A Glimpse of Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati PDF
A Glimpse of Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati PDF
A Glimpse of Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati PDF
Paramahamsa
Omkarananda Saraswati
His Lineage and His Mission
Question:
The Journalist of the monthly newspaper HINDUISM TODAY
asked the inmates of your Ashrams to describe you. We know
the descriptions of you by them and by thousand others. We
need to have a description of yourself by yourself. Who are you,
Swami Omkarananda?
Answer:
Who Am I? Before I was born, I was. After I die, I will be.
A timeless Being came from, and into, timeless Eternity. Time was
formed, and time is dissolved, and I remain what I have always been, a
Being with depths to which there is no beginning, and heights to which
there is no end.
Since the supreme Divinity as the Timeless Eternity and as the
Time Eternity Sadashiva Tripurasundari is dwelling in my Heart,
Life, Consciousness, and as there is no difference between That and Me
and Me and That, I am dwelling in the Soul of all Gods and Goddesses, all Saints and Sages, all beings visible and invisible. And, yet I am
what I am, the Transcendent Reality. If you know here on earth the
greatest Sage, Saint, Guru, the greatest clairvoyant, prophet, or anyone
to whom supernormal power of perception, or anyone to whom daily
contact with God, is attributed then, ask that person, who Swami
Omkarananda is. He will confirm to you that the only true and correct
description of Swami Omkarananda is the one he himself has given.
Paramahamsa
Omkarananda Saraswati
His Lineage and His Himalayan
and European Ashrams
Questions raised by Mr. Malik,
Representative and Journalist in New Delhi,
of HINDUISM TODAY,
the Hindu Family Newspaper,
published monthly in eight editions:
North America, India, UK / Europe, Africa,
Mauritius, Singapore-Malaysia, a Dutch
Language Digest and the World Wide Web
Kauais Hindu Monastery
107 Katholalele Road, Kapaa, Hawaii 96746, U.S.A.
Phone: (808) 822-3012
FAX: (808) 822-4351
PUBLISHERS NOTE
CONTENTS
PART I:
PART II:
H.T. Question 1:
Answers:
a) Swami Omkarananda Saraswati, a God-centred
Saint and a Sage of Universal and Transcendental
Knowledge
Meenakshi of Madura bestowed on him the Sri Vidya Mantra Diksha, and he was initiated into the science of Vedic
Yagnas by a 105 year old Siddha Purusha, in the presence
of a 700 year old Maha Yogi, who is invisible to all except
to that Siddha Purusha and to Swamiji. It is a phenomenon that requires to be explained to seeking aspirants after
Truth-experience. He obtained from a Yogi of Siddhis Swami
Nityananda the secrets of higher Tantra Yoga in which there
is in all the world and in all the creation only one woman,
the immanent Divinity, the individual Self, seeking restlessly
union with the transcendent Divinity, the Absolute Reality.
In the same year in which Jagadguru Swami Sivananda gave him Sannyasa-Diksha, his first book (The Story of
an Eminent Yogi, 1947) was published and internationally
appreciated and valued. He is the author of numerous publications, and several Professors of the Universities and other
prominent personalities around the world, esteem him as an
intuitive philosopher, a versatile genius, a profound scholar
of universal knowledge, a brilliant writer and a charismatic
and inspired orator. He was the right hand of Swami Sivananda for over a decade and wrote among other works on
Sivananda two monumental publications dealing with Sivananda Literature. When the first of the two Volumes was
published in 1960, the world received it with such statements as given in Supplement One.
Paramahamsa Sri Swami Omkaranandas divine personality was described by some renowned spiritual leaders as
shown in Supplement Two.
10
Truth, the goal of all great religions of the world. Over 170
disciples have received Sannyasa-Diksha.
d)
13
H.T. Question 2:
a)
Answer:
15
b)
Answer:
Every Hindu around the world should feel it his prerogative
to be a fan of the HINDUISM TODAY.
