spiritual lounge e-mag dec 2010

8/8/2019 Spiritual Lounge E-Mag Dec 2010

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SPIRITUAL LOUNGE

Issue : DECEMBER 2010 Vol : VIPrice : (FREE)

E-MAGAZINE


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December 2010EDITORIAL

Dear Readers,

Our sincere apologies for the late release of this month's e-magazine.

As usual the e-magazine strives to publish articles that are interesting and this canhappen only with your full support, not just as readers but as writers too. Pleasesend in news, features, articles, stories, reviews and so on related to spiritualism.

It does not matter where or who you are? What matters are that we are all souls inthe quest of self-realization and seeking true wisdom. It does not matter if you are

big or small or better known. Finally, it is about the individual journey we all haveto undertake and reach our individual goals set for us. No one has walked on ourindividual paths before us, nor will any one else follow. Each has their path carved

for themselves and each has to walk on it all alone.

Thank you all for your feedbacks to the previous issues of the Spiritual Lounge E-Magazine. Help us to continue giving you quality e-magazine that you and I can behappy reading and sharing it with the world. Feel free to pass this e-magazine toall your family, friends, associates, colleagues, social acquaintances, clients and soon.

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Cover page Photo : Matrima ndir, Aur oville, INDIACopy r i gh t s : A l l r i gh t s r e se rved SPIRITUAL LOUNGE EMA GAZINE 20 10
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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CONTENT December 2010

Edited by Dhara Kothari. Published by Moksa Publishers for Spiritual Lounge.Designed by Biren Shah, Casper Creations. Email: .

Cell: +91-9619629092 / [email protected]

Aur a 5 - Hitesh Gu rujiPage 4 - 8

The Ke y By Dr. Abhijit Das

Page 9

POEM By Jiten SoniPage 11

Leading w ith SpiritualityBy Dr. Am it Nagpal

Page 10 -11

Editorial - Page 2

The Divine Curr ent -By Master Chrism

Page 12

Surren dering the ComfortableBy Master Chrism

Page 13

The Magical Wor ld of the FairiesBy B i n o y S a s i d h a r a n

Page 14

Spirituality in the Wor kplacePage 15-16

Aur oville -The city of Utopia

Page 17-22

EVENT -International Encounter

Page 23

Chanting the Chakr asMusic Review

Page 25

Yo ga & Par apsychologyBook Review

Page 24
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Technique to enhance the power and size of Hands and finger Chakras

There is a very ancienttechnique called the Kar Nayas toenhance the power of the palmand finger Chakras. This KarNayas is pract iced before

performing any kind of ritual withthe hands. The process is veryeasy, and by experience I havefound out that this techniquewhich is generally practiced with Sanskrit Mantras isequally effective if done with100% attention and faith without the Sanskrit wordsu s e d . T h e K a r N a y a stechnique is as below:

1) Sit comfortably andeasily with your spine erect,head straight, shouldersrelaxed and a smile on yourface.2) Keep your palmsfacing the ceiling and pinchthe center of your palms withthe nails of your middlefingers, so attention remainsin the center of your palms.3) Loosen your fistswith both your palms.4) Take deep breathsand concentrate totally onboth your palms.5) Slowly shift yourattention to the tips of bothyour thumbs and open them withtotal awareness.6) Slowly shift your attentionto the tips of both your indexfingers and open them with totalawareness.7) Slowly shift your attentionto the tips of both your middlefingers and open them with totalawareness.8) Slowly shift your attentionto the tips of both your ring fingersand open them with totalawareness.9) Slowly shift your attentionto the tips of both your littlefingers and open them with total

awareness.10) Now that both your palmsare open bring your attention to

the center of your left palm andslap it with the middle and indexfinger of your right hand bendingyour other fingers.11) Open your right palm

again and bring your attention tothe center of your right palm andslap it with the middle and index

finger of your left hand bendingyour other fingers.12) Keep both your palmsfacing the ceiling and bring yourattention to both palms and youwill feel the palm Chakras and the

ring Chakras of both your palmsactivated and rotating.

Kundalini:

Means ring; there is a coiledenergy at the base of our spine atthe Mulaadhar Chakra. It is coiledin three and a half rounds like asnake so it is called the KundaliniShakti which means the coiledenergy.

It makes an upwards movement

Aur a 5 - Hitesh Gur uji December 2010

with the help of the clock wisemovements of our seven mainchakra. In the same way it crawlsd o w n w a r d s w i t h t h eanticlockwise movements of

Chakra.

The Kundalini Shakti is red incolour and its nature is that of Tej

or Fire element so it issaid that the upwardsmovement is its naturelike the nature of fire is tomove upwards.

The upwards movementof the Kundalini makes a

being intelligent and blissful. The downwardsm o v e m e n t o f t h eKundalini makes a beinglethargic, foolish anddepressed.

The easiest movement forKundalini, as per then a t u r e i s t o m o v eupwards in a straightvertical direction.

Human being is the onlyspecies among living beings who have theirspine erect in a straight vertical position; who

have the Kun dal i n i mor eactivated then any other living being, and are hence the mostintelligent and developed thanany other living being on thisplanet.

As per its nature it is easy for aKundalini to travel upwards thendownwards. But somehow mostof the humans are so surrounded by stress that the upwardsmovement is rarely observed.People who maintain a goodposture are naturally blissful andintelligent.

T h e D o w n w a r d f lo w o f

K u n d a l i n i :


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If the person is blissful all heneeds is a little anger that makeshis eyebrows twitch and pulls himdown. So from Sahastrar theenergy comes down to AangyaChakra. After anger the personfeels a chock of guilt in the neck.

So from Aangya Chakra theenergy comes down to VishuddhiChakra. If the guilt increases thenit turns into hatred or fear of theheart. So from Vishuddhi Chakrathe energy comes down toAnaahat Chakra. If hatred or fearis not attended then it creates a burning sensation of greed orjealousy in the stomach. So fromAnaahat Chakra the energy comesdown to Manipur Chakra. That brings depression further lower.Thus from Manipur Chakra thee n e r g y c o m e s d o w n t oSwadhisthan Chakra. That finallyleads to suicidal tendency and theperson feels there is nothing left inthis world, he has hit the rock bottom, so from SwadhisthanChakra the energy comes down toMulaadhar Chakra.

T h e U p w a r d f l o w o f

K u n d a l i n i :

If the person is totally negativetowards life and has suicidalthoughts in his mind. Then aslight change towards creativity will help him to shift his focus. Whence, the Mulaadhar Chakrastarts generating positive energyinstead of negativity. After whichthe person feels like sharing or

exhibiting his creation, makingthe energy move upwards fromM u l a a d h a r C h a k r a t oSwadhisthan Chakra. Afterexhibition, comes the time toshare it with people. Thegenerosity moves the KundaliniShakti to the navel to ManipurChakra from SwadhisthanChakra. Generosity always gives way to love which rises energyfrom the Manipur Chakra to the

Anaahat Chakra. Love brings a lotof gratefulness transporting the

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Kundalini Shakti to the VishuddhiChakra. A grateful person is full ofawareness of the aid and helpreceived from the world and thatsends the energy to the higherplane of Aangya Chakra from the

Vishuddhi Chakra. Awareness ifsustained will bring the personback to his or hers original naturethat is bliss and the energy is at itspeak at the Sahastrar.

Seeing the Aura

'Those who have eyes will see' -Jesus Christ

Seeing an Aura is an easy task for

people who believe in it and verydifficult task for people who donot believe in it. There are threetypes of beliefs needed to learnsomething

i. Believing in your self,knowing you can and will see anAura.

i i . Be l i e v i n g i n thetechnique. There are manytechniques if you get stuck inchoices then it will be difficult.

Know the technique you arefollowing, which is in your handsright now is the best.

iii. Believing in the masterwho is training you.

1. If you doubt any one of theabove the doubt for the other twowill follow, it is best to doubt thedoubt as soon as it arises, and thisis the best way to remove it.

2. T h e s e c o n d m o s timportant after the faith is

patience, without patience youwill reach nowhere.

3. When everyone includingthe children can see the Aura bylittle practice, this means twothings to me;

i. Aura really exists andp e o p l e s e e i n g i t a r e n o thallucinating nor lying.

ii. Seeing Aura is a naturalprocess and can be developed byevery human being.

H o w d i d I s t a r t s e e in g t h e

Aura?

When I was in my teens I wouldbuy books on meditation from thelittle money that I had saved andbuy it from an old book dealer. Ibrought an old magazine one dayin which an article mentioned that by doing Agani Tratak (firegazing) for fifty two days one canstart seeing Auras.

The method was mentioned onthe side, of gazing at an incensestick burning at a distance of tenfeet. Another technique methodwas of Pranayam. It is dangerousto do Tratak without Pranayam.

I was very excited and that veryday I started following thatprocess. In past I had really benefited with the type ofmeditation mentioned throughthat particular organization'smagazine.

I performed that particularmeditation for six days and I couldsee a white cloud floating in my

room, I tried to figure it out andfelt it knows that I know about itspresence in the room. I figuredout that this might be a sprit and itstarted flowing towards me and Ihad to pull a bed sheet to covermyself as I was not wearinganything as per the instructionsmentioned in that magazine andthat spirit was in-between me andmy cloths and I just ran out of theroom.

