Most beloved Gurudev Chinmayananda & His Mission

 

Most beloved Gurudev Chinmayananda & His Mission

(Compilation for a Discourse by N.R. Srinivasan, Nashville, TN, USA, December 2020)

Swami Chidananda of FOWAI Forum draws our attention on December 25,   2020, to our most beloved Swami Chinmayananda and his Guru Tapovan on this year’s Gita Jayanthi day, on the auspicious day of Vaikuntha Ekadasai, December 25, 2020 that is also the most sacred worshipful day for many ancient traditions and religions. He surprised us by asking us  to celebrate Gita Jayanthi Day not only paying tribute to Parama Guru Lord Krishna but also to Acharya Tapovan, and his brilliant disciple popular and beloved Gurudev Chinmayananda.   Probably, he had in mind Jesus Christ too who was also a great teacher and preacher, on this unique and rare December 25, 2020! It is no wonder   these thoughts dawned upmost in his mind on December 25, 2020, to pay our tribute to Modern Guruparampara Urban Monks, starting from Swami Vivekananda who imparted the Vision of Vedanta to all Religions of the World at Chicago Forum in 1893.

Swami Chinmayananda in 1950 started his lectures on Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads to the general public. It was only a matter of time before Swamiji faced criticism from orthodox Brahmins--their relentless complaint was that he had no regard for caste, status, and profession. He allowed everybody to equally participate in everything, whereas, the sacred scriptures were only to be taught to Brahmins, and not to all. And why was he teaching in English, the language of the foreign devils … unheard of! Undaunted, Swamiji continued with his work and showed great patience. He firmly responded that Mother Shruti (Vedic Wisdom) knew how to take care of herself. She did not require any security guards to protect her from unworthy students. If a student was unfit, he would simply fall asleep or walk away from a talk.  

Yogananda announced, toward the end of his life, that he was the last in his line of gurus. There was plenty of precedent for this statement. When an avatar comes on earth, it plays its special role and also shapes the  lives of the spiritual descendants. Krishna, for example, is still viewed by many Hindus as their Supreme Guru. Buddha stands above all the saints in Buddhism who have appeared since he lived. And Jesus Christ is accepted even now, after 2,000 years, as the Supreme Savior of all Christians.  (Let us not forget Rishaba, the Ford Founder and Guru Nanak in this context, though not mentioned by him.) Thus, Yogananda’s announcement that the line of gurus he represented would end with him was neither startling nor unprecedented!

Swami Vivekananda was a perfect blend of Social and Spiritual Excellence. By following his teachings, we also can strive to inculcate these concepts in our life and attain both these aspects of Human Excellence. Spirituality need not be confined to forests and caves. As Swami Vivekananda said, it should enter the marketplace, and the field and the factory. When all activities are infused with the leaven of spirituality, a silent revolution will come about. The real satya-yuga will begin. For this, continuous effort in this direction—to focus one’s life on God, and give it a spiritual orientation—is highly necessary. This philosophy has been powerfully and practically carried out by later Gurus like  Yogananda Paramahmsa, Tapovanam and Swami Chinmayananda ad otherts including Female Gurus portraying as Mothers.

Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893 – March 7, 1952) was an Indian Monk, Guru and Yoga Teacher. Yogananda was the first major Indian teacher to settle in America, and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House (by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927);   his early acclaim led to him being dubbed "the 20th century's first superstar guru," by the Los Angeles Times.  Arriving in Boston in 1920, he embarked on a successful transcontinental speaking tour before settling in Los Angeles in 1925. For the next two and a half decades, he gained local fame as well as expanded his influence worldwide: he created a monastic order and trained disciples, went on teaching-tours, bought properties for his organization in various California locales, and initiated thousands into Kriya Yoga.  By 1952, SRF had over 100 centers in both India and the US; today, they have groups in nearly every major American city.  His "plain living and high thinking" principles attracted people from all backgrounds among his followers.  

We will confine this discourse essentially to Swami Chinmayananda mainly and his Guru Tapovanam whose birth day falls on December 25, 2020 this year, glorified and brought to our attention by Swami Chidananda.

Tapovanam is history’s few, God’s own ascetic, a beacon of knowledge, and a Himalayan jewel — all rolled into one. Swami Tapovanam is a symbol of complete abidance in Truth, the light that never descended — philosophically, literally, and figuratively. He was that pristine glacier of Self-knowledge from whom flowed the Ganga of Vedantic wisdom through Swami Chinmayananda, the founder of Chinmaya Mission.

A saint of the highest order, Swami Tapovanam was a consummate Vedantin, strict teacher, a compassionate mentor, a poet whose every thought throbbed with ecstatic awareness, and a sage of unsurpassed wisdom and tranquility. He is one of those rare sages who personifies the Absolute in every sense of   the word — eternal and infinite — radiant and resplendent, dazzling with the effulgence of a million suns.

