PHILOSOPHY OF IVS.

Our slogan-" Man is God".
The international Vedanta Society solicits one and all irrespective of any caste, creed, sex or religion. IVS doesn't stress on worshipping any particular God or Goddess. It believes that the all powerful resides within everyone and this omnipresent is known as Iswara or God.
The International Vedanta Society doesn't speak of any rights for men or women because the society believes that everyone is born with their own rights. The task is only to make them aware about it. And the medium of serving this ideology is love.
The International Vedanta Society doesn't give any preferences to Sannyasins(monks) or householders. The society wishes to let every individual manifest their inherent divinity within. IVS believes that only Vedanta can change the trouble- tormented situation of the present day world. And that must come through love and the International Vedanta Society is spreading the message of Unity and love. IVS appeals everyone to perform some benevolent activities everyday. each one of us has a role to play. Let everyone play his own role.
We've heard many great good things in this world. But not much has been done. We must not differ in words and actions. IVS believes and respects all faith and religions.
The International Vedanta Society desires to build such a new civilization where man would have predominance.
The idol of IVS is "man"(Human Being).
"Man is truth above all else, nothing beyond prevails"
--- Bhagavan, the founder and core of IVS.

Newsdesk

Dear friends,
As a matter of our constant endeavor to improve the experience of the readers we are including albums containing photographs of Bhagavan in His different moods.Some of the photographs are published for the first time ever.I would also like the opportunity to appeal to our readers and members that if they have any photographs relating to Bhagavan and I.V.S., they may please send them to us at bhaktichaitanya@gmail.com or swamiprobuddhananda@yahoo.com and we will be happy to publish them in our blog and other publications.
With love and wishes,
In the service of Bhagavan,
Brahmachari Bhakti Chaitanya

Dear everybody,
I would like to thank and welcome everyone who visits this blog regularly.
Today, I come with another story explaining the essence of Vedanta. The last time, we saw how shallow our fears are when the truth is known. This time, with yet another story we would like to talk about the falseness of our bindings with this world, body, mind, ego, whatever it is. We all say, we are bounded, lets see how true we are..I present you with a story based on a wood cutter and his three donkeys.

Once, there was a very poor woodcutter who owned three donkeys. Everyday he would take his donkeys deep into the woods where he would chop trees, and load the wood on to the donkey’s backs. Every evening, he would return home. But one day, he was out too long, and the sky grew dark, and woods grew black and the woodcutter could not find the way out of the woods. He realized he would have to spend the night in the woods, and began searching for a place to stay. In the distance he saw a faint light, and as he approached it, he found a sage meditating by the fire at his hermitage. The woodcutter said, ‘I would like to stay here tonight as it has become too late for me to find my way out of the woods.” The sage agreed. The woodcutter lay down to go to sleep, but as he started to doze, he realized he hadn’t tied his donkeys. So, he asked the sage for rope. The sage said, “I have no ropes. Do you tie your donkeys every night?” The woodcutter answered “Yes, otherwise they may run away or be attacked by wild animals.” So the sage advised, “Go to the donkeys and just act as if you are tying them up.” The woodcutter did as he was told and pretended to tie the donkeys up. Then he went off to bed.

In the morning, the woodcutter awoke and found his donkeys right where he left them. He thanked the sage for his hospitality, and then started on his way home, but he was dismayed to find that the donkeys wouldn’t follow him. He said to the sage, “What have you done to my donkeys? They won’t follow me home!” The sage asked, “Did you untie your donkeys?” The woodcutter complained, “But I never tied them!” “The donkeys don’t know this,” said the sage, “Go untie them.” So, the woodcutter pretended to untie his donkeys, and the three followed him back home.

This is how we are. We have imaginary bondages but we think them as true like the donkeys.This idea exposes us to all sorts of sufferings in life. The spiritual Master shows us how false our idea about bondages are. We are never bounded, we are free by nature. Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity, as said by Swami Vivekananda. We are ever free. When somebody goes to a Master, Guru, he is told about this repeatedly,that you are neither the body nor the mind nor the ego, that, you are That, the Self, repeatedly, so that for once it comes to the comprehension of the disciple or aspirant about His true nature, that He is a soul, ever liberated, divine, eternal, birthless and deathless, not the body or mind or ego. Spiritual realization happens when this comprehension is reaches the saturated state.
Love to you all,
In the service of humanity,
Swami Probuddhananda.

Suzie Palmer, (Australia), on the story of Bhagavan.

Hello Swamiji!!
Great to hear from you!! Thank you for sharing that wise story of your Master's. You have inspired the following poem!! Please post in Vedanta group and anywhere you wish!!
All my Love always, Suzie xoxox :-D

* * *
When we look closer

Beware of the dogs at the gate
Faces ferocious
Eyes of slate
Don’t even try to test your fate
Best to stay clear
Of the dogs at the gate

Rearrange your life
Abate the gate
Do everything in your power
Don’t give those dogs bait

Stay away, hesitate
Those dogs know how to keep you away
But then again
Who are they?
Are they truly, what they convey

Take a step closer, peek inside
Are those dogs even alive?
Stone structures etched with skilful hands
These dogs they come from moulded sand!

Oh my, oh my, these dogs are good
Cleverly made, it’s now understood
Things are not always as they seem
When we look closer, the truth can be seen

A story by Bhagavan.

Its our pleasure to narrate a story by Bhagavan, the founder and core of International Vedanta Society. The story goes thus- a very rich man tied two ferocious dogs in his gates. The people using the road adjoining the gate were very frightened by the dogs and left using the road. One day, the rich man asked his attendant, why does the people of the locality avoid using this road of ours, the attendant had no answer. The master asked him to go and find out.
" Out of fear" said a commuter. "Your master has money, so, he can afford to keep such deadly dogs in the gate which appears as if running on to us." Knowing this, the rich man went to the market and requested a man to come with him and that his dogs won't bite. The man resisted initially but gave up to the earnest request. When the man reached the gate of the house, he saw the dogs were of stones. Crafted skillfully in such a way that it looked lively. The man cried out of joy," what a beauty, what a skill !!" The fear transformed into extreme bliss by knowing the exact object.
Similarly, we cry out in this world, terrified by the fears which stays in our mind. See this world carefully, you will see bliss and love. See this world as it is, you will see God. There is nothing but God.
Love and best wishes,

Sarada Chatterjee(Kolkata) writes,

The "mind" is the instrument that supports your personality with thoughts, and those thoughts are the instruments that will forever prevent "peace of mind";..... In fact, there is no such thing as "peace of mind." There is only peace if freed of the "mind."

Jay Bhagavan