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Beyond the Void and Union with Shiva: Swami Muktananda's teaching distinguishes our tradition by revealing that beyond the void is Shiva. Dharana emphasizes mindful separation from infinite manifestations, leading to union with true nature, Bhairava, synonymous with Shiva. Surrendering the Senses: Seeing them as 'Nothing': Mind and senses depicted as a five-fold mandala: smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound working together. Analogy of senses as peacock's feathers, creating a dizzying experience. Swami Lakshmanjoo's method: Concentrate on the void while seeing senses as 'nothing'. Reflection on the yogic tradition's viewpoint of 'the void' and the difference between rejecting senses and concentrating on the void. The Source of the Senses Mapped by the Tattvas: Teaching aligns with Tattvas, where Shiva and Shakti's dance creates all manifestation. Outward expansion involves the development of the power of physical senses (Jnana Indriyas), leading to sensations, subtle elements, and gross elements. Three capacities arise simultaneously, with objects often overshadowing the deeper mechanism within us. A Closer Look at The Moment of Sensation: The indriyas (senses) have no meaning without the objects they are correlated with. Importance of accessing a deeper space during sense perception, in line with the yogic concept of surrender. Surrendering to the Source: The void described in Dharana is devoid of object but not content. Interacting with objects is interacting with Shiva in a limited way; turning attention within enriches the experience. Letting go of the sense object is a gain to the heart, allowing the experience of Shiva beyond the void. Translation and Practice of Dharana 9: Swami Lakshmanjoo sees the senses as nothing; Paul Reps adds the approach of melting into the beauty of the senses. Achieving the goal of the heart, the real wish behind the senses, through different approaches. Jai Deva Singh's teaching on the Absolute void as Bhairava and Shiva being most full from the point of view of Reality. Imagery and Practice: Paul Reps' imagery of the peacock tail and melting its beauty within for finding the source in the heart. Traditional approach of perceiving a point in space until it becomes nothing. Both approaches lead to achieving the goal of the heart and fulfilling the real wish behind the senses.

As Swami Muktananda once told Sri Shambhavananda, some meditation traditions think the void is the goal, but beyond the void is Shiva. Daily life is a dynamic mandala of creation, the sights and sounds of our senses create a dizzying array of thought patterns that keep us running in circles of samsara. Dharana 9 teaches us how to melt the beauty of our external world within so that we may experience the source of the mind and senses in our heart. This source, which apparatus as a void from the perspective of individuality, is actually an overflowing abundance when experienced directly from the inside out.

