DEVASENA’S IMPRESSIONS FROM HER FIRST TRIP ABROAD

[Guest guest]

DEVASENA’S IMPRESSIONS FROM HER

FIRST TRIP ABROAD

 

It was very nice to tour Italy and Switzerland

with Dr Ananda and meet all his fans from all over Europe.

When I made my first journey by air two years ago it had been an extremely

tense experience but with my beloved husband by my side it seemed so much

easier and all my six flights went off comfortably. To be in new places, with

new people and to have new experiences was something special for me as there

was so much to experience and learn. Of course Hariharan and Patti as well as

the Gitananda Ashram family were already known to me but we meet and interacted

with so many others who were totally new to me. I must say that the food at the

Gitananda Ashram was so tasty that I could eat there forever!

This trip helped me to see Dr

Ananda’s “Dhyana Sthanam” his abode

of meditation, the Gitananda Ashram that is such a wonderful place. The Devi

temple is so wonderful with all the ststues of the various Devis making me feel

a sense of the great Indian culture and Hinduism come alive. Great respect and

love is found there with all the Ashramites performing their duties as Karma

Yoga with the Seva attitude. They all love and respect Dr Ananda so much and it

is a manifestation of their great love for Swamiji that has been inculcated in

all of them by Svami Yogananda Giri. To have the love and affection and respect

from the Ashramites reminded me of the blessings I have to be in this wonderful

Yoga family of Swamiji and Amma.

For so many in India and

abroad Dr Ananda is a manifestation of Guru and the Divine and for me it was so

nice to see him as a Jnani when he gave his Satsangha. Many understand him as a

learned person and wonder how he can know so much but there I witnessed people

who could understand and see the inner vision of his greatness too. I was

really touched by the respect and love we received from all the Tamil people

who had come for the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. I feel that we are not

giving him due respect as he is always with us and has such a humble

disposition. Though his world tours he really has made a mark that he is

someone very special indeed to anyone in the world who has the privilege to

meet and interact with him. I feel that he becomes one with his music

especially in the Ashram where he seems so much at home.

It is nice to see the care people

have taken of their culture and buildings in Europe and our visit to Rome and Genova showed me

that aspect of the Italian people that is very good. We saw so many nice sights

in Italy and Switzerland

enjoying the mountains with Hariharan and family, saw the lovely aquarium in

Genova with so many cute marine creatures, but I still feel that the wonderful

nature of the people is something even more special. Everyone enjoyed a good

joke at my expense when I kept saying that everything in Rome seemed like Genova! The first

impressions are always the deepest and so Genova became my reference point.

Hariharan and Patti made sure that

we had a good holiday in Switzerland

and we had so much fun with them and the kids. Felt just like we were back at home

to have Jeya and Nila running around! The trip to mount Robiei

was a lot of fun and to have real snow in my hands was a great feeling. It was

also nice to see Sankara, Nalini, Latha, Prema, Janita and the Vishwakarma

family at the Ashram and interact with them all for the three days reatreat.

Of course the Gitananda Ashram is

a very different place. It is a miraculous place with such an Indian feel to

it. It is amazing that Svami Yogananda has been able to do it! Swamiji and

Amma’s teachings are in the very air there and we had a great experience for

the entire time. I thank Amma and Swamiji for giving me such a wonderful

opportunity for real Satsangha with such spiritual souls. The experience made

me realize how lucky I am to have so many opportunities in my life.

I was so happy to be able to dance

on stage again and thank Dr Ananda for putting up with all my nonsense and

making me do what I should for I then realize the great happiness through the

dance, music and Yoga. Atmananda is such a loving and sincere and I feel a very

special bond with her. She has really stimulated me to start dancing on stage

again and it was wonderful to perform with her. I also really enjoyed the

Samskrit classes with the group as they managed to go so fast in just two

classes! Hamasananada, Ma Uma Shakti and all of the Ashramites made our stay so

comfortable and were ever ready to help at any time. They are doing such

wonderful Seva for Bharatiya Samskriti, traditional Indian Culture. To me it

always feels like they are all completely Indians, the only difference is that

they speak Italian!

I was so happy that they have

translated Swamiji’s and Dr Ananda’s books into Italian with such love and complete

dedication to the cause of our Gitananda Yoga tradition. The inauguration of

Swamiji’s statue brought tears of happiness to my eyes for it is so lifelike!

Priyananda had also put on a collection of Swamiji’s Bhajans and it seemed like

Swamiji was singing with all of us. Thanks for such a wonderful and touching

moment.

I have to thank Shobana for

helping Amma with Anandraj and Dhivya for if not we couldn’t have made this

trip at all. She takes such good care of the kids that I was not worried about

them at all knowing she was there back at the Ashram with them. I also thank

all the Yognat teachers and ICYER staff for managing in our absence. Especially

for doing such a wonderful job at the Dance Competition and Ganesh Chaturthi

programme.

My father had great respect for

the work of Swamiji and Amma and as Dr Ananda said, he would have been so happy

to have witnessed my happiness on this trip. He used to always appreciate

Amma’s dedication and expertise in bringing alive our great Indian culture

through the dance dramas every year. He would have surely loved the Gitananda

Ashram a lot.

Being with Priyananda and

Atmananda was a real treat. Both are such amazing and talented human beings.

Priyananda is such a Karma Yogi and sensitive person. Of course they are also

my brother-in-law and sister-in-law as Dr Ananda considers them lovingly as his

brother and sister at all times. Am lucky to have such a team who are real

examples of real Yogic upbringing. I hope that in the future we can travel to

the Ashram with the kids and they can see these wonderful Yogic people. Both Dr

Ananda and I feel they are good role models for Anandraj and Dhivya who I am

sure will grow up to support their father in his wonderful work.

Thank you Amma and Swamiji for

this wonderful opportunity, for I have learned a lot and through the experience

of this trip hope to take forward your great message to many more.

 

 

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