NAG Newsletter Fall 2010
Watching the Emotional Reaction
By Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Saraswati, from YOGA Magazine, November 2003. Visit www.yogamag.net for more articles by Swamiji.
Satsang at Ganga Darshan March 3, 2003
What should I do with anger when it comes? I tend to repress my anger and get depressed often, not knowing that I am angry. Intellectually I understand that my feeling of sadness may come from unexpressed anger, but how can I express it?
Anger is a violent reaction. It may be the outcome of any issue, major or minor. But in the state of anger, which has clouded your understanding, perception and logic, which has altered your body chemistry so that you are sweating and trembling, your face is flushed, your blood pressure is high and your breathing is shallow, you have subjected yourself to a violent expression of an emotion. That emotion is a reaction.
Generally one thinks about the anger only after one has expressed it. Very few people think while they are angry. If you reflect upon the nature of your anger and analyze the cause of the reaction, then continued performance of this awareness will eventually develop the time span of awareness, and then even at the time of feeling angry you will be aware of that anger and be able to alter it.
As sadhana, one should practise antar mouna. In antar mouna pick a cause of affliction and go to its source. You will find that the affliction you are feeling is a reaction which can bring up different kinds of emotions - sometimes anger, sometimes frustration, sometimes just feeling hopeless. Witness that.
Suppressed anger is the worst form of anger because it means restriction of emotional expression. People who cannot express emotions have psychological hang-ups of one type or another. That psychological hang-up becomes their personality, their nature, their attitude. Again the solution is to witness the suppressed anger in meditation. Mantra helps to bring out the suppressed anger. Once you are able to bring to the surface of your mind the reason for your unhappiness, and you have enough mental clarity to work to improve that reason, you will find a change in the intensity of the aggression and anger.
The More You Give, the More You Get
Events and activities supporting the growth of SATYANANDA YOGA® in North America
By Alice Moss, Teacher Training 1 student with YANA
North American Gurukul’s tag line is connect, discover, and serve - though possibly sankalpa is a more appropriate term. As we look back over the events of the past several months we can’t help but notice how our little seed of intention has taken root and is flourishing not only across the country, but throughout the world. And while nowhere in our plan does the word receive appear, we are overwhelmed by how much we get out of this experience of bringing together people, ideas and opportunities that promote and celebrate Satyananda Yoga. As we offer a quick run-down of these events we’d like to offer a big thanks to everybody who has helped to grow this experience with their thoughts, words and actions!
The 2nd Annual "Connect, Discover, Serve" Online Auction
First on our list of successes is this year’s Online Auction, held from August 27 to September 12, which brought together the hearts and minds of 17 Auction Committee members (including two NAG board members and our fabulous volunteer auction coordinator, Colleen Szekelyi) who tirelessly went to task to help raise funds and procure donations for the event. And of course, we couldn't have done any of this without the overwhelming response of our bidders, who battled (peacefully) over items as diverse as body care lotions to Satyananda Yoga CD’s to antique artwork. Of the over 216 items donated for the auction, 200 were sold, drawing over 917 bids from across North American, even as far away as Alaska! This exceeded our expectations on all levels, feeding our funds and our hearts with a spirited outpouring of community, love and sharing.
Guru Poornima in North America
Guru Poornima this year was also a well-attended event, thanks in great part to our recently-added web-cam feature, which allowed people from all over the world to participate in our local havan celebrating and honoring the Guru’s benevolence and guidance in our lives. Live attendees numbered over 40 if you count Maitri, our canine sannyasin. The vibrations of the nearly 2 hours of mantra and kirtan chanting in Swami Atmarupa’s woodsy backyard setting were felt throughout the greater Cleveland Metropolitan area. A big hit of the evening was, of course, the Prasad, and attendees indulged in the rare opportunity to enjoy authentic Indian delicacies like Barfi and Ladoo. Jai Guru!
Guru Poornima was celebrated Satyananda–style in other parts of the country, too- in California as well as Austin, Texas. The West Coast chapter of NAG held its first havan, and here’s an excerpt from a report of that event written by Jignasu Indriani Saraswati of San Jose, California:
"Each year Guru Poornima offers a special day to rejoice, to remember, to rekindle our connection to guru. This year I felt fortunate for the opportunity to gather with a
group of fellow yogis and yoginis in San Jose to celebrate this day with mantras, kirtan and a special havan (fire ceremony). Fire ceremonies are very powerful and cleansing. It is so profound to participate in such a symbolic practice of transformation and love.
"On the altar were photos of Paramahamsa Sivananadaji, Paramhamsa Satyanandaji, Pamamahamsa Niranjananandaji, Paduka, beautiful roses, flowers, fruit and incense. Each person’s heart-felt offerings created a beautiful image to behold. As we began chanting the Guru Stotram, there was an energy building in the circle. With each ‘swaha’ of the Guru Gayatri another impurity was offered into the fire of Guru’ s transformation to be released and replaced with bhakti and joy.
