Tag Archives: Nityananda

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

Ganeshpuri’s Heart by Priya Kenney

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Priya Kenney

Priya Kenney

Ganeshpuri exists because of Nityananda. Before he came, it was a jungle.  After he settled there, others began to follow suit, and, before long, the jungle was cleared and a village formed.  Everyone who lives in Ganeshpuri or goes there is drawn because of that great being.

Ganeshpuri is like a geographical bindu of devotion.  A bindu is a point of concentrated energies and Ganeshpuri is all about a very powerful and concentrated devotion, all because of Nityananda. The devotion that he inspires is rooted deeply in Ganeshpuri and continues to pour forth, growing over the years.  Everyone and everything in Ganeshpuri — the stones, the trees, the bushes and buildings — all of it is saturated with devotion, and Grace too.

Nityananda didn’t say a whole lot, but he did say this: “The heart is the hub of all sacred places. Go there and roam.”  Being in Ganeshpuri is like being inside the heart.  Walking around Ganeshpuri, roaming the places where the Gurus lived, taught and meditated, and sitting with Swami Nirmalananda in a variety of wonderful daily practices is an amazing opportunity to do just what Nityananda said, both on the outside and the inside.

If you are fortunate enough to go there, I hope you will find, as I did, that something very special happens with your heart.  Early in the India 2013 trip, I had a vividly sleepless night.  I lay in my bed awake for what seemed like hours. My awareness was immense.  I knew I should be sleeping, but I was more than wide awake.  I was awakeness itself.

At some point, I became acutely aware that something was happening in the area behind my heart.  A dramatic unraveling began, like a tight knot being gently but deliberately unfurled.  Then more unraveling, more than I knew could be.  I felt so free.  My heart had never felt so open before.  No walls, no barriers.  Open.

In the days that followed in Ganeshpuri, I settled into a new openness.  I wanted to give everything to That which had opened me, to the fullness within, to the Guru, to the One.  The rhythm of the days, the outside, supported the inner openings.  Our chanting and devotional practices, all done in the presence of the embodied One, our Guru, Swami Nirmalananda, had a powerful effect on the heart.  My wish for you is that you can spend time with your Guru in this City of Devotion.  Your heart will never be the same again.

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

Personal Puja by Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi

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Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi

Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi

The small building is situated in an alleyway. We climb a few steps and enter a world of deities and ritual.  What a contrast between the noises on the streets of Ganeshpuri and the cool interior of the small temple where we held the pujas (rituals), officiated by Prasad, the charismatic Brahmin priest who arrives on his motorcycle and greets us with a warm, friendly smile.  We feel immediately at ease. The small room of the temple comes alive with the bustling of a young man who is helping Prasad set up the three separate pujas — to Ganesha, to Shiva and to the Guru.

We watch as Prasad bathes each deity, and we offer fruit, grains of rice, ground up spice and, of course, the flame of a candle, waved in circles —the light of consciousness in us bowing to the eternal light that makes up this universe and beyond.

Each puja takes about 30 minutes — the power of one builds upon the next one, and by the time we get to the Guru puja, to a small murti (statue) of Bhagavan Nityananda, the energy in the room has built to a crescendo.

I am waving a candle flame to Nityananda and we are singing, “Jaya, jaya ariti, Nityananda.”  I can no longer restrain the upwelling emotions of love and devotion that are overflowing in my heart, tears flowing down my face.  There is nothing but Bhagavan Nityananda.  In this village, in this room, Nityananda’s Presence is so palpable, so powerful, so overwhelming that the room is abuzz with a transcendent current of energy. I feel so “full”, so vibrant, so expanded.

The Brahmin serves as the ears and the mouth of Nityananda — through Prasad’s words, the Guru speaks to me and encourages me to stay on the path, to be devoted to Him and the path I am on.

Deep knowing and deep love arise from within. I am blessed and in bliss to share this moment with my daughter. We are both in awe of what we just experienced and witnessed, as we open to the inner realms of our being, allowing the beautiful ceremonial offering to open us from the inside, blossoming and overflowing with universal love.

This is the wonder and the beauty of a puja.  The power of the ritual ceremony performed on the outside propels us into the innermost depths of our being, leaving no place untouched.  It is about clearing and purifying this vessel, the container that is my individual body, mind and soul so that I know that I am That and so that nothing can shake the innate knowing of my own Divinity.

A complete surrender to the Self, to the Guru — that is what I experience during the puja to Nityananda.  There is no separation between me and the Self; duality dissolves into the eternality that is Nityananda.  The ecstatic, blissful state of that experience is transformative at multiple levels of my being.

The memory of this state is a cherished dharana (contemplation) that instantly propels me into the infinite vastness of the Self.  The vastness merges into me and I merge into it.

All I do is abide in That.

I am That.

Visiting Gurudev Siddha Peeth by SheynaPurna Peace

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India_ Sheynapurna 2

February 2013, we first glimpsed this famed and fabled Ashram following our 15-hour flight from Newark to Mumbai, then a grueling nearly 3-hour bus ride through Mumbai rush hour, and finally onto the bumpy dusty road into Ganeshpuri, where we could see the Ashram’s high barbed-wire topped walls, stretching on seemingly forever. The grounds are very large and very private.

The mainstay of Ganeshpuri is Bhagavan Nityananda’s glorious MahaSamadhi Shrine, open and welcoming.  Gurudev Siddha Peeth sits at the other end of the village; the entrance doors are closed and guards patrol the front area. I found this daunting and at odds with my expectations.  The images I’ve seen of this Ashram are from Baba Muktananda’s early days – doors open wide and welcoming and dozens of people wandering in and out.  The high walls and locked gates were not included in my vision.

