The Vedanta Kyokai News, Updates and Miscellany from the Vedanta Society of Japan July 2007 - Volume 5 Number 7 (Text only version) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¥ Thus Spake "Many are the names of God, and infinite the forms that lead us to know Him. In whatsoever name or form you desire to call Him, in that very form and name you will see Him." ... Sri Ramakrishna "Whoever loveth to meet God, God loveth to meet him." ... Prophet Muhammad - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In This Issue: ¥ Thus Spake ¥ Monthly Calendar ¥ Swami Vivekananda's 145th Birth Anniversary Celebration in Tokyo ¥ Be Good, Do Good - A Talk by Swami Dayatmananda in Tokyo ¥ A Story to Remember ¥ Thought of the Month - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¥ Monthly Calendar ¥ Birthdays: Guru Purnima - Monday, July 30 Kyokai Events: July Retreat - Sunday, July 17, 11 a.m. All, with family and friends are cordially invited. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Swami Vivekananda's 145th Birth Anniversary Celebration in Tokyo The Vedanta Society of Japan (Nippon Vedanta Kyokai) held it's annual public celebration of Swami Vivekananda's Birth Anniversary in Tokyo's Ikebukuro City in Toshima Ward on 10 June. This year's event, marking Swami Vivekananda's 145th Birth Anniversary, was again held at the Toshima Kokaido, a large public hall with theatre seating, a production-sized stage, sub-level dressing rooms and a roomy foyer, conveniently located near the JR (Japan Railway) Ikebukuro Station. Planning for this biggest of the Society's yearly events takes place throughout the year by a 21-member Celebration Committee, an association of the Vedanta Society of Japan and the Nichi-In Bunka Kyokai (Japan-Indo Cultural Association). In a prepared statement the Committee said it is '... thankful to the patrons, donors, advertisers, well-wishers and all volunteers who have given their support and labours of love in to making the programme a success. Thanks are also due to the speakers, interpreters, musicians and, above all, the audience.' Heavy rains from the night before abated somewhat in the morning hours allowing for the unloading of video and sound equipment, decorations, flowers, banners and all the bookstore items brought in by vehicles all the way from the Zushi Centre and K's Studio in Yokohama. Specialized volunteers were already busy at their tasks by 9 a.m. and as rains again abated and visitors began to arrive, these volunteers had already been fed a tasty Indian style home cooked meal. Again this year at the entrance foyer visitors were met by tables of cheerful greeters who asked attendees to register as they passed out a published programme and event questionnaire. No entrance fee was charged again this year. As in past years, the bookstore commanded most of the foyer with Japanese- and English-language publications along with CDs, cassettes, photographs and incense. Entering though the theatre doors, one's attention is immediately drawn to center stage and the commanding photo-portrait of Swami Vivekananda, looking much as he may have in addressing the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 in the turban and coat fashioned to exemplify his Indian heritage and the trousers and shoes of western sensitivities. Above this portrait hangs a banner in English and Japanese bearing the title of the day's function, to the right and forward the panelist table and on the left the speaker's podium. Dominating the centre of the large seating area, at the midway point, is the large audio and visual command center. An audience of well over 200 had gathered by 2 p.m. as the panelists took their seats and Ms. Hirano, the emcee, announced the commencement of the event in both Japanese and English. The first order of business was the offering of Vedic peace prayers led by Swami Medhasananda from the Vedanta Society of Japan. His Excellency Shri H. K. Singh, Ambassador of India, guest speaker for the event was then requested to offer a bouquet to Swami Vivekananda, release the special publication of the Universal Gospel and release a special CD (Vol. III) on songs from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Ambassador Singh then gave a brief address. Swami Medhasananda then led a guided meditation in Japanese and English. Three distinguished panelists presented their views from a Hindu, Buddhist and Christian perspective on these words from Swami Vivekananda: "This is the gist of all worship; to be pure and to do good to others." Presenting a Hindu perspective was Swami Dayatmanandaji, President, Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, United