Swami Sivananda called him ‘Himavat Vibhuti,’ meaning “the glory of the Himalayas”; and in the world of sages and ascetics, he is acknowledged as one of the four great enlightened masters of Vedanta who lived in the Himalayas during the time, along with Swami Vishnudevananda, Brahmaprakasa Udasina, and Devagiri Swami.

That Truth, which Swami Tapovanam realized and indicated in all his teachings, is beyond words, as much as he himself was. Swami Chinmayananda said of his Guru, “He was a God without temple, a Veda without language.”

How to explain to you all, that what I saw in Him was what I saw in the Upanishads and in the Bhagavad Gita. The work of spreading the Gita and the Upanishads was to unveil Him and His glory, His vibhuti - 'Tapovan Mahima', in the hearts of all-- Swami Chinmayananda on His Guru Swami Tapovan Maharaj.

Hailed as the second Swami Vivekananda, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) has left a great legacy behind for mankind. On realizing the true purpose of life, he worked tirelessly and with tremendous energy for more than four decades to spread the message of Vedanta. A great orator, writer, leader, patriot and spiritual giant, he is one of the finest representatives of Indian spiritual heritage. The sprawling worldwide organization of Chinmaya Mission carries on the torch lit by this great Saint.   

Swami Chinmayananda is a saint from India who had brought about a spiritual renaissance throughout the world. Inspired by Mother Ganga, he chose to come down to the plains and share what he had gained. In 1951 he had set rolling what was later to become the Chinmaya Mission Movement. Dynamic and creative, he has authored many books, despite his busy schedule for the benefit of spiritual seekers.

With his own brand of wit, humor and vocabulary, he paints vividly the wisdom of the ages in front of us. His commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita is considered one of the best ever. Also his commentaries on the Upanishads are outstanding for their clarity and crisp logic. Other than his commentaries, he has also written numerous books on Vedanta, Meditation, Indian Culture and Symbolism. He is well-known for his books Kindle Life, a Fundamental text of Vedanta well-known widely popular for its simplicity and thought-provoking examples and Art of Man-making, which conveys the essence of the Gita for the younger generation inspiring them to live a life of higher ideal and purpose. In his book Art of God-symbolism he shatters the age old myths, rendering a new perspective to God-symbolism.

Swami Chinmayananda was instrumental in the founding of an organisation, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which was once seen as a guiding force for Hindus worldwide. Also among the founders of the VHP were the former Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, and the Kanchi Paramacharya  However, one hardly hears of the VHP today as it has been mostly sidelined and lacks the leadership it once possessed.

Swami Chinmayananda wrote 35 books on the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā, in addition to a set of interpretations of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Bhaja Govindam and Vivekacūḍāmaṇi.

He has authored over 80 titles and his books have been translated into many regional as well as foreign languages influencing the lives of millions.

HOLY GEETA BY CHINMAYANANDA

The Holy Geeta was an attempt by Swami Chinmayananda to highlight and re-introduce the valuable wisdom and knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita, and was first published in 1976.

Summary of   The  Holy Geeta:

The Bhagavad Gita is an integral part of the Mahabharata, a highly revered Indian epic. It narrates the story of Lord Krishna and Arjun, their conversations on varied topics of philosophy and spirituality, and the principles of the Vedanta. The Bhagavad Gita is an intricate part of Hinduism, and is considered to be one of the most popular scriptures of ancient India.

Swami Chinmayananda provides the basic, invaluable theory of the Bhagavad Gita in a fresh style with a relatable outlook for modern readers. He writes about how the innately profound wisdom of the text should be incorporated into the lifestyles of the readers, and how it should be used as a guide to living.

In the book The Holy Geeta, the author shares the vision of an all-powerful, omnipresent God and delves into the science of spiritual growth. He also talks about how a predominant ego can block one’s path to inner peace, and lead to mental distress. He elucidates the hundred and one verses of the Gita in an eloquent and engaging manner. 

The message of Geeta is universal in its scope, and it opens the gate of deliverance to all without distinction. Lord Krishna states, "Through whatever paths men seek to come unto Me, I accept them through those very paths; all paths which men take, O Arjuna, lead ultimately unto Me only."  Although there are many commentaries on Geeta it is the careful analysis and brilliant reasoning of Swami Chinmayananda's version that makes it so exceptional. There is a constant attempt to bring forth from each verse not only its literal meanings but also its hidden import that reveals a wealth of knowledge. Recently huffpost.com has carried an article on 11 best sources to learn about the beauty of Hinduism. The Holy Geeta by Pujya Gurudev finds a mention at #2.

