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Close Encounter
By Pradeep Krishnan
Krishna's dasa
Meet Swami Udit Chaithanya, a Vedanta and Bhagavatam teacher who
travels across the world promoting the eternal values of Indian spirituality
Perhaps the greatest need of our
times is to present and promote
the eternal teachings of India’s
rishis in a way that inspires and
convinces the modern mind.
That is the mission that drives Swami Udit
Chaithanya (44), a teacher of Vedanta based
in Kerala, relentlessly. Swamiji’s inspiring
discourses on the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad
Bhagavatam, the Upanishads and the
Ramayana hold his audience spell-bound,
leavened as they are with humour and
practical wisdom.
Swamiji, who has been teaching Vedanta
since 2000, shot to fame when his discourse
on the Bhagvatham for 108 consecutive
days at Ernakulam, Kerala, was aired by a
leading Malayalam TV channel. Demand
for his lectures snowballed and he is
presently a much sought-after speaker in
India as well as in the Middle East, USA,
Canada and some European countries.
An alumnus of Sandeepani Sadhanalaya,
the Vedanta training centre of Chinmaya
Mission at Powai, Mumbai, Swamiji’s
greatest mission is to set up the Bhagavatam
Village, on the banks of Chalakkudy river,
Kerala. The village will promote the five
ideals propounded by Sri Krishna. These
include service to Mother Earth through
the cultivation of a medicinal forest as well
as a “nakshatra vanam” (the planting of
trees based on one’s birth star); service to
the Indian cow by protecting and caring
for disappearing strains as well as the
promotion of gomutra (medicated and
filtered cow’s urine) and cow’s milk;
promoting sound mental and emotional
health by practising chanting, the study of
scriptures and the self; training senior
citizens to be useful to society and
therefore earn society’s love and respect;
and finally support the mentally, physically
and financially challenged sections of society to
cultivate their potential.
I met Swamiji at Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari,
where about 250 of his disciples had assembled as
part of a 10-day spiritual camp titled 'Brahma Vidya
Vicharam' based on the Katopanishad. Excerpts from
the exclusive interview:
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Swamiji, what exactly do you mean when you
advocate following the ‘spiritual path’?
Life has two parts, the gross and the subtle. The
body is part of the ‘gross’ and the mind is part of the
‘subtle’. Our rishis discovered that the subtle mind is
the pivot on which the gross body exists. Our mind
is responsible for making our body work. Only when
the mind is awake, is the body able to awake and
work. When we realise this, we can understand that
our life is centred on our thoughts and by
changing our thoughts we can become
capable of facing any situation in life. Our
sacred texts such as the Bhagavad Gita,
Srimad Bhagavatam and the various
Upanishads teach us how to handle our
wavering mind properly. Careful study
and observation of the functioning of the
mind, equips us to face any situation that
life throws at us intelligently, and thereby
become joyous, peaceful and strong. Living such an
intelligent life is what I call spirituality.
Swamiji, why do you criticise temple worship
in your lectures?
I have never condemned temple worship. I only
advocate that it be practised as envisaged in our
scriptures so that one’s mind gets elevated! When we
go to the temple and pray, we think that the deity in
the temple has some supernatural powers that will
fulfil our desires and help us to solve any problem.
As per tantra sastras, the deity gets its ‘consciousness’
through the ritual of avahanam (consecration)
conducted by a priest. Thus it is clear that the deity
derives its chaithanyam (energy) from a conscious
human being. But unfortunately, most devotees do
not realise that the ‘power’ of the deity is the power
of consciousness within each one of us. Out of sheer
ignorance we pray for the fulfilment of our mundane
desires. By following such illogical and irrational
practices, we misuse the entire system. Great acharyas
like Adi Shankara always insisted that without
the real knowledge of spirituality, temple worship
and the practice of rituals will never help in our spiritual
progress.
LIFE POSITIVE �AUGUST 2011
What have you got against astrologers
and people who consult them?
Astrology is scientific and reliable; but not
so all astrologers! Only rigorously trained
astrologers can give reliable predictions. If
the astrologer has correctly predicted some
aspects of our past we automatically assume
that his predictions for the future are true
too. Many astrologers have the habit of mis-
“Careful study and observation of the functioning
of the mind, equips us to face any situation
that life throws at us intelligently, and thereby
become joyous, peaceful and strong.”
leading and frightening people and discouraging
them from their endeavours! True
devotees of the Lord do not seek future predictions
– instead they surrender to the
Lord, act fearlessly and accept everything
as His prasad!
Astrology falls in the category of astronomy,
which is the study of the cosmic energy.
But the human mind is a manifested conscious
energy. Though our inherent character,
behavior and attitude are different, all
have the ability to divert the mind from pursuing
negative thoughts to positive ones.
For people who realise this capacity, astrology
will not have any significance. But
astrology comes in handy for the weakminded
as an excuse to cover up their
weakness.
Of what relevance is Vedanta in modern
times?
Even though we have progressed a lot, the
difficulties we face in our social and individual
lives are enormous. Suicide rates are
on the increase as many are not able to
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cope even with simple issues. The economically
rich citizens of the USA are embracing yoga and
meditation in a big way and are flocking for darshan
of Indian gurus from India. Our rishis gave us their
teachings as a remedy to the umpteen problems we
face both in our individual and collective life.
Spirituality is not merely practising rituals or praying
in a temple, mosque or a church. Rather, spirituality
should enable us to face the vicissitudes of
life boldly. While humanity has progressed tremendously
materially, human values have taken a back
seat. There is no place for love, compassion and
saner human sentiments in our busy life. While our
intellects have become sharp and strong, our minds
have become too narrow. When we study the
Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, or the Bhagavatam
we will realise that our rishis were world class scientists
in psychology, sociology and even in physics.
They were doctors and engineers of the human
mind. That is why all around the globe, Vedanta and
Indian darsanas (insights) are getting popular.
Unfortunately there is no place for spirituality
in our educational system. How can we make
the works of our great culture popular?
Any one who reads the great works of the rishis will
be amazed at the depth and understanding of the
all-encompassing nature of its philosophy. It is not
for any sect or creed that such wonderful darsanas
(insights) were given. This unique philosophy is the
heritage of the entire humanity. The study of the
scriptures should start at home and parents have a
great role in making their children study these texts
and thereby empower them to face life in totality.
Vedanta helps the individual face life boldly with a
determined heart.
What is your reaction to the allegation that
Vedanta is too self-centered?
Such an allegation is the result of not properly
understanding sanatana dharma (the eternal
doctrine) in its depth and totality. If you read our
sacred scriptures, you will realise that our rishis
had very clear directions about an individual’s role
in society and the need to fulfil social needs. The
concept of dharma itself came into being as a mode
of an individual’s interaction with society.
Thousands of social reforms movements originated
in this land thanks to the tireless work of several
hundred saints and sages. But you must understand
that the concept of social service in Vedanta
focuses on equipping an individual to stand on his
own two feet rather than on providing him with
food or shelter.
To read these articles online and post your comments,
go to http://www.lifepositive.com/Magazine/August
2011. We welcome your comments and suggestions
on this article. Mail us at editor@lifepositive.net
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