Kingdom; a Buddhist perspective was addressed by Professor Yotsuya Kohdoh of Komazawa University in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; and Professor J. Eduardo Perez Valera, Professor Emeritus, Sophia University, Tokyo, offered a Christian view. (Editor's note: Swami Dayatmananda's talk on the Hindu Perspective is presented in this issue. The talks given by Professor Kohdoh and Professor Valera will each be published in subsequent issues). The moderator for the event again this year was Professor Tsuyoshi Nara, Professor Emeritus, Seisen University, Tokyo. Professor Nara also handled all necessary translationsduring a lively Q&A session. Mr. A. P. S. Mani, Secretary of the Celebration Committee, gave a brief thanksgiving again this year to an audience that had swollen to more than 300. This was followed by a brief recess and snacks as the many singers, musicians and stagehands prepared for the nearly two-hour Cultural Programme that concluded the day's ceremonies. This year's performances included two original Japanese devotional songs by written and arranged by Kaori Izumida, assisted by devotees Keiko Suzuki, Toshimi Ito and Tomoko Miyake on vocals. These songs have become familiar favorites, requested at many of the Vedanta Society's events. The second part of the programme featured a shakuhachi (traditional Japanese bamboo flute) 'crossover' recital of Indian ragas by Mr. T.M. Hoffman, a longtime resident of Japan, lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo and founder of the Indo-Japanese Music Exchange Association. Hoffman's performance, accompanied by the Mishra instrumental ensemble, was a masterful presentation of the versatility of the shakuhachi. The Cultural Programme then concluded with a vocal recital featuring the renowned Indian Classical vocalist Vidyadhar Prasad Mishra from the Banaras Gharana tradition, with Rishi Mishra on supporting vocals, Sandeep Mishra on sarangi and Amit Mishra on tabla. Presenting both traditional folk and sacred songs, the lilting, yet, powerful dynamism of Vidyadhar Mishra's exciting performance held the enthusiastic audience spellbound. This second part of the Cultural Programme was cosponsored by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) and the Indo-Japanese Music Exchange Association, with additional support from the Government of Japan, Agency for Cultural Affairs.¥ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Be Good, Do Good A Talk by Swami Dayatmananda, President, Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, United Kingdom at the 145th Birth Anniversary Celebration held in Tokyo on June 10, 2007 Friends, I am very happy to be in Japan. This is my first visit. I am happy to meet Swami Medhasanandaji who had so lovingly invited me. I am glad to be here because Swami Vivekananda had a great love for Japan. He had high regard for the Japanese and, in fact, wanted to make another visit here toward the end of his life. Swami Vivekananda is a phenomenon that exploded on the Indian scene towards the end of the nineteenth century and restored the self-confidence and self-respect of a nation that had been badly mauled for a millennia. Born on January 12, 1863, of an intellectual but compassionate father and a deeply religious mother, Narendranath - that was his original name - got a good education and cultural training under them. An innate desire for spiritual perfection brought him into contact with Sri Ramakrishna in the early part of 1882. The next four and a half years - until the Mahasamadhi of Sri Ramakrishna - were marked by turbulence and turmoil, the direct result of the Master chiseling and shaping the disciple, but ending in total submission of the latter at the feet of the former. As per the specific direction of his guru, Narendra, along with the other young men who were his co-disciples, took to monastic vows and founded a monastery in his guruÕs name at Baranagore (Calcutta) in 1886. Setting out on pilgrimage, mostly as a wandering monk, he finally arrived at Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of Indian soil, during December 1892. There, while sitting in meditation on a rock in the sea, the mission of his life was revealed to him. Then, things moved quickly. Setting sail for America on the 31st of May 1893 he created history at the World Parliament of Religions held at Chicago during September of the same year. After whirlwind tours in America and England, he triumphantly returned to India on the 15th of January 1897. During the next five years he literally shook the Indian nation to its foundations, electrifying it to dynamic self-expression through