How I joined Chinmaya Mission as a Life Member

Swami Tejomayanandaji, the head of the Chinmaya Mission has answered many of the queries raised by devotees from time to time. These answers have been published in a book titled "You Ask He Answers."
This book is also being serialized in The Chinmya Dhindima, the monthly bulletin of the Chinmaya Mission, Chennai.
Swamiji takes some of the most controversial and confounding questions on our Sanathan Dharma and gives replies that are not only convincing but logical too. The answers do not address blind faith, but rather the refined intellect. This, indeed, is the Chinmaya Way!
My tryst with the Chinmya Movement began in 1991. I was once asked how I became attached to the Mission. To be specific, the question asked by a Study Group Member was, "Who brought you into the Chinmya Mission?" I had to pause and think because no one really solicted me or convinced me to attend.
In 1991 I had commenced learning Sanskrit with a view to appreciating our ancient heritage more fully. When I saw the huge banners announcing Swami Chinmyananda's lectures, I thought, " Why not go? At best, I can practice my Sanskrit!" With this Ahankara Bhava I entered the Kamaraj Memorial Hall to listen to Swamiji on the Bhagawad Gita for the first ever time. There were lakhs and lakhs of people. Many of them standing in the area outside the main auditorium and viewing swamiji's lecture on giant screens placed for this purpose. The Lecture was on chapter XV, and as Swamiji explained the underlying foolishness of an ego centric existence and the deadly tricks that the mind plays on us, I realised that I knew nothing.
I could now understand what Barthrihari meant in the stanza in Neethi Sathakam:
Knowing a little, I assumed that I knew everything and that there was nothing more to learn. Then, as I obtained the association of great souls and learnt from them my foolishness slipped away from me as a fever does on being treated by physicians. Then I realised the depth of my ignorance!"
I dissolved in that Ocean of Clrity that is Swami Chinmayananda! I did not Change, but could now see things differentlly if not better. I joined the Mission as a Life Member and started the process of self refinement that continues to this day.
Therefore the only answer I can give to the question, "Who brought me to the Chinmya Mission?, is that it was Swami Chinmayanandaji himself. I say this with humility and a sense of joy that surpasseth all understanding.

Pilgrimmage to Sabari Mala

Self and Swamis !










Harihara Guruswami!









The Entire group at Kumaranallor (Kottayam)






The Forest Path to Kalakatti Ashram









The Route to Kuzhimaavu









Azhutha River

Sannidhanam!

Erumeli Pettai Thullal

Nature's Language

I handled Life Skills sessions for the Articled clerks at the Smart Trainees Programme conducted by Prime Academy. The programme mainly focused on improving their skills on the job.

The group of about twelve people were quite receptive and highly interactive. They raised many critical questions.

For example Joseph one of the participants asked me the meaning of "Nature's Language!"

Elsewhere in this Blog I have given my transliteration of the popular tamil lyric from the feature film Mozhi. As I was reciting these words to them, Joseph ventured this question.

I asked how many of them came from suburban areas like Nangnallur, Madipakkam etc., A few hands went up. Then I told them to wake up at around 5:00 AM and go up to their terrace. There they should attempt to listen to the birds. In the still and silent morning hour the strident birdsong is a melody of medley. After sometime each note is discerned as unique. After a couple of days of this abhyaas or practice each individual bird can be identified by its note.

Another way to discern nature's language is go to the seashore and listen to the sea. At first, the waves appear to be beating against the shore erratically . Later we can sense the rhythm of this beat and the perceptible half minute of deep resonating silence between two wave falls! When we can listen to this central silence we are in the very lap of the Sea Mother. All cares, concerns and emotional unrest slowly subside and as the all pervading calmness takes over we can reach into deeper reserves of strength within us! The languge of the sea is different in different locales. I have heard different rhythms at Puducherry, Kanyakumari, Goa and Trivandrum. No two beaches have the same rhythm.

Check out these two activities and once you can discern Nature's language, the tongues of men are indeed of no conern!

New Year at Pondicheri!

Began the New Year 2008 at Pondicheri!

The New Year celebrations at Puducherry are more organized and displined than at Chennai. People enjoy the countdown to the New Year without violatng the liberty of others.

After a decent buffet Dinner at Hotel Surguru, we wended our way to the Beach. We parked our car near the beautifully renovated Public Gardens with the replica of the Arc De Tromph in the centre. The brillinatly lit edifice created a truly french ambience.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

A way for everyone!

Dr. William Sheldon (1898-1977) was an American psychologist who devoted his professional life to observing the range of human body types and the associated human personality traits or temperament types.

