CHYK Motto:
Harnessing Youth Potential through Dynamic Spirituality
Youth Address by Swami Tejomayananda
The question is what do we want to achieve & how do we want to achieve it? For example, a student wants to achieve success in his career, so it is very clear what he wants to achieve. Does he have the potential to attain it? Of course he has! Question is how does he achieve it? He can do it by having a gun or knife or he can find a way to trace his examiner and threaten/bribe him. There are various ways with great potential but it’s not a wonderful thing. The main question then becomes what do we want to achieve? The field you choose to succeed in is determined with personal freedom. When you come to Chinmaya Mission, Yuva Kendra doesn’t mean you have to become Brahmacharis or Swamijis. Some people follow that way of achieving it, but there are multiple ways.
The purpose of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra is to give you whatever is necessary for you to achieve success in whichever field you want to achieve. All of us have got that freedom to set our goal & we have our abilities, faculties, potentials to achieve that. But the next thing is even if that goal is achieved, how do you want to achieve it - there are tamasic ways, rajasic ways & there are saatvic ways of acheiving it. So when we say harnessing this potential through dynamic spirituality what we mean by that is we have to harness our potential through sattvic means. Not illegal, immoral methods but satvic methods.
here are 3 goals:
a) Ultimate Goal
b) Long term goal
c) Immediate goal
Eg. As a student, what is your long term goal? Whichever way you are studying, whatever subject you are studying , first thing is that you must study that subject very well & clear those exams, that will be the immediate goal. But the question is why do you want to do that?
Student : Passing the exam. It’s simple swamiji - I have to get a degree
Swamiji: Why?
Student: For a job
People are very strange. They have degree in one subject and get a job in an unrelated field. To acquire efficiency in your subject - That is called learning. The next step is the knowledge you learn must be practiced efficiently. It is called learning before the knowledge has been applied. Often there is a conflict here because money becomes the next step and not applying the knowledge. There is nothing wrong in earning money because you need that, but if you make that alone as your objective then there will be a problem. The knowledge must be effectively used, yet the attitude must be of service.
You will all know doctors who are extremely efficient, but are uncompassionate and not spiritually inclined. You have got every right to charge your fees & there is no problem in that but how much? Most of them charge exorbitantly forgetting about their purpose of the job being to serve, they even take an oath on it. Spirituality means that when you gather knowledge, you know that you are distributing the knowledge so I can serve. The question may now be, why serve? So my immediate goal is to acquire all knowledge, my long term is to acquire knowledge, so I can serve better. What will happen by that service? That service, if done in the right attitude is my worship to God. Gradually, my mind gets purified and I start to be free from personal likes and dislikes. I also begin to gain greater control over the mind and senses, otherwise we are always slaves to the mind - This is the long term goal.
The next step which is the the ultimate goal is to realize the highest the supreme truth of my life, of this world.
Spirituality is not just what I see, that alone I think is considered as real but it’s beyond just what is visible, material and tangible. That is called that supreme truth. I know that such thing exists & that is my true nature so that realization of truth is my goal. That is the only ultimate goal. In order to achieve the ultimate goal, I serve, for which I should have the right ability and knowledge.
For example I saw someone drowning and I want to save him, but I myself don’t know how to swim then how will I save him. If there is any chance of survival then that also will go away. I must know how to do that. Even if you want to serve, I tell you it is not very easy. One is called the attitude of service & one is called the actual specific field. If somebody comes to me about some knowledge which I don’t have then I cannot serve him in that. So which ever field I choose ---- that is called spirituality & that is called harnessing. All of us have got the potential, but remember that potentials manifest only when one has something to achieve otherwise they don’t. Think!
Our problem is we aren't clear about what we want to become. There are two aspects to that answer: What profession you want to become, and what kind of person you want to become. In the 2nd question, the vision of lif comes. Do you want to become a person of values or valuables. I must have many expensive things, or you want to become a person of values, character? This is a common fundamental. What Chinmaya Mission or Chinmaya Yuva Kendra gives you is this foundation for your life . you become anything that you want to become in your specific field but then you will be a man of some character standing.
Where you sit depends upon where you stand.
So as youth you have to face life, you have to win life. For both we need a clear vision of our life as a whole. My vision versus spirituality is that I have to realize what the highest truth is. That is my ultimate goal for that I must have the purity of mind & knowledge that I will get through service & worship of god & ofcourse study of scriptures will give me knowledge & immediate goal also should be in line with that. So there are not 2-3 different goals. They are one only. Lokmanya Tilak a man fought for the freedom of the nation, took time off his studies before his freedom fighting to get his health in order. He took the time off to to ensure he had all the resources possible, health, learning & everything else. This is called harnessing youth potential through dynamic spirituality.
One aspect of spirituality is realization of our ownself & the other aspect is that self is the self of all beings & therefore I feel for all. I love & respect for everyone, it may sound subtle and impractical, but it's how we are living our life today. In a family, the parents care infinitely for their children , its only because they feel oneness with children & the whole family . Whether the principle is applied at a micro or macro level, it is working, and we have to take it to a greater scale of oneness.
The vision of CHYK is to empower this youth with this wholistic vision & values of life so that they live their life successfully in every respect . Sometimes people are successful only in particular field, sportsmen can play the sport immaculately but their behaviour on the field is unimpressive. It is said a man may be worth billion dollar & still can be a worthless person. So we want to have success in all fields, not just one sided. With the vision in mind, we have to do all our other activities. It can also mean keeping good health so you can serve effeciently. Our chyk program is there to put this vision into action. After the study classes, ensure you have the foundation of knowledge and principles. Before you do anything, you must know how to do it. There is a study scheme, in which you learn and study regularly. You must have that book , study at home, come prepared so that follow that scheme then by that study you will learn . Even Shankarayacharyaji has written in sadhana panchakam - first instruction he has written:
Vedo nitya vadiyadam
You must study the Vedas everyday.
The idea is that Vedas will give you the goal of life ,means of life & everyday you must study because we are very good at forgetting.
You must have knowledge first then only you will know what action has to be taken. So when you study the scriptures or the scheme then you understand all these points clearly & then you should have some activity. Now that activity can only be a time bound activity such as blood donation camp, or you could organize a cultural show or some educational program or for even organizing a gyan yagna fo a Swami. Through that, you will learn how to come together, how to think & put your differences aside, there also how to plan, how to execute , how to mobilize resources & how to do actual work & who will do what , who is good in what , that work must be given to that person & then you will learn slowly to work together. You find your many potentials manifesting there. A simple thing also you have to do, you have to plan first. Who will execute it & how many resources will be required , what resources will be required & who will do the actual work also? So the principle is
yo yasmin karmani kushalaha sat yasmin yoktaha
whoever is skillful in a particular work that person must be employed in that work.
What happens is that person doesn’t know & a job is given to him or her & then the work does not get done. I don’t know how to dance & you gave me dance so I performed a cirucus act .
Any work in CHYK should not be an excuse to not complete work at home or in the professional field. You don’t do anything at home then we receive complains or educational performance is deteriorating. Iif you come to Yuva Kendra classes then your performance in your profession and your business must improve. People will then start asking, where has he learnt these skills from? That is our vision.
There is a beautiful shloka in Vishnu Sashranam about harnessing youth potential through dynamic spirituality.
Ishwaro vikrami dhanvi karma medhavi vikramaha, anutamaha duradharsha kritagnya kritira atmavan ,
Every name (ishwara, vikramaha, dhanveet) is indicated to Lord Vishnu. But who is Vishnu? Vishnu is the lord & he is there in the heart of all beings, therefore that lord is there in my heart also. So if he has got those qualities then I will also have those qualities. So when you become an Ishwaraha (a God/Lord) , it does not necessarily mean lord of the universe, but when you are the master of a field. Isn’t it true that someone who is a very great sports person becomes the lord of that sport or not? Lord is in the field of sports, music , sometimes accompanying people are so great, more than the main artist they come to see the accompanying artist, despite the main artist being there
So dynamic spirituality is achieved when the name is synonymous to the field. As the Bhagavad Geeta is synonymous to our Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda. So the point is ,it is called ishwara, the master of the field, because that person will have several qualities as described in the verse above:
1. Vikrami is one who is able to set standards & records. Over the peak what happens, sometimes people break their own records also. Some people capable of setting records that no one is able to break.
2. Dhanvi is one who wills a bow & arrow. So that is called dhanvi. So in different fields there will be different equipments. a surgeon doesn’t have to use bow & arrow ,how he wits his knife, a writer how he wits his pen ,pen is mightier than sword also then , orator his speech is his equipment , wherever you are your equipment will be different & you must know how to whel them.
3. Medhavi means intelligent, medhavi means a person who has the capability to remember and has great memory.
4. Vikramaha, is someone who sets new and better records for themselves.. One after another, greater & greater goal aligned. Dynamic spirituality!
5. Anuttama means unable to beat, nobody is able to excel him . The pursuit of excellence
6. Duradarshaha, someone who cannot be over powered by any one, that’s called invinsible. Like fire, you cant play with fire.
7. Krutagnya - despite all achievments and knowledge, we should remember the support we have received and be grateful for it.
8. Krutihi means what any action, creation, product , that’s called master piece. The master & master piece becomes equivalient. When you see the master, his master piece comes to your mind, when you see the master piece then the master comes to your mind. So his every action becomes a master piece. whatever is done by that person is a master piece. It’s got a stamp of authority.
9. All this because atmavan , atmavan means one who has got perfect mastery over ones self. Mastery over the mind, senses is called atmavan.
So when you say chyk vision, so how that chyster should be is like this ishwaro vikrami dhanvi karma medhavi vikramaha, anutamaha duradharsha kritagnya kritira atmavan here every word is such that you can expound on that. In vishnusahastranam every word indicates to the lord there is no second opinion about that but that lord is in my heart . you see whichever field I choose there I must shine or not. So he is the lord of that field then . this is called dynamic spirituality