Author: Mandala

Swami Veda visits Taiwan to celebrate publication of his first book in Chinese

Mr. Shi Hong is a Hong Kong businessman.  While conducting his successful business he studied deeply the spiritual traditions of India and China. He met Swami Veda Bharati when he  attended his lectures at an international yoga conference in Hong Kong several years ago. He also went to Taiwan where Swami Veda was lecturing. Since then his connection with Swami Veda and his teachings has  strengthened increasingly.

Mr. Shi Hong has taken upon himself the task of making Swami Veda’s work known in Chinese-speaking communities including Taiwan and mainland China. He recently compiled a book in Chinese from Swami Veda’s many recorded lectures, titled Shing Ning Yoga, roughly translated as Heart Yoga.

5000 copies of the book, which was published in May, were all sold out in Taiwan, while 10,000 copies of the mainland version sold out in two weeks.

Swami Veda visited Taiwan  in May primarily on a book signing tour. On 26th May, a function was held at the Eslite, a five story bookstore  in Taiwan. Swamiji spoke for about half an hour and then signed books.

Next day he did another book signing event in the capital Taipei.

Swamiji was invited as a guest of the China Youth Corps with whom AHYMSIN has very friendly relations including the facilitating of our teachers’ training programs both in Taiwan and Rishikesh. Those who know the history of Taiwan will know of the importance of CYC; it is the most influential youth organisation in Taiwan and has nearly sixty large campuses.

The third day’s function was held at the Taipei campus of CYC.

Swamiji started with a meditation ( with a Chinese translator), and gave a short discourse.

Xuan-Zang brought 600 sacred Sanskrit texts from India to China over the silk road. In China he is always depicted as carrying a load of books on his back and is worshipped in the temples. The T’ang emperor in Chang-An ( then the capital, now Xian) built him the Hamsa Pagoda ( Wild Goose Pagoda) where Xuan-Zang trained hundreds of monks to help translate the texts into Chinese. His translations eclipsed any previous translations like those of the 3rd century scholar Kumarajiva.

It is Xuan-Zang’s translations that are read as standard texts and his translation of the Heart Sutra is known to practically every Buddhist child in China.

Swami Veda introduced the original Sanskrit text to the modern Chinese.

He then recited the Heart Sutra in Sanskrit and the audience listened reverently with eyes closed.

The audience was requested to recite the mantra of the Heart Sutra.

Swami Veda led the audience from a vocal recitation to a deep, inner silence.

The book signing for a long line of people was done afterwards.

In China it has been an ancient tradition for authors, poets and painters to affix their signature seal to their work. A year or two ago Mr. Shi Hong presented Swami Veda a similar signature seal. The seal was affixed then Swamiji added his initials.

On the 27th May the session ended with initiates, each one, blessed with lotus oil (lotus is sacred both in India and China) and the blessing mudra ( hand gesture) by the placing of the right  hand on the head in a mood  of deep inner silence.

Later, on the 29th and 30th May Swami Veda was again a guest of CYC in the city of Kaohsiung. He had the opportunity of meeting Mr. Chin Chu Wu who inherited yoga teaching from his father. At age 69 he has spent his entire life teaching yoga in Taiwan. He has 50 branches throughout the country and ten thousand students. He gives  his students as their first reading Swami Rama’s classic Living With The Himalayan Masters. He was, therefore, specially delighted to meet a disciple of Swami Rama for the first time. Of the 200 people who attended the session, 70 were Mr. Wu’s students. Unfortunately there were not enough copies of Shing Ning Yoga in the bookstores to fulfil all the demands; it had already been sold out.

Shing Ning Yoga, a compilation in Chinese of Swami Veda’s lectures, is published by Bright Discovery Publishers in Taiwan and by Bright Culture Publishers in the mainland China. It is available in many bookstores in Chinese -speaking countries and communities including Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Tarkeshwar –  Haven for Spiritual Retreat

There was excitement in the air as our group of Gurukulum students and SRSG Ashram staff started preparing for the trip to Tarkeshwar. Swami Veda had directed us to go to Tarkeshwar during Summer 2009 for an intensive spiritual retreat. I had heard and read about Tarkeshwar and was excited that now I would see the mystery unfold.

Our cars needed to stop along the way to pick up groceries such as subzi (vegetables) and rice; this owing to the fact that Tarkeshwar is an isolated place and provisions need to be carried in, especially for a large group such as ours. We reached Tarkeshwar by mid-afternoon.

