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Om Ganapathaye ! FIFTY TWO YEARS IN THE PROPAGATION OF CLASSICAL RISHICULTURE ASHTANGA YOGA The 147th Annual Guru Puja for the great Siddha Srila Sri INTERNATIONAL Kambaliswamigal and 27th Guru Puja for Yogamaharishi Srila MONTHLY Sri Gitananda Giri Swamigal was celebrated in a grand manner on 13 January 2021 in Pondicherry. Thousands of Vol.52 No. 02, FEBRUARY 2021 devotees of the Parampara attended the event and received blessings of the illustrious Guru Parampara. More than two CONTENTS thousand devotees were fed a full meal following health and safety norms of Covid times at Sri Kambaliswamy Madam (Samadhi Site). This month’s covers depict vibrant colorful images captured by AMMAJI’S KAYA KALPA - 02 the aesthetic eye of Sri S Velu, our official photographer THEN A MIRACLE OCCURS - 04 showcasing the final Maha Aarthi performed by the current Madathipathi Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi Giri (front WHO IS A GURU? - 07 cover) and the closely knit team who makes it all possible (back cover). The front inner cover captures the beauty of the THE GURU AS A MESSENGER OF GOD - 15 important rituals of the day starting with the flag hoisting, ceremonial bathing of the lingams, and processions with A NEW LIFE THROUGH GITANANDA YOGA - 19 sanctified waters and food offerings by members of the Gitananda Yoga family. The junior “Swami” Anandraj MATSYASANA - THE FISH POSTURE - 22 Bhavanani assisted his father in the rituals and was supported by Yogathilakam C Shanmugam and Yogathilakam E THE SPIRITUALITY OF PRANAYAMA - 24 Gajendiran who perform daily Pujas under Dr Ananda’s guidance. Other dedicated devotees including Sri Selvaraj, Smt NEUROPLASTICITY, EPIGENETICS AND YOGA - 26 Lalitha and Smt Prabhavathi assisted Yogacharini Devasena and Dhivya Priya Bhavanani in ably organizing the event. THE CALL OF THE INNER SWAN - 31 The back inner cover depicts a few of the beautiful artistic expressions of gratitude from TEAM 52 during the online Guru Dakshina on Christmas Eve by the Worldwide Gitananda Yoga Parivaar and coordinated by Yogacharini Aishwaria of Canada. The Living Siddha of Pondicherry, our beloved Ammaji enjoyed each and every one of these interactions and we present this amazing compilation with joyful gratitude. Yoga is the path of self-re-discovery, and we are fortunate to be guided by our illustrious Guru Parampara. May we always be worthy of their potent blessings and benevolent grace. The official publication of Yoga Jivana Satsangha (International); Vishwa Yoga Samaj (Worldwide Yoga Congress); Sri Kambaliswamy Madam (Samadhi Site); SPARC (The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Rishi Culture); ICYER (International Centre for Yoga Education and Research) at Ananda Ashram, Tamil Nadu. Published from Ananda Ashram City Centre at Yoganjali Natyalayam, 25, II Cross, lyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-605 013, India. Note: All subscribers will be sent e-copies of Yoga Life every month from January 2021 onwards and hence are requested to register their preferred e-mail at [email protected] to ensure uninterrupted receipt of the journal. Editor and Publisher : Ammaji Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani, Editor: (I/C) Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani. Phone: +91-0413-2241561. E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.rishiculture.in Printers : Sarguru Printographs, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Subscription Rate: Indian Rs. 500/year; International 50 Euros/ year.

AMMAJI'S KAYA KALPA Yogacharya Dr. ANANDA BALAYOGI BHAVANANI We are truly fortunate to live on this planet at the same time as the “Living Siddha of Pondicherry”, our beloved Ammaji Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani. I have never known any other human being who has positively influenced the spiritual transformation of so many seekers through her loving guidance and exemplary life of Yoga. She has been the most amazing Divine Mother, Guru and loving “Best Friend” all rolled into one Stupendous Humane Being. For the past three months I have been fortunate to serve her as she goes through her own Kaya Kalpa, the rejuvenation that all Siddhas must undertake at some time or the other. As a loving son and sishya, I consider this the highest blessing of my life. The Universe has given me an opportunity to give back to her a small bit of the infinite unconditional love she has bestowed on me for my entire life. I am nothing but her grace and love, for everything I have of value is a gift from her and Swamiji. Every evening I sing half a dozen songs for her and we have intimate conversations on many topics with jokes, wit and other tidbits that spice up human relationships. We have had many interesting conversations over these months and she always comes up with short and witty comments to my questions. These have taken on the form of unique Ammaji aphorisms or Ammaji-isms. I felt it would be nice to reproduce a few of them for the benefit of our readers. Ananda: I hear you say that gratitude is the best therapy.What is gratitude? Ammaji: Love. Ananda: What is love? Ammaji: Purity and beauty. Another conversation came about as we reviewed the many thousands who were fed on Guru Puja at Sri Kambaliswamy Madam (Samadhi site) during the grand celebrations on 13th January 2021. I told her that more than 2000 people got a good meal on Guru Puja and she replied, “That's great”! Ananda: You and Swamiji have fed so many thousands and thousands through your work in the past 50 years. Ammaji: Yes, we have. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 02

EDITORIAL Ananda: And few have expressed their gratitude. Many have never even bothered to express any gratitude to you. Ammaji: That is just who they are. Ananda: Do you regret any of it? Ammaj: Not at all. Ananda: Are you happy. Ammaji: Well, we just did what we had to. Yogeswar Sri Krishna's teachings of “Nishkama Karma” come alive so much with my dearest Ammaji.All I can wish is that we all be blessed to live these highest teachings with our every breath. On another occasion, my deepest gratitude and admiration for her was expressed as I said, ”You are truly great Ammaji!” She took a deep breath and replied, “I am NO ONE!”Again and again the Universe reminds me that humility is the surefire sign of greatness and Ammaji, you are way up there in the ratings. On a Sunday morning I was off to the Madam for the Puja and said, “I am off to the Madam for Puja and will ask all the gurus to take care of you”. Pat came her reply, “No need to do so. They are already doing that.” As I finished singing for her one evening, she said something about love and so I asked her, “Ammaji, what is love?” “A little girl”, she replied. I continued, “Does she look like Dhivya Priya?” With a giant smile on her face she said, “Well, her grandmother thinks so!” The wider and greater perspective never puts anything into a box as it is truly infinite. Ammaji showed me how she has transcended all these limitations when I asked her, “Ammaji, am I good or bad?” and she answered right away, “I will not put you in a box!” In the past few months, she has taught me more than she has in the nearly five decades of this lifetime. These teachings have come through her words, her silence, her smile and through life-situations created by her recuperation. Many people have come into my life and some have left. All of this has created an introspective steep learning curve and in moments of despair I have asked her,”Ammaji, what is my Sadhana, what am I to focus on? And.....she answered, \"Nothing\". In that moment, I realized EVERYTHING! Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 03

