A View of Santhigiri Ashram

A View of Santhigiri Ashram
Lotus Parnasala and Sahakarana Mandiram , Santhigiri Ashram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Challenges before Hinduism



A New Sky and a New Earth and a New Jerusalem
George, Netajipuram, Thiruvananthapuram

My name is George. I was born and brought up in Christian faith. I happened to know about Navajyotisri Karunakara Guru in 1986. An acquaintance of mine who was a regular visitor to the Ashram took me along with my family to the Ashram. When I saw Guru, he did not look like the person I had imagined. He was conversing like an ordinary person sitting on as small stool among a group of ordinary folks. He had no beard and flowing hair. He was clean-shaven, wore white clothes and had no airs about him.
We bowed before him and stood aside. Guru asked us whether we had eaten. We replied that we had. Guru signalled to us to sit down. The person who came with me introduced us to Guru. Guru asked me, ‘Why did you come?’ I replied that I wanted to grow spiritually and materially. Guru asked my companion to explain to me everything. Guru asked me again; ‘Are you alone’. I said that I had come with the family. Guru advised us to visit the Ashram often.

Then He continued the conversation. The talk was about Jesus Christ. In between, he asked me; ‘After Jesus’ resurrection, he first revealed himself to Magdalana Mariyam, who was tainted in life; why not to his mother, who gave him birth and brought him up?’
I stood there stupefied without knowing the answer. I had never heard such a question. When I stood there unable to give an answer, Guru repeated the question to others sitting down there. Nobody could give the answer. Then Guru himself revealed the answer. From that, I could understand one thing; it was by God’s Will I   came to him.
We began to frequent the Ashram and learnt more about Guru and His ideology. I could know from Guru’s teachings and from the experience of others that He is the Great Soul in the prophesies of Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Nostradamus, Sri Narayana Guru, Aravind Maharshi, Sree Buddha and others.
I was convinced that the great master Navajyotisree Karunakara Guru is the Supreme Soul who could for the first time change a soul and its karmagati and cleanse all negative spiritual influences of ancestral souls and deities. With the proof of this, I accepted Guru as my saviour. The words of Yohannan in Bible helped me much in taking such a decision.
Guru explained to us the self-sacrifice and pain of numerous spiritual masters and their followers. Jesus had said that when the Soul of truth comes he would reveal every truth and speak referring his name. The words of Jesus became true here. Guru had revealed through vision that His coming was for the fulfilment of all religions and their ideologies.
Because of the moral decadence of the people who claim to be Sanatanist (Hindus), there developed obsolete way of worship, social injustices and a spiritual tradition that considers evil spirits as Almighty God, who show their strength through fits of trance. There were minor gods for lower castes and bigger gods for higher castes.  The ignorant people were made to believe that this is Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).
I learnt from Guru that Sanatana Dharma is the spiritual culture of Gurus, who come as the exponents of dharma in every age. Wealth and knowledge is within the possession of people who do not worship Lakshmi and Saraswati, the goddesses of wealth and knowledge. Let us not forget that all scientific growth and richness in this age have come through these guru traditions. We might be scholars and wealthy. However, to have discriminative knowledge we should have a Guru; only through the medium of Guru, we will have wisdom. All our suffering is due to the absence of Guru in our life. We go to the Ashram to get such wisdom; going to the Ashram means the effort to free our soul.
We should venerate Guru If we are to get light dismissing the inner darkness. We will have every kind of knowledge and our vision becomes clear when we worship Guru, the medium through which God appears before us. We should worship only the Creator who has made this beautiful world. Why should we, instead, pray to other powers in creation? It is ignorance to see them in the place of God. Sanatana dharma is not worship of natural forces and deities. The spiritual culture of Hindus is related to the concept of ‘Mata, Pita, Guru and Daivam’, i.e. through the mother know the father, through the father know Guru and through Guru know God.  
Our ancestral background is polluted because of the decadent way of worship, which is ignorant about the age such worship was relevant. Those who have forsaken all this and converted to the path of gurus and prophets who believed in the Oneness of God have developed much higher. They were blessed by fortunes of all kinds, scientific and technological advancement and physical beauty. These words in the Bible are very significant: ‘even if you possess the whole world, if the soul has no rest, what a pity’.
Apart from this, there is this ignorance among us whether we are learned or ignorant. We think that if a Guru is born in a particular caste or religion he belongs to that particular caste or religion and we have nothing to do with that Guru. We do not know what a Guru is. How many persons know that Guru is the physical manifestation of formless God? Only Guru can give the experience of God. God has not made any other arrangements to know him. It is by the will of God, a Guru or prophet takes birth. Their ideology is for the whole mankind.  God has not made any system that for every caste and religion there are different gods. Let us remember that Guru is the path to God. It has been recorded in the Bible that ‘I am the truth and the path’.
The Mahatmas should not be discriminated because of birthplace, language or mode of life nor should they be limited under the boundaries of different religions and the quarrels over it. The Christian religion is an example for that. Only one Jesus Christ was born in the world. However, how many sects are there in the name of Jesus Christ? Each sect claims that his sect is greater than the other. Jesus would be weeping seeing this. The Godly path does not discriminate. Lord Father! Forgive this people.
The Soul of Truth is here who has come to purify all this. A New Sky and a New Earth and a New Jerusalem is ready after the purification of all of us, the earth and the stars.  Those who have luck and light in their soul - let them discover it.  