Tarkeshwar is situated at a height of 6500 feet. There is an ashram there called Maheshwari Das or Sadhana Mandir. As we walked the path to the ashram, we were mesmerized by the panoramic beauty of this place. The temple is further down and is surrounded by 120-150 foot tall pine trees, creating a haven for spiritual retreat. Nobody knows how ancient the temple of Tarkeshwar is. There is an idol in this temple that is said to have emerged naturally from the earth. The temple is named after a demon called Tarakasur who was killed by Lord Shiva’s son, Kartikeya. Swami Rama was born in a village near to Tarkeshwar. There is a cave just a short walk from the ashram where Swami Rama did six months tapasya.

I am from Garhwal myself, but I had never witnessed such a beautiful place secured in the interior of the Himalayan Mountains. There are two ponds of water. Pilgrims use this water for bathing and other purposes. It is believed that this water has healing powers. Carrying water from the pond for everyday use, sharing rooms, helping the staff in cooking meals, here we were reintroduced to the joy of simple living. Our group felt more connected as family than ever. The entire place is so peaceful and serene, the energies there can induce a meditative state without any effort. The constantly ringing bells of the temple vibrated in the body like the resounding echo of the cosmos, naturally inducing the state of Nada-Yoga.

The environment is very pure around the temple. The breeze through the trees seems to whisper something in the ears. The weather was so cool, like thousands of air conditioners working together. This is an apt place for sadhana and silence. I did not feel like speaking anything, just becoming a part of the valleys, that beauty which lies inside myself too. I felt a sense of completeness, as my mind did not wander anywhere else.

I remembered Swami Rama’s words, “Live with Nature, Walk with Nature and Eat with Nature.”

Submitted by Rahul

In The Shelter of Devadaru Trees

Tarkeshwar Mahadev’s temple is situated in the mountains of Uttarakhand.  This place gives us a very beautiful view of the Himalayas. It seems that the Himalayas originate here because you can see four mountain chains sprouting from this place. Tarkeshwar is surrounded by devadaru and pine trees. It is said that Lord Tarkeshwar (Shiva) himself is resting in peace under the shadow of the devadaru trees after destroying the whole world. You need to ring many bells to wake the Lord Shiva because he is in deep sleep.

Devadaru trees are king of that area. Early in the morning when the sun rises, you can see them competing with each other. Every tree wants to see the Lord Sun and pray to bathe in his light. This is why those trees have grown high.  The name suggests that the gods themselves stay in those trees and do a Parikrama (devotional circumambulation) of the Lord Shiva.

People go to Tarkeshwar in search of peace. I also went with the same purpose. I went from one tree to another, one mountain to another. Everywhere I found an awful sound and that was my mind. I looked at the trees for a long time. Sometimes, I touched the trunk of one of them and gave my ears to hear something good from them, but my eyes filled with

 tears. If you are filled with mind pollution, go to a Devadaru tree. Stand at the root and try to look at the top of it; you will find that your ego has vanished and only peace remains.

Submitted by Acharya Chandramani Shastri, (at right, sitting in Swami Rama’s Tarkeshwar cave) is a Sanskrit Scholar and head Gurukulam teacher.

In Gurudeva Swami Rama a number of lineages merge.

Through his Yoga-Guru Bangali Maharaj, he represents the tradition of the Himalayan Yogis.

In Vedanta, the Tradition goes all the way to the ancient history of Vedanta, through Shankaracharya and Vidyaranya Muni, with the seat at Shringeri.

In Sanyasa, it goes all the way to the Vedic times and then through Shankaracharya’s Dash-nami order, with Bharati lineage, with the seat at Shringeri.

In Christianity, it goes all the way to Christ’s chief disciple St. Peter. How is that? The mystery of that is known to few close disciples.

In the Buddhist tradition, as he had told me at the time of my yoga-initiation, we are preparing the grounds for the coming of  Maitreya Buddha.

We inherit the Tibetan tradition through the Tibetan master who was the guru of the Gurudeva of Swami Rama.

We inherit the bhakti tradition through Madhusudana Saraswati, a former birth of Swami Rama, (who introduced bhakti into Vedanta) in 16th century.

Swami Veda was practically born expounding Vedas and the sutras of Patanjali, a fact attributed by the learned of that time to the knowledge from his previous births. So we inherit the Vedic and Patanjali tradition in this form also.

This convergence of diverse traditions is one of our greatest spiritual strengths.

 

I pray to the Divinity in you.

This day, the day of Guru Purnima is considered to be the holiest day for the students of life; for those that have been treading the path of light; for those aspiring to attain enlightenment in this lifetime. They remember this day and celebrate it by becoming aware the purpose of life is to attain enlightenment; the state of mind, internal state, that makes one free from all pains and miseries.

