Anandamayi Maa After the demise of Sri Revati Mohan Chakravorty Ma came to live at Astagram where Bholanathji was posted. Seeing her smiling look and blissful mood Ma was given the name “Mother of Bliss” (Kushir Ma) by the wife of Jaysankar Sen. It was prophesied by the brother-in-law of Jaishanker Sen, Harkumar that in future the entire world would call you Mother. While engaged in domestic work Ma used to go into deep absorption. When Bholanathji was transferred to Bajitpur Ma remained at Vidyakut, the residence of her parents for about three years. When being asked by the cousin brother. Who are you? The reply emerged from Ma – Purna Brahrma Narayan. Bholanathji received initiation from Ma.Bholanathji entered the service of the Nawab of Dhaka and arrived at Shahbagh along with Ma. Pran Gopal Mukhopadhyay and Jyotish Chandra Roy (Bhaiji) visited her for the first time. Sadhana. Her instructions are of a universal type meant for all men, yet their real import is not always comprehended by people like us. Still, when some of her words illumine the mind of a particular person, what he realizes by his own limited knowledge finds expression in his life according to his own capacity to move forward. It is not easy to imagine how infinitely various are the streams of water flowing from the Himalayas to plains of India through glaciers, cataracts, rivers, streamlets and springs, enriching and fertilising many sterile tracts. Although the Himalayas do not lose anything by sending out these perpetual streams, the welfare of the world is being secured by them. It is similar in the case of Mother and her devotees. The central theme of all her words and expressions is this: Life and religion are one. All that you do to maintain your life, your everyday work and play, all your attempts to earn a living, should be done with sincerity, love and devotion, with a firm conviction that true living means virtually perfecting one’s spiritual existence in tune with the universe. To bring about this synthesis, religious culture should be made as natural and easy as taking our food and drink when we are hungry and thirsty. The central theme of all her words and expressions is this: Life and religion are one . All that you do to maintain your life, your everyday work and play, all your attempts to earn a living, should be done with sincerity, love and devotion, with a firm conviction that true living means virtually perfecting one’s spiritual existence in tune with the universe. To bring about this synthesis, religious culture should be made as natural and easy as taking our food and drink when we are hungry and thirsty. Bhakti To be in Love with the Mother is the most incredible time in my life. I wish for Ma to cloak you in Ma’s love all the days of your life. Dive into Ma’s black Ganga waters and feel the smooth cool silkiness of Ma’s shakti. Sit in the stillness of Ma’s silence and feel Ma’s presence in your 720 million nadis, coarsing through your being. Feel Ma’s breath upon your brow, as Ma bends to gently kiss you good night. I sleep in the arms of the Mother, I live only through Ma’s grace. I want only to sit at Ma’s lotus feet in the cremation grounds all the days of my life. Ma is my all , my everything. May you also be so blessed. Namaste Trishula. I bow down to Thee, O Mother Divine, who dost guide all the phases of Yoga or Union with the Divine, who art ever the embodiment of Peace and Welfare of the world, every movement of whose lips sheds sweet nectar drops on human life, who art all purity and whose glances remove all fear and dread.” Mother of Grace! May we ever keep ourselves open to Thee for the fulfillment of Thy Will in us and through us. May we learn and realize that in Thy Love lie hidden all the secrets of life; the answers to all riddles. May our love for Thee be unconditional, unreserved and entire so that we may make a complete offering to Thee of all that we consider belongs to us. Mother! Thy Grace flows in abundance perennially; make us worthy of it by teaching us to Love and aspire.

