Month: April 2018

2019 Sangha Gathering

Posted on by Divya - Administrator

The Interview with Swami Ritavan Bharati about the upcoming 2019 AHYMSIN Sangha Gathering was recorded and edited by Lo, whom Tinyu Chen brought to Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama in March 2018. Below is a transcript of the video interview.

When we look to the future, we look at how can we create opportunities for students to deepen their practice or to become familiar with, to be introduced to practices that they may feel that now they are ready for, now they would like to understand themselves through such unique ways of these prayers, contemplations, meditation, yoga practices, so we’re coming together with a special gathering next year.

We are honoring Swami Veda in the sense of his beautiful little book, booklet, that he created for the United Nations presentation some years ago. Also for the Parliament of World Religions he gave a talk. He gave a theme that was simply called

“The Perennial in the Millennium” for it was the change of the millennium.  And he took these sentiments of how would one want to create a beautiful future, a peaceful future. Not only for oneself or one’s family or even among a community, but for the whole world. So he presented this at the United Nations. He presented these beautiful tools of insight and guidance for humanity if they so choose.

So we are going to gather a group together next year in the month of February and March to specifically review these themes of living, living with the sense of sustainability, with a sense of understanding Mother Earth’s ability to give and us as humans, not always taking, taking, taking, but to live in harmony with nature as a way by which we can see more of a beautiful future.

So with this the sangha, the members of the world organization, of the world communities, coming together for the AHYMSIN organization and serving the intention of Swami Veda before he left his life to inspire us for the future.

Also we have a number of traveling teachers so we continue to provide the instruction and the guidance, either by the way of seminars or programs or by way of teacher training. And again our unique way of training yoga teachers is to see yoga in ten different fields of knowledge, so we work with the entire scope of a, let’s say, an understanding of yoga.

What is the philosophy and the psychology or the texts and the scriptures or through one’s sadhana or through the tradition of the yoga lineage or through the asanas in the anatomy of the body, or through the pranayamas in the understanding of the breath practices that lead to meditation as well as the meditative states and the very specific tools of relaxation and in that way concentration that leads to meditation. These once again the context of the yoga philosophy that has been given to us through Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. This is simply to say that yoga means samadhi. The purpose of yoga is samadhi, that state of harmony, unity, and oneness within one’s true nature.

So we continue to guide perspective teachers that would like to learn the practices in our tradition, teach yoga, but mostly practice, so that they really can provide guidance for their students in the future.

You know that in the paths of yoga, there are many paths that all lead to the same mountain top. Some are always wanting to read and to feel that connection that ideas can give them and in that way apply that in their life. Others like to be more active, more involved, more sharing with others, giving to others, working for others in the sense of a collective effort, and we say that’s the karma yoga, and in that way they understand through the acts of service and seva. Also one, they have more of an emotional character, which then bhakti yoga is able to guide them in the paths of making that object  of their emotion and of their sentiment a divine purpose either within the recognition of the divine in the other person or through their own prayer life that deepens through this deep sentiment called bhakti yoga.

So these tools of the yoga practice, of the paths of yoga. And then using the modern methods, let’s say, the ways in which over the internet now you have so many ways to view videos, to hear audios, to examine some of the Sanskrit texts or the language in which the texts have been written, the Sanskrit language, and in that way begin a sense of study.

But there should always be a sense of coming back to a guide, a guide that can form fit. You go to a shoe shop, and you say, you just don’t say give me a shoe and pull anything off. You say, “Do you have someone that can measure my foot?”, and so they measure it. “Yes, you need this. This is best for you.” So in that way the yoga guide is so important and in that way whatever you’re collecting by way of means and practices will be fine tuned through the guide and applied then for your effortless journey on this spiritual journey.

Editor’s Note:

The 2019 Sangha Gathering is scheduled for 25th February – 5th March, 2019, at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in Rishikesh, India. Contact: ahymsin@ahymsin.org

“The Perennial in the Millennium” by Swami Veda Bharati is available in Kindle from Amazon and Amazon.in.  For inquiries about purchasing it in booklet form, please contact Himalayan Yoga Publications Trust (HYPT) at hyptbooks@gmail.com.

