Dear {subtag:name},
September 2020 Newsletter
Full Moon Meditation October 1st
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News
"In the pursuit of knowledge, there is only love;
In the practice of sadhana, there is no competition;
With this aspiration for freedom
We all meet as One in One."
— Swami Ritavan Bharati
The September 2020 edition of the magazine India Empire has these articles that may interest you:
- "The Sage Who Inspired" about Swami Rama By Sayantan Chakravarty
- "Sadhana Mandir Ashram" which was founded by Swami Rama
- "Swami Rama: Master of Cremation, Transformation, Renunciation" written by Swami Ritavan Bharati
- "My relationship with Gurudeva is intense and intimate" - an interview with Dr. Vijay Dhasmana
To access this edition and these articles, please click on September 2020 edition of India Empire.
Reopening of SRSG: “We are happy to share with you that we are now reopening Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) slowly after having been closed due to the situations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.” – Divya Gupta. For more information and details, please read the article “Reopening of SRSG” in this newsletter.
“All the kicks and blows of life teach us something. No matter whence they come, they are blessings in disguise.”- Swami Rama, Living with the Himalayan Masters
We invite you to share some of the ways that current events have given you the opportunity for spiritual growth and understanding, for a greater understanding of the teachings and of yourself. Please send to ahymsin@ahymsin.org attn. AHYMSIN newsletter.
Website Upgrades -- Request for Photos!
“We are happy to share that we are in the process of upgrading the AHYMSIN and SRSG websites. We would like to request all our global family members to share any photographs of Gurudeva Swami Rama, our beloved Swami Veda Bharati, the ashram, or the Himalayas, that you may have stored in your cherished memories with us, possibly to be reused on the updated websites. Original (preferably high) resolution photos may be sent to Divya at ahymsin@gmail.com via a Google Drive or WeTransfer link. We will look forward to 'seeing' your beautiful memories of the Himalayan Tradition.” – Divya Gupta
The next Full Moon Meditation will be 1 October 2020, and you are invited to participate wherever you are. There will also be a second Full Moon Meditation in October on 31 October 2020.
Questions on Spiritual Practice can be sent to the Adhyatma Samiti [Spiritual Committee] by clicking here.
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 ahymsin@ahymsin.org
This Month's Newsletter
Please click here to view this month's Ahymsin September 2020 Newsletter in your browser or click one of the article "Read More" links below.
September Articles
Compassion
by Swami Veda
[This is a transcript of recording #7202 from “Practical Spiritual Attitudes” by Swami Veda Bharati (1980) Transcription by Michael Smith. An mp3 audio can be downloaded at this link: Compassion Practical Spiritual Attitudes 7202.zip. In 1980, Swami Veda was Pandit Usharbudh Arya.]
The Sanskrit word for compassion is karuṇā,1which implies doing something.
Compassion is not a passive quality or a passive attitude, but an attitude that implies some act. Compassion is not pity, which comes from a superiority complex. Compassion is not sympathy. In sympathy, you see someone crying – you also cry; in compassion, when you see someone crying, you give him your joy. In sympathy, you take someone’s sorrow; in compassion you give someone your joy. The great beings, the incarnate beings, the great avataras (the Buddhas and the Christs) and the masters are not sympathetic beings, but compassionate beings. As I said, the word karuṇā implies doing som
Read More : Compassion
Prayer in Action
by Swami Rama
[This is an excerpt from Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Rama. 1985 edition. The translation of the Sanskrit verse into English was done by Pandit Usharbudh Arya. The commentary is by Swami Rama.]
3:30: With the mind centered on the Self, dedicating all actions to Me, free of expectations and free of the thought “mine,” fight without the fever of fear and anxiety.
