The vision of Upanishads is the best thing which Hindus have got out as their glorious heritage, and it is also the best thing which we can give share with the whole world too. Hindus always stand apart from the whole gamut of various religious & spiritual thoughts, traditions & culture. They are always looked at with awe, it is a fact that once you know the vision of Upanishads you will not be able to ignore it, either you will love it or hate it - because it is bound to shake your various beliefs or rather misbeliefs. Such is the effect of the vision of Upanishads. The philosophy of Upanishads is called Vedanta, because it is the culmination of Vedic thought, the anta of Vedas. The knowledge of Vedanta for various reasons had been kept as a secret knowledge by the various teachers of Hindu religion, now we join the band of select few who bring this out in the open to the people of the world. Not only all Hindus should know their religion & philosophy properly but all the people of the world should take the benefits of the depth of knowledge of the life of our great masters of yore.

The main thrust of the Vedanta Sandesh Newsletter will, as the very name suggests, be the vision of Vedanta, but we also propose to have sections on Indian culture, Hindu religion & festivals, question-answers and programs of Vedanta Mission. We would be extremely grateful for the feedback from our readers. We would also request you to send a copy of the Newsletter to your friends, or send us their e-mail addresses so that we include their names in our mailing list. Let the caravan of Vedanta grow.

The Vedic masters do not merely stop at revealing the existence of God. All religions and religious masters have been talking about these things. The unique aspect of Vedas is to reveal that there is a state in this very life & this very body where this Jivatma discovers its total identity with Paramatma. It was the summum bonum of human life. It was an experience beyond imagination. The contentment was total. It was something which he or she always was seeking. It was total liberation from all limitations of time, space and objectivity. They called it Moksha - the total freedom, the ultimate goal of human life. They discovered that Jivatma is & always was Paramatma alone. The duality was born out of ignorance. The seeker is the sought. Like in a dream a person erroneously takes oneself to be something which one is not and suffers unnecessarily, so also are the suffering of man. The final leap to total freedom & fulfillment is merely by some knowledge, the knowledge of Self.

It is interesting to note the two words Jiv-atma and Param-atma. Both have the word 'atma' in common. Atma means the Self, that which reveals as the 'I' in the hearts of all. When this 'I' is seen to have a sense of limitation, along with a sense of enjoyership & doership, then such 'I' is referred to as the Jiva-atma. A Jiva is someone who sees himself to be limited by space & time - he is at one place alone and not everywhere, and his existence is at a particular time alone and not at all times. When these sense of limitations are inquired upon and are realized to be an error then this sense of limitation drops and the same 'I' is seen to be free from these limitations of time & space then this very 'I' is referred to as the Paramatma. Param means that which is free from all limitations of time, space & objectivity i.e. that which is there at all times, all places and in all objects. Thus the word atma which is the common denominator in both these words shows that God is always realized as the very subjective essence of a person and not as some objective reality. The science which facilitates us to conduct this inquiry into the Self is Vedanta, the culmination of which is in the discovery of oneself to be free from all limitations. That person alone is said to have attained proper spiritual health, that person alone makes the best of his or her life, rest are comparable to a sick man, always seeking and seeking, and at the end of it all dying also with all the sense of limitations. They know not the joy & potential of human life. They have missed the boat.

The full moon day of the month of Asada is celebrated by all Hindus as the Guru Poornima day. The month of Asada generally falls around July, so the full moon day in the month of July is the traditional 'Spiritual teachers day' of Hindus. This year it is on the 9th of July. It was on this day that one the greatest philosopher, writer & teacher of the world Bhagwan Ved Vyas was born. His real name was Krishna Dwaipayan and was also known as Badarayan. He compiled the Vedas, he wrote the Mahabharat - which has the Song Divine, the great Bhagwat Gita in it, he wrote all the eighteen Puranas, including the famous Bhagwat Mahapurana, and also the great logical treatise of Vedanta - the Brahma-sutras. It was the love, knowledge, enthusiasm and also the power of the pen of that great master that the Hindus are what they are today. Such is the reverence with which the great seer is looked upon that even till date the seat of all teachers is called as the 'Vyas-peetha', and it is his birthday that has been unanimously chosen by one & all as the Spiritual teachers day. On this day we specially express our heartfelt gratitude to our spiritual teachers. On this day the disciples go to their teachers to pay their obeisance and express their gratitude, discuss their problems, doubts etc., take their guidance and blessings & lovingly offer whatever services possible to their Guru, his ashram or to the cause he represents. The relationship of a Guru-disciple is

No knowledge is possible without a teacher. Even when the object of knowledge is an object of the world & thus perceptible then also we require the help of our teachers, then what to talk if the object of our knowledge is beyond the range of our faculties of perception. The ultimate truth of life can never be an object of our sense organs, because it is common knowledge that anything that can be objectified is always in the realm of change and therefore perishable. When we want to know that which is imperishable then the words of men of knowledge is the only available means of knowledge. It is technically called the sabda-pramana. It is indeed the result of the punyas of our hundreds and thousands of life when we meet someone who is an embodiment of knowledge & love. Not only that but if the mahatma accepts us as his disciple to work upon us to help eliminate our ignorance then it is the greatest thing which could happen to an individual. Knowledge alone redeems, it alone liberates therefore the importance of a spiritual guide.

