by Snehan Born

Mahashivaratri, marked by the annual New Moon in late winter (February/March) is one of the most significant dates on the Hindu calendar. Devotees of Shiva observe the occasion with fervor, commitment and intensity, congregating at dusk to begin the long procession of rites: Puja, Homa (fire ceremonies), Arathi (offerings to the light), reading scripture and telling stories about Shiva, chanting Mantra and singing, as in Kirtan, meditation and recitations of the 108 or 1008 names of Lord Shiva, or both. There is definitely an element of Sankalpah (commitment/intention) to stay up until dawn that brings a feeling of comradery and spiritual dedication to the assembled Sangha. The intensity of the spiritual practices is balanced with periods of relaxation, leading the participants into deeper states of spiritual ecstasy. For the Bhakta Yogi (those of devotional nature), this is the way to enter into deep communion with the Lord.

For several years before coming to Integral Yoga, I had regarded Lord Shiva as an Ishta Devita (chosen deity). But my very first exposure to MahaShivaratri was in 1999, during my first year with the Integral Yoga Institute of NYC. I heard that the Institute would be observing a major Hindu Festival. So, already being a long time meditator and devotee of Lord Shiva, I was extra excited (and young enough) to stay up for the all night event. About a dozen of us gathered in the Main Room and were beautifully guided by our own Jayadeva Mandelkorn of the Princeton, New Jersey sangha. Jayadeva was enthusiastic and kept us inspired. He made it fun, interspersing storytelling, some Hatha Yoga and movement games with the mostly meditative and reverent worship practices. The following year I offered to lead the repetition of 108 Names. It was a challenge that I wanted to do. It was a beautiful experience and my love of Shivaratri was established. Our annual observance continues, though I no longer stay up all night.

Later, I was invited by friends I had made in India to attend MahaShivaratri in the Holy city of Lord Shiva, Varanasi. The celebrations of Shivaratri in Varanasi draw enormous crowds of thousands upon thousands down to the very waters of the Holy Ganga River. At the banks of the Ganga are huge concrete structures called Ghats that descend in giant steps right down into the river where people worship and bathe. The Ghats are spaced around the city waterfront for a stretch of a few miles. There are two main Ghats for the city of Varanasi. My dear friend and host, Krishna Misra Chandra surprised me by not showing up until much later, so when the driver dropped me off way upriver with a boatman who didn’t speak any English……well, the adventurous spirit took hold, and the magic began unfolding. The motorless boat drifted quietly downriver with the boatman’s efforts at the oar. We rode for some time, and I got to see preparations for Shivaratri all along Ganga Ma. At sunset, we stopped at one of the smaller Ghats and I was met by a Pujari (Priest) who took me into his temple for a private Homa with full Abhyshakam (worship with ablutions and offering to the deity), in this case to Mahadev, the Meditating Shiva. After this amazing Puja, the boatman and I continued toward the Main Ghats. By this time, we were under a New Moon with a blackened sky, so from a distance we could start to see the lights from the Shivaratri Festival that had already started. I was getting anxious to get there, but it was all so divinely planned. As we approached the two main Ghats, the whole area was lit up in flame light from countless fires and thousands upon thousands of small candles all over the steps of the Ghats and floating everywhere in the river, on leaves with flowers and rice as offerings. When we finally arrived, the Guru of the Ashram came down the steps to greet me and took me up to his platform so I could  view the long night of proceedings from there, surrounded by so many people. I am still perplexed and humbled by the great good fortune of having this experience. It was one of the most spectacularly staged worship services imaginable, with five platforms and five Pujaris all worshipping in perfect synchronization. Magnificent! Yet the greatest blessing by far was being asked to stay and serve the morning meal to the assembled, poorest of the poor devotees, under the proud, loving, watchful eye of the Guru. So much love was exchanged in that moment that my heart bursts in the retelling.

