yoga_life winter 2000

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S I V A N A N D AS I V A N A N D A

INTOTHE

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INTOTHE

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S I V A N A N D A

Published by

The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre51 Felsham Road,

London, SW15 1AZEngland. Tel: 0181 780 0160

e-mail: [email protected]

Headquarters

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp

Eighth Avenue, Val Morin, Quebec,

Canada, JOT 2RO. Tel: 819-322-3226

e-mail: [email protected]

The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, founded by Swami Vishnu-devananda is

a non-profit organization whose purpose is to propagate the teachings of Yoga and Vedantaas a means of achieving physical, mental and spiritual well-being and Self-realization.

The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres has its Headquarters in Val Morin, Quebec, Canada,with centres and ashrams located around the world (see page 58/59 for addresses).

WORDS OF PEACE 4

Swami Sivananda speaks on this very simple, straightforward,

yet difficult-to-obtain quality.

A QUESTION OF SUFFERING 6

Swami Vishnu-devananda examines the cause of suffering,

with some pragmatic suggestions.

SIVANANDA ASHRAM PRISON PROJECT UPDATE 29

MOUNT RUSHMORE SYNDROME 37

Eco-psychologist Allen D. Kanner discusses the modern outlook- when Narcissism rules the earth.

SANTOSH 40

Contentment, the most misunderstood niyama of Raja Yoga isanalysed by Swami Saradananda.

SHAPING YOGA TEACHERS THE SIVANANDA WAY 42

Jody Tyler gives an amusing insight into the TeachersTraining Course.

MAKING THE BODY ALL EYES 45

Phillip B. Zarrilli on kalarippayatu, the martial/meditationart of Kerala.

THOUGHTS ON A YOGIC LIFE 47

by Swami Durgananda

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY 10

Elizabeth Nathaniels summarises the multi-faith, multi-cultural,multi-national event which emphasised practical peace on anindividual level, rather than merely an absence of war.

MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH 12

Masami Kondo of the World Peace Prayer Society speaks on thepower of positive thought.

SIVANANDA SONGBOOK 15

If You Want to Have Peace in the World words and the songthat was especially written for Into the 21st Century.

PEACE CHILD 16

Miranda Warner interviews Eirwen Harbottle regarding herextraordinary efforts with children, on behalf of peace.

DEVELOPING OUR SPIRITUAL EYES 18

Rabbi Joseph Gelberman on transforming grief, terror andhorror into goodness and joy in life.

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI:

SAINT OF PEACE AND TOLERANCE 20

by Rolph Fernandes

THE NATIVE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE 22

Regent Garihwa Sioui, Secretary General of the NorthernAmerican-Indian nations on a wider definition of peace not just among humanity. We cant have global peaceif we are abusing another part of creation.

BEARING WITNESS FOR PEACE 24

Roshi Bernie Glassman, co-founder of the Zen PeacemakerOrder, on the need for healing and experience of unity.

AMERICAN PEACE PILGRIMAGE

IN A MOBILE ASHRAM 30

A modern journey, but the goal is the same since timeimmemorial to see God to find inner peace.

PLANET EARTH PASSPORT

Excerpts from Swami Vishnu-devanandas boundary-breakingdocument, that has recently been re-issued. 32

SIVANANDA WORLD MILLENNIUM PEACE PILGRIMAGE 33

Photo highlights of Into the 21st Century Peace Festival ... andschedule for the year 2000, as the mission continues.

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY PEACE FESTIVAL

1957

W I N T E R 2 0 0 0


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Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Om Peace Paz Paix

Om Shalom Salam Frieden

Blessed Self,

The eternal prayer of humanity is: Lord grant us peace. Yet, as much as we pray and talk about it, peace continues to elude most ofus. Of course, peace means different things to different people. To some peace means nuclear disarmament, to others it is an end to

hostilities in any of the many other troubled spots of the world. Still others are sure that peace would come if government budgetswere sufficient to provide proper schools, hospitals, programs for the aged and handicapped. For some peace means financial security.

The first week of August presented an extraordinary experience. Peace advocates and spiritual aspirants from many traditions gatheredat the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp in Quebec. They lived together in peace, acknowledging their differences, but trying to findsolutions that they could carry home with them and share with their communities and friends. Yet even while this enthusiastic groupof citizens of the world were happily waving flags, praying for peace, and basking in the sunlight of Canadas beautiful LaurentianMountains, what were their fellow citizens doing? Even within a few miles, how many people were being robbed, humiliated,murdered? How many children abused and beaten by frustrated parents? How many people were dealing with the pain of facingtheir own minds by dulling them with drugs and alcohol? Was hatred not rampant in the world during that week? Where were angerand greed? For there to be peace in the world, each person must go within to find that peace that passeth all understanding. Lust,anger, greed, hatred, jealousy, envy and fear cannot be banished by public declaration, laws or treaties.

As long as we hate and fear each other there can be no peace. To abolish these negative qualities, which are part of all of us, theteachings of Yoga can be of great value to the modern world. Through the scientifically designed techniques of Yoga, one learns to

watch, control, and be able to deal with his/her own mind. Negative emotions and energies are channeled into positive directions.One learns to identify with the divine nature rather than with the apparent, emotional qualities.

Peace is not an accident. It can only be accomplished by working at it on a daily basis. This was the message of Into the 21st CenturyPeace Festival. We have dedicated this issue of Yoga Life to giving a report of that event.

Yours,

OM Namah Sivaya

Dear Friends,

This past summer, I attended Into the 21st Century, a moving and impressive Festival forWorld Peace hosted by the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp. African drum and Andian flutemusic moved the spirit. Interesting and informative talks moved the mind. Hindu homas andnative American sunrise rites opened the heart.

I had the karma yoga of setting up and taking down the translation equipment; this had the verypleasant result of enabling me to attend all of the programs. I must admit that I initially approachedthe Festival with some trepidation as I did not want to be bombarded with activist cant targetingthis or that global hot spot and urging us to write our Member of Parliament and to donategenerously to the committee to free some unfortunate people from tyranny. The unspoken theme ofInto the 21st Century was in fact the opposite: Reform yourself and let the rest of the world reformitself, one of my favourite of all of Swami Sivanandas injunctions. The underlying message was thatyou cant create peace in the world or any part of it unless you have peace in yourself.

Much of the Festival was devoted to giving people the incentive and a variety of tools with which todevelop inner peace, each in their own way and each according to their ability and their need.Another re-occurring theme was that a person could best contribute to world peace not by becominga political activist but by becoming personally involved in resolving a local need, providing his or herown labor rather than making political demands that merely urge someone else to fix the problem.

Yes, there were presentations and references to global peace issues but they too promoted theapplication of ones skills and interests to long-term, low-key and interactive projects. Projects thatcould change perceptions so that there would be less need to make the type of political changes thatusually result in deaths, injuries, dislocation and alienation.

The Festival fully reflected the teachings of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-devananda andshowed how those teachings had direct application to issues of personal and internationalsignificance. Swamijis teachings elevate the consciousness, open new perspectives on situations ofconcern and point to new and more useful approaches to resolving those situations.

Many participants commented on the overall good feeling that the Festival engendered. My ownperspective on the Festival is that it was a five-star success. The speakers were professional in approachand personal in their message. From the exuberance of Rabbi Gelberman to the disciplined compassionof Zen Roshi Bernie Glassman and the sophistication of Mrs. Eirwen Harbottle representing the Centreof International Peacekeeping. Their messages inspired all who attended and helped to focus our

energies.All the speakers were approachable throughout the week of the Festival with meal times being aparticularly good time for speaking with them at length. Organizationally, everything seemed smooth;this was due to the constant attention of Shambhavi of the Yoga Camp and Jyoti from Montreal. Staffwere open, approachable and enthusiastic. The food was excellent, the grounds were well maintainedand even the weather cooperated. All in all, one of the most outstanding events that Ive attended inyears. - Sankara, Ottawa

LE T T ER T O T H E ED I T O R

LE T T ER F R O M T H E ED I T O R

Swami Saradananda, Editor

MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH


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any people are workingtoday for the promotion ofworld peace without

having peace inthemselves. Their loud propaganda, bigtalk and lectures cause more confusion,conflict and discord. If you want tohave peace in the world, you must firstfind the peace within your own heart.

A proper understanding of theessential unity of religions is the mosteffective and powerful factor inbringing about peace in this world. Itwill remove all superficial differences

and conflicts, which createrestlessness, discord and quarrels.

If everyone turns to the Supreme Peacewithin, there will be peace everywhere.A glorious new era of peace, amity, loveand prosperity can be ushered in , onlyif the youth of the day is educated inthe methods of self-culture. Educatethe moral conscience of the public. Thiswill bring lasting world-peace.

You can elevate others only if youhave elevated yourself. This world canbe saved only by those who have

already saved themselves. A prisonercannot liberate other prisoners. Onerealised sage can do more for thepromotion of peace than a thousandmissionaries preaching and disputing,day in and day out.

There will be not war,if all people practice

truthfulness, universallove, purity, mercy,contentment, self-sacrifice, self-restraintand tolerance. Non-violence is the key topeace.

