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Summer 2010

‘Mother Ganga’ The Divine River

The River Ganga Swami Sivananda

Meditations from the Upanishads Swami Durgananda

The Influence of Swami Vishnudevananda in the West

Kumba Mela Yatra 2010 Facts on Vegetarianism Dr Annika Waldmann

Ayurveda and Womens’ Health Dr. Sanjay and Dr (Mrs) Anjani Kulkarni

Yoga of the Heart An interview with Nischala Joy Devi

Swami Mahadevananda

The Power of Asanas Swami Sivadasananda S E R V E • LO V E • G I V E • P U R I F Y • M E D I TAT E • R E A L I Z E

Swami Sivananda (1887-1963)

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Est 1957

Ashram de Yoga Sivananda 26 Impasse du Bignon, 45170 Neuville aux Bois Fax: +33 (0) 2 38 9118 09 email: [email protected]

Tel: +33 (0)2 38 91 88 82

www.sivananda.org/orleans

Swami Vishnudevananda (1927-1993)

Imagine… a haven of peace in the midst of vast open spaces, ancient forests with century old trees, breathtaking sunrises and sunsets… just one hour from Paris

Editor’s Letter

International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres Swami Sivananda (1887-1963) The spiritual strength behind the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, Swami Sivananda’s teachings are a synthesis of all the formal doctrines of yoga. Author of more than 300 books on yoga, Swami Sivananda was a medical doctor before renouncing worldly life for the spiritual path. He founded the Divine Life Society and the YogaVedanta Forest Academy, Rishikesh, Himalayas. His main message was: Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise. In 1957 he sent one of his foremost disciples, Swami Vishnudevananda to the West to spread the ideals of yoga. Swami Sivananda entered Mahasamadhi on July 14th 1963.

Swami Vishnudevananda (1927-1993) Born in South India in 1927, Swami Vishnudevananda entered the ashram of Swami Sivananda at the age of 18. A world famous authority on Hatha and Raja Yoga, Swami Vishnudevananda founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in 1957 and was author of The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, Meditation and Mantras, Karma and Disease and a commentary on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Swami Vishnudevananda entered Mahasamadhi on November 9th, 1993.

The Executive Board The Executive Board of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is comprised of senior disciples of Swami Vishnudevananda, personally chosen and trained by him to direct the organisation after his departure. Each of them has had many years’ experience in teaching all aspects of yoga. They are renowned for their devotion to Swami Vishnu-devananda and Swami Sivananda and for their profound knowledge and inspirational teaching and guidance, wisdom imparted to many thousands of students throughout the world.

Swami Mahadevananda Swami Swaroopananda Srinivasan

Swami Durgananda Swami Sivadasananda Swami Kailasananda

HEADQUARTERS SIVANANDA ASHRAM YOGA CAMP Eighth Avenue, Val Morin, Quebec, Canada JOT 2RO Tel: +1 819 322 3226 email: [email protected] With ashrams and centres located around the world see page 62 for addresses

Est 1957

Welcome 2010 marked the year of the Kumbha Mela in Haridwar, North India. A group of close to 100 students from the European Sivananda Centres attended this very auspicious event, which brings together yogis, sadhus, spiritual teachers and aspirants from all traditions in a spirit of unity and diversity. The highlight of the day is the Ganga Arati at dawn, when devotees gather by the thousands to pay homage to Ganga, the symbol of the ever flowing consciousness. The energy of bhakti is so tangible at this time that one feels lifted out of body consciousness and connected with the divine presence. Here the words of Master Sivananda: “Ganga has consoled me, Ganga has nourished me, Ganga has taught me the truth of the Upanishads” resound in the mind with new meaning. Many of the students who joined the pilgrimage expressed how life transforming it has been for them. Swamiji Vishnudevananda’s main tools to establish unity in diversity on a large scale in the world, the TTC (Teachers’ Training Course) was carried to new horizons this year: for the first time ever, Swamiji’s teachings were successfully brought to Vietnam. For the first time also, the TTC was taught this spring in a city centre – in the heart of London. Much work had been done this year to turn the London Centre into a city Ashram, and the beaming faces of the students at the end of the 4 weeks was proof enough that the experience was very positive. The practice of asanas is becoming more mainstream by the day, with doctors and people in the medical field realizing its therapeutic value. The article on “Yoga for the heart” deals with some aspects of this fast developing field. The article of Dr Waldmann brings a wealth of scientific facts about the value of vegetarianism, which are a precious reference for students and yoga teachers alike. We wish you a fruitful summer and hope you will have to chance to visit one of the Sivananda Ashrams for rest and renewal! We hope you enjoy this issue. Om Shanti, The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, London

The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, founded by Swami Vishnudevananda is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to propagate the teachings of yoga and vedanta as a means of achieving physical, mental and spiritual well-being and Self-realisation.

YOGALife I Summer 2010

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Contents

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Contents

SIVANANDA

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The River Ganga “All glory be unto Mother Ganga, the giver of life, light and love!” Swami Sivananda explains about the purity and sanctity of this holy river.

Meditations from the Upanishads Swami Durgananda gives an insight into different types of meditation according to these classic Indian scriptures.

The Divine Grace of Mother Ganga We look at some inspirational letters that Swami Vishnudevananda wrote during his personal sadhana and seclusion on the banks of the river Ganga.

Prison Project News Swami Padmapadananda updates us on the latest Prison Project news.


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Swami Mahadevananda talks about Swami Vishnudevananda’s pioneering mission in the west.

20 22 25 28 32

Personal experiences from students who have undergone the Teachers’ Training Course

Yoga of the Heart An interview with Nischala Joy Devi, looking at her therapeutic work with heart and cancer patients.

Ayurveda and Womens’ Health How Ayurveda plays an important role in womens’ health through all stages of life.

Shankara, his Life and Teachings Professor Pandey looks at the life and teachings of this great Vedantic master.

A Journey of Transformation A report on the first Teachers’ Training Course held at the London Sivananda Yoga Centre and how the Centre has been transformed into an Ashram in the heart of the city.

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The Power of Asanas

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Phytobiophysics

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The Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Experience

Swami Sivadasananda looks at some of the powerful processes that are activated during the practice of Asanas. Diana Mossop expalins how the vibration of plants can be used for healing.

Facts on Vegetarianism Dr Annika Waldmann lays bare the facts and figures of a vegetarian diet and shows how important it is for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Teachers’ Training Course in Vietnam

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A report on the very first Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course to be held in Vietnam. A truly historic moment!

Tips on Pranayama Swami Sivananda offers some practical advice on the benefits of pranayama and healing .

Kumbha Mela Yatra 2010 A report on the recent Sivananda North India Pilgrimage to the Himalayas and the Kumbha Mela in Haridwar.

Sivananda Ashram and Centre News Updates on new developments in Ashrams and Centres around the world.

Sivananda Ashram and Centre Addresses A listing of Sivananda Ashrams, Centres and teachers worldwide.

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By Swami Sivananda

“All glory be unto Mother Ganga, the giver of life, light and love” – Swami Sivananda

Main Picture: The River Ganga flowing through a valley in Rishikesh. Right: Swami Sivananda standing on the banks of the River Ganga in Rishikesh.

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The River Ganga

The Ganga is the most sacred river of India. The origin of The Ganga is ascribed to celestial glory. Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “I am the Ganga among rivers.” The Ganga Bath Thousands of pilgrims visit Hardwar and Rishikesh every year and take a dip in the sacred river. They have immense faith in the glory of Mother Ganga. They believe that all their sins are washed away if they take a dip in the sacred waters of the Ganga. Really they are washed off. A dip in the Ganga instantly purifies. There is no doubt about this. Even confirmed atheists and rationalists come to Hardwar for a refreshing bath in the Ganga.

Purity of the Ganga Water The water of the Ganga is extremely pure and sanctifying. No germs can flourish in this. This has been tested by various scientists in the laboratory. Rich in minerals this water cures almost all kinds of diseases. The Ganga is saturated with antiseptic minerals. Even in the West, doctors prescribe Ganga water for rubbing in the treatment of diseases of the skin. Ganga is not merely a river; it is a sacred Tirtha (sacred place). It is possessed of mysterious powers which are not found in any other river in the world. Even scientists have admitted the efficacy of Ganga water. Dr FC Harrison of McGill University, Canada writes: “A peculiar fact which has never been satisfactorily explained is the quick death, in three to five hours, of the cholera vibrio in the waters of the Ganga. When one remembers the sewage and corpses, often of cholera casualties, it seems remarkable that the belief of the Hindus, that the water of this river is pure and they can safely drink and bathe in it, should be confirmed by means of modern bacterial research.” A well known French physician, Dr D. Herelle, made similar investigations into the mystery of the Ganga. He observed some of the floating corpses of men dead of dysentery and cholera, and was surprised to find “that only a few feet below the bodies where one would expect to find millions of these dysentery and cholera germs, there were no germs at all.” He then grew germs from the patients having the disease, and to these cultures added water from the Ganga. When he incubated the mixture, much to his surprise, the germs were completely destroyed.

in his Yogic practices, and he will reach the goal. The Ganga always gives you cool, pure water. It does not expect anything from you in return. The sun sheds its light on all without anticipating any reward. Derive lessons from them. Always give, give. Ask nothing in return. Expect nothing in return. Do not expect even appreciation, approbation, or recognition. I love Ganga and the Himalayas. Ganga is my Mother Divine. Himalayas is my Father Divine. They inspire and guide me. I bathe in Ganga. I swim in Ganga. I adore Ganga. I feed the fishes of Ganga. I wave light to Mother Ganga. I pray to Ganga. I do salutations to Ganga. I sing the glory of Ganga. I write about the grandeur and glory of Ganga. Ganga has nourished me. Ganga has comforted me. Ganga has taught me the truths of the Upanishads. O friend! Follow the lines of Mother Ganga. Be pure. Be adaptable. Be tolerant. Be forgiving. Be sweet. Pour out your love on all – share what you have, physical, mental and spiritual – with the whole of humanity. The more you give the more you get. Give without any motive, without expecting any reward. Embrace all. Cultivate equal vision. All glory be unto Mother Ganga, the giver of life, light and love. Worship Her with faith, devotion and piety. Adore Her with flowers of purity, love, self-restraint and equal vision. Sing Her names. Attain Brahman through Her grace. May Mother Ganga bless you all! May She help you to live on Her banks and practise Yoga and Tapas!

A Silent Teacher The Ganga starts from Gangotri in the Himalayas. She encounters many obstacles on her way, but she finally reaches the goal – the ocean. Similarly, the Sadhaka (spritual aspirant) should never give up his struggle, however insurmountable the obstacles in his path may appear to be. All difficulties and obstacles will be removed through the grace of the Lord if he is sincere YOGALife I Summer 2010

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Meditations from the Upanishads

Meditations from the

Upanishads By Swami Durgananda From a lecture given at the Sivananda Yoga Centre, Berlin, in January 2007

“I am the body; I am the senses; I am the mind; I am the intellect; I am happy; I am unhappy; I am a Brahmin; I am lean; I am black; I am deaf; I am poor; she is my wife; this is my house. Learn to dissociate thyself from conditions like these and realize thy Self as being beyond all conditions whatsoever.” – Jyotirbindu Upanishad, Mantra 10

The essential message of the Upanishads is: you are not the body, not the mind, not the thoughts, not the emotions and not the intellect. Everything you believe yourself to be, you are not. You are only the One, Unchangeable. In the context of meditation, this is called the subject. Everything else is the object, which changes, while the subject remains unchangeable. ‘Soul’, ‘Brahman’, ‘God’, ‘the I’, ‘the Self’, ‘the Source’, ‘the Creator’ and ‘I am that I am’ are just some of the terms used for the subject. Meditation instructions in the Upanishads focus on reducing the thoughts until there is nothing but a single thought. This thought, which is still an object, becomes the subject. In theory, this may seem quite simple, but putting the theory into practice is not easy.

“Thought is a thing. Thought is a dynamic force.” – Yoga-Sara Upanishad, Mantra 6 Thoughts move faster than light. The unrest associated with our thoughts is in principle not negative, as without thoughts there would be no contact with the outside world. The reason why thoughts are considered a limiting object or upadhi, is that they prevent the experience of the underlying Reality. The meditation techniques in the Upanishads teach us how to perceive the thoughts as an object, in order to unite with the subject.


