Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya-II

Pujya Gurudev Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya’s Kripa :

Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya A Centre for Holistic Growth of Youth

(Akhand Jyoti Jan.-Fub.07)

The reason is obvious. They have received knowledge of the subject-disciplines in their educational institutions but have been left ignorant of the true art of living  which alone makes life worthwhile and meaningful. This is an all-pervasive tragedy with the present-day youth  they are devoid of the understanding of the purpose of life.

The DSVV, unlike other universities, has resolved to guide its students in developing holistic personalities  fully manifesting in a harmonious whole the dormant potentials of their hearts, heads and hands. The teachers and administrators here have very carefully devised a system of instruction which addresses the personal lives and social duties of the students as well as their employment needs.

That is why while the students at other institutions think of their future only in terms of personal and material progress; DSVV students, besides spiritually enriching their lives, make noble plans for upliftment of their country and society and then also engage themselves actively in the execution of these plans.
The whole emphasis of DSVV is on chiseling and refining the lives of the youth.

The theoretical and practical methods adopted here for teaching and training are special. Each course of study is carefully crafted with a definite purpose. It aims at inspiring the youth to do something new and fresh, and not simply follow the beaten track. Whatever subject they study here, they are constantly led to reflect upon and realize what its importance is in their personal life and in the wider context of the society. 

The techniques of teaching and learning at DSVV inculcate in students a deep understanding rather than rote-based superficial knowledge. A scheme of research projects, creative writing and many other such activities is intrinsically woven into the teaching process to nurture and develop originality in students. The distinguishing feature for which this university is earning increasing fame is the applied methodology adopted to make the students conscious of the innate powers of their personalities and learn how to develop and use these powers effectively. Recently a professor from a reputed management institute, along with a group of his students visited the DSVV campus. It was evening. The students were going to the mess for their evening meal. After the meal they strolled for a while and then suddenly all the boys and girls headed in the direction of a big hall. The curious professor asked a student, Are night classes too run here? The student replied, No, Sir, we too have our classes in the day time. This is our dhyan class. 

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya -I

Pujya Gurudev Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya’s Kripa :

Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya 

A Centre for Holistic Growth of Youth

(Akhand Jyoti Jan.-Fub.07)

Universities and institutes are aplenty. .. No one teaches the technique of a joyous life, or the art of noble conduct, or the awakening and management of the latent energies of the personality. Indeed the profound matters connected with the inner core of life remain completely untouched in these campuses. Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV) is a non-conventional center of higher learning, education and training for holistic growth of youth  heart, head and hands. Universities and institutes are aplenty. Each one of these has its own distinctive feature. Some are known for their academic excellence, some for their sporting achievements or for their infrastructure and other facilities.

Many have distinguished themselves for their vocational/technical degrees which fetch handsome pay packages for their products. But none is concerned with the task of refining and shaping the personality, of straightening the tangled strands of life. No one teaches the technique of a joyous life, or the art of noble conduct, or the awakening and management of the latent energies of the personality. Indeed the profound matters connected with the inner core of life remain completely untouched in these campuses. 

   The whole potential and consciousness of the youth is focused on sharpening of intellect and memory. Consequently the students of these institutions are surely able to impressively articulate their views on myriad topics but the overall quality of their lives remains practically unrefined. Experts on youth affairs have conducted many studies in this regard and almost all of them have put a question mark against the present system of education. In their opinion a majority of the youth keeps perilously floating like a rudderless ship on the surface of a rough sea during their university education period. But why is this so? Studies also reveal the surprising fact that the alumni of renowned management institutes are unable to properly manage their own lives.

The companies they have joined are prospering day by day but the personal lives of these management gurus are mostly in shambles, their pay-packages in lakhs notwithstanding. Their bodies are in the grip of diseases, family life strife-torn and the children becoming uncultured and delinquent. This mis-management in the lives of management experts is baffling indeed. More or less the same situation obtains in the lives of technologists. 

