Happy Navaratri !!

Come celebrate this Navaratri in Ashram (28 Sept – 2 Oct 2011) .

• ‘Nava’ means ‘nine’ and ‘ratri’ is made up of ‘ra’ which also means ‘night’ and ‘tri’ meaning the three aspects of our life – body, mind and soul.

• There are three types of botherations or problems that may affect a person – physical, mental and spiritual. That which gives you relief from all these difficulties is ‘ratri’.

• ‘Ratri’ or night relieves you of misery and brings comfort. The night relaxes everybody; whether happy, unhappy or miserable, everybody goes to sleep.

• The nine-day period of Navratri is marked by a series of Yagna and Homas.

• These Yagnas nullify all the misery, sorrow and pain in the world.



love,
Santhosh
Jai Gurudev

YES plus with Rashmin Bhaiya

I had attended the Yes plus sessions after a long gap . The sessions were taken by Rashmin Bhaiya .
It was a wonderful experience watching Rashmin bhaiya’s expressions and his humorous talks .At the same time making us realize the importance of this precious knowledge and how we can enhance our potential in our everyday lives . It was a celebration during the course .
We had the others teachers from various centres Rohan and Sudharshan from Jeevanbhimanagar , KK and Vinod from HSR Layout and Jaydeep from Banaswadi . We had a great time with all the teachers explaining and giving us the precious knowledge in their own unique ways.
The final day was in the ashram and for us luckily Guruji was present in the Ashram . Finally attended satsang in presence of guruji . And we had a short 20 mins Guided meditation by Guruji .
It feels home again .. I want to volunteer for more number of yes plus courses and to make it accessible to more number of youths so that they can also come celebrate life .
Yes Plus Rocks … We love you Rashmin Bhiaya .

Love ,
Jai Gurudev
Santhosh

How can I Be Happy Always ???

Always?


How to be happy always????


Forget about always, then you are happy.


In wanting to be comfortable always, one becomes lazy.
In wanting perfection always, one become angry.
In wanting to be rich always, one becomes greedy


When we do not realise that only life is for always, then fear comes.
This projection of the nature of self which is "always", on the temporal which can never be "always", is called Maya.
All ways do not lead you, only one way leads you.
If you remove always from your dictionary then everything is alright

Drop "always" and all will be right - that is intelligence.


love,
Jai Gurudev ,

Happy Valentine’s Day !!

This Valentine’s Day, make the Divine your valentine. See the Divine in your valentine and make the divinity your valentine. Have the same love for everyone, with different flavours. You cannot behave the same way with everyone, but you can love all of them. Love transcends behaviour and etiquette.

Abiding in the Self, you become the valentine for the whole world. Spirit is the valentine of matter and matter is the valentine of the spirit. They are made for each other. If you hold on to matter and do not respect the spirit, then matter is not pleased. If you honour the spirit, then you will care for the world, and when you care for the world, it will take care of you.

Keep your heart in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events and small things make strong impressions on it. A precious stone needs a setting around it - gold or silver - to hold it; in the same way wisdom and knowledge are the settings that will hold your heart in the Divine. To keep your heart safe and your mind sane, you cannot find a better place than the Divine. Then the passing time and events will not be able to touch you; they will not create a scar.

Often, you do not know how to respond, or feel obliged and bound, when someone shows a lot of love. The ability to receive genuine love comes with the ability to give love. The more you are centred and know by experience that love is not an emotion; it is your very existence, the more you feel at home with any amount of love expressed in any manner.

There are three kinds of love. The love that comes out of charm, that which comes out of comfort and divine love. The love that comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of unfamiliarity or attraction. In this, you lose the attraction fast, and boredom sets in. This love may diminish and bring along with it a fear, uncertainty, insecurity and sadness.

The love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows, but it has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy, or fire to it. For example, you are more comfortable with an old friend who is a familiar person rather than with a new person. Divine love supersedes both the above. It has an ever present newness. The closer you go, more charm and depth come to it. There is never boredom and it keeps everyone on their toes.

Worldly love can be like an ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom. Divine love is like the sky which is limitless. From the bottom of the ocean, soar into the vast sky. Ancient love transcends all these relationships and is inclusive of all the relationships. Let love be. Don’t give it a name. When you give it a name, it becomes a relationship, and relationships restrict love.

Often, one experiences love at first sight. Then as time goes on, it decreases, decays, turns into hatred and disappears. Ancient love never decays. Although its mortality rate is high, love dies very young. After a few days, weeks, months, or years, it dies. In society, you say love is never a tree, it is a seasonal crop.

When the same love becomes a tree with the manure of knowledge, it becomes ancient love that goes from lifetime to lifetime. That is our own consciousness. You are not limited to this present body, this present name, this present form and the present relationships around you. You may not know your past, your ancientness. But just know you are ancient, that is good enough.

