The topic to be reflected on – Srimad Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Karma Yoga – holds  Bhagavan Krishna’s principal guidelines for a meaningful life. Outlining how economic and scientific progress need cultural and religious reinforcement, Pujya Gurudev made the audience think about value-based actions that ultimately bring peace and prosperity to a country. He prefaced, “By developing Industry, and by constructing dams, by raising the Wealth of the nation, the History of that Nation cannot be built up; Science alone cannot inaugurate History. Similarly, religion alone cannot bring about History. But Science together with Religion alone can construct the History of a people. Rehabilitation of man nowadays is absolutely necessary. Even though we have got food, shelter, wealth and every comfort, yet we are miserable, unhappy. Still, we are in the quest of the unknown, the unrealised Peace.”

Pujya Gurudev devoted the morning sessions to a study of Kenopanishad. The deep study in that yajnashala had to be tested for its endurance. So, Nature unleashed a thunderous storm that struck down the pandal one evening at 3 pm. Again, there was no injury. Neither Pujya Gurudev nor the devotees were fazed. The pandal was re-erected within that night, a testimony to undaunted Karma Yoga. The forces of Nature withdrew to witness the 68th yajna march on with determination. 

The Akhanda Kirtan on April 8th to 10th in the Krishna Temple at Kulacheri, the Vishnu Sahasranama Laksharchana on April 10th, and the Gangajal procession exemplified devoted actions. When Pujya Gurudev concluded His discourses on April 14, it was the New Year Day in Kerala – the Vishu. The Gurudakshina ceremony and Ganga jala prokshana marked a holy beginning with gratitude for the Guru’s blessings. A fitting conclusion was the yatra on April 15th to Kaladi, the birthplace of Jagad Guru Adi Shankara. In a memorable satsang there, Pujya Gurudev explained the difference between destiny and Purushartha: “What we meet in life is destiny, but how we meet them is our Purushartha. And what we meet in life is very insignificant, but how we meet them is very important, for the latter decides our future. Today we are no doubt the helpless product of our past (destiny), but surely we are the masters, the architects of tomorrow. For the past modified in the present is our future.”

As Pujya Gurudev glorified the Infinite Truth on the big stage, the clouds began pouring. The dry and cold winter gave way to heavy downpours and active thunderstorms which wrecked the yajnashala. Almost as if the wind god too wanted to test the resolve of the Delhi audience, an intense dust storm with gusts up to 90 mph, also ripped the whole city and the yajna shamiana. Resiliently, the yajna persisted through the  interruptions that Nature caused and even gained another stage!

On March 12th, on the request of a patron, Sri Gobind Lal Dhingra, Pujya Gurudev began an 8-day discourse in the mornings in Hazrat Nizamuddin, a new locality, on Gita chapter 12 which Sri B.N. Dattar, the deputy minister for Home Affairs inaugurated. Another impediment arose in the form of Pujya Gurudev’s dental procedure; an extraction of four of His upper molars caused heavy bleeding and prevented the evening discourse on March 19th. Braving through the pain, Pujya Gurudev did conclude Ch.12 in the morning classes. However, He developed a very high fever, and the evening dedicated to a Q & A session had to be cancelled. Pujya Gurudev had anyhow ensured that He had completed His exposition on Gita chapter 15 even by March 18th. He arranged for a devoted sevika, Mrs. Sheila Puri, to complete the Guru Dakshina ceremony and distribute the Yajna Prasad booklets to a caring audience who participated with discipline and adoration for their indisposed Guru.

Giving His swollen cheeks and fever-ridden body hardly any rest, Pujya Gurudev left Delhi for Mumbai on March 22, 1960, to supervise the preparations for Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, the Vedanta College that He was working tirelessly on amid the Jnana Yajnas. He oversaw the important step of depositing all the collected funds in the Indian Overseas Bank; thenceforth, all contributors could get their official donation receipts from Tara Cultural Trust (TCT) Office, Sakhi Vihar Road, Powai, Bombay. The land for the visionary college had already been donated by Smt.Tara Sarup, and TCT had been registered on January 19, 1960. 

Pujya Gurudev functioned far above the challenges of circumstances or His own body, empowered by the Infinite.

