Newsletter
Dec 2005
On the Birthday of Bhagwan Sri Dattatreya, the Siddha of the Treta Yug, a special Bhajan session was organized on 15th December 2005. Devotees assembled in the meditation hall and it was full before the program commenced. The program started with the Avadhoota Stotram and chanting of Nityanandam Brahmanadam….. , Digambara Digambara…… and concluded with Arati Avadhoota. In the end the devotees had Darshan and received the holy Prasad from the Divine hands of Param Poojya Sri Gurudev.
The Siddha Meditation Intensive held on 11th December 2005
was unique in its participants being from age 18 to 78 and belonging to
different walks of life. Some of the experiences narrated by them in the
question slips were –
(i) “Will the happiness which I experienced in this moment endure ? ”
(ii) “I had a vision of a temple suffused in blue colour.”
(iii) “I saw a Siddha whom I had met in 1938 when I was a very small boy and
other wonderful pictures in meditation.”
(iv) “I am feeling happy in a thought free state. Thanks to Guruji.”
(v) “It was a wonderful experience. I saw a peculiar colour light hitting my
forehead.”
(vi) “Miss Pallavi Priya who received Shakipat Deeksha by Sankalpa (by resolve)
in Stanford CT USA communicated her experience through Telephone that she had
Darshan of Param Poojya Sri Gurudev while meditating.”
Oct 2005
Dipavali, the festival of lights, was observed at
Siddhaloka from 31st October to 2nd November. All the
three days the ashram was decorated with
clay lamps and electric lights in the evening. On 1st November Dhanlakshmi
Pooja was performed with Shodashopachar (the sixteen types of offerings)
to the Sri Chakra. Prasad was distributed to the entire gathering which
included village children in large numbers. In the night crackers were burst
near the Siddhaloka natural pond. Param Poojya Sri Gurudev Himself distributed
crackers and sweets to the children.
Sri Ayudh Pooja
(worshipping the weapons) was held on 12th October with grand decoration of all
the weapons, machines, tools and instruments. The Pooja was performed by
showing camphor Arati kept on a big pumpkin. Finally the pumpkin which was
stuffed with Kumkum, Turmeric and coins was broken at the Ashram
entrance. Children gathered in large number struggled to get more and more
coins and happily received the Prasad from the lotus hands of Param Poojya Sri
Gurudev.
Paramahamsa Muktananda took Mahasamadhi on the full moon night in October 1982.
On 17th October Sri Vishnusahasranam and ‘Om namo Bhagavate
Muktanandaya…’ was chanted in the holy presence of Param Poojya Swami
Chetanananda Saraswati. Sharp at 11 P.M. (the time of mahasamadhi 23 years
back) ‘Arati Lijo’ was sung and Arati was waved. Prasad was prepared in
the verandah of Dhyan Mandir as Sharad Chandra Darshan (vision of the
full moon in boiling milk) was not possible due to heavy rain. Param Poojya
Swami Ji distributed the Prasad to the entire gathering.
Param Poojya Sri Gurudev left for a 9 day Canara Tour on 30th September. On 1st HE stayed at MPML Guest House for one night at Bhadravati. Sri V. Madhu IAS, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Company made comfortable stay arrangements for HIM with enthusiasm. Next day morning the tour party left for Gokarna, the famous pilgrimage place in North Canara. Sri Sridhar Narayan Kamat looked after all the arrangements there. Param Poojya Swami Ji was invited to the house of the Chief Priest of the Ganesha Temple, the Sode Mutt near Koti Teertha and Sri Nityananda Ashram at Sane Katte. After the 3 day stay at Gokarna HE visited the place of Sri Nagaraja Dhanya for a day, one of HIS oldest devotees at Badakere in Udupi District. Param Poojya Sri Gurudev visited Mangalore, Gurupura, Kateel, Sri Nityananda Temple at Maravooru. Everywhere HE was received with great reverence and Paad Pooja (worship of the Holy feet). Param Poojya Sri Gurudev left for Siddhaloka on 8th morning.