Immerse yourself in the transformative spirit of Ganesha as our Ashram resonates with the joyous celebrations that extend from personal realms to the universal. Delve into the symbolic journey through the story of Mushaka, Ganesha's mouse, illustrating the release of karmic obstacles and the surrender to Shakti's play, guiding us toward union with Shiva. Join us in expanding awareness beyond the five coverings, inspired by the wisdom of Ganesha and the transformative power of surrender. Om Gam Ganapataye Namah! The Mouse of the Mind: Embracing Ganesh through the Story of Mushaka It is that time of year - Ganesha pervades our Ashrams and pujas, our lives and is everywhere! The celebrations spread in a widening circle to envelop ourselves and our families, then our friends & relatives, next the people in our public lives, then the arts & artistes enriching our lives and finally, encompassing all beings in all Lokas. It feels like a wholesome practice expanding my awareness past five aspects of my karma - from the physical and personal to the subtle and Universal. These aspects are reminiscent of the five kanchukas in Kashmir Shaivism (or even the five koshas of Advaita) that limit the experience of Universal consciousness. The five heads of Ganesha seem to symbolize His help for the progress of my awareness through these five coverings. In our practices, we surrender to the play of Shakti (i.e., Parvati) which moves our ordinary awareness into union with Shiva (Universal consciousness). Ganesha’s energy helps the surrender by removing obstacles manifested in these karmic covers. The story of Ganesha’s vehicle, the mouse, illustrates the nature of these blocks. The story begins in Indra Loka where Krauncha was an accomplished celestial musician. His artistry however inflated his ego leading to pride and jealousy. He became miserly in praise of others, often absent when others performed or, preferred to sulk in the back or linger behind pillars in the hall. One day, Indra called on him to perform for the assembly of sages and Devas. As he sashayed to the dais, he thought he heard rapturous applause from sage Vamadeva on the way. In reality, however, he had stepped on the sage’s feet and the furious sage had cursed him “Enough of your false pretenses! May your outer form reflect your inner nature!” Krauncha was immediately transformed to a huge mountain-sized rodent to match the size of his pride! Why a rodent? It loves dark places and prefers corners and edges to open spaces which are seen as threatening or negative. Our pride is invisible to us and operates in the dark recesses of our mind, delighting in gossip and thriving on the failures of others. This negativity bias is a survival instinct that causes us to blame others when they reflect our limitations back to us. Back in the story, as the mouse-mountain moved, it trampled and destroyed the dwellings and all beings in its path. A desperate Indra ejected Krauncha from the heavens to the earth. Scurrying on earth, it destroyed forests, mountains, lakes, farms and families eventually reaching the Ashram of sage Parashara. Ganesha who was visiting the Ashram decided to end the rampage and collared the mouse with his lasso. This yanked the mouse off his feet and landed him, stunned, at Ganesha’s feet. The shock of the event flashed Krauncha’s behavior past his mind’s eye. He felt remorseful and begged Ganesha for forgiveness. Ganesha saw that Krauncha’s negative nature had dissolved. So he decided to employ Krauncha’s skills and talents and made him his vehicle. And, this is how Ganesha snagged a mouse for his ride. And like tiny mice, all kinds of thoughts scurry about the mind and pull it away from our practice. Unless we surrender them, we function from our mind and ego, much like Krauncha, the musician. This is the nature of the blocks manifest in our karmic coverings. As Babaji had said at a recent Satsang, ”… The Shakti will take you through eve

Explore the harmonious blend of discipline and playful creativity in spiritual practice, drawing insights from Zen Flesh Zen Bones, the wisdom of Shiva Sutras, and the teachings of Sri Shambhavananda, as we expound the teaching and lightning-like essence of Dharana 6

This class will deepen your connection to deity Vishnu through stories and new perspectives, kirtan, and meditation.

This class reflects further on Vijnana Bhairava Dharana 5 through discussion, free writing, and meditation.

This pressure or density is not only natural, but good for us. When diving underwater in the physical world, our body recognizes the pressure and slows down our heart rate, shifting our nervous system down towards a more restful and rejuvenating state. The pressure is also good for our lungs. In our subtle bodies when meditating there is a very similar experience, when we go inside our heart rate slows down and our nervous system down shifts. And similar to the water, there is a natural tendency to bob like a buoy in our heads all day long, staying at the surface, and it takes a certain kind of work to actually go deep within ourselves. And like water, we do this in small sessions— we don’t need to live underwater, we just need to practice going there over and over again. In fact, it is teh repetition that is the source of our depth, “Inserting the spark of awareness and letting it fade” as Shiva Sutra —- teaches. It is Effort over time, as Rudi teaches, that yields real growth.  The pressure of this dive within ourselves is unique, subtle. I hope that by discussing this pressure it does not lead to any expectations of pressure and thus doership. Instead I hope that by discussion this subtle pressure that we feel when we go inside it helps us actually feel our experience more clearly, and interact with it more personally. Because, as Babaji has been teaching steadfastly for quite a while, we so often get attached to the technique and artificial goals in our practice, such as “how deep we are diving”, or  “how long we can hold our breath” to keep with the analogy, and we not only miss the point of our practice, but we miss the experience, and thus also miss the growth. Technique is here to guide us to the present, to our direct experience, to our state of being— that is what I hope this discussion does for you.  Because it doesn’t matter how deep you dive within yourself— its the pressure itself that is beneficial, the actual experience of going inside and working with that experience— and when you can shift your awareness from the ‘depth’ to the ‘experience’, every depth becomes more beneficial, sustainable and interactive.  We are diving into the heart to interact with the experience, not to be done with the experience. As teh Sutras say, it is a subjective experience, not objective— meaning it is meant to be happening to you in the state you are in today, within the context of your life right now. We are each meant to really experience the process of going inside every time we do it, not to simply go through the motions like watching a TV show while you walk 3 miles on a treadmill. This is why it is beneficial to pay attention to the experience rather than focus on the destination— the experience is where the growth is. The subtle pressure that exists within us, that we slowly but surely breathe through, is the source of the healing— it doesn’t matter the depth or the time spent underwater/inside, it matters how much you are absorbing and participating in the experience. It  Which brings us to the second half of the Dharana, the rising up. Diving down is the work, rising up is the serenity. In the water, diving down is effort, you not only have to actively swim against the natural buoyancy of the ocean, you have to stop every few kicks to actively clear your ears, and this process continues every few feet. At a certain point you stop and allow yourself to rise up slowly. There is no need to kick here, or even clear your ears, you simply rise up and expand to the surface. In our practice it is the same. The work of going inside takes time and effort, we work with the experience directly and gradually, and let it work on us. And eventually there comes a time to allow ourselves to rise up and expand naturally. In the big picture one could say this is the moment of our Kundalini rising up the spine to the crown chakra. If we zoom out even further, this could be said to be the

