Review of "IN SEARCH OF THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION ".

                           "IN SEARCH OF THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION" 
                       by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak & David Frawley

I found this book easy to read, clear and concise. It is written in two parts.

Part 1 deals with the ancient history of India in the light of modern evidence and critical research of ancient documents and artifacts, chiefly the Vedas.

Indian history was written by European scholars, who arrived in India with fixed views on the birth of creation and humanity. It was firmly believed the earth was created in 4004 BC, and it was considered that the Vedas, the oldest scriptures, could not be older than 2000 BC. The content of the Vedas were considered to be mainly religious myth, and verifiable historical references to the geography of India, natural history, linguistics and astronomy were ignored.

The authors detail historical clues found in the Vedas, and with modern scientific evidence from geology, genetics, linguistics and satellite photography, they have traced the continuous history of India back to its roots. 

 "Our reexamination of the early history of India, the land of the sages and seer-bards, has led to a view of ancient times that is radically different from text book versions."
  
Formerly the great river Saraswati, glorified in the oldest Veda, the Rig Veda, was considered to be mythical, but has been proved true since its former channels have been identified with satellite photography. This great river, longer and larger than the Ganges, dried out completely around 1900 BCE(3900BP). The authors detail the findings of Harappa, Mohenjo- Daro and other cities which were clustered along this river. More than 2500 settlements have been found. The photograph shows the 'Great bath' in Mohenjo-Daro and a typical street.


 
 Artifacts include soapstone sculptures, terracotta figurines and metalwork. Numerous seals were found, with various motives and writing, yet to be deciphered. One famous seal clearly shows a figure in a seated yoga pose, surrounded by animals. This is considered to be an early portrayal of Lord Shiva, also known as Pasupati, lord of animals. The book traces the possible beginnings of the Vedic people, their extensive trade and exchange with other cultures and countries via land and sea, their rich culture which they preserved and wrote down for posterity and all of humanity in the Vedas. 

Part 2 of the book details the content of the Vedas, the spiritual heritage of India, and the Vedic contribution to the West. They give us a glimpse of the wealth of knowledge contained in the 20,358 verses of the four Vedas.

"Whence this creation arose, whether it created itself or whether it did not? He who looks upon it from the highest space, he surely knows. Or maybe He knows not. " Rig-Veda x.129.7

Based on their findings of ancient India, the authors question our current way of living.
“Are we moving in a positive direction towards a better world, or are we in danger of destroying ourselves because the prime values of our society are out of sync with the laws of life?”

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learnt a great deal from it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand the past, our connections to the Vedic Civilization and their contribution to humanity.



For more information on Vedic Culture, see The American Vedic Institute  http://www.vedanet.com
The Director is David Frawley, one of the authors of this book. 
He has also written  more books on the Vedic Civilization;

"From the river of heaven"
"Gods, Sages and Kings"


 These books can be purchased through http://www.yogastall.com/ 

Sivananda Upanishad, Plain Living and High Thinking

 "Sivananda Upanishad" compiled by Swami Vishnu devananda

  ॐ

1st September 1949

Sri R.C.Bannerjee, Calcutta

If you have no dispassion, if there is no strong aspiration, if there is no purity of heart, you will fail to attain God-realisation.

Comfort, luxury and sensual pleasures dull the mind and incapacitate it for higher intellectual and spiritual work. Therefore shun comfort, luxury and pleasures. Have plain living and high thinking.

Om tat Sat,

Sivananda

The "Sivananda Upanishad" is a compilation of Swami Sivananda's correspondence with followers all over the world. They are in his handwriting which is not always easy to decipher! This book was compiled by my Guru, Swami Vishnu devananda, founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organisation. Alongside the letters, he has arranged photographs of Master Sivananda, some of them with captions. It's a wonderful book to keep by your altar or bedside. Every page is filled with inspiring messages. In the back of the book, there is a section on Swami Sivananda's biography. This book can be obtained through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams and Centres worldwide. 

