Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati - Yoga in Every Moment: Contemplations of a Yogi in the Midst of Life

Contemplations of a Yogi in the Midst of Life

Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

PUBLISHED BY
SVAROOPA TEACHING COLLECTIONS, INC.

Published by Svaroopa Teaching Collections, Inc.

4406 Park Blvd Suite C, San Diego, CA 92116, USA

866.LUV.YOGA

First Edition Copyright 2001

S.T.C., Inc. All rights reserved.

No portion of this book my be reproduced without prior written permission.

SVAROOPA is a registered service mark of S.T.C., Inc.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 1-930559-24-0

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

DEDICATION

I dedicated my life long ago, and again every day, to my Guru, who is all that I have become and know I will be. It is from His blessings, training, love and support that I am able to dedicate this book to you seekers of Truth, lovers of God and students of yoga everywhere.

I was flying home from an extended stay in the ashram (residential yoga center) where I had been in training off and on for over fifteen years. My meditation kept deepening by the hour, in spite of the aircraft noise and cabin attendants activity. Suddenly, a beautiful scene unfolded inside a big white room with very high ceilings and lots of light shining through skylights and lots of windows. It had an ethereal quality to it. The ocean was just outside, though I could not see it. I felt instantly at home in the room. As soon as I had fully registered on the scene, the meditation abruptly ended. I did not know if I had seen heaven, if it were a dream, prediction of the future, or merely a concoction of my mind. But the feeling, as well as the look of it, was recorded somewhere deep inside me.

More than a year later, a real estate agent was showing me a possible new location for the growing Master Yoga Academy. As I walked into the main room, I recognized it. It was the same room, with the same feeling. The ocean was three blocks away. I knew that this was our new home. We moved in a few weeks later. It was the foundation for what is now six different facilities for classes, Teacher Training programs and our staff who serve the growing community of Svaroopa Yogis.

The story does not end there. About a year later, I was meeting with many of the Svaroopa-trained teachers in the local area. One of them turned to me and said, You must be so happy to see all your dreams coming true. I laughed in astonishment, while tossing the pencil from my hands high into the air. I would never have dreamed this big! I thought again of the earlier vision, realizing that I was sitting in the reality that it became. And I knew I would have limited myself so much, if it had been up to me. God has moved me far beyond where my puny mind would ever go.

Now I am offering you this collection of articles that I have been writing over the last ten years. My mind would have never allowed any of this to happen, if I had been following my mind. At this point, over 1,000 people have entered our teacher training programs, at least at the beginning level. I have originated and named a style of yoga that is nationally recognized and, as of this writing, is taught in eight countries. Additionally, I spend one-third of my year teaching at conferences and in yoga studios, supporting the teaching and practice of Svaroopa Yoga internationally. I get to meet and touch a thousand people every year. Its a long way from a cave in the Himalayas!

It is quite synchronistic that I am writing this Introduction on Thanksgiving Day. I live in unspeakable gratitude to my teachers. Everything I do is an offering to them, as well as to you. My first yoga classroom was my living room. In 1976, I moved all the furniture out and painted the walls. I chanted to my teacher in India as I painted, knowing I was dedicating more than just the room. I was giving myself to yoga and to serving in every way. Each successive year of study and personal practice has dug my roots in a little deeper. This living yoga is like a loving fire that burns away the dross, leaving only the shine of pure gold behind. Yoga guarantees that your inner radiance will be progressively unveiled. It becomes a beacon that lights the world. It happens in stages. You can see some of my stages through these writings.

This collection is divided into three parts, based on when I wrote the articles as well as to whom they were addressed. You can watch my development as a teacher and writer over a full decade. Remember that yoga guarantees this progress, both on the inside as well as in your life. If I did not improve in the course of so many years of practice, there would be no reason for you to undertake the same process of Self-discovery.

In addition, what I wrote depended on the needs of the students. The topics I introduced, the examples I used, the conclusions I drew, and the practices I offered depended on those who were reading. You can see how the three sections mirror the readiness of the students who are traveling the path.

Part I: The Beginnings

These are the first articles I wrote, published in Master Yoga newsletters. My writing style reflects the way I was trained to teach, according to the traditional methods used in India. Yoga is described in broad and general terms. I explain both the theory and the practice. It is up to you to make it personal. How yoga works is explained, using everyday examples, to help you make it more immediate and tangible. The possibilities are clearly described, but you are the one who has to make them work.

The students receiving these articles were in the beginning of their yoga practice. These writings explain to them that there is a greater goal, in order to elicit their interest in yoga as a way of life. Yoga is much more than exercise.

At that time, the articles were intermittent publications. The chronology documents the developments, creating Master Yoga Foundation, our Statement of Purpose, and giving a name to our distinctive practice, Svaroopa Yoga. The process and goal of the Svaroopa Yoga practice is featured in a series of consecutive pieces written in the months after I named it.

Part II: Continuity

I began to find a more personal way of expressing the traditional teachings, drawing from my own life experiences. As yoga has been deepening the roots of my Being into Consciousness-Itself, I have been more able to let my own personality show. Just as every moment of my life becomes a living yoga, every experience becomes a possible teaching tool. This makes the articles progressively more personal over time. Students do not have to work so hard to integrate the yoga into their life, because the teaching is more personal and more real. It is not so much of a theory any more.

The very first article was titled The Yoga of Relationship (in ). My ability to be in this relationship has continued to develop, and the articles became more like a continuing conversation. It is like when you spend the weekend with friends or family. You start discussing something over dinner that first evening. The next morning, you pick up the same topic again. You return to it throughout the weekend while you are picnicking in the park, doing dishes together, watching a late movie, etc. You might continue the conversation next week in email, or next year when you get together again. But it is a continuing conversation within the context of a continuing relationship. In this section, I am speaking to students who are deepening in their practice and understanding their life in a new way.