Peace is the happy, natural state ofhumanity. It is our birthright. War isour disgrace.

Peace is a state of quiet. It is freedomfrom disturbance, anxiety, agitation,riot or violence. It is harmony, silence,calm, repose, rest. Specifically, it is theabsence or cessation of war.

All over the world, great conferencesare held for bringing about universalpeace, universal brotherhood anduniversal religion. It is the vanity ofhumanity that goads us to reform

society without first reforming ourself.Vanity rules the world. When twovain people meet, there is friction andquarrel. In the case of social reform,self-styled enlightened people startedinterfering with the customs andmanners of others, in an effort tocivilise them. Society lost itsmoorings, and the reformers could notoffer new, sound ones. Masses ofpeople drifted away into chaos. Howcan blind people lead other blind

people?

YOGALife W i n t e r 2 0 0 0

Sivananda:Words of PEACE


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No piece of paper called a treaty canestablish peace in this world. The wayof peace is very simple and straight; itis the way of Love and Truth.

Money cannot give you peace. Youcan purchase many things, but youcannot purchase peace. You can buysoft beds, but you cannot buy sleep.You can buy good foods, but youcannot buy good appetite. You can

buy good tonics, but you cannot buygood health. You can buy good books,but you cannot buy wisdom.

Perfect peace cannot be promoted byanybody who does not have perfectpeace in himself. No political ism canever solve the problem and bringabout real peace. Each new ismcreates only more problems and morequarrels.

Ethics should be put into practice byall. This alone will contribute to peace,universal love, unity, properunderstanding and world harmony.

Everlasting peace can be found onlywithin your own Atman or Self, orGod.

World-peace is possible when all thepeople of the world wake up to thefacts governing universal life andwhen there is a heart-to-heart feelingof goodness, love and oneness amongthe inhabitants of the world.

Peace, to be lasting and constructive,must be achieved through God. Therecan be no peace without God. God isPeace. Root yourself in peace or God.

Now you are fit to radiate peace.

S I VA NA NDA : WO R D S O F PE A C E

Love alone can bring peace tothe world. Therefore love all.Only if everyone practices thereligion of love, can there bepeace in the world.


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any religions incorporate theidea that a person must sufferand be punished. For examplethere is the idea of hell and

purgatory in the Catholic faith. Yogaphilosophy teaches the law of karma,whereby each person suffers as a result of hisown bad actions. However, people trulysuffer by virtue of their own ignorance, theirinability to understand who they are andwhy they exist. It seems that a persons badactions result from this ignorance. Eachperson appears to have come into existencefrom a state of total ignorance and mustsuffer. We suffer until we find the truth. Whyis this?

Swami Vishnu-devananda: Ignorance isitself an illusion. Pain itself is an illusion. Thereis neither ignorance nor pain. A simpleexample: you went to bed last night and hada nice sleep. Before sleep, you had a dream. Letus assume you dreamt of a tiger attacking youin the forest. So what did you say? Oh, its adream. I can sleep, I can forget about this. Youdidnt do this, did you? No, in the dream youstarted running for your life. And how longdid you run? Until you woke from the dream.When you woke up what happened? The tigerwas gone, the pain was gone. Ah, its an

illusion. Now you can laugh, but not duringthe dream. Well, were all dreaming - a cosmicdream. Shes my wife. Hes my husband. Its adream. Whos the wife? Whos the husband?Everyday you walk on the street; you seehundreds of thousands of people. One personyou meet like in a dream. Oh, its the dreamgirl youve been looking for. Ah, this is theperson I must have. From that momentsomething has changed. From that momentonwards he has to bring flowers: I love youhoney and bow to her and laugh when shelaughs. She has to cry when he cries, and he

is repeating the mantra I love you honey, Ilove you honey - how many times he has torepeat this mantra?

Its just a dream, a cosmic play, you know.Then next day your wife runs away withanother man and you start crying. Andsuppose she ran off with some money, lots of


As long as you identify with the body thereis a karma reaction... This law applieseverywhere. Nothing happens without acause. Look at this plant. It came from acause. There are two things: a cause andeffect. Sometimes we cannot see the cause,but we can always see the effect. Here theeffect is this beautiful plant and these

flowers. But we do not know who plantedthe cause, though we know somebody musthave done that. Cause and effect are oneand the same.

SufferingA Question of

S W A M I V I S H N U - D E V A N A N D A S P E A K S


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money, youll cry more, not for her, for themoney. Then, just suppose she had anaccident and her lover is killed. Before youused to cry when she had suffering, nowwhen she is suffering you laugh. The person isthe same. Your dream has changed. Now themantra has changed from I love you honeyto Go to hell honey. This is also a dream.From the cosmic point there is no suffering,no pain, only illusion. You identify with thisperishable body; that is the ignorance whichyou mentioned.

As long as you identify with the body there

is a karma reaction. Just as in physics, everyaction has an equal and opposite reaction.This law applies everywhere. A rocket goes upbecause it has an opposite thrust. If I throw aball, the ball will bounce on me. If I give a glassof water to some one who is dying, sacrificemy comfort, then I will get water when I amin the most difficult situation. Or suppose Istole water from some one who needs water.I drank, made him suffer, then sometime Iwont be able to drink, even if the water is inmy hand. Nothing happens without a cause.Look at this plant. It came from a cause. Thereare two things: a cause and effect. Sometimes

w e

cannot seethe cause, but we can always see the effect.Here the effect is this beautiful plant andthese flowers. But we do not know whoplanted the cause, though we knowsomebody must have done that.

Cause and effect are one and the same.Depends upon which point you are startingfrom. Take an example. This glass is round.Now tell me, which is the beginning of thisround glass? Let us assume there must besome beginning. So I say, this is the beginning,then where is the end? The beginning and endare the same spot? Depending on how you arelooking. If you look clockwise the beginningbecomes the end, and if youre lookingcounter-clockwise the end becomes thebeginning. So what is called cause and effectis only a matter of which came first,depending on how you are interpreting it.

Cause contains effect, and effect containscause. The seed contains the tree. And the treecontains the seed. The trees the future cause.

It is all how you look at it, you know. Thatswhy we can never solve the problem of thisuniverse by merely asking questions. Why Godcreated this world? If He created it, when didHe create it? Then what was He doing beforeHe created it? The questions can go on and on.The important thing is to understand thatnothing comes without a cause. The seed ofyour existence, there must be a cause. Why areyou all born in the country where everything

is in plenty? Why were you not born inBangladesh or Rwanda or Ethiopia? Wheremillions and millions of babies are starvingand dying.

The parents cannot even cry for their dyingbabies. They know their babies are going to diein a few days or few weeks. Theyre all likeskeletons. Ive seen it in Bangladesh. Indiarefused to give food to these people - about10 million refugees in a small area. There is nowater, no electricity, no food. Children aredead and dying, their bodies are lying withfilth and flies everywhere. Some are dead,some are just dying, and their parents aroundthem are not crying. There are no tears

because theres nowater to bring them even tears. But here the

baby gets all the attention, why? God isinterested?

If God created, why did God create somany millions of souls to suffer while somechildren are born in a castle with a silverspoon in the mouth? What is the causebehind it? If God is the cause then we have toblame God for everything. But God isimpartial, like the sun. The sun shines equallyin all conditions. The sun shines on the richmans swimming pool and in a gutter full offilth. It makes no difference between theswimming pool and the gutter water. It shinesequally. It is the same with Supreme Grace;the grace is everywhere. It is shining in all ofour hearts. But we close our eyes and pretendwe havent seen Him. Not only pretending, webelieve He is not even in us. We believe that

God is somewhere else punishing you andrewarding you. That cannot be a God whojust punishes us because we dont praise Him.He is a super dictator then! Read thequestion again.

Many religions incorporate the idea thatpeople must suffer, be punished e.g. the ideaof hell, purgatory in the Catholic faith.

Swamiji: Okay, stop there. Many religionsbelieve in hell and heaven. The question is:who is responsible for the hell and heaven?

Suppose I create a robot, Mr. Roboti. Who doyou blame if the robot killed someone? Thecreator is it not? And suppose the robotcontinues going around killing everybodythen you think that the man who created thismust be a monster. So, God created Hitler. Godcreated Jesus also. What is the differencebetween one creation and another? So doesthe blame go to God? And suppose youre notable to behave properly and youre sent to hellforever! Forever means how long? Infinitefuture youre going to suffer because you livefor one hundred years. Of the hundred years,fifty years you spend in sleeping. Childhood isgone like a dream. And then old age comes,sitting in the wheelchair with intravenousfeeding and senility, you cant even say yourown name. In between a few years calledyouthful life the hormones are very high, theblood pressure shoots up, thats called life.Because, in this short life span you cant bevery good and learn all of these ethical andmoral lessons, so youre punished forever? Is itfair that God should do that? Then, if I dontworship Him, hes going to send me to hell.Thats like a dictator. He has every power in Hishand. So thats not the right answer. God didnot create anything. He Himself manifests,that is the difference. Now, the conclusion ofthis. Why people suffer. Suffering is justanother illusion like a dream. This is calledmaya in Sanskrit, but your real nature is sat,chit and ananda, existence absolute,knowledge absolute and bliss absolute. There isno ignorance in you because you areknowledge each person is an image of God.But you have forgotten this image and youstart identifying with the dream.Ill give a simple example for you tounderstand how this illusion works. Im sureall of you have seen at least one movie in yourlife. Some movies are frightening. For exampleseveral years ago I was in London. At that timeThe Exorcist was playing. I wanted to seehow they make these films because when Iwas young my uncle was a mantravadi, a realexorcist. In my home every new moon night

Suffering is just another illusion like a dream. This iscalled maya in Sanskrit, but your real nature is sat,

chit and ananda, existence absolute, knowledgeabsolute and bliss absolute. There is no ignorance inyou because you are knowledge each person is an

image of God. But you have forgotten this image andyou start identifying with the dream.


