Dear {subtag:name},
October 2019 Newsletter
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News
“You should practice and do your meditation at the same time every day. Regularity in time is very important. A habit is a pattern that is formed.” – Swami Rama in Path of Fire and Light: Advanced Practices of Yoga, Volume 2, Chapter “First Steps in Self Transformation.”
November 13 will be the anniversary of the Mahasamadhi of Swami Rama. There will be events in association with this. Contact [email protected].
“We spoke of the universal rhythms; those universal waves do not return only once a year on a specific sacred day. For you, they may return each day. Each day become the recipient of a wave. If the wave knows, if the wave of grace knows where to find you, at what hour to find you, and you are there to keep that appointment, over a period of time, you will begin to feel a response arising within you. Receive the wave. That will elevate you, uplift you, guide you, purify you.” – Swami Veda Bharati, “On the First Maha-samadhi Anniversary of H.H. Swami Rama”
To read Energy of Consciousness in the Human Personality (part 5) by Swami Rama, please click on title. To read parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, please click on appropriate part: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
This newsletter has articles from sadhakas in Italy, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the USA. We invite you to enjoy some of these articles and, in the process, enjoy global community.
Swami Ritavan Bharati is scheduled to be in residence at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) until November 16, 2019; then back December 7th through the 29th, 2019. He is scheduled to be in Americas January 2020; then back to SRSG February 7, 2020, and all of March and April 2020.
At SRSG in November and December, there will be a Breath and Pranayama Intensive Workshop and an HYT-TTP teacher training retreat. In addition, there are recurring Six-day Retreats of Maunam - Guided Silence Practice and Superconscious Meditation - Level 1 as well as the ongoing sadhaka program.
Upcoming Events
Our Upcoming Events web page has been updated with many new events and retreats. For more information, please check the link or contact [email protected] for more information about these and other programs. Links to listings to other websites are also provided there.
Share Your News!
We invite you to share what is happening in their centers and your experiences, insights, and questions. With such sharing, we can learn more about one another and strengthen one another in our sadhana, becoming a true “sangha”. We welcome your articles. You can write to [email protected]
This Month's Newsletter
Please click here to view this month's Ahymsin October 2019 Newsletter in your browser or click one of the article "Read More" links below.
October Articles
Draw Yourself to Yourself
by Swami Veda
[This is an excerpt from The Light of Ten Thousand Suns by Swami Veda Bharati, page 68.]
Draw yourself to yourself. Empty your mind of all things from sources outside you and look into your mind for a force that may be entirely yours. A body in meditation is totally relaxed. All muscles are limp, there is no twitching, no movement. The mind has no memories and, therefore, no anxieties. When the mind has no anxieties the breath flows evenly and smoothly. All the hollows of the mind are filled and there are no sharp edges. The brain becomes clear. The thoughts do not arise at random.
Read More : Draw Yourself to Yourself
To Sit Still
by Swami Rama
[This is an excerpt from Science of Breath by Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, and Alan Hymes, The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Honesdale, PA, 1979, pages 129 – 130.]
After serious observation and analysis of its functionings, yogis have found that the mind forms the habit of being conditioned, either by remembering past experiences or by imaging the future. There is no technique which helps it become aware of the now except meditation and contemplation. But meditation is not a method of allowing the mind to roam aimlessly. It is a conscious effort of coordinating the body, the breath and the mind. In the monastic tradition teachers do not teach the advanced techniques of meditation unless they see the signs and symptoms of the stillness of the body and the serenity of the breath.
Read More : To Sit Still
The Beginning of a New Journey
by Ilaria Sarri
A great circle, a great party: thus ended the fourth year of the Italian TTP, at the presence of Stoma and Ashutosh. But more than a conclusion, it was the celebration of a new journey: kalyana mitras together in the sangha, true and authentic people on their path of growth, gathered together to honour their successes and their cracks and to find ways so that these cracks might become a light for others.
They have been deep and intense days, of strong emotions, wonder, surprise, joy, love but also of reflection and contemplation: in these four years, teachers and students have grown together and have seen small or great transformations happen. These days have been also a time for allowing strong relationships to fortify more and more and weaker relationships to be strengthened. It has been a time to feel again and again, deeply, the strength and power of the sangha: connections which will last forever, beyond time and space.
Read More : Beginning of a New Journey
Silent Retreat in the Netherlands
by Nina Terpstra
Silent Retreat in the Netherlands September 20-24, 2019
A 5-day silent retreat was held at monastery De Beukenhof in Biezenmortel, the Netherlands. Teachers Swami Ritavan Bharati, Swami Ma Tripurashakti Bharati and Ashutosh Sharma inspired and lovingly helped a group of more than sixty people practicing yoga and meditation. This report describes some details of the retreat, but mainly my personal experience. First of all, I would like to mention that it was a true delight to experience the retreat with the teachers and all of the participants.
