Mukandi Lal & Haidakhandi Devotees from all over the world celebrate the Spring Navaratri 2008 in Haidakhan VishwaMAHAdham, singing bhajans and praising the Lord in her many manifestations! Here they sing the praises of Shri Hanuman and THE HANUMAN CHALISA. JAI HANUMAN!!!
A storm was just starting to come in through the valley in Haidakhan, you can hear the thunder and see the lightning in this clip. I took this in the morning before morning aarti it is about 5:30 am. This video was taken from my room in Haidakhan as you can see it is a [...]
… Haidakhan “Babaji Ashram” India “Om Namah Shivaya”
Shree Maa gives us the message that we can learn from everybody. When Maa was a little four-year old child, She was cleaning a room and upon finishing, she threw the broom to a corner. Then She heard the voice of Sri Ramakrishna say, “Hega, you threw that broom? See how beautifully you cleaned the room with that very broom and now you threw it? You must respect your tools as well as your actions. Cleanliness is next to Godliness?” The four-year-old Little Mother bowed down to the broom. From then on She would bow down to it everyday. Maa said that Thakur Ramakrishna told Her, “If you respect each and every one of your actions, you will get me.” Respect is an important part of learning. To illustrate this, Maa is sharing these stories with us. These stories teach us how to learn and how to become divine. We can learn every moment from every thing because Mother Nature is teaching us all the time. Please listen and enjoy the stories! Now, Mother will tell us the story of Avadhut Dattatreya. Dattatreya was born divine and considered every moment as an opportunity to learn. He learned from everybody and everything. He considered all of Nature to be his Guru. How did He learn this way and what did He learn? Read on! First Story One day Avadhut was crossing a big field. He saw a huge wedding procession walking across the field with much fanfare accompanied by many musical instruments. There were pipes and drums and lots of singing. The marriage party was accompanying the groom. At the same time in that field, Avadhut saw a hunter. The hunter was looking with one-pointed mind at his prey. His eyes were completely focused on the target and he was oblivious to the marriage party and the sounds of their merry making. Avadhut went to the hunter and bowed down to him. He said, “You are my Guru. When I meditate on God, my goal will be to have the same focus as you have just demonstrated.” Second Story One time Avadhut was walking by a river when he saw a fisherman. He went near the fisherman and asked politely, “Oh Brother, what path should I take to go to the cityâ€? The fisherman was looking inside the water and did not pay any attention to the question. The sounds did not even enter in to his ears. At that moment, the fish was just touching the bait. When the fish was caught, the fisherman called Avadhut, “Hey, what were you saying to me?” Avadhut came back to him and bowed down. He said, “You are my Guru. When I meditate on my Ishta Deva (beloved form of God), until the meditation is not complete, until I reach the goal, my mind will not wander. Please give me blessings to be like you in this way.” Third Story One day a hawk caught a fish and was flying with the fish in his mouth. Behind came hundreds and hundreds of crows. They all flew behind him and chased the hawk wherever he flew. They wanted the fish and went wherever the hawk went. They were disturbing the hawk greatly. The hawk got mad. He threw the fish. At that time, another hawk was flying and caught that fish. The crows left the first hawk and started flying behind the other hawk. The first hawk was so relieved and relaxed! Without a care, he sat on the branch of a tree and watched the plight of the other hawk. The Avadhut bowed down to the hawk and said, “If you can leave all desires and attachments, then alone you can get peace. When I sit to meditate I want to leave all my desires and attachments, just as you have shown. ” He prayed to the hawk and said, “You are my Guru. Thank you for your teaching.” Fourth Story There was a little pond in which a crane was walking with concentration and moving slowly to catch a fish. Behind the crane was a hunter who was focusing on the crane with the intent of killing it. The crane had no idea as to who was behind. The crane was completely focused on catching the fish. The Avadhut bowed down to the crane and told him, “You are my Guru. When I will do meditation, I will never look behind, I will always be focused on the present and not on the past or the future. Please give me this blessing. Thank you for your teaching.” From these Avadhut stories we see a beautiful example of how we can learn from all of Nature — every moment, every aspect of creation can be our Guru and we can learn. Avadhut gave respect with each action. From this we learn that if we, too, are respectful in each and every one of our actions, the entire Universe will become our family, and we can learn and share with all of creation.
Sorry this video is the wrong way, it was my very first one in Haidakhan it switches to the correct way at about 2:45. I’ve posted it up for posterity since it shows dear old Lokiji who has been the pujari in Haidakhan for many years. He has now retired to his home. This was [...]
