Dedicated to leading by example, Swami Vishnudevananda was a yogi and spiritual teacher who profoundly touched many lives through the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre. One aspect of practice that Swami Vishnudevananda emphasized through his own experience, training in Rishikesh, India, under Swami Sivananda, was becoming one with the Guru. What this involves is a two-way process of giving and receiving in which the disciple follows the Guru’s instructions, both in spirit and outward action. This awakens dormant energies and abilities within the self, and kindles what some have described as a “spiritual fire.” Along with this inner passion comes virtuous qualities such as calmness, patience, mercy, humility, and endurance. Discipleship also brings with it a willingness to volunteer for tasks with no material reward as a path toward greater self-realization. The “two-way street” aspect of discipleship extends to propagating the Guru’s teachings, once they have been internalized, and conveying the same sense of aspiration and cosmic love to less-evolved souls encountered in life. This process is never finished, even up to the last breath, among those who have deeply and observantly imbibed the Guru’s virtues. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2L4PjOb
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A spiritual leader who advocated for world unity and peace, Swami Vishnudevananda was a practitioner of the classical yoga tradition. His years of training in Rishikesh, India, under Swami Sivananda Saraswati led Swami Vishnudevananda to establish the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre and his goal of reaching a global audience. As recounted by a fellow teacher and practitioner in the book The Story of Swami Vishnudevananda in His Own Words, one of the yogi’s distinguishing characteristics was that he worked ceaselessly to be the best example of what he expounded. In this way, his yogic activities transcended mere practice to become a “living principle.” One memorable example came in the early 1990s on New Year’s Day at the Val Morin ashram in Canada. At an advanced age and confined to a wheelchair, Swami Vishnudevananda determined that he would greet the new year with a pilgrimage around the sizable ashram grounds. Along the way, he would make offerings at various temples of incense, flowers, and prayer. The fellow practitioner, though decades younger, was at first reluctant to join his teacher on such a pilgrimage, due to the biting winter cold. Despite this, he took inspiration from Swami Vishnudevananda and accompanied the group on their rounds, later describing it as one of the most memorable starts to a New Year. The take-home lesson was that physical limitations and adverse external conditions should never be seen as obstacles when it comes to performing one’s duty. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3sPdEbI |
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