Author: Mandala

A Week of Silence

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A Week of Silence in Rishikesh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Editor’s Note:

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

Mindfulness in Ayurveda & Yoga

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Editor’s note:

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

Is practicing nadi sodhana really essential?

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Question

I noticed in many readings that there is a focus on practicing nadi-shodhana. It is almost practiced before any kind of important practice. Is it really very essential? I do practice it before meditation and sometimes during the day. I learned that this will help open sushumna which will calm the mind, but I don’t feel any direct effect of it on me, any thought in this regard?

Answers

Two have answered this question: Lalita Arya (Ammaji) and Michael Smith.

Lalita Arya (Ammaji)

Dear Friend, when I was very young I was taught that Patience is a Virtue. It did not mean much to me then, but with maturity came some kind of wisdom that made sense.

If I may ask when you have your meals how long does it normally take for their nutritive values to spread into your body, your mind? It does not happen immediately. Does it? And this is only the physical. So what about the subtle – although breathing practices are also a physical exercise.

If the mind does not calm down right away after the first trial, do it at least 3 times again. Just the concentration will help to clear disturbances, especially if eyes are closed and external input is monitored.

Be patient, do not look for results, just practice. Expectations disappoint, discourage and create imbalances in the mind. Do what you have to do, carry on and the results will come in their own time. Wishing you perseverance and success.

Michael Smith

There is academic leaning and experiential learning.

For the academic learning of Nadi Shodhana and Sushumna Opening, there are Swami Rama’s Meditation and Its Practice (Chapter 5) and his Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita (pp. 238-241).

For the experiential learning of Sushumna Opening the advice is always Practice! Practice! Practice!  Practice makes perfect!

There is a helpful practicum for taking Nadi Shodhana into Sushumna Opening from Dr. Dale Buegel, one of Swami Rama’s dedicated students. Dr. Buegel’s request to Swami Rama was “to be taught in silence” and “to actually experience what is written about in ancient texts like the Yoga  Sutras.”

Below is a link to that teaching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgMcGBXUvVo

Editor’s Note

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

Rituals in the Modern World

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In today’s India, and in modern western society, rituals seem to be going out of fashion, particularly rituals of a spiritual culture. People go to the church or the temple, watch someone at an altar, move his hands in a particular way, same some words in a strange tongue and gain little or no feeling for establishing a relationship with the divine. The primary cause is that knowledge of what the ritual is has been lost. My children attend a Catholic school where they have to go to mass every week. They come back to report how much they enjoy it as they relate to rituals we practice at home. Sometimes their friends who are bored because they do not understand what is going on, interrupt them with whispers and giggles, and my kids wonder why they are not interested in following it.

People do not understand how to use it and how it can be beneficial to them and so it all seems like so much useless habit. The problem arises when they simply discard the habit in their search for divine contact without trying to discover what connection it really does have with the greater powers. Because the Hindu rituals evolved from the practice of yoga, or actual union with these powers, the meanings were always there to be found, but for many reasons, some of them economic and political, the Western church gradually lost contact with the sources of its faith in direct revelations to Christ and his disciples.

Many people today feel a troubling sense of separation from others in the world and from themselves. Men feel powerless to change the shape of their society or even their own minds.  Ritual can become a way for a man to close the gaps between himself and the world and thereby reduce his feelings of impotence and separation. I could say very frankly that all cultures use rituals as ways of overcoming separation from one another. They are an integrative force in a society, and no society can do without them. Even in the Soviet Union, which discouraged religious practice, they built special wedding halls where at one time the bride and bridegroom used to march to the music of the revolution. They took their vows before a photograph of Lenin. Rituals are the formal ways a society seeks to overcome individual separation.

Here we will attempt to give those interested in meditational rituals ways of relating at least intellectually to their meaning and function. The rest of the motivation must come from within, from the feelings generated in meditation.

In what ways does a person who is deeply involved in ritual see it? The most important point in cultivating a meditative life is mindfulness of the divinity in all things. When everything is seen as a physical projection of the divine, animated and motivated by divinity, every action in one’s daily life becomes ritual worship of the divine force which is the source of all things.

