Gurugram September 2023 | Preface
Om Namah Sivaya
Blessed Self
It was an eventful summer of celebrations : the Yoga Camp celebrated its 60th anniversary and the Ashram in France its 20th anniversary. Kantidevi, Swami Sitaramananda and Swami Sivadasananda spent some time at the Yoga Camp to be part of the celebration. Both events brought vibrant activity, high energy and very grateful students. The Yoga Ranch was also full of life and happy faces with a well attended TTC and successful guest programmes.
There were sannyas and brahmacharya initiations in various ashrams. We welcome the new initiates and wish them inner expansion on their path to the Self. It is heart warming to see young sadhakas taking this bold step and wanting to continue carry the mission of our Masters.
Now that the summer holidays are over, the focus goes to starting the new season with renewed energy to dive into systematic sadhana. Caring for our body and mind, looking afresh at our diet, deepening our meditation. Yoga gives practical tools to transcend inner and outer restlessness and help restore balance on all levels.
Let us plunge into our practice with faith and determination.
We wish you strength and new insights in your sadhana
Om and prem
Swami Kailasananda on behalf of the Acharyas of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta centres
Join us for the monthly Sivananda “Meditation for a Peaceful Planet” on Sunday 1st of October, 2023 at 2pm CEST. Check our website for information. https://sivanandaorleans.org/unite-for-a-healthy-planet
Donations: Your donations and financial support would be very gratefully received by any of the International Sivananda Yoga Centres and Ashrams. Please contact any Sivananda Ashram or Centre on how to proceed.
Life is God in expression. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Upcoming Courses
2023 Update
SIVANANDA YOGA Teachers’ Training Courses are available both Online (TTCOL) and in-person in residence. Please check with each TTC/ATTC location for any TTCOLs.
Please check with each TTC/ATTC location whether COVID-19 has affected your selected course.
The SIVANANDA YOGA Teachers’ Training Courses are available either online (TTCOL) or in residence, depending on the location. Please check with each TTC/ATTC location whether your selected Teacher Training Course is available online or in residence as some Ashrams have opened, while others remain closed. Thank you for your patience as schedules change during COVID.
To view all 2023/2024 TTC/ATTC/SI courses on the Sivananda website: https://sivananda.org/teachers-training/programme-calendar/
See the full list of other international courses and events: https://www.sivananda.org/
The true goal of life is to get back to the source from which we came. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Raja Yoga
From Discourse IV: “Kaivalya Pada – On Realisation”
IV.12 atītānāgataṁ svarūpato ‘sty adhva-bhedād dharmāṇām
The past and future exist in their own right; the difference in properties is due to the various paths.
Commentary:
The world exists apart from man. But it is the various paths of the individual that create what appears to be different properties and characteristics of the world, separating Prakriti from Purusha.
The chief beauty of life is the sacrifice of one’s dearest interest at the altar of Truth. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Bhagavad Gita Quote
Chapter VI: The Yoga of Meditation
VI.30 yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati;
tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati.
He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, he never becomes separated from Me nor do I become separated from him.
Commentary:
In this verse the Lord describes the effect of the vision of unity of the Self or oneness.
He who sees Me, the Self of all, in all beings, and all beings (from Brahma, the Creator, down to a blade of grass) in Me, I am not lost to him, nor is he lost to Me. I and the seer of unity of the Self become identical or one and the same. I never leave his presence, nor does he leave Mine. I never lose hold of him, nor does he lose hold of Me. I dwell in him, and he dwells in Me.
The central teaching of the Gita and the Yoga Vasishtha is that one should realise his Self by remaining in the world. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Quick Links
Spiritual Calendar
| SEPTEMBER 2023 06 Sri Krishna Jayanti 08 Swami Sivananda Jayanti 10 Ekadasi 15 New Moon 19 Ganesh Chaturthi 25 Ekadasi 29 Full Moon OCTOBER 2023 Make life a perpetual joy. – Sri Swami Sivananda |
Glossary
DURGA PUJA OR NAVARATRI
Salutations to the Divine Mother, Durga, who exists in all beings in the form of intelligence, mercy, beauty, who is the consort of Lord Shiva, who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Durga Puja or Navaratri commences on the first and ends on the tenth day of the bright half of Aswayuja (September-October). It is held in commemoration of the victory of Durga over Mahishasura, the buffalo-headed demon. Durga Puja is the greatest Hindu festival in which God is adored as Mother. Durga represents the Divine Mother. She is the energy aspect of the Lord. Without Durga, Shiva has no expression and without Shiva, Durga has no existence. Shiva is the soul of Durga; Durga is identical with Shiva. Lord Shiva is only the silent witness. He is motionless, absolutely changeless. He is not affected by the cosmic play. It is Durga who does everything. Shakti is the omnipotent power of the Lord, or the Cosmic Energy. The Divine Mother is represented as having ten different weapons in Her hands. She sits on a lion. She keeps up the play of the Lord through the three attributes of Nature, namely, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride, are all Her forms. You will find in the Devi Sukta of the Rig Veda Samhita that Vak, symbolising speech, the daughter of the sage Anbhirna, realised her identity with the Divine Mother, the Power of the Supreme Lord, which manifests throughout the universe among the gods, among men and beasts and among the creatures of the deep ocean. In the Kena Upanishad, you will find that the Divine Mother shed wisdom on Indra and the gods and said that the gods were able to defeat the demons only with the help of the power of the Supreme Lord. The worship of Devi, the universal Mother, leads to the attainment of knowledge of the Self. The story in the Kena Upanishad known as the “Yaksha Prasna”, supports this view. It tells how Uma, the Divine Mother, taught the Truth to the gods. Goddess Shakti thus sheds wisdom on Her devotees.
Devi worship is, therefore, worship of God’s glory, of God’s greatness and supremacy. It is adoration of the Almighty.
Devi is the conscious power of God. Navaratri is the most suitable occasion for doing intense spiritual practices. These nine days are very sacred to the Divine Mother. Plunge yourself in Her worship.
From Hindu Fasts and Festivals by Swami Sivananda