“The Perennial in the Millennium,” a poem by Swami Veda Bharati can be read by clicking on the title.

This article has previously been published in the AHYMSIN Newsletter, April 2018.

What is the role of the personal mantra in yoga?

Posted on by Mandala

Question

What is the role that the personal mantra (the mantra that is received during initiation) in yoga?

Answers

Three have answered this question: Mrs. Lalita Arya (Ammaji), Michael Smith, and Carolyn Hume.

Mrs. Lalita Arya (Ammaji)

This is a good and normal question.

Anyway, the main function for the beginner is that the personal mantra helps the discipline of FOCUS … developing, training and maintaining focus – that is so important in the study of Y & M. When one is doing the mantra all else takes secondary importance and the mental repetition is all that matters – it also helps to remove ideas of ‘ego’ as it dwells only on sound. Once that concentration is mastered the other subtle reasons reveal themselves and there would not arise the question asked.

Michael Smith

There are Swami Veda’s three booklets:

  1. Mantra What & Why
  2. Mantra after Initiation
  3. Special Mantras

and his book Mantra and Meditation. (Sometimes Pandit Usharbudh Arya, Swami Veda’s pre-sanyas name, is the listed author of the book Mantra and Meditation.)

Also, in Pt. Dabral’s recent lecture he speaks a lot about the benefits of mantra practice . . . . You’ll be getting both the audio and the transcript of that lecture ASAP: “Deepening Your Sadhana”, in the February 2018 Ahymsin newsletter.

Personally, I like what Swami Rama said about mantra initiation: “When you receive a mantra, you’re given an angel.”

This is a personal speculation only (below):

In the Himalayan Yoga Tradition, the Diksha Mantra is the sound body of an Ideal, Archetypal, Dharmic Form.

A Mantra is the Sound-body (Ideal Form), an aspect of the Divine Essence.

A Yantra is the Light-body (geometric visual-body).

A Murti (Image) is the Material-body.

We are imperfect representations of our Archetypal Forms, so — as Swami Rama said — “When you receive a mantra, you receive an Angel.”

With Japa, our task is to super-impose an Archetypal (Angelic) Form over our mundane form – a Name (an aspect of God, a Deity, a Deva) – as a step toward the unmanifest God (Brahman), God without name and form.

A prayer in the East and the West is

“Dear Lord, make me over again according to Thy Divine Image.”
“Dear Lord, make me over again according to Thy Heavenly Form.”
“Our Father Who art in Heaven,
Hallowed by Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy Will be done,
on Earth as it is in Heaven . . . .”

Names, especially divine Names (Mantras) are vessels of extraordinary power.

In all religious texts, such as the Bible and the Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikhs, again and again, homage is paid to the NAME, which is the LOGOS or the Word/Intelligence of God.

Carolyn Hume

Among other places, Swami Rama writes about mantra in the chapter “Meditation, Mind, and the Mantra” in the book Meditation and Its Practice and in the chapter *Understanding the Process of Meditation” in the book The Art of Joyful Living.

Also you may like to read the article written by Wolfgang Bischoff “Elaboration of Meditation as ‘Indwelling‘”.

Editor’s Note

If you have any questions about your spiritual practice, you may write to the AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee at adhyatmasamiti@gmail.com.

Death and Transition

Posted on by Mandala

The fear of death is one of our most prominent fears. We are all afraid of the word “death” and do not want to face the truth that we all have to die. Why do we fear dying? Death itself is not painful; only the fear of death is painful. When we take off an old shirt to put on a new one, we do not feel fear or pain; we are only pleased to have a new shirt. But the thought of taking off our body brings fear.

