Month: August 2013

It is that time of the year when Jainas celebrate Paryushana. This is the most holy celebration in the Jain calendar. It is the time when Jain laity take on vows of study and fasting with spiritual intensity similar to temporary monasticism.

I belong to the Shvetaambar (meaning white-clad, so nuns and monks dress in white) sect of Jainas and we will celebrate this occasion from 2nd September to 9th September this year, and Ksamavani will be celebrated on 9th. Other sects (Digambar – sky clad monks do not wear clothes and Sthanakvasi – who do not worship idols) may celebrate on different dates in the same month. For more information on Jainism you may wish to check this link http://www.india-religion.net/jainism.html

Swamiji wrote about the festival last year, and I have included this below:

Of the many religions indigenous to India, three stand out as the most ancient:

Vedic-Hindu,
Buddhism and
Jaina.

Of these the Jaina religion is the epitome of ahimsa, non-violence at all levels. It is the most pious and most ascetic. Its monks are still today masters of ascetic life.

The Jaina religion was established by a succession of twenty-four founding Masters, tirthankaras (fjord-makers) dating back to lost periods of antiquity.

The monks of all three of the above religions wander and then take a period of sojourn at one place during the four months of the monsoons; it is called chaaturmaasya (simply, ‘four months’). This is a time for contemplation, meditation, deep study and other observances. This is also the time when they take new initiates.

For Jaina religion, the start of this period is celebrated with great devotion by the laity. It is called paryusana (lit., fasting). It is eight days of fasting, sacred readings, select recitations, listening to the monks and so forth.

Ninth day is the day of seeking forgiveness. Kshamaapana or kshamaavani (other variations in various state languages of India). It occurs on 4th day of waxing moon in bhadrapada month, approximately August-September.

On this day, everyone (a) grants forgiveness and (b) asks for forgiveness. This includes renunciation of condemnation, judgment of others, irritation, anger.

The word kshamaa is derived from Sanskrit verb root ksham. The verb root means to have capacity, to be capacious. This requires the ability to absorb and dissolve all assaults. The word kshamaa is also one of twenty-one names of earth in the Vedas. It means for one to be as forgiving, as all-absorbing, as the earth that withstands and forgives all our trampling and digging into.

Here I may present an oft-quoted Sanskrit proverb:

kShamaa veerasya bhooShanam
forgiveness is the adornment of the brave.

This concept is re-enforced in other human experiences such as

• in India, holi festival celebrated as the day of forgiving the year’s aggressions and transgressions;
• in Thailand’s culture, every child is taught that anger is bad manners and the adults follow that in daily practical life and interpersonal relations;
• in Africa, in the training and initiation of spiritual guides in traditional African religions it is essential for the guide to conquer anger – as per my personal investigations.
• there are many such examples in world cultures that we all need to emulate.

In the Jaina day of forgiveness, the kshamaapana-sutra is recited in the ancient Prakrit (sister of Sanskrit) language:

khAmemi savve jIvA savve jIvA khamantu me.

mittI me savvabhUesu veraM majjhaM Na keNa vi

I forgive all living beings, may all of them forgive me.
I have friendship with all, enmity with none.

evamahaM AloiyaM nindiyaM grahiyaM duguNchhiyaM sammam
tiviheNaM padikkanto vandAmi jiNaM chauvvIsam ..

Thus, I truly reflect, reproach, censure and abhor (my wrong doings)
I atone threefold (for my acts of mind, speech and body) and pay obeisance to the 24 Jinas (Founding Masters of Jaina Tradition).

This festival should become part of the worldwide human community without restriction of nations and religions.

As a young child I would just do what I was asked and thought it was quite funny to say those unfamiliar words. As an adolescent I would do this shyly, not quite knowing why I was feeling shy to say these words and gesture by bringing the palms together. As a teenager I became sceptical about the whole thing of asking for forgiveness because I felt that even if I did ask for forgiveness it did not stop me from not liking someone, and I still found that people did gossip, and judge, etc. As I grew up it seemed a pointless thing to do because I felt I did not mean it.