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my uncle chanted various mantras; he himselfhad control over various spirits. Suddenly anordinary housewife becomes wild; it takes 5 to10 people to hold her. She becomes so hungrythat she eats 12-15 peoples food in a fewminutes. I couldnt understand all these

things; I was young. I knew that food onlygoes in one direction - through the mouthand into the stomach, then through the smallintestine, colon etc. When she comes back, shebecomes a normal housewife. And after 15minutes she will go and eat her normal dinner.Thats the thing that puzzled me. Whathappened to the food? Where did it disappearto? Lots of times I saw these things in mychildhood. Theres no way to explain itscientifically or logically.When I heard that this film is creating asensation, I just wanted to know how do they

do it. So we all jumped into a taxi and went tosee it. One girl, shes from California, she saidSwamiji I would like to come only if youregoing. I dont want to see that alone. I askedher: what are you afraid of that. Youre not ahillbilly, you know films are made inHollywood studios. The film is all light andshadow, you know that its an illusion. So shesaid, Yes Swamiji its anillusion. When we got intothe theatre she sat nextto me. The light went offand suddenly the

screen becomes alive,people are throwingup pea soup, thebed starts rockingand so forth.And this girlstarts screaming. So I hit her with myelbow. She closed her eyes and said Its anillusion, its an illusion. Then she opened hereyes and screamed again. She is an educatedperson. She knows everything intellectuallybut still she cannot disassociate from theillusion. She becomes part of the illusion.

So also this universe is an illusion! We areplaying this part. We are part of the cosmicillusion called maya. If an ordinary movie cancreate so much problem, how much illusionthe cosmic maya can create. Thats whyKrishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: Oh Arjuna,this cosmic illusion, is very difficult to conquer.Only he who surrenders to me, I will take himacross. Youve got no power. Just like a personwhos crying in the dream. Only one way youcan make him happy is by waking him up.Only God can wake us up from this cosmicdream. Our mind is also the maya, the

individual maya and Siva is the Self. And sothe mind plays every day, projecting differentthings. You project a girl and you say she isyour wife. You play with that thought and youplay the husband. And the children come andyou say oh, these are my children and you playwith that thought. And so we just continue

playing, never trying to identify with the Self.That is the difference between a God-realizedsoul and an ordinary person. That is all; thereis nothing else. A God-realized person can alsohave this dream, but he is not participating; heis witnessing it, watching everything.

So God has got two aspects: static andkinetic. Siva and Shakti are God inmanifestation and its inherent nature. Youcant say why God creates or illusion exists,because that why question exists only in yourmind. When you wake up from the dreamthere is no question. So when you wake up tothe fourth state, your dream vanishes, yourpain disappears. You realise, I was never born,never created, I never existed. Im always in thetranscendental state. Im always in thatsupreme state.

So there is no ignorance nor hell nor

heaven. Hell and heaven are only in yourunderstanding.

Another simple example, Ill just tell youour story. Bren and I both flew from Tel Avivto Cairo over the Suez Canal. I had lots ofammunition with me thats called marigoldflowers. We filed a flight plan to Nicosia.When we had gone 50 miles off, suddenly we

changed course. Suddenly the voice came,please turn back onto your original course,youre in danger of being shot. And I said,Please make for us a new flight plan to Egyptvia Suez Canal. The Israelis said, you cant flythere directly, youll be shot. So I said, Many

people died in the name of war, we two peopleare prepared to die in the name of peace.

Then I turned my radio off. So they send upa small jet which flew very close to our planeso that we could see the pilot. It was theclosest that I have ever flown with anotherplane. I can see this Israeli military planetelling me, Turn back, turn back.

By that time we were close to the SuezCanal. Then there was a sudden explosion andthe plane started going up and down and Ilost control, Oh my God, we have been shot,Bren let us meditate. I thought the plane was

going to disintegrate, but after a few minutesit steadied. The pilot gave us a jet blast, thenhe was gone.

We were over the Suez Canal. We droppedleaflets and flowers. We bombed them andthen crossed to the other side. We saw thesoldiers on both sides living in the desert, in

foxholes. Its so boring, and suddenly abeautiful colored plane came and startedthrowing leaflets and they ran to pick them up.

Then we crossed into Egypt. They couldhave shot us; flights would not have beenallowed over the Suez Canal. We had about

100 miles to reach Cairo, and when we were50 or 60 miles from Cairo we called in theusual pattern. Please give us landinginstructions. There was an uproar. Who gaveyou permission, youre not allowed to comehere. Then there were 3 or 4 jets, circlingaround like in an old movie, like the wagontrain with the Indians riding around. We toldthem, Please call your jets back; please give uspermission. At last they agreed. As soon as welanded we gave them flowers and tried to givethem the peace leaflets. But they wouldnttake anything. They immediately brought a

jeep, asked us to get in. There were soldiersstanding at attention everywhere. My God,what a reception we got!

Then we saw pictures of Gadafi and Assadof Syria. What happened is that we came atthe wrong time, literally. Assads and Gadafisplanes both were coming - and Sadat fromEgypt was there to meet them. So the

reception was not for us.We were blindfolded anddriven somewhere for aboutone hour. They brought usinto a small reception

room and removed theblindfolds. Then theyseparated the two of usand started theinterrogation. The first

question was: Where were you in Israel,whom did you see? I said I met many people.The night before we had about 400 peoplecoming for the lecture.

Who did you meet? Officials he means.I tried to meet Golda Meir; she was the

premier, but she was busy. At the time, the defenceminister was Moshe Dayan, but he was busy too.

Then he said, We told you not to come here.Yes, you told us, but I got another

command from another dimension. And ofcourse theyre all taking notes and he is writingevery bit of who I met - everything. And theyasked a question about Bren Jacobson.

Do you trust him?Sure I trust him.Do you know that he is a Jew.Yes, I know.In the Planet Earth Passport there are

symbols of all religions including a cross andthe Star of David. The symbol of Islam was also

there. They asked me why and I said, I believein all religions; everything is the same.

It took 2-3 hours. Then he asked me tosign at the bottom. And I just signed it withoutreading.

Dont you want to read it? Because youwill be prosecuted tomorrow. Please read


Our real nature is sat, chit and ananda, existence absolute,knowledge absolute and bliss absolute. There is no

ignorance in you because you are knowledge each personis an image of God. But you have forgotten this image and

you start identifying with the dream.


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everything.I said, I said the truth; whatever you feel is

your problem. And then they took me back tomy cell. I was there by myself and they put abright light in the room and they broughtfood. After another 2 or 3 hours, Bren came.

Again they blindfolded us and they brought usto another room.

All the windows were closed. We did notknow how long we are going to be there inthis Egyptian jail. But for us its not a problem,we are Yogis you know. They are bringingvegetarian food; we can meditate and do ourasanas and pranayama. Bren started to do his

Surya Namaskar and I began reading mybooks etc. I knew the place must be bugged,so I started quoting from the Koran.

The next day they took our photographsand fingerprints. Then told us, We found thatyou have come for a peace mission and for 3days you will be guest of the Egyptiangovernment. And after 3 days you can go. Sothey took us to the Nile Valley and the Hilton.We had a nice lunch on the boat. They arrangedeverything specially in the officers club. Firsttime they took a Jew to the officers club.

Then they took us to the Pyramids and wehad a camel ride. We got the official treatmentwith big limousines and escort, but in theevening they brought us back to our jail. We

had the time to meditate and do sadhana. Wewere very happy. On the last day they came totake us on a museum trip. Very beautifulancient treasures are stored there and afterseeing the museum they said, Swamiji, sinceyou are leaving tomorrow we want you to seeour Egyptian culture. We want to take you to

a nightclub.I said, Im a Swami I dont go to

nightclubs. But he insisted. So we got into thelimousine and they brought us to the bestnightclub. I had never seen a nightclub before.They gave us the best seats and the menu.

Please order anything you want. Forvegetarians there was orange juice only. Andthey ordered everything at the governmentsexpense. By the time the show came my eyeswere filled with smoke and I couldnt breathe.I preferred to go back to my jail. There I havefresh air and I can do whatever I want. Herethe air is killing us, its hell for us. But, theyre

enjoying; theyre getting everything free.Reluctantly they took us back

about 3oclock.

The next day they tried to test us again,whether we are spies or not. They took us outfor shopping and gave us fresh mango juice.

