Hi, I am already acquainted with Dana Sawyer, thanks. He sent me a
very interesting essay to read on his meetings around Rishikesh. I
liked his no-nonsense style and his humour, I hope he gets around to
publishing such stuff. As for his being fluent in Hindi, I wonder if
this is correct?
With regard to the source material. The few quotations I have offered
lately are from 'Shri Shankaracharya UpadeshAmrita'. Last year(?) or
the year before (?) I have read other translations of 'Shri
Shankaracharya UpadeshAmrita' so yes, I am confident that I know what
Guru Dev is saying. But I look forward to seeing more translations,
as it will be interesting to compare, I am not in competition with
anyone.
I translated 'Amrit Kana', the book of quotations compiled by MMY,
and published just after Guru Dev's meeting with Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan in December 1950. As yet though, I have ommitted to
complete my translation of the introduction (by MMY), which is
largely written in praise of Guru Dev, a quote from katha-upanishad,
a tale from the Puranas (as I recall), and a description of the
meeting with Radhakrishnan. Actually there was a speech in English
too. I posted it before on the internet but why not put it out again?
One of Radhakrishnan's associates, I think it was American Paul
Schilp, had this to say about Guru Dev:-
'To-day we are here to do homage to his Holiness, Shri Jagatguru
Shankaracharya Ananta Sri Vibhusita Swami Brahmananda Saraswati of
Jyotirmath, Badarikasram - the Superman, the seer, the sage, who is
one of the few rare individuals amongst the billions of the citizens
of the world, whom we would unhesitatingly choose if and when we
would be called upon to describe the spiritual and cultural capital
of our nation, if and when the world would feel the need of evoking
the part our nation can play in it, who is beyond any controversy,
one of the rare few who have contributed and can still contribute
something to universal peaceful progress, who have risen by their
talent and genius above their fellow countrymen, above their
fellowmen of the world and have thus gained a place for themselves at
the head of humanity, at the extreme spearhead of civilization.
Standing here at a time when everywhere in the world everybody
feels not a little bewildered at an immense increase in the sense of
human power, we can hardly exaggerate the necessity of teachers like
his Holiness the Jagatguru.
You will pardon me if I venture; at this assemblage of eminent
philosophers, to refer to an aspect of our Hindu Philosophy which
seems for the time being, to be too much belittled by the power-
intoxicated world.
Our Vedic philosophers.... ....
The civilized world today is indeed in an age of spiritual chaos,
intellectual doubt and political decadence. Civilized man today no
doubt has acquired immense scientific and mechanical resources, but
seems hopelessly to lack the wisdom to apply them to the best
advantage. This is way we witness a growing sense of frustration
seizing every mind almost everywhere. The whole world seems to be
suffering from an epidemic of hysteria.................
We do not know which way the truth lies. Perhaps even here it will
be true to say that every truth, however true in itself, yet taken
apart from others, becomes only a snare. In reality, perhaps, each is
one thread of a complex weft, and no thread can be taken apart from
the weft. But this much seems to be certain that there is this
paralysing fear and alarm almost everywhere in the world-everywhere
even the most powerful mind have not succeeded in escaping it
altogether. Everywhere humanity is beginning to feel that we are
being betrayed by what is false within, - we are almost giving way to
find ourselves spiritually paralysed.
This indeed is a deadly malady. The patient here must first of all
be brought to see that he is sick and to want to get well and to do
of himself what is needed to get well. Perhaps something is away both
with the heart and the brain.
The world needs philosopher-teachers like His Holiness Shri
Jagatguru Shankaracharya who can reveal the world of values and can
make us realize that, that is the real world. The world badly needs
guidance to a creed of values and ideals. The world needs a teacher
who can dispel our fears and can remove all sense of frustration or
least in so far as it is only an internal malady.
We need a teacher who has succeeded in gaining for himself freedom
to be along, who does not require any power, who can cure both heart
and Brain. We are in an age in which the meeting of the traditionally
alien cultures of the Orient and the Occident has become inevitable.
We need a teacher with sufficient gift of intellectual imagination
and divine inspiration who can help the smooth working of this
meeting, the working out of this meeting in such a way that the
values of each civilization complement and re-inforce rather than
combat and destroy those of the other. We cannot avoid the sight of
conflicting economic, political, religious, artistic and other
ideological doctrines and the consequent fear and feeling of
helplessness, We need a teacher who can teach us how to get out of
the crisis in valuation in this realm of conflict, who can teach us
how to avert the danger of spiritual paralysis facing us.
His Holiness Sri Jagatguru Shankaracharya, having gained the
freedom to be alone, did also fully realize the means of escaping
from loneliness. In these days of doubts and difficulties if we can
at all safely turn our eyes for guidance to any one it should be to
this superman the overpowering influence of whose genius appears
indeed in the light of divine inspiration, the superman who has
succeeded in ridding himself of any ambition for power.
Saintly guidance from a seer like Sri Jagatguru alone can ensure
an abiding peace.'
To subscribe, send a message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Or go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/
and click 'Join This Group!'
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
