Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 IMPRESSIONS OF THE XII INTERNATIONAL YOGA FESTIVAL 4.1.2004 – 7.1.2004 Yogacharya Hariharan, Switzerland Well, for me it was a big new experience, I never saw anything like this. The Yoga Festival is a clear reflection of the Indian life style. Is a colorful vibrant energy in every single aspect. Everything is so spontaneous, peaceful and well ordered. The organisation was sometime chaotic, but hit the magic touch of India, everything worked well in the ends. To be involved so much in such a event like this had many good aspects: I learned flow in the moment, be present in the present. Do not project my self in the future. Ready to change my plan in every moment. I appreciate very much the spontaneous flow of the event, the non-attachment in the purely practical way. The opportunity to interact with other speakers, exchange opinion and experiences. Make contact with different people, have the opportunity to improve knowledge. Be active in the Yogic Circle, expand my interpersonal contact. Witness marvelous Yoga Asana demonstrations performances in a different prospective. A new stronger motivation to go deep into the Asana practice. During the various speeches, I have a good time to think, to compeer people, analyze attitude, movement and expression of people around me. Is shocking to see so many people who express a good thought, but don’t reflect in their personality what they say. Some “Yogis” are non-aware in body, mind, thought….an externalization of self without awareness. It is a life teaching experience….Is the life, like should be in daily aspect: Flexible, open to everything change, capable to modify same the though if is necessary. The external aspect, the energy which we propagate around us is absolutely important. It is obvious, but in a Yogic context it is even more important. People classified each other in order of their own perception. In this way it is important for us to project ourselves, well for we represent “The Guru, the school”. It was an exercise in expressing with a good attitude, self control our Yama and Niyama in the practical way. In the way which we moved and what we saw. What is important? What must we be careful of? It is the quality of as expression and action. It was not really important for long we spoke. It was more important what we say and how we reflect idea in our personality. Awareness into awareness… The Yoga Festival had an unexpected effect in me. In only 3 days’ I realise so many aspect which we talk about in the Ashram. It was the practical exposition of many theoretical aspect of Yoga with which we study. It helped me to become more aware of my self. To take more care about my actions and my thoughts. To see how important are our expressions as related in a interactive contact with others. This attitude has to be cultivated daily. It is a long and slow process, an evolution and a refinement of our inner being. The “Festival” was also an “Inner Festival” stimulating many beautiful inner feelings and experiences. Yogacharya Gowrishankarananda, Canada The 12th Annual International Yoga Festival was from the very beginning a wonderful display of Yogic manifestation. Watching the sublime dance presentations on the Chakras and the corresponding elements was an incredible world-class spectacle. The Asana competition was held professionally and in a dignified manner, which all aspects of yoga rightfully deserve. Any presentation of Yoga or gathering of Yogis should have along with Asana demonstrations a forum from which Yogic philosophy can be expounded by Yogic minds with Yogic attitudes; I am very happy that there were many such amazing speeches and discussions. While there were many speeches that were off topic the speakers were indulged by the audience and fellow speakers with a natural Yogic sense of tolerance and even respect. Speaking at such an event was really quite a unique experience. While I have spoken to many large groups never has the speaking been understood to be so secondary to the meaning by everyone involved. Yogacharini Devaki of Ireland and Australia It was very heart-warming to witness politicians embrace Yoga as a spiritual practice that deserves respect and celebration. The real highlight of the night was the Yoganjali Natyalayam’s dance performance. As usual, the dance was absolutely incredible and renewed me full of enthusiasm to continue Bharat Natyam classes despite the snail progress I seem to be making! The presentation of the five elements of the Earth through the dancers was amazing. The ability for a group of bodies to harmonise and reflect qualities of something as subtle as air was quite incredible. In each of the dances I could nearly experience that element as if it was dropped into my lap. Really again, all my hats off to these children that exude such grace and a wonderful inner strength-such an inspiration! Prof. T.R. Anantharaman, President of the Indian Academy of Yoga, Varanasi gave an in-depth, scholarly approach on “The Ancient Principle of Yogic Living”. The issue of Yoga as a practice based on the philosophy of Samkya was firmly stated several times and the audience were appealed to not forget the theoretical, philosophical foundations of Yoga. Yoga is spirituality in practice and without the theory of Yoga, Dr. Anantharaman warned, we bring