Sadhana Mandir Ashram has been the personal spiritual seat ofSwami Rama ofthe Himalayas. A flower-filled island of peace, at thebanks of the Holy Ganges, surrounded by the foothills of theHimalayas, the Ashram still vibrates with the energy bequeathed hereby the Master Saint. It is now being served by Swami Veda Bharati, asPresident and spiritual preceptor, on whom Swami Rama conferred oneof the highest yoga initiations in 1970.
The ashram is an international center for the study and practiceof meditation, and its attendant sciences, texts and philosophies, ashanded down in their traditional purity by the lineages of theHimalayan masters (about whom please read Swami Rama's Living Withthe Himalayan Masters).
The meditation and study program for each student, as well as forvisiting groups from numerous countries, is individually tailored bythe resident preceptor, Swami Veda Bharati. One may choose to stay atthe Ashram for any duration, from one day to one year, and a programwill be arranged according to one's needs, level, and capacity. Thereare also opportunities for offering one's services at the Ashram,depending on your area of expertise and interest. There are severalprograms available :
(1) For complete beginners, individual instruction in hatha-yogaas meditation; preparations for meditation; principles of sadhana(spiritual practices) and basic philosophy; meditation in daily life;mantra initiation and guidance in using the mantra. The hatha-yoga isguided by the resident expert Ashutosh Sharma.
(2) For initiates (including those who have been initiated inother traditions), intermediate and advanced steps in sadhana, asguided by Swami Veda. Entry into subtler meditations and levels ofsilence may be taught. A number of other highly qualified andexpereinced teachers provide instruction from time to time.
(3) There is a one-month program for the study of the writings ofSwami Rama, prepared by Swami Jnaneshwar (who hails from USA,received Swami Rama's grace and blessing, has made a thorough studyof Swami Rama's writings, and serves the Ashram through this studyprogram).
(4) Special meditation retreats, and advanced seminars on ancientphilosophical texts are also organized. Those in health professionsmay also benefit from visits to the Himalayan Institute of MedicalSciences, a thirty minutes drive from the Ashram.
How to get there? What to bring? Costs? Just send us a fax ore-mail. All the inquiries should be addressed to the Ashram'sPresident at the address printed in the title, or use phone, fax ore-mail.
Tel : 91-135-431485 and 433886 Fax : 91-135-431582
e-mail : <tadit@nda.vsnl.net.in>
We specially welcome groups. Do bring one from your city.
When Swami Veda Bharati, as a spiritually ambitious young man inthe kumbh mela of 1952, inquired from the visiting yogis as to whothe greatest yogi in the Himalayas was, it was the name of Swami Ramathat was given unanimously. Then, and often again whenever such aninquiry was made, it received the same answer.
Swami Rama, born in the Himalayas, was raised by his spiritualMaster in the legendary caves of the yogis where countlessgenerations of yogis havebeen trained and initiated into the deepestmysteries of the sacred science of yoga. A monk in the ShankaracharyaOrder, he held the highest position as a Shankaracharya, which hethen renounced to continue to serve the Himalayan Tradition.
All sciences are open to a yogi. He was a scientist who offeredhimself for scientific experiments to be conducted on a yogi;philosopher who wrote fortyfive books; a poet who tranlsated an epicin three months; an architect, sculptor, painter. The most well knownnames in the classical music of India gathered around him toaccompany him in his music sessions. Dog trainer; horse trainer; itwas a delight to watch him at tennis. Enlightened guide to disciples.Master of the Art of Life.
Uncountable thousands around the world came to him asking forgifts tangible and intangible. When he gave with the right hand, hisleft hand did not know. One meets people in all walks of life, inhighest professions, who tell us how he blessed, guided, createdtheir success in life. He would sit for hours in the company of aone-buffalo farmer while princes waited outside his chamber. When hegranted funds for establishing the library of a University in theGarhwal Himalayas, he did it on the condition that his name would notbe given any public association with it. As he prepared to leave hisbody, he left strict instructions to build no memorials, establish noshrines nor a museum, and do nothing else to commemorate his name.His memorial is in the hearts of his disciples who miss the love theyreceived in abandon.
A philanthropist who created a Medical City in four years wherethere were only farmers' fields, and gave subtle hints on surgery tosurgeons. A superb administrator who taught leaders how to lead andmanagers how to manage. Equally at home in the East and the West, hewas a both a scientist and an accomplished mystic, a siddha. Aboveall, he was a direct descendant of the lineage of yogis, going backthousands of years, who are the founders and keepers of yoga, thesource of all paths of meditation, and who confer the directexperience as initiation into the mystery of Consciousness.
Swami Rama has left many disciples behind, none anywhere near hisstature and calibre, to carry on the various assignments of his work.What we all most remember about him is the magnetic, charismaticpower of love, such that as he walked one felt pulled to simply walkbehind him. The full impact of his spiritual legacy will be realizedperhaps in a century.
Coming to his Ashram even for the first time, one experiences thespecial energy, inspiration and the pull to a mental silence.
The history of humanity is not the history of tool making or ofsocial organization. It is the history of mind's unfoldment. TheHimalayan tradition believes that even if one weaves no clothing norowns a stone to crush wild nuts, one may be a saint, a sage, aphilosopher, a wise (wo)man. And what use that we land a man on Marsbut have conquered not the god of war who dwells within the mind, norcan curb our anger, nor can slow down our breath, nor can lower ourblood pressure withot the aid of an agency external to us? TheHimalayan tradition advocates complete self-sufficiency of a humanbeing without dependence on any object external to his spirit andmind.
For this the Tradition teaches specific methods of training thehuman mind. It awakens the energy called Consciousness and instructsit s disciplines into the meaning of "Thou art That" - till one'svery being knows, "I, indeed, am That". The methods taught arescientific, systematic and entirely internal. And then comes themystery of initiation, the direct conferring of the energy ofConsciousness into the disciple till the disciple becomes a Master inhis own right.
When Swami Rama demonstrated in a laboratory condition that hecould alter the count of living or dead cells at will as thescientists drew his blood, he was asked, "Swami, how do you do that?" And he answered, "They are my blood cells; are they not ?" Thepower, not a process, called Consciousness is realized within as theultimate in yoga asit has been taught by the Masters of the HimalayanTradition, in an unbroken lineage for countless millenia. TheUpanishads, Bhagavad-gita, and countless other scriptures are simplyrevelations of the truths thus experienced. The teachers of thetradition have taught in all known civilizations of the world andhave left their mark in the writings and records everywhere.
One trained in the Himalayan Tradition knows all the paths ofmeditation as they diverge from it and converge into the same astheir origin. The teachers of the Tradition live for others only :that the suffering of many may be alleviated. They wander -as theBuddha said to his first batch of his disciples - "Wander, ye monks,for the benefit of the many, for the comfort of the many". An Ashramof this Traditions beckons you to come and receive compassionate lovein a world that causes much suffering. That love is Meditation, andits highest from is enlightenment.
For further information about the Ashram's meditation programs,write to:
Spiritual Director, Sadhana Mandir Trust, P.O. Pashulok, RishikeshUP 249203 INDIA.
Phone 91-135-431485; Fax 91-135-431582. E-mail:tadit@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
In Europe: Wolfgang Bischoff, Director, Himalaya Institut, HagenerAllee 70, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany. Fax 49-4102-51220.
FOR A FREE CATALOG of lectures on audio tapes by Swami VedaBharati on all aspects of yoga science and philosphy, write to: JohnZavrel, Rishikesh Foundation, 10545 Main Street, Clarence, NY 14031(USA).