Please check through their websites in your nearest centre http://www.sivananda.org/

Save women's shelters in afghanistan

 Save the womens shelters in afghanistan from being taken under govt control.Women and girls who are already fleeing abuse/violence will have to undergo invasive examinations to test their virginity and to determine if they have committed adultery. An examining panel will decide their fate eg jail, returned home(to abuser) or the shelter.

 http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/savetheshelters/

The Zeitgeist Movie

I stayed up to watch this, its worth it. Invaluable, informative and very well made. Keep watching, after they spell out the problems inherent in our way of living, they come up with a solution. It can be done, but we all need to act together. Consider what's going on now in the middle east, that's what will happen all over the world, when people decide they've had enough of being exploited, impoverished and robbed by a handful of greedy selfish individuals.

Further Yoga Teachers Training Weekend

Further Training this weekend for Sivananda Yoga Teachers.
Feb 19-20, 2011

http://www.sivananda.co.uk/further_training.html

This further training is open to teachers who have completed the Sivananda Yoga Teachers Training Course(TTC). With Dynamic Asana classes, uplifting satsangs given by Swami krishnananda, the Director of the London Centre. Swamiji, originally from the United States, certainly knows how to give a dynamic advanced class, done with good humour and precision.
The training on teaching Yoga for pregnancy will be given by Sita, Co-director of the Hamburg Centre in Germany. Sita is herself a mum with two kids, is incredibly strong and flexible in her asana practice, warm affable personality and a great teacher.

Chair based Yoga

 My students at the
 Milaap Multicultural Community        Centre in Kingston.

I love teaching there. They really enjoy the yoga class, though I do make them work hard. We do a little pranayama(breathing exercises). Usually 3 rounds of Kapalabhati. We practise modified anuloma viloma(alternate nostril breathing) without  retention, as some of them have breathing dfficulties/heart problems.The pranayama is hugely beneficial at all ages, and especially as we become older, ensuring a good supply of prana (vital life force), oxygen, removing stale air from the respiratory system, releasing tension, strengthening the lungs and most of all, strengthening and calming the mind. Pranayama facilitates concentration and meditation.


We do a variety of yogic exercises and asanas. I encourage them to focus and breathe deeply. We almost always practise squatting. This exercise is necessary particularly for one of my students who has one leg only(doctors orders!).

We sometimes do eye exercises, neck exercises. We always do a little forward bending, gentle backward bend, lateral stretch and twist. Exercises are in the chair and standing, although there are a few students who find it difficult to be on their feet, so they adapt and practise in the chair. 

They love the simhasana, Lion. We always have to finish with that!



Class starts with chanting the Universal mantra AUM and some mantras or sthotras(prayers). 
We finish the class with a relaxation in the chair followed by chanting AUM and prayers.
Milaap serve a delicious indian meal afterwards. 

Swami Vishnudevananda: Part 2

Vishnu Swami as he was fondly called by Swami Sivananda, was made the Hatha Yoga Professor at the ashram. He did not receive any training. He said "My Master touched me and opened my intuitive eye. All this knowledge returned to me from past lives."

Many people visited the ashram from all over the world and Vishnu Swami taught them hatha yoga. The Master sent him around India to give demonstrations.
Vishnu Swami recalled feeling important as the first Hatha Yoga Professor at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy and since he was small and thin, he decided to grow a beard and long hair.
One day, Swami Sivananda passed by him and said " Yes, Vishnu Swami, the beard suits you. Yes, it is true, we must all make a good appearance and impress people. Yes, yes, keep on with it." Vishnu Swami learnt never again to put on airs and graces to impress people! He immediately shaved.
Vishnu Swami spent a period of 3 months doing intense sadhana(spiritual practice). He retired into a small hut which he built for himself in the forest, living only on kitchari(rice & lentils), and doing intense pranayama(breathing exercises) and meditation. In so doing, he became a dynamo, and came back to serve the Master with increased vigour.
He was made the personal secretary of the Master, and thus he was able to observe closely how Swami Sivananda lived and worked.
Swami Sivananda was nicknamed Swami Givananda, as he was so generous and loving. Swami Sivananda made it his life's mission to disseminate the wisdom of the Vedas, Upanishads and spiritual epics of India, making it available to everybody all over the world. For this reason, he made sure the printing presses kept running even when the ashram didn't have enough money for food. Swami Sivananda wrote more than 300 books, all of them sublime and elevating. He printed many pamphlets which were handed out freely.
No-one was barred from the ashram. As you will hear in the video, many people who were suffering mentally came to the ashram. Swami Sivananda saw God in everyone and everything.

