Author: Divya - Administrator

[Rabindra Sahu, Acharya of Swami Rama Dhyana Gurukulam, taught a class on ‘Attitude of Worship and Surrender in the Practice of Sun Salutation’ at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama on 22 november 2023. You may watch a glimpse of the session by clicking on the video below.]

Hatha yoga is worship with the body, whereby each action and posture becomes a ritual, an offering to the divine light within. How then we approach our yoga meditation practice and offer salutations to the sun—with a sense of purity, with a sense of sacredness.

This is the context within which we practice hatha yoga and we set the intention before we even approach our practice. With what approach we are going to the seat of our meditation or even our hatha yoga practice is something we can bring more awareness to. The quality and depth of our practice is dependent on our approach and intention alone.

Before going to the temple or church in the morning, we don’t just get up from the bed and go. We make sure to cleanse and purify our bodies by brushing our teeth, taking a bath, and wearing nice clothes. Why do we do it? We feel clean, sacred, pure. And only then we enter the sacred chambers of the external temple. In our practice, we can also approach and enter the sacred chambers of the internal temple in the same manner, with a feeling of purity and sacredness.

When was the last time you felt that there is something very sacred within you?

If we allow ourselves to remain in tune with that purity and sacredness within, we cannot do anything that is non-harmonious. Can we say, ‘I feel so pure and sacred that I want to scold you. I feel so pure and sacred that I want to punch you.’? It in itself is impossible. The moment we feel so pure and sacred, the silence and stillness naturally dawns within us and we just want to remain there.

We are not unfamiliar with the sentiment of surrender, as we do surrender and offer ourselves (to whatever degree) in our daily lives towards those from whom we have received something that is of value to us. We then bow down to them in gratitude. It is then natural to have the same feeling of gratitude and surrender towards the life affirming Sun.

As we allow ourselves to surrender and be in tune with something higher, something deeper with us, then we are able to experience this body as a temple of Divinity.

Swami Veda Bharati writes in the Philosophy of Hatha Yoga that “To making the body a fit vessel for God’s worship becomes the purpose of hatha yoga. That was the purpose, the only reason, for which the ancient yogis started the science of hatha yoga.”

As the seasons turn, Mother Nature herself undergoes a metamorphosis, while always covered in a blanket of softness and grace. The sweet songs of birds in the pleasantly cold mornings carry the promise of a new dawn, imbuing the sacred ashram atmosphere with a sense of wonder, awe and magic. In the sacred sanctuary that is the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama ashram, the onset of Navaratri reminds us of the spirit of the revered Mother Divine, inviting us to bask in her love and warmth.

Our ashram joyfully celebrates the Divine Mother’s presence and the transformative energy of the Navaratri festival. The festivities commenced with a morning puja at the Ma Tara temple, where the 9-day pujas began with Kalash-sthapana, Panchanga puja, Guru puja and a sankalpa for the 9-day non-stop 24-hour recitation of the Lalita Sahasranama (Thousand names of the Mother Divine). The mantra chantings filled the air, holding all in their loving embrace, and setting the stage for the 9-day celebrations.

The unbroken recitation of the Lalita Sahasranama chantings filled these 9 days and nights with countless blessings and resonating vibrations. These chantings are dedicated to the Divine Mother, who is Shakti Herself, and infused a fresh radiance to our days and a depth of silence to our nights.

With the blessings of the Mother Divine, we began our special retreat on “Cultivating the Divine Feminine” with Rabindra Sahu on the first day of the Navaratri. The retreat was dedicated to understanding and contemplating upon the 9 forms of the Divine Mother for each day of the Navaratri. We also spoke on how to cultivate and revere the feminine energy within ourselves and in others around us. During the retreat, we learnt how to properly recite the Lalita Sahasranama as well.

Rabindra ji inspired the participants to align, cultivate, and honour the feminine principles that are ever-present within us all and to nurture these divine feminine qualities within all of us.