Yoga down to a lower level. it was an honour to hear him share his scholarly knowledge, although his assumption that all of the audience had a good knowledge of the scriptures was somewhat misguided! The clarity of thought and his vast crystal clear memory of the scriptures at the age of seventy-seven was deeply humbling to those of us that can hardly remember what we had for breakfast the day before! The second speaker on this topic was Dr. A.R. Seetha Ram, the principal of the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education, Mysore. A man well used to the public speaking, Dr. Seetha Ram held the attention of the audience firmly for the duration of his speech on “The Ancient Principle of Yogic Living” with humorous anecdotes, analogies and entertaining stories. He communicated to the audience that life is in spite of problems and it is better to have problems then to become a problem! The importance of the art of living, the power of positive thinking, active acceptance and non-expectation were all discussed in depth in a manner one could easily relate to. Dr. Seetha Ram used an example of sitting in a hijacked airplane for four days without food, water or fresh air. Prior to being hijacked did we appreciate and delight in the air we breathe, the feel of the Earth or the warmth of the sun on our faces? No, and yet after four days of negotiations when we are released from the airplane we feel so thrilled to stand on firm Earth and breathe in fresh air-why? They haven’t changed in the slightest so why the sudden appreciation?! It reminded me of the age-old saying “You don’t miss what you have until it’s gone”. The importance of Mauna was also touched on in a light, playful way- “God has given us two eyes to see more, two ears to hear more and one mouth to speak less!” Dr. Seetha Ram’s genuine warmth and ease within himself was palpable and his joyful attitude inspiring. One of the best speeches of the festival in my humble opinion! Sr. B.K. Neelima of the Brahmakumaris in Chennai spoke on the topic “The Ancient Principle of Yogic Living” with regard to how we are prepared to sacrifice big things only to end up being swayed by the little temptations. Using the example of Seetha, Rama’s wife who willingly gave up all her riches and life of comfort to be with Rama in the forest, only to be lured by a golden deer, a trick by Ravana. Her comment that we don’t like big thick chains and yet love to wear the small ones made of gold was very thought provoking. A chain, no matter what size or what its made of is indeed a type of bondage, so why do we harbor and long after gold chains so much? To reflect our wealth and status? Are these really the important things on a spiritual path? Sr. Neelima also made the point that we tend to regard are moods as some sort of light switch. The comment “My mood is off today.” is often made as if we have an on/off switch that can be flicked ‘off’ by a simple comment from somebody. Sr. Neelima continued to reason that if we do have an on/off switch then surely we should keep it somewhere safe and private where others cannot switch it to off. An excellent point I feel as so often we allow ourselves to become upset or deflated by somebody else’s negative attitude. Sr. Neelima turned her sharp, straightforward logic to the notion of the ego, the Ahamkara and statements that use the letter ‘I’. For example “I am a great Yogi”…! She reasoned that this ‘I’ looks like a wall and it is this wall that stands between ourselves and others. If we were to kick that ‘I’ wall down it falls to the horizontal position and becomes a bridge reuniting ourselves with others. She advises that when an argument occurs stop, kick down the ‘I’ wall and have a heart-to-heart instead! Again, another wonderfully simple but very useful piece of advice. So often we argue with others to ‘save face’ and defend our Ego’s perceptions from being challenged. What for? What does it achieve in the end except disharmony and a fuel-fed Ego that we actually try to dissipate on the Yoga path of conscious evolution The importance of cultivating Sthitha-steadiness and equal-minded in all external circumstances was addressed briefly as well as the meaning of renunciation as being a deep sense of Brahmacharya, a state of being when we don’t need for anything except God. Ishwara Pranidana was explained as a concept and that God is within ourselves so we must believe in ourselves. Peace isn’t created outside, it’s created within. I really appreciated this simple but profound point as many of us relentlessly seek peace and calm through our external environment believing that if only ‘this’ or ‘that’ was different then Santosha would come into our chaotic lives. The reality is that no peace will ever last long unless it wells up from deep inside. Sr. Neelima concluded her speech with an apt ‘Om Shanti’. A speech very different from Dr. Seetha Ram but just as inspiring and thought-provoking. After a number of questions directed to Dr. Anantharaman to do with the validity of specific historical stories the topic “The Ancient Principle of Yogic Living” was concluded. It was very enjoyable to see Amma in the role of chairperson. Her skill to adopt a polite but very firm approach with over-zealous audience members was another new side I had not seen to her and I admired her ability to give a short