By TC (Tattvananda) Richards

Svaroopa^® yoga opens my heart, which is one of the many things I love about it.  All the practices of the Svaroopa^® Sciences, no matter which I choose, open my heart.  Then who I really am is revealed.  The more I practice, the more I reside in my own Divine Essence.  What a gift!

The practices quiet my mind and turn me inward to an expansive experience. I call it my “heart,” but really I am settling into my Self.  I am carried into a place of immeasurable vastness.  It is infinitely greater than my mind can ever imagine.  When I live from this inner vastness, everything changes.  I love more purely.  I live more Divinely.  I move through the world with an ease I never thought possible.  The more I maintain a steady practice, the more steady my state remains.  Weaving this profound yoga into my life keeps me immersed in the Self.

Recently, a Svaroopa^® yoga teacher said to me, “I have to tell you, Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram is a world class teaching organization.”  She had just returned from a Teacher Training program.  She marvels that this yoga is developed specifically to take us to our own Divine Essence.  by Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda created every detail of the practices just for this inner experience and revelation.

Every part of Svaroopa^® yoga opens your heart, thus opening you to your own Divine Essence.  The practice of dakshina is one of those practices, unconditional giving.  It supports the organization for practical purposes.  It is important to keep the organization running smoothly.  In other not-for-profit organizations, financial support is called fundraising.  In this world class organization, however, fundraising is “dakshina.”  

Like your other Svaroopa^® yoga practices, its purpose is support on the journey to Self-Realization.  Dakshina frees you from fear and opens your heart.  Swamiji has based all these practices in yoga’s ancient authentic teachings.  She has designed them to open our hearts so we move through the world differently.  The love that she gives us in doing this is just so beautiful.

I practice dakshina with gratitude, to give back for the many things I am immensely grateful for receiving.  Just like all the other practices, it opens me to a place more expansive than my mind can imagine.  It opens my heart and settles me into the Self.  The more steadily I give, the steadier is my state.  Yet it is a paradox.  This practice, which is meant to be motivated by pure inner impulse, gives more back to me than I can give to it.

Please help the Ashram continue to serve you in the many magnificent ways it does.  Click to donate on our Facebook page or on our website page.  Your generosity is heart-fully appreciated.

This fundraising season we have found an easy way for you to open your own heart in this way, as well as to make this practice available to those near and dear to you.  Through a Facebook Fundraising Event, you can share your heart and raise awareness of Swamiji’s profound teachings that mean so much to you.

On our Facebook page, you’ll find the information to make a direct donation to the Ashram and create your own fundraiser for the Ashram.  It is easy to do. Here is how.

• For a single personal donation, go to the Ashram Facebook page.  Click on the Donate button on the cover photo.  When asked, designate an amount and a payment method.  Then click Donate again.  One, two three — that’s it.

• Create your own event, to magnify your capacity to share your heart — with the Ashram — AND with your Facebook friends.  Here’s how to create your own Ashram fundraiser on Facebook:

1. Click Fundraisers in the left-side menu of your News Feed. Then, click Raise Money and select Nonprofit/Charity.

2. Type in Svaroopa Vidya Ashram, and click on the link given.

3. Choose a cover photo, fill in the fundraiser details (we’re happy to provide them) and click Create.

4. When you’re given the opportunity to decide with whom you want to share this fundraiser, we suggest people who know how much you love your yoga, and who love you!  We suggest you NOT send it to your Svaroopa^® yoga friends on Facebook.  Let’s avoid sending the same fundraiser repeatedly to our community.

I invite you to do more yoga, open your heart, contribute today and offer this great practice to others.