During the retreat, many participants shared that in a world that often emphasizes competitiveness and harshness for material success, the value of gentleness is often not appreciated and is overlooked. As we all remember our dear Swami Veda emphasising the importance of remaining feminine in nature and loving all. The retreat offered much opportunity to reflect upon his teachings, “Your success as a commander in the army or your becoming a president or your becoming a millionaire, they are absolutely no worth so far as the perennial principles dealing with the essences of life are concerned and when you establish a society in which the entire  value is a political value and the entire value is an economic value, in  such a society there is no place left for two representatives of the  perennial essences, the philosopher and the woman.”

We learnt how the feminine principle encourages us to embrace softness, and humility. We learned how to cultivate love, beginning with our families and how we can extend these qualities into our interactions at workplaces, in social circles, and in our interactions with everyone else.

On the 9th day of the Navaratri, we celebrated Kanya Pujan, where we worshipped 9 young girls representing the 9 forms of Goddess Durga (Navadurga). They are considered as manifestations of Shakti, and offerings of mantras, food, clothes, and other gifts were made to them. After the offerings were accepted by the young goddesses, prasada or gracious remanent food is accepted by all others.

We pray to the Mother Divine for her continued blessings and grace upon us.

Editor’s Note:

Dr Swati Saharan is an initiate in the Himalayan Tradition. She was a student at the Swami Rama Dhyana Gurukulam during 2022-23 and is now offering her seva at the SRSG Ashram.

You may also want to read about the experiences of the Hungarian group during the Cultivating the Divine Feminine Retreat here.

The Grace of the Himalayan tradition is often subtle, and yet pervasive, and inspiration can strike us in countless ways. With Guru’s Grace, finally our Swami Rama Dhyana Gurukulam now has the opportunity to welcome international students beginning this year for the One-Year Residential Program in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition.

You will be delighted to know that on the auspicious day of the Vijayadashami we welcomed the second batch of the Gurukulam with six students. The group consists of three Indian students and three international students (on one-year student visas).

(From left to right: Vipul, Pt Deepak, Shrikanth, Samrat, Anna from Italy, Barbara from Belgium, and Indji from Egypt.)

The one-year residential program for the Gurukulam has been carefully designed and planned to encompass the teachings of the Himalayan Tradition as taught by Swami Rama and Swami Veda. The focus is to support and nurture self-observation, self-examination, self-purification, and self-pacification that leads to Self-transformation.

As the Gurukulam-Acharya, Rabindra Sahu, has shared his sentiments on the first day of the Gurukulam 2023-24, “The Gurukulam is a sacred pilgrimage of self-discovery, woven with the threads of ancient wisdom and unfolds a mystical journey within. This program, a tribute to the teachings of Swami Rama and Swami Veda, with the blessings of the Himalayan Tradition, calls upon seekers from all over the world to embark on a year-long pilgrimage of the self-discovery. The second batch of students, coming from India and beyond, began their program with a celestial Yajna, and now find themselves immersed in the depths of Sanskrit studies and meditative practices at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama. Swami Ritavan, a guardian of the Tradition’s teachings, continues to offer countless moments of inspiration upon all seekers, inviting us to learn, practice, absorb, reflect, and surrender to the teachings bestowed upon them.

As the students tread upon this inner journey, I pray that they align themselves with the opportunities that will unfold throughout this year-long program and seek the blessings of the Lineage at every step of the way. The Gurukulam program echoes Swami Veda’s vision, radiating his light and love, inspiring the students to partake on this beautiful path towards the Self.”

We invoked the blessings of Lord Ganesha—who provides strength and stability, while eradicating all obstacles from one’s path. Students paid homage to the Tradition by chanting the Ganapati Atharvashirsha and offering flowers, fruits, and sweets at both the Initiation Room and Meditation Hall. We later walked by Mother Ganga to reach the seat of Gurudeva at Sadhana Mandir to receive the blessings of the Lineage. The students offered garlands at the Meditation Hall and Swami Veda’s Silence Hall, culminating the visit with a brief meditation session.

At the orientation session, Acharya Rabindra ji highlighted the importance of self-introspection and encouraged the students to remain receptive to unseen grace.