They brought us to one place and we sawsome Americans who had been at the nightclub the previous night. Naturally Bren washappy to see other Americans. So he startedtalking and I knew, this is a setup. They wantto see if we are going to pass any message tothem. So many times they tested us.

Finally they brought us to our airplane. Itwas fueled and everyone came to see thepeace plane including military officials. Beforethat they took us to a place where they weremaking military vehicles. No Jew had everbeen allowed to a military guarded place. But

Bren and I went without fear. What Im tryingto say is two things. Pleasure becomes pain;that nightclub was the most painful place Iveever been. But for the jailers and others thenightclub was heaven. So one persons heavenis another ones prison, and vice versa.

The second is that we went to Egypt with

love without visas or passports. They treatedeven a Jew like an honored guest. He wasshown everywhere including that militaryarmory. This happened actually. Now do youunderstand?

There is no one who can hate you if you go

with love. Wherever I go with love and flowersI get the same in return. But how can you stopthe problem in Ireland? By killing each otheryoull never stop the problem. Only by love.Love thy neighbor as thyself.

So we can make peace in the universe. Beforethat we must make peace within us. Thats thepurpose of this visit. Religion says hell andheaven exist. The same hell is anothers heaven.Ill tell you a small story and conclude. The storyis about some people who went to see how

people are living in heaven andhell. They went to hell first.

People were sitting at a tableand food is served. But theirhands are tied to longwooden spoons so they cantbend their arms. They arestruggling to feedthemselves and keep spillingthe food on the floor; beforelong all the food is gone, andthey are all starving andsuffering. So they went toheaven to see how they livethere. There they have

golden tables and goldenchairs and they havegolden spoons tied to theirarms just like in hell. Oh my

God, how are they going to eat? But theyare enjoying the food. How? They are feedingeach other.

When you think of others happiness thenthats heaven. But if you think of yourself - myhappiness, my power, my this thing - thats calledhell. Theres no hell or heaven - you create that, yousee. When there is love you can feed each other. Solets feed each other. Love Thy Neighbor as

Thyselfand I conclude with that


In the Planet Earth Passport there are symbols ofall religions including a cross and the Star of David. The symbol

of Islam was also there. They asked me why and I said,I believe in all religions; everything is the same.


10/47

How can we change into a morepeaceful society, prevent theviolence of war, or begin to tacklesome of the acute local and

global social problems of today?Sceptics might smile at the idea of a group

of well-meaning people concentrating onsuch awesome questions at a Yoga PeaceFestival. However, the Sivananda Yoga org-anisation may well have embraced an ideawhose time has come. At the end of the 21stcentury, there is a great deal of focus onworld peace - from the United Nations

designation of the year 2000 as the InternationalYear for a Culture of Peace to the convening ofthe largest ever international gathering on thecauses and solutions to war held at the Hagueearlier this year. For the Sivananda Yogaorganisation, it is significant that l999 saw thegraduation of the ten thousandth yoga teacherfrom the Teachers Training Course which Swami

Vishnu-devananda established as his fund-amental building block for peace, exactly thirtyyears ago, in 1969.

Perhaps we should also remind our scepticsthat praying for peace is not a useless activity.Modern scientific experiments are now provingthe existence of many aspects of ancientspiritual knowledge. These range from demon-strations of the power of thought on plants andpeople, to the healing effect of certain soundsand music.

Physician heal thyself became the dominantresponse of the week-long investigation intothese issues. Attended by nearly two hundred

participants from all over the world, this was thecentral tenet of invited speakers, from RosheBernie Glassman of the New York ZenCommunity to Franciscan Rolph Fernandes ofMontreal. Other speakers included PalestinianUN meditator, Mohammed Ramadan, RabbiJoseph Gelberman of New York; Masami Kondo

of the World Peace Prayer Society, Japan, EirwenHarbottle representing the Generals for Peacefrom Britain, Soeur Nicole Fournier ofLAccueil Bonneau, Montreal and French-bornnatural health author, Daniele Starenkyj.Most maintained that tools for world peacecould only be developed by buildingindividual, inner peace first.

Swami Vishnu-devanandas favouriteanalogy used to be thatof trying to changefabric from cotton to silk.

You have to do so bychanging it thread bythread until the wholepiece has been trans-formed. So the fabric ofsociety could be changed by individualsdeveloping their own inner peace until thewhole of society is changed. Certainly, Swamijislifes work for peace was enlivened byimaginative public demonstrations, ranging fromflying over the Berlin Wall in l983 to bombing

Northern Ireland with flowers in l971 along with Peter Sellers in a Peter Max-painted Piper Apache plane.

The Festival began with a beautifulNative American sunrise ceremony andended with a memorable, relaxed anddiverse multifaith ceremony in which thechildren won the day. Indeed, in thetradition of Gandhi, and of yoga, the whole

event was multifaith an element whichprovided a sharp and

poignant edge andgave much food for

thought. For instance,contrasting to our

western Christian idea ofParadise Lost was the all-pervading NativeAmerican sense that paradise was found - it ishere and now. This is the paradise of our earth,our matrix of being, whose fecundity and beautyare to be enjoyed, protected and revered. Bycontrast, Rolph Fernandes with his com-


Into The 21st Century

Peace Festival- a summing up, by Elizabeth NathanielsSwami Vishnu-devananda would have loved it - this summers Peace Festival.

Held at the Sivananda Yoga Camp in Val Morin, outside Montreal, the Festival carriedforward his vision with aplomb, a sense of abundance, loving welcome and joy. It wasa feast of ceremonies from different faiths, of multinational goodwill, a renewal ofgood yoga practice, a stimulus to the mind and re-awakening of the spirit.

ElizabethNathaniels

Roshe Bernie GlassmanBob Bourdon Bren Jacobson Harlina Churn DiSant Venugopal

Panel discussion with invited guest speakers and workshop leaders.

There was a feeling of oneness.

- Kathleen Regan, New York

The conference speakers represented agood cross-section of life experience andspiritual disciplines.

- Benoit Gauthier, Quebec


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passionate poem: How Can I Speak of Peaceexpressed the lost paradise of a war-scarred childin Sarajevo. Participants were reminded and

stimulated by the playful,yet underlying seriousness

of the religious stories told

by the swamis and the voluptuous riot of colourand form in the South Indian sculpture in thenewly-built Subramanya/Ayyappa temple. Senioracharyas moderated the programme. Amongsome of the difficulties faced was the very realclash between two groups whose members hadsuffered grievously. The underlying questionwas there: did different religions causeconflict? Not so, it was claimed. It was ratherthat people used diverse beliefs as an excuse

for violence.Representingthe victims ofinjustice and

war were bothJewish and Arab

participants. Palestinian MohammedRamadan who shared his peoplesagony in the Middle East, made astrong case for forgiveness. This, heclaimed, is an important, if not essentialelement for attaining inner peace. Hepointed out that true forgiveness is not

to do with repentance or forgetting, but shouldbe experienced as a deep and profound spiritualletting go of the hurt.

As for peacemaking in everyday life, thequietly charismatic New York Zen master, BernieGlassman advocated starting simply withwhatever ingredients there were to hand.Becoming over-whelmed was nothelpful but rather

simply starting fromwhere we are, with

whatever we have was his advice acentral theme of his best-selling book:Zen: Instructions to the Cook.

Cultivate joy, rather than dwelling on anguishsuggested the ebullient 88-year old, broad-minded Rabbi Joseph Gelberman. Although

remembering tragedies from the Holocaust toKosovo was a part of our humanity, nevertheless,to forgive the past and look forward toward thefuture with joy and excitement was moreimportant. In fact, Rabbi Gelberman claimed thatthe proper exercise of religion and of peace wasattained by seeking joy, rather than happiness.Happiness involved outside material things. Joymeant the development of inner peace, which forhim the personification of benevolence exploded daily into a gratitude for life. He endedhis presentation by leading participants in astately song and dance to Shalom.

There was much to feed the mind. And as forbody and spirit there were walks, canoe trips,yoga asanas, delicious feasts as well as the manyforms of worship, meditation, music and dance.

Indeed, dance and music were integral to theevent. Mali-born drummer YaYa Diallo author ofThe Healing Drum vividly demonstrated a morein-depth understanding of African music than

that of pure entertainment. His wife,founder/director of the Imani Dance Company,Harlina Churn Diallo also demonstrated theway in which she is encouraging Afro-American children to take pride in the cultureof their ancestors.

The poignant and innocent tones of ancientSouth American pipes

played by Jorge Alfano of theSacred Sounds Institute, the

sonorous meditative ragas ofthe renowned Indian flautist,Sachdev and spiritual pop

music of the newly-formedLondon Sivananda Centres Prem

group all played their part inenlivening the event.

The warm and generous welcome wereceived will long remain with us. TheSivananda Yoga Centres continue to emanatean affection, a sense of family and thesatisfaction of Satsang keeping companywith the wise, or at least, fellow-travellers, onthe spiritual path. Furthermore, we were

welcomed to a warm, light and plant-filledlodge, all gleaming wood and white-plasteredstraw bales, with grass on the roof veryecologically correct. We were given magnificentvegetarian feasts. We were treated to the stageset designed by the London Centre all largefat peace doves and gargantuan daisies, not tomention a cut-out of Swamijis peace plane. TheLondon Centre provided their own peace musicfor the festival (now on CD and Tape), with thewords largely of Swami Sivananda himself.

Participants certainly left the Ashram with afeeling of joy. The experience of the week-long

festival was perhaps best expressed in the wordsand music of one of Prems songs If you want tohave peace in the world, you must have peace inyour heart. As for the power of positive thinkingand meditation, perhaps Masami Kondo shouldhave the last word when she asks: Do you knowwhat links us closest and fastest? And theanswer: Thought waves. Thought waves arefaster than sound or light. What we emit asthought instantly reaches everybody around theglobe. To know this really helps us to understandthe significance of praying for world peace.

INTO THE 21S T CE NT U R Y PEACE FE S T IVA L

Rolph Fernandes Eirwen HarbottleSwami Chaitanyananda Rabbi Joseph GelbermanDaniele Starenkyj Mohammed Ramadan Yolanda Rivera RamadanMasami Kondo

The highlight for me was the reunionwith people that Ive known over theyears and met in various SivanandaYoga Centers and Ashrams.

- Bhavani, New York

The speakers emphasized practicalpeace on an individual level instead oftalking about the absence of war.

- Narayani, New Mexico

I came for a Yoga vacation -asanas and satsang. The speakersbrought home the theme of the

Festival - that peace starts withinyourself. All this was a bonus to mystay at the Ashram.

- Damian, London, England

ge Alfano

Left: Meditative Ragasby G.S. SachdevAbove: African Music andDance by YaYa Diallo andHarlina Churn Diallo

I like the internationalatmosphere and getting to meetpeople from different countries

- Claude, New York


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YOGAL i fe W i n t e r 2 0 0 0

First of all I would like to thank everybodyhere at the Sivananda Yoga Camp forinviting us. As I heard the wonderfulstories about your teacher, Swami

Vishnu-devananda, I recognized his joyful,happy spirit. It is easy to imagine him sittinghere, because what the teacher transmits iscarried on by the disciples. As soon as I camehere I really felt like a part of the family, sothank you very much.

Of all the hospitalities I have experienced,this is one of the most exciting. It is a great joyto be able to sit here above the message May

Peace Prevail on Earth. The mission of ourorganization is to spread this simple messageand prayer around the world. As anorganization we are not very big. We havemembers and supporters around the worldfrom all nationalities, religions and differentbackgrounds who simply incorporate thismessage into their own traditions.

This was the idea of the founder of theWorld Peace Prayer Society, Japanese poet andphilosopher Masahisa Goi. After the SecondWorld War he witnessed the devastation andwanted to turn that mood around. Because theJapanese people had experienced the tragedy ofthe nuclear bomb he felt he had the mission toturn this tragedy into a positive message andadvocate world peace.

That is how it started, and now this messageis spread through our Peace Pole Project.

Now there are 100,000 or more peace polesaround the world in almost every country. It isnot that our staff go around the world andplant them everywhere. But those who see itand feel it is a good idea will take it back to their

community and incorporate it into their ownactivities. As I said during the dedicationceremony, that was a most beautiful andoriginal peace pole that we planted today onthe peace trail.

Another main activity that we do is theWorld Peace Prayer Ceremony. I hope thateverybody had a chance to participate in thatceremony this afternoon. It was rather long butif you think that we could visit all the countriesone by one and connect with the people therein just one hour it is not so bad.

Personally I have had many wonderful

experiences through this World Peace PrayerCeremony and I would like to share a few ofthem with you. Once, when we were doing thisceremony in Central Park, an Israeli mother andson came. The mother insisted that her soncarry the flag of Israel. So we fetched it, gave itto him and he proudly raised it. We all prayed,and the mother was happy. When we went intothe circle, as we did today, you never knowwhich flag you will carry because it just comesaround. Coincidentally, or not, the mother wasgiven the Palestinian flag. She raised it, but Icould see in her face that she was a bit stiff anddidnt know how to feel or say the prayer. I waswondering how she was feeling. Anyway shedid it. What was most moving was that a fewdays later the mother called me and asked didyou notice that I carried the Palestinian flag. Isaid yes I noticed. She said that it reallychanged something. She felt it was a veryimportant thing that she had done this with herson. I was very happy to hear this.

A similar story involved an Iraniangentleman. He came up to me in tears after a

ceremony and said that at first there were

some countries that he hated. But as heprayed something started to change andhe really felt he could make friends withthese countries. So the ceremony is allabout touching the heart and really sharingthis love for peace. It is awakening what isalready within us; it is just a matter of

YOGAL i fe W i n t e r 2 0 0 0

May PeacePrevail On EarthThe keynote address of the Into the 21st Century Peace Festivalat the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp in August,1999 was givenby Masami Kondo of the World Peace Prayer Society.

Masami Kondo with the newly planted Peace Pole at the Sivananda Ashram YogaCamp. The pole was lovingly carved in three pieces by Native American craftsmenRoger Echaquan and Bob Bourdon. The pole itself represents the connectionbetween heaven and earth. The larger puzzle piece represents the five continents.The top (miniature) puzzle represents the future generations. All parts were rituallyassembled during the Peace Pole dedication. (see Winter 99 issue of YogaLife forthe description of how the tree itself was chosen and cut.)


13/47

awakening that peace consciousness, and Iwas very happy to be able to share that withyou today.

We also have activities for children. I feelit is very important that we reach thechildren with the idea of peace and prayingfor world peace and oneness of humanity.But I want to go a little further to describe toyou a deeper spiritual meaning behind ourmovement because I think it is very similar toyours and I want to share it.

The idea of world peace is easier to thinkof nowadays because of advancedtechnology. We see what is happening inother parts of the world instantly by TV orsatellite. On the Internet you get informationfrom all over the world with just the touch ofa key. The world is getting smaller and we allknow that what is happening in another partof the world is effecting us and everybodyelse. But do you know what it is that links usclosest and fastest?

Thought waves. Thought waves are fasterthan sound or light. What we

emit as thought instantly reacheseverybody around the globe. Toknow this really helps us tounderstand the significance ofpraying for world peace.

When you turn on the switch,there is light. And when you turnon the radio you get the sound.Likewise although thoughtwaves are invisible, they arearound us. They are encirclingthe globe constantly. They are affecting usand actually penetrating us through our

brains and the body cells. Whether youknow it or not, we are being activated bythought waves, our own, and thosecircumambulating the globe.

Similar thought waves attract each other.If you are omitting negative, rough, angry orsad waves, in effect you are creating a layer

of negative thoughts (heavy and dark). Onthe other hand light, bright waves, such as aprayer for world peace, link with the goodwill and happy thoughts of people aroundthe world. The world is layer over layer ofdifferent types of thoughts. Unfortunatelythere are a large amount of negative, darkthought waves surrounding the world. Onceyou are in this whirlpool of dark thoughts itis very hard to get out of it. For example, youmay know that you are very hot temperedand you want to change yourself. When youare feeling calm you say I will never lose mytemper again. But the next minute somebodysays something and you are angry. It is not aseasy as you think to get out of this cycle.

This can also be said for nations. The ideathat peace can only be achieved by balanceof military power, when you really look at it,is ridiculous. Why doesnt everybody droptheir weapons and shake hands? But this ideahas already been set in motion. If one countrybuilds more weapons, so does another. And

INTO THE 21S T CE NT U R Y PE A C E FE S T IVA L

Above: The stage, wherethe evening programstook place.

Right: The World PeacePrayer Ceremony withthe flags symbolising thenations of the earth.

What is a Peace PolePeace Poles are handcraftedmonuments erected the world overas an international symbol ofpeace. Their purpose is to spreadthe message and prayer MayPeace Prevail on Earth and act asa constant reminder for us tovisualize and pray for world peace.To date, more than 100,000 PeacePoles have been dedicated in morethan 160 countries around theworld. Peace Poles can be found intown squares, city halls, school,places of worship, parks andgardens any place where thespirit of peace is embraced bypeople of good will. Some of the

extraordinary locations include thePyramids in Egypt, the MagneticNorth Pole in Canada, Gorky Parkin Moscow, in front of the PeacePagoda in Londons Battersea Park.They are promoting healing ofconflict in places like Sarajevo,Hiroshima and on the AllenbyBridge between Israel and Jordan.Mayors around the world haveplanted Peace Poles to dedicatetheir cities and towns to worldpeace. Both political leaders, such

as former U.S. President JimmyCarter, and religious leaders, suchas Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresaand the Dalai Lama, have dedicatedPeace Poles.

For more information, contact:

The World Peace Prayer Society

800 Third Avenue, 37th floor

New York, NY 10022

[email protected]


14/47


this has been going onfor decades. Althoughwe know deep inside

that this is not theway; it is very hardto get out of it.

The whole idea oftrying to join heartswith people in theprayer May PeacePrevail on Earth is toactivate brightthought waves. In-volving as manypeople as possiblearound the globe to

energize this brighter,lighter wave helps topurify negative waves.Unless we thoroughlypurify this negativelayer it is hard to attainworld peace. That is whywe pray daily, not just atfestivities or special occasions. Ourmembers pray daily for world peace trying toemit positive energy wherever we are. Themore people join in, the more effective thismovement will be.

