By Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Day 2 in Ganeshpuri:  we spent hours and hours, delicious and timeless hours, in a Vedic fire ceremony.  This yaj~na honored the cosmic energy that sustains, nurtures and protects the universe, Narayana and Lakshmi.  We invoked their blessings for all of us and for the whole world, as well as to get the new swamis ready for their big step.

Day 3 in Ganeshpuri:  we immersed ourselves in a second yaj~na, but shorter.  The morning ceremony was conducted by five yogis preparing to give themselves to the fire of Consciousness.  They spent the afternoon and evening in a vigil, with more flames, more mantras and lots of quiet time and personal practice.  As I joined them at different times in the day, we laughed a lot!  They were getting lighter and lighter as the day progressed, not only shining more brightly but also shedding the density of lifetimes.

Day 4 in Ganeshpuri:  After the fires, burning away their karmas and limitations, the new swamis were birthed in the waters of Ganeshpuri’s sacred hot springs.  Mantras, some of them whispered by the Guru under a shawl, and new names completed their ceremonies, freeing them in extraordinary, powerful and blissful ways.  It shines in their eyes as well as through their mind and heart.  The way they see, walk, think and speak is changed – yet they are the same.  Freedom is simply you becoming more you by shedding who and what you were not.

Their new names are:

Praj~naananda  (the yogi formerly known as Chiti)

Sahajananda (the yogi formerly known as Kusuma)

Samvidaananda (the yogi formerly known as Rukmini)

Satrupananda (the yogi formerly known as Sakalananda)

Shrutananda (the yogi formerly known as Vidyadevi)

More reports are coming soon!