So as you celebrate other days like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, this is a little bit different,  it is very auspicious. The student mentally, religiously follows the spiritual teaching imparted by the Tradition. For the Tradition is considered to be highest. It is a Tradition that follows truth, that leads one to the highest peak of wisdom.

So you know in our Tradition there have been many, many sages. If you find any obstacles on the path there will be help. Always you will be guided by the spiritual beings; those who watch your progress. I want you to faithfully tread the path of light and life by doing your duties selflessly, lovingly and skillfully in the external world and punctually meditate.

Meditation is one method that helps you fathom the internal states; those levels of life that are not normally understood by the human being. And in meditation you should be patient with yourself. You should gradually go ahead. Nothing is lost inside, everything is lost outside. It is not an external method, it is an internal method. It is a journey within you. When you go from your gross self to your subtlest self of life, when you know yourself, you can relate well to the world.

Do not ever miss your meditation. Meditation is helpful in understanding yourself and knowing yourself. And the same meditation in action in daily life. While doing your duty in meditation you remain aware of the Reality all the time.

Children’s retreat:

Teachers

We are looking for yoga teachers in our tradition who have experience working with children and would like to form committee/committees to gather information and develop some sort of curriculum/goal objective for teaching various age groups of children. If you are interested in joining a committee and dialoguing (most likely through email) please write to Lela at vedayouthcensus@gmail.com

Food Committee:

For the 2011 children’s retreat in Rishikesh, India, we would like to emphasize the importance of serving the tradition and serving each other. If we minimize our hiring of outside help during the retreat and share in the work together then we can increase our opportunities to bond in everyday activities (karma yoga) and really feel that sense of community. We can expand our immediate family to include all of our spiritual family members. Therefore it would be good if we could do all of the cooking ourselves. If anyone is interested in heading a food committee to plan the preparation of meals during the 10 day retreat, please write to Lela at vedayouthcensus@gmail.com .

Travel coordinator:

We are looking for someone to help organize group flights for people in different regions of the world. If you have experience and are interested in helping with this, please write to Lela at vedayouthcensus@gmail.com or ahymsin@gmail.com

TTP News

Namaste’ and Greetings to all our Friends and Affiliations Around the world,
We are eager to announce the “New and Improved “Himalayan Yoga Teacher-Training Program.

We are up and ready to serve our students with a complete ,”YOGA ALLIANCE”, accredited 200 and 600 hour certification program.

Level ONE for 200 and 600 hour programs are available this summer from July 18-August 1, 2009 in ST Thomas University in St Paul, Minnesota, USA.

The true meaning of yoga is developed in this course as you deepen your practice and become more “insightful“, and complete in your body mind and spirit. It is now more noticed in the world after a long period of HATHA yoga that students and teachers are asking “Is there more? I feel there is more to yoga”. If you have this question, you may have it answered from the transmission and the depth of knowledge that is called the Himalayan Tradition.

Please visit our new and complete website at www.hyt-ttp.com and see what is possible for your particular level of training needs

Yoga Nidra Workshop
with Swami Ritavan Bharati
Date: Sat   4/18/2009

Time:  1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
The Meditation Center

Yoga Nidra is the state of deep yogic sleep. It establishes the link between the conscious desires, will power, the subconscious and the unconscious mind.

By gaining knowledge and direct experience of this blissful state, you will learn to revisit this incredible state of consciousness on your own.

Yoga Nidra:
• Releases stress
• Increases clarity in decision making
• Enhances overall sense of well-being
• Brings relief from sleepless nights

Workshop Objectives:
Learn the basic principles of Yoga Nidra
How to effectively integrate it into your life
Learn the step by step techniques
Learn to go into the meditative depth of yoga nidra

Space is limited. Advanced registration is recommended.

Eat a light lunch, preferably two hours prior to the workshop.

An unprecedented confluence of the rivers of meditation and Sanskrit merged in SRSG Ashram in the month of May. Under the guidance of Sri Swami Veda Bharati, fourteen  full time staff members of Sanskrit Bharati practiced yoga and meditation.

During this camp, practices like basic preparation for meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, digestive breathing, relaxation, nadi-shodhana pranayama, joints and glands as well as asanas, were intensively practiced by the participants.

The main appeal of the camp was that the entire camp was conducted in the language of Devabhasha Sanskrit. Not only were most of the sessions held in Sanskrit, the highly qualified Sanskrit Bharati personnel even taught spoken Sanskrit to the SRSG Ashramiites everyday throughout the duration of their camp. Owing to such free-flowing sharing of sister streams of spiritual knowledge, the environment of SRSG assumed an ancient-time Sanskrit speaking ashram ambience.