H.T. Question 3:
Answers:
a)
Our Ashram has all the circumstances, conditions, facilities required for development of Bhakti, rendering inten16
of
Omkarananda
Ashram
19
c)
H.T. Question 4:
Answer:
All Omkarananda Educational Institutions are situated in
places which are since immemorial times impregnated with
the vibrant spiritual presence of immortal Rishis and Sages.
At every turn the children are faced with the dynamisms of
living Hinduism; the very atmosphere of the place teaches
them the basic principles of Hinduism.
21
24
H.T. Question 5:
Answers:
a)
H.T. Question 6:
Answers:
a) Abortion
Abortion in any form and for any reason, is bad and should
be discouraged. However, Hindu Dharma permits abortion
in very exceptional cases, but there is no case that can be
quickly defended as an exceptional case. One has to study
scrupulously any special case before one can call it a very rare
and exceptional case.
b)
look upon all women as direct Manifestations of the all-seeing, all-pervading Divine Mother. Moral lapses are not possible and unknown in the Ashram. Should anyone feel unable
to adhere strictly to the principle of Brahmacharya and not
be able to keep up his divine attitude to women as divine
Mothers incarnations, he is asked to leave the Ashram.
Omkarananda Ashram is a Sri Vidya Ashram, where
every lady, young or old, is adored as Divine Mother, and
not as a woman. With this well established attitude, there
is no question of sensual thoughts. Should however any
Ashramite feel attracted to the idea of marriage, he or she
will leave the Ashram.
c)
29
H.T. Question 7:
Answer:
Yagna is one of the most effective forms of worship of the
Divine. It has been practised for thousands of years by
great saints and sages of India. Through the intonation of
the special Vedic Mantras, we invoke the living, responding, dynamic presence of Fire-God, Agni-Devata, into the
sacred Fire of the Yagna-Kunda, and offer into His hands our
prayers, offerings, and so on, to be delivered to the Divinity
of our devotion and meditation, and to other Gods and
Goddesses. We offer our Mantras, prayers, offerings directly
to the Heart of the Infinite and the Eternal in the form of
Gods and Goddesses whose favours and Grace we desire, not
through our hands, through the agency of our impure hearts
or impure bodies, but through the agency of the purest thing
that there is in all the world, Fire. Agni-Devata carries our
prayers and offerings directly to the Divinities of our choosing.
When we recite Mantra, yes, the all-hearing God hears
30
H.T. Question 8:
a)
Answer:
Our Ashram is not planned and founded and organised
by any enlightened human will. It is a spontaneous manifestation of the divine Will and divine Grace. No power
of the world however great can affect or damage its existence. It survives every challenge and executes its functions
so long as that divine Will and that divine Grace will it.
31
Answer:
The very person whom the representative and journalist of the
HINDUISM TODAY, Mr. Malik, contacted and to whom
he dictated the questions on Omkarananda Ashram, is the
Vice-President* of Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswatis
Four Trust Societies, which are functioning for, and through,
Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas, Sri Swami Vishveshwar
ananda Saraswati. His Name signifies the Happiness of
Lord Siva Vishwanatha of Varanasi, of Sivananda Ashrams
Vishwanatha Temple and of Omkarananda Ashrams
Dipeshwara Temple. He is an Akhanda Brahmachari, one
who has embodied in himself from childhood and youthhood unbroken principle of Brahmacharya. He has received Sannyasa Diksha from Paramahamsa Omkarananda
Saraswati. Pancha Tantra says, He is not a Saint in truth,
who is not a Saint in youth. Vishveshwarananda is a Karma
* now President
33
34
H.T. Question 9:
Answers:
a)
Truth-experience. He never considers that he has any devotees, disciples, followers, and an organisation. If you see there
is an organisation around him, then it is purely a manifestation of the divine Will and divine Grace. The vision of It
and the future of It belong entirely to that divine Will, and
is known only to It. He adores and serves all, disciples or
no-disciples, as direct manifestations of the Divine.
b)
Swami Omkarananda is essentially a flame of the spirit of renunciation, with no personal wishes, no desires, no plans, no
programs, no aims totally self-surrendered to the Truth and
literally breathing and moving in It. Therefore, the whole of
his life is nothing but the Self-expression of the luminous
Nature of the transcendent Divinity. In his case, the future
unfolds itself in accordance with the rhythms of the divine
Will.
