Eventually, your most valued pleasures become stale. And you realize that you want something the world cannot offer. Your focus turns to spiritual development. This is called sannyasa. It means you’re cultivating freedom from desire, freedom from need, greed and fear. As my Baba described, instead of living in contraction, the other possibility…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “What Is an Ashram“
November 15th is Gurudevi’s birthday. We will formally celebrate her in her Swami Sunday meditation program on November 16th.
This is the last birthday in her 8th decade; her upcoming year takes her into the 9th. Thus, she begins her 80th trip around the sun.
This day also inaugurates her Golden Jubilee, as it marks her 50 years of teaching!
What does this unfolding of time mean to her? She says,
Yoga’s promise is that it just keeps getting better . . . Even before dedicating myself to yoga, I figured out that each new decade was like getting a job promotion. More responsibility, more autonomy, more freedom, more impact, more expertise to draw on, more appreciation for the others in my life, more, more, more . . .
What does this mean to those of us who treasure the gift of her presence and her profound teachings? When you attend this Swami Sunday, you will learn more about it in Gurudevi’s discourse. You’ll learn how this milestone birthday pertains to your spiritual advancement, which is the focus of all her teachings.
Let us gratefully celebrate the anniversary of Gurudevi Swami Nirmalananda’s birth. Let’s celebrate our great good fortune in receiving her profound, ancient teachings and practices of yoga. As she translates them to pertain to everyday life, she makes them accessible and easy to understand. We are supported beyond measure in walking this spiritual path.
Living close enough to the Ashram to attend On-Site, your pre-registration allows preparations to accommodate everyone. If you don’t live within driving distance, you can register for Swami Sunday Online. If you have a Shishya Membership, you are invited to register for the Shishya Gurudevi Connection.
Rosemary (Rudrani) Nogue, Yogaratna
I celebrate two yoga students who healed debilitating mental / emotional obstacles through Svaroopa® practices.
Today, they are Svaroopa® yoga teachers. As their Svaroopa® yoga teacher, I served as a conduit to the flow of Grace. They did their part by doing the practices.
About 22 years ago, Laurie (Kevalaa) Hislop, a neighbor, joined her first yoga class. She was experiencing anxiety, fear, inner turmoil, sleeplessness, a sense of fragility and exhaustion. She describes, “I felt like I wasn’t enough.”
Kevalaa was busy with three children, yet she came to my classes consistently. The yoga teachings gave her a sense of peace, so she copied Gurudevi’s classroom quotes down. On sleepless nights, Kevalaa read the Teaching Articles that were the source of the quotes.
In time, to support her healing process, she started an afternoon home yoga practice. It included Shavasana and Ujjayi Pranayama. Her healing journey took time and patience. She learned to not push in yoga poses or in her life.
Heather, another neighbor, started yoga classes 18 years ago. She was an overwhelmed, anxious, somewhat depressed, tight-bodied mother of two small children. Panic attacks were part of her life.
Heather knew this was the style of yoga for her. In class, she drew stick figures of poses so she could practice at home. Realizing she hadn’t taken a full breath in years, she added Ujjayi to her routine. These practices lessened her anxiety and stress.
After classes, Heather consistently helped me pack up (and she still does). While cleaning up, we talked about yoga and how it applies to life. She told me, “I can’t get enough of these conversations.”
She read all the Teaching Articles and listened to Gurudevi’s recordings of them. The more Heather tapped into her own Self, the happier she and her husband became.
Once Kevalaa and Heather were well, both “yoga sisters” dove into Foundations and the many YTT courses beyond. They also tapped into mantra, meditation and Shaktipat. Now they are inspiring Svaroopa® yoga teachers committed to this Grace filled path.
As Svaroopa® yoga healed them, it changed the trajectory of their lives. Guru’s Grace is the wind beneath their wings. They both love teaching and express immense gratitude for their yoga miracles.
Soul is not Self. When you experience the soul level of your being, it is profound. It is meaningful. It is deep and holy. You are deep and holy. Yet, there is more. Soul is like the sunlight shining through a window. Your soul is a window through which you can see…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Self & Soul“
By Gurudevi Nirmalananda
Maayaa is illusion. Moha is delusion.
The difference can be confusing, though it is easy to sort out. A magician doing card tricks is a master of illusion. To believe that their illusions are real is delusion.
Our world is made of energy, manifesting as matter. This means that matter isn’t really solid. You could call it an illusion. Some meditative traditions base their teachings and practices on this principle.
Kashmiri Shaivism says the illusion is real — you are living in a movie set. But there is nowhere else to go. This is Shiva’s movie set. The storyline is compelling, due to Shiva’s incredible creativity.