sum up on each of the speakers points in a clear and straight-forward manner. In the topic for discourse “The Validity or Non-Validity of Yogasana Competition” Shri Manohar Purohit of Bangalore presented several clear and logical arguments against the validity of Yogasana competitions; the purpose of Yoga Asanas are only to prepare the body for Raja Yoga. The benefits Asanas bring-steadiness, health and lightness of the body are used in order to transcend the body and enter into the spirit. Asanas are steeped in developing an awareness of posture, breath and concentration in order to become a vehicle by which the flow of Pranic energy can occur. Shri Manohar Purohit maintained that in a competitive circumstance the mind is directed outwards and the very essence of competition runs against the concept of developing the Yogic quality of Santosha in our lives. All of his arguments were true but he did not mention the role Yogasana competition plays for the majority of competitors, the youth. Shri Hariharan of Switzerland presented the positive and negative effects competition can have. He made the valid point out that this negative competitive spirit is not exclusive to Yogasana competitions and can be found in many Yoga classes today. He concluded that it’s an issue of our attitude in a competition that needs to be examined. While his speech was one of the shorter speeches this point of attitude was probably one of the most salient points made in the whole discourse. In order to present a balanced discourse on the topic “The Validity or Non-Validity of Yogasana Competition” the chairman Dr. N. Mujumdar, requested Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani of ICYER to share with the audience his experience of Yogasana competition. Despite being called to give a speech on the spot, Dr. Ananda spoke with the authority and shared his experience of organizing and running Yogasana competitions for several years. Dr. Ananda explained that Yogasana competition is not regarded as Yoga but a tender young branch of the tree of Yoga. Yogasana competition is an effective carrot-and-stick approach to whetting the interest of the youth. As a teacher myself, I can vouch that all children have a sense of competitiveness. How it is directed and channeled is the delicate issue. Dr. Ananda pointed this out in that the main problem in Yoga is when children begin to question their teacher who is not capable or interested in the spiritual aspects of Yoga. Today, in India, there are several Yoga ‘coaches’ who specifically train children to compete in Yogasana competitions. Often their job depends on how many ‘champions’ they produce so when this pressure is there it invariably gets transferred to children. Dr. Ananda concluded by repeating the importance of remembering that Yogasana competition is only a small branch of Yoga and a tool to attract children into this way of living. By channeling their competitive drive in a healthy manner, children can learn many lessons by competing and that being a ‘champion’ is not the main goal of Yoga. As a person involved in competitive kayaking on an international level I was a bit ‘iffy’ about the value of Yogasana competition until I witnessed the Pondicherry State Yogasana competition held last October in Ananda Ashram. The theory exam ensures that every child must study and learn the theoretical and philosophical aspects of yoga and most of the questions would put many practicing ‘Yogi’s’ to shame! I was also inspired to see many children perform Asanas with grace and conscious awareness, particularly the older ones. When the champions were chosen they were congratulated but it was not blown out of proportion. More time was spent giving trophies to the young children who were winners or runner ups in their categories making every child feel like a champion when being presented on stage to applause! The topic “Yoga-is it a quick fix solution for all human problems?” was chaired by Prof Antharaman who began the discourse by revealing that a questionnaire found that 90% of people practicing Yoga do so to cure backache, relieve hypertension or simply to maintain positive health. Interestingly, 1% were attracted to Yoga to acquire special Siddhi powers while only 0.1% were interested in the real spiritual aspect of Yoga! Unfortunately, only one of the speakers had shown up but the good news was that the one who did show was our own Shri Pradeep John Muthaiya of Chennai! Amma sat up on the panel and ‘invited’ (i.e. ordered!) Yogacharini Maitreyi, senior student of Ananda Ashram from Chennai to join them. Pradeep stated that Yoga is not a quick fix solution to problems but that a steady, long-term approach does bring benefits. He quoted Swamiji’s view on problems; “You don’t have problems, you are the problem” as an important thing to keep in mind. Yogacharini Maitreyi gave a very skillful speech and was a concrete example of how Amma had used a quick-fix solution by asking her to fill in! Her belief is that Yoga can offer us solutions but not of a quick-fix transitory nature. The discourse “Yoga As A Supplementary Spiritual Education For Children” was chaired by Dr. R.G. Singh of Banaras. Yogacharini Dr. Nalini Giri of Spain gave a very insightful discussion on the aspect of ‘supplementary’. She pointed out that not only do we want to ‘supplement’ our bodies