Jnana Yajna 22
Year & Dates:
October 16, 1956 to November 2, 1956
Yajna Topic:
Kenopanishad
Place:
Delhi University, Delhi, India.
Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda was back in Delhi University on October 16, 1956, after His Jnana Yajna there just about a year before. This time, the yajna was organized by an enthused committee of the students who requested Pujya Gurudev to instruct them on the Kenopanishad. They had arranged to rent the University Hall for Re.10 per day of the discourse, and the University authorities wondered if listening to the Upanishads would “corrupt or elevate youthful minds!” Nevertheless, the authorities approved, trusting that Pujya Gurudev guidance from the stage, His Vyas Peeth, would be a positive reinforcement to higher learning.
Young and Ancient
The 22nd Jnana Yajna was inaugurated by Diwan Anand Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab University. In His address before the Jnana Yajna began, the Vice-Chancellor wondered: “Our Rishis of old were the first to develop a coherent theory about the relationship of space, time, matter, and events. One is struck with wonder at the remarkable similarity between their concepts and those of higher physics today. According to our Rishis as in Modern Physics, matter and energy are identical.” Pujya Gurudev, with His systematic exposition of Vedantic concepts, sharpened the students’ perceptions of the world of matter; He encouraged them to enquire and participate in the grand Upanishadic style of recognizing the energizing Principle behind all the sense organs, mind, and intellect. In the daring journey to find “the mind of the mind” and the source of Everything, Pujya Gurudev took the bright young minds on a higher plane of learning.
In Admiration
Shri Amba Dutt Pande, once an atheist transformed into a believer by Gurudev’s discourses on the Bhagavad Gita, expresses the impact of Gurudev and Gita on him:
“Everyday the richness, the depth and the meaning of the Divine message condensed in the Gita came to us as a revelation, enriching our minds and giving us a new interpretation of life and its purpose. The Gita Jnana Yajna made us realize how in the Gita all the seemingly diverse teachings have become reconciled and fitted into one pattern as the Truth is all embracing. This has been our common experience.”
“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev
The thousands of Yajna prasad booklets and books distributed free to students of Delhi University and elsewhere on their Convocation day; the free distribution of the new booklet “Your Life is Yours-Make it or Mar it” is staggering-especially from the man who started his mission with 4 1/2 annas in his pocket. The Man of Wisdom alone knows the way to use money-currency. What he gets as Guru Dakshina, he again gives back to society in the form of knowledge-books-the value of which cannot be measured against Gold or Silver.
From Kenopanishad Yajna Prasad
We have here the warning that “if you think you know well, you know very little,” because none of us nor the Masters can ever say that Atman is “understood” of “known,” since Atman is not knowable, but is the knowing principle. Brahman or Atman is not seen, heard or understood, or known as an object. I can see this form of the Microphone, and you too can see this form, because this form is different from me and you. You can see your hands or fingers and admire their beauties in your spare moments! Why? Because, the fingers are something different from the instrument of seeing the eye! But you can never see your eyes yourself! Similarly, the Atman that sees, understands, knows, and perceives, cannot be perceived, known, understood, nor seen!
From Kenopanishad Yajna Prasad
Go Beyond Hallucinations!
Dive into the depths of meditation with Swamiji as he unravels the truth beyond mere hallucinations. Explore the profound wisdom of Vedanta that guides us to move beyond the realm of fleeting visions and sounds in meditation. Discover the essence of true spirituality – the subject that witnesses, not the fleeting objects that come and go. Join us in this enlightening discourse and learn to rediscover your own true nature, transcending the illusions of the mind.