Some time ago I took a yoga teacher training course (ТТС) in Sivananda Kutir in Uttarkashi in India. My friends asked me to write about it in detail, so I did it.
BACK STORY
My first steps in Yoga
I started practicing yoga in 1995 at the Indian Culture Center of the Embassy of India in Moscow. My first teacher was Jaya Kumar Swamishri.
At first, like all neophytes, I did not wonder what kind of yoga we do. I just liked the process, the teacher, the result. I was completely satisfied with the lessons.
I went at this Center until 1999 and even received a certificate giving the right to teach yoga. My teacher left Moscow, and I started practicing different types of yoga.
I thought always Jai Kumar Swamishri gave me Sivananda Yoga. Because at the first, we did Pranayama: Kapalabhati and Anuloma Viloma. We warmed up the body by Surya Namaskar, then relaxed in Shavasana. After which we had inverted poses, then forward and back bending. At the end we had balance on our hands and standing poses. The same scheme is incorporated in the basic sequence of 12 asanas in Sivananda Yoga.
Lectures about the types of Yoga
A few years ago my friends and I had set up a yoga teacher training courses in Yoga Centre «Prana». There I read always lectures on the different types of yoga. I told about Sivananda Yoga with great pleasure and thought that I knew it well.
Recently, I began to hear from our students who practiced the Sivananda Yoga in India that they were performing many techniques not in the way my first teacher gave me.
Therefore, I understood that I had a bad idea of what Sivananda Yoga is and I need to touch the original source so as not to sow distorted information in the minds of the students of our course.
Choosing a place of the study
Now Sivananda Yoga is widely represented in the world. However, in Russia there are no the Teachers Training Course (TTC) of Sivananda Yoga. Therefore, I had a question: «Where should I go to study?»
The closest place where such course we can take is Poland. There is the possibility of translating the lessons into Russian, and the cost of the course for Russians is cheaper. The ashrams in the Alps or the Bahamas looked quite attractive.
When I made a decision, I thought: «If you want to understand something, then you have to go to the source.» Sivananda Yoga began in the foothills of the Himalayas in Rishikesh.
However, at the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, there are no TTC now, so I shifted my attention a little higher, a little closer to the source of the Ganges, and found the Sivananda Kutir in Netala, near Uttarkashi.
SIVANANDA KUTIR
The Sivananda Kutir is located right on the banks of the Ganges, which is here called Bhagirathi. The word «Kutir» means a cottage.
Initially, it was a small house were a student of Swami Sivananda, Swami Akhandananda, was doing his spiritual practice. Here he practiced mostly meditative practices and led a lonely way of life.
In 1991, Swami Vishnudevananda, was looking for a place for his Ashram in the vicinity of Uttarkashi. Uttarkashi was a significant place for him.
When he was young soon after became a monk, he did his personal practice here. After returning from Uttarkashi, Swami Sivananda told Swami Vishnudevananda that he was ready to spread yoga throughout the world.
Now after “the conquering the West,” Swami Vishnudevananda came to Uttarkashi and was looking for a secluded place for his personal practice. Near the village Netala he met his brother-monk Swami Akhandananda. Both were very happy about this occasion, because they had not seen one another for many years.
Swami Vishnudevananda told him about his intention. Then Swami Akhandananda showed him his Kutir, picked up a handful of earth and handed it to Swami Vishnudevanada with the words: «This land is yours now.»
Then it was really a very small house. For a long time there were no mass events such as TTC. It was a place where the executives could quietly practice their sadhana.
Swami Vishnudevananda loved this place very much. Despite the fact that he died in Kerala, he wanted his body to be submerged in the water of the Ganges precisely here. So it was done by his disciples.
After his death, many transformations were made on the territory of the Kutir, new buildings appeared, the Shiva temple was updated.
The first Teachers’ Training Course of Yoga was here only in 2000. Now there is an opportunity to accommodate 36 students and some teachers and staffs. In other Ashrams, hundreds of students study at such courses. So, if you want an individual approach, then you need to go here.
