A MARVELLOUS TIME FOR US BOTH!

[Guest guest]

A MARVELLOUS TIME FOR US BOTH!

It was a truly marvelous time for both Devasena and me as

we were lucky to have the lovely opportunity to be with so many loving members

of our European Gitananda Yoga family. Of course it took a lot of persuasion

before I could convince Devasena to travel abroad, but my four earlier trips

had given me the confidence that we could have a really nice and memorable

experience. 

 

A SWISS HOLIDAY

Finally a real holiday in Switzerland! Hariharan and I had

decided to let this trip be a holiday and didn’t schedule any classes for me at

Locarno during our three-day stay. It is always a joy to visit Hariharan and

Patti who are such a nice couple. Patti is such an amazing woman with a great

amount of patience. Imagine being a NINE birth path with a husband and two kids

who are all THREE birth paths! Being a THREE birth path myself I know what it

means as Swamiji, Amma and also Anandraj are energetic, artistic and intense

examples of what a THREE can be in totality. We had a good time running around the

lake in Locarno, witnessing Hariharan’s excellent Hatha Yoga class at the

camping site as well as visiting mountains and valleys nearby.  Special trip was up the mountain Robei where

we had a chance to see the huge glacier and hold some real snow in our hands.

Seeing Hariharan’s mother again was lovely as she has such a spiritual nature

with so much of profound love. It is interesting that she had a dream of

Swamiji much before Hariharan came to ICYER and it was surely a premonition of

the good things to come. Devasena also had a taste of a western supermarket

when Patti took her around while Hariharan and I discussed his Breathing

Therapy training that seems to be very compatible with Yoga. He gave me a

session of what he is doing and it was a relaxing experience. We had fun with

both Jeya and Nila who are growing up very well and we felt at home with them

waking us up in the morning with their natural alarms!! It is wonderful to see

the lovely family and it makes me so reassuringly happy that Dhivya and

Anandraj will have great company in the future as their young Yogi generation

grows.

 

GANESH CHATURTHI AT THE GITANANDA ASHRAM

For the past many years Svami Yogananda Giri and all

members of my Italian Yoga Family have been inviting me to come for Ganesh

Chaturthi that is the grandest annual celebration of the Ashram. Usually we are

very busy with the annual Ganesh Puja Celebrations at Pondicherry that have been sponsored for the

past 25 years by Swamiji and Amma and so have not been able to take up the

loving invitation. This year however, when I was at the Senbhaga Vinayaga

temple in Singapore

at the end of my tour down under, I made up my mind to attend the Ashram Ganesh

Chaturthi celebrations and that too with my loving Dharmapatni Devasena. I am

really glad that I made that decision as it was a wonderfully uplifting time

for all of us.

Svami Yogananda continues to amaze me with his dedication,

determination and non-stop development of the Ashram both externally and

internally. I had a pleasant surprise of unveiling a life-size stature of

Swamiji at the Ashram that had been made by Jayalakshmi and others under the

guidance and watchful eye of Svami Yogananda. Swamiji does come alive through

that statue and I kept on looking at it expecting it to speak! Priyananda had

made an audio presentation of Swamiji’s Bhajans at the inauguration and it was

heart touching to hear Swamiji’s roar as we unveiled the statue. I also had a

nice extra surprise when we released the Italian translation of Swamiji’s book

on Pranayama: the fourth limb of Yoga and my Yoga: 1 to 10

that I consider my best-to-date. Swamiji’s’ unique message of classical yoga

can now reach so many more that would have missed it otherwise. I consider both

translations as improvements on the English editions as they also have the

transliterations that make them more fit for academic purposes with right

enunciation of the Samskrit terms. I hope that this will stimulate others to

also do the same in their own languages enabling more seekers to get the inner

meaning of Swamiji’s teachings.

