Sat July 8th, 2017 07:10 pm, NYC

BLESSING: Special Class with Shri Mahayogi
Almost one month has passed since Shri Mahayogi arrived in New York and already we have had four opportunities to learn and practice Asana & Meditation with Shri Mahayogi during the special Sunday program. We have witnessed that attendees meeting Shri Mahayogi for the first time have swiftly been uplifted by the presence of the Master. To relate a few examples:

After the first class, one woman who had been attending the MYM’s classes on and off since last fall, and had at first been unsure of whether or not she should attend the special class with Shri Mahayogi or not, expressed that now she understands that it is impossible to describe what it is like to meet Shri Mahayogi with words, that this is only something that can be experienced—it is an experience that is beyond words.

Another attendee, who attended for the first time during the third class, was greatly impacted by Shri Mahayogi’s teaching about the Pure Consciousness. Shri Mahayogi taught that our true Self is not the mind, but is Pure Consciousness, which simply witnesses the mind, never saying anything or becoming involved, and that the way to find that Pure Consciousness is through the gate of the heart. After hearing this, she went home and immediately read as much as she could about Shri Mahayogi on the Mahayogi Yoga Mission website, then expressed her thorough disbelief that it could even be possible that she had just been in the presence of such a Master as Shri Mahayogi. Still others remained speechless after the class, but their lightness and blissful smiles spoke louder than words.

Shri Mahayogi will be in New York one more month before he goes back to Japan. We hope that as many new attendees as possible will take this rare and special opportunity to meet Shri Mahayogi and that those who have already met Shri Mahayogi will continue to take advantage of this most precious opportunity to learn from and be in the presence of the Master!

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Pranavadipa Vol. 32
This month’s issue of Pranavadipa, Vol. 32, contains the last part of the Satsangha that we have had the opportunity to read and study for the past two months. This particular Satsangha lasted over 3 hours and Shri Mahayogi generously delivered the teaching of the Truth to practitioners who had recently begun to practice. Truly we all can learn from studying these simple and easy to understand teachings again and again.

There is no amount of book knowledge that can make us know something. Therefore, a practitioner never reads just for the sake of reading alone. A practitioner is always looking for the ways they can put the teaching into practice, since it is only by experiencing the teaching through that practice and the depths of our own intuition that we can truly understand it.

This month’s Testimony, “Small Steps Along the Way”, is an article written by Shaci, a long time disciple, living in Kyoto, Japan. She wrote it in 2003 for Paramahamsa, a bi-monthly newsletter published in Japanese, which means 14 years have already passed since the time she wrote this. It is so inspiring to see Shaci’s internal practice, which is nothing showy, but rather very quiet, simple and practical. It has really required firm resolution and passion to continue persistently over the course of a long period of time, but in the end, this is exactly what builds real fortitude within a practitioner. In fact if you see her, you may not realize how much she has been putting in the effort to purify herself in this way behind the scenes, but here she reveals the way in which she makes continual effort in daily life. Her daily efforts and practice in the “Now”, in each and every moment, is a great example of the demonstration of Shri Mahayogi’s teaching: that the real field of practice is in daily life and that we must practice diligently and steadily without complaint or expectation. Often times, as practitioners, we may want to have a spiritual experience, to experience a miracle or something extraordinary, or think that if we do then it is a sign of our advancement, however this is a trap. We hope that just like she learned and applied the teachings from the practice experienced by a real person who devoted himself fully to attaining Satori, we too can learn through the concrete examples of our brothers and sisters who have been walking the path before us and along side us. Surely, if we do so, we too can deepen our own understanding of the teaching of Yoga and, at the same time, bring to life the words of the teachings, so that even those who may not have the opportunity to encounter them for themselves, may be able to feel them through our way of living.

At “Tatsunoko” Illustration by Shaci 2003