Author Archives: Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram

Blossoming Forth by Swami Nirmalananda

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289A dynamic process is under way at the Ashram, with growth and changes in our staff as well as a new building for our local Downingtown programs. Many exciting developments make this blossoming forth tangible and obvious, a flowering that comes from the hard work of our teachers, staff and sevites and the generosity of our many donors.

The yogic process that happens to you on a personal level also occurs at the organizational level, for organizations are nothing but groups of people committed to a shared goal. This process is a reflection of the cosmic process, the blossoming forth of Consciousness-Itself. In honor of this, our year-end fundraising campaign is titled “Blossoming Forth,” described as “unmilana” in an important sutra from Kashmiri Shaivism.

Look at three ways that this blossoming forth is happening right now:

  • Cosmic Level: Consciousness is blossoming forth as this marvelous, multifaceted universe by contracting from pure expansive Beingness into individualized forms, including ants, trees, elephants, you and everything else that exists.
  • Personal Level: As a contracted form of consciousness, you yearn to know your own essence and seek a path of discovery. Svaroopa® yoga reveals your own Self through a profound process of blossoming inward.
  • Organizational Level: We are shifting gears, which is welcome news in a process that began with Master Yoga’s Reawakening (two years ago) and led to the Consolidation of Master Yoga and Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram last year. Now we are Blossoming Forth into the world!

We need your support at this dynamic time. Growth is expansive, but it is also expensive. We are adding staff members in order to expand our ability to be responsive to you. In the new year, you will find many new retreats and trainings, both for teachers as well as for yogis who want to deepen their yoga. We are expanding our local Downingtown facility and programming. We are expanding our Teacher Trainer faculty. Plus we have our new website, new taglines and my recent return to traveling and teaching. All this means we are reaching more people, people who want to know their own Self.

In this expansive time, our focus remains intensely personal. This is about you; this is about how you experience your own Self. As our organization blossoms into its own future, its purpose remains unchanged — to support your blossoming into your Divinity.

Support our expansion through your donation, especially important at the end of the year, both for your financial planning as well as the Ashram’s. So many of you helped us survive the recent challenges; now help us thrive! Donate now, in any amount, as a one-time donation or a monthly pledge that provides continuing support.

We are able to serve you because of your generosity. Please help us accomplish our purpose more fully, in this blossoming forth of the Ashram and the Svaroopa® sciences.

With love and blessings,

Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Click here to make a donation today.

Comings and Goings

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Transition is a natural current in an organization dedicated to transformation and upliftment. Thus, we announce a number of changes in our administrative staff, as their lives grow and change.

As Sarvataa Christie leaves to focus on personal and family matters, we thank her for excellent and enthusiastic service as Enrollment Advisor over the past year.  Hrdayaa had already expanded her availability in the last few weeks and is delighted to turn more of her attention to supporting your program choices.

Our Business Administration Manager, Sharada Macdonald, is shifting gears as well, in order to be available to her family in a challenging time.  Even with a change in focus and fewer hours at SVA, Sharada is generously making herself available to fill gaps during Swami Nirmalananda’s upcoming teaching tour in Australia. Happily, we are soon welcoming Kanchan (Connie) Mohn, one of our Board members, to serve as Staff Coordinator during this transition, supporting our staff as Sharada has done for so many years.

With gratitude for her expertise in her role as SVA’s part-time bookkeeper, we also say goodbye to Perpetua Seidenberg who is turning her attention to her sweet baby boy. We are delighted to welcome Lindsay Dittbrenner as our new bookkeeper, joining us on October 6th. Expanding to a full-time position means that she will be more responsive to all facets of our organization.

Jessica Kriel is our new Guest Services coordinator, and we have greatly enjoyed working with her during her first three weeks.  Jessica brings years of experience in hospitality and guest services. When you fly to Philadelphia for our programs, you can rely on Jessica to handle arrangements for your transportation from the Philadelphia airport, hotel shuttles from the Desmond to Ashram lunches as well as your accommodations and meals at the Desmond.