In Sanskrit, the word karma is not only the world for action, but also signifies a ritual act. It originates from the same root (kr) as the word samskara, which in addition to serving as a technical term in yoga philosophy – meaning mental impressions, also means a ritual performance. From the yogic perspective, every action is a ritual worship, a means of attaining union with divinity. In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says, “Arjuna, perform your actions (karma) dwelling in yoga and indifferent to success or failure; equanimity is called yoga”. Every action is a potential ritual.

To me (and this is the classical Indian view) ritual is an art form. Like other arts it is the expression in a concrete form of something abstract and intangible, something felt. It attempts to communicate relationship between the artist (or priest) and something outside of himself, an object or a force.  Vast rituals are performed. Every week in your music halls somebody raises a baton at eight p.m. each Friday night and at each stroke of the stick certain musicians play out certain thoughts and it becomes a symphony. When I perform a ritual it is to me as if I were reciting poetry with my whole mind, my words and my body, expressing the harmony of my whole being. As one intensifies his meditation, the feeling for these relationships grows and so also his need to express the feeling in the best possible way.

Editor’s Note

This passage has been taken from the book Raising Spiritual Families by Swami Veda Bharati.

The Real and Un-real

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The treasure according to Vedanta is Atman, the Self or absolute Reality, that exists within all individuals. In the language of the Bible, Atman is the image of God, that which is identical to Brahman, pure consciousness, ultimate Reality, or however else we attempt to express with words that which is indescribable. Atman and Brahman are one, just as Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.”

“Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” Jesus told his disciples. Know your identity with God. You are the same but have forgotten it, is the message. So remember. Do that essential work of remembering, of getting the clutter removed so you can remember.

Let’s define some terms here, with the understanding that words are subject to limitations, whereas what we are talking about is beyond words and intellect. As the book of Tao says, the Tao that can be spoken of is not the real Tao. Similarly the Buddha instructed his disciples not to think or argue about God. Because of this instruction, Buddha and Buddhism are misunderstood as being atheistic. What the Buddha meant was that God, or pure consciousness, is beyond the limited mind, beyond the intellect. As soon as God is considered and defined by the limited mind, God becomes limited. So Buddha told his disciples to concentrate on removing the barriers that separated them from the true Self. When that is done, then whatever we call the ultimate Truth reveals itself.

With that said, the Vedantins nonetheless made a valiant effort to give these ideas perspective. Brahman is absolute existence, knowledge and bliss, the summum bonum of the life of all creatures. According to Vedantic terminology, Brahman is real and all else is unreal. That which is not subject to death, decay and decomposition is real, and that which changes is temporal and unreal. The universe is not real. It cannot be real if it is only temporary. Another way of saying this is that the universe is not non-existent, but it is not real in the same sense as Brahman.

When you dream, for the extent of the dream, the world that is created within the dream and the people and events in in are real. When you wake up that reality disappears. The worldly plane of the universe is considered by Vedantins to be as a dream. It is real within its own context, and it has a purpose. Vedantins call it maya, an illusion. It is neither absolutely real, nor absolutely non-existent. Maya or this dream of worldly life is instructive. That which is subject to time, space and causation, to change and relativity, has value but not permanence. As a dream helps you work through emotions and desires, the worldly dream, maya, creates opportunities for you to grow and work through habits and desires. You wake from it, and it disappears. You wake into realizing Atman, and this plane of existence disappears into a misty memory.

Editor’s note

This passage has been taken from the book Sacred Journey, by Swami Rama, published in 2001 by Full Circle, New Delhi, India

Himalayan Tradition in Polity and Economy

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In the 4th century B.C. the Indian empire, then as large as the Roman Empire that came several centuries later, was ruled by the emperor Chandragupta, (called Sandrogottos by the Greeks). Chandragupta’s prime minister, named Chanakya, lived in a small hermitage, following the tradition of the Brahmin philosophers. It was the emperor who would dismount from the chariot several miles away and walk to his mentor-and-minister’s hut to receive counsel and advice.

The major work of this prime minister, titled the artha-shastra (Science of Polity and Economy), is a classic in the science of polity. An appendix to this is titled Chanakya’s Niti-sutras, containing five hundred and seventy-one sutras, that is, maxims on the essential principles of polity.  The first few sutras are as follows:

The root of comfort and happiness is dharma (virtue).

