Ramakrishna Mission

Once the gods defeated the demons in a long drawn-out battle. Full of conceit, they wanted to celebrate their victory.
It was Brahman that that achieved victory for the gods. But the gods weren’t aware of Brahman’s role, and their pride and elation knew no bounds. Brahman thought to himself: “The gods must be protected from this dangerous vainglory; otherwise they will in course of time become devilish creatures. For their own sake I must remove their presumptuousness.”
Brahman appeared to them as luminous form on the eve of their celebrations. The gods had never seen anything like it. It was a mystery they couldn’t fathom.
The gods told Fire: “You are powerful among us. Please go and thoroughly look into the matter. It seems to be some venerable being.”
Fire approached Brahman, or rather Brahman in the guise of the mysterious object. Brahman asked him, “Who are you?”.
“I am known as Fire,” came the reply.
Brahman: “You possess such a famous name. What power do you have?”
Fire: “I can burn up everything in the universe.”
Brahman placed a straw before Fire and asked him to burn it. Fire tried his utmost but couldn’t consume it. He became ashamed and silently withdrew. He reported to the gods, “I couldn’t tell what this being really is.”
Then the gods sent Air to the luminous being on the same errand. Brahman said, “Who are you? What power do you have?”
“I am known as Air. I can blow away everything in the universe, “ was the reply.
Brahman placed the same straw before Air and asked him to blow it away. Air also was foiled in his attempt, and he too returned to gods to report that he had failed to find out the strange being’s identity.
Now all the gods requested their leader, Indra to go and meet the mysterious being that that so far eluded identification. No sooner had Indra approached it than the luminous object vanished. Indra’s pride was humbled. Yet he didn’t go back like Fire and Air.
Indra kept deliberating in his mind about the baffling matter. Then Supreme knowledge itself appeared in the flesh as Uma, the beautiful and charming daughter of Himalayas.
Indra asked Uma, “Please tell me the nature of the being who showed itself to us and then vanished.”
Uma said: “It was Brahman. You were merely instruments. But you became vainglorious because of your triumph.”
Indra’s conceit was gone. He fully understood that behind the endeavors of all the gods was the power of Brahman. Since Indra, Fire and Air dared to converse with Brahman, they became superior to other gods – but since it was Indra to whom knowledge was given, he became foremost among all the gods.
It is Brahman alone that motivates and activates all creatures in the universe. And it is egoism, which hides this truth from us. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “All agonies come to an end when man ceases to be egocentric.”

The great sage Vyasa was once sitting on the bank of the river Yamuna at Vrindavan. A few milkmaids were also waiting there. They had milk, butter, and curd with them to be sold in the villages on the other bank.
There was no ferry-boat in sight and the milkmaids were helpless. They approached Vyasya for help.
Vyasya said: “Yes, I’ll help you. In fact, I too have to go the other bank. But first, I am little hungry. Would you mind giving me some condensed milk and curd? You seem to have plenty with you.”
As soon as Vyasa had had his fill of milk and curd, the girls reminded him of his promise.
Vyasa walked up to the stream and with folded hands prayed: “Mother Yamuna! If I haven’t eaten anything, let you waters part to let us through.”
The girls laughed at Vyasa’s prayer. The sage had taken so much of their milk and curd and still he said, “If I haven’t eaten anything…” But suddenly, the stream parted, and there was a passage through it!
Vyasa was a wise man. He knew that he was essentially he Atman, separate from the body and mind. He knew that although his body and mind had participated in acts of eating or drinking, he himself had not.

