Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams

This week we celebrated Krishna Jayanti with Swami Vasishtananda leading us through a beautiful puja done for the main deity in Krishna temple. Staff chanted many kirtans and energy got uplifted and light. Some teachers and devotees came from Montreal to celebrate the birthday of Krishna.
We also celebrated the birthday of Swami Sivananda which took place next to the statues of Master and Swamiji. We were glad the weather allowed us to have this Puja outside as rain was coming and going during the whole day and we were just lucky to have sunshine during the whole Puja. The celebration created a very positive energy, everyone could do abhishekam, offer flowers, connecting to the energy and the presence of Swami Sivananda.
We held inspiring retreats “Art of Consciousness”, “Yoga and Meditation”, “Cultivating good habits”.
Ganesha Chaturthi was a beautiful celebration which took place in two places: Subramanya Ayappa temple and in the Subramanya Kutir, house of close devotees. In both places pujas were performed for Lord Ganesha which were led by Swami Vasishtananda. Ganesha was decorated beautifully and the pujas brought lots of energy to all those who participated.
The Open House this month welcomed very enthusiastic students who had an ashram tour, lecture on five principles with asana demonstration, asana class and a delicious meal.

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We started the month with Kerala’s most important festival, Onam: the fabled return of King Bali to visit his subjects. Coloured lights were hung from the trees to decorate the garden, and a colourful pookalam design was made on the Siva Hall floor using various flower petals. On the main day, Thiruvonam, all enjoyed a mini Kerala sadhya (feast) served on banana leaves which the kitchen staff lovingly prepared. Few days later, all the ashram inmates participated in the annual panchayat procession accompanied by a Kerala drum group brought specially for the occasion.
Celebrations continued with another dynamic week starting with Krishna Jayanti celebrations with ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’ chanting throughout the day, evening satsang beside the Krishna temple culminating in abhishekam and arati at midnight. On the 8th of September, for Master’s birthday, we performed Guru pada puja in the morning followed ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya’ chanting throughout the day.

A new construction project has started, converting a large dormitory into sixteen single rooms. We hope to have it finished well before November TTC.

The August Teachers’ Training Course (TTC) and Sadhana Mandalam were concluded on a high note. Seventy-one students passed. Thirty-three students signed up for the YCB exam on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with online practical exams. With TTC and Sadhana Mandalam over, some staff took advantage of the time to go home for family visits. Soon after, a new group of TTC students joined us.

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Onam was celebrated with decoration of flowers at the entrance of the dining hall followed by a scrumptious Sadhya feast. Everybody enjoyed the delicious spread of traditional South Indian dishes. We celebrated Krishna Janmashtami, the celebration of birth of Krishna during the evening satsang by chanting various Krishna bhajans, and finished with an Aarti and a variety of items for Naivedyam (final puja) being offered to Lord Krishna. For Master Swami Sivananda ji’s birthday, we were blessed with an invitation to the Sharada Kutir run by the Divine Life Society in Gangotri for the Bhandara they organised.
We started our Teachers’ training course with a good group of enthusiastic students.
The weekly medical camp continued as usual to provide free Doctor consultation and medicines to people of the surrounding villages.

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Yoga vacationers are also enjoying the serene and soulful atmosphere of the ashram. It is very encouraging to see that beginners are joining regularly.

We had Ganapati Homa to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. Our temple priest prepared a beautiful rangoli design of Lord Ganesha with broken tusk and Modak held in his trunk showcasing the love of Ganesha for sweets.

We were also focusing on getting things ready at our new hospital building for Panchakarma detoxification program starting next month. This is for the first time we are doing it extensively in a proper hospital set up and planning to continue offering the program to our guests. The kitchen work for Ayurveda facility is under progress.

The climate had been pleasant and very conducive for outdoor activities especially gardening. Our Sivananda Free Rural Hospital continue to function well serving the needy free of cost.

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We had a wonderful Labor Day Vedic Knowledge program, welcoming many special guest teachers sharing their knowledge of Yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda, Jyotish and Vastu: Swami Sitaramananda (“Strengths and Weaknesses According to 4 Paths of Yoga”); Swamini Svatmavidyananda (“Prayer and Prayerfulness”); Komilla Sutton (“Retrograde Planets”); Dr. Andrew Foss (“Consciousness”); Bill Sinclair (“Jyotish Counseling”); Debashish Banerjee (“Isha UPanishad”); Silvia Nakkach (“Vocal Meditation”); Vaidya Bharati (“Ayurveda Routines”); Niranjan Babu (“Vastu on Buildings and Colors”).

