Month: April 2017

A Week of Silence in Rishikesh

In the more than 3 decades of various kinds of sadhana that I have behind me, I only attempted for the first time a few days of silence in a quiet ashram in the Swiss Alps. This was in 2002. The results were mixed, yes I didn’t speak but my mind couldn’t stop chattering….The reason: my immaturity plus the fact that there were no efficient methodologies to tackle the mental noise.

But then in the spring of 2003, I participated in my first ever Silence Retreat with Swami Veda, Ashutosh and Pandit Ananta -now Swami Ritavan – in Holland and guess what? The magic happened! I still remember vividly returning from the retreat and waiting for take-away pizzas in a crowded restaurant. I felt enveloped by a blanket of silence that could not be disturbed by the outer turmoil……

In the summer of 2014 Swami Veda, there and then at the Ashram, urged me to do a week of silence, but due to circumstances I could not fully go into it. But I made a sankalpa: I will come back to Rishikesh to take Swamiji’s advice at heart.

My week started under the best of circumstances. Swami Ritavan initiated me in a special practice to anchor my meditational depths. Lena assured me that I would be cared for on all levels. I could even have my meals brought to my room on ‘noisy’ days like the upcoming Holi!

I tried to live up to a schedule that Swami Ritavan allowed me to create myself.

It meant following the basic ashram routines like the Joints & Glands and Hatha sessions in the morning and in the afternoon, the 2 meditation sessions, and the public teaching sessions in the evening.
For the rest of the day, I did extra sessions of meditation and japa in the Ma Tara Temple as well as in the nearby Virbhadra temple. To remain inspired I read the splendid book of Mohan Swami on Swami Rama. I also tried to include regular 61 points and shitili karana relaxations even up to Yoga Nidra.

One day I was reading how Mohanji was tested by Swami Rama. He was invited to Swamiji’s cottage in Honesdale but had to brave the ferocious dogs of his master. Swami told him this was a test because the first teaching of the Himalayan sages is to be fearless. After reading this, I went up to the Virbhadra temple taking the road near the small Kali river. Immediately a menacing looking dog, barking heavily, came running up to me. Did I feel fear? Well, yes…I did…..

One evening Rabindra Sahu gave a definition of meditation: to stop talking to one’s self. This became a measuring stick to my silence: keeping silence of the mouth was not that difficult but I discovered that I kept on entertaining myself with stories about myself….Luckily consistent mantra japa allowed me to silence this mental blabbering as well to some extent.

One of the highlights of the silence was the evening of kirtan. Of course, I did not chant along but I could sense all the devotion, the various moods of bhava which were evoked by the bhajans. Same thing during the evening celebration at the night of Holi. The festive atmosphere really entered me, such a bath of joy I felt…..

I will not go into any meditative experiences, some were profound but it is better to cherish them in my heart…..

Have I become a person with a silent mind? No, not really, I still lose myself in the different vrittis. But yes, there is a little bit more mindfulness and the edges of my emotions have become a little less sharp and hurtful, at least that is what I hope……So still a long way to go!

Editor’s Note:

Guided Silence Retreats are offered at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in Rishikesh, India. Participation is with approval of the silence guide and may be contingent upon prior systematic silence practice and/or experience in the basic practices of the Himalayan Tradition.

Mindfulness seems to be the buzzword everywhere these days – magazines, the web, coffee mugs, doctor’s offices, boardrooms, training programs, and even art galleries and football. Mindfulness promises us everything from better health and better relationships to success in business and sports. So let’s take a look at some of the original sources and their commentaries that describe mindfulness.

One of the primary textbooks of Ayurveda, the Charak Samhita, tells us both the causes of suffering and the means to prevent suffering. Suffering is caused by “mistakes of the intellect, overuse of the senses, and a lack of mindfulness.” The prevention of suffering comes by “avoiding intellectual errors, by calming the senses, and by being mindful.” In particular, we are advised to be mindful of proper time and place along with the karmic law of cause and effect.

For example, let’s say we always eat a large dinner at 9 pm but have trouble sleeping through the night. If we are practicing mindfulness of how our dinner (cause) affects our sleep (effect), we will make the connection that our timing for dinner was too close to bedtime. If we are not practicing mindfulness, we continue eating a late dinner out of habit and simply complain that we are not sleeping well.