Some people may think, yes I understandthat it is very important. But I have too manypersonal matters to worry about. Really worldpeace is too broad a matter for me This is nottrue because you can attain world peace andindividual peace at the same time. Actuallyyou can achieve personal peace faster bypraying for world peace.

If you pray for peace on earth you receivegreat benefit from using your own physicalvessel to transmit this large light: May PeacePrevail on Earth. So really world peace is notsomething that you should leave until laterafter you have achieved personal peacebecause you do both at the same time.

If you have money to donate or if you arein a position to influence decisions of thegovernment that is fine. But prayer issomething that anybody can do - any age,

any status, what-ever conditionyou are in. In fact

this is the mostwonderful thingyou can do for theworld. Our vision isto hold hands withpeople like your-selves, with eachone of us playing anindispensable part inworld peace.In closing I want toread a poem whichwas written by one of

the members of theWorld Peace PrayerSociety. He was veryyoung but he hadmuscular dystrophy. Withthis disease after a whileyou cannot write andeventually you die. This

young boy passed at the age of14, but he was a firm believer that whatevercondition he was in he was participating in thecreation of world peace by praying.

He wrote peace messages every day. When

his hand no longer worked he prayed in hismind until the last minute. So this was a poemthat this boy wrote, and I would like to shareit with you:

A burning candle, just one candlelives more majestically than a human being.

A burning candle gives all of itselfto everyone. It works, sweats and melts itsown body, drop by drop. Though its life is

short, though its body will finally disappear,a candle never worries, never gets angry,

never complains. It only continues

to give light to everyone.Oh candle I want to live like you!

I like the way you live. I long to be a candle.

So let us all be a candle for world peaceand create a wonderful world in the newmillennium

If you wish to liberate thespiritual energy that residesin your heart and body, so

that you can live in a freeand joyous way at all times,you must reject thoughts

that tie down your heart such as dark depression,

anger, fear and anxiety. To letspiritual energy grow in yourheart and let it manifest itspower fully, you constantlyneed thoughts of gratitude,

admiration and cheerfulness.from The Golden Key to

Happiness by Masami Saionji,chairperson of the World Peace

Prayer Society

May Peace

Prevail on Earth

May Peace

Prevail on EarthAvailable on CD and tape

With a strong base of

melody, it combines guitars,

percussion and harmonic

vocals with lyrics taken from

Swami Sivanandas book

Bliss Divine, creating a

magical and inspiringlistening experience

For further details please contact:

The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre

51 Felsham Rd, London SW15 1AZ

Tel: 0181-780 0160 Fax: 0181-780 0128

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.sivananda.org/boutique.htm

Prem: Divine Love

CD: 8.95

Tape: 6.95

A wonderful musicalmessage of peace


15/47

Peace inthe World

S I VA NA NDA SO NG B O O K

Peace inthe World

If you want to have peace in the worldYou have to have peace in your heartIf you want to feel love in your lifeYou have to feel love in your heart

If we all try to love one anotherThere wont be any reason for warSee the goodness and light in each otherSee the beauty of life in us all

It is hatred that separates man from man,

Nation from nationAll of life is the family of GodSo love all Gods creation

Theres no religion higher than loveTo bring us all togetherEmbrace all in the warmth of your heart,With a love, a love that lasts forever

To have peace in the worldThere must be peace in your heart

Its hard to find peace in the worldWhen we have no peace in our heartsWe feel that we are different to allWe feel that we are apart

But if you look within yourself nowAnd feel this peace from withinYou will rise above all these boundaries

And let the whole world in

It is hatred that separates man.....

To have peace in the worldThere must be peace in your heart

From May Peace Prevail on Earth album by Prem

}x2

}x4


16/47

Miranda: What exactly is Peace Child?

Eirwen Harbottle: Peace Child started off asa musical. In the 70s, there was a great gulfbetween the Peaceniks on one side and theEstablishment on the other. A lot of youngpeople wanted to talk about the nuclearissue; they were frightened. Psychological

research had found that young peoplearound the world did not believe that theywere going to die naturally in their beds.Many thought they were going to be blownup in some huge nuclear explosion.

My husband and I wanted to look at thiswhole matter of disarmament, and arms inparticular. We had read a story about howchildren brought peace to the world, andwe had seen a most beautiful oratorio inCoventry Cathedral. To cut a long storyshort, we suggested that it should cometogether as a kids musical, and my son-in-

law and daughter David and Rose(Wilcomb) should actually do the work.And so Peace Child began.

A lot of what young people said wasincorporated into the play. The script wasalways being altered. After a rehearsal,David would drive kids home and theyd say:You know, we wouldnt say that! Wed saythis! And he would alter the script.

The first production of Peace Child wasin Londons Albert Hall in 1981. The secondwas in Washington DC at the Kennedy

Center; Peace Child worked with the DukeEllington School for the Arts. It was aphenomenal success; there wasnt a singleseat available. The Russian ambassador wasthere; it was absolutely incredible. ThenPeace Child continued with differentgroups, different cities, different peace

groups. Rather like a bush fire, it wentstraight across the United States from eastto west.

David and Rosie lived in the States forover eight years doing this, mostly inWashington. They also spent a lot of time inCalifornia. In the Year of Youth, 1985, Davidtook a group of American kids to Moscow

where he had organized a joint productionof Peace Child with Russian kids. This wasduring the Cold War when people inAmerica were encouraged to think that thiswas the evil empire on the other side ofthe world. Anyone found talking to the

Russians wasthought to be acommunist, andmust be a spy anda traitor. For theRussians, it wasa b s o l u t e l y

incredible to see agroup of Americanchildren, from theevil side, becausethey thought thesame as Americansthought about


Peace ChildEirwen Harbottle is the inspirer and promoter ofPeace Child. With her husband, the late Brigadier

Michael Harbottle, she was associated with the formation of the International Peace Academy. Togetherthey worked for the British Council for Aid to Refugees and the World Disarmament Campaign (U.K.).

In 1983 they founded the Centre for International Peace Building, of which she is now director.

Eirwen also acts as co-ordinator of the worldwide Consultative Association of Retired Generalsand Admirals a group created by her husband.

As a speaker at the recent Into the 21st Century Peace Festival in Val Morin, Quebec,Eirwen Harbottle was interviewed by Miranda Warner for YOGALife.

By Eirwen Harbottle

Miranda Warner

Eirwen Harbottle

Soon the kids were talking, singingand dancing together about peace

and how they could bring peace tothe world. How could they live inharmony, in joy,with mutual respect?It was an extraordinary event.


17/47

them. Soon the kids were talking, singing and dancing togetherabout peace and how they could bring peace to the world, how theycould live in harmony, in joy, with mutual respect. It was an extra-ordinary event. There was a black singer from Washington. Shewasnt professional, but she had a sweet, sweet voice. She sang withone of the ballad singers from a pop group.They sang a numberwhich had especially been written for Peace Child. It was I have aVision, I have a Dream. It was about Martin Luther King Jnrs visionfor peace. This went out over the television; 120 million Russian peopleheard this song by a black American and a young Russian singer.Incredible effect it had on them!

Then David got the pop singers to go to the United States with agroup of kids from Russia to take part in Peace Child. The bandplayed the music and the singers wife was the storyteller. Theystarted in Vancouver; then they went down to California and workedtheir way across to the East Coast. In time the story switched fromconcentrating on disarmament to looking at the state of the planet,which of course included disarmament.

David sent out a letter through the international network, asking,What do you think about the state of the planet, the environment?He got two thousand letters back from young people saying, Wherehave the birds gone? Why cant we swim in the river?Sometimes even, Where has the river gone? Its dried up. Whatshappening? And he got an editorial team of young people togetherand they extracted the mainpoints from those twothousand letters. Usingpoetry, pictures and all thethings that came out of thosetwo-thousand letters they puttogether a gorgeous book

called, The Childrens State ofthe Planet Handbook. This wasready for the Rio Conference in1995. David took these books toRio and Dr Noel Brown, Head ofthe UN Environment Program,said, My gosh! This is a beautifulbook.You know, weve got Agenda21. Its forty chapters, six hundredpages and who on earth is goingto read all that? Could you getyour children to do the samething for Agenda 21?

There were four UN Agencies:UNESCA, UNICEF, UNDP andUNEP who asked the worldschildren to reinterpret Agenda21. Ten thousand kids were in-volved; it was an extraord-inary achievement. Twohundred schools and youthgroups were givenchapters and asked: Whatdoes it say? Whats reallyimportant? And back

came a lot of stuff, poetry,pictures and all the restof it, looking at the stateof the rainforests, theclimate, everything thatis mentioned inAgenda 21. Then

began a huge editorial process by young people between 13 and 23.They extracted what they felt was the best of what had been submitted.Then they arranged it under a different groupings like: The HumanCondition, The Natural Condition, things like that. They rearranged thematerial in a way that was attractive, logical and very understandable.Then they sent the draft to all the groups who had been working on it.Of course, a lot of comments came back saying wed like it this way orthat way. Then the UN Agencies came in and said Dont forget this orthat, or, Thats not quite correct. Eventually it was finalized, publishedand it has sold over 300,000 copies and been translated into 18different languages. During the recent Peace Festival, YaYa Diallo wastalking about the absence of fish, how we are killing the planet and howwere cutting down all the trees; this is what the children are talkingabout.

