{"id":972,"date":"2020-01-18T02:49:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T02:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/?page_id=972"},"modified":"2020-01-18T02:51:55","modified_gmt":"2020-01-18T02:51:55","slug":"watch-january-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/watch-january-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: January 2020"},"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\">Unity, Purity, Divinity (New Year Discourse)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Rama\">No Gratitude, No Grace<\/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>Wednesday January 01, 2020 New Year Celebrations<\/strong><ul><li>New Year celebrations with New Year divine message<\/li><li>Bhajans start at 10:30 AM<\/li><li>Time: 10:30 AM &#8211; 12:30 PM<\/li><li>Venue: River Forest Community Center<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Sunday January 12, 2020 Sankranthi Celebration<\/strong><ul><li>Sankranthi celebrations with extended bhajans<\/li><li>Time: 09:30 AM &#8211; 12:30 PM<\/li><li>Venue: River Forest Community Center<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Friday February 21, 2020 Mahashivrathri Celebrations<\/strong><ul><li>Mahashivrathri celebrations with bhajans and chanting<\/li><li>Time: 07:30 PM onwards<\/li><li>Venue: Sant Nirankari Mission, 1S750 Route 59, West Chicago<\/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>The reference to Surya also merits consideration. The people\nof Bharath are intimately associated with the Sungod. The heroes of Bharath,\nthe Kshathriyas, are from the beginning attached to Surya. Even for ordinary\nmen and women, Surya is so highly sacred that He has been raised to the status\nof the Great Guru. The sacred scriptures and legends of India have not assigned\na status of similar glory to anyone else. Why, for the whole world, the Sun is\nthe visible manifestation of the Lord. And the Sun is the source of Time. Surya\nis the father of Time (Kala) as the Sastras declare. The Sun limits and\nregulates the number of years each one lives. The Sun diminishes every day a\nfraction of the allotted span. Whether one wills or not, every deed of his is\nperformed under His auspices and dedicated to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Above all, consider the service the Sun does to this world!\nThat is within the daily experience of all. Everyone is witness for that. The\nSun is the source of all life, plant and animal, upon this planet. Without His\nrays, it will be a desolate waste. He pours rain on the crops. He is ever the\nDharmadevatha (God of Righteousness), scattering His rays equally on all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong><em> <\/em><\/strong><em>Surya is the great Thyagi for unequalled renunciation. He is the great Yogi. Without a second\u2019s thought of His own glory or of rest, He performs His Duty without thought of reward. He is humble and steady in work. The service He does is something no one else can fulfil. The happiness He contributes is something no one else can confer. But He has no pretensions to pride. He moves above unconcerned with the consequences of His energizing mission of service. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine the patience with which the Sun puts up with all that extreme heat for the sake of the world and of humanity. It is He who keeps the human body warm and comfortable. This material body is so full of energy and intelligence on account of the Solar Energy that it imbibes. If the Sun is idle for a moment, the world will be consumed in flames. Instead, He is fostering the world. He feels it as His Mission, His Purpose, and not as His Service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is only in the karma that is your very nature that\nyou can have fortitude. If it is just an assumed duty, you will find it\ndifficult to put up with the troubles and travails. Assumed karma is called\nAsahaja Karma and karma that is the expression of one\u2019s genuine self is Sahaja\nKarma. Now, Sahaja Karma will sit light and Asahaja Karma will always be a\nburden. Asahaja Karma will induce conceit, or the feeling \u201cI am the doer\u201d; so\nit will result in exhaustion or elation, disgust or pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of this\none point; when a man is well, no one will inquire about his health. But if he\nis stricken with illness or sorrow, everyone will inquire why and bombard him\nwith anxious queries. Why this anxiety? Man is fundamentally happy and healthy.\nHis nature is joy. That is his Sahajaswabhava (innate quality). So when he is\nhappy and healthy, no one is surprised or worried. But grief and sorrow are\nstrange to his makeup. So people get worried and they set about finding out how\nhe got so deluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Sun is\nteaching us that when one is oneself, there will be no exhaustion or elation,\nno disgust or pride. That is why it is performed systematically and smoothly.\nHe is also exhorting mankind to use the time that He creates and allots, fully\nand fruitfully, not merely for living comfortably and safely, but for living a moral\nand elevated life, which is worthy of man\u2019s destiny. Now, you can realize why\nthe Geetha was first taught by the Lord to the Sun. He is the great Karma Yogi,\nthe great Nishkama Karma Yogi.\n\nKrishna is now teaching\nthis indestructible Geetha Sastra to Arjuna, the representative of Man at the\ncrossroads. He chose him for he has the same excellences, is it not? Reflect on\nthat for a moment. If Arjuna was not a vessel endowed with such virtues and splendor,\nKrishna would not have decided to use him as the recipient of the Geetha. The\nLord will not give gifts to the undeserving. Arjuna had the qualities that were\nneeded for receiving the teaching and he was chosen.\n\n\n\n<\/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\">Unity, Purity, Divinity (New Year Discourse)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Man is unable to make proper use of the sacred power of\nspeech. No other form of life has the mighty intellect and capacity for inner\npeace but the human kind. In this world every object has five aspects, namely,\nsath, chith, ananda, rupa, and nama (being, awareness, bliss, form, and name).