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Param Poojya Sri
Gurudev went on a tour of Maharashtra from 8th September. In Pune HE stayed for
5 days and had daily satsang with the devotees. It was raining throughout HIS
stay nevertheless devotees also poured in the house of Brig. V.Y. Bhave for HIS
Darshan from Mumbai and Pune city.
Some of the points illuminated by Param Poojya Sri Gurudev in these satsangs
are reproduced below -
- Dependence on an outside support for meditation is a big mistake in the path
of Yoga.
- Bondage to saints, cults and texts cannot lead to realization of the infinite
Truth.
- We should search for the Truth within us.
- Mind is a vibration of the Prana which is the core life force.
- Reliance on external techniques or courses is futile. To realize what is
within us Guru’s Grace is the only way.
HE then proceeded to Nagpur for a short stay and a satsang was arranged in the
Air Force Command House on 16th September at 4 P.M. More than 150 people
gathered in a beautifully put up Satsang Mantap (hall). After the prayer Param
Poojya Swami Ji spoke about Siddha Yoga mentioning stories of Sant Kabeer and
Samarth Ramdas Swami, Baba Muktananda and other saints. He explained the
relationship between Guru and Disciple and Shaktipat Deeksha. After the
discourse there was a 20 minutes meditation session with chanting of Kundalini
Stavah, Siddham Sharanam Gachhami…. and Om Namah Shivayah. The question and
answer session went on longer than the scheduled time and in conclusion Arati
was waved to Siddhas.
The devotees mostly came from the Vayu Sena Nagar. They had the Darshan of
Param Poojya Sri Gurudev in a disciplined way taking Prasad from his lotus
hands and left with joy and bliss.
Aug 2005
On the morning of 31st July more than hundred members of the Air Force officers’ wives association visited Siddhaloka and stayed till the evening. Most of the ladies asked questions about their personal problems to Param Poojya Swamiji and HE replied to their satisfaction.
The next day i.e. the 1st of August Bhagwan Sri Nityananda’s 44th Punyatithi
was observed. At 10 A.M. bhajans were chanted in the praise of Lord Nityananda.
At 10.40 A.M. (the time Baba Nityananda took Mahasamadhi 44 years back) Arati
was waved. After that Bal Bhojan (feast for children) was there for 200
students belonging to three primary schools. The Dakshina (cash
offering) and stationery items were distributed by the lotus hands of Param
Poojya Sri Gurudev .
SIDDHA MEDITATION INTENSIVE
“First there was darkness before my eyes and within minutes I had the vision of
Lord Vishnu. I bow to the holy feet of Param Poojya Swami Ji “
“When I was concentrating on my breath I felt I was above the ground as
if in air.“
“ I felt happy and relaxed and there were no tensions of life in my mind “
“ I felt flowers were showered on my head after the divine touch”
Above are the experiences mentioned in the
question slips of the Siddha Meditation Intensive held on 15th August 2005.
People came from as far as Australia and Indian states of Rajasthan, Assam,
Punjab, Bihar, U.P. , Delhi and Karnataka. From now itself people have started
asking about the next intensive dates. We will be publishing those dates soon.
Sri Guru Poornima was celebrated in a grand manner on 21st July 2005, Thursday at Siddhaloka. On 20th morning the Indian Air Force staff erected tents for the stay of devotees. From 4 P.M. onwards devotees from distant places started arriving at Siddhaloka to join the Guru Gita Chanting programme on 21st. At 8 P.M. Param Poojya Sri Gurudev briefed about the Shramdan (Voluntary service) to be rendered the next day. Some were given the duty of cooking and serving Prasad to volunteers. On Sri Guru Poornima one and all worked at the spots assigned to them till the evening after which the Siddha students and other visitors gathered in front of ‘Janananda’ where Param Poojya Sri Gurudev explained the greatness of rendering Guru Seva with sincerity and discipline. Finally HE blessed everyone giving them the holy Prasad.
