Author: Divya - Administrator

Sixteen people from various parts of Japan had the opportunity to stay here at SRSG for two weeks, from June 11 to 25, 2023. When it was decided to hold a course in Rishikesh to learn the practice of Pranayama from Dr O. P. Tiwari ji who is the director of Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, the organizer of Kdhama strongly recommended us to stay at this Ashram. Being able to deepen our learning while staying here made this 2-week course an invaluable and precious experience for us, and it continues to fill our minds and bodies even now that we have returned to Japan.

What remained constant from the moment we entered the ashram until the moment we left was the warm hospitality of the teachers and staff towards all guests. No matter what happened, everyone there was willing to take responsibility for their own actions, and their immediate attitude of moving on was a great comfort to us. The wonderful fact that all the teachers and staff are learning and upholding the teachings of Himalayan Tradition, which filled the premises with a pure vibration that enveloped us, was a great comfort.

And what was so moving and relieving was the respectful acceptance of all people in this ashram, the mutual respect, and the lack of a superior/inferior view. Likewise, the respectful and accepting attitude of Swamiji and all the teachers towards Dr. O. P. Tiwari ji and Shri Neeraj Singh ji, who stayed with us from Kdhama as our course organizer and teacher, was very beautiful. It was a real pleasure for us, their students.

The days at the ashram flowed in a routine that began and ended with prayer and were filled with peace and love. The food was very tender, full of love, and I felt content in mind and body. The peace and quiet of the place and the simple but clean rooms with plenty of space provided the best environment to deepen our practice.

What we heard over and over again at this ashram was that “every action is practiced as a preparation for meditation.” By spending time with the presence of teachers who embodied this, what it meant became imprinted in us as a bodily sensation.

Swami Ritavan ji’s talk and the other teachers’ talks penetrated deep into our hearts with a sense of warmth. All the teachers generously and lovingly shared with us their vast knowledge based on their deep practical experience. I feel as if I have learned important things in life and how to be a human being from the teachers who speak from their hearts with a mindful and Humble attitude.

I cannot find words to adequately express my gratitude for this. That is why I feel that we should continue to practice what we have learned here, and to become closer to the yogic presence of the teachers, so that to practice what we have learned here, and to become closer to the yogic presence of the teachers, so that we can give form to our feelings of gratitude.

 

Swamiji said, “Whenever we breathe for meditation and close our eyes, we can connect with each other.” These words enveloped us as a warm feeling as we left the ashram. These words enveloped us as a warm feeling as we left the ashram.

The ashram was a place where we can continue to sincerely life–long our spiritual journey of yoga and surely long our spiritual journey of yoga and surely return here again if need be.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Motoko Saito (Yoga & Wellness Chandra, Japan)

AHYMSIN Japan – Yuko, Atsuko and Yumi

A fresh breeze of spring brought the Himalayan Tradition to Japan to convey the love, teachings and the wisdom of the Himalayan sages, which gave us a way to find Love & LIGHT within.

COVID hit upon Japanese communities very hard like every other community in the world, which has led fears and insecurities in people’s mind.  To share the opportunities of studying Yoga Meditation, and to reconnect with each other, AHYMSIN Japan had hold several online workshops between 2020 and 2022, which more than 100 people from Japan as well as from other countries had attended. Yet, there had been a sense of stagnation in the Japanese society wanting a breath of fresh air.  It was at that time when Rabindra Sahu from Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) ashram had agreed on traveling to Japan to share the teachings of the Himalayan tradition and gave us an opportunity to gather together and study the teachings of Yoga Meditation.

During the two weeks of March, we had four workshops in Okayama, Saitama, Kanagawa and Tokyo.  Since the communities needed gradual steps to return to a normal life, along with the still-going on COVID measures across the country, we had kept numbers of participants to minimum in each workshop, which actually helped to have like-minded people who wished to deepen their studies and understand themselves in deeper levels. Many of the participants had practiced Yoga Meditation before while most of them were new to the tradition.

