[Advaita-l] Chanting Gayatri overseas

[Sujal Upadhyay]

Namaste Sri Sriramji and Sri Venkatesh ji,

Thank you for sharing info and views of shankaracharyas.

Sri Sriram ji, I know that you will take utmost care as not to stray away
from shastras. My question is, what about all those who are in foreign
land, distant one like U.K. and U.S.A. which are not expected to be a part
of akhaNDa bhArata?

If they cannot chant gAyatrI mantra, cannot perform vedika rites and
rituals, then they cannot even read veda-s Right. We have some members here
who are active and live in foreign land. What about them? Everything they
practice is just a waste of time?

I know you and other knowledgeable members can quote shAstra-s. My question
is practical. What about them What if they generate interest in
spirituality and they want to practice vedAnta or sanAtana dharma?

If one have no confidence in what one is doing, what is the result of all
the efforts like japa, sAdhanA, reading shAstra-s (chintana and manana),
etc.

***

Sri Venkat Sriram ji said:

Now, several people (my own relatives) have argued with me stating that in
foreign
countries too there are many temples, pundits and Indians following
traditions and culture.
Now, how far they are following the siSTAchAra like rajaswala-niyamAs etc.
only God knows
and this has to be given a ‘benefit of doubt’.  They also argue that even
in bhArata,
the values of vaidika dharma have degraded and many are into beef eating,
drinking and non-veggie.

My answer is well – we have Kasi, Tirupathi, Srisailam, Puri, Dwaraka,
Ayodhya,
Srirangam, Kanchi, Sringeri etc. and we have puNya-nadi-pravAha like Ganga,
Krishna,
Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Narmada, Godavari etc. Our AchAryAs have sanctified
our land
with their holy feet, our rAmachandra & kriSNa are born here; whose
substitute we
cannot find in foreign countries. These are sweet memories associated with
our
bhArata and when we do sankalpa at the time of sandhyAvandana we tend to
become
emotional and proudly utter ‘भरतवर्षे भरतखण्डे मेरोः दक्षिणदिग्भागे
श्रीशैलस्य वायव्यप्रदेशे....”
thereby mentally visualize the ‘srisaila’ kshetra – the seat of jyotirlinga
and shakti peeta

***

This is indeed true. Other countries do have outer beauty, however, our
bhArata has inner beauty. There are places like you have mentioned which
has lots of spiritual vibrations that other countries may not have.
Innumerable saints and  rishi-s have meditated fr countless hours since
time immemorial in these sacred places which help retain their sacredness.
We have rich spiritual tradition and bhArata has given birth to many great
saints and revival of sanAtana dharma like in no other country.
mAnsarovara, gangA, yamunA, narmadA, kAshI and other sacred places and
rivers have high amount of spiritual energy, which can transform restless
mind into introvert peaceful mind. Just by sitting in these places constant
inner chatter, which seems endless, stops by itself without any special
effort. One can easily enter into meditative state where one can detach
from body and mind and dive deep within to realize one's true nature. One
thinks it is so easy to meditate. But when one returns to home and tries to
expect same depth in sAdhanA, then one realises it's not happening to them.
It seems so difficult to get rid of mental clutter. Now one realises
greatness of these places. Not to mention the grace and blessings of saints
that one gets. That is why it is advised to have darshan of these places.

OM
Sujal



On Mon, Oct 2, 2017 at 9:05 PM, Venkatesh Murthy via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste
> Kindly see Two great Swamijis opinion on this subject. One is Kanchi Maha
> Swamiji and another is His Holiness Sachidananda Siva Abhinava Narasimha
> Bharati Svamiji of Sringeri
> https://mahaperiyavaa.blog/2014/05/05/pithru-karyam-in-foreign-land/
> https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/hindus-crossing-the-sea/
>
> His Holiness Sachidananda Siva Abhinava Narasimha Bharati Svaminah of
> Sringeri Mutt (33rd Head of Sringeri Shankara Mutt) answered a devotee’s
> question on the ban on orthodox Hindus travelling abroad:-
>
> “ Some gentlemen pleaded with His Holiness for relaxation of the rules
> prohibiting foreign travel and urged the great need and the advantages of
> such travel in the interests of the welfare and advancement of our country.
> His Holiness said:-
>
> ​<content clipped>
>