CREATIVITY FROM SUMMER CAMPERS
Participants of our Summer Camp - 2009 exhibited their creative skills.
These are but a few examples. A Splatter of colours from their creative
minds were displayed on paper.
For Private Circulation only
BOOK-POST
TO,
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The secret of life is not enjoyment, but education through
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experience.
NACHIKETA TAPOVAN
Plot No.70, Phase I, Kavuri Hills, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033
Phone No. 040 – 23113887 Mobile No. – 9849168937
Regd. By Govt. of A.P. (Regd. No. 53/IV/99)
Volume: 1 10th June, 2009
Issue 11
Nachiketanjali Wednesday
Pranavo dhanu: sharo hyaatma, brahma tal lakshyam uchyate,
Apramattena veddhavyam, sharavat tanmayo bhavet.
Om is the bow; the Atman is the arrow; Brahman is said to be the mark.
It is to be struck by an undistracted mind. Then the Atman becomes one
with the Brahman, as the arrow with the target.
- Mundaka Upanishad (II.2.4 )
NACHIKETA TAPOVAN ASHRAM
Gairan Tanda, Kodgal Village, Jadcherla Mandal, Mahaboobnagar Dist-509301
Ph: +91-40-23113887 • Mobile: 98491 68937• www.nachiketatapovan.org
E-mail: admin@nachiketatapovan.org • n_tapovan@rediffmail.com
1
Life is a balance between rest and movement.
 CONTENTS Page No. EDITORIAL
Swamiji's Message 3 Life at Nachiketa Tapovan during this
Message by Mataji 4 summer break was different. About 40
Upanishad 6 children braved the oddities of summer
Youth Meet 8
to attend our Personality Development
Yuvanjali 10
Publication 12 Camp 2009 which was filled with fun
Upcoming Events 13 and frolic. After an eventful week, the
Sponsor Options 14 experiences and friendships that the
An Appeal 15 campers carried back home will form
lasting associations so important in
today’s world.
The camp was superceded by new
admissions for the academic year 2009-
EDITORIAL BOARD
2010 and one could see flocks of
students with parents moving around
Editor
the campus vying for the coveted
Subhadra K. admission in our Vidya Mandir, a rare
privilege to be close to the Divine
Editorial Consultants: Presence of Swami Nachiketananda, to
Annapurna R. learn under the Perfect Master. Yes,
Sowja A. Nachiketa Tapovan is the most
happening place in Hyderabad, where
Swamiji does things in his inimitable
style for the world to emulate before
experiencing the Bliss!
Few Tapovan students who were
identified with great potential were
upgraded after being given a qualifying
test. The simmering summer which
reigned supreme the past month with
days sweltering to highs over forty has
come to an end welcoming back the
children into the open arms of Tapovan.
Subhadra K.
2 Realization is real religion, all the rest is only preparation…
Message by Swamiji
What is Sadhana? Channelizing all spiritually, it is foremost to
your actions effectively is Sadhana. understand one’s own self.
Anything that supports your spiritual
God has created many hurdles in
growth is Sadhana. External growth
our spiritual path because they are
is not spiritual growth. Then how do
mirrors which project our true self.
we judge ourselves?
You have to understand and
You might be having many great overcome these hurdles instead of
qualities in you. You might be a very seeking a way out. The biggest
honest and humble person but if you hurdle is we do not want to see our
carry that tag in your mind you will true self.
turn out to be egoistic which would
You will burn your finger when it
be a hindrance to your spiritual
comes in contact with fire. The
growth. Try to express your great
same thing will happen to a spiritual
qualities through your actions
person but, he will not carry the scar
instead of projecting them.
in his mind. When you are not
You can not be a Sannyasi or Acharya influenced by external forces then
by wearing saffron robes or a you can consider yourself to be
Tripunda. An Acharya should be able growing spiritually.
to impart True knowledge by
convincing people. Do not bow to
any spiritual person unless you have
total faith and conviction. To grow
Swami Nachiketananda
One ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk. 3
 RECESSION
ADHYATMIK PRANETA
Dear Friends,
Today many of us are going through
a lean patch called ‘Recession’ in our
lives. We all know very well how big
role money is playing in people’s
lives! Without money livelihood is
difficult. The effect has been so
harsh that some people have lost
their hopes on life while some have
even lost their lives. How is this
Recession able to make so much
difference in our lives?