In the workshops, the participants learned the importance of the breath, philosophies and practices of Ha-tha yoga, the systematic steps into meditation, and how to live skillfully applying the teachings of Yoga Meditation in day to day life. Rabindra shared the teachings at their own levels observing each student very carefully bringing humor and laughter into classes.  It was very helpful that he gave us many examples that many of us could relate to ourselves.  Many of them shared that they were reminded of the importance of the practicing the practical aspects of Yoga Meditation, and that they have started implementing what they learned from the workshops in their own lives;

• Before doing any activity, I have begun to bring awareness into my breath and find a stillness inside of me. It has helped me to relax, and to contemplate more in my daily life.
• Learning the proper posture for meditation was very useful. I started to apply it placing a blanket on which I sit for meditation.
• I realized the importance of diaphragmatic breathing and started to observe how my body, breath and mind change through the practice of Makarasana.
• What Rabindra taught us is helping me a lot during my work at hospital; to remember that “Yoga is skillfulness in action”, to protect myself by drawing three circles of light around me, and the importance of finding creative ways to say no as Japanese people tend to do other’s work also.

Many of them expressed that they felt reassured to be said that “it is okay not to be perfect”, “you do not need to prove anything to anyone in this world”.  When Rabindra said so, more people started to share their own problems in their lives, which would not happen so often in the Japanese communities.  It seemed that people had been waiting for these words from someone for a long time, or someone to say that – “whether you believe or you do not believe, whether you want, or you do not want, whether you like it or you do not like it, even with all your imperfections and weaknesses, ‘you are a divine being’”. He also shared that he has his own weaknesses for which he too seeks guidance from his master.

We believe that the loving teachings of the tradition and the environments of the workshops helped them accept themselves and connect to the inherent love and light.

Throughout the workshops, we felt that the participants had higher motivations to study Yoga Meditation asking questions like how they can deepen their study and contemplation or how they can implement the teachings into their daily lives.

We were grateful that we were able to provide them opportunities to find a way out from a sense of limitation which many people had held for a long time.  Like snowmelt from winter mountains helps plants to grow in the spring, the teachings of the tradition have helped them shine their light within, reminding people of the importance of accepting themselves, and re-connecting with their true selves, to become a little lighter, to be free and to enjoy their lives fully.  We hope that the workshops had spreaded some seeds of love so that they will grow at their own rhythms enjoying their own melodies.

An invitation for full moon guided meditation to all (on zoom)

9:00 PM to 9:30 PM (Japan Standard Time) on April 5^th, 2023

If you are interested in joining, kindly send us an email to ay.hibiki@gmail.com or ahymsin.jp@gmail.com. *The guided meditation will be in Japanese.

In loving service,

Yuko Metsugi

The last time I was sitting somewhere here, you were all on that [Zoom] screen, but this is different than having an empty space and a camera. Thank you, all my brothers and sisters, for these tremendously beautiful weeks of spending (time) together. I so enjoyed all my brothers speaking. I have, beyond worth, respect for you, Swamiji [Swami Ritavan Bharati], and for them and same with you and everyone else that we have been able to get together for these two weeks.

Each of these days I was just in awe with how, throughout the weeks, these moments were created in which the sacredness of life was invited in all these different ways — in the silent days, in the pujas, in the havans, in the aartis, in the music! Every moment was to give you the opportunity to get in touch with that light — through people speaking and these attempts to make life sacred, to make life special, to make every movement an opportunity to, not reconnect, but to uncover, (to) be, (to) remember.

And when I contemplated of what else can be shared, (it) is this awe for the moment. As Ashu said, “Everything is perfect,” and that perfection is in this very moment, right here. And so, that is something — to always just learn to stay in, and let it grow, and let it….

I’m not talking (about) something for tomorrow or when you go home. No, again, it’s right here!  Can you feel it?!