 “Geetā literally means a song. The wisdom in the teachings of Lord Shri Krishna, as contained in this holy text, can surely make our life a “song of joy‟. Spiritual ignorance is behind our sorrow and delusion (shoka-moha) and it leaves us when we understand and live the guidance from the “Song Celestial‟. The 11^thday of the bright fortnight (shukla-paksha) of the month of Mārgashirsha is always the auspicious day of Geetā Jayanti. On this auspicious day, we observe the birth anniversary of Pujya Swāmi Tapovan also, who was the teacher of Pujya Swāmi Chinmayānanda ji. “We offer 'pranāms' to the parama-guru. We express the hope that all of us, imbibe the great virtues like dispassion (vairāgya) and devotion to knowledge (jnāna) that the master of Uttar Kāshi stood for” writes Swami Chidananda in hi AUPA-e Mail of December 2020.

Swami Chinmayanda, Our Most Beloved Gurudev 

His Early Journey – how it all began

On 8 May 1916, a child was born as so many other children were born. Born to ordinary parents – a lawyer father, a home maker mother, Balan went to school like all kids do; he would later acquire a degree in English Literature, plunge into the Freedom Movement of India against British rule, be imprisoned, fall frightfully ill, be thrown out of jail for that, be rescued by a strange lady, start writing for a newspaper, make fiery speeches and plan even more fiery exposes and then, all too suddenly abandon all that, for none of them explained to him the purpose of his birth.

Clearly, Swami Chinmayananda was an unusual young man.

• Spiritual Quest
• Published Works
• Work & Legacy
• Vision to Mission

Early indications

Balan was not born holy, yet he took sannyasa at the age of thirty-three, as, in his words, “It was the only sensible thing to do.” Tracing back to the early 1900s, this son born to the Poothampalli House in Kerala’s Ernakulam, to Vadakke Kurupath Kuttan Menon of Trichur and his wife, the devout Parukutti Menon, Poothampalli Balakrishnan Menon was the third child after two daughters. This was a traditional home steeped in worship and service of the Lord, where worship and prayer lasted longer than a slow meal. It was a home known for its kindness and hospitality, where Kulagurus Chattambi Swamigal, Yogiraj Bhairavananda and all visiting saints were revered and respected. Little did this household imagine that the baby in the crib came with a severely questioning mind, unrelenting of illogical discipline and a bank of questions whose answers lay dispersed and far into time.

In Poothampalli House, the evening poojas that at first began as a trial for an indifferent Balan, would later be seen as a precursor of a fabulous life that would blaze the world with a clear idea of worship, be an idol of worship, and in later years, the ideal of worship.

It was this that gave Balan the momentum towards devotion something he would not know until his mid-twenties. And like all discipline, which one instinctively follows, little Balan did too, but in the silence of his young mind he created fanciful games with the goings-on, the idols, the framed pictures, the processes and prescriptions of do’s and don’ts, as none of these added up logically in his mind.

Of the entire pantheon of gods and goddesses that lined the family prayer room, the one that held little Balan’s attention, without seeming forbidding or inhibiting, was Shiva as Gangadhara, although he did shudder to see Devi Bhagawati smothered under a mountain of flowers, a mountain that only increased with every naam of the sahasranaam…As the routine established into a daily affair, Balan had to devise a coping strategy. And it was this strategy that saw the birth of the future Swami Chinmayananda.  It began with a game of hide-and-seek that he played with the Lord Chandrakaladhara. So the Lord hid as Balan shut his eyes and then little Balan sought Him in his mind’s screen.  Soon, this became his preferred game which he played outside of the pooja room too: to find Lord Siva in his mind on demand… and as he sought, the Lord appeared even as a sweet smile of triumph lit up little Balan’s face.

In hindsight, looking back: In Swami Chinmayananda’s words which he recalled in later years as he sat in Ananda Kutir, “It took more than 20 years to realize that in that strange game, little Balan had been initiated into Jnana Marga by Parameswara Himself.” 

From Balan to Bliss via Jnana Marg

Done with schooling and graduation, Balan took to writing and writing took him to scripting fiery speeches that denounced the British rule. Balakrishnan’s nationalist activities led to his imprisonment – not surprising, and as he would realize soon, resistance was indeed a recipe for bondage!  But resist he did and rightly so then, as he was resisting adharma. Like all young people, Balan too overtly fought the system, fought the establishment, fought irrationality, fought superstition and fought blind faith. This overt rebellion was the coming of age of his inner spiritual quest.

One day, while working for The National Herald, Balakrishnan decided to write an exposé, calling the bluff (as he then believed) of the swamis in the Himalayan regions. Thus, he travelled to Swami Sivananda’s ashram in Rishikesh.

