AHYMSIN

Art of Spiritual Learning
2023-08-06 18:00 - 19:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Online via Zoom
The path of spiritual learning is a journey from the external to the internal. From information to knowldege and from knowledge to experience leading to realization. We find in Vedanta the 3 steps of learning; Śravaṇa (listening) is the first step in the process of learning. It involves active and focused listening to the teachings of a Guru. Manana (reflection/contemplation/clearing of doubts) is the second step and involves reflecting on what has been learned and clearing any doubts that may arise. Nididhyasana (meditation on the truth/integration/experience) is the final step and involves meditating on what has been learned and integrating it into one’s life.
In these special online study with Rabindra Sahu, we will learn this ancient art of spiritual learning.
As our Master Swami Veda Bharati would often remind us that it is not possible to put a price on the teachings received, there is no course fee for this course. Loving donations from the heart may be offered and will support the ashram.
Teacher: Rabindra Sahu
Begins: 22 July 2023 (Saturday)
The 6 sessions will be organized over three weekends (Saturday and Sunday) at 6-7 PM IST (Indian Standard Time) from 22 July – 6 Aug, 2023.
Kindly convert to your country’s time-zone accordingly.
Medium: Online through Zoom
Request: Kindly join only if you are able to commit to all the 6 sessions, as the topics are progressive and systematic.
Last Date for Registration: 21 July, 2023 (Friday)
For Registrations/Inquiries/Donations: ahymsin@gmail.com

Hatha Yoga Retreat: From Movement to Stillness
2023-08-13 09:00 - 2023-08-18 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
The Himalayan Tradition is a meditative (dhyana) tradition. All the practices, including asanas are practiced to prepare oneself for meditation. Hatha yoga is taught as an integrated practice, which includes centering, correct breathing, breath-awareness, stretching sequences, joints & glands movements, asanas, subtle-body relaxations, pranayamas, and meditation. There is a focus on not only positioning the body correctly, but also on experiencing what is happening within. Asanas are performed with reverence and gentleness in the mind, moving from outside inwards.
Hatha Yoga, as taught within the Himalayan Tradition is understood as “a continuum” involving all the eight limbs of Raja yoga, especially Ahimsa.

Meditation and Its Practice
2023-09-03 09:00 - 2023-09-08 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
This six-day programme is as much appropriate for beginners as for more advanced seekers treading the path of spirituality. The foundation stones of meditation will be approached in a scientific and systematic manner. Preparations and progressions of meditation practice will be shared step by step. This course will give you the tools to establish and pursue a regular personal meditation practice.
In his book Meditation and Its Practice, Swami Rama of the Himalayas wrote:
“For thousands of years, the science of meditation has been studied and practiced by aspirants who sought to make their lives more serene, creative and fulfilling. Meditation will give you the capacity to improve your health, your relationships and the skilfulness with which you perform your activities. This is because meditation can do something no other technique can accomplish – it introduces you to yourself on all levels and finally leads you to the center of consciousness within, the higher self, which is called Atman.”

Recommended Readings:

Meditation and Its Practice by Swami Rama
“Beginning Meditation” in Night Birds by Swami Veda Bharati
Meditation: Art and Science by Swami Veda Bharati
Audio with book: Learn to Meditate (plus relaxation exercises) by Swami Veda Bharati.
Video: Treading the Path of Superconscious Meditation by Swami Rama
The Royal Path by Swami Rama
Holistic Living Manual by Swami Rama
Conscious Living by Swami Rama

Five-day Intensive Silence Retreat in the Netherlands
2023-09-08 - 2023-09-12 | The Beukenhof Monastery, Biezenmortel, Netherlands
Five-day Intensive Silence Retreat in the Netherlands from 8-12 Sep 2023
The theme of the retreat will be – “From Mind to Consciousness” and will be guided by Pierre Lefebvre (Pandit Priyadarshan), Sofia Foteina-Chatzikokoli, Anna Mezösi, and Uta Bisseswar.
The retreat organized by HYMNS, our AHYMSIN affiliated center in the Netherlands, will be held The Beukenhof Monastery located in the beautiful village of Biezenmortel at the heart of the Netherlands.

