Ahymsin Newsletter: Yoga is Samadhi
  AHYMSIN Newsletter, Issue - December 2013  
 
   
 
   

Visiting Sadhaka Grama

by Sudhansu Misra

On October 29, 2013, I arrived in Delhi from Minneapolis. With me were my daughter Niru and son-in-law Brian. Our plan was to go to my home in Odisha first and then visit Rishikesh on our way back. Because of rain and flooding in Odisha, at that time, we changed our plans to visit Rishikesh first after arriving in Delhi. My wife Indu who was visiting her friend in Bangalore, flew to Delhi to join us. We rented a taxi for the trip to Rishikesh, some 150 miles away. Weather in Delhi was sunny and pleasant, although slightly warm for us coming from Minnesota. For comfort, when the driver turned on the air conditioner it failed to work. So we had to apply Titiksha to cover the whole trip ignoring smoke and dust. On the way we had a nice Indian lunch in the Haldiram restaurant. Although there were McDonald and Subway restaurants next to it, we preferred to get typical Indian food that came in variety of ways.

We traveled on the familiar way that we have done many times before. The familiar sweet smell of sugarcane molasses erupting from sugarcane juice cooked along the way was refreshing. We arrived at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram at 7 PM. After registration at the office, we went to our cottage where there was enough room for all four of us. It was almost the dinnertime, so we headed to the dinning hall.

There were rows of tables on the floor for those who preferred to sit on the floor to eat. There were also tables and chairs for eating on a dinning table. When we arrived, some of the ashram students were chanting the prayers before the evening meal. As new arrivals, we were handed out a bag containing a metal plate, a bowl, glass and spoon. We were supposed to use these utensils for every meal and then wash them for our next meal.

On day two, Niru and Brian were assigned to another cottage where they had their own bathroom. Our routine for the next four days was to get up and go to the meditation hall where some people were doing guided Hatha Yoga followed by meditation. I participated in the group meditation. Those including Niru and Indu preferred to meditate in their cottage.

There was no special program. A schedule is posted each day, and we were free to choose from any of the classes listed for the day.

One class was particularly of interest to most of us. It was a class on Yoga Sutra given by Pandit Siddhartha Krishna. He is a young scholar of Sanskrit and fluent in English. His father is Indian and mother from Holland. He explained the sutras flawlessly using appropriate supporting literature. To make it interesting he encouraged audience participation from advanced students. We all enjoyed his class.

Next afternoon Ma Radha invited us to her cottage to have tea with her. She was leaving for Delhi next day by train. So it was the only time we could be with her before we left. We enjoyed being with her in her cottage furnished with a sofa that also is used for bed, a small kitchen with table and chair. Ma Radha talked about Swami Veda and his plans for the ashram. She seemed to be quite at home being there and directing the program for the Gurukulam.

There are a few cottages like that next to her in a row used by other long-term residents like Joanne [Sullivan] and Swami Ritavan. Near their cottages is the Siva temple. A few steps from there is a statue of Adi Shankaracharya on a pedestal.

Next day we went to Sadhana Mandir in an auto rickshaw. Prior to Sadhaka Grama, all activities were taking place at Sadhana Mandir, which was built by Swami Rama. Indu and I have stayed there many times before when Swami Rama and Swami Veda were there. It is a special place with a beautiful garden and a view of Ganges from the upper balcony of the ashram. Pandit Tiwari, the Gardner, is still mending the plants with his ever-cheerful mood.

There we met Ma Sewa who was very happy to see all four of us. She now occupies the same room where Swami Hari used to be. She offered us tea and cookies. We all sat under the shade of the tree in the courtyard talking to her. She is still working on her visa, which she says is teaching her patience and ego control. We went outside the ashram with her to see the river Ganges and the view of the foothills across the river. Brian and Niru, who know about soil erosion, commented that the shoreline of the river is changing during floods and there is a danger of water getting inside the ashram someday. Ma Sewa agreed.

The day before we left we met Swami Veda in the afternoon. We were glad to see our old friend Tejaswini (Tejas) who led us to Swamiji’s room. Swamiji, who is maintaining silence, was very pleased to see all of us. He was communicating using a computer and a large monitor. I found Swamiji quite tired. Only the previous day he had flown to Delhi for physical tests. When I asked about his health, he wrote about problems in his spinal column, a diabetic condition and a weak heart that forces him to maintain a routine with minimum effort. He asked about our grand daughters, Asha and Jaya, whom he fondly knew from early childhood.

It was the day of Diwali.  Swamiji led a group meditation in the evening at his residence. We all joined him for that. Then in the night the whole ashram was lit up with oil lamps. Ashram volunteers made the wicks from cotton and filled the small earthen Dias (lamps) with oil. It was beautiful to see the ashram residents, small boys and small girls dressed up and moving around in groups enjoying with cheerful smiles. Laxmi Puja (worship of Goddess of prosperity and wealth) was done by the priests in the meditation hall. Swami Veda was giving blessings to all who went to pay their respects after the puja. It was nice to be among the families of permanent ashram residents.

The following day, after staying for four days we left Sadhaka Grama. Our stay was a rejuvenating experience. In a way it was a homecoming where old friends like Silvia, Joanne, Surendra and his family, Pandit Kushlanand and others welcomed us after a long absence from home.

Swamiji said that he would like to see more visitors from Minneapolis to Sadhaka Grama and all need to help Swami Ritavan in his continued selfless mission to keep the Guru Parampara tradition alive.


Editor’s Note:

Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in Rishikesh, India, offers ongoing guest programmes in the form of spiritual retreats.  Please see http://ahymsin.org/main/ashram/guest-programmes-at-swami-rama-sadhaka-grama.html 

There is also the Swami Rama Dhyana Gurukulam program; please see http://dhyanagurukulam.org/

In addition, special programmes are also offered at SRSG. In 2014, this include silence retreats in January and other times, Love-Serve-Remember lecture series in January, HYT-TTP teacher training retreats in March and November, the Breath Practicum and Silence Retreat in March, Workshop on Anatomy in March, Guru Purnima Retreat in July, Vijñāna-Bhairava seminar in October, and the Children’s and Yoga Youth retreat in December.  Please see the Upcoming Events for events at SRSG and elsewhere: http://ahymsin.org/main/events-maps-schedules/upcoming-events.html

 

   
       
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