Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah!
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Krishnanandaya!

Namaste!

The Greatness of Swami Chidananda
by Dr. Devaki Kutty

When Swamiji used to visit Lucknow during Gurudev’s time, Gurudev always sent some books for me and Swamiji came by bicycle to deliver them. He was so simple, humble and polite! Even after he became the President of the Divine Life Society, there was no change in his attitude and nature. This was Swamiji’s greatness.

In 1974 Swamiji came to Lucknow. I was in a very depressed state of mind, due to my father’s age and ill health. Swamiji of course noticed it and asked me the reason for my anxiety. I opened my heart and said, “Swamiji, my father has become quite old, and I don’t know how I shall cope, all alone, when something happens to him.” Swamiji quietly told me, “Don’t worry! When his end is near, I shall be with you.”

Two or three months later, my father’s condition worsened and he went into a coma. During that time, Swamiji stopped over at Lucknow Airport and I went to meet him. He did not enquire about my father, and I returned home with a heavy heart.

My father continued to remain in a coma and 4 months later, with Swamiji’s permission, I brought him from Lucknow to the Ashram. There was no improvement. One day his condition was so alarming that I thought the end was near. Swamiji was in Delhi at that time, and a message was sent to him.

Swamiji replied, “Ask father to hold on and wait like Bhishma Pitamah on the bed of arrows.” Father’s condition became somehow stable, and a few days later Swamiji arrived at the Ashram. Swamiji made my comatose father sit in a chair near the window, put his hand on his head and made him look at the Ganga. When I approached, Swamiji asked me to step back, so that no feeling of attachment would be reawakened in father’s mind. Finally he put his hand on father’s heart and, reciting mantras, helped him to peacefully leave the body. He even helped to carry father’s body to the cremation ground. I was overwhelmed by his love and care and asked Swamiji later, why he, as a sannyasi, carried out the duty of the eldest son. “Your father was a saint in white clothes!” he replied. Swamiji had promised to be near when the end came, and he fulfilled his promise.

Source

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Tuesday, September 12^th is the 15^th Punyatithi Aradhana of Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj (anniversary of the physical passing of a saint). .

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The following article has been posted at Sri Swami Krishnanandaji's site:

• Nine Obstacles in Meditation

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Chidanandam: The Joy of Knowing 'Him'

With great joy we place before the devotees of Sri Gurudev H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj and all well wishers of the Divine Life Society this Souvenir. It is being released on the holy occasion of the first Punya Tithi Aradhana of Param Pujya Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj, on the 18th of August 2009.

Since the Mahasamadhi, the Headquarters and various Branches of the Divine Life Society have been organizing Swami Chidananda Memorial Lectures at different places in India and abroad. These lectures reveal that although Pujya Swamiji Maharaj left his physical body, he continues to live more vibrantly in the hearts and memories of people all over the world.

As Valmiki has said:

Yavat sthasyanti girayah saritascha maheetale,
Tavad Ramayana katha lokeshu pracharishyati. (I-ii-36-37)

(The theme of the Ramayana will continue to be popular on earth, as long as mountains and rivers exist.)

Pujya Swamiji Maharaj was a devotee of Sri Rama and lived like Sri Rama, upholding dharma in his life, teachings and mission. He loved one and all and had concern and respect for all life. He was unique and universal. He will also, as Valmiki has predicted in the Ramayana, remain evergreen in the memories of the devotees all over the world as long as the sun and the moon shine. In this Souvenir we have made a humble effort to bring out some of the thoughts of veneration, sublime emotions and love expressed by a few as a tribute to this God-Man.

For more information, please see: Chidanandam: The Joy of Knowing 'Him'

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SPECIAL CONCESSION

We are currently having a Special Aradhana Concession on all our publications from 1st July 2023 to 30th September 2023. The discounts on publications are 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.

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SELF-SURRENDER: A seeker requested the Master for instructions on devotion.

The Master said, “Consider the body as His instrument. Pray with feeling: ‘I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy Will be done’. This is the best Mantra for self-surrender.”

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“In 1954, when Worshipful Swamiji was at the age of Thirty-Eight, I heard Gurudev saying – Chidananda is a jeevanmukta, a great Saint, an ideal Yogi, a Para-bhakta and a great Sage. Swami Chidananda is all this and much more….

He was born to fulfil a great mission. He is the torch-bearer of my mission, said Gurudev Sivanandaji Maharaj.” – Swami Vimalananda

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