I remember how my mother used to be so enthusiastic and go to this festival every year without fail, wearing her best saris and she would come back home in the evening beaming with happiness and on the last day I would go to the celebrations with my sisters and we would say Michchhami Dukkadam to our mum and she would so enthusiastically and lovingly greet us back. At that time I wished I had the same enthusiasm and love and wondered why it was absent in me.

Now, under the influence of Swamiji and his teachings, I have come to understand the power of forgiveness, the need to do this regularly. I have also come to appreciate the festival of Paryushan and the significance of the last day of Kshamaapana. Of course there is a long way to go but it is a good start. Swamiji always asks us to recite 7 Gayatris as pryaschit (atonement) for having hurt someone by thought, word or deed. Also, as I am sure is the case in a lot of other cultures, we would ask for forgiveness from a very ill or dying person if we happen to be there and similarly the person would also reciprocate the sentiment if they can.

To forgive is to forget the harm or misdeed, or hurt that one has suffered and not to have any a grudge or ill will against the perpetrator. When one asks for forgiveness, one also has to have the attitude of not repeating the act for which one has asked for forgiveness and asking is done with humility and sincerity. This is not easy and requires courage, faith and humility. Forgiving and asking for forgiveness can also be done in the form of a silent prayer.

I also feel that meditation is a form of forgiving and asking for forgiveness because one is not accumulating any karma during that time, good or bad.

The Jain community is now spread all over the world and with modern technology, communication and coordination of celebrating festivals has become easier.

In the UK, the community is widespread so different areas have different venues. Some hire halls; in some places, like London and other big cities, they have their own community halls and temples (Jain temples are called Deraasar or Apaasro).

In the mornings for two hours either there is a lecture, or the Kalpa-Sutra (sacred book) is read. It consists of biography of Tirthankar Mahavir, and other Tirthankaras. Mostly the biography of Tirthankar Mahavir is read.

The other sacred book called Tattvartha Sutras written by Archarya Ummaswati is also read if there is someone present who can teach the text.

In the evenings (from 6 to 8 pm) people sit to do Pratikraman (means turning back. It is a form of meditation where one reflects on his spiritual journey and renews his faith) for two hours, except on the last day when it lasts for four hours. Here is a link for more information on this https://sites.google.com/a/dfwjains.org/education/paryushan. Now the Pratikraman is also conducted in English for the benefit of the younger generation who do not understand Gujarati.

After Pratikraman, there is Aarti, Mangal Divo (means auspicious lamp), and on some days folk dancing. Most of the younger generation come to this later event after returning from their jobs.

On the 5th day, there is a special celebration in the evening when normally there is a play celebrating the birth of Tirthankar Mahavir and the 14 auspicious dreams of Mother Trishla before he was born. Most of the ladies will wear Red or Green coloured saris on that day.

People wear their best clothes and gold jewellery to come to these occasions. There is a sense of happiness and goodwill amongst everyone.

On the 7th day, all the tapasvis (people who have been fasting for the whole period on water only) will be honoured and given a gift(s) by community members. A lot of people fast to their capacity, some 1 day, some 3 days, some six days; some may eat only one meal a day during that period, some may give up certain foods. Generally people would refrain from using onions and garlic in their cooking.

On the 8th and last day, there is a 108 diva Aarti. Every day people pledge money to have the honour of holding the Aarti and especially so on the last day. A lot of money is collected which is then used to pay for hiring the halls and other expenses like inviting guests like Aarcharyas from India to give discourses and read sacred texts.

Then everyone will greet each other with this phrase “Michchhami Dukkadam” which is in Prakrit language and means – may all the evil that has been done be fruitless. People do this with palms joined together and head slightly bowed.

People will call their elders and loved ones by phone, email, or letter if not present during this festival.

Samvatsari is celebrated in following few days as convenient, mostly over weekends when the whole community eats a meal together. This is either donated by one family, or a few families share the honour, or if no donations are received it would be given by the community. It is considered meritorious to donate in these occasions.

During this festival lots of people volunteer to offer their services.

In ending this article, I join my palms and say michchhammi dukkadam to all.

A few weeks before Guru Purnima, I could feel that something was different. I did not know what exactly was different but I could feel it as if a chrysalis was coming to life. It seemed that it would be important to interview Pandit Harshanand Uniyal and his wife Kusum, the head priests at SRSG. She sat quietly and listened. They kindly agreed to make room in their very busy lives as parents and priests to come to my cottage for an interview. This is what I learned.