The root (support) for virtue is polity and economy (artha).

The root of artha is rulership.

The root of (successful) rulership is conquest of senses.

The root of the conquest over senses is humility and discipline (vinaya).

The root of humility and discipline is service to the elders.

Through service to the elders one obtains experiential knowledge and wisdom (vi-jnana).

Let one complete and fulfil oneself through experiential wisdom.

That one has cultivated and fulfilled the self, means that he has conquered the self.

One who has conquered the self finds all his purposes and goals being accomplished.

The word artha incorporates all the worldly affairs that provide the means for living, thus it includes polity and economy which are considered inseparable in ancient Indian political science.

However, we can see from the above maxims that the core of success is in conquest of senses, self-control, humility, and discipline imbibed by serving the wise and the elders.

On the basis of this teaching, we can examine the modern day approach to artha and determine where it fails in following these ancient ideals.  One can write a very detailed thesis to discuss this approach to modern problems in the business and the political world. How much of (a) self-control and conquest of senses, (b) humility, (c) discipline at the feet of elders and the wise is practiced to train ourselves for success? How much experiential wisdom actually serves to guide us in our business affairs? What exactly is meant by experiential wisdom? This word, vi-jnana, often occurs coupled with jnana (knowledge) in the texts like the Bhagavad-gita. The great Shankaracharya translates jnana as theoretical and textual knowledge, and vi-jnana as experiential wisdom. Here, however, “experiential” does not mean that which we gain from our daily life experiences. It means a spiritual experience which opens up our intuitive faculty.

This is where yoga and meditation become relevant.

It is not possible to learn to exercise self-control and to conquer one’s senses without the practice of meditation.

It is also not possible to reduce one’s ego, to practice humility, without meditation. It is through meditation that one learns that the elders who have gained intuitive wisdom may be honoured. Then, through meditation one gains access to one’s own inner gates of wisdom.

Editor’s Note

This passage has been taken from the book Sadhana in Applied Spirituality by Swami Veda Bharati.

Intellect, Sadhana and Wisdom

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Theologians, scholars, and priests theorize and write commentaries on scriptures such as the Vedas. Yet, however profound their theoretical knowledge may be, they cannot assimilate that knowledge and live according to it without sadhana. Intellectualization is easy, but sadhana is difficult. Many scholars make erudite speeches on the Vedic verses, but they themselves have not realized the full meaning of those verses. Therefore, Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna to practice and assimilate the knowledge. He urges him not to be foolish like those who talk on the Vedas but do not practice the teachings of the Vedas. Such scholars and priests are enveloped with self-interest; their actions are directed toward mundane and temporal gains and the attainment of heavenly joys. As a result they become caught in the snare of births and deaths.

Many religious leaders have forgotten the profound meaning of the great scriptures and merely use them for their own convenience. Motivated to attain external pleasures, they involve the innocent in rituals. Much of the misery we find in society is because of unwise teachings spread by such religious teachers. It is an irony of human history that religious leaders often practice religion to achieve selfish ends. In fact, it has become a tradition that unfortunately misleads the vast majority of society.

A rare few are aware of the fallacies and follies of such selfish leaders and thus prefer to isolate themselves and practice sadhana. But how many such people are there in the world, and how much good can they do with their teachings and writing when the vast majority of religionists preach and teach meaningless rituals that rob the intellect of the wisdom of the great scriptures? The sages who have seen truth face to face and who were able to touch infinity have always warned sadhakas that real knowledge comes from earnest sadhana, which leads to direct experience, and not from mere study of the scriptures. While intellectual knowledge is often used for selfish ends, those sages knew that the truth and selflessness are one. Selflessness is an acquired taste. When one finds delight in being selfless he can lead, serve, and love others and even change the course and destiny of nations. Selfishness feeds the ego, but selflessness leads one to higher levels of consciousness.

Sri Krishna is not condemning the Vedas but is advising Arjuna to go beyond the three attributes of the human mind to attain a state of equanimity. The human mind is composed of three gunas (qualities): sattva, rajas, and tamas. The Vedas explain that these three qualities are present in all that exists in the phenomenal world and so are found in all human beings, though in different grades and degrees. When the sadhaka understands that the animal tendency is destructive, unhelpful, and of a tamasic nature, he increases his awareness of his human potentials. In the next stage of awareness, he realizes the great marvel of marvels: that the essential nature of his being is divine. He then follows the path of upward travel toward divinity. Without realizing his divinity, a human being can be successful in the external world but can never have a tranquil mind, and he is thus unable to catch a glimpse of the Eternal. He longs to be happy, but that dream is not fulfilled.

