By Rosemary (Rudrani) Nogue, Yogaratna

Swami Sunday and Wednesday Satsang are magnificent Guru gifts. I am thankful that both satsangs are easily accessible online. I live far from the Ashram (like many of you). From the first 2020 online Swami Sunday to today, I’ve cherished these lifelines to Guru’s Grace.

Recently, I travelled to Downingtown and participated in person in two Swami Sundays and two Wednesday Satsangs at Lokananda. There were similarities between online and in person.  Gurudevi’s inspiring talks always resonate and offer what I need to hear (again). I always feel that each talk is the best talk ever!  Gurudevi helps me slide into easy, deep meditations whether I’m online or in person.

Still, there were wonderful upgrades to being with my Guru in person. Arriving early at the meditation hall gave me the opportunity to prepare myself to receive more.   I settled into the undeniable energy and repeated mantra.

Upon Gurudevi’s arrival, I bowed with my hands together in front of my heart (Anjali Mudra). I felt seen. Group chanting immersed me in a delicious surround-sound. During darshan I rested my head on Gurudevi’s feet. Upon sitting up, Guru and Self were One. 

Gurudevi answered a personal question and blessed my sacred object. Prasad was sweet. During the gathering in Lokananda’s café area, I shared, listened, and learned from others’ experiences of Swami Sunday. Another of Gurudevi’s brilliant offerings! 

Being with Gurudevi gave me an openhearted experience of being “here” within.  My Grace receiving capacity expanded while my reverence for Gurudevi and Self deepened.

I look forward to returning soon. Gurudevi always offers more when I am ready.

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

Over a thousand years ago, the great Tibetan yogi Milarepa got teachings from his Guru, Marpa the Translator.

As a young man, Marpa had left his home in the Himalayas to study in India with the yogis. He memorized Sanskrit texts and copied them down.

Marpa then took those texts back to his homeland and translated them into the local language. He wasn’t making up new teachings. He brought the teachings from India up into the Himalayas and shared them with those who had an interest.

Similarly, I am a translator. Yet I am not translating from Sanskrit because I do not know the language. I study English translations of the texts, plus I know a lot of the technical terminology. As a teacher, I am giving you a cultural translation. It is needed because many of the texts were written for monks living in a monastery. Yet most Westerners interweave these spiritual principles into their worldly lifestyle.

As a cultural translator, I show you how to apply those yogic principles in your busy life. I empower you to live a yogic lifestyle at home, a place you probably share with other people and where there is a lot going on.

Do the yogic principles still work, even in this new setting? Yes, definitely! The same teachings are applied, not only in a different language, but in our modern times and in a different cultural context. So, in that way, I serve as a translator.

Excerpt from Yoga: Embodied Spirituality, pages 25‒26

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda 

When you get lost in the world, you have not only lost your way, you have lost your own Self.

If you go for a hike and get lost in the woods, after a while you know you are lost. You try to retrace your steps or find a pathway out. But you never get so lost that you think you are a tree. You still know you are a person and that you have a home to return to.

Getting lost in worldly stuff is like thinking you are a tree. You don’t remember that you have a home, a place inside where you are already whole, full, complete and perfect. When you are lost, you think you are imperfect and that you MUST have a certain worldly thing or a certain person to fulfill you. 

Allow me to assure you that you are not a tree. You are not a worldly person. If you were, you wouldn’t be reading this. You want something more than what the world can provide. Bottom line, you are seeking your own Self. You must look inward.

When you look inward, the first thing you discover is your mind. It replays your worldly experiences and reactions. Now, instead of getting lost in the world, you can get lost in your mind. You think, “I am my mind!”  But the statement itself proves…