 

 

 

Chanting to the Divine by Priya Kenney

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Priya Kenney

Priya Kenney

We were never far from hearing the sounds of worship of the Divine on the 2013 Ganeshpuri trip.  I loved the auditory presence of the Divine in Ganeshpuri.  It was one of the reasons our senses were so filled with Consciousness.  That ever-present current of mantra and chanting filled our ears and hearts and the act of chanting sent vibrations of Consciousness through our bodies.  We were in the current of Grace.

Brahmin priests began chanting soon after 4:00 am at the Nityananda Temple for the devotional abhishek (ritual bathing of Nityananda’s murti).  After breakfast, we settled in for the Guru Gita and all the accompanying chants.  Every day, Swamiji gave us a few more Guru Gita verses translated into English and we chanted those too.  In the afternoon, we gathered with Swamiji for more chanting, satsang and meditation.

Some chants were familiar — the Guru Gita and Jaya Jaya Arati Nityananda — and the new and mysterious chants that flowed from the Brahmin priests during the all day yajña, fire ceremony.  Those chants propitiated the gods, the planets and all the forces of Consciousness by using a mysterious and mesmerizing rhythm that propelled us into a meditative state.

In the Nityananda Temple, we heard many beautiful chants as well.  One of the Brahmin priests, Prasad, has a particularly celestial voice.  One morning, I entered the sound of his chanting, and was lifted to a beautiful place of adoration and devotion.  I was especially taken by the nearly monotone Om Namo Bhagavate chant that came through the loudspeakers during a rest period of the abhishek.  That same chant flowed through the streets during other parts of the day and evening.

Some of us chanted the Guru Gita at Gurudev Siddha Peeth, where Swamiji lived, served and sat at Baba’s feet. Their rendition of the Guru Gita has a similar but slightly different melody, sung in call and response with men singing one-half of each verse, the women the other half.

Chanting and the mantra are the powerful pathways to meditation, ways to stay close to God.  Meditation gives us the Self. All the chanting took me right into meditation. When I looked around at the other yogis, often they would be deep in meditation. It was a beautiful sight. During the abhishek and the yajña, the chanting went on for long periods of time and it was impossible to sustain conscious awareness.  I noticed people around me in ecstatic meditation and others immersed deep inside. The sheer magnitude of the chanting overpowered any resistance we might have had.  Our minds became still in that river of Consciousness and there we were, right in ourSelves.

For information on the India 2015 trip, click here for FAQs.

Celebrating A Milestone – by Amala (Lynn) Cattafi Heinlein

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amala-photoThis weekend, the Ashram celebrates its fifth birthday!  Our beautiful bouncing baby is growing up so fast!

I remember when Swamiji asked me to serve on the Board.  The Ashram had not even been born, but my joy in expectation of the big event was so powerful!  Then came the purchase of our Ashram’s home building, and that night we held a small puja (ceremony) to install Swamiji as the Guru. All present wept with joy at the miracle of this powerful birth, and of course, there was cake.  Many sevites who so lovingly transformed the building into the space that grounds Her Shakti, by painting, stripping wallpaper, building and cleaning, framing and hanging the pictures of our lineage, most important, creating community through Grace. So amazing!  In the last 5 years we have changed a lot of organizational diapers, nurtured our baby, given it all our love.  It has returned that love and Grace in spades.

Fast forward to today: we now have 9 Board members, an amazing group of sevites and dedicated staff, an amazing new website and a sustainable business model to carry us well into the future. We have realized our goal of a second building, creating a more public space with plenty of room to keep growing, and to serving all.

Yet we have so much more growth ahead! The Grace that flows through our Guru to all is the sustaining force.  On this five year anniversary, I am reminded again of how blessed we all are to have found this path, found our Guru, and that we are all together sharing this amazing journey to live in the knowing of our Divinity.

Happy Birthday Dear One….today, we all celebrate OUR birthday as one.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo namah

Getting to Know SVA’s New Website by Matrika (Marlene) Gast

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Marlene Gast

Marlene Gast

Visit www.svaroopa.org today, your new source of information about our generous offerings, all finally linked in one consolidated location. Enjoy our captivating new design that integrates the Ashram and Master Yoga websites. With our redesigned Teacher Directory and a web-wide search engine, our new site interweaves all of the rich threads of the Svaroopa® Sciences into one exquisitely complete tapestry. Once you’ve visited www.svaroopa.org, it will become crystal clear that our Board, sevites and designers have succeeded in providing you with a site that is well-organized, user-friendly, and easy to navigate.