Because that’s all I can mention about the sadhana right now. What (we are) trying to do with the meditations, with the with the readings, with the contemplations, with the singing, with everything, is to continuously try to connect in this very here and very now.

The Mother is here! Can you feel the body resting right now. Can you feel your breath right now? This very moment is sacred. It will not happen tomorrow. It hasn’t happened yesterday. It can and will. One moment it will happen. Now, here, the breath is flowing right now:

“Hi, my dear friend Mind! Thank you for showing up. You are not flying away yet. But let’s stay here. Let’s make this very moment as special as it can be. O Mind, can you please remember mantra for me, right now? Can you allow the thoughts to do what they want to do, but let’s not be disturbed with them right now.”

And the theme of this [is] Inner Light! Sometimes it appears quite weak. Sometimes it appears even lost. But let’s see if right now, here, as you’re feeling the physical temple [while] sitting, as you’re feeling the prana and the breath cleansing and nourishing this temple, cleaning it — as your thoughts are allowed to go, whatever they are, good or bad doesn’t matter, and the mantra somewhere is roaming around there too, reverberating in the inner temple in the sanctuary — that right here, in the depth, in the core of being itself, this Light is.

As Swami Veda said in the title of the book that we all shared,[1] [in] many languages, the poem of his, it is like ten thousand suns. And even if you feel it right now just a little — like a little flame, something is whispering, something is calling you, like a little deepak in your heart — can you be with it right now? Can you be in awe of it? Can you hold it in as best as you can in your awareness right now, as the most precious thing that is? But it is not even a “thing” — please forgive my language. It is not whatever; [it is] the most precious existence!

We don’t have to go anywhere, they say. We don’t have to reach anything. We don’t have to even do the practices — but yet we do them anyway to continuously be here — because it’s all right here! And that little flame of awareness, that little connection that seemed to be made, gradually will merge into the experience of Being.

Right here, can you be aware that there is awareness in this very moment? Can you be aware that right now you are aware? And can you even be aware that you are consciously able to be aware of that something which is here right now at the core of your being? Some call it the Divine Mother. Some call it Love. Some call it whatever it is — [but] eventually it’s you in your truest form.

And what amazes me the most sometimes is that that connection seems to get lost; and then somehow there it is again! In your meditation, try to be aware of that awareness. There is awareness right here! Nothing else matters — not what happened [in the past], not what will come [in the future], not what I’m supposed to be. It is right here! And then something comes, and maybe you lose it for like a moment. But then — it’s like a miracle! — it comes again. And again there is this moment of awareness: “Oh yes! Okay! Thank you, Mind!  Thank you, Tradition! Thank you, Grace!”

And the more you do this, the more somehow [by] allowing the awareness to be present in the here and now again, it becomes more and more a habit pattern to just wake up from whatever you got lost in and — “Whew! Okay! Wow!” — be here again.

Many, many years ago when I was starting to dabble with these practices, you read about being aware of your breath. “Okay, [I’ll make a] sankalpa: Today I want to be aware of my breath the whole day!” I don’t know how you were and still are, and not perfect. [But] after six hours — “Oh! I was supposed to be aware of my breath all day, and I just lost six hours! “Okay, from now on I’m going to be aware!” And maybe two or three conscious breaths were taken, the world happens, and I’m out of it again [for] six hours later.

Again, I don’t know how your mind was [during such lapses of attention], but I was not supposed to be like this. And it was harsh, and it was not nice, until — fortunately during one of those internal dialogues where the mind can surprise you [and show you] how wise it is if you just allow yourself to listen to it and when Mind starts to become your friend — Mind suddenly said, “What do you want me to do? Do you want me to wake you up or do you want me to leave you alone? Because every time when I wake you up, you’re not nice to me.”