Vishnu Swami worked hard in the ashram. He said, on many occasions, he only had time to do his asanas(yoga postures) at midnight after all his chores!
One time, the Master said to him "Vishnu Swami, one day you must go to America. People are waiting there for you to teach them Yoga."  Vishnu Swami laughed thinking he might as well have said he'd be going to the moon! In 1957, the Master did indeed send him to the West to take his message to the people of America and all over the world. He gave him 10rupees and sent him forth with the words, "People are waiting."
That 10 rupee note is now framed and kept in the HQ Sivananda Yoga Camp, Val Morin in Quebec, Canada.

References:
"Sivananda YogaLife 1994 Special Commemorative issue"-The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre
Photo from "A pictorial guide to Swami Sivananda"-The Divine Life Society"


Hatha Yoga Pradipika with commentary by Swami Vishnudevananda, based on his own experience.
Swamiji created a programme of "Sadhana Intensive" for yogis who already have experience practising yoga and meditation, and wish to develop further. This programme is offered by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams. Please click on link below for further information.

http://www.sivananda.org/courses/sadhana-intensive.html


http://www.yogastall.com/yoga_books.html

Lord Shiva

Amma talks on Lord Shiva and his worship.

His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj

His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj

Lord Shiva

Yoga Stops Traffick 2011

Yoga Stops Traffik 2011

Swami Vishnudevananda: Part 1

Swami Vishnudevananda was born in 1927, in a village called Kannimangalam in Kerala, South India and named Thankaswamy. He had a scientific mind and was interested in engineering and travelling. He thought he could fulfil these interests by joining the navy. Thus, he went along to enlist, lying about his age(he was only 16) but failed the medical examination. Disheartened, while waiting for his train home, he met an older boy who persuaded him to join the army in Madras. There he was accepted and enlisted into the Engineering Corps.
During his army service, while searching for a lost piece of paper in the bin, he came across a pamphlet "Sadhana Tattwa" by Swami Sivananda.

"An ounce of practice is worth tons of theory" from Sadhana Tattwa

This pamphlet was full of simple and pragmatic wisdom which inspired him to seek out the author. He took two days off and travelled to the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh in the Himalayas.

In India, when you meet a holy person, it is traditional to prostrate, bow down. When he saw Swami Sivananda coming up the steps in his direction, Thankaswamy did not want to prostrate, so he moved out of the way.

"Master saw me and headed in my direction. He asked me who I was and where I was coming from. Then he bowed down and touched my feet!! My whole body began to shake violently. With all my heart, with all my life and love, I learned to bow without any type of reservation. He touched my heart not with miracles or shows of holiness, but with his perfect egoless nature."

This was his first lesson from Swami Sivananda.

On another occasion, he saw Master and his disciples perform arathi(waving the light) and worshipping the Ganges river. Why were they worshipping water? His sceptism was dispelled when he saw the river become a mass of divine light. He realized that everything was sacred.

Swami Vishnu in scorpion

In august 1947, he received an invitation to attend Swami Sivananda's 60th birthday celebrations. Though he planned to go for a few days, he had a feeling he would not be returning home.One of his duties at the ashram was to take care of the lentils put out to dry in the sun, by keeping away the monkeys. As he was doing this, Swami Sivananda passed by. He looked at Thankaswamy and said "Stay." He immediately replied "Yes Swamiji."  Thus, he became the disciple of Master, who initiated him into Brahmacharya, and later in March 1948, he was ordained into Sannyas, with the name
Swami Vishnu-devananda.

The photograph is taken from "Glorious Vision: A pictorial Guide to Swami Sivananda"
by the Divine Life Society.