The daily schedule for the Gurukulam students begins at 5 AM with a Yajna, followed by the ashram prayers, joints & glands practice, hatha yoga, and guided meditation classes. Currently, the students are immersed in Sanskrit studies and refining their sitting posture, breathing, and understanding the foundations of meditation and its practice. For the first month of their study, they would also be studying the writings of Gurudeva Swami Rama through his books—Living with the Himalayan Masters, Choosing a Path, and Inner Dialogue.

Swami Veda held the Gurukulam program very dear in his heart and emphasized the importance of passing down the teachings of the Tradition through long-term studies at the ashram. As we embark on another year of Gurukulam, we are both humbled and grateful to carry out his vision.

We continue to seek the blessings of the Lineage and pray for our own self-purification, so that we may succeed in this endeavour. We are confident that the Gurukulam will provide a space for learning, practicing, and embodying the teachings of the Tradition.

Our gratitude extends to our DMT trustees, AHYMSIN family members, all the teachers, ashram sahayakas, and our well-wishers who continue to support this vision.

We (15 members from Hungary) participated in the recently concluded Cultivating the Divine Feminine Retreat during the 9-days Navaratri celebrations at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama.

“Given the current state of the world, there could not have been a more relevant topic for us than the celebration of feminine qualities within” – this is how the sentiment of the small Hungarian group can be summed up about the ashram’s Navaratri celebrations. “If the world was led and guided by a mother, there would be no wars, no starving children, and no destitute people” – the members of the group quote the words of the retreat’s teacher – Rabindra Sahu.

“I come from an environment that places strong emphasis on material success. What I experienced last week helped me perceive the various manifestations of the Divine Mother’s qualities clearly. Chanting 1000 mantras together was a new experience for me. Through persistence and dedication, I suddenly felt touched by something, and I was able to join the collective process, recognizing the feminine qualities within myself,” Krisztina recalled of her recent experiences.

Bea, working as a doctor, stressed that the practice of masculine qualities is essential for making quick and decisive decisions in his field of work – “Due to the demands of my profession, it was challenging for me to slow down and forced me to confront the fact that, I must consciously cultivate feminine qualities at my work”.

Some members pointed out that, as Hungarians and Europeans, they are not accustomed to participating in extended celebrations. For some, the community-building force of the 24-hour mantra chanting was the most memorable aspect, while others were captivated by the diversity of the festival. However, everyone agreed that we were part of a very well-structured series of events that provided a high-quality intellectual stimulation through the lectures. But above all, it was an emotionally profound event that facilitated personal transformation and brought hidden values to the surface. Too bad that it’s over.

At the end of the celebration, we also understood why Swami Veda is called a mother, that he is the spiritual mother of all of us. We also appreciate that his kindness, love, understanding, and patience stem from his great inner strength, stability, and his intimate relationship with the Divine Mother.

Editor’s Note:

The Hungarian Group was led by Dr. Tamás Imre Margittay. Other members included – Paula Jékel, Dr. Beáta Bakos Törökné, Dr. Zsolt Török, Judit Andrea Pólya, Katalin Kálmán, Ágnes Baji, Krisztina Törös, Katalin Andrea Szilágyi, Nikolett Kotálik, Eszter Haraszti, Nóra Gyócsos, Erika Némethné Szász, Mónika Herke, and Ágnes Gilyén. They all are connected with the Budapest Center of The Himalayan Yoga Tradition led by Ilona Dioszegi.

In the abode of Rishikesh, an ashram, a face:
Called Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, an exhilarating place.
The sun floods its hills with light divine,
For each person’s beauty, bodies of shrine.

The food they serve is healthy and pure,
Nourishing meals that keep the body secure.
Meals that won’t make you feel hunger,
Meals that can only make you stronger.

The weather here has shifting delights,
From wind to rain to the sun’s pretty light.
And schedules to maintain adrenaline sensation,
With yoga and breathwork and silent meditation.

Teachers there are smart and wise,
To share their knowledge is a wonderful prize.
The Swamiji as well, with so much more knowledge,
Than humans like us ever acknowledge.

