8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

1/8

16

BOOK-POST

TO,

For Private Circulation only

The Magic of Creativity

Our little shimmering stars of Nachiketa Tapovan love to express

themselves in the form of drawings, paintings and poems. Heres a

glimpse of the magic of our stars!We love them all dearly!

Self is the master of body-mind complex.

GANGA3rd Grade

GURUBRAHMAYYA

3rd Grade

1

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)

Volume: 1

Issue :17

10th September, 2009

Thursday

Nachiketanjali

NACHIKETA TAPOVAN ASHRAMGairan Tanda, Kodgal Village, Jadcherla Mandal, Mahaboobnagar Dist-509301

Ph: +91-40-23113887 Mobile: 98491 68937 www.nachiketatapovan.orgE-mail: admin@nachiketatapovan.org n_tapovan@rediffmail.com

Knowledge is the aim of life and not pleasure.

Esa brahmaisa indra esa prajapatirete

sarve devemani ca panca mahabhutani prithvi vayurakasa

apo-jyotim-shityetanimani ca ksudramisraniva bijani

itaranmi cetarani ca andajani ca jarujanica svedajanicodbhijjani ca asva gavah pusu

sa hastino yadkincedam prani jangamanca patatrica

yaccha sthavaram sarvam tat prajnanetram prajnane

pratisthitam prajnanetro lokah

prajna pratistha prajnanam brahma

-Aitareya Upanishad 3.1. 3

He is the Brahman, He is Indra, He is Prajapati; He is all these gods; He is the

five great elements-earth,air, akasa, water, light; He is all these creatures and

the others which are mixed (with them); He is the origin(of the moving and the

unmoving)- those born of an egg, of a womb, of sweat, and of sprout; He is

horses, cows, human beings, elephants-whatever moving in the air or

unmoving. All this is guided by Consciousness (Prajnanam), is supported byConsciousness. The basis (of the universe) is Consciousness.

Consciousness is Brahman.

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

2/8

2

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor

Subhadra K.

Editorial Consultants:Annapurna R.

Sowja A.

EDITORIAL

Subhadra K.

Man alone can have knowledge along with pleasure and pain.

Page No.CONTENTS

Message by Swamiji 3Mataji's Message 4Spiritual Quest 6Self Effort 7Ganesh Chaturthi 8Aitareya Upanishad 10Publications 12

Suryanamaskar Event 13Sponsor Options 14An Appeal 15

Quotes fromTHE MESSAGE OF

VIVEKACHUDAMANI

When Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

became the President in 1962, some of

his students approached him

and requested to allow them to

celebrate 5th September, his birthday.

In reply,he said, Instead of celebrating

my birthday it would be my proud

privilege if September 5th is observed asTeachers Day. Since then our nation has

honoured teachers on this day. The

legacy left by him in his teaching, vision

and the advocacies he made should be

put into practice and

materialisation. Traditionally Indians

have given tremendous respect and

honor to teachers and hold them in high

esteem.

Guru Govind Dono Khade

Kake Lagun Paya,

Balihari Guru AapneGovind Diyon Batay

Meaning,I am in a fix whom to salute

first, the teacher or the God. I shall

choose the teacher as he is the one who

is instrumental in me knowing the GOD.

This Kabir doha is a fitting tribute to the

Guru or Teacher.

There is a difference between spiritual

teacher and material teacher.They are

not at the same level. A spiritual teacher

removes all illusions from the mind of his

disciple and makes him feel the presenceof God.

Glory to the Gurus, who have gifted

us the treasure of Vedas and the

Upanishads and who lead us from the

self-centered I to the universal THAT

.

3Guru is the one who confers emancipation from bondage.

SWAMIJI'S MESSAGE

Different people have different

samskaras. They attract good or badenergies according to their package.