All the players are Shiva in disguise. The disguise is called Maayaa, the illusory power of Consciousness.
Maayaa is like the night sky on the Fourth of July in America. The stars and expanse beyond them are hidden by exploding fireworks. Maayaa is the fireworks. Maayaa is a great and powerful energy, so powerful that she can hide Shiva from you.
As you enact your part in the storyline, unfortunately you get lost in it. Your happiness depends on the story. Your whole sense of self is determined by…
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By Joan (Jayadevi) Brager
For months, I’ve been listening to Gurudevi Nirmalananda’s recording of “Na Shivam.”
She sings this 26-minute-long, beautiful, spirited chant with a group. I find it to be simple and easy to follow:
Nashivam vidyate kvachit
There is nothing that is not Shiva!
Its lively beat inspires me to be consistent with my physical therapy exercises. Recovering from recent surgery, I have not been able to do yoga poses. I wanted my exercise to be a spiritual experience the same way that yoga poses can be.
I searched Gurudevi’s albums for music to help me to both move well and connect to Grace. When I discovered Gurudevi’s “Na Shivam” album, I knew its wonderful beat would keep me moving and dancing as well.
I especially like the chorus: Shiva Shiva Shiva Shiva Shiva! Sung enthusiastically by Gurudevi and repeated by the group, it is the heart of the chant. It inspires me every time I hear it.
Worth repeating is this chant’s essential message:
There is nowhere there is not Shiva.
Everything that I see is he!
Everything that I see is me!
Singing these words reminds me of the reality that Shiva is within me, being me. When I go into the world with this knowledge, I touch bliss within, repeatedly.
Your mind has the ability to erase an old way of looking at the world. Your mind has the ability to create a new relationship with the world. Your mind has the ability to see the same old world in a whole new way. You’ve been looking for the change to come from…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “One Pulsation“
By Dhairyavati (Kristine) Freeman
Happy Birthday to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram! I’m so grateful you were born.
Gurudevi says, “The birth of a person is into limitation, the exploration of individual identity.” Shree Guru Gita says it this way:
Birth is into not-knowingness,
spellbound by Maayaa’s worldly dance.
Giver of the upwelling light
of your own Self is called Guru.
But the birth of an Ashram begins the liberation process that benefits more than merely one individual. Thus, our Ashram exists to support all who yearn to know the highest. For this reason, our Ashram’s birthday is deeply meaningful.
I remember when our Ashram was born. Swami Nirmalananda (now called Gurudevi) was newly initiated as a sannyasi and authorized to serve as Guru. When she founded Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram on September 28, 2009, I was excited to see the Ashram doors open.
I was longing to explore meditation and yoga philosophy deeply. The Ashram offered a precious opportunity to study directly with Gurudevi. I quickly enrolled in Gurudevi’s first “Year-Long Programme.” I was already a Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher. Later, I became certified as a Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation Teacher.
This September, our Ashram turns 16 ― a milestone birthday. I associate my own 16th birthday with the freedom of getting a driver’s license. No longer merely along for the ride, I was finally in the driver’s seat. I loved the freedom to explore the world on my own. My state was described by a verse in Snow Patrol’s song “Chasing Cars:” “I need your Grace, to remind me to find my own.”
Now I’m blessed to be the beneficiary of 16 years of Ashram Grace, personified by Gurudevi. As Gurudevi so generously shared her state, I’ve ridden the waves of Grace to explore inward. With Shaktipat, and so much more, Gurudevi has given me the experience of inner freedom.
Through her Ashram programs — Meditation Club, Swami Sunday, a Vowed Order — she supports us seekers in continuing to explore the deeper dimensions of being. What a gift! With any of your chosen practices and programs, you focus on, find and experience the Divine within you ― which is you, your own Self.
Reflecting on this auspicious birthday, Gurudevi says,
Today we celebrate the organization that serves thousands of yogis, making a difference by developing their inner experience and carrying it into the world.
This year, the Ashram’s September 28th Birthday falls on a Sunday. What a wonderful time to attend Swami Sunday! Profoundly auspicious, Swami Sunday on October 5th is Gurudevi’s formal celebration of Baba Muktananda’s Punyatithi as well as our Ashram’s birthday.
What an opportunity to celebrate by attending on either On-Site or Online. It is also the culmination of a Shaktipat Retreat, so you are sure to be infused!
Clinging means your happiness depends on this certain thing. Repulsion means your unhappiness is guaranteed by a certain thing. But when any single thing will either give you happiness or unhappiness, that thing or that person is in charge. You already know not to rely on the weather for your happiness, yes? How about…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Differences Divide“
practice & grace: giving you your Self
revealing the mystery