All the programs and practices began with the 2-minutes meditation. The participants from Sanskrit Bharati were so inspired by Swamiji and His teachings, that they took a sankalpa to spread the knowledge and awareness of the meditation practices of Himalayan yogis as taught by Swami Rama and Swami Veda throughout India, in all their Sanskrit camps.

Submitted by Adhikari

Heaven in the Mountains

A group of thirty SRSG Gurukulam students and faculty went on an outing into the Himalayan mountains on the 18th of March. It was a long awaited picnic and the weather was sunny and warm, making the trip more enjoyable. We started the trip with the chanting of Mahamritunjaya mantra. The bus journey of around four hours from Rishikesh to the Chandra Badni temple was filled with joy, laughter and snacks. This was the first trip of this kind for me; going into the mountains with such a big group. A little hike of half an hour brought us to the temple of the Goddess, Chandra Badni.

The moment I climbed the terrace of the temple and looked around, a thought flashed through me – this is the heaven on earth. I was surrounded by high majestic Himalayas for as far as the eye could see, snow peaks shining like they were wearing diamond necklaces.  We all soon went to the temple and did our prayers and offered prasad.  I could feel the serene presence of spiritual energy in the temple. The place invited me to sit in meditation for some time. We clicked group photos there.

From Chandra Badni we went to Devprayag where two rivers, Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, merge to form the Ganges river. The Alaknanda was quiet and the Bhagirathi flowed like a whirwind. The rivers had different colors. A lot of us bathed and played around in the Ganga water and shivered in the fresh air. Here we also visited the Raghunath temple, an ancient temple of Lord Rama.
We returned back to the Ashram at around 7:00pm. Although I was a little tired I came back with beautiful impressions, memories and blessing of the the Gods of the Heaven.

-submitted by Rahul (gurukulam student)

Two Streams United

Devprayag is one of the holy places of India. In ancient times sages, saints and other scholars stayed there and did great penances. Devprayag (ed: a prayag is a confluence of two rivers) is mentioned in the Pauranic scriptures as a simile for the unity of the two breaths flowing in the human body. The Bhagirathi River, coming from Gomukha, and the Alaknanda River, from Badrinatha, unite with each other at this place and flow as a single stream (the Ganges); as in the body Ida from left and Pingala from right unite at the eyebrow center and flow as a single stream, Sushumna.

Submitted by Chandramani (gurukulam sanskrit teacher)

From 16 to 28 March, Swami Veda visited Holland for a series of events. There was a two-day International Congress on Cultural Diversity, a Yoga Youth and Children’s gathering and a Retreat on “Meditations from the Upanishads”. There were also some interviews and television recordings made during the children’s retreat.

During the retreat a foundational Ahymsin-meeting Europe was held, to which eight countries with 16 members participated and contributed.

The Hague Dialogues

Swamiji’s visit to Holland started with a conference “The Hague Dialogues”
in the Hague. The theme was “Cultural Diversity as Catalyst for Citizenship,
Creativity and Communication – enabling sustainable lifestyles”.
Swami Veda went into a lively dialogue with other distinguished speakers like quantum physicist, Dr. Amit Goswami.

Swami Veda and Prof. Amit Goswami (Quantum physicist)

Yoga Youth and Children’s retreat

On Saturday, March 21, Swamiji’s focus was on teaching the first steps of the spirituality of the Himalayan sages to children and young people. The location was a spacious sports hall in The Hague.

Swami Veda is very keen about getting the next generations involved in authentic yoga.  He says: “If we populate the next generation with children who know compassion, love and the art of caring for others, we will have given the world a great gift.”

For this reason, he plans a children’s and youth retreat in his Rishikesh Ashram in the Christmas holiday time of December 2011.Swamiji’s interest in teaching children is not new. Yearly family retreats are a well established tradition in the Minneapolis Meditation Centre. About 90 children and teenagers attended the seminar.

They were split up into 2 groups. Uta and Shailendra guided the very young in the ‘animal- asanas’. It was great fun watching 4 and 5 year old children going into the lion’s pose accompanied with a lot of terrifying roars at the end or stretching out into the position of the cat. It is a great strategy to use items from the natural world to get children into yoga.

As a group, the opening and the closing of a huge flower were imitated. Another yoga game was letting the children run free until Uta signaled to stop. Then they had to stand really still and observe their deep breathing.

For the adolescents, the approach was more high tech and cognitive with a Power point presentation on the basics of yogic living.

And then there was Swami Veda. Entering the hall unobtrusively, he sat quietly on his seat. Spontaneously, children started to come up to him. He put them on his lap and sprinkled them with drops of water and rose petals.

Gently Swamiji covered them with his meditation blanket. Then, the tone shifted to one of deep quietude as he whispered the first mantra into the right ear of each child. Of course, they each recieved some goodie when their turn was over. It was simple, profound and very moving.