Krishna Janmastami was celebrated with pujas at the Radha Krishna Hall and also at the Krishna Temple, going until midnight with many bhajans and sweet prasads offered. This was followed with a beautiful puja for Swami Sivananda’s birthday with readings about Master’s life and followed by Akhanda Kirtan through the afternoon. We all feel very blessed. Ganesha Chaturti was also celebrated later in the month, with a beautiful puja in the Radha Krishna Hall conducted by pandit Bhima. Swami Sitaramananda told many fun and beautiful stories of Sri Ganesha and all staff each made clay Ganeshas. Many fruits and prasad were offered along with very spirited bhajans. Panditji then did daily morning and evening puja to Ganesha through the week and culminating with a procession on Saturday morning to all Ganeshas at the Ganesha Shrine, MoolaGanesha, Radha Krishna Hall, Durga Temple and Swamiji’s altar and house. This was followed by a lovely trip to the Yuba River and everyone immersing their clay Ganesha into the river!

The Ashram offered its second 7-day Pancha Karma Detoxification program. Guests received regular abhyanga massage therapies, a detox diet of kitcheree and greens and herbal supplements tailored to their individual needs and satsangs. The Ashram is the ideal environment allowing for deep relaxation and reconnection with nature.

Swami Sitaramananda taught the weekend Yoga of Relationships course, with teachings on karmic relationships as opportunities for spiritual growth, the nature of the Self, and how to ultimately see our own Self in others. Krishnapriya taught the weekend Stress Relief and Relaxation course as part of the Yoga Health Educator Training, with talks on the stress response, proper relaxation, how to manage prana and the emotions.

We are now getting ready for the upcoming TTC, beautifying the garden, planting three new willow trees around the pond, kitchen deep cleaning, and revamping the Hanuman shrine. We have many new karma yogis who are inspired and eager to contribute to the Ashram.

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During the month, we had many conferences and satsangs from Swami Brahmananda, Swami Paramananda and Swami Shambhudevananda. Themes included “Using Thought Power for Transformation”, “Light on Vedanta”, “Karma Yoga”, Brihadaranyaka “Upanishad”.
The month was marked by many celebrations. The energy was high and vibrant.
We had a joyful and devotional day on Wednesday celebrating Krishna Jayanti, with akhanda kirtan starting from early morning, a beautiful puja in the evening, reading from the Srimad Bhagavatam and lots of heartfelt chanting. Few days later, we again started the day with akhanda kirtan, in celebration of Master Sivananda’s birthday, and in the evening we celebrated with an inspiring and devotional Guru puja, with lots of heartfelt chanting, and stories about the life of Master.
This month, we offered a TTC introduction class, for guests and karma yogis interested in taking the TTC, to give an insight into the course and answer questions.
We celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year with much enthusiasm.
For the various staff birthdays during the month, cakes and celebrations were buoyant and cheerful.

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The energy of the retreat house was lifted up by the celebrations of Krishna Jayanti and Master Sivananda’s birthday with pujas and kirtans during the month of August.

We started our international Teachers’ Training course (TTC) and Advanced Teachers’ Training course (ATTC) with enthusiastic participants from Europe, the United States, and Asia. Some mornings and evenings were beautifully filled with meditative walks. With the sun shining brightly during the month of August, TTCs and ATTCs could spend their day off with mountain hiking and swimming. Two graduates from the Online TTC joined for the nine day-additional module and were integrated into the TTC schedule later in the month.

During the month, there was a captivating lecture by Shankara, a physicist by profession and a yoga teacher, who introduced us into the fascinating realms of the origin and evolution of the universe. Chandrika, a gynecologist, Ayurveda specialist and yoga teacher from Munich dedicated one of her weekends to give three wonderful lectures on healthy diet. Our special guest, Shanti Kumar Kamlesh from Lucknow, India, arrived during the month. He shared his extensive knowledge during a lecture on the “six tastes according to Ayurveda”, “Tejas, Ojas, and Bala, exploring the energy concepts of Ayurveda”, “Ayurvedic daily routine”. Dr Kamlesh also gave a cooking class with many delicious dishes.

Throughout the month, the participants of the TTC and ATTC courses demonstrated remarkable progress. The TTCs developed their skills in the teaching groups.

