28 April 2008
 
Dear Everyone:
 
We are now in the third and last phase of our trip. First Rome for the launch of Swamiji's book, then Assisi, to visit with friends, and now Lugano, Switzerland for a holiday.
 
Lugano is in Italian Switzerland, just over the border from Italy. It is nestled in the hills, built around a lake. Swamiji has come here often over the years and stays where we are now, Hotel Dante, just a few blocks from the lake in a part of town where cars are mostly prohibited. It is narrow streets, piazzas, beautiful shops and restaurants.
 
Lugano is in what people often call the "banana belt" of Switzerland because the weather is comparatively mild. It was warm and sunny when we arrived yesterday, today has been a bit overcast with light rain. Still, quite comfortable.
 
There are thirteen of us here with Swamiji. Dharmadas and Nirmala (from India), Kirtani and Anand, Shivani and Arjuna, Narya and Laura from Assisi, and Miriam, Lakshman, and Lila, who are from wherever Swamiji is.  Not a small traveling party, but a happy one.
 
Half the group drove up yesterday in a big white Mercedes van that was purchased a few years ago when Karen and David Gamow, Frank Monahan, and Bhagavati went to Europe for 18 months to be part of a traveling singing group. They went hundreds of kilometers in that same van. (The motor has since died, I would add, and has been replaced.  It died on a previous trip to Lugano, stranding for hours those who were supposed to be meeting Swamiji at the Milan airport.)
 
Swamiji and the rest of us flew from a small airport in Perugia (close to Assisi) to Milan where several devotees from the Ananda group in that area met us and drove us an hour or so up to Lugano.
 
Spring has already begun in Umbria, the area of Italy where Assisi is located. It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Open fields, rolling hills, and this time of year the fields are all possible shades of spring green. And many are also covered with bright yellow mustard flowers, or, just beginning, red poppies.
 
And here and there among the shades of green you see mostly stone buildings with red tile roofs. The day we drove from Rome was clear and sunny. The scenery was so exquisite it was as if an artist had dreamed it up and painted a backdrop called "Springtime in Umbria."  
 
We were joking that every night when everyone else is asleep, men in lederhausen come out and repair any flaws that have developed in the backdrop. Of course, we are mixing nationalities here but when you are being absurd by definition you don't have to be reasonable.
 
Swamiji's house is called "Seva Kutir." It is painted sky blue with yellow shutters and sits at the end of a long narrow driveway with nothing around it but forest and meadow.
 
A few years ago the community did some landscaping around the house. When you drive in, Seva Kutir is on the left. On the right side, there is a small statue of Mother Mary, and in front of her, this time of year, a bed of bright colored pansies and tulips in full bloom.
 
Directly in front, as you drive in, is a rustic fence, covered by climbing roses (not yet in bloom). In front of the fence is an olive tree about 10 feet tall, with a marvelous twisting trunk and branches. Around the base of the tree there is another bed of pansies and blooming tulips.
 
The olive tree, although not large, is apparently quite old -- perhaps even a century old -- and has been expertly pruned over the years to be a perfect shape, almost like a Hanukah menorah.
 
From the windows of Seva Kutir, all you see is forest and green fields. It is an ideal home for Swamiji.
 
The heart of the Assisi community is up the road a kilometer or two. This is a converted hotel called "Il Rifugio," an attractive stone building with kitchen, dining room, bookstore and gift shop, and some offices and guest rooms upstairs.  
 
Behind that building, are several smaller cottages, which house classrooms and various community offices. And beyond that, at the end of a gracefully curving walkway, flower gardens, and green lawn, is the Temple of Light with its striking indigo blue tile roof and glass cupola.
 
Every morning and evening there is group sadhana and we had some blissful meditations in the Temple of Light. Ananda Assisi is a retreat where hundreds of people come every month. It is, I believe, the largest yoga retreat in Europe. It is a huge project to keep that retreat running -- with classes, counseling, translating (almost every class requires at least English, Italian and German, sometimes other languages as well), cooking, and housekeeping.
 