Please say something about what you do here, how long you have been here and how you came to SRSG.

We live here with our family, and the ashram is our family. We have two children. I started at Sadhana Mandir in 1999 when I was 34 years old. Earlier, I saw Swami Rama when I was a 15-year-old student at a school called Kali Kamli, where Pandit Gairola, the acharya of many of our pujas, is now principal. It is next to Sadhana Mandir. I was a child. I was walking along Ma Ganga and along came Swami Rama with two or three men. I was with my friend. We had heard about this great man Swami Rama but had never had darshan before. He looked straight ahead, walking majestically. For one brief moment he turned his head and looked at me. His gaze was brief but strong and focused. I am very clear now that the blessing was fixed then for me to be here now with Swami Veda. At the time, I did not know the significance of this meeting until some years later when I came to know Swami Veda.

I help my wife Kusum, the head priestess, prepare for the daily Devi pujas at the Tara Devi Temple and I do the daily Shaadhakeshvara Siva puja in the Siva temple. Whatever Swami Veda asks me to do, I also do. I started with him at Sadhana Mandir. If he said “those guests are leaving now. Go help them take their luggage to the car” I did it.

Every morning I go to Sadhana Mandir to check that all is okay in the Meditation Hall there and that the altar light is lit. I do karma-kanda (rituals) and other spiritual work of Swami Veda. The commitment and selfless sewa without any expectations we learned from Swami Veda. I have learned many things from Swami Veda about the Guru.

This has come by grace, the guru’s blessings. It is by his blessings that we are here.

Do you mean not just the physical form of the guru but also the transcendent and pervading force called the guru?

Yes.

This is a very special time of year and I know you have made many preparations.

Yes, we can see the dedication and love of Swami Veda and we want to simply do the work he gives us.

 How did these preparations begin?

We have been preparing for this puja for 4 or 5 months. Swami Veda has kept all these things in his mind since that time. Then one day he sent me a message asking me to please give him the programme for Guru Purnima. I did and he approved it.

How did you know what to write?

I knew that he wanted two special practices for the 9-day period leading up to Guru Purnima from the 14th July to Guru Purnima on the 22nd July. There are certain traditional things we do to prepare for an important puja and an akhanda patha so I knew. Akhanda patha means nonstop round-the-clock recitation.

What exactly are these two special practices?

There will be a havan or fire offerings with the recitations of the special mantra Akhanda-mandalakaram, both at Sadhana Mandir, the mother ashram, and here at SRSG.

Is this a special mantra honoring the guru and, in particular, of our guru lineage?

Yes, this mantra invokes the presence of the guru.

What is the other special practice?

There will be an akhanda-patha of the Shri Guru-Gita at both Ashrams from 14th to 22nd July. This is the first time Swami Veda has been here at SRSG for Guru Purnima. He is usually teaching and traveling on his worldwide mission at this time of year.

Have we recited the Shri Guru-Gita here before?

Yes, we do this once every year on Guru Purnima at both ashrams, first at Sadhana Mandir because it is the mother ashram, and then again here at SRSG. One complete recitation usually takes about an hour when done at a gentle pace. This is the first time that we will do the round-the-clock recitation of the Shri Guru-Gita here.

Who will do the Akhanda mandala japa and where and when will it be done?

There are 23 priests who will take turns chanting. Of them there are two acharyas, lead priests, Pandits Gairola and Rakesh Bahuguna. They have both been here many times. Two priests will chant the Akhanda mandala japa out loud with fire offerings for two hours each morning and one hour each evening (7-9 am and 5-6  pm). This will happen both at Sadhana Mandir in Swami Veda’s mud hut (fire kutiya) and at Sadhaka Grama in the big yajña shala by the main building. Swamiji’s mud hut is a place where he has done many, many fire offerings. The vibration there is very strong.

What is the Shri Guru-Gita? When and where will it be chanted?

The Shri Guru-Gita is very sacred. Different devatas (shining beings) have different prayers and this is a prayer for the Guru. It is a dedication to and an invocation of the Gurudeva. It has many verses. It is inviting the guru simply by its recitation.