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Earlier in the month, we had a certificate course « Yoga and stress management » with Swami Bhagavatananda and a certificate course « Asanas – foundations of yoga » with Prema from Taiwan. Guests who had a lighter stay followed the thematic course « deepen your asana practice ».
The ashram was closed for a few days to allow time to take our bearings for the upcoming autumnal season.
As we reopened in the second week, we were full of energy and welcomed a group of students from the London centre as well as a group from the US. They followed the yoga vacation « soothing the body and mind ».
We also celebrated the start of the new Sivananda Yoga Academy year with students arriving at the ashram for the inauguration retreat. Some of the students followed the retreat online or from other centres and ashram (Reith, London). Students and teachers joined from all over the world from Canada, Latin America to Australia for the inauguration. They started their lectures on Raja Yoga and thoroughly enjoyed their stay at the ashram.
Our efforts for the « Yoga and Permaculture » with Shankara and Bhaskara continued with a seven day-programme. The students enjoyed their specialised lectures and hands-on training sessions in the gardens of the ashram.
Towards the end of the month, we welcomed a new group of TTC students. Otherwise, here at the ashram, the weather is still very nice and the ashram is still producing a good amount green leafy vegetables and pumpkins. Staff had a lot of opportunities to teach with the varied programmes this week.

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At the beginning of the month, we welcomed a large group of guests on the occasion of Vietnam Independence Day, celebrated on 2nd September. The Health House acquired a new electric vehicle to drive guests around. During the month, guests enjoyed a short tour to the coast, a highlight of the trip was a visit to a “Cham” Siva temple, dating from the early 14th century, complete with Siva lingam and statue of Nandi. It was specially beautiful to hear Sanskrit mantras chanted by the two priests reverberating in the ancient building. Finally, we celebrated the mid-Autumn festival on this September full moon day. A large group of guests joined us for a special celebration. The ashram was specially decorated for the occasion and all enjoyed the « moon cakes ».

We had special celebrations for Krishna Janmastami and Swami Sivananda’s birthday with Krishnan Namboodiri and his son, Radhakrishnan. Pujas were also celebrated in the Health House and Ayurveda House.

During quiet time at the ashram, we enjoyed deeper staff training with workshops on Hatha Yoga teaching techniques. Staff continue to work on the landscaping of the ashram. Everyone is well, inspired and steady in sadhana.

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We were in full celebration mode. Onam was celebrated with a feast which was savoured and appreciated by the guests as well as the staffs. The occasion of Janmashtami was celebrated with a special satsang and chanting in temple. Also, Swami Sivananda’s birthday was celebrated with special pooja and special chanting in the morning satsang. Finally, we celebrated Vinayak Chaturthi with a special pooja in the temple.
During the guest programme, we made a trip to the beach to the delight of everyone.

There was a good amount of renovation and maintenance work at the ashram. The mango trees garden, where the Kaveri cottages are located, got a facelift allowing much needed sunlight into the area due to the tree pruning. The ostriches have a new cage near the organic garden behind the kitchen and dining area. The old cowshed got a new roof. The electricity at the Godavari and Krishna rooms was streamlined with the inverters being fitted in an appropriate place. Also the construction in the south side of the temple is coming along at full speed.

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The summer season is coming close to an end, however, many guests from overseas come visit us incessantly. They enjoy variety of activities such as climbing to Mt. Fuji, walking around the lake Shojiko, etc. Keiko Ito held a Jyotish night talk on Thursday, joined by more than 20 people, and shared the trend in near future. Online programs including asana class, satsang, etc. are going well in progress.

We offered puja for celebrating Krishna Jayanthi on Tuesday and Swami Sivanandaji Maharaji 136th birthday on Thursday, conducted by Atmashakti Chaitanya, broadcasting the puja on zoom and Facebook live. Himavan, a TTC graduate, stayed at the Shojiko Retreat to join for the puja, enjoying a reunion with staff member for the first time in long time. Online programs including asana classes and satsang are going well in progress. We have guests staying at the Retreat on a regular basis, causing us to feel that things are as vibrant as before pandemic. The season is slowly shifting to autumn in areas around the lake Shojiko, amusing us with breathtaking scenery of the nature.

We offered puja for celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi on Sunday, led by Atmashakti Chaitanya, with guests at the Shojiko Retreat joining. Vedanta study session navigated by Yashashvin was given online on Tuesday, in which the students who have been learning Vedanta for a long time gathered and deepened their spiritual learnings. We had a consecutive 3-day holiday on Saturday through Monday in Japan, and Kazue, a Karma yogi who lives in Toronto, Canada, came visit us at the Retreat with students who reside in Japan to whom she has been teaching yoga asana online. We had such a lively weekend. Online programs including asana classes, satsang, support for Japanese people concerning SYHET, etc. are going well underway.

Many guests have come visit us to stay at the Shojiko Retreat with the arrival of the best season of the year. We received 2 students under Seva Study program on Tuesday. They help us with thorough cleaning of the whole building of the Retreat and packing things for retransition of the new Tokyo Centre. They have stayed at the Yoga Ranch in New York before and have been being committed to Karma yoga in Japan with enthusiasm.

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