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A GARLAND OF THANKS
Sri Mahavir Prasad
The Tyag Golden Jubilee celebration and the World Yoga Convention started in the lunar month of Kartik and will end in the same month. This lunar constellation is very auspicious and its vibrations are said to be more powerful than the bright rays of the sun and the cooling light of the moon. In our ancient text, the Skanda Purana, it is said that this is a very pious month in which all the 330 million gods and goddesses descend to the level of the earth, very close to mortal human beings. Other texts even discuss the idea that there is no millennium greater that Satya yuga, there is no text greater than the Vedas, there is no month greater than Kartik and there is no land holier than that traversed by the Ganges.
So this convention is very important for four reasons. Firstly, it celebrates the renunciation of the great sage, Paramahamsa Satyananda, secondly, it is being celebrated on the banks of the Ganges, thirdly, it is organized in the month of Kartik and fourthly, it is happening in the land of Munger, which has been sanctified by many ascetics, heroes, renunciates and generous people.
So in the process of delivering thanks, again I would like to begin by thanking Mother Nature. The first reason for thanking nature is that when, on the inaugural day, I thanked her for her showers, she thought, "If I send such a light shower and the District Magistrate of this district sends me so many thanks, why don't I pour down some more showers?'' She did it with spirit for three days continuously, and therefore, I thank her again.
Secondly, the boundaries and capacities of nature are infinite. It is such a great power that even the chance of resisting its efforts is in itself a matter for great honor and respect. In such a great struggle, even losing is prestigious, and our victory is obviously prestigious. It is just like a weak, thin man fighting courageously against the mighty world champion.
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