Since then I was so scared that Istopped doing all types ofmeditations and was afraid toenter my own room. One thingwas for sure that I started seeingsprits but could not see the Aura.It was like buying a ticket to fly toLondon and but I was reachingTokyo.

After a while, I restarted doing the

same meditation as I wasdetermined to see the Aura, but


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even after continuous efforts Icould not see the Aura and i hadlost patience. I over did the AgniTratak. I would request mysiblings and friends to volunteerand sit in a dark room in front ofme so I could see their Aura. Butthey got fed up of me, making memore restless and after everyfailure it would make it even moredifficult for me. Finally afterseveral trial and error attempts Ijust dropped the idea.

After several years when I used totravel to small villages ofMaharashtra and Karnataka dueto my grand fathers business in

which we had to visit SugarFactories. There were manyunknown Sadhus (Hindu saints)in the small villages, who hadsome type of special powers orsome great wisdom, hence, Imade it a point to learn somethingf r o m a n y S a d h u I m e t .Sometimes, such enthusiasm became dangerous for me andonly by the grace of God I survivedand continued my quest.

One day, I had to visit a small village called Mangalweda nearPandharpur which is one of the b i g g e s t p i l g r i m a g e s i nMaharashtra. I had to visit afactory close to Mangalweda, afterwhich I came back to Mangalwedaa n d p r o c e e d e d b a c k t oPandharpur and onwards toSangli where my grandfather hadhis base.

Since I had some time on hand, Ivisited a small temple built nearthe bus stand in which I literaryhad to crawl inside. There I saw aSadhu sitting inside doing AgniTratak on an incense stick. Weboth got a little scared seeing eachother and I rushed out and thengathered my self and waited forhim. Within a few seconds even hewas out with his blanket which he

used as his Asana.

I touched his feet to show respectand asked his name, he blessedme and said his name wasRamaanand, I asked him if he wasdoing Agni Tratak? He did notbother to answer, his disinterest

made me more curious of him, so Icontinued the conversationprodding him that 'I have donethis for quiet a while just to see theAura but I do not think it helps inany way.'

Immediately he got into an eyecontact with me and said, it is notnecessary to do Agni Tratak to seethe Aura, you can see the Aurawithout it, it is not very difficult. I

got so excited that I startedpleading him to teach me thetechnique to see the Aura. He wasreluctant in the beginning butlater he put an offer to put me off,he said, you will have to pay meall the money you have right nowin your pocket.

I was taken back but thought for awhile that he is saying this only toput me off and I knew that these

Sadhus only give knowledge to theperson deserving after testingthem. Besides I was not very sureafter so many failures whether hewill be able to teach me, hence Iagreed and followed him insidethe same temple.

Within fifteen minutes I could seethe Aura of the Sadhu, and theidols. After coming out I could seethe Aura of the temple, trees,

p e o p l e , o f e v e r y o n e a n deverything around. I was verypleased and he blessed me sayingthat I will be able to teach thistechnique to others who willbelieve in it too.

Then he demanded his fees, Ipromptly agreed to give him allthe money I have except Rs.100 asI needed for the bus fare to reachSangli. He became angry and

asked me to pay all the money Ihave, so without bargaining I gave

him all the money I had. I walkedto the Purchase officer's housewhich was nearby and borrowedthe money from him to return toSangli.

Later I have been able to teachmany of my students to see theAura the way I could and here I amgoing to share this technique withyou. Throughout the years I havealso noticed that one can easilysee an Aura via a video or a cameramode of mobile phones. The Aurais very easily as well as clearlyvisible if the person is shot from adistance with a white background.

T e c h n i q u e s t o s e e t h e A u r aw i th n a k e d ey e s:

Pranayam:

For any kind of meditation ortechnique it is necessary to followsome dos and don'ts. This and anytechnique has to be followed by aPranayam if you want to seesucce ss . Pr an ayam i s thebreathing exercise; it also means

controlling or formatting the vital breath. Pranayam is useful for Aura seeing technique is calledNadi Shodhan Pranayam; it hasother benefits too; like it helps toactivate both the sides of yourbrain, it enhances ones intuitions,etc.

N a d i S h o d h a n P r a n a y a mtechnique is as under:

a. Keep your back straight,head straight, eyes closed andshoulders relaxed; keep a smile on your face and drop your bodyweight on the ground that you aresitting. Be sure that you are notcrossing your hands or legs unless you are sitting crossed legs inSukh-Asana (crossed legs poster),or Padma-Asana (lotus poster).

a. Keep your right handsthumb on the right nostril, your

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index and middle finger inbetween the eyebrows where yourthird eye is placed and your ringand little finger on your leftnostril.

b. Your left hand must be on your left lap facing the ceilingopen or in Chin Mudra that is, theindex finger lightly touching thethumb.

c. R el ea si ng th e b re aththrough both your nostrilspushing your stomach in andremember that when ever youbreath in, and your stomach willcome out and whenever you breath out your stomach will goin, this is a thumb rule.

d. Now we will start the firstround. Block your right nostril bypressing it with your right handthumb and very slowly breathe inthrough your left nostril.

e. Then block your leftnostril by pressing it with yourright hand ring and little fingerand very slowly breathe outthrough your right nostrilreleasing it by loosening yourright hand thumb.

f. A f t er br ea th ing ou tcompletely keep your left nostrilblocked by pressing it with yourright hand ring and little fingerand very slowly breathe inthrough your right nostril.

g. Then block your rightnostril by pressing it with yourright hand thumb and very slowly breathe out through your leftnostril releasing it by loosening your ring and little finger. Thus

breathing in from your left nostriland breathing out from your rightnostril then breathing in againfrom your right nostril and breathing out from your leftnostril completes one round ofNadi Shodhan Pranayam.

h. In this pattern follow ninerounds breathing very slowly.Completing nine rounds musttake at least five minutes.

i. After complet ing nine

rounds rest for two minutessitting quietly and observing the

breath and then becoming awareof the body and the surroundingand slowly and gradually openingyour eyes or start chanting Aum.

This is the best Pranayam for the

beginners who are interested inlearning any art of divination orwanting any kind of Siddhi (supernatural powers). Siddhi or supernatural powers also called ApashuShakti which means power whichis beyond the control of any livinganimal (even humans). A powerthat does not control or destroy; apower which is non violent and apower which called love orinnocence.

Chanting the Pr anav:

There are three natural sounds inthe universe they are AA, OU, andMM.

If you see any personbelonging to any religion, cast orcolour; in any part of the worldthey will only cry out in thesethree sounds when in pain

emotionally or physically and thebest thing is no one has taught usto do so, these sounds come out ofour mouth naturally.

It is amazing that all thereligions of the world havecombined these three soundscalled the Pranav by the Hindus toform a spiritual sound. Like theHindus, Jains, Buddhists andSikhs pronounce it as 'AUM'; theChristens pronounce it as

'AMEN'; the Muslims and Parsispronounce it as 'AAMIN'; theJ e w s p r o n o u n c e i t a s'SHALLAUM' and so on.

These sounds representthe trinity of god head; AArepresents the creator or thefather and the vibrations of AA arefelt in the stomach region whereall the reproductive and creativeorgans like stomach and genitalsare placed, OU represents the

Sustainer or the son and the vibrations of OU are felt in the

heart region where all thesustaining and nourishing organslike heart, lungs and ribs areplaced and MM represents thedestroyer or the holy spirit and the vibrations of MM are felt in the

head region where the brain isplaced.Like the Pranayam the

chanting of Pranav in oddnumbers of times is also veryimportant for any kind ofmeditation or technique.

Please note that it is not advisableto chant any of the Pranav that is,AUM, AAMIN, AMEN etc. in evennumbers of times.

C h a n t i n g t h e P r a n a v

t e ch n i q u e is a s u n d e r :

1) Keep your back straight,head straight, eyes closed andshoulders relaxed; keep a smile on your face and drop your bodyweight on the ground that you aresitting.

2) Your hands must be onyour lap facing the ceiling open or

in Chin Mudra that is the indexfinger lightly touching the thumb.3) Be sure that you are not

crossing your hands or legs unless you are sitting crossed legs inSukh-Asana (crossed legs poster),or Padma-Asana (lotus poster).

4) Take three deep breaths,remember that when ever you willbreath in your stomach will comeout and whenever you will breathout your stomach will go in, this is

a thumb rule.5) Take a deep breath in to

chant AUM or any form of Pranav you like and breathing out veryslowly you start chanting the longPranav in a way that it vibratesyour whole being.

6) Take another deep breathin and breathing out you startchanting the long Pranav in a waythat it vibrates your whole being.

7) Take another deep breath

in and breathing out you startchanting the long Pranav in a way

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that it vibrates your whole being.Please remember that the Pranavmust not be chanted at evennumber of time it must only bechanted only in odd number oftimes to activate the right kind ofenergies in your system.

The first technique to see Aurataught to me by the Sadhu inMangalweda:

A. A f t e r d o i n g y o u rPranayam and chanting Pranavfor three times sit comfortablyand easily in a lightly lit, almostdark room having a white wall as aback ground.