This class will help you deepen your connection to goddess Parvati, followed by kirtan and meditation.

In this Teaching Moments episode, Sangha member Arati and Satyam discuss their experiences of finding refuge in the heart, our meditation practice, and the sangha. Arati: Talking about my practice is not something I’m very familiar with…I feel like I am still trying to learn, understand, and feel for what it means to have a spiritual practice. The talks that the sangha members gave at the intensive really resonated and inspired me to try and open up as I could relate to a lot of what they talked about and how they used their practice during rough times. The last couple of years have been very turbulent for me and I can’t say I’m totally on the other side so a lot of my experience is still current. A 10 year marriage ended and with it took a lot of people I considered family, I lost my house and most of my belongings, I left a job that I worked really hard to get to where I was and with all that change…so much else was shaken up and lost. It felt like my entire world and what I relied on for stability, security, safety, and comfort was all pulled out from underneath me in a blink of an eye. It felt so quick that I didn’t know who I was anymore. When people would ask me how I felt..it felt like I was jello, in the in-between…it was so scary and uncomfortable.  Early on when these changes started happening, I went to Shoshoni for a weekend training with Satyam and Abhaya and when I returned to the east coast, I signed up for an online yoga teacher training with them. During that training, everything was falling apart and it was so hard for me to show up for those classes let alone meditate on my own each day. But ever since I connected to this practice, it’s been there for me when I didn't know what else to do. I had always dreamed of going to India and what better of a time than when you’ve lost everything? And because I have this practice and have been warned over and over throughout the years…I knew I wasn’t going to find anything out there to solve my problems or the key to my happiness but staying or going was equally tough. So I left my job and went on a big adventure with my new partner. I was traveling the world and in a newish relationship and although I’m so grateful for both of these experiences, after having my life dismantled, it definitely wasn’t a vacation. I won’t go too much into my traveling and it did strengthen my gratitude for these teachings and for Babaji but I also went through a lot more discomfort on so many different levels. Because of the state I was in internally, the chaos, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity all around me was so challenging physically, emotionally, and mentally. I kept making a (small) effort to do my practice but I have been exhausted by life and my mind felt like it was torturing me when I would sit to meditate. Still feeling pretty lost, I reluctantly reached out to Abhaya and asked about spending some time at Konalani. On the Big Island there is a place called the city of refuge where, in ancient Hawaiian times, if you committed a crime and you made it to this point, you would be absolved of your punishment, which was typically death. That sounds pretty extreme and I wasn’t running from a crime but even though I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, getting myself to the ashram felt like making it to my own place of refuge. I was right, it hasn’t been easy. Being at the ashram is not an escape from any of your problems and most days, they are highlighted for me. But I’ve been able to get some clarity and reconnect to my practice in a big way. I have a reason to wake up each morning and am committed to doing my practice each day no matter what. I’ve got a place to sleep, food to eat, work to do each day and the support of the sangha. When I have to face my stuff - feeling lost, confused, disoriented, sad, overwhelmed - I can be in the flow of the ashram and I can remember that I am here to do this work. My idea of a refuge has really deepen

