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Issue: Apr 2015
Satsang Article
Swamishri’s Vicharan
My Moment of Clarity
Shanti through Upasana
Nilkanth News
Adhiveshan Launch Sabha
Shãnti Through
Upasana
Important Dates
in March
April 15: Chaitra Vad Ekadashi
April 29: Vishakh Sud Ekadashi
Katha Links:
Upasana 1: http://goo.gl/5IjIO1
Upasana 2: http://goo.gl/9Djh3S
Upasana 3: http://goo.gl/3chUkM
Upasana 4: http://goo.gl/gYoY0E
In everything we do, we must have a goal. Ages ago, Aristotle once said, “Man is a goalseeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” By
having goals, we maximize what we can accomplish.
In the summer of 2006, a variety of high school teachers and administrators were sent to
China to understand why and how students there outperform students in America.
A teacher with the last name Wilkerson was chosen for the trip by the College Board.
In China, most share books and desks with their classmates. Class size is nearly double what
it is in many American schools. Classroom instruction is less interactive, with teachers mainly
lecturing and students mostly listening.
This led him to ask, “Why, then, are Chinese students outperforming American students?” The
answer, like the experience, was a bit surprising for Wilkerson. But he said it might just be the
solution to improving education at home: he summarized it by saying, “The difference is the
expectation they have for learning and the practicality they have for learning. I asked kids the
same question over and over: ‘Why do you want a good education in high school?’ Every one
of them said they wanted to do well in high school to get into a good college. I asked them,
‘Why do you want to get into a good college?’ They said it was for practical reasons, to make
a better life for themselves and their families. The choice there is succeeding in school or a
pretty dismal way of life.” They wanted a better way of life for themselves and their family—
they wanted to be at ease with their living conditions; they wanted shanti.
In the same way, in Satsang, sometimes we work so hard and get so caught up in our seva that
we forget why we’re doing all this. That is when Upasana is lost. We cannot simply do seva.
We must do seva with the constant thought of pleasing Swamishri, of making him happy so
that we can go to Akshardham. That is our Upasana. That is the core message of Vachanamrut
Gadhada I-22. When we do seva with the right thoughts, our seva becomes sarthak—
meaningful and fruitful. The topic of this month’s issue is about using our seva to strengthen
our Upasana, and in doing so, experience peace in knowing that we’re doing something
meaningful in our Satsang lives. Shanti through Upasana.
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Satsang
Satsang
Article
Article
SHANTI THROUGH UPASANA
Many of us have seen massive and beautiful structures and buildings all over the world.
Examples include the Swaminarayan Akshardhams in New Delhi and Gandhinagar, the Burj
Khalifa in Dubai, the Coliseum in Rome and the Statue of Liberty in New York City. What do all
these have in common? Despite their varying size, colour and shape, all were built on a durable
and sturdy foundation. Without this base, these monuments and buildings would not stand. As
such, the need for a strong and stable foundation is crucial.
In a similar manner, for us to build up our satsang and build shãnti within our lives, we need
a foundation. This foundation comes in the form of upasana. Some of us have been exposed
to the term upasana and may have some understanding due to satsang reading, katha varta,
goshtis and more. However, many of us do not have a comprehensive understanding, nor do we
see how upasana correlates to a life filled with shãnti.
In a literal context, upasana is a compound of two words: upa – meaning near; and asanam –
meaning to sit. Thus, upasana is the manner in which an aspirant endeavors spiritually to forever
reserve a seat near God.
The importance of upasana is touched upon by Maharaj, in Gadhada 3-36:
“Only through upasana can the atma and Brahman be seen; without it, they
cannot be seen. In fact, wishing to see the atma and Brahman without upasana is like
attempting to lick the sky with one’s tongue; even if one tries for a hundred years, one
will never be able to taste it as sour or salty. Similarly, the atma and Brahman simply
cannot be seen without the upasana of the form of God.”
This upasana consists of four concepts: Pragat (understanding that God is eternally present
on Earth), Sarvopari (understanding that God is Supreme), Divya Sakar (understanding that God
always has a divine form) and Sarva-Karta (understanding that God is the all-doer).
For many of us, understanding and constantly keeping the concept of Sarva-Karta in mind
is very difficult. We are often put in several situations where things may not go the way we had
hoped, or in situations where it seems like terrible things have happened or are happening to
us. However, being able to understand that Swamishri does everything for the best and makes
things happen that will be the best for us will give us shãnti in our life. We tend to forget that
Bapa does everything for our good; instead, we are so focused on looking at situations at their
face value, without ever realizing that Swamishri has the full 360 picture in mind. Being able to
surpass this thought and feeling is the greatest test of our faith in Bapa. However, once we do get
past this, we are able to immerse ourselves in shãnti.