Tiruchirappalli basks in rich history, lyrical Tamil poetry, great philosophy, and a sacred aura because of its eminent temples. It was in the famous Sri Ranganatha Temple that the renowned poet Kamban first recited the celebrated Kamba Ramayanam, the immortal epic of Ramayana in Tamil. 

Knowing Tiruchirappalli’s deep cultural heritage and having shared the knowledge of both Bhakti Yoga – chapter 12 and Purushottama Yoga – Chapter 15 in previous yajnas, Pujya Gurudev deemed that the audience was ready for the comprehensive essence of Gita’s chapter 2, the summative Sankhya Yoga. The beauty of chapter 2 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita is in how Bhagavan Krishna shakes Arjuna out of his stupor with the most profound essence of all Vedanta. Thus, chapter 2 encapsulates the entire breadth of teachings which are then expanded in the following sixteen chapters of the ever-relevant Gita. Pujya Gurudev, while strongly reminding the audience that Gita was universal and not parochial, brought out the importance of facing the world’s challenges with courage and conviction. He clarified that the Gita is not for escapists who claim that life is unreal like a svapna, a dream. Rather, dealing with life’s struggles as though life is svapnavat (dream-like), empowers one to live like a sthitaprajna (established in Truth).

The introspective collection of verses of Atma Bodha, an important preparatory text written by Shri Adi Shankara, was the focus in Pujya Gurudev’s morning discourses. As He introduced the fundamentals of the Advaita philosophy, Pujya Gurudev highlighted how the young Sri Sankara sparked a great revival of Sanatana Dharma at a time when the universal spiritual values were overshadowed by rampant ritualism and materialism. The Vedantic texts like Sri Shankara’s Atma Bodha awakened seekers to then grasp the unifying core of the upanishads for leading an integrated life.

It was a sublime 66th yajna where the audience were engrossed in Pujya Gurudev’s powerful exposition of both the sacred scriptural texts. Sweetening their intense contemplation with the sweet devotion to Bhagavan Krishna, the Laksharchana ceremony on February 21, 1960, was a devotional feast for the eyes and the heart. With gratitude, the Trichy audience recalled how it was in the 43rd Jnana Yajna at Trichy’s Golden Rock area that Pujya Gurudev had first incorporated the feature of such Laksharchana in His Jnana Yajnas.  

In his inaugural address, His Excellency the Governor of Kerala, Sri Ramakrishna Rao, encouraged the audience to integrate the Gita way of life in line with Pujya Gurudev’s teachings. He brought attention to how Srimad Bhagavad Gita was “the never-failing book of inspiration” for Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. In difficult situations and moral dilemmas, Gandhiji would reach for the Gita which always guided him with the right resolution to implement.

Pujya Gurudev’s discourses in the evenings were on Gita, chapter 13, and His morning classes were on Kenopanishad. In His introduction, Pujya Gurudev explained how Chapter 13 identified the relationship between the Knowing Principle (Kshetrajna) and the field of experiences (Kshetra). In the modern world when the focus of happiness is more on the environmental level rather than on self-improvement, the experience of joy is hollow. So, unless an individual is fully equipped with a pure mind and clear intellect, happiness will not be realized no matter what changes in economy, politics, or scientific advancements.

To purify the mind through devotion, the Vishnu Sahasranama Laksharchana was performed on January 10th. Thiruvananthapuram being the place of the sacred Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple, that daylong worship melted the hearts of all devotees who had been learning from Pujya Gurudev how the substratum of all experience is that all-pervasive Divine Presence. Another notable event during the 65th Jnana yajna was the reverential observance of Tapovan Day on January 13th. That day, the class and discourse were canceled as Pujya Gurudev withdrew in remembrance of His great Guru, spending the day in silence, fasting, and meditation.

January 16th and 17th went by in a memorable yatra to Madurai, and a vibrant Kathakali performance embellished the yajna’s conclusion on January 21st.

After the 65th Jnana Yajna, Pujya Gurudev graced the first “All India Chinmayee Devi Sammelan” held in Kollengode during January 23-25, 1960 to encourage “the motherly hands” of Devi Groups “in molding the brilliant future of our Land.” 