THEN A MIRACLE OCCURS Yogamaharishi Dr. SWAMI GITANANDA GIRI Founder, Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry. www.icyer.com Editor's note: We reproduce an old article of Swamiji from Yoga Life (September 1988) that is so very relevant even today. Ammaji in her original editor's note had commented, “For all the preening and posturing science has made before its devotees of the 20th century, it has still failed to answer the basic questions of man's existence. In this provocative piece, Swamiji pokes at the pompous self-image of science, reminding it that it is still only an 'infant' in the ancient science of cosmology”. Brahman, the Intelligent Consciousness of the Universe, slept. It was the 'Long Night of Brahma', the Creator, or more correctly the Manifester of the Universe. Eons of time would pass in a timeless Universe before HE would awake again. The night and day of Brahma had gone on eternally without beginning and without end. When the Consciousness, the Brahman slept, Brahma the Creator was inactive. In its cycle, the day of intelligence and consciousness of the Brahman would permeate the creative manifesting impulse of Brahma, and the Universe in consciousness would stream forth filling the void of insensate sleep. The universe had been drawn back through a process of Pralaya into the Hiranyagarbaya, the Cosmic Egg. Awakened, the Universe began a Kalpa or Day of Brahman of 4320 million years at the system computed of earth years. On the completion of this creative day Brahma would withdraw again in a Pralaya into the 'Cosmic Foetus or Cosmic Egg', Hiranyagarbaya again and the Brahman would cease consciousness. Hence a night and a day of Brahma were of equal length to the Kalpas. A thousand cosmic days made up a Cosmic Year, a Manvantara. The creative impulse on this planet Bhumi, the Earth, is only a 'twinkling of the eye of Brahma' in Cosmic Time. As he falls to sleep in the present Kali Yuga age, the 51st cosmic year of Brahma in this cycle. Some Hindus extend the role of Brahma the Creator to Sustainer and the change of the Universe. Imagine one's view personally as differing from morning, noon and night. Others assign Brahma to the role of Creator, Vishnu as the Sustainer of Life, and Shiva the great Destroyer of a Cosmic Day. Still others see Vishnu as the Great God manifesting through ten incarnations or Avataras creating, supporting and destroying the same Universe. Nataraja Shiva, the Divine Cosmic Dancer, dances the Universe into existence, maintains it in the middle period and dances it into destruction for millions of his followers. Whatever the ancient Hindu Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 04

THEN A MIRACLE OCCURS Vedic mind conceived, an endless, beginningless Universe in which God woke up from a long sleep, took on a needed incarnation, or undertook the Cosmic Dance. Then HE rested, slept or withdrew within himself, only to manifest again at the appropriate time in a timeless Universe. What a wonderful cosmology. Even the uneducated and the ignorant can understand this meaningful Universe, sketched in majestic soul-shaking images. Contrast this wonderful Cosmic Vision of the Universe with the stumbling picture that science presents. When I was a child, science insisted that the Universe, let alone this planet, was less than 6000 years old. By the time I reached manhood the Universe was allowed to age to some 50 million years. As I grew up, science grew and now allows for a Universe 5½ billion years old... Whoops! The latest copy of Science Review states that scientists are now willing to concede that the Universe may be some 15 billion years old. My own Universe will die with me, but I am sure that science will continue to grow in its own scientific Cosmology into something appropriating Vedic Cosmology. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was the first Westerner to state that the earth spins or revolves once in every 24 hours and travels around the sun. No one took him seriously until the Florentine astronomer and physicist Galileo (1564- 1652) supported his ideas and suffered the condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church and its science-crushing inquisition. To save his life, he recanted before the Roman Pope. Less than 75 years earlier than the birth of Galileo, a Genoese seaman Christopher Columbus defied all warning of impending disaster when he sailed off to find “India” on a surface of the earth which was thought to be flat. In three years, we celebrate the fifth Centenary of Columbus' 'discovery' of America. Contrast the vastness of the Hindu universal vision with the limited ignorance of Western man so recently in his history. Western Astronomy revolutionized man's knowledge within the purview of optical lenses. Since then, Science has given us both a telescopic and microscopic view of the Universe. Only recently in this century, Western astro-physicists had telescopes sensitive enough to give some cosmic information of the Universe. The guessing game began. Viewing a Universe racing away from the viewer, the observer invented a theory called the 'Expanding Universe'. At one time in the middle of this unknown Universe a 'Big Bang' took place flinging Cosmic dust, ashes and gases outwards as in a huge explosion. (Science had scrupulously kept away from asking the question of what made the Big Bang). Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 05

THEN A MIRACLE OCCURS Discovering that there was an opposite and opposing action in some phases of research to the expanding universe theory, other cosmologists (sic) designed a 'Contracting Universe theory'. We were all going to be drawn, planetary wise, into our sun and be burned up and our sun was going to be drawn into unseen suns and destroyed. (Don't panic! It will take a few billion years for this to happen!). This theory has extended the estimated life of the Universe by scientists as they have to account for whole solar systems which have been compressed down into 'white dwarfs' and even beyond by intense compression to one in which energy falls back on itself and produces a black hole. All of this requires billions of years. Scientists are always trying to unify their concepts and theories. To me one of the greatest concepts is the 'Unified State Theory'. Some scientists now have applied this comprehensive concept to the Universe and are postulating a 'Steady State Universe Theory'. That is one in which the expansion of the Universe is kept from destroying us all by contracting upon itself and keeping us all alive. Isn't it wonderful that science can postulate all of this without any reason for it to happen, let alone provide a reason of being? And we are asked to 'believe' all this on faith simply because science 'says it is so'! The ever-evolving scientific theory of the origin of the Universe and its dissolution has now reached the point of extolling the ancient Vedic concepts which are tens of thousands of years old in the Aryan Hindu tradition. The ancient Yogarishi, a United State Scientist, came to his awareness of a living, conscious, breathing universe through a metaphysical science, a science that took him 'inside to discover the outside'. One hopes that modern science will turn 'inward as the result of its out-turning'. It would seem that modern science with its materialistic concepts requires 'a Big Bang' right in the middle of its collective brain to wake this field of research up to the real Universe – the Brahman. Every single scientific concept seems to be self-flawed. That is, it is plausible until one asks what created the phenomenon that is apparently acting according to man's law? And why does it really exist? It is at this point that one cannot deny an Intelligent Creative, Conscious Power pervading the Universe. That Power is the 'miracle' which fills in all the gaps, all the 'black holes' in a scientific view of the Cosmos. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 06

WHO IS A GURU ? U. MAHESH PRABHU Media, Management & Political Consultant Editor's note: This excellent article giving a comprehensive understanding of how everything in our life can be a Guru in the highest sense is reproduced courtesy of http://indiafacts.org/who-is-a-Guru/ A Guru is way beyond an ordinary teacher. Guru is someone who mentors, inspires as well as nurtures. The Sanskrit word Guru is often mistranslated as a 'teacher'. Teacher in Sanskrit is called as Shikshak. A teacher is someone who informs and educates us. A teacher is supposed to ensure that we learn to read, write, learn and understand. But, a teacher has no obligation for the complete welfare of his student(s). While teachers are often found taking credits for the success of their students, they often wash their hands of those who turn into a failure. A teacher is a professional. He does that for his living. On the other hand, a Guru is way beyond an ordinary Shikshak. Guru is someone who mentors, inspires as well as nurtures. Unlike a Shikshak, being a Guru is not a profession. Guru doesn't do his work in exchange for monetary or any other material gains. He shuns the very idea of having something in return. He does what he does as his duty and stays away from all the results. Guru is verily a sage, a beacon of inspiration for his disciples, especially when they are struck by a crisis. However, there's yet another Guru whom we learn from although he doesn't necessarily intend to teach us. Vedic Rishis profess that everything we desire – happiness and knowledge – is deep within us. All the help we require is within. While Shikshak puts efforts to make us understand that which we want and we may not want, Guru introduces us to ourselves and instils in us the wisdom to seek, lead and enlighten ourselves. There are two interesting stories from the Vedic literature that are worthy of recollection in this subject: It is said that Adi Shankaracharya of Kaaladi, a pioneer in the field of Advaita, once came across a Chandala (low caste person who works in the crematorium) while on his way to Harighat in Varanasi for his bath. He, being aghast by the presence of an untouchable told the latter to get away from his sight. To Adi Shankaracharya's utter dismay, the Chandala raised some pertinent questions – Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 07