This is the way of the world. You see a child dying, and old woman or old man dying, your friend dying, or perhaps sometimes a young, healthy person dying, and you say, “I don’t believe in God!” But this is not God’s doing. Death has never given you any assurances or guarantees; it comes at any time. And so we fear it. That fear is projected in many ways. Because you see death all around, you worry: “My husband will die – My other will die – What will happen to me? ”You remain constantly insecure. You need to examine that insecurity; you have to understand it and not be afraid. You are sure to die. Even the strongest dies; the best, the most powerful person dies – even a sage dies, although he has a better dying. How can you ignore this reality? Why do you not understand it?

If you merely remember fear, it will create more fear. But if you systematically analyze your fear, you will see that it has a dual face: you are either afraid of losing something, or you are afraid of not gaining something. That is fear. A major fear with each of us is that our body will perish. But you have not analyzed this fear. Would you want your body to be eternal?

There was once a sage who prayed and prayed for eternal life. Finally, God came down and told him, “Okay, go to the spring in that mountain, drink the perennial water, and you will become immortal.” So the sage rushed there with great pride and anticipation. But when he thrust himself forward to drink from the water, he suddenly heard many semi-immortal beings shouting to him: “Don’t do it! Don’t drink the water! We all drank it and we are suffering.” So the sage asked, “What’s the matter?” They answered, “We wasted our entire energy asking God for eternal life, and God told us to drink the water. Now we are immortal – but to be an immortal human being is not a pleasant thing to be. It is torture being here in this world for a long time. Neither the mind nor the body can handle eternal life.”

If we know something about the philosophy of death and the technique of dying, then our fears about death will be eliminated and we will approach death differently. Actually, there is no mother who can give you the shelter that death can. Your physical mother gives you birth; but death gives you real solace and rest. Death is an expansion of sleep.

In Sanskrit, death is called sahodara, or “sister.” These two sisters, sleep and death, are born from the same mother, the same source. Just as sleep gives you peace, so also does death give you peace. Sleep relieves you rom certain stresses, but death relieves you from the stress of a lifetime. Death puts you into a long sleep. You may sleep now for three hours, but death puts you into a sleep of a hundred years, or perhaps two hundred years. How can we say that death is terrifying? We want to sleep; should we also not want to die? But because people are afraid of the subject, there are very few experiments conducted on death.

Instead of avoiding the thought of death, it is very helpful for us to understand what death is. None of us experiences the reality of our death in our daily life. We do not really believe that we will die, although we see others die. There is a constant battle in the human mind and heart about death, but you do not discuss it because you are afraid. So you push aside the fear of death, the highest fear, and then that fear is projected in many ways. You worry that your spouse or father will die, and wonder what will happen to you. Or you worry that your lover will die, or your bank book will die, because you see death all around. This means that you always remain insecure, and you need to examine that insecurity. You have to understand this fear and not be afraid. You are sure to die.

Actually, nobody is really afraid of death – people are afraid of pain and illness. It is a terrible thing when one suffers great pain and does not die. The actual experience of death is not the pain that makes you cry. But if you understand what that suffering is, it goes away. You understand, by that time, that there is no pain in death. Then you are very close to the Reality, though you are not yet enlightened.

Editor’s note

This passage has been taken from the book Path of Fire and Light Vol 2, pp 19 – 21, by Swami Rama, published 1976 by the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA.

Significance of Yajna

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Yajna, Homa or Havana or Agni-Hotra Fire Offerings Ceremonies

The first word of Rigveda is agni (Cp. ignes, igneous, ignite, ignition). It was due to the Buddhist influence that the Hindus began to sculpt images1. The Vedic religion was primarily that of worshipping divinities through the medium of fire. Very complex fire altars with geometric precision were built. What is now known as Pythagoras’ theorem is called Bodhayana’s theorem by many Hindus as it appears in Bodhayana’s text (14th century BC) on the construction of fire altars.

The Vedic worship through fire is different from the Mazdayasnian (=Zarathushtrian=Parsi) worship. In the Mazdayasnian religion the fire itself is the divine presence. In the Vedic, Agni is a divine being who not only receives offerings in his own right but more prominently is also the messenger of humans , carrier of the offerings of humans, to the devas, as well as the messenger of devas to humans.

The Vedic fire offerings remain at least half of all Hindu ritual and liturgy.