He alone who has learned to direct all his energies and the power of his thoughts, emotions, and desires to attain the knowledge of the Self has freedom. The common man remains conscious only of the world of objects, but those who are conscious of the self-existent Reality direct all their energy inward with a one-pointed desire to attain immortality. Ordinary people are ignorant because of their outward desires. The objects of the eternal world constantly lead one to identify with the changing phenomena and to forget the nature of the Self, which is unchanging and everlasting.
Read More: Prayer in Action
Message from Swami Ritavan
[“The AHYMSIN Board meeting always begins with an offering to the Guru and blessings by Swami Ritavan. Blessings, shared below, extends beyond the meeting, embracing the entire Sangha.” – Rajini Prakash]
OM Akhaṇḍa-maṇḍalākāram vyāptam yena carācaram
Tat padam darśitam yena, tasmai śrī gurave namah.Saumyā saumyātarāśeṣā saumyebhyas tvati sundari,
parāparāṇāṁ paramā tvameva parameshvarī.
tāre, tut tāre ture, swāhā.
Namaste, greetings to all.
As we gather in the spirit of Guru's grace, light of knowledge, and with aspirations for kindness (amity), compassion (karuna), what has been identified as a global pandemic, along with the syndromes of conflict, fear, anger, misery, and the attentive conditions of loss, loss of loved ones, of home, job, livelihood, self-respect and dignity.
Read More : Message from SRB
AHYMSIN Board Meeting, September 2020
Reported by Rajini Prakash
It is a blessing that despite the ongoing challenging situation in the world today, eighteen members of the AHYMSIN Board and Executive Committee were able to meet online to discuss ways in which to support and take forward service to the Guru and the Sangha.
Family members based at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) shared everything is being done to keep the ashram safe at this time. The ashram is open to visiting sadhakas. However, sadhakas are required to carry a negative Covid-19 test result and follow relevant guidance.
SRSG celebrated the International Yoga Day on 21st June, during which discussions on “Application of Yoga in Daily Life during a Pandemic” was held. Guru Purnima was celebrated followed by Swami Veda Bharati’s Mahasamadhi observations on 14th July with Guru-gita and Guru-gayatri Akhanda Japa.
Read More : AHYMSIN Board Meeting
Reopening of SRSG
by Divya Gupta
We are happy to share with you that we are now reopening Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) slowly after having been closed due to the situations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Right now, we are cautiously allowing sadhakas to visit the ashram. Below are the guidelines to be followed before you plan your travel and also during your stay at the ashram:
Read More : Reopening of SRSG
Symbolism of Kamandalu & Kalasha
by Michael Smith
During the month of August, the STORYTIME Zoom sessions at The Meditation Center in Minneapolis featured a story from the Yoga Vasisththa about Queen Chudala and King Shikhidhvaja.
Kamandalu
In this story, the King Shikhidhvaja becomes disillusioned with his life of luxury at the palace and decides to renounce his royal position to live the austere life of a renunciate monk. He goes to the forest, builds himself a meditation hut, and keeps only a staff, a dinner plate, a cup, a tray, mala beads, a garment to cover his body, a deerskin to meditate upon, and a kamandalu.
What is a kamandalu? A kamandalu is an oblong water pot, which has a lot of symbolism connected with it. For a yogi, it represents a simple, self-contained life of asceticism. In making a gourd kamandalu from a pumpkin, the inner pulp and seeds are cleaned out leaving only the outer shell, which is interpreted as the removal of ego, leaving a cleansed person who is fit for self-realization. The water in the kamandalu represents amrita (the elixir of life, the nectar of immortality.
Read More : Symbolism…
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 have felt very little yogic guidance to deal with the deep historical trauma and violence of racial prejudice and racial division that our community is dealing with.
Answer:
Stephen Parker (Stoma), Lalita Arya (Ammaji), Carolyn Hume, Charles Crenshaw, Carol Crenshaw, Randall Krause (Mokshadeva), Shi Hong, Wolfgang Bischoff, and Michael Smith have responded to 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 ahymsin@ahymsin.org
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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