How unusual is the hand of God! Unwittingly at the door of India’s finest spiritual teacher, Balakrishnan’s journey began to reveal to him his own inner spiritual revolution and evolution. Swami Sivananda’s divinity, love, and Vedanta teachings overwhelmed the young skeptic. A striking inner transformation unfolded within Balakrishnan and instead of questioning and confronting the world outside, he began to confront his inner world of thoughts and ideas. He began questioning and reflecting upon the purpose of life and the secret of permanent happiness. In the company of saints, and through the clarity of their teachings, the highly intellectual seeker soon chose to become a Monk of  renunciation himself.

On the holy day of Mahashivaratri, February 25, 1949, Balakrishnan was initiated into the sanyasi order by Swami Sivananda, who blessed him with the name ‘Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati’. Chinmayananda means ‘filled with the bliss of pure Consciousness’. Swami Sivananda then guided Chinmayananda to the most renowned Vedanta master of the time, Swami Tapovanam, who lived in Uttarkashi, in the Himalayas. Swami Tapovanam who rarely took on disciples put forth strict conditions… but these were no deterrent for the young man of renunciation; he accepted each of his Guru’s terms, unconditionally.

Thus began a period of intensive study and austere living as Swami Tapovanam’s disciple.

Throughout his decades-long spiritual life, Swami Chinmayananda taught jñāna yajñá (“wisdom worship”)—his quest for spiritual liberation through the study of the sacred texts. In 1953, Swami Chinmayananda founded the Chinmaya Mission for the teaching of the Vedānta philosophy, and for the promotion of Indian culture and social service. He was also influential in the 1964 establishment of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, now a Hindu nationalist organization.

The Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization engaged in the dissemination of Vedanta, the science of the self as expounded in the Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita.

 Incorporated in California in 1975, Chinmaya Mission has now grown to over 49 centers in North America, serving over 18,000 registered Bala Vihar® attendees gaining the knowledge and wisdom of our scriptures. Bala Vihar is a weekly gathering of children, between the ages of five to fifteen years that takes place in Chinmaya Mission Centers or in private homes, under the supervision of trained teachers. The other offerings are Adult Study Groups (Vedanta & Devi), CHYK, JCHYK for the youth, Setukari for the young adult, Jnana Yajnas and Swaranjali (the musical wing of Chinmaya Mission).

“The dashanami institution founded by Adi Shankara produced leaders such as Swami Chinmayananda and Swami Dayananda. Such heroes and legends need to be celebrated and their stories once again need to be taught to children.” writes India Facts last year.

Inspirational Quotes by Swami Chinmayananda (Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher)

• Silently hear everyone.
  Accept what is good.
  Reject and forget what is not.
  This is intelligent living.
   

• Unless we have a definite faith in the goal of our existence, and unless we believe, work for, and actually come to experience the goal positively as an existent factor, there is no hope of any plan becoming successful.
   
• The average man looks up at night
  and sees thousands and thousands, of twinkling stars,
  Each different from the others.
  But a man of wisdom and achievement,
  Perceives the one light,
  Behind the dark dome of the night-sky,
  Whose incandescence peeps at us,
  Through all the holes in the night-dome!.
   
• Without devotion, knowledge is tasteless. Without knowledge, devotion is mere empty idol worship.
   
• To define God is to defile God.
   
• Be strict and intelligently critical about yourself and your own weakness and follies. But, cushion your words and attitudes with Love. Love is the greatest persuasive power we know in life.
   
• Our present work may be great or small.
  Yet, the important thing is to do it well.
   
• Mind can make a hell of heaven.
   
• Work is love made visible. To bring into vivid expression your love for others
  is work – to drag yourself through each day’s schedule, morose, unhappy,
  miserable, is labor. Work alone brings achievement, never labor.
  Grow up to be a man of sheer achievements through loving work.
   
• In all worthwhile undertakings, There will be risks of failure, of disappointments, of even disaster. To face them all with inner poise and firm faith is to discover the glory of final victory.
   
• The secret of action is to get established in equanimity, renouncing all egocentric attachments, and forgetting to worry over our successes and failures.
   
• Work without faith and prayer is like an artificial flower without fragrance.
   
• To forget oneself totally, one’s mind should keep awake at every moment. A mind that has forgotten the past and the future, that is awake to the now, to the present, expresses the highest concentration of intelligence. It is alert, it is watchful, it is inspired. The actions of a man who has such a mind are exceptionally creative and perfect. Verily to forget oneself totally, is to be in perfection.
   
• To be patient means to suffer something that hinders or hurts us, and still retain our self-composure. How many difficulties, with their consequent unpleasantness and discord, could be smoothed over and almost entirely eliminated by patience. Patience always elevates and strengthens our character. We need it not only with others but also with ourselves.
   