Many fruitful hours were spent over the ten days

performing, learning, teaching and enjoying the greatness of Yoga, Indian music

and Indian dance. I usually am at my best while performing at the Ashram and it

was very touching for me that Devasena also felt the same and started

performing on stage once again at the Ashram. This was something very special

for us both as she has not performed regularly after the birth of our children

and the only times she got close was when she performed guest roles in Yognat’s

dance dramas. She has an amazing talent and it blossomed in the company of

Atmananda and her student Saraswathi. The three ladies enjoyed each other’s

company a lot and spent many hours sharing their joyful love for this wonderful

art. Atmananda has become a great dancer and tears of joy come easily to one’s

eyes when we watch her perform Krishna Nee Begame with such

Bhava. Devasena managed to teach them the entire Hanuman Varnam as well as the

Kadanakuduhalam Jathiswaram and I had the satisfaction of seeing my

compositions come alive with such precision and perfection.

The morning of Sunday the 23rd August saw us all

wake up with great expectation for the Ganesh Chaturthi that we were to

celebrate that day. The wonderful Gujarati Punditji from UK had arrived the day earlier and as the first

rays of the morning sun touched earth devotees started to arrive from all over Europe. More than a thousand devotees participated in the

energetic Pujas, Homa and Bhajans with a grand procession of the Utsava Murthi

of Lord Ganesha being taken around the Ashram grounds. My dear brothers in

Yoga, Sankara and Hariharan had the special privilege to be part of the nine

member team that performed a sacred Homa with me and Devasena under the

guidance of our Punditji. Lovely Prasadam was served as a delicious luncheon

for all devotees and then we all had a dance performance by Devasena, Atmananda

and Saraswathi followed by my Tamil music concert with Priyananda giving

admirable support on the Mridungam. He is so much a loving brother to me that

he is no wonder always in perfect rhythm with my music at all times, be it when

I am singing in the car or on stage. It is a credit to all the devotees that

despite more than a thousand being in attendance there was never a sense of an

unruly crowd as all were moving so well with each other. The Tamilian community

of Italy and Europe rightly feels a great sense of affinity to the

Gitananda Ashram as it recreates such a wonderful homely atmosphere of being

back in Tamilnadu!  

We had a nice tour of Genova with Malini and Savitri and

visited the wonderful aquarium there. There is such a wide variety of marine

life in that place and Devasena had a chance to see the sharks and dolphins as

I had done in Australia.

She also saw the penguins that seemed to have better conditions than their

brethren have nowadays in the South Pole with all the global warming. We also

visited the Palazzo Ducale and walked

through the Tower and Old prison. As Devasena commented, “Sometimes we think we

don’t have freedom in our lives but to imagine the plight of the prisoners in

their cells really sends a shiver down the spine making us more aware of all

the freedom we do have!” A trip on the bus top with the bus top tour guide’s

voice plugged into our ears led us through the old streets of Genova and we saw

many places including the dilapidated remains of the house of Christopher

Columbus. Quite an audacious life he lived! Imagine going half way across the

world and then claiming as the property of your queen someone’s homeland, where

they have lived with traditions thousands of years old! No wonder he got put in

jail when he got back. Devasena so enjoyed her Genova trip that it became the

reference point for everyplace else that she went including Rome. This became a big joke when she told

the Ashramites after a day long visit to Rome

that Rome

looked just like Genova! Priyananda in his best humour later remarked, “Hope

Gitananda Ashram doesn’t look like Genova?!”

 

BERLIN

ON MY OWN

Berlin

is fast becoming one of my favorite destinations and why not with such

wonderful love and affection being showered upon me each time I visit the

Gitananda Yoga Society. Latha and Prema made sure that I was at home right from

the moment I landed at the Tegel airport. Latha's husband Simo is always so

cheerful and that makes me feel so good whenever I get to interact with him.