There is a beautiful story- Once an

ardent devotee was crossing a river by

boat. There was heavy rain followed by

floods. The boat in which he was

travelling sank and people cried in fear

of death. They prayed to different Gods

and Goddesses. Another boat came to

their rescue. Everyone was relieved with

the help but this devotee refused all help

saying God will come and save him. A

good swimmer offered help and later apilot with a helicopter but this devotee

refused all help and eventually drowned

in the river which resulted in his death.

In the course of time he was taken to

Yamaloka and he questioned God as to

why he was not rescued. God replied,

"I came thrice to help you but you

rejected me. The devotee was

puzzled and demanded to know the

truth. God explained to him, "I came in

the form of a boat and boatman, the

swimmer and finally in the form of a

pilot with a helicopter. You did not pay

heed to my words and denied my help.

This story aptly conveys that God is

constantly helping his devotees, but in

what form and in which way is not

known to anyone. Developing greater

awareness might help in solving themystery of why only some people

experience miracles and enjoy his

grace while the others do not.

In Gods kingdom there is not a single

mistake. If there is any mistake then it

is not his creation. Everything is so well

balanced and programmed in such a

way that there is no room for even a

single mistake. Our very existence is

the greatest miracle. This Universe and

the perfect harmony between every

star and planet, every growing tree andblossoming flower is valid proof for the

beauty of Gods creation.

SWAMI NACHIKETANANDA

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

3/8

4 A little change in attitude brings about great

changes in life.

The old adage goes that we should not

see the moon on the Chavithi day ofBhadrapada and there are some stories

to illustrate the bad consequences faced

if we did. The actual reason is that the

moon represents our mind that is

constantly changing. The message is to

listen to your heart whose essence is

true love and not to pay heed to the

fickle mind. This ensures that you will

not face any Vighnas (hurdles)!

Hurdles that we face everyday can be

classified into three kinds.

1.Hurdles created by Self

2.Hurdles created by Others

3.Hurdles created by the Prarabdha

Self created Hurdles-In the name of

love, attachment and family bonds, we

create our own obstacles. For instance

there is a couple where the wife is

devoted but the husband is cheating on

her and keeps dwindling the familys

earnings for unjustified expenses. The

wife is aware of his weakness butcontinues to suffer and supply her hard

earned income to him. Her love for her

husband has become her weakness.

Here she is inflicting the suffering upon

herself by not resolving the hurdle

between herself and her husband. A

Pativratas Dharma is to put the

husband in the right path when he is

deviating from it. Self-created hurdles

can be overcome by constant watch on

ones actions and knowing ones

dharma. You should understand your

responsibilities and also help others

understand their dharma. By

understanding and defining your and

your dear ones role and responsibilities

clearly and following them one can

minimize these hurdles.

Hurdles created by others are those

that are posed by the people with whom

you interact. For example, in a work

place scenario your boss expects you

to complete a project within a highly

impossible deadline and expresses his

displeasure at you when you did not

meet the deadline. Then you tend to

pass on that anger to your subordinate!Instead, to break this hurdle you need

to pause here, use your heart instead

of mind to think. You will realize that

you wouldnt want to make another

person feel the way you felt when you

faced your bosss wrath. Continue to

apply this approach of pouring your

heart into your actions and interactions

and you will see good results very soon.

Hurdles created by Prarabdha- These

are the hurdles that are caused by thefruit of our thoughts and from our past

lives. Jaya and Vijaya the devoted and

beloved guards of the Lord Vishnu chose

to be born as Vishnu haters and won

themselves the prarabdha of detesting

Vishnu with their heart and soul.

VIGHNAHARTHA

5Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past.

By overcoming the first two kinds of hurdles you would have automatically

overcome third kind of hurdles to a great extent. The sages and enlightened

Mahatmas are very well aware of their past karmas and have the ability to makechanges accordingly; whereas the common man can overcome his prarabdha by

purifying his present actions. We all have chosen to be what we are in this life to

nullify the balance of our karmas. Hence we should not forget to work on the

mission and Sadhana is a great means to do this. By pursuing sadhana we can

successfully reduce all three kinds of hurdles. And when one experiences Samadhi

all the past and present karmas will be burnt.

