New Year's Greetings to all

"A unique remedy for todays maladies"

Swami Shantananda Puri

Vasishtha Guha
Himalayas India
31.12.2011

Preface
Sri Gurubhyo Namaha

Poojya Swamijis 83rd birthday was celebrated at Bangalore on 6th May 2011. During the evening the Bangalore devotees had organized a felicitation function in a hall and the same was attended by a large number of devotees and seekers. Swamiji- in spite of his poor health made a short Anugraha Bhashan during this occasion. This is a summary of the speech made by Swamiji. Venkiteswaran M.R. Mumbai

"A unique remedy for todays maladies"

Both Mahatama Buddha as also the great Maharshis of earlier times have given us recipes to dispel all the ills and miseries of men and to ensure them happiness. Mahatama Buddha started with sorrows, as he declared that the entire world is full of sorrows and to ensure relief is to leave off all desires. The Maharshis had a more positive approach as they started with the higher happiness as the main goal of life, while the sorrows and miseries are all incidental in our quest for happiness. But in both the cases the path involved the abandonment of all worldly desires and severe austerities like Sama (control of mind), Dama (control of senses), and Titiksha (forbearance- i.e. suffering all pains without any complaints or without seeking any remedies). The upanishads say Anandam Brahmeti Vyajaniyat, Anandadhyeya khalwimani bhootani jayante- The ultimate reality is only happiness and this entire creation has come out as a result of happiness only.A common man or even a very substantial part of the world as on today are enjoyment oriented. Few will be bothered about the future uncertain permanent bliss. Today one is riddled with tensions, anxieties, and unhappiness due to so many complex factors in every field -family life, finance, professional, social etc. He only wants to continue with a happy life with all his children prosperously placed and with harmonious relations with his wife, relatives, bosses, colleagues and subordinates. As many of the things which would have been dubbed as luxury items or wasteful desires by our ancestors of yore are considered in the modern times as minimum need for the day to day living. (For eg a car, a refrigerator, an air conditioner etc). Man would not like to abandon any of them for the unknown so called permanent bliss. Nobody in the modern days would like to abandon these objects of the world. What is the solution? The path of austerities and leaving off all desires will not certainly appeal to the mind of a modern man. There is an easy solution which can be adopted by one and all with

prospects of tremendous success in enjoying the objects of the world and at the same time keeping his communion with God also where the divine help will be invoked for his tensionless life even while hugging the world. This could be better illustrated by an anecdote. There was a business man who had a flourishing business in U.S.A. For reasons not known some panic arose about the liquidity of the business and many of the creditors began to press for the payments. As the entire economy of the U.S.A in those days was credit based, the business man was unable to meet the demands of his creditors. The alert Banks too refused to extend any loan. He was driven to despair and decided to end his life that night with a pistol which he had possessed in his house. He was returning early from his office and went into a restaurant for a cup of coffee. He took his seat in one of the side cubicles and while sipping his coffee he was pondering on as to where he should shoot himself in the car, in his bed room, in the garden etc.- An evangelist preacher was watching him from another corner for quite some time. He walked over to the other cubicle and sat on a vacant chair facing the business man. He started saying:-Sir, I have been watching you for some time. It looks like that you are in some great difficulty and consequent tension and perhaps to the extent of contemplating suicide. Please correct me if I am wrong. Can you confide in me your problems? The businessman took a long breath and began to tell his woes. He has just received a broad shoulder to weep on. The evangelist heard it all silently and finally said: Sir, you just give me a chance , let us go to your advocate and you shall ask him to prepare a contract , making GOD as your partner entitled for one percent of your gross profit every year. Then it will become GODs duty to revive your business, but you may have to wait for four or five days. The businessman took the evangelist to his attorney and prepared a contract as desired by the priest. Two days passed and there was no improvement in the situation. The businessman became restless and anxious. On the third day he received a call from the Senior Executive of one of his Banks, who desired him to come and meet him in his office with the balance sheets of his business for the last few years. The businessman immediately obliged and reached the Bank and met the Senior

Executive, who after seeing his balance sheet exclaimed: Your past track record for last several years has been excellent! Tell me, how much fund you would now require to tide over your present situation? After a detailed discussion the Banker agreed to lend the money required. The business man promptly cleared his pressing creditors and the stampede of anxious creditors stopped. The business man was able to come back to normal functioning within six months. Every year he promptly paid the amount agreed with the GOD by contributing it directly to a church or by donating it to institutions run for orphans and destitute by the church. Yes, make God 1% gross profit basis partner in every business enterprise of yours. If you are serving under some organization make Him your partner entitled for 1% of your gross salary. Giving the Lord 1% profit of your salary is only part of the story. As time goes on, you see all prosperity coming in your way. You should also start giving the Lord a small percent of your time. 1% is too little, is it not?? Out of the 24 hours begin to give him at least 1 hour a day. You need not chant any mantra or read scriptures. Sit quiet for 1 hour without any thoughts of the world. Yes, initially however much you may try the world will rudely interrupt your solitude. Every time a worldly thought comes, request your mind mentally, Please wait outside for 1 hour and then come in. Grant me this favour. Thus you politely push back every worldly thought every time it comes. Untiringly go on repeating the process, any number of times as the thoughts intrude. By sheer practice, in due course, the number of times the thoughts intrude become less and less and a day will come when all thoughts will cease at least for an hour. There are only two places for you- the world and the God. These two are two opposite ends. When you are not with the world you are only with the Lord. Revel and enjoy His Company. It is perhaps the same concept, 1% sharing with God which has been described graphically in the Srimad Bhagavatam, by the incarnation of the Lord Vamana, a small size celibate (Brahmachari). One may ask, what is the purpose of giving 1% of our money and time to the Lord?? Vamana, as the story goes begs only for 3 feet of land from the great king Bali, measured by his