his speeches and writings, as also in conversations. He formally established the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 and consecrated the newly built Belur Math, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Monastery, in 1899. He visited the West again during 1899-1900. He shuffled off the mortal coil on the 4th of July 1902. His was a multifaceted personality; a prophet, a patriot, a monk, a yogi, a social reformer, an educationist, an artist, a poet and a humanist, all rolled into one. His dynamic life and message gave a new direction to a resurgent India. His work is being continued even today. Swami Vivekananda visited Japan on his way to America. He had very sweet memories and a high regard for the land. He writes: 'From Canton I returned back to Hong Kong, and from thence to Japan. The first port we touched was Nagasaki. We landed for a few hours and drove through the town. From Nagasaki on to Kobe. Here I gave up the steamer and took the land route to Yokohama, with a view to see the interior of Japan.' 'I have seen three big cities in the interior; Osaka, a great manufacturing town, Kyoto, the former capital, and Tokyo, the present capital. Japan to me is a dream Ð so beautiful that it haunts one all his life. The Japanese are one of the cleanliest peoples on earth. Everything is neat and tidy. Japan is the land of the picturesque!' 'The Japanese seem now to have fully awakened themselves to the necessity of the present times. The world has never seen such a patriotic and artistic race as the Japanese. I would wish that every one of our young men could visit Japan once at least in his lifetime.' 'What is the key to JapanÕs sudden greatness? The faith of the Japanese in themselves, and their love for their country. If you catch the social and the political morality of the Japanese, you will be as great as they are. The Japanese are ready to sacrifice everything for their country, and they have become a great people.' Towards the end of his life Swami Vivekananda had a great desire to visit Japan again, but he could not go on account of illness. But he met two Japanese friends. One was Mr. Okakura Kakuzo, better known in Japan as Tenshin, who was head of the Committee for the Restoration of Old Temples, and one of the founders of the Tokyo School of Art, of the Nippon Bijutsuin. The other was Hori who was a zealous Buddhist priest in Nara and his age was about twenty-five. These two Japanese were delighted to meet the Swami at the Math in the evening. The Swami said to Okakura, ÒWe are two brothers who meet again having come from the ends of the earth.Ó Okakura was so charmed with the SwamiÕs personality that he said rather fiercely, ÒVivekananda is ours. He is an Oriental." Swami Vivekananda had a nice idea of Buddhism in Japan. He said: ÒJapanese Buddhism is entirely different from what you see in Ceylon. It is the same as Vedanta. It is positive and theistic Buddhism, not the negative atheistic Buddhism of Ceylon. Sister Nivedita writes: 'Of three wishes' which Swami Vivekananda expressed the very day he died one was ÔI want to do something for Japan.Õ I am so happy we have a Vedanta Centre in Japan in fulfillment of Swami VivekanandaÕs wish. What did the great Swami want to do? As he himself said, ÒMy ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is to preach unto mankind their divinity and how to make it manifest in every movement of life." Swami Vivekananda summarized Vedanta saying, ÒEach soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one or more, or all of these - and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details. Religion is the manifestation of the divinity already in man. Religion is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God. "The secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice. To be good and do good - that is the whole of religion. Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God." Swami Vivekananda was a practical man. He preached practical Vedanta. Vedanta or religion ought to make us good, pure and happy. This is a very important teaching of Swami Vivekananda, which teaches us how to combat evils in society and make our lives peaceful. He says, "If one millionth part of the men and women who live in this world simply sit down and for a few minutes say, 'You are all God, O ye men and O ye animals and living beings, you are all the manifestations of the one living Deity!' the whole world will be changed in half an hour." "Be good, and evil will vanish for you. The whole universe will thus be changed." The above exhortation of Swamiji illustrates that divinity is present in all of us. But this fact has to be brought to our awareness; we should be conscious about it. We should strive to manifest our inner divinity. This manifestation occurs through a transformation in us. Swami VivekanandaÕs ideas reveal a process through which we can bring about this transformation. The first step is to become mature, responsible and rational beings. To become mature personalitiesÐthis is the goal of psychology. What is maturity? How do we know we have become mature? Here are some conclusions of a great psychotherapist, Carl Rogers, and his characteristics of a mature personality: 1) He has a through knowledge of the workings of his mind, knows his assets and liabilities. 