WHO IS A GURU ? “Whom are you telling to keep away, Acharya, the fountainhead of all knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads? This body or the Atman (conscious soul) which resides in this body? Your body and mine are made of the same substance, as pots of varying sizes and colours are made of the same clay. How could such body ask the other of the same element to stay away? Are they not part of the same illusion?” Legend says that the Chandala's words stunned Adi Shankaracharya. He realised that differentiation between one person and another come from the size and shape of the body, or the state of mind. The Atman, however, is beyond all these things. He not only hailed the Chandala for showing him this practical side of Advaita philosophy that he had been preaching for long but also offered his salutations and called the Chandala his Guru. Shankaracharya was so moved that he composed a new poem now known as Manisha Panchaka. At the end of this poem Shankaracharya declares “One who looks at the creation from a non-dualistic viewpoint is my true teacher, be he a Brahmin or a Chandala.” Here the great proponent of Advaita Vedanta verily declares that Guru can be of any caste, creed or even species. If anyone helps us in our endeavour in realising our true self and full potential that individual is verily our Guru. Another story worthy of recollection in this domain is that of Avadhoota Dattatreya. Once King Yadu saw Avadhoota Dattatreya in a forest and asked “Sir, you are revered to be quite capable, energetic and wise. Such as you are, why do you live in the forest, free from all desires? Even though you have neither kith and kin nor even a family, how could you be so blissful and self-contended?” The Avadhoota (One who has given up all worldly desires) replied, “My contentment is because of my realization of the Self. I have gained the necessary wisdom from the Whole Creation, through 24 Gurus. Let me elaborate the same for you: Earth: People plough, dig and tread the earth without any respect, they light a fire on it. Yet, Mother Earth does not deviate from its path of sustaining life. On the other hand, it shelters the very creatures which cause it harm and trample it under their feet. This attribute of the earth has made me realise that to be wise one must never deviate from one's vow of patience, love and righteousness under any circumstances and one should dedicate his life for the welfare of living. I, therefore, consider the earth as my first Guru. Air: I observed that air is pure and odourless. And it blows on both sweet and foul-smelling things without any discrimination or preferences. Though it Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 08

WHO IS A GURU ? momentarily seems to take on the smell of its surroundings, in a short while, it reveals its natural quality. From this I learned that a spiritual aspirant should live in the world, unaffected by the dualities of life as joy and sorrow and by the objects of the senses. One should keep his heart's feeling and his speech unpolluted by vain objects. As I have learned all this by observing it, air is my second Guru. Sky: The soul is also like the sky, which is omnipresent. I have noticed that sometimes the sky (or space) gets thickly overcast or filled with dust or smoke. At sunrise and during night, it apparently takes on different colours. But in fact, it ever retains its colourless self, and it is never touched or stained by anything. From this, I learned that a true sage should remain ever pure like the sky, untouched or unaffected by anything in the phenomenal universe in time, including his own physical processes. His inner being is entirely free from an emotional reaction to things and events. Thus, I accepted the sky or space as my third Guru. Fire: My fourth teacher is the element of fire. Sometimes, it manifests itself as blazing flames; sometimes as smouldering embers, covered by ash. But it is for everyone, irrespective of their moral worth and burns down their sins; and it remains the ever-pure Divinity; it is untainted by the sins of such devotees. So too, a sage of perfect realisation should accept food of everyone, burn down his sins and bless the giver. Though the fire has no particular form of its own, when it is associated with fuel that burns, it assumes such apparent forms. So too, the true self, though formless, appears in the form of deities, human beings, animals and trees when it is associated with the respective physical structures. The source of all forms in the universe, as also their end, remains ever mysterious. All the things are manifest only in between their origin and their end. Their source and end make the true self, which is eternal, unchanging, un-manifest and omnipresent. The nature of the element of fire is such. The manifest fire transforms the various things it consumes into the same ash. So too, the wisdom of self-realization rejects the manifest forms and properties of things as illusion and realizes their one original essence as itself. Thus, the element of fire is my fourth Guru. Sun: My fifth Guru is the sun. Though the sun we see in our daily life is one, it appears as many when reflected by water in different vessels. Similarly, the One Real-Self manifests itself as many selves of living creatures when reflected by their physical structures. As Sun illuminates the many forms in nature to our visions, the Self too illuminates the true nature of all things to its devotees. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 09

WHO IS A GURU ? Pigeon: I have gained wisdom from a pigeon too. Once a pair of pigeons lived together on a tree. They bred their young and were bringing them up with deep affection and love. One day, a hunter caught the young fledglings in a snare. The lady bird, which returned from the forest with food for its young ones, saw their plight and, unable to leave them, she leapt in the snare to share their fate. Shortly after, the male pigeon turned up and, unable to bear the separation from its sweetheart, it too jumped in the snare and met its end. Reflecting on this, I realised how, even after being born as an intelligent human being, man is caught in the coils of possessiveness and brings about his own spiritual destruction. The Self, which is originally free, when associated with the body sense, get identified with it, and thus get caught in the endless cycle of birth, death and misery. Thus, the pigeon is my sixth Guru. Python: The python is a sluggard, unwilling to move out briskly for its prey. It lies in its lurch and devours whatever creature it comes across, be it sufficient to appease its hunger. From this, I learnt that the man in search of wisdom should refrain from running after pleasures and accept whatever he gets spontaneously with contentment. Like the python, he should shake off sleep and wakefulness and abide in a state of incessant meditation on the self. Thus, the python is my seventh Guru and teacher of wisdom. Sea: Contemplating the unusual nature of the ocean, I have gained much wisdom. Any number of overflowing rivers may join it, yet the sea maintains its level. Nor does its level fall even by a hair's breadth in summer, when all the rivers dry up. So too, the joys of life do not elate the sage of wisdom, nor does its sorrow depress him. Just as the sea never crosses its threshold on the beach, the wise one never transgresses the highest standards of morality under the pull of passions. Like the sea, he is unconquerable and cannot be troubled by anything. Like the unfathomable ocean, his true nature and the depths of his wisdom cannot be easily comprehended by anyone. The sea, which has taught me this, is my eighth Guru. Moth: I often see that the moth (or, more precisely, grasshopper) is tempted by fire to jump in it and get burnt down. So too, the unthinking man is enticed by the illusory pleasures of the senses and thus gets caught in the ceaseless cycles of birth and death. On the other hand, the wise one, when he catches even a glimpse of the fire of wisdom, leaves everything aside, leaps in it and burns down the illusion of being a limited self. Thus, the moth is my ninth Guru. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 10

WHO IS A GURU ? Elephant: The elephant is my tenth Guru. The human beings raise a stuffed cow-elephant in the forest. The wild tusker mistakes it for a mate, approaches it and then is skillfully bound in fetters by the cunning human beings. So too, the unregenerate man is tempted by the opposite sex and gets bound by the fetters of infatuation. The seekers after liberation should learn to be free from lust. The elephant is thus one of my teachers. Ant: The ant stores up lots of food materials which it neither eats nor gives away in charity to any other creature. In consequence, other more powerful creatures are tempted to plunder the ants. So too, the man who lays by treasures of merely material things becomes a victim of robbery and murder. But the ant has something positive to teach us too. It is a tireless worker and is never discouraged by any number of obstacles and setbacks in its efforts to gather its treasure. So too, a seeker after wisdom should be tireless in his efforts for Self-realisation. This noble truth taught by the little ant, I regard it as my eleventh Guru. Fish: The fish greedily swallows the bait and is at once caught by the angle- hook. From this, I realised how many meet their destruction by craving for delicious food. When the palate is conquered, all else is conquered. Besides, there is a positive feature in the fish. It never leaves water, its home. . So too, a man should never lose sight of his true Self, but should ever have his being in it. Thus, the fish became my twelfth Guru. Pingala: The thirteenth Guru that has awakened my spirit is a prostitute named Pingala. One day, she eagerly awaited a client in the hope that he would pay her amply. She waited and waited till late in the night. When he did not turn up, she was at last disillusioned and reflected thus: “Alas! How stupid I am! Neglecting the divine spirit within, who is of the nature of bliss eternal, I foolishly waited for a debauchee (sensualist) who inspires my lust and greed. Henceforth, I shall expend myself on the Self, unite with him and win eternal joy”. Through such repentance, she attained blessedness. Besides, reflecting on its obvious purport, I also realised that a spiritual aspirant should likewise reject the lure of lesser spiritual powers, which are mere by-products of Sadhana (spiritual practice). I learned that the temptation of secure things from other's hands are the seeds of misery; that renunciation of these is the sole means of realising infinite joy. Arrow-maker: Once I observed an arrow maker who was totally absorbed in moulding a sharp arrow. He grew so oblivious of all else that he did not even notice Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 11

