• Table of Contents
  • Spiritual Roots of Arts, Culture and Ethics by Swami Veda Bharati
  • Direct Experience by Swami Rama
  • Dr. Mohan Swami´s Address to the Sangha
  • 2016 Sangha Slideshow
  • Coming Home by Randall Krause (Mokshadeva)
  • Love by Miklós Zoltai
  • News from Debrecen, Hungary by Miklós Zoltai
  • Full Moon Meditation with Refugees by Marloes Vervaet
  • Dear Yoga Mentor, My Question Is…
  • Mauni Amavasya, Day of Silence by Joanne Sullivan (Divya))
  • The Search for Eternal Truth by Amy Cui
  • Yoga Youth and Children’s Retreat by Yuko Metsugi
  • 2016 Events and Beyond
  • Full Moon Meditation Dates
  • Location of our SRSG ashram
• AHYMSIN Newsletter Archive

Mauni Amavasya, Day of Silence

by Joanne Sullivan (Divya)

Mauni Amavasya (Silence Day) was observed on 8th February 2016.

A Request from Swami Veda

Swami Veda Bharati sent us a letter that we are still reading. He wrote that Mauni Amavasya is the auspicious no-moon day in the Hindu calendar when both moon and sun enter Capricorn. He wrote:

I would like many of my friends to set aside at least one day to share the silence with me just as you have shared the full moon day for an hour each month for more than a decade now.

If you plan from now, you can arrange your worldly affairs in such a way that they do not interfere with your one-day vow of silence.

On that day, no driving (except for emergencies), no TV, no conversation, just self-observation, contemplation, japa and learning (1) to give love in silence while (2) learning to love silence.

Mauni Amavasya at SRSG

Today, the Himalayan spring is still young. The chill in the air is crisp in the brilliant sunshine. Aspirants from around the world are here at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama—from India, Japan, Italy, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Korea  and the U.S.A., to name a few.

Many have observed today in the far reaches of the sangha. If you missed it, plan for the next Mauni Amavasya: January 27th, 2017. One need not fly to India to be present to the wonders of this day but there is very special ambience here on that day.

The third annual silence retreats surrounding Mauni Amavasya drew 24 people. This year sadhakas came from Korea, China, India, Mauritius, Hungary, Ukraine, the USA and Egypt. Swami Ma Radha Bharati guided the retreat participants. Some started before and ended on Mauni Amavasya while others began their silence on that auspicious day. People were welcome to do either 10 or 20 days of silence.  [The Mauni Amavasya Silence Retreats with Swami Ma Radha Bharati in 2017 will be18th - 27th January or 27th

January - 5th February, at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama. Come for either 10 days or 20 days. Please plan to arrive a couple of days before the starting date and plan to stay at least one day after the silence retreat.

This is with approval of the silence guide.]

When Nature Is a Riot of Color

I must tell you though that the splash of colors and birdsong here signal the approach of Mauni Amavasya as well. Tiny red birds move in and out of red berry-laden creepers from a few rooftops.

The doves are not silent. The repetitive rhythm of their haunting call evokes the rusty wheels of a pilgrim’s wagon train wending its way along well-worn Himalayan roads.

The plump orange flowers that tumble down the red brick walls from Swami Veda’s former place of residence are bursting with turgor. They remind me of forever-flowing waterfalls. Though even these stout-hearted flowers will die, to me, at this moment, they stand for the irrevocable absolute of Lineage—that which never dies, because (He, She, It) has no beginning and no end.

May All Know Peace Excluding None

From the first time we kept Mauni Amavasya at SRSG, I felt its magic. Twice I was moved to tears when I saw our noble gardeners, bookstore people and others carry the day along, sitting tall and still in the Meditation Hall, putting other duties on pause. Maybe this day is a crease of sheer possibility in the physical fabric of what we touch with all our senses-- that all shall know peace.

Swami Rama began every lecture with these words, a prayer for peace.

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय॥

Om asato mā sad gamaya,
tamaso mā jyotir gamaya,
mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.

Om. Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

Dr. Arya ended every satsang with another prayer for peace....

ॐ द्यौ: शान्ति रन्तरिक्षँ शान्ति:
पृथिवी शान्ति राप: शान्तिरोषधय: शान्ति:।
वनस्पतय: शान्ति र्विश्वे देवा: शान्ति र्ब्रह्म शान्ति:
सर्वँ शान्ति: शान्तिरेव शान्ति: सा मा शान्तिरेधि॥
ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति: शान्ति:॥
=यजुर्वेद ३६:१७

Aum dyauḥ śāntirantarikṣaṁ śāntiḥ
pṛthivī śāntirāpaḥ śāntiroṣadhayaḥ śāntiḥ
vanaspatayaḥ śāntirviśvedevāḥ śāntirbrahma śāntiḥ
sarvaṁ śāntiḥ śāntireva śāntiḥ
sā mā śāntiredhi
Aum śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ
Yajur Veda 36:17