Devi Gita (Class 35): ”The Many Views of Maya” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 2, verses 9 & 10 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 14 June 2023.
केचित् तां तप इत्याहुस्तमः केचिज्जडं परे |ज्ञानं मायां प्रधानं च प्रकृतिं शक्तिमप्यजाम् || ९ ||kecit tāṃ tapa ityāhus-tamaḥ kecij-jaḍaṃ pare |jñānaṃ māyāṃ pradhānaṃ ca prakṛtiṃ śakti-mapyajām || 9 ||9. "Some call this Maya the power of austerity; others call it darkness; still others, dullness, or knowledge, illusion, matter, nature, energy, or the unborn."
विमर्श इति तां प्राहुः शैवशास्त्रविशारदाः |अविद्यामितरे प्राहुर्वेदतत्त्वार्थचिन्तकाः || १० ||vimarśa iti tāṃ prāhuḥ śaiva-śāstra-viśāradāḥ |avidyāmitare prāhur-veda-tattvārtha-cintakāḥ || 10 ||10. "Those versed in Shaiva works call it intelligence (vimarśa), while the Vedantins call it ignorance (avidya)."

Short Readings: ”God’s Name is the Path” by Swami Ramdas

A short selection from "Ramdas Speaks, Vol. V", page 142-143 by His Holiness Papa Swami Ramdas (1884-1963), read by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
 
"The easiest way to attain this beatific vision, Ramdas can tell you, is the repetition of God's holy name. Ramdas has read in the teachings of all the great sages and saints of India, about the glory of the Divine Name. Sri Ramakrishna and the Holy Mother also have been telling us to repeat God's name and do japa, because it is so very easy. We need not have any paraphernalia to repeat God's name. We can utter it all all times and at all places. After practicing various types of discipline, Sri Ramakrishna found the repetition of God's name most efficacious and suitable. Saint Tulsidas says that God's name is like a light that you keep on the doorstep. You can get light inside as well as outside. So if you have the name on your tongue, you will have the divine light within you and also everywhere about you. Such is the power of the Divine Name. He who has uttered the Divine Name  constantly can alone know its sweetness and power. Ramdas can vouch for the power of the Name, but you should repeat it without desiring anything from God. As soon as you repeat the Name, you start getting bliss. It is not that anything can be attained after repeating the Name for some time. The attainment is immediate. This is what Ramdas felt. The sweetness of the Name is such that it will not leave you. Ramdas went on drinking the sweetness of the Name until the drink and Ramdas became one. After that, the repetition automatically stopped and he was filled with ecstasy. There is nothing but joy and this joy has been with him for the last thirty years. He has been going about telling everybody to repeat the name of God constantly.
"All the names of God are equally powerful. You may repeat the name Shiva, Rama, Krishna or any other Name you like with full faith and devotion, and you will see that the Name will purify you and free you from all desires and attachments. When you sit for meditation, you find the mind wandering here and there. This is because the mind is not pure. Purity comes only when you repeat God's name constantly. When the min d is restless and agitated, you cannot know who you are. You think you are only a bundle of flesh and bones. But when your mind has been purified and made still by the practice of meditation you come to realize that you are the immortal Spirit. 
"Now you have all been singing God's name. The vibrations created thereby were merging our mind in them. By hearing the sound of the Name, the mind gets absorbed in it. It forgets to run about because it is imbued or intoxicated with the sweetness of the Name. All the vasanas and desires within us are uprooted, and so the mind becomes calm. For progress on the spiritual path, satsang or contact of great souls is an important thing. You must see them, hear their nectarian words, follow their advice and take God's name. This will liberate us from all desires, elevate us and give us the joy of the Eternal. This is possible only by contact of saints, and by taking God's holy name. If these two things are done, you are saved. The object of all sadhanas is only to keep God's name continuously on our lips. No sadhana can itself take us to God. It is only a means so that we may repeat the Name continuously and have unbroken remembrance of God. When remembrance leaves us, the ego-sense takes hold of us and the mind becomes restless. As soon as there is remembrance the ego-sense disappears and we are in tune with God. 
"Ramdas will stop this talk by invoking Sri Ramakrishna's blessings to help you all attain this supreme goal. May he grant you continuous remembrance of God and may he bless you with the supreme vision, experience, and realization!"
 

Devi Gita (Class 34): ”The Cosmic Seed” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswatiss

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 2, verses 7 & 8 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 7 June 2023.
स्वाशक्तेश्च समायोगादहं बीजात्मतां गता |स्वाधारावरणात् तस्या दोषत्वं च समागतम् || ७ ||svāśakteśca samā-yogād-ahaṃ bījātmatāṃ gatā |svādhārā-varaṇāt tasyā doṣatvaṃ ca samāgatam || 7 ||7. "By uniting with this inherent power of mine, I become the cosmic seed. By obscuring Me, its own basis, this power is prone to defects."
चैतन्यस्य समायोगान्निमित्तत्वं च कथ्यते |प्रपञ्चपरिणामाच्च समवायित्वमुच्यते || ८ ||caitanyasya samāyogān-nimittatvaṃ ca kathyate |prapañca-pariṇāmāc-ca sama-vāyitvam-ucyate || 8 ||8. "Through its association with consciousness, Maya is called the efficient cause of the world. Through its evolution into the visible realm, it is said to be the material cause."

Devi Gita (Class 32): ”As Heat Exist in Fire” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on the Devi Gita of the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, chapter 2, verses 5 & 6 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 17 May 2023.
पावकस्योष्ण्यतेवेयमुष्णांशोरिव दीधितिः |चन्द्रस्य चन्द्रिकेवेयं ममेयं सहजा ध्रुवा || ५ ||pāvakasyoṣṇyateveyamuṣṇāṃśoriva dīdhitiḥ |candrasya candrikeveyaṃ mameyaṃ sahajā dhruvā || 5 ||5. "As heat inheres in fire, as brilliance in the sun, as cool light in the moon, just so this Maya inheres firmly in me."
तस्यां कर्माणि जीवानां जीवाः कालश्च सञ्चरे |अभेदेन विलीनाः स्युः सुषुप्तौ व्यवहारवत् || ६ ||tasyāṃ karmāṇi jīvānāṃ jīvāḥ kālaśca sañcare |abhedena vilīnāḥ syuḥ suṣuptau vyavahāravat || || 6 ||6. "Into that Maya the actions of souls, the souls themselves, and the ages eventually dissolve without distinctions, as worldly concerns disappear in deep sleep."

Devi Gita (Class 32): ”Indescribable” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 2, verses 3 & 4 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 10 May 2023.
अप्रतर्क्यमनिर्देश्यमनौपम्यमनामयम् |
तस्य काचित् स्वतः सिद्धा शक्तिर्मायेति विश्रुता || ३ ||
apratarkyam-anirdeśyam-anaupamyam-anāmayam |
tasya kācit svataḥ siddhā śaktirmāyeti viśrutā || 3 ||
3. "It is beyond reason, indescribable, incomparable, incorruptible. From out of itself evolves a certain power renowned as Maya."
 
न सती सा नाऽसती सा नोभयात्मा विरोधतः |
एतद्विलक्षणा काचिद्वस्तुभूतास्ति सर्वदा ||
na satī sā nā’satī sā nobhayātmā virodhataḥ | etadvilakṣaṇā kācid-vastu-bhūtāsti sarvadā || 4 ||
4. "Neither real nor unreal is this Maya, nor is it both, for that would be incongruous. Lacking such characteristics, this indefinite entity has always subsisted."

Devi Gita (Class 31): ”I Alone Existed in the Beginning” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 2, verses 1 & 2 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 26 April 2023.
शृण्वन्तु निर्जराः सर्वे व्याहर्न्त्या वचो मम |
यस्य श्रवणमात्रेण मद्रूपत्वं प्रपद्यते || १ ||
śṛṇvantu nirjarāḥ sarve vyāharntyā vaco mama |
yasya śravaṇa-mātreṇa mad-rūpa-tvaṃ prapadyate || 1 ||1. "May all the gods attend to what I have to say.
 By merely hearing these words of mine, one attains My essential nature."
 
अहम्वेवास पूर्वं तु नान्यत् किञ्चिन्नगाधिप |
तदात्मरूपं चित्संवित् परब्रह्मैकनामकम् || २ ||
aham-evevāsa pūrvaṃ tu nānyat kiñcin-nagādhipa |
tadātma-rūpaṃ cit-saṃvit parabrahmaika-nāmakam || 2 ||
2. "I alone existed in the beginning; there was nothing else at all, O Mountain King.
 My true Self is known as pure consciousness, the highest intelligence, the one supreme Brahman.
"

Devi Gita (Class 30): ”May I Become One With You” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 1, verses 71-74 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 13 April 2023.
न जानेऽस्मत्पितॄणां किं स्थानं स्यान्निर्मितं परम् |
एतादृशानां वास्याय येषां वंशेऽस्ति मादृशः || ७१ ||
na jāne’smat-pitṝṇāṃ kiṃ sthānaṃ syānnirmitaṃ param |
etādṛśānāṃ vāsyāya yeṣāṃ vaṃśe’sti mādṛśaḥ || 71 ||
71. "I know not what heavenly realm has been prepared for my ancestors to rest in, so blessed are they to have one such as myself born in their family.
 
