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YOGIC SCHOOL + OTHER NEWS
October 1, 2009
In this newsletter:
1) THIS FRIDAY, OCT 02, LAST DAY TO APPLY FOR YOGIC MYSTERY SCHOOL
2) SATURDAY, OCT 24, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, KIRTAN BENEFIT CONCERT http://mindbodyspiritexpo.com/
3) OCT 30 - NOV 01: CHANTING WEEKEND, DOWNINGTOWN, PA www.lightofloveunlimited.com
4) SPACES ARE FILLING UP FOR OUR INDIA PILGRIMAGE IN JANUARY 2010.
5) Article: MY EXPERIENCE AT THE ASHRAM'S TEMPLE IN INDIA
Dear friend,
I hope this finds you well and enjoying the advent of autumn. I was just in historic Eureka Springs Arkansas and could see the beginnings of a change of color and season. I am very much looking forward therefore to my upcoming trip to the East Coast when I will experience the fall in its glorious splendor.
1) YOGIC MYSTERY SCHOOL: Tomorrow, Friday, October 2, is the last day for the submission of applications for Yogic Mystery School. The next program season will reopen summer of 2010. However, student who enroll now, would complete the full Level 1 training, about 7 modules by that time. I am pleased to inform you that a number of students have completed a full year of training with me since we began the program last year and are now progressing to Level 2 of the program, which is an advanced form of training in comparison with the seven beginner modules of Level 1. I am really happy with how the system is working, combining multi-media resources with on-line training and interactive study: it is really a fantastic way for me to teach and train students and introduce them to the scope and skill of sacred sound in a way that is truly empowering. Sometime this fall or winter, we will also be launching our associates program, in which students who have trained with me this past year will coordinate local groups and introduce to the public some of the content covered in our curriculum as well as run support groups for Yogic Mystery School in their areas.
For more information on the training, application process and our program associate option, please visit: http://www.russillpaul.com/mysticheart.html
2) SATURDAY, OCT 24, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, CONCERT
http://mindbodyspiritexpo.com/
I am very excited about being a part of the mind body Spirit Expo at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA. The kirtan concert that I am offering is not only for a fantastic cause but also features an astounding array of very talented musicians. All of the proceeds to benefit Center for Advancement in Cancer Education (www.beatcancer.org ) and Hari Om Mandir, a Hindu temple in Downingtown, PA, where I will present a workshop and kirtan on Halloween weekend. I will be joined by the Sharma Brothers - Ajay and Pankaj - and musician Ramesh of the kirtan band, Sound of Silence. Additionally, I will have the pleasure of being supported by some Philly's finest musicians: Stephen Wise, Jan Jeffries, Marcy Francis, and Sam Rossitto.
Jan Jeffries, aka Ms. Rhythm Speaker, is unrivaled as a consummate percussionist. Jeffries hails from Philadelphia, where she began her career of dancing and drumming at the prestigious Sydney School of Dance. A lifetime of studying rhythms from around the world has made Jeffries equally well versed on a variety of hand percussion and kit techniques. Stephen Wise - Katriel has been called shaman, healer, sage, wise man and more through the beautiful noise his music makes. Wise is a multi-dimensional artist/ performer and a multi-instrumental musician who has worked with Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Ritchie Havens and Britney Spears to name a few. http://www.wiseworldmusic.com/
3) OCT 30 - NOV 01: A WEEKEND OF HIGH ENERGY CHANTING IN DOWNINGTOWN, PA
For more info and to register, please visit:
www.lightofloveunlimited.com
Email: wholistichealing@verizon.net
OR PHONE: (484) 357-7536
I will be presenting this retreat together with Sound of Silence, a phenomenal kirtan group consisting of the Sharma Brothers, Ajay and Pankaj, and devotional musician Ramesh Vargai who was trained by spiritual musicians in India. This is at the Sharma family temple, a holy and ecstatic venue. What is so special about this weekend is not only that all sessions take place in a consecrated temple, but the entire family who sponsors it - fathers, mothers, children and grandparents - are all steeped in the practice of kirtan and ecstatic dancing. Their energy and vitality and love is so infectious, you can't help feeling high every single moment. During the weekend, we also explore what it means to be a mystic in the fullest sense of the word, drawing inspiration from the teachings of Jesus and the great Christian mystics as well as eminent rishis and yogis of the Indian tradition, especially those great statements and teaching that are common to both traditions.
4) SPACES ARE FILLING UP FOR OUR TRIP TO INDIA IN JANUARY 2010.
If you have been considering joining us on our chanting pilgrimage in 2010, it is important that you register soon. In addition to our extention to the holy hill of Arunachala after our pilgrimage, we are also excited about the new temple at the ashram that will be completed by our arrival. The new octagonal structure appears both intriguing and impressive. Here, is an extract from my recent book Jesus in the Lotus that gives some sense of what I had experienced of the old sanctuary around which the new structure has been developed. The sanctum, I am told, will remain as before: a mixture of stonehenge, ancient India and the Ark of the Covenant.
5) ARTICLE: THE TEMPLE AT SHANTIVANAM
The chapel is a model for most of the other structures
at the ashram. Architecturally and in overall form, it resembles
a Hindu temple, but the symbols that adorn it are
mostly Christian. A traditional Hindu temple re-creates a
sense of the universe. The entrance, or gopuram, is very special,
for through it we walk consciously into the mystery of
the universe.
