SANADHANA DHARMA  

Speech In Chicago World Parliment Of Religions

Swami vivekananda

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Swami Sivananda

On Thursday, the 8th. of September, 1887, in the early hours of the morning, when the star Bharani was in the ascendant was born a boy-child in the village of Pattamadai on the bank of the river Tamraparani in South India. Sri P.S. Vengu Iyer, a revenue officer and a great Siva Bhakta (devotee of Lord Siva), and Srimati Parvati Ammal, an equally great god-fearing lady, were the fortunate parents of this child

An active saintly man, much devoted to serving his fellow human beings, Sri Swami Sivananda was a physician, monk, and founder of The Divine Life Society. He was the author of many excellent books on all facets of yoga which are kept available today in free editions on the web by The Divine Life Society

Kuppuswamy completed the course and earned the title of M.B.,C.M. He practiced at Tiruchi..In the year 1936 sowed the seed of The Divine Life Society on the bank of the holy Ganga. He found an old Kutir, dilapidated and disused, which looked like an abandoned cowshed.From this small beginning the Society grew imperceptibly and it is now the headquarters of a world-wide Organization having a large number of Branches both within the country and outside. He got the Divine Life Society Registered as a Trust in the year 1936, with the main objects of dissemination of spiritual knowledge and selfless service of humanity.

The Society's Silver Jubilee was celebrated in 1961, by which time the Master saw the fulfillment of his mission in his own lifetime.

Swami Sivananda radiated his divine and lofty message of service, meditation and God-realization to all parts of the world through his books, running to more than three hundred, through periodicals and letters.

Swami Sivananda's Yoga, which he has significantly called the 'Yoga of Synthesis', effects a harmonious development of the 'hand', 'head' and 'heart' through the practice of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.

On the 14th of July 1963, the Great Soul Swami Sivananda entered Mahasamadhi (departure of a Self-realized saint from his mortal coil) in his Kutir on the bank of Ganga, in Shivanandanagar.

Yogaswamy

Yogaswami lived in Jaffna, Sri Lanka during the first part of this century, making his transition to the inner worlds in 1963. During his life Yogaswami gave out his wisdom spontaneously in songs and sayings. He also carefully edited his journal called The Sivathondan "The Servant of God" which was published by his devotees who had formed a small organization called the Sivathondan Niliyam. He also initiated several successors, one of whom, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

Thanks to the diligence of devotees who recorded his songs and sayings called "Natchintanai" or "Good Thoughts" and who noted down the events of Yogaswami's life,

Today, more and more Sivathondan Niliyams are springing up in various nations around the world, to carry on the message and culture of this Sri Lankan line of spiritual masters. May the words of Sage Yogaswami light the fire of aspiration in our hearts and inspire us ever onward and upward on the path of sadhana and service, or, as Yogaswami would say in Tamil, the path of Sivadhyana and Sivathondu.

Ramana Maharsi

In the summer of 1896, Ramana went into an altered state of consciousness which had a profound effect on him. He experienced what he understood to be his own death, and later returned to life. When he was seventeen years old, Ramama left for Arunachala, arriving after four days of mostly train travel. He went directly to the central shrine at the temple and addressed the Shiva symbol (linga) stating he had given up everything and come to Arunachala in response to the god's call.

Ramana spent ten years living in temples and caves meditating, and pursuing spiritual purification, keeping the disciplines of silence and non-attachment. At this point, his reputation as a serious teacher (he was called Brahma Swami) began to grow and other seekers began to visit him.

His disciples, some of whom were learned individuals, began to bring him sacred books. He became conversant with the religious traditions of South India written in the different regional languages. Ramana developed cancer and when his devotees voiced concern about losing him, he responded with the statement "I am not going anywhere, where shall I go? I shall be there where I am always." He died in April, 1950, sitting in lotus position. The final word that passed from his lips was the sacred syllable OM.

Adi sankaracharya

Shankaracharya is the first among the three acharyas who reformed Hindu religion by giving their own interpretation to the ancient sacred texts. At the time, the vedic texts which have come down to Indians through the ages and only orally studied were the monopoly of a certain class. This knowledge was known as shruti, or learning by careful listening. The vedas were in very old esoteric language were beyond the reach of the common man.

The three acharyas, Shankaracharya (c 788 - 820 AD), Ramanujacharya (11th century AD), and Madhwacharya (13th century AD) -- all hailing from southern part of India are credited for the status of present day Hindu thought and philosophy.

Shankara's arrival on the scene was at a most critical juncture when both Buddhism and Hinduism were fast disintegrating into various sects and cults. Shankara was born of poor but pious Nambudiri Brahmin couple in the Kaladi village of the Kerala kingdom.

He went in search of a guru for further spiritual guidance and studied under Govinda Bhagavatpada, who was a famous disciple of  the great saint Gowdapadacharya. Gowdapadacharya advocated monism or advaita. Shankara argued and won over many great scholars of his time belonging to different faiths.

He wrote commentary of Bhagavad-Gita, chief Upanishads and other philosophic works. He is created beautiful compositions in praise of God and Mother Goddess. Vedanta and its interpretation by Shankara is accepted and revered even by modern theologists including Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo.

While Shankaracharya criticized Buddhism in its decayed form, he assimilated many tenets of Buddhism  cleverly, like that of nirvana (void).  It was Shankaracharya who was responsible to absorb Buddha into Hinduism and recognize Buddha as an avatar (incarnation) of  God !

