Centro D'Ompio: Shirdi Sai Yagna

Om

Sacchidanandaya Vidmahi

Shirdi Vasaya Dimahi

Tanno Sai Prachodayat

Swaha

Everything is wonderfully prepared and it isn't raining! (yet)...

But of course, at the end of the ceremony, the heavens opened and showered their blessing on all...

'Fresh' Vibhuti materialised by Swamiji

Centro D'Ompio, Mudra Course

Yup, the mic is working just fine..

"....The Ring-finger symbolises the Earth element..."

And yet again, the students encounter the most difficulties with the Dhenu Mudra!

"... It's easy, isn't it?"

Centro D'Ompio, Arrival

After only seven hours drive (!), we have arrived safe and sound! The weather here is a pleasent 21 degrees despite the rain, a whole 9 degrees warmer than in Springen! Its all very relaxing!

Everything was well prepared for the Mudra course...

Swamiji's robes were freshly ironed-

...and so then He can begin:

The Tilak and its meaning

A request by Sri Swami Vishwananda:

Anyone who regards himself as His devotee should now wear a Tilak during Darshan and other main events.

Here's the general meaning:

The Tilak is a sign of good luck. It is worn on the forehead and is composed of sandalwood paste, sacred ashes and/or kumkum. In the Bhagavad Gita it says: "A forehead without a Tilak, is like a heart without mercy, or a fountain without water, or a village without a temple, a flower without fragrance, or a field without rain...(there are still many more examples.) It can be seen that this ancient tradition of the tilak clearly has a deep spiritual meaning. Today one wears a tilak in the temple or during special occasions such as religious ceremonies. The Tilak is applied on the Ajna Chakra, the space between the two eyebrows more commonly known as the third-eye. It is said to have a cooling effect during meditation and it helps one to open his/her third eye immensely. All intellectual influences and spiritual effects aside, sandalwood also possesses great medical value.

There are two main types:

Shaivite Tilak is worn by the followers of Lord Shiva. It consists of three horizontal lines on the forehead with a vertical band connecting them. This particular Tilak consists of holy/sacred ash. (Vibhuti)

Vaishnava Tilak is worn by the followers of Lord Vishnu. It consists of a long vertical red line from the third-eye to the hairline and is bordered by two additional vertical lines. The two outer lines (from sandalwood/chandan) represent the Lotus feet of Lord Narayan. The red line (from kumkum) represents Lakshmidevi. In addition to this another spot of sandalwood in the shape of a Tulsi leaf is to be applied underneath the U-shaped Tilak as a sing of worship to Goddess Tulsi. Swamiji has also asked that we place a small red dot of kumkum inside the Tulsi leaf to simbolise the presence of the Guru in one's life and spiritual path.

When applying the Tilak a Mantra is traditionally spoken, which says "Oh Lord, protect me from the evil consequences of the Maya, and save me from all worldy ties" - or simply:

"Om Namo Narayanaya"

The Pope also received a Tilak during a ceremony when he visited India.

Here is a short video of the HareKrishnas as a guide on how to apply the Tilak in an easy and simplistic way:

(The central red line is simply the end of an incense stick and damp kumkum drawn along from bottom to top.)

Swamiji in Kiel

On the Baltic Sea...

In a French Bakery

Pritalananda tells:

Swami Vishwananda like to visit holy places. One day, we went to visit Our Lady of Liesse in France, a black Madona representation of the Mother of God. Many great people have come to pay homage to this church, including Joan of Arc. Inside the church Swami Vishwananda told me:
- “There is a nice energy in this church!”

- “It’s almost dark and there is hardly any light, the only thing I can see is the Statue of Our Lady of Liesse, high up,” I said. We knelt and prayed in front of the statue.

As we went out, in the church’s entrance, little brochures were available. Swami bought one and started reading the story. He went on reading as we walked out of the church.

- “Look, there is a bakery; we could buy something to eat,” He said.

- “With pleasure, breakfast was long ago and we had nothing for lunch,” I said.

We entered the bakery while Swami was still reading aloud the story of Our Lady of Liesse. The seller at the bakery was busy serving us when all of a sudden Swami voiced out: Look what they say: “During the French Revolution, they burnt the statue in the bakery’s oven!” It was silent in the Bakery. When it was our turn, he asked the lady:

- “Is it in this bakery’s oven that the miraculous statue was burnt?”

- “Well, yes. It was my great–great-great grandfather” the lady behind the counter said with shame.

Swami paid and we got out of the bakery.

- “Tell me, is there family karmas as well as country karmas or race karmas?” I asked.

- “Of course, you can feel it on all the following generations,” He replied.

- “And you have just removed this family’s karma at once?” I asked.

Swami Vishwananda nodded, as we reached the car with our little spinach tartlets.

Krishna's Birthday

Here in this short YouTube video compilation you can find some of the impressions and emotions the even captured in us all. The background music you hear is the beautiful voice of Mira from Serbia. Her greatest joy is to sing the glories of Shri Krishna and one can truly hear and feel this in her singing.

(Luckily Dharmananda managed to sit down with her and make some recordings so look forward to a new CD with her coming soon!)

New Power and Heating Unit

This is our new combined Power and Heating Unit. Here we see it left out in the garden (at ground level) by the lower cellar entrance, awaiting its descent.

This was the intended location for the Unit to be placed. The only problem is that it lies 6m below ground level and thus its current position.

Thank God that the previous owner had a usable shaft with straps that facilitated our task considerably when it came to taking the 1.5 tonne monster of a machine down in to its new home. We had to take it down piece by piece to ensure safety and success in this case. We initially only took it down 3 metres to the first platform in the cellar before attempting to move it down to its final location.

So the next hurdle was a steel staircase a further 3 metres down the cellar, leading to the previously mentioned resting spot for the Power Unit. To move it down we created a makeshift ramp.

Inch by inch the device was slowly and carefully lowered.

And in the end we were left with two very relieved and satisfied workers!! (The third one left with Swamiji to Kiel)

Potato Harvest!

Our Potato Day was a complete success!! We had so many wonderful people helping out!

And needless to say, we all had a great time helping out!

Every now and again one could hear a hum or a murmour break out of 'Om Namo Narayana'

(But also lots of chatter and laughter!)

The potatoes were left in the sun to dry off the moisture of the earth

...and we then proceeded to sort them accordingly.

Keeping the cute baby potatoes for Swamiji of course!!

Mudra Course in Cologne

Yesterday, the beautiful and serene location that is the Tajet Gardens Centre in Cologne hosted a Mudra Course with Sri Swami Vishwananda. Ramayotee had organised everything to perfection: He began with an introductory speach about Atma Kriya Yoga and Om Healing and then went on to start an Om Healing circle with those present. Everybody then had a lovely vegeterian meal at around noon.

After that everything really kicked off. Swamiji taught 10 Mudras with great enthusisasm and joy and He went on to meditate with the people present. Swamiji helped guide the people through the processes they were experiencing when performing these new techniques as it can all be very intense and emotional for some, especially given his own personal presence there and the fact that many of the students had never met Him before.

All in all it was a fantastic event which was thoroughly enjoyed by all and we send out a heartfelt thank you to the Tajet Gardens team for their excellent help and support!

Krishna Janmashtami 2010

Krishna's Birthday

Here are some pictures from last night's Krishna Janmashtami celebrations:

Shortly before Swamiji arrived

Upon his arrival Swami gave a short talk to celebrate this momentous occasion,

He then proceeded with a Kalash Puja,

a Yagna,

and an Abishekam.

Of course, later on there was a lot of singing and dancing as is customary in such occasions and Swami had us all captivated til the early hours of the morning!