RE : A report on DR ANANDA’S WORLD TOUR 2008

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for the beauty of your report....So much Love ,Light.nd Respect from our yoga world family..Marief"Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Bhavanani" <yognat a écrit : DR ANANDA'S WORLD TOUR 2008 It was surely a marvelous world tour for me

traversing five countries in nearly two months with ten flights and numerous train and road journeys, meeting thousands of people who shared the love for Yoga and Indian culture. Swamiji's spirit and Amma's blessings were there with me for sure as the entire tour went off without any hitches and was an unqualified success in all aspects. MY FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE UK The first part of my journey to the United Kingdom was the first time I was going to be teaching there though I had been carried in and out by Amma and Swamiji when I was a mere toddler. Landing at Heathrow which I was going to see four more times on this tour was easy but then the car journey down to Cornwall in the torrential rain with Catherine Davis ably driving Janita and me home was quite a start indeed. Both Cathy and Dr Alan

Davis have been students of Swamiji for many decades having studied with him at the Sri Kambaliswamy Madam and it was truly a restful and refreshing start to my hectic tour. Their third daughter Fay was on holiday from university and a delight to meet. The beaches, hills and cliffs of the area were a great treat with a healthy nature walk thrown in for good measure with the natural berries giving us the energy to continue. I learnt that seagulls aren't too different a menace than crows in India and that they have a horrible squawk! Having a chance to meet and teach students of Cathy and Shirley who did the correspondence course with Swamiji was a nice experience with an Iyengar teacher who had dropped in for the class even confessing how much more she had learnt in such a short time. I was happy to spend a day with Alan in his surgery where I got to experience first hand the work of a GP in the UK. I realized that patients and their issues are actually very similar all

over the world though the way they express them may be different in many ways. Alan has authored an excellent novel "Cornwall Cree Nation" and it is a must for anyone who wants to understand the differences and meeting points between the old and new worlds. A chance to meet Nandini Devi and Barnaby with their daughter Satya was an added bonus as whenever I heard Swamiji talk of the UK, his favorite Nandini would surely be mentioned many times. After the lovely time in Cornwall it was time to travel up to Wales and I had many new experiences thrown into my train journey up to Bristol. The travel over the beautiful English countryside and especially the coastline rain line at Plymouth was something to cherish. Jeremy Dixon was there at Bristol to pick me up and we chatted all the way as we drove down to Pontypridd where I would be for the next week with Kalavathi and family. Lloyd gives her so much support in all ways

and both Keshavan and Hamsa are growing up so well. Had a good glimpse of how Kalavathi has to juggle many things and my admiration for her continues to grow. She had me teach some of her classes at Cardiff and then closer home to get me in the groove and we had an excellent Indo-Welsh music evening with great music and a great audience. Lloyd had organized a lady violinist and his friend who plays the one handed Indian drum to come and perform with me and it was fusion at its best when Lloyd joined in on the piano! I really enjoyed the St Fagan's Museum of Welsh life that is an excellent treat for anyone who wants to see how the human living place has evolved over the past few centuries. Seeing the parts that were in the 1920s enabled me to see the UK that Swamiji must have seen when he first came there in that period. Quite different than what I was seeing today! A special treat was to meet Jeremy's parents who are

such lovely people and then to have some stunning photos taken by Jeremy's dad who is a professional photographer- what better time and place to be than there!! Kalavathi organized the three day intensive retreat at the Hilston Park near Monmouth in South Wales and it was an excellent venue out in the countryside on top of a hill. She spared no efforts in creating an Ashram atmosphere with help from Jeremy and other dedicated students of hers. A lovely Kolam at the entrance made it seem like India right from the start. A full Ashram schedule with Arthi in the morning, Hatha Yoga classes, Pranayama and theory sessions, Mantra, Bhajans and Satsangha in the evening coupled with workshops on Chakras, Kolam making and Sari draping helped all the 40 participants feel as if they were in the Ashram at ICYER. I enjoyed meeting up with Janaki the octogenarian student of Swamiji who had also attended his retreat in the UK three

decades earlier! It was interesting that the venue we had my first UK retreat was quite close to where Swamiji had given his UK retreat too. Sonia Allen Wall had come with some of her students and it was nice to meet up with her after many years. She had been one of the best correspondence course students with Swamiji and has remained dedicated to him and his teachings. Other familiar faces included Avril Kirk a long time associate of the Ashram, Sharada and Shanthi who had done the ICYER course in recent times, Kalavathi's mom, Vera and Pat who had done the short courses at ICYER, Dr Vinod from Scotland and Catherine from Ireland who had spent a couple of years in Pondicherry. Lovely representatives from the Friends of Yoga Society were a nice addition to the group as Swamiji was involved with that Society in the early days of its inception. After three sunny days of laughter and fun filed Sadhana, all participants left with happy faces and energized hearts of Yoga.

