Ten days at Ananda Ashram (ICYER)
We had an amazing trip to India. Ten of us spent 10 days at Ananda Ashram -where Dr Ananda Balayogi‘s mother and her staff, looked after us extremely well. It was wonderful to renew my links with Ananda Ashram after 30 years and to refresh my knowledge and experience of the Gitananda tradition which is so all encompassing, logical and sequential.
Although Swami Gitananda is no longer in his physical body, there are reminders of his overwhelming presence everywhere in the Ashram from life size paintings in the Satsangha Hall to the many photographs which decorated the walls of every communal room and his room up on the rooftop which is still used for special meditations. In life he had a dynamic, magnetic, enthusiastic and sometimes frightening aura but his presence now as he gazes down on all, seems gentle, kindly, benign and comforting.
His wonderful work is carried on by his widow, Meenakshi Devi, affectionately known as Amma. Ammaji is a very talented and highly practical woman with a lovely serene presence, a wonderful sense of humour and an amazing knowledge of Yoga. One of her most amazing talents is being able to skilfully negotiate the crazy maze of Indian traffic on her motor scooter, a talent she has honed over the past 40 years and which really deserves to be applauded. If you have ever driven in South Indian traffic you will know what I mean, there may be rules but no one cares about them and as Ananda says, people still use the roads as if there are bullock carts instead of cars. Fortunately I did not see any accidents but on many occasions I shut my eyes when it seemed we were within centimetres of having one.
Ammaji manages the day to day running of the ashram and the six-month course, she teaches classes, attends meetings of various local and state Yoga organisations , edits Yoga Life, a monthly journal , writes regular articles for this and other publications and is currently writing two books. I was privileged to read the first two chapters of her unpublished work The History of Yoga from Ancient to Modern Times which will eventually be published in 3 volumes and promises to be a valuable contribution to Yogic literature. Her second book The Rishis and the Rakshashas is a personal story which is an account of the events leading up to the Government takeover of the Kambliswamy Ashram, which resulted in the establishment of the present Ashram at Sadhana Beach.
For those who are not familiar with Amma, the following link shows her giving a short posture session some years ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE69mcMppAM&feature=related and when you access it you may find several more of these vignettes.
Dr Ananda works at Jipmer Hospital which is a very modern and up to date research and teaching hospital in Pondicherry and we spent one morning visiting him and being shown the Advanced Centre for Yoga Therapy Education and Research (ACYTER) which is investigating the role of Yoga in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disorders and diabetes mellitus and promoting Yoga amongst medical professionals and the general public. The Yoga Therapy Department has its own Outpatient and Specialty unit and a Yoga therapy hall where instructors conduct the Yoga Therapy sessions 3 days a week; from 10 - 11 for diabetes patients; 11 - 12 for Cardiovascular patients and 12 - 1 for patients with other disorders as well as regular public or staff classes at 6.30 am and 4.30 pm on those day. Weekly academic programs in diet and health and a weekly senior citizens programme are held and recently they developed a very successful 60 hour program to introduce first year medical students to the benefits of yoga as a branch of physiology and contemporary medicine and to help shape them into holistic physicians. This program was very comprehensive and the curriculum was equivalent to some Yoga Teacher training courses here. http://www.jipmer.edu/ACYTER/main.html
Our teachers for the course were Ammaji and senior teacher Shobana Devi from Czech Republic and occasionally Dr Ananda or his wife Devasena and the sessions were always very enjoyable and interesting. Our day began at 5am with a wake up bell and herbal tea followed by Aarthi (devotions). At 5.45am we went to the roof for meditative sitting followed by Hatha Yoga and Pranayama class till 8am. From 11- 1pm we had more Pranayama, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, relaxation and General Theory . At 4.30pm or 5pm we assembled in the Patanjali Hut for Mantra chanting, after which we were encouraged to practice Mauna or Silence until after the next morning session. The evening programmes were held in the newly tiled Satsangha hall at 7pm; this was usually Mantra and Bhajans chanting, Satsangha, and Yogic Theory followed by Aarthi and then bed by 9pm.
One evening we visited the Ashram City Centre, a 3 story building where we saw literally hundreds of children of all ages doing Hatha Yoga. There were classes in every available space, and at least 4 or 5 classes on the roof - all with their own instructor - it was noisy, energetic and enthusiastic and everyone seemed to be enjoying it immensely. The yoga classes were followed by Bharat Natyam dance classes with the teacher clapping and calling out the rhythm as girls aged from 5 to 16 performed very professionally. We were privileged to see several public performances of the girls in full costume as well as troupes of boys who performed amazing geometric and gymnastic yogic tableaux, these children are extremely talented and amazingly flexible and the Ashram has been running these programmes for more than 40 years so the teachers themselves have all come through similar Ananda programmes as children.