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Bio-Energy: Pujya Gurudev

Bio-Energy: Medical Imaging to Psychic Healing

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Science and Spirituality [Bio-energy fields, aura-measurements for diagnosis of psychosomatic disorders, and energy-healing by Reiki, Pranic, Siddha-science, etc are gaining popularity among the literate world since past few years. The concerned topics have also attracted the attention of the mass media as well as scientific journals on Alternate and Complementary Medicine. However, at the popular level, the approach is largely superficial. The surveys of the healers and also of those who practice these therapies regularly as part of fitness exercises do not show consistency on scientific basis and effects of these techniques. The reactions of scientifically trained minds are often extreme in this regard - one either regards theses ’therapies’ as yet another kind of faith-healing (placebo), or, one wants to decipher the underlying phenomena in the modern laboratories like the energy of particles of matter. In this article we would introduce the multidimensional aspects and cite some related scientific works to illustrate the importance, need and feasibility of a new and integrated approach to investigate into and benefit from the gigantic source of energy - biophysical, vital and spiritual - hidden within us.  

The fundamental role of energy in various functions of a living body has been extensively studied by the ancient as well as modern researchers. The ancient scientists (the rishis) had grasped the existence and potential of all forms of energy in the physical and sublime domains as reflections of the Omnipresent Consciousness-Force. Being derived from understanding of non-living matter, the modern research in one form or the other deals with physical perception of energy and relies upon instrument-based observations and experimentation. Way back in the late 19th Century Nicola Tesla observed the phenomenon of corona discharge from objects under high voltage fields. This phenomenon was studied with a very special kind of electrophotographic technique (known as Kirlian Photography) by Semyon and Valentia Kirlian of erstwhile USSR in the late 1930s and later. The technique attracted wide research interests from across the globe around 1970 onwards. 

As per Kirlian’s original hypothesis, the idea was to correlate the corona discharge patterns of different parts of the human body with the healthy or diseased state of the living system. The development of advanced mathematical and computational techniques enabled the analysis of complicated waveforms recorded in the photographs. However, it was found that while the records of corona discharge patterns of an inanimate object always showed same pattern as per the physico-chemical nature of that object, in case of living beings - especially humans, there was enormous variation, even in the records of the same person on the same day. 

In order to minimize the variability due to, say random disturbances caused by external environment, or fluctuations in the high-voltage field generated for corona discharge, more sophisticated instruments and imaging techniques were developed in the succeeding years which are in use since last one decade or so. The list includes computer-integrated CCD cameras, GDV cameras, thermal cameras, aura-imaging equipments having sensors of low and high intensity photonic emissions from biological systems, etc.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Happiness and Peace-III; Pujya Gurudev

The Path to Happiness and Peace

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Therefore, dear readers of �Akhand Jyoti,� arise and start cultivating unalloyed happiness in your life. The only way to do it is to generate power from within. Be strong; only then you will be able to cross the turbulent and turgid streams of agonies and adversities. Also remember that happiness and progress are not unilateral; neither can these be sustained in isolation. If you alone are stout, intelligent, resourceful and satisfied but others around you remain downtrodden, weak and ignorant, how will you be happy? How will you digest and enjoy lavish food if you try eating it while sitting amongst those starving to eat even a meal of coarse grains and those dying from hunger�?

Attempting to do so will be rather cruel on your part. The cry of their sufferings, their jealousy, their oppression would also have a negative effect on your selfish attempts of �enjoyment�. The real taste and joy of food appears when you eat it in a cheerful mood with your friends or family members�. A healthy person cannot remain healthy for long if he is to live with the patients of cholera, plague, tuberculosis or other contagious diseases. Likewise, the strength, affluence and abilities of a person cannot make him truly happy and calm if the people around him are plunged in the filth of infirmities, scarcities and agonies. Know this, all aspirants for happiness! And therefore pursue the motto of �live and let live� as � �you rise and uplift the others too,�

�be happy and make others happy��. Sprinkle the shower of your strength, talents, resources and joy upon others as well�. �Power and Service�, �Capabilities and Altruism� together should be the aim of your life if you really seek for lasting delight and progress in your life. This is the ideal of yoga. Literal meaning of �yoga� is combination of two things.You � the sadhakas of yoga, the seekers of supreme enlightenment, should first recognize the key to accomplishment of yoga-sadhana; it is hidden in the two-fold objectives of �knowledge and compassion�, �possession and generosity�. You should combine your selfishness with selflessness, cravings with satisfaction.