P. Narayancharan Swami described this recently, when he said “Sometimes, when things
seem to go wrong, it is because they would have turned out worse if they had gone right. Bapa
always does what’s best for us. We just need to have faith.”
Shãnti is within reach for those that can develop this faith in Swamishri and strengthen their
understanding of upasana. Are we ready to achieve that shãnti?
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Swamishri’s
Vicharan
Precious Moments
21 Days: My Moment of Clarity
February 24, 2015 4:48 PM
I thought today would be like any other day;
wake up, perform my puja, open my browser
to Daily Vicharan, head to class, study, come
home, do aarti, eat dinner, etc. However, my
routine was thrown off when I opened up the
BAPS homepage. Even before that, actually.
I had woken up in the middle of the night to
multiple WhatsApp messages notifying me
that Swamishri’s darshan was temporarily
postponed due to the threat of Swine Flu in
India. In the midst of my grogginess, I gave
it very little thought and went back to bed.
In the morning, nevertheless, the website
only confirmed this information rather than
extinguishing my doubts. It was bitter enough
that I would be busy with my education over the
next year and almost certainly miss out on an
opportunity to go see Swamishri in Sarangpur.
Now, I could not even do it within the comfort of
my own home?
We have often discussed about gaining Shanti
through Smruti in our sabhas this year, but how
will I be able to visualize those moments on a
daily basis? I do not have my own perspective of
every leela that Swamishri has performed in his
lifetime let alone the past several years. Sure,
videos weren’t being posted every day. But, even
when videos were spread out, I could still carry
the mental image of Swamishri smiling and
performing latkas throughout my week. Every
time I clicked play it was as though I was diving
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Swamishri’s
Satsang
Vicharan
Article
back in to my trip to India last year; sitting in the
front row, singing “Yogi Avo Te Rang”, and basking
in an indescribable atmosphere of joy. The videos
allowed me to escape a mundane reality and live
in a world where it was just Swamishri and I.
the right direction so I went to Mandir for aarti and
sat down with them afterwards.
After a discussion with some of the BK Santos, I
was able to breathe a sigh of relief. They told me of
their experiences as Kishores and how they would
only be able to see Swamishri once every several
years if they were fortunate. They talked of how
they used those cherished experiences to drive
them on a daily basis. But, even more than that,
they began using prasangs they had heard and
started seeking for triggers in their routine which
would bring them back to Swamishri. They used
any small object or experience to stir up the vast
memories and experiences of Swamishri.
I knew I had listened to some inspiring prasangs,
but never thought about searching for connections
in my routine. I only brought my attention to the
fact that the haribhakto, and more specifically
the incidents, in these prasangs had absolutely
no similarities to draw from in my life. I never
Needless to say, today has not been the best. imagined that I could use the road construction
I applaud those who were able to keep their I saw daily on my way to class and link it to Bapa
connection so strong before YouTube. It may sound churning the limestone for Atladra Mandir. Or how
silly, and even a bit naïve, but over the past several every time I listened to “Sukhkaran DukhHaran” I
years this has been a simple and amazing way for was transported back to that stage in 2007; dancing
me to build my life with Swamishri And now it in front of Swamishri.
is nonexistent. There is no confirmation of when
darshan will resume if at all. Just a three-sentence
notice telling me this connection is being put on
hold.
March 4, 2015 8:15 PM
Over the past week I have tried some of the more
conventional methods of incorporating Swamishri
in my daily routine. I opened up Eternal Virtues,
loaded up my iPhone with Bhajans for my walk to
class, and even listened to some katha . However,
the sour feeling is still lingering. These techniques
just seem outdated to me. My interactions with
Swamishri are what define my relationship with
him and it is difficult to turn random prasangs or a
vachanamrut nirupan into a personal connection.
When I watch the daily darshan videos, I am able Now it became about a matter of perspective. I
to pull similar moments from memory and relive could continue to be upset about not being able
to see daily darshan videos. Or, I could use this
them.
I began to wonder if I had run in to a dead end. It did opportunity to explore my creativity and start to
not exactly feel like hopelessness, but it did seem craft a web of many links to Swamishri. I think the
as though I was struggling to find my way after latter sounds like something I could definitely
losing my compass. At this point, I was certain that begin to put more thought in to.
only the pujya Santo would be able to point me in
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Swamishri’s
Satsang
Vicharan
Article
March 10, 2015 5:58 PM
that have cropped up over the past two weeks, but
The past 6 days have lifted the clouds that began I am excited with the prospect of reimagining the
surrounding my mind 2 weeks ago. Yes, I realized way I connect with my Guru on a daily basis.
how hungry we get for Swamishri’s darshan when If we hold ourselves to one medium of expressing
we do not have it. But, situations like this do not our Sraddha we start to stagnate. We pigeonhole
mean we are not able to satisfy that craving with and prevent ourselves from continuing to build
through different avenues. There are so many our life with Swamishri through all types of bhakti.
diverse connections to Swamishri but we often tend
to use our favorites as crutches. It feels amazing
to have a reliable trump card, but expanding your
deck gives you the opportunity to create so many
lines of communication with our Guru.