Cottages full of heavenly delight,
With beauty that makes your heart take flight.
To rest in nature is simply a blessing,
More active humans, I’m confessing.

And kindness to animals more healthy than true
Of clean, weatherous cows that simply go “moo!”
An active schedule that’ll keep you awake,
And body-mind health more true than fake.

Swami Rama is a special name,
Who brought so much love and lit the flame
And Swami Veda, who gave us this place,
For pure divinity and joyful solace.

Editor’s Note:

This poem was lovingly offered by the 12-year-old poet, who visited the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram with her father.

AHYMSIN Family Yoga Summer Camp, hosted at the Scouts’ Camp, Marathon, Nea Makri, Greece from 3-10 August 2023

Kids Yoga Classes (3)

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Kids Yoga Classes (2)

Planting Trees (6)

Planting Trees (5)

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Planting Trees (3)

Planting Trees (2)

Planting Trees (1)

Planting Trees (8)

Planting Trees (7)

Parents' Sessions (2)

Family Session

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Kids Yoga Classes (4)

Group Photo

Happy Clown (1)

Happy Clown (2)

Sofia-incognito

Mandala Art

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Musical Chairs in Swamiji's Lap

Parents' Sessions (1)

Yoga Sessions

All the Fun Crafts

Outing to the Ancient Theatre of Thorikos (5)

Group Photo

Outing to the Ancient Theatre of Thorikos (3)

Outing to the Ancient Theatre of Thorikos (2)

Outing to the Ancient Theatre of Thorikos (4)

Outing to the Ancient Theatre of Thorikos (1)

At the Sea (3)

At the Sea (2)

At the Sea (1)

Games and Fun (1)

Games and Fun (2)

Family Tree - Finger Painting (1)

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Family Tree - Finger Painting (3)

Clay Making

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Origami Lotuses (1)

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Group Photo1 (1)

Sunset Meditation at the Sea

 

A meeting of 21 countries

One story made of 98 stories of peoples’ lives.

All ages, from 11 months old to 79 years old.

How could all match peacefully? How could there be no provocative disagreement? (You know what I mean: “my idea is better than yours, the others are wrong, I am right”.) Or, if there was any, how could it be a disagreement as an aspect added, by which all of us would feel loved and accepted and happy to live in it.

Well, this is exactly what happened, without trying, without thinking.

There was a blessing that covered the whole Scout Camp, like the loving shawl of the Guru. As if we were swimming in that blessing. As if we were breathing that blessing. As if we had become that blessing, to the point that we did not understand this change.  It took us more than a month to put into words what we experienced and take a distance from it in order to be able now to describe it in an understandable way and express gratitude.

The Scout Camp is a place where children meet with their scouts and discuss and put in practice humanistic values, one important prerequisite for a peaceful atmosphere to start with.

The presence of Swami Ritavan Bharati ji brought many to participate and enjoy his humble and loving presence, his calm and helping way, his simplicity and joyful solutions to all events.

The organizers’ team, Timi Varga, Csilla Horvath, Tamara Soru, Uta Bisseswar, Maria Miguel, Athina Papadopoulou, Sofia Foteina, meeting every month, to bring into the material world a dream we had since 2019. We all surpassed ourselves, giving the best of what we were. And certainly, we were lucky and happy that Pandit Priyadarshan (Pierre Lefebvre) and Mina Bhatt came to our meetings with their wonderful ideas whenever their program around the world allowed.

The daily program contained: morning and evening classes of yoga in groups for adults and children, karma yoga (I have never seen a happier group of children offering their services to clean the garden from the pine needles), arts and crafts for children (of all ages): painting their family, clay creations,  making lotuses, playing non-competitive games, sweet making, the finger painted tree, socker games, by Tamas, swimming time with sea and seaside games, tree planting by Tamara and Jef, mandala with flowers and collected items from the camp. The day ended with family evening meetings with chanting, singing, non-competitive games (the most impressive game was when playing the non-competitive musical chairs, that we all ended up in Swamiji’s lap).  Our bookstore was available with books of the Himalayan Tradition. On the Sight Seeing Outing Day, we visited the ruins of Thorikon, the most ancient Greek Theater, then went for swimming to the Punta Zeza seaside. The possibility of finding the under-water ruins of an ancient city made some of us search but instead had a big surprise: a meeting with a big sea turtle. We finally ended to the Cape Sounion Temple of Poseidon, where we meditated during the sunset.