They made sure that I again had the lovely flat at No.7 Behring Street where i could rest

and relax in peace. Latha and Prema are excellent hosts and made sure that

everything was perfect and in order so that i could have a great time. We had a

fun evening at the new ‘Behring Café’ run by Kirsten, one of Latha’s wonderful

Yoga students with wonderful enchanting music by Madeline. It was a good chance

to meet up with all the members of the Gitananda Yoga Family including Rahula

Leone (now also known as Ananda Leone) who was organizing the main one day

seminar on Yoga Therapy at his Yoga Academy.

The full day programme at the Yoga Akademie Berlin was a resounding

success with nearly fifty ardent yoga enthusiast gathering for the seminar on

Principle and methods of Yoga Therapy. The series of articles by Dr Ananda on

Yoga Therapy was used as the basis of the seminar that took a detailed look at

the Pancha Koshas, Kleshas and the concept of Adhi-Vyadhi to help all

participants understand the vast potential of Yoga better. Rahula has an

excellent centre that has a nice vibration with a garden outside and many

windows to let in the fresh air. Participants enjoyed the teachings that were

laced with humor that I have found to be an important teaching tool. Of course,

as most know already the butt of most of my jokes is usually me. We had a nice

Masala Dosa at the ‘Chennai Dosa’ café that seems to run on Indian time making

us nearly miss the afternoon session! A nice dinner with soup and salad was my

treat from the day from Rahula before I had a chance to rest for the night. The

Hatha Yoga session the next day at Latha’s house saw the core members of the

group attend the class for a good workout in Gitananda style. Lots of Jattis,

Kriyas and a nice relaxation saw us all in a good mood for the sumptuous brunch

that we all enjoyed before Latha and Prema joined me on the return journey to Turin. A happy Priyananda

welcomed us back home as we drove along the picturesque freeway back to the

Gitananda Ashram where Devasena was waiting with Dr Nalini who had arrived the

day earlier. 

While I was away in Berlin; Svamiji, Hamsananda and Uma had

the wonderful idea of sending Devasena on a tour of Rome with Priyananda and

Atmananda. Not only did Devasena get to see one of the most historical and

beautiful cities but it created a chance for them to bond together in a lovely

way. All three are so close to me that it made me very happy to see the great

love they shared amongst themselves. A bus top tour with a chance to see the

Roman Coliseum and the Vatican

as well as visit the Da Vinci Museum

gave Devasena a good feel of Rome.

Having been to Genova earlier in the week with me, Devasena floored everyone

with her innocent “Rome looks just like Genova” comment that resulting from the

Genova trip being her first view of Roman architecture. It gave everyone a

great laugh and we all know that laughter is the best medicine!

 

GITANANDA MEETING AT THE ASHRAM

Dr Nalini, Latha, Prema, Sankara as well as Viswakarma and

Sharanya with Anandi and Alicia made the trip to be with us for the weekend

Gitananda get together at the Ashram. Morning Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, Samskrit,

Bhajans and Satsangha sessions with a chance to experience the energetic Pujas

at the Devi temple were an opportunity for all to experience Gitananda Yoga in

its fullest manifestation. A nice group of Italian students of Svami Yogananda

joined in for the great experience that we had with all the Ashramites in

attendance too. A lot of knowledge and experiences were shared along with many

a laugh thanks to Sankara whose knowledge of Italian helped make matters easier

and funnier! Another chance for Devasena to dance with Atmananda and Saraswathi

and for me to sing with Priyananda on Mridungam gave us all a lot of joy. I do

hope that more of the European Gitananda family will make it when we have such

meetings in the future as it is the best way to experience Swamiji’s teachings

that are steeped in Indian culture. Those who made it this time are very

special to me as they did so with such short notice - it makes me realize that

anything is possible if the will is there to do it!

May Swamiji continue bless us all enabling us to understand

his magnificence that manifests through his teachings and take them to all that

are in need of REAL YOGA.

 

 

-- Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi BhavananiChairman: ICYER and Yoganjali Natyalayam25, II Cross, Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry, Indiawww.icyer.com and www..org

--------------------------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 contact us at yognat and delete the material from any stored format/computer.

