Swami Vishwananda singing Bajans

Los Angeles Darshan

A big lesson

Swami Vishwananda teachs in the daily life. As a true master he tests also the disciple. Pari wrote us her experience in this matter:

"I went to see Swamiji in Switzerland a few years ago. I wanted to do the whole tour and I drove from one end to the other. There was a Satsang on one evening and I wanted to give him a nice postcard. I’m always very excited when I have the chance to talk to him. A lot of people formed a queue after the Satsang and one by one had a talk with Swami Vishwananda. I waited till the end of the line and went to him with a red face which was a result of my excitement. I wanted to give him the card but the only thing he said was: “The German people can come in Germany to me”. I was shocked and deeply hurt. A normal human reaction would be to get angry. I was not angry at all. I was only sad and had tears in my eyes. I had the feeling that my heart was going to die. I started to meditate and try to understand why he treated me like this. I calmed down and slowly opened my eyes to see what Swami Vishwananda was doing.  I received the next shock. A man from Germany was talking to him and they had a lot of fun. That was too much for me. I closed my eyes again to meditate. It is impossible to describe how many emotions came up but still I felt a lot of love for Swamiji and the only wish I had was to understand what he wants to show me with this game. At the point of deep meditation and self analyzing I’ve heard Swamiji laughing very loud. I looked at him and saw him with his outstretched arm towards me. He gave me a sign to come and asked me what I have in my hand. I gave him the card and he smiled at me with a smile which I will never forget. At this moment I realized that this was a big test for me. 

A mirror to everyone

Having observed Swami over the years, I have had many opportunities to see that he easily adapts to every characteristic of the person he is speaking with. When conversing with a young, fifteen-year old, he himself starts to assume the voice, gestures and behavior of a person of that age. The same can be said when he is conversing with a ninety year old man or woman. He moves like them and talks like them. I have noticed that even his facial expressions adapt to a person’s age. It seems to me that he acts like a mirror for people. He always uses a very specific mode of communication, uniquely tailored for each person and their character.

Humility and divinity

Swami Vishwananda simplicity is well know from his disciples. A devotee told us :

"I first met Swami Vishwananda in a private home, where my family and I were scheduled to have an interview with him. As we climbed the stairs to the upper floor, a kind, young man wearing an Om Namah Shivaya T-shirt met us. We casually greeted him and brushed past him, as we were very excited and impatient to see this great holy man. As we opened the door to the interview room, we found that it was empty. It was at that moment that we, with shame, realized that the kind, humble man we had met on the stairs was none other than Swami himself.  This is one of the most striking traits of his personality: his humility and simplicity. He is very approachable and close to people, teaching us the lesson that we always expect God to be somewhere else and we fail to notice that humility and divinity are in the simple things within and around us".

Darshan of Swami Vishwananda

During darshan people have sometimes amazing spiritual experiences. Vijan from South Africa tells us about his experience with Swami Vishwananda:

"I know Swami Vishwananda for about four years in Begin 2005. I played harmonium for him on that first meeting. Coming from a deeply ritualistic hindu background and being naturally sceptic, I will admit that I find it difficult to believe in miracles..., still, perhaps you will find my experience worthy. During Dharshan, when one is on bended knees in front of Swami Vishwananda, and beholds his beautiful eyes, I am transported in that brief moment, through the Cosmos, through fire and ether, to a beautiful, wondrous place that I feel can only be heaven. This must be the same feeling that Mother Yashoda must have experienced when she gazed into the mouth of her beautiful boy, Shri Krishna, and beheld the entire Cosmos inside of his mouth. Love for one's Guru is infinite and unconditional. I know now that beholding a miracle will not affect my feelings toward my Guru. I only grieve that it took so long to find him".