B. Get a volunteer to sit still

in front of you at a distance ofseven to ten feet that is two tothree meters and be sure that heor she has a white backgroundbehind him or her.

C. Open up both your palmsand bring them four inches neareach other keeping little distancein-between your fingers.

D. Relax your shoulders andtake deep breaths.

E. Start moving your hands

very slowly, moving your palmscloser and away from each other, without touching each other forten to fifteen times.

F. You will feel as if you aremoving your hands inside abucket full of water. The currentor flow which you will feel on yourhands will vary at different placesas the proportion of energy isdifferent at different places.

G. Now bring your palms

again four inches to each otherand very slowly start rotatingthem in clockwise motion oneafter another for ten to fifteentimes. By this you will feel themale energy of the place.

H. Now bring your palmsagain four inches to each otherand very slowly start rotatingthem in anticlockwise motion oneafter another for ten to fifteentimes. By this you will feel the

female energy of the place.I. You will observe that

either the male or the femaleenergy is dominant at differentplaces depending on the type ofpeople operating or the type ofworship happening there. If youare checking these energies on the

top of the mountain then you willf i n d t h e f e m a l e e n e r g y dominating the male energy. Thatmay be the reason that Hinduscreated all the goddess temples onthe mountain tops, and womenare dominating among tribesliving on the mountain topsaround the world.

J. Make a ball of the energy by pushing one palm preferablythe left one near the other; you

will feel a ball of energy forminginside your right palm.K. Make the ball denser so

that you can literally feel its weight in your hand or you canfeel it bounce back in your palm ifyou try and throw it up in the air.

L. Take the dense ball ofenergy in both your palm andkeeping your eyes open place itinside your eyes and start gazingvery easily at a person or a thing

placed in front of a white background without blinking youreyes. Do not stare just gaze easily.The best spot to gaze is at aperson's third eye, in-between theeyebrows.

M. Don't try to look aroundthe person look at the person, andwithin a few second you will seethe Aura of that person.

N. Now you can shift yourattention to some other object or

person placed in front of a whiteback ground within no time you will also see the Aura of thatperson or thing.

O. Please note that if you aretrying to watch the Aura of apicture and the picture is of a deadperson you will not see any Auraaround his or hers picture, as thedead body and the picture of adead person does not have anAura.

P. Be patient and confidentand you will start seeing the Aura.

Q. With further practice youwill start seeing different colors,Chakra, sizes and shapes of Aura.

People who believe in simplicity,

and have faith that they can seeAura via this technique will surelystart seeing Aura but people whohave a concept that it is difficult tosee the Aura with such an easytechnique will have to go for thesecond technique which isdifficult.

In the next issue we will learnanother technique to see the Auraand the negativity in an Aura.

Hitteshguruji is Practicing andTeaching Astrology, Meditation,Vastu and Aura cleansing and hisclients include celebrities fromMedia and political field. He isconducting Aura and Chakracleansing classes and is soon

publishing a book on Aura.Hitteshguruji is the author of a book

on Aura.Cell: 9867495496

Email: [email protected]: http://rudrakshpuja.com;

http://hansaamystic.com

Aur a 5 - Hitesh Guru ji December 2010


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The K ey - Dr. Abhijit Das

9

December 2010

We see what we want to see. I would rather put it as: wesee what we are capable of seeing. All of us have thepotential to become great. Greatness is inherent ineach of us. It is our free will and the choices we tend tomake that shapes our attitude. Therein lies our

capability.

A course in miracles tell us to keep just one goal inlife; a goal to find PEACE. In fact most of us try to do it.The challenge is to know that peace is actually withinourselves. Happiness is the essence we all are.Somehow we start to believe that happiness is anoutside thing. We have to FIND HAPPINESS. Whenwe have not lost something how do we find it. Whenthe key to a world of immense divine treasure andecstasy is given to us by the universe, why do we needto look for the key. The key is in our hands. We do notsee it because we see what we want to see.

We are all born with an infinite mind. The mind thatknows. As we experience life, as we hear other peoplewith finite minds, our mind too becomes finite. Wetend to see the boundaries in situations, in ourselves,in the world. Our imagination, capabilities andexpectations become fixed. We tend to doubt ourpotential. We lack the courage to step out of ourcomfort zone. We start believing that we are separatefrom the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresentuniverse. We start believing in boundaries. As Lao Tzuso wonderfully puts it,

And with expectation, one will always perceive theboundaryThus without expectation, one will always perceive thesubtlety.

I believe it is important to see and know the boundarywhich comes with our finite minds. The boundary toois perception. Therefore when one has an infinitemind, the one can perceive both the boundary as well

as the space beyond it.

We need to constantly ask ourselves one question:WHO AM I? As we go through life the answer willchange. Since the Self is already there at the center ofour Being, Self-awareness is actually a more correctterm. The trick lies in distinguishing the Real (theinfinite) from the unreal (the finite) and that isaccomplished entirely by moving our attention awayfrom the unreal and keeping it focused on the Real, theexperience of I-AM. Once we are aware who we are orat least who we can truly become, then we are already

in the realms of the infinite.

Then, we will think in terms of only the infinite, then

we perceive others and ourselves as part of theUniverse, then we can easily go beyond ourcomfort zone, then we will understand that we area limitless being, then we can forgive others andourselves, then we truly are

Then we would be able to answer the eternalquestion that Rumi so beautifully asked us, Whydo we stay in prison when the door is wide open?

Dr . Abh i j i t Das

The Key

DAWN

Early Morning

Photograph by Jiten Soni


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Awareness is the flower which blooms but never dies,but keeps on growing as we grow in awareness.With the ever increasing pressures of the materialisticsociety we live in, we are becoming more and moreabsent minded. We can't notice the people (and their

actions and behavior) around us, leave alone thingslike nature.The stress is taking the light away from ourmind, causing the opposite of enlightenment, anembankment.

To become more and more aware and bring light backin our minds, the first thing which we need to do is tolive in the moment. But that seems a very difficult taskto people today as either we live in the past-the guilt,the grudges, the memories or we live in the future-theexpectations, the plans, the worries and the gift of thepresent is ruined in the process. Living in the momentis itself a type of meditation (called mindfulness).Mindfulness is an opportunity to experience joy and toappreciate the present moment.

It is all the more important for leaders to live themoment as it makes us clear-headed and thereforehelps us in being keen observers of human behaviorand things. In fact we can say that Awareness is thebeginning of the leadership journey. Self-awareness isthe beginning of the awareness journey. Spirituality isthe beginning of the self-awareness journey.

Meditation can be a tool suitable for everyone to beginspirituality. According to Oxford AmericanDictionary, meditation is 'the act of thinking deeply orfocusing one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritualpurposes or as a method of relaxation.'Becomingcompassionate is useful in making our meditationmore effective,J. Krishnamurti says, The flowering ofmeditation is goodness, and generosity of the heart isthe beginning of meditation.Meditation provides restto our restless mind. William Penn says, True silence

is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is tothe body, nourishment and refreshment.

Look at nature, put your mind completely there, andsoak in the peace, right into every fiber of your body,total immersion. The more aware we are of ourselves,the more aware we can be of our own true desires andintentions. The more our intentions are aligned withour inner being and our life's purposes, the happierand more fulfilled we are. We also can gain insight intoour unique talents (gifted to us by higherconsciousness or karmas) by reflecting on our life

experiences and connecting with our higher or trueself. If we have to define self-awareness we can say itrefers to the conscious understanding of our thoughts,

feelings, and actions and how we relate to peopleand environment. Increased self-awareness canhelp us gain deep insights into not only the factorsthat influence our external world but also ourinternal beliefs, values and morals.

Pray, chant and meditate to increase your self-awareness and detach from outcomesand developflexible attitude towards change.Remember self-awareness is a process, not a destination. Keepintentions centered on compassion, integrity andrespect for humankind. To help you tide throughthe bad phases and obstacles, network with like-minded individuals and develop rock soliddetermination.

Remember the deeper states of awareness in yourdaily life and your whole life becomes a meditation.Watching your mind, enables you to actively see what does not serve you and let such thoughtssimply fall away.Communication with higherconsciousness on earth is difficult as the body isbeing pulled by gravity and mind by ego. However,meditation can overcome these obstacles and allowthe spirit to align with higher consciousness.

In awareness meditation (a type of meditation) onesimply observes what is coming up in one's

awareness by naming or expressing loudly what oneis going through: I am aware of the pen on thetable. I am aware that traffic jams make me veryuncomfortable. Most people will do this for threeor four times and then lose track. The exercise, ifrepeatedly done provides complete calm and clarityleading to meditative awareness. As the mind calmsyou can notice even subtle things and find that youstart naming thoughts, feelings, and sensations assoon as they start to come up.

There are lots of other spiritual tools like chanting,

blanking of mind and so on which are as useful asmeditation. For a person who is truly aware, it iseasy to connect with his consciousness to seek wisdom, happiness and emotional strength fromhis own spirit. Our best guru is looking back at us inthe mirror. So get in touch with your inner wisdom.In fact once I wrote on Facebook, A childish personseeks knowledge, a growing up person seekswisdom and a grown up person seeks awareness.Developing self-awareness is like setting the centreof our life. Benjamin E. Mays says, Thecircumference of life cannot be rightly drawn until

the center is set.

