Dear {subtag:name},
Full Moon Meditation
August 26th
August 2018 Newsletter
This is a combined Full Moon announcement and Ahymsin newsletter, so it's going out to both lists at the same time. Upcoming full moon meditation dates can be viewed here.
Tap/click images to read the article. (In the article, tap an image to show a full size image.)
"Let’s all make the effort to become good human beings,
to be good citizens,
to love all and exclude none.
That is the way to the divine."
— Swami Rama in Conscious Living, page 95.
News
Learn how you can contribute to the work being done at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG): Many of you enjoy visiting SRSG for sadhana and consider it a spiritual home. Read about the projects taking place now to help keep SRSG physically viable and about how you can contribute in the A New Cycle of Construction and Restoration at SRSG.
2019 Sangha Gathering at SRSG February 25 - March 5, 2019: Swami Ritavan Bharati extends his personal invitation to all members of the Guru family. He will guide the AHYMSIN Sangha into the next set of practices for the next 3 years at this gathering. Please see An Invitation to Return Home – AHYMSIN Sangha Gathering 2019. Registration now open to initiates.
An invitation to all families with children: Himalayan Yoga Meditation Youth and Children’s Retreat will take place December 24 – 30, 2018, at SRSG. Please see the article Invitation to Children’s Retreat in this newsletter.
In October at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG), there will be an Initiates Retreat - “Bhakti and Loving Meditations” (please see article in this newsletter), a Navaratri Puja, and a Yoga and Martial Arts Workshop as well as ongoing guest programs. Please see the Upcoming Events or contact ahymsin@ahymsin.org for more information about these and other programs at SRSG.
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 August 2018 in your browser.
August Articles
Observing the Vibration of Infinity Within
by Swami Veda
A Commentary on Śhankarāchārya’s “Prayer at Dawn” (Prātaḥ-smaraṇa-stotra).
This is a transcription of a talk and meditation given at The Meditation Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on April 10, 1980.
Verse 1
प्रातः स्मरामि हृदिसंस्फुरदात्मतत्त्वम्
prātaḥ smarāmi hṛdi saṁsphurad-ātma-tattvaṁ
सच्चित्सुखं परमहंसगतिंतुरीयम्।
sac-chit-sukhaṁ parama-haṁsa-gatiṁ turīyam,
यत्स्वप्नजागरसुषुप्तिमवैतिनित्यम्
yat svapna-jāgara-suṣhuptim avaiti nityam
तद् ब्रह्मनिष्कलमहम् न च भूत-संघः॥
tad brahma niṣhkalam ahaṁ na cha bhnūta-saṅghaḥ
“At dawn do I meditate on That which shines in the heart as the Self, the Truth, That which is Existence, Consciousness and Bliss, That which is the goal of the great sages, That which is the transcendent fourth reality. I am that eternal Brahman which is blemishless and knows the three states of waking, dream and sleep, and not the aggregate of elements.” - Swami Veda Bharati
Read More : Observing the Vibration …
Transforming Thought Patterns
by Swami Rama
[This passage has been taken from the book Path of Fire and Light Volume 2, pp 41 - 75, by Swami Rama (Rama, S., 1988. Path of Fire and Light Volume 2. Himalayan Institute Press.)].
The sages say that the only difference between you and them lies in the nature of your thoughts and your mind. If someone tells you that you are bad or have done something wrong you accept it, and you become bad. If you even think it, then you feel bad. You cannot forget that thought. You want to forgive yourself, but you have a habit of retaining such negative thoughts. Some people retain good and helpful thoughts, and others retain negative and passive thoughts. That is why the view of yoga is that those thoughts that are helpful should be encouraged, and those thoughts that are not helpful should not be encouraged. On the path of meditation you learn this process.
Read More : Transforming Thought Patterns
Guru Purnima at SRSG
by Divya Gupta
“This day, the day of Guru Purnima is considered to be the holiest day for the students of life; for those that have been treading the path of light; for those aspiring to attain enlightenment in this lifetime. They remember this day and celebrate it by becoming aware the purpose of life is to attain enlightenment. This state of mind, internal state, that makes one free from all pains and miseries.”