Swami Samartha Ramdas Ramdas did Purascharana of the Rama Mantra of thirteen letters Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram thirteen lakhs of times at Tafali, near Nasik, on the banks of the Godavari. After the Purascharana was over, once again Ramdas had Darshan of Lord Rama. It is said that Ramachandra ordered Ramdas to visit holy places such as Nasik, Haridwar, Kasi, etc. Ramdas sprinkled over a dead body holy water uttering the name of Rama and the dead body was restored to life. Ramdas had to do this, because he had blessed a woman who had just lost her husband. Ramdas was an Advaitin and a Bhakta in one. He had this very noble quality that he never hated any religion or nation. His main object was to spread the Hindu religion throughout India. Ramdas had not visited Pandharpur, as he had not known the existence of this holy place. One day, the tradition says, Lord Panduranga Vittal, in the form of a Brahmin, with a batch of three hundred pilgrims, appeared before Ramdas and asked him whether he had any objection to see Lord Krishna. Ramdas replied in the negative. Panduranga then took Ramdas to Pandharpur, and when the Bhaktas approached the temple, the Brahmin disappeared. Ramdas then knew that it was none other than the Lord that had brought him to that holy place. He entered the temple, and to his great surprise, found Sri Rama standing alone on a brick. Ramdas addressed the Deity thus: “O Lord, what are You doing here alone? Where is Your brother Lakshmana and Your consort Sita Mata? Where is Maruti and where are the monkey hordes?”. On hearing these words, the image at once transformed itself into Sri Pandarinath. Ramdas then praised Panduranga for His kindness, prostrated before Him and sang songs of joy for getting His rare Darshan. Ramdas now felt doubly convinced that the several incarnations of the Lord were but His several forms and preached that everyone should respect and worship the One who took care of one and all in the world. Ramdas then worshipped Panduranga to his heart’s content and became a frequent visitor and Bhakta of Panduranga Vittal also. In Pandharpur, Ramdas came in contact with Tukaram and other saints of Pandharpur. In his pilgrimages, Ramdas observed and studied the social, political and economic conditions of Indians and their utter helplessness in life. It is said that Sri Rama ordered Ramdas to go to the banks of the Krishna and help the cause of Shivaji, the incarnation of Siva and founder of the Kingdom of Maharashtra. Ramdas came to the Krishna and went about preaching from Mahabaleshwar to Kolhapur. He established eleven principal seats of Maruti which emphasized the importance of physical development. He installed the shrines of Sri Ramachandra at Champavati and introduced Sri Rama Navami Mahotsava and the procession of Sri Rama’s chariot. It was at the place called Singanvadi that Shivaji became the disciple of Ramdas. Shivaji placed the sandals of his Guru on the throne and acted as regent of the kingdom under the orders and guidance of his Guru and adopted as ensign the flag of orange colour. There is a beautiful and romantic incident current in the Maharashtra country about Shivaji’s adoption of the Gerua flag and his ruling the kingdom in the name of Saint Ramdas. One day Shivaji saw, from the terrace of his palace, his Gurudev Ramdas going about the streets with his begging bowl. Shivaji was surprised and could not understand why his Guru should beg when he himself had already placed all his resources at the disposal of his Gurudev. However, Sadhus are difficult to understand. Shivaji therefore called for his companion Balaji, wrote a small chit and asked him to give it to Guruji when he came to the palace. About noon, Ramdas came to the palace with his bowl and Balaji prostrated before Gurudev and placed the chit at his feet. Briefly, the chit conveyed that Shivaji had made a gift of his whole kingdom to Gurudev and he humbly solicited his Gurudev’s blessing. The Guru smiled and told Balaji that it was alright. Next morning Ramdas called on Shivaji and asked him what he proposed to do with himself as he had disposed of his kingdom. Shivaji prostrated himself before Ramdas and said that he would be very happy and consider himself blessed if he should spend his life in his Gurudev’s service. Then Ramdas said, “Take this bowl and let us go on our rounds”. So Ramdas and Shivaji went round Satara begging. The people reverently bowed before the pair and gave them alms. The pair returned to the river. Ramdas prepared his simple meals and Shivaji partook of what was left after his Gurudev had finished his meals. Then Shivaji, with a smile, asked his Gurudev what he was going to do with him after reducing him to a beggar. Ramdas knew that the opportunity had come to set up a lofty ideal for the king. Saint Dnyaneshwar, a great Yogi himself describes Gorakhnath with two adjectives, “Yogabjinisarovar” and “Vishayvidhvansekveera”. A close look at these two adjectives can gives us more detail on Gorkahnath’s spiritual work. [Source: Dnyaneshwari chapter 18] Ramdas asked Shivaji to rule the kingdom in his (Ramdas’s) name, to take the Gerua Chaddar for his banner and defend its honour with his life, and to think that the kingdom did not belong to himself but treat it as a trust to be ruled justly and well before God. And thus had come the Gerua banner to Shivaji. Ramdas spent several years in visiting holy places of pilgrimage. He erected several Hanuman temples in Maharashtra. When he returned from his pilgrimage, somebody told Ramdas that his mother was pining for him, and that she had lost her eyesight on account of extreme sorrow arising out of his separation. Ramdas immediately went to see his mother. He made prostrations to his mother. His mother was

