Athah Yoganushasnam : Now the discipline of Yoga begins.

                Athah Yoganushasnam : Now the discipline of Yoga begins.

                Yoga chit vritti nirodah: Yoga is the cessation of waves of mind

The above two sentences are known as sutras written in the most ancient language of the world - 'Sanskrit'. Sutras in sanskrit language is called 'condensed thought'. It was a tradition in India to write and transmit our knowledge in the form of sutras.  It was for the student to critically reflect on these sutras to find out the meaning behind them. Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means, 'to unite', in sanskrit we also call it 'Samadhi'. It is a powerful method which helps us to unite with our source. Yoga boldly declares that our source or 'God' is not outside of us, 'It is within us'.

What is the use of getting connected with our source?

The Yogis say that, 'there isn't any joy that can be co-related with the Joy of 'Self'.  All of us want to be happy and contended, but in our pursuit we make a mistake. We yearn for happiness outside our self, we seek happiness in 'relationships, in materialistic possessions like car, house, etc., we seek happiness in sense gratification, in sex' and we do find happiness in these things but the Yogis say that this happiness is 'illusionary'. They declare that happiness is always derived from within. 'Husband is not dear to the wife for the sake of husband, wife is not dear to the husband for the sake of wife. It is for the sake of Self that the husband is dear to the wife and wife, dear to the husband'. In other words, it is our own self that gets reflect back to us through different media - be it money, wife, sense gratification, sex, etc.

There is this famous musk deer that is found in India. It is famous for its beautiful smell. All throughout its life, this deer keeps moving to find the source of this beautiful smell but it never discovers that the source of the smell was within it. Such is the case with us, we are running around to seek happiness and joy without even stopping to think that the joy is always within us. 'As the seeds when burnt, never become plants again. In the same way the fire of knowledge burns all our desires and sets us free'. It is Ignorance of our true self that gives us pain and sorrow. The Yogis say that 'Our real nature is Sat - Chid - Ananda i.e. existence, knowledge and bliss absolute'. 'Why do you cry my dear friend for you are the omnipotent one'.

Yogis do not deny the existence of sin, but they declare to the world the existence of much greater truth than the sin. They say that what you call sin is illusionary and unreal. It is out of ignorance that a man wants to find joy outside himself and thus makes a mistake. The tragedy of human existence is that somehow we have forgotten our real nature and we are assuming that we have to depend on external things to be joyful and happy. The one who experiences the joy of self can never sin.

Yoga is not a belief system, it is the only system in the world which is not based on any personality, it demands us to be critical and analytical, as we would be while practising any form of science. If we want to learn chemistry we will have to perform some experiments to discover the truth about the elements. Similarly, if we want to learn Yoga we will have to practice the discipline of Yoga to find out what it says is true or not. Yoga destroys all miseries and the fear of death and rebirth.

Forms of Yoga

Do you know that there are many forms of Yoga or in other words many ways to unite with our source. Though there are many forms of Yoga but in general we can categorize Yoga in four ways viz.

1. Karma Yoga i.e the yoga of action

2. Jnana Yoga i.e. the yoga of knowledge

3. Bhakti Yoga i.e the yoga of devotion

4. Raja Yoga i.e the yoga of mind control

That which is popular all over the world is Raja yoga. Asanas(yoga postures) and pranayams(breathing exercises) are a part of Raja yoga. However Raja yoga is more demanding that just performing asanas and pranayamas. In our next blogs we will write more about different forms of yoga and how we can utilize them to make our life better. We shall also write about Yogis of India.

Thank you for reading this blog. We salute your real nature i.e. Sat - chid - ananda 

Introducing the National Youth Icon of India to the delegates of One Asia Youth Council Mongolia and to the youth of the world

May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls—and, above all, my God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship.
                                                                                         - Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda way in Chicago

12th January, is celebrated as the national youth day in India. We have chosen a unique personality to represent the youth of India, his name is Swami Vivekananda (1863 - 1902), a young monk who took the ancient wisdom of India to the nook and corner of the world. All of us know about infamous 9/11, however not many of us know about Sep 11, 1893. This is a historical date in Indian and American history. On this day this young man from India spoke about the ancient Hindu religion at the august Parliament of Religion that was held in Chicago. He started his speech by uttering 5 words. The first 5 words of his speech got imprinted in the hearts of all the delegates and US nationals. These 5 magical words were, 'Sisters and brothers of America'. Such was the effect of these 5 words that 7000 people present in the parliament stood up from their seats and applauded this young man for two minutes. He was a prince amongst all the delegates present in the meeting. After his two minutes speech he became a popular man in America. His posters were on the walls of the streets of USA and even those who did not know him, would stand in reverence to his majestic presence. Even his photo transpired purity and holiness and people would stand in awe to just have a glance of him. An American friend of Swami Vivekananda, who was a professor, wrote about him to the parliament of religion - 'this man is 20 times more intelligent than all the intelligent people of America put together'.