Come and immerse in the Spirit of the Lineage of The Himalayan Tradition. The practices and teaching of this intensive silence retreat will deepen and strengthen silence.
As Swami Veda Bharati reminded us, silence is not only the act of not speaking; it is something that fills, energises, awakens, and raises the power within changing the frequencies of your being.
For more information on retreat costs and registration, kindly contact Kries Mannie Sing at: info@rajayogales.nl or phone at (0031) (0)20-6649442.

Living on Purpose
2023-09-10 19:00 - 20:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | Online via Zoom
Fear is removed and life is enjoyed only when there is a purpose in life. We need to ask ourselves if life has a purpose.
“If wealth, fame, and power do not give happiness, then what does?” ~ Swami Rama, Sacred Journey
In this workshop, we will see how our relationships and emotional lives become easier and lighter by understanding our duty in life: how to take the best use this life to most effectively reach the goal of life.
Date and time: September 10th, 2023, 7:00-8:30 PM (JST)
Platform: online via Zoom
Registration fee: 2000 JPY or 15 USD
Language: English (Japanese interpretation provided)
Kindly fill out the registration form.
We will send an e-mail with the Zoom link, ID and passcode.
Kindly make a payment by September 9th, 2023. You can use bank transfer, PayPay (only in Japan), or PayPal.
May you have any questions contact ahymsin.jp@gmail.com (AHYMSIN Japan).

Himalayan Yoga Tradition Karuizawa Retreat in Japan
2023-10-06 15:30 - 2023-10-08 12:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | Karuizawa International Training House, Karuizawa-cho, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano, Ooaza, 1016, Japan
Preparations for Yoga Nidra
“From silence, we begin and into silence, we merge and re-enter, but we never quite forget our origin in silence. Every night we tire of the noise of the day and we enter the silence of sleep involuntarily. The only difference is that the yogi sleeps consciously, but the common person sleeps unconsciously” (~ Swami Veda Bharati, Yoga Nidra – Sleepless sleep).
Yoga-nidra (Yogic Sleep) is the experience of a state of Conscious Sleep in which a student shows all the symptoms of deep sleep. The first preparatory level of yoga-nidra is a state of deep relaxation.
In this 3-day retreat with Rabindra Sahu from Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG), Rishikesh, India, you will practice Hatha Yoga and Pranayama practices in the Himalayan Tradition, and preparations for Yoga Nidra, which will help you re-discover your true Self residing in the heart cave.
A peaceful and quiet environment surrounded by nature would allow you to stay away from daily life and focus on yourself.
Contents: Ha-tha Yoga, Pranayama, Guided Relaxation, Meditation, Yoga Philosophy, Kirtan
Please see the link for more details and registration: https://sites.google.com/site/ahymsinjapan/retreat-workshop/karuizawa-retreat-2023.

Navaratri Retreat – Cultivating the Divine Feminine
2023-10-15 - 2023-10-23, 2024-04-09 09:00 - 2024-04-17 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
During the sacred days of Navaratri (the nine nights), we will have Devi-Puja with akhanda (24 hours non-stop) recitation of the Lalita-sahasra-nama (Thousand Names of Divine Mother). One may come and join the daily morning and evening pujas, join the recitation of the Lalita-sahasra-nama. Twelve priests preside over the pujas and the recitations, which are offered both at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama and Sadhana Mandir Ashram.
Our beloved Swami Veda Bharati has said, “These events are charged with special spiritual energy and a very special time to renew your silence and sadhana.”
In this special retreat with Rabindra Sahu, we will be learning about the principles of the Divine Feminine within the Nature and the entire Universe around us. Swamiji has also reminded us “to bring the feminine kindness, compassion, motherliness among all of us. This has nothing to do with the gender of the person undertaking the observance but rather it is for the enhancement of the motherliness in all of us.”
We will thereby learn how can we cultivate these divine feminine qualities within ourselves. All the participants will also get an opportunity to practice recitation of the Lalita-sahasra-nama.

Choosing a Path
2023-10-29 09:00 - 2023-11-03 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Sharing the essential wisdom and living practices of yoga’s major paths: Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, etc.
In today’s modern times, we have done so much research on matter, mind, and energy, yet we have not discovered the ways and methods of attaining happiness and loving others selflessly. The search for truth alone thus provides a ray of hope for the individual and for humanity as a whole.
This in-person retreat with Rabindra Sahu offers a glimpse into some of the paths of yoga so that we are able to choose the one path that is most appropriate for our own personal spiritual journey.

Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program Retreat
2023-11-05 09:00 - 2023-11-18 13:00, 2024-03-10 09:00 - 2024-03-23 13:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Our Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program (HYT-TTP) offers an integrated program of self-transformation leading to self-realization in the authentic tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. HYT-TTP, as its parent organization, AHYMSIN, is dedicated to making available the teachings of Swami Rama.
Our program is a systematic, sadhana-based program. “Sadhana” is a Sanskrit word which means undertaking a practice so as to cultivate and refine one’s character. The main goal of our program is to deepen the students’ sadhana so that they can transmit authentic yoga teachings to others, not only from a storehouse of academic knowledge, but also from a depth of personal experience.
Our comprehensive curriculum offered through home study, mentoring, and ashram retreats presents all aspects of yoga and meditation in a spiritually inspiring context. The student’s progression through the home study is managed interactively and facilitated by an active discussion board, each student being followed and supported by a mentor who is well versed in the tradition.
The HYT-TTP consists of 3 levels. Each level requires at least one year of study and practice. The student will progress through three study levels becoming gradually more aware of the subtle layers of personality. Swami Rama defined this growth process as the attainment of some degree of disentanglement from attachments, allowing one to see that which s/he was previously “blind to”:

Level One – Awareness: exploration and self-acceptance
Level Two – Control: mindfulness and regulation of emotions
Level Three – Synthesis: harmonious whole personality

For more details, kindly visit – www.HimalayanYogaTradition.com

Sun Salutations as Worship
2023-11-19 09:00 - 2023-11-24 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
The practice of Surya Namaskara consists of a succession of twenty four Hatha Yoga postures done in a smooth flow according to a specific progression. Since it came into manifestation, this practice has been closely associated with the attitude of devotion and worship and can be experienced as a form of prayer involving movement and full body awareness.
In this seminar with Pandit Priyadarshan (Pierre Lefebvre), we will learn the basic postures constituting the sequence of the Solar Salutation as taught in traditional Hatha Yoga according to the Himalayan Tradition. We will also highlight the different directions in which we can bring our practice, as well as how to bring the element of devotion, worship and bhakti into our daily practice of Surya Namaskara.

Meditation and its Practice
2024-01-07 09:00 - 2024-01-12 00:00, 2024-01-07 09:00 - 2024-01-12 12:00, 2024-05-19 09:00 - 2024-05-24 00:00, 2024-05-19 09:00 - 2024-05-24 12:00, 2024-06-09 09:00 - 2024-06-14 00:00, 2024-06-09 09:00 - 2024-06-14 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
This six-day programme is as much appropriate for beginners as for more advanced seekers treading the path of spirituality. The foundation stones of meditation will be approached in a scientific and systematic manner. Preparations and progressions of meditation practice will be shared step by step. This course will give you the tools to establish and pursue a regular personal meditation practice.
In his book Meditation and Its Practice, Swami Rama of the Himalayas wrote:
“For thousands of years, the science of meditation has been studied and practiced by aspirants who sought to make their lives more serene, creative and fulfilling. Meditation will give you the capacity to improve your health, your relationships and the skilfulness with which you perform your activities. This is because meditation can do something no other technique can accomplish – it introduces you to yourself on all levels and finally leads you to the center of consciousness within, the higher self, which is called Atman.”

Recommended Readings:

Meditation and Its Practice by Swami Rama
“Beginning Meditation” in Night Birds by Swami Veda Bharati
Meditation: Art and Science by Swami Veda Bharati
Audio with book: Learn to Meditate (plus relaxation exercises) by Swami Veda Bharati.
Video: Treading the Path of Superconscious Meditation by Swami Rama
The Royal Path by Swami Rama
Holistic Living Manual by Swami Rama
Conscious Living by Swami Rama

Read More Information:

About visiting the ashram – Accommodation
About our other short-term upcoming events – Events
About our ongoing short-term Ashram Immersion Program
About how you may contribute towards the ashram – Donate