My Brother-in-Law had arranged a Bajan at his house on 30th December.. Bajan is the melodious group singing of devotional Songs on various Gods from the Hindu Pantheon. As I sat in his hall listening to the superbly rendered devotional songs, I could not help but mull over Dr. Sheldon’s theory of body structure and temperament. Elsewhere in this Blog I have talked about the three types of Yoga viz., Gnana, Bhakti and Karma, that can be practiced to attain the Supreme Lord. The Sanathan Dharma or The Ancient Wisdom (To give it a holistic title) recommends these three practices for attaining liberation.

Through a meticulous examination of the carefully posed (front view, side view, and back view) photographs of some four thousand, decently but scantily clothed, college-age, men Sheldon became persuaded that there were three fundamental elements that, in various proportions, contributed to each person's actual physique or somatype.

He conjectured that there might well be some relationship between these elements and the three layers of the human embryo - the endoderm, the mesoderm and the ectoderm - and consequently gave the three elements that he held as contributing to ALL human physiques the names Endomorphy, Mesomorphy and Ectomorphy.

He also conducted a large number of surveys directed towards the investigation of whether there was any identifiable link between physique and temperament type. Sheldon's surveys led him consider that there were three basic temperament types or human personality traits that he labelled Viscerotonia, Somatotonia, and Cerebrotonia.

He considered that there was a strong correlation between body type and temperament type. According to this view human personality traits are underwritten, as it were, by human physical types. Extreme Endomorphs tend towards Viscerotonia, extreme Mesomorphs towards Somatotonia, and extreme Ectomorphs towards Cerebrotonia.

He devised ways of standardising the measurement and numerical expression of the various degrees to which each of the three element was present in any individual person's physique.

He came to see:-
Endomorphy as being focussed on the digestive system, particularly the stomach. He saw extreme Endomorphic physiques as being rounded and tending towards fleshiness. He discovered that extreme Endomorphic body types are endowed with a far longer digestive tract than extreme Ectomorphic body types.

He saw extreme Viscerotonia as being associated with a love of relaxation and of comfort. Extreme Viscerotonics tend to be sociable "food and people" persons.

Can we call these people Thamasic? Continuosly deluded by the sense organs, they move around with little or no goals. They can be driven and controlled as long as their sensual needs are satisfied. They make great staff and supervisors.

Mesomorphy as being focussed on musculature and the circulatory system. He saw extreme Mesomorphic physiques as being large, bony, and tending towards a substantial and well-defined musculature.

He saw extreme Somatonia as being associated with physical assertiveness. Extreme Somatotonics tend to be very keen on physical activity. Extreme Somatotonics also tend to be keen on competition in which they tend to expect to do well.

These are the Rajasic personalities, who prefer action to words. The soldiers, The Go-getters, the action people. They like to be in control and are great leaders.

Ectomorphy as being focussed on the nervous system and the brain. He saw extreme Ectomorphic body types as being light-boned and tending towards a slightness of musculature.

He saw extreme Cerebrotonia as being associated with a pronounced need for privacy. Extreme Cerebrotonics tend to be highly self-aware and socially restrained.

These are the Satvics. The thinkers. The Rishis and Sages who kept contemplating continuosly. They also include the artists and the poets who are good at analysis and theory but are rarely effective in implementation and delivery. This group makes good R&D and Trainers.

The Gita calls these three temperaments the Gunas and Bhagvan Srikrishna actually cautions Arjuna not to fall prey to any of the Three Gunas, but rather to surmount them by becoming dispassionate and clearheaded. In this sense Bhagvan even denounces the efficacy of the Vedas in Ch II when he says, The subject of the Vedas are the Three Gunas, O Arjun. Become a person who is not of these three gunas.

Again, if we accept Karma theory, your body type is attained by you based on the type lives you’ve lead previous to this birth. So we have carefully selected this body, mind and intellect combination in our earlier births. Agreed. Now, if we are to understand Dr. Sheldon rightly, the temperament follows from the body type!

Is this inevitable? Can we never break the bondage of the three Gunas? The Sanathan Dharma offers a solution. You cannot change your body type or temperamrnt, but you can choose the type of practice that you wish to adopt to find liberation!

Yes, the Visceratonics should continuously force the Sense Organs towards the Lord through Bajan and Nama Sankeerthanam. The month of Marghazhi or Dhanur Masya gives the Visceratonic this opportunity!

The action oriented Somatotonics should serve their fellow men and through this selfless Karma Seva attain true bliss and oneness with God.

And finally, the Cerebratonics can contemplate on the infinite wisdom of the Lord’s creation and thereby overcome the torture of their own intellectual brains!

Ultimately all these practices lead into each other. Ganana, Bhakthi and Karma are one and the same!

Tolerance is a measure of Strength

Almost all the belief systems having their source in the Indian sub Continent, whether acknowledging the supremacy of the Vedic tradition or not, contain statements that are Literal, Symbolic or Poetic.

