{"id":6950,"date":"2026-08-30T01:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T05:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/?p=6950"},"modified":"2026-08-30T10:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T14:31:35","slug":"echo-from-the-cave-229","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/2026\/08\/echo-from-the-cave-229\/","title":{"rendered":"Echo From The Cave: 229"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday August 30th, 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Typewriter Experiment at Washington Square Park
\nand<\/strong> My Experience of Sharing the Teachings Through a<\/strong> Typewriter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amid the hustle and bustle of the modern city, the most basic questions can still arise:
\nWhat are we living for? What is the meaning of life?<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Last month in New York City, the wildfire smoke that had blanketed the city from the north cleared and two disciples of Shri Mahayogi went to Washington Square Park to try a new experiment in bringing the Master\u2019s teachings of Truth to the public on two summer afternoons.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As the sunlight came through the leaves of the trees and flocks of pigeons swooped overhead, an old bright pink manual typewriter and a table of Mahayogi Yoga Mission publications was set up. Our brother Moksha, dressed in white, sat before the antiquated machine and began to carefully type words of our Master from The Universal Gospel of Yoga.<\/a> Meanwhile, his sister in Yoga\u2014myself, Prajna\u2014assisted by waiting at the table and watching the passersby, ready to share Shri Mahayogi\u2019s words with anyone who expressed an interest in them. Each time a page became full of the typed-out teachings, each individual saying was cut and placed in a glass vessel to be taken by anyone who wanted to receive it.<\/p>\n

For several hours each day, many people flowed past, some involved in conversation with their friends, others looking at their phones or glancing over at the typewriter before hurrying by. But there were some people who seemed to be intrigued by the beautiful book covers and by the sight and sound of the old-fashioned instrument, click clacking away, with its bright bell ringing cheerfully at the end of every line.<\/p>\n

In presenting the teachings of Yoga in that setting, one of the challenges was to find a way to spark curiosity about why we were there and what we were doing, and another was to be able to speak about Yoga no matter who approached us and what they might ask, think or believe.<\/p>\n

The typewriter created that interest by providing a sharp contrast to the fast-paced way of today where instant gratification is the norm. The physical nature of its operation subtly changed the atmosphere around us, visually separating us from the other activities that were going on. There were some children who were absolutely fascinated by it, having never seen or maybe even heard of a typewriter before. There was an intriguing performance aspect to it all that had nothing to do with making a transaction like trying to sell a book or anything like that; we were simply there to try to present Yoga as Shri Mahayogi has brought it to us and as something that is valuable for everyone.<\/p>\n

Having said that, actually, using the typewriter in and of itself turned out to carry a symbolic message, though it was only by us actually putting the typewriter into action that Moksha and I gradually began to recognize that. Perhaps we have forgotten the way we once used to do things, but typing on the typewriter takes a lot of concentration, because if we make a mistake, we can\u2019t just make it all disappear with the stroke of a key. It forces us to slow down our fingers and to slow down and focus our minds on the task at hand. And importantly, it seemed that the deliberate force that we needed to apply to type each and every letter was as if it was helping us to slowly imprint the meaning of the teachings on our minds more and more, and then further\u2014and perhaps most importantly\u2014to think about what those words mean, what is being said beyond the literal meaning of the words\u2026 It seemed to remind us that perhaps by concentrating, by the experience of using the body and repeating the same action\u2014things that both typing and asana<\/em> may have in common\u2014profound changes may begin to take root over time. Even though our experience of this typewriter project may only be beginning, in a way, it seems as if it is only through doing it and putting ourselves into action that we are able to glimpse and start to learn these things.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Through Doing, We Are Learning\u2014Sharing the Words of Truth
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe various appearances of this world are always changing and vanishing, but the essence of this world is Eternal.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u2014Satguru Shri Mahayogi Paramahansa<\/em><\/p>\n

This is one of the sayings from The Universal Gospel of Yoga<\/a> that Moksha selected to be typed. Indeed, at the heart of this project is our wish to share Shri Mahayogi\u2019s teachings of Yoga that we feel are truly so valuable. And prior to going to the park, our sister, Karuna, and I had compiled various teachings, thinking they might be good to offer to people who may not have any familiarity with Yoga. But actually, the words above chosen by Moksha, and many of the sayings he chose, offered a different perspective compared to the ones we had compiled. The approach in his choices seemed to give people space to think. I hadn\u2019t thought about it this way until I saw it, but perhaps encountering this teaching unexpectedly could open the door to Yoga for someone who may only have been exposed to a form of asana<\/em>, or even to someone who has never heard the word Yoga before at all.<\/p>\n