Chinmaya Mission, with its enriching Study Groups, blossoming Bala Vihars, and nourishing Devi Groups was gathering full steam as a spiritual renaissance when 1960 opened up.

At Mangalore, in the morning sessions that started at 7:30 am, Pujya Gurudev first completed the final verses of Atma Bodha left unexplained from the previous yajna. By that very act, Pujya Gurudev indicated how He cared for the seekers’ thorough understanding. Only after that, did He launch into the glorious Mundakopanishad as the audience doubled in number.

The sparks from the second chapter of Gita were brilliant. To learn how to serve and then come to deserve, to look at death as simply a change from a worn-out attire, to elevate duty with knowledge and surrender, to adopt the qualities of a Sthitaprajna witnessing life like one of those two symbolic birds of Mundakopanishad -the Upanishad in the morning and the Gita in the evening just flowed into each other and flowed through the aspirants.

Hearing how enriching Pujya Gurudev’s Gita Jnana Yajna was, His Holiness Swami Raghumanya Thirtha, pontiff of Palimar Mutt (1947-2000), met Pujya Gurudev who offered the Madhwa sannyasi a separate stage and invited him to address the audience in Kannada on the final day of the yajna.

Pujya Gurudev then visited the temple for Sri Krishna installed over 850 years ago in Udupi by Sri Madhwacharya, the Master of Dvaita philosophy. That evening, a young black cow walked regally into the yajnashala during Pujya Gurudev’s description of the “Divine Song of Gopalanandana” and unhurriedly moved through the thousands close to the dais where Pujya Gurudev was and then exited quietly. Later when a devotee wondered aloud, “Was it Gopalakrishna who had paid a return visit to Pujya Gurudev?” Pujya Gurudev just smiled.

The eye-and heart catching Laksharchana, the Gangajal Prokshana with the holy Ganges water brought down from Rishikesh, and the reverential Guru Dakshina ceremony with the prasad booklet entitled “As I think” made the yajnashala a powerhouse of spirituality. The crowning touch to the Jnana Yajna was the yatra to the sacred temple of Lord Subrahmanya. The 300 devotees were immersed in the bliss of satsang with Pujya Gurudev and the Avabhruta Snana in the nearby river ‘Kumaradhari.’ When Pujya Gurudev directed the group to meditate in solitude in a scenic river bed at the confluence of the Netravati and the Kumaradhari rivers, the serene silence that engulfed all was the lasting takeaway from a noteworthy yajna.

The endearing way of using anecdotes, parables, and daily interactions to convey the nuances of the Gita way of life attracted people in Pujya Gurudev’s every Jnana Yajna. The eager audience converged at the yajnashala every morning and evening, filling it and all neighboring vantage spots so that they did not miss a word that Pujya Gurudev uttered! Just the voice and presence of Pujya Gurudev removed all restlessness; silence was a natural state for that huge crowd. With the addition of a mass recitation of the Gita, Pujya Gurudev’s teachings resonated more. The devotional outpouring during the Laksharchana of Bhagavan Vishnu with flowers and His Sahasranama on December 29, 1959, made every devotee recall the attributes of perfect devotion which had been illumined in the Chapter 12, Bhakti Yoga. Throughout that Jnana Yajna, Pujya Gurudev demonstrated that Gita was not just a part of an epic, but a mode of life, universally applicable so that “a Hindu would become a better Hindu, a Christian a better Christian; and a Muslim, a better Muslim.”

There was a sweet prelude that took place before the Mysuru Yajna which traces the strengthening of the Chinmaya Devi Groups across India. Almost a year after Pujya Gurudev blessed the initiative to have an exclusive forum for women seekers, the Chinmaya Devi Group first founded in 1958 at Chennai prayed for Pujya Gurudev’s Presence on their first anniversary celebration on November 16, 1959. Pujya Gurudev’s calendar was fully booked, and there seemed to be no opening. However, a small unforeseen delay between the Madurai and the Mysuru Jnana Yajnas became the happiest fortune for the Chinmaya Devi Group. Pujya Gurudev came on November 16, 1959, to Chennai. A most colorful welcome with a melodious Subrahmanya bhajan and the Gurustotram, a carpet of flowers of twelve colors to represent the twelve months that lined His path, and an unusual peacock throne with a beautiful five-year-old dressed as Lord Muruga inviting Him to sit beside her – Pujya Gurudev was astonished as He applauded the enthusiasm of the Devis and encouraged them to greater spiritual accomplishment.

