• This Month On Vac

    Namovaha dear kula -

    Welcome to the Winter '08/'09 issue of Vac. This is an exciting time for the kula - there has been much change and growth in this last year, and the kula is quickly becoming a large international entity. In that spirit we have an article by our esteemed puja teacher Rami, which addresses the structure of kulas in general and what is needed for a successful and healthy kula body.

    This season's Vac also features an article on Adi Yoga (actually an excerpt from the Adi Yoga First Gate training manual) by Dharmanidhi, explaining what Adi Yoga is, how the system is structured, and how it is taught.

    We also have the first several articles in what we hope to be an on-going series on the topic of permaculture. Permaculture is of significance to us for a couple of reasons. The first and most obvious is that Kailash Akhara, the new kula retreat center in Thailand, is being designed and run using the principles of permaculture, so it would behoove all of us to have at least a cursory idea of what permaculture is and how it works. The second is that permaculture is founded upon the ideas of living in harmony with the wisdom and cycles of nature - an idea that is foundational for everything we are practicing in tantra, ayurveda, and yoga.

    Additionally, Dharmanidhi has written an article on the subject of cults - what is meant by the word 'cult', charecteristics of cults, cult leaders and members, brainwashing and mind control, and how to discern whether or not a group, individual, or path are exhibiting cultish behavior.

    We round out the issue with a smattering of articles on various topics of interest, including an introductory article on Jyotish by Bette Timm, an Anandamayima book review by Kirana, an article on the connection between body and fire ceremony by Sri Acala, and an article on patterns of suffering and how to escape them.

    In service,

    Muktabodha


    UPCOMING EVENTS

    Dharmanidhi's Bay Area Schedule

    We are happy to welcome Dharmanidhi back to the Bay Area this Spring. We highly recommend pre-registeration as these courses are liable to fill up early. Special discounted package available - Click Here for details.

    *All courses taught by Dharmanidhi unless otherwise specified. Clicking on a link takes you to our online registration service through Yoga Mandala.


    History & Theory of Tantrik Sexual Practice
    March 7, 6-9pm (Sat.)
    $25

    Tattva Shuddhi:
    Transforming the 5 Elements

    March 9 & 10, 7-9 pm (Mon. & Tues.)
    Mon night pasu and vira practices
    Tues night divya practice
    $40 ($20 for one night)

    Tantraloka*
    March 11, 7-9pm (Wed.)
    w/Manomani, Omkarnath, Sasisekhara & Sruti
    $15

    Tantrik Relationship Series:
    Identifying and Resolving Karmic Relationship Patterns
    March 12, 7-9pm (Thur.)
    Dharmanidhi w/ Sumanasa
    $20 or $54 full series (3/12, 3/19 and 3/26)

    Lakshmi Abhiseka
    March 13, 7pm sharp, seated by 6:30pm (Fri.)
    $5 suggested minimum donation (towards food and ceremony supplies)

    Transforming Ignorance to Enlightenment:
    The 12 Stage Tantrik Journey

    March 14 & 15, 9am-5pm (Sat. and Sun.)
    $130/pre-reg or $150/door

    Yoga Nidra: Practice and Theory
    March 17, 7-9pm (Tues.)
    $20

    Life, Works and Teachings of Adi Shankaracarya
    March 19, 7-9pm (Wed.)
    w/Swami Maheshananda Sarasvati
    $20

    Tantrik Relationship Series:
    Picking Compatible Partners for Dual Cultivation
    March 19, 7-9pm (Thur.)
    $20 or $54 full series (3/12, 3/19 and 3/26)

    Kali Abisheka
    March 21, 1pm sharp, seated by 12:30pm (Sat.)
    $5 suggested minimum donation (towards food and ceremony supplies)

    Consort, Mother, Witch
    March 21, 7-9pm (Sat.)
    $10

    The Kriya Yoga system of Swami Rudrananda
    March 23 & 24, 7-9pm (Mon. and Tues.)
    $40