Choosing and sharing the actual words of Shri Mahayogi is one thing, but then communicating with people beyond the words written on the paper, that is another important part of this project and one I found myself most challenged by.<\/p>\n

Actually, on the first day, I was very nervous on the way to the park and had to continually bring my mind back to Shri Mahayogi and the reason we wanted to try this: to share his Existence and teachings with whoever showed an interest.<\/p>\n

To be completely honest, sharing Yoga with others has always been very challenging for me. I\u2019m not necessarily confident about my understanding\u2014even though on some level I can recognize how valuable and precious the teachings are, I\u2019ve been having trouble grasping what the main point of a teaching is, seeing the whole rather than the parts, and I seem to make the teachings conform to what my mind already believes without even realizing it, rather than bringing my mind toward the teachings. And on top of that, I tend to become concerned about what others may think about me. Stepping into the park, was like putting myself in a position where I would be forced to set all this self-concern and doubt to the side and bring my focus to the people in front of me rather than myself.<\/p>\n

Seeing Moksha and his way of being became a great example for me. His face beamed with enthusiasm when he spoke about Yoga and Shri Mahayogi, and his way of quietly considering the words of the people he talked to, and responding thoughtfully and carefully to each one, was very inspiring and instructive. There was no sense that he was trying to or needed to teach something, but rather to share something truly precious and valuable in words that could be understood by anyone.<\/p>\n

We spoke with a variety of people, and as it turns out, some had a familiarity with Yoga and some did not. Some wanted to ask questions about how we had encountered Yoga, what our lives were before Yoga, or were curious about Shri Mahayogi\u2019s life and Satori<\/em>. Others were more interested in telling us their own stories and their connections to religion or spirituality. One gentleman wearing pink heart-shaped glasses bought a copy of The Universal Gospel of Yoga. Others expressed interest and took flyers for the online and in-person Asana and Meditation classes. Still others took a teaching with them as they went about their business with just a simple thank you.<\/p>\n

All of this helped me see that it was important for me to be open to whatever people wanted to talk about, and to be approachable. It seemed best to be as simple, calm and receptive as possible. Our sister Anandamali, a senior gurubai<\/em>, has often stressed to us the importance of focusing on the people in front of us and meeting them wherever they are; this experiment ended up presenting a great opportunity for me to work on that, to focus on others rather than myself, to concentrate on listening rather than planning to speak, and to learn to respond \u201cguilelessly and honestly,\u201d according to Shri Mahayogi\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

When I reflect on this project now and think about the experience, I see that indeed, there were many things about this experiment that I really didn\u2019t expect; actually doing it was completely different than what I imagined during the planning, and it was important to let go of whatever imaginary scenarios I might have had in my mind. That makes me want to work towards letting my mind become more and more open to putting myself into action without having certain expectations or worries about the results, and through that also become more and more open to what Shri Mahayogi is trying to show me.<\/p>\n

What are we living for? What is the meaning of life?<\/p>\n

Before encountering Yoga, I, myself, had these questions and it wasn\u2019t clear to me that there even could be a definite answer. And it was not until experiencing a string of heartbreaks, losing some of the people I cared the most about, that I started to take these questions more seriously and turn towards Shri Mahayogi\u2019s teachings. Even though my understanding was remaining on the surface, such that I couldn\u2019t really apply much or experience their deeper meaning, I can certainly recognize some changes in myself that I believe definitely would never have come without bringing my mind to think more about Yoga and the Master.<\/p>\n

I am grateful to Shri Mahayogi for his Existence, for the teachings he imparted, for allowing me to start to come closer to those teachings, and now, for this blessed opportunity to share the Truth! I look forward to continuing to learn more and to develop the ability to speak about Yoga and Shri Mahayogi. Experiencing that made me understand better that no matter the situation, whether with friends or strangers, the preciousness and value of Yoga, which can improve my own life situations in ways that I\u2019m only just beginning to comprehend, can also improve the life situations of anyone I encounter. I should therefore always be alert to the opportunities that exist all around me to share Yoga more and more, without allowing any of my own thoughts or ideas to stop me.<\/p>\n

Thank you to the brothers and sisters of Mahayogi Yoga Mission New York, for sharing this journey!<\/p>\n

Prajna<\/p>\n

\"\"

Afterwards, Moksha, with a press card, immediately left to see and report on the FIFA World Cup Final in New Jersey!<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday August 30th, 2026 The Typewriter Experiment at Washington Square Park and My Experience of Sharing the Teachings Through a Typewriter Amid the hustle and bustle of the modern city, the most basic questions can still arise: What are we living for? What is the meaning of life? * Last month in New York City, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6950"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6972,"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6950\/revisions\/6972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}