December 2010

Leading with Spirituality 4

Leading with Spirituality 4 Dr. Nagpal


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After self awareness, comes awareness of our surroundings. Aware people can even see the gifts that othershave even before they themselves are aware of them. For instance, you may become aware, that the old ways ofmanaging and directing employees are no longer effective and paradigm shift in our approach may berequired.To become truly aware we need to look at our surroundings with all our senses. One needs to lookinto the eyes, the hearts and souls of people around oneself to feel what they feel, to know what they think,expect or desire. With such enhanced awareness you would be able to understand your team members and

command their genuine respect.

As a leader one is often expected to introduce change which tends to meet with stiff resistance. If one wants tochange something, one must first become aware of it, otherwise one cannot change. However, things that youare not aware of do change you, which is not a good thing of course.With increased awareness levels we startrealizing, We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are, helping us realize our biases and prejudices.In the beginning of one's spiritual journey, one gets few hints at answers (to the questions in mind), latercomplete answers and over a period of time a strong sense of intuition which will start making intelligenceobsolete. One then sets on the path of quick and wise decision making and true leadership.

D r . A m i t N a g p a l

a m i t k n a g p a l @g m a i l. co m

December 2010Leading with Spirituality 4 Dr. Nagpal

Failures Steps to Success

Every failure has their own way to reach to success,

not because they think of failure but a step to success.

Everytime we work hard someone else takes the credit for the same,

but don't you worry everytime you face this you are becoming strong.

Everytime we think too be over happy with the things we buy,

But the role of family makes things let it go for a while.

Everytime we get low marks in our exams we feel bad,

but don't you worry that's the time when you love practical things and makes you go ahead.

No matter how many times you have wasted your time on things you wanted to look for opportunities andyou didn't get it,

instead think of times which makes you happy to live your life.

No matter how much you are creative but your creativity is not shown,

one day your creativity will be spoken by the whole world around you.

No matter how much ever you love someone and you are not been loved by them,

that's the stone of failure to success to always live with confidence and positivity in your heart and live foryour happiness to your life.

- J i t en S o n i

POEM


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December 2010The Divine Curr ent - Master Chrism

In truth within our limited unawakened formwe are able to appreciate only a fraction of the Absolute. With Kundalini however thatappreciation is increased tremendously

compared to the unawakened state.

Divinity has no such restrictions.

As we are molded fromthe divine and yetentangled into believing

we are not so; are weallowed to rediscoverthat which is oursalready? Kundal ini

a l l o w s t h i s t o b eexperienced on tactilelevels as well as all theother levels within itsp u r v i e w .

The absolute IS!

It is what you see allaround you and what

you are at your core. It is

as in the song that wasgiven for me to share:See love in all things.

All things mean allc r e a t i o n . S h a k t iK u n d a l i n i i s a s amanifestation of the overt divine current intothe grossly physical systems. The physical willneed to come into a degree of frequency for thisto occur. When a spirit takes a body the body isin fact designed specifically for that spirit fromthe divine current. Through this design certain

variables are given into the construction of the body and these variables are the spiritualproperties of soul evolution of the being that isg o i n g t o o c c u p y t h a t b o d y .

This is where Karma comes into the picture.

As the body is developed and the evolutionary values (karma) are added to i t thedetermination of the ability or not of the

ensouled individual attaining the manifestationof the divine current (Kundalini) while in the

body is made.

Through this determination the pattern ofprobability is offered to the degree that the soul'sevolutionary values will respond to specificchoices made by the individual towards specific

f r e q u e n c i e s o f i n t e r a c t i v emanifestation to thedivine current that isflowing around and

within all creation.From these parameters,unique for each person,is the divine currentcommunicated with inthe ways specific to eachindividual. From thesechoices based upon theinitial prerogative of theensouled individual arechoices offered andconsequences given thatallow for us to evolve inthe body as we makec h o i c e s t h a t a r econducive towards thisdevelopment.

Kundalini is a thresholdevent where choices

have been made that allow for a completetransformation of all of the frequencies housed

within the human expressive envelope.Everything is changed to specific degree that isonce again unique to the individual, and yetexpressive of what Kundalini does to the body.

Kundalini is our overt and conscious interwovencommunication and interaction with theabsolute. The exaltation of the flesh throughspiritual evolution. We swim in the divinecurrent rather than blindly walk through itspuddles. In serving the Kundalini we are inactuality serving the divine current for its

expression through us. By Ma s t e r Chr i sm

The Divine Curren t


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December 2010Sur ren ding the Comfor table - Master Chrism

Kundalini is an evolutionary energy that is designedfor humanity's next step toward a luminous physicaland spiritual expression. The Kundalini is ineveryone. It is an untapped resource of divinity within

us all that is waiting to be awakened and experienced.Never has the time been so right and crucial for achange of this magnitude to be explored and initiated.Kundalini is a very powerful and transformativeenergy located at the base of the spine within the lastthree vertebrae of the tailbone or coccyx, extending tothe perineum. Kundalini is a natural birthright to allpeople but must be sought and nurtured with aphysical and spiritual practice.

As the Kundalini awakens we mustsurrender to the changes that

come. Not all of them are easy tohave and yet they are necessary tothe overall Kundalini agenda.Some can find the bliss and themany pleasurable symptomsc o u n t e r b a l a n c e d b y s o m esymptoms that are more difficult todeal with from an ego perspective.

Surrender means to really let go of your desire and expectation ofcontrol over the infusion process

happening within your body. Theheat, the cold, the kriyas, thevisions, the pressure, the pleasure, the sleep and thepain all have their place within the process and tothese symptoms must the ego surrender.

Even when it is scary we must with hold our panicresponse to remain in control. This is unchartedterritory for most people. Trusting and having faith inthe unknown isn't what we are used to doing but in thecase of Kundalini it knows you better than your egoknows you and the Kundalini agenda is best handled

by the Kundalini.

Even so there are many areas within the awakeningscenario that will allow for custom individualadjustments within a surrendering platform. The egoisn't sacrificed so much as it is in a retraining format.Ego has a difficult time adjusting to the new paradigmof relinquishing its control over the decision makingprocess especially when we come into areas of fear orpain or symptoms contrary to what we have come toknow as "comfortable".

This is where difficulties can be experienced. If we

give in to the ego consciousness action of insertinga fear or fear based control response we can become immersed into areas of amplification ofthose fears in a very short time. Sometimes this

may be needed for the karmic polishing processand sometimes it can be used as a way of teachingthat surrender is a good activity to be involved in.

We learn in different ways. The learning can bedifficult especially when one is already inside of theprocess and the many unexpected phenomena arebeing experienced. Often a return to normalcy isthe only quality desired. The transformation can be

fast and fur ious and the egoconsciousness can be left reeling in itsloss of control. So be gentle with

yourself and in that gentleness realizethat faith and trust and the Kundaliniagenda is working for you not againstyou. That this gift of an awakening isneeded for your next step of spiritualand physio-spiritual development.

Know that you are being observed andguided in ways that are not perhapsbeing felt as a tactile or communicatedapplication even though the guidance isoccurring. This is where your trust andsurrender to the Divine agenda comesinto a great expression. This is where

your belief system will help you to get a gentle graspan d t r ust o f the phe n ome n a an d thetransformation that is taking place.

For those of you without a strong expression in theDivine devotional areas I offer you the sum total ofmy experience and of the Kundalini Divinecommunications that are given through myprocess for your process.

Chrism is a native of California. He travels thecountry awakening the Kundalini in groups ofpeople safely and with continued supportthroughout the many years of the Kundaliniawakening experience. Kundalini as it expressesthrough Chrism is the teacher.

F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n :www.KundaliniAwakening.Seminars.com

B y M a s t e r Ch r i s m

Surrendering the Comfortable


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December 2010The Magical Wor ld of the Fairies

When we think of the subject of fairies most of us willautomatically assign such things to the realm of fiction as we remember childhood fantasies around Peter Pan,Fairy Godmother etc. But it may surprise some people to

know that there is a growing trend amongst those in theNew Age and neo-pagan communities to believe in fairiesas real spiritual creatures.

The word fairy derives from Middle English faierie (alsofayerye, feirie, fairie), a direct borrowing from Old Frenchf a e r i e ( M o d e r nF r e n c h f e r i e )meaning the land,r e a l m , o rcharacteristic activity(that is enchantment)of the legendary

people of folklore andromance called (inOld French) faie orfee (Modern Frenchfe).

The fairies, or faeriesare tiny creatures thesize of a finger andthey bestow giftsupon humans andespecially newbornchildren, such as

beauty, wealth andkindness.

Where can you findthe fairies?

Fairies like gardens and green spaces. They love to goabout fixing things and they even like to clean. But, thereare things that you must do if you would like to keep thefairies around. They do what they do because it is in theirnature, but if they become unhappy they will move on to anew home where they feel more appreciated. So, in orderto make sure that your fairies are feeling very appreciated

there are a few steps that you can take that will keep themhappy and flitting around your property!