[Guest guest]

Lovely to read through the experiences. We are atleast lucky enough to get to read this and picturise how lovely it must have been. Thank You for this.

meena--- On Tue, 15/9/09, Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Bhavanani <yognat wrote:

Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Bhavanani <yognat A MARVELLOUS TIME FOR US BOTH! Date: Tuesday, 15 September, 2009, 10:38 AM

 

A MARVELLOUS TIME FOR US BOTH!

It was a truly marvelous time for both Devasena and me as we were lucky to have the lovely opportunity to be with so many loving members of our European Gitananda Yoga family. Of course it took a lot of persuasion before I could convince Devasena to travel abroad, but my four earlier trips had given me the confidence that we could have a really nice and memorable experience.

 

A SWISS HOLIDAY

Finally a real holiday in Switzerland! Hariharan and I had decided to let this trip be a holiday and didn’t schedule any classes for me at Locarno during our three-day stay. It is always a joy to visit Hariharan and Patti who are such a nice couple. Patti is such an amazing woman with a great amount of patience. Imagine being a NINE birth path with a husband and two kids who are all THREE birth paths! Being a THREE birth path myself I know what it means as Swamiji, Amma and also Anandraj are energetic, artistic and intense examples of what a THREE can be in totality. We had a good time running around the lake in Locarno, witnessing Hariharan’s excellent Hatha Yoga class at the camping site as well as visiting mountains and valleys nearby. Special trip was up the mountain Robei where we had a chance to see the huge glacier and hold some real snow in our hands. Seeing Hariharan’s mother again was

lovely as she has such a spiritual nature with so much of profound love. It is interesting that she had a dream of Swamiji much before Hariharan came to ICYER and it was surely a premonition of the good things to come. Devasena also had a taste of a western supermarket when Patti took her around while Hariharan and I discussed his Breathing Therapy training that seems to be very compatible with Yoga. He gave me a session of what he is doing and it was a relaxing experience. We had fun with both Jeya and Nila who are growing up very well and we felt at home with them waking us up in the morning with their natural alarms!! It is wonderful to see the lovely family and it makes me so reassuringly happy that Dhivya and Anandraj will have great company in the future as their young Yogi generation grows.

 

GANESH CHATURTHI AT THE GITANANDA ASHRAM

For the past many years Svami Yogananda Giri and all members of my Italian Yoga Family have been inviting me to come for Ganesh Chaturthi that is the grandest annual celebration of the Ashram. Usually we are very busy with the annual Ganesh Puja Celebrations at Pondicherry that have been sponsored for the past 25 years by Swamiji and Amma and so have not been able to take up the loving invitation. This year however, when I was at the Senbhaga Vinayaga temple in Singapore at the end of my tour down under, I made up my mind to attend the Ashram Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and that too with my loving Dharmapatni Devasena. I am really glad that I made that decision as it was a wonderfully uplifting time for all of us.

Svami Yogananda continues to amaze me with his dedication, determination and non-stop development of the Ashram both externally and internally. I had a pleasant surprise of unveiling a life-size stature of Swamiji at the Ashram that had been made by Jayalakshmi and others under the guidance and watchful eye of Svami Yogananda. Swamiji does come alive through that statue and I kept on looking at it expecting it to speak! Priyananda had made an audio presentation of Swamiji’s Bhajans at the inauguration and it was heart touching to hear Swamiji’s roar as we unveiled the statue. I also had a nice extra surprise when we released the Italian translation of Swamiji’s book on Pranayama: the fourth limb of Yoga and my Yoga: 1 to 10 that I consider my best-to-date. Swamiji’s’ unique message of classical yoga can now reach so many more that would have missed it otherwise. I consider both

translations as improvements on the English editions as they also have the transliterations that make them more fit for academic purposes with right enunciation of the Samskrit terms. I hope that this will stimulate others to also do the same in their own languages enabling more seekers to get the inner meaning of Swamiji’s teachings.