c)
38
Answer:
When bad money is used for a good purpose, the good purpose becomes a bad purpose. A good purpose does not purify
the money; on the other hand, the good purpose is rendered
bad by the bad money. What is more, there are karmic consequences for those that so use bad money. But, there are
numberless Faces of bad money. Some Faces are not so bad
as they seem to be, and if that money is selflessly, egolessly,
offered at the altar of a Temple Deity, it can help wash away
some of the sins of that person. This fact does not give a
license to anyone to obtain bad money and give it to the
Temple Deity and imagine it washes away ones sins. Badrachala Ramadas robbed the State Treasury, to build a Temple
for Lord Rama. Ramadas was imprisoned. Lord Rama paid
back to the State Treasury the misappropriated money. Lord
Rama made the Bhakti of Ramadas boundless and granted
him God-realisation. However, no one can imitate such an
example. There can be only one Ramadas of Badrachalam.
Valmiki of Ramayana was a robber, he robbed the travellers
and fed his family. When wisdom dawned on him, he gave
39
SUPPLEMENT ONE:
AN ENORMOUS and wonderful work that overwhelms us with excellent philosophical knowledge, and keeps
us reflecting over the extraordinary zeal, the unusual power
of memory, the able survey, the deep insight and intuition,
and the analysing and synthesising capacities such a work
demands. Omkaranandas versatile philosophic genius, we
admire not as his personal attribute, but as a manifestation
of God, as an all-penetrating light of the Truth, and as an expression of Cosmic Vision. The work will be continued to be
studied for centuries. .... A magnificent service to humanity
as a whole. Hanna Herrmann, Winterthur, Switzerland.
Swami Omkarananda is a whole culture in himself, a
culture which might be a real alternative to our own Western narrow world-view. His statements <about himself and
on meditation> are genuine utterings of a real Guru, whose
God-given Mission (also Sivananda says, Guru is one who is
sent by God) is to bring to the people the light, the truth, the
peace and the joy which he himself IS. .... This Source-Book
<Sivananda Literature Volume One> is an intellectual and
literary achievement, to which no one can withhold either
his admiration or his recognition of its value. Prof. Dr.
Carl-A. Keller, UNIVERSITY OF LAUSANNE & UNIVERSITY OF NEUCHATEL, Switzerland.
This wonderful treatise is an eternal monument splendid and stupendous. What sweetness is to sugar and what
fragrance is to a flower, Swami Omkarananda is to Swami
Sivananda; because, the former is as wonderful as the latter.
The Call Divine, Madras, India.
43
Four times, I got a Professorship at the Tamagawa University in Tokyo, Japan, and taught also in USA and in
India. I have known the writings of Swami Omkarananda
since a long time. They reach the people of all continents in
many languages. I had the opportunity to meet him and his
Ashram inmates personally. My impression was confirmed:
Here is a man who serves and works from a high and powerful spiritual vision and with all-embracing goodness for the
well-being of all peoples and all nations, without any personal
interest, a truly uplifting example of selflessness. Professor
Dr. h.c. Werner Zimmermann, Zurich, Switzerland.
It is known that Swami Omkarananda possesses the
power of an extraordinary radiation and his activities are
recognized by Swiss and foreign University Professors. His
institution is a school of a high spiritual order. Dr. Nello
Celio, late President of the Federal Council, Federal Government of Switzerland.
Swami Omkaranandas mission is to show us new ways
in the contemporary world, and to explain to us the ancient
wisdom in modern language. For, on the one hand he knows
the traditions of his native country India, and on the other
hand, he reveals to us the beauty and the wisdom of Jesus
Christs teachings again and again, which were misunderstood and neglected too often in the Occident. Moreover,
his knowledge of modern sciences is surprising. Already
these capacities qualify Swami Omkarananda to be counted
among the most important of the celebrated Swiss personalities as J.H. Pestalozzi, H. Dunant, C.G. Jung Dr. Ing. H.
de Witt, Physicist, Switzerland.