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

4/8

6The path of renunciation is a march

towards fulfillment.

Q. What is the difference between Moksha, Mukti, Liberation and Self-

realization?

Ans: Though we say there are different layers of consciousness, truly speakingthere is only one layer and that is consciousness. As far as realization is concerned

there are no steps or layers. Realization is just realization. When everything

ceases and the Self springs forth from deep down, that state is called Realization.

In fact, experiencing Self is true realization. That realization is called by many

names by many great souls. Moksha and Mukti are Sanskrit words and Liberation

and Self-realization are English words. But in different shastras they have given

different meanings.

Q. We all know that criminals are punished according to law. Why is it that

good people who obey the law are also punished?

Ans: There are different types of people in the society. Good Active, Good

Passive, Bad Active and Bad Passive. And there are Individual Karmas and

Collective Karmas. One needs to first find out to which category she/he belongsto. Passive good people are bound to suffer due to their passivity which is

sometimes more deadlier than the bad action done by others. Active good people

are aware of consequences and ready to take up challenges. They generally will

not budge even one inch from their action. They are firm and confident. Whereas,

the passive good people will not take initiative and will try to run away from the

situation. Therefore such people suffer more than others. Clarity of mind and

openness of heart are what we need today in this world to live happily and joyfully.

That quality is found only in active good people. Hence good people who obey the

law are also punished because of their unclear mind and closed heart. They are

more selfish and selfish people are bound to be punished. They might appear to

be good but they are not in the true sense.

Swamiji answers questions from the seekers. Questions are

welcome from everyone. They can be

e-mailed to us at nachiketanjali.newsletter@gmail.com

SPIRITUAL QUEST

In whom all difference ceases. Thou are that! 7

When we emerge

successfully from a

task we give credit to

our decision, our

diligence, and our

persistence. But when

we fail at it, we tend

to blame our luck, our

fate, ones spouse and

other factors outside

us. In this world

whatever we

accomplish is due to

Self-effort and

whatever we fail at is

due to lack of self-

effort. We dont need examples to

illustrate that with Self effort man can

attain Godliness! Fate can not replace

Self effort but can provide consolation.The Fate, Daivam, Niyati or Divine

will can only ensure that the Self effort

is blessed with appropriate fruition.

Self effort should be based on:

1) Knowledge of scriptures

2) Instructions of preceptor

3) ones own effort.

Self effort which is not in agreement with

scriptures is motivated by delusion. The

self-effort is of two kinds- self effort ofthe past incarnations and the self effort

of present life. What we call fate and

destiny is the self effort of the past

incarnation. Just as one can overcome

evil by good, fate can be overcome by

present effort. If present self effort is

thwarted by fate it

only means that the

effort is weak. So

work harder but do

not blame the

Divine will.

Sometimes without

substantial effort

one gains greatly,

this is neither an

accident nor the

Divine will. It is the

fruit of Self effort of

last birth. And

sometimes there is

no proportionate

result in spite of great Self effort,

when one should examine to see if the

effort is motivated by delusion and

correct oneself.Ones goal should be to free oneself

from likes and dislikes lest they might

become the latent tendencies

(vasanas) of future incarnations!

Though we tend to act according to

our vasanas, we can exercise our

freedom to work on strengthening the

pure ones by encouraging them and

weakening the impure ones by

gradually disusing them. After

achieving this replacement of impure

ones by pure ones, we have to free

ourselves from even the good ones.

Thus one should engage in righteous

self effort and advance towards

realizing the truth.

SELF EFFORT

R. ANNAPURNA

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

5/8

8 9To whom there is no superior, the superior of all. Thou are that. Be free! Freedom is our birth right.

Indian culture believes in the concept of

pantheism. Indian mythology speaks

volumes to testify this fact. Among the

Indian Gods and Goddesses, Lord Vinayaka

is given the prime place and is worshipped

as the prime deity- Prathama Vandana

Gauri Nandana- believed to be the

remover of all obstacles.