Swami Nirmalananda explained to us that, while the majority of visitors to Nityananada’s temple are Indians, Gurudev Siddha Peeth has long been a destination point for many visitors from multiple countries.  With the very real threat of terrorism towards Westerners, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda developed safety measures to protect the Ashram residents and visitors.

Helpful hints:  The glorious bookstore across the road is open throughout the week.  Visitors to the Ashram itself, allowed only on weekends, must sign in and check all bags with security across the way near the bookstore complex.  If you visit in the wee morning weekend hours, don’t carry much besides your asana, shawl and chant book, or be prepared to check all other items with the guards.  They will take excellent care of your personal belongings, but for the morning Guru Gita chant, you will find it easier to leave your belongs ‘at home.’

Once you’ve signed in, you’ll be directed to the hall for the chant.  There you will see that men are on one side and women on the other.  You choose whether to sit close to the leading chanters on the floor, or in a folding chair a bit further back.  Either way, the sounds of the chanting voices, the opening mantras and Guru Gita sung by hundreds of devotees will open your heart.

When the chanting ends, all visitors are escorted out of the Ashram – yet not rushed.  You’ll be able to return in the afternoon to visit Muktananda’s MahaSamadhi Shrine, where you may walk the perimeter of the room or sit on the marble floor where so many devotees steep in meditation.

Gurudev Siddha Peeth challenged me to look at my resistances and expectations.  As the Guru is the mirror showing not only where I am but who I am, the Ashram is as well.  It wasn’t until several months after returning home that I was able to see I had been caught up in my mind – not what is, but what I wanted. I realized that the guards were doing their job to protect everyone in the Ashram, myself included. The residents are doing their sadhana and their lives aren’t meant to be on display to hundreds of visitors. I recognize that Gurudev Siddha Peeth opened me up to see myself more clearly, helping me grow into recognition of my Self.  When I return, it will be with love, wonder and excitement – to spend time with my Guru’s Guru – what could be sweeter?

 

Why India with Swamiji? by Sheynapurna (Sandy) Peace

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India_ Sheynapurna 2

Sheynapurna (Sandy) Peace in Ganeshpuri

I had the good fortune to be staying at the Ashram when the 2013 India trip was announced. Part of me wanted to go, but my good friend Fear reared up her head and helped Mind think up many reasons why I shouldn’t go. Sitting at the dining room table with Swamiji, I expressed some of my fears. Swamiji looked at me, gave me what I can only call “that” look and then shared several reasons why it might be important for me to take that trip.

I no longer remember the reasons I was given. What I remember most of all was looking at Her, sitting there at the table with Her, and realizing the gifts I would receive being with Her in India. Is that Grace? All I know is that my fears began to look pitiful. Was I actually worrying about a lack of toilet paper? Really? Cobras? I live in southern California, have hiked all over the back country hills and have encountered dozens of rattlesnakes….I never saw even one snake in India, much less a cobra, and toilet paper was readily available.   Would I rather sit home with my fears or see India with my Guru?

In exchange for letting my fears lie low, I got to meet the people of Ganeshpuri, so many devotees of Nityananda or Muktananda all populating one town. I sat in Nityananda’s temple, meditated in His bedroom. I got to visit Muktananda’s (now Gurumayi’s) ashram and sit in the garden by the mango tree where Muktananda gave satsang. We met the temple Brahmin priests so many times that they recognized us on the streets of Ganeshpuri. On our last morning at Nityananda’s Temple, one of the priests told me that all of the people who come to Ganeshpuri were personally invited by Nityananda. He said this, looked at me closely and said, “You must come back again. You are most welcome here”.

I will return to Ganespuri with Swamiji this coming February, to spend this special time with my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda, and share the delight of the local people in Her visit to their city. I hope to share this precious time with you!

To register or learn more information about India 2015: Ganeshpuri’s Grace, click here.

What is a Yogic Heart? by Amala (Lynn) Cataffi, SVA Board President

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Amala

Amala in Anjali Mudra
Send us a photo of your hands in Anjali Mudra (prayer position). Please include your name and zip code. We’ll add your heart-full hands to our online gallery – click the picture above to see it as it grows!

For me, a yogic heart is an ongoing love affair with Grace. That flow of Grace is the essence of Svaroopa® yoga. I have chosen to partake of all of the limbs of yoga that the Svaroopa® sciences offer: asana, meditation, seva, and gladly, boldly, into the deepest teachings of all.  Whether you choose any or all of these limbs, the Grace is always showering you and aiding your personal process. My love affair is expressed outwardly through my giving (dakshina) and my giving back (seva).

During the last India trip this was so vivid for me. We had just finished the Maha Abishek at the Nityananda temple. This ancient ritual honors Nityananda as a form of the Divine – the formless in form. As a Board member, I helped perform the ceremony, but I had a strong sense that the experience was not about me.  It was not even for me, but was about giving and service.

When we left, we were given fruit and flowers that had been on the huge murti (enlivened statue) of Nityananda during the ceremony. There were 2 Indian women outside who had obviously not eaten well in some time, and I gave them the fruit, even though I secretly wanted it. Immediately, I was propelled into a state of peace and love that I had never before known or experienced. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that I could almost not move or speak! I could have stood there in bliss all day!

Every time I donate money or time, I open myself further to that flow.  It does not always manifest in such a “POW!!” experience, but giving is something that opens you up like nothing else… Talk about core opening!

Come and share the experience of a deeper core opening than you have ever known. Give to support that which has given YOU so much to be thankful for!

In service and gratitude…Amala

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