To establish another spiritual victory in the hearts of an adoring audience, Pujya Gurudev prefaced: “We can compare the Gita to a popular science magazine. The scientific truth remaining the same, its treatment is simpler in the magazine than in the great textbooks. Similarly, Vyasa had edited the Upanishads and given their essence as a popular treatment in the Gita.” The sheer eloquence of His exposition on the second chapter of the Gita in the evenings at the pandal captivated the minds of the seekers who listened unmindful of the evening showers. His morning classes of Kenopanishad in the Kalyana-mandapam within the Meenakshi temple also drew a large, dedicated crowd. Madurai was carried to dizzy heights of spirituality with the sthitaprajna lakshana of Gita chapter 2 and the brilliant analysis of Kenopanishad. The bliss of the yajna continued through the yatra to Tiruchendur on November 7th and 8th and culminated in the Avabhrta snaana at sea and a most thrilling darshan of Lord Muruga during the famous skanda Shashthee festival.

A singular, brilliant landmark was quietly achieved on the Dipavali Day of October 31, 1959 in Madurai. Pujya Gurudev had completed dictating His Gita discourses to present to the world, His greatest commentary on the Holy Gita. What was so amazing about that accomplishment, especially since the project took 4 years and 2 months – 1520 days ? May the numbers show the saga of Jnana Yajnas and His Likhita Ganga: 

• Total Manuscript  – 2085 foolscap (8 x13 inches) pages double-spaced
• Dictations began in 1955, published in segments in Tyagi from September 1955
• Pujya Gurudev traveled 5,000 miles by car, 10,000 miles by train, 20,000 miles by air in those four years.
• 62 Jnana Yajnas across India which gave rise to 500 branches of Chinmaya Mission, each having four to five Chinmaya Study Groups and the new wings of Bala Vihars and emerging Devi groups
• Organizational work and Beginning the journals – Tyagi & Usha
• Initiating work on Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Powai, Mumbai, selecting that venue after plans in four different locations did not materialize

Undaunted and untiring, Pujya Gurudev had gifted us the 4,60,000 word commentary on Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, all the while roaring the scriptural message everywhere.

A crucial bridge between Karma Yoga and Pure Meditation is how Pujya Gurudev described Gita chapter 5. Titled the Renunciation of Action, it details what is the spirit of renunciation and what is meant by the Yoga of Renunciation of Action. Pujya Gurudev spelled out the effects of actions done with this attitude particularly on the inward development and spiritual evolution. He then guided the sincere audience to the portal of chapter 6, the technique of meditation, of taking the mind trained to renounce the sense of agency or the anxieties for the results of actions and direct it toward self-unfoldment.  

As a practical exercise in spirituality, Pujya Gurudev announced that the Avabhrta snaana trip  for the 61st yajna would be to Garhmukhteshwar, a sacred place on the banks of Ganga, 55 miles away from Delhi. He reminded seekers that it was a trip of 24-hour temporary sannyas with minimal focus on bodily comforts. On the evening of October 17, 1959, 126 devotees boarded three buses with joyful kirtans to reach the dharmashala at Brij Ghat which is near Garhmukteshwar. Under a full moon sky with the gentle lapping waters of the scenic Ganga in the background, the satsang with Pujya Gurudev full of His energy and humor was a sublime experience. The sacred bath in the Ganga early next morning was refreshing. After that, the devotees gathered around Pujya Gurudev for three to four hours in the central hall of the dharmashala to listen to his invaluable explanation of how Dharma should become one’s lakshana (characteristic) through uncompromising sadhana. He said firmly that aspirants should meditate not on the personality of a living Guru but must contemplate on the spiritual ideals that a Guru taught, the Ishwara Tattva behind  the Guru, symbolized as the Real Guru Mukteshwar.

Interestingly, as time went unnoticed in that timeless satsang, the group could not visit the actual temple. However, Pujya Gurudev posed a  thought-provoking question: “”If after the Ganga-bath and the Spiritual Life you lived, you still think that you have not visited Guru Mukteshwar, then whom can we blame?”it