own mini-sized feet. What happens later is another version of The Camel in the tent. Vamanas form grew up to a gigantic transcendental level and measured with only two of his feet, all the land, all the space that Bali had possessed and asked Bali where he should place his third feet. You only give Him a little space in your heart, a little of your precious time, a little of your business profit or salary, you will see one day that He has occupied all your heart and all your time. What else do you want?? You no longer remain. Only He alone remains. It is all bliss.

HariOM

Note: All the books and documents authored by H.H. Swami Shantananda Puri of Vasishtha Guha are available on internet for free personal use by any spiritual seeker. The books can be downloaded from www.scribd.com/vedavita The complete list is available in Annexure-1. You may send vedavita@gmail.com your feedback to

Annexure-1

Release-2.6, 31122011

Complete list of books/documents available on website

(http://www.scribd.com/vedavita) As per the statistics released by Scribd.com, since the launch of this website on 15th August 2009, about 97,000 readers have visited this website to read 70 books/documents which are available as of now, about 26,000 copies are downloaded worldwide and 233 people are subscribers to this website. 1. Books published by Shri Purushottamananda Trust
Sr. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Title of Book Autobiography in Malayalam Autobiography in English Autobiography in Hindi Updeshamrit Nectar of Spiritual Instructions A Peep into the Gita Gita ki ek Jhalak Adhyatma Varta Spiritual talks Guide to Spiritual Aspirants Souvenir (in Hindi and English) Souvenir (in Hindi and English) Year of Publication 1956 1994 2007 1979 1986 1990 2000 2000 1990 1986 2004 2011

2. Books authored by His Holiness Swami Shantananda Puri ji

Sr. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Title of Book Srimad Bhagavatam : Its message for the Modern Man Sadhanas in Bhagvad Gita Srimad Bhagvat - Adhunik Manav ke Liye Iska Sandesh Srimad Bhagvad Gita ki Adhyatmik Sadhanayein (In Hindi) Fragrant Flowers: Soul-elevating Reminiscences of a Himalayan Monk Jivan Mukti : Liberation- Here & Now Stories for Meditation Answers to basic spiritual questions of Sadhaks Sri Lalita Sahasranama Stotram : An Insight Instant Self- Awareness : Talks on Asthavakra Gita The Quantum Leap into the Absolute : Essence of Asthavakra Gita Golden guidelines to "Who am I" Sadhanas according to Yoga Vasishtha Infallible Vedic Remedies Musings of a Himalayan Monk Stories for Inspiration Srimad Bhagavatam : Its message ... (In Malayalam) Sadhanas according to Tripura Rahasyam Pearls of Wisdom Sublime Sadhanas from Adhyatma Ramayanam Year of Publication 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Gita's Sthita Pragna Darshan - A crash course for Moksha Gita's Sthita Pragna Darshan (In Malayalam) A quintessence of Uddhava Gita The Ecstasy of Love Divine : Essence of Narada Bhakti Sutra Living Happily Forever Sadhanas from Kaivalyopanishad The Spiritual Journey of a Himalayan Monk- Biography of Swamiji Gita Sarah Devi Kalottara Sadhanas from Kenopanishad Sri Shiva Sahasranama Stotram (As per Linga Purana) Revised Selected Gems from Ashtavakra Gita

2008 2006 2008 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011

All above books except at Sr. 1, 17, 22 & 31 are published by Parvathamma C.P. Subbaraju Setty Charitable Trust, Bangalore, India for limited free distribution among the devotees of Poojya Swamiji.

3. Other documents authored by H.H. Swami Shantananda Puri

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Clarifications of doubts of a Sadhak What I Pray for Gems from Srimad Bhagvatam Gems from Guru Gita My experience of keeping Silence(Mowna) Mantra Pushpam Sri Suktam- an Exegesis Sri Ramana Suprabhatam An Open Letter to a Sadhak Boat Leela of Lord Krishna Message on 82nd Birthday of Revered Swamiji The 108 Names of Guru with their meanings in Hindi Introduction to Vasishtha Guha Introduction to Vasishtha Guha (In Hindi) Karma, sadhana, renunciation, grace & self realisation Is Guru necessary Remedy for Maladies

Some more books are also available on the website like "At the feet of my Gurudev" by Swami Nirvedananda, "Swami Nirvedananda- A True Sannyasin".

NOTE: All the books are available on website and can be downloaded by anybody free of cost for non-commercial personal use by logging into this website-

http://www.scribd.com/vedavita
For any feedback, kindly send mail to:

vedavita@gmail.com

P.S. Interested devotees may send their Email-id for inclusion in mailing list. This document is released by H.H. Swami Shantananda Puri on 31st Dec 2011 at Ghazipur (U.P) India for information of all devotees and interested readers. WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY & PEACEFUL NEW YEAR 2012