And that was like “Where’s this coming from?” So, I had to shift this perspective, and instead of waking up after six hours and being aware for just a moment — and then beating up the Mind by saying, “Where were you the other five hours and 59 minutes and 30 seconds?” — to capture those moments and to really learn to celebrate those moments? “Oh! Wow! Thank you, Mind!

And in the beginning I exaggerated because I didn’t take it very seriously. So I would go over the top: “O, thank you, Mind! This is phenomenal! Thank you!” But then slowly, slowly, Mind started to be okay again because I was not beating it up all the time. So, it just started to show more and more of these conscious moments in which suddenly the sacredness of life was there again! And then to catch these moments: “Ah! Are you still in it? Are you still here?”

And throughout these two weeks I’ve just been in awe of how much effort everyone has put in to give you these moments, to give you these long moments continuously. I was watching people as they made offerings to the fire. I enjoy watching people when they do the arti because there is divine worshiping and giving oblations to the Divine – the sacrificial yagna that Rabindra was just talking about. And to have that — so that you have these two weeks when the outside world didn’t exist. I hope they didn’t disturb you. So you could just get that light bright and brighter — not that it needs to become brighter; it is already perfect — but just being in it.

And to conclude, what I would like to offer you last is that, just as important as it is to go into your practice, I think, it is just as important how to transition out of your meditation. And so that is what I would like to do for a few minutes, if I may.

So, just sit as comfortable as you can. Sit with your head neck and trunk straight as possible. As Swamiji so beautifully said, I hope your music is flowing in sushumna. Just, as best as you can, be. Be with whatever it is, and especially be aware that right here now is the only thing that matters. How deep or un-deep that realization is doesn’t matter. Be aware that you are consciously breathing.

Do you feel it? Do you feel the air flowing in and out of the nostrils? It’s not mere technique; it’s a happening! Something is moving the breath, and the awareness allows you to become aware of That which is never moving, That which observes the movement of the breath. Be aware of That.

Mantra may be flowing. Maybe it needs a little nudge to remember it. Allow it to reverberate through the mind-field, guiding you into deeper and deeper fields: the inner world.

Surrender into all that what is, the innermost Stillness and Silence. Be here, and be conscious of the fact that you are here right now. Nothing else matters. There is Existence. Be aware of Existence itself, which is like a Light, which is your Inner Light, which is you!

And maybe your eyes have closed and the body has become still. And gradually the breath will start to slow down the more you surrender into that Stillness that is here now.

You are the Light! The Inner Light is here!

And then, that most still aspect — however still it is — allow that to become your new platform, your new seat from which you learn to live.

Like Rabindra gave this incredibly beautiful way to spread the Light from the heart through the senses into all these jnanendriyas in the body and karmendriyas [2] so that every moment becomes sacred.

And now let’s practice staying in that most still aspect, the deepest, closest you can get at the moment to your true Self which is the center, the point resting in its center. And from there, without leaving that [center point], experience the breath. Without leaving that Stillness, feel the whole body. Without leaving that Stillness, very slowly moving from that Stillness, place the hands in front of your heart. The eyes are still closed. Just realize that from this Stillness something moved, but yet you’re resting in that Stillness.

This gesture (anjali mudra) symbolizes that that Stillness, the Light — appo deepo bhava [3]— he is in you and in everyone that and everything that lives.

And so, very consciously, without leaving the Stillness and Light, gradually open your eyes. Allow the world to see, and spread your attention throughout the whole room. Be aware of the whole Space around you. And however you do this — this cannot be done wrong — notice that we’re sitting with so many other Lights. And please turn around you and see and recognize in each and everyone around us, this Inner Light.

This is what Swami Rama does when he says, “I pray to the Divinity in you.” He sees that Light, always, more than we do. We forget.

