Jnana Yajna 84
Year & Dates:
April 13, 1961 to April 23, 1961
Yajna Topic:
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita- Chapter 15
Place:
Trivandrum, India.
A shorter duration, a more direct approach minus the inauguration festivities – this was slowly becoming the updated format of Pujya Gurudev’s Jnana Yajnas as He compassionately tried to honor the requests from numerous cities around the country before Sandeepany Sadhanalaya opened.
So, after the Om flag was hoisted by Sri A. S. Menon in front of the elegant pandal in Thiruvananthapuram Palace grounds as the sacred signal, the 84th Jnana Yajna began in full earnest.
Pujya Gurudev’s Opening Remarks: “It is axiomatic that one can contemplate on a thing only if he detaches himself from the object of contemplation. Thus, only if one detaches himself from the objective world, he can sit back and contemplate subjectively whether there is any guiding factor which forms the basis for this regularity, harmony, rhythm, and unity which we see in all objects of nature ranging from the minutest particle to the great solar system.”
Deep Thinking Beyond Boundaries
Pujya Gurudev prefaced by tracing human evolution on the mental plane from wondering, observing, enquiring, and finally contemplating on the source and purpose of everything. From that evening on April 13, 1961, until the yajna concluded on April 23rd, He guided thousands of seekers on the challenging yet highly rewarding path of contemplation.
With the exalted Purushottama Yoga as the main topic for the yajna, Pujya Gurudev first indicated how the key chapter of the Gita explained “the nature of the ultimate Reality, both Transcendent and Immanent at the same time, in all manifested objects.”
Continued Churning: The deep introspection continued during the morning discourses when more than 300 seekers gathered in the yajnashala to carefully take in Pujya Gurudev’s detailed exposition on Ishavasya Upanishad. Dwelling on the Supreme Eternal through the texts of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and the upanishad from morning to night, the minds of the blessed seekers at Thiruvananthapuram got tuned, almost unconsciously, to an unusual state of calmness, induced by those powerfully spiritual one-and-a half hour sessions twice a day.
Starting Young and New: An endearing sight during the Jnana yajna was the lively morning satsangs that Pujya Gurudev enjoyed with the youngest seekers. Through kirtans, animated story-telling sessions, and amazing chanting of the Gita, the sweet and sprightly children of Bala Vihars and Pujya Gurudev entertained one another.
In the night satsangs after the main discourses, it was heartwarming and stimulating to watch how Pujya Gurudev patiently answered all types of questions – from the thoughtless to the profound – that the new aspirants heaped on Him.
For Reflection: It was a shared experience of every audience across cities that in the presence of Pujya Gurudev, the concept of time and space simply faded into insignificance.
“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev
“Free from pride and delusion:” Both these qualities of pride and delusion indicate a false exaggerated estimate of oneself and others. Erroneous estimate of one’s own importance is called pride, and it brings about an enormous amount of heavy responsibilities upon oneself to maintain it. There is no time thereafter for him to cultivate himself or to seek knowledge or get himself or to seek knowledge or get himself educated. Similarly, error in judgment regarding things and beings, happenings and situations, in the world outside, called delusion, makes us live in a false world of our own imagination without actually facing the immediate problems around.
‘With the evil of attachment conquered’: To live in the flesh, and seek our life’s fulfillment only in the joy drive from our contracts with the sense-objects in the world around us, is to live in the outer bark, cheating ourselves entirely from life’s deeper possibilities. Such an ignorant fool gets extremely attached with the objects of the world, and once this attachment has grown, all his attention in life will be irresistibly turned towards these objects. Shackled by them, dancing ever to their rhythm of change and destruction, he comes to lay waste his powers, without ever realizing the nobler purpose of the Life Divine.
From Tyagi Magazine
Are you putting enough effort?
In this video Swami Chinmayananda highlights that sincere spiritual efforts lead to attainment, cautioning us against divided focus caused by unresolved desires. Lack of integration between mind and intellect impedes spiritual growth, highlighting the need to purify thoughts and cultivate detachment. Those who have purified their minds find the path to higher consciousness clear, as seen in the story of Nachiketas from the Kathopanishad.