Traditionally, in hinduism, life is divided into four stages(ashrama).
The first stage is Brahmacharya. A child lives and acquires knowledge and right conduct from the Guru(Gurukula tradition), and practises discipline and control of all the senses as well as celibacy.
The second stage is Grihastha, the life of a householder. This involves marriage, begetting children, taking care of family and society.
The third stage is Vanaprashta, after children have grown up, gradual withdrawing from worldly duties, more time on spiritual practice and preparing for the last stage of life.
The fourth stage is Sannyasa, complete renunciation from worldly life, full commitment to spiritual practice, striving for moksha(liberation) and self-realization.

On becoming a disciple of a Guru, Brahmacharya is the first step followed by Sannyas if the Guru feels the disciple is ready for this.

In this clip from Youtube, you can hear Swamiji talking about his early life. The picture shown does not correlate with the talk! That's a picture of his students in Savasana, relaxation pose.

The Orion Conspiracy

This is an interesting clip.
http://www.theorionconspiracy.com/

I am aware that there are many findings which are kept hidden, and 'news' is edited and distorted.

With regard to ancient civilizations, Graham Hancock has written on marine archeology revealing 'huge built structures' under water off the coast of countries such as Japan and India in
"Underworld: The Mysterious origins of Civilzation".

He, along with Robert Bauval,  has published an excellent book called "Keeper of Genesis" regarding the antiquity and purpose of the Sphinx and Pyramids of Egypt.

http://www.grahamhancock.com/

Much of our history has been written based on the old biblical belief that the earth was created in 4004 BCE, and based on the eurocentric presumption that civilization began in Sumeria. There is a great deal of revision to be made in the light of modern research. We were all told that mankind originated in Africa, but new research suggests that "Asia and not Africa may be the birthplace of humanity" after scientists found 39million year old fossils in Libya.

American Vedic Institute

American Vedic institute newsletter

Article on the meaning of Maya(delusion) by Dr David Frawley(Vamadeva Shastri), director of the institute.
Details of the ganga retreat.
Article on the aghamarshana suktam by Yogi Baba Prem.

Vishnudevananda Upadesa

Reading from

"Vishnudevananda Upadesa: Teachings of Swami Vishnudevananda."

One must struggle to reach meditation and struggle even harder to reach samadhi, the superconscious state, through self-surrender. In all religions Truth becomes diluted, and for the masses it becomes an external object to be sought after rather than an inner state of consciousness which is its true nature. The essential attitude to be taken in any religion is one of taking refuge, of confession, prayer and ultimate surrender to a higher power. It is with this inner state of consciousness that Bhakti Yoga(yoga of devotion) matures. Without its presence all of the paths of yoga and any true spiritual progress will fall short of the mark.
God is not an external object. People think that that is the yoga of devotion but the Bhakti Yogi knows that the God he is worshipping is not outside, He is within. Although he is not seeking God outside, yet he offers flowers and follows all of the nine steps so that he can realise God's presence everywhere, always, in all. All of the techniques of Bhakti Yoga are a means to an end. Eventually the means become important and you forget the end, and that is why religious people fight.
Don't stop at ritual. Move on and on until you reach self surrender, 'Everything is His will; the world moves because of His will; I exist because of His will; even duality exists because of His will; non-duality exists because of His will. Everything is; there is no more care, no more worry, and God, you are the one devoted.' That is called Bhakti Yoga. A Bhakti Yogi makes use of gross forms and rituals as aids to self-surrender but altars, statues and pictures are not in themselves objects of worship. Like the Christian cross which stands for Jesus, they are symbols of the omnipresent Lord. The Lord is as present in the image as everywhere else. The image is merely used as a focal point for worship. Symbols like altar pictures are only necessary in the beginning of Bhakti Yoga. The highest devotion is self-surrender.

Sri Gurudeva Swami Sivananda

Beautiful puja of Swami Sivananda, seated by the Ganges, Divine Life Society Ashram, Rishikesh, Himalayas.
The main pujari(the person doing the puja) is Swami Venkatasananda. Swami Vishnudevananda comes into the frame to assist with items of puja. The chants over puja is sung by Swami Chidananda.
Then, there's a gorgeous slideshow of photos of Swami Sivananda, with the bhajan Deva Deva Sivananda being sung over it. The clip ends with more old video footage of Swami Sivananda.