It is extremely necessary to have a personal and a living guru with whom we can talk, confide and open up, he shows us the path from where we stand, he answers our specific often simple or even stupid queries. In the form of teacher we have someone who is an ideal friend, philosopher & guide, who always lovingly tell us the truth without any fears or malice. All friends and relatives even though they are helpful but have their own limitations. Firstly, anyone who is related generally has some expectations, and therefore cannot afford to fearlessly tell us any unpalatable & inconvenient things, moreover they are generally at the same level in which we are and therefore rarely tell us something which we do not know. A spiritual guide, a guru stands apart from them all. He not only knows the secret of life but can also make us conscious of a perspective which is not available from others. Availability of such a person in life is of a greatest help, he helps us to take right decisions at right times and thus facilitates our journey ahead to make the best of this great blessing called life.

Vedanta Mission, Ahmedabad organized a Five day Sadhana Camp at Kayavarohan Tirth from 16th to 20th June, a beautiful, quiet and pious place about 30 Kms from Vadodara. The camp was attended by sadhaks from Mumbai, Indore, Ahmedabad and Rajkot and was conducted by both Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji and Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji. The campus of the venue had an imposing, beautiful and well maintained temple of Lord Shiva. The temple was surrounded by sprawling, lush green lawns with tall palms around. It provided a very pious ambiance to the whole place.

During lunch while the food was served we use to chant the 15th chapter of Gita. We all had our lunch together in the midst of chanting of shlokas, dohas and even some bhajans. After lunch was some rest time. At 4 PM the tea was served and at 4:30 was the Gita discourse of Guruji. We studied the 5th chapter during this camp. After this class also we had time to walk around, have darshan of Lord Shiva and then again gather at the satsang venue at 7 PM for the bhajan & question-answer session. The session began with Swamini Amitanandajis discourse. She briefly revealed the essence of a beautiful stotra called as 'Sarvatma stotra' by Swami Tapovanji Maharaj and also taught everyone how to chant it. Later Guruji took the dias and started the session with one of his bhajans, he saw to it that all the sadhaks came forward and keeping aside all their hesitation sang a bhajan. It was a beautiful experience. After dinner in the night the sadhaks were in their beds early to get up early next day to start their next day fresh.

Received your e-mail today. I was happy to know that you are doing some research on the dwija and the upanayana ceremony, and you would like to know about the four varnas & also the four ashrams. These are all unique features of the Hindu religion or the Sanatan dharma as we call it. I am a Hindu religious teacher and would be happy to help you.

Basically the so called Hindu religion expounds that the main goal of life of every person is to realize the Self as the ultimate, transcendental truth called Brahman. (Ayam Atma Brahma) To take oneself as being limited by time & space is an indication & also proof of ignorance in that person about his or her true nature. The realization of Self as the non-dual, eternal reality of the universe is what we call Moksha. Even though we believe that this is our main goal and every human is basically capable of attaining it, but like in any knowledge some prerequisites are required before the knowledge can dawn. The potential for this realization is inherent in all, but this potential has to be manifested very patiently. A mind ready for the inner awakening is called a sattvic or pure mind.

The process of manifestation of this potential is a very specialized affair. It is very specific too. We do not profess a single path & duties to one & all. We believe that every person has a specialized frame of mind & a definite inclination for some activity. This has to be identified with the help of our gurus. As a general rule we believe that children of parents having an X kind of inclination are most likely to have that X kind of inclination too. So commonly categorization is made on the basis of lineage. But this is not a hard and fast rule, but only the best available initial categorization system. This unique inclination of mind is what we call as the varna and they are broadly of four kinds. The Brahmanas (the simple, clean minded intelligentia who are inclined to know more & more of the secrets of life, do research etc.), Kshatriyas (the inspiring, dynamic, fearless and selfless workers which forms the leader class), Vaishyas (the dynamic business class who is motivated best at the possibility of self-interest & profit) and the shudras (those who do not have any of the above inclination and therefore are the dull ones). This is what others generally call as the caste-system. We believe that duties, work-field, responsibilities etc. of a person should always be assigned or chosen on the basis of his or her inner coloring or fragrance. Then alone the best can come out. Then alone the mind can be loving, dynamic, creative, selfless or in short sattvic. We respect such kind of activity because dynamic, loving & selfless work helps to bring out our best not only in the field of our work but also manifests our potential for the inner realization. So it is extremely essential to identify ones varna, be true to it and live accordingly. Thus the varna system indicates our field of action, while the ashrams indicate the stages of life.

There are four stages or Ashrams of life. The brahmacharya (the disciplined & austere life of a student), grihastha (the dynamic householder), vanaprastha ( for a quiet life of austerities & meditation) & the sanyas (a life of a renunciate). A child when relatively mature (which incidentally varies with varnas) is formally initiated into the first Ashram i.e. the brahmacharya ashram. This ceremony is called the upanayana ceremony, wherein a sacred thread is put round the shoulders of the boy, the head is shaven, a special mantra is given for his daily prayers & meditation, and various do's & don'ts are given. The child had to stay at his teachers place till his studies were completed. The moment this upanayana ceremony is over the child is called as the dwija or the twice-born because thereafter alone his new & real life starts which has to culminate in realization of the ultimate truth as his own Self and thus fulfill his life.

If you love someone, set her free, if she loves you, the probability of her coming back is high.

If you love someone, set her free. If she ever comes back, she's yours, If she doesn't, as expected, she never was...

(1) If you love someone, set her free ... if she ever comes back, ask her why.

(2) If you love someone, set her free ... but get someone to follow her.

If you love someone, set her free ... don't even wait whether she comes back, go hunt her down !

If you love someone, set her free ... * If she comes back, and if you love her still, set her free again, repeat *

if(you->love(m_she)) m_she->free() if(m_she == NULL) m_she= new CShe;

OM TAT SAT