WHO IS A GURU ? a royal pageant that passed by. This sight awakened me to the truth that such single- minded, all-absorbing contemplation of the Self spontaneously eliminates all temptation for the trivial interests of the world. It is the sole secret of success in spiritual discipline. Thus, the arrow-maker is my fourteenth Guru. Playful Boy: Little boys and girls know neither honour nor dishonour. They do not nurse a grudge or prejudice against anyone. They do not know what is their own, or what belongs to others. Their happiness springs from their selves, their innate creativity and they do not need any external objects or conditions to be happy. I realised that the sage of perfect enlightenment is also such. A playful boy thus happened to be my fifteenth Guru. Moon: Of all things in nature, the moon is unique. It appears to wax and wane during the bright and dark fortnights. In fact, the lunar globe ever remains the same. In this, it is like the self of the man. While a man appears to pass through the stages of infancy, boyhood, youth, maturity and old age, his real Self remains unchanged. All changes pertain only to body and not to the Self. Again, the moon only reflects the light of the sun but has no such of its own. So too, the soul or mind of a man is only a reflection of the light of awareness of the real Self. Having taught this truth, the moon became my sixteenth Guru. Honeybee: Honeybee wanders from flower to flower and, without hurting them in the least, draws honey. So too, a spiritual seeker should study all the holy scriptures but retain in his heart, only that which is essential for his spiritual practice. Such is the teaching I imbibed from my seventeenth Guru. Deer: It is said that deer are very fond of music and that poachers employ it to lure them before hunting them. From this, I learned that passions and sensual desires will soon bog down a spiritual aspirant who has a weakness for merely secular music, till he ultimately loses whatever spiritual progress he has achieved earlier. The deer that taught me this truth is my eighteenth Guru. Bird of prey: A little bird of prey is my nineteenth Guru. One day, I saw one such carrying away a dead rat. Many other birds like crows and eagles attacked it, now kicking on its head and again pecking on its sides in their endeavour to knock off the prey. The poor bird was thus very much pestered. At last, it wisely let its prey fall, and all the other birds rushed after it. Thus, freeing itself from so much botheration, it sighed in relief. From this, I learned that a man who runs after worldly pleasure would soon come into clash with his fellow beings who too run for Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 12

WHO IS A GURU ? the same and must face much strife and antagonism. If he learns to conquer his craving for worldly things, he can spare himself much unhappiness. I realised that this is the only way to the peace of the world. Maiden: Once I observed a family visit a maiden's house, seeking her hand in marriage for their son. At that time, her mother was away from home. So, the maiden herself had to entertain the guests with refreshments. She at once started pounding the food-grains with a pestle. The bangles on her hand started knocking against each other. She was afraid that the guests might hear the sound and be unhappy for having caused her so much trouble. As a Hindu maiden, she is not expected to remove all the bangles on her hand at any time. So, she kept two on each hand and removed all the rest. Even then, they were knocking against each other and making noise. So, she kept only one bangle on each hand this time, and she could finish her task in quiet. Reflecting on this, I realised that several spiritual practices can be pursued with a single-minded effort. Only in solitude, a spiritual aspirant can carry his task. Knowing the truth, I henceforth resorted to solitude. Thus, a maiden happened to be my twentieth Guru. Serpent: I observed that a serpent never builds a dwelling for itself. When white ants have raised an anthill for themselves, the serpent eventually comes to inhabit it. Similarly, worldly people must endure many hardships in raising houses for themselves, while a recluse monk lives in them; or he lives in old, dilapidated temples, or underneath shady trees. The serpent molts, leaving off its old skin. So too at the end of his life Yogi leaves his body deliberately and in full awareness of his own true self and is not frightened by the phenomenon of death. On the other hand, he casts off his old body as happily as he does his worn-out clothes and dons new ones. Thus, a serpent is my twenty-first Guru. Spider: The spider is my twenty-second Guru. It weaves its web from the thread in the form of fluid. After some time, it gathers up the web into itself. This projects the whole creation out of itself and after some time, withdraws it into itself at the time of dissolution. The individual soul too bears the senses and the mind within itself and, at its birth as a human being or any other living creature; it projects them out as the sense organs, organs of action and the whole body. By its latent tendencies, the creature thus born, gathers up all the means and objects needed for its living. At the end of its life's duration, the soul again withdraws the senses, mind and acquired tendencies at the hour of death. This is what I learned from the spider. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 13

WHO IS A GURU ? Caterpillar: The caterpillar is also one of my teachers of wisdom. The wasp carries its caterpillar to a safe corner and closes it up in its nest and goes on buzzing about it. The young caterpillar is so frightened by the incessant buzzing, that it cannot think of anything else than the buzzing wasp. Through such intermittent contemplation of its mother, the caterpillar too soon grows up into a wasp! In a like fashion, a true disciple is so charmed and over-awed by the spiritual eminence of his own Guru that he cannot think of anyone other than him. Through such contemplation, he soon blossoms into a great spiritual master himself. The caterpillar is thus my twenty-third Guru. Water: Water is my twenty-fourth Guru. It quenches the thirst of every creature, sustains innumerable trees and all creatures. While it thus serves all living beings, it is never proud of itself. On the other hand, it humbly seeks the lowliest of places. The sage too should likewise bestow health, peace and joy to every creature that resorts to him. Yet he should ever live as the humblest of nature's creation. With such humility and devotion, I looked upon the whole of creation as my teacher, gathered up wisdom and through patient effort I realized my goal of attaining bliss through wisdom.” Finally, it is important to note here that Guru comprises of two words, namely Gu (Ignorance) and Ru (Destroyer). Therefore, Guru is anyone who can destroy our internal and external ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss. It is often the cause of our own suffering. When ignorance is identified – solutions present for them and peace is attained. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT It is planned to move Yoga Life completely online from January 2021 and hence all subscribers and members of Yoga Jivana Satsangha are requested to send us their preferred e-mail to update the database over the next few months. The whole world has moved online, and it is only fitting that Yoga Life also follows suit in these times of virtual reality. Please send your email to [email protected] Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 14

THE GURU AS A MESSENGER OF GOD Ammaji, Yogacharini MEENAKSHI DEVI BHAVANANI Editor's note: This article is reproduced from Yoga Life (December, 1983), and so beautifully helps us understand the intricate relationship shared by Ammaji and Swamiji over the 25 years of their life together. No wonder Ammaji has become Swamiji and enabled the tradition to grow so beautifully through this Divine Oneness. As a child, I often played a game with myself. I called it 'messages from God'. I used to look for spiritual instructions everywhere, in everything, even in the most mundane occurrences of life. I continued the habit, more as a whimsy than anything else, even into my adult years. It was especially interesting when I came to India, for I found much of the quaint English used here catching hold of spiritual truths that escaped more sophisticated users of the language. I took special delight in signboards which contained fascinating messages. I was advised in hotels, 'Do not wash your hands in the plate' and 'Eat and vacate'. Somehow, all these 'messages' were rich in significance. I was delighted when I saw a sign outside a house proclaiming that the occupant was an 'M.A failed'. This seemed to have a meaning far beyond words. Even traffic signs gave good spiritual advice. 'Bumpy Road Ahead - Stop, Look and Listen', advised me to be aware and conscious of each moment, particularly during the 'difficult and bumpy times'. 'Give way to overtaking traffic' meant for me that I should not stand in the way of anyone's evolution, even if it meant that they would surpass me in some field or other. I played this game only half in jest, for it did appear that God had many messages and much to say to me. One day in Nepal, sitting in a tourist bureau, I was leafing through a group of travel brochures when a light orange one caught my eye. 'Come to Mystic Pondicherry', it beckoned, 'The home of Sages and Yogis'. That particular brochure was a direct message from God Himself and I packed my bags and took the next train south. Thus, it was that I came to India looking for a Guru, and thus it was that I found one. 'Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you', promised the great Guru Christ. The Vedantists have proclaimed with great assurance, 'When the student is ready, the Guru appears'. I must have been ready, Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 15