And so, you and I know we’re at the end, and maybe the mind is going towards [the thought of] leaving. So, as you may one day have to step out of the gate, practice this: Center [yourself], stay with the Light, and see this transition — coming out of the meditation. How long can you stay with it? How long can you take it with you when you go on a taxi, when you go on a plane? When you go, take it with you. Practice this so that it not only is in this space [at SRSG], but so when you walk out this door, when you walk into the new door, learn to take just as much as we learn to move into meditation.  Take it with you and so it is never lost. In an instant, everything is already here!

Thank you!

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Footnotes

[1] The Light of Ten Thousand Suns by Swami Veda Bharati. Compare with Chapter 11, Verse 12 of the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna sees Krishna’s divine form: “If there were to rise the brilliance of a thousand suns in heaven, that would be similar to the brilliance of that great-souled One.”

“The sun, the moon, the stars, and all the lights that you can imagine in the entire external world are but fragments of that one great Light that is within you. It is the light of knowledge, the light of discrimination, the light of understanding, the light of life, the light of sharing and love, the light of Being that you are. ‘Thou art that.’ The light within is like a ripple in the vast ocean of bliss – that which we call Brahman, the Absolute, Infinity, the Highest. You yourself are that ripple; you are a wave. You should always have confidence that the light of life really is within you.” (Swami Rama in Path of Fire and Light, Volume II (1988), p. 1)

[2] The “janendriyas” are the five organs of perception — the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin — and the “karmendriyas” are the five organs of action (hands, feet, speech organs, and the organs of elimination & generation).

[3] Appo deepo bhava — “Be a light unto thyself.” These were Gautama Buddha’s last words to his disciples.

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Editor’s Note

This 24^th March, 2023 marked 90^th birth anniversary of our beloved Swami Veda Bharati. To share the love he bestowed on us and how it had inspired our lives, we held an intimate virtual gathering of initiates residing in south India.

Among us was a diverse group who had received initiation in the tradition from as early as 1990 to as recent as 2022. We are blessed to have Shri Raghavendra Adiga ji among us, an initiator in the tradition. We began with an adoring Guru Vandana chanting in dedication to Swami Veda and the Guru parampara by Shri Adiga ji.

Later Adiga Ji recounted his first meeting with Swami Veda in 1996 during the Mahasamadhi of Gurudev Swami Rama, and the subsequent training he received from Swami Veda.

Swami Veda visited Bangalore in the year 2004 and 2011, in the presence of (late) Shri Madhav Kamat ji. Ashok Shanbhag ji shared with us how large crowds turned up to listen to Swami Veda which surpassed the expectation of the organizers.

Among the youngest initiates in our group, Ishan Bhat expressed his gratefulness to have found SRSG, where Swami Veda had kept the teachings of Swami Rama and the Himalayan Tradition available to this day, in a profound way. What touched him most, was that many teachers these days speak about what yoga can grant you, whereas it was Swami Veda who taught what yoga takes away from you.

Swami ji has said, “If you want to love me, meditate. That is our true relationship. Silent love is the best love in the universe.”

Swami Veda often laid importance of a sangha, a group of kalyana mitras. As we step into the ´Decade of Loving Transformation’, a call for transformation by Swami Ritavan Bharati, it is time for us to reflect and plan our spiritual life. In 2033, when it will be time for Swami Veda’s birth centenary celebrations, we may offer him a gift of our purer, transformed self.

We concluded this satsang, in gratitude and reverence to our beloved Swami ji, and were guided into meditation by Shri Adiga ji, our hearts felt full of the love from the lineage.

With an intention of our own spiritual growth and serving Swami Veda’s mission, this small group of sadhakas in south India will meet for regular satsangs and group meditation. If you are an initiate residing in south India and would like to be part of our sangha, please email Namita at ahymsinsouthindia@gmail.com.

Om.Om.Om.