    Tantraloka*
    March 25, 7-9pm (Wed.)
    w/Manomani, Omkarnath, Sasisekhara & Sruti
    $15

    Tantrik Relationship Series:
    Parvati & Shiva as a Model for Spiritual Cultivation
    March 26th, 7-9pm (Thur.)
    $20 or $54 full series (3/12, 3/19 and 3/26)

    Gateway to Freedom:
    A beginner's guide to getting started on the path of Tantra in the tradition of Jnanagnikula.
    March 28 & 29, 9am-5pm (Sat. and Sun.)
    9am - 5pm
    $130/pre-reg or $150/door

    A Yogini's Journey:
    Advice from a Tantrik practitioner and consort
    March 30, 7-9pm (Mon.)
    Kiranamayi Sarasvati
    $20

    Recognizing the Enlightened Capacity of our 6 Inner Beings
    (Including yoga practice)
    May 30 & 31, 8:30am-6pm (Sat. and Sun.)
    $150/pre-reg or $175/door

    Tantrik Satsang - Open Q & A
    June 1, 7-9pm (Mon.)
    $5 minimum suggested donation

    Please send any correspondence to newsletter at trikainstitute.org.

Letter from the Guru: Dharma as Culture

It was not so long ago that peoples’ activities were informed by and directed toward the divine, the mystical, and the unseen. The importance placed on logic (“rock logic” ala Edward DeBono), science and their offspring – unbridled commercialism – has almost completely supplanted the last few million years of spiritual evolution that human [...]

Guruji’s Book Reviews

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
by Jared Diamond
This is a must read for anyone interested in establishing a society in a new land. The perma-culture, meteorological, political, archeological, and dharma teachings found in this book are priceless. What makes it even better is that they’re woven with great stories of both [...]

Aha!

by Anandasagara Sarasvati

Om hrim durgayai namaha!!
Jai ma durga!!!

During retreat last summer I felt like I had many “Aha!” moments, but an epiphany is only as good as how hard you work it afterwards. So, I have put myself to work with two main focuses – second attention, and working with emotional reactivity.
I had my [...]

Song of Confidences

Transmitted by Tantrik Yogi Dharmanidhi Sarasvati, Acharya

The mantra “aham” – I am (this Universe of form/no form) – this is the ultimate confidence. It is not confidence in anything but the root cause of any and all confidence.
For divya bhavas of the anupaya order this “confidence” is their natural state. This is why there is [...]

Thailand Update – March ‘08

In other Thailand news this busy editor would like to throw in more of his two cents to speak about his brief but bountiful trip to the land of the smiling people. From the second I stepped of the plane I knew that I was home. Prostrating to humongous statues of protector [...]

Odes to Guruji

by Kamaksi Sarasvati
i have walked many rivers and moons
slept under dark skies in cold streets
wondered the desert of time
grasping at the mirage of you
i have held on tightly to what I believe
seen my fear in the mirror of your eyes
loved beyond what i could imagine was love
bathed in the sweetness of your light
in this your [...]

The Song of No-Name

All longing for wholeness
Is What we Are.
This longing is our very essence,
Alone.
And for now
I must cry with this song.
For all the ways I have searched
For myself
That seem crazy, even destructive,
Desperate and oppositional –
There is pain.
But it is okay. It always was okay.
I was never lost, never alone,
And the search is only a means to [...]

Poem to the Guru

by Pranasakti Sarasvati
There is no place where you are
There is no place where you are not
Your body so unfathomably large
It touches wherever I am
Energy passes between us
But knows not any difference
I have need of your love, and its there
I have need of your arms, and they surround me
Walking this path that is no path
Direct knowledge [...]

A Prayer to Truth

A Prayer to Truth
It is very easy to make offerings
Of the love that overflows, bubbling from the heart.
But, when I am so scared – and I mean terrified –
That the whole world is going to hurt,
That this pain will not subside,
That this loneliness will linger on,
That this fear will continue to cripple,
That this love is [...]