SARASWATI PUJA-2012

Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge, Music, Arts and Science. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti. She is specially worshipped by students for their success in studies.

The name Saraswati came from "saras" meaning "flow" and "wati" meaning "she who has ...", i.e. "she who has flow" or can mean sara meaning "essence" and swa meaning "self". So, Saraswati is symbol of knowledge; its flow (or growth) is like a river and Knowledge is supremely alluring, like a beautiful woman.

Saraswati is depicted as beautiful fair Goddess with Four arms, wearing spotless white saree and seated on white lotus. She is also known as "Sharada"and,  "Vani" and "Vagdevi" meaning "speech".

Medha Suktam is also included in this video. Meaning of which is given below.

Medha Suktam:

1.Medha Devi Jushhamaa Naa Na Aagaa Vishvaachi Bhadraa Sumanas Yamaanaa

May the all pervasive Goddess of intelligence who is happy with us, who brings prosperity and kindness, visit us.

 बुद्धि की देवी सरस्वती , जो हम पर प्रसन्न हैं जो ,  वैभव  और करुणा को प्रदान करती हैं , हमारे पास आयें

2.Tvayaa Jushhtaa Nudamaanaa Duruktaan Brahad Vadema Vidathe Suviiraaha

Oh Goddess we were indulging in futile gossip before your visit but now by your grace we got the talent to speak like disciples.

 हे देवी पहले हम व्यर्थ की बातें करते थे लेकिन आपके आने के बाद हमें शिष्यों की तरह बोलने की कला आ गयी है

3.Tvayaa Jushhta Rishhir Bhavati Devi Tvayaa Brahmaa Aagatshrii Ruta Tvayaa
 Oh Goddess admired by you, one becomes a Rishi, one becomes the knower of Brahma and attains an abundance of wealth.

हे देवी आपके प्रसन्न होने पर व्यक्ति ऋषि बन जाता है ,ब्रह्म को जानने वाला और धन धान्य से परिपूर्ण बन जाता है

4.Tvayaa Jushhta Schitram Vindate Vasu Saano Jushhasva Dravino Na Medhe
 I pray to that Goddess of intelligence to grant us the various forms of wealth.

हम बुद्धि की देवी सरस्वती को प्रार्थना करते हैं की वे  हमें विभिन्न प्रकार की संपत्तियां प्रदान करें

5.Medhaam Ma Indro Dadaatu Medhaam Devi Sarasvati
 May Lord Indra grant us the inner knowledge, may Goddess Sarasvati grant us intelligence.

इन्द्र हमें आतंरिक ज्ञान दें और सरस्वती हमें बुद्धि दें

6.Medhaam Me Ashvinaa Vu Bhaavaadhattaam Pushhka Rasrajaa

May the two Ashwins, wearing garlands made of Lotus flowers, grant us wisdom.

कमल के पुष्पों की माला पहने हुए, अश्विन कुमार हमें विवेक दें

7.Apsara Suchayaa Medhaa Gandhar Veshhu Cha Yanmanaha
 Apsaras have intelligence,Gandharvas have intelligence,Goddess of intelligence is Saraswati,let the intelligence spread like fragrance.I offer you without any reservations.

अप्सराओं के पास बुद्धि है , गन्धर्वों के पास बुद्धि है ,बुद्धि की देवी सरस्वती है , बुद्धि महक के सामान हर तरफ फ़ैल जाये ,हे देवी हम आपको प्रणाम है

8.Devim Medhaa Sarasvati Saamaam Medhaa Surabhir Jushhataam Svaahaa
 Let the divine intelligence awaken in us which spreads at the Vedic law and has fragrance.

प्रार्थना है की दिव्य ज्ञान हमे जगाये ,जो वेद धर्म के स्थापित होने पर फैलता  है और महक से परिपूर्ण है

 9.Aamaam Medhaa Surabhirr Vishvaruupaa Hiran Yavarnaa Jagatii Jagamyaa
 The one who grants intelligence, the one who spreads like perfume, the one who bears the golden letters, the one who is immortal, may that Goddess be kind to us.

