maharaj

Divine Messages of Swami Pranabananda

Acharya Swami Pranavananda was none but and incarnation of Lord Shiva himself. A strange fact discloses a mystery that one Vishnu Charan Bhuniya, a staunch devotee of Shiva, being entangled in various calamities started stern penance without sleep at night for a year long and consequently Lord Shiva appeared before him with divine lustre and vouchsafed him a boon that he would incarnate Himself as his son and hence a godly baby was born to him in the auspicious day of ‘Maghi Purnima’ in 1896.

Swami Pranavananda, the founder of the order of the monks known as Bharat Sevashram Sangha, is a saint with a difference. Endowed with a strong personality and burning zeal to regenerate Hindu youth, he organised a band of devoted followers who undertook to dedicate their lives to the welfare of the people in general and service to those in distress. His approach was pragmatic. He depended more on teaching and expansions than complicated philosophical expostulations. They came in form of directives backed with the logic behind them dresses in terse but vigorous language. These exhortations have been enshrined in a booklet bearing the title "Shri Shri Pranavananda Upadesh.

Translated by RADHAKRISHNA PRADHANM.A (English) B.T., D.E.L.T.Senior Teacher of Englsih,Bengali and Theology.

This divine messages translated by our reputed Sangha-School teacher, Sree Radhakrishna Pradhan, with grace and power of his mundaneand supra-mundane Guru, guide and mentor, Sreemat Swami Satchindanadaji Maharaj, the then revered President of the Sangha, prefaced by a renowned personage, Dr. Hiranmay Banerjee, D.Litt, the Ex-Vice Chancellor of Rabindra Bharti University, Calcutta and replete with divine teachings of the Sangha-Lord, conveys invaluable importance and axiomatic truth of the ‘Shastras’ and hence beneficial to the whole humanity of this age of unrest and turbulence.

  1. "This country has maintained close contact with God throughoutits life and intends to do so in future. This country is not that country which has accepted materialism as the sum mum bonum of life. This country implies more importance to morality, religion and spiritualism."
  2. "We must banish indolence, drowsiness and indifference and cultivate vigorous capacity forhard work so that it can inspire us to high endeavour, infuse power and awaken us again."
  3. "To resuscitate this decaying nation and to install new energy in its heart, we should spread wide the indomitable influence of the spirit of unity of the Sangha throughout the whole country and awaken its moral and religious sense of opening up the fountain of power within, through selfless service."
  4. "You shall have the follow the footsteps of the Arya Rishis (Saints) by cultivating the ancient ideals to lead this degraded country and degenerated nation to the path of spiritualism and religion. Build up the vast Sangha-spirit (the spirit of unification) by uniting and integrating the small units. Grid up your lions to invigorate this weak and enfeebled nation.""
  5. "To uphold the new ideals oflife of the Sanyasins (monks) before the country, some of you will have to remove the mirk impurities of the country and to do the greatest good to the living world and to lead the human beings to the path of universal emancipation, you should discard physical comforts and be prepared to shed every drop of your purified blood. To remove the stigma in theorder of the monks, you have to infuse adequate drive for work amongst them."
  6. "To replace the religious atmosphere at present prevailing in India, millions of selfless workers are needed immediately. It is the influence of these selfless persons thatwill change the attitude of the people of the whole country and then in that changed atmosphere and attitude a new nation will build up."
  7. "To rescue the inert nation form the deep embrace of somnolence, shake off the chain of slumber and wake up to a life of action and appear before the country. Drown your errors and illusions in the abyss of oblivion, awaken your own self-memories in your heart and go ahead with the task of revitalizing the weak and inactive nation.Be indifferent to the excitement of passions and impulse of senses; forget about the sins and sorrow, pains and diseases, arm yourself with the well-sharpened sword of discrimination and detachment and tear off the mesh of superstitions born of affections, illusions, delusions, mistakes and errors. Thus equipped with purified and emancipated attitude, uphold the depressed, protect the distressed, shelter the shelter less, bring peace and pleasure to the afflicted and step heroically into the field of courage fortified with unlimited courage, vigour and energy for work. Work for the welfare of the country, the nation and the society."
  8. "We must exert all our energy for the upliftment of this degraded nation. We should have to give protection to and embrace the neglected castes and tribes. If you can infuse the elevating influence of spiritualism in the hearts of the backward castes and tribes with your untiring efforts, the greatest good of the country shall have been surely achieved.You have now taken vow of championing the cause of the backward untouchables under the leadership of an exalted personality of the Divine Dispensation. Such exalted privilege and good luck can only stem from a lifereplete with virtuous deeds. So, attend to your respective tasks with utmost vigour and enthusiasm."
  9. "It is the ideal which shapes life.The determination to realise and ideal is the driving force of life. A man worthy of his name is prepared to sacrifice his life for maintaining his ideal and for the realisation of the greatest vow. He never forsakes ideals to pursue his personal interest. A life without ideals is another name of death. Life is not worth living if the ideal goes and the determination is given up.A man proves his humanity through realisationof his great ideals and his high objectives. Write these words in your heat in letters of gold."
  10. "Man realises his true humanity by developing, invigorating and manifesting the powers lying dormant in him. That is how a man proves his humanity, a person his prowess and a hero his heroism. So, man cannot afford to tolerate the present sorry state of affairs. Now, shaking off the drowsiness of slumber, harbouring the idea of universal awakening into heart and standing like an unmoved, undaunted and unshaken real hero who refuses to yield in the battle-field of life and being fortified with self-confidence and self-consciousness we should devote ourselves to realising self-knowledge and self-perception."
  11. "Always remember that this body is not meant for the enjoyment of carnal pleasure and wealth. This body is the pleasure-ground of the Ever-pure, Ever-wise and Ever-free eternal being. So, always think, "I have no excitement of passions, torture of senses, illusions, delusions, sins and compunctions and consequence of remorse. I am the living and spirited embodiment of sanctity and sacrifice."
  12. You are the sons of Immortal Spirit. There is endless strength and vigour within you and you need not be perturbed under any circumstances. You are sacred and pure by yourselves. You should have no fear. Who can destroy you? Have patience and be composed and self-confident. The power within will manifest itself spontaneously."
  1. "This country has maintained close contact with God throughoutits life and intends to do so in future. This country is not that country which has accepted materialism as the sum mum bonum of life. This country implies more importance to morality, religion and spiritualism."
  2. "We must banish indolence, drowsiness and indifference and cultivate vigorous capacity forhard work so that it can inspire us to high endeavour, infuse power and awaken us again."
  3. "To resuscitate this decaying nation and to install new energy in its heart, we should spread wide the indomitable influence of the spirit of unity of the Sangha throughout the whole country and awaken its moral and religious sense of opening up the fountain of power within, through selfless service."
  4. "You shall have the follow the footsteps of the Arya Rishis (Saints) by cultivating the ancient ideals to lead this degraded country and degenerated nation to the path of spiritualism and religion. Build up the vast Sangha-spirit (the spirit of unification) by uniting and integrating the small units. Grid up your lions to invigorate this weak and enfeebled nation.""
  5. "To uphold the new ideals oflife of the Sanyasins (monks) before the country, some of you will have to remove the mirk impurities of the country and to do the greatest good to the living world and to lead the human beings to the path of universal emancipation, you should discard physical comforts and be prepared to shed every drop of your purified blood. To remove the stigma in theorder of the monks, you have to infuse adequate drive for work amongst them."
  6. "To replace the religious atmosphere at present prevailing in India, millions of selfless workers are needed immediately. It is the influence of these selfless persons thatwill change the attitude of the people of the whole country and then in that changed atmosphere and attitude a new nation will build up."
  7. "To rescue the inert nation form the deep embrace of somnolence, shake off the chain of slumber and wake up to a life of action and appear before the country. Drown your errors and illusions in the abyss of oblivion, awaken your own self-memories in your heart and go ahead with the task of revitalizing the weak and inactive nation.Be indifferent to the excitement of passions and impulse of senses; forget about the sins and sorrow, pains and diseases, arm yourself with the well-sharpened sword of discrimination and detachment and tear off the mesh of superstitions born of affections, illusions, delusions, mistakes and errors. Thus equipped with purified and emancipated attitude, uphold the depressed, protect the distressed, shelter the shelter less, bring peace and pleasure to the afflicted and step heroically into the field of courage fortified with unlimited courage, vigour and energy for work. Work for the welfare of the country, the nation and the society."
  8. "We must exert all our energy for the upliftment of this degraded nation. We should have to give protection to and embrace the neglected castes and tribes. If you can infuse the elevating influence of spiritualism in the hearts of the backward castes and tribes with your untiring efforts, the greatest good of the country shall have been surely achieved.You have now taken vow of championing the cause of the backward untouchables under the leadership of an exalted personality of the Divine Dispensation. Such exalted privilege and good luck can only stem from a lifereplete with virtuous deeds. So, attend to your respective tasks with utmost vigour and enthusiasm."
  9. "It is the ideal which shapes life.The determination to realise and ideal is the driving force of life. A man worthy of his name is prepared to sacrifice his life for maintaining his ideal and for the realisation of the greatest vow. He never forsakes ideals to pursue his personal interest. A life without ideals is another name of death. Life is not worth living if the ideal goes and the determination is given up.A man proves his humanity through realisationof his great ideals and his high objectives. Write these words in your heat in letters of gold."
  10. "Man realises his true humanity by developing, invigorating and manifesting the powers lying dormant in him. That is how a man proves his humanity, a person his prowess and a hero his heroism. So, man cannot afford to tolerate the present sorry state of affairs. Now, shaking off the drowsiness of slumber, harbouring the idea of universal awakening into heart and standing like an unmoved, undaunted and unshaken real hero who refuses to yield in the battle-field of life and being fortified with self-confidence and self-consciousness we should devote ourselves to realising self-knowledge and self-perception."
  11. "Always remember that this body is not meant for the enjoyment of carnal pleasure and wealth. This body is the pleasure-ground of the Ever-pure, Ever-wise and Ever-free eternal being. So, always think, "I have no excitement of passions, torture of senses, illusions, delusions, sins and compunctions and consequence of remorse. I am the living and spirited embodiment of sanctity and sacrifice."
  12. You are the sons of Immortal Spirit. There is endless strength and vigour within you and you need not be perturbed under any circumstances. You are sacred and pure by yourselves. You should have no fear. Who can destroy you? Have patience and be composed and self-confident. The power within will manifest itself spontaneously."