Christmas at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas

Just a quick look at our Christmas preparation and celebration here at the Yoga Retreat. Enjoy the video and join us for next season’s Christmas & New Year Celebration

christmas message swami swaroopananda- part 2

Swami Swaroopananda, Director of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas in a Christmas message during the UNITY IN DIVERSITY festival. December 24th, 2010.

christmas message swami swaroopananda- part 1

Swami Swaroopananda, Director of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas in a Christmas message during the UNITY IN DIVERSITY festival. December 24th, 2010.

The Art Of Giving

” Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do tree eat their own fruit, nor do rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others? Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give, several questions need to be answered. The first question is when should one give? We all know the famous incident from the Mahabharata. Yudhisthir, asks a beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices, that Yudhisthir his brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around tomorrow to give. Yudhisthir gets the message. One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give! The time to give therefore is now. The next question is how much to give. One recalls the famous incident from history. Rana Pratap was reeling after defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most important he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time in his darkest hour, his erstwhile minister Bhamasha came seeking him and placed his entire fortune at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived to fight another day. The answer to this question how much to give is “Give as much as you can! The next question is what to give. It is not only money that can be given. It could be a flower or even a smile. It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in days and weeks! “You can give anything but you must give with your heart! One also needs answer to this question whom to give. Many times we avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking. However, being judgmental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may not be the most deserving is not justified. Give without being judgmental! Next we have to answer How to give. Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not feel humiliated, nor does the giver feel proud by giving. In giving follow the advice, Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity. ‘Give quietly! While giving let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all what we give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us? Give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude. * When you help someone in need, give it before he asks for it; for if you place him under the necessity of stretching out his hand, you take away from him his self-respect which is worth more than the value of your alms. What should one feel after giving? We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as “Guru Dakshina”, he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to Dronacharya. There is a little known sequel to this story. Eklavya was asked whether he ever regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying. His reply was “Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of death of his son Ashwathama and had stopped fighting. It was then that I regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared hurt my Guru. The message to us is clear. Give and never regret giving! And the last question is How much should we provide for our heirs? Ask yourself ‘are we taking away from them the gift of work’? – A source of happiness! The answer is given by Warren Buffett: “Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!” I would conclude by saying: let us learn the Art of Giving, and quoting Saint Kabir: “When the wealth in the house increases, when water fills a boat, Throw them out with both hands ”

silvanada ashram yoga ranch – Guy Lotem

Guy Lotem – Yoga ranch NYC

Karma Yoga 44A

Make life simple

By Chitrangada Singh believe that spirituality is a quest to reach a deeper sense of consciousness It’s a journey to simplify the complexities of lifeWhat brand of clothes you wear, your bank balance or the profession you chose are factors in life which affect one’s understanding of spirituality Whether you are clad in a Gucci or flash an expensive brand – if you can save a part of yourself, your innocence and a part of your silence, you can see God or experience Him anywhere If you see goodness in people,.you find goodness coming into your life. This positivity in your own life translates into a sense of well being and joy that probably no amount of manipulations and strategies can get you Life needs to be simple I probably lack the level of consciousness to remember exactly when my life was touched by the Divine But I can say when I have felt special Many times when I’ve stumbled in life, I’ve felt that I was being guided A lot of times when I have felt terribly weak and unable to go on — my weakness was transformed to my anger.and subsequently my anger became strength. ll the people in my life who supported me in those moments were nothing but a divine blessing I believe one has to experience sadness to value happiness When we see the bottomless pit of materialism, we open our minds’ doors to spirituality which is nothing but a quest to satiate one’s mind Spirituality is extremely personal and individualistic, and has nothing to do with a talisman or Cavalli briefs with images of God that you wearIn a day-to-day context, spirituality means keeping malice.and negativity at bay, seeing goodness in others and saving yourself from the set rules of the world.

Kollam-Amrita Puri Ashram-Alleppey – Kollam, India (amrita ashram, amritapuri ashram blogs)

A TripAdvisor™ TripWow video of a travel blog to Amrita puri ashram, India by TravelPod blogger Rfgrafton. See this TripWow and more at tripwow.tripadvisor.com Kollam-Amrita Puri Ashram-Alleppey “India Travels – Part 2: Where Robyn gets caught up in a fuel strike, learns that an ashram is no place for a wildish woman, and gets her [...]

Mahamandaleshwar Inauguration of Swami Jasraj Puriji on Kumbha Mela Haridwar 2010

Pictures and video of Yoga in Daily Life The copyright holder is and remains with International Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship. press@yogaindailylife.org Mahamandaleshwar Inauguration of Swami Jasraj Puriji on Kumbha Mela Haridwar 2010 The title is one of the highest titles bestowed upon Sannyasis and it is the first time that the title has been [...]

Raga Pooriya Kalyan in Teentaal

The classical music of India is based on ragas – melodic musical structures – and is composed so as to convey and evoke various moods and sentiments. Raj Rangayyan & Utpal Mazumdar take us on a sound journey at sunset.