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Practice Of Vedanta-Part I

Swami Chinmayananda, Vedanta Practice
For Mission Members - Swami Chinmayananda

'The goal, which we aspire to reach and accomplish, is to bring about an ardent Hindu awareness in the Hindus, and to integrate their attitudes and efforts. To preach and teach the great thoughts of the Upanisads and the Gita is to generate a reverential love and loyalty to our past. The present exists and derives its strength from the past, and from our vivid consciousness of the glory of that past.

Every country and nation in the world has built up its national pride and devoted loyalty towards the glory of the native land by educating its growing generation to admire and appreciate its past achievements and accomplishments. The enduring greatness of achievements in our Hindu past is not in the vulgar wealth hoarded, or pernicious wars waged to soak our past with guilt and blood. Ours was the glory of constructive thoughts and discovery of the higher values and a way of life most conducive to peace and love in a happy community. The Rishis declared them. Buddha lived them. People accepted them and demonstrated how joyfully man can live in mutual harmony and love. Unexpected historical pressures were built up by the uncivilized foreigners, who marched into India, and with their brute force shattered this peaceful life of mutual love and concern.

We must revive the life-style of our great Sanatana Dharma, with appropriate adjustments to contain the modem tensions and forces playing upon our present day Hindu community.

As 'teachers' of the people, when you take classes on the Gita and the Upanishad, wherever possible, emphasize and illustrate how the ideas in our eternal Scriptures can be lived, and how we can rebuild a 'Happy Home' for mankind to live in, where people can strive, flourish and enjoy. Listeners may not have this ability of application of ideas to daily life. Their entire attention will be in trying to grasp the raw ideas. We must help them to see how these ideas can enrich one's personal individual life.

To be continued

Story first published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 17:58 [IST]