DIGITAL & PRINT-ON-DEMAND ISSUE 21 SPRING 2016 NĀMARŪPACategories of Indian Thought THE NĀMARŪPA YATRA 2015 ASHTANGA YOGA SADHANA RETREAT TRIBUTE ISSUE PARAMAGURU R. SHARATH JOIS NĀMARŪPA ISSUE 21 SPRING 2016 Categories of Indian Thought THE NĀMARŪPA YATRA 2015 ASHTANGA YOGA SADHANA RETREAT TRIBUTE ISSUE Publishers & Founding Editors Robert Moses & Eddie Stern NĀMARŪPA YATRA 2015 4 THE POSTER & ROUTE MAP Advisors Dr. Robert E. Svoboda GROUP PHOTOGRAPH 6 NĀMARŪPA YATRA 2015 Meenakshi Moses PALLAVI SHARMA DUFFY 8 WELCOME SPEECH Jocelyne Stern During the Folk Festival at Editors Vishnudevananda Tapovan Kuti Eddie Stern & Meenakshi Moses Design & Production Robert Moses PARAMAGURU 10 CONFERENCES AT TAPOVAN KUTI Proofreading & Transcription R. SHARATH JOIS Transcriptions of talks after class Meenakshi Moses Melanie Parker ROBERT MOSES 28 PHOTO ESSAY Megan Weaver Ashtanga Yoga Sadhana Retreat October 2015 Meneka Siddhu Seetharaman Website www.namarupa.org by BRAHMA VIDYA PEETH Roberto Maiocchi & Robert Moses ACHARYAS 48 TALKS ON INDIAN CULTURE All photographs in Issue 21 SWAMI SHARVANANDA Robert Moses except where noted. SWAMI HARIBRAMENDRANANDA Cover: R. Sharath Jois at Vishwanath Mandir, Uttarkashi, Himalayas. SWAMI MITRANANDA 58 NAVARATRI Back cover: Welcome sign at Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, Uttarkashi. SUAN LIN 62 FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHS October 13, 2015. Analog photography during Yatra 2015 SATYA MOSES DAŚĀVATĀRA ILLUSTRATIONS NĀMARŪPA Categories of Indian Thought, established in 2003, honors the many systems of knowledge, prac- tical and theoretical, that have origi- nated in India. Passed down through अ आ इ ई उ ऊ the ages, these systems have left tracks, a ā i ī u ū paths already traveled that can guide ए ऐ ओ औ us back to the Self—the source of all e ai o au names NĀMA and forms RŪPA. The ऋ ॠ ऌ ॡ अं अः publishers have created this journal ŗ ř ļ ĺ ał aģ out of a love for the knowledge that it reflects, and desire that its content be क ख ग घ ङ clear and inspirational, without any ka kha ga gha ńa particular agenda or sectarian bias. NĀMARŪPA is published in both NĀMARŪPA uses च छ ज झ ञ print-on-demand and digital versions. diacritical marks, ca cha ja jha ña NĀMARŪPA YATRA guides annual as per the chart, for ट ठ ड ढ ण pilgrimages to sacred places in India. the transliteration of ţa ţha ďa ďha ņa NĀMARŪPA BANDHĀVA helps raise all Sałskŗta words. त थ द ध न funds for the education of children in Many of the articles ta tha da dha na the Uttarkashi and Gangotri regions of do contain these the Himalayas. Learn more and donate. marks, but it is not a प फ ब भ म NĀMARŪPA is funded by sales & universal occurrence pa pha ba bha ma donations. Contributors have offered in the magazine. In य र ल व their work freely. Editorial and all those cases where ya ra la va production assistance is voluntary. authors have elected NĀMARŪPA LLC not to use diacritics, श ष स ह P.O.Box 271, Dublin, NH 03444 USA Sałskŗta words śa ša sa ha R. Sharath Jois [email protected] remain in their � � � Conference at Tapovan Kuti, www.namarupa.org romanized form. kša tra ña Uttarkashi,Uttarakhand, India. October 14, 2015 2 Issue 21 Spring 2016 3 NĀMARŪPA YĀTRĀ 2015 NĀMARŪPA MOUNTAINS YATRA YĀTRĀ 2015 An epic pilgrimage in two parts PLAINS YATRA Vrindavan from Varanasi to the Himalayas Taj Mahal various options during October 2015 & an opportunity to combine the yatra with a special ASHTANGA YOGA SADHANA RETREAT with SHRI R. SHARATH JOIS in Uttarkashi, Himalayas, India October 12 -17, 2015 presented by ASHTANGA & YOGA NEW YORK The poster for the Nāmarūpa Yātrā 2015. During the summer 2014 Nāmarūpa Yātrā Divine, we stayed at Tapovan Kuti in Uttar- Page from the brochure for the Nāmarūpa Yātrā 2015. Although the highlight of the Yātrā was the Ashtanga Yoga Sadhana Retreat kashi, Himalayas and practiced morning asanas in their satsang hall. The energy of Swami Tapovanam, who had resided there for in Uttarkashi, there were actually nine different options for people to attend. The full program would last the whole month of October many years, inspired me to suggest to Eddie Stern that we have a retreat there. Eddie said that he had talked to Sharath often about and was divided into the Plains Yātrā, the Ashtanga Yoga Sadhana Retreat, and the Mountains Yātrā. The full itinerary included going to the Himalayas. Eddie asked Sharath if he would teach a week there and Sharath said yes. This set our Yātrā 2015 in mo- New Delhi, Varanasi, Vrindavana, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Uttarkashi, Guptakshi, Kedarnath, Tunganath, Triyuganarayan, Kali- tion. Over 150 people attended. Photo: Bhagirathi River at Chirbasa, en route from Gangotri to Gomukh, 2014. ©Robert