Another example would be the action (karma) of eating dinner while driving (improper place and time) that causes the effect of indigestion (suffering). A little mindfulness will help us see the mistake of our intellect. Ayurveda offers all kinds of advice as to proper time, place and action, and we are well to take that advice. But it is through our own judgment, moderation and mindfulness that we put that advice to the test and find our own way.

The concept of mindfulness is related to the concept of memory or remembering. In the Sanskrit language of Ayurveda and Yoga, the word smrti is used for both. The expanded meaning of smrti is memory, mindfulness, awareness, intentness, one-pointedness, recollection, remembrance, reflection, and presence of mind, leading to contemplation and meditation.

In the primary textbook of Yoga, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, mindfulness is described as one of five interrelated powers or methods. In Sutra I.20, we are told the goal of yoga is attained through faith, strength, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. We must have faith (shraddha) in the tradition as we begin our practice. We are inspired by the stories of great yogis but have no direct experience. We accept the path by their testimony. This gives us the enthusiasm to take up the practices such as postures and breathing. This enthusiasm is termed virya or the strength of our own effort. As strength gathers in us through our practice we find ourselves becoming more mindful, focused and clear. In turn, our increasing mindfulness and clarity is the support for concentration and meditation practices. Finally, it is through the practice of meditation that intuitive wisdom (prajna) dawns. Now we are supported by our own direct experience, which reinforces our faith in the tradition. This process can be likened to the scientific method, where a hypothesis is put to the test and replicated in our own experience as valid proof.

According to Vyasa’s commentary on this sutra, as we gather our own direct experience, faith becomes “full clarity and pleasantness of the mindfield” as lingering doubts are eliminated. Our enthusiasm becomes our capacity to initiate and inspire others. Our mindfulness becomes recollection of our true nature. Our concentration and meditation becomes spiritual absorption or samadhi, and with awakened wisdom (prajna-viveka) “one then knows the exact reality.”

The Buddha also described the five powers in his original teachings. They are called the five strengths (pancha bala) or the five spiritual faculties (Indriyas). The Buddha recommends that we tune or balance our five faculties like a musical instrument so that the “strings” are neither too tight nor too loose.

According to the commentator Buddhaghosa in the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification), if the faculty of faith is too strong, it weakens our effort, our mindfulness, our concentration and our wisdom. In particular faith needs to be balanced by the faculty of wisdom or direct knowing. Then faith can perform its functions of strengthening our resolve and controlling doubt without being uncritical and naive.

In a similar way, if our efforts become too strong, it weakens our faith, our mindfulness, our concentration and our wisdom. Our efforts need to be balanced by the letting go process of relaxed concentration and the tranquility of meditation or we simply become tense, agitated and restless. On the other hand, meditation without any effort leads to idleness and laziness. The proper function of effort is to exert oneself in order to control laziness.

When properly balanced, the five faculties work in harmony. Concentration provides focus and counters distractions while wisdom provides insight and controls ignorance. But of the five, Buddhaghosa comments “strong mindfulness is needed in all instances; for mindfulness protects the mind from lapsing into agitation through faith, energy and wisdom, which favor agitation, and from lapsing into idleness through concentration, which favors idleness.” Mindfulness is therefore “as desirable in all instances as seasoning of salt in all sauces” or “as a prime minister in all the king’s business.” Practicing in this way, the mind “follows the road of serenity…like a charioteer when the horses are progressing evenly.”

Buddhaghosa sums up his commentary by telling us we must remain ever mindful to prevent the mind from steering off course:

“A man wise in temperament
Notices how his mind inclines:
Energy and serenity
Always he couples each to each.
Now, his mind, seeing that it holds back,
He prods, now the restraining rein
Tightening, seeing it pull too hard:
Guiding with even pace the race…
Gain thus, not otherwise, the prize.”

Editor’s note:

Gary Gran, CYT, DAy., is a Himalayan Tradition initiate. He is also a yoga and meditation instructor as well as an Ayurvedic educator and writer. Gary is certified by The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, and is a regular contributor to the Yoga Chicago Magazine. is a certified yoga teacher and ayurvedic practitioner trained in the Himalayan tradition. He lives and practices in Evanston, Illinois, USA.