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Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama
Click here to view slides of your international headquarters in Rishikesh. You will also learn more about the various opportunities for both personal and group retreats as well as some of the variety of facilities available. We hope you visit us soon! (http://www.ahymsin.org/docs2/News/slides/slideshow/srsg1 ) To view pictures, click on each slide in the directory on the left. |
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HIMALAYAN YOGA AND MEDITATION CAMP
At the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, in the green and peaceful environment of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram, Rishikesh, a group of around 50 participants from different parts of India came together to learn, practice, and experience the spiritual teachings of the Himalayan yogis as taught by the Rev. Shri Swami Rama of the Himalayas and carried forward by his close disciple, Pujya Gurudev Shri Swami Veda Bharati. The goal of the Science of Yoga is mastery of the self. Integrating the ancient teachings of the East with the modern approaches of the West, the Himalayan Tradition of Yoga Meditation as taught by Swami Rama, teaches specific scientific, systematic and internal methods of training the human mind towards such self mastery. Being taught by different disciples of Swami Rama and by Sri Swami Veda himself throughout the world, the teachings are also imparted by Swami Veda Bharati in a traditional Gurukulam system in the ashram he established in Rishikesh, India, called Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram. The Himalayan Tradition Yoga and Meditation camp held here in the month of April 2009 was organized and conducted by the effervescent efforts of the senior Gurukulam students after attaining training in the teachings and practices of the Tradition over a period of time under the loving guidance and inspiration of Pujya Gurudev. In a normally international environment of culturally diverse people at SRSG, this camp, however, was held exclusively for Indian devotees and sadhakas. All the teachings were conducted primarily in Hindi. Moreover, to render an ambience reflective of traditional Indian Ashram system, other aspects like serving of food was also done in the traditional way, in the spirit of the old adage observed by every Indian home : “atithi devo bhava”. Participation in activities was regular and zestful, thus bringing forth the desired goal of the camp – emotional relaxation and purification, an insight into the spiritual aspect of self, as well as creating a motivation in the sadhakas for regular personal practice of yoga meditation in their daily lives. As the meaning of satsang conveys, being in connection with like-minded people on the spiritual path, a platform for continued collaboration amongst different sadhakas and teachers was also laid down by the means of this camp. Surrendering all the actions to the Guru and the Guru lineage. |
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Swami Veda’s early spring visit to Holland. From 16 to 28 March, Swami Veda visited Holland for a series of events. There was a two-day International Congress on Cultural Diversity, a Yoga Youth and Children’s gathering and a Retreat on “Meditations from the Upanishads”. There were also some interviews and television recordings made during the children’s retreat. During the retreat a foundational Ahymsin-meeting Europe was held, to which eight countries with 16 members participated and contributed. The Hague Dialogues Swamiji’s visit to Holland started with a conference “The Hague Dialogues”
Yoga Youth and Children’s retreat On Saturday, March 21, Swamiji’s focus was on teaching the first steps of the spirituality of the Himalayan sages to children and young people. The location was a spacious sports hall in The Hague. Swami Veda is very keen about getting the next generations involved in authentic yoga. He says: “If we populate the next generation with children who know compassion, love and the art of caring for others, we will have given the world a great gift.” For this reason, he plans a children’s and youth retreat in his Rishikesh Ashram in the Christmas holiday time of December 2011.Swamiji’s interest in teaching children is not new. Yearly family retreats are a well established tradition in the Minneapolis Meditation Centre. About 90 children and teenagers attended the seminar. They were split up into 2 groups. Uta and Shailendra guided the very young in the ‘animal- asanas’. It was great fun watching 4 and 5 year old children going into the lion’s pose accompanied with a lot of terrifying roars at the end or stretching out into the position of the cat. It is a great strategy to use items from the natural world to get children into yoga. As a group, the opening and the closing of a huge flower were imitated. Another yoga game was letting the children run free until Uta signaled to stop. Then they had to stand really still and observe their deep breathing. And then there was Swami Veda. Entering the hall unobtrusively, he sat quietly on his seat. Spontaneously, children started to come up to him. He put them on his lap and sprinkled them with drops of water and rose petals. Gently Swamiji covered them with his meditation blanket. Then, the tone shifted to one of deep quietude as he whispered the first mantra into the right ear of each child. Of course, they each recieved some goodie when their turn was over. It was simple, profound and very moving. Swamiji also thanked the parents for granting him the joy of having their small ones for 30 seconds on his lap. He said this is one of his greatest satisfactions. Swami Ritavan told me that the children were not supposed to sit regularly in meditative posture while reciting the sacred sound they received. But since children like to imitate, whenever they see mommy or daddy meditating, they might crawl on to the lap and be gently touched by the serene mind-field of their quiet parent.