इदं यथा च दत्तं मे कृपया प्रेमपूर्णया |
सर्ववेदन्तान्तसिद्धं च त्वद्रूपं ब्रूहि मे तथा || ७२ ||
idaṃ yathā ca dattaṃ me kṛpayā prema-pūrṇayā |
sarva-vedantānta-siddhaṃ ca tvadrūpaṃ brūhi me tathā || 72 ||
72. "As you have already granted me one favor through Your loving compassion, would You also please describe for me Your true nature as explained in all the Upanishads."
 
योगं च भक्तिसहितं ज्ञानं च श्रुतिसम्मतम् |
वदस्व परमेशानि त्वमेवाहं यतो भवेः || ७३ ||
yogaṃ ca bhakti-sahitaṃ jñānaṃ ca śruti-sammatam |
vadasva parameśāni tvamevāhaṃ yato bhaveḥ || 73 ||
73. "And further describe the paths of both yoga and knowledge combined with devotion, as approved by scripture.
इति तस्य वचः श्रुत्वा प्रसन्नमुखपण्कजा |
वक्तुमारभथाऽम्बा सा रहस्यं श्रुतिगूहितम् || ७४ ||
iti tasya vacaḥ śrutvā prasanna-mukha-paṇkajā |
aktumārabhathā’mbā sā rahasyaṃ śruti-gūhitam || 74 ||
74. (Vyasa spoke): "Hearing these words of Himalaya, and with Her lotus face kindly disposed, the Mother undertook to reveal the mystic teachings hidden in scripture."

Devi Gita (Class 29): ”The World Mother Become Daughter” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 1, verses 66-70 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 29 March 2023.
व्यास उवाच
vyāsa uvāca
Vyasa said:
 
हिमालयोऽपि तच्छ्रुत्वात्यनुग्रह-करम् वचः |
बाष्पैः संरुद्धकण्ठाक्षो महाराज्ञीं वचोऽब्रवीत् || ६६ ||
himālayo’pi tacchrutvātyanugraha-karam vacaḥ |
bāṣpaiḥ saṃ-ruddha-kaṇṭhākṣo mahā-rājñīṃ vaco’bravīt || 66 ||
66. "Hearing Her exceedingly kind words, Himalaya on his part replied to the Great Sovereign Queen, his eyes and throat congested with tears."
महत्तरं तं कुरुषे यस्यानुग्रहमिच्छसि |
नोचेत् क्वाऽहं जडः स्थाणुः क्व त्वं सच्चित्स्वरूपिणी || ६७ ||
mahattaraṃ taṃ kuruṣe yasyānugraham-icchasi |
nocet kvā’haṃ jaḍaḥ sthāṇuḥ kva tvaṃ sac-cit-svarūpiṇī || 67 ||
67. "You greatly ennoble whomever You wish to favor. For who am I, so dull and motionless, compared to You who embody infinite being and consciousness?"
 
असम्भाव्यं जन्मशतैस्त्वत्पितृत्वं ममानघे |
अश्वमेधादिपुण्यैर्वा पुण्यैर्वा तत्समाधिजैः || ६८ ||
asambhāvyaṃ janma-śataistvat-pitṛ-tvaṃ mamānaghe |
aśvamedhādi-puṇyairvā puṇyairvā tat-samādhijaiḥ || 68 ||
68. "That I should become Your father in the course of hundreds of births is astonishing, O Faultless One, even with all the merit gained by performing horse sacrifices and other religious penances."
 
अद्य प्रपञ्च कीर्तिः स्याज्जगन्माता सुताभवत् |
अहो हिमालयस्यास्य धन्योऽसौ भाग्यवानिति || ६९ ||
adya prapañca kīrtiḥ syāj-jagan-mātā sutā-bhavat |
aho himālayasyāsya dhanyo’sau bhāgyavān-iti || 69 ||
69. "Now I shall be renowned, for all the world will think: 'The World Mother has become the daughter of that Himalaya, wonder of wonders! How blessed and fortunate is he'."
 