• Stop all your attachments to false values. In an ever changing world, there is nothing worthwhile for us to desire or weep for. Joys and sorrows are bound come in human life; they are just like the two sides of the same coin.
   
• Spiritual unfoldment cannot take place merely because of an intellectual appreciation of the theory of perfection. Evolution takes place only when a corresponding change in the subjective life is accomplished.
   
• Every body dies, nobody dies.
   
• Never complain, about the number of hours you have put in to do a job. Your nobility must estimate how much of you was put into each hour of your daily work.
  
  
• To understand anything is to find in it something which is our own.
   
• Disappointment can come only to those who make appointments with the future.
   
• Success or achievement is not the final goal. It is the ‘spirit’ in which you act that puts the seal of beauty upon your life.
   
• ‘Surrender in spite of Freedom’ is the way of wise men.
   
• Plan out your work, then work out your plan.
  The former without the latter is a sheer waste.
  The latter without the former is mere unproductive confusion.
   
• Prosperity is like wine, which goes to the head, and makes man forget his Creator.
  Adversity, on the contrary, sobers him and reminds him of God and his Glory.
   
• There is nothing, at any time, in any circumstance, to worry over ‘why this to me’?
   
• Out of purity and silence come the words of power.
   
• When the time of judgement comes,
  we shall not be asked what we have read,
  but what we have done.
   
• It is sure to be dark if you close your eyes.
   
• If I rest, I rust.
   
• Live morality before you talk of it.
  Practice meditation before you preach it.
  Taste goodness before you recommend it.
  Gain bliss before you offer it to others.
   
• This nobility in your heart must shine out in your actions, in your conduct, in your work. To be moody in and disgusted with the responsibilities, and to drag yourself through life, is a painful, unproductive existence.

 

• To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness you have is all His Gift to you. What you do with what you have is your Gift to Him  

 

• History is full of instances, wherein, victory would have been to the vanquished, if only they had battled a little longer! We often fail for lack of perseverance in our efforts. We leave our work half done in our impatience. Every job demands its quota of efforts. Never give up too soon.
   
• The tragedy of human history is decreasing happiness in the midst of increasing comforts.
   
• He who submits to discipline is a DISCIPLE.
   
• A successful man is one who lays a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him

Topics: Success, Men, Desires, Confidence, Entrepreneurs, Success & Failure

 

• We like someone because, we love someone in spite of.
   
• Words are not necessary. Both will have their eyes flooded, and the joy of tears will wash away all quarrels.
   
• The highest form of Grace is silence.
   
• A Conquest, without facing dangers is as dull as Victory without a shining glory. A game without a prize.
   
• Character is formed from the repeated choice of thoughts and action.
   
• Faith is, ‘To believe what you do not see’, the reward of which is, ‘you’

 

• Substitute wisely, grow steadily and be free.
   
• In life, the glory lies not in the quarry, but in the chase.
  The success is not in the trophy won,
  but in the race run … .
   
• Strange! Wealth estranges us all. It is all very strange, the money psychology! When you have not got any, you will want to get some! When you get some, you grow jealous of others who have more, and feel conceited among those who have less.

 

• There is no companion like solitude. One who knows how to tune himself to the inner silence, even in the midst of the din and roar of the marketplace, enjoys a most re-creative  solitude

 

• To remember the ever present Divine at all times, even while acting in the world, is the most positive practice for a seeker who is striving to evolve. He will thereby transform his inner personality from its present

 

 

• Universe is a cosmos and not a chaos. There exists a mental affinity; a scientific law; a rhythm of mental relationship in which the entire living world is held together, in one web of love.
   
• To do your job even if circumstances are not conducive,
   
• The secret of success behind all men of achievement, lies in the faculty of applying their intellect in all their activities, without being misled by any surging emotions or feelings. The secret of success in life lies in keeping the head above the storms of the heart.
   
• Man is the roof and crown of creation. He may be tossed about by uncertain storms of life, but the solution to it lies in his own efforts in finding an ideal, and then raising his personality, from the level of petty emotions, to the loftier heights of the chosen ideal.
   
• You are successful and creative only when you see an opportunity in every difficulty.
   
• There is no destiny beyond and above ourselves; we are ourselves the architects of our future.
   
• Spirituality is neither the privilege of the poor nor the luxury of the 
• Temper takes you to Trouble, Pride keeps you there.
   
• Mind alone is maya at play.
   
• Sandalwood perfumes even the axe that hurls it down! The more we rub sandalwood against a stone, the more its fragrance spreads.
  Burn it, and it wafts its glory through the entire neighborhood.
  Such is the enchanting beauty of forgiveness in life.
   