Janaka was a philosopher-king of ancient India. He was the ruler of Mithila. The princely court consisted of great scholars, and Janaka himself was regarded with the respect throughout India for his wisdom.
Once Janaka performed a sacrifice in which gifts were freely distributed. Vedic Scholars from the far-off countries, like Kuru and Panchala, assembled in Mithila on this occasion.
Now Janaka thought to himself: “This is a rare gathering. So many scholars versed in the Vedic lore have assembled here. I must take this opportunity to find the most profound scholar, the one peerless member of this grand assemblage.”
Janaka hit upon a plan. He asked his servants to put one thousand choice cows in a nearby pen. He further ordered that to each of the cows’ horns should be attached five golden plates. The king’s servants obeyed him at once.
Janaka then appeared in the place of sacrifice. He solemnly announced, “Revered Brahmins, let him who is the best Vedic scholar among you drive the thousand cows home.” This was a rather peculiar announcement and a hush fell upon the assemblage.
None of the Brahmins was willing to rise and declare himself the best scholar. Yajnavalkya then stood up and asked Samashrava, his disciple, to drive the cows home to his forest retreat. Immediately, the Brahmins were a flutter. Ashwala, the priest of Janaka, was the first to issue a challenge, saying, “Yajnavalkya, are you really the best scholar among us?”.
Yajnavalkya: “ I bow down to the best scholar; I just want the cows.”
Ashwala decided to interoogate Yajnavalkya, whose politeness didn’t strike him as genuine. The priest’s favoured position with Janaka had made him insolent. He threw many questions at Yajnavalkya, but Yajnavalkya answered them all. The quick answers were enough to calm the angry mood of Ashwala.
Serveral other scholars now began to interrogate Yajnavalkya. Some were genuine seekers of truth; others simply wanted to put him in a tight corner. Last of all rose a lady named Gargi, the daughter of the sage Vachaknu. Gargi had already asked a few questions, but now she asked the permission of the Brahmins to put forth a few more.
“I shall ask him two more questions, “ Gargi proposed. “Should he answer them, none of you will ever be able to beat him.” In ancient India, women had access to philosophical enquiry – and what tremendous self confidence we find in Gargi, daring a great sage to answer her questions! She was dignity personified.

Gargi continued, “What, O Yajnavalkya, pervaded the whole cosmos and whatever is, was and shall be ?”
Yajnavalkya: “The unmanifested ether.”
“I bow to you, Yajnavalkya. You have answered the question to my satisfaction. Now I have another.”
“Ask, O Gargi.”
“What pervades the unmanifested ether?”
The question seemed to launch Yajnavalkya to new heights of elucidation. He replied: “IT is pervaded by the immutable Brahman. It is neither gross nor minute, neither short or long, neither shadow nor darkness, neither air nor ether. The different worlds, the sun and the moon, do not transgress its mighty rule. Whoever departs from this world without knowing this immutable substance has to move in an endless series of births and deaths. It is never an object of thought or intellect, being thought or intelligence itself. It is the knower who knows through all intellects. Brahman, which is the self within all and is beyond all relative attributes like hunger etc. is the ultimate goal, the highest truth. By this Brahman is the unmanifested either pervaded.”
Thereupon Gargi said: “Revered Brahmins, listen to my words. I have already said that if he is able to answer my questions, none of you can beat him. You can never hope to defeat him. In comprehending Brahman, he has no peer.” Saying this Gargi sat down and listened humbly to rest of the proceedings.