The lost organizer

Often we heard from devotees how Swami Vishwananda helps them. Here is a story that Pari told us:

"I lost my personal organizer which is very important to me because I have all numbers and all my appointments in it. I searched everywhere for it. In the car, flat, on the street but there was nothing. I couldn’t believe it and I was looking in the same places over and over again. After 2 days I became desperate and started to pray to Swami Vishwananda to show me where my organizer was. Suddenly I had the feeling that it was in my car and that I should go there to have a look. I said to myself, I won’t go to the car. I was there already 5 times, but the feeling was so strong and so I looked again and I couldn’t believe my eyes! The organizer was there! Under the car seat but not hidden. It was clearly visible. It’s no question for me that Swami Vishwananda materialized the organizer.

Swamiji helped me also in a daily situation. Very often when I start my laptop it doesn’t want to work and I have to start it again and again without a positive effect. Till the point, when I ask Swami Vishwananda for help. Maybe it seems funny, but I just ask him once for help and the laptop works. The same when I drive to the city and need a parking space. (I have to note that I live in a big city and it’s very difficult to find a parking space.) Before I arrive there I ask him to organize one for me and it works perfect!  Thank you Guruji"!

The puja

An aunty of Swami Vishwananda tells us about the devotion to God that she could observe from an early age by Swami:

"Swami Vishwananda loved performing prayers from a very early age and joined his grandmother (my mom) in her daily rituals. My dad always helped my mom to prepare her puja but one day my mom was surprised when she noticed that her puja was ready even before she had completed sorting out all of her offerings. She looked around trying to figure out who had been there to so lovingly set up the altar and then she knew it had to be Swami Vishwananda. As a small child, Swami Vishwananda took delight in making murtis with earthen clay and then painting them with great love and care. As a young teenager, he often loved visiting the Shirdi Baba temple in Cure-pipe, always offering a coconut, incense sticks and flowers as prasad. Unlike other youth of his age, he always preferred to keep himself busy by singing bhajans. From early childhood, his love for God was always expressing itself. On holiday in Mauritius, Swami Vishwananda invited me to a puja they were holding at his home and I happily agreed to come. When I reached my sister-in-law’s apartment, I was very surprised to see that it was not a priest reciting all the prayers, but Swami with Ravi and his friend at his side blowing the conch. The three of them were confidently performing all the prayers outside in the yard. When the puja was over, prasad was passed around. It was a lovely puja. I couldn’t believe it, as he was only thirteen years old at the time.

Happiness and security 8

The guru’s job is to intercede for us; he is having hard job of pulling our mind away from matter towards spirit. There is a great tug of war going on at the level of our souls where he is pulling us God-ward while we are still fighting for the little comfort of the mortal existence. He is showing us the true shelter and safe haven in God, no matter how unbelievable it may appear to us at times. And sometimes for the purpose of quickly snatching us away from our misery he creates delusion and more turbulence as to speed us on our way. We stumble and fall many times in keeping up the pace with him. And sometimes we realize that we loose the ground on which we stand. And that frighten us then the doubts creep in and we start to lose the faith and courage to move on and we dig our heels like a stubborn donkey.  And the delusion the guru creates sometimes has the function to test our faith and love for him. Only when our faith is unshakable by any adversities or outward circumstances than we are rightly to be called the kings. And our kingdom is the sense of inner freedom and our unbroken Divine Communion. These inner vistas are larger that all the kingdoms of all the kings and emperors that ever walked this earth. Their conquests were temporary and passing. When we are capable of taming our anger and pride we can be rightly and truly called victors. Than we can relate to the biblical proverb: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Proverbs 16:32) One may think that coming to the ashram will bring us the security we are all searching for. How mistaken we can be in assuming that anything of this world, no matter how beautiful it may appear to the senses, will put the peace balm on our souls. That will never work for this world is made in a way that whenever we find ourselves secured in a thought or a place, the outward circumstances will give us a good shake to remind us that we are still “writing on the surface of water”. The only true and lasting security is the realization of our true identity as sons of God, no matter if that realization finds us within the premises of the ashram or outside. Those who live outside long for and dream of being in the ashram, falsely assuming that living inside the ashram will bring them security and salvation. And those who are inside may feel secure that no effort will be needed to achieve the lasting security.  Outward circumstances do not matter. They may be helpful or at times act as obstacles but if we look at them as opportunities to rise above our human imperfections and as instruments of our spiritual growth we can race fast heavenward.  related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org

