For those who have never sat with Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavat, the experience can be a bit shocking. . .  sporting the accent of a Jewish housewife from Brooklyn with a vocabulary that would make most sailors blush, she has devoted much of her teaching to speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves.  Back when AIDS was feared by the masses, HIV+ people were mistreated by the ignorant and thought to be a certain death sentence by medical professionals and activists alike, Ma reached out fearlessly praying for people to recover and holding them as they died  when her prayers were not enough.

Now Ma Jaya is in need of prayers.    The following request has been made by her students and devoted followers.   I hope you will join them in sending your thoughts and prayers her way.

We are deeply sorry to share the news with everyone that our beloved Ma has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This comes as a great shock to all of us, especially knowing how hard she works on a daily basis to stay strong and healthy.

We invite you to join us in prayers for Ma as she starts her treatments, that they be effective and bring her complete recovery as soon as possible. Ma has been beyond stoic in facing this news, and is holding all of us even as we hold her.

So many of us have been helped greatly by Ma over the years, in any number of life’s challenges, and now it is our turn to help Ma. Ma has asked us to see her surrounded by healing light, both inside and outside of her body. We have also been given a mantra to say for Ma:

Om Dum Durgayei Namaha pronounced ‘om doom door-gah-yei nahm-ah-hah’ This means Om and salutations to that feminine energy which protects from all manner of negative influences and for which DUM(doom) is the seed. DUM(doom) is the bija mantra for the energy of protection.

Of course we don’t know how much Ma will be able to teach during this time, so we are asking for your understanding and flexibility around the Kashi schedule, including the darshan line, Global Live Darshans, and intensives. We will be sending updates as often as possible through the Kashi Ashram Facebook page. So if you aren’t a fan, this is a good time to join us there.

Thank you for your help and support during this time.

With love from all of us at Kashi

Learn More about Pranic Breathing

Details

Where:
CorePower Yoga, Berkeley

When:
Saturday, February 18, 2012 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Cost:
$40 Non Members, $35 Members

Registration:
Contact Lacey Calvert: 510-486-9642 or lacey.calvert@corepoweryoga.com

My fa

ther was a pastor of a Protestant church, thus, making me what is known as a preacher’s kid. PKs have a reputation for being goodie-two-shoes who later rebel against the confines of church doctrine and social practice. During my childhood, my family’s activities revolved around my father’s ministry and the activities of the church.

One of the most emotionally rewarding experiences I had as a child was going to the altar after my dad gave a sermon and called for the congregation to give their souls to Christ. I longed to feel the warmth of my father’s arms around my shoulder, praying quietly in my ear, reassuring me of God’s love and mercy, pardoning my sins and blessing my renewed devotion. The altar was the only place where I felt his physical affection for me.

When I became a teenager, my father stopped praying with me at the altar, and I was helped by other church elders. He probably thought it was better to have another adult listen to my confessions rather than superimpose his fatherly figure on my relationship with God. Needless to say, it was a dispiriting, disconcerting experience for me.

Looking back, I had confused in my mind the blessings of a spiritual relationship with God and the emotional bond with my father. What a head game that is! Eventually, I ran away from home to Latin America at the ripe age of 23. Although I never shied away from religion or spiritual life, I did not find a natural fit for them in my life.

An encounter with the divine

With yoga, I have had an almost physical, sensory rebirth of my belief-I call it an encounter with the divine within. In my first session of Sudarshan Kriya during my Art of Living training in February last year, I had an extremely moving experience, but translating it into a narrative would fail to capture its magic-and make me sound like a nut. By the purifying breath, I burned through to a glowing core. I have similar experiences several times over the past year, never quite the same, but it helped me understand why the altar experience of my childhood was so meaningful to me, and why the shift into adulthood was a rupture with a whole spiritual realm of my life.

Yoga has allowed me to reopen myself to the divine. without intermediary or filter. The awe and intimacy of my childhood encounter has shifted to empowerment and immediacy because I no longer have to wait for anyone to show me the way. That’s one of the reasons that namaste, the Sanskrit word that usually closes a yoga class, rings so true to me: it literally mean “I bow to you” but has acquired an expanded meaning in yoga/meditation: “the light/spirit/guru/divine in me honors the light/spirit/guru/divine in you.” I have felt the divine in me and it resonates to the same condition in others. When I say that word and bring my anjali mudra to my heart, it is a powerful gesture that can frequently bring me close to tears.

