Very Very Happy New Year!!!

I  wish you a day of ordinary miracles-

A fresh pot of coffee you  didn’t have to make yourself.

An unexpected phone call from  an old friend.

Green stoplights on your way  to work or shop.

I wish you a day of little  things to rejoice in…

The fastest line at the  grocery store.

A good sing along song on the  radio.

Your keys right where you  look.

I wish you a day of happiness  and perfection-little bite-size pieces of perfection

that give you the funny feeling  that the Lord is smiling on you,

holding you so gently because you are  someone special and rare.

 

I wish You a day of Peace, Happiness and Joy.

Wishing you the very best for 2012  and….peace on earth

Shantih  Shantih Shantih

Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesha is very popular even in Japan.

He has an elephant head. There are so many epics about Him.

Today, that is Sept.1,2011, is Ganesha Chaturthi.

Everyone worships Pranavaswaroopa Lord Ganesha at the outset, for He is the remover of all obstacles, and giver of right thinking power.

 

The Yoga course in Rishikesh

Here is the information about yoga course of iyengar yoga in Rishikesh.

If you are interested in Iyengar Yoga course please take a look below.

First course- october 20 to 29 . Arrival date – October 19th evening after 4Pm. DepartureOctober 29 – after 2 Pm. (this course is suitable for those who have one or twoyears yoga practice)

Second course- October 30 to November 7th – Arrival- October 29th evening 4pm – departure-november 7th after lunch. (This course is suitable for beginners and otherlevels)

Special Note:

If you are new beginner or first time attending this residentialcourse, we would recommend you to join in the 2nd Course i.e Oct 30th- Nov7thas the pace and more detailed explanation will be given…

Venue: Swami Dayananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India

The ashram has a wonderful yoga studiowhich is fully equipped for teaching Iyengar.  It is located justbehind the Ashram Temple with a scenic view of the Himalaya and the holy GangaRiver.

 

Frommorning to evening, you will be engaged in different sessions of Asana,Pranayama, Meditation, Chanting, Audio-video shows of Sri Iyengar classes,discussions on Yoga philosophy, Music & Bhajans. All courses areresidential intensive courses with yogic cuisine.  During the course,students will venture out for outing program together.  It may be forrafting, trekking or sight-seeing, to be decided at the beginning of course.

 

Coursecost is Rs12,000- Apartment accommodation on twin sharingbasis. Course cost includes food, accommodation (twin sharing apartment),tuition fee, course materials and outing program.   (outing program will beto nearby place for half day or after morning yoga session, whole day duringthe course)

Attached herewithbrochure with more details. We warmly invite you to join us in this holisticapproach towards yoga.

 

We wouldappreciate if you can re-confirm your participation with us by replying thisemail before 30th September 2011.  Once receiving yourconfirmation of joining, we will email the acceptance letter which containssome guidelines and further details for you to prepare yourself. Yourcooperation and understanding is very much appreciated.

 

We lookforward to hear from you soon. Thank you.

Namaste!

NEW Rishikesh_Iyengar-Yoga_eBrochure

Celebration for the Lord, Krishna

Today August 22nd, the appearance day of Sri Krshna, the Jagadguru, The Geetacarya! (Every year it changes.) Several years ago I remembered Sri Krishna’s birth day was on my mother’s birth day.

Krishna is the Lord as the teacher of Brahmavidya, the knowledge of the Self. Every aspect of Sri Krshna’s life is simply enchanting, captivating one who draws and attracts the Jiva. Krishin has many names like Bala Gopala means baby Krshna. We can celebrate him Wherever we are, offering our heart to Him. Flowers or Tulasi leaves (a kind of herbs) representing that colour and fragrance, our hearts!

Hari Om

Asteya

In Yama, we have Asteya, which means non-stealing.

The first one is Ahimsa, non-violence; the second is Satya, truthfulness,

And the third one is non-stealing.- “Asteya”

Each of them has some relations with the others.

 

If we act against Asteya, naturally the person who is stolen would be hurt and damaged.

The action itself is not honest means.

 

When we are content with what we have and the situation we are in,

there are little desire to have something more.

