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| AHYMSIN NEWSLETTER, ISSUE - July 2014 | ||||||||
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The Grace of the Guruby Aditi M. GaurThis last March I was invited to teach in South Africa. I had taught a lovely group of sadhakas from the country in September, and while leaving they had asked me if I would like to come and teach in their country. Without giving it much thought, I had said yes. Going abroad to teach had not been in my plans at all. I was quite content teaching in Mumbai where I lived and had no ambition, so to speak. Little did I know that my positive reply had motivated this lovely group of practitioners to set the wheels in motion as soon as they landed back in their home country.  In December I was sent plans, ideas, etc. and it was only then that the seriousness of it dawned on me. An opportunity that I hadn’t prayed for or anticipated was now at my doorstep. I immediately thought of Gurudev Swami Rama and said, “Look what I’ve gotten myself into now.” I took a couple of days to ponder over this as my fears enveloped me. “I’ve only been teaching for three years, am I competent enough to go there and teach?”, “There are so many more who are worthy of this, I’m just a small sadhaka, should I be taking this on so early in my teaching career?” and so it went. After much contemplation, I decided to go ahead. My thinking was that if something I hadn’t sought had come to me, surely I could treat it as Gurudev’s will and maybe it was my own fear of failure that was holding me back. I sat before a picture of Swami Rama and said, “Okay so I’ll treat this as your prasad and just teach what I know. But you have to be with me through it all because I am still a foolish sadhaka who is incapable of doing this by herself.” Pact made, I arrived in Cape Town. At a weekend retreat in the Cedarberg Mountains, I taught the students the Joints & Glands series one morning. It was interesting to watch as all of them were used to a very dynamic style of asana practice, and I could see them shifting restlessly, showing signs that they found these exercises a bit too mundane and simple for them. I’m sure they were wondering, “So this teacher comes from India and all she teaches us is simple hand and neck rotations?” However, at the end of the 12 minute deep relaxation that I led them through at the end they ‘looked’ very different. Each one of them walked to the dining area in silence, and there was a beautiful calm at breakfast that day. I have to be honest and say that I was rather surprised at this ‘effect’ but quickly realized where it was coming from. Gurudev had kept his part in our pact—that he would be with me. It was his grace that had flowed in class and the result was visible for all of us to see. Even the owner of the property remarked that he was amazed at the silence, and thanked the organizer for bringing such a wonderful group of people! The next day I shared with them the practice of Nadi Shodhanam and at the end of it, I found several of them not wanting to open their eyes, while most just didn’t feel like talking. There were lots of questions about the practice. “What sort of Pranayama is this? We’ve never experienced it before.” More than half of the group of twenty-five told me they didn’t think they would like to do anything else but Nadi Shodhanam after their experience and took several notes about the sequence, etc.  I was definitely amazed by what was unfolding but also very happy that the teachings of the lineage were being received so well. On the last day of the retreat we had a group meeting to say our good-byes and thank-yous. Each of the participants took a few minutes to share how the weekend had been for them and 95% of them said that they were happy to learn about the importance of the breath. They further shared that they now realize how incomplete their practice had been with just asanas and Ujjayi breathing, but now understood the importance of Diaphragmatic breathing, Makarasana and Nadi Shodhanam. But the one thing that will forever stay with me from this retreat is the feedback that one girl gave during this session. This had been her first “Yoga Retreat” and while she had practiced some asanas, she had always wanted to stay away from the rest of the practices as she felt she was a practicing Christian. As tears were rolling down her cheeks she said she had felt a calmness and peace that she couldn’t explain and had realized that the practice of Yoga is not in conflict with her faith at all. It was very hard for me to keep a dry eye on hearing this. I knew that something unique and special had happened during the weekend and it didn’t come from me. It was all Gurudev, it had to be. As I taught my other workshops in Cape Town and Johannesburg, I saw people hungering for peace but not realizing that it can only be found within. During the Meditation workshops that I was teaching, I saw people enter looking overwhelmed and leave looking calm. They said they didn’t realize how simple and effective it can be. And as I heard their feedback, I realized that I was so blessed to be a part of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition. There are so many people out there who are lost and don’t have access to teachings. The only access they have is to people like me who might visit their country occasionally and share a couple of things. It made me value and appreciate the time that I spend at the ashram, being able to talk, interact and learn from my teachers. So many people don’t have that. And yet we take it all for granted, not realizing the enormous blessing it actually is.  During the last leg of my three week stay in South Africa, I had the rare opportunity to teach Nelson Mandela’s daughter. A private session had been arranged at her house and I knew that a long cherished dream of mine was now coming to fruition. Nelson Mandela has always been someone I deeply admired and when he died in December I very much regretted being unable to meet him or be in his company in some way. As I walked into his daughter’s home, I felt as though somehow I was in his presence. His photographs and memorabilia were everywhere. At the end of my session, I paid a mental tribute to Mr. Mandela and thanked Gurudev for giving me the chance to serve him in an indirect way. Gurudev had made yet another dream of mine come true. My trip to South Africa was not only an enriching one but also a learning experience that as a teacher I feel everyone must go through. It doesn’t matter what part of the world we belong to, or what culture we were raised in, deep down we are all looking for happiness and peace. When I saw this at my workshops, I realized the commonality that binds us all. And when we look at it this way, it’s easier to accept people, easier to serve them. But without a doubt, the biggest realization that came from this trip was that I am richly blessed to be a part of this lineage and that it is truly alive. The grace does indeed flow; we only have to allow it to do so by stepping out of their way. If only we realize that we must become worthy instruments for this grace to flow in, we will discover that it does indeed work that way. It’s not us but they who make it all happen. All that I gained on this trip I offer at their feet.Editor's note: Aditi is a student in HYT-TTP. We invite you to visit her blog: http://yogalayablog.com/ To read an interview with Swami Veda conducted by Aditi: http://yogalayablog.com/true-guru-2/ To read “The Gifts of Silence” by Aditi, please use this link http://www.ahymsin.org/docs2/News/1401Jan/08.html |
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