Our Gratitude to Sivananda Ashram

I recently spent two weeks at the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, along with my husband. This being our first trip to a monastery, our knowledge was limited to online information only. We were received warmly and efficiently at the reception and then directed to accommodation after a brief explanation of the ashram routine and activity. The room allotted was neat, with clean sheets and had all the basic facilities that one would need. Our intention was to stay within the ashram for the entire duration of our stay and partake in all the daily activities. The ashram has a continuous and structured activity schedule. The morning activity starts at 5 am at the Samadhi Shrine with prayer, meditation and a short spiritual talk for one hour. This was followed by the chanting of Om Namah Shivaya at the Vishwanath Mandir, concluding with mangala aarti at 7 am. The breakfast is served sharp at 7 am and from 7.30 onwards there is a recitation of Vishnu Sahasranamam for half an hour; followed by one hour of meditation (chanting Om Namo Narayanaya) . From 9 am to 11 am it was our routine to be at the Library. Again in the afternoon for two hours, from 2 pm to 4 pm we were at the Audio Visual Library. Daily four hours of either reading from the vast collection of spiritual books and listening to audio CDs became our routine for the entire duration of our stay. Both the Library and Audio Visual Library have an amazing collection of books and CDs . The lunch is served at 11 am and dinner at 7 pm with a second batch after half an hour, respectively. The lunch and the dinner bell brought back memories of my school days. The traditional way of sitting down and eating, also reminded us of our younger days at home. The prayer before lunch and dinner was like music to my ears, although I had no idea of the verses, except for a few which I had learnt in my childhood. We both belong to the Tamil Brahmin family, and saying our prayers daily in the morning and evening for a brief while, was part of our upbringing. However, we were not into recitations of the holy books, although we were broadly aware of the stories and the values conveyed by the scriptures. This we had learnt from our grandparents and parents. A prayer before lunch and supper was a novel experience to us and very energizing. The Satsang that followed from 7.30 pm to 9.30 p.m. was very soothing. The prayer book that we purchased from the library was of immense help in the chanting and recitation of all the shlokas . In the evenings, just before dinner we made our way to the Ganges and listened to the prayer by the river side at Gurudev Kutir. It was simply marvellous. It was almost as if we felt the presence of the Divine at Gurudev Kutir. By day 3, we had started meeting and bonding with people from different walks of life and different parts of the world. We met devotees from Switzerland, Japan, Italy, England, Netherlands and from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and many other parts of India. This indeed was ‘Unity in Diversity’. We started getting to know each other better as time went by. We were also very fortunate to attend some of the lectures conducted by the Vedanta Academy as guests. The lectures by the Swamijis on wide ranging subjects from Religious Consciousness, Yoga Sutras, Upanishads and Modern Philosophers were very refreshing and insightful which made me think about philosophy, religion and life in general. Basically it made us think, think and think. This too became part of our routine. During this period we got the opportunity to meet the Swamijis. They were very nice and made the time and effort to understand who we were and what we did. We were very humbled by their kindness. Swami Sivananda's abiding principle that no work is menial was so adequately displayed in the mix of devotees that took part in doing kitchen duties like cutting vegetables and serving food . As part of Seva my husband would go cut veggies in the kitchen and I was given a wee responsibility in proof checking a manuscript. We felt so good about it. With each passing day we felt deeply involved both physically, mentally and emotionally towards the ashram routine. We were involved for over eight hours a day in the Morning Prayers, chants, meditation, the mangala aarti and the Satsang. We could feel the vibrancy in the air and the resplendent surroundings added to the divinity. Although initially, both of us were unable to keep pace with the recitation of the Bhagvad Gita and the Vishnu Sahasranamam, we felt the energy and found it so mesmerizing that we would close our eyes and be in the moment. However, in a week’s time we were able to recite the prayers as this was slowly getting embedded in our minds. We felt happy about the progress we had made and the fact that we were able to participate meaningfully. I was also a part of the Matru Satsang readings, as well on a daily basis for one hour. This focussed on readings from the autobiography of Swami Sivananda and Holy Scriptures both in English and Hindi. All the matajis were very helpful and made me feel part of the gathering. By end of the week I knew all of them, not just by their names but each one had an interesting story to tell about their association with the ashram, which dated back to much before I was born. I could sense their warmth and joy as they were remembering their past. They literally grew up with Gurudev. I was overwhelmed at their devotion and dedication to the ashram. They were kind enough to gift me a book which had Gurudev’s teachings, in appreciation of the fact that I made it a point to attend the Matru Satsang without fail. I was quite touched by this gesture. Last but not the least, how could one not mention about the tasty prasadams? They were practically like a mini meal. There was too much food here and we were humbled by this generosity. The sattvic and healthy food made us feel light and energetic all day long. I would like to conclude by stating that both of us have taken our baby steps in this divine path of spirituality. We realize that we have a long way to go. Learning, understanding, adapting and slowly evolving into a still better human being, what more could we ask for? We already feel that the two weeks stay has given us freshness, joy, positivity and renewed energy. We truly feel blessed!! This ashram set amidst the majestic Himalayas is definitely a heaven on earth – Devlokha in this Kaliyug. We are ever so glad we made this trip. HARI OM TAT SAT