It is heartening to know that our efforts in the launching issue of this magazine have been well received by our readers. It has also established a mutual bonding of hearts. With each successive issue this kinship of souls will go on deepening. It will be a source of joy for us to respond to your comments and queries and keep you abreast of the latest activities and plans of our Mission through this column.

Recently, we celebrated the Vasant Panchami Parv, which is the sacred day of spiritual awakening of our Gurudev, the seer-sage of this era, Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya. Vasant (spring) symbolizes the vibrant upsurge of life and joy in Nature. The spirit of Vasant inspires us to be vigorous, hope-filled and creative.

This first decade of the new millennium is expected to be a very crucial and critical phase for humanity when the whole world will be facing the accumulated adverse consequences of the blind and single-tracked pursuit of materialistic power, pelf and possessions. The only hope pf deliverance from the clutches of the Devil of Darkness lies in global efforts for foundation level transformation of human souls. It is only thus that the epochal change as envisioned by seers like our Gurudev, would occur and usher in the dawn of the Golden Age of Truth. But this would be preceded by a grand churning –a decisive battle between the forces of the evil and the good. It will be an epochal clash between the culture of crass consumerism and self-aggrandisement and the culture of humane values of compassion, loving kindness, feelings of interconnectedness with all that exists and altruism.

The advancement of science and technology has provided us with enormous ranges of creature comforts. And, we have used it to move further towards the wrongly chosen valueless philosophy of life and comfort-driven mode of living, generating restlessness, tensions, stress and a horde of new diseases and disorders. It is indeed a pity that man, the intelligent being, has chosen this dark path of self-inflicted pain and suffering for himself and of total annihilation of Life on Mother Earth - the wonderful creation of Nature. Call it a quirk of destiny or a vicious plan of the devil, a demonic dance of unethical and immoral urges, intellectual corruption and all round pollution of earth, waters, skies and human psyche, of horrifying dimensions, is holding sway over the hearts and minds of mankind.

The New Year begins with the chill and fog of winter, which thaws and clears with time. But the deeper and thicker smog of delusion that darkens and weighs down human thinking seems to grow thicker and thicker with each succeeding year. Though everyone seems fearful, tense and concerned in one way or the other and yearns for peace and happiness, no one really seeks it aright through true knowledge, farsighted reasoning and ennobling ethical values which alone can be true panacea for the ills from which humanity is suffering. Who then is going to save humanity and the future of life on our beautiful planet?

The Divine Culture – the (Vedic) Indian Culture of cultivating divine values in mankind, the culture that emanates from the vision of "world as one family" (Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam) provides the key to true healing. Today, the revolution in Communication and Information Technology has made the earth a "Global Village". However, the interconnection is confined to globalization of trade and information exchange alone. What is more important is to link the minds and hearts of the people worldwide. This can be achieved only through the Vedic principle of "Ayam Nijah Paro Vetti….", which calls upon us to expand our individual self identity beyond the petty and illusory confines of "you" and "me" to the ever-inclusive sense of WE.

In order to bring about a positive course correction in the dismal and abysmal human scene we will have to resolutely turn our civilization towards perennial uplifting and ennobling cultural values and collectively come out of morass of degrading consumerism to simplification of our life style; from metro-cities to mostly self reliant towns and villages; from market-oriented self-advertising way of life to family-centred and sharing simple life-style; from mere bread-earning education to acquisition of true knowledge; from extrovert senseless talking to focused introspection…. We, the readers of "Akhand Jyoti" should listen to this wake up call and bear the responsibility of being the torch-bearers in this Mission of individual and collective self tranformation . The Yug Nirman Yojna of this Mission was conceived and planned by the immortal Himalayan Rishis and it was implemented in detail by Yug-Rishi Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya for foundation level social, intellectual and cultural transformation. Now is the time to expand it world-wide with greater and greater participation of the masses. Future generations, our world, our planet and humanity will be grateful forever if we could take effective steps towards this soul-level regeneration. The guidelines, the plans, the organizational structure are all in place; we just have to participate in the implementation. Our contributions according to our capacities, in this soul-awakening campaign, are sure, with Divine Grace, to bear the desired fruits.

We have to begin with ourselves. Two aims should be the focus of our every activity, throughout this year. These are: more focused endeavors of jivan sadhana and propagation of vidya; devotional worship by means of upasana, azana, prayer, ardasa, etc; and the daily and regular practice of the self-elevating and self purifying regimen of yoga, meditation etc. However, since ‘All life is Yoga’, jivana sadhana has to be practiced with every breath. Jivana sadhana means – holistic refinement of body, mind and soul and manifestation of their inherent divine qualities through vigilant self control and effacement of the ego through selfless service. Conscious control of senses; quietude of mind; judicious and wise use of time and material resources are the four basic and essential disciplines to be adopted for jivana sadhana.

Vidya (true knowledge) should be acquired by every seeker of peace, happiness and purposeful life. It can be attained by regular and attentive study and contemplation (swadhyaya) of inspiring literature and enlightened words of eminent personages in the field of spiritual search and by keeping the company (satsang) of such saints by listening to their discourses, discussions and participating in constructive activities guided by them. Setting some noble goals from what has been heard or learnt, self-analysis to evaluate self-progress in that direction, and determined faithful attempts towards improvement are integral parts of this process of jivana sadhana. The year 2003 is being observed by our Mission as the year for global dissemination of vidya. For this, the branches of the Mission spread over nearly 80 countries are divided into seven zones. Extensive programmes of teaching and training will be undertaken in earmarked sectors with particular emphasis on enlightening talented youth. Back home this will be carried out by the Mission’s 2400 branches and zonal centres by speeding up the on-going Gyan Rath, Jhola Pustakalaya, Dipa Yagya and short-term training courses and Sádhaná-sessions. These will be complemented with added activities of constructive welfare and self-reliant development programmes by establishment of local centres for self-employment, enterpreneurship, rural development and reformative and reconstructive activities. We look forward to your cooperation in your area of interest and expertise.

The current issue will unfold new secrets of the spiritual dimensions of human self and elucidate some facets of Vidyá and the Rishi Culture along with practical guidance for a happy contented family life Let us join in prayer for concrete positive outcomes of our spring time resolutions and also extend a joyous welcome to the blazing sunshine of summer, whose advent is not too far away.

Dr. Pranav Pandya
Chancellor
Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya