Swami Rama
This Himalayan
Master was an extraordinary man who could control the uncontrollable,
a man of many facets and many roles, but above all, a man of
indomitable faith in the divine nature of humanity.
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In this tradition, Hatha yoga is
taught as a way to train the mind through the body and to train the
body from the mind, not merely as a set of exercises. Meditation is a
way of making the unconscious conscious. Hatha yoga is the first rung
on the 8 limbed ladder to higher consciousness.
Sadhana
Mandir, Swami Rama's
Ashram, serves as an international center for the teachings of the
Himalayan Tradition of yoga and meditation; providing a living
experience of the systematic practice, study and lifestyle of yoga and
meditation.
Swami Rama of
the Himalayas has
presented this tradition in its scientific format in his lectures and
writings and is well known in the medical community for integrating
eastern and western approaches to health enhancement and its
relationship to spiritual growth. The Holistic Health movement is
a direct outcome of his experiments at the Menninger Foundation in
Topeka, Kansas 35 years ago.
Swami Veda
Bharati,
current spiritual head of this ashram, is also well known for teaching
in different communities and cultures all over the world and for using
examples from the spiritual traditions of those communities and
cultures to teach the universality of mediation. He has taught
meditation to followers of all religions. He holds the highest academic
degrees, is erudite in many schools of philosophy and religion and has
access to 17 languages.
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The
history of humanity is not the history of tool making or of social
organization. It is the history of mind's unfoldment. The
Himalayan Tradition believes that even if one weaves no clothing nor
owns a stone to crush wild nuts, one may be a saint, a sage, a
philosopher, a wise (wo)man. And what use that we have landed a man on
Mars but have not conquered the god of war who dwells with the mind,
nor can curb our anger, nor can slow down our breath, nor can lower our
blood pressure without the aid of an agency external to us? The
Himalayan tradition is an unbroken stream of
spiritual knowledge flowing from the
great sages of the Himalayan cave monasteries and advocates complete
self-sufficiency of a human
being without dependence on any object external to his spirit and
mind.
This tradition
teaches
specific methods of training the human mind. It awakens the energy
called Consciousness into the meaning of one's essential nature. The
methods are scientific, systematic and internal, culminating in the
direct conferring of the energy of Consciousness to a disciple until
s/he becomes a Master in his/her own right.
The Purpose of the
Himalayan Tradition is to awaken the divine flame within each human
being — to help each student come to know his or her true self. The
Himalayan Tradition is distinguished as the first meditative tradition,
which is the most comprehensive, integral and all-inclusive. It has
given birth to the major meditative traditions in the world, and
continues to enrich them all. It does not require adherence to a belief
system but is practical in its approach.
Swami Veda Bharati
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