The retreat started with Swami Veda’s 76th birthday celebration A quiet, dignified monastery near the Belgian border, that once belonged to the friars of Saint-Franciscus, was the setting of an international retreat with Swami Veda. When we arrived, attendants from all over Europe started checking in, their joy and laughter lighting up the dark alleys of the convent. Organizer Willem Meijer spoke warm words of welcome at the beginning of Swami Ritavan’s opening session. It was party-time tonight! The 24th of March is indeed the birthday of Swami Veda and we had to prepare for it! Quite a few came in well prepared: groups from Florence, Athens and the Dutch Surinam community had been already through numerous rehearsals of their cultural birthday gift to their teacher Swamiji was blossoming. He thanked everybody for such a hearty welcome. The cultural programme started with Swamiji reading some of his poems in English. Afterwards, Margriet read her skillful Dutch translations. With these readings, the muses goddesses were awakened and would not leave us alone until the end of the evening.
With the Indian Surinam community we were in for a big surprise. Apart from a joyous folk song they came with a recent CD recording of patriotic songs in Surinam Hindi, written decades ago by a young pandit who is presently known as Swami Veda!
The retreat was a real European get together, with 100 participants from 8 countries. (not everybody is in the photo, the other half were taking the pictures)
The Isavasya Upanishad: a series of workshops by Wolfgang Bisschoff In the first afternoon session, Swami Ritavan gave an introduction to the Upanishads Many of the students may have been aware of the conventional translation of the term Upanishad. However, as Swami Ritavan explained, the oral tradition of the Masters comes with a different explanation: upa: ‘coming very close in one’s mind’, ni: ‘the Totality’, This shows how the Himalayan tradition provides us with a yogic definition of the term. Studying the Upanishads implies coming very close with a receptive mind to the Totality by loosening up all tensions and blockages and letting go of attachments and habit patterns. And thus we were warned: Upanishad means practice. For this reason, we started the days with stretching, exercises for the joints and the endocrine system and yoga asanas. In the morning before workshops, Swami Veda led us through his unique guided meditations, introducing some special kriyas of focus and relaxation. Like the children who were covered by his meditation shawl, we were enveloped by his serenity which made the hour fly by. For his first class, Wolfgang Bischoff gathered us intimately around him. To make our minds calm and open, Wolfgang taught a two minute exercise which has even proven efficient all around the world in the down-to-earth professional meetings he supervises. In his explanations, Wolfgang linked the vibration and the content of this small text to the present economic crisis. “Reciting and studying this text is a great antidote to fear”, he said. He advised us to regularly read the mantras to see which verses really reverberate within us. The anonymous sage of this Upanishad experiences how everything is covered or permeated by Divinity. Nothing belongs really to us. So he advises us to ‘enjoy with renunciation.’ Doing these first verses provides us already with a perspective and a practice to proceed through life. The Isavasya Upanishad is a text full of paradoxes. “Those who worship avidya (ignorance) enter into blinding darkness, but into even greater darkness enter they who are engaged in vidya( knowledge).(verse 9) These are just two examples. Off course one can delve into the multiple commentaries starting with Shankara and up to Swami Rama but, like with a Zen koan, the true insight has to rise up from the depths of our meditative minds.