Param Poojya Sri Gurudev
was invited by Air Commander Kamal Singh for a meet with the engineers of the
Air force Technical College at Jallahalli in Bangalore on 6th July. The wives
of the officers also attended the meeting where Param Poojya Swami Ji expounded
the secrets of Siddha Yoga and answered the queries of the participants. HE
also invited them to visit Siddhaloka and extended HIS welcome to the gathering
to participate in the next Siddha Meditation Intensive to be held on 15th
August 2005.
Param Poojya Sri Gurudev
then proceeded towards St. Martha’s Hospital to bless an ailing ashramite. HE
also visited homes of four devotees living in the Cubbonpet area where the Paad
Puja (worship of the holy feet) was offered to HIM. HE was later given a
warm send off by the large number of devotees.
Under the scheme Education
Aid of Siddha Yoga Dham, Param Poojya Sri Gurudev distributed school
stationery and uniforms to the local children going to Middle and High School.
Mothers of the school going children were given Sarees and clothes as an
incentive for sending their children to school. These activities have been
continuing since last 24 years from the inception of Siddha Yoga Dham. The
devotees also donate books and clothes under this scheme.
On 16th June, Thursday, Param Poojya Swami Ji attended a wedding ceremony of Bhagya one of the village girls who was regularly coming to Siddhaloka to receive the daily nutrition from last 13 years. HE was welcomed with garlands at the entrance of village while the traditional band party played religious hymns. A procession was taken to the Marriage hall.
Villagers living around Siddhaloka attended the celebration in thousands and prostrated at HIS feet and received blessings. Param Poojya Sri Gurudev blessed the newly wed couple and presented clothes along with a memento of Siddhaloka . Everyone bid farewell to HIM with reverence.
The next
marriage was Miss Umashree’s, daughter of Param Poojya Sri Gurudev’s old
devotee Sri Channasiddhaiah, a government official. On the morning of 29th June
HE proceeded towards the convention hall about 35 kms from Siddhaloka and
reached in time. Siddha Brotherhood volunteers were already stationed for
performing their duties. A warm welcome was given to Param Poojya Swami Ji and
the Paad Pooja ( worship of the holy feet) was offered. Param Poojya Swami Ji
left the place after blessing the newly married couple and the large gathering.
The season of marriages continued
around Siddhaloka. Children who were only toddlers when Param Poojya Swami Ji
came to live here 13 years back have now grown up and ready to enter the
household life. The second marriage of this year which Swamiji attended was
Miss Nagaratna’s, the daughter of the head of the village Doddipalya. The large
gathering of 4000 people witnessed the procession started from the entrance of
the village with 'Poorna Kumbha svagatam' ( customarily decorated pitchers held
by four young ladies) while the local band party played religious hymns. The
paad puja (worship of holy feet) was offered by the parents of the bride. Param
Poojya Swami Ji blessed the newly married couple by pouring milk on the coconut
jointly held by the couple. The gathering prostrated at the lotus feet and
received blessings.
Laying of Foundation Stone
Param Poojya Swami
Ji laid the foundation stone for a Montessory school building at the nearby
village Sevanagara on 05.06.2005.
Senior education and social welfare officers attended the function with the
large gathering of the surrounding village people. Program commenced with a
prayer by small school children.
In HIS brief address Param Poojya Sri Gurudev advised the villagers to leave
all their bad habits and save money for welfare of their children. HE asked
them to maintain good health and hygiene, taking proper nourishing diet instead
of eating from roadside vendors.
The program concluded with distribution of Prasad.
SIDDHA YOGA SUMMER CAMP - 2005
Circulars of the Siddha
Yoga summer camp 2005 from 20th May to 23rd May were issued a month earlier to
all the devotees. The participants including small children to old persons
registered their names well before the last date.
On 20th May morning participants assembled in Siddhaloka and
collected their badges. At 11 A.M. Param Poojya Sri Gurudev briefed the daily
schedule and the discipline of the camp. In the entrance of the welcome rock
there was a maxim taken from Siddha Vani (voice of Siddhas) saying “one who
follows discipline is only a disciple, other are fools”.