SIVANANDA YOGA AS A SYSTEM
Vedanta or Sankhya?
I realized in the first lessons, that Sivananda Yoga is based primarily on the philosophy of Vedanta. This subject is considered the most important here.
Swami Vivekananda, who introduced America and Europe to the basic principles of Vedanta back in the 19th century, also considered Raja Yoga in the spirit of Vedanta, but he never propagated Hatha Yoga.
He followed a purely intellectual way of knowing reality. Swami Sivananda, on the other hand, stood in the positions of Vedanta from a philosophical point of view, and at the same time actively used the techniques of Hatha Yoga: asanas and pranayamas.
Yoga is one of the 6 systems of Indian philosophy, which is based on Sankhya. The description of the Supreme Reality from the perspective of Vedanta and Sankhya is slightly different. On the Sivananda Yoga course, we were taught primarily Vedanta. Although there were lectures on the Bhagavad-gita, which included Sankhya. Two different teachers lectured on these subjects and spoke about the same things a little differently.
For example, at lectures on Vedanta we were told that after death, the physical and subtle bodies are destroyed, and only the causal body is reborn. At the lectures on the Bahgavat Gita, it was stated that both the subtle and causal bodies are reborn. Of course, this is a trifle. It is clear that an exact answer to this question cannot be obtained. Some philosophical systems generally do not allow the idea of rebirth. But still, students feel more comfortable when teachers give the same answers to the same questions. In addition, an exam was meant at the end of the course.
In addition to the Vedanta and the Bhagavad-gita, we were given the basics of the anatomy and physiology of yoga, taught to sing bhajans and mantras. We constantly talked about the importance of the following 5 points of yoga:
- proper exercises (asanas);
- proper breathing (pranayama);
- proper nutrition (vegetarianism);
- proper relaxation (savasana);
- proper thinking (meditation).
There were practical classes on asanas and pranayamas to develop a personal level of practice, and we were also taught to conduct yoga classes in primary groups. Each of us tried ourselves twice as a yoga teacher.
Beginners’ Classes and Basic Class
In Sivananda Yoga there is a sequence of 12 asanas, which is called the Basic Class, and those who have completed TTC (it was on this course that I studied) should teach this sequence mainly.
The key word here is «mainly». The fact is that we also examined in detail 4 classes for beginners. In the first 3 classes there are less than 12 asanas, the fourth lesson is already the basic sequence. It is assumed that you can start practicing these lessons from zero.
However, in addition to these 4 sequences, in our manual also was described 8 more classes for beginners.
If we compare the 4 sequences that we analyzed with the 8 described later, it becomes clear that here are two options for entering into the base sequence.
The 1st one is faster and consists of 4 lessons, the 2nd one is more gradual and consists of 8 lessons. That is, it is assumed that you can gradually prepare a person to perform the basic sequence within either 4 or 8 lessons.
The basic sequence itself is not only the 12 poses that can be seen in the picture. There are also intermediate exercises and postures.
At first we trained to conduct classes for beginners, then each of us conducted a basic class.
In the classes where we developed the level of our personal practice, we were rarely given the basic class in its pure form. Asanas were different.
All in all, I liked these classes. However, in my opinion, this system devotes little space to standing poses. We performed few of them at the very end of the lesson. Sometimes our teacher was carried away and there was not enough time for these poses.
After this course, we have the right to teach only the basic class. For getting the right to teach not only the basic one, you need to take another course, which is called the Advanced Teachers’ Training Course (ATTC). So this system have only two levels. After the first one we receive the rank of Siromani, after the second one Acharya.
Pranayama
At the beginning of each practical class was pranayama. We did Kapalabhati and Anuloma Viloma. But it was surprising to me that little attention is paid to to the Complete Yogic Breathing. It is not even in the basic class.
It appears in the 2nd lesson for beginners, there is in the 3rd lesson, but in the 4th and in the basic sequence it is no longer considered separately. That is, it is believed that in two lessons this breath is mastered? It seems to me that it makes sense to repeat the Complete Yogic Breathing technique in each basic lesson. But this is not in the system.