जो बुद्धि की देवी हैं , जो इत्र की तरह फ़ैल जाती हैं ,जो स्वर्णिम अक्षरों को धारण करने वाली हैं ,जो अजर अमर हैं ,हम पर कृपा करें

10.Uurja Svatii Paya Saa Pinva Maanaa Saamaam Medhaa Supratiikaa Jushhantaam
 Oh Medha Devi, who is with a glowing countenance, whom seekers of Truth pursue, who is the seat of strength, who brings us up with milk and other wealth, come and be kind to us.

हे उज्जवल  मेधा देवी ,जिन्हें सत्य के उपासक ध्याते हैं ,शक्ति हैं ,धन वैभव देने वाली हैं ,हमपे कृपा करें

11.Mayi Medhaam Mayi Prajaam Mayya Gnistejo Dadhaatu
Mayi Medhaam Mayi Prajaam Mayi Indra Indri Yam Dadhaatu
Mayi Medhaam Mayi Prajaam Mayi Suuryo Bhraajo Dadhaatu

May the Fire God grant us the intelligence and the glow of the vedic chanting, may Lord Indra grant us intelligence and the strength arising from the control of one's senses, may the Sun God grant us intelligence and the strength to create fear in the enemy's heart.

अग्नि हमें बुद्धि दें ,और वेद पाठ का ,इन्द्र हमें बुद्धि दें और शक्ति दें इन्द्रियों को वश में करने की ,सूर्य हमें बुद्धि दें और शक्ति दें जिससे हम शत्रु के ह्रदय में भय पैदा कर सकें

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STORY: MAN AND GHOST

SWAMI Vivekananda tells YOU A storY:

There was a poor man who wanted some money; and somehow he had heard that if he could get hold of a ghost, he might command him to bring money or anything else he liked; so he was very anxious to get hold of a ghost. He went about searching for a man who would give him a ghost, and at last he found a sage with great powers, and besought his help. The sage asked him what he would do with a ghost. I want a ghost to work for me; teach me how to get hold of one, sir; I desire it very much," replied the man. But the sage said, "Don't disturb yourself, go home." The next day the man went again to the sage and began to weep and pray, "Give me a ghost; I must have a ghost, sir, to help me." At last the sage was disgusted, and said, "Take this charm, repeat this magic word, and a ghost will come, and whatever you say to him he will do. But beware; they are terrible beings, and must be kept continually busy. If you fail to give him work, he will take your life." The man replied, "That is easy; I can give him work for all his life." 

Then he went to a forest, and after long repetition of the magic word, a huge ghost appeared before him, and said, "I am a ghost. I have been conquered by your magic; but you must keep me constantly employed. The moment you fail to give me work I will kill you." The man said, "Build me a palace," and the ghost said, "It is done; the palace is built." "Bring me money," said the man. "Here is your money," said the ghost. "Cut this forest down, and build a city in its place." "That is done," said the ghost, "anything more?" Now the man began to be frightened and thought he could give him nothing more to do; he did everything in a trice. The ghost said, "Give me something to do or I will eat you up."

The poor man could find no further occupation for him, and was frightened. So he ran and ran and at last reached the sage, and said, "Oh, sir, protect my life!" The sage asked him what the matter was, and the man replied, "I have nothing to give the ghost to do. Everything I tell him to do he does in a moment, and he threatens to eat me up if I do not give him work." Just then the ghost arrived, saying, "I'll eat you up," and he would have swallowed the man. The man began to shake, and begged the sage to save his life. The sage said, "I will find you a way out. Look at that dog with a curly tail. Draw your sword quickly and cut the tail off and give it to the ghost to straighten out." The man cut off the dog's tail and gave it to the ghost, saying, "Straighten that out for me." The ghost took it and slowly and carefully straightened it out, but as soon as he let it go, it instantly curled up again. Once more he laboriously straightened it out, only to find it again curled up as soon as he attempted to let go of it. Again he patiently straightened it out, but as soon as he let it go, it curled up again. So he went on for days and days, until he was exhausted and said, "I was never in such trouble before in my life. I am an old veteran ghost, but never before was I in such trouble." "I will make a compromise with you ;" he said to the man, "you let me off and I will let you keep all I have given you and will promise not to harm you." The man was much pleased, and accepted the offer gladly.