-Gurudeva Swami Rama, 1988.
The Guru Purnima Retreat is a 9-day period filled with pujas, festivities, mantras, yajnas, special meditations and lectures, and a subtle yet distinct loving presence at the ashram. The Guru Purnima celebrations began with Guru Puja on July 19 with Swami Ritavan Bharati, Swami Prayag Giri, and Swami Tattvananda Bharati in the Meditation Hall and the Initiation Room. What followed was a 9-day long non-stop recitation of the Guru Gita (akhanda-patha) and 9-day long yajna with the akhanda-mandalakaram mantra.
Read More : Guru Purnima at SRSG
Invitation to Children’s Retreat 2018
by Tarinee Awasthi and Divya Gupta
Himalayan Yoga Meditation Youth and Children’s Retreat
December 24 – 30, 2018 at
Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG), Rishikesh, India.
Read More : Invitation to Children’s Retreat 2018
Initiates Retreat October 2018
by Divya Gupta
Special Initiates Retreat – Bhakti and Loving Meditations –October 10-18, 2018
Those of us who have experienced the infinite love and grace of the Himalayan Masters, of the Guru Lineage through the sacred mantra diksha (Initiation) were blessed with the mantra seed having been sown deep within. When nurtured lovingly, this mantra seed develops into a tree of spirituality within. The Initiates Retreat has been especially designed to show us exactly how to thus nurture the mantra seed.
As Swami Veda has said with regards to the initiate retreat, “You have been a guest at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, perhaps once, perhaps many times, and have had basic lessons in sitting and breathing etc… You have also received mantra-diksha. Now the question remains: WHAT after mantra? How to refine it; where to go further? There is always need for (a) refreshing, (b) refining to subtler levels and (c) learning the next steps.”
This year’s Initiate Retreat will be during the 9 sacred days dedicated to the Mother Divine, during Navaratri, during October 10-18, 2018, at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG).
Read More : Initiates Retreat October 2018
AHYMSIN Board Meeting July 2018
by Rajini Prakash
It is always a joyous occasion when family members of the AHYMSIN Executive Committee (EC) come together for a meeting once every quarter. The Board meeting took place on 21st July 2018, in which 14 members participated.
Swami Ritavan blessed the gathering with a rendition of the prayer –
OM Saha nav avatu, Saha nau bhunaktu… OM Shantih, Shantih, Shantih.‘Salutations and greetings from SRSG (showing photo of Swami Veda’s Initiation Room), you see the representation of the Guru in the paduka – sandals of the guru – which represent the Guru spirit, the Guru’s presence.
At this special time (Guru-purnima) we are embracing the presence of the Guru spirit in the daily havan and akhanda-japa recitation of Guru Gita.
Read More : AHYMSIN Board Meeting July 2018
Silence Retreat in Italy
by Ilaria Sarri
Silence, The Seed Of Peace. Peace Is Your Spiritual Gift
From June 28th till July 1st, a silence retreat took place in La Verna, Italy, in the presence of Swami Ritavan and Swami Ma Radha. It has been a time to turn our senses inward: four days of pure contemplation, in a sacred place, rich in spirituality, art, culture, history and completely covered with a monumental forest that wraps, protects, reassures, embraces. A time to be in deep contact with the power and the energy of nature, which deeply fill minds and hearts.
And it has been exactly the place (where, in 1224, St. Francis retired for periods of silence and prayer) that has led us to silence the senses, the mind, the impulse to speak, the urge to get up to do and move. All the rest has come directly from the possibility to "learn" silence simply being in contact with the silence of Swami Ritavan and Swami Ma Radha.