How to make Fairie Friends

First of all you will want to make your fairy friends a homethat will help them to stay happy and content. Use thingsthat you find in nature to make it with. Build it in a nicesecluded area where they will feel safe and hidden and where no one might accidentally step on it or disturbthem. Start out by collecting some bigger sized rocks thatyou can stack into an igloo like shape, making sure toleave a doorway. Build a table out of sticks for inside anduse smaller stones for seats. Small shells make greatdishes. Use leaves to make a comfy bed for the fairies and

flower buds for pillows.

Leave the fairies some edible treats, like berries and sweets

that they can eat. Berries are one of their favorite foods andany kind of them will do. But they also like human snacksbecause it gives them a treat that they don't get often. Makethem a special batch of rock candy, using real oils likelemon and peppermint. When you make muffins andcupcakes leave them any crumbs that may be left, or even a

whole onet h e y c a ns n a c k o nf o r t h ew h o l eweek!

F a i r i e senjoy music very mucha n d t h e y even like it when youhelp themo u t w i t hsome of thechores thatthey do for you. When y o u d o

w o r k i ny o u rg a r d e n

bring some music along, or sing yourself! Pull your weedsto some classical music. Water the flowers to some Celtictunes. The fairies will be dancing around joyously on theirmini vacation while you get some work done. This time offwill make them extra happy to, as they spend most of theirtime being busy. They are sure to make your flowers bloomextra big and bright and make sure that your fruits areextra sweet.

How and when can you see the magical fairies?

Fairies can only be seen clearly by animals and seldom byhumans, although if one is fortunate enough, one mightcatch a fleeting glimpse. There are a few exceptionshowever. The first is when fairies use their power (knownas glamour) to enable a human to see them. Also, during afull moon on Midsummer Eve a mortal can witness fairydances or celebrations. And finally, by looking through aself-bored stone (a stone in which a hole has been made bytumbling in the waters of a brook; not found on a beach)one can see fairies distinctly.

H a p p y M a g i ca l t im e s w i t h t h e f a i r ie s

B i n o y S a s i d h a r a n

The Magical W or ld of the Fairies


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focused on finding the quiet zone.

The entrance door required one to push a buzzer to allowentry. I guess this is to monitor numbers and who's entering

as there is a camera watching. The trees/forestry screeningprovides a natural-like serenity as an initial vibe, feeling toset the scene. Inside a corridor leads in an arc to a circularroom decorated in blues and natural wood. Pictures ofneutral water scenes decorated the walls, as this is a place forall faiths, which was evident.

My friend put her feet up, taking a breathing space for awhile from the buzziness of the retail vibe outside. Some young men were already in the room preparing for theirprayers. So, with a polite 'you do your thing and we'll doours', we sat a while taking in the peacefulness.

The aircon was pretty cold so it was not comfortable to staytoo long here. There was an adjacent room with carpet, redcomfy chairs and small table. Here one could simply bequiet, or have a conversation, even a catch up nap. It was nottoo homey, rather neutral, perhaps to avoid people stayingtoo long but adequate for meditation and relaxation.

If one feels the need to talk through things to a neutrallistener then there is a Chaplain available by appointment.Congratulations to the Bluewater management for makingthis space freely available for staff and visitors.

I wonder if you know of other shopping centres and business

centres providing the facility of'Quiet Place' for reflection,spiritual practise or simply a nap time?

Report by Linzi Martin visiting the award winning designedshopping centre Bluewater, near Dartford, Kent in the south

15

December 2010Spirituality in the Wo rkplace - Linzi Martin

I thought, wouldn't it be great if work places had a 'quiet'room where people could meditate, pray and be at one withtheir spirituality.

In the 1980s I worked in the financial sector, at the Bank ofEngland, in the city of London. I discovered a relaxationclass taking place at lunchtime, nearby where I worked. SoI started to attend this 'quiet time' where the ReverendGeoffrey Harding led us to a place of stillness, lying downin the choir area. After all our relaxing there was socialtime with a cup of tea, then back to work feeling morerefreshed. In due course I trained with the Relaxation

Society and lead some of the city lunchtime sessions. Ibelieve what Rev. Harding instigated was quite unique atthe time. The church had liveliness to it, being used for aholistic spiritual purpose, rather than poorly attendedservices.

Fast track to now! I've continued toteach relaxation and mediationpractises privately, within businessand adult education. And I wonderedwhether there were work places thatoffered a specific 'quiet' place for theirstaff. Bluewater is an indoor shopping

centre which I visit to mooch around,gaze at the interesting sculptures andcarvings. With its spacious avenuesand light, high ceilings it is a pleasingplace to spend your money andwindow/people watch.

I went to check it out with a friend ofmine. The visit took place on aweekday so the shopping centre wasnot as busy as at the weekends. I easilyfound 'Quiet Reflection' marked onthe centre maps, mostly used for

shoppers locating their favouritestores. Not for me this time, I was

Spirituality in the W or kplace - A Repor tAn un likely discovery in a sh opping centr e, England


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December 2010Spirituality in the Wo rkplace - Linzi Martin

east part of England.www.bluewater.co.uk/content/cu_peace

Linzi Martin, Sleep Well Live Well Consultant, offeringnatural solutions for those suffering insomnia or seeking

to live a healthier simpler life. www.feelgoodzone.com.

I posted the question if anyone knows of a Quiet Spacewithin the workplace. Here are some responses:

Melanie Ollenberg YES! The Centre for Addiction andMental Health has a chapel, healing room, smudge room,and is working on a sweat lodge. (Toronto, Ontario):http://www.camh.net/Care_Treatment/Care_providers_role_descriptions/ careproviders_spiritreligious.html

Unfortunately, I found the space was under-utilized, butoffering mindfulness meditation facilitation for staff andmulti-faith services for both staff and clients were criticalin getting folks out. I've also worked on the coordination ofconferences which offer a meditation and prayer room,which is particularly important when triggering topics arebeing presented.

Laurence Harrould I have heard that the ANZ bank inAustralia had this in head office (a whole floor apparently)while John McFarlane was the CEO. Haven't been able toconfirm it though.

It's interesting how many organisations which youwouldn't consider particularly enlightened are doing veryinteresting things. AMP is a large insurance & financecompany in Australia and has a role called Catalyst forMagic. I'm not entirely sure what the person does but itsounds great.

Dhara Kothari That's what i am striving for in Bombay andelsewhere if not in offices then some meditative places

where one can come, meditate and learn more about it. Linzi your idea of a company having quite rooms is indeedsplendid, but in large cities where real estate is expensive,companies may not go for it despite wanting to. They rathertie-up with existing meditation centres or organize a weekly

event in their conference rooms. On the otherhand those companies not having a spaceproblem should seriously look into this andcreate such rooms.

Dawn James I suggested that to our company - but it's very low priority, so instead at lunchtime I leave the office, and enjoy quiet time inmy car to meditate, reflect and centre myself.Linzi Martin Thanks everyone for yourcomments. There's been a few articles in UKnewspapers about Mindfulness meditation being used in schools and helped studentsconcentrate more. Perhaps it's also given theteachers some well-deserved quiet time as well!

Some years ago I contacted local big newly builth o s p i t a l t o s e e i f I c o u l d r u n arelaxation/meditation group for staff. Was toldthere was no quiet or sitting out room availablefor staff! Being a bit cynical I wonder if somecompanies state they take staff well beingseriously and have measures in place but inreality nothing gets done. It does seem that when individuals who are decision makers

within companies, have personal experiences of whatmeditation offers, then they have more influence to make ithappen within the workplace.

L I N Z I M A R T I N


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December 2010Auroville - The city o f Utopia - Dr. Amit Nagpal

Aur oville - The city of Utopia

' V a s u d h a v K u t u m b k a m 'proclaims the Indian philosophy, which means the entire earth isone family. Surely an outdatedconcept when family memberscan n ot l i ve i n un i ty an dtogetherness. However outdated,this philosophy is perfectlymirrored by AUROVILLE, a townwhose mother is spirituality andfather effort. Auroville is auniversal town, located 14 kmsnorth of Pondicherry, in thecoastal Tamil Nadu.

Lady Mirra Alfassa or theMOTHER (also co-founder of Sri A u r o b i n d o A s h r a m i nPondicherry), a French nationalwith Egyptian father and Turkishmother, had a dream of creating aplace where spiritual seekers fromall over the world could find ahaven, a place of love and self-enhancement. Hence Auroville w a s b o r n i n 1 9 6 8 w i t hinternational recognition. Young

people from 121 countries and 23Indian states placed a handful ofearth from their native lands in alotus shaped urn made of marblelocated in the middle of anamphitheater, representing thebirth of this city.

The name AUROVILLE does not

come from then a m e o f S r i Aurobindo but

from the French wor d A ur or a(meaning dawn)a n d t h u s Auroville is thecity of Dawn. Auroville is amulticultural,mult inationalt o w n w h e r emore than 1500men and women

from 35 countries l ive int o g e t h e r n e s s , p e a c e a n dharmony. Realizing human unityis the purpose of Auroville. Spreadover an area of 15 square miles Auroville is well connected witht h e U n i o n t e r r i t o r y o f Pondicherry (15 kms.) and the cityof Chennai provides the closestrailway station and airport.