This article has been written by Micahel L Smith who blogs at Prana Journal. The original post can be found here.

You may also like the video on You tube:
The meaning of Namaste

A Tortoise and two Geese shared a pond for many years and became close friends. At last there came a drought and the pond dried up. One of the Geese said to the other, “We must seek a new home quickly, for we cannot live without water. Let us say farewell to the Tortoise and start at once.”

When the Tortoise heard that they were going, he trembled with fear, and pleaded with them not to desert him.

“Alas,” the Geese replied, “If we stay here, all three of us will die, and we cannot take you with us, for you cannot fly.”

Still the Tortoise begged not to be left behind. After thinking for a while one of the Geese finally said, “Dear friend, if you promise not to speak a word on the journey, we will take you with us. But know beforehand, that if you open your mouth even to say one single word, you will be in instant danger of losing your life.”

“Have no fear,” replied the Tortoise, “I will be silent until you give me leave to speak again. I would rather never open my mouth again than be left to die alone here in the dried-up pond.”

So the Geese brought a stout stick and asked the Tortoise grasp it firmly by his mouth. Then they took hold of either end and flew off with him. They had gone several miles in safety, when their course lay over a village. As the country people saw this curious sight of a Tortoise being carried by two Geese, they began to laugh and cry out, “Oh, did you ever see such a funny sight in all your life!” And they laughed loud and long.

The Tortoise grew more and more indignant. At last he could stand the jeering no longer. He opened his mouth to explain the situation but before he could say anything he had fallen to the ground and was dashed to pieces.

“The Tortoise and The Geese” is a fable that appears in the Panchatantra, a collection of Sanskrit tales believed to date back as far as the 3rd century BCE. The story appears in the earliest English translations of the Panchatantra, dating back to 1570. Like other fables, this one is known in a number of different versions in different cultures.

The story has been preserved for so long and has made its way to so many cultures because it shows us the wisdom in patience and silence. Like the tortoise, too often we compound our problems by opening our mouth when silence would be a more appropriate. Yoga provides us with space to see the situation from outside ourselves. This helps us better determine if a response is appropriate. Let us resolve to make better use of silence in our lives as recommended in an age old folk saying:

“Silence is the fence around wisdom” -German Quote

I don’t blame Hindus for being offended any more than I would blame a Catholic for finding it offensive if you started selling  Shroud of Turin Yoga mats.  It is incumbent upon all serious yogis to honor and respect others. Turning Hindu devotional symbols into a commercial train wreck offends not only Hindus, but trounces on the Yamas and Niyamas that form the moral compass of yoga.

To be sure, it is not just Yogamatic that is exploiting Hinduism for commercial gain.  I can assure you that  thongs sporting Hindu symbols trump the Ganesha yoga mats,  but I do hope that this controversary will bring greater sensitivity to non-Hindu yogis everywhere with regard to how we use Hindu symbols generally and how we show respect to all spiritual and religious  traditions.

Perturbed Hindus urge California firm to withdraw Lord Ganesha yoga mats
(read more)

Upset Hindus have urged for the immediate recalling of yoga mats carrying images of Lord Ganesha sold by a California (USA) based firm Yogamatic on its website, calling it inappropriate.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be trampled under one’s feet while doing yoga. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued.

Rajan Zed further said that such trivialization of Lord Ganesha was disturbing and offensive to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

Yoga mats Hindu devotees are finding objectionable include two carrying images of Lord Ganesha (ym_0248 and ym_0190). Both are priced at $89, excluding tax & shipping.  Each mat measures 72″ x 24″ with a depth of 1/4″ and weight of about seven pounds. Company itself explains Ganesha on its website as: “Ganesha is widely revered… as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles…”

Yogamatic.com labels itself as “the custom yoga mat company” asking customers to “Choose from 100′s of mats in our exclusive Galleries”. Entrepreneur magazine listed it under “100 Brilliant Companies” with comments: “A favorite of Oprah and Jennifer Aniston”. For $79 plus tax and shipping, one can order a Yoga Mat with her/his own image at Yogamatic, which claims to operate a fully functional design service from its studio/gallery in Santa Monica (California). Besides Yoga Mat, it also sells Travel Mat/Yoga Towel.

In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/01/27/state/n070218S95.DTL#ixzz1khHqVIce