Swamiji also thanked the parents for granting him the joy of having their small ones for 30 seconds on his lap. He said this is one of his greatest satisfactions.

Swami Ritavan told me that the children were not supposed to sit regularly in meditative posture while reciting the sacred sound they received. But since children like to imitate, whenever they see mommy or daddy meditating, they might crawl on to the lap and be gently touched by the serene mind-field of their quiet parent.

In his talk, Swami Veda stressed the huge responsibility of the parents in educating their children.  He said that the training of the child starts 3 years before the actual conception. The couple, especially the mother, has to prepare for the being that would share the body as well as the emotional and mental states of the mother-to-be for 9 months. The age up to 5 is also very important. Children are extremely sensitive. They react to disharmony and restlessness; in a way, they are the mirrors of their parents’ emotional ups and downs. After the fifth birthday, the process of educating is over…

The retreat started with Swami Veda’s 76th  birthday celebration

A quiet, dignified monastery near the Belgian border, that once belonged to the friars of Saint-Franciscus, was the setting of an international retreat with Swami Veda.
The theme was ‘Meditations from the Upanishads’.

When we arrived, attendants from all over Europe started checking in, their joy and laughter lighting up the dark alleys of the convent.

Organizer Willem Meijer spoke warm words of welcome at the beginning of Swami Ritavan’s opening session.

It was party-time tonight! The 24th of March is indeed the birthday of Swami Veda and we had to prepare for it! Quite a few came in well prepared: groups from Florence, Athens and the Dutch Surinam community had been already through numerous rehearsals of their cultural birthday gift to their teacher

                              
Swami Veda’s entrance in the old chapel where the celebration was held was a feast for the eye and the ear. Flower petals were showered on him while a Vedic shloka wishing him a healthy life span of 100 years was chanted.

Swamiji was blossoming. He thanked everybody for such a hearty welcome.

The cultural programme started with Swamiji reading some of his poems in English. Afterwards, Margriet read her skillful Dutch translations.

With these readings, the muses goddesses were awakened and would not leave us alone until the end of the evening.
The Italian group presented a classical dance led by a professional ballerina and they all, person by person, proclaimed a part of a message of love they had for Swamiji.
The dance seamlessly integrated a joints and glands sequence into a stunning classical dance. All were visibly moved.

 

Greece would not live up to its great heritage if it would come up with something mediocre. Luckily, we were not disappointed. The Greek ladies presented Swami with a cappella part-singing which was a medley of classical Greek folk songs and they sang without the slightest false note or tremble in their voices. So beautiful.

With the Indian Surinam community we were in for a big surprise. Apart from a joyous folk song they came with a recent CD recording of patriotic songs in Surinam Hindi, written decades ago by a young pandit who is presently known as Swami Veda!
A mixed Holland- Mumbai bhajan band brought the evening to a grand finale with Hindu bhajans and a Moslem chant. When Swamiji returned to his room, he took the flower petals from the ground and scattered them joyfully on the heads of those standing nearby….

RETREAT  “MEDITATIONS FROM THE UPANISHADS”

The retreat was a real European get together, with 100 participants from 8 countries.

(not everybody is in the photo, the other half were taking the pictures)

The Isavasya Upanishad: a series of workshops by Wolfgang Bisschoff

In the first afternoon session, Swami Ritavan gave an introduction to the Upanishads Many of the students may have been aware of the conventional translation of the term  Upanishad.
Swami Ritavan did not object to the definition of upa :’nearest’, ‘ni’: ‘down, or at the proper place’ and ‘sad’: ‘that which makes you reach out to know’, i.e. the teacher.
So, the popular translation of the word Upanishad is ‘sitting very near down at the feet of a knowing one’.

However, as Swami Ritavan explained, the oral tradition of the Masters comes with a different explanation:

                                     upa: ‘coming very close in one’s mind’,                                      ni: ‘the Totality’,
                                     shad: ‘to loosen, to let go’

This shows how the Himalayan tradition provides us with a yogic definition of the term.

Studying the Upanishads implies coming very close with a receptive mind to the Totality by loosening up all tensions and blockages and letting go of attachments and habit patterns.

And thus we were warned: Upanishad means practice. For this reason, we started the days with stretching, exercises for the joints and the endocrine system and yoga asanas.

In the morning before workshops, Swami Veda led us through his unique guided meditations, introducing some special kriyas of focus and relaxation. Like the children who were covered by his meditation shawl, we were enveloped by his serenity which made the hour fly by.