We have a feeling of lacking, we likely to desire something outside.

Asteya has three steps, I think.
The first, mentally the idea of stealing comes upon to us, the second we decide
to act, then finally carry it out.

 

Though we cannot control the thoughts and push them away,

which seem to be almost automatic, but we can think over the thoughts whether they are right or wrong with reference to
Dharma.

Satya

A Baby don’t know there is a false or deceit around us. Naturally a baby needs to believe his or her parents or protectors around the baby. As the children grow older and older they sometimes get to notice that they cannot totally depend on their family and society.

Parents always tell their children “Don’t tell a lie. Be honest.” So more or less we know what the word of “honest” means. Being totally honest is not applied to all the situations.

Suppose, we meet an old friend after a long absence, apparently she looks to have gained some weight. We may say “You look pretty and graceful.” Is it a violation against Satya?

I don’t think so. With reference to her appearance, she has gained some weight but she is pretty and graceful from my point of view. We don’t need to flatter the others, but if she heard “you gained some weight, right?” she would feel displeased. When your words make someone unhappy, it means that you hurt the person whether you intend to do so or not. So even we don’t have to say that you look something, but instead of that, we can chat about weather, news and so on. We could find some topics easily to chew the fat with each other.

Satya is standing on the understanding of Ahimsa, I think. Without the consideration of Ahimsa, being honest might be not effective.

Ahimsa

We want security to live and harmony with others, even a small child prefers a comfortable situation. Nobody wants to be hurt by others. It is a very basic rule for human beings. Not only for us, but also for all living creatures.

Ashutanga Yoga consists of eight limbs. We sometimes call Ashutanga Yoga as Raja Yoga.

It includes Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi.

Yama and Niyama are similar to Buddhist Precepts such as “Don’t hurt others”.  ”Refrain from stealing”. “Refrain from lust”. “Don’t tell a lie” and so on.

These are universal moral for human being. So basically we may understand all of them without teaching from teachers or parents.

Recently that is not the case. A few young parents come to kill their baby. It is terrible. Very tragedy it is.

Love for their own children seems to be very natural for parents but for some of them it is not taken for granted now.

We should think again how important the Ahimsa is.

Keep smiling ♪

A Smiling face always makes me happy. Just looking at a smiling baby reminds me our nature, Ananda.   

It is true that Happiness is our nature. So I really believe that we can live happily without any sorrow.

By the way,  I have heard someone says there is no heaven. Another says God will never respond us, so it is useless to pray for the God. 

Universe is incredibly vast. Human being is very very limited to know all the universe.  I think we could  predict there is another living forms somewhere in the universe. The scriptures say that there are several places where we will travel after death like a heaven. Sounds very interesting!!

Our sense organs are not perfect to swallow everything. They are always deceived. Our mind also sometimes becomes stubborn and stuck in the very “common” thing. We could not realize what the “Reality” is…… 

I think Science is also a kind of valid means, though,  to know our limited world only.   

Hari Om

Buddha Purnima

OM BUDDHA PURNIMA

Wishing that Peace and tranquality be by your side Today and always

Likes and Dislikes

When I practice meditation, my mind is often disturbed by many things like thought of meals what I want to eat…..

At the beginning, Meditation is still “action”. Action is meant for the purification of the mind but most of the time behind the action we have a desire and an intention.

So we need to discern what we really want. Then to make it sure the action is really conducive to purification of the mind. Without being disturbed by my longing,  I mean, we tend to be taken for ride by our likes and dislikes.

Objective mind is the one which is free from likes and dislikes, it is said.

It is easy to say that we should to be objective

We know well…”Easier said than done……..” ^^

 In Japanese we say ” ～言うは易く　行うは難し～Yuu wa yasuku Okonau wa katashi”

At the same time we have a saying as “An attempt is sometimes easier than expected.” “～案ずるより　産むが易し～Anzuru yori umu ga yasushi”

These proverbs are  from China that’s why a little old usage of the words, but still we often use them.

Annzuru means “being worried about something” and “feeling of anxiety” Umu means “originally give birth to a new baby” then “do action with courage”.Yasusi means “be easier”

We can do it…..