Saint Avvaiyer ji While Avvaiyar was traveling inside a forest, Shri Karhikeya, appeared as a small boy, sitting on top of a tree laden with sweet fruits.Avvaiyar was passing by the tree, and her mind was engrossed in some deep thoughts and she never saw this boy who was up the tree. The boy called Avvaiyar, and asked her whether she wanted any of the tasty fruits, which he was ready to pluck and throw to her. Avvaiyar asked the boy not to disturb her as she was introspecting on some high divine aspects and thoughts The boy persisted in his request and asked her whether she wanted the fruits , Hot or Cold . Avvaiyar got irritated when she heard this request of this boy, and asked him, how a fruit which was in the tree could be Hot or Cold. Avvaiyar half heartedly said to the boy to throw to her , a Cold fruit. The boy with a trick in mind deliberately threw the fruit, not into her hand, but on a heap of sand nearbyAvvaiyar, angrily went to the spot where the fruit fell , picked it up, and with her mouth blew the sand which was sticking on the fruit. On seeing this act of Avvaiyar, the boy mischeivously asked her , whether the fruit was Hot, to which she replied in the negative. The boy asked her why she was blowing the fruit to cool it , if it was not hot. Suddenly Avvaiyar realized that this boy was no ordinary human, and Karthikeya revealed to her His Divine Form. Avaaiyar , fell at the feet of Karthikeya and thanked Him for making her realize and see her Ego. Avvaiyar prayed to Karthikeya to remove the Ego , which was a hindrance to her path of Ascent. Many other wonderful incidents happened in her life and many miracles occurred by her prayer to the DivineAvvaiyar,an ardent devotee of Shri Ganesha, performed pujas to him.She heard that Sundarar , another Shiva devotee had started to Kailash. Avvaiyar too wanted to join him and reach Kailash, the abode of Shiva.With this thought in mind, she started performing Sri Ganesh Puja in a hurried manner. Sri Ganesha appeared before her and asked her why she was performing the puja to Him in a hurried manner today. Avvaiyar replied that Sundarar had started for Kailash and that she wanted to join him and thus was performing her puja a hurried manner. Sri Ganesha said to Avvaiyar to perform puja to Him in a slow manner with full involvement and one mindedness and promised her that at the end of the puja , He will take her to Kailash before everyone. Avvaiyar performed the puja with full faith and as promised at the end of the puja , Sri Ganesha , lifted her up and took her to Kailash (The real meaning is Sri Ganesha revealed to her Kundalini Yoga , and made her reach Sahasrara , to merge with the Divine couple ( Sada Shiva and Adi Sakthi). Having experienced the Divine Yoga ( Kundalini Yoga) , Avvaiyar rendered VINAYAKA AGAVAL , explaining the Divine form of Shri Ganesha, and how Ganesha came to her in the form of a mother and showered Grace , revealing Kundalini Yoga and she also beautifully explains the functioning of the chakras, nadis and the Kundalini instrument and blessing of this Supreme Yoga. Mataji united with lord ganesha “This chaitanya has many aspects . In Shri Ganesha, specially, it is auspiciousness. Everything that emits vibrations (Chaitanya) is SHUDH and whatever does not is not auspicious. So whatever you worship or accept has to be auspicious. Every shape has a coefficience and all the shapes do not necessarily give vibrations. We take Shri Ganesha as granted. We do not understand that we have to awaken Shri Ganesha within us. There is Shri Ganesha already existing In you; as innocence and it cannot be lost, Shri Ganesha is an eternal being. To keep this Ganesh always shining within us, is to remember that you were made in the same pattern as Shri Ganesha. His kundalini, his pure desire is on his stomach. It is significant to understand this. It means that he need not have to conquer the temptations of Mooladhara. He is also beyond temptations of food, power etc. Because His stomach represents absolute abandonment and freedom. He is not worried about his looks. Shri Ganesha accepts it. The head of the elephant suggests that HE is not like a human being who develops ego & super-ego. He is all the time one with the Divine. He accepts his body, his head, & everything that he is made of. He is what He is because He is a satisfied soul. The Kundalini on the stomach shows a completely self contented, satisfied personality of Shri Ganesha. When you have all the powers with you, you know you are powerful. Then you don’t hanker after all these things & you dont make an impression on others. As you are created in the same image of Shri Ganesha you have to understand that you have to accept whatever God has given you Immortal Works of Avvaiyar Aathichudi: Avvaiyar’s most famous work, Aathichudi, is a collection of 109 short verses that impart moral and ethical values. Written in simple language, it serves as a guide for children and adults alike, offering wisdom on how to lead a virtuous life. Kondrai Vendhan: This work is a collection of 82 verses praising Lord Ganesha. Avvaiyar’s devotion to Pillaiyar is evident in the heartfelt poems where she extols His qualities and seeks His blessings. Vinayagar Agaval: Perhaps her most profound piece of devotion, Vinayagar Agaval, is a 100-verse poem dedicated entirely to Lord Ganesha. In this composition, Avvaiyar elucidates the spiritual journey and seeks Ganesha’s grace in attaining wisdom and salvation. Muthurai: Avvaiyar’s Muthurai is a collection of ten verses, each dedicated to a different aspect of life. These

Sant Maitri Rishi Shri Tyagraj had got his primary education in music at home from his father Rishi Maitreya Rishi Maitreya gave the knowledge of Bhagwat to Vidur with which Vidur was very pleased. Maitreya was the one to tell Vidur the reason of his birth. Yamraj was cursed by a Rishi Maandavya to be born on earth, so he was born as Vidur. Sage Maitreya was a great sage of the Mahabharata period. He was the favorite disciple of Maharishi Parashar and the recipient of the blessings of his son Ved Vyas. He was the one who cursed Duryodhana due to which he died at the hands of Bhimsen. He was named after his mother “Mitra” and he is also called Kausharan because of his father “Kusharav” . Although Maharishi Parashar taught him all the Vedas and Puranas, but he was world famous especially as a great speaker of Vishnu Purana. Yudhishthir had also invited him to his Rajsu Yagna. Hearing this, his guru was so pleased that he discussed about Tyagraja’s caliber with the king of Thanjavur. The King sent his men with many gifts to Tyagraja and sent an invitation to come to king’s court. The king wished that Tyagraja remains in the court and sing for him. But Tyagraja rejected King’s invitation because he only wanted to sing for his beloved God Shri Ram. There is a story about his birth that once Maharishi Vyas was going somewhere when he saw a worm trying to cross the road very fast. Seeing his effort, Ved Vyas asked him why he was crossing the road so fast. Then that worm said – “O Maharishi! A bullock cart is going to come here in a short while. I can hear its sound. If I do not cross this road by then, I will definitely die.” Then Maharishi Vyas said – “O fool! Then it is better for you to die. Why do you want to remain in the insect form? It is better that you get freedom from this life and take birth in some ultimate best form.” Then  “Maharishi! Whatever be the form of a creature, it wants to stay alive in it even while suffering various kinds of pain.” After that he took birth in the yoni of crow, jackal, deer, bird etc. but with the inspiration of Maharishi Vyas, he soon got liberated after attaining death in all the yoni. Finally, he took birth in the human yoni as Shudra, then Vaishya, then Kshatriya and soon got liberated after attaining death. Finally, with the grace of Maharishi Vyas, he took birth in a Brahmin family. In that birth, Maharishi Vyas initiated him into Saraswat Mantra at the age of only 5 years. When he turned 7 years old, Maharishi Vyas said to him that “In Kartik area, a Brahmin Nandbhadra has been doing penance for many years but his mind is not satisfied. Go and solve his doubts.” By his order, that boy reached Nandbhadra and asked him about his doubts. Seeing such a glow on the face of a boy of only 7 years, Nandbhadra asked him many secrets of life and death and solved his doubts. After making Nandbhadra free of doubts, the boy left his body while chanting Suryamantra for 7 days continuously at Baduhak Tirtha. The same boy was born again in the next birth as the son of Kushrava and Mitra in Brahmin form and was named Maitreya.  In that birth, Maharishi Vyas sent him to his father Parashar who accepted him as his disciple. When Duryodhan defeated the Pandavas in gambling and sent them to exile, he reached Hastinapur to convince him. In Hastinapur, Bhishma, Vidur and Maharaj Dhritarashtra respected him a lot and with his permission, sent Duryodhan there. Then Maitreya Rishi explained to Duryodhan in many ways that such animosity between brothers is not right and he should respectfully return the kingdom of the Pandavas to them. he kept laughing and hitting his thigh. Maitreya got angry at his impudence and cursed him – “O wretched one! The person who does not respect his elders and accomplished men, definitely attains degradation I am trying to give you the knowledge of religion and you are insulting me by hitting your thigh. So go, I curse you that you will die when this thigh of yours breaks.”  Due to this curse of Maitreya Rishi, Bhimsen killed Duryodhan by breaking his thigh in the war. When Shri Krishna was ending his leela,he requested Maitreya Rishi to give self-knowledge to Mahatma Vidur because Vidur was very sad due to this great destruction and had almost gone insane. On Krishna’s request, Maitreya met Vidur on the banks of Ganga and consoled him in various ways and relieved his sorrow. He gave self-knowledge to Vidur and asked him to work hard to attain Hari. Source: Dharmasansar