44
SUPPLEMENT TWO:
46
48
49
SUPPLEMENT THREE:
Flowers of Homage to
Omkarananda Ashram
H I S DI VIN IT Y V ED A D A RS H AN AC H ARYA
MAHA
M A N D A L E S H WA R
SRI
S WA M I
GANGESHWARANANDA, the most celebrated exponent
of Vedas and Vedic rituals and the recognized All-India Leader and founder of G. Gangesh Chaturved Samsthan and
G.G. International Ved Mission, in Bombay, who at the
age of over 95 years visited the Omkarananda Ashram in
Winterthur for Ved Pratishtha, was particularly delighted
with the unbelievable activities of this unique Ashram, with
the most holy atmosphere of its Temples and with the high
quality of performance and purity of the young Sannyasis.
Here are some extracts of his Tribute to Swamiji and his
spiritual community:
Ved Mata Gayatri drew us here to breathe the
intoxicating Vedic atmosphere and to feel the divine
touch of various mantras. I have visited a number of
Ashrams and Mandirs in India and abroad, but never
have experienced such a deep spiritual happiness
combined with purity and simplicity.
Bhagavan Veda has chosen the most beautiful seat,
where, in the constant flow of Vedic mantras, Omkar
Anand is reflected. Our young teenager sister reciting
50
54
SUPPLEMENT FOUR:
57
Omkarananda Saraswati is an embodiment of highest spirituality, in the all-comprehensive sense of the word. He is a
Sage, who has reached the experience of the ultimate and
all-embracing Truth and is living out of It. Out of It he
draws the Wisdom, the Purity and the Radiance of his life;
in It he finds the Peace of his being, and the Strength for
his untiring service. He is essentially a flame of the spirit of
renunciation, with no personal wishes, no desires, no plans,
no programmes, no aims totally depending on the Truth,
and literally breathing and moving in It. He is first and last a
Lover of the Lord, who lives only for the Divine, who works
hard in order the Light of the Lord may spread.
He is a man of multiple and permanent God-experience. His constant experience of God as the absolute
Reason-Knowledge-Consciousness is the foundation of his
philosophy. His idea and experience of God as absolute
Beauty is the basis for his aesthetic theories and his art. His
ethics are rooted in his knowledge of God as absolute Goodness, absolute Truth, absolute Love. His philanthropy rises
from his experience of God as Love, and God as resident in
all beings. His services flow from the fact of his life that all
humanity is his family. All his works are flowings of divine
Grace for the welfare of mankind.
His words constitute great literature. His Love rules the
hearts of man. His Wisdom guides the footsteps of mankind
towards Peace and Joy, Light and Illumination.
58
Omkarananda Saraswati combines in himself a strong intellectual response to spiritual things, and an uncompromising
love of the ultimate Truth. Since his eighteenth year he has
been a philosopher, scholar and writer of international appreciation.
The many-sidedness and the adaptability of his thinking
are extraordinary. His thoughts are permanently rooted in
the Absolute though they have an astonishing nearness to
life. Still more, they are life-transforming. People who read
his literature find a new meaning and strength and peace and
happiness in life. They are inspired by the powerful ideas, uplifted by the broad, universal, all-embracing views, charmed
by the sweetness, kindness, humility and self-effacement
of this humblest of servants of mankind Omkarananda
Saraswati.
Doctors, professors, statesmen and other persons
of eminence have paid high tributes to the Purity of
Omkarananda Saraswatis Truth-centred life, the brilliance
of his mind, and the excellence of his writings and cultural
attainments. His philosophical thought is compared with,
and considered complementary to, and is a fulfilment of, the
philosophy of Kant and of Hegel. Not unoften was he acclaimed Platonic in the extent and depth of metaphysical
thought. His psychology has been favourably set in the context of that of the famous Swiss psychologist, C.G. Jung; and
his psychological perceptions in relation to life have been
59
60
Omkarananda Saraswati has been encouraging the conducting of research into the causes of human unhappiness and
suffering. The highest form of philanthropy and humanitarianism we see in him. In his smallest auto-biography in the
world, written within minutes, he says:
There is no greater poverty or human disability than the
human ignorance; and therefore, the best way to do the best of
philanthropic and humanitarian services is to illuminate the
minds and enlighten the hearts of the people. Make them lights
unto themselves, and they shall not only be happy, but make
others happy, not only be rich, but enrich others, not only give,
but give more and more abundantly.