“Withdraw the mind again and again from all sense-objects. Make it one-pointed. Fix it again and again on the Self. Become fearless. Be firm in the vow of Divine Life.” – Advaitamrita Upanishad, Mantra 6 Buddhists call this process ‘awareness’, yogis call it ‘one-pointedness’, and Pantanjali calls it ‘abhyasa’, or constant practice. Whatever the name, the goal is to practise concentration on a single object. It can not be achieved by force as this will create only more unrest. It is better to accept the mind the way nature has created it and to work with it. To practise meditation means to rein in all thoughts and bring the mind back to the object upon which one has chosen to concentrate. This paves the way for peace, quiet and finally ananda, or bliss. Many people prefer to go directly to the allembracing subject, concentrating on nothingness instead of working with a specific object of meditation. They soon realize that this is too difficult as the very nature of the mind is to think of an object. Then they decide to choose a sattvic or pure object to concentrate on – an object that makes the mind light and cheerful. When the concentration has become strong and is undisturbed, the object becomes the subject. The object can be religious or spiritual, or concrete such as in tratak meditation: One gazes at a candle flame placed at eye level and then closes the eyes for a while, focusing on the mental image of the flame.

“Brahman is Light of Lights. He is Selfluminous. He is Supreme Light (Param Jyoti). He is Infinite Light (Ananta Jyoti). He is an embodiment of Light (JyotiSwaroopa). By His Light all these shine.” – Brahmarahasya Upanishad, Mantra 2 As the tratak practice progresses, the light which is initially perceived on the forehead while the eyes are closed, spreads and expands until it eventually envelopes the entire body. The candlelight – the object light – becomes the subject. There is no more difference between candle, candlelight and light; there is simply light. When the object of the meditation is, for example, peace, the process is the same, although it is more difficult because peace is not a concrete object. Therefore, meditation on peace or another abstract concept includes focussing on the breath and a mantra. In this meditation, slow, rhythmic breathing reduces the speed of the thoughts, which are then saturated by the sound of the mantra until no other sound exists. The inner dialogue ceases and one is at peace with the inner and the outer world. The sound itself is peace. The object mantra becomes the subject and spreads. For this to take place, regular practice is necessary. Light, positive, sattvic or pure thoughts are calm and can be more easily transcended. Rajasic (extrovert) or tamasic (dull) thoughts like anger, jealousy and greed are difficult to control. The question, then, is how to purify the thoughts and experience positive thinking. How can I reach a level in which I am pure and sattvic and have a lighter mind? The three sheaths of our subtle body – which are marked by the three components of mind, emotions and actions – must be exercised and purified. For this, the scriptures define three classic paths: Karma Yoga (selfless action), Bhakti Yoga (devotion) and Jnana Yoga (wisdom).

Raja Yoga, which Pantanjali presents as the psychological aspect, was added later and is referred to as the fourth path. Together these paths constitute the synthesis of yoga. The meditation instructions of the Upanishads insist upon the necessity of integrating all human aspects in the process of meditation: the head or thinking, the heart or emotions and the hands or action. Without integral development a person may have a strong intellect yet remain emotionally weak. Often the student approaches a system with preconceived notions, thinking he already knows everything, has experienced just about everything and always has an answer. The ego is very big, doesn’t listen at all and doesn’t ask, because it thinks it already knows everything. Then there is the aspirant who appears to be humble or even submissive; upon closer examination the person is actually quite tamasic. Few aspirants are balanced enough to start directly on the path of the Upanishads. The first step to limit or remove diverse impurities, fluctuations and deceptions of the mind, is the practice of karma yoga. In the Bhagavad Gita, this is described as inaction in action; acting without identifying with the action, acting not of one’s own will, but simply because the situation calls for a certain action. This attitude is the opposite of rajasic motivations such as to earn more money, become famous, pursue a career or to put oneself above others. Selfless action unites, develops a stable personality and supports meditation. Through karma yoga the practitioner begins to perceive the sensitivities of others. A characteristic of depressed or worried people is that their thoughts are all about themselves. With karma yoga, one soon recognizes the difficulties of other people and one´s own problems are put into perspective; one becomes more humble and concentration improves. Swami Sivananda was, and is, very famous for propounding selfless service as part of the synthesis of yoga. In his ashram, everyone had to do everything. The caste system didn’t apply; someone from YOGALife I Summer 2010

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the Brahmin caste was expected to clean the toilets just as well as anyone else. Even without the caste system, hierarchies are everywhere, even in the West. As soon as a person arrives at an ashram or similar community, he or she has to be prepared to do everything. The ego develops a whole new reference to the different tasks, as well as to the other people who are also expected to do everything. A strong sense of brotherhood is the result.

“Where there is no ‘I’, there is release; where there is ‘I’, there is bondage. Man is bound by ‘mine’ but he is released by ‘not mine’.” – Anandabindu Upanishad, Mantra 6 It shouldn’t be the case that a scholar develops his or her scholarly abilities yet is incapable of making a cup of tea, putting clothes away in a closet or telling a joke and being able to laugh about it. A yogi is only a yogi when he or she is balanced and isn’t hiding behind anything. One person might know more about the Upanishads, the other might be more adept at working on a certain task and yet another could be more musically inclined. Swami Vishnudevananda, for example, was a hard worker who could take care of all sorts of jobs. But he could also speak about the Upanishads and at just the right moment be drop-dead funny.

“The sage, who is resting in his own Swaroopa (nature), sports in Atma (Self), ever delights in Atma, looks upon all with equal vision, plays like a child and roams about as nature made him.” – Svaroopabodha Upanishad, Mantra 4 It is very pleasant and refreshing to be in the presence of such a wholesome and balanced person. What all yogis have in common, without exception, is a hands-on attitude and a sense of humour. These two characteristics are the expression of a mind which can approach meditation in a very relaxed manner. With the support of integral yoga practice, meditation comes naturally because the mind is humble, like an unspoiled child who is thankful and full of awe: “Is this chocolate really for me?”, “May I really start trying to meditate?” At this point, a dialogue with the mind can begin: “Are you mature enough? Will you listen to what I am saying or are you going to continue with business as usual?” The mind responds: “I can give it a try…” For five, ten minutes, everything is fine. No itches, the back and knees feel okay. The aspirant is unaware of what is going in the room and only hears the inner sound: “OM, OM”, or “SOHAM” (I am THAT). But then the voice of the mind returns and the dialogue continues: •“Okay, that’s enough now. What is the use of this anyway?” •“Please calm down just a bit longer. Yesterday you were quiet for an entire fifteen minutes.” •“Yesterday was yesterday and today is today. I am


hungry now”, or “I want to get up now”, or “I want to watch the news and call a friend – and I don’t feel like doing this anymore.” Slowly one has to begin denying the mind its wishes, outside the actual concentration practice, not as an obligation but of one’s own free will. Tapas or austerity is the name of this practice. “The cake is in front of me but I don’t eat it” – that is austerity. Not having enough money to buy the cake is a different situation. Here the mind knows that it must obey. Whichever way tapas is practised, the next day the mind may already have forgotten. This phenomenon, called maya or illusion, can be compared to a firework: a flash in the sky and moments later it has simply disappeared.

“Maya is the illusory power of the Lord. It is neither Sat (existence) nor Asat (non-existence).” – Brahmarahasya Upanishad, Mantra 13 In meditation, as soon as we say, “It works”, the concentration is gone. Even the observation, “Now the meditation is good”, means that it has already slipped away. Approaching meditation with childlike humility certainly helps. The technique is not complicated: breathe calmly, concentrate on a point, have an object to contemplate on and enter meditation. Let everything go. Imagine being surrounded by a transparent plastic box, and that any mosquito, fly or wasp which comes your way bounces off the box. Imagine that no thoughts are able to make it through the prana or energy sheath you have surrounded yourself with. Another method is to imagine being surrounded by a ball of light. Visualisations like these are actually easy to create. If it is possible to see an apple or a pear where there is none, why shouldn’t it be possible to picture a ball of light around yourself, even if it isn’t really there? It requires intense concentration and thinking about nothing else. Otherwise the ball of light disappears, just like the apple is gone when you start thinking about a pear. As you continue with this practice, you understand that it is you yourself who creates the thoughts, the sheaths, or the upadhis. When you refrain from creating the thoughts, you reach the subject. While the principle is simple, it requires daily practice to experience it. All types of excesses are counterproductive to meditation: too much food or sugar, coffee, black tea, alcohol and cigarettes all hinder concentration and thus meditation. One’s entire life has to be aligned with the intention to meditate.

“If the mind is filled with Sattva (purity), the other two Gunas (Rajas, passion and Tamas, inertia) will perish by themselves. The mind will become very subtle and steady like a lamp in a windless spot.” – Jyotirbindu Upanishad, Mantra 5


If that is not the case, meditation is boring, since nothing happens. How wonderful it is when you have adjusted your life accordingly and you succeed.

Poet’s Corner

“If you identify with the Absolute Consciousness, having dissociated thyself from the body, you will enjoy this very moment supreme peace, eternal bliss and highest knowledge. You will be absolutely free from bondage.” – Vicharabindu Upanishad, Mantra 7

Lifes ifs and buts

You are calm, content and responsible amidst the chaotic conditions of daily life. Many things don’t have the same importance as they once did and you keep the upper hand. These are just some of the wonderful side benefits. In karma yoga, the challenge is to be open to new experiences, act to the best of one’s ability and especially not to be afraid of making mistakes. The same approach, along with a large dose of humility, is important in approaching meditation. Progress is only possible when meditation is not seen as something difficult and heavy. Meditation is light, natural, innocent, plain, wholesome and pure. With practice, the aspirant glides imperceptibly into meditation. For this to happen you have to be gentle, honest, pure and free from desires, greed and egoism. Real meditation regenerates more effectively than any tonic or antioxidant remedies. During meditation the cells are filled with ojas (power), tejas (brilliance) and prana (vital energy). People who meditate – even if they are far from reaching samadhi or the superconscious state – have a certain shine on their skin and hair and a lovely twinkle in their eyes. People who meditate appear fresh, even if their youth is far behind them. All this and much more happens when you regularly practise meditation.

“The impressions of discipline and Sadhana (spiritual practice) are never lost. They bear fruits in due time. Therefore thou dost not grieve. Do vigorous Sadhana daily.” – Vicharabindu Upanishad, Mantra 14 Swami Durgananda is Yoga Acharya (spiritual director) of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Europe. e-mail: [email protected]

If you can look and see the truth of other faiths And not be swayed by promises or threats And let erring people say you hold erroneous views, Yet wish them success with their own beliefs, If you can hold on and tell your simple truth That God is one and has so many names, He loves us all of myriad creeds and faiths, He loves us all of different shades and shapes. He is mother, father, sister, brother, or what you wish. If your wishing is sincere in heart Yet all he wants; is love for him and all his works; For is he not the merciful Lord of the Universe? If you can suffer tragic sorrow yet lay no blame And know it gifted by the Soverign hand, These are but blessings and very disguised friends. How can we know before, about the very end? But when things go well and go all your way Don’t forget to say 'Lord thank you’ for the day. He moulded shapes in clay and blew them dry; And filled them with his 'atmic’ Holiness. So cherish and choose what came in from on high, Don’t seek it here and there in a fruitless quest Like the musk deer frantic for its own navel scent. Yet some seek to find a difference in the make. Does the mighty maker want to make mistakes? He has equal vision but we have erring sight. We thus deluded see others in a different light. If you knew we have a common self in all Then neighbour, stranger, friend and foe alike Reflect this self in all, a pact of universal might. So in hurting others we hurt our very self. Keeping this in mind be mindful of the final goal, Keep right on; give; serve; love; purify; and master mind control. Many tread the path but few maintain The ernest faith. So, so many fall No matter, rise, and then walk again. Faith sees the things the faithless do not see Firm of purpose, with incredible beliefs It awards rewards; impossible beyond belief, Kill your ego, lust, anger, greed, hatred and jealousy; Seek equal vision, wisdom, devotion, and mind mastery. Praise the Lord and he may grant these things. Praise and honour him with love and no attached strings. Be non attached yet in ‘samsaric reality’. If by grace and purpose you know Tat Twam Asi, If you cross these hurdles and yet maintain humility, Hope and pray my friends; all this will set you Free. M.S.K. Putney Oct ‘96 (Maan) Acknowledgement: with apologies to Swami Sivananda and Rudyard Kipling


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The Divine Grace of Mother Ganga

The Divine Grace of

Mother Ganga

Swami Vishnudevananda had a special reverence and devotion for Mother Ganga. As a young Swami, he spent 10 years with Swami Sivananda near the River Ganga in Rishikesh, and in his later years he made many pilgrimages to her banks for Sadhana and meditation. God Pervades Everything Swami Vishnudevananda often used to recount one of his earliest experiences with Swami Sivananda. In 1946, when he was still a young man fresh from being discharged from the army, he was visiting Master’s ashram in Rishikesh and attended the evening Arati (waving of lights). All the devotees and inmates of the Ashram assembled by the banks of the Ganga to watch Master perform the evening worship of the river. The young visitor was sceptical. After all, he had a scientific temperament and knew that a river is only water, H2O – imagine worshipping H2O! But as he stood and watched, the Master turned and smiled knowingly at Swamiji who saw the river transform into a mass of flowing light. In that instant, the river assumed a divine flow, a manifestation of the Grace of the Lord. It whispered this message to him “God pervades everything – this too is His Special Form.” This experience entirely changed his outlook on life. Swami Sivananda then told the young man to remain at the Ashram. Swami Vishnudevananda spontaneously replied “Yes”.

