Full Moon Meditation
March 31st
March 2018 Newsletter
This is a combined Full Moon announcement and Ahymsin newsletter, so it's going out to both lists at the same time.
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“Meditation is so subtle, for it is simple stillness and silence. And we all yearn for such an experience.”
— Swami Ritavan Bharati in Sangha Talk.
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News
Silence as Celebration  observing the culmination of Swami Veda’s 5 year vow of silence took place at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in March 2018 as well as teacher training retreats, Navaratri, and the yoga nidra retreat.
To watch “March 2018 Purnahuti at SRSG” by Shi Hong, please click on title.
 In this newsletter, we have articles by Sofia Foteina and Randall Krause, who both participated in the Silence as Celebration; Randall’s article also includes a video. Marilou Hermens reported, “After all the festivities, Swami Ritavan gave a beautiful talk in the crowded meditation hall.”
From Himalayan Yoga Publications Trust (HYPT): “At the occasion of the end of the 5 year vow of silence of Swami Veda Bharati, we have released the book SILENCE – The Illuminated Mind. If you would like to purchase a copy please contact us at yogapublications.org. The book is also available on Amazon India.” And: “This book draws on the vast body of recorded teachings of Swami Veda Bharati. Lovingly collected, arranged and with minimal editing, the passages within resonate with the voice of Swami Veda.”
In April, there will be a South India Sangha Gathering and a Sringeri Pilgrimage both with Swami Ritavan Bharati and a Program for Initiates with Swami Ma Radha Bharati. Please check out the Upcoming Events for more information about future programs at SRSG. Affiliate centers also offer programs.
Pictures by Marilou Hermens and Sunil Trikha.
March Articles
Gulliverian Silence
by Swami Veda Bharati
[This passage has been taken from the book Silence: The Illuminated Mind pp 171 – 177 by Swami Veda, published 2018 by the Himalayan Yoga Publications Trust].
Gulliver arrives in a country where he sees innumerable little fires burning. People are standing by the fires, mourning. Others are mourning by the holes they are digging or those holes that they have filled.
‘Why such mourning? What are these fires? What are you digging for?’
Love and Forgiveness
by Swami Rama
[From Creative Use of Emotion, pp 150 – 154, by Swami Rama and Swami Ajaya, published 1976 by the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA].
”I forgive you.” These three words are so powerful that they can suddenly change the darkness that we experience about us into the pure light of a new day. As soon as you experience forgiveness your whole demeanor, your attitude and your personality change dramatically. Instead of being tormented by the hate and vengeful feelings that are carried inside in seeking justice, you experience a warm expansiveness.
Celebration in Silence
by Sofia Foteina
 Have you ever heard of a celebration IN SILENCE? Yes, it can be done. It has already taken place in Rishikesh, in the Ashram Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, in February, March 2018. And, it was sooo relaxing.
Celebration until now was something done with a lot of noise. But how could we honor someone like Swami Veda, someone who had taken a vow of silence five years ago? Only by silence.
It was not my first silence, but it was my first silence in noise.
Culmination of 5 Year Silence Practice
by Randall Krause (Mokshadeva)
 Five years ago, Swami Veda Bharati undertook a 5-year vow of silence. Even though he left his body in July, 2105, his vow has continued, and it concluded the week March 4 – 10, 2018.
At Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, the ashram he founded and built in Rishikesh, India, special pujas (worships) and fire offering rituals were carried out by knowledgeable and devoted Brahman Pundits (Priests). The ashram was filled with ancient powerful sounds of the Vedic hymns; the smiles, meditation, and laughter of celebrants; and the fragrant smoke of the fire offerings.
Prāna, Prāna-Vidya: What is it?
by Jim Fraser
The January AHYMSIN newsletter featured an interesting discussion on khechari mudra. This particularly drew my attention because I had just given a talk on Hatha Yoga and the subtle body as compared to Hatha Yoga as a set of linear exercises. The advanced discussion of khechari mudra is certainly beyond my simple talk; however, the difference is one of the degree of understanding of the Subtle Body. Both depend on the awareness of prāna. Therein lies great puzzlement.
When I first accessed the TTP website [Ed: Teacher Training Program] I came across a note explaining that the Hatha Yoga was taught according to prāna-vidya. ‘Oh,’ I said to myself, ‘I have been chasing that for years. This is surely beyond me.’ And being a typically frugal Scotsman I was concerned that I had perhaps spent my money unwisely.
So what is prāna?
Dance Workshop Feedback
See also: Shiva – Nataraja Workshop (12-14 February 2018
Note: 9 people wrote feedback for this article:
Sofia Foteina:
Dear Prakritiji,
How can one touch beauty without diminishing it? Yes, this is what you did with your dance and the dance of your children, as you called your students. This is what you invoked to happen when you asked all of us to dance with you. You brought heavenly beauty on earth, without blemish, without making it less. You touched our hearts and made us cry of beauty. Beauty and rhythm, beauty and discipline, beauty in seva.
August Program for Non-Initiates
 There will be a program for non-initiates taught by Borim Murali at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in Rishikesh, India, 6th - 12th August 2018.
This program is for people who have already been to SRSG before and who have completed the basic lessons.
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 am lost. I believe meditation can heal. I fear I am too lost.
Answer:
Four have answered this question: Pandit Hari Shankar Dabral, Michael Smith, Carolyn Hume, and Stephen Parker (Stoma).
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
The next several full moon meditations happen within a day or so of the normal Ahymsin newsletter end of the month mailing. So, we will be sending a single combined mailing.
This Month's Newsletter
Please click here to view this month's Ahymsin Newsletter: http://www.ahymsin.org/docs2/News/1803/index.html
Other Links
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- 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.
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- 7 AM in India (IST), surrounding countries adjust the time accordingly, for example Iran is 5 AM.
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