Preparatory Practices of Yoga Nidra
2024-01-14 09:00 - 2024-01-19 12:00, 2024-03-31 09:00 - 2024-04-05 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Read More Information:

About visiting the ashram – Accommodation
About our other short-term upcoming events – Events
About our ongoing short-term Ashram Immersion Program
About how you may contribute towards the ashram – Donate

Mantra Practice After Initiation: Purash-charana
2024-01-21 09:00 - 2024-02-02 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Mantra is very central to meditation practice. In the Himalayan Tradition of Yoga Meditation, the mantra stands as a representative of the eternal silence, the abode of the Lord of Life within.
In the Mundaka Upanishad, it is mentioned that “In the tree of life, there sits two eternal birds and they can never be separate. One is individual self—Jiva, and another is universal self—Ishwara, the Lord. It is the individual soul who experiences the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree of life. The cosmic self just witnesses and remains radiant for ever.”
Elsewhere in the Upanishads, it is said that, in the chariot called human body, the universal self and the individual self, travel together from time immemorial, so the sole purpose of meditation is to realise and experience within the omniscient and omnipotent universal self with its omnipresent.
That superconscious self projects itself through innumerable cosmic entities (Vedic deities). The mantras are the sonar (sound) forms of those cosmic entities and mantra initiation means handing over to a divine being who is the representation or himself a universal conscious being with infinite divine virtues.
The Upanishads declare that the sages by meditating on the cosmic sounds or mantras went into deep states of meditation and discovered/realised that the great power of universal conscious principle (Devatma Shakti) within.
We have in our tradition the systematic and precise approach to meditation mentioned in the ancient scriptures which are further commented and explained by Shri Swami Rama and Shri Swami Veda Bharati, which helps the serious students of meditation to enhance their understanding and practicing skills to reach the ultimate goal of meditation.
This unique retreat with Shri Raghavendra Adiga is offered only to those who have received Mantra Initiation within the Himalayan Tradition. They will have an opportunity to go deeper in their personal mantra through the practice of Purash-charana.

Editor’s Note:
Raghavendra Adiga ji is a mantra initiator within the Himalayan Tradition. He is also a member of the AHYMSIN Adhyatma Samiti, or Spiritual Committee. He is the center leader of the Himalayan Centre for Yoga Meditation, Tumkur, Karnataka, India, which is an AHYMSIN Affiliated center.

Mauni Amavasya Silence Retreat at SRSG
2024-02-03 09:00 - 2024-02-09 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Mauni Amavasya (Silence Day) is an annual observance. The observation of Silence Day is a practice that Swami Veda Bharati invited us to practice.
In 2024, Mauni Amavasya is 9 February.
There will be 7-day silence retreats at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh, India from 3 – February, 2024. Swami Ritavan Bharati and Adhikari Bhoi will be available to guide the silence participants.

Swami Veda has said, “…there is also an annual silence day in the traditions of India. It is called Mauni Amavasya. Mauni means ‘of or for silence’, and amavasya means ‘no-moon day.’
It occurs on the no-moon day of the Maagha month in the Hindu calendar when sun and moon are both supposed to enter the sign of Capricorn (makara rashi).
It is held in the tradition as the day when Manu, the Archetypal Man first appeared on earth; he wedded Shata-roopa (She of a Hundred Beautiful Forms) and generated humankind.”
All silence retreats in the Himalayan Tradition are always guided and each participant is interviewed by a silence guide before the retreat may begin. Everyone is given a silence schedule to follow for the duration of the retreat. These schedules may vary among participants, depending upon the prerequisites or health issues or other individual factors. You will also be given some articles and handouts to read.
Everyone’s silence schedule will include the ashram morning and evening meditations, morning joints and glands class and an afternoon relaxation practice session. Schedules will also include breathing practices, contemplative walking and japa.
Arrival and Departure Plans
You are strongly advised to arrive on campus two days before your retreat begins in order to rest, get settled, take care of any pending business, get needed supplies etc. This is important. Only with rested body and a relaxed mind will you be able to enter a silent state of mind from the first day.
You should also plan to have at least one full day at the ashram at the end of your retreat before you leave or travel anywhere. This is to allow time for making a gentle transition from silence to everyday life.
At the end of your retreat you will have an opportunity to debrief with your silence guide. The silence guide will also advise you about ways to maintain some silence in everyday life.