 During America's bicentennial celebrations in 1976, The National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution included Swami Vivekananda among the 29 eminent foreign visitors described in its book, Abroad In America. This is what they wrote about him:

 Crowds gathered in the streets of Chicago to see the picture posters of Swami Vivekananda placed on billboards around the city, and lecture bureaus vied with one another to enlist him for lectures in different cities. Leading newspapers and journals published his words in bold letters. Some of these newspapers described him as the "cyclonic Hindu," some as "prince among men" or "Brahmin monk," while others chose to designate him by such epithets as "warrior prophet" and "militant mystic." Contemporary leaders of American thought who met him were entranced by the radiance of his spiritual personality and his powerful message. Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University told Swami Vivekananda: "To ask you, Swami, for your credentials is like asking the sun about its right to shine." After hearing Swami Vivekananda, the correspondent of one journal wrote: "The impertinence of sending half-educated theological students to instruct the wise and erudite Orientals was never brought home to an English-speaking audience more forcibly." Professor William James referred to Swami Vivekananda as "the paragon of Vedantists." The Parliament of Religions, which was an afterthought of the planners of the Columbian Exposition, became a focus of historic importance because it served as a pulpit for the presentation of the message of Swami Vivekananda to the American public. Recalling this event, Romain Rolland (a Noble Laureate)wrote: "His strength and beauty, the grace and dignity of his bearing, the dark light of his eyes, his imposing appearance, and from the moment he began to speak, the splendid music of his rich deep voice enthralled the vast audience.... The thought of this warrior prophet of India left a deep mark upon the United States." America thus had the blessing of directly hearing a person of the stature of Buddha, radiating purity, compassion, and love. 

If you want to read Swami Vivekananda's speech at the parliament of religions, you can see the following link:

http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/news/index.php/2013/09/vivekanandas-speech-to-1893-parliament/ 

If you want to read a short biography of Swami Vivekananda you can see this link:

http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/news/index.php/2013/09/vivekanandas-speech-to-1893-parliament/

 Swami Vivekananda on India :

 If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi (pure land), to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality — it is India. Hence have started the founders of religions from the most ancient times, deluging the earth again and again with the pure and perennial waters of spiritual truth. Hence have proceeded the tidal waves of philosophy that have covered the earth, East or West, North or South, and hence again must start the wave which is going to spiritualise the material civilisation of the world. Here is the life-giving water with which must be quenched the burning fire of materialism which is burning the core of the hearts of millions in other lands. Believe me, my friends, this is going to be.

India's Mission:

 Each race has a peculiar mission to fulfil in the life of the world. Each race has to make its own result, to fulfil its own mission. Political greatness or military power is never the mission of our race; it never was, and, mark my words, it never will be. But there has been the other mission given to us, which is to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate, as it were, into a dynamo, all the spiritual energy of the race, and that concentrated energy is to pour forth in a deluge on the world whenever circumstances are propitious. But there is another peculiarity. … We never preached our thoughts with fire and sword. Slow and silent, as the gentle dew that falls in the morning, unseen and unheard yet producing a most tremendous result, has been the work of the calm, patient, all-suffering spiritual race upon the world of thought.

Back in 1893 on Sep 11, the great Swami had said this : 

Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

 What will Swami Vivekananda say to you, if you happen to meet him? 

"Children of immortal bliss - what a sweet, what a hopeful name! Allow me to call you, bretheren, by that sweet name - heirs of immortal bliss - yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners. Ye are the Children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. You divinities on earth - sinners! It is a sin to call a man so; it is a standing libel on human nature.

Thank you for reading this post. We salute the infinite potential within you.

The story of Kavinder continues as he faces the harsh reality of our maligned bureaucratic system

Kavinder moral is on a high as he stands for truth and to his unheard voice dainik jagran has lent support. However, ETV Uttarakhand tried to project him as a miscreant in today's broadcast. It is very interesting to see because the same ETV Uttarakhand was the first one to showcase Kavinder's case on their news channel and they are the one who once depicted him as a hero. What made ETV change their stand? There lies a big question mark indeed. Is ETV Uttarakhand becoming a part of the problem? 