The Shri Guru-Gita will be recited nonstop from Sunday, July 14th and will end on Guru Purnima, Monday, July 22nd. It will be chanted at Sadhana Mandir in just a small room. At SRSG it will be done in the Meditation Hall.

Are the akhanda mandala mantra with fire offerings and the Shri Guru-Gita unbroken recitations only for the priests or may others come?

All sadhakas are invited to sit in on both of these pujas.

Is there anything going on at the Tara Devi Temple?

Yes, all sadhakas are invited to sit in the Tara Devi Temple at any time and also to attend the daily pujas which have been going on since the invocation of this temple in 2012. The pujas are at 4:30 am and 5:30 pm every day. This temple is open 24 hours a day to all Swami Rama and Swami Veda students.

I know that preparation takes place from birth and previous lifetimes. But how do you make yourself ready for something like this?

If Swamiji asks me to do something for the ashram, I have no hesitation. It is his mission work, not something happening in a small room or for a small group of people. This is for everyone.

First I have prepared from my innermost feelings. This comes from seeing Swamiji’s feelings for all of us as his children, his students and for other people. I have fixed in my life sattvic feelings, speech and behavior. I speak softly—and by the grace of the guru, by keeping a humble daily schedule. I wake up at 3:45 am (4:15 am in the cold time) for the daily 4:45 puja to help my wife at the Tara Devi Temple and to do the morning Siva Temple puja here. We protect the Shri Chakra with a cloth because the Shri Chakra is the body of the Devi.

Swamiji carries a very large burden and resolves many, many issues from a place of meditation.

People do not have the capacity to understand Swamiji’s feelings and this is very difficult. This is why people make many mistakes with themselves with their thoughts, words and actions.

I have been working at the two ashrams—Sadhana Mandir and SRSG for 13 years. I am not a worker. I am a small student. These are my feelings. I live like this and simply make my way.

Some people say a person’s destiny is pre-determined and fixed, and there is nothing one can do to change it. Other people say destiny is completely malleable and entirely in our hands; that our choices and thoughts determine where we end up. Which view is correct?

Yoga says both are true: We have a destiny, and we can change it.

We come into this world bearing a hidden reservoir of subtle seeds, called Samskāras, that, when they burst forth later in life, predispose us to have certain interests, certain life-experiences. Although we are not consciously aware of these Samskāras, they pull us toward our destiny. Yet even though we have predispositions, we can change our course.

The first step is to become self-aware, so we can witness our own actions, and see the direction we’re heading. Often, this takes a “wake-up-call”, some painful experience, to motivate us to pay attention. Until then, we live unconsciously, acting out our predispositions. Until then we drink to excess, or worry ourselves sick, or in any of an infinite ways harm ourselves, and then by some good fortune we wake up, catch ourselves in the act of harming our life, and have a chance to correct our ways.

Practitioners of meditation don’t wait for a chance wake-up call. As part of their spiritual practice they cultivate their awareness, and learn to witness their own thoughts, emotions, and actions.

However one wakes up, doing so offers the chance to alter our destiny.

Those who stay asleep, who refuse to wake up, are destined to repeat the same mistakes, over and over, leading themselves evermore into pain. Those who wake up, have an opportunity to diminish the pain they encounter. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali tell us that “The pain that is yet to come can and should be eliminated”. Becoming aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions is the first step toward doing so.

Once awake, the next step is to exercise our will, and take action that leads in a better direction. Because our every thought and action creates new Samskāras, by exerting effort to act differently than our initial tendencies, we create new subtle mental patterns that, when built up and strengthened by repetition and focus over time, slowly change our tendencies, and we become different. Over time we decrease the pain in our lives.

With sincere and regular practice we can change our destiny. As the great Himalayan adept, Swami Rama, said “You are the architect of your life and you design your destiny.”

