Category Archives: Ashram News

A Complete and Utter Knowing

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By Joanne (Jayeshwari) Kirk 

Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney  

My Shaktipat experience was beyond my mind.  What I got was a complete and utter knowing of the Self.  I don’t have any doubts anymore about the Self being there.  It’s not that I’m in the Self all the time.  But I know that the Self and the flow of Grace are always there.  

I am more grounded and clear-headed because I’m coming from Self more than I was before.  It was happening before, but I didn’t recognize it.  I didn’t see it.  Now basing myself in the Self comes easier, and I recognize it when I’m there.   

This makes me feel younger.  I can see the limitations I put on myself, but they’re not as tight.  I feel more open to changes and different ways of seeing things.  My reactions don’t seem as important as they did before, so they go away sooner.  And I’m not as hard on myself when I catch myself reacting.  I have faith that I will have less and less reactivity by being on this path. 

I made a decision before this Shaktipat retreat to stay open to whatever happened.  I see now that expecting certain results is a way of putting up fences.  It blocks the Grace.  This big part of my personality is slowly melting away.  It doesn’t have to be there anymore.  I’m not fussing as much about what’s going to happen.  I’m not living in the future as much.  I know it’s all going to work out.  

I feel so much closer to Gurudevi since Shaktipat.  I feel the river of the Guru’s Grace.  I feel part of it.  I don’t have to analyze it to know it is all That.  I feel the Guru in me.  I feel the lineage and Grace more than I did before.  It’s beyond the mind, but the feeling is there and it’s real.

Yoga Therapy

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By Swami Nirmalananda  

In my first yoga class, the teacher said, “Just do what you can.”  It was compassionate but not very helpful. I enjoyed the classes but made little progress.  When I tried another yoga style, the teacher often shouted encouragingly, “Reach for it!”  Not at all compassionate, but she was giving me a goal to aim for.  Unfortunately, I failed.  Repeatedly. 

Yoga therapy meets you where you are at, which means it is compassionate.  And it gives you a goal, which is so important.  Yet it does one thing more.  It gives you a way to reach that goal, a step-by-step process that is custom tailored to your needs.  You can see your own progress toward the new possibilities you’re expanding into. 

Your private yoga therapy session begins with an assessment, “How are you, really?  What do you need help with?”  Then your yoga therapist creates a personalized plan for you, a step-by-step process that moves you through your needed healing. 

If you have a medical diagnosis, yoga therapy is a powerful adjunct to your medical treatment.   

If you are coming for pain relief, stress relief or deeper levels of healing, yoga therapy makes powerful changes from the beginning.

Yoga therapy is so powerful because it works in a realm that medicine rarely addresses — the source from which your own healing comes.  This is your own beingness, “svaroopa” in Sanskrit.  This is where Svaroopa® yoga gets its name.  

We usually begin with coaching your breathing, pivotal to all levels of healing.  Yoga’s gentle, focused breathing process makes you feel better quickly.  You learn how to take the practice home with you, empowering you to contribute to your own improvement.  Your pain and stress levels drop, your circulatory and immune systems begin to recalibrate themselves. All your physiological systems are gradually revitalized. 

When we incorporate yoga poses into your private sessions, they target your spinal tensions and dissolve them.  This creates interior space in your body, good for all your organs as well as muscles and bones.  Even your brain loves it!  The most important part of each session is when you settle into a deep healing state, a yogic immersion that integrates mind-heart-body in a delicious and tangible way. 

You move through the phases of yoga therapy, traversing a well-mapped pathway to health and wholeness.  A gentle self-inquiry process helps you melt mental and emotional patterns that are linked in with your physical condition.  The result is a profound paradigm shift, one that helps you make sense out of your life experiences and the choices ahead.  All systems are go! 

Wednesdays with Gurudevi!

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Gurudevi especially designed Yoga Wednesday to support you in your yogic process.  Pivotally positioned in the middle of the week, Yoga Wednesday can get you over the hump.  The best part is the extra time with Gurudevi, who leads the morning meditation and evening program.

The evening satsang is free if you can join us live in Downingtown.  To join online, enroll in Yoga Wednesday.

I feel as though I’m sitting in Gurudevi’s living room.  A swami reads a teaching from Baba Muktananda.  Then Gurudevi’s teaching is based on this reading.  It is like the unfolding of a beautiful lotus flower.  

