A Year Ago Today - Swami Satyananda Saraswati: On Life In An Ashram

[Guest guest]

It was September 22, 2003, and Swamiji said...

, "Sarada" <sarada_saraswati>

wrote:

> Q&A with Swami Satyananda Saraswati: On Life In An Ashram

> 1. When there is a group of serious seekers, searching for union

> with the universe or God, what principles need to be honored to

> create harmony and mutual respect?

>

> The question is extremely subjective, and there is no one answer

> that will fit all the time in all circumstances. However, we have

> all observed that there are four main elements in each of our

> disciplines: attention, knowledge, devotion, and service; dhyan,

> jnan, bhakti, and karma. These four are present in everyone's

> discipline, no matter what path we choose to practice. But the

> emphasis is constantly shifting for us all. At one time we are

more

> a student, another time we are called upon to be a teacher;

> sometimes we are engaged in deep meditation, while other times we

> are called to serve.

>

> When we realize that our balance is always changing, and the needs

> of our associates and community is always changing, then we find

> that in acknowledging the elasticity of our paths, we create

greater

> harmony and mutual respect. In giving up our dogmatic nature, we

> build bridges of harmony which demonstrate respect.

>

> 2. What is the proper attitude for living in an ashram, what is

> needed in terms of behavior and attitude to gain the most from

> contact with a Saint?

>

> Sincerity and humility. A guru is an example that we wish to

follow.

> In order to become a disciple, it is required to have a sincere

> desire to follow the example of the guru. Disciples are people who

> make changes in their lives. They do what the guru does, chant the

> way she chants, worship the way she worships, cook and clean as

per

> the example provided.

>

> If we do not have the humility to admit that my former way of life

> was not satisfying, then we cannot seek to make changes with

> sincerity. It is not important to find the best guru. What is

> important is to become the best disciple. Remember, it is not

about

> performing spiritual practices. The goal is to lead a spiritual

> life. Practices are only important in so far as they help us to

> remember that the objective is to lead a spiritual life!

> Spirituality means giving more than we take.

>

> 3. What do the days look like in an ashram, what are the regular

> daily activities at Devi Mandir?

>

> Shree Maa says that God means "Go on Duty". God gave us twenty

four

> hours in a day so that we can work eight hours a day for God,

eight

> hours a day for our families and communities, and eight hours a

day

> for ourselves. We believe that the person who accomplishes 24

hours

> of work in a 24 hour period stands still. In order to gain a

> benefit, one must accomplish 25 hours or work in a 24 hour period.

> Then there is gain.

>

> Sadhu means efficient. Sadhus become so efficient at everything

they

> do, that they don't waste time or resources. Then they don't

require

> to repeat actions that are incomplete. They get it done right the

> first time.

>

> Our days begin with worship and they end with worship. Throughout

> the day there are structured breaks for worship. The length of the

> worship varies according to the activities that we are performing,

> and those activities vary according to the needs of our community.

> But the most important remembrance of living in an ashram is our

> sense of purpose: to keep God in the center of our lives, to serve

> God, to serve the gurus, to serve each other.

>

> 4. You are responsible for maintaining this structure called an

> ashram, how does that support and how does it conflict with your

> personal sadhana? What sacrifices are needed to be a "leader"

> or "servant" of the aspirants living in the ashram community?

>

> There is always a balance between too much and too little to be

> maintained, and I consider it my privilege to have an ashram

> community to assist me in making those decisions. Like every

family,

> we have a limited amount of resources, and we are constantly

working

> to adjust the allocation of those resources so we can accomplish

the

> goals of our community in the most efficient manner.

>

> Therefore, the ashram community does not conflict with my personal

> sadhana. It is one of the expressions of my sadhana. It is a

result

> of my sadhana. Love is such an experience -- you have to give it

> away in order to make it grow.

>

> There are three things that are necessary to leadership: Pure

love,

> Inspiration, and Appreciation. Pure love means I accept you the

way

> you are. Inspiration motivates you to make changes. Appreciation

> expresses gratitude for every effort. These three are the

necessary

> ingredients for inspiring participation. I believe that is the

only

> way we can serve.

>

> 5. What is the proper attitude around money? I never

> see "fundraisers" for Devi Mandir, yet things get done -- can you

> talk a little about "Dakshina" and how it works in India and here

in

> America?

>

> Money is a form of energy that we are all accustomed to using. But

> we all know that it is neither the most important energy nor the

> most efficient energy. It is only one form of energy. When we fall

> in love, money is relatively unimportant. In fact, when we fall in

> love, food and sleep also become relatively unimportant.

>

> Now we all know how little effort is required to fall in love. It

> just happens of its own accord. What is difficult is how to stay

in

> love? That requires effort, understanding, communication,

surrender.

>

> Dakshina means that which is given without effort, because of our

> understanding, in order to communicate the intensity of our

> surrender, a token of our respect which demonstrates the sincerity

> of our love, and how much we appreciate what your being means to

me.

> Dakshina is not an agreed upon business transaction. It is not a

fee

> levied for the performance of a religious ritual, nor a tax

> collected by a guru or ashram in exchange for teachings or

> initiations or participation in religious functions.

>

> Dakshina is offered as a privilege to support what I believe in,

to

> honor the conveyor of knowledge, in all humility to share respect,

> and to enable the recipient to do more in order to make this world

a

> better place.

>

> In the Devi Mandir, Shree Maa and I believe in the functions of

> nature. We see that it is both the duty and the privilege for the

> flowers to give their nectar to the bees. It is both the duty and

> the privilege for the bees to take the nectar from the flowers.

> Neither need to advertise or to fundraise. If we will only exude

our

> wonderful fragrances, the bees will come of their own accord. We

are

> only responsible for fun raising.

>

> 6. How does an ashram relate to the larger community? Is there any

> responsibility to have contact with the larger community, or is

self

> sufficiency a goal? Does an ashram have a responsibility to

perform

> Seva in the larger community?

>

> As many as there are seekers, so many are the paths. Each

individual

> and each ashram has its own goals and relationships with the

larger

> community. Some ashrams have one or two devotees, others have

> thousands. This is by no means a measure of the success of the

> ashrams. It is rather an expression of the intentions of the

> participants. Some sadhus want to fund raise and engage in social

> service projects, while others want to stay home and perform

> sadhana.

>

> In either case there will come a time when we want to give back to

> our communities. Even Hereclitus, after years of wandering on the

> mountain tops naked, left a copy of his book in the temple of

> Apollo. No one stays on the top of the mountain. Either they do

not

> find what they are looking for and require to return to society

for

> the needs of the body, or they do find what they are looking for

and

> feel they must share it.

>

> Jai Maa