We are all clinging to something
which is unreal and untrue. Isn’t it
the law of nature and our nature that
anything which goes up is bound to
come down? By ignoring these
simple truths we are letting external
objects affect our lives to such a
great extent.
My dear friends, let us not embrace
the money which cannot buy
hunger, sleep, love etc. so closely.
The difference between an ordinary
4
Education is the panacea of all the evils in the society.
person and a spiritual person is that
the former is more worried about
his own livelihood while the latter
thinks beyond his survival. Some
yogis don’t eat for months together
because of the happiness they
derive from within. As Swami
Nachiketananda says, “Live for the
life not for the Livelihood.”
I hear from many people especially
youth who think that by making
their career and obtaining a good
job they will be settled in life. The
truth is, the job would answer the
questions of their livelihood but
not the life. There was a person
who had property worth crores and
still used to pray God to give more
wealth. So in spite of all the wealth
he had he made himself a beggar in
front of God. The same person lived
his life in luxury by spending money
lavishly and feeling like a king.
Unfortunately one day he lost all his
wealth and found himself on the
streets on the verge of begging. He
experienced insult, fear, anger and
frustration. Swept by depression,
wanting to commit suicide the
person started walking into a
forest.
On his way he finds a Sadhu without performing actions in the world. The
any proper shelter sitting under a aspects to be remembered are:
tree, deeply immersed in Sadhana.
As long as you think that objects are
On seeing the Sadhu who seemed
everything in life, so long you are
to be all blissful, this person
inviting worries and problems.
postponing suicide plans wanted to
seek the secret of his happiness and Before acting or reacting, take a
moment to think that the action is
waited for the Sadhu to open his
eyes. In fact when the Sadhu being performed for eternal
opened his eyes the person saw how happiness and not external wealth.
they were filled with compassion
Anger, frustration, jealousy etc are
and true love. The Sadhu
experienced due to lack of viveka.
enlightened the person that by
Once you can discriminate between
losing material assets one does not
temporary riches and eternal
become poor. The Sadhu himself
wealth, no more can you be the
exemplified someone who did not
victim of problems; every situation
have any possessions but
becomes a happening.
experienced ever lasting
The recession you should worry
happiness. Sadhu revealed to him
about is the lack of spiritual values.
that any happiness derived from
The real recession affects when you
outside is unreal and temporary.
forget your true nature.
Therefore strive to experience the
real and eternal happiness that is no Adi Shankaracharya says you are chit
where but within you. ananda SU
rupaJOK
shivoham
THERAPY shivoham.
So let us CLASSES
experience that
Through the Sadhu’s Grace the
chidananda and nityananda.
person came to know the truth and
experienced the real wealth for
which one does not need to go to
forests or Himalayas but can do so
by being in the real world. All one
needs to do is to sharpen the faculty
of viveka through sadhana while
Swami Shivanandamayi
Combine seriousness with childlike naivete. Live in harmony
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with all.
 MUNDAKA UPANISHAD plumage envelopes him. As he Satyameva Jayate
realizes that he was all the time
none OTHER but the reflection of
the majestic bird, he himself
dissolves until he becomes one
with that glory.
The upper bird is God or Brahman;
the Lord of the universe and the
Our nation’s motto Satyameva
lower bird is the human soul or
jayate was taken from the
“The whole of the Vedanta philosophy is in this story from Atman. The sweet and bitter fruits
Mundakopanishad.
Mundaka Upanishad: are the elements of Maya that
occupy a human being and keep him satyameva jayate naanritam
Dva suparna sayuja sakhaya - samanam vrksam parishasvajate; satyena pantha vitato devayanah
oblivious of the truth that he is but
Tayoranyah pippalam svadvattya- nasnannanyo abhichakashiti. the reflection of the higher; he yenaa kramantyarishayo
himself is in essence the upper bird hyaaptakaamaa
Samane vrkse puruso nimagno-nisaya shochati muhyamaanaah;
all the time. Every time a difficulty yatra tat satyasya paramam
Jushtam yada pasyatyanyamisa- masya mahimanamiti vitasokah. nidhaanam
approaches the heart becomes