Hapiness and reality 7

The true master is the lighthouse in the darkness who points us the way to go. In the inner forest, during the night, there are many tigers that stalk and are ready to devour our efforts for perfection of purifying our hearts. They make our souls restless, and the tigers are our desires and attachments. Besides these, the ego and pride are the greatest obstacles in progressing on our spiritual path.  By humbling ourselves before the guru and listening to his word we begin our upward climb and make our progress easier and moreover we lessen our suffering and discover the true happiness and joy that has always been part and parcel of our being but it was buried by our ignorance.  He gives us our eternal shelter. Under the umbrella and guidance of the true guru we safely cross the ocean of misery and suffering. But having the guru does not mean that from the moment we meet our guru the whole suffering will end in a split second. Sometimes it may seem to us that the suffering is greater. It is so because he accelerated our evolution and the things we were to go through over a period of lifetimes we are working out in a matter of a short time. Removal of cancer is painful for the time being but it brings greater relief once the wound is healed.  Even when sometimes everything seems gloomy on our way we may think of the hand of our Divine Mother coming down to caress us. The temporal darkness is just the shade of Her hand whose touch will bring all our troubles to an end. To walk in the footsteps of the master is not always easy because if we are not established in our faith and resolve that we go all the way (not the half way or three quarters of the way) no matter what, we may stumble many times, clinging to our doubts which arise from our imperfect vision and lack of faith. If we could surrender our thoughts, doubts, our troubles and problems, all the negativity to our guru-friend, we would never be afraid again. In giving up all that does not belong to us we free ourselves from unnecessary burden and with light and springy steps we are able to run towards the embrace of our Loving Mother who awaits us and craves for us more than we care for Her.   Guru does not ask from us anything that is not for our benefit. If we still, in spite of all our understanding that we may have, shyly extend our hand, the guru will be powerless to do much and Mother will be even more shy to show Her blessed Face. But if we lift our arms high up in the sky, Loving Mother will impatiently rush towards us to ascend us to the heavenly mansion She has prepared for us. And then we will have the true and lasting shelter and be eternally secured in the bliss and love.

related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/

Happiness and security 6

When we love or are in love – what happens? – the whole world disappears and we are in that blissful state where we embrace all and yet we are detached from our assumed and false identity. We feel freedom and we become That. That is our true nature. I am now reminded of the Bible parable where St. Paul recites his well known Ode to Love, (1 Corinthians 13). I am now inclined to quote here the whole passage for I could not shorten it to a line or two:   1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.  12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.   13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love Jesus has declared: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” That is the essence of spirituality, the essence of all true religions. If we can consciously strive to achieve the purity of the heart by loving and giving that love to all we are half way there – to our true heavenly Abode. related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/

Happiness and security 5

The priceless gift one can get in one’s life is the grace of having a guru. By following the advice and guidance of such a man of God, we easily progress on our way toward the clarity as to who we are and why we are here for and where we are heading to. By taking his precepts to one’s heart one becomes more and more free inside. Less and less this evanescent creation affects him and even many desires yet to find their way from the depths of his heart cannot but only tickle him.  If you scratch the mosquito bite: of course the sting will burn with pain and affect the larger surface of the skin. The same is with desires: they will always try to entice you to play the “dance of illusion”, but it is up to you to play with them or let them go. If you refuse to make friends with them they will quickly go away. Slowly you learn how to detach from them and from the false identity as who you think you are. You are not the body, nor the mind; not the intellect or name and titles people like to attach to their chests like the war veterans their badges of honour or the navy officers the stars or the stripes on their epaulettes. The essence of what we are is not easily realized for our souls are covered with the mud of turbulent thoughts and restlessness which sprout from unfulfilled desires. When the static of our minds are quieted then slowly we begin to peek into the ocean of pure bliss and love which we really are. We are made of that bliss and love. 

