by Swami Vimalananda

He’s alive! He’s alive! What an amazing discovery! Jesus survived death on the cross and appeared from the cave alive. There are so many stories of near death experiences which end up with a person no longer fearing death. These people often report that their journey from then on is one of love, to love everything just the way it is.

We have evidence all around us of seeming death only to see rebirth: the trees dormant in the winter, bring buds, blossoms, and then leaves in spring; the wildflowers that rise out of the soil pointing out to us the glories of new life.

As I am in the throes of old age, with a slower moving and creaking body, I can see what Sri Gurudev meant when he said, “I will be a prisoner in my own body.” What freedom there is in casting off the worn-out and entering into a fresh, healthy, growing body, like a new life bursting into fullness with abundant energy and vitality. It is like a road ahead appearing to end at the horizon only to stretch out to the next horizon, the next, and the next.

It is the resurrection that shows us how Jesus led his life and offered up his body for all of us to see — it is all about love and everlasting life.

Happy Easter!

Love is the Funeral Pyre
by Hafiz

Love is
The funeral pyre
Where I have laid my living body.
All the false notions of myself
That once caused fear, pain,
Have turned to ash
As I neared God.
What has risen
From the tangled web of thought and sinew
Now shines with jubilation
Through the eyes of angels
And screams from the guts of
Infinite existence
Itself.
Love is the funeral pyre
Where the heart must lay
Its body.

Please join us for a Satsang to celebrate Easter on Saturday, April 3. On this evening, we will contemplate the spiritual presence and resurrection of Jesus as Swami Vimalananda clarifies how the same truths are found in the teachings of Yoga. We will make time for discussion and personal sharings and Swami Ramananda will offer a meditative worship ritual called puja. People of all faiths are welcome. Details HERE.

Swami Vimalananda Ma, 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.

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential. He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.