We celebrated Vyas Puja last month, and have included some pictures from the day. The highlight was Acharyaji’s short speech on Sunday.
“Dhyana Moolam Guror Murti, Pooja Moolam Guror Padam, Mantra Moolam Guror Vakyam, Moksha Moolam Guror Kripa”
Hershji translated this beautiful mantra for us: I want to meditate on the form of my Guru, pray to the feet my Guru, every word of my Guru is sacred, and moksha comes only from the grace of my Guru “guru kripa”. Simple words but hard to comprehend, Hershji explained that we want to identify with the Godliness of our Guru. This is the real “puja” of the day, not just the rituals.
Finally, Acharyaji spent some time discussing the relationship between the Guru and disciple. It is important to do seva (selfless-service), not because the Guru needs it but it makes us humble, heightens our intellect, and helps us see God in everyone. Seva prepares one to absorb the knowledge from a Guru, but one must actually be in the presence of their Guru to do this. Just like the dialogue between Krishna and Arjun happened in person, we must make the effort to engage in a conversation of questions and answers to progress on the Yogic path.
To find your Guru, look for someone who has knowledge of the scriptures, an ability to explain them to you, nobility of character, and actually experienced what they are teaching.
Watermelon Gazpacho
This is truly “summer in a bowl”! Delightful! Adapted from a “Raw Food
Real World” recipe.
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
4 cups watermelon, seeded and pureed in a high-speed blender
1 cup watermelon, diced small
1 cup seeded tomato, diced small (about 1 large or 2 small tomatoes)
l/2 cup peeled, seeded cucumber, diced small
l/2 cups peeled jicama, diced small
l/2 cup red bell pepper, diced small
2 tablespoons lime juice
l/4 cup inced cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons minced mint leaves
1 teaspoon minced ginger
l/2 small red jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 scallion, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large glass bowl or container, combine the watermelon puree with the
remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Refrigerate to chill. This recipe
should keep in the refrigerator for up to four days.
In the last month’s article, it was detailed how time is measured in Yugas. The Yogic scriptures have also illustrated micro divisions of time in a day. It was well known, even then, that time could be sub-divided into very finite units as tabled below.
१ दिन = ८ पहर
१ पहर = ३ मुहूर्त
१ मुहूर्त = २ नाड़ी
१ नाड़ी = १५ लघु
१ लघु = १५ काष्ठा
१ काष्ठा = १५ क्षण
१ क्षण = ३ निमेष
१ निमेष = ३ लव
१ लव = ३ बेध
१ बेध = १०० त्रुटी
१ त्रुटी = ४ त्रसेणु
१ त्रसेणु = ३ अणु
१ अणु = २ प्रमाणु
1 day = 8 pahars
1 pahar = 3 muhurats
1 muhurat = 2 nadis
1 nadi = 15 laghus
1 laghu = 15 kaashta
1 kaashta = 5 kshans
1 kshan = 3 nimeshs
1 nimesh = 3 lavs
1 lav = 3 bedhs
1 bedh = 100 trutis
1 truti = 4 trasenus
1 trasenu = 3 anus
1 anu = 2 pramanus
टों दक्षिणा दिगिन्द्रो-अधिपतिस, थ्तारिक्षच्राजी रक्षिता पितर इषवः I
तेभ्यो नमोअधिपतिभ्यो नमो,
राक्षित्रिभ्यो नम इशुभ्यो नम, एभ्यो अस्तु I
योअसमान दवेष्ठी यं वयं द्विष्मस्तं वो जम्भे द्ध्म: II
Source: Rishi: Atharva. From: Atharvaveda 3.27.2 Chhand: Atyashti.
Tom dakshina digindro-adhipatis, thtarikshchraji rakshita pitar ishva.
tebhyo nmo-adhipatibhyo nmo,
rakshtribhyo nam ishubhyo nam, ebhyo astu.
yo-asmaan dveshthi yam vayam dvishmastam vo jambhe dadhma.
Meaning:
God is Absolute Master of the entire Creation. He saves us from the ominous and enriches us with all kinds of wealth. We pay our obeisances to Him again and again. God is Lord of Dharma. He is judicious. If anyone harms us, we depend upon His justice and remain contented.
Join us for a week of Hatha and Raja Yoga training amidst the Ashram’s peaceful acreage of rolling hills and majestic trees. Acharya Hersh Khetarpal, along with other senior teachers at the Ashram, will provide in-depth teachings of Yoga philosophy and the practices of asana, pranayama, meditation.
Click to view the sessions and schedule for the retreat!