Waves of Energy In 1986, Swami Vishnudevananda decided to stay at Sivananda Guha, a small cave in Gangotri, for the winter months. A small kutir was built into the cave and stocked with firewood and food for the winter. Swamiji remained in the cave to practice meditation and mouna (silence). During December, temperatures dropped and the cave was completely isolated by waist deep snow. All roads had been closed. Swamiji wrote of his experiences in a letter to the staff of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres: “I am very happy to be near the Mother Ganges, the vibration of Her is far beyond description. Waves of energy are moving towards humanity to soothe with her


cool nectar-like energy. I am praying for all your spiritual growth. Do not neglect your Sadhana. Time is short. You can all reach the very goal which all Rishis and sages attained in this very birth. Stick to discipline. Repeat God’s name and do lots of pranayama to keep the mind peaceful. If you neglect your Sadhana then the mind will be filled with weeds. Keep up your duties. Pray with all your hearts that Maya will not overpower you. Only by God’s grace you will be able to overcome these forces.”

Time is Fleeting The following month Swami Vishnudevananda wrote another letter: “By the Grace of God, Ganga Ma and Gurudev my health is alright and I am enjoying the peace and solitude. I am regularly praying for all of your health and spiritual progress. Time is fleeting. Life is being burnt like an oil flame and many of my childhood friends are gone. So also this body is waiting to finish its karma. Do not waste time. Use every minute in Japa, pranayama and other spiritual activities. Maya is waiting to push you from the spiritual path. Before you know it you are in the old rut. Only the Grace of God and Guru will help you. Your own effort is successful only when God’s Grace comes. So pray, pray and pray. For me day and night are all same. Sixty years of my life are gone just like a dream. Born, grown up and now in old age. Many things only exist in past memory. There is difference between the time I spent as a young Swami in the Himalayas and now at 60 an old Swami. In those days the body was under control. Walking, hiking, etc. were easy, but the mind was turbulent. Now the body is weak but, by the Grace of God, the mind is calm and strong. In younger days the mind used to plan too many things. Now the mind wants solitude. In those days physical discipline was easy. Now the physical body can do very little.


“I am very happy to be near the Mother Ganges, the vibration of Her is far beyond description“ – Swami Vishnudevananda

Swami Vishnudevananda in seclusion at Sivananda Guha, Gangotri on the banks of the Ganga.


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Above left and right: Swami Vishnudevananda as a young Swami on the banks of the Ganga near Rishikesh.

Above left: Swami Vishnudevananda meditates outside the cave at Gangotri Above right: A Bhagavata Saptaha recital takes place inside the cave

In those days I thought only physical action can bring success. Now it is the opposite. You can do every thing by thought alone. Thought is the only reality. Body – you feel like a worn out shoe but with the mind you see the world in a different way. That concrete world now only looks like a mirage. No permanent entity. People you see like phantoms, moving in a shadowy world show. They do not see that their existence is only the darkness. When the light comes their phantom body and world will disappear like a mist. When the light comes it is beyond any description. You can only see Peace, Shanti, Shalom. But no words. Time disappears. So also day and night have no meaning. Good and bad also have no real sense here. Your mind becomes like Himalayan snow. Nothing to compare because there is only white snow everywhere. The mind is struggling to go beyond duality but only a glimpse of that non-dual state. It falls back to duality. Just a few minutes ago time was unreal but now it strikes like a cobra. Again and again the mind is moving like a pendulum. At times it does not move. At times the


opposite takes place. Yes, all Maya’s play! With these few thoughts I close this letter. I pray for all of you.” – Swami Vishnudevananda

Final Resting place As the summer of 1993 came to an end, Swami Vishnudevananda spoke more frequently about going back to India. Often Swamiji would say: “ I want to go to Uttarkashi and leave my body by the Ganga.” On November 9th, 1993, Swamiji attained his wish. He left the physical body near Mookambika, south India, and on November 11th, as per the Sannyas tradition, the body was immersed into the Holy Ganga at Uttarkashi. This ceremony is called jala-samadhi. After so many years of selfless dedication and hard work, Swamiji had finally returned to the embrace of the Mother. Compiled by Chandra Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre London

Sivananda Yoga Prison Project

Swami Padmapadananda

Mahadev

San Francisco: Letters are piling up faster than ever – two or three being received each day. We are grateful for the people who have dedicated their time to help out. By the Grace of Mother Lakshmi enough donations were received to keep the Project alive.

Yoga Ranch, New York: Veteran inmate Bill, who has been practicing Yoga for the last 13 years (since the program started), now helps with the teaching of the classes when Mahadev Chaitanya is unable to come. Mahadev Chaitanya also teaches regularly at Otissville Federal prison, where he also taught an all-day intensive program of asana classes and lectures on Yoga and meditation. The intention is to motivate more inmates to join the regular practices and to prepare the ground for a future TTC in prison.

Donations should be sent to Sivananda Prison Project, 1200 Arguello Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94122. We take PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, checks, and cash. Phone for credit card transactions 415-6812731. For more information about the Project please visit our website www.sfyoga.org.

Statistics for May 2009 - May 2010 (Ranch & San Francisco): Total income: $4937 Total expenditure: $5920 255 CIBY, 51 M&M, 13 SYVC books, 45 Swami Sivananda books Total books sent: 364

Thy Own Self, Swami Padmapadananda from San Francisco

Prisoners Letters Dear Swami Padmapadananda, And everyone at the center, Thank you so very much for your kindness in sending me the The Complete Illustrated book of Yoga by Swami Visnu – Devananda.I can never thank you enough for your great kindness to me, at what seems like the low point of my life. Your gift to me of the path of yoga, and your willingness without

hesitation to help me open my eyes and mind to the realization that there is only this moment. I will practice and stay in touch, with loving kindness. JB Dear Friend, I want to inform you that I received the book that you sent me named The Complete Illustrated book of Yoga. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am sure this book will prove to be very beneficial to me both spiritually and physically. As I am on a journey to finding my true self. I cannot thank you enough. May the creator continue to increase you on every level. God Bless. One mind, One body, One soul. JW

Dear Swami Padma, Thank you so much for the book of yoga! My aches and pains have eased so much and I feel great after my daily practice, most everything is going well. JW Dear Swami Padma, Namaste. I received the books and letter you sent and am very grateful for your guidance and generosity. I have already found the book Meditation and Mantras to be very helpful in deepening my understanding of the yogic path. And the Bhagavad Gita will be a guiding light that I shall keep with me always. Thank you. DW


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The Influence of SwamiVishnudevananda in the West By Swami Mahadevananda Swami Vishnudevananda was sent to the West in 1957 by his guru and teacher, with the words “people are waiting for yoga”. He set off with 50 rupees in his pocket, a young man full of vision, discipline and supreme faith in the teachings that he had absorbed under the guidance and tutelage of his teacher, the saint Swami Sivananda. He was unsure of where he was going, nor exactly what he was going to do, but he knew he would be guided and he had no hesitation in stepping into what for him was the vast unknown. Within a few years he had established his first yoga centre, in Montreal, then his first ashram and within a short thirty years a world-wide organisation, dedicated to the teaching of yoga. This organisation is now considered one of the largest and most successful in the world, a huge accomplishment considering the impact that yoga is continuing to exert on the population in the West. It is estimated that some thirty million people in the US

Swami Vishnudevananda was a pioneer and a visionary. He was one of the first to teach yoga in the West. alone practise yoga on a daily basis and the numbers are incalculable in other countries throughout the world. Swami Vishnudevananda was a pioneer and a visionary. He was one of the first to teach yoga in the West, following the ancient tradition of passing the knowledge from guru to disciple. In 1969 he established the first Yoga Teachers’ Training Course in the West, not only to train yoga teachers, but to create leaders. The course focuses on inner discipline, where control of the mind and development of inner peace, contentment, generosity, love and compassion are part of the curriculum. Swami Vishnudevananda taught that world peace can only be achieved if there is inner peace within each individual. His mission was to train as many teachers as possible who would practice this inner discipline, but who would also be able to pass this knowledge on to others. To date over 25,000 teachers have been trained and the numbers are continuing to increase annually.


In addition Swami Vishnudevananda carried out a mission of peace in the world. In the 1960s and 1970s he flew over countries in conflict, including Egypt and Israel, Pakistan and India, and Northern Ireland, in a brightly painted Piper Apache plane, distributing leaflets and flowers calling for peace. His missions were daring and courageous and through them he drew the attention of the world’s media to the folly of war. He made a record-breaking trip in a microlight aircraft over the Berlin Wall in 1983 when people were shot for such attempts. He is considered instrumental in the fall of the Berlin Wall as a result of this trip. He met with the Beatles in the mid-sixties and had a profound impact on George Harrison who in turn passed many of Swami Vishnudevananda’s teachings on to the hundreds of thousands of fans that followed the Beatles. Swami Vishnudevananda’s influence spreads far and wide and continues to grow. Sivananda Yoga Centres opened recently in Lithuania, Japan and Italy; Teachers’ Training Courses are being held for the first time in Thailand, Vietnam, and Poland. His legacy of peace for both the individual and for the world is incalculable and his message becomes ever-more powerful as the world faces escalating crises in society and the environment.

Left: Swami Vishnudevananda’s Peace Plane in the 1970’s. Right: Swamiji piloting his Microlight plane over the Berlin Wall in 1983.

Swami Vishnudevananda giving a lecture (above) and helping students during a yoga class (right)

The Influence of India in theWest The influence of India on the West through the ages has been well-documented. The spiritual power that emanates from India throughout the world is known to all scholars of history. The Hindu religion is considered the oldest of all living religions, with its revealed scriptures going back many thousands of years. Its tenets are considered universal truths that are as relevant today as they were in the past. It is for this reason that India has acquired a powerful spiritual presence on earth and is considered to be the heart of spirituality in the world. Sages, god-men and women, saints and seers have abounded in the history of India and continue to do so. This force is felt throughout the world and has a powerful effect on maintaining spiritual life in a world that is becoming increasingly materialistic. Western nations are descendants of the original Aryans originating from the Indus Valley. The ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome owe much of their language to Sanskrit and their philosophy to the Upanishads and the Vedas, the ancient texts of Hinduism. Christ is considered to have spent many years in northern India practising the spiritual

teachings of the great sages of the time. In the words of Swami Sivananda “India is a spiritual country. India never conquered territories or annexed dominions. Military conquest is not her ambition. She wants her children to have Absolute Independence. She does not call upon them to rule over others. She wants them to have conquest over internal nature. She wants them to possess brilliant divine virtues, moral stamina and inner spiritual strength, born of wisdom of the soul. Non-violence is her weapon to gain the spiritual conquest and the conquest of the minds of others. India is the sacred land with holy rivers and powerful spiritual vibrations. India is the land of yogins and sages, rishis, philosophers, saints and high intellectuals. The doctrines of Indian philosophy are sublime. Its ethics are soul elevating. Its scriptures are wonderful. It has an eternal message to give to a world rent asunder by hatred, dissension and war — the message of cosmic love, truth and non-violence.” Swami Mahadevananda is the Yoga Acharya (spiritual director) for the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Ashrams and Centres in India, Canada, Italy and Japan.