2) He becomes integrated, a conversion of head and heart. 3) He accepts himself, loves himself and takes upon responsibility for himself. 4) He has a clearly defined philosophy and goal in life. 5) He has an optimistic, cheerful but realistic attitude towards life and the world. He suffers neither from a superiority nor an inferiority complex. 6) He has sufficient self-control to sacrifice weaknesses and defects. 7) He constantly strives to improve himself without getting frustrated. 8) He always tries to see the best in others. Forgives himself and others. 9) He integrates evil and suffering as stepping stones to a better life. 10) He has a place, a definite routine for everything in life. 11) He has a keen sense of humour without becoming a buffoon. The next step is a re-orientation of the mind to this invaluable truth. One has to believe that not only is one divine, but also every living being is essentially divine. The soul of everyone is pure, good, beautiful and blissful. It is infinite and eternal. It is free from all bondage, limitation, and sorrow. We are always required to keep our mind engaged in high and noble thoughts. The importance of thought in shaping the personality cannot be overemphasized. Says Swamiji, "Fill yourselves with the ideal; whatever you do, think well on it. All your actions will be magnified, transformed, deified, by the very power of the thought. If matter is powerful, thought is omnipotent. Bring this thought to bear upon your life, fill yourselves with the thought of your almightiness, your majesty, and your glory." This further means that we should desist from sending any harmful or hateful thoughts. If our essential nature is divine, our thoughts should be pure; they should not harbour hatred for anybody. Bhagavan Buddha and all great saints have taught through scriptures only two things: If we make others happy, happiness will be ours, and if we make others unhappy, we are inviting miseries for ourselves. This is based on the universal law of Ôevery action brings a reactionÕ. We surely want our own good. It is, therefore, prudent to prepare ourselves to imbibe these virtues. A paradigm shift in oneÕs thinking is necessary to do that. Our thoughts make things beautiful, and our thoughts makes things ugly. The whole world is in our own mind. Learn to see things in proper light. SwamijiÕs teaching of ÔBe and MakeÕ is of great significance in this respect. For what we ÔmakeÕ depends on what we are. And what we are depends on what we practice. May the great Swami VivekanandaÕs blessings be upon us all. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¥ A Story to Remember ¥ Miraculous Power One day the Buddha was waiting by the river bank for a boat to ferry him across the river. An ascetic passed by and proudly showed off his miraculous power, crossing the river back and forth by treading over the water. The Buddha smiled and asked him, "How long did you train to attain such power?" "It took me thirty years!", said the ascetic. The Buddha replied, "Thirty years? Well, I can cross the river using a boat for a single anna!" In Buddhism, it is recognized that supernatural or miraculous powers are possible and can be attained through training. However, Buddha Sakyamuni discouraged all display of miraculous power as proof of spiritual attainment. This story illustrates the Buddha's attitude towards miraculous powers. If, however, a once wicked man can become compassionate and pure of heart, this according to Buddhism, is a practical miracle. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¥ Thought of the Month ¥ Compassion is the radicalism of our time. - HH the Dalai Lama - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Issued by: The Vedanta Society of Japan (Nippon Vedanta Kyokai) 4-18-1 Hisagi, Zushi-shi, Kanagawa-ken 249-0001 JAPAN Phone: 81-468-73-0428 Fax: 81-468-73-0592 Website: http://www.vedanta.jp Email: info@vedanta.jp lilting style of khayal singing known as the Banaras gharana