related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/

Happiness and security 4

Once when spiritual minded people are strongly firm in their resolution to find the “kingdom within” their yearning for God-union starts to accelerate. And God then sends them books and lesser teachers who guide them to a certain level. When even those “spiritual toys” are meaningless and do not fulfil their deep-seated longings of their hearts God sends them a guru, a spiritual master who is appointed by God to guide them through the forest of desires and attachments and impurities of their hearts.  A master, the one who has mastered his mind and subdued his ego and banished the pride forever, is rightly capable of leading the wayward humans. He is called, a guru in Sanskrit, meaning the one who is able to banish the darkness and ignorance from the soul of others and lead the people toward eternal happiness in God. 

related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/ We are all parts of God, and therefore, as the Bible declares: ye are gods – our task on earth is to rediscover that oneness with the Creator, our Father-Mother. We are sent here to learn some lessons; therefore this place is only a temporal abode. But when we think that this house is our home and mistakenly think that we are the body – then the suffering starts. We want a better car because we can show off to our friends that we are better off and happier while inside we are corrosive of too much worry and unfulfilled desires. Even when we get the very things we crave for still we find ourselves even more unhappy. Perhaps for one day or so we get little pleasure in fulfilling some desires but after comes the great awakening and we see that we are even deeper in the misery. Many don’t even ask themselves why or ponder about their states of mind trying to understand but let themselves being cranky infecting all with their mental heaviness.  

Hapiness and security 3

Once when spiritual minded people are strongly firm in their resolution to find the “kingdom within” their yearning for God-union starts to accelerate. And God then sends them books and lesser teachers who guide them to a certain level. When even those “spiritual toys” are meaningless and do not fulfil their deep-seated longings of their hearts God sends them a guru, a spiritual master who is appointed by God to guide them through the forest of desires and attachments and impurities of their hearts.  A master, the one who has mastered his mind and subdued his ego and banished the pride forever, is rightly capable of leading the wayward humans. He is called, a guru in Sanskrit, meaning the one who is able to banish the darkness and ignorance from the soul of others and lead the people toward eternal happiness in God.  We are all parts of God, and therefore, as the Bible declares: ye are gods – our task on earth is to rediscover that oneness with the Creator, our Father-Mother. We are sent here to learn some lessons; therefore this place is only a temporal abode. But when we think that this house is our home and mistakenly think that we are the body – then the suffering starts. We want a better car because we can show off to our friends that we are better off and happier while inside we are corrosive of too much worry and unfulfilled desires. Even when we get the very things we crave for still we find ourselves even more unhappy. Perhaps for one day or so we get little pleasure in fulfilling some desires but after comes the great awakening and we see that we are even deeper in the misery. Many don’t even ask themselves why or ponder about their states of mind trying to understand but let themselves being cranky infecting all with their mental heaviness.  