The divine nature in the human being is the sattvic quality of equilibrium, which gives one freedom from the influences of the pairs of opposites. Equilibrium is a state of mind attained by human effort. The aspirant who understands the three qualities of the human mind always remains vigilant and increases his awareness of sattva. One of the qualities of sattva is expansion; thus the mind, speech, and action of the sattvic aspirant follow the law of expansion and not of contraction. Contraction leads one to feel separate and small, whereas expansion leads one to realize that the Self of all is his very essence.

Editor’s note

This passage has been taken from the book Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad-Gita, by Swami Rama, published in 1985 by the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA.

What can I do to stop falling asleep when I try to meditate?

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Question

What can I do to stop falling asleep when I try to meditate?

Answer

Pandit Dabral has answered this question.

From Pandit Dabral

Sri Swami Rama of the Himalayas said once that if one falls asleep during meditation it means the mind is tired.

My suggestions would be:

Get enough sleep and good sleep.
Perform a good Hatha Yoga practice before meditation.
A few Pranayama exercises would help after Hatha Yoga.
A good number of Nadi shodhanam after Pranayama.
Then you meditate and you probably will be able to resolve your issue.
Sometimes it’s just a habit that we form.

Hope this is helpful.

Editor’s Note

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

What can we do with those members of the local sangha who do not practice seva within the sangha?

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Question

I am a member of a centre. Activities such as meditation and yoga some centre members see as private activities. At the moment we have some members who never have time to support with anything. They don’t see that being in service for the centre is an extension of your practice and never have time to support with anything. We have suggested they meditate over the availability of time for our tradition. The situation presents a challenge in the group’s ability in being able to serve the mission.

Answers

Three have answered this question: Dr. Mohan Swami, Michael Smith, and Carolyn Hume.

Dr. Mohan Swami

As Kalyana Mitras – noble friends on the spiritual path:

We must kindle these fires in the sadhakas who share similar goals and aspirations – to not only strengthen the global Ahymsin family but create a solid platform to disseminate the teachings and philosophy of the Master.

With inner strength and resolve and through the grace of the lineage continue with: 1. Skillful work, and 2. high moral & loving attitude so that your performance will be service to the Tradition –MS

Michael Smith

“Faith without works is dead.”
(James 2:20)

Karma Yoga, along with Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga, is part of yoga sadhana in the Himalayan Yoga Tradition. Swami Veda called these three the “Yogas of Life.” They are related to people’s natural inclinations.

These three “Yogas” are also explained in Swami Rama’s book, Choosing a Path (Chapters 1-3).

Swami Veda once said, “In our tradition, somewhere, sometime, in your spiritual journey you will be a teacher,” So service (seva) is one of the features of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition’s Teacher Training Program (HYT-TTP).

There are many ways serve. Service (seva) is important for several reasons:

to show one’s gratitude and support for the teachings and teachers of the lineage,
to pare down the ego,
to work off karma,
to help others and make the world a better place,
to make the mind less preoccupied with the mental clatter around personal problems.
Good work is freeing. Good work is a little moksha. The attitude in giving . . . is Joy!

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy —
— Rabindranath Tagore

Each person has a unique path and special gifts that they need to cultivate. As one’s sadhana deepens, students begin to see what their special function is – one’s sva-dharma (one’s duty to oneself, one’s virtue, one’s purpose in being, the way that one aligns with the natural order). Then one’s life becomes easy, and service flows effortlessly.

Better one’s own dharma, even devoid of quality,
than the dharma of another, even though well performed.
Better to die in one’s own dharma;
The dharma of another invites danger.
— Bhagavad Gita (3.35) (Also 18:47-48)

Yoga students are already doing seva for their family or in their neighborhoods, or at hospitals or as counselors or in other capacities. Seva, as it pertains to sadhana, does not have to be to a local HYT center. However, when one sees the vastness and comprehensiveness of Swami Rama and Swami Veda’s mission, it seems that seva in the HYT would have immense benefits not only locally, but also worldwide.