The fire altar is a pit of defined shape which is consecrated. The presence of Agni is invoked with mantras.

Samagree and ghee are burnt with mantric recitations. Samagree may differ from season to season and for different purposes that the yajamana (one for whom, by whom, or on whose behalf the service is being performed, Cp. Household that may request a special Mass to be said) may have in mind2.

Samagree is a mixture of as many as 36 (or more or less) barks, roots, leaves, herbs etc. mixed by traditional formulations and are supposed to have therapeutic and depollutant effect.

Ghee, the essence of anna (food) has many spiritual associations.

Dry samagree being burnt is very hard on the nose; ghee softens it, too.

A homa, or more commonly called yajna, may last from a few hours to many weeks.

One may choose to recite a mantra just 108 times or have it recited as many as 10 million times. The power of the intonation and the concentration of mind experienced is remarkable.

Each recitation is completed with the enunciation of the word svaha (all the way from Tibet to Japan, they pronounced the word as Soha). It is a potent word, difficult to translate, like OM. Roughly, I make this offering in truth and sincerity and surrender.

The phrase na mama or idam na mama is pronounced. Not mine. Not mine. I offer all my claims of ego as an offering of worshipful surrender. I burn all my desires and claims in the fire3.

Repeated 108 times. 125000 times. 10 million times. Each time the hand extending and pouring the fragrant offering into the fire.

This is the briefest essence of the fire ceremony.

On the last day, all remaining ghee etc. must be poured in holocaust.

Let me explain (not the Nazi brutality) the Greek holocaust. The Greeks also made ‘burnt offerings’ as did the Hebrews of the Old Testament. When an offering poured into the sacred fire was completely burnt it was understood that the gods have accepted the prayer; that was called holocaust by the Greeks. The Indian word is purna-ahuti: the offering of completeness, of perfection which is made with the mantra:

purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam ud-achyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evava-shishyate

(The word purna means filled, fulfilled, complete, perfected, perfect as God).

That is purna; this is purna4.
purna is taken  from the purna.
Upon taking purna from the purna
what remains, too, is purna.

(The definition of infinity recited in the fire ritual – as above).

As to the pouring of ghee through long bamboo – just a convenience. When the final offering is to be poured it has to be ample – all that remains of one’s desires, actions, fruits thereof.

That much ghee makes for a very heavy blaze. To stand a little far away and still pour the ghee-offering the long bamboo is used, resting on two cross bamboo poles! Nothing mystical about it (although one can give a mystical explanation for anything!!).

Most Hindu philosophers and theologians state the concept of life as a yajna as the fundamental Hindu model.

A devout householder is supposed to perform five yajnas daily:

Brahma-yajna = daily meditation, offering into the interior fires of prana, mind and consciousness;

Deva-yajna = worship offering to the Divinities, through fire in the Vedic times, through fire and puja rituals in later Hinduism;

Pitr-yajna = offerings to ancestors, manes, and daily worshipful service to one’s living parents and elders;

Atithi-yajna = worship offering to guests (the word a-tithi means one who comes without making a date) (hospitality is not a social act but a worship)

Bali-yajna = offering to lesser beings, spreading sugar at ants’ nests, putting aside the first chapatti for the wandering cow, as well as putting aside daily, before cooking, some uncooked rice, daal, grain, flour, for giving away to the temple priest, monk, beggar (or orphanage nowadays).

Also please see Bhagavad-gita Ch.3, verses 8-17 that explain the philosophy of yajna, which essentially is: make yourself into a worshipful offering and pour yourself into the divine fire.

The fire offering you witnessed is an embodiment of all this teaching and the participants are actually very conscious of it.

1 Please abjure the missionary word ‘idols’. The Hindus commonly using it do not know how insulting it is.

2 Starting on my religious career in India, back between 1947-52 I often had the honour of serving as a chief priest because a knowledge of the Vedas is considered essential for this position. Many village council or groups would undertake a 7-day or 15-day homa for the purpose of invoking rainfall.  In my experience, the rains always came pouring on the last day.

