ATTC Feb 2009 The first ever ATTC with all the 92 students passing the course concluded successfully. The graduation ceremony was preceded by a Gurupuja performed by the priests and the students. Running every two years, the next ATTC will be jan/feb 2011. During the week there was a Devi puja which was liked by all. Ananda lead a group of 25 students and staff to a 2 day trip to Rameswaram and Dhanushkoti after the ATTC. A yoga vacation programme with 10 people started immediately on Mar 8th. The registration for the next TTC starting on Mar 22 is going on well. The main teachers and many staff especially came for the ATTC assisting left the ashram immediately. Swami Tatwarupananda went back to his ashram in Trivandrum . Swami Govindananda and Prahlada left for Neyyar Dam for the India director's meeting. Swami Gayatriananda went back to Neyyar Dam. Dr Padma ( now Swami Padmapadananda ) was initiated into sannyasa deeksha by Swami Mahadevanandaji on Sivaratri day. Satyadev left for Uttar Kashi to continue as staff there. Sita, Ambika , Panchavarnam , Durairaj, Surendran , Indiradevi , Br. Sajith, Annapurna and Zdenik Hanus left as staff. Satya went to Srilanka to to renew her Indian visa to come back to ashram for another year as staff. Jyoti came back to the ashram after getting a new Indian visa from Srilanka. Sridevi ( Wei-Chi - Taiwan ) joined as staff after her ATTC. Mani Chaitanya and Vijay from the Delhi centres graced the graduation ceremony in the ashram on their way to Neyyar Dam for the Indiadirector's meeting. We are very grateful to all the staff who left after helping the ashram wholeheartedly during this busy season. May Gurudev's Blessings guide them always. Staff : Swami Govindananda, Swami Padmapadananda, Ananda , Chiman Chang, Satya ( Srilanka ), Nirmala, Narayani, Mahendra Kumar, Yogiswar , Sara O Connel, Jyoti , Brahmaswaroop, Karuna Kumar, Mahalakshmi, Sridevi, Tara, Lakshmi, Deepakdas, Iswara , Anjani , Veena, Sridevi.

Sivananda Gurugram March

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THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

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Meditation is the very essence and life of all spiritual Sadhanas. -Sri Swami Sivananda

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TAPAS - (tapasya) - Austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline;spiritual force. Literally it means the generation of heat or energy,but is always used in a symbolic manner, referring to spiritualpractice and its effect, especially the roasting of karmic seeds, theburning up of karma.

HATHA YOGA TIP - DHANURASANA

TECHNIQUE - Lie flat, face downwards on the floor. Keep the hands atyour side. Breathe out and bend the legs at the knees, drawing thefeet above the thighs. Stretch the arms back and catch hold of theright ankle with the right hand and the left ankle with the left hand.Make secure the position of the hands, with normal breathing. Raisethe head, body and knees by tugging the hands and legs, so that thewhole weight of the body rests on the abdomen. Retain the posture fora few seconds. Gradually increase the duration. While remaining in theposture, concentrate on the abdomen, thighs and back muscles. Releasethe ankles, stretch out the legs and bring the legs, chest and head torest in a straight line on the floor. Relax in Makarasana for a fewseconds. Repeat this Asana two or three times.

BENEFITS - This Asana relieves constipation and tones up the liver,pancreas and kidneys. The vertebrae of the lumbar and sacrum bonesalso get toned up. Proper blood circulation is effected and thus goodhealth is promoted. This also renders the spine supple and elastic andminor pains in the spine are checked.

OATMEAL YOGHURT CREAM with maple syrup recipe

The Sivananda Yoga International Headquarters at the Yoga Camp in ValMorin, Quebec sits in the heart of a maple syrup harvesting area ofCanada. The Ashram always has ample supplies of maple syrup in hand.For substitute you can use barley malt syrup, rice syrup, date syrupor honey. Serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

50g (2 oz) almonds, finely chopped

50g (2oz) medium oatmeal (not flakes)

grated rind & juice of a lemon, or orange

2 tbsp maple syrup

300ml (10fl oz) creamy natural yogurt

1 tbsp chopped almonds, toasted

Directions: 1 - Preheat the grill 2 - Mix together chopped almonds & oatmeal. Spread out on a bakingsheet and place under a hot grill for about 2 minutes, stirringfrequently to brown evenly. Leave to cool. 3 - Mix lemon (orange) rind & juice with the sweetner & stir into theyogurt. Fold in the almond mixture. Spoon into individual dishes.Chill. 4 - Top with toasted almond mixture just before serving.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR MARCH: 07- Ekadasi ; 11- Full Moon (Holi); 22- Ekadasi; 26- New Moon

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Maha Sivaratri - February 23rd 2009

