Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga
Yoga_Life_Winter_2015_WEB
Yoga_Life_Winter_2015_WEB
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PEACE DÉJÀ VU<br />
As a child I made a series <strong>of</strong> paintings about the peace <strong>of</strong> the world:<br />
beautiful and happy girls from different countries, dressed in the<br />
costumes <strong>of</strong> their regions, and holding hands as a symbol <strong>of</strong> union.<br />
Holding hands and chanting the meal prayer during ATTC.<br />
For me, this moment represents the peace <strong>of</strong> the world,<br />
in real life.<br />
Just to be polite, but without much conviction, I joined the<br />
group. And there the magic occurred: men and women, students<br />
<strong>of</strong> the TTC and the ATTC, between 18 and 60 years old, people<br />
from Germany, Austria, France, Italy, England, Switzerland, the<br />
Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Russia, Morocco,<br />
Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Canada, United States, Mexico, Guatemala,<br />
Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. All <strong>of</strong> us together, holding our<br />
hands with love, intention and intensity, while those who knew<br />
the prayer from the Bhagavad Gita recited:<br />
Brahmaar panam Brahma Havir<br />
Brahmaa gnau Brahma naa Hutam<br />
Brahmaiva Tena Gantavyam<br />
Brahma Karma Samaadhinahaa<br />
<strong>The</strong> process <strong>of</strong> eating is Brahman. <strong>The</strong> act <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fering is Brahman.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fering itself is Brahman. <strong>The</strong> gastric fire by which the food<br />
is consumed is also Brahman. He alone attains Brahman who,<br />
in all actions, is fully absorbed in Brahman.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n we all joined saying:<br />
“OM bolo sat guru sivananda maharaja ki – JAI!!!<br />
Om bolo sri Vishnudevananda maharaja ki – JAI!!!”<br />
That “JAI”, lifting our arms while still holding our hands, in a<br />
single voice, in one cry; just that one second crystallised 30 days<br />
<strong>of</strong> experiences and learning for me and gave sense to everything:<br />
Tat Tvam Asi, sutras, neurotransmitters, Sat Chit Ananda, serotonin,<br />
cortisol, 12 pairs <strong>of</strong> cranial nerves, synapse purusha, the mahavakyas,<br />
kaivalya, samadhi. <strong>The</strong>re, wearing our yellow and white uniforms<br />
(instead <strong>of</strong> traditional costumes), we all were one, we all were<br />
Brahman, we all were God, like the waves <strong>of</strong> an ocean, but<br />
grounded in the Earth and with our hearts opened. <strong>The</strong>re and<br />
then I experienced the feeling <strong>of</strong> the Absolute. In a second, I saw<br />
my whole life like it was a movie and it all, finally, made sense.<br />
In a second, I felt the OM in each one <strong>of</strong> my cells. I had never<br />
before felt so much love within.<br />
Around us, the mountains, the sky, the sun, the flowers, we,<br />
I, God. For the first time I felt the unity with everyone and every -<br />
thing, and I understood, more than 30 years later, that desire<br />
which has always dwelt in my soul. This, what I perceived as<br />
emptiness, was my need for unity. This, the unity, my reason for<br />
being; my purpose in this life. And because nothing is a coincidence,<br />
there I also understood that Sivananda’s organisation had come<br />
into my life for me to be part <strong>of</strong> Swami Vishnudevananda’s<br />
dream: to build peace in the world through the practice <strong>of</strong> yoga.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re, next to the Ganges River and the Himalayas, I felt for<br />
the first time that I was where I wanted to be, where I needed<br />
to be and I was so intensely happy then that even now, months<br />
later, I still am so.<br />
“We are much more than yoga students<br />
and teachers. We are instruments <strong>of</strong><br />
peace because we have experienced<br />
the feeling <strong>of</strong> unity.<br />
Not until that moment did I understand the goal <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sivananda Organisation, as Swamiji conceived it. It is much more<br />
than providing yoga courses. We are much more than yoga students<br />
and teachers. We are instruments <strong>of</strong> peace because we have<br />
experienced the feeling <strong>of</strong> unity. I know that each one <strong>of</strong> us, now<br />
that we are back in our home countries, will have a deep sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> our responsibility to share with the world that state in which<br />
body, mind, and soul are one – more than giving information and<br />
techniques. That’s yoga and that’s my first step towards peace<br />
in the world.<br />
And because nothing is a coincidence, there I also understood<br />
that the Sivananda organisation had come into my life for me to<br />
be part <strong>of</strong> Swami Vishnudevananda’s dream: to build peace in the<br />
world through the practice <strong>of</strong> yoga.n<br />
To meditate and sing next to the Ganges River<br />
is a very inspiring experience<br />
YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015<br />
53