-Mundaka Upanishad (III.1.1) -(III.1.6)
open to divine light. Consciously or
There were two birds perched on bird longs to be like him; untouched Meaning:
unconsciously we are all striving for
the Self-same tree, one on the top by pain and pleasure and hops a
perfection. Every being must attain Truth alone triumphs, not
and the other below. The bird on the little closer towards him. However,
it. Thus gradually it approaches falsehood. By truth the path is laid
top is calm, silent, and majestic, as time passes by forgets all about
God, and as it gets nearer and out, the Way of Gods, on which the
immersed in his own glory; the bird his yearning to be like the upper
nearer, it finds its old self melting Seers, whose every desire is
on the lower branches, eating fruits- bird, and resumes eating the fruits.
away, gives up all sorrow and satisfied, proceed to the Highest
sweet and bitter, hopping from Again when he eats another bitter
realizes that he is ONE with GOD. Abode of the True.
branch to branch, is becoming fruit, which makes him feel
happy and miserable alternately. miserable, he again looks up to the
Whenever the lower bird eats a blissful bird, and tries to move
bitter fruit, it gets disgusted and nearer to him. Once more he
looks up and sees the other bird with forgets. This repeats for a long time
golden plumage who eats neither until he makes it very close to the
sweet nor bitter fruit, who is always beautiful bird. He sees that the
calm and blissful. Seeing that, lower light from the bird’s golden
6 Fools laugh at others. Wisdom laughs at itself. Strength is the medicine for the world’s disease. 7
 Pre-Launch Meet of Yuvanjali
Nachiketa Tapovan attained a more colourful look on the morning of Sunday the 7th
June, with groups of teenagers splattered all over the campus. The young citizens who
gathered to discuss the launch of Yuvanjali looked as colourful and delicate as butterflies
but are comparable only to lions in their strength. Indeed youth is the power of the
Nation.
The event which we called the Pre-launch meet of Yuvanjali was organized and hosted by
Madhukar under the auspices of Swami Nachiketananda and Swami Shivanandamayi .
The gathering was to get all the young friends of Tapovan familiar with the need, concept,
aims and objectives, structure and other details of Yuvanjali. After the lamp was lighted
by Suharika, Spandana and Ramya who have been with Tapovan since its inception,
Madhukar briefly introduced to the audience how Tapovan is able to contribute to the
society leaving it to one’s imagination, how much more could be done joining hands with
mighty Yuva Shakti.
Vasundhara Ma introduced Mataji to the audience in her gentle tone and graceful words;
influenced by Swamiji how from a shy young camper Mataji became an impressive speaker
and an advanced Spiritual Sadhaka. Then Mataji conveyed in her message the need for
inculcating a spiritual lifestyle to encounter the ever-growing stress and frustration and
enjoy life beyond all limits. Swamiji addressed the youth in his casual yet effective style.
He urged them to develop deep perception that can help see the absolute truth beyond
the external body. He clarified that Spirituality does not demand one to renounce his/her
pleasures of life instead will help one to enjoy life from all angles. The objective of
Yuvanjali is to incorporate Spirituality smoothly into one’s life by means of helping Family,
Society, Country, World and lastly Self.
The gathering started as a series of lectures and presentations given by different speakers
and grew into a panel discussion where the Yuvanjali-aspirants freely expressed and
shared their ideas and plans for the youth wing. There was lot of response, and good
feedback from the youth’s side in the first meeting itself. Looking at all the enthusiasm
that was oozing from everyone present at the gathering one can predict that sky is the
limit for Yuvanjali.
When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear
8 Only those who are ready to become nobodies are able to love. 9
and undisguised.
 NACHIKETA TAPOVAN'S
YOUTH WING
YUVANJALI
Unlike many ancient cultures, India
has been able to preserve her own
identity through many sweeping
changes mainly because of her
spiritual affluence. Whenever we
see depletion in spiritual values
which encompass all walks of life,
efforts need to be made to revive
the values and regain the balance.
In the wake of globalization, we
have witnessed a shift of growth
towards the materialistic extreme
in India. The consequences that
the society is reaping are