The auspicious Sunday, August 23rd marked

the celebration of Ganesh chaturthi, one of

the most important festival in the Hindu

almanac. This festival was celebrated with

religious fervour at Nachiketa Tapovan.

Children of Vidyamandir and volunteers

assembled in the Dhyanamandir to witness

the pooja performed by Swamiji and Mataji.

After the pooja ,Swamiji explained to the

children the significance of the festival and

Mataji gave a vivid description of the

puranic and spiritual aspect of Lord

Ganesha.

A bouquet of bhajans and stotras sung by

Swamiji, followed by a scintillating diya

dance by children were the highlights of

the morning session. Everyone present got

drenched in the satvik mood created by

the festivities. Evening session started at

4pm with Swamiji performing pooja to thebig Ganesha idol in the pandal set up by the

children. Their enthusiasm and efforts in

having their own Ganesh pandal was highly

appreciable. After nine days of successful

worship the week that followed witnessed

Ganesha being taken for the most popular

immersion. With the immersion Ganeshas

divine qualities spread far and wide.

GANESH CHATURTHI

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

6/8

11The breaking of the knots of the heart caused by

avidya is liberation.

Upanishads are the full blossomed

flowers on the tree of Vedas.

Upanishads are called Vedanta which

means that they are the goal of Veda.

There are known

to be more than

one thousand

Upanishads out ofwhich 108 are

listed. Ten of these

U p a n i s h a d s ,

commented upon

by Adi

S a n k a r a c h a r y a

came to be known

as the

Dasopanishad.

Study of these ten

Upanishads will

unravel theknowledge of

microcosm and the

macrocosm and

thereby aid in Self-

realization. The

names of the ten Upanishads

respectively are-

Isa Kena Katha Prasna

Mundaka Mandukya thithiri

Aitareyancha Chandogyam

Brihadaranyakam dasa.

In the last ten issues of Nachiketanjali,

we tried to give a hint of fragrance of

each Upanishad, praying and hoping to

delve into individual work subsequently.

On the cover page of each issue was

featured the invocation and the

meaning of that fortnights Upanishad.

But when two or more Upanishads

shared a common invocation, we

featured the first

verse or the most

meaningful sloka.

Upanishads arecertain to guide

seekers of spiritual

knowledge since

they transcend

the limitations of

a religion and

shatter the

misconceptions

that we learn

while gearing up

for the worldly

life. Though

chronologically

ancient, they

adopt the most

r e v o l u t i o n a r y

methods of

learning through questioning,

experimenting, contemplation,

debating etc. There is a lot for us to

absorb and adopt from Upanishads e.g.

the concepts like equality of castes,

gender, methods of teaching, one-pointed efficient way of thinking and

much more. The best part is that unlike

a few decades ago we have easy access

to all this great literature in form of

English translations, commentaries

and E-books of these divine treasures.

DASOPANISHAD

10 When we know the truth, the life becomes truth.

Aitareya Upanishad was revealed to a

sage called Mahidasa Aitareya, hence

the name. It is in the end of the Aitareyaaranyaka of Rigveda. The Upanishad

has three sections. The first part

describes Supreme Lords desire to

create and the act of creation of the

world and the birth, the

metamorphosis, the death and rebirth

of the Jivatman, all from His thought

power. The second chapter tells the

story of Rishi Vamadeva who gets

liberated through spiritual knowledge

even while within his mothers womb.

The last section gives a brief account of

direct experience of the supreme self,

the distinction between mind the pure

consciousness and concludes that pure

Consciousness is Brahman.

He created the worlds namely

Ambhah(water), Marichi(skies),

Mara(earth) and Aap(patala). Then He

created Virat- the totality of the Physical

bodies gross form of the Cosmic person

and finally through his wondrous

powers instilled prana and then createdthe food. Having thus created the body

and its parts Atman himself entered the

body through the crown called Vidriti

the place of bliss. And here in the body

the Supreme self lives and passes

through 3 states of waking, dream and

deep sleep oblivious of his true nature.

