18 Day Bhagavad Gita Course with Sri Swami Vishwananda

“Whenever there is a decline in Dharma, whenever human beings are moving away from the path, whenever human beings are getting entangled by all the negativity, the Lord will come to the rescue.”

- Bhagavad Gita, Chapter IV, Verse 7

Most teachers give discourses on spiritual text from the mind level, because they haven’t had the opportunity to directly experience the Divine. When a teacher has directly experienced the Divine, their teachings have one characteristic that sets them apart from everyone else, and that is Simplicity. Swami Vishwananda who is constantly in communion with the Divine has the ability to take spiritual text and make it simple, so normal people who haven’t spent their whole lives reading scripture, can understand what God has to say.

The Bhagavad Gita, literally meaning the “Song of the Lord”, is an ancient Indian scripture composed in the form of a dialogue between God and man. It reveals the purpose and goal of human existence. It describes the science of self-realisation and the exact process by which human beings can establish their eternal relationship with God. 

For the first time, Sri Swami Vishwananda has decided to give commentary on the Bhagavad Gita for 18 consecutive days. To receive the wisdom from a spiritual master, as He demystifies and expands on one of the greatest spiritual texts ever composed, will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

For Swamiji to guide and help participants in the Course, it is recommended that the participants have basic understanding of Lord Krishna’s life and why the Mahabharata War had to take place. Recommended readings include: “Sri Krishna Lila by the author Vanamali.”

The Course will be held at Shree Peetha Nilaya the “abode of the Divine Mother” and a place of non-stop spirituality. It will take place from July 30^th – August 16^th, 2014. 

Translations will be provided in Russian, French, German, and other languages upon request. 

Please click on the following link to sign up for the Course: 

 Bhagavad Gita Course (July 30th - August 16th, 2014) at SPN

The "How" is important says Swami Vishwananda

.

.

"The sweetness that you have inside of you

is waiting to be awakened.

.

It doesn’t matter which path you follow,

which sadhana you are doing.

.

How you are doing your sadhana

is most important."

.

Swami Vishwananda

The Joy of Community Prayer

Exactly one year ago, on 11 January 2011, Swami Vishwananda hosted a little study circle in Mauritius (where he is again now) in which the importance of community prayer was looked at more closely, based on the teachings of a Russian Orthodox Saint.

To remind ourselves of the most important points we put together a summary that lists five key guidelines that pertain to spiritual community life when it comes to prayer. So in this sense it is first of all relevant for ashrams and similar kind of communities. However, even if you are a devotee or disciple who lives by yourself or with your family, you may find inspiring parts in the attached documents, as they contain important advice in how to approach prayer in general. .

Here are the five key guidelines as bulletpoints

(printed in a credit card size format one can have them always in a wallet to remind oneself).

.

Click here to access the "five community guidelines" in more detail.

.

We wish you that your prayer will grow stronger and stronger, day by day, and bring you lots of blessings and joy, joy, joy!!!

Satsang with Swami Vishwananda

Who doesn't know all these questions "What is the meaning of life?", "How do I become self-realized?" and "What is personality?"...

.

.

The answers where unique and brilliant! Swami Vishwananda spoke clearly and briefly - sometimes he took his time to explain one matter - in all cases the power and clearness was awesome. Sometimes he gave us a little idea of his divine being which is hidden behind this wonderful, nice Swami from Mauritius.

.

.

There were many very interesting questions like "What happens to the soul in case of suicide?" Swami Vishwananda explained in detail that in this case the mind creates something like a dark cloud around the soul; the soul gets more trapped in illusion. It is a heavy energy wich is created and for the little soul-flame it's difficult to reach the light through this dark cloud. The soul has to do more things to go over this barrier.

.

The access to the Satsang was 20,- €, but the experience was beyond price. Rarely have we experienced Swami Vishwananda like that and were under the impression that in this year 2012 he loosened the hand break a bit...

The Bhakti Marga Tilak

This afternoon Swami Vishwananda demonstrated how to make a simple tilak on your forehead.

He would be very happy to see that worldwide the tilak looks (more or less) the same and not big and short, or long and thin, or only a red line or the Guru doton top, etc. but that the Bhakti Marga tilak is also applied with a sense of unity.

.

Here is the demonstration:

.

.

All you need is Chandan (it is white or dark and is made of the earth of Vrindavan or Radha-Kund) and Kumkum (red powdered colour) and a thin wooden stick (best is an incense stick - just remove the incense)

.

.

The best Chandan is the "Gopi-Chandan".

Just put a few drops of water in your hand and rub the block of chandan together with the water 'til you get a paste.

.

.

Dip the ring finger of your right hand into the chandan paste and paint a vertical line in the middle of your forehead. Paint the line in an upward motion; from the base of your nose to the hairline. There are different mantras chanted when applying tilakam on various parts of the body. When applying tilak on your forehead, chant 'Om Keshavaya Namaha'. After this, with your (dry) ring finger, you can clean the middle part creating a 'U' shape. (This symbolizes the feet of Vishnu). You can use the incense stick to go over the lines to make them more apparent but make sure to use your finger to make the tilak first.

.

.

With your middle finger, take some more chandan and make the Tulsi leaf, starting from the base of your nose going downwards - creating a leaf shape. You can form and correct the outline of the leaf a bit with your fingers. The Tulsi leaf represents devotion which is small at first, and just like the leaf it keeps increasing in size until we can reach the Lotus Feet of the Lord.

.

.

Then, use the incense stick to make the 'Guru-Dot' with the red Kumkum. Paint the dot in the middle of the Tulsi leaf and chant 'Om Sri Gurubhyo Namaha'. Afterwards paint the shakti line in the middle of Vishnu's feet. The line symbolizes Vishnu's Shakti - Lakshmi devi who helps us reduce our attachments which are big at first and then disappear, just like the red line. Draw the line from down to up.

Finished!

Satsang by Dr. Satya Narayana Dasa

Dr. Satya Narayana Dasa is the Director of Jiva Culture from Vrindavan, India.

He conducts classes on ancient Indian sciences for scholars from around the world, and has initiated a program for preservation, translation and publication of ancient Indian works of science and wisdom. He is visiting us for the 4th time. We very much look forward to his coming.

Programm:

• 30. August, Satsang 1, Theme: " 8 steps of Devotion" (evening, about 8 pm)
• 31. August, Satsang 2, Theme: "Offences against the Holy Name" (morning, about 9 am)

If you would like to come for the satsangs please send an

e-mail to: registration@bhaktimarga.org

or call +49 (0) 6124 605 9000 (tuesday - saturday 14:00 - 17:00 Hrs.)