• The real men of achievement are people who have the heroism to fuel more and more enthusiasm in their work, when they face more and more difficulties.
   
• A man-of-wisdom lives in the world, but he is never of the world.
   
• Mind at rest is the Temple of Joy. So long as it is gurgling with its desires, passions and attachments in its stormy surface, the signature of joy gets ruffled out.
   
• Alert and vigilant living itself is a ‘Sadhana’ in the true sense.
   
• Religion must not be considered true because it is necessary, but necessary because it is true.
   
• The greatness in an ideology is not, in fact, in the ideology;
  it is in the subject which lives that ideology.
   
• Some act till they meet obstacles, others act inspite of obstacles and conquer them; but some act not fearing the possibility of some obstacles, that might arise enrooted.
   
• He who depends on chances and situations to be happy, is a Sansari.
   
• The greatness is not what we do but, unavoidably, it is always in how we do what we do.
   
• Know what to Do. Do it Yourself.
   
• Love is the heart of all religions; the theme of all classical works of art and literature; the song of all devotees. Scientists know only what love does, not what love is. Love is to human hearts what the sun is to flowers.
   
• Everyone points to the other man, who, according to him, is happier. But the only one, who has the courage to declare that he is truly happy, is he who has relinquished all his passions and hungers from within.
   
• Hindu culture is essentially based upon the sacrifice implied in duty, and not upon acquisition, which is implied in rights.
   
• The God-Man functions as a true ‘sportsman’ in his playfield,
  where the very enjoyment is in the sport and not in the score.
   
• Love is a consistent passion to give, not a meek persistent hope to receive.
  The only demand of life is the privilege to love all.
   
• Bhakti is the attitude of the mind, and jnana is the attitude of the intellect; both flow towards the Lord.
   
• Brood less, smile more and serve all.
   
• Daily prayer and meditation are all wonderful therapeutic agencies in building up peace and happiness within an individual.
   
• Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket.
   
• Grace is only to be found by effort, although it is here and now.
   
• The end of ego is the ‘Mystic Death’ of the mediator.
   
• The heroism of the seeker is in rejecting the whisperings of mediate 

 

• Introspect daily, detect diligently, negate ruthlessly.
   
• Become quietly effective.
  Don’t expect them, to fully understand you. They won’t: So?
  Demonstrate with results what they would not understand with words
   
• Yoga is skill in action.
   
• Everybody exists. It is only the few who live. To live, you should have an ideal.
   
• One single ideal can transform a listless soul into a towering leader of men.
   
• The spirit of Advaita is not to keep away from anything, but to keep in tune with everything.
   
• The cultured give happiness wherever they go. The uncultured whenever they go.
   
• Efficiency is the capacity to bring proficiency into expression.
   
• Comfort – Comes as Guest, Lingers to become Host and stays to ENSLAVE us.
   
• To give love is true freedom; to demand love is pure slavery.
   
• To listen is not merely to hear.  We in life, hear but very rarely do we know how to listen. To listen is to hear, with an intellectual alertness and attention of awareness.
   
• To give without sympathy is to build a temple without the idol and
  it is as futile as painting a picture with black ink on a black-board.
   
• To see the one in the many is the casual vision of knowledge.
  To see the many in the one, is the mission wisdom.
   
• Flood your mind with love. Look into the eyes of the other and embrace the person with whom you have quarreled.
   
• Let not your choice leave behind a sense of guilt.
   
• Charity is an attempt wherein I try to expand and bring into the ambit of my life, all others around me and grow to consider the other man’s needs and requirements as important as my own personal needs. To live seeking an identity thus, with at least those who are immediately around me, is to live away from the suffocating selfishness and the throttling grip of my body-consciousness.

 

• Do the best and leave the rest.
   
• Seek the Lord
  In the smiles of your friends,
  In the glow of angry eyes,
  In the storms of passion.
  He is everywhere, in everything.
   
• Be a noble person in life. The tides of circumstances and the tussle of happenings may toss us hither and thither, may buffet us up and down, but stay noble in your thoughts and actions – you will be ever safe.
   
• ‘Moksha’ is not ‘Freedom from Action’ but, ‘Freedom in Action’.
   
• Appreciating the mind as ‘ALL SILENCE’, ‘I AM’ is meditation.
   
• To say, ‘LORD IS’ is Jnanam. But ‘THE LORD IS I’ is Vijnanam.
   
• Don’t die while living, live after you are dead.
   
• Growing youth determined to reach their goal, sure of their dignity, consistent in their endeavors, proud of their cultural background – can alone bestow upon a growing country the status of a Nation.
   
• Wisdom is the assimilated knowledge in us, gained from an intelligent estimation and close study of our own direct and indirect experience in the world.
   