For our observance this year in San Francisco, we will share many of the traditional practices. We will learn about the history of MahaShivaratri, the various names and forms of Shiva, share stories of Shiva, chant, have a Puja, meditate, listen to the recitation of the 108 names in Sanskrit and share in singing Kirtan. Please join us Monday, February 28, 7-9pm PT. Our hope is that you will also open to the magic and power of MajaShivaratri.

Snehan Born has four decades of experience with yoga and has been teaching since 2000. He resides at the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco.

by Swami Vimalananda and Susan Ford

This is the first of a three part series on Kriya Yoga

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Commentary by Sri Swami Satchinanda – Book 2 Sutra 1. Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books and surrender to the Supreme Being, constitute Yoga in practice

Accepting Pain as Help for Purification

“When love beckons to you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him. Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so he is for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your heights and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. 

—Love by Kahil Gibran

Our very foundation, everything we rely on, everything we cling to, every way we organize our world will be shaken. Our sacred opinions will be exposed for what they really are, a protection of our ego. The very essence of how we see ourselves will be crushed. As Sri Gurudev stated, “We will lose everything”.

As my friend Vanitha observed, whether we experience an internal feeling of a twitch or a tsunami of pain, the cause is the same, our ego is threatened. I recently was in Hawaii with my daughters and my two grandsons. The trip was their gift to me. One day towards the end of the vacation I was riding in the back seat of the car with my grandsons. I could hear decisions of where we would go and what we would do being made in the front seat by my daughters. I had these feelings rush through me. “Why aren’t they asking me what I want? I’m the parent, I have the decision making powers.”  I even imagined how it must be to be an old lady and having my children making all the decisions about my life. Of course my input is valuable. My ego was definitely dented. As it worked out, it was a nice day. They took care of me along with all the members of the family. My input wasn’t needed. It was clearly an instance of how I organize my life, with my agendas and ego protections.

It is our wanting approval, our agendas, wanting our attachments and desires to be fulfilled – It is wanting our ego to be constantly validated that keeps us in pain.

As we begin to observe our thoughts we see that inner pain is an indicator that acceptance, along with wisdom, is lacking. It is the resistance to observing our selfishness and our unwillingness to change that causes our suffering. I remember one of my aunts telling me, “I feel I have grown enough. I no longer want to explore any more of my personal dynamics. It hurts too much. I don’t want to go there.” She was clearly saying, by closing the window of vulnerability, that she wanted not to be in pain any longer .

We can even judge every interaction by the way it affects our desires and egos. Do I feel superior or inferior to another? Is she prettier than me? Is she older or younger than I? Am I in better shape? Am I smarter or dumber than…?

The degree a person will go to protect their ego, not to grow spiritually, not to look at their pain, led to a book by F. Scott Peck, “The People of the Lie”. He stated that a person of the lie is one who will hurt another person mentally and or physically, deny their selfhood, do whatever damage is necessary to another to protect their own desires and egos.

When I worked in the probation department I was in charge of taking a group of delinquent kids on outings every Saturday. I very often cut the time short so I could go home to my family. I blocked any awareness that this was a time for the kids to experience new horizons. My desire came first, to the detriment of their growth. I had them suffer so I didn’t experience the pain of separation from my family.

We have to ask ourselves to what lengths are we willing to go to maintain our attachments, our desires, and our view of the world?

We can grow, experience the pain, acknowledge our ego’s desires and then accept the pain as help for purification, help in developing selflessness. We can stop blaming others and feeling victimized. We have the ability to change our thoughts. We can nurture thoughts of peace and empowerment. As stated in the Yoga Sutras Book 1, Sutra 15, we can have freedom from our attachments and we can know, “The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.”

We can survive the killing off of our egos and see the dawning first of awareness, then accepting the pain for purification. We can change our thoughts to positive ones and increase our ability to abide in our true nature of wholeness, contentment, and peace. It is possible, and it is a must, to live a peaceful life.