Guest and resident houses is almost all in various rented buildings stringing out along the main road or side roads for a couple of kilometers.  
 
One spends lovely blocks of time just walking from place to place along the road, which is at the top of a ridge with the picture book views in all directions.
 
We spent our days with our friends in the community and late afternoons and evenings with Swamiji. It was all very leisurely, sharing tea and conversation, then dinner and conversation, and occasionally an after-dinner video.
 
One of the videos we watched was something Swamiji and a few others had seen shortly before we arrived. It is a documentary put out by what I think is called the Spiritual Cinema Circle (or something like that). These are DVDs issued every month or so, each containing a collection of short and long films, some fictional, some documentaries, all of a spiritually uplifting nature. This was Volume 8, I think.
 
The video Swamiji wanted us to see was (totally unexpected) about Crop Circles. Yes, those mysterious designs that have appeared all over the world. Huge inexplicably exact designs imposed upon fields of growing crops.
 
Swamiji also had a book about this phenomenon.
 
If you had asked me before we viewed this video what I thought of Crop Circles, I would certainly have responded with some skepticism.
 
The documentary (and the book), however, have completely changed my perspective. I don't know if I have advanced to the stage of being a "Croppie," one who is dedicated to researching and experiencing this phenomenon, but I am no longer a skeptic.
 
Without going into too much detail, I'll say simply that it is a remarkable, uplifting, and beautiful phenomenon that is far more common and much more compelling than any mainstream media communicates.
 
In fact, as with most things spiritual, the mainstream media has done its best either to ridicule or simply ignore what is going on.
 
The fact is, there are 100s of documented cases, going back many years, especially in England, of these mandala-like designs appearing spontaneously.
 
They are extremely large and can only be properly viewed from the air.  The photos from the air are beautiful, and deeply moving. The theory offered by "Croppies" is that these are being projected by intelligent life forms from other planets or other dimensions by some means not understood by us earthlings at this time.
 
Another theory is that Mother Earth itself is projecting these designs. Or these more technically advanced beings are activating some magnetic forces in the earth to create these patterns.
 
The patterns appear suddenly, in complete form, as if manifested by thought or sound, rather than being created step by step as one would do if it was nothing more than the clever use of harvesting tools, as some of those who seek to debunk the phenomenon have asserted. Also, the crops are not cut, but bent, and shifted in ways that leaves the plants intact. Sometimes right in the same area the stalks are bent in several different directions, one reason it seems obvious the patterns were created by something more subtle than human hands or tools.
 
They are collectively referred to as "Crop Circles," but the patterns are extremely varied, many of them astonishingly complex. All of them harmonious, balanced, and uplifting, seeming to imply in symbols higher states of awareness.
 
After watching the video we felt uplifted for days. They are mandalas. Just looking at the patterns on film or in the book seemed to change one's consciousness.
 
"Croppies" say these are messages for Earth dwellers at this time, perhaps reassuring us of a positive and beautiful potential that is coming, in spite of all the difficulties Earth is going through at this time.
 
Swamiji was deeply impressed by the beauty and the power of these symbols.
 
Even as I type these words I can imagine the response of many of you, which would have been my response as well before I saw the film and the book!  I am not one to accept easily an explanation that involves beings from other planets! Although when Master was asked if there was life on other planets, his reply was the equivalent of, "Of course!"
 
It was thrilling to see these huge beautiful patterns -- and so many of them. There seems to be something very real going on.
 
We were discussing with Swamiji whether the Earth itself is projecting these patterns as a way of trying to guide mankind into a more harmonious relationship with the planet. "Does the Earth have a soul?" someone asked.
 
"Everything is conscious," Swamiji replied. "Many people consider the Earth a deity."
 