All the participants used to wake up at 3 A.M. listening to the chanting
of bhajans in the cd player. Every morning Vyayam (Yogasana) was conducted for
ladies and children . At 10 A.M. Param Poojya Swamiji taught how to conduct
one’s daily routine along with mantras right from waking to going to bed at
night. Bhajan sessions of Gurugita, Vishu sahasranam and Shiva mahima were
attended by all. Every evening there was a special bhajan class of reciting the
poems composed by Param Poojya Sri Gurudev. On Sunday night elocution of
bhajans was held and prizes were distributed.
Monday the 23rd May was the 97th Birthday of Paramahamsa
Muktananda. Sri Gurugita was chanted in the holy presence of Param Poojya Sri
Gurudev. After the Prasad distribution the camp was concluded by recollecting
the Siddha yoga discipline explained by HIM. All left at 10A.M. after
completing their 3 day happy summer retreat.
Param Poojya Sri Gurudev undertook a ten day spiritual tour for the propagation of Siddha Yoga covering the states of Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh. Air Marshall K.S. Chaturvedi arranged for HIS stay in Gurgaon, Haryana. A Siddha Yoga Satsang at Sun City was arranged which the Defence staff attended in large numbers. The second Siddha yoga Satsang was held at Delhi in which HE greeted the gathering saying I the king of universe , Swami Chetanananda Saraswati, welcome you all in my kingdom of bliss with love and respect. At Chandigarh HE visited the places of several devotees and everywhere small Satsangs spontaneously happened. Detailed report of these Satangs will follow in few days.
Sri Naveen Sharma
reports from New Delhi :-
Devotees from all over Delhi came together at Siddha Yoga Satsang held in
Dwarka. It became a new enlightening experience for several devotees, for whom,
it was a first contact with Param Poojya Sri Gurudev. HE welcomed everyone by
saying that “I, the king of universe, Swami Chetanananda Saraswati, welcome you
all to my kingdom of bliss with love and respect.” Swamiji then explained
further that every one of us had at one time, the chance to be “Brahma (king of
Universe)”. The mantra ‘So...Hum’ was given to us by the Almighty God in the
seventh month as an unborn child. It literally means “you are same as me”. God
told us that you are my part, so do not fear for I shall be there within you.
We forgot this as soon as we came in contact with illusion.
Our ignorance of the above fact is the cause of all the troubles. Swamiji
explained further with the story of a poor fakir who used to beg for his needs.
One day he decided that he would go to Sultan (king) for some alms. It was
evening and he was already late for appointment. So he decided to spend the
night in an old tattered mosque. As soon as he sat with his back on the wall,
the wall crumbled. A soldier came to the site hearing the noise of the
collapsing wall. The soldier arrested the fakir for bringing down the mosque.
The fakir was presented in the court of Sultan and his crime was read out. The
Sultan was very angry. He ordered that fakir’s head be chopped off for this
serious offence. On hearing the verdict, the fakir raised his hand and smiled.
Puzzled by this, the sultan asked as to why he is smiling. The fakir replied
that if the penalty for unknowingly bringing down an old mosque is death, I am
wondering the punishment that you would get, in Allah’s (God's) court, for
bringing down a mosque that is live. Sultan immediately understood the fakir’s
words. He realized his mistake and asked forgiveness from the fakir. The
fakir’s realization that God dwells within us helped him to save his life and
give a precious teaching to the Sultan.
Param Poojya
Swamiji normally explains complex ideas through simple stories. It is no wonder
that answers for several questions, which might not be answered by reading
religious texts come naturally by proximity of Sadguru. After highlighting our
oneness with God, HE went on to explain doubts which many people normally have.
“Where is God? What does HE do and how can we feel him? These were precisely
the questions put forward by a King to his Chief Priest in a Kingdom. The
priest had studied the religious scriptures but not followed them in his life.
So he could not think of satisfactory answers to these questions immediately.