Your body finds joy in comforts but your soul always seeks inner peace. The body needs vigor, the soul needs soothing feelings of compassion and loving kindness. Selfishness is desired by the body, by the worldly self, while altruistic pursuits satisfy the inner self, the soul. Try to integrate the two. This yoga will enrich your life with enormous joy and light. This will bestow true happiness upon you. A cart has two wheels. Our body also stands and moves on two legs. Clapping becomes possible with the active participation of both the hands. Man and woman both together make a complete human. The grand chariot of happiness in our life also has two august wheels, two golden pillars, two marvellous horses � one is �bala� and the other is �seva� (compassionate altruistic service). Cultivate and harvest your bala and also employ it in seva. Connection of the powerful poles of negative and positive charges generates a strong current of electricity.

The commingling of the grand sources of potentials and social-service similarly produces the nectar of unalloyed happiness�. One experiences immense delight, enchantment and enlightened empowerment through heart after adopting this yoga in life. Consider yourself as a soldier of the savior army of the Almighty, which has descended on the earth to generate and expand all round happiness in this world. �Rise and Uplift�, �Be Happy and Make Others Happy� should be your theme songs in your march forward towards the goal of universal happiness, harmony and peace. Following these sincerely in every dimension of life is true devotion. God is pleased with such devotees. HE looks after their wellbeing and bestows such devotees with divine grace.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Happiness and Peace= Pujya Gurudev

The Path to Happiness and Peace

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

The Vedic Shrutis state � �Balamupasva�: Worship your bala � strength, courage, inner power. The physically weak, coward, ignorant, lethargic and dull persons also miss the real thrills of life. What to speak of happiness, even sustaining the normal life itself is too difficult for them. No one except the vigorous, courageous, awakened ones can attain and retain true happiness. It should be noted that the words �shakti� and �bala� used here, don�t denote only their literal meanings (power and vigor). Rather, these refer to the grand majesty of human life, which is described in the scriptures to be expressed in seven faculties.

The grand majesty (maha bala) lies in the harmonious combination of all these seven facets of its expression. As the proper functioning of the human body and operations of human life pertain mainly to the ten senses and the mind, so does the sublime spring of maha bala flowing through these seven streams of power. If there were any impurity, shortcoming or blockage in any one of these attributes, it would, to that extent, lessen or deform the total bala too. The seven attributes for the expression of (maha)bala are �

Art: graceful artistic mode of doing things, civilized etiquette, cultured behavior, etc fall under the art of living along with the sense of appreciation for creativity; (ii) Health: Mental and physical health; energy, enthusiasm, tolerance, industriousness, vitality of sense organs and alertness of mind;(iii) Knowledge: Reading-writing, essential information of use on the physical, mental, domestic, economical, social, religious, political, geographical, international topics; rational thinking, sound reasoning, wisdom, etc are included here; (iv) Wealth: Income or resources to enable smooth transaction of the essential personal and familial duties through honest means; (v) Prestige: Respect, faith, cooperation, affection and benevolence of the relatives, friends and social acquaintances; (vi) Friendship: Association and support of the friends having integrity of character and caring concern; (vii) Mental Strength: Courage, valour, generosity, compassion, feelings of service and sacrifice, self-respect, responsibility, inner confidence.