Mauni Amavasya (Silence Day)
2024-02-09 | AHYMSIN, Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 1249203, India
Mauni Amavasya (Silence Day) is an annual observance. The observation of Silence Day is a practice that Swami Veda Bharati invited us to practice.
In 2022, Mauni Amavasya is 1st February.
In 2023, Mauni Amavasya is 21st January.
In 2024, Mauni Amavasya is 9th February.
Swami Veda has said, “…there is also an annual silence day in the traditions of India. It is called Mauni Amavasya. Mauni means ‘of or for silence’, and amavasya means ‘no-moon day.’
It occurs on the no-moon day of the Maagha month in the Hindu calendar when sun and moon are both supposed to enter the sign of Capricorn (makara rashi).
It is held in the tradition as the day when Manu, the Archetypal Man first appeared on earth; he wedded Shata-roopa (She of a Hundred Beautiful Forms) and generated humankind.”
He has further explained that the practice of silence is not limited to Indian spiritual traditions only – “On the other hand, if you prefer to be true to some western tradition you may research if there was a day sacred to Harpokrates, the Greek god of silence whose statues have been found as far away as the Gandhara country (present day Afghanistan). Harpokrates was derived from the Egyptian god Harpa-khruti, the child Horus, representing the daily new born sun, the source of light.
Of course, there is an amplitude of Christian saints who have taught silence and there are numerous monasteries of various orders dedicated to silence.”
He further has shared that – “…I would like many of my friends to set aside at least one day to share the silence with me just as you have shared the full moon day for an hour each month for more than a decade now.
…If you plan from now, you can arrange your worldly affairs in such a way that they do not interfere with your one-day vow of silence.
On that day, no driving (except for emergencies), no TV, no conversation, just self-observation, contemplation, japa and learning (1) to give love in silence while (2) learning to love silence.
May I ask all our swamis, initiators, spiritual advisers, teachers, centre leaders to kindly popularize this concept and take this year to prepare the people to undertake this one-day vow of silence.”
This sacred day is celebrated at SRSG by all ashramites and visiting sadhakas as well as globally by the AHYMSIN community.

Recommended Readings:

Silence (Vol. 1) by Swami Veda Bharati
Silence (Vol. 2) by Swami Veda Bharati
Motto for All Future Silence Days by Swami Veda Bharati

Intensive Meditation Retreat with Swami Ritavan Bharati
2024-02-11 09:00 - 2024-02-17 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Yoga Meditation Identifies You as a Spiritual Seeker
These things are absolutely necessary to be a spiritual seeker:

to be ever wakeful and constantly aware of realizing one’s aim.
to be careful about the right use of time.
to make the right use of every situation and circumstance in life.
to regulate the breath to easily attain control of the modifications of the mind.
to establish control and mastery over oneself and attain a state of equanimity.