Thirty years have passed since the first time I walked into The Meditation Center in Minneapolis. I didn’t come to the Center for spiritual enlightenment or self-realization. I came because I was at a dead end. There was nowhere else to turn. The memories of that day in May of 1993 are still very clear in my mind. I was thirty-five years old and had been grieving the death of my mom for two years. The heavy grief had turned into numerous body pains. I tried everything to alleviate the intense discomfort, including homeopathy and chiropractic adjustments. Nothing helped. Many times, I cried out for a solution, but heard no answer. I didn’t think there would ever be an end to my suffering. Then I saw an article in the newspaper about how yoga could help people with back problems. Shortly after that, while visiting an osteopath for treatment, I mentioned that I was thinking of trying yoga. He told me that because of all my injuries, I should try a gentle type of yoga like they offered at The Meditation Center. At my first class we learned the Joints and Glands exercises. The long healing process began.

A couple of years later I found out that the osteopath who referred me to The Meditation Center was an initiate in the Himalayan Tradition and had gotten married at Sadhana Mandir (Swami Rama’s Ashram). That’s the first time I realized I was on a spiritual path, and not just bouncing around from one random event to the next. The journey to healing was, and is, filled with many challenges and obstacles. But the path started precisely where I was standing, at the exact time I needed it.  Looking back, I can see that my path has intersected with others as I moved through life. Some people walked with me on the path for longer periods of time, while others passed by in a brief encounter. I am grateful for whatever time we have had together. Thank you.

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Editor’s Note:

Daniel Hertz (MS, BCB, E-RYT 500) has been on the faculty of The Meditation Center in Minneapolis since 1995 and has been offering individual Biofeedback sessions since 2007. He is the author of a memoir entitled Everything is A Little Bit Alright: yoga, meditation, and a dog named Roy. It is available on Amazon at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Little-Bit-Alright-Meditation/dp/1951651294

Our beloved Swami Veda Bharati’s 90^th Birthday (24 March 2023) comes as a moment of loving remembrance and marks the beginning of a new era for all of Swamiji’s devotees, initiates and students. Swami Ritavan Bharati has named this new era as the ‘Decade of Loving Transformation: 2023-2033’, until Swamiji’s centenary birthday celebration in 2033, which would be marked by a large gathering at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) ashram.

 

We gather here at SRSG and around the globe, in solemn remembrance and in joyous celebration, recalling the teachings of the lineage through our Gurudeva and through the life of our beloved Swamiji.

We all cherish and embrace the loving sentiments Swamiji shared saying: “Tonight you filled me with such love. Everything that you have given me tonight, I will keep it filled inside me. But I have one desire yet unfulfilled. If you really wish to honor me, wish to love me, do two things for me. This, I am saying to my students. First, love each other. You all love this Swami, but you don’t love each other. If you want to love me, love each other. Secondly, make yourself adhikarin so that the knowledge coming down from thousands of years of tradition can be passed on and can continue. And the third condition, if you want to love me, meditate. That is our true relationship. Silent love is the best love in the universe. And my master, Swami Rama said ‘Love is the Lord of All.’ And today you have shown that love. But I would be happy when you show that love to each other. I thank you all, thank you all from the depth of my heart. God bless you.”

On this 90th Birthday anniversary tribute, an initiate shared the following sentiments of gratitude and aspiration to live through the example of Swami Veda’s life –

Beloved Swamiji

So gently you stole into our lives, like a whisper upon a breeze. And before we knew it, you were in our hearts. Perhaps, you were always there, and we did not know.

In asking where your eternal seat is, is to place limitations upon your Self, beloved Guru. Yet, the heart longs to know just as it yearns for a brief glimpse of that smile that lit up a thousand suns and let us bask in the warmth. Everyday thoughts of you course through the mind, wondering what would have been had we more years of your loving, physical presence. Now and then, a message from you un-veils giving a deeper meaning like a precious gift. One turns again and again to those precious few moments with you upon this Earth, gone all too soon, and wonders with awe at the grace bestowed. Will i ever understand the extent of your presence, your meaning in our life, of your many gifts, of your total acceptance of our human frailty? Passing on from this life, will i qualify to rest at your lotus feet?