We have a special guest teacher, Melanie Camp (RYT), coming from Florida to teach the Asana classes each morning. Melanie has attended the Ashram’s retreats in the past and we are thrilled that she has volunteered to teach classes for the week! For those who don’t know Melanie, she became a certified yoga teacher in 2003, and teaches at Barkan Method Studio, Yoga Connection, and the Mind, Body, Spirit Theme Crystal Cruise Line Trips 2010-2011. . She is also a Duke Integrative Medicine Yoga Therapist, a certified Yoga for Seniors Instructor, and a Kids Yoga Associate Teacher for Yoga Kids International. Melanie is also well known for her classes overseas, including in SE Asia as part of the CARE International delegation following the Tsunami of 2004, aboard the 2005 Caribbean 1500 sailboat rally, beaches in the British Virgin Islands, yoga retreats in Costa Rica, Brazil, and Greece. To top it off, she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2006 and practiced yoga with her crew while ascending. Melanie is currently writing a book of yoga tips from her world travels featuring her original oil paintings. You can view her artwork at www.artfulyoga.com.
Contributed by Louella Harty
On Sunday mornings, ten to twenty students gather to learn from the timeless Yoga scriptures. Acharya Hersh Khetarpal guides us through these rich texts, helping us understand the deep teachings and applications to our daily lives. For the past several months, we have been studying the Kathopanishad.
The Kathopanishad recounts the encounter and subsequent dialogue between Nachiketa and Yama, the God of Death, which was the direct result of Nachiketa’s father’s angry response to a question asked by Nachiketa. As a result of Nachiketa being a patient and honorable guest waiting for the arrival of Lord Yama, he was granted three boons by the God of Death.
Read the rest of this entry »
Yoga philosophy explains the life of this universe and the life of God’s creation using a measurement of time called “kalp”. At the end of the Kalp, the universe is destroyed and stays in dormant condition for a long time. Afterward, the Universe is resurrected and a cycle of another Kalp starts.
A Kalp is said to be a wink of Lord Vishnu, and Vishnu has a life span which cannot be calculated by any known scale. That is how old the universe, God’s Srishty, is. Here is how a kalp is calculated by Earth time.
There are 4 Yugas: Sat yug, treta yug, dwapar yug, and kali yug.
1 Sat yug = 1,460,000 Earth years
1 Treta yug = 1,095,000 Earth years
1 Dwapar yug = 730,000 Earth years
1 Kali yug = 365,000 Earth years
Sat yug + treta yug + dwapar yug + kali yug = 1 CHATAR YUGI = 3.65 million Earth years
1000 Chatar yugis = 1 day of Brahma
1000 Chatar yugis = 1 night of Brahma
2000 Chatar yugis = 1 Braham Divas = 7.3 Billion Earth years
365 Braham divas = 1 Braham Varsh =2.6645 Trillion Earth years
100 Brahm Varshs = Age of BRAHAMA = 1 KALP = 266.45 Trillion Earth years
ॐ प्राची दिग्गनिरधिपति , रसितो रक्षितादित्य इषवः I
तेभ्यो नमो-अधिपतिभयो नमो ,
नमो राक्षित्रीभयो नम इशुभ्यो नम एभ्यो अस्तु I
योअस्मान द्वेष्टि यं वयं द्विषम: तं वो जम्भे दध्म: II
Rishi: Atharva Atharvaveda 10.190.1-3 Chhand: Ashti
OM PRAACHI DIGGANIR-ADHIPATI, RASITO RAKSHITA-ADITYA-ISHVA .
TEBHYO NMO-ADHIPATI-BHYO-NMO,
NMO RAKSHITRI-BHYO NM ISHU-BHYO NM EBHYO ASTOO .
YO-ASMAAN DVESHTI YAM VAYAM DVISHAM TAM VO JAMBHE DADHMAA
In all the directions, God ( OM ) alone protects the peoples and bestows life. His protective powers present everywhere like rays of the sun. To that omnipresent God and His powers, we bow again and again. He is judicious and punishes the guilty. None should take justice in one’s own hands. All must trust on the justices of Lord, for He is the Lord of justice ( Dharamraj ). Everyone is treated alike and judiciously in His dominion.
The Ashram is proud to be hosting a gathering of the Chicagoland Yoga Community on June 27th, 2010 at 5pm! Many Yoga teachers in the community, including Karen Weber, Mitchell Manz, and Marina Lisjonok, have come together to organize a vegetarian potluck & drum circle to be held at the Ashram. Come join the group to meet like-minded individuals and enjoy the serene Ashram atmosphere. Please see the flyer below for more information!