The new website expresses the personalized nature of the Svaroopa® Sciences, giving you multiple entry points; you choose the “Pathway” that will lead you to your own Self. Just as you are drawn to practice the pathway most inviting to you, our new site is organized into three main interest areas: Svaroopa® Yoga, Teacher Training and Meditation. And it is designed to support newcomers, as well as long-time yogis, on the path to discovering what you seek, at all levels.

I collaborated with other sevite writers on the site’s content this summer, so I could possibly be prejudiced. Yet I recommend the site to you as a virtual portal to inspiration, as well as information, simply because it is so easy to use. Our homepage layout is clear, colorful and appealing. And most any topic that interests you is just a click or two away, with no need for labyrinthine searches. You will find the Ashram’s entire library and free services still hosted on its original site, a familiar access point to the wealth of teachings already familiar to you.

We sevites on the team hope that you enjoy the new site. As with any new piece of software, you may encounter a previously unseen glitch. If you do come across any malfunctions, please let us know by emailing info@svaroopayoga.org with a detailed description of the problem. Issues will be passed along to the web developers, and they’ll do their best to address the error in a timely fashion. Word from them is that changes and edits to the new site are quite straightforward.

I look forward to hearing from you, whether you’ve encountered a problem to be solved, or you’ve discovered something particularly delightful as you find Svaroopa® Sciences information and inspiration through this new portal.

Taking Yoga on Vacation by Antarajna (Deborah) Mandel

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antarajna

Antarajna (Debbie) Mandel

I have three levels of vacation yoga packing, depending on what type of trip I am going on. If I’m flying, I take wallet-size pictures of Swamiji, Muktananda, and Nityananda and my meditation journal; also, I wear my rudraksha beads. I set up a small puja in my room, to which I will add flowers or candy. I mostly meditate in bed and do some bed poses as well.

Level two is going on a short vacation in the car, to a relatives or the Ashram. On these vacations I bring a framed picture of Swamiji, Muktananda and Nityananda and a small Ganesha. I also pack my meditation asana and shawl, my meditation journal and The Nectar of Chanting. Again, once at my destination, I set up a puja and meditate in bed, unless there is a good chair available. At the Ashram, or any Svaroopa® yoga workshop, I use the blankets provided. Otherwise, I do what I can in bed.

The third level is when I go on vacation by car to stay somewhere for a longer period. Then I bring everything for a level 2 trip as well as my blankets. This approach has proven to be very beneficial. I am more likely to do my whole practice of pranayama, poses, and meditation as well as chanting the Sri Guru Gita.

I know that packing for yoga and meditation practice really pays off. Last summer, on a level three trip, I got up at 5:00 AM to do my practice, but I had to do some physical therapy exercises first. In the process of those exercises, I fell and broke both bones in my right wrist. I had nowhere to go at that early hour. So with ice on my broken arm, I gracefully and gratefully moved into my practice (less asana) and was able to meditate for 90 minutes, broken bones and all.

The power of yoga. I need to remind myself of this when I fall out of practice. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Who is the Guru? by Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi

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Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi

Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi

“Meditate on the Sadguru,
embodied form of consciousness,
knowing, being, illumining,
giving me That which is my Self”

Thus says one of the introductory verses in the Shree Guru Gita, the ultimate song to the Guru.

In February 2013, after witnessing life in Ganeshpuri, whose heart is Bhagavan Nityananda, I found that I had many questions: What is my relationship to the Guru and how is it deepening? How did the yatra to India affect this relationship to my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda? What effect did this pilgrimage to the fountain of spiritual energy have in me?

Devotion and love of the Guru is the core of life there, and the Nityananda temple in the town square is a true testament to this.  Ceremonies are performed several times every day to the enlivened murti (statue) of Nityananda. In our yatra to Ganeshpuri, we were fortunate to accompany Swami Nirmalananda to witness these devotional ceremonies.

Every morning, at 4:00 AM, the temple came alive with chanting, beating of the drums and ritual bathing of Nityananda’s life size murti.  The two-hour ceremony was absolutely spellbinding.  We were riveted by the affectionate way the Brahmin priests engaged in their tasks. When they concluded with the waving of lights to Nityananda, we all joined in the chant of “Jaya, jaya Arati, Nityananda.” The temple was transformed into a powerhouse of spiritual magic and mystery.