Teachers from our Tradition who were present in this Family Summer Camp and ready to humbly cover teachings or whatever service was needed: Sonia Van Nispen, John Sellinger, Shaillendra Bisseswar, Laura Linzi, Anna Mezosi, Louise Molenkamp, Lea Sellinger, Maria De Vigilli.

Last we left the unlabeled teachers, the children who were part of this celebration of life, who are our great teachers and for whom this whole family retreat was dedicated to. May we leave for them a world that will be a little more human than what we received.

The chips came first. It was the annual five five-day retreat run by HYMNS, the Netherlands group of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition.

During the introductory session Swami Ma Tripura was presented with a huge shiny bag of chips by the other teachers. Surprise gave way to laughter. So the tone was set, banter to introduce serious and difficult thinking and just beyond thinking, the light.

Swami Ji didn’t expect that item of her training to become so public but she took it in good part. The shiny bag of chips was a tactic to introduce and consider the kleshas and vrittis that stand in the way of samadhi. It was explained with more laughter that Swami Ji had been in a serious state of raga concerning these chips. A whole bag would disappear at a sitting. Her teacher gave her two bags to eat.  It was an elephantine amount.  The bags were given with the instruction to eat each chip mindfully so she could appreciate the nature of her compulsion and learn to put it aside. The bag of chips, or any such compulsion, doesn’t matter so much as learning to control the impulse by vairagya. The message was to consider your compulsions and by meditation and contemplation learn the nature of what stands between you and reality.

So the scene was set.  We had yet to be told what reality is.

Through to the subtle body we went and on to consider consciousness beyond mind. It was explained that there are many threads to the Himalayan Yoga Tradition brought to us by Swami Rama and Swami Veda.  Vedanta is a core teaching, and it is encapsulated in atmatattwavalokanam.  The banter didn’t stop despite the serious subject. Pierre and Shailendra played the daft boys by contesting each other’s knowledge on the subject. They discussed how we were to consider ourselves in the wholeness of being: we were to go to sleep and wake from the same wholeness, that is the tattwa, the being-ness which is the root and tree of all being.  And further, to remember the witness in our karma. So do your contemplative walking remembering atman, remembering Brahman, we were told. As they say in Thailand, same-same.  It’s in the Prayer at Dawn by Śaṅkarācārya we are more than we think:

tad brahma niskalam aham na ca bhuta sanghah

It’s in the last line of the meal prayer:

brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma-karma-samādhinā

A fixture of the Dutch retreat is an akhanda japa for 24 hours.  In accord with the theme of mind to consciousness Swami Ritavan had suggested japa with the gayatri mantra. The sangha joined with the mantra and shared silence.

It was the contemplative walking that got to me. After some practices I noticed that firmness of balance, posture and movement depend on a clear mind. Thoughts interrupt the body’s poise, so best be empty of thought. Or have pleasant thoughts.

As I glided effortlessly over the wet grass I thought how nice it is to come to Holland to the retreat. I thought of Kries Manniesing who retired from the HYMNS board together with the other members after many years of service and the sadhakas and teachers all enjoying the silence and the sunshine. Just as the days and nights came together in silence so did the teachings come into their own light. The coherence in the teachings of the tradition is brought down to us and so much as been done by HYT to promote these teachings with seriousness and respect and with lightness of heart. As I walked the wet grass I had many pleasant thoughts about being there.  Another line from the prayers come to mind,

śiva-sankalpam astu

Bit by bit like rain, the meanings in the prayers come to light as does everything.

Editor’s Note

Jim Fraser is an initiate in the Himalayan Tradition and has received 500-hour certification through the Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program (HYT-TTP).