One afternoon he disclosed us how his master broke his selfish arrogance so that he could be open and more receptive. Swami Rama had urgently asked him to come over to his ashram in Rishikesh for an extremely important mission. Upon arriving, Wolfgang, who really felt very important, was promptly told that he was really needed to paint the 15m high walls of the Ashram. Wolfgang painted for 9 long months…but once the job was done, he was able to put his brushes aside with a less turbulent mind and a more humble attitude… The Mandukya Upanishad – a series of workshops by Swami Ritavan
This Upanishad is the shortest of all, but possibly the most profound. It is one of the key texts of the Himalayan lineage. In his commentary on it, Swami Rama agrees with the traditional conclusions which hold that the practice of the vidya of this brief text suffices to reach enlightenment. Its name mandukya alludes to the immobility of a frog. As we all know, meditation practice starts with stillness and stability of the body. Mandukya is a meditation on the states of consciousness which correlate with the 3 matras or sounds of AUM, leading to the amatra of transcendental consciousness. By his 32 points shavayatra and other practices like shitali karana, Swami Ritavan led us to a conscious exploration of taijasa, the lucid dream state and brought us to the borders of prajna, deep sleep. It was a pity that time did not allow him to open up the further reaches of yoga nidra, conscious sleep. Swami Veda’s Lectures on some Upanishadic gems Swami Veda started his first class with a comment about the academic approach to Upanishadic study. “It is not possible to set dates, there are so many different styles of language within one Upanishad. They come from the rishis, the founders of Brahma Vidya, the Wisdom of the Absolute.” Our teacher said that one can only rise to the level of Brahmavidya, “when one walks in this consciousness, the consciousness that anantkoti Brahmanda fills only the tip of a needle in the vast Ocean of Brahman.” He started to sing the first verses of the Isavasya Upanishad. From Wolfgang we had heard that the word isavasya stands for ‘that what is covered by the Lord’; but Swami presented us right away with a glimpse of his profound scholarship: he gave us the following alternative translation: ‘that which carries God’s fragrance.’ The maxim “Enjoy the world with renunciation” implies the art of giving. “Gather with a 100 hands, scatter with a thousand hands. Don’t have greed, don’t hang on to things!” was Swamiji’s practical lesson on this verse. Then Swamiji turned to the well know story from the Katha Upanishad of the young Nachiketas who was given to Yama, the Ruler of death by his angry father. In ‘Life, Here and Hereafter’, Swami Rama’s commentary on this text, he links this part of the story with the traditional preparation for sannyas where the candidate may be asked to spend 3 days and nights at the burning ghats. Swami Veda says it describes an important landmark in one’s spiritual evolution. When Yama returned, he felt very sorry for his lack of hospitality. To make up for this grave transgression, Nachiketas could ask for three boons. Swami Veda explained that all three boons were very important. The first boon which was granted was to take the anger away from his father. The second boon is highly esoteric. Nachiketas asked death for the knowledge of the Fire that leads to heaven but that, in the same time, is also the support of the universe. Swami Veda commented that, basically, the Upanishads teach two paths: the way to the Transcendent Brahman beyond space-time and the route to Cosmic Knowledge which is the wisdom of the Virat Purusha, the Divine presence in and as the universe. Swamiji said that this same knowledge of Virat Purusha was imparted by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield. Everything is a manifestation of Fire and there are identities between the Fires in the human microcosm and the universe, like the Fire in the sun. The technology to harness these Fires was very advanced in Vedic times. Homa-kundas were built in certain geometrical shapes and with specific numbers of bricks. “Fire offerings are gateways to Cosmic Knowledge. By using the sacraments of fire, one can control spaces, times and get all siddhis. It is a science which is related to the ‘fires’ and the ‘bricks’ which were there at the beginning of the universe. ” Most of this sacred knowledge of the fire altars which represent cosmic patterns is now lost. However, as Swamiji said:”If you jump to the higher knowledge, the lower knowledge will also come. One who has knowledge of Brahman will also get the knowledge of Virat on its macro -and micro levels and with all its vibrations.” The next evening Swami Veda chose not to delve into the third boon. Instead, he “Sent out by whom does this mind fly out….” But the true knowledge of this mystery will only come in a kshana. Swamiji defined a kshana as an infinitesimal short span of time. So this ‘flash’ of knowledge is intuitional and can only come to a completely silent, pacified, focused mind. “Only such a mind can become a gateway to Infinity.” Swamiji gave quite some attention to the second chapter of the text. In the ongoing ‘star wars’ between the Forces of Light and the Forces of Darkness, the Shining Beings won due to the help of Brahman. However they became puffed-up and thought it was all there own doing. Brahman decided to