Pearls of Wise

========================================================================= Tuesday, April 11, 2023. 05:30. ========================================================================= Why is Hanuman remembered as the foremost among bhaktas? Why is it that even today, after thousands of years, he still inspires generation after generation? Why do we turn to him in prayer? How does he instil in us the finer qualities that we seek? What is the very essence of his personality? We remember him for his feats of valour. He is remembered for his wise statesmanship. We revere him for the devotion he had for Lord Rama. We heap accolades on him for the humility, which was his innate nature. We pray to him for strength, wisdom and knowledge. Incomparable to the prayer in Ramacharitmanas: Atulita baladhamam hemashailabhadeham Danujavankru- sanum jnaninam agraganyam Sakalagunanidhanam vanaranamadhisham Raghupati priyabhaktam vatajatam namami We salute Hanuman, the incomparably strong, with a body shinin...

======================================================================= Monday, April 10, 2023. 06:25. ======================================================================== Man has made remarkable progress in the fields of science and technology. Technology has made it possible to travel faster than the speed of sound. New avenues of communication have opened up with the advent of computers. Advances in the field of medicine have produced amazing results. All these changes have affected the pace of life. Man is forced to think of various issues in the light of these new discoveries.  Issues that were unimaginable a few decades ago such as euthanasia, cloning, morality and ethics are demanding immediate answers.  It appears that there has been progress in various avenues, but paradoxically on the other hand one sees so much of destruction and violence. The old value system is degenerating.  Families are breaking down giving rise to a lot of mental distress.  People...

======================================================================== Sunday, April 09, 2023. 07:58. “Only in the silence of quiet mind can you realise your oneness with the supreme reality [Brahman].” – Swami Chinmayananda ========================================================================= Swami Chinmayananda : How He Taught In early years, Swami Chinmayananda held Marathon discourses of 41-100 days duration. Later, as he crisscrossed the globe, delivering one lecture series after another without respite, his jnana yajnas settled to around 7 to 10 days each. Swamiji recast the age-old yajna (fire sacrifice) as a jnana yajna, or ‘knowledge sacrifice,’ wherein the yajna becomes the symbolic burning of one’s ignorance in the fire of knowledge, kindled while listening to the teacher unfold Vedanta as revealed in the sacred texts. The yajna format was used not only in lecture series held in cities throughout the world, but also as part of spiritual camps at which delegates stu...

======================================================================== Saturday,  April 08, 2023. 07:30. ======================================================================== Bhakti-Yoga is a real, genuine search after the Lord, a search beginning, continuing, and ending in love. One single moment of the madness of extreme love to God brings us eternal freedom. "Bhakti", says Nârada in his explanation of the Bhakti-aphorisms, "is intense love to God"; "When a man gets it, he loves all, hates none; he becomes satisfied for ever"; "This love cannot be reduced to any earthly benefit", because so long as worldly desires last, that kind of love does not come; "Bhakti is greater than karma, greater than Yoga, because these are intended for an object in view, while Bhakti is its own fruition, its own means and its own end." Bhakti has been the one constant theme of our sages. Apart from the special writers on Bhakti, such as Shândilya or ...

Chinmaya Mission : Chinmaya Mission, Kannur conducted Balamahotsav on March 24th, 25th, and 26th, 2023. Approximately 350 children between the ages of 3 and 8 participated in the three-day camp, which was a fun-filled world of infotainment. The camp featured various activities such as theatre plays, puppet shows, clay modelling, music and dance, bhajans, story time, art and craft, games, face painting, Little Shefs, swimming, fitness, and fun. Swami Anukoolananda (Resident Director, Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore), Br. Anand Chaitanya (Chinmaya Mission, Chennai), and Brni. Taarini Chaitanya (Chinmaya International Foundation, Cochin), Dr. Sushama Prabhu (Child Specialist, Kannur), and Chinmaya Vidyalaya teachers conducted sessions for the children. Additionally, Swami Anukoolananda conducted a special session for parents on "Effective Parenting" on March 26th. Around 350 parents participated in the last day of the camp, which was a Family Day with diffe...

========================================================================= Monday, April 03, 2023. 20:50. (Spoken on April 25, 1984 - Swamiji's birthday message) ========================================================================= Chinmaya Mission : Chinmaya Mission London, Canada (Chinmaya Hanuman), conducted their inaugural Camp Bheeshma for high school youth. The camp, led by Vivekji and Shankarji, focused on finding calmness in the chaos: how to overcome moods such as stress, anger, and laziness, and transform them into peace. The campers learned valuable lessons compacted in acronyms that made them easy to remember and practice in their lives. In order to move towards the light, one must practice "ECO": engage, chant, observe. The mark of an individual who is above their mind is someone who observes, and the mark of an observant individual is organization. The campers also learned the importance of taking their vitamins, specifically vitamin R3: read, write, and ...