Like different structures of a house viz.

pillars, roof, ceiling etc. are meant for

serving the occupant of that house,

similarly the sole purpose of the body

is to realize the true nature of Atman,

the master of the body through its

sense organs.

The second part relates the story ofRishi Vamadeva while still in his

mothers womb acquires the

knowledge of the endless suffering of

Jiva in the world, his endless births and

deaths. By attaining this knowledge,

he attains liberation thus illustrating

the fact that destruction of ignorance

is the only way to end the cycle of

mortal existence.

The third part raises the question-

who is the Atman of the two- the

prana, or the Consciousness. Thengoes on to explain how prana through

the instruments called sense organs,

experiences various objects and only

serves the purpose of someone else.

Consciousness which witnesses these

actions and remembers the

impressions made by them is the real

Selfor Atman or Brahman. This pure,

attributeless Brahman is non-dual,

calm and self-content. When

conditioned by upadhis Atman

becomes Isvara, Antaryamin,

Hiranyagarbha, Virat, Devas which

are all but His different names and

forms. The knowledge of oneness of

Brahman and realization of oneness

with Brahman leads one to

immortality.

AITAREYA UPANISHAD

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

7/8

12

OUR PUBLICATIONS

Cost of CD - Rs. 35/-

A request to the readers of Nachiketanjali

Dear Readers,

Thank you all for supporting our Newsletter.

Your feed back will be highly valued.

Kindly let us know...

if you want to refer a friend for subscription of Nachiketanjali.

if you prefer an all color electronic copy of Nachiketanjali.

if you are receiving double copies of Newsletter.

email: nachiketanjali.newsletter@gmail.com

Just like the odour of sandalwood does away with all bad

odours, with the desire for the real all other desires go away.

Sahaja Dhyana is a simple

meditation technique which helps

in experiencing and expressing

Divinity apart from reducing tension

and anxiety. It also enhances

Creativity.

This CD forming a part of 8 yogic

CDs released on 1st April 2007 is

available at our Kavuri Hills

premises and also in leading book

stores.

We convey our heartfelt

appreciation to the ardent team

f r o m

Intelligroup

who visited us

on August

15th 2009 and

brightened upthe occasion.

We all had a fun time celebrating

Indias 63rd Independence Day at

Nachiketa Tapovan. The children

were stimulated by the quiz and

painting competitions. The children

were cheered

by the gifts

received from

Sri Ajit and his

team of

a m i a b l ev o l u n t e e r s

who gave them the best

entertainment and made the day all

the more memorable.

INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH INTELLIGROUP

13The mind is like a tiger. It prowls about in the forest

of sensory objects.

We are elated to announce the major debut event of Yuvanjali

The Samuhik Suryanamaskar

The programme is planned to take place

on

November 22nd 2009

at the Lal Bahadur Stadium and is expected to draw an attendance of

5000 students from the twin cities.

Samuhik Suryanamaskar is an effort to create awareness of the power of

yoga in the youth, so that they enjoy a long, healthy, focused and

worthwhile life.

We request you to attend the event and make this a grand success.

We need your help in accomplishing this task. If interested please

contact:Yuvanjali1@gmail.com

nachiketananda@gmail.com, mataji19@gmail.com

n_tapovan@rediffmail.com, admin@nachiketatapovan.org

Ph: 9849168937, 9030059678, 04023113887

SAMUHIK SURYA NAMASKAR

NACHIKETA TAPOVAN'S

8/14/2019 NL_Vol-1_ mail_17

8/8

14

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 offering

to 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 Supplies) Rs. 5000/month

Celebrate your Special Days with the Children

at Nachiketa Tapovan!

When the mind is pure, it becomes the cause of liberation. 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

As long as there is ignorance bondage continues.