3 Please see my summary translation of the sanyasa (the Swami’s Vows) ceremony, especially the parts in blue which relate to the concept of offering all one’s components into divine cosmic fire. [Editor’s note: A translation of the sanyasa ceremony by Swami Veda is in the booklet Yajña.]

4 “That” always refers to the transcendent and “this” to the tangible material, eminent universe including ourselves.

Editor’s Note

This is an article that was written by Swami Veda Bharati, and it has also been published as a chapter in the book Yajña,

Practice, Practice, Practice

Posted on by Mandala

The twin side of vairagya is abhyasa. Abhyasa means practice and practice means discipline and attention. The two are linked as night and day. A person cannot develop nonattachment or vairagya without abhyasa. Similarly, abhyasa without vairagya amounts ultimately to a waste of time.

These two, nonattachment and practice, are the most powerful vehicles for spiritual progress. Separately, they are like a boat with one oar. There is movement, but little progress.

In the preceding chapters the preliminaries to a spiritual life were discussed. These steps constitute the broad strokes on the canvas of your spiritual life. They are the essential background. The more refined strokes, from which the sharpened images and details come, are created by abhyasa or sadhana. Sadhana is spiritual practice, and usually refers to the specific practices of a tradition—hatha yoga, pranayama or breathing exercises, repetition of mantra, and so on. Abhyasa is a more encompassing term that includes not only practice of specific techniques, but the overall goal of life and the application of belief systems. In this book the two terms are used almost interchangeably.

To begin understanding abhyasa remember you are the citizen of two worlds—the outer world of family, community, and dharma, and the inner world you wish more fully to explore. Abhyasa begins with balancing these two worlds. Living in the external world, learning and growing, yet remaining above so the whispers from the inner world can be heard, is the sadhana of a person’s life. When a balance is achieved between the inner and outer worlds, the outer world can be used to gain access to the inner, and the inner world facilitates a richer and fuller life in the outer world.

Jesus was completely balanced. He was in the world but above it. He was both human and divine, as all human beings are. His great importance as a public spiritual figure was to show humanity that they are divine because they are human, and human because they are divine. Jesus demonstrated his divinity out of full expression of his humanity.

As the Kathopanishad suggests, humans are not so much bodies with souls as they are souls with bodies. The divine is immanent in humans and humans are inherently divine.

Living a spiritual life does not require escaping from the world. It is not useful to look at the flaws of the world and say it is ugly and sinful. Turning away from the world will not lead to spiritual happiness. Live in the world. By living fully in the world with all of its apparent imperfections one can attain spiritual perfection.

Along with the effort toward balance and non-attachment, practice selflessness. Selflessness is an art that requires much practice to perfect. Strength, non-attachment, love, and fearlessness grow from the practice of selflessness.

Make it a part of your daily life to do things for others without anyone knowing. To be selfless and attentive toward others is not so much an effort as it is a very natural way of being. At the same time, do not forget yourself. In the observances of yoga the first principle is ahimsa, non-harming. This principle is not meant to be applied only to others. Ahimsa should first be applied toward yourself. You should not harm yourself or allow yourself to be harmed by others. Be sensible in your non-attachment and love. While it is not helpful to be ego- or me-centered, it is also not beneficial to be exclusively you-centered. The Upanishads teach that all is One.

Approach your life wholeheartedly. Whatever you do, do with your whole heart and fullest attention. When you are with your children, be with your children, not your work. When you are at work, be with your work, not your children. Be in the moment at hand, not in the moment or day that has passed, or in the moment or day yet to come.

Be decisive. Exercise your buddhi, that aspect of your mind that chooses, makes judgments, and decides. It is a very powerful part of mind. Make the best decision you can, and take action accordingly, leaving the outcome up to the divine force. Choose your friends, activities, and livelihood wisely. All of them should be compatible with your higher goals.

Be gentle with yourself. This is a long and difficult journey. Your goals should be reasonable so as not to create frustration and disappointments. Be willing to crawl before you walk. Perfect each skill as you move along on the journey, and forgive yourself when you stumble, or even slide backward. Setbacks are temporary and meant to be instructive. Let yourself slide backward, observe what has occurred, get back on your feet, and move forward.