In her satsang talk, Gurudevi unfurls the lotus one petal at a time.  She reveals the deeper richness and understanding of Baba Muktananda’s words.  These talks are a Grace-filled gift from Gurudevi.  As they are not recorded, I know I will only hear these deep discourses this one time.  I am extremely grateful to be able to attend these rich Wednesday offerings. – Nancy W.

Yoga Wednesday

The Meaning of Karma

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By Gurudevi Nirmalananda 

Karma is a cosmic IOU.  You owe the universe something — or the universe owes you.  If you did things to benefit others in the past, motivated by altruism or compassion, the universe will reward you.  If you did things to harm others in the past, the universe will pay you back. 

Nobody ever asks about karma unless they’re going through a hard time.  Can I be frank?  Unfortunately, you earned it.  It’s easy to see when you cut somebody off in another lane while driving, and a few miles later the same thing happens to you.   

But when the events are separated in time, it’s harder to sort out.  Karma is cosmic justice, even though sometimes it takes a while to catch up with you, even lifetimes.  In meditation, I’ve had past life memories that explained why I’ve dealt with certain difficulties in my life.  Other such memories have explained many of the blessings in my life. 

In the Yoga Sutras, the sage Patanjali explains: 

Karma-a“sukla-ak.r.sna.m yoginis-trividham-itare.sam — sutra 4.7 

Karmas of yogis are neither white nor black, but are of three kinds in others. 

White means light, pure and pleasurable; black means heavy, dark and painful.  Yoga’s great masters experience neither as they live in an expansive inner state of pure beingness.  For such a being, events are like weather, which comes and goes.   

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For those who are not yet living in such a deep and easy constancy, karmas are of three types:  pleasurable, painful and mixed.  You are already familiar with each. 

No one ever asks about karma when they’re enjoying health, wealth and meaningful relationships.  However, they earned these fortunate life circumstances.  When life is not going so well, it’s good to understand two things: 

* You set yourself up

* It’s temporary. 

This too will pass.  The good news is that you have some say in when and how it will pass.  Do good unto others and your karma will improve.  It might be immediate, or it might take a month or more, but it always works. 

Except there’s a hitch.  If you’re doing good unto others so that you get some good in return, it won’t work.  What is required is altruism or compassion.  Or sheer generosity.  It’s a glorious way to live!

Celebrating Grace & Generosity

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By Ellen (Lajja) Mitchell, President

SVA Board of Directors

It is hard to believe that our fall fundraiser, themed Guru’s Grace, is coming to an end.  However, the Grace is still flowing. It continues to flow every day, everywhere and in everyone.  Grace is always there for us.

I greatly appreciate your generous support of our Ashram’s mission through donating to the River of Teaching, the River of Freebies, and/or the River of Community.  Swami Samvidaananda wrote, “It’s a tricky balance between taking care of your needs, your family’s needs, taking care of your future, and giving some away.  The good works in the world won’t happen if you don’t support them.”  (June 2015 Contemplation)

I feel such gratitude to all of you who give and support our Ashram. Donations make up a significant portion of the funds that support Gurudevi’s teachings.  They reach seekers far and wide, through programs, satsangs and free podcasts, other Freebies and more.

I hope that Board member articles over the past few weeks have helped you contemplate the Grace in your life.  Can you feel the Grace flowing?  I hope that you were able to give in gratitude for all that you have received.

Your Ashram donation, in any amount that fits your budget, is a great benefit to the world.  Even when you don’t expect a benefit for yourself, it comes to you as well.  In his great poem Mukteshwari, Swami Muktananda writes:

Give freely, as God gives.

If after giving, you forget about it,

Then that gift grows fully. (verse 145)

May your gift grow fully as you deepen into yourself.

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How Deep Will You Step into the River of Grace?

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By Ruth (Rama) Brooke

We are in the home stretch of our River of Grace fall fundraiser.  Stories abound on how easy it is to access Guru’s Grace.  Lately, I’ve spoken with many Svaroopis on this topic.  Whether they’ve dipped their toes, or are in up to their knees, or are fully immersed in the river of Grace, they’re in the flow!  The stories take different forms, but the effect is the same — uplifting, transformative.  Gurudevi describes:

My ability to serve you is like a tributary of a great river.  I am the riverbed.  That flow of Grace comes from my Guru, and I am a wide-open channel for that flow.  So are you.

