Labor Day Schedule: 9 am All Levels Flow with Shri on Monday (4 pm and 6 pm cancelled)
Friday, August 31, 2012
Labor Day Schedule 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Guru Purnima 2012
Tasmai sri guruveynamaha! I honor my teacher Guruji Divyananda Saraswati, who left his body in 2002.
Today is Guru Purnima- a day to celebrate the fullness of your teacher- the good and the bad- they are only human.
Here is an interview with my Guruji from years ago:
Hinduism Today: Swamiji, please tell us about life in the Himalayas.
Swami Divyananda: I dreamed of the Himalayas from my early years. Above Badrinath I found a valley, just three mountains on three sides with one big river flowing and some small streams. I said, "This place is meant for me. Lord Siva is there. He will take care of me."
HT: Do you get visitors?
Swamiji: Sometimes sadhus visit the cottage. It is our pleasure sometimes to prepare seventy glasses of tea in one day. But for weeks, when it is cold, nobody comes.
HT: What do you do for heat?
Swamiji: Nothing in particular. I live in a sort of refrigerator. My God, it gets very, very cold. Sometimes, I tell you, I slept at night with my knees joined to my neck.
HT: We've heard stories that there are sadhus in the Himalayas that are 100, 200 years old. Have you ever met such sadhus?
Swamiji: Yes, in my meditation I have met persons like that. Actually, they live in their astral body, not in the physical body. Under divine command they live to help other sadhakas who really deserve their help. Sometimes in my meditations I have met such sages, some very ancient sages.
HT: What do you meditate on?
Swamiji: Meditation can be on form, on name, on quality and on the Absolute Reality. So I do all the meditations according to my mood. When I do my own meditation, then I go very deep. We may call it root meditation. One hour I do pranayama, and other things.
HT: Were you ever married?
Swamiji: Yes, I was married. My wife and my husband is always with me, because I am married to God. There is no fear of divorce!
HT: Please tell us about your guru.
Swamiji: He was Sri Swami Abhinava Satchitanand Tirtha Swamiji Maharaj. the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Mutt. My guru had only two monk disciples. He was a very highly God-Realized soul. I had a vision of him in my dream before I met him. When I met him, I recognized him and he also recognized me. My guru used to run many institutions, colleges and children's schools. My Guruji wanted me to take up [the leadership of the Mutt]. He was my guru, I couldn't disobey him. I told my guru, "I will do whatever you want. I spent my whole life in society, and now I have gone to the Himalayas for solitude. You are my guru. I do not want to conceal my feelings from you. But I want to stay in solitude." He understood and gave his blessings.
HT: What is the Swami Divyananda Sharda Foundation?
Swamiji: I had some money from before my renunciation which I gave to make an institution and to give scholarships to willing, God-minded students. To receive a scholarship the student must be of a religious mind, single and have faith in our Hindu culture and religion. There are three things it does: educational service; social service, such as in calamities, floods and famine; and dispensing spiritual knowledge amongst the people.
HT: What sampradaya do you adhere to?
Swamiji: It is very difficult to answer this question. People often ask me, "Swami, to what do you belong?" I tell them, "Let me think for a while." I think that I belong to all sampradayas, because I accept the basic teachings of all. The basic teachings are not different. The aim of sampradayas is to reach God. I worship the Mother aspect of God. Now in my present level of, you can say, God consciousness, I don't see any difference anywhere. Wherever I go, I see the same deity. I go to all temples. I worship all Gods.
HT: How do you keep so young?
Swamiji: The first thing is brahmachariya, self-control. Second thing is a very pure diet, simple food. For the last 42 years I have been living on fresh fruits and vegetables. I eat only enough for my hunger to be satisfied. One thing more is my belief in God. I believe my primary responsibility is to do my duty to God. I should not worry about what comes in the end. I believe in His justice, in His fearlessness. With that attitude mentally I am very free, very easy in mind and heart.
HT: What are your observations on the West?
Swamiji: Internally I don't see any difference. For me the Divinity there is the same Divinity here. But externally there is a difference. God is the one truth, and yet God can express Himself in many ways. The Himalayas is the austerity aspect of God and North America is the luxury aspect of God. So it is all Divine.
HT: What is your insight into the relationship between Muslims and Hindus in India?