Gautama, the son of the sage Haridruman, was a celebrated rishi of the Vedic age. He was well versed in the Vedic lore and had many students in his tapovana, or forest retreat.
A young boy named Satyakama once expressed a desire to his mother, Jabala, to go to Gautama’s tapovana to study. Though Satyakama was Jabala’s only child, still she readily agreed. She was glad that Satyakama was willing to train for the highest knowledge.
“Mother, please tell me my lineage,” said Satyakama, for he knew that Gautama would be sure to ask him the name of saint from whom his family traced descent.
The mother was in a fix. She didn’t know who Satyakama’s father was. She had never been married. Satyakama was an illegitimate child, and would probably be denied the right to study the Vedas. It was most embrassing for her to disclose this fact to her child.
Jabala thought to herself: “It will give Satyakama quite a shock to learn that he was born to parents not married to each other. Moreover, if and when Satyakama tells this to Gautama, the sage will certainly be scandalized, and the students of the tapovana will also be morally offended. Whoever hears our story will surely hate both my son and me.”
Jabala wavered for a while. Then she resolved to speak the truth, whatever the consequences. She would bequeath truth to her son. She kissed Satyakama on the head and said: “My child, in my youth I was extremely poor and served many men in many countries as a slave girl. Your mother has never been married. I am Jabala. So tell the sage that your name is Jabala Satyakama.”
Satyakama took leave of his mother and trekked to Gautama’s Tapovana.
When Satyakama arrived at the tapovana the sun was about to set and the students were busy arranging the sacrificial fire. In the twilight hour Satyakama prostrated himself before the sage. He was visibly exhausted from his journey.
The students had finished their evening worship, and Satyakama had taken a little rest. When the Sage summoned him, Satyakama said: “Revered Sir, I want to live in this tapovana as a celibate. Kindly accept me as one of your disciples.”
“Most affectionate blessings! What is your lineage, my child ?” asked Gautama.
Satyakama told the sage what his mother had disclosed to him and traced his descent from his mother, saying, “Jabala is my mother; I am Satyakama; so I would be known as Jabala Satyakama.”
It was a startling disclosure. Gautama looked at the boy, an embodiment of purity and placidity.
The sage rose from his seat and embraced the boy warmly. Then he said: ” My child, bring the firewood for the sacrificial fire. I have decided to initiate you into discipleship. You are verily a Brahmin. You have not swerved from the truth. None other than a Brahmin can utter such unalloyed truth.”

It was triumph of Jabala and her son Satyakama. They marched to victory under the banner of truth. Satyakama was admitted to the inner circle of Gautama, and in course of time became an illumined soul.

A BRIEF REPORT OF A PROJECT BY RAMAKRISHNA MISSION, KHETRI FOR PROVIDING DRINKING WATER
Living creatures of the universe are made of five basic elements, viz., Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky, Obviously, water is one of the most important elements and no creature can survive without it. Despite having a great regard for water, we seem to have failed to address this sector seriously. Human being could not save and conserve water and it sources, probably because of its availability in abundance. But this irresponsible attitude resulted in deterioration of water bodies with respect to quantity and quality both. Now, situation has arrived when even a single drop of water matters.
Ramakrishna Mission, Khetri has taken a modest initiative through creating awareness in the locality about the following important aspects regarding water conservation:
1. To arrest ground water decline and augment ground water table
2. To beneficiate water quality in aquifers
3. To conserve surface water runoff during monsoon
4. To reduce soil erosion
5. To inculcate a culture of water conservation
Taking into consideration the above mentioned goal, Ramakrishna Mission, Khetri has taken steps to restore a very old check dam (Ajit Samand Bandh) at the outskirts of Khetri by excavating silt from it so as to make it sufficiently deep in order that it might hold adequate runoff water during the rainy season. The accumulated water of the reservoir will recharge the ground water tables which in its turn protect wells and tube wells of the locality from drying up.
The work was done by employing a JCB machine for dredging and seven tractor trolleys for transporting the silt from the dam site. It took eight days to remove about eight hundred trolleys of soil from the dam.

BHAKTA-SAMMELAN Organized by
Ramakrishna Mission, Khetri (Rajasthan)
To consolidate and boost up the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement in Rajasthan, a Bhakta-Sammelan (congregation of devotees & admirers) was organized by the Ramakrishna Mission at Khetri, Rajasthan on Saturday, 6th March, 2010 (afternoon) & Sunday, 7th March, 2010 (whole day). Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj, Member, The Governing Body of Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai and Swami Nikhilatmanandaji Maharaj, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission, Jaipur conducted the Bhakta Sammelan. Swami Prajnatmanandaji Maharaj of Ramakrishna Kutir, Almora performed devotional songs on the occasion. Swami Tarakeswarananda, Ramakrishna Math, Kankurgachhi also took part. Two hundred devotees from different places of Rajasthan and Delhi participated in the function.