{"id":817,"date":"2019-07-20T13:12:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-20T13:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/?page_id=817"},"modified":"2019-07-20T13:53:18","modified_gmt":"2019-07-20T13:53:18","slug":"watch-july-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/watch-july-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: July 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"InThisEdition\">In this edition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"#InUpComingEvents\">Upcoming events<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#GeethaVahini\">Geetha Vahini<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Himself\">Divine discourse on occasion of Guru Poornima (July, 1963)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Rama\">Every material object has qualitative and quantitative difference<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#DevotionalActivities\">Devotional activities in Chicago and suburbs<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"InUpcomingEvents\">Upcoming Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> <strong>Tuesday July 16, 2019 Guru Poornima Celebrations<\/strong><ul><li>Devotional Program<\/li><li>Time: 07:30 PM &#8211; 10:00 PM<\/li><li>Venue: Sant Nirankari Mandir, 1S750 Route 59, West Chicago<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Friday &#8211; Sunday August 09 &#8211; 11, 2019 Zone 1 Zonal Young Adult Festival (ZYAF)<\/strong><ul><li> Theme: Dare to be Divine<\/li><li>Time: August 09: 04:00 PM onwards<\/li><li>Venue: Camp Henry Horner, Ingleside IL<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Friday &#8211; Monday August 30 &#8211; September 02, 2019 Region 5 Annual Retreat<\/strong><ul><li>Theme: Pathways to Purity<\/li><li>Time: August 30: 06:00 PM onwards<\/li><li>Venue:  Camp Henry Horner, Ingleside IL<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"GeethaVahini\">Geetha Vahini<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In seventeen verses, from the 56th to the 72nd, Krishna\ndescribed in the second chapter the characteristics of the <em>Sthithaprajna<\/em>,\nand the excellence of that stage. Then, saying that He Himself had established\nJnana Yoga for the <em>Sankhyas<\/em>, and Karma Yoga for the Yogis, as means of\nattaining Liberation, He spoke of the importance of karma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Everyone has to bow to the demands of Nature and engage himself in karma. It is inevitable. Therefore, Krishna said, \u201cDo the Karthavya Karmas, karma that is your bounden duty. Being engaged in karma is to be preferred to not being so engaged. If you desist from karma, the task of living becomes difficult, nay, impossible. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe karmas that do not bind by\nconsequence are those referred to as Yajna (sacrifice). All the rest are bondage-producing\nones. Therefore, O Arjuna, give up all attachment and engage in acts, as if\nthey are each a Yajna, sacrifice dedicated to the Lord.\u201d Krishna taught Arjuna\nthe origins of karma, the roots from where the urge to do karma sprouts and\ngrows. He taught them so clearly that Arjuna\u2019s heart was really moved and\nmodified. \u201cThe Vedas emanated from God; karmas emanated from the Vedas; from\nkarma originated Yajna; from Yajna, Rain; from Rain grew food; from food came\nall living beings. This is the cycle that has to be accepted and honored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cConsider this, O Arjuna, I have no\nneed to do any karma, no not anywhere in the three worlds. I am under no compulsion.\nStill I am ever engaged in karma. Think of this. If I desist, the world will be\nno more. Have steady faith in the <em>Atma<\/em>; then dedicate all acts of yours\nto Me: with no desire for the fruit thereof, no egoism and no sense of possession\nor pride, engage in battle,\u201d said Krishna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the wheel of Creation is to move\nsmooth, each one has to keep on doing karma. Whoever he is, he cannot get around\nthis obligation. Even he who has achieved the highest Jnana has to observe this\nrule. Eating and drinking, intake and release of breath\u2014these too are karmas.\nWho can exist without these acts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou derive\nbenefit from the world and from the community and so some activity on your part\nis their due. This <em>Brahmaanda<\/em> (Supreme Bliss), this <em>Viswa<\/em> (creation),\nis really speaking a huge workshop. Every human being is a limb in this organization.