teach them a lesson. He took the form of a yaksha, an ethereal being, The nature spirit was holding up a little straw. Neither the god of Fire was able to burn it, nor the god of Wind could blow it. When Indra, king of gods, who according to Swamiji represents the individual soul approached the yaksha, he disappeared. So Indra became humiliated as well. Then the Divine Mother appeared revealing to Indra that it was Brahman who was behind the drama. Uma, the Goddess, disclosed the truth of Brahman in relation to the powers of nature and man. Swami Veda tried to bring home the grandeur of Brahman.”Brahman is satchidananda. This doesn’t mean that Brahman has the qualities of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss but that these make out his very being. So, don’t imagine the infinite bliss that we may be able to taste as knowing Brahman. It is only an experience of our anandamaya kosha, our sheath of bliss. This is only a minuscule fraction of the Ananda Brahman. It is like equating the taste of the orange juice left over in the pulp with the real juice in the glass. We have to be ambitious and go for the real juice. Brahman is ‘bhuma’, a Plenitude in which any concept of smallness cannot appear.”
On the final day, there was room for a lively question-and-answer session. Following one of the questions which was related to an experience of a lady during the seminar, Swamiji concluded with a meditation whereby he guided us to enter the Cave of the Heart where we could pay mental homage the Divinity shining within. I am sure that all participants, one way or other, got what they came for, or even more: a glimpse of the purnam, the Fullness in which everything abides. This report seems rather lengthy but it is not. I was only able to give a few highlights from the profound satsangs that were given. Meeting and greeting each other at the AHYMSIN Europe sessions Apart from the full schedule that also included an in-depth analysis of the mantra science of the Himalayan tradition, an exposé on the historical context of the Vedic civilization, a session on the right way of sitting to practice meditation and a class on Ayurveda by an Italian professional vaidya, some of us gathered together after lunch in a ‘meet-and-greet’ session. With the encouragement of Swami Veda, Willem Meijer organized these meetings where teachers and students from 8 countries gathered together. Attendants presented themselves; they spoke of their experiences, viewpoints and aspirations. The sessions were quite intensive. All shared the need and the vision of establishing a strong and professional structure to disseminate the wisdom of the Himalayan Tradition through Swami Veda and his coworkers. The participants were asked to put their ideas on cards. The following day, Sonia Van Nispen gathered the cards according to issues. This exercise in mind-mapping proved quite successful: it took Sonia 7 full pages to write a résumé of all proposals. The report will be published on a website. The ideas and inspirations will serve as seeds to be nourished by all of us. Yearly European conferences in a retreat setting will be organized where we will meet again and bring initiatives into manifestation. |
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Visit of Gurukulam students to Devprayag and Chandrabadni
Heaven in the Mountains A group of thirty SRSG Gurukulam students and faculty went on an outing into the Himalayan mountains on the 18th of March. It was a long awaited picnic and the weather was sunny and warm, making the trip more enjoyable. We started the trip with the chanting of Mahamritunjaya mantra. The bus journey of around four hours from Rishikesh to the Chandra Badni temple was filled with joy, laughter and snacks. This was the first trip of this kind for me; going into the mountains with such a big group. A little hike of half an hour brought us to the temple of the Goddess, Chandra Badni. The moment I climbed the terrace of the temple and looked around, a thought flashed through me – this is the heaven on earth. I was surrounded by high majestic Himalayas for as far as the eye could see, snow peaks shining like they were wearing diamond necklaces. We all soon went to the temple and did our prayers and offered prasad. I could feel the serene presence of spiritual energy in the temple. The place invited me to sit in meditation for some time. We clicked group photos there. From Chandra Badni we went to Devprayag where two rivers, Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, merge to form the Ganges river. The Alaknanda was quiet and the Bhagirathi flowed like a whirwind. The rivers had different colors. A lot of us bathed and played around in the Ganga water and shivered in the fresh air. Here we also visited the Raghunath temple, an ancient temple of Lord Rama. -submitted by Rahul (gurukulam student)
Two Streams United Devprayag is one of the holy places of India. In ancient times sages, saints and other scholars stayed there and did great penances. Devprayag (ed: a prayag is a confluence of two rivers) is mentioned in the Pauranic scriptures as a simile for the unity of the two breaths flowing in the human body. The Bhagirathi River, coming from Gomukha, and the Alaknanda River, from Badrinatha, unite with each other at this place and flow as a single stream (the Ganges); as in the body Ida from left and Pingala from right unite at the eyebrow center and flow as a single stream, Sushumna.