THE GURU AS A MESSENGER OF GOD for my Guru did appear, and he turned out to be a special messenger sent by the Divine itself, to test me, to tickle me, to please me, to horrify me, to anger me, to amuse me, to instruct me, to lead me, to abuse me, to help me, to love me, to praise me, to ridicule me, to hinder me, to support me, to tear me down, to build me up, to stretch me, to contract me... and in the end, even to marry me. Yes, I married my Guru, and today, I look upon our marriage as a 15 Year's Course in spiritual instruction, from which I might have dropped out when the going got tough, except for the 'till death do us part' vow I took before God and man. I had no alternatives. I had to stick it out, even when my Guru-husband began the painful process of 'ego-dectomy' (spiritual removal of ego). Many times, I wanted to run away. Once I did, but I came back. For though the going was tough, I knew very well the path I had been destined to tread. I don't know if a stone feels any pain when the sculptor tears away the crude rough granite and shapes it into form. But I did. Yet, year by year, I could feel myself 'taking shape'. I could feel 'rough edges' being smoothed away, and angular lines being softened. How close I am to the “image in my Guru's eye”, I do not know. But I do know that now I have a 'shape and form', though I came to my Guru a block of stone, a pile of mud. My Guru, my husband has been a real messenger from God. God has spoken to me through his lips on every possible topic imaginable under the Sun, from how to raise a child to how to perform Laya Yoga Kriyas. Like God, he seems to be ever- present, especially more so whenever I make an error or a mistake. It isn't easy, being married to one's Guru. He never promised me a rose garden, however, and all the trials and tests and hurricanes and storms have made me strong. There have been many sunny days, many lulls soothing in their softness too, which have revitalised and energised and balanced out our joint Sadhana. To me, my Guru is pure energy. If I worship any force, I worship intensity and energy as the manifestation of Shakthi. To be in his presence is to feel a heightened awareness, an ability to accomplish the impossible, stimulation, creativity undreamt of my Guru is light – light in the sense that I cannot feel dark emotions or thoughts in his presence. My Guru is intensity – everything is virtually important, everything is vibrant and alive. My Guru is purpose – there is a reason behind everything that is done, everything seen, felt, heard, experienced. My Guru is full of meaning – even the most mundane thought and act has its place in the Universe and points to ultimate truth. My Guru is Anandam, bliss, joy – life is sweet, even when Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 16

THE GURU AS A MESSENGER OF GOD it is most fierce; life is fascinating, life is filled with goodness, beauty and truth at its very root. Below all seeming contradictions, below all seeming negativities, Anandam – bliss is there. My Guru is action – action in the sense of the Bhagavad Gita. Action without caring for the result of that action, as an indication of one's inner state, action as a mirror illuminating various aspects of our nature, action as a play, a Lila, the setting of various into motion so as to observe the effects, and thus learning the spiritual structure of the universe in which we live. My Guru is courage, daring to be different, daring to speak the truth, even if it is an unpopular view; daring to confront, to challenge. My Guru is also a warrior, one who dares to follow Lord Krishna's call in the Gita; “Thou art a warrior Arjuna! Fight, Arjuna, Fight!” Thus, bidden by the Guru, one carries out the battles of life, faces the conflicts with good faith and without malice, caring not for the outcome. One challenges and is challenged in the name of the Guru and exercises one's physical, mental and spiritual muscles. To understand the Guru, to benefit from the Guru, a powerful unbreakable bond is necessary between the teacher and the taught. I have learned that the true Guru-Chela bond can be forged only through commitment – commitment unto death. A marriage vow is also the Chela's vow – 'for better or for worse, till death do us part'. Once the solid bond is forged, it cannot be broken, the chain is indestructible, and the psychic flow from Guru to Chela is constant. A Chela has no alternatives, sees no alternative, considers no alternative, looks for no alternative to his Guru's teachings. He has found his path and he keeps to it. Divorce is not possible in the spiritual world of Gurus and Chelas. Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel, was once asked on the secret of Israeli success in the face of so much opposition. 'We had no alternative', she replied simply. 'We had no alternative'. So also a true Chela has no alternative to his Guru. He cannot think that he will stay with one Guru as long as it pleases him, and then, turn to another more attractive one later. The commitment is real, eternal, forever. Without the psychic link, without the blessings of Guru, without the good wishes of the Guru, the Guru's teachings turn to ashes in the Chela's mouth. Living in such close proximity to my Guru- husband, I have watched thousands of 'students' pass under his watchful eye. Most of them have been puffed up with ego. Many came only to 'shop' to buy a few techniques, put them in their 'Yoga shopping bag' and then return home to open a 'Yoga store'. Many of them blinded by their own Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 17

THE GURU AS A MESSENGER OF GOD ego failings have tried to project their own flaws onto the Guru and left disappointed and empty handed. Most have come only to take, to eat, to devour. Few have come to give. Few had anything of value to give. Yet all have lapped up eagerly the teachings and the techniques, thinking erroneously that the Guru and his teachings are something separate, in one form or another. I have seen these students fail in their Yoga Sadhana, because they wanted techniques, but not the Guru. They did not know, they did not realise, they did not see, that “Guru and teachings are one”, that without the psychic flow of energy and good will from Guru, the teachings will have no power what-so-ever and become as tasteless and meaningless as a piece of cake made out of cardboard. This cardboard cake no one can eat. My Guru has been generous. He has never demanded that I worship the Guru in his form alone. Instead, he has shown me the essential 'Guruship' of all of life... he has taught me that every thought, word, action, deed, person, animal, event in my life has that essence of 'Guruship' contained within it as a kernel within its core... every experience has the ability to 'dispel the darkness of ignorance' if we are aware enough to grasp the 'insight'. Thus, have I found my work, my art, my own teaching, my study, my child, my life, everything has contained 'the spirit of the Guru' within it. There is nothing without God, all is within God. There is nothing without Guru, all is within Guru. A message from God sent me to Pondicherry where I found my physical Guru in human form. That physical Guru in turn showed me the path, gave me the proper attitudes, drew the necessary lines around my behaviour and thoughts, provided the essential environment, taught me practical techniques, stimulated my thinking, tore away wrong perceptions, nurtured my creativity, chipped away the non- essentials ... and brought me to the point where in a conscious aware Yogic Life... every moment in all truth contains the most loving message of the Divine itself... “Come to me, embrace me, be one with me... for I love Thee and I am Thine ever more!” Jaya Guru! Shri Guru! Jaya Guru! Aum. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 18

A NEW LIFE THROUGH GITANANDA YOGA STEPHANIE ROWLES, Gitananda Yoga Sadhaki, Canada In the first lesson of the Correspondence Course Swami Gitananda asks us to “accept Yoga as a way of life, a way of integrating your whole nature, so that all aspects of your life work in harmony, one with another.” When I first read these words, I remember thinking “Yoga is not something you 'do', it is something you live, how wonderful!” and while at the time I did not fully understand how it was possible, over the next year, through my weekly lessons, practice and study, I began to discover what living a Yoga Life really means. At the very beginning I struggled to understand how I could live Yoga while going about my daily life, but the Correspondence Course showed me that it is how I live, no matter what I am doing, that brings Yoga into my life and shows me opportunities to evolve and discover my true nature in everything I do. Only a few months into the course one of my biggest opportunities came with my move to Canada. My family and I moved from Wales in the UK, my home for 36 years, to Nova Scotia as my husband had been offered a job there. Facing this new challenge with the guidance of Yoga and the Correspondence Course has helped me in every new situation that has come my way, big or small, good or bad. Every day is a new opportunity to contemplate, live, learn and grow while gaining a deeper understanding of Yoga. When we first arrived in Canada I was physically and mentally exhausted and fraught with worry about our future. Yoga helped me bring awareness to my body and mind so that I could take better care of myself and understand the effect my emotions were having on my body and my ability to think clearly. Yoga helped me to breathe deeply and bring myself to a calm state in stressful times and gave me the ability to enjoy the move and turn challenges into ways to learn and increase my awareness. Before I discovered Gitananda Yoga I only knew Yoga as the physical practices of Asana and Pranayama but now as I navigate my way through my new life with increased awareness, I see that I cannot even begin to 'live Yoga' without the moral and ethical guidelines of the Yamas and Niyamas. Starting a new life has brought many distractions and temptations but every day, contemplating these guidelines and applying them to my life makes me a better, happier, healthier human being. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 19

A NEW LIFE THROUGH GITANANDA YOGA For many years I suffered with depression and anxiety and it was not until I discovered Gitananda Yoga in the UK that I began to understand the dark cloud that hung over me and what I needed to do to step from under it. However, when the move came, I felt lost and lonely without the regularity of the classes I had come to love with Kalavathi and Lucy and without the company and support of family and friends close by. But as life settled down and I began to appreciate the new perspective I had been given and with Ammaji's words “Repetition, Rhythm and Routine!” in my head, I knew it was up to me to keep going with my Yoga studies no matter what. My weekly Correspondence Course lessons became a guiding light that allowed me to still feel connected to the Yoga lessons I missed so much in the UK and made me feel part of a Yoga family and I began again to understand depression and anxiety and what I needed to do to be free of the dark cloud. Today I no longer feel lost and lonely in this vast country as Yoga gives me a sense of belonging to something far bigger than myself and keeps me on a healthy path mentally and physically. When I face something new that could make me anxious or stressed, I have the tools I need to face the challenge to my best ability no matter how big or small. As a mother to two young children also finding their way in this new country, Yoga helps me take a step back and view the world through their eyes so that I am also able to help them as we live this exciting journey together. Faced with this beautiful new country to explore Yoga helps me stay present and grateful for the opportunity I have been given and allows me to enjoy it under a clear blue sky. It was Swami Gitananda's words, “Health and happiness are your birth right, claim them and develop them to your maximum potential as you evolve towards liberation” that made me realise I should not feel guilty for taking time to care for my physical and mental health and helps me to always keep in mind the ultimate goal of a Yoga Life – liberation or Samadhi. Here in the West I feel it is sometimes considered a luxury to relax, exercise and eat well and we feel as if we are 'treating ourselves'. Now I see how important these things are. They are not a luxury. They are essential to living a happy, healthy life, not just for myself for but those around me that I love and care for. Every day I choose the words I say more carefully and try my best to understand my thoughts and actions and the consequences they have. I do my best Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 20

A NEW LIFE THROUGH GITANANDA YOGA to only give out what I would wish to receive and imagine everything I think, say and do as waves going out into the universe. It is here in Canada that I have never felt more connected to nature, life and the vastness of the universe. The beauty of the country and its changing seasons never fails to inspire me and bring peace, and Yoga has helped me to see this is my spiritual connection to what others call God and how important this connection is in dealing with depression and anxiety. When my journey with Yoga began, I was looking for a way to bring peace and health to my body and mind. I had an idea of what I thought Yoga was, but my discovery of Gitananda Yoga has changed every thought I had, not only about Yoga but about myself and the world around me. Today I see the world differently than I did a year ago. Things that I once thought were important and I could not live without, today I am free from and they no longer hold me back and things I had discounted due to lack of knowledge or commitment, I see benefits from daily and realise their importance in my life. I have discovered the sense of peace I was looking for but not in the way I expected. I feel a sense of acceptance and letting go that gives me peace, so no matter what I face in life I can find peace if I know where to look. I still face the same challenges, but I face them with a different attitude, so today what I may have seen as a challenge before is now an opportunity. I am still at the very beginning of my Yoga path, but I am excited and committed to follow it and live fearlessly – a New Yoga Life here in Canada! ICYER activities have moved online for the past few months and Dr. Ananda is spearheading numerous online programs broadcast on Social Media Channels of the Gitananda Yoga Family Worldwide. These can be viewed on Facebook at the @yogacharyaABB and @ICYER.Ananda.Ashram accounts as well as Dhivya Priya Bhavanani’s presentations @DPBhavanani. All videos are also available from the YouTube channel @yognat2001. Registrations for Dr Ananda’s multiple online sessions can be done by e-mailing [email protected] Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 21

MATSYASANA – THE FISH POSTURE Yogacharini JNANASUNDARI, Senior Gitananda Yoga Mentor, France Fish come in all shapes and sizes, but even though a fish may be really small, it is capable of swimming up a river to its source, thanks to its suppleness and its capacity to follow the current. Have you ever watched fish swim upriver to their breeding grounds? It is quite a spectacle, particularly if the waters are running fast over a rocky bed. The Yogi Patanjali, author of the famous Yoga Sutra, became a Jivanmukta– liberated from the bondages of life while still alive – after seeing a tiny fish swimming upstream against the current. Oh yes, enlightenment may be triggered by even the smallest event. Water represents our subconscious, and the depths of knowledge. It also represents the womb and has symbolized fertility in cultures worldwide. Water has an awesome and hidden power. Fish being in their element in water, represent our feelings and the changeability of emotions. Also, the ability to master those emotions, and attain to knowledge. A fish is master of its element, and moves with elegance and economy of energy through the water in a way that may inspire us bumbling, clumsy humans. Matsya, the fish incarnation of Vishnu, has the body of a fish and the torso and head of a man, or rather, of a god. This is the same fish that towed Manu's boat to safety in the Flood. This fish had pleaded with Manu to save it from being eaten by a bigger fish, and Manu had placed it in a pot. As it grew, he moved it into progressively larger pots until eventually he released it into the sea. Ultimately the Lord protects the Vedas in that marine incarnation. A short story is worth telling when we think of the fish and its conditioning. There was once a great Yogi whose hermitage was beside a small pond, inhabited by a mudfish. Mudfish can crawl on land for short periods, and the fish would often crawl up to rest beside the Yogi as he meditated on the banks of the pond. They became good friends and one day the Yogi asked the fish if Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 22

MATSYASANA - THE FISH POSTURE it had any particular desires. The fish replied, and the Yogi was not surprised to hear it speak, where you or I would be flabbergasted, that it had always wanted to be able to breathe and walk on land like a human. This particular Yogi was an adept of Pranayama, and began to train the fish in this wonderful science. Fairly soon the fish was able to keep its head out of the water for lengthy periods, and in about a year it was able to stay out of the water for a whole day at a time. By the time a second year had passed, the fish was able to live on land, and was already quite well progressed in difficult asanas, in order to walk upright on its tail. One day the Yogi and the fish drained the pond and made a flower garden in its place. People came from all over India to see the Yogi and his chela, the fish, as they sat in meditation in their flower garden, or walked hand in fin in the village nearby. One day the Yogi told the fish that he was going away for a month to the Kumbha Mela, the big festival at Rishikesh, and asked the fish to look after the hermitage. One day not long afterwards, the fish was meditating in the garden when the monsoon broke with a torrential downpour that flooded the whole garden. Alas! The fish drowned. This story has many interpretations, and I use it here to point out that in Yoga we are seeking to connect with our true nature and become more what we truly are. As you recline back into the asana, use your breath to go with the flow and find the suppleness to open yourself to the posture. Let your whole being float in the waters of consciousness. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 23