Yoga Nidra & Yoga Asana courses with Swami Ritavan & Ashutosh Sharma
Baan Phu Waan, Sampran, Thailand: May 18-19 2013

Guidance from Guru in Silence

Swami Veda Bharati has begun his 5-year vow of silence in March 2013. He promised us, however, that his silence practice would produce even more powerful impact on spiritual progress of each of us, provided that we stick to our daily practice and discipline. Many years ago I had read about Swami Rama’s different ways of teaching his close disciples, and one of method was to teach in silence. I wondered at the time how could this be, but I kept my mind opened to such possibility. This retreat provided me with a direct experience to understand what this means. Silence is the nature of God (Dhamma) and there is no better state than silence from where the teachings and wisdom could flow to the mind of spiritual seekers.

I recalled my uneasy feeling during the planning stage of this event; it was difficult to explain even to myself because I was not aware of the causes for my anxiety. One day, one of my best Kalayanamitras (Suchada Temvanishya), told me that “you  just lacked confidence because deep down in your subconscious mind, you knew that this would be the first event you would organize for Himalayan Yoga Meditation without the presence of Swami Veda Bharati”. Her words had awakened me and provided encouragement for me to allow my faith in the tradition to be tested (not to find faults within the teachings….but to further strengthen my own faith).

And the tests did come. We have experiences organizing a wonderful retreat with Swami Veda Bharati at Rose Garden (in Sampran) last year and we had more dedicated people to help with this year’s event. So we expected everything would run more smoothly. On the other hand, this event turned out to be a bigger challenge for us. We encountered problems here and there and as the new one surfaced, the intensity of  my inner worries rose. This reminded me of a story of Jesus and his 12 disciples in the middle of turbulent sea. Jesus was sleeping when their boat were rocked by stormy weather. All his disciples, despite being with him, felt terrified and tried to wake him up. Finally, Jesus got up and calmed the storm. He asked his disciples “where is your faith?”. This always happened to me in my daily situations also. One problem arises and I am immediately pushed out of balance and completely lose touch with all inspirations. Indeed, our faiths are still weak, but the Guru’s grace always stays with us if we are walking the path with sincerity. In the end, the retreat went very well and we are all pleased that people derived benefits from the teachings of Swami Ritavan Bharati and Ashutosh Sharma.  About 5 -6 people personally expressed their thanks to us for organizing and inviting them to participate in this retreat.

Himalayan Yoga Meditation is a living tradition

Swami Ritavan and Ashutosh Sharma started the retreat by telling their personal experiences about Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition. The reason for them to enter the path was because they were personally inspired by the living examples of the Masters (Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati).

These Masters could touch the people (who are in the process of seeking higher value in life) at the deepest part of their hearts because of the power of their minds generated from their sincere and disciplined practices of the knowledge, passed on to them by their Masters from the previous generations, tracing back to the Vedic period or even before.

The longing for mental calmness and happiness and for the answer to the question “what was the purpose of life” propelled their searches and when they met these Masters, they knew in their hearts that they had found the right path. They learned that yoga is not a short cut method to reduce suffering, but it is a long/continuous process of working on oneself at all levels; body, breath, emotion and mind. They are fortunate to have opportunities to live and learn from the Masters over extended period (40+ years for Swami Ritavan and 20+ years for Ashutosh Sharma), and the learning process still goes on for them.

Listening to the stories from personal experiences is the best way to communicate the essence of Himalayan Yoga Meditation to people. When asked to briefly explain what type of tradition Himalayan Yoga Meditation is, I always find no good answer and I do not want to simplify the answer by saying “in Himalayan tradition, we meditate by using personal mantra or by developing breath awareness or by watching the mind or by practicing vipassana or Samatha or by providing selfless services, or by internally worshipping God and Dhamma.” Of course, Himalayan Yoga Meditation integrates all these practices (and also many more other forms of practice) into a single whole unit. Swami Veda Bharati once said that as one progresses in spiritual practice, one realizes that each part of yoga cannot be practiced and absorbed in isolation. When coming to providing descriptions, the need to separate each practice arises in order to make it easier for the human mind to understand the concept intellectually. However, intellectual understanding would not take us anywhere if it is not put into real practice, leading to personal experiences. In that personal  experience, no part of the teachings can be separated from the others.

