Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Krishnanandaya!

Namaste!

The Divine Advent
by Sri Swami Chidananda

As we move towards the auspicious and blessed day of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, we are moving towards a divine advent that was extraordinary in its nature—extraordinary in the sense that there could not have been a more unimaginable set of negative factors all combining together than when the Supreme Being, Adi Narayana, was born as Bhagavan Sri Krishna. We cannot help wondering how and why such a thing could come about, that the moment of Lord Krishna’s advent was a moment filled with everything undivine, everything tamasic and rajasic, everything unspiritual and asuric.

On the other hand, it is said that at the time of the advent of Lord Buddha, everything became auspicious and beautiful. Though it was not the season for flowers to bloom, suddenly flower trees were full of flowers, trees bereft of fruit became laden with fruit, lotuses bloomed in the lakes. Waters of rivers that were muddy suddenly became crystal clear, and everywhere cool breezes wafted the fragrance of the flowers. Everything auspicious, everything beautiful, satyam, sivam, sundaram, took place. Lord Rama, too, was born in a palace—wonderful, auspicious surroundings.

Lord Krishna, however, was born in a set of circumstances most undivine, most unspiritual, most negative. He was born in prison; both His father and His mother were shackled to the walls, their hands chained. Their cells were closed, cut off, barred and locked with cruel guards watching them. It was midnight in the month of Sravana. It was pitch dark; the sky was overcast and it was raining heavily. Thus everything that the Bhagavad Gita says is inauspicious—night time, the dark half of the month, the sun on its southward journey—were present.

Lord Krishna, thus, had everything inauspicious; but even in such a set of absolutely inauspicious circumstances, there was ultimately a glorious triumph for the Divine. All that stood in opposition, all the asuric forces that time and again most determinedly tried to put an end to this advent were overcome. And one feature here that is noteworthy is that in spite of the most dire, inauspicious, unfavourable, asuric, dark circumstances—which seemed hopeless—Devaki and Vasudeva never lost faith.

Read complete article

---

August 14th is the holy celebration of Sri Krishna Jamashtami. There are several articles on our websites with regards to the significance of this day. They are

1. Krishna Janmashtami by Sri Swami Sivananda
2. Sri Krishna — The Purna-Avatara by Sri Swami Krishnananda

 

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

---

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Lord Krishna, His Lilas and Teachings
By Swami Sivananda

Lord Krishna was the highest incarnation of the great Vishnu. He was the unique and crowning incarnation of all. He was the Purna Avatara, the Perfect Incarnation. He had sixteen Kalas or rays. He was a noble scion of the illustrious Yadava dynasty. He was a world-teacher. He was the one Lord of love. He was a lover of men. His divine form holds the heart of India captive in chains even today.

The Bhagavata, the Mahabharata, the Vishnu Purana--all proclaim with one voice that there was none to match Sri Krishna in beauty and elegance of form in all the three worlds. His enchanting form with flute in hand is worshipped in the myriad homes of India. It is a form to which is poured out devotion and supreme love from the hearts of countless devotees not only in India but also in the West.

He was a noble embodiment of all the great qualities of head and heart. He was the towering genius of His age. He was a great historical figure. His sports of childhood contain countless object-lessons for all thinking men. He was a glorious and extraordinary personality.

Every word of Lord Krishna's teachings and every act of His is full of sublime and grand object-lessons of momentous import to humanity in a variety of ways.

It is very difficult for busy people to go through the whole book of Bhagavata. Therefore, I have condensed Sri Krishna's life, Lilas and Teachings in this book in a most palatable and tasteful form. Even if you study one or two pages daily, you will develop devotion towards the Lord and attain eternal peace, bliss and immortality.

Study His teachings to Uddhava. Drink the nectar of Srimad Bhagavata. Sing His glories. Repeat His grand mantra OM Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Do total self-surrender unto Him. You will soon attain union with Him.

For more information, please see: Lord Krishna, His Lilas and Teachings

---

SPECIAL ARADHANA CONCESSION

We are currently having a Special Aradhana Concession on all our publications from 1st July 2017 to 30th September 2017. The discount on publications is as follows:

20% on Orders Upto Rs. 300/-
30% on Orders Upto Rs. 1,000/-
35% on Orders Above Rs. 1,000/-
40% on Orders Above Rs. 25,000/-

40% Special Discount on the following Pictorial Volumes of Worshipful Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji and Worshipful Sri Swami Chidanandaji:

1. ES8 Glorious Vision                Rs. 650
2. ES4 Gurudev Sivananda        Rs. 250 
3. EC70 Ultimate Journey           Rs. 500
4. EC71 Divine Vision                 Rs. 300

Please visit our online bookstore for further details:
http://www.dlsbooks.org/

---

INSTRUCTING A DOCTOR: The Master was in the office. A small group of devotees squatted around him. Among them was Mira, a medical student. At first he asked her one or two simple questions just to set her at ease.

Master: “Doctor, which is the largest muscle?”

“Tailor’s muscle.”

“Which is the most important gland?”

“Pituitary.”

The Master then referred to the disgusting behaviour of those doctors whose sole aim was more and more money.

“They send bills to their fathers also,” said the Master and, turning to the girl, “Don’t care for money. Attain salvation in your own home. God will give you money.”

There was a pause and the Master resumed talking. “If a poor man has no money, will you go?” he asked, and himself added, “This is medical ethics.” He then asked Mira what her visiting fee was.

“No fee now, Swamiji.”

“After getting a pass, finish D. G. O. Then you can take up M. R. C. O. G. later on. How many bodies have you dissected?”

“Three or four.”

“Completely?”

“No, half... some parts.”

“Have you dissected by remaining alone in the room?”

“No, Swamiji.”

The girl might have taken the Master literally just then, but what he might have meant was whether she had ever sat in a quiet place all by herself and done Vedantic enquiry such as: “What is the body? What is the mind? What is the soul? Who am I? What are the elements?” and so on. In all such cases the person addressed by the Master might or might not immediately understand the inner implications of what he said, but the hidden spiritual meaning did dawn on the person’s mind at some point of time by the Grace of the Master, as if in a flash.

The Master now turned his attention to one or two items of other work. Then he spoke to the medical student again. “You know cooking, Mira?”

“Yes,” said the girl.

At the Master’s instance, snacks and coffee were distributed to all present. Shanta, a student from the South, recited a chapter of the Gita. The Master presented books to the visitors. After that he returned once again to Mira.

“What is the difference between virus and bacillus?” he asked and, before the girl could collect her thoughts, he queried, “Is virus ultra microscopic?”

“Yes, Swamiji,” she said.

“All right,” said the Master, “one you can see, one you can’t see.”

How subtly he taught, and how beautifully, with apt analogies! Bacillus we can see, virus we cannot see; the world we can see, God we cannot see; Saguna Brahman we can see, Nirguna Brahman we cannot.

---

“Bhagavan Sri Krishna is regarded as Purna-Avatara, which means the full Incarnation. Avatara is 'Incarnation', and Purna is 'the full'. He is considered to be a complete manifestation of God, not a partial expression of the power and the glory of God.” – Swami Krishnananda

---

Sivananda Day-to-day is sent out weekly.
To subscribe to this mailing list please go to:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi

Other Sivananda related lists:
1) Sivananda Daily Readings

2) Sivananda's Thought for the Day

3) Various Selections from Sivananda's Works