THE SPIRITUALITY OF PRANAYAMA Dr REV MARE (Marietjie) Venter Anjali School of Yoga, South Africa Editor's Note: This is a beautiful reflection by Marietjie who is one of the Senior Mentors of the Gitananda Yoga tradition in South Africa. She was trained by her loving mother who was a student of Swamiji and has continued spreading the message of Rishiculture Yoga with so many through the Anjali School of Yoga in Cape Town. We so often ask: “Where is God?” Or, “I am looking for the Divine?” Or, “I want to find that God who will give me protection, answers, wisdom, a better life, etc. – please enter into me dear God?” We are all looking for that which is holy and profound and we project our search outwards, as if God is sitting somewhere on a cloud in the heavenly skies awaiting our list of requests. We look for God in religion and in an “ism” and an “ology” and make thereof a dogma. If Prana is that which existed before anything else came into existence, we can equate it to the Life Force which in more common language is God or the Divine. When I breathe and I “absorb” Prana, I become aware that the God I'm seeking is right within me. It is my very breath. I came into this Earthly existence with a breath and I will depart from this Life with a breath. And in between the inhalation (birth) and the exhalation (death) I am fully absorbed in the Cosmic Energy. I AM Presence. Every mindful breath gives me the opportunity to be with God or to experience the blessings of the Divine Essence. The more I breathe and the more I partake of this conscious and mindful practice, the more I have the Divine Light, which will automatically guide and protect me and lead me into greater insights and wisdom. Pranayama brings God to me on a plate … or differently stated, Pranayama brings God to me through my lungs (the act of mindful breathing). By performing the physical act of breathing (being mindful of breathing into the 9 sections of the lungs or Vibhaga Pranayama) is the DOING part. When I do this DOING mindfully, it becomes BEING. Thus: My mindful DOING will allow me to BE. My actual discipline and commitment to the practice of mindful breathing will have a divine result or outcome. Is this not the answer to all my prayers? Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 24

THE SPIRITUALITY OF PRANAYAMA How amazing to know that prayer is actual mindful breathing!!!! Whatever I need from God or would like to ask of God, will be answered and given and experienced by means of mindful breathing. This Holy Breath, as I like to refer to it, is my connection to my I AM Presence. Thus with every breath, this Divine Potential is manifested within me, and as the Light of the Cosmic Consciousness is flooding through me, I would be instrumental (by the mere act of breathing) in blessing humanity and the world I'm living in. Wow, what an opportunity, responsibility and also a privilege! And the most amazing part of this is the fact that the breath is my birth right. I have this gift with me from birth to death, from inhalation to exhalation. I just need to become mindful of it. The Divine/Prana is everywhere present (OM-nipresent)! The bottom line: If you want to find God or have more Divine blessings, then just BREATHE MINDFULLY. Salutations to Swamiji for bringing mindful breathing to my attention. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 25

NEUROPLASTICITY, EPIGENETICS AND YOGA Smt. SHAILAJA MENON and Dr ANANDA in Conversation Editor's Note: This is the first part of a transcript of the FB Live conversation between Shailaja Menon who is Founder of Mat & Beyond Yoga Studio, Malaysia and Dr Ananda that has been transcribed by Amit Shanker of Team 52. The second part will appear in next month's issue. The video of the insightful conversation can be watched at https://youtu.be/6ywxfnTPZVM Shailaja Menon: Welcome to this conversation with our very illustrious guest, Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani. Many of you have been asking me to have this topic, so let's make it as interactive as possible and let's make it as much fun. My name is Shailaja Menon and I've been a Yoga practitioner for 20 years now. I began my journey in Coimbatore with Integral Yoga. And then when I moved to Malaysia, I continued with my teacher Manoj Kaimal, here in KL and along the way I set up a Yoga studio named “Mat and Beyond” studio. A couple of years ago, I published a book called “Yoga Shakti” and now I also host a Yoga series on Anand TV, which is based in the UK. So, Yoga has really shaped my life and I began this series of conversations during the lockdown. I think the lockdown made us all reflect in many ways and it gave us more time to express ourselves more deeply. I really wanted to bring out the authentic teachings of Yoga which, at least in these parts of the world, has reduced to merely physical exercise. I consider myself lucky to have known some really good Yoga teachers, who have brilliantly carried the show forward. Dr. Ananda: Namaste and welcome to everyone. It's always a pleasure to be with you and Shailaja makes sure that we both look good and sound good. So I think that is a very special combination when one can look good and sound good. So, we'll start with a prayer to the Parampara and then a chant wishing for health, wellness– Swastha, which is the beautiful state of health at all levels of our existence. Shailaja: So just starting with the first question, there seems to be an increase in statistics with regard to brain degenerative diseases, in the current times with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, dementia all very commonplace. In fact, so much so that I think if you just ask our guests, I'm sure each one of us has either a parent or a relative, somebody that we know who suffers from it and do we know what is contributing to this? Is it our lifestyle? Is there something else? Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 26

NEUROPLASTICITY, EPIGENETICS AND YOGA Dr. Ananda: When we talk about the human brain, we are talking about an extremely complex hardware system. It is so complex that we have not been able to recreate it by the human scientific approach. Everything that we create in science has been modelled on the human brain. For example, the camera is modelled on the human eye, the whole audio-visual system is modelled on the human eye combined with human ear. CPU of a computer is modelled on the human brain, but though we have modelled so many external instruments, we have not been able to recreate anything close to the intricacy that is present in the human nervous system. It is so amazingly intricate, mystifying and when you think about it, it is like you are in front of the ocean and you don't really know what to do. It is so vast. It has been taken for granted, however that we would know how to use it, how to maintain it and use it till our last breath. Now in the traditional cultures of the world, there was a great amount of emphasis placed on right lifestyle, including the right diet, the right mental attitude, proper amount of rest and recreation. In Indian culture, they are called as Achar (routines), Vichar (thought), Ahar (food), Vihar (recreation) and Vyavahar (behaviour). So, one needs to realize that you have been given a great gift of the human nervous system and one must use it in the proper way. Give it appropriate nutrition, give it appropriate usage. Don't dis-use it, don't mis-use it, don't abuse it and give it periods of rest. We give a mobile phone periods of rest and let it recharge itself. We give attention to regularly maintain our electronic equipment. We give an annual maintenance contract for all our equipment in the hospital, but forget that we need to maintain mindfully, this apparatus called the human brain and nervous system. What has happened in modern times, is that, like everything else, we've forgotten to appreciate it. And hence we think, one can say anything they want, one can do anything. This desire in our lives has led us away from being naturalized to becoming unnatural, live in an artificial way and also think and behave in an artificial way. No wonder our nervous system has started to deteriorate much quicker and rapidly than ever before in humankind, since more than eleven hundred years ago! Suddenly, we are finding that the statistics for degenerative brain disorders, neurodegenerative disorders are on an increase. Why? If one looks deeper, we see that our lifestyles have become artificial. We have cut ourselves from nature and as one cuts down from nature, what happens is that you lose the connection and any chance to recuperate. You have lost the chance to keep your nervous system in its Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 27

NEUROPLASTICITY, EPIGENETICS AND YOGA optimal functioning. I would say the diet which is filled with processed food is going to be anti-life. Processed food is anti-life food because they want to keep it on the shelf for as long as possible to maximize their profit. The more natural food is, earlier it will rot, which means you will eat it when it is still good and is life-giving. It is called biogenic food. It should be biogenic and sustaining life. You take an apple off the tree, that apple is biogenic. When you take that apple, pluck it when it's green, pack it up in South America and take it to your warehouse; you further take it on the ship, which takes couple of months to reach India and sell it in the Indian supermarket. After keeping it for 2 weeks on your shelf, you've killed that apple and in fact, the same apple that would have kept a doctor away, now starts to take you to the doctor every day, because the apple is not an apple anymore. It has become plastic. The danger and biggest contribution to neurodegenerative disorders is our faulty diet. The second thing is faulty way of thinking and the third is stress, stress and more stress. All of this has come together to make this a huge pandemic. We were not talking about it earlier when people would live to be a hundred and have their marblesintact. Today after the age of 45-50, we seem to be losing our marbles much more rapidly and that is why the concept of Yoga is to make sure that you eat right, live right, think right, so that your faculty remains in good condition. That is why I chose the chant: “May I hear that which is auspicious, may I see that which is auspicious. May I live in life to the maximum extent in a healthy manner as destined by the Divine”. That is the prayer we need to bring into our life. Shailaja: Thank you, Dr. Ananda! that was a beautiful opening. I just wanted to delve a little bit more into that. When you said a faulty thinking, like what would contribute to it and can you just elaborate a little bit on that? Dr. Ananda: We are always on social media. So, we are constantly thinking about what people think of us on social media and what is our image on Instagram! Is it really the real person that we are on Facebook or did we forget that character is more important than personality? Character is more important than personality. Character is who you are. Personality is how others perceive you and we are so caught up with how others will perceive us. We have stopped connecting to ourselves because we are always connecting externally. Yoga is the best medium to start connecting with yourself. It is the self, connecting to the Self, through the self. Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 28