Summary: One who does not follow the path of yoga but instead seeks to enjoy the fruits of his actions is subject to birth and death. It is as though he is born and dies without any purpose.
The purpose of life and the purpose of yoga is to lead you within to the highest state of tranquillity, wisdom, and bliss, in which you remain fully conscious and aware of reality, and one’s true nature. Yoga teaches you how to see within. If you remain an outsider, your mind will continue to be influenced by the senses and ego’s desires and you will not understand why you have come to this world.
The main thing that one should learn in life is self-observation. If we want to understand ourselves, we can analyse our personality by understanding our habit patterns. When we remain vigilant and consciously aware of every action we perform, we realize that our actions arise from our unconscious mind. All thoughts, sensations, associations, and desires arise from the subtle levels of our unconscious mind where we store impressions. You know them when they come to the conscious level but you are not observing and discerning the force of their patterns that lead to disturbance.
When you apply self-observation and slowly learn the art of self-control through yoga’s introspective methods of meditation you first, learn to relax, and withdraw your senses voluntarily from the world of disturbance. When memories arise, you simply observe and maintain the witness. What you observe are the suppressions and repressions that come forward. These deep mental impressions called samskaras come forward and disturb you because they reflect your unfulfilled desires and attachments. You are observing yourself through this identity with your mental states.
Only a profound method of meditation can help you to purify the ego. A purified ego does not create barriers, conflicts, or any disturbance. By practicing diligently, you learn to coordinate actions, speech, and thinking to skilfully communicate and interact with others becoming selfless. But you will not realize the Truth unless you surrender your ego to the higher Self. Only after rising above egocentric awareness, can one find the universe within. Only then will you have the capacity to love all and exclude none.
To achieve a state of mental purity you will have to cultivate smriti – mindfulness and discrimination. The first step is to become aware of your thoughts. Through constant awareness, you can learn to discriminate between pure and impure thoughts, based on whether they lead to greater freedom or greater bondage. You are what you are because of the way you think, feel, and understand. It is not helpful to have animosity toward others or to imagine negative things which only lead to bondage. You are bound by the ropes of karma because karma is of your own making. What we experience today is the result of what we have created in our past, and so too, is our future of our own making.
Freedom from karma is to be attained only when one passes beyond the limitations of mind to the highest state of superconscious known as tranquillity or samadhi. From this state alone, achieved through the practice of meditation, the seeker of Truth receives the intuitive awareness of the Supreme Self and passes through realization into freedom. It is the freedom of performing action selflessly as genuine love that reveals the purpose of life.
Meditation has four phases. In the first stage of meditation, there is still an awareness of the differentiation of concrete things. In the second, there is an enjoyment and comprehension of universal oneness. In the third stage, there is a realization of individual self (atman). The first three stages are “with seed”– that is; there is some subject and object in one’s awareness. When this fourth state of union, samadhi “without seed” the revelation of essence alone remains. In this fourth state, turiya, the mind is left behind, completely dissolved in the Self.
Of course, in the beginning, you have to use the mind and make it one-pointed so that it does not dissipate and distract you from the work that you are doing. But later on, the involvement of mind is not present in selfish desires and attachments to the fruits of one’s actions. As long as you are within the field and state of mind, you are not in samadhi. When you are in samadhi you have gone beyond the domain of mind, and when you have attained Turiya, then you have achieved mastery, and this mastery is your liberation.

Sadhana Panchakam: 40 Steps towards Liberation
2024-02-18 09:00 - 2024-02-23 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Towards the end of his life, the disciples of Sri Adi Sankaracharya requested him to give them a summary of his approach towards spiritual life. It is then that he composed a short text containing only 5 verses – the Sadhana Panchakam.
The text contains 40 instructions, furthering one’s journey on the path to liberating oneself. It goes beyond any philosophical engagements and offers practical means into the very essence of Sadhana at every stage of one’s spiritual life. For this reason, Sadhana Panchakam is also known as the Upadesha Pancharatnam, meaning the “Five precious gems of advice or teaching”.
These 40 instructions are presented in a systematic and sequential manner. Thus, it is also known by a third name, Sopana Arohana Nyaya, which means “A logical climbing ladder in Sadhana”.
The present study and reflections with Rabindra Sahu on the instructions given by Adi Sankaracharya may significantly help us all in gaining clarity on our spiritual practice.

Entrance to the Subtle Body
2024-02-25 09:00 - 2024-03-05 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
[Swami Ritavan completed a weeklong seminar on Intensive Meditation that was well received by those attending where he introduced the importance of rasana-buddhi. Through mindfulness and meditation, the experience of any perception can be transformed through entry into the subtle body and experiencing the sacred in buddhi. This art of joyful living will be the subject of the upcoming 10-day Entrance to the Subtle Body seminar at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh from 25th February through 5th March.]
There is a word in the Sanskrit language. The word is RASA. The word, rasa means a juice, the flavor, as the essence. Rasa means that essence as the experience. That which you taste, not merely the object of taste but the object of taste, the process of tasting, and the experience of tasting.
The object of taste, the process, the interaction that occurs between the one who is tasting and that which is being tasted, and the experience of taste itself. The sense and the experience of the juice. The sensation of the experience and the juice of what you are tasting all combine together – not as divided ideas but as a singularity that is called RASA. And, when you know the art of tasting, the art of experiencing the juice, the flavor, the subtlest possible essence, then you know the art of life.
We have lost the art of enjoying life. In the ancient texts of the meditative tradition, there are some passages; and in the Bhagavad Gita 4:24, the verse Brahmar Panam… That (Brahman – God) is rasa. Brahman is the flavor, Brahman is the essence of everything. All pleasure that flows from Brahman, and Brahman alone remains. When any pleasure becomes an experience of Unified Consciousness- a Divine presence, then you are experiencing, you are enjoying, RASA. The yogi lives in the mental field of that RASA, that essence, that ecstasy, that flavor, that juice of universal existence — becomes so blissful. When you are enjoying your food, when you go to its subtle-most essence, you are then enjoying that omnipresent God which being omnipresent is also in the food.
People try to derive pleasure by paying attention to the object of enjoyment. The term RASA implies that you concentrate on the experience itself, not only on the object.
There are two sources of pleasure.