Auroville is a planned, hi-tech

town with four zones (Residential,I n d u s t r i a l , C u l t u r a l a n dInternational) arranged aroundthe Matrimandir, the temple ofthe MOTHER and the soul of Auroville. Each zone has a veryspecial significance and exhibitsthe beauty of internationalcommunity cooperation. While

the Industrialz o n e h o u s e ssmall industries

manufacturingp r o d u c t sranging frompeanut butter tos o l a r e n e r g y s y s t e m s , t h eI n te r n at i on alzone houses thep a v i l i o n s o f v a r i o u sc o u n t r i e s( s o m e t h i n g

similar to IndiaI n te r n at i on al

Trade fair in Delhi). Indian

culture and ethos is very widelyrepresented in the Indian Pavilion(Bharat Nivas), currently the biggest pavilion which has anauditorium, a library and a centerfor teaching Indian languages.Others being studied or underconstruction are French, German,Italian and Russian pavilions.

In 1971 the foundation ofMatrimandir was laid (which is in

the final stages of construction), atemple in the shape of a globe andhas been constructed on thescaffold of four pillars (Mahakali,Maheshwari, Mahalakshmi andMahasarasati). The temple isthronged by devotees and visitorsthroughout the year, who come to visit or mediate in the uniquemeditation hall, which houses thesingle largest glass crystal in the world. The MOTHER had

promised Aurovillians that she would take care that the innermeditation chamber becomes aplace where the divine forces act.Surrounding the Matrimandir aretwelve small mediation rooms(with coloured lighting) whosenames are Peace (deep blue),Sincerity (light blue), Humility(Deep green), Gratitude (palegreen) etc. These chambers, asseen from above, form 12 petals

around the Matrimandir. The


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spiral ramps, which lead to thechamber, seem to be hanging in

the air. Matrimandir is anarchitectural marvel witharchitects from all over the worldputting their best. What happensto a person when he steps into ahuge, twelve-sided room of whitemarble with twelve columnsdisappearing into the roof, and aray of light shining down on thecenter? The effect on the body isprofound and the feeling is one ofclarification and purification.

Indeed the walk up the ramps y m b o l i z e s t h e a s c e n t o f humanity in an upward spiralending in a metaphysical vision.There are twelvegardens aroundM a t r i m a n d i r with names likeProgress, Youth,Harmony, etc.Besides the Rosegarden and the

Garden of Love,there is a Gardenof Unity locatedin the center.

T h eA mphi the atr elocated adjacentt o t h eMatrimandir isused as a placefor the pre-dawnbonfire and silent

g a t h e r i n g which drawsAurovilliansand friendsof Aurovilletogether on

New Yearsd a y ,Auroville 'sb i r t h d a y (Feb 28) andother holydays of SriAurobindo Ashram. A37 KW solar

power plant has been installed top r o v i d e e l e c t r i c i t y f o r

Matrimandir's lighting.

Auroville, which claims to havedivine guidance, is managed by Auroville Foundation (Govt. ofIndia) and the Parliament of Indiafor the governance of this city haspassed a special law. In 1988 the Aurovi l le Foundation Bi l l(created by a Special Act of theIndian Parliament) provided forthree authorities an International Advisory council, a GoverningBoard consisting of eminentIndians and the Residents Assembly that comprises of all

adult Aurovillians. Dr KaranSingh was the first Chairman ofthe Foundation. Auroville hasalso received support from itspatrons such as UNESCO, Govt ofIndia, Shri JRD Tata Trust, and

Sri Ratan Tata Trust, in the past.This melting pot of cultures andnationalities has been accorded aunique legal status.

Aurovillians who collectivelyspeak more than 55 languagesconsist of a significant number ofIndians (mainly Tamils), Frenchand Germans. The inhabitantstransit from metropolitans fromall over the world to a rural settingwhere car drives are a novelty andin times of need people still draw water from wells. The pioneersstruggled hard to make this placenot just livable but extremely beautiful. The uncultivated wastelands 8,000 hectares ofhave been transformed into aplace of social integration,forestation, maintenance ofwater, solar energy miracles (youhave a solar ki tchen andrestaurant which can cook foodfor 1,000 people and seat 380),m a i n t e n a n c e o f s o i l a n dagricultural organics. The

o c c u p a n t sand visitorshave plantedmore than 2million treeso f v a r i o u sorigins. The

people havet h e i r o w ndairy farmsand cottagei n d u s t r i e s , which drawe l e c t r i c i t y from wind-mills.

A n o t h e ru n i q u e

feature of thistown is that


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work is not the means of earningone's livelihood and to gainmaterial comforts, but is anexpression of self; an opportunityto develop one's capacities and toutilize the learnt skills for the

betterment of the community andthe world as a whole. Most people who live in Auroville have left b e h i n d f l o u r i s h i n g , y e tdissatisfying livelihoods indifferent partsof the world tobe a part of thec o m m u n i t y .To live heremeans to carryout the Yogaof work, thismeans that allAurovill ianstake up workand do it as Yoga. As an A u r o v i l l i a nadvocates that, T h e o l dp r a c t i c e o f Yoga demandssi le n ce an dsolitude; the Y o g a o f tomorrow inaddition, is to find the divine inwork and relation with the world.It is not what you do but the spiritin which you are doing it thatmakes Karamyoga.

Money, in this society is not thesovereign lord and in fact there is

hardly any money exchange between the Aurovillians. Mostpeople just exchange goods andservices through their accounts without any exchange of cash.People mingle around socially alot in the absence of extensivecable television exposure andchildren are able to grow anddevelop integrally. It is a place where human relations, usually based upon competition and

strife, are replaced by feelings ofc o l l a b o r a t i o n a n d r e a l

b r o t h e r h o o d . A u n i q u eexperiment in internationalcommunity living Auroville is anMNC (Multi National City) inexistence. It can be a model townto the striving countries and

communities as a picture ofinternational beauty.

Aurovillians combine a life ofstrenuous physical activity with

the discipline nurtured by regularand spiritual exercise to helpthem evolve into better human beings. Sports like gymnastics,football, badminton, tennis,Aikido, Tai'chi, Kalaripayyat andKabaddi are a part of inhabitants'daily life. Quiet Healing Centerlocated at Quiet beach offer

activities unheard of, such as Aqua balancing, Pranaerobics,Cellular consciousness, Drawingand dance therapies etc andmassages l ike underwatermassage, Shiatsu, Deep tissuemassage etc.

The ecologically revived Aurovillehas self-fashioned extremely beautiful and original homesimporting architecture of several

countries. Accommodation is alsoavailable in various guesthouses

in Auroville ranging from Rs 501,000 a day. The Quiet beachcenter also offers huts andapartments and a uniqueexperience, for those wanting tostay at the beach, but these

arrangements are not permanentand to be a part of Aurovillerequires permission from theTrust.

A u r o v i l l e ' sa p p r o a c htowards religionis that one mustr e n oun ce a l lreligions andsince religionsmake up part ofthe history ofmankind, theya r e b e i n gs t u d i e d a t Auroville witho b j e c t i v i t y .Begging is notpermitted inA u r o v i l l e .Persons found begging on ther o a d a r edisbanded asf o l l o w s ;

children to a school, old to a home,the sick to the hospital and thehealthy to the work.

Social norms of Auroville are alsodifferent from the outside world.Marr iages do not requireceremonies and rituals. People

who love each other and wish tospend life together get married without any pomp and show.Children born in Auroville usetheir first names only, except when legally required. Thecollective ideal of Auroville is 'Alife that wants to grow and perfectitself' and nobody needs to followany particular lifestyle that is,each man for himself. SriAurobindo's philosophy was that

'as man came after the animal, soanother being must come after


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December 2010

man'. An Aurovillian remarks,One must renounce material lifebut should not run away from lifeitself. In India it was the Sanyasis who renounced everything, inEurope there were the monks andthe ascetics. They can escape but when they are reborn, they willhave to start again.

Aurovillians are not allowed toown land and the houses /factories / offices, which theybuild, are in the name of AurovilleTrust. Though any number oftheir forthcoming generationsmay stay in the same house butthey cannot sell it. The activitiespursued by Aurovillians arevaried and unique. They include village development, education, business, land restoration and

afforestation, research intorenewable energy applicationsand experimental constructiontechniques, health care as well asnumerous cultural activities.

There is a Central fund to whichall the businesses contribute and aRevolving fund for business loansto Aurovillians. The SEED projectis an experiment on since 1993 in which the member Aurovillians

pools their funds together andtake what they need in cash and

kind. Nandini is an experiment incollective sharing that providesnecessary items like clothing and bed linen. The cost of replacingand expanding the stock is borneeach month by all participantsequally. The Freestore is anexchange point for clothes where Aurovillians take whateverclothes they need and donate what they do not need whileMahasaraswati is a similar placefor household appliances. TheCaring Service attempts to linkneeds and resources of thei n h a b i t a n t s . I n d i v i d u a l scommunicate to the service theirneed for a specific item and theService tries to fulfill the need bye i t h e r a p p r o a c h i n g o t h e r Aurovillians personally or byputting a note in the local

newspaper AV News. 'Pour Tous',which means 'For All', is a grocerystore where most Aurovillianshave their purchase debited fromthe account they hold.

