Sivananda News Sivananda E-Gurugram
The Electronic Newsletter of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers
Issue # 5/2004 Serve Love Give Purify Meditate Realize May 1, 2004
"Love alone can transform the World"
- Swami Sivananda

More Quotes
TABLE OF CONTENTS

News
Sivananda Yoga FAQ
Hatha Yoga Tips
Yoga Sanskrit Glossary
Vegetarian Cuisine
Spiritual Calendar
Upcoming Events
Yoga Center, Munich
Center, Geneva
Yoga Center, Berlin
Center, Paris
Retreat House, Austria
Yoga Center, Vienna
SPIRITUAL CALENDAR

This section indicates the spiritual holidays which are coming up:

MAY:
1 Ekadasi
4 Full Moon
Budda Poornima
14 Ekadasi
19 New Moon
30 Ekadasi
E-MAIL DIRECTORY

A complete e-mail directory of the Sivananda Yoga Centers and Ashrams is available at:
Sivananda Email Directory
SIVANANDA "OM" PAGE
http://www.sivananda.org/

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    OM NAMAH SIVAYA!
    NEWS

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    Om Namah Sivaya
    By the grace of God and blessings of Master and Swamiji everything is going fine in the organization. We thank you for all your support and prayers.

    SIVANANDA YOGA FAQ

    Q. "May I enquire how the power of concentration increases?"
    A. Concentration increases by curtailing your wants and desires, by observing Mouna for two hours daily, by remaining in seclusion in a quiet room for one or two hours daily, by practising Pranayama, by prayer, by increasing the number of sittings in meditation in the evening and at night, by Vichar, etc.

    Previous FAQs at http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/faq/faq.html
    HATHA YOGA TIP

    Focus on a point

    While meditating, you can focus on one of the body's chakras, or centers of spiritual energy, such as the Ajna Chakra, between the eyebrows, or the Anahata Chakra, near the heart. Repeat a personal mantra, or the mantra OM, each time you inhale and each time you exhale.

      - From the book "101 Essential Tips On Yoga"

    Previous Yoga Tips at http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/asana/101tips.html
    YOGA SANSKRIT GLOSSARY

    Thyaga:
    sacrifice, renunciation

    Complete Sanskrit Glossary can be found at: http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/glossary/glossary.html
    VEGETARIAN CUISINE

    UPPAMA WITH MIXED VEGETABLES AND COCONUT CHUTNEY

    A south Indian breakfast or supper dish. Serve with Coconut Chutney (recipe below) or yogurt. Serves 6.

    Uppama with Mixed Vegetables

    Ingredients:
    • 3 ½ cups coarse semolina
    • 2 cups diced potatoes
    • ¾ teaspoon paprika
    • ¾ teaspoon tumeric
    • salt
    • ½ cup oil
    • 1 ½ teaspoons black mustard seeds
    • 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
    • 3 tomatoes, chopped
    • 1 ½ inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped
    • 3 fresh green chilies, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
    • 10 ounces mixed vegetables (carrots, cabbage, green bell pepper) very finely chopped or grated
    • 3 1/3 cups boiling water
    • a few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
    Preparation
    1. Heat a large skillet or wok. Add the semolina and cook over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until it is a few shades darker, stirring constantly. Remove from the pan; set aside.
    2. Sprinkle the potatoes with paprika, turmeric and a little salt. Heat the oil in the skillet. Add the potatoes and sauté over medium heat until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, set aside.
    3. Add the mustard and cumin seeds to the skillet and heat them over high heat until they begin to “pop”. Add the tomatoes, ginger and chilies, if using, and stir well over low heat. Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 5 minutes.
    4. Add the boiling water and 1 teaspoon salt. Gradually add the toasted semolina, stirring all the time; the mixture should be light and crumbly without any lumps. Add a little more water if the mixture is too dry.
    5. Gently mix in the fried potatoes and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve at once.
    Coconut Chutney

    This chutney is simple to prepare. Its spicy tang is cooled by the coconut, making it a suitable accompaniment for ay meal. Add a bunch of chopped fresh cilantro for a green chutney. Serves 4 to 6.