So is our Ashram, our teachers, and our whole community.  We are all part of the network of tributaries through which the river of Grace flows.  This network needs support.  With it, we’ll continue to receive, give and keep these Grace bestowing teachings alive.  Financial support of the Ashram is crucial to our Svaroopa® community, especially in these challenging times.  Please join me in contributing to the River of Grace fundraiser.  

Guru’s Grace is so reliable.  It’s like the sun, always there, shining and providing warmth even when behind the clouds.  At times, I forget to look for Grace at work in my life.  Or I’m blocking it so I can’t see it.  Yet Guru’s Grace is always there.  It’s a matter of opening my aperture (Disciple’s Grace).  

Then I step back to receive a more expansive perspective (Guru’s Grace).  For it to manifest in my heart and life, I need only call out to the Guru to ask for Grace.  It is undeniably reliable.  It is the gift of having received Shaktipat — Guru’s Grace.  What a blessing!

I am filled with gratitude, and it motivates me to give back.  Thus, I participate in the ever-flowing exchange of Guru’s Grace and Disciple’s Grace.  In this season of giving, Disciple’s Grace takes the form of dakshina, yoga’s practice of financial giving.  

Money is energy, as Gurudevi has said, and dakshina is a divine energy exchange.  Through dakshina we shine the light of Consciousness into our finances.  And as the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, promises, in giving we shall receive.  So I contemplate, and ask you to contemplate:  How deep will you step into the flow of Grace?

Donate today on our website.  You can call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or you can send your check to Svaroopa Vidya Ashram, 116 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, PA 19335. Thank You!

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Wholeness

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By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

It is the inner fragmentation that is so painful.  Yoga calls this “the human condition,” and promises wholeness instead.  This is a profound state of deep peace, with inner dimensionality that extends to infinity.  You get there by doing yogic practices to invoke your inherent wholeness of being.  Like with anything you practice, you get good at it.  Thus you’re able to live in an easy inner constancy.  Yoga calls this “Self,” spelled with an upper-case “S.”

Fragmentation is also called “self,” but is spelled with a lower-case “s.”  It’s like a crystal hanging in a window, which fragments a beam of sunlight into many dots of dancing light, each one analogous to a small-s self.  Who you are as a daughter or son is different than who you are as a sibling or friend.  You have many small-s selves, some based on your occupation and your avocations, with others based on your geography.  Your many selves can make it hard for you to make choices or follow through on them.  Worse, the arguments you have with yourself can be demoralizing.

Every small-s self requires effort to sustain it.  If you are a skier, you have to buy and maintain equipment, plan winter trips and join ski groups.  If you skip a couple of seasons, or even discover that yoga makes you feel better than skiing, there’s a point where you…

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It’s Never Too Late

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By Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver, Yogaratna 

SVA Board Member 

Along with our calendar year, our Ashram’s fall fundraiser is coming to an end.  In the words of poet Maya Angelou, as long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good!  It’s never too late to be lifted and carried by the Grace flowing through the Svaroopa® practices.  Donating to the Ashram and being carried by the river of Grace are mutually inclusive activities. 

You know how good it feels to do some good!  You know how good it feels to be the recipient of some good!  When your heart and your pocketbook open, it’s uplifting.  And when you receive, it’s uplifting.  In the moment that I donate to the Ashram’s fall and spring fundraisers something is set free within me.  When I bask in the warmth of my Guru’s Grace, something is set free within me.  What a win-win. 

It’s not about how much you give or receive.  It is the acts of giving and receiving themselves that put you in the river of Grace.  Grace flows through the Svaroopa® practices and through their creator, Gurudevi Nirmalananda.   

But Grace is even greater than the Guru.  It’s everywhere, and it finds you when you need it.  It’s Grace that has led you to the Svaroopa® practices.  The Guru’s teachings are designed just for you.  Take them to heart.  Trust that Grace is available.  Gurudevi says, “The Guru always gives the full flow of grace.  The differences come from the capacity of the receiver.”   

Guru’s Grace is like the sun. It never stops shining, even when you cannot see it. You can feel with warmth of Guru’s Grace at any time, you just have to be open to it.  Free your heart and mind to donate today to support the gift that keeps on giving to you and to so many others. 

Your financial contribution of any amount helps support the source of the teachings.  When you support yoga and meditation teacher training, you keep the river flowing.  When you support Gurudevi’s free teachings ― online and in person — you keep the river flowing.  When you support the administrative and physical structure of the Ashram, you keep the river flowing.  

