cut Kali into thousand pieces with the
help of 'Viveka' and go beyond. Thus we
need to understand how to drop this
biggest hurdle and dive deep into divinity.
No one can get anything unless he earns it. This is
an eternal law. 7
Gita Jayanti and Datta Jayanti Celebrations
Gita Jayanthi marks the
anniversary of the day
Lord Krishna gave His
"Immortal Message" to
Arjuna on the battlefield
of Kurukshetra. The
birthday of the Bhagavad
Gita, is celebratedthroughout India by all
the admirers and lovers
of this most sacred
scripture on the 11th day
Ekadashi , of the month
of Margashirsh. At Tapovan Swami
Nachiketananda consented to give His
Divine Message and after chanting
verses from Bhakti yoga elaborated
on the sublime message of the Gita. His
gospel embodied words of wisdom
coming from the infinite ocean of
knowledge, the Absolute Itself. He
stressed on the fact that mere talks and
lectures will not help us in any way and
putting into practice the teachings of
the song celestial
is very essential. He
gave the audience
instructions on how
to live an inspired
life and how to deal
with situations inlife.
Datta Jayanthi is the
birth celebrations of Adi
Guru Dattatreya, the
Trimurti Avatar of
Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva and is observed on
the full moon day in the
month of Margashirsh.Nachiketa Tapovan
celebrated this great
event on December 1st
2009. Swamiji invited
Smt Sandhya, a
volunteer of Tapovan to enlighten the
Vidya mandir children on the great
Avatar. After lighting the lamp she
narrated the story of Dattatreya who
is the son of Atri Maharshi and
Anasuya and how the Trinity granted
her the boon of becoming her son.He remained an Avaduta-a sage who
remains in pure nature and had 24
gurus whom he found in nature and
society. Smt Sandhya gave a very
knowledgeable account on the Guru
and related it to
Sanathana Dharma.
The children were
i m m e n s e l y
benefited by her
talk. They had
spiritual Prasad
along with food.
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9As soon as you make a sect, you protest against universal brotherhood.8
Temple
Temple work in progress at Nachiketa Tapovan Ashram, Gairan Tanda, Kodgal Village, Jadcherla Mandal
It is always good to give a few strong strokes and rest on your oars.
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11There is no new religious idea preached anywhere which
is not found in the Vedas.
Yoga Vashishtha
Once upon a time in a city that did not
exist, lived three brave and happy princes
two of whom were unborn and one was
never conceived. In a tragedy all their
relatives died and the princes left their
place and set out to go elsewhere. The
journey was long and tough. To escape
the scorching Suns ferocity they soughtthe shade of three trees of which two did
not exist and the third was not even
planted. They ate the fruits of the trees
and rested for some time before they
proceeded further.
They reached the banks of three rivers;
two of which were dry and third had no
water. The princes had a refreshing bath
and quenched their thirst in them and
furthered their journey. They rode into a
huge city which was about to be built. Inthe city they came across three
magnificent buildings of which two were
not built and the third had no walls. They
entered the palaces and found three
golden plates; two were broken and the
third was pulverized. They picked up the
pulverized plate, took ninety nine minus
one hundred grams of rice and cooked it.
The princes invited three holy men as
their guests; of them two had no body
and the third had no mouth. After the
holy guests had eaten, the princes sharedthe remaining food to their full. And they
lived in that city for a great long time in
peace and joy.
This was a story narrated by
Brahmarshi Vasistha as a part of His
teachings to young Sri Rama to illustrate
how mind in its state of ignorance
imagines bondage. What is known as
creation is no more than real than the
people in this story. This world is
nothing more than an idea. Vasitha
teaches Sri Rama to Reject the error
of ideation and be free of ideas;
remain rooted in truth and attain
peace. (Adapted from Vasisthas
Yoga by Swami Venkatesananda)
10The real individuality is that which never changes and will
never change; and that is the God within us.
Religion and purpose of life
Perhaps the best description of
religion is what Swami Vivekananda
says To be good and to do good is
the whole of religion. I have never
come across so simple a sentence that
describes religion. Most of us think
religion to be rituals and sacrifices to
be performed but religion is muchmore than. It is through service to
humanity that we serve God. But
unfortunately most people do not
stop to think that for a moment. Our
first duty is towards our parents,
family and community. It is through
our fellow feeling and love we can
realize God. Most of us should
remember to show respect to elders,
behave well with all, totally abstain
from rash behavior, anger and hate.
To love and care for animals for they
are so innocent and dependent on us.
It is very simple but it has to be
consciously inculcated till it becomes
a habit. It will then come from within;
then our lives will be worthy of our
birth, or else all is wasted. In todays
fast world we do not often care for
others; our selfish motives do not take
into consideration others work. If we
think of others as our own, all
problems will get solvedautomatically. If we are traveling in
bus and consider the person standing
in front of us as our brother or sister
and carry his/her bag or ask him/her
to sit in our chair for a while it
becomes so pleasant. Then no such Sukanya Ghosh
thing as stranger will ever exist. But it
has to be practiced knowingly. Finally your
or my way of thinking will influence
somebody else and a chain will be built.