    Ingredients:
    • Scant 1 cup unsweetened dried coconut
    • 3 tablespoons chopped curry leaves
    • 1 green chili, seeded and chopped
    • ½ inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
    Preparation
    1. Mix ingredients together
    Previous Recipes: http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/diet/recipes.html
    UPCOMING EVENTS

    Date Event Location


    See full list of international courses and events: http://www.sivananda.org/programs/international/index.html
    SIVANANDA WORLD NEWS

    Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, Munich, Germany

      The centre has been radiant with a peaceful energy throughout the month. Students and staff celebrated Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti with two beautiful Pujas. Although the centre rhythm slowed down a bit due to the Easter holidays, many students continued to attend courses, open classes, Satsangs and the weekly trial class for newcomers. A practical workshop on Yoga for the back was also received with great interest. Staff are now in full preparations for the upcoming events: a lecture and ayurvedic cooking class with Dr. Shanti Kumar Kamlesh 13 - 15 May, a lecture with evolution biologist Dr. Elisabeth Satouris 23 May and the yearly esoteric fair 7 - 9 May.

    Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, Geneva, Switzerland

      Greetings from Geneva. Swami Gopikrishnanandaji came back from Nassau TTC in the end of March and went to Orleans a few days later to support the ATTC. We celebrated Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti. We had a few courses, cooking classes and a workshop on “destiny and freedom”, which was well appreciated by the students. Swami Gopalananda went to Reith for the Easter retreat and Durga went to Orleans. Pranamas to all.

    Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Zentrum, Berlin, Germany

      Life in Berlin went on smoothly, the weather finally cheered up and everybody is happy to get some sunshine. Our open day was one the best we ever had with very open and interested people eager to start their yoga practice. From the 48 new students who attended 18 immediately registered for Yoga 1 courses. The philosophy course with Swami Atmaramananda was actually supposed to end, but students requested a prolongation, so 10 enthusiastic students started with "Srimat Bhagavatam III". Our fasting weekend was very good, calmness and purity was created at the centre and students were very grateful for the opportunity to cleanse body and mind. Almost all staff and residents went for a couple of days to Reith to breathe some fresh mountain air and recharge at the inspiring Easter retreat. We hope our next open day on April 25th will be even as successful; also we are looking forward to Dr Kamlesh's visit on may 8th/9th, on Saturday he will give an introduction to Ayurveda and cooking class on Sunday.

    Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, Paris, France

      The Easter holiday season is here and many students have gone out of Paris for their holidays. However, the centre has still been quite active with special Easter intensive course followed by a Yoga 2 (intermediate) course for another week. It brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the centre and these students appreciate the daily practise and study. We celebrated also recently the birthday of Lord Rama and Hanuman. They were just a week apart from each other and quite a good group of students joined us for the puja with chanting and stories from their lives. Many students brought flowers and were happy to learn more about their divinity giving us inspiration and strength for our daily spiritual practise. We have been working hard organising our summer programme with new course dates and workshops. It is now finished and is at the printers, so we hope to send it soon along with our new ashram brochure for Orleans. With the help of a close teacher we have been actively looking for our new centre. Every week she visits different places and we have found a couple which are quite interesting which we will revisit. We hope we will find the new centre soon.

    Sivananda Ashram, Retreat House, Tyrol, Austria

      On the 2nd of April we started the Easter special programme in the Retreat House. On the weekend we had a successful retreat for Sivananda yoga teachers with Swami Sivadasananda. We also started a one week intensive course on yoga and stress management with Swami Atmaramananda. Yoga vacation guests learned about the positive effects of Asana on shoulders, back and hips. Everyone was enjoying the walks in the beautiful nature and the asana classes on the platform under the first warm sunrays. On the Easter weekend we had a full programme with about 90 guests. Swami Durgananda gave a series of lectures on the “unlimited possibilities of the mind”. Swami Atmaramananda talked in his well attended lectures about the Hatha Yoga experience. We also had three special guests: Shambureshan Namboodri performed beautiful Yantra Pujas and one evening of Lalita Sahasranama. Abhay Shankar and Kakoli Mishra delighted the whole audience with a stunning Kathak dance performance and a dance workshop. We finished the Easter retreat with a six-day course on “Radiant Health through the practice of Yoga” with Swami Anantananda and a new intensive course on “Success in Life and Self-realisation” with Swami Vasudevananda.

    Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, Vienna, Austria

      The centre is doing well and every week new people from Vienna come for our trial class. The interest in TTC (Yoga teachers training course) is growing. People realize that they want to transform their lives on every level. The recently trained teachers from the winter ­ “Christmas”- TTC in Reith/Tyrol have started teaching and support the centre with Karma Yoga. The interest in philosophy and Bhakti (devotion) is also building up and we just finished a Ramayana course, which is a wonderful combination of chanting, meditation, storytelling and philosophy. The concept of Dharma (righteousness, duty) was explained. As the group wants to learn more we will continue with a Mahabharatha course in May. A new resident moved into the centre: Narayani, who is a university student and close teacher of the centre since one year


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    "Health is Wealth. Peace of Mind is Happiness. Yoga Shows the Way"
    - Swami Sivananda