\nThe limb is allotted a task in accordance with its structure and it must find\nits fulfilment in doing that particular work. Whatever work one has been allotted\nhas to be done as an offering to God. There is no single thing in the Universe\nthat does not engage itself in this great task. Plant and insect, stone and\nstump, wind and rain, heat and cold, if each of these does not work as per Plan,\nthe world cannot subsist. The Sun and the Moon carry on their routine tasks. If\nthe earth and sun refuse to do the allotted duties what is to happen to the\nworld? So, there is no one who is karma-less, but yet with body! It is only when\neach performs his task without fail, and with care, that the wheel will move\nquick and smooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou may\nwonder why Jnanis (liberated persons) should still do karma; not only you, but\nmany others may be worried at that statement. Well, people usually follow the ideal\nset by those in higher levels. Their acts form the basis of Dharma for all. If\nJnanis are inactive, how are ordinary mortals to save themselves? They have no\nguide and so they lose themselves in the easy paths of sensory pleasure. The\nduty of the wise is to foster the right and to practice it before others, so\nthat they too may be prompted to follow, drawn by the hope of becoming as\ncontented and as joyful as they are. The wise have to do and get done, so that\nthe rest might be persuaded to follow the example set by them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cArjuna! pay\nattention to just one fact! How warm is your body now? It may be about 98\ndegrees. How did it happen? Because, the Sun bears many million times this heat\nat that distance, is it not? Now if the Sun feels that it will not put up with\nall that fire and becomes cool, what will happen to mankind? Again, if I desist\nfrom karma, this vast Viswa Karma of working in and through this Universe, imagine\nwhat will be the fate? That is why I am engaged in karma, not to derive any\nprofit thereby<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><strong>-Excerpts from Geetha Vahini<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Himself\">Divine discourse on occasion of Guru Poornima (July, 1963)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(Baba\nwas brought down the winding stairs to the room on the ground floor, since He\ninsisted on giving Darshan to the thousands of devotees who had come on that\nauspicious day. He had an attack of cerebral thrombosis and tubercular\nmeningitis and was in bed for eight days from the morning of Saturday, 29th\nJune to the evening of 6th July. His left hand, leg and eye were affected; His\nright hand had also slight palsy; the words were indistinct and the face was\ntwitching. He was placed on the Silver Throne in the Prayer. As soon as He was\nseated, He communicated the following message which was interpreted and\nannounced.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This\nis not Swami&#8217;s illness; this is an illness which Swami has taken on, in order\nto save someone. Swami has no illness, nor will He get ill at any time. You\nmust all be happy; that alone will make Swami happy. If you grieve, Swami will\nnot be happy. Your joy is Swami&#8217;s food.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then,\nBaba indicated to Sri Kasturi to speak, and after his short speech was over,\nBaba wanted the mike to be held before Him. He asked, &#8220;<em>Vinipisthundhaa<\/em>?&#8221;\n(Do you hear Me?) But though He asked again and again, the voice was so\nindistinct that no one could make out what it meant. He then signaled for water\nand when it was brought, He sprinkled a little with His trembling right hand on\nthe stricken left hand and on His left leg. He stroked His left hand with the\nright. Immediately, He used both hands to stroke His left leg; that touch was\nenough to cure it. He doffed the disease in a thrice! He started to speak! It\nwas the same musical voice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<em>Dhikkulenivaariki\ndhevude gathi<\/em>\u201d &#8211; &#8220;For those who have no refuge, God is the\nrefuge.&#8221; That is exactly the reason why I had to take on the disease that\none helpless Bhakta (devotee) was to get. He had to suffer this dire illness,\nas well as the four heart attacks that accompanied it; and he would not have\nsurvived it. So, according to My Dharma of <em>Bhakthasamrakshana<\/em>\n(protection of devotees), I had to rescue him. Of course, this is not the first\ntime that I have taken on the illness of persons whom I wanted to save. This is\nMy Leela: My nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You all know that I belong to the Apasthamba Suthra and\nthe Bharadhwaja Gothra (lineage). This Bharadhwaja was a great sage. Sage\nBharadhwaja decided on performing the Yagna as per Indra\u2019s instructions and\nmade all preparations. The sage wanted that Shakthi (the consort of Lord Shiva)\nmust preside and bless the Yagna, and so he went to Kailash (the abode of Lord\nShiva). But the time was not opportune as Shiva and Shakthi were engaged in a dance\ncompetition. Eight days passed thus, before Shakthi noticed Bharadhwaja\nstanding in the cold. She just cast a smile at him and danced along as before!\nThe sage mistook the smile as a cynical refusal to notice him; so, he turned\nhis back on Kailash and started to descend. To his dismay, he found his left body\nparalyzed by a stroke. Seeing the sage collapse, Shiva came up to him and\nconsoled him and assured him that Shakthi had indeed blessed him and his Yagna.