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SANSKRIT BHARATI YOGA MEDITATION CAMP AT SRSG
During this camp, practices like basic preparation for meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, digestive breathing, relaxation, nadi-shodhana pranayama, joints and glands as well as asanas, were intensively practiced by the participants.
Submitted by Adhikari |
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Call for Volunteers Children’s retreat: Teachers We are looking for yoga teachers in our tradition who have experience working with children and would like to form committee/committees to gather information and develop some sort of curriculum/goal objective for teaching various age groups of children. If you are interested in joining a committee and dialoguing (most likely through email) please write to Lela at vedayouthcensus@gmail.com Food Committee: For the 2011 children’s retreat in Rishikesh, India, we would like to emphasize the importance of serving the tradition and serving each other. If we minimize our hiring of outside help during the retreat and share in the work together then we can increase our opportunities to bond in everyday activities (karma yoga) and really feel that sense of community. We can expand our immediate family to include all of our spiritual family members. Therefore it would be good if we could do all of the cooking ourselves. If anyone is interested in heading a food committee to plan the preparation of meals during the 10 day retreat, please write to Lela at vedayouthcensus@gmail.com . Travel coordinator: We are looking for someone to help organize group flights for people in different regions of the world. If you have experience and are interested in helping with this, please write to Lela at vedayouthcensus@gmail.com or ahymsin@gmail.com |
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TTP News Namaste' and Greetings to all our Friends and Affiliations Around the world, We are up and ready to serve our students with a complete ,"YOGA ALLIANCE", accredited 200 and 600 hour certification program. Level ONE for 200 and 600 hour programs are available this summer from July 18-August 1, 2009 in ST Thomas University in St Paul, Minnesota, USA. The true meaning of yoga is developed in this course as you deepen your practice and become more “insightful“, and complete in your body mind and spirit. It is now more noticed in the world after a long period of HATHA yoga that students and teachers are asking “Is there more? I feel there is more to yoga”. If you have this question, you may have it answered from the transmission and the depth of knowledge that is called the Himalayan Tradition. Please visit our new and complete website at www.hyt-ttp.com and see what is possible for your particular level of training needs |
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Yoga Nidra Workshop Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
By gaining knowledge and direct experience of this blissful state, you will learn to revisit this incredible state of consciousness on your own. |
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At the SRSG ashram:
Contact: ahymsin@gmail.com Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program (HYT-TTP)
Contact: info@hyt-ttp.com www.himalayanyogatradition.com Where in the world is Swami Veda?
For more details please visit : www.globalmeditations.org , www.swamiveda.org , www.ahymsin.org , www.bindu.org , www.yogaineurope.eu , www.themeditationcenter.org etc.
WHEN IS THE FULL MOON ? The dates of the Full Moon Meditations are announced after our Ashram Pandits have worked out the exact hours and minutes of the full moon each month. The hours of the full moon span two calendar days in western time. By Swami Veda’s request, the date with the most full moon hours is chosen for the Full Moon Meditation. Location of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama on the Globe Below image shows the location of Swami Rama Sadhka Grama (SRSG) on the globe. Also visit this link to know the exact location of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in the world http://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=Swami+Rama+Sadhaka+Grama&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&mid=1237030782 ![]() |
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