NEUROPLASTICITY, EPIGENETICS AND YOGA Shailaja: Wonderful. Okay, I think the faulty thinking has been very well clarified. So just going over to the next question. Guys, all of you watching, please feel free to write in your questions as well. But for now, I'm just going to go ahead with mine. I have a lot of questions. So, this is something that's really exciting to me because you know in the past, we actually never took any responsibility and everything was blamed on genes. Now if you got any disease, it was all because of your genes, nothing due to what you did. So later on, you kept hearing about epigenetics. And, you know, the fact that you know, it's not just genes and you actually have some responsibility over how your life plays out and your health plays out. So that was my question to you. What was your opinion? Are we purely a victim of our genes or can we influence the state of our health, especially brain health like, is it necessarily that if your parent or uncle has some degenerative disease? Is there nothing you can do about it, or is there something we can do about it? Dr. Ananda: First of all, our genes are only one component of who we are! They are not everything that we are, and this is why you use the word 'Epigenetics'. The expression of genes is more important than the actual gene itself. Every Indian has their genetics, derived from the great Saptarishis, but all of us are not great Rishis. We are very far away from being Rishis, but the genetic structure is derived from the same genetics. So, if I want to say the negative aspects of genetics, inherited from Rishis, is present in every Indian and why are we not talking about that? Usually, only when we find a disease, we say it is due to one's genetics. So, genetics is only one part of us. The debates are always 'nature versus nurture' and not 'nature versus genetics'. Nurture is how the environment changes genes and what we have found, is that it depends on the aspects of living we discussed earlier – Achar, Vichar, Ahar, Vihaar and Vyahavaar. All of these components of yogic lifestyle determine how you manifest the good genes and keep the back ones on the back burner. They say: 'feed the good wolf and don't feed the bad wolf'. You feed the good genes by good attitude. Now, I'm saying good not in judgmental way but by appropriate attitude, by eating healthy, by thinking healthy, by having healthy relationships. Your healthy genes are going to be expressed as epigenetic expressions. If all the time you're eating fast food junk food, your junk genes are going to be expressed and not healthy genes. So, do you want your junk genes, or do you want the good apples, sprouts, banana, orange genes to manifest ? My professor of best Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 29

NEUROPLASTICITY, EPIGENETICS AND YOGA medicine in JIPMER, Dr. AK Das is one of the great endocrinologists of India. He said genetics is like a loaded gun. Okay, and this is now we have to be careful 'Gangsta Yogi' doesn't come out talking about guns. Whether it goes off or not depends on us pulling the trigger. So, genetics are a loaded gun. Yes, but do you pull the trigger? Your pulling the trigger is your unhealthy behaviour and unhealthy thought patterns: the Samskara and Vasana patterns. Avoid pulling the trigger. That is why it is so important that we change our habits. The loaded gun can be there, throughout your life, without you pulling the trigger. I would also like to share here something. It's not directly related to the nervous system but genetics, yes. A few years ago, I was in Delhi and I talked about things related to changing one's destiny, because Destiny is determined by Free Will and in the present moment, your present moment, Free Will determines your Destiny, your Free Will in the past moments, have determined the destiny of this moment. So, after my talk a young man came to me, and he said: “Dr. Ananda I really enjoyed your talk”, and he said: “I want to ask you a question on Genetics”. I said: “go ahead”. He said: “my grandmother who's 90-plus was found to have a certain cancer of the bowel in the large intestine. The doctors who operated took it out and they did genetic testing on the whole family”. So, they wanted to profile the genetics of the family and they told this young guy who's in his twenties had a ninety percent chance of getting that cancer in the future. So, they suggested to perform a preventative surgery on the intestine and remove that part of intestine which may get a cancer in the future. He further enquired if they should go ahead with the surgery. I said no. I said: “See, if you use the same diet, the same unhealthy lifestyle, faulty thinking as your grandmother, then you are going to not 90 but hundred percent get that. But the solution lies in changing your lifestyle, diet, changing the way you breathe and changing the way you think. That is the biggest window of opportunity”. I said: “Then you will not have to have that cancer and you don't need the so-called preventive surgery”. I think this is the message I would like to give everyone. Just because somebody in your family or many people in your family have a condition doesn't mean you have to have it. But if you want to come out of that Samskara-Vasana pattern, which is the spiritual genetics, you need to take the route out and the route out is by changing your lifestyle that includes your pattern of thinking. ( to be continued next month) Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 30

THE CALL OF THE INNER SWAN MICHAEL Mc CANN, Member Team 52, Ireland Many years ago, I sat late into the night talking to some old friends. The conversation turned to Yeats' poem “The Wild Swans at Coole”, and the mysterious description of the “bell-beat” of their wings. I wondered aloud how swans' wings would sound in flight, never having had such an experience. I left in the early hours on a cold dark winter night. As I was putting my key in the door of my home in a Belfast street, I heard an unusual, mysterious sound from above. Gazing upwards, I was enthralled to see a formation of white swans against the night sky. I had just received a wonderful gift from the treasure- house of synchronicity. I have been intrigued by these beautiful birds ever since, and the mythology surrounding them, whether in Yeats' majestic poem; or the mysterious Irish myth of the “Children of Lir”, transformed into swans and banished to the cold sea of Moyle, until the first peal of a Christian bell. When my life quest turned to the ancient land of India, I encountered the swan again and again, in myth, spiritual symbol and practice. I would like to share some with you. In India, the swan is known as “Hamsa”. It is the vehicle of the Goddess Saraswati, and her faithful companion, on the banks of the flowing river of Shakti. The swan is the animal symbol of the Vishuddhi Chakra, with its qualities of discernment and purification. In Indian mythology, the swan has the gift of being able to extract milk from milk mixed with water. This symbolizes the discernment of what is true from what is untrue. The swan is associated with purity because its plumage appears untainted by water droplets. Like the lotus flower, it is a symbol of Karma Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 31

THE CALL OF THE INNER SWAN Yoga, the performance of actions without the clinging of karma: being “in the world, but not of the world”. The swan mates for life and is a symbol of harmony and the unity of pairs, of Ida and Pingala and Yin and Yang. The archetypal symbol of spiritual liberation (Moksha) is a swan with outstretched wings, flying upward over the luminous “Lake of Consciousness” in the direction of the rising sun. A Yogi who attains Samadhi (enlightenment) is described as a “Paramahamsa”- “A Great Swan”. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was such a one. When he was a boy, he fell into Samadhi at the beauty of a formation of white cranes brilliantly silhouetted against a rain-dark sky. “Ham-Sa” breathing is a profound and ancient yoga meditation. We meditate on the in-breath sounding the syllable “HAM” and on the out- breath sounding the syllable “SA”. What is being invoked is an abbreviation of the mantra “So-Ham Aham Sah”: I am That; That is Me”. The breath, as messenger of the Spirit, is calling for us to discover our true nature, and, like the swan, to fly homewards towards the Rising Sun. Om Tat Sat. \"Human beings, like fish in water, live in different levels of consciousness. Though ten people are outwardly passing through the same experience, they may in actual fact, be having ten completely different experiences according to their conditioning and their attitudes!\" - Ammaji Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani Vol.52 No. 02, February 2021 www.rishiculture.in 32

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