He went on to say it is quite reasonable to assume that there is a guiding deity for the planet. Gaia is the name most commonly used. God works through instruments. It is reasonable to assume, just in the same way there is a King of England, for example, there would be a guiding spirit for the planet as a whole.  It is a role that might be filled by different (highly evolved) souls at different times, in the same way that the specific soul playing the part of King of England may change over time, but the position and the responsibilities remain.
 
Back to our trip to Lugano:
 
Perugia, where the airport is located, is on the plains in front of the hill where Assisi is located. Looking from the airport you can see stone buildings that are the town of Assisi clustered halfway up the hill.
 
Ananda is further up in that same group of hills, about 20 minutes beyond the town.
 
Perhaps it was the presence of Swamiji meditating in the seat behind us that made the sacredness of the whole setting so vivid.
 
With the green fields, yellow flowers and red poppies stretching out in all directions from the runway, and the jewel that is Assisi glowing in the sunshine in the near distance, it was easy to feel the spirit of St. Francis walking joyously across those fields.
 
You could almost hear him singing one of Swamiji's songs:
 
"Father, now that I wander with Thee,
Flow'rs and fields are alive with Thy joy!
All that I owned to Thee I've given,
Now I sing:  in Thy love I am free!"
 
Another thought that has been vivid in my mind lately is how varied are the expressions of the divine, especially through human beings. We all start out from the same substance of creation, and yet see how different we are from one another!
 
I mentioned this to Swamiji, emphasizing how we all started out the same.
 
He corrected me, reminding me that Master said, "Every atom is dowered with individuality." As Swamiji put it, "Each soul has a unique song to sing."
 
Still, because of our free will, we make such a complex story out of that song by our ego-motivated reactions to everything that happens to us. The simple clarity of our relationship to God undergoes endless permutations as we spend lifetimes finding our way back to our point of origin in the divine.
 
Someone asked Swamiji the classic question:  "Why did God manifest creation?"
 
Swamiji gave an answer I had never heard before, or perhaps never heard in the same way.
 
"God's nature is Bliss," Swamiji said, "Satchidananda -- ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy.  It is the nature of bliss to want to expand and share itself."
 
In his marvelous way of making the most esoteric concepts understandable, Swamiji went on to say, "Isn't that how you feel, too? Whenever I feel blissful," he said, "I have a deep and immediate desire also to share that bliss with others."
 
Later, when I commented to Swamiji on what a beautiful explanation this was for this usually unanswerable question. Swamiji said simply, "It is an answer that satisfies me."
 
A radio interviewer asked Swamiji, "What can we do about all those people who don't believe in God and so often act in ways that are contrary to what we would wish for them?"
 
Swamiji's answer was, "We don't have to do anything about them. God is responsible for them, not me."  Then he went on to say, their own actions will teach them -- wrong actions bring suffering and that suffering is the impetus for change.
 
In another context, Swamiji wrote that whenever he sees people suffering, what he thinks of is not their present suffering, but how great will be their joy when they find God and all that suffering ends. Isn't that a lovely way to turn what could otherwise be a depressing reality into a joyful one?
 
I think this is part of the explanation for why just being with Swamiji is so uplifting. We tend to see (and experience) present reality. Swamiji sees everything resolving into the bliss of God. The strength of his faith in our eventual freedom communicates to us not only hope for a better future, but also (since time is an illusion) an experience of that future now!
 
The day before the launch, there was a press conference with representatives from several media sources and other groups. Swamiji understands Italian, but he doesn't always hear clearly, so he likes to have someone with him to help correct any misunderstandings.
 
At the press conference, however, a humorous mistake went uncorrected for a time.
 
Two gentlemen came representing an organization of booksellers. The Italian word for books -- libri -- is very close to the word for Jews -- a variation on the word Hebrew.
 
The men introduced themselves as the leaders of an organization of booksellers, but Swamiji thought they were leading an organization of Jews. It was unusual that they would come to a press conference about Revelations of Christ, but since they were there, he was more than willing to discuss any question they might have!
 