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The Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course Experience

The first Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course was was taught by Swami Vishnudevananda in 1969. Since that time over 25,000 students from all over the world have undergone the training. Here are a few personal experience from past graduates of the course.

Personal experiences of the Teachers’ Training Course A Pleasant Surprise Dear Swamis, I have been wanting to write this email since after coming back from the excellent TTC in October but became busy with routine work. First of all, I would like to convey my sincere thanks to all of you for the excellent teaching during the course. As someone of Indian origin, when I first attended the TTC in August of 2008, I was pleasantly surprised that Sivananda TTC involves not only the physical aspects of Yoga but has a great deal of emphasis placed on the Vedantic philosophy, meditation, and Bhakti Yoga. It was a great privilege to learn from the direct disciples of Swami Vishnudevananda. Your devotion to him was shown in the dedication and sincerity with which all aspects of the course are taught. It was a great opportunity to meet other students from all


over Europe and other parts of the world with different backgrounds and in different stages of life with varying aspirations but a common goal of becoming a Yoga teacher. It was obvious although the reason behind everyone wanting to become a Yoga teacher was different, the TTC had made a profound impact on their way of thinking and hopefully towards a more fulfilling life. It has personally made a lot of difference in my own personal and professional life. I will be starting a Yoga class at my hospital for the staff from this coming March for which I seek your blessings. With this I would like to again thank you and the Sivananda organisation for continuing to spread the true message of Yoga and contribute towards World Peace. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Om Namah Sivaya Tarun

The Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course Experience

Personal experiences of the Teachers’ Training Course So Much Wonderful Prana! Dear Swamis, Happy New Year! I wish you all a lot of love, peace and happiness for 2010! 2009 was the year that I become a yoga teacher and my girlfriend a child yoga teacher. 2010 is the year that starts at “0” again and it also really feels like a new start for us. The TTC in September in Reith was superb! I learned a lot and it gave me new insights. On Facebook I saw a couple of photos of the TTC and it made me a little bit sad. Sad that I wasn’t there anymore, that the TTC was over. But now my life is just beginning I was thinking and that gave me a lot of happiness! But also a little worrying, because at home it’s not always easy to create a safe and pranaful surrounding like in the ashram. However the ‘Sivananda prana’ is in me, given by my Swamis, western society is eager to pull me back. Problems with some family members, because I’m changed. Troubles with my new job in a wellness resort, because a rajastic yoga teacher was not really happy with me as her new colleague (who also knows something about yoga). And sometimes those and other things worry me, but I know that what I’m doing is good! I learned it from you and I received so much wonderful prana in Reith! So I don’t want to see some family relatives for the next years. And my job at the wellness resort has already ended. I worked in this company because I wanted to make a difference in this very commercial place. That’s why they asked me to make the place more a ‘yoga place’. And of course it would be nice to offer my services to build up a better place for the hundreds of people that come weekly to this resort. To give a little extra relaxation and peace in this place. Exactly that gave me a lot of energy to work in a place like this. Sometimes I had one hundred yoga students a day. To one hundred people I gave a little yoga prana! Many times I heard people ask each other if there was also yoga in their village. Frequently people asked me what yoga I gave. And several yoga teachers asked me where I did my study. Almost every day I gave one or more guests the internet address of Sivananda. Wonderful! So I know that what I’m doing is good. For the last few years I already tried to live like the two first limbs of Raja Yoga. And now after the TTC I’m totally ready for it! (also

ready for the ATTC of course) and I really feel the prana that I received from you at the TTC! At that time I only thought I received the energy, …great, super, but that’s it. But for example, two months later I helped my girlfriend with some worries. And I was astonished about my own beautiful words! My girlfriend told me that she heard nice words before from me, but these were really very wise words! The TTC has changed me for the better, that’s for sure! Thank you very much Sivananda, Vishnudevananda and the swamis who carry out this beautiful work! I hope to be with you again soon. Om Tat Sat! Chaitanya (Ron Luttmer)

Important for Humanity My name is Leonard Radut and I was at TTC in august 2008. What I want to say is that yoga is now a very important part of my life. I like to do yoga and that 30 days in Tyrol at the TTC were very good for me. Now I am doing yoga 1 – 3 hours a day and, in some week-ends even 24 hours continous. Now I have a yoga course in Bucharest with some people and a website in Romanian with a good visibility in the ‘world’ of Romanian yoga. At this course we are doing hatha yoga, a ‘how to eat’ course, even a Bhaghavad Gita course and a meditation course. We are doing a lot of ‘Who am I’ meditation (self introspection) and meditation that is coming from Christianity named ‘Isihasm’ (it is something devotional, when the practitioner is asking for Divine Bliss). I am not eating meat and I think I have a sattvic eating style. I am saying this for you to know that the seeds from Sivananda are in good hands. I think your work, karma yoga, is very good for me and it is having results. I hope that I will transform and become a good disciple. I thank you for your yoga course and I think that this action is very important for humanity. Thank you, thank you, thank you very much for all. Have a nice and spiritual life! Leonard Radut


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Yoga of the Heart

By Julie Deife* Nischala Joy Devi dedicated her life to yoga when she was in her twenties. Prior to that she had been a physician’s assistant, trained in modern medicine. At the Integral Yoga Institute where she served as a monastic disciple for 25 years, Swami Satchidananda** guided her in the direction of merging western medicine with yoga. She is the author of The Healing Power of Yoga and The Secret Power of Yoga, A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras. Julie: Without intending to do so, it seems you were one of the early yoga therapists in this country. Nischala: When I started at our ashram in Connecticut, we had one of the first holistic clinics. I didn’t have a title. We didn’t call things yoga therapist in those days. I just taught yoga to the patients with amazing results. Later I worked with Dean Ornish and Michael Lerner from the Commonweal Cancer Program. I had no idea it would make an impact on society as it has. Julie: How important is research on yoga? Nischala: We live in a western country that believes in research. I don’t think it makes a difference in how it affects people. That’s just what we like. There was a story recently by a physician who writes regularly for the San Francisco Chronicle. He was asked about acupuncture, and he went to China and had them show him the different ways they use acupuncture. He writes about observing an open-heart surgery on a woman with three needles in her ear. That was all, three needles. He was astounded by it; he took pictures and everything. Afterwards he said to the physicians, “I’d love to see your research on this.” And they burst out laughing. “Only Americans want to see this!”. But it’s growing. People in the United States like to see studies. Julie: Including people in the medical profession. Nischala: And patients. When you go for a drug even, you want to see a clinical trial to see if this works. To me,

yoga’s been around for five thousand years. Doesn’t that work? But that’s not everybody. I honor both sides. My only concern with this is that people will forget that it’s a wisdom tradition, that it’s not a medical treatment plan. We chose to do our clinical trial on heart disease and yoga so people could see the results of yoga. That’s why it made such an impression on people. Julie: How is what you did with the Commonweal Cancer Program different? Nischala: We treated the whole person, and their hearts got better. I didn’t do anything specifically for their hearts, except maybe a little imagery. But basically the asanas that were done could have been done for arthritis, they could have been done for cancer, whatever. But in trusting the intelligence of the body, it will correct itself. The intelligence is nothing other than the spirit that came in physical form, and I have a tremendous respect for that. We don’t need to correct the body. I just need to get stress and the tension out of the way and let it correct itself. Julie: So often we hear that we can heal ourselves. Doesn’t that make you feel guilty, when people adopt this belief, try it with all their heart and then don’t get well? Nischala: Absolutely. There are two aspects here: one is that we can heal ourselves, the flip side of that is that we cause our own disease. This is a misinterpretation of a very high philosophy. A high philosophy can be

* This article is taken from an interview given to Julie Diefe for the LA Yoga Magazine ** Swami Satchidananda was a disciple of Swami Sivananda and Gurubai of Swami Vishnudevananda 22 YOGALife I Summer 2010

Yoga of the Heart

misunderstood when brought down to the mundane. On the causal plain, these things manifest. It’s not that we cause illness or disease. It’s already there on the causal plain, and it filters down to the physical body. So, it’s not that I’m doing something bad for my knee if it hurts. Instead, there’s some reason on the causal plain that it filtered down, that this particular knee would be affected in that way. Again, we try to simplify everything in the west. We say, “Oh, you caused your pain. If you just changed your attitude, the pain would go away.” Julie: It also becomes egocentric when we say, “I caused this and I can heal it.” Nischala: That’s right. There’s the mistaken identity that the ego is in charge instead of the divine self. The divine self has certain lessons that it needs to learn and part of it is through the body. Julie: Beautiful. Whatever we’re handed is a gift from the divine, to help us learn.

“We treated the whole person, and their hearts got better" Nischala: A line from a Rumi poem that expresses this is: “I needed more grace than I thought.” To me, this means that the grace brings us to knowing whether we can change the physical, change our attitude toward the physical or accept it all. What yoga tells us is that there’s really only one cause for disease, which is that we have forgotten who we are. And all of this is just to remind us of that. Swami Satchidananda used to say, “the hospitals are the ashrams of today.” He said you can’t get people to go into an ashram, so they go into a hospital instead where they’re made to sit with themselves, to really look inside and see what their life is about. Julie: Although, a lot of people in hospitals are on so many drugs that it’s impossible to have any kind of introspection or real external communication. Nischala: A lot of people are still coherent enough. And they look at their life. “What happens if I don’t get out of here?” “What’s important to me?” Julie: Why did you call your new book The Secret Power of Yoga? Nischala: I really believe that within Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, it’s all there. I wanted people to understand the yoga sutras in a simple way that relates to us now, yet keeps the essence of it intact. That’s the secret power of yoga, how it can relate to us right now.

Julie: But you tackled this for another reason, too, and that is to have a feminine perspective of the yoga sutras. Nischala: Absolutely. The ways the text has been translated bothered me for a long time. You see, the yoga sutras have three books, and the third book talks about psychic powers and spiritual powers, and what’s ironic to me is that many women already have those powers. Julie: You use words like miraculous and intuition, and you also foray into left and right brain hemisphere roles and differences. Nischala: And the polarization between the heart and the head. I got to know Patanjali well during this and we had a very intimate relationship. There’s a story in the back of the book where I tell about a direct transmission from him in India. I learned Patanjali was a reformer. He realized that the times were changing – it was shifting into Kali Yuga, which is the Iron Age – and that people were not going to read the Vedas. People were not going to read the Upanishads. So what he did was say, “I’m going to make this simple for people so we can keep it, and I’m going to talk to them in a simple way, and I’m going to distill the Upanishads, the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita into 195 aphorisms.” He was a reformer who was talking to the people of his day. Now we’re coming to the other side of Kali Yuga and the repression of women that took place during that period is disappearing and women are taking the spotlight again. I felt that this is the next reformation and the next reforming of the yoga sutras for a particular group of people that are now emerging and practicing was needed. Julie: I suppose also that cultural events shaped many translations during this time. Nischala: Yet the truth is truth. The British ruled India for over 200 years and during that time the sacred teachings were never translated, they were always kept in the ancient languages. When the British came in, they then began translating some of these scriptures into English. It’s like taking a peach and trying to make apple pie out of it. They were translated into a pragmatic language like English, and affected by what was happening during the Protestant reformation and a puritanical movement in Europe and England during the 1800’s. A puritanical mindset was brought in when the Sutras, the Gita and the Vedas were translated. Julie: These were attempts at understanding, though, were they not? Nischala: Yes, but they didn’t understand it, because of their mindset. What happened is for instance, what I consider these incredible teachings of the yama and niyama reduced to the Ten Commandments. Yama and niyama doesn’t tell us what thou shalt not do. What it YOGALife I Summer 2010

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Yoga of the Heart

says, and again this is my way of thinking because I wrote from Sat Yuga consciousness, is “this is who you are.” Ahimsa does not say to you, don’t kill anyone. Julie: What does ahimsa say? Nischala: It says to have reverence for all beings, which is a very different way of looking at it. It’s not someone standing there and shaking their finger at you and saying don’t do this. Instead it’s saying (whispered) “remember who you are. Remember if you’re a divine being, how you would act.” I’d have reverence for all beings. I’d speak the truth with integrity.It’s not that I wouldn’t steal anything; it’s not even in my thoughts. And instead of saying non-greed or greedlessness, I’d say I have an awareness of abundance. If I have an awareness of abundance, why would I be greedy? I’d think it’s just going to keep flowing. Julie: Clearly, you took it from a different perspective.