Editor’s Note

Reprinted from Sacred Journey, an HIHT publication.

The Words of My Master

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Searching for my Guru

God’s Providence, like the blue sky, is forever above us all. And so, after searching for two decades, it was Divine Providence that led me to my Guru, Sri Swami Rama. It all started after I read Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi in the late 1960s. That book inspired me to join the Self Realization Fellowship (SRF) program of the Yogoda Satsang Society founded by Yogananda. However, my search for a living Guru continued because SRF’s distance learning material could not fulfill my yearning for direct spiritual guidance.

Then in the mid-1980s, I had the good fortune to visit Sri Satya Sai Baba’s ashram in Puttaparathi, India. It must have been his Divine will that enabled me to visit him. During my first visit, I was struck by Baba’s infinite compassion for humanity which was reflected on his face. I was seated perhaps less than ten feet from where he stopped to bless a devotee with vibhuti (sacred ash). He had rolled up his sleeves and was churning the air creating fragrant vibhuti which poured from his fingertips on to the outstretched palms of the devotee. My second visit to Baba’s ashram was also memorable. I had written a letter to Baba in my hotel room hoping to hand it to him the next morning at darshan time. Actually, there was only a slim chance of doing so given the thousands of devotees seated row upon row for Baba’s darshan and the fact that he did not accept letters from everyone.

I was seated on the third or fourth row behind one of the many aisles that Baba could have chosen to go around the congregation that day. As fate would have it, he turned to walk by our aisle. Seized by some strange force, I broke darshan rules by standing up and stepping across the rows to hand Baba the letter. He accepted it and as I stood in his presence palms together in deep reverence, time stood still. His gaze penetrated my soul. I believe Baba guided me to Guruji since he did not initiate devotees.

Around summer 1987, I started chanting every morning a chapter from the Chandi extolling the virtues of the Divine Mother. Given my weak Sanskrit, it was a challenge to memorize the verses and recite them with the correct pronunciation. Shortly thereafter, I started reading several books written by Swamiji. The events that followed are recounted below based mostly on my journal entries supplemented by my recollections regarding minor details.

The early years

In April 1988, my wife and I along with our son Anshuman and daughter Prianka (then age eight and five) drove to Honesdale hoping to meet Swamiji. It was a memorable day when our heartfelt desires were granted and we were able to meet him. Swamiji blessed us all. I still vividly remember him with his arms around my children, telling my daughter Prianka in jest “You stay with me”. Without any hesitation, she said “No, I want my mommy!” Swamiji laughed and said “OK”.  He had a special corner for children.

I asked Swamiji whether I should continue with the practice of kriya yoga as taught by the SRF or seek initiation directly from him. He smiled and said “It is up to you” to which I said “Swamiji, I need a living Guru to guide me.” He nodded and said “I will write to you and tell you when to come for initiation”. I was floating on cloud nine.

A few days after I reached home, his letter dated May 18, 1988, arrived asking me to come to Honesdale. My wife and I left for the Institute later that month. The morning after our arrival, we joined a kirtan group at the Institute which he was leading. Seeing me Swamiji said “Where were you? I was looking for you”. I believe that preparatory practices, perhaps including those from lifetimes past, created the necessary conditions to meet Swamiji and obtain his initiation. Verily, as the shastras say, when the disciple is ready, the Guru appears.

The time for my initiation was fixed at 9:00 am on Monday, May 30, but it was advanced to 7:00 am. I had brought some fruits and flowers as offerings to Swamiji, but he said, pointing to a table, “Keep it there. It’s alright. You are my flower.” I later learned that Swamiji discouraged the plucking of flowers. Later, just prior to my initiation, he asked “Which God do you like?” I said, with great pride “Ma Durga!”