For his first class, Wolfgang Bischoff gathered us intimately around him. To make our minds calm and open, Wolfgang taught a two minute exercise which has even proven efficient all around the world in the down-to-earth professional meetings he supervises.

Afterwards, in eloquent Sanskrit, Wolfgang started to recite the invocation and the 18 verses of the Isavasya Upanishad. Since the Upanishads are shruti, ‘that what is heard’, their full value can only be evoked by reciting them out loud. As such, this practice becomes a part of svadhyaya, the study of the Self according to Patanjali. Soon, we were reciting with him. Afterwards, an English translation of the text was read out.

In his explanations, Wolfgang linked the vibration and the content of this small text to the present economic crisis. “Reciting and studying this text is a great antidote to fear”, he said. He advised us to regularly read the mantras to see which verses really reverberate within us.

The anonymous sage of this Upanishad experiences how everything is covered or permeated by Divinity. Nothing belongs really to us. So he advises us to ‘enjoy with renunciation.’ Doing these first verses provides us already with a perspective and a practice to proceed through life.

The Isavasya Upanishad is a text full of paradoxes.

“That (the Self) moves and moves not. That is far of and very near. That is inside all and outside all” (verse5).

“Those who worship avidya (ignorance) enter into blinding darkness, but into even greater darkness enter they who are engaged in vidya( knowledge).(verse 9)

These are just two examples. Off course one can delve into the multiple commentaries starting with Shankara and up to Swami Rama but, like with a Zen koan, the true insight has to rise up from the depths of our meditative minds.

Wolfgang is a great storyteller.

One afternoon he disclosed us how his master broke his selfish arrogance so that he could be open and more receptive. Swami Rama had urgently asked him to come over to his ashram in Rishikesh for an extremely important mission. Upon arriving, Wolfgang, who really felt very important, was promptly told that he was really needed to paint the 15m high walls of the Ashram. Wolfgang painted for 9 long months…but once the job was done, he was able to put his brushes aside with a less turbulent mind and a more humble attitude…

The Mandukya Upanishad – a series of workshops by Swami Ritavan

Years ago, when I had my first experience with the way Swami Ritavan guided his classes into profound depths of relaxation and into the exploration of our prana and mental bodies, I was wonderstruck by the magic that seems to happen when one allows him to be the navigator of one’s inner dimensions.

Only now I became aware that he was skillfully presenting the first steps of the experiential wisdom of the Mandukya Upanishad.

This Upanishad is the shortest of all, but possibly the most profound. It is one of the key texts of the Himalayan lineage. In his commentary on it, Swami Rama agrees with the traditional conclusions which hold that the practice of the vidya of this brief text suffices to reach enlightenment.

Its name mandukya alludes to the immobility of a frog. As we all know, meditation practice starts with stillness and stability of the body.

Mandukya is a meditation on the states of consciousness which correlate with the 3 matras or sounds of AUM, leading to the amatra of transcendental consciousness.

By his 32 points shavayatra and other practices like shitali karana, Swami Ritavan led us to a conscious exploration of taijasa, the lucid dream state and brought us to the borders of prajna, deep sleep. It was a pity that time did not allow him to open up the further reaches of yoga nidra, conscious sleep.

It is a great help that his masterful guidance on the Mandukya Upanishad is recorded on MP3- CD.

Swami Veda’s Lectures on some Upanishadic gems

Swami Veda started his first class with a comment about the academic approach to Upanishadic study.  “It is not possible to set dates, there are so many different styles of language within one Upanishad. They come from the rishis, the founders of Brahma Vidya, the Wisdom of the Absolute.”

To be able to understand the perspective of those seers, one has to contemplate the infinity of the physical universes. Swami Veda used the concept of anantkoti
Brahmanda, translated by him as “trillions upon trillions of universes each with its own space-time-causation warp.”

Our teacher said that one can only rise to the level of Brahmavidya, “when one walks in this consciousness, the consciousness that anantkoti Brahmanda fills only the tip of a needle in the vast Ocean of Brahman.”

Now the moment was right for Swami Veda to open his treasure chest, a huge volume of Upanishadic texts. True to the traditional approach, Swami Veda would first chant the verses before translating them.

He started to sing the first verses of the Isavasya Upanishad. From Wolfgang we had heard that the word isavasya stands for ‘that what is covered by the Lord’; but Swami presented us right away with a glimpse of his profound scholarship: he gave us the following alternative translation: ‘that which carries God’s fragrance.’
He relates the term to the yogic concept of vasya –vasana: ‘the smell of the inclinations of your mind’ as well as the well known word for Divinity vasu-deva.
(In his discourse on the final evening, Swami Veda spoke about another sensory metaphor for the Absolute which we find in these ancient texts: raso vaisaha (Brihad Aranyaka  Upanishad)  meaning ‘Brahman is Sweetness incarnate.’

