New Year Message From H.H. Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj (1999)

By

SRI SWAMI CHIDANANDA

Radiant Immortal Atman!

Dear Friends,

May the grace of Gurudev Swami Sivananda illumine the New Year, 1999, with brightness and radiance of hope, aspiration and inspiration.

At the dawn of this New Year, I wish to remind you of Gurudev’s message of Divine Life. Live a life of selflessness and service unto all beings. Worship God with devotion and develop Divine Love. Meditate upon the Supreme Being regularly each day without fail. Ever aspire to realise the Eternal Reality through right enquiry, discrimination, metaphysical reflection and spiritual contemplation. Strive to lead a pure life of noble conduct and holiness in thought, word and deed. Be a SADACHARI and a PAROPAKARI. Become a servant of humanity, a messenger of Peace and Unity. Develop vision of One in the spirit of unity. Practise the presence of the Divine and dedicate all the actions to the Lord. Start living this Divine Life today.

This year will see the certain come down of an era. Mankind is looking forward to the transition with great expectation and at the same time with some degree of anxious trepidation.

When the 20th Century is about to conclude soon to welcome the advent of the 21st Century, we find ourselves in a world split into numerous warring camps and rent with enmity, hostility, hatred and violent, destructive behavior on the part of individuals as well as groups of persons in clash and conflict with others. Today more than ever in human history, the positive process of spreading goodwill, love and friendliness has become imperative and urgent too. I have always thought of religion as the only unifying and binding force that can bring together mankind in the fraternal bond of spiritual oneness. Because, amidst all the outward diversities and apparent differences that exist on the surface, deep within each and every one of us, there abides one identical principle that forms the innermost core-reality. This is the same in all beings.

For this reason, spirituality which is the inner divine dimension of religion, in the sense of theology, dogma and ritual, becomes an enduring foundation of universal brotherhood and human solidarity. It is upon this foundation that we have to raise the edifice of a New Humanity for the 21st Century. We have all to work for this. All our shared work and united efforts should be positive, constructive, creative and above all unifying. As a result, there must emerge a Global Human family with planet earth as its home. May this then be our priority task, which will make all other tasks worthwhile and meaningful. Come, come play your active part in this universal human mission. Exercise the blessed privilege of being an individual Human Family. May your being and doing be a blessing upon the contemporary scene.

World peace is possible when people of the world wake up to the facts governing Universal life and when there is heart-to-heart feeling of goodness, love and the one-ness among the inhabitants of the world.

I have a request to one and all who read these lines. If you devote one hour every day in meditation, to the projection of peace thoughts, there will be thousands of people doing the same thing every day and the effect of total effort of such auspicious, combined thought projection is inestimable. Not only will there be individual force of every such dedicated person acting in cooperation, but the additional strength received from Invisible Helpers, the ever present Masters, the Videhas, who will silently guide all and make them pursue the right path. They are the Great Beings who enter into the intellect and emotions of every good and pious person and use him as an instrument for serving mankind.

Our ancients had this sublime and vibrant concern for Peace. Peace was ever in their heart and mind for all creation. They lifted up their hearts to the universal spirit and sent forth their prayerful invocation on behalf of all existence thus.

“May peace be unto all the quarters! May peace be unto the skies! May peace be unto the earth! May peace be to the waters of the earth! May peace be to the medicinal herbs and all plants on earth! May peace be to the celestials! May peace be to Brahma, the Creator! May peace be upon Peace itself!”

Will you not therefore, make now this New year resolve of devoting at least one hour every day to project thoughts of peace, so that the present troubles and turmoils of the world may cease? This is a very simple thing that you can do–yet the response from the Almighty and His Agents will be of great value. Make your own individual appeal to God and ask Him to send you Light, to help humanity for the establishment of peace and promotion of happiness.

I wish you Happy Christmas.

May Lord bless you all with a happy new year of peace, plenty and spiritual evolution.

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram

Sri Sivananda Ashram, Padmarao Nagar, Secunderabad, 19 December 1998.

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