Many fruitful hours were spent over the ten days performing, learning, teaching and enjoying the greatness of Yoga, Indian music and Indian dance. I usually am at my best while performing at the Ashram and it was very touching for me that Devasena also felt the same and started performing on stage once again at the Ashram. This was something very special for us both as she has not performed regularly after the birth of our children and the only times she got close was when she performed guest roles in Yognat’s dance dramas. She has an amazing talent and it blossomed in the company of Atmananda and her student Saraswathi. The three ladies enjoyed each other’s company a lot and spent many hours sharing their joyful love for this wonderful art. Atmananda has become a great dancer and tears of joy come easily to one’s eyes when we watch her perform Krishna Nee Begame with such Bhava. Devasena managed to

teach them the entire Hanuman Varnam as well as the Kadanakuduhalam Jathiswaram and I had the satisfaction of seeing my compositions come alive with such precision and perfection.

The morning of Sunday the 23rd August saw us all wake up with great expectation for the Ganesh Chaturthi that we were to celebrate that day. The wonderful Gujarati Punditji from UK had arrived the day earlier and as the first rays of the morning sun touched earth devotees started to arrive from all over Europe. More than a thousand devotees participated in the energetic Pujas, Homa and Bhajans with a grand procession of the Utsava Murthi of Lord Ganesha being taken around the Ashram grounds. My dear brothers in Yoga, Sankara and Hariharan had the special privilege to be part of the nine member team that performed a sacred Homa with me and Devasena under the guidance of our Punditji. Lovely Prasadam was served as a delicious luncheon for all devotees and then we all had a dance performance by Devasena, Atmananda and Saraswathi followed by my Tamil music concert with Priyananda giving admirable support on the

Mridungam. He is so much a loving brother to me that he is no wonder always in perfect rhythm with my music at all times, be it when I am singing in the car or on stage. It is a credit to all the devotees that despite more than a thousand being in attendance there was never a sense of an unruly crowd as all were moving so well with each other. The Tamilian community of Italy and Europe rightly feels a great sense of affinity to the Gitananda Ashram as it recreates such a wonderful homely atmosphere of being back in Tamilnadu!

We had a nice tour of Genova with Malini and Savitri and visited the wonderful aquarium there. There is such a wide variety of marine life in that place and Devasena had a chance to see the sharks and dolphins as I had done in Australia. She also saw the penguins that seemed to have better conditions than their brethren have nowadays in the South Pole with all the global warming. We also visited the Palazzo Ducale and walked through the Tower and Old prison. As Devasena commented, “Sometimes we think we don’t have freedom in our lives but to imagine the plight of the prisoners in their cells really sends a shiver down the spine making us more aware of all the freedom we do have!†A trip on the bus top with the bus top tour guide’s voice plugged into our ears led us through the old streets of Genova and we saw many places including the dilapidated remains of the house of Christopher Columbus. Quite an

audacious life he lived! Imagine going half way across the world and then claiming as the property of your queen someone’s homeland, where they have lived with traditions thousands of years old! No wonder he got put in jail when he got back. Devasena so enjoyed her Genova trip that it became the reference point for everyplace else that she went including Rome. This became a big joke when she told the Ashramites after a day long visit to Rome that Rome looked just like Genova! Priyananda in his best humour later remarked, “Hope Gitananda Ashram doesn’t look like Genova?!â€

 

BERLIN ON MY OWN

Berlin is fast becoming one of my favorite destinations and why not with such wonderful love and affection being showered upon me each time I visit the Gitananda Yoga Society. Latha and Prema made sure that I was at home right from the moment I landed at the Tegel airport. Latha's husband Simo is always so cheerful and that makes me feel so good whenever I get to interact with him. They made sure that I again had the lovely flat at No.7 Behring Street where i could rest and relax in peace. Latha and Prema are excellent hosts and made sure that everything was perfect and in order so that i could have a great time. We had a fun evening at the new ‘Behring Café’ run by Kirsten, one of Latha’s wonderful Yoga students with wonderful enchanting music by Madeline. It was a good chance to meet up with all the members of the Gitananda Yoga Family including Rahula Leone (now also known as Ananda Leone) who was organizing the

main one day seminar on Yoga Therapy at his Yoga Academy.

