AHYMSIN Newsletter, Issue - June 2023
 |
||||||||||
Dear {subtag:name}, |
Annual 40-Days Spiritual Festival ~ Plan now for what spiritual improvements you will make Each summer during the 40 days that precede Guru Purnima, sadhakas are invited to participate in the 40-Day Spiritual Festival, to expand and refine one’s sadhana. In 2023, the 40-Day Spiritual Festival will begin on 25th May and will end on 3rd July, which is Guru Purnima. These 40 days are celebrated wherever you are.
“We are all here for a purpose; it is an on-going spiritual process. We are all here for spiritual liberation and serving that mission. For that purpose we are purifying ourselves of our pride and ego. For these reasons we train ourselves in constant self-observation: to see oneself, to hear oneself to develop this internal dialogue. I have used one criterion for all my thoughts, my words, and my actions: ‘Is this conducive to spiritual liberation.’” – Swami Veda Bharati It is a time to contemplate (and talk with others about) the many ways you can participate. In reviewing the guidelines and making your own commitments, please keep in mind your own capacity. Success with a series of smaller goals will lead to greater purification and capacity for next year. Assess your own capacity and do not try to push to complete “on time.” Accommodate for your family responsibilities. |
30 Goals for 30 Days~ Swami Rama
Even the worse experiences in the world can teach you something. Sometimes, however, even the best experiences in the world cannot teach you because you are not ready, and you have not prepared yourself. You should work with yourselves constantly, and remember that you are working with yourself. You should develop thirty goals for thirty days, and pick one goal for each day. Practice this yourself, it is a very simple thing. For example, you may decide that today you are not going to lie. That does not mean that you will redouble your lies tomorrow, but rather, that today your whole thinking process is about this: that you are not going to lie. You never claim that you will be able to speak the total Truth, but simply decide that you are not going to consciously lie. Then, the next day, you may resolve, “I will not be unkind to anyone,” and the day that you decide to do that, everything challenging will come to you. You decide, “I will not lie,” and suddenly many occasions will present themselves that you could lie. This happens because you are trying to conquer your nature, the part of your nature that you have built unconsciously for a long time. All your actions in life have unconscious results, as if you are digging a hole and therefore making a heap of dirt somewhere else, but you do not understand that. Suddenly, when you stop digging the hole, you discover that you have created both a heap and a hole. The day that you resolve, “I will love everyone and not hate anyone today,” you will find that all your enemies are coming to you. They come via telephone calls, or in letters, or you may hear someone talking about you. Once, when I was young, this happened to me and I became very upset. Someone had written something very nasty to me, and my Master noticed and asked me what has happened to me. He used to tell me that I was like mercury, so he called me “Thermometer.” He said, “Thermometer, what has happened?” I said, “Look at this nasty letter.” He replied, “Do you want to become more nasty yourself by replying to it in a nasty way? That is not the way to deal with it; read the letter six times, and eventually you will not find anything nasty in it.” And that happened: I read, reread, and reread the letter again, and my Master told me not to reply to it immediately, so I waited, and then six days later I replied to it very calmly. When you become accustomed to witnessing certain things in yourself, you may still feel bad, but you do not feel so very bad, and if something good happens, then you do not feel so incredibly good. You can develop the habit of being more balanced, or of losing your destructive sensitivity and reactivity to both positive and negative things. If you adopt thirty points to work on for thirty days, mark them on your calendar and do not tell anyone what you are doing. Just watch the calendar, and see what you have accomplished in thirty days’ time. The point is not, for instance, whether you have lied or not lied: it is that you have built your willpower. This is the real process of building willpower. After thirty days, you will conclude, “Yes, I have done what I wanted to do.” But do not choose big principles that you cannot fulfill –that is destructive. Instead, select little things. If you decide that for one day you will speak very little – only that which is accurate, purposeful, and non-hurting, you may continue to talk to everyone, but in setting this goal you will be building your willpower. After you develop willpower, you will have greater self-confidence. |
Practice for the Next Five Years and
|
Invitation to the
|
The True Treasure~ Mokshadeva (Randall Krause) During the Covid pandemic, I began to order needed items online and have them delivered to my home, so I didn’t have to go out and chance exposure to the virus. But it’s so convenient to order in that I’ve kept the practice up to this day. A lot of parcels come to my home every day. Each time one comes, for a moment, I feel a flash of excitement: Oh boy, a parcel! Something has come for me! Then I open the parcel and it’s always a letdown: these are just items that I’ve ordered. Yes, they are things I want or need and that are useful. But they don’t bring any fulfillment. Even when the parcel contains something extra special, like a new cellular phone or computer, not even then do I have the anticipated joy. So, I’ve concluded that those boxes do not and cannot contain what I really want. The reason for this is what I really want is not a thing, nor even the fleeting pleasure that comes from reaching a goal, from eating delicious food, etc. Rather, what I want is complete, unending joy and peace. But where to find that? |
Swami Rama Dhyana Gurukulam
|
Global Meditation ReminderFull Moon Meditation New Moon Meditation
You are invited to sit in meditation for an hour wherever you are, in your home or with friends. Total beginners and longtime practitioners, non-initiates and initiates are welcome. If you cannot sit for the entire hour, sit as long as you are able; as Swami Veda has said, “Let the quietness of the mind continue even after you rise…” Global Meditations Schedule |
Upcoming Events~ Specialty Retreats with Senior Teachers HYT-TTP Level 1 & 2 Retreats with Senior TTP Faculty Sun Salutations as Worship with Pt Priyadarshan (Pierre Lefebvre)
Mauni Amavasya Silence Retreats at SRSG with Swami Ritavan Bharati Intensive Meditation Retreat with Swami Ritavan Bharati
Entrance to the Subtle Body Retreat with Swami Ritavan Bharati HYT-TTP Level 1 & 3 Retreats with Senior TTP Faculty
~ Dive Deeper into Philosophy with these Retreats Life: A Sacred Journey Retreat with Rabindra Sahu
Guru Disciple Relationship with Rabindra Sahu Art of Spiritual Learning with Rabindra Sahu
Introduction to the Brahma Sutras with Rabindra Sahu Art of Joyful Living Retreat with Rabindra Sahu
Navaratri Retreat – Cultivating the Divine Feminine with Swami Ritavan Bharati and Rabindra Sahu Choosing a Path with Rabindra Sahu
Narada Bhakti Sutras – Treatise on Love and Surrender with Rabindra Sahu Navaratri Retreat – Cultivating the Divine Feminine with Swami Ritavan Bharati and Rabindra Sahu
~ Retreats for Beginning, Refining, and Advancing in your Practices What is Yoga? International Yoga Day (IYD) Retreat |
Yours in service, AHYMSIN Office |
AHYMSIN Contact UsAHYMSIN, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama © 2023 AHYMSIN
|
Connect with our