Yoga and Weight Training - Never the Twain Shall Meet? -

Who's A Guru?
Guru is the God, say the Hindu scriptures. The English word 'guru' has its etymological origin in the Sanskrit term and means a "Hindu spiritual teacher or head of religious sect; influential teacher; revered mentor." Let's delve deeper for the real meaning of guru...
Source: hinduism.about.com

Yogi Ashwini’s Sanatan Kriya
"Creation emerged from stillness. The ultimate purpose of yog is to gather that stillness inside because it’s the stillness which is the ultimate strength and power, for it holds the complete Creation in it”, says Yogi Ashwini, the guiding light of Dhyan Foundation.

The strength and persona that He commands and exudes, and the experiences one gets, just by being around Him are enough proof that these are not empty words. A living master and a modem day yogi, who has taken the initiative of bringing “Yog” back to its original glory and presenting “Yog” to today’s world the way it used to be taught in ancient times. He has laid the foundation of Dhyan Foundation and His teachings are strictly based on the ancient principles of Yog. The uniqueness of Yogiji’s teachings is the “Guru - Shishya Parampara”, where each one is taught as a unique individual and is put on to the practices on a one to one basis.

He was initially a ‘Pranic Healing’ teacher and has also been associated with various Himalayan Masters. He spent some time alone in silence for a while, doing his practices and helping others around him. The sublimating effect he had on others eventually saw the informal birth of the Dhyan Foundation. He has an honours degree in Economics from Delhi University and a masters is management. He is widely traveled and has students in various countries. He has been teaching for many years.

For him Yog is not business, but complete sadhana and it is NOT yog if any aspect of it is adulterated or modified according to one’s requirements. It is with this purity of thought He formulated Sanatan Kriya, which encompasses all eight limbs of Ashtang Yog, without any dilutions and modifications. Yogi Ashwini emphasizes on Yoga as a subject of experience and not intellect, and it is by no means certain rapid movements, picked up from aerobics and other sports which are being termed as asanas and breathing techniques called pranayamas, these days, which promise to give you beautiful healthy body. In fact Patanjali, the fountain of yog explains asana as “Sukham sthiram asanam”, that posture which is still and which gives bliss is an asana Patanjali nowhere talks about asanas in the entire Yog Sutras. In the race to gather more and more students and make more and more money most of the present day. yoga teachers have forgotten the basic principles of Patanjali Ashtang Yog. For the masses it is difficult to comprehend that how stillness can give you that beautiful glow and strength in the body, and the ones who are selling yog obviously do not have the capacity to make that happen, for they do not themselves know what yog is, so to please these masses yog is being misrepresented and wrongly shown.

The effect of rapid asanas and/or improper breathing techniques, in a majority of case, may lead to mental / physical injuries and imbalances (chemical and hormonal).Yogi Ashwini says that this is the reason for Maharshi Patanjali not giving asanas to the masses. Asanas require the body to be in balance before they are practiced. And SANATAN KRIYA helps bring this balance. Some so-called yogacharyas have commercialized YOG and have taught them to anyone who offer good cash.This is the reason for YOGI ASHWINI’S coming out in the open. Dhyan foundation is just dedicated to make the people aware of pure yog and pranayam, as instructed by Maharshi Patanjali.

Dhyan Foundation volunteers teach Sanatan kriya to every new seeker, every Sunday in New Delhi.

Dhyan Foundation also runs regular weekly sessions at Ludhiana, Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow, Dehradun and will soon be starting sessions at Boston, Frankfurt and London.

For more details and to contact Dhyan Foundation, visit www.dhyanfoundation.com.

