Yagnas, 2018-2019
Yagna Coordination Group
Spirituality in Family Life – by Swami Shantananda, June 2018
Yagna Series for 2018-19 academic year started off with Swami Shantanandaji presiding over our Varshikotsav 2018. During this event, he also released our Hari Patrika, the first time we published as e-Magazine!
Swami Shantananda is currently the resident acharya (teacher) of the Tri-State Centre in Cranbury, New Jersey and President of Chinmaya Mission West, the governing body of all Chinmaya Mission centers in Canada & USA.
Family Spirituality is the spiritual dimension of everything that the family does. Its most important ingredient is the love flowing between family members. Where genuine love is, we find God because God is love. Family Spirituality is thought of as family life itself – doing and caring for each other. In a most practical way, Swamiji explained that family life is the best suited station for us to understand and practice spirituality.
Krishna the CEO! – by Swami Ramakrishnananda, November 2018
Swami Ramakrishnananda is the Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Nagapatinam and part of the managing board of Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeet. He visited with us in November 2018 and spoke about the leadership qualities we need in our everyday life, and in our profession – through the model of Lord Krishna!
A CEO is a visionary, a leader – maximizing the value of the company to achieve the organization’s mission through good decision-making, effective communication, and inspirational motivation. How do they do it? Lord Krishna, the Avatar of Lord Vishnu, was such a CEO during the Dwapara Yuga, achieving success for the entire society! Swamiji explored Lord Krishna’s leadership and management techniques through Bhagavan Veda Vyasa’s Bhagavatam and Mahabharatam, which are relevant even today!
Power to Redeem! by Br. Yatindra Chaitanya, December 2018
We had Br. Yatindra Chaitanya of Dallas Fort Worth visiting us in December. This was unique in the sense that he was hosted by one of our CHYKs. We are very proud to have our next generation carrying on the traditions of Chinmaya Mission Portland.
When Ram asked Vishwamitra, “Who is Ahalya waiting for?” Vishwamitra replied: “One who can uplift the fallen. All know how to judge, blame and punish someone but the redeemer of sin who raises the fallen is rare indeed. Touch of such a great soul’s feet redeems all sins”. Then Ram touched the stone with his feet and Ahalya got freed. There is no sin or guilt which cannot be pardoned by repentance and pure faith in God. God himself will appear and devoid us from all sins.
Happiness Workshop – by Vivek Gupta, March 2019
Acharya Vivek is the resident acharya of Chinmaya Mission – Niagara and deputy director of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra West and had been a regular visiting Acharya since 2010.
The Workshop covered a set of practical steps to help oneself be unconditionally happy! Vivek-ji talked about going from Loneliness to Aloneness — how despite being most ‘connected’ thanks to social media, we feel miserable, and how one can start to love enjoying the company of oneself. In typical workshop style, all of us analyzed how we are spending our time today to realize positive living takes time and spending the time we have well is the most practical step to happiness. On the final day, we learned together to lift oneself by oneself — and not to be dependent on our friends, family, God and environment, for us to be Happy.
During Vivekji’s visit, as an added bonus, we had a workshop on “Story of our Mind” where we learned how to know and manage mind matters with the help of an experienced social work counselor, Madhav Khurana. Be it your work, children, spouse or the world that drives you crazy, most of us deal with mental stress that affects quality of life. This unique session combined psychology and spirituality to help us. We learned what causes stress and depression and how to manage and master mental stress. Madhav Khurana & Vivek Gupta used their expertise in Vedanta and modern medicine and shared their knowledge and insights on methods of calming the mind and managing stress.
Living Vedanta – by Swami Ishwarananda, June 2019
Swami Ishwarananda is the resident senior monk at Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles and one of the Directors of Chinmaya Mission West (CMW). He visited with us in June, 2019 and talked about Living Vedanta (VedAnta Cintanam), a treatise on practical application of Vedanta, composed by Swami Tejomayananda.
While VedAnta teaches us about our true nature, VedAnta Cintanam guides us in the application of this knowledge to our daily life. Swamiji explained that a clear vision of VedAnta is the first step towards its practical application. Swamiji, with his witty humor and practical tips, explained to us how not to be identified with the body-mind-intellect equipment, and yet use them intelligently; and why it is important to cultivate the attitude of being a ‘servant to God’ in all our actions.
