Bhakti Yoga: the Surest Way to God - Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

Om Namah Sivaya. We celebrated the New Year eve with a theatre play written and directed by Swami Bhagavatananda ‘Heaven and Hell’. The TTC graduated on New Years Eve. This is a very long process that takes many years. We welcomed a nice group of students for the Juice Fasting retreat which started on New Years day, led by Swami Jnaneswariananda and Annapurna. We offered a peaceful Puja and a nice Satsang with senior teachers and students. It was an intimate group of 7 guests total, which made for a very nice energy and a blending of the programs, where both new and seasoned guests participated in the Kirtan workshop and volunteered to lead chants in Satsang. Srinivasan lead the evening Satsang and read a New Year message from Swamiji. Srinivasan taught the Raja Yoga portion of the ATTC and led the morning Satsangs on the Yamas and Niyamas. A Raja Yoga Sutras 2 course ended, as well as a Yoga 1. It is an honor to support this mission.

A new part of the online course Meditation Experience started with students from the Retreat House, the German speaking Centres and from the UK. Our weekend meditation course continued smoothly. The Yoga of Restful Being, taught by James Reeves, explored asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, meditation and yoga nidra to help students leave distractions behind them and support the realization of their innate connectedness to all of life. The electricity people continued their works in the Meditation room and in the reception area. We were truly blessed to have a wonderful group of people here for the Sadhana week, many of whom have committed to returning or joined us at the New York City Centre. We welcomed a whole new group of TTC and ATTC, combined for the first time this year, moving them into the brand new tent huts that were finished only a week earlier. This was followed by an astrological predictions talk for the upcoming year, by Sadasiva, from the Bay Area.

We followed the lovely online workshop with Indian dancer and artist Raghunath Manet, who always shares his contagious energy and enthusiasm for Indian classical culture - a beautiful and joyful way to conclude the week. We diligently followed the SOP in all the classes and poojas in the Centre, issued by Ministry Of Health Govt. In the asana classes we focused especially on physical tensions and their conscious release and on a gradual development of the breathing exercises. The gradual progress in physical and mental well-being that comes when you meditate is mostly silent and unseen, like the quiet unfolding of a bud into a flower in the hours of the night. We began a two night event with Jai-Jagdeesh called "Sacred Sounds". Ambika (Katie) also presented two afternoon workshops on "Yoga, Stress and Food". Tara Durga Devi, a long-time Ashram supporter and Sivananda teacher, presented the weekend, weaving inspiring stories from her own life with the Sivananda teachings and applying to learn how to handle stress in a more holistic way. They wish to show us the way to freedom, to introduce us to that reality which is absolutely free, which is of the nature of existence, consciousness and bliss.

If someone tries to help another but ends up hurting them, the intention to help creates good karma generating unity and freedom. The path of love starts with duality and ends with non-duality. Having fulfilled all desires, what possible motive might they have to teach us other than love and compassion? The motive behind an action is always what makes the difference. Through karma yoga, one realises that helping others is really helping oneself. Other topics we offered were, the ‘Magic of Yogic Breathing’, the ‘Yoga of Love’, ‘Raja Yoga, What is Sivananda yoga the path of Self-mastery’ and the ‘Power of Asanas’. We offered beginners and open classes and midday workshops on various topics, such as meditation, positive thinking and how to keep a spiritual diary. We offered a workshop to learn how to play harmonium. He always sent us to do some karma yoga. Several former and current students criticised the ISYVC for continuous reverence of Vishnudevananda and demanded the organisation to remove his portraits from altars and yoga practice rooms. Next I got to interview Dr. James Finley, former Trappist monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, where Thomas Merton was his spiritual director. The executive board now includes eight yoga acharyas, a term that means 'spiritual teacher'.