The next day I caught the morning train to London and met Birgit, Chris and their daughter Sophie at Paddington and then had a lovely two hour chat with them as we got to Heathrow, had lunch and boarded the flight to Basel to continue into the Swiss part of my tour. MY SECOND VISIT TO SWITZERLAND Sridevi was waiting with a big smile to greet me at the Basel airport and then drove me home where I met her lovely husband Felix. A day of sightseeing in Basel with Sridevi and Revathy led me on a nice boat ride, a visit to an ancient historical Christian pilgrimage site, hundreds of Pumpkins of every shape, color and size, an excellent anatomy museum and a lot of walking. Sridevi and I then undertook a wonderful train journey through Switzerland from Basel

to Locarno with a stop at Mt Pilatus on the way. Had my first cable car ride to the top and enjoyed the view, the weather and of course the lovely Pasta up there 2500 meters above sea level! Hariharan and Patti were ready with dinner for us at their home in Locarno and it was fun to play around with Jaya and Nila who are energetic beyond belief. Jaya actually had a bad fall and broke a few teeth while I was teaching my first class at Ascorna in a school gymnasium with three dozen enthusiastic students. She was however back to normal the next morning waking us all up with her babbles. Hariharan knows how to squeeze a lot of time into a teaching day and so the three day seminar that he organized at Monte Verita was a real test for both the students and me. We had a great time with Sridevi and Revathy joining the group in addition to Billy and Alexandra who had made

the long journey from Germany to be with us. The seminar had 20 eager participants who learnt the art and science of Pranayama in a step by step manner as per the teaching of Swamiji with his words flowing out of my mouth as I taught the classes with him always in mind. This happened many times on the tour and I would often stop and wonder what I was saying because it would be pure Swamiji and not me at all! I always pray that I should be worthy of being the son of Swamiji and Amma as they have set such high standards that it seems impossible most of the time to even think of those lofty standards. I do however try my best and then leave the rest to Swamiji for he knows best! OFF TO BERLIN FOR THE SECOND TIME Latha and Prema are lovely hosts and this time they had organized my own private flat near

their houses so that I had some time and space for myself. Much appreciated at that point of time as I did need to relax and recuperate a bit after the hectic first two weeks of the tour. We had excellent company in the form of Sangeet Bird, a correspondence course student who has endeared herself to Amma and me with her excellent work and lovely dedication to the teachings. She has also answered the correspondence course questions in a poetic manner and been a great student. Latha, Sangeet and I had a great time visiting different parts of Berlin on a boat ride down the River Spree and then had a nice time with Prema at the hospital where she works in an efficient and loving manner. A three-day seminar on Hatha Yoga at the Finnish Centre in Berlin was attended by a dozen dedicated Sadhakas most of whom had undergone the correspondence course either through the ashram or with Asha and Keshav Rekai at their Yoga School. Having dinner at the Indian restaurant with Keshav was

a special time for me as I have grown up knowing him and Asha for so long and then to visit their Yoga school seemed like a great family reunion. It gave me great pleasure that Keshav also found time to be at my talk that took place at the Tagore Cultural Centre in the Indian Embassy where I talked about Mudras and Pranayama in the Gitananda Yoga tradition. This was my second visit to the embassy and felt very happy to have their open invitation to come back for more talks whenever I am in Berlin. An enjoyable musical evening at Latha's house with her son Jacco who is a professional classical musician and teacher at the university and a chance to meet other members of the Gitananda Yoga Society was much appreciated. Latha's husband Simore is a wonderful humble man who supports all her activities and participates with a great sense of humor thrown in for good measure. The two day seminar at her house was on Yantra and two dozen members of the Gitananda family participated enthusiastically in leaning this great science of numbers, name and form. At the conclusion, Madeline who is now the chairperson of the society gave us a lovely concert of her songs that I enjoyed tremendously. We then had a lovely Indian meal at a South Indian restaurant with Dosas made by a guy from Pondicherry! At the end of the day, I rested in my apartment and started to wonder what was in store for me on the next segment of my tour, my first visit as an adult to the US of A, a bit of trepidation on this journey into the unknown! MY FIRST TRIP TO THE USA Though I had been to the US with Amma as a toddler this was the first adult