At Her daily satsangs, Swamiji interwove tantric teachings into our experiences of the day.  Thus, Her satsangs facilitated self-reflection, contemplation and integration of what was unfolding in our bodies, minds and hearts. Each evening concluded with a Svaroopa® yoga class bringing the busy day into a tranquil repose.

The yatra with Swamiji is no ordinary trip to India.  It is a voyage of self-discovery that is guided and assisted by Swami Nirmalananda, who is a living embodiment of the Gurus of the lineage that preceded Her –Baba Muktananda, Bhagavan Nityananda as well as the sages prior to them.

The devotion and love of Bhagavan Nityananda’s devotees was very tangible, and it made it clear to me how my relationship to Swami Nirmalananda was evolving. The effects of the yatra are unfolding to this day in many subtle ways.

The yatra opened my eyes to what is possible – “the human capacity” was made more palpable, more real.  I know I am changing at the core of my being – I am not who I was; I am in a constant process of “becoming and being.” And in every moment I am guided by the immense Grace bestowing power of the Guru.

All I need to do is think of Her, say Her name and allow the Grace to carry me through the darkest, most difficult steps of the journey to the core of my Heart, to the stillpoint of existence.

As I delve more deeply into myself, naturally and organically my relationship with the Guru expands.  The Guru is outside of me as Swamiji and inside of me as my Self.  As I reach for the Self, as I sit at my Guru’s feet – the boundaries dissolve, expanding into deeper states of awareness.

Guru is a person who lives in a constant state of knowing of Divinity – their Presence, word and action are infused with Grace that opens the doors to the core my being.

Where can you go in this world that the Guru is not?  What can you see, hear and know that is not infused, pervaded and sustained by the Guru?

Where can you go that you do not experience the Presence of the Guru?

What can I say about the Guru that has not already been said? Yet the words flow through my being and from my heart and their expression is a testament to the evolution and revelation that I experience through my Guru’s Grace.

 

Who is the Guru?
In the black, velvety darkness
The path is hard to see
Yet I have a guiding light
That sits in the centre of my skull
At first – invisible, hidden
The steps are muddled, frantic
As I sit in the silence of my heart
The light begins to shine
Very distant, dim, elusive
It begins to grow and pulse through my blood
Shimmering crystal light
Effulgent sapphire blue
As it fills the chidakasha
Deeper and deeper I go

 

Who is the Guru?
What do I see?
She is the light and the Sun
The sky and the stars
The flame that kindles my soul
As she lifts the sadness from my heart
To reveal the stillness beyond

 

She is the Grace that guides my path
She opens the door and I float
Beyond knowledge and knowing
Beyond sound and word
My eyes are opened
To the infinite vastness
That is yet unborn

Taglines (Installment #7)

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Svaroopa® Yoga: Consciousness Yoga

Experience yoga’s promise – the knowing of your own Self as Consciousness-Itself. Beyond the poses or stress relief, the true goal is the bliss of your own being, named svaroopa in the ancient texts. Svaroopa® yoga reveals your own Divinity.

Svaroopa® Yoga: Purposeful Practice

Our poses and practices are doorways to the Self. They lift you out of your suffering and reveal the blissful ocean of consciousness within. This is the purpose for which you were born.

Svaroopa® Yoga: Divinity Yoga

The point of human life is to know both realities: the whole of your infinite Beingness (the formless) and the Divinity of your form (your body and your mind). Svaroopa® yoga reveals the Divinity hidden within and make you able to see it in everyone and everything.

Svaroopa® Yoga: The Ultimate Practice

Our sophisticated methodology works with distinctly human abilities to cultivate the ultimate human experience – the knowing of your inherent Divinity. This is called freedom. beginning with wholeness, Svaroopa® yoga is the ultimate practice that yields the ultimate benefit.

Svaroopa® Yoga: A Sublime Path

Yoga recognizes the Divine in every form, from the expanse of the sea to the infinity in a grain of sand, from the light of the noonday sun to the light in another’s eyes. Follow the path of Svaroopa® yoga to find that in your own Self.