I have started to perform Mukhpath along with
my thaal now. It paints a vivid picture of when
Swamishri visited us back in 2004 and I was given
the opportunity to say a couple Swami Ni Vato
during His lunch. Not only am I able to relive my
moment with Swamishri, but I am able to progress
in my satsang by preparing for Adhiveshan. On
a similar scale, I have compiled many pictures
of Swamishri in bed from the BAPS website and
We are constantly growing as human beings and as
satsangis. We endure all kinds of experiences that
shape our vichars in and outside of Satsang but the
one thing that should remain constant is our Guru
at the forefront of our life. And in order to keep Him
with us at all times through these trials we have to
work to surround ourselves with multiple outlets
of expressing our devotion. Difficult situations,
like the past couple of weeks, will arise and we will
be able to tackle them because we have a swiss
army knife at our disposal in Swamishri.
March 16, 2015 7:08 AM
created a slideshow to play during Chesta every
evening. Moving forward, I am intending to create
a collage on the wall next to my desk of various
pictures and prasangs of Swamishri. This will
allow me to carry a moment in my mind, or even
create new smruti, every day. I have even settled
on an idea to build and place a small jarukho on
my shelf complete with a picture of a Swamishri in
a wheelchair inside of it. These are only a few ideas
After finishing my puja, I visited the BAPS website
to perform daily murti darshan and saw that there
was a new announcement; Swamishri’s darshan
will resume starting tomorrow. My face instantly
lit up. My relationship with Swamishri had grown
so much over the past 21 days and now this news
meant that it was only going to continue to prosper.
Now, when I see Swamishri during these videos,
the moment will have a new sense of purpose and
understanding. Not only has my appreciation for
my Guru matured but also the quantity and quality
by which I am able to involve and incorporate Him
in to my daily routine. I can honestly say that every
moment I spend with Him is a moment of Shanti.
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Campus
Satsang
Corner
Article
Asmita @ Campus
Many followers of other religions proudly practice
their faith on campus. Every weekend many students
attend Sunday mass at the student center on Wayne
State University’s campus. If you were to stroll through
the undergraduate library you would find some students proudly praying in the public-eye, even during
the exam they would take few minutes from exam
time and perform their regular prayers. When you see
this right in front of you, you wonder why we are not
able to proudly represent our satsang values. Oneway we could show our asmitā in satsang is by doing
tilak-chandlo on campus. However, lack of confidence
and the fear of having others stare deter us from applying it in their daily puja. Nevertheless, many kishores continue to apply a tilak-chandlo on campus and continue to show
their asmita for satsang by holding campus sabhas, overcoming their fear of others’ looks.
As an illustration, one yuvak that attends campus sabha has been wearing a tilak-chandlo every day for almost a year, and he does it with his head held high. The yuvak is in graduate-school and has many peers with whom he interacts. This could be a very scary situation for some. However, the individual continues to wear it and works hard in finishing his
education. Furthermore, not only does he spend time in class; you can also find him in the
library studying where there are many other students. He does not shy away from the looks
he receives but instead gives him asmitã that others are curious of the meaning behind it.
Not only do other students’ glances deter satsangis away from satsang but also the
social pressures from friends and fellow students discourage them from being involved.
However, this yuvak continues to maintain relations with friends and keeps an active social
life regardless of these pressures. The yuvak continues to hang out with friends when time
permits him to do so; even makes time to attend sabha when it is held. He mentions that
having campus sabha really grounds him to what he is here to accomplish and keeps him
away from bad habits. The yuvak explains that having a community of peers who endure
the same experiences as himself helps to keep his studies and goals on track as well as
stay rooted to satsang and our main goal of pleasing Maharaj and Swami.
All in all, asmitã in satsang is evident in kishores and yuvaks around the North America. At this time many continue to wear a tilak-chandlo on campus. On top of this, more
kishores and kishories than ever continue to attend regular campus sabhas to not only
remain resilient in satsang, but to further their growth in satsang as well. Their example
inspires others to strive for the same asmitã that they have in their sevã and satsang. As a
fellow kishore, we should ask ourselves how we could increase our asmitã in satsang and
take steps to getting more involved with our campus sabha and realize that tilak-chandlo
is not as scary as it seems.
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Satsang
Satsang
News
Article
Adhiveshan Launch Sabha
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