These seven sources of inner strength are the key instruments for achieving fulfillment and success in any domain of life. Human life devoid of these powers is helpless and insignificant like those of the tiny insects. Only those, who possess this treasure of bala can boldly face the ups and downs of the worldly life and steadily cross the ocean of sorrows, adversities and ever new challenges. Perennial happiness is a boon of these seven attributes of the �God� named �mahabala�. Success crowns those endowed with the radiance of vigor, prudence, courage, integrity, assiduity, benevolence and majesty of spirit. Those lacking in bala face failures and being unable to fight the Nature�s law of �survival of the fittest� are, sooner or later, cast away in the �struggle for existence��.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Happiness and Peace = Pujya Gurudev

The Path to Happiness and Peace

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Every one aspires for a satisfied, cheerful, progressive and fulfilling life. But only a few seem to have it�. Moreover, most people are often found complaining and suffering from varieties of tensions, fears, quarrels, jealousy, scorn, loneliness, infirmities, scarcities, diseases, etc. It is said that � �where there is a will there will be a way� or �necessity is the mother of invention�. But, that does not seem to quite work in this case! Man longs most eagerly for joy and peace of mind but hardly finds them. The reason is � nothing can manifest without a cause; goals or ends can�t be achieved without appropriate means. A wish alone remains only a dreamy desire unless backed by zealous and prudent efforts. For every worthwhile goal there are some principles and some disciplines that define the optimal path to reach it.

\Every objective has some specific prerequisites to be met, certain methods to be followed to accomplish it. Half-hearted, haphazard or inappropriate approaches prove to be futile and bring irritation, depression and despair in return. Those dying to get a sky-flower have to wait life-long in vain. Their eyesight may freeze in staring to have a look at it but they won�t get even a glimpse of this �mirage� in reality. Just feeling thirsty and crying for water does not pour the drops of water in our mouth. Man burns and ruins himself in the fire of unending cravings. His dire desire for fulfillment always remains unfulfilled. We want to be happy but often find that the circumstances of life pull us back into the mire of discontent, desperation and worries. Can�t we ever come out of this vicious cycle? Is the aspiration for happiness impossible to be met? No! It can and should be fulfilled if pursued rightly. But, How? Let us look at the basic principles and the methods towards achieving this goal. What is happiness? It is an emanation of inner harmony and peace reflected in a pure heart. What is sorrow? It is an outcome of infirmity, an image of ignorance. �nanda (bliss) is a divine attribute. The eternal complementarity of Shiva and Shakti, Krishna and Radha, Ram and Sita, Vishnu and Lakshmi, Purusha and Prakrati described in the Vedic scriptures is absolute. So is the pair of ananda and anandamayi shakti. Life-force cannot express itself without the physical body.

The Supreme Creator would also remain �non-existent� without its expression in the creation and manifestation of Nature. We would not have been able to conceptualize or realize the presence of God without having the faculties of thoughts and emotions�. The roots of unalloyed joy also lie in the feel of art and culture. Every expression, every entity, every feeling has a basis, a nature of its existence. The same is true of happiness. The Upanishads describe its source of expression as the vigour and radiance of the (inner and external) mind and the body: �Nayamatma Balahinena Labhyah�; the weak (emotionally, mentally, or physically) and ignorant ones cannot get the delight of the soul, the experience of ananda.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Scientific Basis of Japa- iv = Pujya Gurudev

Scientific Basis of Gayatri  Mantra Japa

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

We are way-lost children in the wilderness of this illusory phenomenon; groping for the sunlit path leading us back home. Finding this sunlit path and reestablishment of this lost connection with the source by awakening of the true inner consciousness is the third factor of japa-sadhana. In the powers of japa, the inner self awakens and recognizes its soul-identity; the soul too recalls its divine nature. As this retrieval of lost memory progresses, it ponders upon its origin more deeply and gets anxious to unite with the source. This intensifies the reactivation of its sublime connection with the divine self. It calls upon the divine Mother (Gayatri) to save and protect it from illusions, diversions and pitfalls of the worldly cycle. This stage purifies the sadhaka's gross and subtle bodies; his mind now gets educed and illuminated by positive and righteous aspirations. His personality is gradually suffused with nobility. 

