Jnana Yajna 34
Year & Dates:
November 03, 1957 to November 23, 1957
Yajna Topic:
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita- Chapter 3
Place:
Allahabad (Prayagraj), India.
Acclaimed as a great place of pilgrimage near the holy confluence of the clear waters of the Ganga, the green waters of the Jamuna, and the river Sarasvati, Prayagraj brings to mind the pristine flow of Sanatana Dharma. However, religion had become stagnant ritualism in the 1950s, and Prayagraj needed a dynamic boost.
Six years and 33 Jnana Yajnas after Pujya Gurudev flagged off the Vedantic Renaissance, He arrived at Prayagraj. Unmindful of His own burning fever and a sore throat, Pujya Gurudev quenched the spiritual thirst of an audience who craved for more after hearing His incomparable explanations of the third chapter of Bhagavad Gita. All roads lead to wherever He was, to listen, learn, and soak in the spiritual abundance of His teachings. Every association, club, society, and organization vied with one another to invite Him and host His talks.
A Confluence of Wisdom, Words, and Worship
Invited by the Allahabad Students Union, Pujya Gurudev addressed the students in a set of powerful discourses titled, “Your life is yours. Make it or mar it.” Initial skepticism from the youth on the first day rapidly turned into admiration and attention. Word spread and attendance peaked. Chairs were pushed farther back making place for more students to sit on carpets. But that too wasn’t enough. Students stood in the verandah and the upper gallery, grabbing every inch of space and hanging on to each word that Pujya Gurudev uttered.
An astute Teacher that He was, Pujya Gurudev announced a prize of Re.100 for the best essay written on ‘Religion and its place in Modern Life.’ The sight of hundreds of students taking notes at a fiery pace was proof of the revival of Sanatana Dharma among the motivated youth.
In several of His initial Jnana Yajnas, Pujya Gurudev had incorporated the feature of essay contests. This encouraged avid listeners and seekers to internalize and apply the wisdom of the scriptures in their own lives. The winners were given a small cash prize and the best essay was published in earlier editions of Tyagi.
Besides the words to remember, the spirited kirtans on boats at the Triveni Sangam, the meaningful satsang on the banks of Ganga, and the sincere worship at Shivkuti temples – the people of Prayagraj marveled at and adored the ways Pujya Gurudev refreshed their spiritual perspective.
Photo Gallery
Any scholar can study the scriptures; only a wise man can practice them.
A dip in the Triveni sangam is exhilarating and also jolly!
The brilliance emanating from the sage on the stage
“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev
The philosophy of Geeta does not suggest even in its implications any kind of running away from the world of sense-objects. Krishna’s creed is to be lived here and now among one’s situations in life and in this very world, and is to be experienced through our sacred vehicles of the body, mind and intellect. The only insistence is that on all occasions a wise man should be a master of the vehicles and not a helpless victim of these matter envelopments. And the secret of this mastery in life is to live free from the tyrannies of attachments and aversions.
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