Monday, January 5, 2009

The Lost Dreams



The Lost Dreams

by

Sri Soubhik Patranabis


During the Christmas weekend while browsing through books at a bookstore in the Medford Mall, I came across one in the bestseller section titled ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch.

It looked very impressive from the cover illustration and whatever else I could lay my eyes upon in the brief time I had before being pulled away by my son, desperate to show me the dinosaur book he liked! To make a long story short, I bought the book and started reading about a dying man’s last lecture on how his childhood dreams came true – the realization of those dreams and the rediscovery of his childhood.

We have all had dreams growing up - some got realized, some didn’t. Those who dared to dream will be able to tell us how their dreams got realized, and to what extent. I feel sorry looking at children today, being subjected to so much pressure from all sides. Schools and parents want a child to not only be a scholar, but also a painter, a litterateur, a sportsman - all rolled in one! Busy trying to realize the dreams of his parents, the little child doesn’t dare to dream of his own, fails to develop his capabilities or worse, never learns to think in his own way. If he isn’t allowed to dream and think independently, how can his creativity ever develop? The Masters tell us that the Knowledge of Knowledge is within one’s own Self, and one needs to realize it. Bookish knowledge makes one so dependent, so ‘one track’ – there’s hardly a way to come out of it. Taking in something unconventional, something new becomes extremely difficult. Look around, and you’ll find millions of people just following what the politicians and the religious institutions want them to see. They don’t even stop for a minute and evaluate if what they are doing or following is indeed right.

Why are we so bothered with differences from the outside? Before finding fault with others, we need to explore how right we are about our own beliefs. Instead of trying to discover the inner truth, everyone seems to be very concerned about the outer differences. Not only inter-religious differences, but intra-religious differences too play a major role. It is surprising that from time immemorial, people have killed each other on the basis of something that’s of no importance at all! A true Realizer doesn’t have any religion – He is unified with the whole world.

But who is a Realizer? How can we become one? Surely engaging in wishful thinking or merely aspiring to become a Realizer doesn’t help much - for the mind should be free of even the smallest of ambitions and aspirations. Self-analysis is the most important thing that is needed. A constant practice is required to ‘Shun the I’, and surely conventional thoughts don’t help out there.

Who then can help guide us towards becoming a Realizer? “Tadbidhhi Pronipateno poriproshneno sheboya – Oikhane boshe achhe Guru – Guru bina nahi mele Gyan “ - the Guru knows best who needs what medication, as Thakur Sri Ramakrishna had said. He needs to be an ‘uttam boidya’, one who can successfully persuade the disciple to have the needed medication.

Our pranam to the SadGuru :

Brahmanandam parama sukhadam kevalam jnanamurtim
dvandvaateetam gagana sadrusam tatvamasyadi lakshyam
ekam nityam vimala machalam sarvadheesaakshibuutam
bhaavaateetam triguna rahitam sadgurum tam namaami

The meaning of the aforementioned mantra is:

"I salute to that Sadguru who is the source of eternal bliss,
supreme happiness, who has true wisdom,
who is beyond the dualities, who is infinite,
whose attention is always on the divine, who is unique,
eternal, pure, steady, and who sees with the eyes of wisdom
who is beyond thoughts and beyond three gunas ".

(Ref : The Secret Mantra from Guru Gita by Dr. Satyavati Kandala )

* "Knowledge is that which reveals the light and which embraces all intelligences and the rest.": Sri Sri Babathakur.



A picture story of Saraswati Puja, 2008

A Picture Story

by

Sri Siddhartha Dasgupta


In 2008, I attended the Saraswati Puja at the Saccidananda Society. It was the very first time in my life that I was in Kolkata on the occasion of Saraswati Puja. As most of you are aware, Babathakur’s birthday falls on Saraswati Puja.