This time let us hear the unheard voice from the Pitthoragarh region of Uttarakhand

मैँ अपने घर लौटना चाहता हूँ पर शासन प्रशासन सुरक्षा दे मैँ जाँच स्थल पर भी जाना चाहता हूँ पर मुझे अपनी जान का भय भी है मेरी सुरक्षा की गारंटी प्रशासन ले।मुझे अपनी बात जनता तक पहुचाने मेँ मेरी मदत करो।

I want to return back to my home, I want to visit the place where inquiry is taking place; however my life is under threat, administration should guarantee my security to me. Please help me to take my voice to the people

This is the story of Kavinder Chand, who is the resident of Shyalan village, district Pitthoragarh. Why is he saying what he is saying? Kavinder Chand, like very few citizens of India has taking a daring step. A step to shackle the corrupt bureaucratic system. He is a man who has single handedly unmasked a scam on more than 1 crore rupees ( approx 166666$ ) in a village who's population is merely 350. Ever since he has unmasked the apathetic corruption, he has faced lots of trouble. This young has been threatened, his wife's and child's life has also been threatened and he has been asked to flee his village to save his life by the corrupt officials. His friend Raju Pattan has been beaten up by the husband of village head. Who will take the stand for Kavinder? Are we going to just sit and watch and let another young and enthusiastic man become a martyr? We shall bring to you the entire story of Kavinder very soon.

Uttarakhand Villages and the Human - Wildlife conflict - Challenges of farming in hilly terrain

Farming – though it is considered to be a noble profession is a daunting task for most farmers of our country. All of us are aware of the Vidharba and other backwards areas of our country; however not much is known about the difficulties that farmers of Uttarakhand have to come across on day to day basis. 

Farming on the hilly terrains is indeed a tedious task and yet little has been done to overcome the challenges faced by the farmers. This time team Tvam India decided to visit the Uttarkashi region and understand the difficulties faced by the farmers of this area and ultimately try to frame and implement some ideas to help them resolve some of their major problems which in the past has caused many to quit farming as a means of livelihood – ‘The Human Wildlife conflict’.

After a survey of the region it was found that there are numerous challenges faced by the farmers of Uttarakhand. Some of the major challenges are as follows -

1. Irrigation - Most of farmers depend solely on rainfall for irrigating their fields. Some of the irrigation canals which could have been created were not made due to objections from respective forest department. It is a strange paradox that in spite of receiving heavy rainfall many times the crops die due to the lack of proper irrigation.
2. Knowledge - Lack of proper knowledge is another problem which most of the farmers are not even aware of. For example most of them grow different variety of rice in the adjacent fields and as a result due to cross pollination the productivity in both the fields decreases. This is a common practice in the hills which in-facts back fires the overall productivity.
3. Connectivity - Most villages in Uttarakhand do not have access to motor able roads due to which they cannot sell their produce nor can they buy essential materials such as good quality seeds, pesticides, etc easily leading to delays in transportation and thus loss of productivity.
4. Wildlife conflict - After facing the many challenges of growing crops most of it gets destroyed by the wild animals such as wild boars, deer and bears etc. This is really frustrating for the hard working farmer community as the animals attack the crops when they are about to ripen and ready to be cut and sold in market. 

Out of above problems animal attacks on crops is one of the major problems of farming and not many concrete steps have been taken by the government or the forest officials to help villagers resolve this issue.

This time we had with us a young man - Mr. Prakash Mehta from Gujrat to help the villagers understand and resolve the problem of wild life conflict in the region. Prakash has a masters degree in Wild Life and is also associated with Wild life Institute of India, Dehradun. Prakash surveyed the region and thereafter organized a workshop with Tvam for the villagers of this region. 

Some of the main points that we covered in our workshop were -

1. The conflict happens because both human beings and the animals want food and since these animals have become fond of eating the crops for sometime now thus they encroach and attack the farmers fields. To give an analogy -0 ‘if you have an option to choose between a candy and a chocolate you would rather prefer chocolate over candy.’
2. The other reason for the attacks would be that these animals are not getting enough food inside the jungle thus they are forced to encroach the fields.
3. To resolve this conflict either the villagers can provide animals food within the jungle area or make a strong fencing near the border areas of the jungle. Prakash suggested the villagers to make small fields inside the jungle and then leave a gap of approximately 50 meters between their farms and jungle. In this 50 m gap they should not produce anything and this gap is known as buffer zone.
4. To not allow the cows of the villagers to graze in the jungle, instead the cows graze can be produced in the farm. 

Harshit from Tvam India on his way to survey the region

Prakash and Vinay on their way to jungle to conduct survey of the region

Harshit conducting workshop on being self employed through dairy farming

Prakash conducting workshop with villagers on Human - Wild life conflict

Harshit and Prakash with villagers after conducting workshop

It is still a long journey that we have to cover to help the people of the village resolve the conflict and other problems related to farming, however we have taken our first steps in this area and we hope that we along with the villagers of this region will go a long way together to support them and make them self sustained and more confident to build a better world for them and for all of us.