As one of the rare living Avataras… His Holiness Parama Pujya Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji is the Pontiff of Avadhoota Datta Peetham at Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Ashrama in Mysore, India. Sri Swamiji is renowned for His Healing and Meditation music and He is considered a divine guide who cultivates the ancient Vedic traditions. He was born fully realised in command of the eight Mahasiddhis and is a Guru in the Dattatreya Avadhoota lineage. Sri Swamiji honours all religions and teaches that it’s possible to reach God by many paths. “It is of primary importance to attune with God through prayer, worship and the chanting of God’s holy names”. “Then God Himself will give you good guidance” says Sri Swamiji. The path of Dattatreya embraces all spiritual paths and is the source of all other traditions. He who treads the path of Truth, regardless of what religion he belongs to, is treading the path of Dattatreya. As an incarnation of God, Datta came down to spread the universality of true religion. Anyone can be his follower, regardless of cast, creed, status, be they student, householder, recluse or renunciate. No matter what sect or religion the true seeker follows, eventually he comes under the guidance of Lord Dattatreya, the Eternal Spiritual Guide of all mankind. Datta’s presence is not limited to any one country or sphere, as He is the Guru of all Gurus, the all-seeing, all-powerful, ever-present link between God and Man. However, special places of worship (Datta Peethas) have grown up around sacred areas, where His presence is most strongly felt by the sincere seeker of Datta. These places include Suchindram, Senthamangalam, Mount Girnar, Nagalapuram in Andhra, Prayag, Datta Guha in the Himalayas, Gulbarga -Ganagapura, Narasimhavadi in Maharastra, Quthambara near Poona, Avadumbara, Somapuram, Chandradronagiri and Datta Peetha at Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Ashrama, Mysore. One notable aspect of these Datta Peethas is their indefinable but inseparable relationship with worship of God as Mother , the Supreme Energy -Shakti. (Hence, Sri Swamiji’s fierce aspect as Mother Chamunda.) Parasurama (eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu), approached Lord Dattatreya and was initiated into the intricacies of how to worship the Mother (Shreevidya Upaasana), before undertaking intense penance to obtain the grace of the Divine Mother. The Saandilya Upanishad declares very clearly that Lord Dattatreya is the Supreme Reality and is the cause of everything that is created. It states, “The Supreme Brahman performed penance which was of the nature of knowledge (jnyana), and desiring to become many, assumed the form of Dattatreya. From that form came out the three letters A, U, M; the three mystical names Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah; the three-lined Gayatri; the three Vedas Rig, Yajur and Sama; the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara; the three castes Brahmana, Kshatriya and Vysya; and the three fires Gaarhapatya, Ashavaneeya and Dakshina.” “The lord is endowed with all wealth. He is all pervading and resides in the hearts of all beings. He is the great Maayavi, sporting with His own Maaya. He is Brahma. His Vishnu, He is Rudra. He is Indra and He is also all the gods of heaven and all other beings. He is East, He is West, He is North, He is South, He is below and He is above. He is everything. This is the glory of the form of Dattatreya.” Lord Dattatreya came as the Supreme Philosopher ( Avadhoota ) so that the true meaning and purpose of Sacrifice (Tyaaga) may be revealed to mankind. Atri, His father, symbolizes penance (tapas) as described in the scriptures, and Anasooya represents freedom from jealousy. When penance and non-jealous nature unite in a single person, the highest truth emerges as Lord Dattatreya. As ultimate self-sacrifice, the Supreme God gave Himself as Datta to Atri and Anasooya. Hence, “Datta” means not only “that which is given”, but also as the ideal of “giving” without desire for reward, i.e. selfless giving. The whole life of Dattatreya shows us that this “giving” selflessly is the true renunciation/sacrifice. The significance of this sacrifice is stated in the Dattatreya Upanishad where the Lord says, “Not by action, not by progeny, nor even by self, but by renunciation (tyaaga) alone is immortality attained. “Real renunciation is the giving up of “I” and mine, not the mere abandoning of duties. Living a selfless life require giving up one’s ego. That is what Lord Dattatreya describes as true sacrifice. As a Yoga-Avatar, Lord Dattatreya teaches us to perform all our duties skillfully and diligently. Yoga does not require outside aids, nor does it demand great physical effort. All we have to do is change our outlook and transform our attitude to life. This “change” consist of giving up the idea or feeling of “doership”, “enjoyership” and the resultant anxiety (and attachment ) for the fruits of our actions. By performing all our duties with this changed outlook, our mind will be freed from agitation and attain the restful state called “equanimity”, or the state where there is no “mind”. This is the state of Bliss that every soul ultimately aspires to. This is the state of Datta – the ultimate Gift of God. The Hanuman temple at Chennai Vijayanagar is the ashram of the swamiji where we pray and tie the coconut for geting the blessings of the Anjneya in geting our desires fullfilled. Please visit the following You Tube site to listen about the Dattatreya Ashram @ Mysore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7cPjdbJnds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrD9DJSt0RE&feature=related
I call them the “Playhouse Gang” don’t let those sweet faces fool you. I asked them to sing some of the songs that they sing every morning in school, I always know when it’s about 10 am in the office because you can hear these songs across the valley. From left to right we have [...]
We are very lucky to have access to the Pandits in Haidakhan, they are versed in many different types of pujas & ceremonies. In this clip The pandit is performing a “Family Puja” for Haidakhan devotee Namrata and her loved ones. You will notice the temple being cleaned even as the puja is going on, [...]
Each year The Haidakhandis put together a Christmas play and tell the story of Christ to the hundreds of guests that arrive in Haidakhan for the Christmas Celebrations. This is part 1 of the 2007 Christmas production. The story this year featured 2 “tourists” who go on “Holy Land” tours to discover the sacred sites [...]
Like so many who come to Haidakhan I too enJOY going and sitting down next to the river and just listen to it’s soothing flow. I wanted to have a video of this so I could just pop it in and try to recreate the shanti feeling of sitting down in the riverbed. [Kind of [...]
Hi! Welcome to Ashram Yoga, the Blog. I'm Jessica Loftman, and this is an online space mostly for learning, exploring, and discovering, or at least these are my aspiring hopes. Perhaps as a vision, I hope that this website can be a place of exchange, so that together we may unmask the beauties of India, the ashram tradition, and, most importantly, the eloquent practice and history of yoga. I am both a student and teacher of yoga, and a blossoming dreamer who hopes to make life a journey through the passing waves of spirituality. While in relative perspective I am but a grain of sand within the ocean of spiritual living, I do hope that this site may inspire others to more deeply uncover their perception of yoga and its practices. Thanks for visiting!