It is an essentially human tendency to take symbolic statements literally and to defend to death the factual support or ostensible “proof” of such statements. It would be much more beneficial, on the other hand, to go beyond the statements themselves to the truly meaningful symbols they represent. The marvelous fact is that most practitioners of a belief system are well aware of the symbolism. Yet, they treat these statements as absolute truth and indulge in such atrocities as go against the very grain of the principles that these statements seek to uphold.

It is high time that the average Hindu breaks out of his shell of dogma. All of us should take a fresh look at the symbolism behind most of our practices; to go behind the icon to the symbol it represents. Beyond the idol to the ideal it illustrates.

The word tolerance has many meanings. It means “freedom from bigotry or from racial or religious prejudice”. It also means “the act of enduring or the capacity for endurance”. Tolerance is a technical term which indicates the measure of a substance to withstand fractionally higher weight, dimensions than the standard. The tolerance of steel, for example, is the measure of its capacity to bear greater weights than the design. In this sense, tolerance is actually a measure of strength and not merely a measure of flexibility. A tolerant person is a strong person in the same way that steel with higher degrees of tolerance can withstand greater weight and pressures than those for which it was originally designed.

Applying this principle to our belief systems, we should understand that tolerance in religion is a measure of strength and a willingness to permit other belief systems to co-exist with our own. Every religiously tolerant person is like a strong bar of steel uniting with other equally strong bars to form a mesh or matte which is the strong foundation of our large country and its long term prosperity.

Trip to Acan Kovil

Achan Kovil (22-12-2007)

Visited Achan Kovil with my family on 22nd. The temple is in Kerala but very near the border of Tamilnadu. The nearest railhead is Thenkasi in Thirunelveli district. We reached Thenkasi early in the morning and motored to Achan Kovil.

The route is scenic as it winds through the ghat section. The lush green valleys and mountain are treat for tired eyes.

Enroute is Mekkarai dam and the small hamlet of Mekkarai. My good friend and the person who organised this visit, Mr. Ramachandran is doing a lot of CSR work in Mekkarai for the villagers who are quite far away from development and creature comforts as we know them. He has set up a Village Learning Centre with Computers and other equipment.

Nestled on a slope overlooking the green valley is a small shrine at Kottai Vasal dedicated to Karuppannasamy. This deity known as Valia Kadutha Samy in Keral is the guardian of every temple of Ayyappan or Saastha. The place marks the point where Ayyappan met Karuppan on his legendary journey to the Sabhari Hills. Ayyappan completes the purpose of his incarnation and later bids Valia Kadutha Samy to guard his shrine in Sabhari Malai. We can still see him there as we approach the Eighteen Sacred Steps, his sharp sickle raised, his huge eyes rolling in the eyeballs and his top knotch falling forward on to his forehead in his fervour. He is here with his consort Karuppayi.

OM VALIYA KADUTHA SWAMIYE SARANAM AYYAPPA

As we climbed higher, we entered Kerala and the Rubber plantations area. Achan Kovil is in the midst of the rubber plantations.

Achan Kovil--A Background

Arguably more inaccesible than even Sabhari Malai, Achan Kovil is a unique Kshetram (Sacred Place). Parashurama, the Immortal created various temples for Gods like Shiva, Narayanan, Bhagavthi and Ayyappan. The most famous of these of course is Sabhari Malai. The other temples are at Ariyankavu, where Saastha is a venerable old man; Kulathu Puzha where he is a young boy; Sabhari Sannidhanam, where he is a Yogi; Erumeli, where he is Dharma Saastha, the Protector of the righteous.

At Achan Kovil, he is a householder and King. He is called Achan Kovil Arasan or The KIng of Achan Kovil. He is here amidst his two consorts Poorna and Pushkala. There is an explanation by learned men, that these consorts are not real women but rather symbols. Poorna indicates completeness. Swami is Complete in himself and he needs nothing. Completeness is internal and within Him.

Pushkala is the symbol of the external effulgence of his Aishwarya. He is complete and he has everything! That is why he is Arasan or King!

In fact, Krishnan Swami of Thuthukudi, remarked that it is here that we should place our prayers for worldly wealth as Swami has the capacity to grant any wish here and being a King is bound to accede to the wishes of his loyal subjects!

The Yogi on Sabhari has no worldly possesions to give. But he can give us the true knowledge that will make all worldly possesions meaningless and frivolous!

We spent the day at Achan Kovil, serving food to the people as part of the ten day long Anna Dhanam conducted every year at Acahan Kovil by ny Uncle Balu Swami, a senior Ayyappa

Upasakar, Ramachandran Swami and Krishnan Swami.

Finally after an invigorating bath at Kuthalam Five Falls, we returned to Chennai.

OM SWAMIYE SARANAM AYYAPA!