Please join Swami Vimalananda for Satsang: Surrender, Sat. February 19 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm PST.

Swami Vimalananda, RYT500, is an Integral Yoga sannyasi – monk. She has been involved with Integral Yoga since 1971 and Director of the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute from 1992-2011. She specializes in teaching yoga philosophy and spiritual counseling.

Susan Ford, C-IAYT, RYT-500, began practicing yoga when she was 18 years old. Her first yoga teacher training was Accessible Yoga through Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) and began teaching in 2011. Susan has been an assistant trainer for the Basic Yoga Teacher at IYI since 2012. She specializes in Gentle Yoga and working with people with disabilities, heart disease, arthritis, anxiety, depression and asthma. Her focus is to help students to meet their bodies where they are by introducing and incorporating Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Pranayama and meditation. Susan has been certified in Yoga for Arthritis, Therapeutic Yoga, Raja Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training.

Join Susan on the fourth Friday of every month for New Beginnings Writing Group, next gathering is Friday, March 11 from 4:00-6:00pm PT.

Fri. March 11 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm PST

by Swami Ramananda

As we celebrate Black History Month in the U.S., and reflect on the actual meaning of Valentine’s Day, let us be inspired to answer the call to serve those in need. Saint Valentine’s life is just one enduring example of selfless service. Roses and chocolates aside, St. Valentine was one of many saints and sages who exemplified a natural impulse to love and serve humanity.

He, and many of these great beings, were so moved by a profound experience of interconnection with all of life that they devoted their lives to relieving the suffering of others. While they came from diverse faith traditions, they recognized the importance of serving as one of the primary means by which one grows on the spiritual path – aligning one’s self-centered will with the Divine Will.

During this month, let us also be keenly mindful of the service of many great African Americans who selflessly dedicated their lives to awaken us to the light of truth that we are all loved, interconnected and equal in the eyes of God. Where would we be today without Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Ruby Bridges and countless others who helped shape our nation through their lives, writings, leadership and sacrifices?

As we witness so many crises and so much injustice in our world today, how are we called to serve? How can each of us look beyond our own comfort-zone to allow the light of love to shine through our hearts?

The teachings of Yoga offer us a path—Karma Yoga—a practice of service in which selfless actions are performed with a focused mind, a caring heart, and without concern for self-serving gain. This intention can be incorporated into literally anything we do and as it deepens, we become less dependent on the outcome of our efforts and experience a new-found freedom from tension and expectations.

An equally powerful approach to service is through the practice of Bhakti Yoga — service as an offering to God. We may not easily recognize the Divine in each other, but some symbol, saint, or even a glorious sunset can inspire us to feel a very real spiritual presence behind the workings of the universe. Meditating, chanting mantras, and/or praying for guidance can attune us to this presence as a source of wisdom and strength much greater than our own.

When we strive to see ourselves as instruments of this Divine Will—the hands of God at work in the world—we access and allow ourselves to be guided by a concern for the well-being of everyone. We more easily let go of our personal desires, without force or denial, and find fulfillment in serving a higher purpose.

The intention to dedicate ourselves to a higher purpose inevitably leads us to serving our families, neighbors, and communities. As Mother Teresa beautifully experienced and taught, we serve God by serving the Divinity in each other, in all of nature. Serving this way is a practice, and if we practice seeing and serving God in all, we gradually erase the imaginary boundaries we have come to believe in.

We have countless opportunities to practice service in everyday life, whether we are mentoring someone, listening to a friend, checking out at the grocery store, or actively fighting for social justice. Clearly, the best motivation for serving others comes from experiencing the natural compassion flowing through our hearts and the natural sense of joy that arises from giving freely. Ultimately, we are all learning, one act of kindness at a time, that pursuing our spiritual growth also means nurturing the impulse to selflessly love and serve as instruments of the Divine Will.

Join Swami Ramananda on Saturday, March 5th from 5pm-6:30pm PT for Satsang: Brining Yoga to Life where we will explore how our personal practice and our daily actions support each other in awakening the inner Light that dwells in everyone.

Interviewed by Dayalan Clark

Jen started in-person classes with Integral Yoga Institute several months ago. She began coming regularly to yoga as well as some of the meditations and special events offered. We are glad to have the opportunity to feature her as Student of the Month for January.

Jen: I’m 57 now, so somewhere in my 30’s I was introduced to meditation. I had heard that meditation was the latest and greatest cool thing to do. I was a really crazy busy professional and single mom. I did not have much money then and noticed I could go as a student to Tassajara Zen Meditation Center to clean and prepare for their guest season. I didn’t know anything at all, so it was a real full on experience to a fairly restrictive Zen meditation practice. This introduced me to the idea of visiting Ashrams and the fact that people actually live or spend extended amounts of time there.

Due to some fairly significant depression, I had started to study Positive Psychology – Martin Seligman. He said that 3 things can bring greater happiness. 1. Volunteering, 2. Being part of Community, 3. Spiritual basis or belief. Ashrams really fit all these categories.

In following this advice, I ended up living in Grass Valley, CA in co-housing. There were a couple of ashrams in the area that I started to visit off and on, a Yogananda Ashram and I also visited the Sivananda Ashrams a couple of times as well.

I lived in Australia and New Zealand for a long time and again, I essentially went to where there was access to spiritual places. The Bihar School of Yoga with two associated ashrams in the Sivananda Lineage, became a favorite there. I would go off and on as the two ashrams were fairly remotely located. Bihar School of Yoga has a publishing company that has great books and a teaching and research institute at the main ashram in India.

Two years ago, I returned to the United States and spent time in North Carolina. I’d hoped to go to Yogaville, but they weren’t open due to Covid-19. I became interested in Integral Yoga as it was close to Sivananda lineage and tradition. I then arrived in the Bay Area and found Integral Yoga Institute, San Francisco.

Another reason for being drawn to Yoga and Meditation, was that it was helpful in combating episodes of depression and alcohol use.

I cautiously want to come out about how helpful the Ashram experience was for me with depression and alcohol problems. I think the longer you can spend in an immersive environment in an Ashram, the better. I would also like to say that I see alcohol problems and depression more as occurring aspects of the human condition than as negative ‘permanent conditions’.

I remember attending one extended retreat at an ashram and the swami that ran the ashram “noticed” I was sad and she said, “You just do everything on that schedule and tell me how you feel.” During my time in the ashram, I found that I didn’t crave alcohol at all nor did I feel particularly depressed. Spiritual institutions have a way of keeping you occupied while giving you purpose, interaction, guidance, sustenance, exercise and breath. I feel part of a greater whole and have found sangha to be important.

I wish to start a foundation to support folks around depression. I think about offering scholarships to students who may have interest in going to an Ashram to address depression through workshops, student immersion, etc.

Dayalan: Tell me about your studio in the Dogpatch and your art that you’ve mentioned to me.

Jen: With art, it is a process with all different mediums for me. I am mostly painting in the studio. I copied other artists first to learn. I now have one of my first original paintings in the surrealist tradition. I do this mostly for enjoyment and engagement. I have made lots of objects such as books and letterpress, furniture, glass objects, musical instruments, masks and many other things. I have also started to illustrate a book of Sanskrit terms and meanings as well and hope to get it completed one day

Dayalan: What else would you like to share?

Jen: I love to travel. I also recently bought a co-housing unit in Ashland, OR, and may move there or travel in between San Francisco and there. I actually met an Integral Yoga Teacher from New Zealand, currently teaching in Ashland, which I thought was quite a coincidence. It seemed almost like a bit of divine intervention to meet a kiwi IYI teacher in my new home. It certainly makes me more comfortable knowing sangha is there and that she is from New Zealand, a place I will miss.