Undue emphasis on money
making

Professional development
without Spiritual development

Change in family structure

Drastic cultural change

Self-centeredness

Lack of contentment

Importance to physical
appearances

Blind imitation of other cultures

Mingling of Religion and Politics

Exploitation of youth
Nobody is here to fulfill your dream. Everybody is here to
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fulfill his own destiny, his own reality.
Youth is the powerhouse of a
nation. They have the ability to
make or break a country.
Ironically youth is very vulnerable
to afflictions that can pester a
society. Whether it is Kashmir or
Pakistan or Afghanistan, the
exploitation of youth by groups
with vested interests has been
the sad truth which is highly
detrimental to the progress of a
country and eventually the entire
world. The reasons for this trend
could be attributed to high energy
levels, lack of direction, lack of
experience, lack of patience, lack
of security, lack of knowledge of
their own potential and lack of
information among the youth.
Spiritual empowerment
combined with right amount of
right information can effectively
be used to heal the above
mentioned injuries that are
hurting the youth of today. Self-
confidence, Self-reliance,
Spiritual strength and National
pride are the answers to many
social problems of our time.
Swami Nachiketananda and Ma
Shivanandamayi have taken up
the task of directing and guiding
youth power through
‘YUVANJALI’- for the youth by
the youth of the youth.
Nachiketa Tapovan has been, in its
own capacity striving to help the
underprivileged sections of the
society for the last decade. As a
part of celebration of the
completion of ten fruitful years,
Tapovan will be launching its youth
wing, Yuvanjali in July 2009. The
enthusiastic youth members of
Tapovan will form the body of
Yuvanjali who under the loving
guidance of Swamiji and Mataji will
take up several activities of this
youth wing.
‘Vidyanjali’ is one such expression
of Yuvanjali.
. “It is better to light a candle
than curse the darkness”
Vidyanjali is an offering to
Goddess Saraswati. It is a human
effort to dispel the darkness of
ignorance by lighting the lamp of
knowledge and arouse the
spirituality. Yuvanjali will hold non-
residential and residential
workshops for youth either
independently or in collaboration
with schools, colleges and other
establishments. Swamiji, Mataji
and experts in various fields will
address, guide and counsel the
youth. The role of spirituality in
one’s life will form the fibre of
Vidyanjali. They will be equipped
with information about their legal
Don’t choose. Accept life as it is in its totality.
rights and privileges so that they
can make the right decision at the
right time of their life. Vidyanjali will
include an array of programmes
like Career melas, Health
education camps, Vocational
workshops and much more.
Vidyanjali’s target is to meet
5,00,000 students in the next two
years. Besides, just as light cannot
be contained in one place the
group of students who receive
knowledge will naturally emit the
brightness around them and
continue lighting up rest of the
world. There is a notion amongst
people that Spirituality is
something that should be
practiced after one successfully
discharges the family
responsibilities, at the onset of old
age. On contrary if Spirituality
becomes our way of life from a
young age, one’s purpose of life
will be fulfilled. Yuvanjali’s
message to youth is that
Spirituality and worldly life can be
seamlessly blended in order to
make life worth living.
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 Construction Committees - Co-ordinators UPCOMING EVENTS
