Jnana Yajna 15
Year & Dates:
December 3, 1955 to December 21, 1955
Yajna Topic:
Ishavasya Upanishad
Place:
National High School Hall, Kolkata, India.
He had not even begun His Upanishad Jnana Yajna, and the crowds were already surging. The organizers wondered if they had to move the venue outdoors in spite of the winter weather. Much was the eagerness of the audience in Calcutta (now Kolkata) who had waited to hear Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda. So, on the evening of December 3, 1955, when He was welcomed at the brightly decorated National High School Hall, the joy was palpable in that huge gathering.
Revelations with Laughter
In his welcome address, Sri G.M. Khemka, President of the G.K. Khemka Charity Trust said, “These Jnana Yajnas of Swamiji merely denote a sacrificial offering of our ignorance and false values into the Fire of Knowledge with the glory of the Divine. His lectures will prove a treat to the faithful, a challenge to the non-believer, and an irresistible call to the intelligent. Swamiji’s time is precious since he is in demand everywhere, and it is therefore our privilege to have got him to address us.”
True to those words, Pujya Gurudev enthralled all seekers for eighteen days. Explaining how Ishavasya Upanishad was an unparalleled Mantropanishad containing declarations that were versified as mantras, He taught the abstract and profound through tangible light-hearted examples. The “ghost in the post,” that He dramatized brought both great laughter and clarity to the audience in Calcutta. From perceptions through senses to the All-pervading Truth, from learning to look within and without, from avidya to vidya, Pujya Gurudev immersed the people of Calcutta in the harmony of action and knowledge that Ishavasya Upanishad revealed beautifully.
In Admiration
Reflecting on Gurudev’s teachings, Shri Sampath Iyengar of Kolkata observes that they form a harmonious blend of the old and the new, catering to the inquisitive nature of the modern mind. -“Even sacred sayings cease to command acceptance from a ritualistic mind, unless they can convince the intellect. It is in this endeavor to carry conviction to the thinking men that Swamiji excels – this method of treatment, combined with lucidity and severe logic.”
Photo Gallery
With His Grace, this Divine Instrument
Prayer is the means, the path, the staff and the goal. Prayer is Power!
The Guru's piercing look is like Wifi for the soul - connecting you to enlightenment faster than your phone connecting to a hotspot!
“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev
In all his future activities, De-personalization is the secret of inspiration, and a work done under inspiration is certainly a thousand times more irresistible in its effectiveness. The secret of all enduring work lies in this de-personalization of the worker from his work. The scripture here is advocating every man of energy and activity to work tirelessly in the world in a continuous and unbroken mood of inspiration.
A long period of such activities, undertaken in a spirit of detachment, to a large extent cleanses the mind of its impurities, such as desires, attachments, hatreds, selfishness, jealousy, greed etc. such a purified mind alone can have the required intellectual temper and spiritual stability to pursue the path of righteousness through intense and high meditation.
From Ishavasya Upanishad Book
Sitting in a train that is halting at a station, the traveler looking out through the window to a moving train on the parallel line, would feel that his own train is moving. With reference to a moving factor, the motionless would look as though moving, though itself is motionless and still. When viewed from the deck of a moving boat the trees on the banks are seen moving; perceptions are always relative. Similarly, viewing the motionless Spirit of Life, from and through the world of agitations in matter, the Spirit Itself looks as though It moves, and yet, in Its real nature It moves not.
From Ishavasya Upanishad Book
Embracing Wholeness!