The maxim “Enjoy the world with renunciation” implies the art of giving. “Gather with a 100 hands, scatter with a thousand hands. Don’t have greed, don’t hang on to things!” was Swamiji’s practical lesson on this verse.

Then Swamiji turned to the well know story from the Katha Upanishad of the young Nachiketas who was given to Yama, the Ruler of death by his angry father.
Upon arriving, the boy had to wait 3 nights and days before Yama returns because as we all know but seldom ponder about, Death is very busy.

In ‘Life, Here and Hereafter’, Swami Rama’s commentary on this text, he links this part of the story with the traditional preparation for sannyas where the candidate may be asked to spend 3 days and nights at the burning ghats.

Swami Veda says it describes an important landmark in one’s spiritual evolution.
As is it illustrated in the well known story of Ramana Maharshi’s awakening, the advanced disciple is led to the conscious experience of dying.

When Yama returned, he felt very sorry for his lack of hospitality. To make up for this grave transgression, Nachiketas could ask for three boons.

Swami Veda explained that all three boons were very important.

The first boon which was granted was to take the anger away from his father.
Swamiji emphasized that one cannot tread the path of higher knowledge until everyone you know is happy with you! Not only your own anger, but another person’s anger as well can block your growth.

The second boon is highly esoteric. Nachiketas asked death for the knowledge of the Fire that leads to heaven but that, in the same time, is also the support of the universe.

Swami Veda commented that, basically, the Upanishads teach two paths: the way to the Transcendent Brahman beyond space-time and the route to Cosmic Knowledge which is the wisdom of the Virat Purusha, the Divine presence in and as the universe. Swamiji said that this same knowledge of Virat Purusha was imparted by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield. Everything is a manifestation of Fire and there are identities between the Fires in the human microcosm and the universe, like the Fire in the sun. The technology to harness these Fires was very advanced in Vedic times. Homa-kundas were built in certain geometrical shapes and with specific numbers of bricks.

“Fire offerings are gateways to Cosmic Knowledge. By using the sacraments of fire, one can control spaces, times and get all siddhis. It is a science which is related to the ‘fires’ and the ‘bricks’ which were there at the beginning of the universe. ”

Most of this sacred knowledge of the fire altars which represent cosmic patterns is now lost. However, as Swamiji said:”If you jump to the higher knowledge, the lower knowledge will also come. One who has knowledge of Brahman will also get the knowledge of Virat on its macro -and micro levels and with all its vibrations.”

The next evening Swami Veda chose not to delve into the third boon. Instead, he
opened up the Kena Upanishad.

“Sent out by whom does this mind fly out….”
Swamiji recited and translated all those verses which point to the Mystery of the Self as the support and activator of all our faculties.

But the true knowledge of this mystery will only come in a kshana. Swamiji defined a kshana as an infinitesimal short span of time. So this ‘flash’ of knowledge is intuitional and can only come to a completely silent, pacified, focused mind. “Only such a mind can become a gateway to Infinity.”

Swamiji gave quite some attention to the second chapter of the text. In the ongoing ‘star wars’ between the Forces of Light and the Forces of Darkness, the Shining Beings won due to the help of Brahman. However they became puffed-up and thought it was all there own doing. Brahman decided to teach them a lesson. He took the form of a yaksha, an ethereal being,

The nature spirit was holding up a little straw. Neither the god of Fire was able to burn it, nor the god of Wind could blow it. When Indra, king of gods, who according to Swamiji represents the individual soul approached the yaksha, he disappeared. So Indra became humiliated as well. Then the Divine Mother appeared revealing to Indra that it was Brahman who was behind the drama. Uma, the Goddess, disclosed the truth of Brahman in relation to the powers of nature and man.

Swami Veda tried to bring home the grandeur of Brahman.”Brahman is satchidananda. This doesn’t mean that Brahman has the qualities of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss but that these make out his very being. So, don’t imagine the infinite bliss that we may be able to taste as knowing Brahman. It is only an experience of our anandamaya kosha, our sheath of bliss. This is only a minuscule fraction of the Ananda Brahman. It is like equating the taste of the orange juice left over in the pulp with the real juice in the glass. We have to be ambitious and go for the real juice. Brahman is ‘bhuma’, a Plenitude in which any concept of smallness cannot appear.”

With these magnificent words, Swami Veda sent us into the night…

On the final day, there was room for a lively question-and-answer session.

Following one of the questions which was related to an experience of a lady during the seminar, Swamiji concluded with a meditation whereby he guided us to enter the Cave of the Heart where we could pay mental homage the Divinity shining within.