यस्यास्तु जठरे सन्ति ब्रह्माण्डानां च कोटयः |
सैव यस्य सुता जाता को वा स्यात्तत्समो भुवि || ७० ||
yasyāstu jaṭhare santi brahmāṇḍānāṃ ca koṭayaḥ |
saiva yasya sutā jātā ko vā syāt-tat-samo bhuvi || 70 ||
70. "She whose womb contains tens of millions of worlds has been born as his daughter—who on earth is his equal?"
 
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Devi Gita (Class 28): ”Daughter of the Mountain” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 1, verses 63-65 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 15 March 2023.
इति तेषां वचः श्रुत्वा प्रोवाच परमेश्वरी |मम शक्तिस्तु या गौरी भविष्यति हिमालये || ६३ ||iti teṣāṃ vacaḥ śrutvā provāca parameśvarī |mama śaktistu yā gaurī bhaviṣyati himālaye || 63 ||63. (Vyasa continued): "The Supreme Ruler listened to these words of theirs and gave reply." (The Goddess spoke): "My potency who is Gauri will be born to Himalaya."
शिवाय सा प्रदेया स्यात् सा वः कार्यं विधास्यति |भक्तिर्यच्चरणाम्भोजे भूयाद्युष्माकमादरात् || ६४ ||śivāya sā pradeyā syāt sā vaḥ kāryaṃ vidhāsyati |bhaktiryaccaraṇāmbhoje bhūyādyuṣmā-kamādarāt || 64 ||64. "She will be given in marriage to Shiva and will furnish what you need. You shall be devoted to My lotus feet due to Your earnest desire."
हिमालयो हि मनसा मामुपास्तेतिभक्तितः |ततस्तस्य गृहे जन्म मम प्रियकरं मतम् || ६५ ||himālayo hi manasā mām-upāste’ti-bhaktitaḥ |tatastasya gṛhe janma mama priyakaraṃ matam || 65 ||65. "Himalaya, moved by intense devotion, truly worships Me in his heart. Thus I consider it a pleasure to take birth in his house."
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Devi Gita (Class 27): ”Our Foremost Wish” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati

Scripture class by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati on Devi Gita, chapter 1, verses 58-62 given to students of the Ramakrishna Seminary at Kali Mandir via Zoom on 8 March 2023.
 
ना’ज्ञातं किञ्चिदप्यत्र भवत्या’स्ति जगत्त्रये || ५८ ||
nā’jñātaṃ kiñcidapyatra bhavatyā’sti jagat-traye || 58 ||
58. (The Gods said): “Nothing here in the three worlds is unknown to You
 
सर्वज्णया सर्वसाक्षिरूपिण्या परमेश्वरि |
तारकेणासुरेन्द्रेण पीडिताः स्मो दिवानिशम् || ५९ ||
sarva-jṇayā sarva-sākṣi-rūpiṇyā parameśvari |
tārakeṇāsurendreṇa pīḍitāḥ smo divāniśam || 59 ||
59. Who are omniscient, the incarnate witness of all, O Supreme Ruler. The demon chief Taraka torments us day and night.
 
शिवाङ्गजाद्वधस्तस्य निर्मित्तो ब्रह्मणा शिवे |
शिवाण्गना तु नैवास्ति जानासि त्वं महेश्वरि || ६० ||
śivāṅgajādvad-hastasya nirmitto brahmaṇā śive |
śivāṇganā tu naivāsti jānāsi tvaṃ maheśvari || 60 ||
60. His death shall come only at the hands of Shiva’s son—so has Brahma arranged, O Auspicious One. But as You know, Great Ruler, Shiva has no wife.
 
सर्वज्ञपुरतः किं वा वक्तव्यं पामरैर्जनैः |
एतदुद्देशतः प्रोक्तमपरं तर्कया’म्बिके || ६१ ||
sarva-jña-purataḥ kiṃ vā vaktavyaṃ pāmarairjanaiḥ |
etaduddeśataḥ proktama-paraṃ tarkayā’mbike || 61 ||
61. What can ignorant beings reveal to one who is omniscient? Such is our situation in brief; You can infer the rest, O Mother.
 
सर्वदा चरणाम्भोजे  भक्तिः स्यात् तव निश्चला |
प्रार्थनीयमिदं मुख्यमपरं देहहेतवे || ६२ || ||
sarvadā caraṇāmbhoje  bhaktiḥ syāt tava niścalā |
prārthanīyamidaṃ mukhyamaparaṃ dehahetave || 62 ||
62. May we always show unswerving devotion to Your lotus feet; This is our foremost wish. We also pray that You will assume a body."