Adapted and modified from Mystic India Page (12) May - June 2oo8
Writeup by:
Shri Hari - Volunteer / member / teacher in Dhyan Foundation,
Edited by indiaspirituality

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Navaratri: The 9 Divine Nights
Hindus mark the advent of winter with 9 nights/days of fast and prayer to Durga, the Mother Goddess who embodies all the power of the universe. What's the significance? Why Durga? Why this time of the year? Why 9 nights? Find out...
Source: hinduism.about.com

"Awake, Arise and Stop Not Til Thou Goal is Reached" - Swami Vivekananda

"Only God is True, Everything Else is False" - Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa

"To Disconnect the mind from the SELF and to become aware of anything else is nothing but Unhappiness" - Sri Ramana Maharshi

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Pongal: Great Indian Thanksgiving! (Part 1)
Pongal is a great Indian harvest festival, celebrated every year in mid January to mark the reaping of crops and a special thanksgiving to God, the sun, the earth and the cattle.
Source: hinduism.about.com

Ramana Maharshi - A Selected Story

An Astounding Astrologer

Sri Venkateswara Sarma (Sastrigal Mama) was an exceptional and astounding astrologer. From childhood he exhibited a rare genius in this field. While still very young, his extraordinary intelligence enabled him to master the most abstruse and difficult branch of astrology. All, including his guru, declared him as the wisest student.

Prasna is an astrological science based on a perfect fruition between mathematics and intuition. With just some meager information from the questioner, which includes only the first word of the question, a Prasna astrologer can, within seconds, draw up mentally a horoscope. This requires great mathematical precision and perfection. Having drawn the horoscope within his mind, and in a flash also having studied it, the astrologer will have to wait, prayerfully. Then, from the depths of his inner intuition words gush forth, forming the astrological predictions for the questioner. As this Prasna process is not merely based on mathematical horoscopes, it culminates in intuitional revelation, and the predictions are said to be amazingly accurate and correct to the minutest detail. Sri Sastrigal Mama was highly proficient in this system of astrology.

He once described it to me by citing this example: One day a merchant came to his house while he was engaged offering worship in his puja room. His wife informed him that one Nagappa Chettiar was waiting on the verandah and that he seemed worried about some urgent matter. Not willing to interrupt his worship, and by merely listening to the name and the few details given by his wife, Sri Sastrigal Mama, within a minute, began giving the following prediction:

"Tell Nagappa Chettiar that he has come to inquire about his lost, costly diamond ring. He suspects his servant. Assure him that no one has stolen it. In his gardn, near the well, there are two rows of plantain trees. On one side there are only two trees; on the other there is a cluster of trees. Let him search under the two trees and the diamond ring will be found there. While he was cleaning his clothes on the washing stone the ring slipped off his finger and fell to the ground."

Nagappa Chettiar returned home and found the ring exactly where Sri Sastrigal Mama had said, and because of this and similar astounding predictions Sri Sastrigal Mama became quite famous. He also became convinced that the Prasna branch of astrology was the most perfect science.

At the height of his career he heard about Sri Ramana Maharshi. When he first saw Sri Bhagavan's picture he was immediately captivated and traveled to Arunachala to see the Sage. He climbed up to Skandashram, where Bhagavan then resided. On the very first look that the Maharshi gave him, Sri Sastrigal Mama became his slave. He had a strong desire to stay with the Maharshi permanently, renouncing everything he held dear. Yet, there was still his lifelong attraction to the science of astrology. He felt distracted by it and did not know how to proceed.

One day, gathering courage, he approached Sri Maharshi in all humility and said, "Bhagavan, is not astrology the best and most accurate of all sciences?"

In silence Bhagavan looked at him deeply for some time. Then, slowly but firmly, he replied: "The science of the Self is superior to all other sciences."

It was the peak period in Sri Sastrigal Mama's life. For every prediction he was richly rewarded and was consequently acquiring immense wealth. Nevertheless, the words from the Master convinced him immediately to renounce his lucrative profession and pursue the science of the Self. His wife too fully supported him in this decision. The remainder of their life they lived in utter poverty at the holy feet of the Sat-Guru, under the protective shade of the Sacred Mountain, Arunachala.

V. Ganesan

Source: http://www.cosmicharmony.com/Sp/Ramana2a/Ramana2a.htm

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