I am sure that all participants, one way or other, got what they came for, or even more: a glimpse of the purnam, the Fullness in which everything abides.

This report seems rather lengthy but it is not. I was only able to give a few highlights from the profound satsangs that were given.

Meeting and greeting each other at the AHYMSIN Europe sessions

Apart from the full schedule that also included an in-depth analysis of the mantra science of the Himalayan tradition, an exposé on the historical context of the Vedic civilization, a session on the right way of sitting to practice meditation and a class on Ayurveda by an Italian professional vaidya, some of us gathered together after lunch in a ‘meet-and-greet’ session.

With the encouragement of Swami Veda, Willem Meijer organized these meetings where teachers and students from 8 countries gathered together. Attendants presented themselves; they spoke of their experiences, viewpoints and aspirations.

The sessions were quite intensive. All shared the need and the vision of establishing a strong and professional structure to disseminate the wisdom of the Himalayan Tradition through Swami Veda and his coworkers.

The participants were asked to put their ideas on cards. The following day, Sonia Van Nispen gathered the cards according to issues. This exercise in mind-mapping proved quite successful: it took Sonia 7 full pages to write a résumé of all proposals.

The report will be published on a website. The ideas and inspirations will serve as seeds to be nourished by all of us.

Yearly European conferences in a retreat setting will be organized where we will meet again and bring initiatives into manifestation.

At the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, in the green and peaceful environment of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram, Rishikesh, a group of around 50 participants from different parts of India came together to learn, practice, and experience the spiritual teachings of the Himalayan yogis as taught by the Rev. Shri Swami Rama of the Himalayas and carried forward by his close disciple, Pujya Gurudev Shri Swami Veda Bharati.

The goal of the Science of Yoga is mastery of the self. Integrating the ancient teachings of the East with the modern approaches of the West, the Himalayan Tradition of Yoga Meditation as taught by Swami Rama, teaches specific scientific, systematic and internal methods of training the human mind towards such self mastery.

Being taught by different disciples of Swami Rama and by Sri Swami Veda himself throughout the world, the teachings are also imparted by Swami Veda Bharati in a traditional Gurukulam system in the ashram he established in Rishikesh, India, called Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram. The Himalayan Tradition Yoga and Meditation camp held here in the month of April 2009 was organized and conducted by the effervescent efforts of the senior Gurukulam students after attaining training in the teachings and practices of the Tradition over a period of time under the loving guidance and inspiration of Pujya Gurudev.

In the duration of this 7-day residential camp, the teachings of the Tradition were organized to introduce and give a direct experience of the different basic practices of yoga meditation to the participants.  Swami Rama says there are only three things required on the path of yoga – Practice, Practice, Practice. Following this principle, the day schedule mainly consisted of instruction in basic practices of hatha-yoga as meditation, preparations for meditation, various breathing and relaxation procedures as well as an introduction to shat kriyas.  Along with relevant lectures by experienced guest lecturers, pertaining to ayurveda, yoga therapy, emotional purification and meditation, the participants also reveled  in satsanga, devotional bhajans and kirtans. The sharing was kept interactive through group discussions and sharing of thoughts among all the participants as well as instructors.

In a normally international environment of culturally diverse people at SRSG, this camp, however, was held exclusively for Indian devotees and sadhakas. All the teachings were conducted primarily in Hindi. Moreover, to render an ambience reflective of traditional Indian Ashram system, other aspects like serving of food was also done in the traditional way, in the spirit of the old adage observed by every Indian home : “atithi devo bhava”.

Participation in activities was regular and zestful, thus bringing forth the desired goal of the camp – emotional relaxation and purification, an insight into the spiritual aspect of self, as well as creating a motivation in the sadhakas for regular personal practice of yoga meditation in their daily lives. As the meaning of satsang conveys, being in connection with like-minded people on the spiritual path, a platform for continued collaboration amongst different sadhakas and teachers was also laid down by the means of this camp.

It was a delight to witness people of all ages, and from all walks of life, coming together and uniting as one yogic family, under the love and presence of our Gurudev Swami Veda.  The highlight of the camp was the unhindered flow of guidance and inspiration flowing through the guided meditations and lectures by Swamiji himself. The love and grace of Guru united all hearts and set them on the path of yoga, the effect of which was felt in the exuberant and joyous countenance of all the participants when they were leaving the ashram at the end of the camp. This yoga meditation camp was an initiative to carve a path for more and more like-minded devotees to join in learning the art of joyful living as taught by Shri Swami Rama of the Himalayas and walk together on the path of self transformation and mastery of the self.

Surrendering all the actions to the Guru and the Guru lineage.