The full day programme at the Yoga Akademie Berlin was a resounding success with nearly fifty ardent yoga enthusiast gathering for the seminar on Principle and methods of Yoga Therapy. The series of articles by Dr Ananda on Yoga Therapy was used as the basis of the seminar that took a detailed look at the Pancha Koshas, Kleshas and the concept of Adhi-Vyadhi to help all participants understand the vast potential of Yoga better. Rahula has an excellent centre that has a nice vibration with a garden outside and many windows to let in the fresh air. Participants enjoyed the teachings that were laced with humor that I have found to be an important teaching tool. Of course, as most know already the butt of most of my jokes is usually me. We had a nice Masala Dosa at the ‘Chennai Dosa’ café that seems to run on Indian time making us nearly miss the afternoon session! A nice dinner with soup and salad was my treat from the

day from Rahula before I had a chance to rest for the night. The Hatha Yoga session the next day at Latha’s house saw the core members of the group attend the class for a good workout in Gitananda style. Lots of Jattis, Kriyas and a nice relaxation saw us all in a good mood for the sumptuous brunch that we all enjoyed before Latha and Prema joined me on the return journey to Turin. A happy Priyananda welcomed us back home as we drove along the picturesque freeway back to the Gitananda Ashram where Devasena was waiting with Dr Nalini who had arrived the day earlier.

While I was away in Berlin; Svamiji, Hamsananda and Uma had the wonderful idea of sending Devasena on a tour of Rome with Priyananda and Atmananda. Not only did Devasena get to see one of the most historical and beautiful cities but it created a chance for them to bond together in a lovely way. All three are so close to me that it made me very happy to see the great love they shared amongst themselves. A bus top tour with a chance to see the Roman Coliseum and the Vatican as well as visit the Da Vinci Museum gave Devasena a good feel of Rome. Having been to Genova earlier in the week with me, Devasena floored everyone with her innocent “Rome looks just like Genova†comment that resulting from the Genova trip being her first view of Roman architecture. It gave everyone a great laugh and we all know that laughter is the best medicine!

 

GITANANDA MEETING AT THE ASHRAM

Dr Nalini, Latha, Prema, Sankara as well as Viswakarma and Sharanya with Anandi and Alicia made the trip to be with us for the weekend Gitananda get together at the Ashram. Morning Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, Samskrit, Bhajans and Satsangha sessions with a chance to experience the energetic Pujas at the Devi temple were an opportunity for all to experience Gitananda Yoga in its fullest manifestation. A nice group of Italian students of Svami Yogananda joined in for the great experience that we had with all the Ashramites in attendance too. A lot of knowledge and experiences were shared along with many a laugh thanks to Sankara whose knowledge of Italian helped make matters easier and funnier! Another chance for Devasena to dance with Atmananda and Saraswathi and for me to sing with Priyananda on Mridungam gave us all a lot of joy. I do hope that more of the European Gitananda family will make it when we have such meetings in the

future as it is the best way to experience Swamiji’s teachings that are steeped in Indian culture. Those who made it this time are very special to me as they did so with such short notice - it makes me realize that anything is possible if the will is there to do it! May Swamiji continue bless us all enabling us to understand his magnificence that manifests through his teachings and take them to all that are in need of REAL YOGA.

 

-- Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi BhavananiChairman: ICYER and Yoganjali Natyalayam25, II Cross, Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry, Indiawww.icyer.com and www.. org------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --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 contact us at yognat (AT) gmail (DOT) com and delete the material from any stored format/computer.

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