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Saturday February 25, 2006
Sharing a celebration of Shivaratri, which fell on Sunday, a coming of age ceremony was also commemorated this satsang, with five teenagers inducted into the teenage program.
Swamiji introduced the evening, saying that samskaras (tendencies) don't only have to be negative; that we have to counterbalance the negative ones with positive ones. 'This kind of ceremony makes a positive impact and allows a person to move forward in their life, enabling positive transformation,' he said.
Swamiji asked, 'So, what are we celebrating in this ceremony? We are celebrating, in my language, entering the age of second education'. He explained that first education is taught in schools, while second education is the 'inner education in which we learn about the inner Self, how the mind works, how emotions work'.
'This is how we gain inner strength. We learn to know who we are and what we really stand for and believe,' he said. 'Today these initiates become full members of the satsang', and will soon undertake a course and be involved in a mentorship program. He suggested they repeat the mantra for 10 minutes a day; come to satsang; do inquiry and pay attention to the inner world; make A-Statements (of present feeling); and think of the Self at least once a day. He added, 'Do your best at school and be kind to your parents and teachers'.
Amba, a graduate of the previous teenage program, whom Swamiji described as a lifelong yogini, introduced the initiates. Amba commented that this group had really raised the standard and their presentations were loaded with Shakti.
The first of the initiates to give their talk was Sebastian (who recived the name Arjuna.) He first came to the ashram as a two year old with his parents Nick and Sally, and spoke on the topic, 'What is dharma?' Sebastian spoke about his namesake ‘Arjuna’ from the Bhagavad Gita who struggled with knowing his dharma or calling. Shiva Yoga's Arjuna described dharma as follows: 'When we find the right path, life flows easily.You could say the power of the universe is behind you'. He mentioned that Swamiji says dharma is 'like the skeleton of the universe, with Shakti the flesh and organs' and quoted Krishna speaking to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, who said, 'Following someone else's dharma, no matter how great, is like poison; following your own dharma, no matter how lowly, is like nectar'.
Sebastian also spoke of the pressure of expectation from parents, school friends and television and said that amid these expectations, 'To know your own dharma gives you strength of conviction'. He concluded, saying he hopes to free himself of expectations to follow his true dharma and that 'I look forward to finding my cake, eating it, and sharing it, too'.
Arjuna was followed by Amba's sister Sarah, who first met Swamiji when she was one day old and whose birthday coincided with Baba Muktananda's mahasamadhi, Thus Swamiji named her Mukti, in honour of Baba, and which means liberation.
Mukti spoke on the subject, 'What is Shakti?' Mukti described Shakti as 'the divine spiritual energy that gives us life', and of the five types of Shakti. She also discussed the means of awakening by shaktipat. 'Shakti is the great gift of the guru', she said. She spoke of her way of connecting with the Shakti, through dance, and of one occasion where she was filled with self-loathing, and then, through dancing, she connected to the place of ecstasy. She added, 'Then I realised that Shakti is always within us, we just need something to remind us'.
The following speaker was Evan, (who received the name Ashok) whose parents, Jenny and Ian, brought him to the ashram since his childhood, which he expressed thanks for, saying, 'I am grateful the ashram has been here for me all my life'. Even’s topic was Baba Muktananda, who Evan’s father Ian had stayed with in India. He spoke of Baba's spiritual search, which culminated in meeting Bhagawan Nityananda after 30 years of seeking. Evan spoke of Baba's introduction of meditation, contemplation and discipline to the West, and his transformation of so many lives through his divine Shakti. 'He was a great being who attracted seekers from around the world', he said.
Evan spoke of one of his own experiences of Shakti, late last year: 'It was a Saturday night program and I found myself watching myself ... I felt taller ... my consciousness expanded. It was the same night I received my mantra,' asking, 'Coincidence, or something more mysterious?'
The next speaker, Maddy,(who received the name Girija) met Swamiji six years ago when her mother Ishwari came to the ashram, and Amba advised, 'had her first experience of Bhakti during a fast chant of Om Namaha Shivaya, and uses Self-inquiry to help her friends even when they don't know they are being helped'. Her topic was bhakti (devotional) yoga.
She said that the essence of bhakti yoga is to welcome another with love, as Swamiji (and Baba before him) does. She described some of the devotional activities of bhakti, such as prayer, rituals, and devotion to a deity or guru. She spoke of her own experience of feeling 'watched over' and 'relaxed' by the presence of photos of great beings. She also nominated singing and chanting as bhakti practices, and her own love of chanting: 'It frees up emotions that have been bottled up inside me so they can be released and purified'. Girija also spoke about the effects of the mantra by which 'the bhakta can reach blissful states'.
Girija read from Narada's sutras on bhakti yoga: 'Bhakti is intense love of God. When a man gets it, he loves all, hates none -- he becomes satisified forever.' Girija spoke of her own experience as a six year old when she loved a boy called Jack, whom she arranged a marriage with, although 'halfway through he ran way' -- recognising later, 'I had an experience of devotion all the way back then in year 1'.
Josh (who received the name Raghavan) followed, and Amba introduced him as a lover of chanting and is a great sevite (volunteer worker) and who has been coming to the ashram since the age of six with his father Ram. Josh's topic was 'What is the mantra?'. He spoke of mantra as a 'phrase repeated silently to prepare the mind for meditation ('man' from 'manas' meaning mind, and 'tra' meaning protection)'. He added, 'The mantra disciplines the mind and makes it one-pointed, which is so good for me as I've found my mind takes me on a rollercoaster ride of different fantasises and outcomes'.
Josh spoke of one breakfast at the ashram when he was about 10: 'Everything went quiet. I couldn't help myself, I called out OM NAMAH SHIVAYA'. 'Ma Devi liked this very much,' he added. He also spoke of grieving for his grandmother's husband: 'I was filled with a lot of emotion that I was struggling to deal with and asked my dad what to do. He told me, repeat the mantra with every breath. So I did, and you know what, to my disbelief, it helped'.
Rhagavan concluded, 'When you repeat the mantra with faith and devoition and the guru in mind, it is sure to work'.
The final speaker was Jess (who received the name Vidya), 'who first met Swamji two years ago when her father Paul started working at Pop's, and she started to come to the ashram with her dad and mum Sue', Amba relayed. Jess spoke on Self-realisation. 'Everyone has an inner Self' she said. 'The first time I came to satsang and heard about this inner Self I thought, ''I want to hide away in that place from all my feelings and thoughts".'
Jess talked about the many ways to connect with the inner Self, through meditation, chanting, Self-inquiry and physical yoga, all paths to enlightenment. She said, 'The inner Self is not hard to find because everyone has been in that state whether they recognise it or not'. She spoke of her own experience of being one with the Self while with her family at the beach: 'It was about being present. I realised all I was thinking about was what was happening at that moment'. She added, 'To be Self-realised, all you have to do is be like that every moment of every day'.
She concluded, 'At first I thought I could hide away in my inner Self but now I know through meditation, chanting and doing Shiva Process that I can not only hide away, I can make myself a much better person.'
Following the presentations Swamiji said to the initiates: 'Today marks a significant transition in your life, you are becoming young adults and Shiva yogis.' He then gave the initiates his blessing, whispering the mantra in their ear, wearing the same shawl that Baba used to initiate swamis in 1978 and then gave to Swamiji. The initiates then led the repetition of the mantra 108 times to conclude the ceremony.
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