Before he took his vow of Silence in 2013, Swami Veda wrote Sadhana in Applied Spirituality. It is a marvelous guidebook for sadhakas – and especially leaders of yoga centers – on how to cultivate sattvic relationships in their communities.

Swami Veda has also given many talks on how to encourage and inspire students, some of which may be on the Ahymsin Website:

“Communication with Students” (1981)
“Advice to Yoga Centers” (1982)
“Night Meditation” (1982)
“Questions and Answers” (1983)
One of Swami Veda’s favorite passages of the Dammapada is the Buddha’s advice to his first band of monks. The Buddha told his students that ‘wherever there is suffering, that is your place’:

Charatha bhikkavo charikam bahu-jana-hitaya, Bhau-jana-sukhaya.

“Monks, wander, for the benefit of the many, for the comfort of the many.”

Carolyn Hume

If we examine our practices, our lives, “private activities,” many of us will realize that we have been helped by those who have served; many of us have benefitted from teachers, books, audios, classes, retreats, from friendships with our fellows. Some of us will want to help others as we have been helped and find the opportunity to help others.

It may seem some are not giving as much sewa as others. Our eyes do not yet grasp the totality of reality. This is an invitation to open our hearts to each person and not to judge them.

In 1989, when in Germany, Swami Veda found himself saying (“the answer the Guru Spirit put into my mouth at that moment”) to the sadhakas there,

“There is much ignorance, and no end to suffering on this planet. There are only a few saints and masters to alleviate it. Their work is at the scale of an entire planet. If it were not for them, humanity would have self-destructed long ago. In addition to what they do, do we also want them to come personally to all their offices and answer and organize beginning level classes? …

… The word ‘member’ means an ‘organ,’ a ‘limb.’ It is in this sense that Christians are ‘members of Christ.’ We initiates are eyes, ears, hands and feet of the spiritual masters. This is as much as we can be, to share their burden; this is how we are part of their work. Their minds’ strength and wisdom works through us, so we may help a few to make a start. When we view, or know, or remember, ourselves as members in the spiritual body of the masters, their life-force, their grace flows through us. Our own minds grow in that grace — only when we remember that in all our work, we are serving as ‘members,’ as ‘organs,’ of that Spirit.’

And he wrote, “The next day I heard that some residents of that ashram cried: ‘Oh how easily we forget that we are members in the spiritual body of the Guru Spirit, making a minor contribution to the Guru’s planetary work!’”

In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 (New International Version): “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

Editor’s Note

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

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Self-Study

Posted on by Mandala

There are two levels in the study of a philosophical system and the texts thereof:

  • The texts are not hypotheses or philosophical speculations. They are records of the highest masters communicating their personally experienced knowledge to their disciples. That is why we consider revealed text to be supreme authority. The revealed texts are called apta-grantha, the texts by those who have attained, for they are meant to inform and inspire.

They inform us as to:

  • What the great masters received, and
  • What the methods or steps were in the processes of such acquisition of experience of a given state of consciousness.

They inspire us as they tell us of what others have found and that we can also find.

  • At the same time, in our traditions, the masters tell us that the revealed texts are not enough.  They are to be understood by verifying them through personal sadhana, resulting in yogi-pratyaksha (personal verification in the yoga experience).

So, even though the system of Vedanta may make a statement about the Transcendent God, the final faith (shraddha) will come when we have seen God personally. Up to that time we accept the methods prescribed in the apta-granthas as our maps all the while knowing that – we should ourselves see and experience the city that has been shown to us in the map. Hence, we combine the practice of meditation with our study of texts and interpret the texts in the light of meditation experience. This in yoga is termed svadhyaya.

The word svadhyaya has two meanings:

  • Intellectual study for and by one’s self, akin to reading a book on chemistry, and
  • The study of one’s Self, akin to the experimental session in a lab to verify the statements in the book.

The text was composed by those who had previously undertaken the same experiments and had obtained the verified and consistent results. Meditation is the lab work of spirituality.

Editor’s Note

This passage has been taken from the book Yogi in the Lab by Swami Veda Bharati.