Then we can dream of a society which is
truly united, compassionate, humanitarian
and ready to serve God.
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12Life and death are only different names for the same fact , the two
sides of the same coin.
Announcement
Dear Readers,
We are happy to announce the launch of
NACHIKETANJALI, a monthly magazine
with spiritual flavour for all age groups,
on January the 26th
of 2010.The response to the Announcement
cum pre-launch meet held at Tapovan
on the 5th of December 2009
was encouraging and soulful.
You are invited to be a part of Nachiketanjali by
Subscribing to the Magazine
Encouraging subscriptions
Gift subscribing to schools, Libraries,
charitable Institutes and organizations
Writing articles, stories, columns etc.
Contributing educational material
Becoming patrons
Becoming a core member or panelist
Being a sponsor or referring to sponsors
Please note that
Dec.25th issue of Nachiketanjali will be the last newsletter
making way to Nachiketanjali the magazine, February issue
of which will be debuting on January 26 th. There will be no
newsletter or magazine for the month of January. Thesubscription details will be posted shortly.
13The future is only the extension of the present.
Upcoming Events
Celebrations of Ma Sarada Devi JayantiOn December 22nd 2009
At Nachiketa TapovanAt Nachiketa TapovanAt Nachiketa TapovanAt Nachiketa TapovanAt Nachiketa Tapovan
Timings: 10.00 am to 12.00 noonTimings: 10.00 am to 12.00 noonTimings: 10.00 am to 12.00 noonTimings: 10.00 am to 12.00 noonTimings: 10.00 am to 12.00 noon
PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT CAMP
Venue:
MNR College
on
Friday 18th December 2009
Timings:
9.00 am to 12.30 pm
Ma Shivanandamayi, who has
attained Asan Siddhi, Mastered the
art of Nauli and has reached the
heights of spiritualism will be
conducting this programme
Swami Ranganathananda's
Birthday Celebrations
on Tuesday
December 15th 2009
Christmas Eve
Celebrations
on Thursday
December 24th 2009
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14First you have to hear, then think, and then practice. This is true of
every yoga.
SPONSOR OPTIONS
Anna daanam maha daanam; vidya daanam mahattaram.
Annena kshanika trupthihi yaavajjeevanthu vidyaya.
Vidya Mandir at Nachiketa Tapovan is currently able to accommodate a family
of about 150 children who receive all-round nourishment from man-making
education to milk-n- meals and basic health- aid in an atmosphere of genuine
love. Kind-hearted Well wishers have been the unseen force behind this offeringto God. We thank you for your continued support.
Vidya Daanam (Education ) Rs. 3500/ year/student
Anna Daanam (Mid-day Meals) Rs. 2800/day
Ksheera Daanam (Morning Milk) Rs. 600/day
Vastra Daanam (Uniforms) Rs. 600/ 2 pairs
Dinnerware (Steel Plates & Glasses) Rs. 5000/ 50 sets
Stationery Supplies (Copier Paper) Rs. 5000/ term
Festivals Celebration Rs. 1500/festival
Oushadhi (Medical Suppl ies) Rs. 5000/month
15
DearAtman
No man is an island. To fight the good
fight we need help. This has been the
basis for the Nachiketa Tapovans
inception and ensuing growth over the
last 10 years from a hut into a 3 storied-
building onto a 40 acre spiritual
complex. Imparting literacy to children
from impoverished families was the idea
with which the divine project started
before it grew into a multifarious
movement. All along Tapovans efforts
received great support from you all in
every way bringing fruition to the noble
intent..
The main focus has never shifted from
Vidya Mandir. Nachiketa Tapovan has
become the haven for the
underprivileged children who have
been nourished with not only milk and
food but also good academicssupplemented by the traditional values
of India. Vidya Mandir will be taking a
big stride this June from offering
Primary Education extending onto
Secondary Education. That is, this
academic year, Vidya Mandir will offer
classes ranging from LKG through 6th
grade.
It requires additional resources, both
monetary as well as human to fund this
progressive step. We hereby make a
fervent appeal for generous donations.
Please participate in this Vidya Daana
Yaga being performed to benefit the
most deserving children and help passon the legacy of our Cultural heritage,
Social values and Religious traditions.
It may kindly be noted that donations
to Nachiketa Tapovan are exempted
from Income Tax U/S 80 G of IT Act,
1961 of Govt. of India. Donations in
the form of Cheques/Demand Drafts
may please be drawn in favour of
Nachiketa Tapovan. We acknowledge
the generous contributions made by
donors.
Swami Nachiketananda
Yours in the service of Motherland
AN APPEAL
By the study of different religions we find that in essence
they are one.