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| AHYMSIN NEWSLETTER, ISSUE - November 2015 | ||||||||
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Whole Heartedby Arlene MatthewsI first met Swami Veda in 2008 when he spent a month giving teachings at Rancho la Puerta in Mexico. The organizers of the retreat had asked me to write a daily blog recounting the event for those who could not attend. To my surprise and delight, Swamiji read the blog and enjoyed it. In fact, he asked me if I would help him edit some of his writings to reach a wider American lay audience. Over the next few years I was fortunate enough to attend more of Swami Veda’s talks in America, Mexico, and India. I noticed how accessible those talks were, and admired his ability to “channel” the teachings without—as he assured his audiences—notes or conscious forethought. His talks were deep, but also colloquial, and even playful. As everyone knows, Swami Veda possessed a wealth of scriptural knowledge and critical acumen. (I once asked him what I thought was a relatively simple question and he responded by sending me two volumes his Yoga Sutras of Patañjali commentary—totaling 1300 pages—with instructions to locate the answer therein.) But my goal was to simplify his essential messages.  In 2013, upon entering his extended silence, Swamiji sent me his small volume, Sadhana in Applied Spirituality, together with a collection entitled You and Your Emotions, a series of lectures he had given in America while he was teaching in Minneapolis. Clearly the time had come to do what I had promised. I edited and condensed the material in those works, adding a bit more from one of Swamiji’s successful Chinese publications (also based on lectures). With the help of Dr. Mehrad Nazari, Shi Hong, and others, the resulting book was published in America through Amazon in a volume called Whole Hearted: Applied Spirituality for Everyday Life. The book appeared on Amazon just days before Swamiji left his body. In fact, my final email, confirming its publication, was sent some thirty minutes before he passed. I don’t know if Swamiji received the email but I am absolutely certain he knows the book is out there. The slim volume, with an exquisite book jacket designed by Judythe Sieck, is available on Amazon in paperback and electronic form.
Editor’s Note:The book Whole Hearted: Applied Spirituality for Everyday Life can be found at Amazon at this link and is available in paperback or in Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Hearted-Applied-Spirituality-Everyday-ebook/dp/B0125TOCRA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445021932&sr=1-1&keywords=whole+hearted Swami Veda’s writing Sadhana in Applied Spirituality can be read at this link: Swami Veda’s two books on Yoga Sutras of Patañjali are:
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