What yoga tells us is that there’s really only one cause for disease, which is that we have forgotten who we are." Nischala: I took it standing at a Sat Yuga consciousness…. already that… namaste… thou art that. Julie: Your thoughts on yoga therapy as profession. What should we be paying attention to? Nischala: Yoga has very little to do with anything other than a relationship with ourselves. And as westerners, we don’t really know very much about a relationship with ourselves. We’re told “don’t’ just stand there, do something.” We can’t sit with ourselves for ten or fifteen minutes even, let alone a long period of time. The most important thing to me about yoga therapy is that the therapist knows who they are. And how we know who we are is that we have some kind of practice. It doesn’t have to be sitting for five hours, but it has to be some kind of relationship with self. I’ve worked with many people over the years and people get burned out. Or they go and they say I’m gonna save this person, and what happens is that for people who are ill, their prana is generally lower. If you sit with them it’s almost like a siphon. If you’re not filling completely, if you’re not getting it from within you or above or wherever you get it from you’re going to be empty.

what’s convincing them to do it. If I ever thought for one second that I was healing them, my prana would be deleted. I know that I’m not healing them. And I tell my students and patients who come to me, “I can’t heal you.” You’re the only one who can heal you with this divine energy. I can’t do it. It has to come from within. Julie: People who call themselves healers are people who know who they are and allow others to heal themselves, is that right? Nischala: They’re holding up a mirror of strong prana to somebody, saying, “this is what it looks like, mimic that.” They’re teaching people how to heal themselves. That is the greatness of yoga. When we started with our heart study in our Commonweal Cancer Program, one of the main things that we realized in the beginning was that we couldn’t heal anybody. And we would tell people this, and they would get real upset with us and they would say, “well, that’s what I came to you for.” I’d say, “no, no, no, you didn’t come to us to be healed, you came to us because you didn’t know how, because you needed guidance to help yourself heal.” I think it’s a very presumptuous to call yourself a healer. And I don’t really know any great healers who would call themselves healers. You can be seen as a healer. You can be known as a healer, but you always know who the healer is, really. Julie: The discussion of yoga therapy as an emerging profession is pretty new. What do you think about that? Nischala: It scares me. I overheard someone in the elevator at the yoga therapy conference say that some people are saying that you should have a bachelor’s degree before you can be a yoga therapist. I’m thinking that’s not to me what a yoga therapist is. Julie: What is it? Nischala: It’s becoming more and more academic, and if that’s what people think is yoga therapy, then who am I to say it’s not? I just know that when I sit with someone, they don’t care what kind of degree I have; they don’t care what kind of study I did, they just care if I’m present with them, if I’m peaceful and if I love them. But it’s the American way, what’s happening here and with yoga in this country. To a certain extent I’m part of it, and to a certain extent I refuse to be part of it. Julie: Can you have yoga without the spiritual? Nischala: Can you have water without wetness? I don’t think it’s possible.

Julie: As healers then, we need to maintain good prana. Nischala: That’s another question, who’s the healer? When I’ve sat with people, I don’t really see them as someone who is ill. They’re just another being on this plain, trying to realize who they are, and the body is


Nischala Joy Devi teaches at retreats and conferences worldwide. www.abundantwellbeing.com

Ayurveda and Womens’ Health

By Dr. (Mrs) Anjani S. Kulkarni and Dr. Sanjay Kulkarni Ayurveda has focused on various aspects of women’s lives in a special way, because women are the centre of family life. Mothers are responsible for radiating happiness, bliss and health to their families. Mothers are the source of love for the entire family, and have to handle all the different relationships with children, husband, parents, in-laws and so on. Family life remains protected if the woman is safe and protected. A crying baby quickly calms down in the mother’s lap. Here, more than anywhere else, the baby receives unconditional love, feelings of safety, assurance, contentment and happiness. This is the greatness of motherhood, which only a woman can provide, and is precisely why she is worshiped as God. While creating the universe, the Almighty God, the Supreme Creator, had to take the assistance of Mother Earth in his creation. A seed might be very good, but if the land is not fertile or if it doesn’t even exist, then the seed is of no use. In the same way, the woman who carries the foetus in her womb for nine months must be given great importance. It is true that if a mother does not have a healthy physiology, then the next generation will also not be healthy. It is very important to think sincerely about women’s health, otherwise the coming generation will be born with imbalances and disease. The gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas, play a vital role in women’s health. Sattva increasing activities, such as performing yoga asanas, pranayama, meditation and

eating a sattvic diet of fresh, warm and pure vegetarian food, will always help a woman to stay healthy. It will increase sattva and diminish the rajasic and tamasic qualities, especially in adolescence, pregnancy and menopause. Before considering the specific issues in female health, it is useful to define health generally as an ayurvedic concept. A simple definition of health would be: “Establishing balance between the physiology and one’s own inner intelligence”. It means coming back to your own nature, your own being, yourself. The different stages in a woman’s life which affect this connection are: •Menarche and the onset of menstruation at puberty •Menstruation and the childbearing years •Pregnancy and motherhood •Menopause and the end of menstruation

Menarche and the onset of menstruation at puberty Adolescence, between the ages of 12 and 16 years, is a time when many physical, hormonal and psychological changes take place in the life of a girl. Preparation for future motherhood starts right from this age. Neglecting health in adolescence may give rise to later problems in health and fertility, so proper care is absolutely essential. Care should be taken of the following points, in the following ways.


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Psychological care Adolescence is a time of change, when the little girl starts to grow up. The physical and psychological changes can bring about feelings of confusion. At times, problems concerning these changes may make her feel depressed. At this time, a mother should create a bond of friendship with her daughter, which will help the daughter, and give answers to her questions regarding these changes. Mothers play an important role in giving information, security, faith and nourishment to girls of this age. A mother should create secure surroundings around her daughter, so that she can share all her secrets with her mother. At this age, a girl may follow a wrong path, due to her immaturity, and her mother should be aware of this possibility.

Physical care Proper guidance and information about menstruation and physical changes such as breast development, growth of pubic hair and so on should be given to adolescent girls. Menstruation starts at around 14 years old, but varies according to health, lifestyle and heredity. Sometimes it doesn’t start until the age of 16 years. A girl may develop an inferiority complex in this situation, and ayurvedic counselling and some herbs can help. Proper hygiene is necessary during the menstrual period, as unhygienic conditions may give rise to infection. Some girls face problems such as cramps or pain in the lower abdomen before the menses or at the onset of menses. A gentle massage with warm sesame oil followed by the application of a hot water bottle relieves this pain.

Wholesome diet A wholesome, sattvic, vegetarian diet should include: •Wheat, bulgur, oats, rice, soya bean and dinkle •Soups prepared with mung dhal, red lentils or garbanzo beans •All kinds of vegetables •Green leafy vegetables, salads, tomato, cucumber, beet and carrots •Cow’s milk, butter, ghee and buttermilk •All kinds of fruit; at least one fruit should be consumed every day.

Menstruation and the childbearing years Monthly menstruation should be considered a health advantage, as the whole body is purified at this time. Ayurveda especially views menstruation as a unique female physiological function, which is beneficial to the health and happiness of women during their childbearing years. It keeps the body and mind prepared for reproduction. Beyond reproduction, it also gives a regular opportunity for women to eliminate the accumulated ama, toxins or waste products, which have the power to create disease. For many women, menstruation is a common, normal and easy monthly elimination. But for some, it is a time of intense pain, emotional upset and instability.

The main causes of difficulty in menstruation are: •Improper diet •Lack of exercise •Improper daily routines •Stressful environment •Irregular sleeping times For all these reasons, the bodily doshas become imbalanced, the digestive fire diminishes and ama accumulation starts. Ama is the excess metabolic waste product created during the month. Menstrual cramps, diarrhea, nausea and heavy blood loss are more likely to occur during the menstrual period if the body needs to eliminate ama. As these symptoms are ama-related, some women may feel light and enthusiastic after their menstrual period is over, although it is difficult for them during the menstruating days.

For comfortable menstruation, ayurveda prescribes the following: •Stay inward; it is a time for rejuvenation. Pay more attention to physiology, to help to minimize discomfort and irritability. •Take a diet that is light and warm. Freshly prepared food is best.


Avoid cold drinks and carbonated beverages, fried food, cheese and yoghurt, non vegetarian food and mushrooms. •Rest; plan to take 2 or 3 days off each month for rest. Try to avoid staying up late at night. Resting doesn’t mean lying in bed, unless the pain or cramps are very bad. Rest can mean doing lighter scheduled activities at home or outside, as required. If possible, do light enjoyable activities around the house such as reading or writing. Avoid sleeping in the daytime. •Keep exercise easy. A 20 to 30 minute walk each day is enough exercise during menstruation. •Sexual activity should be avoided. •Abhyanga (oil massage) should be avoided for first 3 days of the period. •External sanitary napkins should be used, and tampons avoided.

Pregnancy and motherhood Ayurveda believes in suprajaajanana, the birth of a baby with healthy body, mind and soul. For the birth of a healthy baby, ayurveda suggests some rules to follow, right from the menarche. Sushruta, a great ayurvedic scholar, suggested the marriageable age of a man as twenty five, and of a girl as sixteen years. For proper conception, the following are essential: ritu (time near ovulation or ritukaala), beeja (seed i.e. ovum and sperms), kshetra (field i.e. female reproductive system and uterus), ambu (nourishing substances), properly functioning vaayu (air element) and normal physiological and mental status. As conception takes place, the normal physiological, psychological and physical status gradually changes in a woman. The foetus is affected mentally and physiologically by the deeds of the pregnant woman; hence emphasis has been given to the diet and lifestyle of the pregnant woman from the day of conception itself. Antenatal care starts from the moment a woman becomes pregnant. The woman should follow a sattvic diet and lifestyle.

She should protect herself by the following good conduct: •Women should remain in high spirits, pious, wear clean and simple clothes, perform religious rites, do auspicious deeds and worship. •The diet taken should be considerate of place, season and digestive capacity. Ayurveda recommends a special diet for pregnant women, which is a sattvic diet. •Cooling agents such as sandal, wearing garlands, bathing by moonlight, massage and cool air are useful. A soft bed, favorable and desired food items, a loving partner and other pleasing modes of life should be followed. Apart from this, ayurveda can also offer solutions for infertility, polycystic ovaries, blocked fallopian tubes and endometriosis. These are burning issues nowadays, because of the violation of natural laws.

Ayurveda can also help in: •Planning for a healthy pregnancy •Pregnancy care, month by month •Diet, yoga, breathing exercises and meditation during pregnancy •Post natal care of the mother with diet, yoga and exercise •Post natal panchakarma procedures for detoxification •Role of the husband in pregnancy care and raising a child

Menopause and the end of menstruation Menopause is a natural change in the life of a woman, which takes place generally from 45 years onwards. Sometimes it may not occur until 50 or 52 years of age. This prolonged menstruation is probably due to an improvement in the general health and environmental conditions of women. Menopause is not a disease, but a normal part of a woman’s life. For over 5,000 years, ayurveda has acknowledged menopause as a natural transition, not a disease requiring hormone replacement therapy. Ayurveda believes that menopause can be psychologically balancing, spiritually transforming and physiologically free of troublesome symptoms.


According to ayurveda, healthy living is the best way to ease the symptoms of menopause. For this, regular panchakarma procedures (physiological purification procedures) help to provide a smooth and easy transition. Health problems at menopause represent imbalances which were already growing in the body and are disclosed by the stress of shifting hormones. Menopause symptoms are nature’s warning to a woman, letting her know that she needs to start paying more attention to her health.