"
As Vishalakshi began to sing beautiful kirtans, my heart opened more and more. All of our voices joined in harmony and elevated joy to chant the Lord’ s name. The energy was flowing from a vast source, one that has no boundaries of time or place.
"By the end of the kirtan and havan, we all felt a special presence with us, as if Grace was there permeating the house. The energy of the day was so strong an electricity transformer nearby blew out!! Or maybe that is just a coincidence…
"This was the first NAG (North American Gurukul) event in the area and I feel very excited to see this awareness grow in the US. It is so good to have more community here on the west coast. Truly the more the merrier! Let our voices unite in Service, Love and Giving."
Ganesha Chaturthi
People gathered on September 11 this year in Cleveland not in mourning but in celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi, an auspicious opportunity for us to manifest the obstacle-removing forces of the great Elephant-headed God, recommit to our yoga practices and reconnect with community. Mantras were chanted around a havan, Prasad was provided and everybody had the chance to create their very own, hand-crafted Ganesha sculpture from the clay provided.
YANA Programs Continue Throughout the Year
YANA, NAG's subsidiary organization, has also been very busy these last several months, carrying on in its important role of providing Yogic Studies and Teacher Training courses in the Satyananda tradition. 
Local students were joined by yogis and yoginis from across the country and around the globe, including students from Spain, Venezuela, Netherlands, Bulgaria and Hungary. As the teacher training courses come to completion the world will be graced with several more highly skilled and thoughtfully trained yoga instructors helping to shape a more balanced, peaceful world.
Of course, there’s more to report, but we’ll leave it at that for now, trusting that you’ll return to the website and newsletter from time to time to find out for yourself the activities and inspirations abounding here at NAG. As always, visit our events page to learn how to participate in upcoming activities and read about past events. We wish you well in the upcoming months with hopes for a season full of peace and love.
Tip of the Quarter: Revisiting the "-Ities"
By Sannyasi Atmadarshan, Executive Course Coordinator, Yoga Academy of North America
Correction from the last newsletter (Spring 2010: Yoga for Seasonal Allergies):
The awareness described with prana mudra was meant to be described differently. It should have read:
Once you are comfortable with the hand movement linked to the breath, add the following awareness:
* As you reach out with the hands, imagine you are sharing your energy with the world around you
* As you bring the hands in, feel that you are gathering energy from everything around you and taking it into yourself.
As I read the last newsletter and caught the typo mentioned above, I became very upset. How dare I allow a mistake to get by me! How stupid! All my yoga training so far could not stop me from spending a ridiculous amount of time berating myself.
At the center where I teach, we offer tools to address this very issue. The instructors are asked to tell the students about one of Swami Sivananda’s “ities” each week. The ities, we explain to the students, can help you take your yoga off the mat and into your daily life.
Swami Sivananda writes that he developed the ities because people had asked him what kinds of virtues they should strive to develop. Swami Sivananda said that the 18 ities would help one achieve respect and success in life. He stressed not only developing each one of the positive qualities but also eradicating their opposites – pettiness, lying, stubbornness. He even developed a song to help his disciples remember them. You can learn more about all of the ities and hear a recording of the song at the Divine Life Society’s web site, dlshq.org.
Last week’s “ity” was “nobility.” I read Swami Sivananda’s words – “Shun mean-mindedness as dung and poison. Never look into the defects of others. Always appreciate the good qualities of everyone” – and I had to pause for a moment. It is so easy to interpret Sivananda’s words as ideas to apply only to those around us. But shouldn't “appreciate the good qualities of everyone” really include everyone – even myself?
I started to notice that I mentally say things to myself that I would never think of saying to others. If anyone else told me I was stupid or that I had to be perfect, I would be aghast. I take abuse from myself that I would never, ever tolerate from anyone else.
This led me to a new appreciation of the ities – they can be practiced not just as qualities to apply to outward situations, but to inner ones as well. The next ity, “Magnanimity”, reminds us to “Ignore the faults of others.” And “Charity”: “Forgive the faults of others.” What would happen if we also include ourselves when we practice these two virtues?
The gross yoga practices – asana, pranayama, mudra – work from the outside in. By changing our relationship to our outer aspects, we change our inner self. But we can also come at yoga from the other direction. When we learn how to change our subtle inner attitudes, we will see a difference in how we do our physical practices. This exploration can occupy us for the next quarter – or for the rest of our lives.
SATYANANDA YOGA® can be an effective – and enjoyable – way to improve all aspects of your life. Happy Autumn!