About me: Part 4

After taking my Sivananda Yoga Teachers Training Course, I started teaching straightaway at the Sivananda Yoga Centre, which at that time was in Notting Hill, London. My first class was the overflow class and I forgot to do the Sun Salutation! Fortunately that was the only time that happened.
Everyone living at the centre followed a daily routine, getting up 5.30am for meditation at 6am, chanting and reading. We had time afterwards to do our own hatha yoga practice, before staff meeting, where we'd go over the schedule and tasks for the day.
 The residents, like myself were required to do some regular karma yoga(selfless service). My tasks were usually teaching, cooking and cleaning. I used to man the stand at the Mind Body Spirit Festival every year.
In those early days, I found it really hard living in the centre and often found myself clashing badly with other residents! It wasn't easy getting up everyday 5.30 either, though we had a lie in on sundays till 6.30!

I moved out after a year. I preferred living out, though I spent as much time as I could visiting the centre.
In 1990, since the Notting Hill place was rented, the Sivananda group found a place to buy in Putney, and I remember viewing this with my Guru, Swami Vishnu-devananda. I have no idea how they were able to envision the beautiful centre that exists there now. At that time, it was a paint shop at the front, and at the back, there was a long hall which was a carpentry workshop. We did a lot of hard work on those buildings every weekend coming up from Sussex. The new Sivananda Centre was inaugurated in september 1990. Since the kitchen was not ready for use at the new place, I cooked for about 300 people back in Notting Hill, and the food was taken over by car.

We had a big procession that day through the high streets of Putney to announce the opening of the new centre.
Karma Yogis(volunteers) were demonstrating yoga asanas on the back of one lorry, and myself and others were chanting on the second lorry. Students were handing out flyers in the high street.
That evening, there was a special Satsang(meditation, chanting & discourse), concerts with Indian and classical musicians and dancing. I'm afraid I missed all this since I was busy in the kitchen, but the hall was packed and everybody enjoyed the occassion.
Many students have passed through the Putney Sivananda Yoga Centre.
I used to teach a lot of beginners courses and cooking workshops.

I loved cooking at the centre, and used to make big feasts for all the special festivals and concerts. I had the honour of cooking for my Guru, when he passed through London. I made rice, dhal and ladies fingers for him.
Sometimes Swamiji would gaze directly at somebody, and you knew he could see and knew everything about that person. There's nowhere to hide, though when he did that to me, I had to look away!

At Heathrow

He was open and powerfully loving. He made everyone feel at home. He always enquired after us and would ask how we were, even when he was bedridden and having dialysis 4 times a day. This didn't stop him from visiting all the ashrams and going on pilgrimages to the Ganges and to the temples of  South India. He was shining, with silver hair, beautiful skin and large open eyes, tremendous prana(vital life force). His mind was very sharp, and we would be given the honour of reading the newspaper. Swamiji always liked to know what was going on in the world.
     


Once, while reading the Ramayana(epic tale from India), I was reading the section where Hanuman had found Sita in the Asoka Grove, and he was up in the tree. Inorder to gain the trust of Sita before giving her Rama's ring, he sang the glory of Ram. Swamiji was crying like a baby, tears gushing out, he was so deeply moved. He loved the Ramayana and the Srimad Bhagavatam. The Ramayana relates the story of Rama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, representing the ideal Son, Brother, Husband and King. The tale in itself is fantastic with colourful heroic characters and there are deeper esoteric meanings behind the tale from which we can learn the right way of conducting ourselves in life. The Srimad Bhagavatam relates the glory of Lord Vishnu and his incarnations particularly the avatar(incarnation) of Krishna. It is one of the great Puranas and demonstrates the importance of  Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion. It is inspiring and uplifting to hear these epic kathas(tales) chanted, as Swamiji loved to do on a regular basis.

There are numerous versions of these epics available. I have selected a few links here, including a Srimad Bhagavatam that is available for the kindle.
www.yogastall.com