\nBeing, awareness, and bliss are the three core attributes of a&nbsp;man. They\nare true and eternal. Name and form are transitory. The delusion of permanence\nof name and form leads mankind to waste away its precious life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this world, there are two types of intellectuals. The first type is the scientists who are totally materialistic in their outlook. They have only physical and worldly goals. They are fascinated by the external appearance of a&nbsp;gigantic tree with its numerous branches, but they are not interested in finding its \u201croots\u201d. Vedantins (philosophers) are the second type of intellectuals, who are not fascinated by the external appearance of the tree but evince great delight in finding the \u201croots\u201d. People who are worldly in outlook waste their time in watering the \u201cbranches\u201d, whereas, the Vedantins water the \u201croots\u201d and thereby enjoy the \u201cfruits\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>Sath-chith-ananda<\/em> (being-awareness-bliss) are the very nature of man. But man has forgotten his very nature and is wasting his time in the vain pursuit of fleeting pleasures. He is not able to realize the value of his innate nature, <em>sath-chith-ananda<\/em>. Once he realizes its value and experiences it, he can reach any exalted state. In fact, he becomes verily God. The power latent in man is not found anywhere else. Every man is endowed with the three chief attributes of sath-chith-ananda. But having been enmeshed in the web of delusion, man considers that the \u201cname and form\u201d are real, ignoring his innate qualities of <em>sath-chith-ananda<\/em>. First of all, what man has to recognize is his own innate divine nature. But man is not making any effort in this direction. He has become a&nbsp;slave to his senses, and is wasting his time on trivial matters. The primary duty of man therefore is to understand properly his innate human nature and then putting it into practice. <\/p><cite><br><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>People\nare full of hopes and aspirations on the dawn of a&nbsp;New Year. In fact, you\nshould consider every moment as the beginning of a&nbsp;New Year. Names and\nforms have no value without the eternal virtues. Man suffers from various\nailments, some internal and others external. A&nbsp;doctor can cure the\nexternal ailments. The <em>Atmic<\/em> feeling is the only remedy\nfor all the internal ailments. You should make efforts to know the principle of\n<em>Atma<\/em>. The <em>Atma<\/em> is\na&nbsp;synonym for Brahma, which is nothing but the Chaitanya permeating every\nhuman being. Man has a&nbsp;name and form, but Chaitanya has no form. The\nChaitanya that is present in the human body is called \u201cconscience\u201d. The\nall-pervasive Chaitanya is called \u201cconsciousness\u201d. When the individual\nunderstands the principle of unity in diversity, the \u201cconscience\u201d gets\ntransformed into \u201cconsciousness\u201d. In spite of being endowed with such\na&nbsp;sacred power, man gets deluded by the vagaries of the world. He is\ngiving importance to the New Year, which is fleeting. In fact, he should give\nimportance to the changeless \u201cTime\u201d and sanctify it by proper use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Boys (former students of Swami) are doing a&nbsp;lot of good work. They are going to various villages and giving happiness to the people there by performing service activities and <em>Bhajans<\/em>. They should undertake all these activities with the spirit of love. There is nothing greater than love. You should lead your life filled with selfless love.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should give up the feeling that you are serving others. That is very important. You are serving your own self when you serve others. In fact, others are not others but are the very forms of God. Hence, service rendered to humanity is service rendered to God. All service activities are meant to foster this feeling in you. That alone is true service. All other service activities are worldly and momentary. Service does not merely mean helping others. The best way to love God is to love all and serve all. Your acts of service should be suffused with the spirit of love. Without the positive aspect of love, all service you render becomes negative in nature. <\/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\">No Gratitude, No Grace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva saw a person sitting on\nthe branch of a tree, which was about to break. Watching this, Mother Parvati\npleaded with Lord Shiva to save the man. Lord Shiva remarked, \u201cWhy should I\nprotect him? Since You saw him first, it is Your duty to save him.\u201d But the\nMother said, \u201cHow can I protect him without Your grace. Unless You shower Your\ngrace on him, he cannot be saved. Please do not delay any further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then Lord replied, \u201cIs it not his duty to call Me for help?\nHow can I go to his rescue without being called? As the proverb goes, \u2018one\nshould not attend a function without being invited.\u2019\u201d Mother Parvati, out of\nher motherly compassion, wanted to protect that person at any cost. So, she\nsaid, \u201cIf that person, when he falls down, cries out amma (mother), I will go\nto his rescue; and if he cries out appa (father), you should protect him.\u201d Lord\nShiva agreed to her proposal. Both of them eagerly waited for the call. But the\nperson fell down crying Ayyo (alas)! The words amma or appa did not come to his\nlips, as he had never respected and revered his parents in his lifetime. Such\nwas his fate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can God come to the rescue of a person who has totally\nforgotten his parents? Both our Mother and Father are verily God. And when with\nsuch feelings, we offer our gratitude to our parents, even God cannot refrain\nfrom helping us.<\/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 10:30 AM &#8211; 11:30 AM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Saturday January 11, 2020<\/strong><ul><li>Paduka Puja in Bolingbrook from 10:30 AM &#8211; 12:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Thursday January 23, 2020<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Elk Grove Village from 07:30 PM &#8211; 08:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=972&amp;action=edit#InThisEdition\">\ufeffBack to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this edition Upcoming events Geetha Vahini Unity, Purity, Divinity (New Year Discourse) No Gratitude, No Grace Devotional activities in Chicago and suburbs Upcoming Events Wednesday January 01, 2020 New Year Celebrations New Year celebrations with New Year divine message Bhajans start at 10:30 AM Time: 10:30 AM &#8211; 12:30 PM Venue: River Forest Community &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/watch-january-2020\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Watch: January 2020&#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-972","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/972","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=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":980,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/972\/revisions\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}