One source is restraint so that you engage slowly with awareness from moment to moment.
The other source of pleasure is concentration itself, absorption of the experiencer, the object of the experience, and the process of experiencing.

Moment to moment concentrate on the smallest, the littlest taste bud that has been touched. The RASA is the essence, revealing the universal principle, Brahman – God, the ever-present omniscient consciousness.
Then you have understood how to enjoy in the totality principle and this is the art of enjoying.
A yogi, whose awareness rests in atma-artha operates from the rasana-buddhi and is called a RASIKA — the enjoyer. It is a term used in the ancient literature as the enjoyer. The yogi’s game is the whole universe. He plays with universal consciousness as a game called reality. He can change water into wine, or feed a multitude out of five loaves. What a game, what a play, what ecstasies he enjoys and experiences.
The entire essence of the experience of body and mind is hidden in the subtlest faculty of buddhi. When the sattvic buddhi is filled with light, the rasa – enjoyment of this sublime illumination, becomes the flavorful juice(amrita) that assimilates into the entire personality. This nectar of immortality-rasa drop by drop is introduced throughout the body and mind as the experience of aliveness. The essence of our entire sense experience becomes a light, drop-by-drop, sent forth through every possible cell of the body. Then one enjoys not only the objects of senses but that faculty of mind from which enjoyment proceeds. His joy is not in the sensual pleasure of the physical act. Only the novice is aware of that enjoyment in a physical object. He is the master who enjoys the very principle that enjoys. That principle is rasana-buddhi, and that rasana-buddhi is the reflective mirror of the Atmartha, where Atman remains Brahman as pure Consciousness.
It is with that experience within the buddhi that the modification or alternations may occur through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. By imbuing any particular experience with something more pleasant, virtuous, sacred that the experience changes. Rightly or wrongly, by whatever samskaras and associations the experience changes. When you put the spiritual, the atmartha into that same normal ordinary meaningless experience, which caused attractions and aversions, the experience is transformed and now becomes a holy act.
To apply this principle in your life, there are two steps in your introspection, in your spiritual observation, examination, and analysis.
First ask yourself: “Does this emotion lead me to the sublime? Examine the feeling. and if not, then discard it for it is not worth pursuing. Next, ask yourself, does my present emotion lead others to the sublime?
These two questions are the basis of your examination and analysis: does it lead me to the sublime, and does this state of mind emanating from me lead others to the sublime? If not, discard it, It is not worth pursuing. When you have cultivated a sublime emotion within you, that sublime emotion becomes so filling, makes you so full that it overflows, you become so full, that you overflow with that- sublime emotion and carry everyone along who is near you into the flood of that emotion. Cultivating such a sublime emotion is an art; then you learn to learn this art of entering the subtle body and enjoying life.
(Adapted from HSP #2506 – 06-07-1984 from Yoga concept of God: Rasa – the Flavor of Essence by Swami Veda Bharati)