related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/

Hapiness and security 2

Many simple peasants you can find all around the globe who are embodiments of the natural joy and love. They do not practise yoga and meditation, or attending seminars for self-healing; nor do they read self-help books and New Age psychology.  So what is the matter with spiritualists who know all the teachings by heart and can give you any advice on any problem you may be having but can’t help themselves? Many are flying high in the spiritual heights amongst the clouds of other people’s scriptural interpretations and wisdom (usually hiding behind them) but can’t, at the same time, see the clouds of their own arrogance and consequently ignorance.  In walking with their noses high up in the sky they bypass the very thing they, in the first place, are meant to work on: their own selves. They are often judgemental of others who do not agree with them, looking down on others especially those who are not “spiritual”.  Sooner or later they come to the blind alley of their reasoning. To get out of their mental labyrinth is not possible without the spiritual guide, a preceptor who can point out to them the wrong ways and enlighten the path which leads towards the all-round soul fulfilment.  Material people may be, and sometimes are much more spiritual and spiritually advanced than those who pose spirituality. They may not repeat the secret syllables and stand on their heads or in a contorted posture for hours on end or read the cards as to “helping” others solve their dilemmas while their lives remain a mess. But their willingness to help the first-door neighbour and local community and above all to create and maintain the harmony and loving relationships within their own homes gives them the “grace” to do more: they fulfil the first commandment that Christ gave and also they give unselfishly and in return they receive more and more. Thus they become the instruments of the Divine and God can do and does more through the willing hands. related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/

Happiness and Security 1

Here a letter from a disciple of Swami Vishwananda that contains nice words about true spirituality:

"In this world we are all seeking basically two things: happiness (eternal bliss and joy) and security (our safe haven).

Spiritual people (those people who are consciously trying to find the “escape door” from the shackles of this maya-illusion) and so-called worldly or materially oriented people (the ones who are, for the most part, unconsciously trying to fulfil their soul longing by assuming that this world will satisfy their heart desires) are in the same boots, so to speak, as to the struggles they are having. 

Usually spiritual people (mostly a misnomer in my humble opinion) think of themselves as superior to the material people thinking that they are higher because they are somehow conscious of the path they are walking, but that is mistaken. Many times they do not see the traps of their reasoning. Spiritual development/unfoldment does not depend on how much you are conscious of the spirituality but on the humility and acceptance of whatever God places before the soul. Some people may not know of anything as to the spiritual teachings and practices, but if they accept the God-given duty, whatever it may be, and do it with the right attitude and if they follow the basic rules of moral conduct which are part of all world religions and are innate to all humans no matter how deep those happen to lie dormant, they are naturally developing; their hearts are being purified and making ready to receive more of the divine love. 

related article: http://www.bhaktimarga.org/

Diamond

Many people could see Swami manifesting rings that he gives to the personn short after. Dyviananda tells us about the materialisation of a diamond:

"Shortly after I met Swami, he materialized something that looked like a diamond. When he gave it to me casually, at first I was disappointed. Inwardly I thought it was a simple little glass stone. What was I to do with a seemingly worthless piece of glass?  In retrospect I feel ashamed of my attitude back then. How could I even have considered that he’d give me something that wasn’t precious? Many years later, after not treating the little stone with due respect, it dawned on me that I may have been wrong about it. I asked some people for their assessment, and as I carefully scratched a little bit of glass I started to realise that it was very possibly a diamond. While I could have taken it to an expert and really found out, I didn’t do that. The point here is that regardless of whether it was a genuine diamond or not, I hadn’t treated it as something precious. It is a symbol of how I treated myself and symbolically how most of us treat ourselves. We’re eagles and diamonds, sons and daughters of the heavens, but we often walk through life regarding ourselves mistakenly to be chickens and fake diamond glass stones". 

A small miracle

When you pray to Swami, he is right on the spot, close to you. Pari had this amazing experience:

"Once I was together with my mum and my dog in the car on the way back home. We had a long day and we just had the wish to reach back home as soon as possible. We drove a little bit too fast and didn’t recognize that a police car was just behind our car. The traffic light was nearly red but we couldn’t stop because we had too much speed. The police saw it and decided to follow us. We had no idea what to tell them and we knew that we had done wrong. We prayed to Swamiji, that he would help us to handle the situation. At this moment we could feel his energy very strong and we calmed down. We drove into a side road to see if they were still following us and they were. We tried to find some words to tell the police and stopped our car. The police car came closer; they looked in our car with a strange mien and turned around! "