So thats how Peace Child has grown. From a stage production towriting books. If anyone wants to do it, the play is there to be done. Itsan inspiration to gather young people and perform it. People ask, Whenis Peace Child coming to my city? And we say: Its not coming to your

city unless you want to perform it! Its YOUR tool. YOU get YOUR kids toshow their vision of how they want to see their lives in twenty-fiveyears. Every time its put on a different way because each group hasdifferent dreams, a different way of thinking how to go about achievingtheir dreams. The basic story is about getting from now to then (in thefuture).

Theres quite a large selection of songs andmusic now that are applicable to anyoneanywhere. We dont say: Oh, you can onlyuse these songs. If you want to write anothersong yourself, do so. Its your vision; thats themessage we want to put across. So we dontcharge royalties for putting this on, like an

ordinary play. Its a tool, that anyone canuse. I think thats the best way ofdescribing it.Its the most exciting thing I coulddream of being involved withbecause we have young peoplefrom all over the world who cometo England, to the headquarters ofPeace Child. They come fromAfrica, Asia, Europe, America,Japan you name the country,theres likely to be a youngrepresentative. Its rather like

the dancing that Harlinaand Ya Ya have beenteaching us. To throwyour whole body andsoul into what you aredoing is an amazingdiscipline, isnt it? To getyour feet, your heart andyour chest doingdifferent things at thesame time is an enormousdiscipline. But once youve

done it, youre so pleasedwith the freedom that youhave to reach out to

others



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Everyone knows about the TenCommandments. In these tenpassages God is saying to us,in effect, You are all my

children, and this is how I would likeyou to behave toward me and towardeach other. These arent difficultrules... If you think about each ofthem, youll see that they make a lotof sense.

This is Gods message, given atSinai: You are my children, and I loveyou. And I am waiting to hear thesame from you.

Everything is possible when youare in God-consciousness. To achievethis consciousness we must movetoward true vision, a concept whichforms the basic philosophy ofKabbalah.

Contrary to popular belief, there isnothing in Kabbalah that is somystical that no one can understandit. As Isaac said, what we seek ismerely hidden from our physical eyes.We need the third eye, the eye ofspirit, to see it. With these eyes, Kabbalah is

crystal clear. For example, suppose youve losta diamond in a dark room. You know itsthere, but you cant see it. Now supposesomeone hands you a bright flashlight. Withits intense light you can easily see thediamond, for it was there all along.

To study Kabbalistic principles isnt hard.You can begin to grasp the Kabbalistic mentalmakeup, which is visible to the eye of spirit.This mental makeup can be expressed as thepractice of these nine rungs leading upwardtoward God-consciousness:

1 To be one with the Self and the spirit,the Shekinah within.

2 To forgive the past and look forward to-ward the future with joy and excitement.

3 To open the mind, letting the soul flyinto unknown space.

4 To be aware of the emanations of God;the Tree of Life interacting withineach of us.

5 To consider our true mission in life andto be totally alive in that mission.

6 To be ready once again to hear themessage given at Sinai.

7 To learn the art and science of livingspiritually healthy in body, mind

and soul.

8 To experience genuine love and knowthe differences between pleasure,happiness and joy.

9 To reunite the divided self in order toknow the glory of the oneness of spirit.

There is a song from the Broadwaymusical Godspell that says we praydaily for three things: To see Theemore clearly; to love Thee moredearly; and to follow Thee morenearly, day by day. This prayer is100% Kabbalah.In Hebrew, the first part of thisprayer to see Thee more clearly - iscalled hozeh (vision). The secondpart to love Thee more dearly iscalled ahava ( to love God). To followThee more nearly is a beautifulmystical concept called dveikut,which means to cleave unto the Lord,to become one with God. Letsexamine these three concepts in

greater depth.At one time or another, all clear-thinking people have had a directexperience of God in their lives.They have to; whether it is in

contemplating how trees andflowers grow or in holding anewborn baby, there comes a moment whenwe just know God is there, right in front of us.We each experience this moment, because itis true all the time. The trick is holding ontothat vision all the time, seeing God in front ofus all the time. That is hozeh.

There is a beautiful story in the Midrash liter-ature that illustrates the second principle, ahava.

There were two brothers, both farmers,who lived in the Holy Land. They worked attilling the soil together. One brother was

married and had a large family. The otherbrother was single. Every year, they woulddivide the harvest equally between them.

One year, after dividing the harvest, thebachelor brother said to himself, Somethingis wrong here. I have taken exactly half of theharvest and I dont need that much. I have no


Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, speaking at

Into the 21st Century Peace Festivalin Quebec

Developing OurSpiritual EyesBy Rabbi Joseph Gelberman


19/47

wife or children. My brother needs morethan I do. That night he couldnt sleep. Hegot up in the middle of the night, loaded hiswagon and drove to the other side of themountain to where his brother lived. Hequietly left a portion of the harvest there andreturned home.

The married brother couldnt sleep thatnight either. He said to himself, Sure I have afamily and I need more now, but my brotheris alone. When he gets old, who will take care

of him? When my children grow up they canwork and help their parents, but my brotherwill have no one to help. He needs protectionfor his old age.

So he got up in the middle of the night,loaded his wagon and drove to his brothershouse. He quietly left a portion of the harvestand returned home.

The next morning each brother awoke andfound that he still had his half of the harvest.Puzzled, they again loaded their wagons andsecretly left part of their harvest in eachothers granaries on the second night.

They again awoke to find the sameamount of harvest in their granaries. So theyagain loaded their wagons and left a portionof their harvests. Again the amount of grainwas unchanged.

Then, on the fourth night, the twobrothers met on the road in the middle of the

mountain. As they saw each other theyunderstood what had happened. They got offtheir wagons and embraced and kissed eachother. According to the Midrashic sages, Godsaw this genuine love between brothers andsaid, This is the place where I want mytemple to be built.

To love Thee more dearlymeans exactlythat: to care. Tolove means tocare, not onlyhere and nowbut with eyestoward thefuture.The third concept,dveikut, is at once

the most simpleand the mostcomplex. Tobecome one with

God means simply to be at peace within, as isachieved through such practices asmeditation, where we become quiet andlisten to what God wants us to do.

Yet there is more to it than that. Kabbalahteaches us to have the courage to leave theknown security and move into the unknown.It is with such courage that we learn to trulycleave unto the Lord.

Before we move on I should like to say aword about reincarnation. The greatKabbalists believed in reincarnation. Theywere careful not to fall into the same trapsthey had known in previous lifetimes.

I sometimes wonder why my moderncolleagues have such a hard time acceptingthis concept. Go to any funeral today, Jewishor non-Jewish, and you will hear the samething: the body is laid to rest but the soulgoes up. Goes up to where? Does it simplydisappear? Why? Can one learn all one needs

to learn in order to cleave unto the Lord injust one lifetime? I dont think so.

It makes a certain kind of sense that thesoul continues and returns to live anotherlifetime, perhaps countless lifetimes. Intoeach earth-life we are born once, but thisbirth is repeated again and again. To grow inspiritual understanding through eachlifetime is the voyage and purpose of life. Thepurpose of this cycle is purification andperfection, the growing nearer to God witheach turn of the upward spiral. Reincarnationis one of the basic teachings of Kabbalah.

In the book of Genesis, each day as Godcreated the universe He said, Kitov (it isgood). The Kabbalist sees Gods repeatedpronouncement as proof that the universeis good.

These lessons proved immensely valuableto me as a young immigrant in America. I hadleft my wife and child in Hungary, expectingthey would join me later in this country. Ilater learned they were killed in theHolocaust, along with my parents, most ofmy brothers and sisters, my uncles and aunts,most of the people I had known as a child. Atthat time I couldnt see how anyone couldsay, It is good.

Yet meditation brought me an answer. Iheard God say, I still insist, Kitov. The overallpicture of life is good. There is enough beauty,

goodness and joy in life. Now its up to youto concentrate on it.

This Kabbalistic teaching helped meovercome the terror, the horror, the pain ofthe Holocaust. I still feel my grief. On YomKippur, I practically fall apart during thememorial service. But knowing that God saidKi Tov! helps me to transform that grief topurpose. For the sake of God, for the sake ofhumanity, and for my own sake. My soul stillhas things to do in this life

But knowing that God said It isGood! helps me to transform mygrief to purpose. For the sake ofGod, for the sake of humanity, andfor my own sake. My soul still hasthings to do in this life.

Rabbi Joseph Gelberman was born and educated as a rabbi inHungary. A graduate of the City University of New York andYeshiva University, he presently serves as rabbi of The NewSynagogue and is president of The NewSeminary in New York City. Through histeachings and ministry, Rabbi Gelbermanhas dedicated his life to furthering

understanding and co-operation among theworlds faiths. He is a long-time friend andcolleague of Swami Vishnu-devananda.This article an excerpt from RabbiGelbermans book Kabbalah As I See It.