Shivani, an American living in Italy for the past 20 years, and from a Jewish family, also thought they identified themselves as Hebrews, and her thought was, "They don't look Jewish!"
 
One of the native Italian speakers knew Swamiji had made a mistake, but somehow she wasn't able to intervene.  Apparently Swamiji's responses to them were a little confusing, but after a short time it all got straightened out, much to the amusement of all.
 
Now, in Lugano, life is even more leisurely than it was at Assisi. Long breakfasts, followed by a little shopping, a little relaxation, then lunch, then shopping or rest, then tea, then dinner, all in this beautiful setting.
 
A few more days, then home to America.  See you at Sunday service, May 4.
 
Joy,
asha

Dear  Everyone:

Now that the Rome event is over, and shared with you, I can fill in with other bits and pieces of news from our time here with Swamiji.

We arrived in Rome last Wednesday from America; Swamiji drove down from Assisi and arrived in the afternoon. He was full of energy and enthusiasm for the (at that time) upcoming event.

His original plan had been to be in Italy only for one month (January), return to India for the Mahasamadhi celebration in March, then back to Italy in time for this program. But the importance of the event in Rome, combined with the need to convalesce from his surgery at the end of last year, led to the decision to stay in Italy and avoid the stress of extra travel.

It was obvious when he arrived in Rome that it was the right decision. Also, the additional time of relative seclusion at his home in Assisi not only healed his body, but also gave him time to focus on this event.

It is difficult for us to full appreciate the importance of events such as this one. In The Path, Swamiji writes of that moment at the garden party at Beverly Hills when Master spoke of the need for communities. Swamiji describes it as the most powerful talk he had ever heard, saying he wouldn't have been surprised if "legions of angels" had descended from heaven to carry out Master's wishes.

Swamiji committed himself at that moment to do his utmost to manifest Master's vision of  "World Brotherhood Colonies." Sometimes we date the founding of Ananda from that garden party. Swamiji has commented that, despite the power of Master's words, it seems no one else among the hundreds who heard Master speak on that day responded as Swamiji did.

In that same speech Master declared with the full force of his divine consciousness, "My words are registered in the ether and they shall move the West."

Such a declaration from a Self-realized soul is not offered lightly! His word is binding on the universe.  But probably very few in that crowd were able to see what a mighty force was being unleashed.

Swamiji has spoken of the great importance of this talk in Rome, and also the launch of Revelations in English in Los Angeles last summer. One can't help but wonder, in the years, decades, and centuries to come, how these events will be viewed.

At his talk on Saturday, Swamiji spoke of  how little the ego can accomplish on its own, and how much the infinite can accomplish through us if we make ourselves "zero" as Swamiji put it. To become "Brother Zero," Swamiji said, to the great delight (and applause) of the audience.

Later, Swamiji also said that it seems in some ways God has to reduce everything first to zero so it can then be built up again in a divine way. The crucifixion of Christ is certainly a good example. It was not exactly what his disciples were expecting! They knew from their own experience the divine power of Jesus and they naturally expected that in some way that power would express itself in a way the world would see during their lifetime and his.

Instead, Jesus was arrested, tortured, crucified. Of course, after three days he resurrected, which affirmed the faith of those who believed. But still, from a worldly point of view, the mission of Jesus seemed to end in nothing at all.

In fact, God was just reducing it to zero so it could be built up in a divine way.

The zero point in Swamiji's life was when he was expelled from SRF in 1962. It was 14 years since he had become a disciple. In those years Swamiji had already accomplished a great deal in service to Master. He was the head of the monks, the main teacher for SRF, head of the center department, vice-president of SRF, and was about to accomplish great things in India.

Then, suddenly, it was all taken away. He found himself at the age of 36, living with his parents, separated from the life he had been living since he met Master at the age of 22. He was penniless and alone. All he had—which turned out to be all he needed—was his discipleship to Master and the commitment he had made to serve his Guru's mission.

All of Ananda came from that seeming zero.