Symptoms occurring at menopause Around menopause time, vata dosha influences start increasing naturally. If vata becomes more aggravated, the associated symptoms may be nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness or depression, tingling and numbness, joint pains, constipation, backache, muscular pains and stiffness of the neck. The vagina becomes dry and atrophy of the cervix may take place. In pitta types, more irritation and hot flushes are seen. In kapha types, joint swelling, oedema of the legs and lethargy is seen. Osteoporosis, diabetes or hypertension may arise at this time. Women should take care in their thirties and forties to avoid these chronic disorders in their fifties and sixties. Therefore, during the thirties and forties would be the time to lay the foundations for health in old age. The ayurvedic prescription and general guidelines for menopause are as follows: Management of menopause through diet •Increase the following dietary items: milk products, soya bean, tofu, paneer, amaranth, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, swiss chard, dates, raisins, almonds, molasses, sesame seeds and soya and rice beverages. •Reduce the intake of fat (e.g. oil and ghee). •Reduce the intake of refined products (e.g. white sugar, white flour, polished grains). •Reduce the intake of sugar. •Avoid foods which are salty (e.g. pickles, soya sauce)

•Consume linseeds, soya beans, all sprouted beans, dhal and lentils. •Increase fresh fruits and vegetables. These are important in slowly increasing blood sugar levels so there is less pressure on insulin secretion. It is also helpful for keeping the weight under control and for easy bowl movements. •Include ayurvedic buttermilk or lassi in the lunch. •Enjoy the meals; don’t be under pressure. •Change the diet according to seasonal changes, imbalances and constitution. Controlling the diet may feel difficult in the beginning and may become boring. Here the role of the mind is very important. Think positively and do not entertain negative thoughts. Stay cheerful and enthusiastic about life, because health is wealth. Management of menopause through lifestyle •Meditation and yoga along with pranayama (breathing techniques) are helpful, as well as avoiding stressful situations. •Listen to vedic sounds, relaxing music and practice relaxation techniques. Oil application every day helps to calm down the vata dosha. •Be knowledgeable about the menopause. Always think that it is going to be a healthy transition for you. Welcome all the changes taking place in mind and body. •Share emotional changes with your husband, another family member or friend. •Rasayana, herbal supplements, are useful for a smooth transition through menopause, especially Shatavari, Ashvagandha and Brahmi. In the vedic tradition women are very highly respected. “Matru Devo Bhav” means worship mother as a god.

Dr. Sanjay and Dr (Mrs) Anjani Kulkarni are Ayurvedic Medical Directors of Shruti Ayurved Panchakarma Speciality clinic, Pune, India. email: [email protected]


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Shankara, his Life and Teachings

Shankara

his life and teachings By Prof. Pandey

To find a person equal to Shankara anywhere in the world is no easy task. He had unsurpassed influence on all the major areas of India’s history, from the Gurukula system, its philosophical developments to its spiritual tradition which started with the Vedas. Though he lived for only thirty two years, his achievements were unparalleled. The time in which Shankara lived is uncertain. Those belonging to his lineage say that he lived more than two thousand years ago, but other scholars who hold a neutral and objective opinion, believe that Shankara lived around the 7th century AD. Shankara was a legendary figure during his lifetime. He was born in the south of India, in the state of Kerala. He is still widely revered and worshipped in this area and across India. Evidence of his influence can also be found all the way to Kathmandu in sacred sites and temples. At a very early age he had a strong desire to renounce the world. His mother, however, would not allow it. He was her only child; she loved him dearly and could not bear to give him up to a life of renunciation. One day he went to take a bath in the river and some miraculous beast got hold of his legs. It pulled him deeper into water so he cried for someone to help him. His mother was nearby and saw what was happening. She yelled for him to come out. Shankara replied cunningly that unless she would permit him to take Sannyas (vow of renunciation), the dangerous animal would take him into the water. Feeling helpless, she had to accept to save her son’s life. Even at that very early age, against the tradition of Sannyas dharma, upon his mother’s request, Shankara vowed that when she departed this world he would come personally to perform the last rites of the Hindu religion. Against the strict rules of conduct of a Sannyasin, Shankara took this pledge and fulfilled his promise. Shankara lived a short life and within his lifetime he mastered all the classical scriptures and literature of his


time. He is recognized as the greatest philosopher to have lived as well as the philosopher of Vedanta. Vedanta is the philosophy propounded in the Upanishads. The Upanishads are ancient scriptures, several hundred in number. Shankaracharya realised that it would be a great feat for a single person to study and understand all the Vedic texts. He produced a compressed form of the text in the form of sutras (aphorisms). These are known as the Brahma Sutras. Today they comprise of the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Srimad Bhagavad Gita as well as the Bhagavad Gita. The Upanishads are the explanation of the Vedas, the Brahma Sutras are the concluding aphoristic compression of the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita is a commentary on the Upanishads. The Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita together are known as the Prasthan trayi. Prasthan means to come and go. Like the human life cycle, we leave one place to reach another and later leave that destination as well. Life in essence is constant change. Shankara did not claim that he was providing new information. He simply provided a commentary, an explanation of the philosophy in a condensed form in this Prasthan trayi. He is best known for the commentaries he wrote on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and his disciple and friend, Arjuna, which took place before the great battle of Mahabharat. Lord Krishna taught Arjuna that while fighting the enemy, the man of duty does not consider whether they are relatives, friends, kith or kin, since whosoever stands in the path of righteousness is helping to promote the wrong, unethical and the illegal. There has been a long tradition of writing commentaries in India, but the earliest one known is that written by Shankara. He is considered to be a Jagad Guru, a teacher of the whole world. He is said to be the first Acharya and the first Jagad Guru to exist. In order to understand his achievements and

Shankara, his Life and Teachings

contributions, one needs to understand the pre Shankara period in India. It is no accident when a man of greatness is born into an age. There is always a need within that age for someone to revive, reassess the existing view of the world and create a change in thought and ideas. This change is necessary for the evolution of humanity. Buddhism was at the climax of its glory before Shankara. Buddhist teachings are not always in line with the Vedic tradition. Take the Four Noble Truths as an example. The first of them states that all is suffering – dukha: there is suffering in our life; there is suffering in the outside world. Evidently there are things which give us happiness but they are just occasional interludes in the general drama. The second truth states the cause of suffering; the third deals with the cessation of suffering and the fourth with Yoga as a method to relieve us from that cosmic pain. This was preached by Buddha with no reference to any scripture. This information came from his own realisation. So far as these precepts are concerned there is no objection to their value. Nobody will deny the validity of these precepts, though everything has its proper order.

Vedanta philosophy propounded by Shankara encourages not to identify oneself with the body, mind and senses and the ever changing and mundane existence Shankara taught that guidance from the scriptures is needed to rise from the mundane to the spiritual level. This requires preparation, study and guidance from a teacher who has already gained this knowledge through his own practice. His journey took him to the four corners of India, where he established the four Mathas (monasteries). One in the south, Sringeri, one in the east, Puri, the third in the extreme north, Badarikashram, and the fourth in the extreme west, Dwarkha. He went on pilgrimage through jungles and undiscovered land to reach these sites where he established rites and teachings that remain until today. He often met with scholars of those times and participated in debate on the meaning of the scriptures. He was regularly being proved correct in his understanding. More significantly, Shankara rejuvenated, revived and reinstated the principles of the Vedic texts. It is believed that the scriptures were not produced by a human intellect but rather channelled from a collective divine source. The Upanishads, Vedas, Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita are divine revelations. This is why man can only understand them to a certain extent. Shankara stated that unless one possesses faith in the scriptures, unless there exists some Vedic or scriptural authority in one’s life, there is likely to be a collapse in social conduct. Shankara taught that there must exist a level of spiritual teaching within all social and cultural education. He maintained that spiritual understanding is acquired in

three ways. The first is through the example of our ancestors. We know they existed through the stories heard from our current relations, though we have never seen them ourselves. Secondly, a guru shows a student some white granules and tells him it is sugar and that sugar is sweet. The student, having never tasted sugar before, believes this fact due to his trust in his teacher. The third is when the student is able to taste the sugar directly. Here the understanding is complete since it is acquired through direct experience. The first two stages require trust, whilst in the third stage understanding comes from experience. Vedanta teaches that when one hears that the soul is immortal, one believes it though one has not seen the soul. It is neither born nor does it die. It is beyond the senses, yet we believe in its existence. We believe in the existence of the physical body – the body feels hungry, thirsty, sleepy etc. One is aware of it; but what happens when the body is asleep? Is the soul sleeping too? Man can live without bread but not without the soul. We accept the existence of the soul as it is stated in the scriptures. Evidence of the soul can be felt in a self realised being, although this is not firsthand knowledge. The aim of Vedanta is to guide people to the third level of understanding or self realisation. The ultimate purpose of life is to experience the Soul or Atman. That Atman and Brahman are one. Vedanta philosophy goes as far as stating that the only duty is to know God. You are Brahman, you are God. These statements from the Upanishads are known as Mahavakyas, great sayings; •Aham Brahmasi – I am Brahman – no matter my stature or circumstances. •Tat tvam asi – That thou art - ‘That’ denoting that which is immortal, beyond the Gunas, the three attributes of nature. That part of divinity that is lying dormant under several material layers within us. Vedanta philosophy propounded by Shankara encourages not to identify oneself with the body, mind and senses and the ever changing and mundane existence. That which is sensuous, sexual, instinctive is part of the bodily existence. One must aim to transcend it. This philosophical doctrine is widely practised today and known as Advaitism or non-dualism. Dualism implies the separateness of body, mind and soul, of one individual from another, mind and animal mind. Nondualism accepts that all are one. There is no difference between colour, cast, creed, sex, opinion or religion. We are ultimately all one. Shankara said that liberation without knowledge is impossible. He held that the world is an illusion. For example if one mistakes a rope for a snake in the dark, this is due to ignorance. It is a classical example of Maya (cosmic illusion). When light is shed on the situation we see that it was a rope all along. It is the same illusion when one identifies with the body, which is born and will eventually die. The soul, however, is infinite. Professor Pandey is a retired professor of Indian philosophy from Vrindavan, North India.


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A Journey of Transformation

The First Teachers’ Training Course to be held at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Putney, London AJourney of Transformation By Tia, staff at the London Centre

In the heart of London is the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, called by many of its students the ‘hidden sanctuary’. In the past twelve months there has been a great shift and wave of change that has slowly transformed the centre into its current manifestation. In full bloom the London centre is now an operating sanctuary of peace and tranquillity, successfully accommodating students for residential courses and the Sivananda Teachers’ Training Course held in a city centre for the first time ever!



Swami Sivananda (1887 – 1963)

Swami Vishnudevananda (1927–1993)

Background photo: The London Centre ‘Peace Garden’ in full bloom. Below: Images from The Teachers’ Training Course.


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Bhagavata Saptaha with Sri Venugopal Goswami, TTC Graduates and Teachers, Correcting the postures during an Asana Class

In the middle of 2009 the centre was experiencing what one would consider a lull with the usual centre schedule. Of course, if anyone has ever experienced the London centre, a lull is not ever really what one would picture a quiet period to be. Soon enough it was decided that the asana halls were in desperate need of a face lift. In came the first of the workmen who began work on plastering and painting the halls. At the same time radiators needed maintenance and were being refreshed for the upcoming winter months. Such works often uncover other maintenance issues. The early morning squeal from the staff bathroom was not a badly sung Kirtan but the unfortunate experience of the temperamental boiler deciding that it was time to switch off in the middle of a shower. We all agreed that there was no better way of waking up in the morning, but perhaps it could be experienced in a more civil manner. A couple of months later we were informed that the basement (being used as storage for tools and the Centre’s make-shift laundry department) was turning into a brand new shower/wet room. ‘Om Swamiji. How wonderful!’ we all exclaimed. So the next wave of workmen came through to begin the project. The project in the basement moved along nicely with a few ‘major’ adjustments along the way. The year end came around at lightening speed and one fateful night, at the end of our new year celebration, a loud thud was heard from above as staff finalised the evening clean up. Upon investigation we discovered the ceiling had collapsed in one of the staff rooms. We were all thankful for the good fortune that no one was hurt. Such an event triggered yet more action to be taken. Well, of course the ceiling had to be fixed! In came Vishvakarma with his team. The rooms were cleared, work began. It was then announced that whilst the opportunity was there the office needed desperate expansion. “Om Swamiji. How wonderful!” we all exclaimed. As one room became somewhat liveable, work began in the next. At one stage there were more workmen than students attending the centre! Full steam ahead, the sound of saws and hammering rang out across the centre. Whilst teaching, one would find oneself chanting the prayers in tune to the banging of the hammers and shrill of the saws. As Swami Sivananda’s famous saying goes, “Adapt, Adjust, Accommodate”. So at the beginning of 2010 we had intermittent hot water in the kitchen and staff shower, dust on every surface in the Main House, the Swamis swanning off to the exotic land of India for the Kumbha Mela and a basement that resembled a maze of pipe work and studding.