with vitamins to make up for poor eating habits but now we think we can somehow ‘inject’ spirituality into our Tamasic junk lives! Dr. Nalini used the many and varied achievements of Dr. Swami Gitananda as an example of effectiveness a Guru Kula education can bring to prepare us for a wonderful, full complete life. While this may seem very idealistic, Dr. Nalini argued the point that it appears so because we have deviated so far from the real path. Yogacharya Shaminder Singh of Haryana spoke on this topic and made the important point that to him there is no difference between education and spirituality and we should strive to ensure they remain as two sides of the same coin. “The Therapeutic Values of Yoga” was the first topic of the day, chaired by Dr. R.M. Nair. Interestingly, not one speaker offered specific Asanas to cure this or that ailment. Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani of ICYER explained that Yoga as a therapy is a relatively new branch of Yoga. He stressed the importance of looking at the cause of the disease. He further elaborated on the word disease-‘dis’ ‘ease’ as a meaning that we are literally not at ease with ourselves and while it can be physical quite often the cause of disease is psychological. Dr. Ananda continued to warn that Yoga ‘teachers’ who do a weekend course and set up shop claiming to cure all diseases with Yoga are a real danger to this ancient science as Yoga and using Yoga as a therapy cannot be reduced to a few Asanas to cure certain problems. He also suggested that instead of using the name Yoga Therapy it should be called Yoga-based Therapy and communicated the need to have a modern integrated approach that incorporates Yoga with Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Allopathic medicine. Dr. Ananda concluded that if in doubt as a Yoga teacher with a client with a health problem to consult a doctor as better safe then very sorry! Sr. B.K. Neelima of the Brahmakumaris in Chennai spoke about the fact that many of the advances in science are being paid by health-carbon monoxide fumes being part of every city persons life, etc. She made the interesting point that no disease can be cured with any therapy unless the person wants to be cured and has faith in that method. Sr. Neelima also talked about the ability of Yoga to increase out tolerance and detachment when suffering from physical pain and concluded on the point that the root cause of why a disease occurs is vital. Smt Jana A. Atre of Bangalore shared her knowledge of the Nadis within the body on the topic “The Therapeutic Values of Yoga”. We have 72,000 Nadis within the body, half on one side and half on the other. She pointed out that ideally in a 24hour period, 12 hours should be right dominant nostril breathing and the other 12 hours left dominant breathing. Yet, because of our stressful, hectic, chaotic lifestyles this balance becomes dis-harmonized. Smt Jana maintained that disease occurs as a result of the lack of flow of Prana and explained how Asanas creates a type of pressure that promotes Prana to flow in that area. She continued to point out that Bandhas, Mantras and Mudras are all a manipulation of Pranic energy to recharge the system. Smt Jana concluded with placing considerable importance on the value of meditation in order to become one with the Divine and shared a nice thought-when light fills us there is no room left for darkness or negativity. Yogacharya Gowrishankarananda of Canada lent a different and refreshing viewpoint on “The Therapeutic Values of Yoga” by delving deeper into the aspect of the causes of disease. In order to find the root cause of ‘dis-ease’ within us we must develop a conscious awareness. Gaurishankarananda explained that this awareness must be extended into all areas of our lives and being and gave several pertinent examples to drive home this truth. In the topic “Yoga: A Mass Movement or an Individual Pursuit” Monika Beth Levenstein of Canada shared with us her view of Yoga as a deep paradox. She explained that Yoga may initially start as a group movement with Yoga classes but that ultimately it is a journey within that can only be undertaken alone to finally unite as one with the Universe. Yogacharya R. Maythili Sharan of Chennai, another Ananda Ashram student, quoted several Sanskrit poems as a means to explain his view on Yoga. The topic ‘The Environment of Yoga Instruction” was missed by myself in order to prepare for the Guru Puja of Srila Sri Kambaliswamigal and Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj. However, word of mouth has it that Yogacharini Maitreyi, senior student of Ananda Ashram from Chennai gave a very enlightening speech on her experience as a Yoga teacher in Chennai. Overall, while some speakers spoke only to hear their own voice, I found many of the speeches to be very insightful, thought provoking and an inspiration to continue on the path of Yoga. Compiled by Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani Consultant Yoga Expert International Yoga Festival Tourism Directorate, Govt of Pondicherry, Pondicherry-1 ----- Join us at the 13th International Yoga Festival from Jan 4th - 7th 2005 and enjoy 'Peaceful Pondicherry', the Cultural Yoga Capital of the World Yoga Community India Matrimony: Find your life partner online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.