Shankaracharya was only thirty-two years old at the time of his death. But his life's mission was complete. Revival and reformation of original vedic religion, which is considered intellectual Hinduism is alive to this day.

Sri Ramakrishnar

Ramakrishna's chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda, entered onto the world stage by doing a keynote address at the World Parliament of Religions meeting in Chicago in 1893, and he electrified his audience. Hindus for generations could point to their indigenous traditions with pride after his exemplary speech. He embarked on a long period of teaching where he gathered a group of disciples around him. This period of his life is well documented by two sets of books written by his disciples.

Vivekananda also promoted a more activist form of Hinduism, which focused on education, feeding the poor, and developing libraries and other institutions.

Ramakrishna died of cancer of the throat in 1886, leaving his wife Sarada Devi who was considered a saint in her own right to take charge of his disciples and carry on his message.

Sri Sarada Devi

Sri Sarada Devi
The Holy Mother

Worshipped during her lifetime as a manifestation of Divine Motherhood, Sri Sarada Devi's throne was the earthen floor. Her adornments were the white sari with a thin red border and two simple gold bracelets. In place of bow, trident and other divine weapons, Mother carried a broom and basket.

To take darshan of Mother was to help her with the daily chores of cleaning and preparing food for offering. Her principal concern was that her children have enough to eat. All who came were her children. Mother's benediction was an outstretched hand of welcome which bade one always to come again.

Sri Ramanuja

Sri Ramanuja (born in 1017 A.D. -- not to be confused with the great Indian mathematician with the same name) appeared on the spiritual scene of South India ignited by the devotional revolution started by the Alvars. He came from a pious Brahmin family and studied all holy scriptures as was the practice. But he could not reconcile to monistic system and interpreted Brahma-sutras and Bhagavadgita in his own volition of synthesizing devotion and knowledge. According to him, God, the soul, and the universe together formed one reality. God is all pervading supreme spirit. The universe comes out of Him and returns to Him in cycles. He said that God-realization was possible only through Bhakti, which was a spiritual discipline.

He was a good organizer and a great liberal. He accepted a low caste Shudra as one of his Gurus. Once he imparted the sacred mantra (supposed to be the most secret imparting of a Guru to a Sishya,) his guru had revealed him, openly to the public announcing to the whole community which had gathered at the temple. On being questioned on this propriety, Ramanuja declared that if by his going to hell so many souls could be saved, he would prefer it to his own salvation. (Breach of secrecy of mantra was a sin and hell was the punishment according to the traditional belief.)

He traveled far and wide and gave a big boost to the Bhakti Movement in India. His famous works include Vedartha-sangraha, and Sribashya -- commentaries on the Upandihads and Brahma Sutras, and form the core of the Sri Vaishnava cult in India.

Mira Bai

Saint Mirabai (1547-1614 A.D.)

As the more famous (than Andal or Akkamadadevi) of the female saints of India, Bhakti Mira or Mirabai can be considered as one of the foremost mystics of the world. Worldly comforts never attracted these mystics. They have left beautiful songs and hymns to posterity which are sung to this day.

To Andal, Akka and Mira, the soul was the eternal bride and the Lord their eternal Bridegroom the eternal Bridegroom . All the three excelled in the life of renunciation and divine realization. They lived in entirely different regions, wrote in their respective language in different age and Milieu, but became legends in their lifetime itself, by the austere life and single purpose of pursuit of God and finally divine attainment. This life is extremely difficult irrespective of gender to practice and attain salvation.

It is said that Mira got merged into the idol of Krishna in the temple of Ranchod at Dwaraka.

More than 400 songs ascribed to Mira known as Padas (lyrics) have been collected. She herself set tune to her songs and sang in soul-stirring divinely sweet voice. "Rag Govind" and "Rag Mira Malhar" are her creations. All her songs could be set to music easily and have become immensely popular throughout India, an indication to national solidarity established through Bhakti and through music.

Sri Aurbindo

For the last 40 years of his life in Pondicherry Sri Aurobindo worked tirelessly for the realisation of his vision of a divine life upon earth. He revealed his new message for humanity and its glorious future primarily through his writings which reflect unerringly his genius as a scholar, writer, poet, literary critic, philosopher, social thinker, revolutionary, patriot, visionary and yogi. His masterful command over the English language, his infallible power of expression, his sharp intellect, his poetic genius, and above all his yogic insight and his love for humanity make it a veritable experience reading his works.

At a very young age Sri Aurobindo had begun to feel strongly that a period of great revolutionary changes was emerging in the world and in India and that he was destined to play a part in it.

From 1908 to 1909 Sri Aurobindo was kept under detention by the British Government.

In 1910, in answer to an inner call,s Sri Aurobindo withdrew from the political field and sailed for Pondicherry to devote himself entirely to his evolving spiritual mission

Sri Aurobindo's spiritual collaborator known as the Mother, joined him in 1920. With the Mother and Sri Aurobindo at its centre emerged the Sri Aurobindo Ashram - not a retreat for ascetics and retired men but the seat of an enduring spiritual experiment which works for the transformation and perfection of life instead of its rejection. Sri Aurobindo affirms that all life is Yoga, that man has a greater destiny awaiting him, and through a conscious aspiration he can evolve into a higher being and open himself to a new consciousness which he called the Supramental.

Sri Aurobindo left his body in 1950 but his vision and ideals continue to inspire thousands of people all over the world.