Yoga Nidra, a subtle science of spiritual practice

Who are we truly? Where are we going after death? And what is final destination of life? These are questions that often pop up in our minds although non -stop involvements in daily/worldly activities convince many of us to believe that they are pointless questions. As a result, these questions sink deep into the recess of our unconscious mind. Nonetheless, at one point in our life, particularly when we suddenly and helplessly fall into sufferings caused by losses of health, wealth and loved ones, we can no longer avoid these questions. Yoga Nidra is one of spiritual practices (all forms of practices support one another) that lead to answers for the above questions.

We deeply identify ourselves with our external forms: name, fame, career and social status, relationship, career achievement, the amount of money and properties we own. Yet, these things are not permanent and constantly change. Also, we cannot take any of these things to which we attach ourselves too much when our last breath comes, so they do not really belong to us. Worse still, these attachments rob us of our happiness here and now as we lose our abilities to be content with whatever we have, we suffer as a result. To realize our true nature (who we really are) will help us to understand death and our final destination; it is the highest wisdom. This knowledge in turn increases our ability to live our daily life with greater happiness, quality and purpose. Swami Ritavan said that there are two states which allow us to come in contact with our true nature and experience how death is like; one is when one is in deep sleep and the other is when one is in deep meditation. This is the state of deep silence as if one is in unlimited empty space (termed Shunya in Buddhism). When combining these two states, we get the practice called Yoga Nidra; a conscious sleep.

As human beings, we experience different states of consciousnesses throughout the day. According to yoga, the states of consciousness that most people are familiar with are the waking state that we spend in our normal daily activities, the dreaming state, and the deep sleep state. We may also notice that we are conscious of how we are and feel in the waking state more than in the dreaming state (it is hard to remember details of the dream when one wakes up). Most of us are not conscious at all when we are in deep sleep state. In the practice session, Swami Ritavan led us through the sensation of these different states; we slowly go into deeper and deeper layers of our consciousness and then slowly come out from the more subtle level into the gross level, our normal waking state. Actually, we go through these steps back and forth every day, but because our minds are not trained to be aware in every moment, we do not remember. Thus, it is normal for beginners to feel that it is just a practice of imagination. Continued practice will gradually increase our abilities to remain aware, even in deep sleep state, and eventually, we can take the experience of being in that state into our daily life.

Human body is a very complex system. We are not only gross body (flesh, bone, ligament, etc.), but we are also configurations of energy system. There are many thousand energy channels, called “Nadis” in our body; the three main ones include “Ida” (lunar energy channel represented by the symbol of the moon), “Pingala” (solar energy channel represented by the symbol of the sun) and “Sushumna” (where the Pingala and Ida cross and intertwine). Wherever the two or more energy channels meet, a whirlpool of energy is formed, becoming a center of energy called “Chakra”. As there are many energy channels, there are also lots of Chakras all over our bodies. The seven main Chakras form along the Sushumna channel: Muladhara, Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara. Each state of consciousness is represented by a different Chakra; Ajna for waking state, Vishuddha for dreaming state and Anahata for deep sleep state. Together, they are all represented by the sound of the sacred mantra “OM” (A-U-M, waking, dreaming, deep sleep).

The mind can be trained to be conscious of these three states. However, beyond these three lies the supreme state of consciousness called “Turiya”, which is beyond the mind. It is a state of universal consciousness, achieved by “Enlightened Beings” like Buddha, Krishna and Jesus, etc. Before reaching that peak point, we first need to fully understand waking, dreaming and deep sleep states.  This is the goal of Yoga Nidra as well as meditation. Swami Ritavan Bharati lovingly encouraged all of us to aspire to Yoga Nidra practice with the highest goal in mind. There are many benefits in a worldly sense to be derived from Yoga Nidra practice. These include deep relaxation, improved creativities, affirming one’s determination to undertake some worldly tasks.  But these are just by-products and a small part of the benefits. The most important thing is to keep “practice, practice and practice” without expectations.

