Jnana Yajna 51
Year & Dates:
December 28, 1958 to January 17, 1959
Yajna Topic:
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita- Chapter 12
Place:
Mumbai (Bombay), India.
In the fast-paced urban spread of Mumbai, the excitement of Pujya Gurudev’s upcoming Gita Jnana Yajna was initially tinged with some organizational challenges and lurking fears. The logistics of bringing the yajna planning committee together across the city was first overcome. Then arose the concern about a suitable, centrally accessible venue which was resolved – a beautiful pandal stood electrified and decorated as the yajnashala at Shree Niketan grounds, Marine Drive. Finally, the constant doubt in the back of the organizers’ heads if the attendance will be poor especially on the inaugural Sunday evening of December 28, 1958, was answered. People started gathering even an hour before the time of inauguration. So, when Pujya Gurudev entered the yajnashala precisely at 6 pm with the dignitaries, the atmosphere was surcharged with vibrant sanctity.
A Most Dear Devotee Jnani
Shri Tarachand Gupta, a business magnate of Mumbai, in his welcome address, proposed the idea of All India Radio broadcasting Pujya Gurudev’s discourses as a regular feature to reach millions across India. Shri Mangaldas Pakwasa, chairman of the yajna committee and a respected leader of Mumbai, inaugurated the Jnana Yajna recommending that the Bhagavad Gita should be central in every human’s life.
Then, the first sonorous Om uttered by Pujya Gurudev silenced all clamoring thoughts in the audience – the Chinmaya magic had unfolded yet again. The audience was in rapt attention; the crowds increased as the two hours every evening until January 19th became a time to marvel, assimilate, and meditate. Once Pujya Gurudev had established the important place of Chapter 12, Bhakti Yoga, as the door to the final six chapters of the Gita, He made hearts expand with the ideals that endear one to Bhagavan Krishna. To be in the rarefied heights of egoless and contented compassion, unagitated by the world and its wants, unsawed by extremes in the body, mind, and intellect – the vision of that unstinting devotion that Pujya Gurudev instilled day after day was overwhelming and inspiring.
The final day of the Gita Jnana Yajna, 19th January, when Pujya Gurudev walked among the devotees making sure that at least a few sprinkles of the sacred Ganga-jala touched each one, it was a symbolic culmination. Devotion had to nourish what He called “inward blossoming.” Looking at the spread of the different texts He taught in the first 108 Jnana yajnas, it is no surprise that Pujya Gurudev focused on Chapter 12 as much as the second chapter – about 15 times in the first 108 yajnas where He watered the Vedantic renaissance with the life-giving waters of devotion.
Photo Gallery
From young ones to 'young in mind', all beaming with joy, for a candid shot with Gurudev!
Gurudev's 51st Yagna inauguration program!
Bhajans with saints illumine the spiritual path, creating a symphony that resonates with the soul's quest for transcendence.
The devotees are receiving yagna prasad from Gurudev's hands, in an orderly fashion!
The Farewell Dinner
“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev
The mind generally takes the form of the object it contemplates. When an integrated mind-intellect-equipment of a devotee, through constant practice, gains a capacity of entirely engaging itself with the concept of the Lord, to the exclusion of all other agitations and undivine thoughts, the entire finite mind comes to assume the stature of the Infinite.It is the mind that gives us the hallucinations of our ego-centric limitations, and again, it is the mind that rediscovers the Infinite. Bondage and liberation are both for the mind. The Self is ever free; ever liberated; never bound.
From Shrimad Bhagavad Gita- Chapter 12, Book
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