Knowledge of the Divine expresses itself in the hundreds
of ways of presenting the ultimate Truth to every kind of
man, to everyone, in every stage of evolution, in every culture, nation, race and religion. Omkarananda Saraswati is a
universal individual, a genius; and his spirituality is modern
and integral, and therefore transcends all religions; with the
result, he is the Christian of the Christians, the Hindu of the
Hindus, and is capable of leading everyone to tremendous
inner spiritual development, through whatever faith a person
belongs to, no matter what his temperament is. He is capable
of leading everyone to happiness, knowledge, inner wealth,
selflessness, inner spiritual development, illumination and
enlightenment, because his experience of the one God, the
61
62
Thus, not merely by the prevailing power of his unusual sympathy and boundless love, the sweetness of his
speech, his deep humility, but more fully by a power that
can come, by a spiritual quality that can grow active, only by
an intimate minute-by-minute consciousness of God, does
Omkarananda Saraswati bring relief to the suffering, comfort to the most distressed of the distressed among us, a new
hope and strength and life to the depressed and the unhappy,
and joy to spiritual aspirants. He is a man whose very name
inspires in thousands a rare joy, whose influence is his love,
whose only weapon is silent Truth, whose only goods are wisdom, understanding, patient hearing, and words that are to
any man, in any situation, most appropriate.
Only a holy man can be convincing in his words. Only
he can really comfort all kinds of people, in all kinds of troubling and trying circumstances. It is his authority that we
need, and that we unfailingly obtain:
I live in them, not in myself.
I look how much I can give, not what these people can give
me in return for my pains.
I bleed to help make them happy and peaceful and strong
and self-dependent not dependent on me or on anything
external to them.
I constitute them into a tower of strength unto themselves,
and give them much power of will for the good and for the
practice of disciplines of higher evolution.
I never advise them, but beg them.
I never instruct them, but merely illuminate some
63
65
66
Great men play many roles in human history. Some rule nations, some found organisations, some lead armies, some produce great literature, some contribute to the arts, some fight
and achieve freedom for a country, some labour for human
rights and bring about great social changes. Omkarananda
Saraswatis realm lies in the Soul of mankind. His greatness
emerges from the timeless Reality.
In the transformation of mankind that our age has been
long awaiting, the vast and profound knowledge of the divine Reality and of the many techniques for the realisation of
that Reality that Omkarananda Saraswati holds in his hands
will certainly contribute its own distinctive share. In him we
find mirrored the future of humanity, the fulfilment of its aspirations and of Gods promises to mankind. Omkarananda
Saraswati is not a theorist building systems of thought, but
a prophet setting new patterns of life that are in accord with
the concealed genius that all life bears.
Dr. Y. Strauss
Omkarananda Ashram, Switzerland
67
Published by
Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas
68
Question:
What is your Tradition and what is your Mission, Swami
Omkarananda?
Answer:
Tradition
My tradition is the tradition of the Truth in your inner heart. It is the
tradition of the Divine everywhere. I have no tradition as the learned
intelligence understands. If I had a tradition, I would be localised. I
would belong to some creed, some religion, some denomination, some
Sampradaya, I would not be universal, not belong to all religions, all
cultures, and yet transcend all religions, all cultures. I have no tradition
except the tradition of traditionless self-expressions of the Experience of
the one Truth.
Mission
I will not stop the activity of my being, not rest idle, until every creature
in Creation and all of the Creation itself, is touched with the Light
Eternal, until every individual entity gains in living experience the
Love, the Peace, the Happiness and the fulfilment of the infinite One.