Many Paths, One Goal

Himalayan Yoga Meditation, like all other authentic spiritual traditions, recognizes “One Ultimate Truth or Supreme Reality”, a concept which people who stick strongly to their own religious belief find it hard to accept – “mine is always the best” is the habit of human mind, but it has nothing to do with this one ultimate truth”, realized as personal experience by all Enlightened Beings (Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, etc). In Catholic belief, everything in this universe is created out of  the same God and yet we have variety of everything; human races, plants, animals, etc.  The same thing can be said of the Buddha’s teachings that Dhamma is the source of all manifested things. If God and Dhamma is happy to give birth to things that are different out of the same essence, why can’t they provide different paths to realize the (same) truth? Each of us is drawn towards one of these paths according to our background and personalities. But all the paths lead us to the same mountain top (of consciousness), the final goal of humanity.

Swami Ritavan said that the highest state of consciousness called “Turiya” has different names in different paths and traditions: “Brahman”, “Atman”, Nirvana (Nibbana), Christ consciousness, Union with God. Yoga is the tool, the map of consciousness, available for us, human beings, endowed with higher consciousness than any other created things in the universe, to help us along our journey to realize the highest value in life, which is the “Ultimate Truth”, the eternal source of life. Yoga is the path of life. Yoga can help enhance our faith and belief in the path or religion that we have already chosen.

Whatever path or religion we belong to, Swamiji encouraged us to be engaged in group activities (i.e. group meditation) of like-minded people and to exercise Isvara Pradidhana (devotion and surrender of one’s self to the Divinity in whatever form). These would help one progress on the spiritual path by purifying our emotions, opening up our hearts to the feeling of love and compassion, and transforming our internal state.

Hatha Yoga is the path and philosophy of life

When Ashutosh Sharma met Swami Veda more than 20 years ago, he asked Swamiji “how could you define what yoga is in one sentence ?”  Swamiji answered “To enjoy your every single breath is the real yoga”. This sounded simple and easy to him at first, but 20 years of experience made him realize that it is not that easy and in fact could be a life-long process and learning.

Most people take Yoga as a form of physical and breathing exercises, which although providing lots of benefits, is by no means yoga in its true sense. Ashutosh himself had attended several yoga schools in India and practiced lots of advanced asanas, that most people would have loved to be able to master. He derived great benefits, particularly health improvement, but the way he practiced during those days never brought real peace of mind to him. They could not help him overcome his own emotional weakness. After meeting with Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati, the life of yoga took on a new meaning and impact, far deeper than his own limited understanding of yoga before encountering these two masters.

Ashutosh said “Yoga is Samadhi”. If practicing asana does not lead us into and inspire us to practice meditation, then we miss a big part of it. We suffer a great deal in our daily life and relationships because of our emotional junk and thus emotional purification is the heart of Yoga asana. Swami Veda taught Ashutosh by using the situation in daily life to break Ashutosh’s habits, which made him rigid and inflexible.

Yoga asana should be practiced as a tool for us to gently dissolve our undesirable habits, whether they are physical, emotional or mental. Once these habits are mastered to a certain degree, we find greater freedom and suffer less in our life. Yoga is more of a mental exercise. We train our minds through physical movements and at the same time train our bodies via a clam, clear, and joyful mind. The breath is the link between mind and body. This means that we need to be aware of body, breath and state of mind at every moment during our practice.

As the name indicates, Hatha yoga is a combination (union) of the two forces, residing in every one of us. “Ha” is activating force, solar energy, which produces heat; it is represented by the symbol of the sun. “Tha” is the opposite; a relaxing or lunar energy. It cools down the body system and is represented by the symbol of the moon. Most people only emphasize “Ha” part, which reflects attitudes in their daily lives: pushing, competing, the uncontrolled need to be seen as better than others. When balanced with “Tha”, all actions one does have been transformed into the state of awareness. Aware of what? Our own physical, emotional and mental capacities and that we need to love and respect ourselves. Otherwise, we unconsciously become violent to ourselves and helplessly, we are also violent towards others (either through thoughts, speech or actions). Ashutosh stressed “Be nice to yourself” as this is the first step to take if you want to be truly compassionate towards others. It is also important to keep in mind that practicing yoga is not limited to activities on the mat, but it is 24 hours of work, day in day out.

Be self-inspired

A workshop with inspirational spiritual guide can always uplift our minds, elevating it to a beautiful state. It is very easy for anyone to feel that way. Bad (or good?) news, however, is that the real test comes when we are all back to our normal daily activities. To seek true happiness and value in life is indeed our own responsibilities.