At the opening ceremony Swami Ritavan introduced a theme: ‘fearlessly walk the path of light and love to freedom.’
Read More : Silent Retreat in the Netherlands
AHYMSIN / HYMTA Retreat
by Marylou Nunamaker
The Sixteenth Annual Himalayan Yoga & Meditation Teachers Association Retreat was held at the Loyola University campus in rural Woodstock, Illinois, September 27 – 29 and was co-sponsored by the Association of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies International (AHYMSIN).
Dr. Mark S.G. Dyczkowski, our guest speaker, addressed the 55 attendees and HYMC staff regarding the ‘doctrine of vibration’. He also published a book by that title.
His scholarly, detailed, and enlightening workshop opened our minds to explore and contemplate the complexities and sacredness of our breath.
Read More : AHYMSIN / HYMTA Retreat
Swami Ma Radha Bharati in California
by Silvia Baratta
California Silence Retreat and Satsang with Swami Ma Radha Bharati
From October 2 to October 6, 2019, a total of 19 souls gathered at the beautiful Questhaven retreat center in San Marcos (near San Diego), California, for a silence retreat with Swami Ma Radha Bharati. The retreat, organized by the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Friends of California, gave participants an opportunity to dive within through the gentle and loving guidance of Swami Ma Radha. Daily hatha yoga, subtle body exercises, meditation and time for reflection and journaling made up the schedule for those in attendance. The serene grounds of the Questhaven center made for an ideal environment to encourage and enhance inner tranquility and contemplation. Before evening prayers participants also chanted eleven times the Saumya-Tara Mantra making way for a culminating activity of a flower petal havan with 108 repetitions of this cooling, moonlike, peace inducing mantra given to the sangha to practice. A truly beautiful experience enjoyed by all.
Read More : Swami Radha in California
Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar Pilgimage
by Francine Kuo (Sujata)
A promise, an offering, an external journey to the inner Self
Pilgrimage of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar
This summer, with blessings of Gurudeva, i was able to meditate in front of Lord Shiva in Kailash. It is a long journey, 10,000 kilometers to and from my hometown Taichung, by pass Hong Kong, Kathmandu in Nepal, Lhasa in Tibet, then reach Shigatse, Saga, Darchen and all the way to the adobe of Holy Mother and Father, and the Home of us all.
Grace of Gurudeva
There are two reasons for me to visit Kailash. One is for Lord Shiva and the other is for Swamiji [Swami Veda Bharati]. My little wish to dedicate the fruits of Kailash pilgrimage to Swamiji is very natural. In fact, if it is not for Swamiji, the idea of going to Kailash will never come to my mind. Therefore, when i said i want to offer this to Swamiji, on the contrary, to put it more precisely, this great opportunity was actually offered to me by the blessings of Swamiji.
Read More : Pilgimage
Silence.Stillness.Love.
by Veena Haasl-Blilie
Why Talk About Silence?
For me, it is not something I am at all inclined to do, but a kind invitation came not once, but twice. I took a few moments one day out of the ninety days to write crystallized moments below photos I had taken, and the reason was this: Spiritual Insurance Policy. Should the mind arise with the drunkenness of doing, should the ego cleverly attempt to talk a good game again, should Illusion present itself, there is this insurance policy to review. To remember. To Know—the wordless words, that rang through the canyon where I sat--This alone Is Real.
Read More : Silence.Stillness.Love.
Dear Yoga Mentor, My Question Is…
Sometimes students have written to or asked Swami Veda Bharati, Swami Ritavan Bharati, and other senior teachers in our tradition questions about practice. This is one such “Question and Answer,” or Q&A.
Question:
I was wondering about what constituted bhakti. And is it necessary?
Answer:
Michael Smith, Stephen Parker (Stoma), Lalita Arya (Ammaji), Swami Ritavan Bharati, Carolyn Hume, and Michael Kissener have answered this question.
Read More : Dear Yoga Mentor …
Share Your News!
We invite you to share what is happening in their centers and your experiences, insights, and questions. With such sharing, we can learn more about one another and strengthen one another in our sadhana, becoming a true “sangha”. We welcome your articles. You can write to [email protected]
Other Links
Full Moon Timings
- 10 PM in New York. Surrounding countries and regions of South, Central and North America and the Caribbean to match their time to 10 PM New York time.
- 8 PM in U.K. (London Time).Those in all European, and all African time zones, please adjust your sitting time to coincide with 8 PM United Kingdom.
- 8 PM in East Asia, 8 PM Singapore time. Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand etc. adjust their times to coincide with Singapore time 8 PM.
- 7 AM in India (IST), surrounding countries adjust the time accordingly, for example Iran is 5 AM.
Also, Toronto "Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Society of Ontario" members meet at 9:00 pm (local).
Yours in service, — Ahymsin Office
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