My first yoga teacher, Jai Kumar Swamishri, told me that there are two options for doing the Complete Yogic Breathing :
- inhale is performed from the bottom up; exhale — from top to bottom;
- inhale is performed from the bottom up; exhale — from the bottom up.
My teacher told me that both options are correct. You must choose one and follow it. He suggested that we exhale from top to bottom. I have done so all these years. In Sivananda Kutir we were told that exhalation is done from the bottom up. I decided to try rebuilding my breathing. I must say that breathing in this way was much more convenient. My exhale began to lengthen without much effort..
The second surprise for me was the retention without Bandhas. We breathed Kapalabhati, after doing 2-3 smooth inhalations, exhalations and only then we held our breath without performing any Bandhas. At first it seemed to me very uncomfortable and difficult. It’s always easier to do what you’re used to. But after some time, I realized that the key to extending the retention in breathing is maximum relaxation. This is easier to do without any bandhas.
We breathed Anuloma Viloma almost the entire course without Bandhas. It was not easy for me at first, but gradually I got used to it and in the end I was already able to breathe easily in the proposed proportion. We started at 4: 16: 8. Then every day the task became more complicated. At the end of the course, we breathed: 7:28:14.
On the last day, we had an advanced level Pranayama lesson where for the first time we were told about Bandhas. After a month of practicing pranayama without bandhas, after connecting them, the retention felt much more comfortable.
Perhaps it is believed here that if a person is not able to make long delay of breathing, then he should not do bandhas. That is, breathing with delays without bandhas develops the respiratory capabilities of the lungs, and at the first stage it is this task that is set before the student. When the delay is already large, then bandhas are included and pranayama is already considered as an energy practice aimed at accumulating energy.
In this last lesson, we also breathed Bhramari, Sitali, Sitkari, Uddajaya and Samanu Pranayamas. Ujjaya and Bhramari we did not so I use to do. Samanu is a very interesting technique using concentrations on the chakras and the bija mantras of the chakras.
So we were deal with these energy techniques on this course only once. The teacher said us that they were being studied in the second level of the course ATTC or in a course which called «Sadhana Intensive», where the most attention is paid to the pranayamas.
After this course, we have the right to teach only Kapalabhati and Anuloma Viloma with delays, but without bandhas.
Meditation and satsangs
Twice a day we had satsangs: morning and evening. At the satsangs there were meditation, religious chants (kirtan), reading fragments from the books of Swami Sivananda. Kirtan received a lot of attention. We were given a special book with texts, and at daytime lectures we analyzed their meanings in detail. So now I can also give the Kirtan! ?
But the most enjoyable form of satsangs was walking. At first we walked along the Ganges in silence. Then we sat on its shore and meditated for about 45 minutes, then sang Bhajans. Everyone loved such satsangs, because we had little free time for other walks, and these minutes in silence by the river filled us with the energy of the place.
Karma Yoga
Karma yoga was a bit. We did it no more than 1.5 hours. Each had his own task of cleaning the territory or serving students with meals. For example, I had to sweep the yard near the Shiva temple and the steps to the satsang hall. This work did not tire me. At the temple, in general, everyone went barefoot and was almost always clean.
SCHEDULE
Our day was very busy. As a rule, one lesson flowed smoothly into another. A gong sounded 10 minutes before the start of a new session. So it was possible to live without watch. At first it was not clear when you could do something for yourself — to wash clothes, for example. Then everyone somehow adapted. Here’s how we lived:
5.20 — Wake up
6.00 — 7.00 — Satsang
7.30 — Tea with cookies
8.00 — 10.00 — Pranayama and asanas
10.00 — Brunch
11.00 — Karma Yoga
11.50 — 13.00 — Lecture on the Bhagavad-gita or on the singing of Bhajan
13.00 — Short coaching class of asanas
13.30 — Tea with cookies
14.00 — 15.30 — Lecture on Vedanta or Anatomy of Yoga
16.00 — Pranayama and Asanas
18.00 — Diner
19.30 — Satsang
22.30 — Lights out
Every day we had homework. And at once in two subjects. So we spent any free time on textbooks and notebooks. I wrote down two one and a half notebooks 🙂
Homework helped to comprehend what we have already passed and prepare for the upcoming lecture. Of course, it took the time, but then it was easier to pass the exam.