Moses. math, Badrinath, Kartikswami, Rudraparayag, and Devprayag. Photo: Ganga Arati in Varanasi at Assighat, 2014. ©Robert Moses 4 Issue 21 Spring 2016 5 The poster for the Nāmarāpa Yātrā 2015. During the summer 2014 Nāmarāpa Yātrā Divine, we stayed at Tapovan Kuti in Uttarkashi, Himalayas, and practiced morning asanas in their satsang hall. The energy of Swami Tapovanam, who had resided there for many years, inspired me to suggest to Eddie Stern that we have a retreat there. Eddie said that he had talked to Sharath often about going to the Himalayas. Eddie asked Sharath if he would teach a week there, and Sharath replied yes. This set our 2015 Yātrā in motion. Over 150 people attended. Photo: Bhagirathi River at Chirbasa, en route from Gangotri to Gomukh, 2014. ©Robert Moses. Om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana yoga cittivritti nirodhah”, but how to asanas with breathing techniques, how shalakhaya chakshurunmilitam yena experience? It comes only through the we do vinyasa karma; tasmai sri gurave namah || teaching of a Guru, only a master can This is very important. When we do show you how to do that; only a master. vinyasa krama, our whole body gets his is first time for me in So he was looking for a master who purified, all our organs inside get TUttarakhand, it’s the first time I could teach him all the techniques, so he purified, and become stronger, and have ever come here. I know for many could get more clarity about yoga. So he your body will become stable, and your of you it is the first time, too. This went in search of a Guru, and someone mind also will become more focused. region of India is a very special place; it’s told him that you should go meet Rama For focusing the mind we use dristi. a holy place for Hindus, and we come Mohana Brahmachari, only he can You have to gaze in certain place while here to do lots’ of rituals. Many saints, teach you. So he went to find him, and in the asana, and that improves your many sadhus and many yogis have come Rama Mohana Brahmachari wouldn’t concentration or focus. So only the, here and done lots of tapas here, so it’s speak to him. He wanted to make sure once we master asanas, then we can go a very special place, especially for yoga that Krishnamacharya was a serious the other limbs – so this is the Ashantga practitioners. student – now in the Mysore shala, yoga method which Krishnamacharya As all of you know, what we are you make application, and you’ll be taught, and later on he passed it on to practicing is Ashtanga Yoga, which accepted; then there was no application. Guruji. Guruji is the one who carried it, came from this part of India. If the Guru accepts you, only then can who carried on his Guru’s teaching. So Krishnamacharya had travelled in this you learn from him. Rama Mohana this is the paramapara. region, and this is where he found a yogi Brahmachari said to Krishnamacharya, Without yama niyama this is not called as Rama Mohana Brahmachari. “No, you go, it’s not possible for you full, so then we have to think So Rama Mohana Brahmachari had to learn”, but Krishnamacharya was about yama niyama; ahimsa, satya, lived here somewhere in this region, very stubborn, and he said he sat there asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha, but nobody knows where. We have only for two days, and then Rama Mohana shaucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, heard it through Krishnamacharya, and Brahmachari came and started talking ishvarapranidhana. We will talk about I heard it from my Grandfather, Sri K to him. Krishnamcharya spoke to this on other days – so this is just a small Pattabhi Jois. So, this practice that we him in Sanskrit, and Rama Mohana talk on how this practice came – many are doing is an age-old practice; it has Brahmachari was impressed. He said of you know already how it came. So, come from paramapara, from the guru- to him, how long can you stay here? thank you all for coming. I would like shishya parampara – from Guru to his And Krishnamacharya said, “You have to thank Robert and Eddie – Eddie told shishyas, Guru to his students. When to tell me, however long you say, I me last year, in September, we should do a student become a master, they he will stay. I can stay here forever.” He something like this – there is Namarupa becomes Guru, and passes it on to his stayed for eight years learning with yatra, so in that yatra we can do four or students. Like this, the yoga knowledge him. So this method came because of five days of yoga class. I have never been has been passed on for generations. As Krishnamacharya, otherwise it would here so it was a good opportunity for me we know it in this form, of Ashtanga not have been with us, and we wouldn’t to come here and to do teach small class.