With infinite compassion, as if not wanting to disappoint, Swamiji said “Your Ma Durga does not look like how you see Her in pictures and posters. She is a ‘jyoti’, a flame burning within you. You are not to do any rituals, but only manas puja (mental worship).” He then chanted the following sloka in Sanskrit:

“Sivah saktya yukto yadi bhavati saktah prabhavitum
na cadevam devo na khalu kusalah spanditumapi…..”

explaining that “Siva and Sakti are not two, but one. If you remove ‘eekar’ (a letter in Sanskrit) from Siva, it becomes ‘Sav’ or dead! Siva cannot move without Shakti. There is a book that is called Saundarya Lahiri. You must study that book.” (I later came to know that Guruji had chanted part of Verse I of the Saundarya Lahiri).

I was then initiated into the Himalayan Tradition or Parampara. Guruji instructed me on the preparation for meditation and adopting the correct posture. He then explained the meaning of my mantra and said “Don’t leave this (mantra). Fifty percent of the effort (towards self-realization) is yours and fifty percent is mine. The practice of meditation must be regular at a fixed time in a quiet corner of your house. Our relationship is very high and pure. I will always love you and guide you. You can come and visit me whenever I am in Chicago or Honesdale or anywhere else.”

I felt as if the long-lost love of a thousand mothers had come together for one majestic moment.

Sometime after my initiation, when I asked Guruji whether I will ever be cured of my long-standing psoriatic arthritis, he said in Hindi “Nehi, shant ho sakta hai” meaning “No, but it can be pacified”. Over time, my worries related to this condition receded. I reposed in the firm conviction that Guruji will look after me for he said so. His words were the new Gita for me.

However, I had to pay my karmic debts and battle TB in 2016/17. I had contracted TB at some point in the past which remained latent and of which I was unaware. Latent TB became active when, in an effort to control psoriatic arthritis, the biologic suppressed my immune system . Apart from this bump on the road, psoriatic arthritis has been well-controlled since I started treatment with a biologic in 2004.

During another visit to the Institute to see him in late May, 1990, he looked at me and muttered to himself in Hindi: “Abhi Tak Mast May Nehi Aya”, meaning “He has not come into carefree joy yet”. That remark still rings in my ears. Far from being disheartened at my lack of progress, I was actually elated because I took Guruji’s observation to mean that if I continued my practices, I had the potential to attain “mast” or causeless joy. The qualifier “causeless” means that the joy does not come from the things of this world such as making money, getting a big promotion, or winning the lottery. His remark that day shall continue to motivate me on the spiritual path for the rest of my life.

On that visit, I mentioned to him that the doctor had prescribed a potent skin ointment to control the discomfort and spread of psoriasis patches. Guruji said “Do not use that ointment because if you do, the patches will start to appear on your face!” I did not say anything. Guruji then instructed me on a higher technique of meditation than the one I was supposed to have received. This one aimed at purifying the various chakras and establishing the mantra more firmly in the conscious and subconscious mind. Imparting the technique and the mantra, Guruji said “Do not identify yourself with the mind and the things of this world. Your essential nature is existence, consciousness, bliss—Sat, Chit, Ananda. You are not the self but Atman, which is part of the Paratman, the Eternal Self.”

Later, when I was back at home, I thought since the dermatologist prescribed this medicine, it should be alright. After all, Guruji was not a dermatologist! How could he know more about the side effects of this medicine than the dermatologist? So, I continued to use it as prescribed. Sure enough, after a few weeks of using it, psoriasis patches started to appear on my face! I was terrified and depressed and immediately stopped using the medicine with a deep apology and prayer to Guruji. Mercifully, the facial patches slowly cleared in a few weeks. Again, I was flabbergasted by Guruji’s power of words and his ability to predict events.

I meet Guruji with my “elder brother”

The next highlight of my visit to see Guruji was on June 4, 1993. My late friend, Subalda, whom I looked upon as my elder brother, had accompanied me on that trip to the Institute. When we arrived there on the evening of June 4th, Swamiji had already finished playing tennis and was sitting on the lawn with some disciples and visitors surrounding him. Even though he was engaged, he did not fail to welcome me and said “When did you come?” I felt as if I had just come home. I said, “We came only this afternoon.” He then asked when I was leaving, and I said, “We plan to leave tomorrow, Guruji.” After we touched his feet, we sat on the grass listening to him speak and watching him play with children. Before he retired to his quarters, he gave us some cookies and told us that he would meet with us tomorrow.

