• Table of Contents
  • Lecture #1 by Swami Veda Bharati
  • Spirituality into Family Life by Swami Veda Bharati
  • HYT-TTP Newsletter, March 2013 by Maryon Maass
  • Secret History of Teaching by Swami Veda Bharati
  • Summer Events at SRSG
  • Swamiji's Silence Vow Ceremony by Michelle Kinsey
  • Something Swamiji Said by Sunil Trikha
  • Vanaprastha Vows by Joanne Sullivan (Divya)
  • Maha-Shivaratri 2013 by Joanne Sullivan (Divya)
  • Annual Day Celebration of HYMC Noida
  • Newborn at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama by David Rodrigo
  • Future Force Yoga Youth by Vikash Ramjanam
  • Gurukulam Admissions Open for 2013/2014
  • Himalayan Yoga Center Pune by Shirin Venkat
  • 2013 Events and Beyond
  • Full Moon Meditation Dates
  • Location of the SRSG ashram
• AHYMSIN Newsletter Archive

Secret History of Teaching

by Swami Veda Bharati

“This article is what SVB ‘lectured’ (and typed up) for the TTP students on 5th April 2013.” – Maryon Maass.

SVB -

All teaching, like ancient silk and modern jackets, originated in China.

As you know, tea is a sacred plant in China.

The Chinese word for a book is ‘ching’.

They serve a lot of tea while teaching the sacred books.

So, the act became known as ‘tea-ching’ = teaching.

No good always being serious. One is not a yogi if not joyful. Be happy!!

If your students leave your class in a joyful mood, your class was successful. If they leave the class with a serene feeling, your class was successful. If they leave your class feeling that they had been loved, your class was successful.

Do keep these sutras in mind in developing yourself as a teacher.

I repeat what I have always said; your certification is not a piece of paper. Your certification comes not from your teachers; it comes from your students.

You are not just a school teacher. You are YOGA teacher. You are not teacher of classes. You are teacher of people, teacher of individuals even if there are 100000 students in your class. Each should feel that (s)he was being taught personally. Your love needs to be felt by each individual among them.

This comes from personal spiritual practice.

Spirituality is not in holding a lot of conversations about spirituality. It is in your own personal practice.

(1) Personal practice of what you have learnt here; daily sadhana.

(2) Mastery of the technique. Always refining it.

(3) Ask your teachers here how I have defined ‘mastery’.

(4) Svadhyaya, continued study. I still, at the age of 80, no matter how busy or how tired, I do not go to bed without having learnt something new before going to sleep.

(5) Keep refining. Keep practicing.

I still see wrinkles on a lot of foreheads in this audience. WHAT are you worrying about? By worrying about it here in the class, are you solving whatever problem is worrying you? Why waste your neuro-muscular energy? Conserve it.

Give to yourself some time for silence, study, practice.

Your visit here was not for getting a teacher certificate. It was for changing your own life style.

Between tonight and tomorrow, in your room, sit down, write down, what will be the changes in your MENTAL life from now on?  MENTAL life.

Those changes in your mental life will bring about changes, refinements in your daily external life.
Ask any questions now about teaching. …

You have all gone into silence? Congratulations!! Nowadays computers are programmed to answer all questions!!

JC asks – I have fear about being a teacher and rising to the caliber you ask of us. How can I overcome this fear so that I feel prepared and ready enough to teach?

SVB -Examine your fears. What is it the fear of?

My formula in my personal life has been to go confront my fears; just go do what I am afraid of doing.

All it requires—not always psychoanalysis and counseling by somebody but one’s own sankalpa. I strongly believe in sankalpa-shakti that you all have. Use it.

WHAT is it that I am afraid of? Is it something real? If it is unreal, just dismiss it. Sounds simple because it is indeed simple--- I have tried it many times in life. It does work!

I have also taught a long affirmation mantra of abhayam. You may learn it; and shiva-sankalpam.

Abhayam to conquer fear. Shiva-sankalpam to strengthen sankalpa-shakti.

Just a few repetitions daily. AND whenever needed.

Remember that teaching is an act of love. Are you afraid to love? WHY?

The abhayam mantra ends with the sentence: may all directions be friends unto me; may I be friends unto all directions.

The Upanishad says: dviteeyaad vai bhayam bhavati. Fear arises from the concept “other”. If there is no “other”, it is all one atman, universal spiritual self, who shall fear whom?

As your spiritual realization of this universal reality grows, your fears will vanish. Spiritual realization of universal atman.

Sankalpa-shakti. Affirmation of universal amity. That is all.

When I approach an audience to teach I feel so loved. So what should I be afraid of from you?

KS asks – What is the best way when teaching to allow for spontaneous intuition to come forward to teach?

SVB -

(1) Deepen your meditation

(2) Clear the negative cobwebs of disturbing emotions that becloud the inner pathways through which intuition flows.

Nothing new. But practice it. People have too many negative emotions.

DO bear one thing in mind. I have seen it with many people. When some people practice a lot of meditations but do not understand and therefore do not practice emotional purifications, I have seen their negative emotions intensify. Read that last part again.

So, meditation and sattvic emotion go hand in hand; never alone. Thousands of people are teaching some kind of yoga! But they are not teaching sattvic emotions. Your teaching needs to be different. It will be different if YOU practice sattvic emotions.

PE asks – When teaching children how does one stay in the joyful happy childlike space which they are always in... how do you approach teaching children?

SVB – Can someone here describe how I teach children? Who would like to do that?

JS – When Swamiji gives a child blessing it as though he becomes smaller than the child. He and the child merge as one. Swamiji becomes one entity with the child.

SVB – (Demonstrates taking the child into your arms and sitting in a relaxed state to breath with the child while they are within your embrace.)

It is by being in a PURE state of mind and emotions yourself at the moment that you are communicating with the child, that you teach the children.

Editor’s Note:

See article immediately preceding this one, “HYT-TTP Newsletter, March 2013,” for more about the TTP retreat.

Also written by Swami Veda (click on title to read):

• Mantra for Freedom from Fear
• The Last Statement of Swami Veda Bharati before Taking the Five-Year Vow of Silence at the Gathering of the Sangha (includes information about Shiva Sankalpa)
• Making a Sankalpa
• The Power of Ahimsa in Everyday Life

For more about HYT-TTP (Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program), please visit their website: http://www.himalayanyogatradition.com/