“The night of Shiva”, falling on the 13th or 14th day of the dark half of Phalgun (February – March), this festival honours Lord Shiva on the day he was married to Parvati. It is said by Swami Sivananda, that “He who utters the Names of Shiva during Shivaratri, with perfect devotion and concentration, is freed from all sins. He reaches the abode of Shiva and lives there happily. He is liberated from the wheel of births and deaths.” Chanting the mantra OM Namah Shivya is a Kavacha, said by Swami Krishnananda in an address (full transcript available to read here http://www.dlshq.org/saints/krishnananda.htm) to be like armour to protect you, your family, your country, the whole world! “It can cease wars and tensions of every kind, provided you offer the prayers wholeheartedly from the bottom of your heart.” Worshipping the Shiva Lingam by washing it every 3 hours with milk, curd, honey, rose water, etc; worshippers fast during the day and night to focus the mind and control the senses. Swami Krishnananda explains why: “The idea is that we control the senses, which represent the out-going tendency of our mind, symbolised in fast, and we control also the Tamasic inert condition of sleep to which we are subject everyday. When these two tendencies in us are overcome, we transcend the conscious and the unconscious levels of our personality and reach the superconscious level. While, the waking condition is the conscious level, sleep is the unconscious level. Both are obstacles to God-realisation. We are shifted from one condition to another. We are shunted, as it were, from waking to sleep and from sleep to waking everyday. But the super-conscious is not known to us. The symbology of fast and vigil on Sivaratri is significant of self-control; Rajas and Tamas are subdued, and God is glorified. The glorification of God and the control of the senses mean one and the same thing. Because, it is only in God-Consciousness that all senses can be controlled. When you see God, the senses melt, like butter melting before fire. They cannot exist any more. All the ornaments become the solid mass of gold when they are heated to the boiling point. Likewise, in the furnace of God-consciousness, the sense-energies melt into a continuum of universality. On Sivaratri, we can “contemplate God as the creator of the world, as the Supreme Being unknown to the Creative Will, in that primordial condition of non-objectivity which is the darkness of Siva.” As an opportunity to practice self-restraint, self-control, contemplation, Japa and meditation, it is a period of Sadhana, recalling to our memory “our original destiny, our Divine Abode”. Swami Sivananda recites the Story of King Chitrabhanu on the night of Sivaratri and gives a commentary from the scriptures to explain it allegorically, click here to read in full http://www.dlshq.org/religions/shivaratri.htm

MahaKali Temple Donation Appeal

MahaKali Temple Donation Appeal http://www.sivananda.org/madurai/temple.html The ashram has been built following strict Vastu principles which concentrates the spiritual and physical energy of this space, in the most auspicious flow for the wellbeing and development of Ashram inmates. The original Ashram plan is based on ancient Vastu principles and assumes the MahaKali temple to be in the very centre of the campus. The focus of the Asham's energy is the temple and that position was blessed and the foundation stones for the temple were laid at a ceremony in 2005. Now, our Temple is only at foundation stone level, but in the interim, prayer and chanting has continued daily in a temporary location in the oldest building of the Ashram, while plans for construction of the Temple were underway. The Temple will be a focal point for daily worship and meditation and chanting practise in the Ashram. We are thankful for Guru's grace to begin 2009 with the graduation of our 7th International Teacher's Training Programme. Guests of the ashram have seen it grow and change since we started hosting students and teaching yogic knowledge, in 2005. We can now accommodate 80 students on our international courses, for which considerable resource has gone into dormitories and service buildings. The ongoing construction projects include completion of a men's and ladies' dormitory building, library and meditation space, permanent constructions for reception and boutique, and kitchen/dining area. With these projects and ongoing running costs for the Ashram, even taking into account an increasing number of students coming to Madurai, we are not able to even start the construction of the Temple. Basic preparation is complete. A lower-lying area around where the Temple will stand has been filled in with loads of sand brought over the years, to bring the temple surrounds to a high enough point, so the correct foundation area is prepared for the next stage of construction. Contribute to this great project: to build a new stone temple with some simple stone carvings, and a traditional sloped roof, will cost a lot. The Ashram appeals to guests, former course and yoga vacation students, staff, and Ashram wellwishers who would like to see this great project come to fruition. To donate funds to this project, please use Paypal by visiting our temple page May Gurudev's blessings find you happy and content. OM

The Universal Prayer

O Adorable Lord of Mercy and Love! Salutations and prostrations unto Thee. Thou art Satchidananda Existence-Knowledge-Bliss absolute. Thou art Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscent. Thou art the Indweller of all beings. Grant us an understanding heart, Equal vision, balanced mind, Faith, devotion and wisdom. Grant us inner spiritual strength To resist temptations and to control the mind. Free us from egoism, lust, greed, anger and hatred. Fill our hearts with divine virtues. Let us behold Thee in all these names and forms. Let us serve Thee in all these names and forms. Let us ever remember Thee. Let us ever sing Thy glories. Let Thy Name be ever on our lips. Let us abide in Thee for ever and ever. Om bolo sat Guru Sri Swami Sivananda - JAYA! Om bolo sri Swami Vishnu-Devananda - JAYA! HARI OM TAT SAT

Holding onto the thought ‘Who am I’ – Sri Ramana Maharshi

Question: What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought ‘Who am I?’ Bhagavan: When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire ‘To whom do they arise?’ It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, ‘To whom has this thought arisen?’ The answer that would emerge would be ‘To me’. Thereupon if one inquires ‘Who am I’, the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source.

Victory in the inner battle - Swami Sivananda

Even a little victory in the inner battle with your mind and senses will develop your will-power and give more assurance and courage.

But do not get swayed by success. Be humble and grateful

Swami Sivananda

Sadhana Intensive Jan 2009

We're very happy to display the recent graduates of our January 2009 Sadhana Intensive programme.

Following guidelines developed by Sri Swami Vishnudevananda from his many years of intense sadhana in the Himalayas, the course was an intense course of self practice and advanced pranayama, leaving all of our yogis looking very bright eyed and reluctant to leave the ashram!

TTC 2004 - YouTube Video

Did you see the video of our TTC in 2004 online. It has had over 26,000 views: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsilUNlM1YM

How will the mind become quiescent? - Sri Ramana Maharshi

Question: How will the mind become quiescent?

Bhagavan: By the enquiry ‘Who am I’. The thought ‘Who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realisation.