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

Namaste!

(Article from a souvenir released on Sri Swami Krishnanandaji's 50th birthday)

An Illustrious Disciple
by Sri N. Ananthanarayanan

The greatest service that a disciple can render unto his Master is to grow into the likeness of the master. This in turn entails following the Upadesha of the Master, in letter and in spirit. To do so is difficult, but first-rate disciples accept the challenge and follow the path indicated by the Master with earnestness. In God's good time, they grow in spiritual stature and take on the likeness of their Guru.

Chidananda! Krishnananda!! Dayananda!!! Illustrious disciples of the beloved Master Sivananda! Gurudev, in his invisible Spirit, must be feeling mighty proud of them. And why not? Serving the Master loyally, selflessly, tirelessly, ungrudgingly over the decades, these glorious disciples of Swami Sivananda have earned not only the Grace of the Master, but the loving gratitude of innumerable spiritual seekers.

Yes. Love and gratitude. Boundless love and boundless gratitude: these we offer to Pujya Sri Swami Krishnandaji Maharaj on this most auspicious occasion of his Golden Jubilee.

Krishnananda Swamiji is a lovable soul. When you are with him, you feel at home. That is the hall-mark of a saint. With a saint, all feel at home. Krishnananda Swamiji is a great saint.

He likes Sri Krishna and Vedanta. Because of his love for Vedanta, he likes Krishna more in His aspect of Parthasarathy, as Arjuna's Teacher, as the world's Preceptor, as the Author of the Gita than in His aspect of Radha-Krishna or Gopia-Vallabh.

I remember this great Mahatma for two or three priceless lessons which he has taught me. Not directly though. I have read in his writings his repeated emphasis on culture of the individual. "What you do is not so important as what you are": this remarkable teaching I owe to Krishnananda Swamiji. God bless him.

Swami Krishnananadj Maharaj once told a Gurubhai of mind (this the latter retold the Upadesh to me) that the miseries that we experience in life are as much the fruit of God's Grace as the good things of life. A spiritual thought pregnant with meaning and something which all Sadhaks would do well to understand and appreciate especially in those moments when they feel like cursing the Creator!

The same Gurubhai narrated to me another subtle point which Swami Krishnanandaji had expounded in a discourse in the Ashram. It is that when our environment is bad, instead of trying to change our environment, we should try to do rigorous Sadhana and purify ourselves more and more. And if we do that, the environment will, of its own accord, change and improve and turn good. A great and subtle truth! My love to Swami Krishnanandaji for teaching these valuable lessons which are standing me in good stead in life. My adorations to Him !

May God spare this simple man in saffron robes for many, many years... for the glory of Sivananda and for the good of humanity! Jai Sivanand!!

The world can turn against you the moment it is unable to understand you. Beware! On what precarious way you live in this world! Be prepared to meet the way in which God chooses to work the Divine Law: without giving you any notice of His Plan.

Source

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Today, 25th April 2023, marks the auspicious 101st birthday anniversary of Revered Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj. There are several new uploads to Sri Swamiji's website:

1. Chanting: Swamiji Chants and Interprets the Maha Soura Mantra
2. Darshan: Swamiji's Journey to Badrinath and Kedarnath
3. Video: The Relevance of Social Welfare Activity in Spiritual Practice
4. Pictorial: Swami Krishnananda, The Ideal Saint
5. Existing for Moksha has been translated into Japanese
6. Photos taken during the forenoon program

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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