At 9:30 am the next morning, Subalda and I were waiting to see Guruji when I was called in. I thought he will see us separately. When I entered his room, he said in Hindi “Did you come alone?” I said “No, Guruji, my friend came with me.” To which he said “Bulao na”, in Hindi meaning “Why don’t you call him?” So, I went to find Subalda. After we entered his room, I said, by way of introduction, “Guruji, Subalda is my very good friend, and I treat him like my elder brother. He is a very good astrologer.”  Guruji did not say anything, but his facial expression said “Yes, I already know.” (And I thought “Guruji, what can I tell you? You know everything!”).

Subalda said “Swamiji, may I do your kundali (horoscope)? I have been studying astrology for the past 43 years”. Guruji smiled and said “OK, go ahead”. Subalda then asked Guruji his birthday and his “lagna”. According to Vedic astrology, a person’s lagna is determined by that point of the zodiacal belt that coincides with the position of the eastern horizon at the time and place of birth. Guruji said the date of birth was October 25, 1923, on kumbh lagna. He then asked Subalda where in Calcutta he was from noting that he had spent some years there and went to school in Shantineketan. I did not know this and was surprised. Then Guruji said that he was raised by the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee family. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was the son of Sri Asutosh Mukherjee, an illustrious figure of Bengal known to most Bengalis.

We then started talking about the planned Himalayan Institute Hospital in Jolly Grant, near Dehra Dun, India. Guruji said he will work hard till his last breath to complete the project. It will be the largest hospital in Asia which will serve the poor and those in the surrounding hinterlands. The hospital will cost around $680 million. I was astonished and asked Guruji where all that money will come from? Guruji said “If your World Bank can lend money, don’t you think that God’s bank can give money too?” We were amazed by such confidence which could only have come from a direct connection to the Divine. Guruji was simply carrying out the Divine will. Many years later, I read that he said “When I wanted things they never came to me. But the day I determined I didn’t want them, I began getting them.”

I then asked Guruji about the significance of an experience I had during meditation. I said “Guruji, recently while meditating I saw a searing white light that was so bright that it frightened me. I felt as if I was going to lose myself, my identity. I wonder what it was.” Guruji said “It’s nothing. When the mind settles, it happens.” (I told myself, “Don’t be under the delusion that it is an indication of spiritual progress. There is nothing there to hanker for. Move on.”)

Just before taking his leave, after we touched Guruji’s feet in pranam, he said to Subalda “There is something higher than astrology.” I shall always remember this. Later, when we were back in our room, Subalda said “When I touched Swamiji’s feet, it was as cold as stone!” (Mysterious are your ways Guruji! We shall never know them.)

From here to eternity

Apart from my last meeting with Guruji in 1995, about which I wrote in The River of Crocodiles, I recollect one other meeting with him the previous year. I had returned from Cancun, Mexico where I had gone on a vacation with my family. While standing close to the beach with the water up to my chest and my ten-year old daughter swimming nearby, the floor beneath my feet suddenly gave way and I sank like a rock. I did not know swimming and was rapidly taking in water. Absolute panic gripped me as I fought to save myself from drowning. Although by then I was meditating for about six years, the force of self-preservation was so strong that it swamped any chance of the mantra coming to the fore and rescuing me. It became clear to me that any notion of spiritual progress was a delusion. The path to self-realization seemed to stretch from here to eternity.

It was only Guruji’s grace and protection that saved me. When I recounted my ordeal to Guruji and thanked him profusely for saving me, he simply said “The Divine Mother saved you” although his eyes said “I knew about this incident”. He was the very epitome of humility. Now that Guruji is no longer on the physical plane, he continues to spread across every moment of my life like a rainbow that spreads across the sky in splendor.