W h i l e t h e h o u s e s o f t h e Aurovillians are named Peace,Courage, Happiness etc, theschools are New Creation, Lastschool, Transition School etc.There is a special emphasis on

Arts l ike poetry, theatre ,sculpture, music, dance and

visual arts. Nadaka is an innovativemusician. Having studied the veenaand sarod for some years, hereturned to playing the acousticguitar discovering over a period oftwo years a new way of tuning it that

enables him to create sounds ofIndian music. Holger came toAuroville in 1990 together with hiswife, four children and a violin in his backpack. He is one of those whohave watered the cultural desert thatwas Auroville at that time. Kratu is apainter turned sculptor who workswith clay. He likes the soft warmthand the ability to shape a sculpture with his own hands. His workMaheshwari is Egyptian in concept,

some muses bore traces of South American art while the headreminds oneself of the nobility of theIndian Kings.

Another claim to Auroville's fameh a s b e e n a n i n t e r n a t i o n a lreputation for its work on landreclamation and afforestation. In1987 for instance, a Swiss Aidsponsored project brought a groupof villagers from Rajasthan to

Auroville. These villagers (followingthe progressive work done byAurovillians in converting a desertinto a forest) planted around fivelakh trees in Rajasthan in 1987-88with 85 % survival rate.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has v isi ted Aurovi l le twice andinaugurated the Pavilion of Tibetanculture. He said that he has found aunique combination of materialism

and spirituality in Auroville and the Aurovillians can help Tibetans inmany fields. When Shri JRD Tata visited Auroville, he remarked 'Ihave come to breathe the Aurovillespirit and in spite of not being an Aurovillian, I have the Aurovillespirit. Only a country like India hasthe spiritual capacity to hold such anexperiment'. Auroville is a place ofunending education, of constantprogress, a youth that never ages

and a laboratory for the next step in

Auroville - The city o f Utopia - Dr. Amit Nagpal


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human evolution. Even parentingat Auroville is different withcouples like Tashi and Rama.Tashi is Tibetan while herhusband Rama is a Tamilian.Their real 'Auroville kid', as they

love to call him, is being broughtup to speak both the languages,along with the other languagestaught at school.

There are 13 villages in theimmediate surroundings ofAuroville area, comprising about20,000 people. Ofthis population Auroville employsa r o u n d 5 , 0 0 0people. About 400 village childrenat te n d schoolse s t a b l i s h e d b y A u r o v i l l e a n dm a n y o t h e r sattend Auroville-sponsored crchesa n d e v e n i n geducation centers. Auroville HealthCenter and its sixsub-centers in the villages handleabout 200 patientsdaily.

It is difficult to believe that a townof 1500 people has organizationslike:ARISE- It stands for agriculturalrenewal in India for a sustainableenvironment and has been set up

to propagate the message oforganic farming throughout India Aurofilm-It is dedicated to theresearch and study of the artistic,educational and cultural value ofcinema and workshops are heldo n m a k i n g o f f i l m s a n ddocumentaries.AuroNET- A community network which facilitates electroniccommunication within Aurovilleand outside and also provides

internet access for communitymembers.

Auroville Archives-It is therepository for all importantletters, documents, photos etcpertaining to the development of Auroville with emphasis onexperimental nature of work

done. Auroville food processing-Itmakes exotic products likesesame butter, sauerkraut, amlajams, tofu, muesli etc. Auroville herbarium-It containsover 4,000 sheets of specimens ofplants from tropical forests and

Andaman-Nicobar islands.House of Mother's Agenda-forloaning of books and cassettes ofSri Aurobindo and MotherKalamitra- Friends of arts is agroup of Aurovillians involved instimulating cultural life in

Auroville through talks, dances,

recitals, video shows etcLaboratory of Evolution-The LOEaims to be a focus for research intoevolution of humanity in thecontext of latest developments inscience.Museum of Archaeology-Amuseum related to excavations,restoration and research relatedactivities.Pitchandikulam Bio-resourceCenter-The center is a teaching

and training place for the

propagation, protection and use ofmedicinal plants.Pyramid Arts center- Auroville'sfirst functioning center for theplastic arts with ateliers forpainting, drawing, graphics, clay

modeling/sculpture and glasswork.Quintessence-This center deals withexperiments with the healingproperties of Indian flowers foreventual use with the Bach flowerremedy system. Actual therapy andtreatment of patients is also doneusing flower therapies.

S r i A u r o b i n d oI n t e r n a t i o n a lI n s t i t u t e f o rE d u c a t i o n a l

R e s e a r c h - I t i sengaged in a widerange of educationalresearch activitiesreceiving funds fromFoundation for Worldeducation (USA) andSDZ (Holland)U t s a h - a s m a l lresearch unit focusedo n f i n d i n ginexpensive ways to

promote health and vital energy such aswater purification andd y n a m i s a t i o n o f

water.Auroville bakeries-Various bakeriessuch as Le Gourmet, Le FermeCheese offer exotic foods like kefir,quiche, baguettes, veg. tarts etc.

Besides, there are organizations like Auroville Board of Commerce,

Auroville College,Auroville Guards, Auroville Village Action Group, Youth Center,Bioregional Co-ordination Group,Center or Human Unity, Center forscientific Research etc. Theshoppers can shop till they drop forexotic products like pot-pourri,hammocks, hand-marbled articles,massage rollers, papier mache dolls,glowballs, Japanese lanterns etc

Auroville till today has not been able



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to completely get rid of humanafflictions like egotism, politics,misuse of money power etc. Insome ways, it is just like anywhereelse with an additional thin layerof spirituality. It would be

misjudgment to assume that theAurovillians, as soon as they enterthe land, leave behind their oldknots, which have torturedhumanity for millennia. Howeverthe influence of the trulyemancipated people soon rubs onthe newcomers and constanteffort to be a better person isundertaken.

Now the Auroville ship is 34 years

old but is still flying its flag ofconfidence. When one begins ajourney, so many questions cometo one's mind like how to describea path when much of the way isunknown? In which directionshould one go? 'Embark' said theMother who was never one to siton the bank considering thedifficulties. So Auroville sets sail,leaking no doubt and with anunkempt crew who can never

quite decide on, which directionto steer but, preferring above all, aglorious shipwreck to a cozyexcursion on the backwaters ofthe known.

Bon Voyage!

Auroville International centers /Liaison offices (For Informationpurpose) are located in Canada,USA, Germany, Spain, France,Netherlands, Sweden, UK etc.

Legend

There is a legend related to Auroville. A village namedIrumbai was located on the edgeof modern Auroville whereKaduveli Sidha, a famous Yogilived some four to five hundred years ago. He was performing aharsh penance (tapasya). No onedare disturb Kaduveli in his

penance as he chanted the mantraof Eswara and soon an anthillstarted to rise up around him.Sitting under a peepal tree inyogic pose for days, the heat of hisbody was so intense that the rain

gods suffered, no rains came andhence people were suffering fromthe drought. The situation was sobad that the news finally reachedthe notice of the king who ruledfrom Edayanchavady village.

Finally, a temple dancer named Valli devoted to the Lord Shivadecided to do her best to get theattention of the Yogi and to rescuethe people from the adverse

effects of his tapasya. Sheobserved that occasionally theSidha would, with his eyes shutput out his hands to catch andconsume the falling witheredpeepal leaves. So she preparedsome thinly fried appalam(papad) and started placing it inthe Yogi's outstretched hands ashe tried to catch the falling leaves.He started eating the appalamsand got his taste back. Slowly hegrew fatter till the anthill brokeand he was once more exposed tothe rays of the sun. Finally heopened his eyes. Valli wasextremely happy and was able totake him back to her house whereshe kept him happy by dancing forhim. Meanwhile the God of rains was relieved from the tortureinduced on him by the heat of the Yogi's tapasya andthe rain poured inp l e n t y a n d t h epeople were happyonce again.In order to celebratethis event the Kingordered a hugeprayer ceremony to be held at Irumbaitemple which was to be fo l lowe d by c l a s s i c a lperformance by

Valli in which she would act out thecosmic dance of Lord Shiva, in theform of Nataraja. During theperformance however one of heranklets fell off and she started toloose her balance and rhythm.

Kaduveli who saw the reflection oflord Shiva in Valli picked up theanklet and put it back upon her feet.This led to his ridicule by the Kingand court for having touched thefeet of a dancing girl and he washeckled and jeered. Furious, heinvoked Lord Shiva to come out ofhis temple and prove his innocencein a rain of stones. Immediately thelingam in the sanctum sanctorum ofthe temple exploded and wherever

its fragments fell, suddenly the land became a desert. No vegetationwould grow around these spots andthey are still to this day known asKaduveli.

The King was suddenly frightenedand begged the pardon of theSiddha, bowing down to him with allhis entourage and pleading with himto lighten the effects of his curse.This appeased Kaduveli but as the

curse could not be written off, theseverity of it was reduced. Kaduveliprophesized that in the futurepeople from far off lands wouldcome and make the desert landgreen and fertile again. Today thereare v i l lagers who feel that Aurovillians are those promisedpeople from far-off lands and thecurse is beginning to leave them.