As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.  Please consider a year-end donation to your Ashram. 

Donate today on our website.  You can call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or you can send your check to Svaroopa Vidya Ashram, 116 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, PA 19335. Thank You!

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Trusting Shaktipat

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By Samantha (Sarveshi) Glazier 

Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney  

I’m not one who has flashy Shaktipat experiences.  At the September Shaktipat Retreat, Swami Prajňananda explained the ways you might experience Kundalini.  She talked about heat, colors and more.  For me, in receiving Shaktipat, I feel steady, content, secure — right where I want to be.  Gurudevi has said that even though Muktananda was very visual, she didn’t often experience colors.  It’s reassuring. 

I’ve done a lot of yoga and heard a lot of Gurudevi’s Swami Sunday talks.  Shaktipat has been written about for thousands of years.  I find a lot of comfort in all the preparation we go through before Shaktipat.  Knowing other yogis have been through similar preparation is reassuring.  We’re part of a long history and tradition.  With the chanting, talks and all, I felt very well-prepared in my recent Shaktipat Retreat.  I could lean into Shaktipat.  I knew — I’m safe, whatever I’m experiencing.  I’m in the presence of the Guru and the Guru she had. 

At the end of the retreat’s second day, I returned to the dorm room I shared with some other women.  We sat around and talked about Shaktipat.  It was lovely to have people that I barely knew being so open about these unusual experiences.  Who else can you talk to about Shaktipat?  I felt very connected to them even though I had met some of them only 24 hours earlier.  In our conversation, it was so easy to see the Self in all of them. 

My Shaktipat experiences continue.  Things are happening in unexpected ways.  Svaroopa® yoga is all about the tailbone.  The week I came back from Shaktipat, there was an undeniable sensation in the region of my tailbone.  After returning home, I taught a couple asana classes.  My students seemed to feel something too.  A high percentage reached out afterwards and said how deep the class was.  I had even made a joke before leaving for Shaktipat.  I’d told them that since I wasn’t doing a training, I wouldn’t be bringing anything back for them.  One longtime student said she felt she could really let go in class.  Previously, she has had a hard time letting go.  My only explanation is that it was the Shaktipat. 

Shaktipat Retreat
Swami Sunday Talks

Tuning into Guru’s Grace

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By Julia (Chintamani) Wallis

Guru’s Grace is unconditional and always available.  I could never even imagine asking for as much as it gives me.  But you do have to tune in to it.  Different yoga practices work on your ability to dive inside and allow Grace in.  As Gurudevi says, “The key is your receptivity.”  

One of yoga’s most important practices is dakshina — selfless financial giving.  Like devotion to Guru’s Grace, dakshina comes from a deeper place within.  It’s a sweet surrender that flows from your heart.  This gift keeps Gurudevi’s River of Grace flowing to you.  You can help others be led to the river as well.  Please join me in donating to our fundraiser, titled Guru’s Grace.

It’s not about how much you give.  It is the act of giving itself that puts you in the River of Grace.  A contribution of any amount helps support the source of the teachings.  You support our yoga and meditation programs.  Your donation also supports the administrative and physical structure of the Ashram.  You keep the river flowing.

My practice of dakshina started with supporting Gurudevi’s free teachings.  A few years into my Svaroopa® journey, I got married and started a family.  As I had young children, I wasn’t able to leave them and attend teacher trainings or other programs.  Instead, I discovered I could listen to Gurudevi’s discourses that were, and still are, available online.  I would do my mothering and listen to the discourses.  I could stay in the flow both by listening to the discourses and by financially supporting her teachings.

Guru’s Grace always supports and guides me.  Often, when I’m looking for an answer to a problem or a question, the response arises from within.  I can tell it’s not coming from my mind but rather from a deeper knowing.  This often happens when my students ask me questions.  Sometimes my reaction is a small-s thought:  “I really don’t know the answer, I can’t help you here.”  Then I settle; I become a riverbed that fills up with the flow of Guru’s Grace.  In that moment of settling, the answer just pours into my awareness. 

Such is the power of Guru’s Grace!  It makes a difference in your life.  Consider for yourself, how is it that you recognize when Grace is coming your way?  And please join me in expressing gratitude for Guru’s Grace by donating to the Ashram.

Donate today on our website.  You can call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or you can send your check to Svaroopa Vidya Ashram, 116 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown PA 19335. Thank You!

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