ABOUT RABBI JOSEPH GELBERMAN

INTO THE 21ST CE NT U R Y PE A C E FE S T IVA L


20/47

Because of my training and life as aFranciscan friar for forty two years, Icannot think of inter-faith activitieswithout my reference to this great

saint of all times St. Francis of Assisi. St.Francis lived during the time of the terriblewar which we refer to as the Crusades. Hewas a man of non-violence and so naturally,did not agree with the way in which thingshad turned. He was no journalist nor TV star,

as those things did not exist, but he could notsee the situation continue as it was and so hetook it upon himself to do something.At a time when the war was raging, Francistook the occasion of a few days truce and,with a companion, crossed the borders fromthe Christian side over to the Muslims. Thiswas in the year 1219 in Damietta near theNile River (some 350 miles from where the U.N.troops were stationed in the Gulf War).Crossing of borders during a war, was thisnot the same thing that Swami Vishnu-devananda did? St. Francis meeting with theSultan, in spite of often having been beatenup by soldiers, changed something in the soulof the Sultan. These two men became friends.Francis wrote in his instructions to the friars,the way in which the friar who inspired bythe Holy Spirit should live among Muslimsand people of other faiths. He advocates

service and humility and of course, love andrespect. He never mentioned that the friarsshould try to convert anyone.For these reasons we look to St. Francis as amodel of dialogue for all Christians. Francishad a brotherly affection for all of Godscreations. He considered not only thehumans and the animals as sisters andbrothers but also the elements, the sun andthe wind as brothers, the moon and stars and


St. Francis of AssisiSaint ofPeace andToleranceBy Rolph Fernandes

St Francis preaching tothe birds: a detail froma 14th century stainedglass window.

When the war was raging, Francis took theoccasion of a few days truce and crossed the

borders from the Christian side over to theMuslims. Crossing of borders during a war,was this not the same thing that Swami

Vishnu-devananda did?


21/47

water as sisters. He had a special love for brother Sun and also for ourSister, Mother Earth because the Sun, he considered as a symbol,image of God and the Earth because she not only supports us, but shesustains us by the food and the medicine, plants, flowers etc.When we consider life on earth, and the perspective of St. Francis, wesee that there is so much for us to learn from his spirituality in ourwork towards peace. As part of the living creatures on this planet, somuch of our very existence depends on things we take for granted.Making peace is essential to our existence and also we owe this to thechildren for the millennium to come. Each human being has the duty

to perform some small action to link and bridgegaps for peace. The earth and the elementshave for too long been witnesses to humanviolence. We can by our peace allow theearth, the fire, air and water to bewitnesses to our comings, our gatheringfor peace.Swami Vishnu-devanandas ashram,

thanks to the efforts of Swamiji, hasbeen a meeting place for peacegatherings. It has set an example forNorth America. I hope and pray thatthese efforts began here may spreadall over the continent. One of themost important human values is

that of respect. To enter into dialogue with people of other culturesand religions, demands that we can be able to give the other a chanceto express while we respectfully listen. This aspect is elementary insincere dialogue and is an essential step in building understanding,acceptance, which leads to peace. During the Peace Assemblyorganized by the Ashram in Val Morin, we were able to witness and

to take part in this process. Imust extend my gratitude tothe organizers for this oppor-tunity which was given to us. Imust also express how weappreciated the efforts whichwere used to create this weekof peace.Coming together for an evening ofprayers offered for peace by peopleof different traditions is wonderful.Coming together to even sit insilence may also be excellent, but

there is yet another store-house ofgrace to be able to take the time tolive, work, eat and sleep under thesame roof for a longer period ofdays and for even a week. Therewas a tradition held by the NativeAmericans of the past. It was themeeting place. In those daysIndians of different tribes cametogether in a neutral territory andspent time sharing in peace. Thiswas of vital importance for the

mutual understanding, for sharingand celebration of life. In modernterms, we may say that they tookthe time to hang out together.Hanging out may seen at first tobe just a waste of time but formany it is a means of being with

the other to express, to share friendship and it may also be an essentialpart of growth. We may ask ourselves, who do we hang out orassociate with the most and why?Is it possible then in this world where people of a variety of races andreligions live and work in such close city areas (like they were inSarajevo) that in spite of their proximity, they are still strangers? Forthis to change, I wonder if coming together in a space like an ashramis not an essential factor contributing to peace and growth and mutualunderstanding between peoples.St. Francis said that we are all brothers and sisters. Vedanta tells us thatwe are all One. I pray for the day when both the readers and writerscan live this eternally! In the meantime we must do as in the beautifulsong which was composed and sung during the festival:

Pray for the world. Pray for our lives. Pray for the children.Pray for Peace, Love and Harmony.From the song Pray, written and sung by Shakti Ray on the album May Peace Prevail on Earth.


Rolph Fernandesis a native of Trinidad whomigrated to Montreal in1956, joined the Franciscansin 1957 and was appointed as

the Inter-faith officer of theOrder. He initiated the Inter-faith Peace Prayer in the Spiritof Assisi in Montreal in 1987.A member of the MontrealInter-Faith Council, Rolphvisited India on severaloccasions and spent a year inShantivanam Ashram withFr. Bede Griffiths.A participant of many Inter-

faith conferences, he con-tinues to work in Interfaithdialogue. Rolph has retiredfrom the Franciscancommunity for health reasons

St. Francisof Assisi

The Children of Peace

How can I talk about peace when I remember the boy

crying in Sarajevo. His eyes filled with hateThe soldiers he said, killed my father.And my mother: they rapedHow can you talk about peace when the marksof their guns are still on my feet?How can I, when we have taken away peacefrom the children?How can I talk of peace when an African child diesfor she has no food to eat.

How can I talk of peace?How can I when in China a child of nine is in prison....his only crime is because of his BuddhismHow can I talk about peace when in New York a child with AIDS

is thrown out in the streets.How can I when we have taken away the peace of the children?How can I talk about peace?

Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Oh Shanti, Om

Rolph Fernandes, Val Morin, 8th August 1999

I was asked to say a few words of peace and whilereflecting on it, an image, a memory came back tome. I was in Sarajevo a few years ago attending anInternational Congress for Peace, when a child ofabout 12 years old asked (with his eyes filled withhate) why do you want to make peace? I wrotethis for today:

I wonder if comingtogether in a space like anashram is not an essentialfactor contributing topeace and growth andmutual understandingbetween peoples.


22/47

Garihwa began with a Mikmag song to thank the GreatSpirit in the four directions and inviting thegrandparents from the four directions to come andjoin the occasion. Thanks is given to them for allowing

us to live our role, and to have such an important place like allthe other creatures in the great circle of life. The NativeAmerican nations do not have a book or written religion;everything has been learned from the Great Spirit and passeddown from generation to generation. They believe that thecreator has placed them in an ecological zone and a culturalarea, providing everything needed to survive and to be happy.

In the beginning there was no earth only an ocean and aworld of celestial people living in the sky. One day a woman whowas pregnant was looking for medicine. She was distracted by a bear whichhad made a hole at the foot of the tree to eat some roots, causing her to fallout of the sky towards the ocean. As she fell she was caught by a flock ofgeese who put her on the back of a giant turtle who was coming out of thewater. On seeing the pregnant woman, the animals convened their firstcounsel to decide what to do with this celestial creature that was beforethem. The counsel lasted a very, very long time after which they decided thatsomeone must dive into the water and bring back earth from the very bottomof the sea. The best divers tried, the otter, the beaver, the seals, but none ofthem were successful.

All of a sudden a tiny voice was heard, a voice that had never expressed

itself before the toad. The animals told the toad Dont eventhink about it, you cant do this. But he answered,Youve all tried and nobody was successful sodont laugh at me; I am the last one totry. The toad jumped in the waterand sank like a rock. Everybodywaited and waited. Thenthey saw bubbles, Thatsit, he died, we shouldnot have let him go.All of a sudden, hecame up andspat out a bit of

earth that he

had taken from the bottom of the ocean. All the animals werehappy and applauded. They had learned a good lesson - never tellanybody that he wasnt important - everyone is important. Theanimals started spreading the earth on the back of the turtle, sothat the straw and the sweet-grass would start to grow. So thepregnant woman was able to give birth in acceptable conditions,giving birth to twins. One of the twins came out through thenatural channel, but the other came out under the armpit and themother died. However the twins grandmother took them andtaught them to organize the world as we know it today. One maderivers going one way, taking all the sense of gravity from the earth.

The other made waterfalls in very violent rivers that had gravity.One made maple syrup that came directly from the tree; the other

one just did with maple water. One put all the wild animals in grottoes; theother left them free. The twins would fight but grandmother was alwaysthere to break them up. She directed them on how to create the world. Oneof the brothers wanted it to be difficult, and one wanted it to be simple. Thatswhy today we say that we were placed here by the creator and we receivedeverything that we need to be happy and to survive. That is the creationstory from the Huron nation, but the story is the same in all our nations.

There is a story about the Great Lakes areas - Erie, Huron and Ontario, theSt. Lawrence River and the Rockies. We say the Rocky Mountains are thespine of mother earth, and the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River are theheart and the arteries of mother earth. It

yoga_life winter 2000

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