The fourth stage signifies a still higher state of spiritual maturity. With deeper and purer engagement in the japa of Gayatri Mantra, the sadhaka sees the light of his soul in the radiance of the subtle body of the sun  the cosmic center of this mantra. As this realization intensifies, he begins to experience, in deep trance, the unity of his soul with the cosmic soul (God). He then sees the identity of his soul as a reflection of the Brahm conveyed in the Vedant Philosophy as "Ayamatma Brahm", "Tatvamasi","Soahm", "Cidanandoaham", etc. This state is referred to in the Shastras as samadhi, turiavastha or para siddhi - the state of ultimate beatitude, absolute bliss and supreme accomplishment. Japa-sadhana alone, if performed with sincerity, purity and intrinsic faith, leads to this state of eternal bliss and light. It is therefore referred to as the key to the deeper science of spirituality and also revered as a yajya. 

Japa yajya alone is a complete source of ultimate self-realization. By the divine energy immanent in the Vedic Mantras, we can attain supramental knowledge and actualize the potentials that are otherwise unbelievable, unimaginable and unreachable. Understanding and attainment of such extrasensory faculties are yet beyond the scope of the modern scientific advancement. Japa is therefore not well recognized or practiced by many of the so-called scientifically progressive people. We do see many of the erudite scholars, great scientists and elites engulfed in the sorrows, delusions and sufferings of the world despite their talents and resources; whereas there are some illiterate but spiritually elevated souls endowed with divine bliss and wisdom attained through sincere japa-sadhana of the Gayatri Mantra. 

The energy locked up in the mantras is essentially spiritual in nature. The specific configurations of the Vedic Mantras are said to be derived from the subtle science of syllables and sound. The rishis, who had realized the cosmic and spiritual dimensions of the omnipresent eternal sound, had compiled these mantras. The consistency of the rhythm and amplitude of the mantras are therefore of vital importance. The prescribed modes and number of japas every day for specific sadhana are also enjoined accordingly. The sadhaka should follow these with due sincerity and punctuality. Sometime slow sometime fast speed or pitch of japa or performing the japa in a half-asleep or inconsistent way does not serve any purpose. 

Sitting with erect spine and in a state of mental peace, regularity of timings for japa are essential prerequisites for steady and sure progress. Purity of the body and mind is another prerequisite for concentration of mind and proper meditation. It is advised to do the japa with the help of a rosary so that counting will also be automatic with the mechanical move of the hand on its beads with each complete chanting of the mantra, without disturbing the mental concentration. The upanshu type japa is said to be the best for the beginners. Here, one chants the mantra so that his tongue and lips may move but the voice is inaudible. Once one has perfected the rhythmic chanting of the mantra he may check the timings of specified number of japas according to his natural frequency and may use a clock (alarm) instead of a rosary, as per his convenience. 

Any one who sincerely and rightly performs the japa-sadhana of the Gayatri Mantra begins to gradually progress through the aforesaid four stages of psychological and spiritual refinement and attains the ultimate goal. His mind and intellect are transformed and illuminated with divine love, light and wisdom and he awakens to the supreme reality of truth, consciousness, bliss (sat-chita-anand) beyond the limits of time and space. 

Material well-being and elimination of worldly problems accrue to the sadhak, but these are mere byproducts of the spiritual illumination. Nothing remains to be gained or aspired for thereafter. Everyone, without any constraint of caste, creed, gender or social status, is entitled to undertake this scientific experiment of japa-sadhana of Gayatri Mantra and be the recipient of divine grace. Notes:

1. Japa: Repeated rhythmic enunciation or chanting (of a mantra). 

2.Sadhana: Devout spiritual endeavor aimed at self-realization. 

3. Japa-sadhana: Japa accompanied by meditation and specific religious practices.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma