THE VISION, August 2025, Vol 92, Issue 11:
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Beloved Readers,
We all respect the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. However, its profound wisdom often stays on the bookshelf. Even though it is highly revered, it is not reflected in our daily lives. This distance may be because the teachings seem irrelevant or abstract to ordinary experiences.
Just as crude oil, in its raw form, has limited utility, our unrefined mind—bound by the narrow confines of ego and individualism—remains largely dormant in its potential. It is only when crude oil passes through a refinery that it is transformed into valuable products like aviation fuel, petrol, diesel, kerosene, gas, naphtha, bitumen and more—each serving a vital purpose.
In the same way, the Bhagavad Gita serves as a timeless spiritual refinery. When the mind, caught in the grip of ‘me’ and ‘mine,’ is exposed to the Gita’s wisdom, it begins to expand from ‘me’ to ‘we.’ This inner refinement aids us in pausing, reflecting and then acting, which gives rise to selflessness, sacrifice, care, forgiveness, inclusiveness and excellence in thoughts, words and deeds.
‘The Gita Touch in Daily Life’ is an effort to bring this refining wisdom to life—by connecting Shlokas with relatable, real-life situations that reveal their practical relevance and transformative power.
This month’s issue of THE VISION brings out the various dimensions of the Bhagavad Gita.
— EDITOR
AS WE SCROLL DOWN...
- ‘Divinising Actions’ — says Swami Ramdas, can be done by surrendering to the all‑pervading Universal Power and constantly remembering that He is the Doer. When the mind is filled with Divine light and joy from the beginning, lower impulses vanish, the ego dissolves and we realise the Universal Self.
- ‘Words of Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas’ — make us aware that our actions should be purely Nishkama—free from desires—as this alone enables us to enjoy Peace Eternal; the secret of God-realisation is to stand apart from the workings of Prakriti and identify with the imperishable, immutable Atman.
- ‘Combining Jnana-Bhakti-Karma’ — says Mother Krishnabai, is to mentally dwell on God (Jnana Yoga), chant His Name constantly (Bhakti Yoga) and dedicate all actions to Him (Karma Yoga). Even five minutes of sincere practice each day, she assures, can transform our inner and outer environment.
- ‘Words of Pujya Swami Satchidananda’ — highlight the Bhagavad Gita as a mine of wisdom that reveals our true nature and guides us to become embodiments of Divine knowledge, love and action. By identifying with the Atman—our True Being and Existence—we know that we are not merely the physical body.
- ‘Editor Answers’ — how the Bhagavad Gita guides us to trace our origin to the Eternal Source—God Himself, the Seed of all beings. It helps us move from identification with the projected personality to the recognition of our true, original Divine Nature.
- 'The Gita Touch in Daily Life' — illustrates how Bhagavad Gita Shloka 2.37 inspired a young man facing terminal illness to rise above despair, choose life, and serve a higher cause. His resurgence reflects the Gita’s call to transform fear into courage and adversity into purposeful action through a refined and determined mind.
- 'Integral Yoga' — explains Swami Ramdas, is the harmonious development of Jnana, Bhakti and Karma Yoga, leading to union with God through knowledge, love and action. By transcending selfishness and dedicating all thoughts, feelings and actions to the Divine, our life becomes an instrument of Universal Love and Service.
- 'Karma Yoga vs. Karma Sannyas' — clarifies Swami Ramdas, that Sri Krishna upheld Karma Yoga—selfless action with inner renunciation—as superior to outward renunciation. By surrendering all actions and possessions to God in a spirit of Dasya Bhava, one dissolves the ego and attains liberation while still actively engaged in the world.
- 'Vishwarupa Darshan' — explains Swami Ramdas, is the vision of the entire universe as the Divine Form of God, where all beings are seen as expressions of the same Infinite Truth. When the ego dissolves in this universal vision, one experiences ineffable bliss and peace—the true fulfilment of life and the essence of God-realisation.
- 'God’s Assurance' — affirms Swami Ramdas, lies in the Gita’s promise that those who remember and worship God are fully protected by Him. Repeating His Name with love and constancy purifies the mind, kindles inner bliss and peace, and ultimately leads to the highest state of liberation and oneness with the Divine.
- ‘Epistles Of Swami Ramdas’ — reassures us that God, in His boundless compassion, takes full charge of our lives when we surrender to Him. By living as a true Karma Yogi and reflecting constantly on the Gita’s teachings, we realise ourselves as free and blissful instruments of the Divine Will.
- ‘In Memoriam’
- ‘Anandashram News’:
- ‘Book In Focus’
- ‘Thought For The Month’
- ‘Download THE VISION’ in PDF format and the Audio Book.
DIVINISING ACTIONS
By Swami Ramdas
Arjuna was exhorted by Sri Krishna in the Gita: You need not give up action, but you can make it Divine. Be a Divine worker, realising that you are not the doer, but the doer is He, the Immanent Universal Power. This state of complete surrender can come through continuous remembrance of God. This is a positive path. Some struggle to eradicate evil desires from the mind, so that they can befit themselves for the realisation of God. This is not the way. The true way is to fill your mind from the very beginning with Divine light and joy to such a degree that impurities of the lower nature will be washed away automatically. If you bring in light, darkness will disappear of itself; so also, bringing in the thought of God will cause the thought of self to disappear. As His light dawns upon the mind, the darkness within is automatically dispelled, just as the rising sun destroys darkness. The most important attribute you have to bring into your mind is that God is all-pervading. Freedom comes only when we know that we are not the body, but the all-pervading Spirit. The idea that we are merely an individual cut off from the rest of Life will disappear and we will feel one with all Life. The ego will dissolve into that Universal Self, which is your Real Being and Existence.
WORDS OF BELOVED PAPA SWAMI RAMDAS
The Gita says, “You have the right to do action but have no right to the fruits thereof”. When you help your fellowmen you should not expect any return—fame or name—from the world, or even gratitude from the party you have helped. Be purely Nishkama, free from desires, and then only you will enjoy the peace of God. Your only true friend and guide is God. When you have realised His love you will be automatically loved by all humanity.
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The Gita says that a liberated soul, freed from the three Gunas belonging to Prakriti, realises his immortal, changeless and blissful Self and, living in the body, he acts according to the Gunas, remaining at the same time unaffected by all external contacts and events. This comes only after attaining a state of complete self-surrender. The way to bring about this surrender has to be worked by our own initiative and struggle. The secret of God-realisation is to stand apart from the working of Prakriti or nature and to identify ourselves with the imperishable and immutable Atman.
COMBINING JNANA-BHAKTI-KARMA
By Mother Krishnabai
The way Papa taught me is to repeat more Ram Nam, contemplate on Him and His universal attributes all the time—that would be work for the mind; to chant Ram Nam constantly—that would be work for the tongue and regard all actions of my hands, all movements of my limbs, as His service.
Do you read Gita? (The visitors again nod their heads in the affirmative.) Then, you will understand what I mean. By dwelling mentally on Him, you are doing Jnana Yoga, by chanting His name, it is Bhakti Yoga and dedicating all your actions to Him makes it Karma Yoga. When you do all the things together, you will only be carrying out the injunction of the Gita. All I am asking you is: please devote at least five minutes every day to doing these three things and you will see for yourself the impact in the atmosphere around you. All the trouble we see around us today is because we have forgotten God and His Name. It is not to you alone that I am saying this. I am constantly telling the people here in the Ashram also. So once again, I request you to devote at least five minutes to chanting of the Guru Mantra.
WORDS OF PUJYA SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA
Bhagavad Gita—A Mine of Wisdom:
Beloved Papa has given us some hints as to what we should do and what we should not do to walk on the Divine path, “Gita tells you what you are in reality. It infuses into you strength, purity and peace. It is a mine of wisdom. Dive deep into it and you will come by the priceless gems it holds. It is made clear at the end of Gita that the highest acme of God-realisation is to be a perfect devotee of the Lord—a veritable embodiment of Divine knowledge, Divine action and Divine love. Such a devotee is the very form and expression of God or God Himself in human form.”
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Identification With The Atman:
You must have understood from Srimad Bhagavad Gita that what goes on in the physical plane is purely on the surface and deep within, the Atman—the soul or our True Being—is not affected by whatever happens to the physical aspect. So ours is to identify ourselves with the Atman—our True Being and Existence—and know that we are not merely the physical body.
EDITOR ANSWERS
Question: Beloved Papa said, “Try to enter into the mysterious origin of your and the world-life. To know who you are in reality is the real quest” How does the Bhagavad Gita guide us in this matter?
Answer: The first move towards the Source is to look at our own beginning, our Origin, the Source of all sources, which is the Common Factor in all. Normally we attribute our origin to our parents. A little more probing reveals that our parents were also born to their parents, who were, in turn, born to their own parents, and so on. This leads us to know the First Cause or Origin, from which everything has sprouted, including us.
In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord explains that He is the Eternal Seed from which everything has come forth (7:10); among the senses He is the mind, among the living beings He is Consciousness (10:22); and also that He is the Life Force in all beings (7:9).
Normally we identify ourselves with the projected personality, totally unaware of our Original Nature. But the Bhagavad Gita enables us to recognise our projected personality as well as its subservience to our Original Nature.
THE GITA TOUCH IN DAILY LIFE
Chapter 2, Shloka 37—Resurgence
Narayan, a promising and active young man dedicated to creating awareness of organic farming, was diagnosed with blood cancer and considered terminally ill. The news shook his entire family—his wife, parents and siblings were devastated. Yet, to their disbelief, Narayan calmly declared, “No treatment is needed. I’m prepared for the end.” His words stemmed not from courage, but from quiet resignation.
Concerned, the family sought the help of Dr. Subbu, a seasoned hematologist, and one of the best in his field, known not just for his expertise, but for his humane and empathetic approach.
After reviewing Narayan’s reports, the doctor sat down for a sincere and thoughtful conversation, “You’ve been a driving force in inspiring farmers to adopt organic practices. If you recover, wouldn’t your life continue to benefit countless others? The disease is serious, yes—but it is treatable. Why give up, when there’s a real chance to fight and win—for yourself and for the cause you serve?”
This conversation awakened something in Narayan. What he had accepted as the end now appeared as a call to rise. He chose treatment.
After six months of rigourous therapy, Narayan emerged stronger—physically restored and spiritually awakened. Today, he continues to serve society with renewed energy and deeper resolve.
His transformation echoes the spirit of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Shloka 37:
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम्।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः॥
“If you are slain, you attain heaven; if you triumph, you enjoy the earth.
Therefore, arise, O son of Kunti, determined to fight!”
The mind must be transformed into a refinery—where crude reactions like fear, doubt, and defeatism are processed into noble responses such as courage, clarity, and resilience. This Shloka reminds us that retreating in the face of difficulty is not wisdom. Just as a refinery extracts fuel, strength and value from raw material, the Gita trains the mind to refine challenges into opportunities for inner growth.
Narayan’s story is a living testimony of resurgence. Instead of succumbing to despair, he chose to face adversity with purpose. True victory, the Gita teaches, lies not just in outer success, but in rising to the challenge with the determination to serve a higher cause. His journey reflects the refined mind—fearless, focused, and devoted to Dharma.
INTEGRAL YOGA
By Swami Ramdas
In the Bhagavad Gita, there are three Yogas described: Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. One attains union with God through knowledge, love and action. These three must develop together. This is called Integral Yoga. Our minds must be in tune with the Infinite and Eternal Intelligence and our love then flows spontaneously towards the entire humanity because humanity is the expression of that Infinite. When we have love towards everybody, actions will naturally be done as inspired by that love. If our actions are all dedicated to God, done in His name, then we have acted in conformity with the pure love that rises in our heart. The trouble at present is that our intellect works only on the surface and has not entered deep within to see the Divine. So intellect has not been helpful to us, as it does not indicate the right direction. Love has not dawned in our hearts, because there is attachment. True love freely flows towards all alike. The body is toiling day and night for our individual comfort and of those related to us, but we are not at all concerned about the happiness of others. So our vision is narrow, our love is selfish and our actions are tainted. Thus we create an atmosphere of strife and disharmony around us. We must get over this. If we liberate ourselves from the clutches of selfishness and expand our vision, our life will become blessed because it will then pour out love, kindness and service to all alike.
KARMA YOGA VS. KARMA SANNYAS
By Swami Ramdas
Sri Krishna in the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ speaks of Karma-Yoga and Karma Sannyasa. He says Karma-Yoga is superior to Karma Sannyasa which, according to ancient custom, was adopted as the fourth stage of life: Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa. But Sri Krishna said that one could attain the state of liberation even while doing work in the world to the very last. So He established what is called Bhagavata Dharma, in which there is no need to renounce anything externally. But inner renunciation is necessary. Otherwise there is no Moksha either for the Sannyasi or for the householder.
Inner renunciation is attained through complete surrender to God—not possessing anything as belonging to oneself but as belonging to God. This dedicated life leads to the dissolution of the ego-sense and the attainment of Jnana. The method employed is to consider oneself as a devotee or a servant of God—Dasya Bhava: “I am Thy servant, Thou art my Master.” He works in the world as a servant of God. Such a devotee need not renounce anything externally. All his actions are done in a spirit of dedication to God.
VISHWARUPA DARSHAN
By Swami Ramdas
In the Bhagavad Gita you read in the eleventh chapter about the Vishwarupa Darshan, that is, beholding everything as Divine in the vast universe. Verily, the universe is looked upon as one image of God. Just as innumerable waves rise on the ocean and all the waves are of the same water, so we are all expressions of the same infinite Truth. If we get this vision in the Para-Bhakti state, it fulfils completely our aspiration for the realisation of God in all His aspects; God as infinite life, God as infinite knowledge and God as infinite bliss and peace. The moment our ego-sense disappears in this universal vision and experience, we enjoy bliss and peace which are ineffable. Therefore our great sages and saints in all parts of the world have been dinning into our ears not to waste this precious human life running after the ephemeral pleasures of the world, but to seek the Eternal by which alone we can get real happiness. The quest of every creature is happiness. But where can they get such happiness? We should draw our vision inward and think of God so that our mind may be merged in that Supreme Reality and we may experience the bliss born of immortality. This is God-realisation. This is the vision which will give us universal love and peace.
GOD’S ASSURANCE
By Swami Ramdas
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥ ९-२२॥
“To those people who worship Me alone, thinking of no other,
to those ever harmonious, I bring full security.”
This Shloka is a great assurance to us from God. What we have to do is to keep up a continuous stream of His remembrance. This is very easily done by taking His name. We do not have to do severe austerities or penance. We have only to sing the sweet name of God, without any formality, without any rituals. Our heart will then be alight with the illumination of God, with the bliss and peace of God. People do not know what the name of God can do. Those who repeat it constantly can alone know its power. It can purify our mind completely. No other Sadhana can do that. While the other Sadhanas can take us only to a certain stage, the Name can take us to the summit of spiritual experience. There is an assurance in the Bhagavad Gita that he who sees the Lord everywhere and as everything in Him is never lost. This shows that when the devotee sees God everywhere, he has reached the natural state. There is nothing higher. That is the state of complete liberation and freedom, which is reached through the power of the Divine Name.
EPISTLES OF SWAMI RAMDAS
Beloved Ram,
…Take it that God has made you His own, your burdens are His burdens. In His supreme benevolence He sees no errors in you; hence He is forgiveness itself. Remember, the most heartening words of Sri Krishna in the Gita: “Abandoning all Dharmas, come unto Me alone for shelter; sorrow not, I will liberate thee from all sins.” Be a true Karma Yogi with the qualities set forth in the Gita. Realise that you are an ever free and blissful instrument, actuated and worked by the Supreme Being within you and the universe. Be reading constantly the verses of the Gita…
IN MEMORIAM
Smt Rajam Anantraman (aged 83), an inmate of the Ashram and the wife of Sri S Anantraman, was called by Beloved Papa on the 29th of June 2025. We pray for Beloved Papa’s blessings on the dear departed soul for eternal rest and peace at His lotus feet.ANANDASHRAM NEWS
15500-CRORE NAMA JAPA YAGNA FOR WORLD PEACE:
The total Japa received in the fourth round of the 15500-Crore Nama Japa Yagna for World Peace in the month of June 2025 is 210 crores, chanted by 180662 devotees.
The grand total of the Japa done so far in this round now stands at 5190 crores.
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SESSIONS WITH CHILDREN AT ANAND KUTIR IN ANANDASHRAM:
In the month of June 2025, 9 interactive sessions were held with children at Anand Kutir, in which 383 students participated. As the sessions are free from teaching and preaching, they help the children to bring out their own learnings:
- Suhra Thajudheen shared, “The session was incredible. I feel more empowered and clear. The guidance on setting goals was especially helpful.”
- Kritya K affirmed, “I will try to reduce my anger and ensure I don’t hurt anyone with my words.”
- Vismaya stated, “I will speak to my neighbours and family members with care and kindness.”
- Abdul Rahman reflected, “I gained valuable insights about both our inner and outer worlds.”
- Aparna V shared, “I realised that no one is truly our enemy.”
- Vaiga acknowledged, “I learnt how to organise my time and set goals in a way that finally made sense to me.”
- Misriya said, “The class helped me rediscover my rhythm and showed me how to move towards my goal, overcoming procrastination.”
MOUNA SADHANA IN ANANDASHRAM:
A day-long Mouna Sadhana is scheduled on the 10th of August 2025. Devotees interested in participating may kindly inform through WhatsApp (+91-9037466744) or by email (pms.anandashram@gmail.com).
BOOK IN FOCUS
'Religion – Its Universality'
This inspiring collection of essays by Swami Ramdas redefines religion as a unifying force grounded in universal love and oneness. Cutting through sectarian divides, he reveals the essence common to all faiths — the Divinity that pervades all life. These deeply relevant writings urge us to live the true spirit of religion: as a means to harmony, not conflict; as a path to unity, not division. A timely message for a world in need of understanding, kinship, and peace.
Available in English.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
“It is not the recitation of the Gita that can elevate you to the Truth of your existence, namely, God, but a profound meditation on the truths inculcated in the Shlokas”
— Swami Ramdas
DOWNLOAD THE VISION
Devotees can download the PDF version or the audio book of this issue of THE VISION by clicking on the relevant links.
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