Svaroopa® Yoga: Seeking & Finding

You have an ability to get lost in things – events, situations and other people. It is your own Divine Self that you are losing. Svaroopa® yoga opens you up to your own Self again and gives you the tools to find and live in the inner knowing.

New Building for Downingtown Yoga & Meditation Center

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downingtown yoga bannerWe’re almost there!  Our Board of Directors has been working for almost a year to select a building, negotiate a contract, complete the property inspections and arrange financing.  We are in the final steps to get to the settlement table. Of course, nothing in real estate is final until it’s final, but we wanted you to know that we’re almost there.

Why do we need a new building, you ask? Well, for you, of course!

In our 2012 Board Retreat, we developed a 10 year plan for expanding the Ashram, as well as a succession plan for after Swamiji is gone. We announced our plans in an article, including:

[Swamiji] along with the Board, is focusing on the sustainability of her teachings… We have the house in Downingtown, plus we will likely purchase an additional building to house our public programs and provide resident housing… and guest accommodations for visiting yogis.

Our plan is to create teachers rather than to accumulate assets; it is about the sustainability of the teachings, not of the buildings. Yet we need a building in which to base the next level of meditation teachings. We had planned to accomplish this by 2014 and we are realizing that dream on time.  Especially with the tasks of the Reawakening and the Consolidation, this is a major accomplishment.

We have looked at many buildings that didn’t have the right mix of space for DYMC (Downingtown Yoga & Meditation) along with apartments for residents and guests, and this one does. The ground floor is very large, for satsangs, events and yoga classes, which we need because our current DYMC location, right next door, is bursting at the seams. The upstairs apartments in the new building are currently rented, which helps to support the building while we grow into it.  We will be renovating and moving into the building in stages, and will keep you informed every step of the way.

Teacher Trainings will not be held in this location, as the Desmond offers a better experience for groups needing full service for YTT, retreats, etc. This building is intended for setting the Shakti, in a location that Swamiji feels very strongly about, and will be dedicated to creating community in the form of residents and guests, drawing from local community and Shishyas worldwide. Our local community is growing, as is our online following both nationally and internationally. There is a hunger for the deeper teachings, which is the way Swamiji serves both you and the greater yoga community, who thirst for that “something more” that we Svaroopis experience and understand.

In order for us to carry out Swamiji’s vision, and the vision of the organization going forward, we need this additional space. A space of our own that can hold the Shakti she pours into it. We are so thrilled to be able to provide our community with this space to grow. It is YOU who is making this possible, and it is for YOU that Swamiji, your Board of Directors, and all of the Trainers, staff and sevites serve.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo nama.h

Retreat Report by Amala (Lynn) Cattafi Heinlein

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amala-photo

Amala (Lynn) Cattafi Heinlein

Talk about full immersion! I went from our annual Board Retreat at the Ashram, to the Shaktipat Retreat and now I am in the middle of a lovely Svaroopa-fest called “Multiple Levels.”  WHEW!

I call it a Svaroopa-fest because it is Svaroopa® on all levels:  asana, vichara, meditation, chanting and deep, very deep, teachings from Swamiji.  After all of my immersion experiences preceding it, this “Multiple Levels” retreat is a perfect way to integrate it all, and go deeper still.

I must say that I was hitting my “stuff” in a big way — but why else do we do Svaroopa® yoga! It’s amazing to have such support, including Devi, who is so adept at gently nudging me through the tough moments, while I use all the pathways inside. This retreat reinforces how much Svaroopa® yoga and Svaroopa® Vidya truly offer, and how many ways there are to access the Self.

Also this was my first time staying at the Desmond. It is very supportive and comfortable (and the jacuzzi before bed is pretty great too!). I realized today how beneficial this location is. While we have the retreat environment, the conference center also serves other groups at the same time, so I am finding it easier to integrate “normal” life into my yoga.  We are not isolated for the retreat and then having to make our way back into the world; we have the benefits of full immersion and our “cocoon,” while still having to be in relationship with non-yogis.

When we had just two more days to go, I was sure that Swamiji had some surprises and plans for us.  From doing prior immersions with her, I knew she’d get me ready to go home, while taking the “whole new me” with me.  It turned out to be true.  Do more yoga!