The King ordered that he find answers to these or else he should lose his life
since he has failed at basic level. The priest was upset. He had never thought
about these questions and frankly had no answers. He became very sad. His Son,
although uneducated and a cattle grazer by profession, was a realized soul,
noticed his father being very upset. He asked as to what was the matter. On
hearing the whole issue he said that he would answer the questions in front of
the King. The King was surprised to find an illiterate coming to answer his
queries. And so it began. The priest’s son asked the King to be his disciple if
he really cared for the answers. The king, who genuinely wanted the answers
agreed and offered him the throne and sat at his feet as a disciple. The
priest’s son ordered a glass of milk, which the king gladly obeyed. But instead
of drinking it he started stirring it with his index finger. The king was
puzzled. The cattle grazer said he was trying to find the butter in the milk.
The king said, “It can’t be found like this; you need to add some curd and
leave it for some time. And then stir the curd so that the butter could be
separated from milk .So have you got the answer to the first question that
where does God live”, said the priest’s son. God is in every individual as milk
is in every household. He is like butter in it. You have to stir the soul, with
grace of Sadguru to see it emerge. “But How about the last question?” asked the
King? What does God do? The priest’s son answered calmly, he makes cattle
grazers like me the king, and back again.
Simply put the above remark signifies that this entire world is a stage of Maya,
where people continually play different roles and only a few are able to
realize the truth.
Siddha yoga
Satsangs held during Param Poojya Sri Gurudev’s Spiritual tour were unique in
the way HE propounded Siddha Yoga and its various aspects. The intricate and
complex spiritual matters became so easy to understand through the simple
stories and examples rendered by HIM. Like Param Poojya Sri Gurudev quoted in
one of these Satsangs “Everyone knows that ocean contains tiny drops of water
but only a rare one realizes that a drop itself holds the entire ocean”. To
know this truth HE emphasized the necessity of meditation which happened
spontaneously in HIS presence in all the Satsangs. Many had the rare vision of
Divine light and colours of the thousand petal lotus located in the crown of
the head.
Some of the pearls of wisdom revealed by Param Poojya Sri Gurudev in these
satsangs are reproduced below.
- “We are ‘everything’ but most of us aspire to become ‘something’, and if no
such efforts are made then we become ‘everything’ by the grace of God”
- “One may demolish temples, mosques or churches but never break anyone’s heart
which is the real abode of God.”
- “God is the only truth and if there is only one truth then there is only one
God.”
- “Matter and spirit are mutually inclusive and inseparable”
- “Self itself is God. Apart from this indwelling truth everything else is
nothing but play of consciousness and illusion of mind.”
In a satsang specially for children Param Poojya Sri Gurudev had an interactive
talk with them answering their queries. Explaining the meaning of ‘Acharya’ as
one who is supreme in his conduct HE said that conduct is more important than
long speeches. HE stressed upon Mahatma Gandhi’s values of non-violence and
truth. Param Poojya Sri Gurudev asked children to meditate daily even if only
for five minutes. This would immensely help them in their studies increasing
their memory power and they would have better concentration.
Sri Karamaballi Sanjeev Shetty (75), former member of Karnataka Legislative Council and a stanch devotee of Param Poojya Sri Gurudev merged with Bhagwan Nityananda on March 29, 2005. Since Param Poojya Swamiji's childhood Mr. Shetty was with HIM and was HIS colleague when Param Poojya Sri Gurudev was a social worker for a period of 12 years. He was the Chief Guest on the occasion of 2nd Siddhaloka Anniversary in 1994 and a regular visitor to the ashram.
SIDDHALOKA had a festive ambiance on the auspicious day of Sri Maha Shivaratri
(the great night of welfare) with a well arranged Siddha Meditation
Intensive. The staff members came for their duty the previous day on time.
Param Poojya Sri Gurudev took the first check-up round at 6A.M., when prompt
preparations for Intensive were going on. By the time HE came for HIS second
round at 8A.M. all the arrangements were completed and the staff members were
ready for duty in their sky blue uniform.
The second Intensive of 2005
went smoothly. All the 15 participants happily recounted their experiences in
the Question-Slip and asked for further guidance to face their destiny in
future. All took a round of historical monuments around Siddhaloka after taking
the Holy Prasad blissfully.