Countdown began. The Swamis returned. A new wave of movement began. Rooms were plastered and painted, windows replaced, floors were carpeted. The office transformed into a modern haven for the staff to attend to their daily administrative duties. The basement continued taking shape. Four weeks until TTC. The basement was still ‘taking shape’. Workmen were staying late into the night to meet the deadline. Were we going to have the shower room operational for the beginning of the course? More prana came in the form of Swami Keshavananda from the Sivananda Retreat House, Austria. All day IKEA shopping trips created mounds of boxed up furniture piled in every corner of the Centre. Karma yogis came in full force assembling and building the furniture for the rooms. We had residents staying at the centre for the first of the new residential courses in April. They were much appreciative of the wonderful space provided for their accommodation and study. Meanwhile the basement was still ‘taking shape’. The wait was over. The 24th day of April finally came around. The rooms for our new residents were beautifully prepared with a hint of modern IKEA colour and space consciousness. And with great relief the basement wet room was operational and available for use at the very last minute! On a bright sunny day in London, we welcomed the students to the city Ashram for the first TTC in a city centre! They enjoyed the intense programme with regular silent walks along the River Thames and serene natural surroundings in the early morning light as well as during the evening hours when the city begins to slow down. Special guest programmes and learning and living the different aspects of yoga kept them focused and eager. The students maintained an enthusiastic and positive attitude throughout the course. The intense schedule flowed smoothly with the reduced daily schedule of the centre. Every space of the centre was fully utilised to maximum effect. We were very blessed to be part of this landmark event. Plans are in place to continue the tradition of TTC at the centre in the future. Meanwhile residential courses have been planned throughout the year with the next being ‘Yoga Psychology and Positive Mental Health’ with Dr. Uma Krishnamurti in August, followed by ‘The Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’ with Swami Durgananda in November 2010. We look forward to the ever growing success of the residential activities in the London Centre, which has turned into a real city Ashram!

By Swami Sivadasananda


The Power of Asanas

“Nobody knows the power of asanas” – these are the words of Swami Vishnudevananda, spoken with humble reverence for the greatness of Yoga. Yoga points out the defects of human existence – pain and ignorance – and offers practical ways to attain happiness and wisdom by applying natural laws. These laws are inscribed in every cell of our body and in the background of every thought we think. Here are three powerful processes which are activated when you practice asanas: Unblocking Vital Energy The increase of energy or prana is a main motivation for the practice of asanas. While you hold a posture, pressure builds up in certain areas of the body, which are physical counterparts of major meridian crossing points. Whether it is pressure between the body and the mat, pressure on joints or gentle muscle stretch pain, watch carefully what happens when this pressure is released as you slowly come out of the asana. While you spend some time lying in the corpse pose, relaxing before starting the next posture, you can positively experience an increase in energy circulation. This is more than just having a more detailed body awareness. When you let go of the body, giving up the resistance to the pull of gravity, you can experience a feeling of lightness, a magnetic flow of energy from the feet up to the head. It is different and independent of the motor and sensory nerve impulses traveling to and from your muscles. The energy or prana currents are specific for each asana. Once you have learned to identify them during relaxation after the asana, you can start focusing on them even while holding the pose. With time you learn how long you need to hold an asana, simply by focusing on these energy movements. Once the energy is unblocked, you can leave the pose, relax for a while and then carry on with the next asana. In order to reap the energetic benefits of the asanas

it is recommended to remain in one system of practice. Swami Sivananda says: “Everybody should select a course of a few asanas to suit his temperament, capacity, convenience, leisure and requirement. Never change the asanas. Adhere to one set tenaciously. If you do one set of asanas today and some other tomorrow and so on, you cannot derive much benefit.”

The Play of the Gunas Yoga describes the frequency of vital energy in three vibratory levels. These gunas or “qualities of nature” apply to the whole universe, including the body and the mind: Sattva Purity, clarity, peace, harmony, balance, awareness, happiness, joy, love, calm, silence, light, knowledge, intelligence Rajas Activity, passion, agitation, worry, desire, anger, restlessness, impulsiveness, turbulence Tamas Laziness, lethargy, delusion, ignorance, sleep, attachment, fear, depression, dullness, heaviness, decay Nobody will remain in any one of the three states for a long time. Just as night (tamas), day (rajas) and sunrise/sunset (sattva) repeat themselves in cycles, so also the

gunas constantly change. Today’s lifestyle in the big cities is characterized by an excess of rajas – the senses are constantly bombarded at great speed by exciting sights, sounds, smells and tastes. This hyperactive rush causes a great deal of agitation followed by prolonged periods of exhaustion or tamas – the vital energy is low and the mind cannot focus on anything. While one vaguely longs for the peaceful, creative, positive and uplifting energy of sattva, body and mind remain trapped in rajas or tamas. Yoga helps to balance the play of the gunas by increasing sattva. Each time the vital energy starts to circulate in the asana class, it feels like drops of nectar entering the system. As the practice continues you can observe how asanas not only provide greater amounts of energy, but also improve the balance of the gunas. Take for instance a three-minute practice of the shoulderstand: How you experience it depends on the guna which predominates at the time. If there is more tamas, the body will feel heavy and you would rather leave the posture and spend more time in relaxation. If you are in a mood of rajas, your body will want to move in and out of the pose, instead of remaining in it. In both situations focusing on your breathing will help you to hold the pose. Deep inhalations will give you enough energy to overcome the lethargy of tamas, and long and controlled exhalations will help you YOGALife I Summer 2010

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The Power of Asanas

to control the jerking impulses of rajas in your muscles. Similar experiences can be had in other asanas such as headstand, plough, fish, sitting forward bend and spinal twist. After final relaxation, the play of the gunas is more balanced. You are then better able to meditate (sattva), to do energetic work (rajas) and to have a deep sleep at night (tamas). An important factor should be mentioned here: Deepening the sattva during your asana practice and remaining in that state afterwards depend mostly on what you eat before and after the practice. Meat and alcohol create tamas; stimulants like tea, coffee, onions and garlic enhance rajas. The vegetarian satvic yogic diet is a tremendous help to keep the gunas in balance.

Concentration and Positive Thinking Wanting to be a good, positive person is a natural tendency of the higher mind. Yet while one may know quite well one’s negative thought trends and habits, it often remains difficult to shift to the positive side. The Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali observe this phenomenon in a very

neutral and objective way:

When the thought waves are stilled, the perceiver rests in his own true nature (I, 3) When the waves of a lake are stilled, one can see the bottom clearly. Likewise, when the modifications or thought waves in the mind subside, one’s essential nature becomes evident. This true nature is the same for everybody and manifests as peace, love and bliss. When the mind is not concentrated, the perceiver identifies with its modifications. (I,4) When thought waves arise, there is the immediate tendency to identify with them. Especially during socalled “free time” the mind is in a distracted state, as it does not have to focus on any specific task. In this situation it is very difficult to get rid of instinctive thoughts of lust, anger, hatred and jealousy, simply because the mind is not focused. Without

When negative or harmful thoughts disturb the mind, they can be overcome by constant pondering over their opposites. (I, 33) Through constant alertness and focus, it is possible to replace useless thought waves with positive thoughts. Asanas develop concentration naturally. Fine-tuning the postures with conscious breathing and relaxation quickly brings the mind into a focused state. During an asana class the group atmosphere and the instructions of the teacher easily guide the mind to concentration. This is why you may prefer to take a class rather than practicing at home. Try to practice at home what you have learned during the class and come in touch with the magic focusing power of the asanas. As you relax deeply, the thoughts become as light as a feather and miraculously move to the positive side.

Swami Sivadasananda Is a long time disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda and the director of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Madrid. He is Yoga Acharya for the Sivananda Yoga Centres in Europe and South America. e-mail: [email protected]

Newly Published!

Kirtan

the Sivananda Book of Chants

This beautiful wiro bound colour book offers a very clear and informative introduction to Kãrtan. It includes chants that are sung regularly at all Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. It clearly explains the meanings of each chant and also includes a Sanskrit transliteration chart to help with pronunciation. The symbolism and meaning behind the different aspects of the Hindu dieties is also explained. It contains nearly 180 pages and includes more than 80 bhajans. The book also includes sections on The Power of Sanskrit Mantras, Bhakti Yoga, Dhyàna ølokas, Sunday Prayers, øànti Mantras, Guru Stotra, Univeral Prayer and âratã. For more information and to order a copy of this new book, contact your Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre or Ashram. (See address listing on page 62).


concentration, we take the “movie” of the mind for actual fact.

Tapping the Energy of Plants By Diana Mossop Phytobiophysics is a new and relevant scientific approach to the problems of mankind that incorporates modern knowledge, traditional therapies and ancient wisdom. Above all it is a means of accurately assessing causal factors of disease. The word Phytobiophysics simply means the science of plant energy and the definition of this philosophy is the use of the infinite energy of plants to restore balance and harmony to people of the world on all levels of consciousness; Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical.

The primary remedial aspect of Phytobiophysics is by the use of the vibrational energy of plants Using the vibration of plants for healing is not a new scientific approach. In fact it is timelessly old. For centuries it has been well understood that plants have an extremely important role in our lives, not only do we live and survive by eating plants but also we use them to restore our bodies to health. It should come as no surprise that the energetic aspect of plants plays a vital role in ensuring healing on a profound and subtle level. Phytobiophysics is an understanding of the interrelationship between our souls and our being and the physical manifestations which often appear as symptoms of illness. People, when hurt on a very deep level, fall degenerately ill. Many years of research have been conducted into matching the electro-magnetic frequencies of healthy cells to those of plants. Plant energy is captured as a memory by the traditional sun method. Thousands of plant and flower essences have been gathered from all over the world. By combining the frequencies of these thousands of essences, the twenty Phytobiophysics Flower Formulas have been produced. They have been formulated to resonate on very precise and specific frequencies following the colour spectrum of the Rainbow. However a healthy person also resonates on the colour spectrum. Each Flower Formula has been specifically created to match the resonance of a healthy cellular system in the body. The formulas act as

neurotransmitters and when ingested they instantly regulate the electro-magnetic frequency of the system being targeted. This encourages the body’s own innate ability to heal itself on a very deep level.

The Spiritual Journey The word spiritual is profound and encompasses the entire journey of our lives, which is infinite in both directions. The infinity of the past is the energy from the genetic coding of our ancestors and the infinite information of our inheritance. The infinity of the future is the consequence of all our actions and relationships and our children’s inheritance from us. The spiritual journey is the entire journey of our lives, it has no beginning and it has no end. It is everything that we are and everything that we do in our lives. The spiritual journey is the deepest of all and when we are hurt or traumatised on this level we will fall degenerately ill.

The Mental Journey The mental journey is the intellectual journey, the journey of this life starting from the date of conception. The mental journey is linked very closely with the way we have been taught, the way we have been brought up, the languages we speak, the relationships that our parents have. If we are treated with love and respect as little children, we will grow up to love and respect and value humanity. If we are treated with betrayal and trauma and sadness we grow up as victims, lose our confidence and feel sad. We lose our self worth. When hurt on the mental journey, the journey of this life, we frequently manifest YOGALife I Summer 2010

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Phytobiophysics

these traumas as structural disorders in the skeleton and in the way we breathe. The mental journey has a direct relationship with oxygen and our body’s use of oxygen.

The Emotional Journey The emotional journey is the journey of our senses and the journey that gives our lives purpose. This is the journey of loving, giving, creation and maturity, the journey of loving relationships that are of paramount importance in our lives. When we are hurt on the emotional journey this will manifest as functional disorders.