SOURCE: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

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THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

PART-II

Uninspired scholarship condemned:

MASTER: "But you don't belong to that class.  Mere pundits are like diseased fruit that becomes hard and will not ripen at all.  Such fruit has neither the freshness of green fruit nor the flavour of ripe.  Vultures soar very high in the sky, but their eyes are fixed on rotten carrion on the ground.  The book-learned are reputed to be wise, but they are attached to 'woman and gold'.  Like the vultures, they are in search of carrion.  They are attached to the world of ignorance.  Compassion, love of God, and renunciation are the glories of true knowledge."

Vidyasagar listened to these words in silence.  The others, too, gazed at the Master and were attentive to every word he said. 

Vidyasagar was very reticent about giving religious instruction to others.  He had studied Hindu philosophy.  Once, when M. had asked him his opinion of it, Vidyasagar had said, "I think the philosophers have failed to explain what was in their minds." But in his daily life he followed all the rituals of Hindu religion and wore the sacred thread of a brahmin.  About God he had once declared: "It is indeed impossible to know Him.  What, then, should be our duty? It seems to me that we should live in such a way that, if others followed our example, this very earth would be heaven.  Everyone should try to do good to the world."

The world of duality & Transcendental nature of Brahman:

Sri Ramakrishna's conversation now turned to the Knowledge of Brahman. 

MASTER: "Brahman is beyond vidyā and avidyā, knowledge and ignorance.  It is beyond maya, the illusion of duality.

"The world consists of the illusory duality of knowledge and ignorance.  It contains knowledge and devotion, and also attachment to 'Woman and gold'; righteousness and unrighteousness; good and evil.  But Brahman is unattached to these.  Good and evil apply to the jiva, the individual soul, as do righteousness and unrighteousness; but Brahman is not at all affected by them. 

"One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected.  The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.

"You may ask, 'How, then, can one explain misery and sin and unhappiness?' The answer is that these apply only to the jiva.  Brahman is unaffected by them.  There is poison in a snake; but though others may die if bitten by it, the snake itself is not affected by the poison.

Brahman cannot be expressed in words:

"What Brahman is cannot he described.  All things in the world - the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, the six systems of philosophy - have been defiled, like food that has been touched by the tongue, for they have been read or uttered by the tongue.  Only one thing has not been defiled in this way, and that is Brahman.  No one has ever been able to say what Brahman is."

VIDYASAGAR (to his friends): "Oh! That is a remarkable statement.  I have learnt something new today."

MASTER: "A man had two sons.

  The father sent them to a preceptor to learn the Knowledge of Brahman.  After a few years they returned from their preceptor's house and bowed low before their father.  Wanting to measure the depth of their knowledge of Brahman, he first questioned the older of the two boys.  'My child,' he said, 'You have studied all the scriptures.  Now tell me, what is the nature of Brahman?' The boy began to explain Brahman by reciting various texts from the Vedas.  The father did not say anything.  Then he asked the younger son the same question.  But the boy remained silent and stood with eyes cast down.  No word escaped his lips.  The father was pleased and said to him: 'My child, you have understood a little of Brahman.  What It is cannot be expressed in words.'

Parable of ant and sugar hill:

"Men often think they have understood Brahman fully.  Once an ant went to a hill of sugar.  One grain filled its stomach.  Taking another grain in its mouth it started homeward.  On its way it thought, 'Next time I shall carry home the whole hill.' That is the way shallow minds think.  They don't know that Brahman is beyond one's words and thought.  However great a man may be, how much can he know of Brahman? Sukadeva and sages like him may have been big ants; but even they could carry at the utmost eight or ten grains of sugar!

"As for what has been said in the Vedas and the Puranas, do you know what it is like? Suppose a man has seen the ocean, and somebody asks him, 'Well, what is the ocean like?' The first man opens his mouth as wide as he can and says: 'What a sight! What tremendous waves and sounds!' The description of Brahman in the sacred books is like that.  It is said in the Vedas that Brahman is of the nature of Bliss - It is Satchidananda.