Swamiji: Just as love begets love, fanaticism begets fanaticism. If you find any fanaticism in Hindu religion, it is not because Hindus are fanatics. It is because fanaticism begets fanaticism. So fanaticism has to go from all sides. Certain mistakes were made by the [founding] political leaders of India, initial mistakes, great blunders, I would say. Indian society has had to reap the consequences. Secularism does not mean Godlessness. You have to believe in God. You have to respect your way, and you have to show respect to others. That is the meaning of secularism. You don't discard God, religion and all truth and philosophy in the name of secularism. This was a wrong meaning of secularism that they took, and this is the cause of all the present maladies. They forgot that all ethics is contained in religion. In the name of secularism they removed all religion and the good teachings of our ancient seers and sages from the students' books and courses. That was very unfortunate. It is not easy to set things right now. Cooperation and understanding have to be developed.
Today is Guru Purnima- a day to celebrate the fullness of your teacher- the good and the bad- they are only human.
Here is an interview with my Guruji from years ago:
Hinduism Today: Swamiji, please tell us about life in the Himalayas.
Swami Divyananda: I dreamed of the Himalayas from my early years. Above Badrinath I found a valley, just three mountains on three sides with one big river flowing and some small streams. I said, "This place is meant for me. Lord Siva is there. He will take care of me."
HT: Do you get visitors?
Swamiji: Sometimes sadhus visit the cottage. It is our pleasure sometimes to prepare seventy glasses of tea in one day. But for weeks, when it is cold, nobody comes.
HT: What do you do for heat?
Swamiji: Nothing in particular. I live in a sort of refrigerator. My God, it gets very, very cold. Sometimes, I tell you, I slept at night with my knees joined to my neck.
HT: We've heard stories that there are sadhus in the Himalayas that are 100, 200 years old. Have you ever met such sadhus?
Swamiji: Yes, in my meditation I have met persons like that. Actually, they live in their astral body, not in the physical body. Under divine command they live to help other sadhakas who really deserve their help. Sometimes in my meditations I have met such sages, some very ancient sages.
HT: What do you meditate on?
Swamiji: Meditation can be on form, on name, on quality and on the Absolute Reality. So I do all the meditations according to my mood. When I do my own meditation, then I go very deep. We may call it root meditation. One hour I do pranayama, and other things.
HT: Were you ever married?
Swamiji: Yes, I was married. My wife and my husband is always with me, because I am married to God. There is no fear of divorce!
HT: Please tell us about your guru.
Swamiji: He was Sri Swami Abhinava Satchitanand Tirtha Swamiji Maharaj. the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Mutt. My guru had only two monk disciples. He was a very highly God-Realized soul. I had a vision of him in my dream before I met him. When I met him, I recognized him and he also recognized me. My guru used to run many institutions, colleges and children's schools. My Guruji wanted me to take up [the leadership of the Mutt]. He was my guru, I couldn't disobey him. I told my guru, "I will do whatever you want. I spent my whole life in society, and now I have gone to the Himalayas for solitude. You are my guru. I do not want to conceal my feelings from you. But I want to stay in solitude." He understood and gave his blessings.
HT: What is the Swami Divyananda Sharda Foundation?
Swamiji: I had some money from before my renunciation which I gave to make an institution and to give scholarships to willing, God-minded students. To receive a scholarship the student must be of a religious mind, single and have faith in our Hindu culture and religion. There are three things it does: educational service; social service, such as in calamities, floods and famine; and dispensing spiritual knowledge amongst the people.
HT: What sampradaya do you adhere to?
Swamiji: It is very difficult to answer this question. People often ask me, "Swami, to what do you belong?" I tell them, "Let me think for a while." I think that I belong to all sampradayas, because I accept the basic teachings of all. The basic teachings are not different. The aim of sampradayas is to reach God. I worship the Mother aspect of God. Now in my present level of, you can say, God consciousness, I don't see any difference anywhere. Wherever I go, I see the same deity. I go to all temples. I worship all Gods.
HT: How do you keep so young?
Swamiji: The first thing is brahmachariya, self-control. Second thing is a very pure diet, simple food. For the last 42 years I have been living on fresh fruits and vegetables. I eat only enough for my hunger to be satisfied. One thing more is my belief in God. I believe my primary responsibility is to do my duty to God. I should not worry about what comes in the end. I believe in His justice, in His fearlessness. With that attitude mentally I am very free, very easy in mind and heart.
HT: What are your observations on the West?
Swamiji: Internally I don't see any difference. For me the Divinity there is the same Divinity here. But externally there is a difference. God is the one truth, and yet God can express Himself in many ways. The Himalayas is the austerity aspect of God and North America is the luxury aspect of God. So it is all Divine.