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Theme of the EncounterUNIVERSAL WELLNESS THROUGH MEDITATION,

YOGA AND HOLISTIC HEALTHTheme Elucidation

Despite unimaginable materialistic comforts that man has created for himself through scientific research and technology he is

far from happy. It means materialistic advancement may have made his life physically comfortable but in return it has made it diseasedand he feels mentally tormented and distressed. He lives in a palace, flies in his private jet and eats the choicest food nevertheless he ismentally a wreck. He doesnt enjoy spending time with the members of his family. The materialistic affluence has robbed him of his innerhappiness. He lives under a perpetual fear, fear of losing wealth and position. He suffers from numerous diseases like aids, cancer,depression, obesity, blocked coronary arteries and spends millions of rupees on doctors, drugs and hospitals. Instead of any relief hisagony goes on increasing. He has never had time to think as to why he is so unhappy? What is the real cause of his diseases and mentalagony? It is because of his stressful state and unhealthy lifestyle. His disregard for nature and its scenic grandeur has only added to hisagony. He has never tried to look within ever for a moment. He remains ignorant of the inner world which is infinitely blissful and asource of real happiness. At present human suffering has already reached its pinnacle. Can there be universal wellness? Can this state ofagony which every individual finds himself in be ended or mitigated? Yes, it is possible to get answers to these questions. We have decidedto organize an international encounter from Feb. 17 to 20, 2011 at Jaipur. We invite you to come and explore. We believe that yoga andmeditation can ensure universal wellness unfolding before us a treasure of holistic health.Plenary Sessions and Workshops

We plan to have a series of plenary sessions and workshops on various sub-themes.(a) Sub-Themes for Plenary Sessions

1. Yoga A Unique System to Harmonize Body, Mind and Spirit2. Modern Lifestyle and Diseases3. Meditation the Gateway to Health, Happiness and Moksha4. Okido Yoga a Pathway to Global Health5. The Chakras and Pranas, their Role in Curing Diseases6. The Secret of Universal Wellness As Enshrined in the Vedas and Upnishads7. Purusharth Chatusthya The Four Pursuits of Human Life and Global Health

Those who want to speak or present a paper at a particular plenary session, the sub-themes of which are given above, should submit theirproposal to the International Coordinator giving the title of their paper and a summary of about 150 words. They should do it as soon asthey receive this circular letter. The programme committee will take a decision in a week and will inform you if the proposal has beenaccepted.(b) Workshops

We have set apart 1 hours for each workshops in the afternoon. At a time two workshops can go on. We propose to have 6workshops in all on any of the area of the conference. He who wants to lead a workshop should submit his proposal giving the title of the

workshop and a brief summary of what he wants to discuss at the workshop as soon as possible.Last DateLast Date for the submission of proposals to speak at Plenary Sessions or lead workshops is 15th Dec. 2010. But I encourage you to submitit as soon as you receive this letter.

VisaAll participants are requested to seek tourist visas only.LanguageThough English would be the official language in all plenary sessions and workshops those who want to make presentations in theirnative languages should bring their translators with them.ClimateThe climate at Jaipur in Feb will be pleasant but participants are advised to bring warm clothes with them.Last Date for RegistrationThose who want to participate in this conference must fill in the registration form given at the end of this brochure. The last date forreceiving the completed registration form is Dec. 31, 2010. The organizers will confirm the registration of each individual within a fewhours of its receipt. We have limited the number of participants so those who register early will be preferred. If your registration is

confirmed we will let you know how to send the registration fee.Registration FeeThe registration fee for overseas participants is 200US Dollars and for Indian participants, it is Rs. 5000 but the fee for Indianparticipants doesnt include hotel stay and dinners. They will be served lunches and refreshments only.

Accommodation and MealsThe overseas delegates will be extended free local hospitality (board and lodging) for four nights i.e. 16th Feb evening to 20th Feb 2011noon.Concluding SessionConcluding session will be held at 10AM on 20th Feb. 2011.

Arrival and DepartureEach participant is expected to arrive in Jaipur by the evening of 16th Feb. 2011 and leave by the evening of 20th Feb.

N o t e : T h o s e w h o a r e in t e r e s t e d s h o u l d f il l i n t h e r e g i s t r a t i o n fo r m i m m e d i a t e ly a n d e m a i l i t t o

s lgan dh i@hot m ai l .com ved ic .pee th@epat r ika .com ved ic .pee th @gm ai l . com or Fax : +91-11-43850 118

EVENT -Intern ational Encou nter

EVENT -International Enco unter


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December 2010Boo k Review - Gayatri Pagdi

Yo ga & Parapsycho logy Em pirical Research an d Theore tical Studies

Edited by K Ramakrishna Rao Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd Price :` 795/-

If you think a title like Yoga & Parapsychology:Empirical Research and Theoretical Studies seems

intimidating, and hence you should stay away fromthis wonderful collection of essays, then you need todefinitely stop yourself right there and make anattempt to find out what this book is all about.P a r a p s y c h o l o g y ,unfortunately, is yet to

be taken seriously inthis country. Psychicabilities or psi are thescience of siddhis.Siddhis, as we know,can be explained asextraordinary humanabilities. They are alsoassociated with the

y o g i s . T h i scommonality between

yogic abilities andp ar ap s ych ol og i ca lskills have not beens e r i o u s l y a n dscientifically studiedas much they shouldhave been. This book,

with its impressive

collation of essays,attempts to throw lighton many aspects of this

vibrant science. It isalso a very effectiveeast-west meeting ofminds.

In 2006, the Institutefor Human Scienceand Service, along

with international

p ar t i c i p at i on h adorganised a nationalconference and a

w o r k s h o p a t t h e Andhra University.The volume is a compilation of the majorpresentations at the conference and the workshop.The contributors came from countries like USA, UK,Sri Lanka, Germany and Netherlands. Some of theessays are heavy on theory while others areexperimental reports. The end result is a richcollection of viewpoints, explanations and thought

provoking topics that range from consciousness andmind to soul and spirit; from post mortem survival

to personality & religion in the view of paranormalexperiences. The length of the essays varies. Some like

the essay on post-mortem survival are fairly lengthywhile the one on the study of reincarnation is muchshorter. There are also ample diagrams in the book toillustrate experimental findings. Those, as also the

statistical data, attimes, might make areader skip certainportions but this

book is basically aculling of academicmaterial. So thatsort of a data only

goes on to make itmore exhaustive. Itis also the reason

why it, in no way,sensationalises ore m b r o i d e r sc o n c e p t s l i k ereincarnation orESPs which have,for too long, beentaken lightly or as apart of campfires tor i e s on i d l eevenings.

Parapsychology isserious business. Itis as serious as

Yoga. It needs to beunderstood andstudied by more.There is nothingd i f f i c u l t t ocomprehend aboute i t h e r o f t h e

subjects. One justneeds the will topick up this book,

w h i c h i s m o r et h e o r y t h a n

anecdotes. But you need to have a theoreticalfoundation to understand psychic phenomenon sothat there can be more useful approaches to the studyof parapsychology. Just as yoga is not merely standingon the head, Parapsychology is not another name forghosts. It's a fantastic area of study and understandingit, even in the smallest way, will only enrich our minds.


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December 2010Review - Music

C h a n t i n g t h e C h a k r a s R o o t s o f AwakeningLayne Redmo ndPublished by: News Age Music

Time: 46 minutesPrice: ` 299

The album has three tracks, which are; 1. The garlandof letters 21.50 mins. 2. Lotus of light 15.38 minsand 3. Elements into light 8.35 mins.

The three pieces on chanting the chakras harmonizesthe mind and body through drumming and chanting.Traditionally these meditations were practiced torebalance the chakras, leading to an expansion of

consciousness and a clearer understanding of one'spurpose in life.

Track 1The seed syllable on each petal of every chakra is chanted, starting from the first chakra at the base ofthe spine and rising to the sixth chakra in the center of the head. Each sound vibrates a specific part ofthe body being resonated. After an opening reverent invocation of all that is, a bell rings three times tosignal the beginning of the chanting. Each seed syllable is held for 12 beats with the next four beats for

breathing in. The practice opens with repetitions of the primordial syllable AUM. Then the seedsyllables on the four petals of the first chakra are chanted. The chanting continues through all thechakras, closing with the final repetitions of AUM. Chanting through the chakras with a focussed

concentration retunes and rebalances the entire mind/body complex.

Track 2The thousand petals of the crown chakra are inscribed twenty times with the fifty letters of the Sanskritalphabet. These syllables are chanted quickly on the pulse, pulling all awareness and energy into thecrown chakra.

Track 3Each of the first six chakras has a seed mantra or sound produced by the frequencies of that chakra.The essential nature of the chakra is expressed and balanced by this sound. The Bija mantras are alsothe sound of the elemental energy associated with each chakra.

The study of the influence of rhythm and tuning on consciousness is known as nada yoga. The Nada,the universal pulse of life and creation, manifests within us as the sound of our own heart beating.From the oldest of times this primal beat has been represented by the sound of the drum. Each letter orseed sound has its own transformative power and represents an elemental force of nature. The powerof each sound affects the unconscious contents of the deepest levels of the mind. These sounds arethought to purify and lead one towards a reunion with the highest order of consciousness.


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