The culmination of our course was a wonderful Night of Felicitations, a special celebration held at the Hotel Surguru in Pondicherry to launch Dr Ananda's latest books; Meditation the Inner Yoga and Hatha Yoga Practices of the Rishiculture Ashtanga (Gitananda) Yoga Tradition. The evening was also to celebrate the September birthdays of Amma and her four year old grandson Anandraj and to show appreciation for students and others whom they which to especially honour for their work throughout the year.
When it comes to honouring people such as Saints, Gurus, teachers and others both past and present, few do it better than the Indian Yoga community. Our group was honoured to receive certificates for the training we had received and I was surprised and delighted to be presented with a very special award - a huge, beautifully framed certificate: The Swami Gitananda Senior World Citizen Yoga Excellence Award for a lifelong commitment and dedication to Yoga principles.
The entertainment included a Carnatic vocal concert by Dr Ananda and three musicians; a slide show of Dr Ananda‘s recent European tours; an amazing Yoga Tableau by a team of boys; a variety of numbers featuring winners of recent Yoga Asana competitions and students who had won prizes in local singing and dance contests and a stunning performance of Bharat Natyam by Devasina, Dr Ananda's wife.
The talent was amazing but the climax of the evening was a "birthday dance" for Anandraj performed by his 7 yr old sister Dhivya Priya and friends in pink traditional costumes (Pattu Parvathas) singing "When the Saints Come Marching In" followed by a huge birthday cake in the shape of Tigger which was distributed to about 300 people. It was indeed a memorable evening for all of us.
The following day our group dispersed to go to various parts of India and a few of us remained to rest and do some sightseeing before leaving.
For those who might be considering a sojourn in an ashram I will share some of the"reminders for harmonious ashram living" which the 6 month course students are expected to follow at Ananda Ashram:
- Ashram living is disciplined and Please do not wear shoes in this Ashram. This is our Indian hygienic custom
This rule included the Ashram grounds and some of us found it difficult to get used to at first.
- Please drink plenty of water and keep yourself hydrated. This will help with cleansing. A minimum of ten glasses of water is necessary. More people get sick in India from dehydration than from any other cause.
The Ashram had a slow old water filter and the 10 of us kept it pretty busy drinking our 3 litres of water a day.
- Students are expected to attend each and every class without fail. This is compulsory for us to attain our goals as an individual and as a group. Each class is a "Step" in the Yogic direction and no one should fall behind in this journey. Each class is a "brick" in building your own little Yogic life. If you do not feel well, sit at the back of the class or rest against a wall but at least "be present" to hear the ideas and be part of the group psyche. Each and every person is vitally important and presence is necessary.
Some of us did suffer a 24 hour ‘lurgi' but thankfully it was after the course.
- Students are expected to be on time for each class. On time means coming for class ten minutes before hand and sitting quietly to prepare themselves mentally for the teaching
A few of us had difficulty with this one also!
- Students are reminded of the need to respect each other in a ‘communal living' situation, to afford each other private space and refrain from visiting each other's rooms.
This rule would be essential if you were spending six months in the ashram but there is a lovely tropical garden areas and a lounge where students are encouraged to meet instead.
- Students are expected to be present for each meal, to eat together and share responsibly for serving food to each other and to observe silence in the evenings until morning.
Westerners have difficulty remaining quiet at any time. In an Ashram one gradually begins to appreciate how blissful Silence can be as well as the wonderfully calming and soothing effect it has on the nervous system.
And finally: (I have taken poetic licence with the layout)
"Our duty is to ensure that you leave the Ashram at the end of the course
a better person than you were when you came.
Your job is to make sure the Ashram is a better place because of your presence,
than it was when you arrived.
This is a good general rule of living.
Wherever we are,
whomsoever we come in contact with,
should be bettered by our presence.
We should be a "boon" in the lives of all we meet"
My journey back to India after 30 years felt like the completion of a cycle, a reunion with old friends and teachings I had forgotten. The auspicious award bestowed upon me was an unanticipated honour which I felt I had done nothing to deserve but is something I will always treasure.
By Margo Hutchison IYTA