HT: What is your insight into the relationship between Muslims and Hindus in India?
Swamiji: Just as love begets love, fanaticism begets fanaticism. If you find any fanaticism in Hindu religion, it is not because Hindus are fanatics. It is because fanaticism begets fanaticism. So fanaticism has to go from all sides. Certain mistakes were made by the [founding] political leaders of India, initial mistakes, great blunders, I would say. Indian society has had to reap the consequences. Secularism does not mean Godlessness. You have to believe in God. You have to respect your way, and you have to show respect to others. That is the meaning of secularism. You don't discard God, religion and all truth and philosophy in the name of secularism. This was a wrong meaning of secularism that they took, and this is the cause of all the present maladies. They forgot that all ethics is contained in religion. In the name of secularism they removed all religion and the good teachings of our ancient seers and sages from the students' books and courses. That was very unfortunate. It is not easy to set things right now. Cooperation and understanding have to be developed.
Monday, July 2, 2012
4th of July Holiday Schedule
Happy Holiday!
21 Day 200 Hour Teacher Training Intensive with Shri
go to http://www.elcocolocoresort.com/ to register.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wade in the Water
Kali is the archetypal deity who embodies the energy of the second chakra and water. She is considered one of the Dasa Maha Vidyas- the 10 great goddesses of Tantra. The word vidya means science. The 10 great goddesses are scientific concepts rather than religious concepts in that with Tantra we have equations where we perform A and B and then C is created. And the equations are able to be replicated consistently just like in any good scientific experiment.
When we use techniques like mantra we are able to align ourselves with the energy of Kali and therefore water. Kali is often depicted with her tongue out- she teaches us to taste all the flavors that life has to offer- sometimes what we first consider bad may turn out to be good.
Bob Marley said some people feel the rain and others just get wet. Kali urges us to stick our tongues out and taste, savor and feel the rain of life- all the ever changing weather patterns of emotions and life circumstance.
To quote my friend Sydney (who just became a big sister!)
Sometimes you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
When is more really more?
If one down dog is good then 10 down dogs would be better, right? When is more really more in a Yoga practice?
Pranams to Candace Bushnell. (creator of Sex in the City) I was single and watching Sex in the City years ago- Carrie was a writer and would often start the show trying to write her column which often began with a question. This was one of the first tv shows that depicted powerful single women really as independant creatures and I identified strongly and cheered them on. But, I digress......
Back to down dog- I do not practice Yoga nor teach Yoga for physical fitness. Physical healing and physical fitness are certainly part of the process but in the bigger picture- Yoga is a means toward radical transformation and growth- at the individual level and the global level. The techniques on the Yoga mat which facilitate transformation most powerfully are those which quiet the mind and/ or raise energy (prana). Yoga asanas are introductory techniques in order to create a foundation for the practice of the more powerful techniques. The most powerful techniques on the mat are Pranayama -making different choices regarding breath, Bandha- the physical muscular engagements particularly in the core which raise energy, Sanskrit Chants- which harness the power of sound for healing and balance and Meditation- the observation of the workings of the mind which over time transforms the nature of mind. More really is more with these techniques.
Pranams to Candace Bushnell. (creator of Sex in the City) I was single and watching Sex in the City years ago- Carrie was a writer and would often start the show trying to write her column which often began with a question. This was one of the first tv shows that depicted powerful single women really as independant creatures and I identified strongly and cheered them on. But, I digress......
Back to down dog- I do not practice Yoga nor teach Yoga for physical fitness. Physical healing and physical fitness are certainly part of the process but in the bigger picture- Yoga is a means toward radical transformation and growth- at the individual level and the global level. The techniques on the Yoga mat which facilitate transformation most powerfully are those which quiet the mind and/ or raise energy (prana). Yoga asanas are introductory techniques in order to create a foundation for the practice of the more powerful techniques. The most powerful techniques on the mat are Pranayama -making different choices regarding breath, Bandha- the physical muscular engagements particularly in the core which raise energy, Sanskrit Chants- which harness the power of sound for healing and balance and Meditation- the observation of the workings of the mind which over time transforms the nature of mind. More really is more with these techniques.
Memorial Day Holiday Schedule
Memorial Day Holiday Schedule:
Monday, May 28: 9 am Mixed Level Flow with Shri ONLY
Happy Holiday!
Monday, May 28: 9 am Mixed Level Flow with Shri ONLY
Happy Holiday!
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