February 2007

Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

The Divine Devi Andal’s Poetry: One of Our Great Alvars

Andal composed two significant works in her short life. Both are in Tamil and are unique in their literary, philosophical, religious, and artistic content. Her contribution is even more remarkable considering that she was a teenage girl when she composed these poems, at a time when there is no other record of Tamil women composing poetry. Far from being the prattlings of a youngster, Andal’s verses display a literary and religious maturity far beyond her…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Destroy All Your Impurities on the Great Festival Holi

By Shri Swami Sivananda7 min read

Holi also means “sacrifice.” Burn all the impurities of the mind, such as egoism, vanity, and lust, through the fire of devotion and knowledge. Ignite cosmic love, mercy, generosity, selflessness, truthfulness, and purity. In days of yore, there were communities of cannibals in India. They caused much havoc, threatening the lives of many innocent people. One of them was Holika or Putana. She took immense delight in devouring children. Sri Krishna destroyed her and thus…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

The Purna Avatar of Lord Narayana – Lord Shri Krishna

By Shri Swami Sivananda13 min read

O Adorable Krishna! Let my longing eyes behold Thy form. Let my ears hear Thy flute. O Healer of all sorrows! Show me Thyself. Thou art the only Truth—All the rest is false. I crave not for Mukti; I long not for emancipation; Let there be devotion to Thy feet. Be kind unto me, O Lord! Remove my delusion. I am a servant unto Thee. The auspicious hour came. The star Rohini was shining. It…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Temple of Sri Ranganathswami at Srirangam

By Magazine Editor9 min read

Walking down the corridors of the Sriranganathaswami temple at Srirangam, one would discover apocryphal stories unraveling at every point. The Lord, endowed with human traits and considered by the people as their own child “Ranga,” resides here. This ancient island town on the banks of the Cauvery throbs with life perennially and is home to many peace-loving residents who seem to be members of one huge family. “The people of this town treat Ranganatha like…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

The Poetry of the Alvars

By Magazine Editor6 min read

The figure of Rama and several episodes from the Ramayana are prominent in the poems of the Tamil mystics (Alvars), as well as in the devotional meditations and theological arguments of the Srivaishnava preceptors (Acharyas). This article will explore the importance of the Ramayana in Srivaishnava theology and experience by focusing on the Tamil poetry of the Alvars and on the interpretation of these verses by their commentator, Periyavaccan Pillai (born 1228 A.D.), a Srivaishnava…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Life of Bhashyakar Bhagwan Shri Ramanujacharya

By Rameshwar Singh5 min read

Bhagwan Sri Ramanujacharya is well known in South India, where his influence was paramount. There are very few people who follow the doctrine of Bhashyakar Ramanujacharya outside South India. Those that do follow his doctrine belong to what is known as the Sri Sampradaya. It is time that people of the world know what religious doctrine he preached and the basis of his philosophical conclusions (Siddhanta). It is important to know whether this doctrine was…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Seva Dharma: The Spirit of Service

By Dr. Shantanu Dutta Choudhury5 min read

With my humble obeisance at the lotus feet of my beloved Guruji, I would like to pen my thoughts on Seva Dharma as taught by Him and other saints and savants. In the past 20 years of my intense association with saints and devotees of different faiths and beliefs, and through reading a lot of spiritual literature, I have come to the conclusion that Guruji’s message and discourses are the simplest to follow and practice….

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

The Brief Story & Introduction of The Holy Puranas

By Magazine Editor8 min read

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana is considered the most important of all the Puranas. It contains the five technical divisions of the Puranas and is divided into six adisas. It deals with the events of Varahakalpa and contains twenty-three thousand shlokas. The theme revolves around the ten incarnations of MahaVishnu, making it one of the most ancient Puranas and earning it the name Puranaratna (gem of Puranas). The method of narration is in the form…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Advaita & Vishishtadvaita

By Magazine Editor4 min read

Advaita and Vishishtadvaita have no connection at all. Advaita is implicit atheism. Advaita is called “Prachanna Bauddham” (hidden Buddhism). Advaita is based only on a personal interpretation of Abheda-sruti. In Advaita, Brahman is the only knowledge-self reality and is without any attributes. The three types of differences, namely difference in individuality, difference in types, and differences in its integral parts, are not in Brahman. Nothing other than this Brahman is reality. Though Brahman is eternally…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Dasha Avatar: Narasimha Avatar

By Magazine Editor8 min read

Lord Vishnu, in his incarnation as the Boar (Varaha avatar), had killed Hiranyaksha. The devas (demi-gods) celebrated with great joy in the kingdom of Heaven, unaware that their rejoicing was to be short-lived. Hiranyakashipu, the elder brother of Hiranyaksha, was seething with rage and vowed to avenge his brother’s death. He turned to the other asuras (demons) and ordered them to destroy all good people on earth. The orders were to disturb all prayers, extinguish…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Boastfulness Should Be Avoided

By Magazine Editor6 min read

Gurus are always inundated with questions from inquisitive and ignorant devotees. While many of these questions relate to life, one’s future, past lives, relationships between different Gods, and more, some devotees inquire about how to find a Guru and how to behave in the presence of a Guru. It is important to understand that God will facilitate the union of man and Guru, just as God facilitates the union of man and God. However, prior…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Guru the Divine Soul Incarnate

By Magazine Editor5 min read

A Guru, a world within himself, is divine, and his depth is beyond the measure of this universe. By merely changing his outward appearance from time to time, he comes amidst us now and again, but he is free from the cycle of birth and death. Through committed devotion and blind faith, devotees must aspire to connect with that divine soul. The undisputed truth is that one can avail fleeting pleasures by connecting with the…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Guru Promised God to Lead Us on the Right Path

By Magazine Editor4 min read

Once a Guru and disciple relationship is established, it goes well beyond the physical body. This bond extends into the spiritual world and can continue through different cycles of life and death in the human form. Every man has been sent to this earth with equal powers. It is their interests and childhood experiences that ignite their passion, channeling this power towards pursuing a goal or developing a talent. An individual could be an expert…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

God Can Be Seen in the Form of a Guru

By Magazine Editor7 min read

A Guru is a religious teacher, a divine soul that takes birth to lead mankind out of darkness into light—‘GU’ meaning darkness and ‘RU’ meaning light. Attempting to describe a Guru is practically impossible, for the depth of his attributes is beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals. The languages spoken globally are not rich enough in adjectives to describe the profound nature of a Guru. We, mere mortals, have neither the ability to understand…

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Feb07-Apr07 2007 Sri Sudarshan Sandesh

Essence of Thoughts

By Magazine Editor5 min read

Om Namo Narayana! Discretion, or the power to decide, is another name for the essence of thought. The essence of the canons is also discretion. We are the sons of Parmatma. We have to unite with Parmatma. Whenever such knowledge awakens in us, it is said we have gained discretion. In fact, when such discretion covers our mind and intellect, it is not that physical matter disappears, but our attachment to the physical world dwindles….

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February 2007