visit and the first time I would be teaching and lecturing here. From what I had gathered from all the US based Yoga magazines earlier, I wondered whether I would be able to hit the right cord with the American Yogis who seemed so caught up with a single aspect of yoga, namely Asana. Rajudev was waiting to meet me at the gate and we had a lovely talk as we found our way to the parking lot by traveling up and down the airport for he knew as much as me about the new international airport! Doris, his better half was ready with a nice dinner when we got home and Antonio, the conference organizer was there to meet me. Antonio and I have corresponded over the past five years and have developed a wonderful kinship over the internet but this was the first time we met and what a meeting! i had just come out of the bath and so the first view he had of me was half naked with a bath towel wrapped around me! Rajudev and Doris

were determined that I have a good experience and spared no efforts in making me at home. I saw a lot of San Francisco in that week including the Muir Woods, the Golden Gate Bridge and the lovely beaches. I also learned that sea lions are very human as they keep pushing the others off the board into the water to get on it themselves. A wonderful film, "Groundhog day" was an enjoyable watch as it had some very subtle spiritual truths buried in it- when given another chance, we usually mess it up until we are ready to transform ourselves. Doris was so motherly in her affection and care that I actually started to tease her by calling her Mom every time. Such love doesn't flow easily and I was completely soaked in it. I learned a lot from Rajudev and had a great time re-reading his class notes from the time he spent with Swamiji in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is an amazing man and has helped me understand and

internalize many aspects of Swamiji's teachings that I would not have otherwise. Despite the age difference and the fact that he knew Swamiji and Amma even before I was born, he has showered immense love and respect upon me that completely floored me. At a time when many of Swamiji's students cannot visualize me as an adult and think I am still that "small kid who knows nothing", to have such a really great Sadhaka and Yogacharya do so was heart warming. Thanks Rajudev for giving me that gift. Your presence in every one of my classes enabled me to give off my best! Rajudev had organized an excellent get together of the North American Chapter of Yoga Jivana Satsangha and it was a marvelous day indeed at the Santa Sabina centre. Lalitha Devi made the journey from New York and it was lovely to see her again as both Swamiji and Amma have so much affection for her that she is very dear family. We had a great time with the

Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, theory and Mantralaya with a bit of my singing and also had very tasty food at the nearby university cafeteria that made me feel like going back to university once more just for the food! Antonio, the organizer of the International Yoga Therapy conference had invited all the presenters to his house for a pre conference meet and dinner that turned into a gala time with healthy interaction between all of us. Getting to meet the great American Yoga teachers such as Larry Payne and Rama Jyothi Vernon as well as the eminent researcher Dr Sat Bir Singh Khalsa was a joy. Larry and I got along tremendously from the very moment we met and spent a lot of time chatting about the modern world of Yoga and Yoga therapy. I also got a chance to meet Neil Pearson, Mukunda Stiles, Nina Priya and Amy Weintraub who are amazing human beings as well as other eminent personalities who would be teaching at the

conference. The conference got off to a grand beginning with a ceremony conducted by Antonio on burning away our negatives for the positives to create a better environment for others like the incense that burns to give off fragrance. My first session was on energizing Chakras and within a few minutes of the class I realized that people were ready for real Yoga and that I could be myself without qualification. The first panel presentation was an astonishing experience as Larry Payne who was to speak got up from the panel and invited me to come and take his place on stage to share my views. I was blown off my feet with that magnanimous gesture that I would have never expected anywhere in the world and it was happening right here in the USA! Larry set the stage for a successful conference with that heartfelt gesture that I will treasure for my whole life. I hope

that I will be able to do the same for others in the future as it propelled me to do my best in all ways possible. Three morning classes, three panel presentations, three workshops and a keynote on Yoga and modern medicine in a three-day conference were already a lot and then I had to deal with family too. Amma's sister Kathryn and her twin brother Joey made a long journey to come to San Rafael and be with me over the weekend along with Kathryn's partner Terry and Joey's daughter Kathleen. It was a new experience for me as they had last seen me when I was three and now we meet 33 years later! We had a great time over lunch and dinner with lots of stories and catching up for all the time missed. Over the next few days I suddenly found a dozen cousins of mine on the net and it was becoming a grand family reunion of sorts. I had the chance to talk to a few of my aunts and uncles and also a wonderful long talk with my

grandmother who has a great sense of humor and timing even as she traverses the eighties. All in all I can only describe my American experience as a magical one that enabled me to see that there are sincere people on the Yoga path willing to see the grandness of Yoga. I do hope that I can bring Amma and Rama Jyothi together in the future as it was so wonderful to see the inner understanding that came through when Rama spoke. She and Amma would make a lovely pair indeed. Antonio did a great job of Karma Yoga and I hope that more people will see the work he is doing and support him in it as it is unique and much needed in this world. Emmet was a great help to him and played a vital role in keeping things under control with a dedicated band of volunteers. The musical evening was really enjoyable with Dr Mark Schillinger joining me on the keyboard and drums to create lovely music and then we had a lot of fun enjoying

