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

Namaste!

The Moment of Surrender
by Sri N. Ananthanarayanan

A very important reason why man should try to realise God is that it is the only way to get out of the miseries of the cycle of birth and death. There is no second solution. Mark it carefully. There is no second solution. There is no alternative to realising God if you want to escape the miseries you are subject to. The alternative to God-realisation is to suffer the miseries of mundane existence. If you choose to suffer that, well, you are free to do so. But if you want to escape that, there is only one way out, and that is the spiritual way, the way of Sadhana, of Tapasya, of Abhyasa and Vairagya.

Not only that. There is no short-cut to God. You have to traverse the whole distance. The gap, the yawning chasm that separates you from God, has to be fully covered. It takes time. Often it is painful. Sometimes it is so painful that one begins to doubt if all that suffering is worth the while. This is particularly so when God tests the spiritual seeker for his worth. It is like Christ’s crucifixion. Every seeker has to bear the Cross; only it is a different kind of Cross with different seekers. It is no use saying, "Oh! I have all the virtues; I have all the divine qualities, except...except...one imperfection, one little weakness". No. God is still far away from you.

You cannot realise God who is Perfection while possessing the slightest imperfection, the slightest taint. That is why Mother Saradamani Devi, the worshipful partner of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, prayed the way she did. One full moon night, as she looked up at the sky, a spontaneous prayer arose within her heart: "O God! Bless me that I may become spotless like the yonder full moon". And, as suddenly, she hesitated. "Father-in-Heaven!" she cried, "Even the full moon has flaws. Make me flawless. Make me immaculate". Immaculate! That is the word. Flawless. Pure. Perfect. Radiant. Spotless. Immaculate.

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Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Commentary on the Kathopanishad
By Swami Krishnananda

A new book released during the holy occasion of Sri Swamiji's 96th birthday anniversary on April 25, 2018

Highlighting the glory of Kathopanishad Sadgurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj says, "This is one of the most beautiful Upanishads in which the eternal truths are given in the form of a narrative."

With great delight, we offer to our readers an exhaustive and illuminating commentary on this beautiful Upanishad by Worshipful Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj. In the present book ‘Commentary on the Kathopanishad’, Pujya Sri Swamiji Maharaj blesses the spiritual aspirants with an insightful analysis of each verse in his unique and all-comprehensive style and also explains the sublime doctrines of Vedanta in a very attractive manner.

It is our sincere hope that earnest seekers will find ‘Commentary on the Kathopanishad’ immensely useful in clarifying all their doubts regarding spiritual life and thereby marching ahead on the path to attain the Supreme Goal of life.

For more information, please see: Commentary on the Kathopanishad

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UNTOUCHABILITY: A Swiss lady, Myriam Orr, came to Sivananda Ashram in the late fifties. A strange spectacle greeted her when she arrived at the place. An elderly man of noble bearing, with a face radiating loving kindness and good nature, barefoot but dressed in an English overcoat, walked three times around a poor, emaciated man whose body was very ill-protected by a torn loin-cloth against the strong Himalayan mountain air that swept the river valley. After the circumambulation was over the elderly man prostrated to the beggar, who trembled with emotion. He then took the beggar to the Ashram kitchen, had a meal served to him and, together with his guest, ate a little rice. After this he sang in a ringing voice a Vedic chant about the divinity and brotherhood of man.

The elderly man was none other than the Master, Swami Sivananda.

Writing of her experiences in the Swiss journal, La Tribune de Geneve, the lady narrated how, in the course of the numerous interviews which the Master had granted, he told her, “The man whom you saw when you arrived here is an untouchable. He came to see me because he felt that he was soon going to die. I saluted him in the traditional ancient way and asked him to stay here in our hospital. He is very ill. We will do our best for him. During his sick days he will be surrounded by our love. There is only one caste—the caste of humanity.

“Untouchability is infamous. Religion has nothing to do with it. It is an aberration, a superstition of which many are still made victims. It has to be fought and completely uprooted. There is only one caste—the caste of humanity.”

Myriam Orr asked the Master whether he prostrated to all untouchables who came to see him. His answer was that he had no fixed rules regarding this.

And he commented, “This man has suffered much. His heart, his whole being, is permeated with rare purity and goodness. He has never done harm to anybody. In every being he sees a spark of the Eternal.”

“Do you know him for a long time, venerable Swamiji?”

“No. I saw him for the first time when he arrived here, almost at the same moment that you came.”

“Can you then see the soul and the whole life of people, just as you see their bodies, venerable Swamiji?” the Swiss lady asked.

“Everybody can do that and everybody will get that power if they only try,” the Master replied.

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"Unflinching faith puts the aspirant in touch with the Infinite." – Swami Sivananda

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