Friday, May 10, 2013

Let That Golden Vessel be Broken




Janani Satvika Jnana Thapaswini & Janani Amala Jnana Thapaswini


Hiranmayena Patrena Satyasya Apihitam Mugham - the face of truth is hidden by a golden vessel. Several sages tried to open that golden vessel undertaking great pain and suffering and disappeared behind the veil of time. Although we have known about such souls from Guru, it was when we witnessed the wailing soul of a great Rishi, the magnitude of that pain twirled and seized the chords of heart.


A dry morning in the month of Makaram (Malayalam Era 1161): We were on a pilgrimage to Kanyakumari along with Guru and the children of Santhigiri Vidyabhavan. The long-held desire of these children who were fortunate to receive Gurukula education - the lost tradition of modern India - was getting fulfilled. They were chanting the Guru Gita verses, which they had memorized, with an unknown passion during the trip. The atmosphere reverberated with the mantras glorifying Guru, which were denied and unapproachable to their ancestors. Let these echo shaking all living beings that are unaware of this truth because of the selfish motive of the priestly class and its willful treachery.


We reached the precincts of Sucheendram temple around twelve. In all the traveled paths, the ancestral souls of different characters, traits and tendencies were screaming and running behind us, understanding the presence of Guru. Some of them ran away and hid themselves. Some of them danced with joy. Some of them cried for liberation, while some were annihilated. They were souls wandering for many ages seeking salvation through the dust fallen from the feet of a mahatma. Those who sought refuge attained peace. At our arrival, the population of such spirits surrounding the temple increased than the normal. The deities appeared in front of us even before we could enter the temple. There were great rishis, devas and celestials among them. There were Atri Maharshi and Anasuya in front. The great Rishi ran up to Guru and prostrated offering flowers.


We entered the temple. Normally, Guru does not enter any temple. There is a reason. If it were worship time, the deities there would beseech us to tell Guru not to enter then because it was the worship time. ‘If Guru comes inside, we have to get up. And when we receive worship, we are unable to do so’. Therefore, at this place too, Guru waited outside the temple courtyard. Sitting inside the temple, we meditated on Guru. The kundalni was aroused.


The origin, existence and dissolution aspects of the temple flashed before our mind’s eye. The sacrificial life of Atri Maharshi, his soul effulgence and its status could be known. Then the ethereal figure of Guru became manifest with the radiance of a billion suns. The Maharshi touched the feet of Guru and said with tears: ‘I have one submission before You; the people should know the reality, truth and prominence of this place. Your grace should be there for that. It was the heart-rending cry of a soul of self-sacrifice - the cry of a Mahatma who did penance without even a spare cloth and whose hunger had to be satisfied with a morsel of food by begging, and who, suffering mist, sun, rain and wind, left the frame reaching the heights of spiritual realization.


It is that power of penance, which is maintaining the greatness of that place in reality. That truth is hidden with the golden vessel. The name Sucheendram is so known because Indra was purified in that place. The people do not know the Soul who was capable of sanctifying. In his place, the priestly class is worshipping Indra, Trimurti, Sri Ram, Sita and Hanuman. Pity, the poor people offer garlands of vada to Hanuman, who is installed on the Maharshi’s samadhi. When the holy water from the Maharshi’s feet was sprinkled, the Trimurti gods were turned into infants - that is the story. That story is sculpted on the walls too. Ironically, however, the worship is to the Trimurti.
In the history of which temple has the truth not been concealed? Were the Devi temples not established on the blood of Buddha Bhikshus? Even if it is the samadhi of a mahatma, a devi or deva would be installed there and people will be misled. With the passage of time, the number of devas and devis would increase according to the desire of tantrics. Some irrational myths also would be created. The sacrificial lives of mahatmas who had come until now were covered by myths related to the worldly drama of devas.


Is there no escape for these mahatmas? Generations that had blindly believed in all these. Is there no escape for them too? There is now the modern generation, which does not believe in these myths, denying them with rationality and intelligence. Just by denial, you are not going to get salvation. The ancestral souls of your family are entwined with the deities and gods, and they are after you wielding their swords. You have to seek a Guru for their liberation. Break the golden vessel that hides truth and relish the truth.


The Soul of that Mahatma who is painfully trying to show you the golden vessel - that pain has been submitted at the right place, at the feet of a Jnani, who has known the depth of that pain. It has been submitted at the feet of the medium that Brahman has deputed to lead humanity to Satya Yuga, redeeming it from all deviations. Have Your eyes also moistened from the reflection of that submission! You raised him up with compassion as if he were your own soul and consoled him.  ‘Let twelve years pass away! Then there will be an occasion’.


These words made the Maharshi full of joy. However, the pain of the Maharshi still stirs the mind. Pity the people who do not know this. O’ God! If you had given the ethereal vision to all to observe these things happening in the subtle! I declare loudly to the liberationists, compassionately avoiding the rationalists who ridicule this as mental delusion. What is the way for you to know the actual truth of this kind of experiences? If there are Jnanis, let them experience it. Otherwise, there is only the help of astrology. Let them clarify it with astrolabes. 


(Santhigiri Malayalam Adhyatmika Masika, September, 1986, translated into English by Mukundan P.R.)