\nThen, Shiva revived him and cured him, sprinkling water from the Kamandalu (a\nkettle-shaped container used by ascetics). Both Shiva and Shakthi presided over\nthe Yagna. \n\nAfter\nthe Yagna was over, Shiva said that they would take human form and be born in\nthe Bharadhwaja Gothra thrice: Shiva alone as Shirdi Sai Baba, Shiva and\nShakthi together at Puttaparthi as Sathya Sai Baba and Shakthi alone as Prema\nSai, later. He gave another assurance, &#8220;As expiation for the neglect which\nShakthi showed you at Kailash for eight days, this Shakthi will suffer the\nstroke for eight days, when we both take birth as Sathya Sai. On the eighth day,\nI shall relieve her from all signs of the disease by sprinkling water, just as\nI did to cure your illness.&#8221; The assurance given in the Thretha Yuga had\nto be honored. You see, a railway engine is not made available to haul just one\nbogey; they wait until a number of bogeys are ready to be taken along and only\nthen do, they put the engine into action. So too, the disease had to be gone\nthrough, the Bhakta had to be saved, the assurance to be carried out, the\nmystery had to be cleared, the Divinity had to be more clearly announced by the\nmanifestation of this grand miracle. All these were accomplished by this one\nincident.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\">&#8211;<strong>Baba&#8217;s Divine Discourses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Rama\">Every material object has qualitative and quantitative difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By reading many books and\ndeveloping an argumentative tendency, it is quite common today that young\npeople get into argument with others. Once a young man aged 22 years went to\nSankara and asked Sankara if all human beings in the world shouldn\u2019t be\nregarded as equal since the same kind of blood flows in all of them. Sankara\nsmiled at him and said that the blood flowing in that youngster is hot and fast\nand so he was trying to push things too far. One can adopt the notion of\nnon-duality or Advaita in one&#8217;s own thought but it is not possible to equate\neverything in the world in practice. The young man insisted that this does not\nseem right. He stated that to him, the proper thing appeared to be to treat all\nliving things in the same manner. Sankara recognized that if this young man was\nlikely to reach some absurd conclusions. Sankara asked whether he had a mother.\nThe young man replied that he had a mother he respected. Sankara again asked if\nthe young man was married. The young man replied that he was married. Sankara\nthen asked him if he had a mother-in-law and sisters. The young man replied\nthat the mother-in-law was quite healthy and that he had two sisters. Sankara\nasked if all these people were women. Sankara asked if he regarded all of them\nas equal and was treating his wife as his mother and his sister as his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nthis world of multiplicity, one has to recognize qualitative and quantitative\ndifferences. Each electric bulb is varying in power and wattage and so the difference\nin the light from the bulb is not due to the electric current. The current is\nthe same everywhere but the difference arises from the bulbs with different\nintensities. God&#8217;s power is like electric power and our bodies are the bulbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"DevotionalActivities\">Devotional Activities in Chicago and Suburbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Every Monday<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Aurora Shirdi Mandir from 07:00 PM &#8211; 08:00 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Every Wednesday<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Hoffman Estates from 07:30 PM &#8211; 08:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Every Friday<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Oak Brook from 08:00 PM &#8211; 09:00 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>First Saturday of the month<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Glenview from 04:30 PM &#8211; 05:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Saturday July 20, 2019<\/strong><ul><li>Paduka Puja in Bolingbrook from 10:30 AM &#8211; 12:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Tuesday July 23, 2019<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Naperville from 07:30PM &#8211; 08:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this edition Upcoming events Geetha Vahini Divine discourse on occasion of Guru Poornima (July, 1963) Every material object has qualitative and quantitative difference Devotional activities in Chicago and suburbs Upcoming Events Tuesday July 16, 2019 Guru Poornima Celebrations Devotional Program Time: 07:30 PM &#8211; 10:00 PM Venue: Sant Nirankari Mandir, 1S750 Route 59, West &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/watch-july-2019\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Watch: July 2019&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-817","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/817\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}