"Are you my Guru?“

In summer 2002, Swami Vishwananda started to practice the Hindu-religion again. Drishti was there and tells us:

"I was very happy about this. In Mauritius He built a temple for the Indian Saint Shirdi Sai Baba next to the chapel dedicated to Mother Mary. This was the first time I experienced all the Hindu-ceremonies and heard how beautifully Swami Vishwananda sang Bhajans (Indian devotional songs). I especially liked the recital of mantras, the Lingam-Abishekam in the morning and the occasional Yagnas (fire ceremonies). To see Swami in this way was new and very exciting for me. I had a wonderful time with Him in His homeland. Some visitors from Europe rented a small fishing-boat and we sailed very early in the morning out into the sea to swim with the dolphins. We were wondering whether we’d see any dolphins at all. However, Swami was with us, so I knew it would work out. Many dolphins came, they swam very close to the boat and we were able to touch them. It looked as if they were doing a “ballet” for us and we had a very good time. Towards the end of this holiday I was thinking about, whether Swami Vishwananda was my Guru or not. I wasn’t actually looking for anything like a Guru in my life at that point. I was wondering whether I should ask Him though I didn’t dare to. After all, I thought, it wasn’t that important.  On my last evening in Mauritius, I was about to go to bed when Swami called for me. He was standing on the balcony and we were looking over the town. “Nice evening”, He said. “Yes”, I answered… “It’s not hot here”, He said. „No, the weather is nice,“ I answered. What kind of conversation was this, I thought to myself! Why is He standing here? Ok, maybe He feels that something is bothering me, I thought. So I said: “I have a very stupid question, may I ask it?” He encouraged me and said: “Yes, ask!” So I asked: “Are you my Guru?” He looked into my eyes and said: “What does your heart say?” “My heart says yes,” I replied. He agreed and said: “Yes, I am your Guru“. That was a wonderful moment. Finally I reached home. Since that moment I have felt absolutely calm, cared for and protected. On another visit to Mauritius, Swami Vishwananda taught a group of about 15 people various energising exercises every morning and meditated with us. Towards the end of the trip everyone received their personal Guru-Mantra". 

He sees into my heart

When they meet Swami Vishwananda many people feel in their heart the unconditional love emanating from him. Sometimes people feel also shye because of his awareness. A disciple of Swami remembers her first meeting:

"Seven years ago in a home in Bern, Switzerland I first met the divine being, Swami Vishwananda. At the time there was an English healer working in the same house. I had offered my services to him by acting as a translator and assistant for the Swiss people who came to see him. One morning, the healer told us that later that day a highly evolved, spiritual soul would come and visit us. He was very enthusiastic about the forthcoming visit and was eagerly awaiting the guest.  Later, as I was just about to call the next patient from the waiting room, I saw a young man standing there. I immediately knew that he was the visitor the healer had spoken about earlier. The young man greeted me with a loving hug that somehow seemed very familiar to me. Strangely enough, I felt a deep sense of joy. I led him to the healer and heard them warmly greet each other. A few minutes later when I saw Swami again, I was comforting and holding a young lady in my arms who was very sick and seemed tired of life. Swami Vishwananda asked me if I was a healer and I told him that I wasn’t. He replied, “Yes, you are a healer; you are healing with your heart”. He took the distressed lady whom I had been holding into his arms and materialised some vibhuti that he then sprinkled over her hands and head. He then gave me some vibhuti, followed by a ring that he materialised. He slid the ring onto my finger and I was quite surprised to find that it was a perfect fit. I had no idea what was happening to me as I had never seen or heard of materialisation before. Although I was filled with astonishment, my heart was full of an incomprehensible bliss. I felt a wave of boundless love flow from him and my soul was ready to follow this divine being to wherever he would lead me. Since that first meeting with Swamiji, I not only feel deeply connected with him but also safe in his love. I know deep within me that our souls have been closely connected through many lifetimes." E.E. - Switzerland