Beyond the gopuram, inside the courtyard, is the cosmic
cross. This unusual symbol, which resembles a Celtic
cross, is unique to the monastery. It combines elements of
both Christian and Hindu cosmology.
The dome of the temple is also a wonderful blend of
Hindu and Christian imagery. A Hindu temple's dome,
called the vimana, is usually adorned with images related to
the enshrined deity's network of power in a cosmological
context; here, the images are Christian, but they resonate
with Hindu concepts. Each corner is protected by one of the four
creatures from the book of Revelation: the lion, the ox, the
eagle, and the angel. They represent redeemed creation.
Above them is Jesus in four classic Yoga postures, depicting
him as guru, Yogi, God, and prophet. The entire dome is
covered in carved peacock feathers, an Indian symbol of
eternity or infinity. At the very top of the dome is the
shikara, a Hindu symbol that represents the five elements:
earth, water, fire, air, and space.
Every morning after the sound of the bell, the faithful
would walk the sandy paths, slowly and
reverentially moving toward the temple. Everyone, along
with the birds and frogs, seemed alert to the stillness that
pervaded the air before dawn. In the sanctum of the temple,
Father Bede would patiently wait, seated on his wooden
stool, his palms in his lap, fingertips gently touching in a
prayerful namaste.
I have a vivid memory of namajapa. The sanctum is
dark, except for a solitary lamp that hangs suspended from
the ceiling, its light throwing soft shadows upon the tabernacle
and the embossed silhouette of Christ on its door. As
monks continue to file in, there is the sound of clothes
rustling against skin, and of bottoms adjusting against the
straw mats to get comfortable.
The tabernacle is raised on an altar composed of three
stones arranged like the Stonehenge rocks. In front, and
to its left, hangs the aged brass oil lamp suspended from
the ceiling by a thin chain all but invisible in the darkness.
Above it is a large wooden cross, laid plain and bare, a
symbol of the naked presence of the living Christ and the
spiritual power generated when anyone accepts pain and
suffering, even inconvenience, for the sake of others. We
are all aware of the energy surrounding the tabernacle: the
consecrated host it contains is considered to be the actual,
living, breathing, spiritual body of Jesus in his resurrected
state, which is also his eternal being. To connect with the
energy in the tabernacle is to consciously establish a relationship
with the Divine.
Finally, there is complete silence. We hold our bodies as
still as musicians in an orchestra at the start of a symphony.
Bede begins the Sanskrit chant in his Oxford accent: "Om
namah Christaaya, Om namah Christaaya" - the same
mantric phrase is repeated in a simple, eight-part melody
cycle. Slowly, others join in, each prompted by some inner
cue. Gradually, the chant takes over our energies and we
rock our bodies to its rhythm.
The meaning of the mantra is important, however, only
when we are in the dualistic mode, when God is separate
from "me." The combination of syllables is a mantra's most
important feature. When we get deeper into the mantra,
the syllables define the space that opens up in the mind and
in the heart. Slow and mindful articulation of the syllables
allows us to perceive through the mantra and glimpse the
nature of reality, which is the Divine presence itself, unadulterated
by human thought or imagination.
On this morning, as on every morning, a profound
transformation takes place in each of us as we chant with
devotion. Energy builds in our hearts as we plunge into
deep communion with the energy field of the deity. In this
particular instance, we are, as a community, propelled into
the living presence of Christ, which is a distinctive energy
field. Only the devotee can discern this palpable vibration,
which is similar to the sense of familiarity you feel when
entering your home and simply "know" that your child or
lover is at home.
The chanting lasts only a few minutes in chronological
time, but it is a timeless experience. As the Bible says: "For
a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has come
and gone, or like a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4). Absorbed
in this connection with the Divine, we all sit still and
are very quiet for several minutes after the last voice dies out.
Namajapa at the ashram is an example of how Christian
and Hindu practice can be fused almost seamlessly. Almost
every Hindu repeats the name of his or her God or Goddess
for a set number of repetitions (purascharana) each day (or,
optionally, for a set period) as a way of continually drawing
closer to the experience and presence of God within oneself.
This practice of repeating the name of God has its parallel
in the Christian mystical tradition, not only in the tradition
of the desert mystics, but also among more recent mystics,
as described in works such as The Cloud of Unknowing
and The Way of the Pilgrim, both of which were written by
anonymous authors. The mantra itself - "Om namah
Christaaya" - blends Sanskrit and the name of Christ in
the common goal of engaging with the Divine mystery.
The purpose of the mantra is to go "beyond" (traya) the
thinking mind (manas) or to be liberated (trayate) from it.
When we speak a language other than our thinking language,
especially Sanskrit, which has tremendous spiritual
presence and Yogic power compacted into its sounds, we
are able to go beyond language and into the mystery of
God. The problem with English, if it is our everyday thinking
language, is that it limits our experience of God to mundane,
everyday awareness. While it is important to find the
Divine in everyday experience, it is only half of our spiritual
fulfillment. We equally need to find the Divine in itself,
beyond the range of everyday human experience, and this is
why we all need mysticism, which is the search for the "hidden"
dimension of Spirit.
After namajapa, we sit in silent meditation for about an
hour. Then, with the golden light of dawn beginning to
filter through the leaves and pour into the temple, we begin
our morning session of communal prayer …
From Chapter 3: Melding Traditions from the East and West (Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality, New World Library, 2009)
For more information on our pilgrimage and to register, please visit, http://www.russillpaul.com/pilgrimage.html
Wishing you every blessing in your life and in your work,
In One Spirit,
Russill
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