Before the spring of 2008, I had never seen Saraswati Puja outside of the San Francisco Bay Area (where I stay). I had however heard from some of Sri Sri Babathakur’s devotees that celebrating Saraswati Puja in His presence is a completely different experience, with His revealed bhajans performed after the Puja. I had once seen a video of Saraswati Puja being celebrated in Sri Sri Babathakur’s presence. The video captured all the happenings of that day – from morning until night – and featured Shri Kedar Narayan Bodas (the singer of Sri Sri Babathakur’s revealed bhajan albums) singing a few bhajans. A unique thing I found about the Saraswati Pujas conducted at the Saccidananda Society and other parts of Kolkata was that they were held on the actual day of the Puja - unlike the Saraswati Puja I attend in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Puja is typically celebrated on the nearest Saturday/Sunday, since most people aren’t be able to attend to the festivities on the actual day of the Puja due to work, school, and other commitments.

On Feb 11th 2008, my dad, grandmother and myself arrived at the Society around 10:15am. We saw that the Puja had already started, with Sri Sri Babathakur sitting on a chair, facing the devotees. The puja took place on the topmost floor of the society. A large number of devotees from outside Kolkata were also attending the Puja.

Saraswati Puja being performed in the morning at the Saccidananda Society

I sat down and observed the Puja, taking pictures from time to time. At around 12:45 pm – I saw Sri Sri Babathakur sitting in His chair, facing the audience, dressed in white colored clothes, with two hands up.

Sri Sri Babathakur’s pose showering blessings on devotees

Close up view of Ma Saraswati

Soon after that, there were quite a few batches of anjali and prasad. I think I was in the first batch. Devotees of Sri Sri Babathakur prepared the prasad plates.

Prasad plates being prepared by devotees of Sri Sri Babathakur


This was followed by lunch – of which khichuri (my favorite) was the main item. We went to stand in the lunch line, but there were no spoons available – I had never eaten without a spoon before! My father and Utsav Dada (another devotee of Sri Sri Babathakur from New Jersey) went to get spoons from somewhere else.

An interesting thing about the lunch was that it was prepared by a special cook in Kolkata. Back in the Bay Area, the Saraswati Puja that I usually attend has both lunch as well as dinner catered by an Indian Restaurant! The taste of the khichuri was very unique.


After lunch, I left the society to rest at my grandparents place. We returned to the Society in the evening to attend the arati and bhajan sessions. When we entered the society at around 6:30pm, Sri Sri Babathakur left the topmost floor (where the Puja had taken place in the morning) and went back to the second floor. Attending the arati was a unique experience because I don’t remember attending arati at any of the Saraswati Puja functions in the Bay Area. The outside of the society was decorated very nicely with lights.


Priest performing the evening arati


The evening arati was followed by a bhajan session performed by certain devotees of Sri Sri Babathakur, who reside in Kolkata. This in turn was followed by dinner prasad at around 8pm.

Bhajan session by certain devotees of
Sri Sri Babathakur residing in
Kolkata

Attendees having the dinner prasad

The “Bishorjon Puja” took place the day after the Saraswati Puja. This again was a new experience for me since in the Bay Area, Ma Durga’s and Ma Saraswati’s pratima are reused in the following years!

Before Ma Saraswati was bade farewell, Sri Sri Babathakur delivered a speech on “Why do we do Saraswati Puja”. Some of Sri Sri Babathakur’s devotees were seen dismantling certain stuff in preparation for the bhashan.



Then, at around 1:30pm, the Murti of Ma Saraswati was brought down. People said that it would be loaded onto a Van – I expected to see a real van like a Honda Odyssey or a Maruti! But I soon realized that Ma Saraswati would actually be riding on a rickshaw after seeing Her being loaded onto one. By 1:40pm, Ma Saraswati was already at the bhashan place.

By 1:45pm, Ma Saraswati’s bhashan into the nearby lake was completed.


bhashan

In summary, it was a very unique experience for me. I look forward to attending Saraswati Puja in the company of Sri Sri Babathakur again.

I am also attaching a picture of the Saraswati Murti used in the Puja that I usually attend in the Bay Area. Incidentally, the Saraswati Puja will occur on a Saturday this year. And the Bay Area Puja that I usually attend will also be celebrated on the actual day of the Puja - January 31st, 2009.


* "To know that I am not the doer nor the
enjoyer nor even the experiencer is right Knowledge."
: Sri Sri Babathakur.