Narada Bhakti Sutras - Treatise on Love and Surrender
2024-03-24 09:00 - 2024-03-30 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Sitting in his hermitage of Badrika-Ashram, one day Sage Ved Vyasa asked Sage Narada, “Man seeks freedom. This seeking without devotion is dry. Many paths lead to freedom but they have importance only in so far as they are auxiliary to devotion. I, therefore humbly ask you to share with me the virtue of devotion.” Sage Narada said, “I shall explain devotion to you in the form of sutra (aphorism).” Saying so, the sage delivered a discourse on devotion in 84 aphorisms, later known as the Narada Bhakti Sutras. He also blessed Sage Ved Vyasa and said, “Its full explanation shall be given by you in the ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ Mahapurana later.”
Within this text, Sage Narada explains the perfectional stage of unconditional love and devotion and the ways to achieve this state; gives examples from other Vedic personalities on the subject matter; cautions against the obstacles that come up in developing bhakti; and finally explains the nature of selfless love and the different forms of attainment to the Supreme bliss.
Gurudeva Swami Rama has written, “The power of emotion is one of the highest of powers, and if directed properly, it leads one to the highest state of ecstasy. In the path of Bhakti, one does not expect any rewards. He totally surrenders everything to the Lord. The offering is not just a flower or a fruit, but all of oneself. The offering is the devotee himself. In self-surrender an individual becomes an instrument of the Lord, and his mind, his action, and speech become channels for the expression of Bhakti. When the mind does not disturb, distract, and dissipate human potentials, then higher-consciousness reveals itself through such a human being. Love is the very basis of renouncing selfishness. As one’s love for the Lord intensifies, attachment to all else simply fall away of its own accord. In the path of Bhakti, one does everything for the Lord; no importance is given to individuality. A student of this path remains fearless always. ” (Choosing A Path).
If there is anything that has the capacity to make life filled with happiness and serenity, it is Pure Love. It has the power to enable one to experience Parama-ananda (supreme bliss). This unique study with Rabindra Sahu will offer many insights into the nature of Pure Love, Devotion, and Surrender.

Art of Joyful Living
2024-05-05 09:00 - 2024-05-10 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
Whether one is on a spiritual quest or is simply looking for a way to improve one’s life, the Art of Joyful Living retreat would offer a simple philosophy of living, and practical suggestions for leading a joyful life.
In this in-person special retreat with Rabindra Sahu, we would learn methods for transforming our habit patterns, cultivating inner strength and willpower, maintaining loving relationships, and more.

You and Your emotions
2024-06-02 09:00 - 2024-06-07 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
This retreat is based on Swami Veda Bharati’s profound teachings contained in his book of the same title. We will learn to understand our own mind and thereby to learn how to live life by effectively managing and refining emotions to obtain true freedom.
Swami Veda Bharati has said, “You not only learn to analyse your own emotion, but also learn to analyse the other person’s emotion: where is it coming from, what are its components, what has led to this, what are the loads behind it? And once you understand the loads behind it, you will not react in the familiar way: anger with anger, stone with stone, eyes with eyes.”
In this retreat with Dr Divya Gupta and Dr Swati Saharan, both psychologists by training, we will approach the subject of our own mind and emotions from a practical perspective and learn to gently manage them better.

What is Yoga? International Yoga Day Retreat
2024-06-20 09:00 - 2024-06-23 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Dhyana Gurukulam, Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road, P. O Pashulok, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 249203, India
The Himalayan Tradition is a meditative (dhyana) tradition. All the practices, including asanas are practiced to prepare oneself for meditation. Hatha yoga is taught as an integrated practice, which includes centering, correct breathing, breath-awareness, stretching sequences, joints & glands movements, asanas, subtle-body relaxations, pranayamas, and meditation. There is a focus on not only positioning the body correctly, but also on experiencing what is happening within. Asanas are performed with reverence and gentleness in the mind, moving from outside inwards.
Hatha Yoga, as taught within the Himalayan Tradition is understood as “a continuum” involving all the eight limbs of Raja yoga, especially Ahimsa.

As our beloved Swami Veda Bharati has said,
“What is this yoga? What is it? What are the signs of one practicing yoga?
On the very first sutra of the Yoga-sutras of Patanjali, Vyasa, the first and foremost sage commentator, defines:
Yogah samadhih
Yoga [means] samadhi.
‘Yogah samadhih’ is also in the logo of our organization AHYMSIN – the Association of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies International – with headquarters at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama in Rishikesh.
The most authentic ancient text of yoga speaks of it in these terms.
The most authentic ancient text of Ayurveda, Charaka-samhita, states:
Yogo moksha-pravartakah
Yoga is that which impels and grants spiritual liberation (moksha)
Sharira-sthana 1.137”
This International Yoga Day let us try to understand what truly and traditionally yoga is, beyond the asanas, as it is now popularly understood.