Pain goes with love. Because you love someone, even a small action can hurt you. And in hurt, you feel very delicate, very deep. Love also creates the same sensation. Separation creates the same symptom. If you don’t love somebody, you will never feel hurt by them. Understand and accept this. Then that hurt will not turn into a sore feeling. Rather, that very hurt will take you deep into dispassion and meditation.

When love glows, it becomes bliss; when it flows, it is compassion; when it blows, it is anger; when it ferments, it is jealousy. Let love be. Don’t give it a name!

Surya Namaskar !!

Surya Namaskar :
This is one of by best physical exercise to start my day with . I enjoy doing these postures with breathing in each step.

The term Surya Namaskaara means ‘salutation to Sun’. Surya Namaskaara is an exercise sequence, which has both the physical and the spiritual aspects. On the physical side, it involves a series of aasanas or yogic postures, which provide the body with a most complete exercise. Virtually all the parts of the body, including the thoracic and abdominal organs, are exercised and rejuvenated with vitality. Spiritually, the Surya Namaskaara is method of propitiating the Sun-god and enjoying his blessings. These include faster progress in meditation, a sharp intellect, a sound health, and acquisition of spiritual wisdom. Surya Namaskaara consists of three important elements each of which needs to be carefully attended to for maximum possible benefits. If proper attention is not given to detail, the results may not be attained in full.

1. Aasanas or bodily postures: Surya Namaskaara is an exercise sequence involving twelve different body postures, as if to signify the twelve signs of the zodiac through which passage of the Sun results in the formation of twelve months of a year. This exercise involves six postures, which proceed in one direction, and another six, which mark the return to the original position. It is virtually equivalent to the Sun traversing six signs of the zodiac to give rise to one ‘ayana’ of six months and returning through another six signs to give rise to another ayana, thus constituting the Uttaraayana (the northerly course ) and the Dakshinaayana ( the southerly course). The completion of a cycle of Uttaraayana and Dakshinaayana brings the Sun back to its original position from where the next solar cycle starts. Even as the apparent movement of the Sun through the zodiac is of importance to astrologers, so also is the practice of the Surya Namaskaara to them.

2. Breathing: Yogic practices lay great stress on regulation of breathing which helps the yogi to gain control over the life force within the body as well as outside. Synchronization of breathing with physical postures is thus an important constituent of the practice of Hatha yoga. In Surya Namaskaara the different postures when correctly practiced appear rhythmical, one naturally leading to the other. The sequence of breathing, consisting of inhalation, exhalation or retention, has also been advocated as it would most naturally be during the various postures. It requires some extra attention in the beginning to be able to synchronies the breathing with the physical posture. With practice, the sequence of posture and breathing would get integrated and appear natural. Obviously, the best results from the practice of Surya Namaskaara can only be expected when the posture and the breath proceed in harmony.

Enjoy doing this great exercise !!

Love ,

Jai gurudev

Santhosh

Celebrating 30 Years of Art of living !!

Yoga for Health and Happiness Workshop ...

Attended the first day of the workshop and it was amazing !! The course was held in Koramangala Indoor Stadium , koramangala , Bangalore.. Timings - 6 am - 8 am .

The Health and Happiness workshop provides practical tools to achieve mental peace and strengthen the body, in our modern, hectic world.

• Attends to all levels of our physical existence - Body, Breath, and Mind
• Suitable for all age groups and skill levels
• Take-home techniques for greater peace of mind and well being

Benefits - By attending the workshop, you can

• Experience profound healing and relaxation
• Sleep better and smile more
• Lose weight and increase energy
• Increase focus and concentration
• Reduce anxiety and depression
• Maintain harmony in relationships
• Improve your immune system and overall well-being

The values that enhance life are confidence, cooperation, compassion and love, enthusiasm, faith and knowledge. These values come only through spirit. We think we can find happiness or comfort through the material, yet we know that material comfort alone is not sufficient or complete. Happiness is a quality of consciousness. It does depend on matter, but to a far greater degree, it depends on attitude and understanding. Living the spiritual values makes your personality solid and strong.
~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Daily stress and worries affect not only our health and well-being, but also reduce our enthusiasm and joy in life. A central point in all workshops offered by the Art of Living Foundation is occupied by the breath, which is the link between body and mind.

However, we are seldom aware of our breath and use as an average only 30% of our lung capacity. Recent scientific research has confirmed that attending to the breath, yoga and meditation can significantly:

• Relieve Stress
• Strengthen the immunity system
• Relieve anxiety and depression
• Enhance brain function
• Improve concentration and efficiency
• Enhance well-being, peace of mind
• Heighten awareness and bring clearer perception
• Strengthen the immunity system
• Relieve anxiety and depression
• Enhance brain function
• Improve concentration and efficiency
• Enhance well-being, peace of mind
• Heighten awareness and bring clearer perception
• Heighten awareness and bring clearer perception

love,
Jai Gurdev ,
Santhosh

Really an inspiration !!

love,
santhu