The Physical Journey The physical journey is the journey of now, today and is to do with daily routine. Getting up in the morning, how we slept the night before, whether we are happy or angry, whether someone has hurt us right this very moment. The physical journey is about the digestive system, assimilation and the utilisation of nutrients. The physical journey is about growth, breathing, the heart beat, digestion, elimination and living. We travel on all the journeys at all times throughout our lives. Every emotion and experience that we feel during our lives has a subtle yet profound reflexive action on the four valves of the heart. Relationships are of paramount importance in our lives, the way we relate to our loved ones is an exceedingly important aspect as to whether we are well. The location of the block is decreed by the relationship of the social breakdown within the family. The depth of the block or the plane upon which it manifests is influenced by the degree of trauma. •Those of us who live in isolation from our loved ones frequently fall ill. •Those of us who are saddened and embittered by the circumstance of our lives frequently fall ill. •Those of us who get stopped and held back on our journey of life and are not able to overcome these circumstances frequently fall ill. It is not until we really start to understand these serious tragedies and traumas that occur in our lives and come to terms with them and are then able to forgive and forget and move on, that we recover from illnesses. Father My Father I Father Fatherhood

Mother My Mother I Mother Motherhood

1

3

2 4 Youth My Youth My Son I Youth Brother

Baby My Baby My Daughter I Baby Sister

Heart Blockages Wherever there is a block in one of the chambers of the heart, there will be corresponding physical reflex blocks throughout the body.

The Physical Correspondence of Negativity Plane

Negativity

Effect

Spiritual Mental Emotional Physical

Death /desertion/betrayal/shock Sexual/verbal aggression/neglect Grief/heartache/sadness/ heartbreak Bereavement/victimisation/suppression

Structural degeneration Structural chronicity Functional degeneration Functional chronicity


The Heart is the fulcrum of the body All energy travels through the heart For each one of us to be in harmony with our soul, emotions, the environment and our relationships, we need to travel freely on our journey through life. Each stage of our journey creates different responsibilities and commitments. We relate to friends and loved ones in our lives in different ways at different times, hence a person will relate differently according to the relationship with the people in their environment. A healthy man will behave in a protective way towards his child but passionately towards his wife, lovingly towards his mother and respectfully towards his father. He will treat strangers differently from his close family. Furthermore, when a trauma affects a close family member, the pain will be far greater than if it were a stranger. As the blood flows freely through our hearts and bodies so also should our relationships and emotions flow freely through our lives. The four chambers of the heart are physical structures of the human body and correspond to the four quarters of the body. Each chamber is separated by a valve that gives its name to the individual constitution. Constitution is dependent on inheritance, environment, evolution, occurrence, experience, accident and trauma. Negative experiences could be classified as keys which turn the lock in the gateways, the valves of the heart.. When the gateways are locked we are trapped in the chamber and behave accordingly and fall ill accordingly.

The four basic constitutions of humanity are named after the heart valves. The Tri-Cuspid Constitution is the father figure. Leader, Strong and Noble. Negativity manifests emotionally as aggression, domination and physical cruelty. The Pulmonary Constitution is the youth. Tall, Vital and Slender. Negativity manifests emotionally as loss of self worth, aloof, cold withdrawal and sarcasm. The Mitral Constitution is the mother earth. Warm, Loving and Bountiful. Negativity manifests emotionally as destructive, oppressive smothering and nagging. The Aortic Constitution is the baby. Perfect, Rounded, Creation of Life. Negativity manifests emotionally as victimisation, bereavement grief, and theft.

The Five Senses The five senses, touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell connect each one of us to life. Through the senses, we experience emotions that have a profound effect on our souls and manifest as subtle changes in the function of the body. Since function governs structure, changes in mood and emotion will also have an effect on the physical structure of the body. The more profound the emotion, the deeper the change in function and structure. Hence, emotions may be positive and create harmony and healing or negative and create disharmony (disease) and destruction. Trauma and tragedy create wounds that leave scars

Phytobiophysics

on the soul. These scars leave their mark, which appear as craters. The degree of trauma will determine the depth of the crater and the level of disharmony. Negative emotions create visible physical distortion that manifests as signs in the face and eyes. Facial expressions are controlled by the twelve pairs of cranial nerves. The cranial nerves are the guardians of the organs of the five senses. Since we experience emotions through the senses, these changes in emotion reflect as facial expressions, wrinkles and distortion. Emotions affect the nervous system and trauma reflects as lesion marks in the iris. Iridology is the analytical science of interpretation of these visible lesions. Iridology shows that every experience creates a visible lesion in the iris that may be interpreted as a physical disorder. It is possible to relate these subtle changes as imbalances that occur in the function of the heart and have a distinct effect on the valves of the heart. The four chambers of the heart relate to the four quarters of the body. So… as we are wounded by negative emotions during our journey through life, so, also, is the Lotus of the inner heart wounded. The heart is the fulcrum of the energy flow through the body. Every experience, every emotion and all of life’s daily expectations and occurrences have a subtle yet profound effect on the heart-beat and the flow of blood through the heart. The four chambers of the heart relate to the four quarters of the body and the four magnetic poles of the earth. The four valves of the heart are the gateways through the chambers. The function of the valves is impaired by negative emotions, which leads to creating patterns of disease and tendencies to inherent disorders. A childhood wound may damage on a spiritual level. This manifests as a deep lesion that has a long-term disturbing effect on a specific valve of the heart and therefore all the corresponding organs. Positive emotions create healing on all levels of our journey and as we travel through life we have a choice to recover from tragedy through love and understanding or we may take the negative attitude to further trauma and disease. The journey to recovery is an individual journey and yet there is a pattern to life on all levels of consciousness. The journey to recovery is a journey of choice.

Life is Energy-Light is Energy Each level and meridian of the human body vibrates on a specific colour frequency. Light is the visible part of a very wide spectrum of energy. It is that part of the electromagnetic spectrum to which the human eye is sensitive and that part of the energy field that sustains life as we know it. Within its narrow part of the spectrum, light varies in colour, depending on frequency and wavelength. Colour radiates from the comparatively low frequency of infra-red to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and ultraviolet. Light is measured in Angstroms. This is a unit of length used to measure one hundred millionth (10 – 8) of a centimetre of a radiation wavelength. The Angstrom is one tenth of a nanometre (10A=1nm).

White light splits into the rainbow: Ultra Violet 380 nm, Violet 423 nm, Indigo 449 nm, Blue 475 nm, Green 512 nm, Yellow 573 nm, Orange 607 nm, Red 680 nm, Infra Red 780 nm. The shorter the wavelengths of colour the higher the

frequency and therefore the penetration potential is increased. It is for this reason that colours which fall in the high frequency range of sky colours such as ultraviolet, violet and indigo are effective in the treatment of spiritual, emotional and nervous system disorders. Whilst low frequency earth colours such as yellow, orange and red are more effective for the treatment of the physical body. In 1666, Isaac Newton showed that white light could be split into different colours by passing it through a glass prism. The rainbow occurs because each colour wavelength is refracted at a different angle. A rainbow is a spectrum of light produced by the natural prism of raindrops in the atmosphere. Colour results from the absence or the absorption of other wavelengths. A red object appears red because other colours are absorbed and only red is reflected. Every chemical element and every substance on the planet has its own characteristic pattern of energy frequency that can be related to the colour-band. It is possible to relate the vibration of each flower to a colour vibration. The part of the colour wavelength that can be perceived by the naked eye vibrates between 420 to 680 nanometres however, despite the fact that we cannot see all the colour frequencies we still feel them and these frequencies play a vital role in the harmony of life. The electro-magnetic frequencies that are close to colour on either end of the colour spectrum are ultraviolet and infra-red. At the ends of the colour spectrum, colour fades into invisibility. Light energy comes from the sun and the sunlight that the moon reflects. Light is vital for the survival of the life force. Without light, life cannot be sustained. Colours play a valuable role in healing, energizing and harmonizing the different levels and meridians of the body. White light enters the body through the eyes and via the melanin in the skin to the pineal gland. The pineal gland acts as a prism, splitting the light into the different frequencies of colour. The resonances of the different colours balance the energy on each chakra or level. The rainbow travels through the body, from the hot, low frequencies of infra-red and red which relate to the earth, base chakra to the cool, high frequencies of ultraviolet and violet, which relate to the crown chakra of the mind and soul and the brain. Every cell in the body vibrates on a frequency that is ordered and in harmony with the whole. Each species of cell in the body vibrates on a different frequency but the homeostatic current produced by a healthy body is a constant flow of 5.4 micro amps. Health disturbances create an interference with this flow. It is therefore possible to accurately measure disturbances in the flow of energy through the acupuncture points by using a galvanometer calibrated in micro amps. Each level of the body vibrates on a specific energy frequency which can be measured as colour. Diana Mossop created Phytobiophysics, based on vibrational medicine and the healing qualities of plants and flowers. She created a whole array of floral essences.In her workshops, you will become acquainted with the properties of flowers and plants and learn to use them for healing.


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International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres Europe

International Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course Ustka, Baltic Sea, Poland

Swami Sivananda Swami (1887 – 1963) Vishnudevananda (1927 – 1993)

August 28 – September 26, 2010

• Fully certificated four-week intensive course • International guest speakers Teaching Language: Taught in English, Polish, Lithuanian, Russian and Estonian

A Yoga Vacation Programme e will be held at th e th same time as Teachers’ Training Course.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Berlin Schmiljanstr. 24 (U9 Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz) • 12161 Berlin Fax: 030/ 85 99 97 98 • E-Mail: [email protected]


Tel. +49 (0)30/ 85 99 97 98 www.sivananda.org/berlin www.sivananda.eu

Facts on Vegetarianism

By Dr. Annika Waldmann Growing in popularity, vegetarianism has gone mainstream. Adopting a vegetarian lifestyle is not only justifiable on religious, moral or ecological grounds. Growing scientific evidence is confirming that a vegetarian diet is a well balanced diet for human beings. The remarkable health benefits of a vegetarian diet are demonstrated by a multitude of scientific and medical studies and range from lower blood pressure, control of diabetes, prevention of cancer to an overall feeling of well-being. The following article is taken from a Powerpoint presentation given by Dr Waldmann.

Definitions of Vegetarianism •Dietary regimen that excludes foods being produced from dead animals. •Vegare (lat.) = to grow, to live

Reasons for Being a Vegetarian Religion •Slaughter is a sin •Eating meat is a religious taboo •Mercy to animals •Renunciation of meat = asceticism Ethics • Killing = Wrong • Animals rights • Sympathy with animals • Avoiding meat as a strategy to solve world hunger problems

Health • Maintaining health • Losing weight • Prevention of certain diseases • Healing of diseases • Increasing physical and brain performance Ecology • Saving global climate • Avoiding animal mass keeping There is often more than one reason.

The Major Groups of Vegetarians Classic (true) Vegetarians •Lacto-ovo-vegetarians •Vegans •Lacto-vegetarians •Raw food eaters •Ovo-vegetarians •Fruitarians Almost Vegetarians •Low meat eaters •Pesco-vegetarians •Almost vegetarians •Pollo-vegetarians •Semi-vegetarians •“Pudding vegetarians”


43

Facts on Vegetarianism

How Many People are Vegetarians? India: Italy: Germany: UK: Israel: Austria: USA: France: Poland:

40% 10% 9% 9% 8% 4% 4% 2% 1%

452 million people 5.9 million people 7.4 million (3% of all children) 5.4 million people 600,000 people 245,000 people 12.13 million people 1.23 million people 380,000 people

Health Reasons for Adopting a Vegetarian Diet Life expectancy / Longevity “Current data from prospective cohort studies of adults raise the possibility that a very low meat intake is associated with greater longevity“.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity BMI >= 25 kg/m² World wide 1,000,000,000 (1 billion people!)

30-65% of all persons living in industrialized countries Germany:

66% (men)

51% (women)

Austria:

66%

53%

UK:

65%

56%

Poland:

60%

48%

France:

57%

41%

Italy:

53%

35%

International Association for the Study of Obesity, London, 03/2009

Am J Clin Nutr [1]

“A long term (2 decades) adherence to a vegetarian diet contributed to a significant (3.6 years) increase in life expectancy.“ Stat Med [2]

Metabolic Syndrome The death bringing four: 1. Obesity 2. Hypertension 3. Hyperlipidemia 4. Insulin resistance 1. Obesity Overweight means an upper normal body weight that is determined by an increase in body fat mass.

BMI of vegetarians and non-vegetarians Mean BMI (kg/m²) in four large studies DKFZ Vegetarian study (Germany)

Oxford Vegetarian (UK)

body weight (kg) EPIC Oxford (UK)

BMI = body height (m) * body height (m)

Flemisch Vegetarian (Belgium)

BMI Underweight