Acceptance, Understanding, and Non-Criticism
By Jignasu Poornamurti Saraswati, music student at the University of Eastern Michigan and Teacher Training 1 student with YANA
“…And don’t criticize what you can’t understand.” – Bob Dylan
Attitudinal Yoga
In yoga classes we work with our body, breath and mind by using asana, pranayama, meditation and other practices. In addition, ashram life can offer a different approach for learning how to incorporate the principles of yoga into our daily lives. I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in India and Greece at the Satyananda Yoga Ashrams there.
Yoga courses are offered in the ashrams, but if someone is there for ashram life, the majority of their time is spent doing karma yoga – working. This may be at a computer, in the kitchen, gardening, or even helping with construction projects. The main practice becomes cultivating awareness in whatever they are doing. The process of working in the ashram gives the karma yogi opportunities to develop the witness perspective: the ability to watch our attitudes and reactions to everyday events. We learn about ourselves, our mental conditioning, our strengths as well as weaknesses through this process.
In yogic terminology, the word Samskara means patterns of thought – habitual ways of thinking that can either be positive or negative. We seek to develop positive Samskaras and get rid of the negative ones through the various practices of yoga and the application of yogic or other holistic philosophies in our daily lives. This is really the purpose of what we are doing as students of yoga – not the attainment of health, fitness, or to look a certain way. Traditionally, all of these practices of yoga were designed and intended to help us live to our full expression, remaining positive even in the face of life’s challenges.
The Yoga of Acceptance and Understanding
“Lord, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr
The Greek ashram is a beautiful place, situated in a fairly rural area nearby the small village of Paiania. Founded over thirty years ago by Swami Shivamurti Saraswati, Satyanandashram Hellas is a non-profit organization largely run by volunteers in the spirit of karma yoga. The community of teachers and residents is committed to consciously living yoga in this environment of retreat and growth. They live simply and close to nature, participating in organic farming and hands-on activities in the ashram. Many olive trees can be seen outside the ashram walls; within them, peacocks and other birds roam about.
I wish to share some things I learned from Swami Shivamurti about the yoga of acceptance and understanding while at the Greek ashram. I arrived at the beginning of March, about a week and a half before Chaitra Navaratri, and heard Swami Sivamurti speak during an Antar Mouna workshop. One of the presentation topics was “Non-Criticism and Yoga.” What follows are points that stood out to me during her talks, as well as themes covered during sannyasa lifestyle lectures, given by sannyasins at the ashram:
When we criticize others we will find that it is only because of our lack of understanding. We are all on the same path to Self-realization, and therefore we can reflect on the idea that we once had to pass through the same stage of evolution that they are in. People are as they are and events happen as they do. We cannot change these things in life, so it is best to cultivate acceptance. When we criticize it uses up a lot of energy. The practice of acceptance frees up this energy and enables it to be used in a more positive way. Swami Shivamurti also made a point of saying that this refers to the negative tendency to pull someone down, and not to constructive criticism or appropriate feedback for improvement.
Re-Training the Mind with Affirmations
If we catch ourselves falling into unhealthy patterns of thought, such as criticism of ourselves or others, we can use affirmations or personal sayings to retrain the mind and develop positive Samskaras. For example, if we are about to interact with a person who we may tend to criticize or have negative feelings towards, we can repeat to ourselves mentally “(Name) I accept you. I accept you regardless of what you say or do to me.” We may not feel that our attitudes are transformed over night, but we are planting seeds of positivity in our consciousness which will grow over time.
With this idea we are working on developing a yogic attitude called non-critical mind. This is a mind-set that enables us to develop compassion and acceptance for the other person. A reflection shared by Swami Shivamurti in her talks is “There but by the grace of God go I.” When we meet difficult people in our lives, we can remind ourselves that it is only by the grace of whatever higher power or inner spirit we may have faith in that we are not in their shoes. We can also remind ourselves that we cannot change others; we can only change ourselves.
Turning things around: Self-Acceptance and Self-Understanding
Try this:
Take a one minute break from reading this article, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Bring your awareness to the space of the heart and repeat to yourself mentally: “I accept myself. I accept myself regardless of what others say or do to me.”
Now reflect on how that felt. Did you find it easy to say this? Did it feel awkward or uncomfortable? Just note your response. If you found this practice useful, experiment with it. You may wish to try this a few times throughout the day for 7 days, observing any changes that occur over this time.
When we are dealing with personal problems, obstacles, or weaknesses in life it is important to practice acceptance and understanding of oneself as well as others. This can be a great aid to attaining a sense of inner peace before even trying to make a change, bringing us towards a place where we can stop criticizing and learn compassion.
Om Tat Sat.
Pictures of Satyanandashram Greece taken from their photo gallery at www.satyanandashram.gr
The North American Gurukul, Inc. (NAG) is a nonprofit organization established to support the growth of SATYANANDA YOGA® throughout North America in order to enhance the health, well being, & human potential of individuals and society.
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