• When opportunity knocks, we are either out or sleeping in.
   
• To assume differences in the world, is to belie this great Oneness in life.
   
• Not to do what you feel like doing is freedom.
   
• More important than What is Behind you and what is Ahead of you is what is In you.
  Seek it. Centered in it, act and live.
   
• Happiness depends on what you can give, Not on what you can get.
   
• All disturbances and challenges rise not only from our relationship with others, but in our attitude to all other things and beings.
   
• Sin is never in action, it is always in reaction.
   

In his commentary on Upanishads, the journalist, the logician, the scholar and the master of English Literature, Svami Chinmayananda is always at his best. Here are few examples:

Isavasya Upanishad

“See God in all, To Him belong all, Know, renounce and rejoice,  Seek not to possess,  nothing is yours." This short spiritual treatise of just eighteen mantras has inspired great minds for ages. A chapter in Sukla Yajurveda, the teachings here point out the Self - the divine essence-in every one of us. A crisp summary of the Vedanta, this Upanisad shows its way to rise above all our attachments to the finite objects of this world. The glittering sense objects, the sweetest emotions and even the lofty ideals of human life are but a golden disk, covering the face of the Truth. We must avoid all traps of wonderful work (karma; avidya) or charming thought patterns (upasana; vidya) and seek the pure knowledge. The holy text permits the use of a healthy blend of lower spiritual practices as a stepping stone to the highest realization. The scripture concludes with some sublime prayers of an advanced seeker.

Kathopanishad

“Kathopanishad is a unique Upanishad which starts with a Katha (story) of a young boy who is ready to face the Lord of Death in his quest for Truth to know what lies beyond death.  He asks, this very pertinent and philosophical question, “Is there or is there not, and if it is what is  it?” In short this teaching is an extravaganza of spiritual knowledge and meditation that guides a student step by step to the glorious state of immortality and bliss.”

Mundaka Upanishad:

“Mundaka removes the super-imposed veil of ignorance obscuring the Atma through direct and penetrating exposition of the Higher  knowledge like a razor removes the hair from the head. This Upanishad contains most famous, oft quoted analogies vin language which is picturesque, couched vin charming meter and direction.

As the spider projects and withdraws (unto itself) the web, as the herbs and plants sprout out from the earth, as hairs grow on the head and body of a man, so from the Imperishable comes the universe.

The Pranava is the bow, the Atman by one who is self-collected and like the arrow, becomes one with the mark i.e. Brahman.

Two birds bound to each other in close friendship, perch on the self-same tree. one of them eats the  fruits of v the tree with relish, while the other (just) looks on, without eating”

Gurudev’s commentary, on this Upanishad like all other Upanishads gives insights to the seeker to understand the subtle language of the Upanishad in an easy and clear manner.

Aitreya Upanishad

Mahidasa was denied the privilege of sitting bon the lap of his father (Tara, the mother, who was perhaps from the potter community noticed the sad plight of her son and prayed to her Ishta Devata i.e. goddess Earth who appeared in a Divine form, place Mahidasa in a celestial seat and imparted Wisdom. Thus was born, out of the potter Mahidas, the Proletarian Rishi, the Sage of Laborers, and Son of the Soil Seer Aitreya, who attained god-hood and authored this scripture of the common-man, and sang the song of Hindu Culture from a hut of the slum. :”Even the Creator is not free to create a world as He likes” We with our actions--known and unknown, conscious and unconscious are making the blue-prints of our future. The Lord vis but a contractor who executes our plans, as we give it to Him, asserts Swami  Chinmayananda.

Taittiriya Upanishad

Taittiriya Upanishad occupies an unrivalled place in the Divine Tradition of Hinduism. The Upanishad declares a manifesto upon”Hindu way of Living” . “Speak the Truth Do your duty. Do not neglect the study of the scriptures. Do not cut the thread of progeny, Swerve not from truth, Deviate not from the path of good. Revere greatness”  “Let your mother be God o you;  Let your Father be God  to you; Let your Teacher be God to you; Let your  Guest be God to you, Do only actions which are blameless. Always show reverence to the Great”

These Commandments have a democratic Hindu touch which is the unique specialty of Hindu philosophy. “He who realizes Brahman attains the Supreme Brahman is Truth, Knowledge and Infinite, He from whom mall beings are born, having born in whom they live, and to whom they return at death--seek to know him. He is Brahman”-- Seek to know Brahman by meditation.

[In his commentary on this Upanishad, Swami Chinmayananda is at his best.]

Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is a piece of art of strange beauty and its stands apart from everything else, in a class all by itself. It is liquid poetry expounding solid philosophy. In the lucidity of its meter it crystallizes some of the rarest gems of moral and spiritual values. Its breezy discourses have a firm style. The fluidity of its eloquence falls like merciful rain upon every broken personality, making it whole by its magic touch. It is not a book of science, and yet, it is very scientific in its approach to the theme. It has not the airy nothingness of familiar philosophical discourses, and yet, all philosophies seem to meet within its ample stretch.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Discourse is a compilation inspired by the Introduction of Swami Chinnmayananda,  as the most beloved practical teacher and Guru of our times  by Swami Chidananda in his AUPA e-Mail of December 2020,   the material from Various internet sources, and   mainly focused on the News Item  published by  The Hindu, Chennai, India, in the past on the Life and Work of Swami Chinmayananda and his Missionary, that is gratefully acknowledged.

 

 APPENDIX

 

Swami Shankarananda Teachings And Quotes Of Chinmaya Mission

By Abhilash Rajendran  

 

Swami Shankarananda is associated with the Chinmaya Mission. This is a collection of teachings and quotes of Swami Shankarananda.

Wealth can be earned both ways religiously and non-religiously. However if earned non-religiously it will lead to sorrow and not joy. Irreligiousness leads to sin, which in turn leads to mental agitations and finally sorrows.

 

The majority in the world do not understand the importance of religion. They get attached to selfishness and sensual attachments and tread the irreligious path. The harmful effects of irreligiousness are not perceptible soon. The easy path of materialism is attractive.

 

Following the religious path one achieves material pleasures, fame and heaven. Wealth earned by following the religious path and after much effort, gives mental peace and joy. Joy is not in the sense objects rather it is in the peace of mind.

 

All problems of mankind fall into two types. One which are materialistic whose solution are found in the material plane which are short lived; the second type which is spiritual in nature and the solution of this is of lasting and permanent nature.

The cause of many problems originates within the individual, if that is taken care of, the external cause will not arise nor will they give rise to any problem.

 

The root cause for all our internal problems is the ignorance of our true nature – The Self. Our true nature is nothing but an embodiment of joy and bliss.

 

The entrance door of the spiritual path is religion. First of all one should try and understand the definitions of religion. This we can do by seeing the scriptures or listening to spiritual discourses. Briefly speaking our duties is our religion. That what is to be done should be done and that which is not to be done should not be done. This is our duty. To act contrary to this is irreligious.

 

It is usually believed that the origin of our problems is in something external – a thing, a person or a situation which if remedied will solve the problem. This is not true. The main source of problem is within us.

 Chinmaya International Foundation 

Chinmaya International Foundation is located at Veliyanad village near Ernakulam, Kerala state. The Melpazhoor Mana or the Illam at Veliyanad has been converted into Adi Sankara Nilayam, since the Adi Sankara is believed to have been born there. Regular study courses on Vedanta (all the three Acharyas), Nyaya, Mimamsa and Vaisesika are conducted here. There is also a good research library here. People come from all over the world to do research Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF) is the heart and sinew of its founder sage Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda whose idea was to build a study and research center to facilitate academic alliance among scholars across the globe and to bring out the ancient terms and terminologies employed in the Vedas to the context of the modern way of life. 

He wanted to build a bridge to embrace the western minds with our heritage. CIF Shodha Sansthan (CIFSS) is a leading center for advanced learning in Sanskrit and Indology in India with a good academic environment. 

The philosophy of Vedanta tutored at this center gives the right vision of life. It enables an individual to face the situations and problems of life, be it in profession, family or interpersonal relationships, with ease and dexterity. Clarity of thinking and right vision of life enables peace of mind and efficient living. Spiritual seekers shall be able to understand spirituality and walk the Path of Sadhana effectively.  

Any individual who seeks to know the Vedantic Philosophy and earnestly wishes to apply it in his life is welcome to join the Foundation Vedanta Course. Sanskrit knowledge is not required for this course. This is not a course for mere academic knowledge, it is rather aimed at transforming oneself. 

Wonderful classes on Vedanta, all the Upanishads, Mimamsa, Nyaya and Sankhya are conducted in Indian and European languages here throughout the year. Veliyanad is near Ernakulam in Kerala. Adi Sankara Nilayam is a must for those interested in Vedanta. 

Chinmayananda's approach was characterized by an appeal to the English-educated Indian middle class and Indian diaspora; he gave lectures and published books in English. Chinmayananda also helped found the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), an Indian right-wing Hindu organization that is considered a member of the Sangh Parivar. In 1964, he convened delegates to create the VHP at Sandeepany ashram and served as the Organization's first president. He aimed to "awake(n) the Hindus and to make them conscious of their proud place in the comity of nations, saying that, "Let us convert Hindus to Hinduism, then everything will be all right.”