In one of the interviews before the Rome event, someone asked Swamiji, "How do you obtain purity of heart?"  Swamiji replied (among other things) to "follow the example of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita." What he was referring to is Krishna's guidance of "nishkam karma," which means "action without any desire for the fruits of action." In other words, complete surrender to God.

Become "Brother Zero" is one way to think about it. Doing what we do only as a service to God and leaving everything else in His hands. So often, Swamiji also said at the Rome event, what appears to us to be tragedy turns out to be God's greatest blessing.

In a recent essay on self-confidence, Swamiji says that he has never had any confidence in himself, but he has had limitless confidence in God. To be "Brother Zero" is something Swamiji has learned from first-hand experience.

On our way from the hotel to the Theater Valle where the program was held on Saturday, the taxi drove by the outside walls of "Vatican City," as it is called. Massive stone walls surrounding the many equally massive stone buildings that over the centuries have been built as the world center for the Catholic Church.

Even though Theater Valle was impressive, the whole edifice and all those attending could have been dropped in the corner of Vatican City and hardly made an impression.

In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Swamiji speaks of how, on the material plane, for most people consciousness is primarily focused outwardly, through the senses. So much so, that most people think that reality itself is defined by what the senses perceive. Only gradually does the awareness dawn that the origin point of consciousness is within.

On the astral plane, Swamiji explains, there is a much greater awareness of inner consciousness. The external world is seen to be "streaming energy" that forms and re-forms in ever changing ways.

And on the causal plane, one sees that thought and consciousness itself is the only reality.

So there we were in Rome—the massive material power of the Vatican on one side, and Swamiji's message from Master on the other. The request of Jesus to Babaji to send a messenger to the West to re-establish true Christianity, and centuries of "Churchianity" on the other. Most interesting!

A few other interesting bits and pieces:

..................................................

One of those honored with the gift of a book and CD by Swamiji at the end of the program was a man who is starting a new political party in Italy. The man is a close devotee of Satya Sai Baba and he is starting the party at Baba's request. It is a political party based on spiritual principles. He is calling it the Lotus Party.

The man had come to visit Swamiji earlier. Swamiji was very supportive of the project, saying it is exactly what is needed, an entirely new approach to politics. His advice was simply, "Don't ever give up your principles." Virtually everyone who goes into politics eventually feels the need to compromise in some way to gain power with the thought that once they have power they will be able to do more good. Swamiji said, that is a delusion. Once principles are compromised your power to do good is also lost. "Don't compromise," Swamiji said. "The most important thing is love," Swamiji also told him.

The man assured Swamiji that his feet are on the ground but his heart is with the spirit and he was doing this only in obedience to Satya Sai Baba.

In his talks and interviews, Swamiji often spoke of the image of God on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—a powerful man-like figure, creating Adam, and, in another section, condemning sinners to eternal hell. (Michaelangelo painted the faces of many of his own enemies on those being condemned to hell!).

In one conversation, Swamiji described the painting as "Good art, but bad philosophy."

In his Rome talk, when speaking of the importance of not thinking of ourselves as sinners, Swamiji said, "Do you think God cares about our sins? It is simply understood that it will take us incarnations to learn our lessons. We are predisposed toward sin in that all our senses are pointed outwards. We are born with an appetite for the pleasures of the senses. God made us this way and He knows it will take time for us to learn."

And one last lovely moment:

In the hotel in Rome, one of the restaurant managers came up to me on the second day and asked if we were part of some kind of a group. Then he mentioned "Paramhansa Yogananda." He said he had read the Autobiography a few years earlier and it turned his life around completely. He went to India to study for several years (as part of his university degree).

I explained that a direct disciple of Master was there in the hotel. I introduced him to Shivani and others from the Assisi community.

Later, when he was introduced to Swamiji, Swamiji said, "When I saw you the first time here I was very attracted to your face."  The man replied, "And I am very attracted to yours."

So Master works to find his devotees everywhere.

Joy to you,

asha