Read More : Silence Retreat in Italy
Guru Purnima Celebration in South India
by Namita Sinha
In April 2018 the very first sangha gathering of Himalayan Yoga Tradition initiates was held in Bangalore. Most participants, who came from different parts of south India, met each other for the first time, though they have been in the tradition for many years. Some long time disciples of Gurudeva Swami Rama and many who had met Swami Veda during his Bangalore visits and in Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG), Rishikesh. The group felt the need to meet regularly, to create a sangha of kalyana mitras where we can share our practices and experiences in the tradition.
A small group met for the first satsang on occasion of International Yoga Day in June 2018. We practiced some hatha, meditated and shared our experience of practices. Swami Veda’s message on International Yoga Day along with the theme of 40 days Annual Spiritual Festival renewed our energies to practice.
Read More : Guru Purnima Celebration in South India
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:
Accidental awareness during general anesthesia and the devastating psychological effects the phenomenon can have on patients who experience it, especially those who are awake and paralyzed. Most incidents of anesthetic awareness occurred among patients who had received paralytics as part of their anesthetic cocktail. Patients described a range of sensations, including choking, paralysis, pain, hallucinations, and near-death experiences. Most episodes were short-lived, with 75% of them lasting under five minutes. Despite this, nearly half of all patients who were conscious during surgery had long-term psychological consequences such as PTSD and depression. Is there a yogic perspective on this phenomena? Can this 'fear' for awakening be converted into something without fear?
Answer:
Two have answered this question: Dr. Stephen Parker (Stoma) and Lalita Arya (Ammaji)
Read More : Dear Yoga Mentor, My Question Is…
Guru Purnima, Minneapolis 2018
by Joanne Sullivan (Divya)
It was the day of Guru Purnima in India, a half day ahead of Minnesota. I had just gotten off the phone with Michael Smith. Actually we were abruptly disconnected. My phone battery had died.
I turned on the computer and there it was! Guru Purnima live in Rishikesh! I walked the familiar paths and familiar voices at SRSG with my eyes and ears just pulsing. I was so excited. Just at that moment Swami Ritavan was sitting down in the Meditation Hall. Oh! There’s Adhikari! Geeta! JP! Surendra! Prakriti and Bhaskar! There were so many old friends. It was almost like being there. I was there watching from Minnesota for the long procession of the Shri Guru Gita coming to His/Her/Its final moment--the last recitation after 9 days of akhanda japa.
Read More : Guru Purnima, Minneapolis 2018
Not Yet There, Not Yet
by Solmaz Dabiri
I was first introduced to Swami Rama when I was on a yoga teacher training course in Nepal in 2016, with a yoga school from Rishikesh. Some of Swami Rama’s books were on the ‘recommended read’ list.
The purpose of taking the course was that practicing yoga at gyms with different teachers with varying degrees of experience, knowledge and approach wasn’t very satisfactory, and I wanted to learn it properly. I had no concept of what the course might entail, and the science and philosophy of yoga opened an unexpected and wonderful new window for me, and I knew I wanted to continue learning.
In November that year I went to Rishikesh for the first time for a further course of teacher training and fell in love with the place. I don’t follow any religion or political philosophy or ideology, or personalities of any colour and creed, my mind is too independently wired for that, but as I continued reading Swami Rama, it made sense to me. And apart from the fact that the writing style was eloquent, the message was clear and precise. I was convinced.
Read More : Not Yet There, Not Yet
The Forty-Day Spiritual Festival at SRSG
by Tarinee Awasthi
All narratives are oriented towards their telos [Ed: 'an ultimate object or aim'], or so tell us thinkers who contemplate these matters. To that extent, they are also determined by their telos. And while the implications of the forty-day spiritual festival are beyond the grasp of narrative and time, this little write-up is no more, and likely far less, than a narrative; for we narrate to make sense as much as to express. Again, the inexpressible of the forty-day festival will necessarily escape this attempt at gratitude. And yet, insofar as this forty-day festival can be contemplated at all, it is in its orientation towards the Guru. The opportunity to be at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) during (most of) this period is the kind of blessing that one can only stare at in wonderment.
Read More : The Forty-Day Spiritual Festival at SRSG
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 July 2018 in your browser.
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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