"Suka and other sages stood on the shore of this Ocean of Brahman and saw and touched the water.  According to one school of thought they never plunged into it.  Those who do, cannot come back to the world again.

Parable of salt doll:

"In samādhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman - one realizes Brahman.  In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man becomes mute.  He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.

"Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean.  (All laugh.) It wanted to tell others how deep the water was.  But this it could never do, for no sooner did it get into the water than it melted.  Now who was there to report the ocean's depth?"

A DEVOTEE: "Suppose a man has obtained the Knowledge of Brahman in samādhi.  Doesn't he speak any more?"

MASTER: "Sankaracharya retained the 'ego of Knowledge' in order to teach others.  After the vision of Brahman a man becomes silent.  He reasons about It as long as he has not realized It.  If you heat butter in a pan on the stove, it makes a sizzling sound as long as the water it contains has not dried up.  But when no trace of water is left the clarified butter makes no sound.  If you put an uncooked cake of flour in that butter it sizzles again.  But after the cake is cooked all sound stops.  Just so, a man established in samādhi comes down to the relative plane of consciousness in order to teach others, and then he talks about God. 

"The bee buzzes as long as it is not sitting on a flower.  It becomes silent when it begins to sip the honey.  But sometimes, intoxicated with the honey, it buzzes again. 

"An empty pitcher makes a gurgling sound when it is dipped in water.  When it fills up it becomes silent.  (All laugh.) But if the water is poured from it into another pitcher, then you will hear the sound again.  (Laughter.)

Rishis of ancient India:

"The rishis of old attained the Knowledge of Brahman.  One cannot have this so long as there is the slightest trace of worldliness.  How hard the rishis laboured! Early in the morning they would go away from the hermitage, and would spend the whole day in solitude, meditating on Brahman.  At night they would return to the hermitage and eat a little fruit or roots.  They kept their minds aloof from the objects of sight, hearing, touch, and other things of a worldly nature.  Only thus did they realize Brahman as their own inner consciousness. 

"But in the Kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body.  In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say, 'I am He.' When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman.' Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea 'I am God's servant; I am His devotee.' One can also realize God by following the path of devotion.

Jnani and Vijnāni:

"The jnani gives up his  identification with worldly things, discriminating, 'Not this, not this'.  Only then can he realize Brahman.  It is like reaching the roof of a house by leaving the steps behind, one by one.  But the vijnāni, who is more intimately acquainted with Brahman, realizes something more.  He realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof: bricks, lime, and brick-dust.  That which is realized intuitively as Brahman, through the eliminating process of 'Not this, not this', is then found to have become the universe and all its living beings.  The vijnāni sees that the Reality which is nirguna, without attributes, is also saguna, with attributes.

"A man cannot live on the roof a long time.  He comes down again.  Those who realize Brahman in samādhi come down also and find that it is Brahman that has become the universe and its living beings.  In the musical scale there are the notes sa, re ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni; but one cannot keep one's voice on 'ni' a long time.  The ego does not vanish altogether.  The man coming down from samādhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego, the universe, and all living beings.  This is known as vijnāna. 

Path of love is easy:

"The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love.  The path of love, too, leads to this goal.  The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge.  All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth.  But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love. 

"The vijnāni sees that Brahman is immovable and actionless, like Mount Sumeru.  This universe consists of the three gunas - sattva, rajas, and tamas.  They are in Brahman.  But Brahman is unattached. 

God's supernatural powers:

"The vijnāni further sees that what is Brahman is the Bhagavan, the Personal God.  He who is beyond the three gunas is the Bhagavan, with His six supernatural powers.  Living beings, the universe, mind, intelligence, love, renunciation, knowledge - all these are the manifestations of His power.  (With a laugh) If an aristocrat has neither house nor property, or if he has been forced to sell them, one doesn't call him an aristocrat any more.  (All laugh.) God is endowed with the six supernatural powers.  If He were not who would obey Him? (All laugh.)

SOURCE: THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

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KALPATARU DAY-2012

Kalpataru Day is cerebrated every year at Cossipore Garden House where Sri Ramakrishna blessed his devotees on 1st January 1886. On the new year day thousands of people come to participate in this mela of bliss. See this video to enjoy and participate in this mela.