Antonio and his barbershop quartet who performed wonderfully. A day to rest after the conference with some sight seeing and packing and then I was ready to go back home- to my European home at the Gitananda Ashram in Savona, Italy. THIRD TIME IN ITALY, MY EUROPEAN HOMECOMING Going to Italy seems to be a relaxed homecoming for me and maybe I have had a few Italians births in the past for I do enjoy Italian food a lot and am getting a grip on Italiano too. I tease them that very soon I may give them entire classes in Italiano! Priyananda was waiting for me at Milan and the drive back to the Gitananda ashram was full of our talk and music for he loves Indian music so much that I cannot stop singing once I get in the car with

him. Svami Yogananda Giri, Ma Uma Shakti and Hamasananda were there with my darling sister Atmananda (Lilavathi). Atmananda is such a wonderful dancer and enthusiastic student that she managed to learn the entire Devi Stuthi in praise of Durga Lakshmi and Saraswathi in two classes flat! When she dances my compositions they seem to come alive more than at any other time. My mind was clear and I gave an excellent concert on Vijayadasami at the Shakthi Mandir with Priyananda on the mridungam but still my body was not sure where it was due to the 9 hour time difference between USA and Italy. Three nights of insomnia ensued before I started to sleep again and by then I was ready to come back to India. In the meantime I managed to give Atmananda and Priyananda some Yantra lessons and also a bit of music and dance tuition whenever possible. Svami Yogananda and his team at the Gitananda Ashram are planning on publishing

Swamiji's books in Italiano and have already completed the translation work on my best book, Yoga: 1 to 10. It may well be my best Christmas present. I support their work completely and see that they have dedicated themselves completely to Swamiji's message of Yoga as a way of life. Hamasananda, Priyananda and I traveled to Milan for the Milano Yoga Festival that was now in its third year and seems to be getting bigger every year. My two workshops on Mudras and then Stress Management were well received with good attendance and interest and I also presented a talk on the Ashram's new book on Pranayama in the Gitananda tradition before being swamped with the Italian media for some rapid fire interviews. Sabrina is doing a good job in organizing the festival and she has ambitious plans to create a space especially for those who want to go deeper into Yoga by organizing some residential retreats in the near future. Her

marriage to Johnny on Swamiji's birthday (24th July) this year seems to have brought out the best in her and she was shining with happy energy. Sankara and Anna made the four hour drive down to Milan with their lovely twins and I really enjoyed their presence that was full of so much love. I love to witness Sankara's dynamism and deeply appreciate his wonderful Seva for the Ashram through the www.icyer.com website that he has developed in such a wonderful manner. Hariharan and Patti also made the journey down from Locarno and so we had a grand Yoga family reunion at the MYF 2008 with lots of fun. When I got back to Savona a pleasant surprise awaited me as Shobana and three of her students had made a 16 hour drive down from the Czech Republic to be with me for the last two days of my stay in Europe. Shobana is doing

a wonderful Seva through her teachings in the Czech Republic and has created amazing interest in Swamiji's teachings there in the past two years with many of her students taking up the correspondence course and others joining the 6 month course. She is such joyous company that we spent many hours talking about her experiences and listening to the lovely Bhajans by her students. They all attended my lecture at the ASYA OM city centre of the Ashram in Savona and we had a grand time singing Bhajans in the car as we traveled back to the Ashram. Thank you Shobana for that wonderful gift you gave me by making that Herculean effort to come and be with me. Students like you make me want to teach more and more as you are such gems that can take Swamiji's vibrant and unique message to the world for the future. The 15th morning saw us leave the Ashram early and make our way to the Milan airport where I had a send-off

party of five enthusiastic members who couldn't spot waving me good luck as I boarded the flight to Brussels and then back home. My thoughts were filled with happiness at the success of the entire tour that was marvelous and magical and I realized how Swamiji was with me for every moment of it, for it couldn't have been so otherwise. The love, respect, gratitude and care that was showered upon me at every step overwhelms me completely and motivates me to strive and do better as I grow with every day of my life being a chance to repay the great debt I owe Swamiji and Amma for making me what I am today. -- Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi BhavananiChairmanICYER and Yoganjali Natyalayam25, 2nd Cross, Iyyanar NagarPondicherry, South Indiawww.icyer.comwww.geocities.com/yognat2001--------------------------DISCLAIMER : Information transmitted in this e-mail is proprietary to Ananda Ashram at ICYER, Pondicherry, South India. It is intended only for the addressee and may contain private, confidential and/or privileged material. Review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Please be aware that this email may have been a group mailing (bcc) and if you received this through error we apologize. If you have received this communication in error, please

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