Join us as we explore our practice through the art of writing from within. We will review Dharana 4 and spend time meditating, writing, and discussing, in addition to some light movement. You are welcome to bring previous writing to continue working on or use the prompts provided.

Dharana 4 concludes the breath and pause specific teachings in this portion of the Vijnana Bhairava, and is our focal point for tonight. In this Dharana we begin to lean into the pause skillfully, feeling for the moment when we are ‘all out’ or ‘all in’, and allowing ourselves to be absorbed in a space where our ‘small self vanishes’. Before we unpack it, we can sit for a minute with the dharana itself and let it speak to you directly: “When breath is all out (up) and stopped of itself, or all in (down) and stopped—in such universal pause, one’s small self vanishes. This is difficult only for the impure.” The breath itself is a ‘ceaseless pulsation’ of life force, a throb of Shakti described as Spanda. When the breath pauses, as we saw in the last Dharana, there is a moment of where the ceaseless pulsation of life fuses into stillness— this stillness is not separate from reality, but a unique experience within it— a moment when the surface of the water becomes absolutely still before the wave pool of the breath begins again. This moment comes and goes in a flash for most of us most of the time— yet it seems to be a Holy Grail of meditative experience. Holding the pause with the will misses the point— we only end up feeling our will, not the peace of the pause— so what other options are there? As Muktananda teaches in his text “I Am That”, if we want to expand the pause, we have to expand our experience of the breath itself: “The state of stillness which occurs when the syllables merge inside and outside is natural kumbhaka. You don't have to make a deliberate effort to hold your breath, because as you practice hamsa, the time of the suspension of breath begins to expand. The duration of the kumbhaka increases naturally.” To expand our experience of the breath overall, we can slow down our breath, this guarantees that we will stay connected to the flow, while also taking ourselves towards the subtle destination of the pause. Of course this must be within reason and not create tension, but once the breath is slower, your mind slows down too and you can begin to work through the impurities that the Dharana alludes to. Because who are the impure that have trouble feeling the pause and slowing down? All of us, most of the time. As study after study concludes, our overstimulated nervous systems are stuck in a subtle state of fight and flight. And as we know about the sympathetic nervous system, when we are ‘fighting and flighting’— which is to say thinking, planning and scheming— the maintenance aspects of our biology go on hold. Our digestion slows down, our cellular repair and maintenance slows down, everything goes on pause so we can get through this or that struggle. Its like being in a hurry all morning and leaving the toothbrush open on the counter, throwing a towel on an unmade bed and leaving breakfast dishes in the sink. It helps us get to work on time this time, but studies are showing us that these biological dishes are just piling up inside, as a 2018 article from the University of Colorado health and medical center describes it— “When you check your phone or hear an alert, you activate your sympathetic nervous system, the part of your body that’s always scanning the environment. It gives you a little shot of adrenaline for every interaction. That adrenaline, which is meant to trigger your body to pay attention, sets off a cascade of chemicals that increases heart rate, pulse and muscle tension, and shunts energy from the brain to the muscles. It will take five to 30 minutes for your body to get back to baseline after every one of these alarms…Which is a problem in a world where cell phones rarely stop. Essentially, people don’t ever come back down to baseline…We have one stress after another after another. All that stress wreaks havoc on the body and mind, causing or contributing to a range of diseases, from heart disease and depression, to slee