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Dear Readers, GURU POURNIMA
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OUR PUBLICATIONS on Tuesday, 7th JULY 2009 at 9.00 a.m.
A set of 8 ‘Yogic CDs’ were released on1st
under the auspices of
April 2007.The CDs comprise instructions
Swami Nachiketananda and Swami Shivanandamayi
given on different yogic techniques based
on an extensive research done by Swami
on this day we will also
Nachiketananda assisted by other Swamis Celebrate Guru Pournima & Release Vanaprastha Flyer
Venue: Yours in the service of Motherland
and Volunteers. ’Om’- A divine melody is
NACHIKETA TAPOVAN Madhukar A.
the first of the series. All the CDs are
available at the Nachiketa Tapovan Plot No. 70, Phase I, Kavuri Hills, Director
premises at Kavuri Hills, and also in leading Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. Programme & Satsanga
Cost of CD - Rs. 35/- book stores.
12 Live for the life not for the livelihood. Our principle should be love and not compassion. 13
 AN APPEAL
SPONSOR OPTIONS
Anna daanam maha daanam; vidya daanam mahattaram.
Annena kshanika trupthihi yaavajjeevanthu vidyaya.
Dear
Vidya Mandir at Nachiketa Tapovan is currently able to accommodate a family Atman
of about 150 children who receive all-round nourishment from man-making No man is an island. To fight the
education to milk-n- meals and basic health- aid in an atmosphere of genuine good fight we need help. This has
love. Kind-hearted Well wishers have been the unseen force behind this offering been the basis for the Nachiketa
to God. We thank you for your continued support. Tapovan’s inception and ensuing
growth over the last 10 years from
Vidya Daanam (Education ) Rs. 3500/ year/student
a hut into a 3 storied- building onto
a 40 acre spiritual complex.
Anna Daanam (Mid-day Meals) Rs. 2800/day
Imparting literacy to children from
Ksheera Daanam (Morning Milk) Rs. 600/day impoverished families was the idea
with which the divine project
Vastra Daanam (Uniforms) Rs. 600/ 2 pairs started before it grew into a
multifarious movement. All along
Dinnerware (Steel Plates & Glasses) Rs. 5000/ 50 sets Tapovan’s efforts received great
support from you all in every way
Stationery Supplies (Copier Paper) Rs. 5000/ term bringing fruition to the noble
intent..
Festivals Celebration Rs. 1500/festival
The main focus has never shifted
from Vidya Mandir. Nachiketa
Oushadhi (Medical Supplies) Rs. 5000/month
Tapovan has become the haven for
the underprivileged children who
Celebrate your Special Days with the Children have been nourished with not only
at Nachiketa Tapovan! milk and food but also good
academics supplemented by the
traditional values of India. Vidya
Mandir will be taking a big stride
this June from offering Primary
Education extending onto
Secondary Education. That is, this
academic year, Vidya Mandir will
14 Let the mind be cheerful but calm. Neither seek nor avoid; take what comes.
offer classes ranging from LKG
through 6th grade.
It requires additional resources,
both monetary as well as human to
fund this progressive step. We
hereby make a fervent appeal for
generous donations. Please
participate in this ‘Vidya Daana Yaga’
being performed to benefit the
most deserving children and help
pass on the legacy of our Cultural
heritage, Social values and
Religious traditions.
It may kindly be noted that
donations to Nachiketa Tapovan are
exempted from Income Tax U/S 80
G of IT Act, 1961 of Govt. of India.
Donations in the form of Cheques/
Demand Drafts may please be
drawn in favour of Nachiketa
Tapovan. We acknowledge the
generous contributions made by
donors.
Yours in the service of Motherland
Swami Nachiketananda
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