Level of learning
In my opinion, all the teachers were good and fluent in their subject. Feedback was also. We wrote homework on Vedanta, Yoga Anatomy, on building asanas sequences. Our homework was read by teachers, and we received marks «Good» and «Very good.» However, what was written incorrectly was not noted.
All students had the opportunity to conduct two full classes in pranayama and asanas. This is a very valuable experience. However, one teacher tracked 5 sudents which were conducting own groups in the same classroom. That is, his attention was in any case scattered. As a result, we were mostly praised. There were, of course, comments on the conduct, but not very specific. Criticism was carried out in a very soft and streamlined form.
Some students before this course had very little experience in practicing yoga. For them, many asanas were new. They were not able to master everything, so some of the people did not fully understand the key moments of performing asanas. At the same time, they still got a right to be a yoga teacher.
The level of performance of the poses did not play any role whatsoever. In this system, the teacher does not imply a demonstration of the asanas of the basic sequence of asanas. However in the first 4 lessons and in the open class (a more advanced level than the basic one), a demonstration is possible. But the basic class for some reason needs to be conducted only by voice.
Most of all, on the course was encouraged participation in all events and took into account good behavior. Attendance was carefully monitored. Missing something unnoticed was impossible. Everyone always went to the satsangs, did not miss the lessons of hatha yoga, cleaned the territory or did some other work, sang Bhajans. It was participation in all activities of the course that made it possible to obtain a certificate even with a weakly passed exam.
Exam
The exam was written. It lasted 3.5 hours. He was in English and included more than 100 questions. The questions were about Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita, about the biography of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu Devananda, about Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga, about building sequences of asanas and Pranayama, about Mantras, that is, immediately about all the subjects that we learned.
My English is poor. I did not understand everything at lectures. We had a thick textbook in all subjects at once. After lectures, I was reading what we went through on the class. It helped me in mastering the material. By the way many topics were known before the course. With their understanding, no big problems arose.
But the new information in English was not always clear. At first I thought that I didn’t need any certificate and that I will not write an exam. But then, I decided to try my hand in written English. In addition, we were told that if someone writes poorly, they will call him for an oral exam.
A few people really called for an oral exam. They didn’t call me. Either I wrote everything well, or it was so bad that I decided that it wasn’t worth speaking verbally with me. As a result, the certificate was issued to everyone.
I got the impression that this course was created to spread yoga in breadth. Its aim is to do as many adherents as possible, so that they sowed the knowledge of yoga around the world as they can do it. Of course, this is only the first level of this sYstem. There is also an advanced teachers training course. Мay be there is more difficult to get a certificate
OUR TEACHERS
Mataji Swami Parameshvariananda. The Mistress of this place
Now this place is led by a nun named Swami Parameshvariananda. She not only conducts administrative work, but also gives lectures on Vedanta. Our teachers said her lectures on Vedanta are wonderful.
But we had other teacher on Vedanta because when I lived in this Kutir, construction work was underway on its territory and Mataji was very busy and we had a little personal communication with her.
At the end of the course she gave Mantra Diksha and spiritual names to all comers. At first I did not want to receive any initiation.
I thought how I can adopt something from a person whom I do not know and who does not know me. I did not trust Mataji and refused to accept Diksha.
During the group mantra initiation, I was in my room and preparing for the exam. Suddenly I realized that the information was no longer perceived. The day before, it seemed to me that my English had progressed so that I did not care what language to read in Russian or in English. Now I looked at the book, but could not understand anything.
All who accepted the initiation were contented and their eyes shone. I thought that in vain I refused. Anyway initiation into tradition gives real power. And I chose only the role of an outside observer.
The next morning, while walking along the Ganges, I felt that the place was pushing me out. There was an idea that I would never return here again, although before that I planned to come to Uttarkashi again and to know better the place. There was a feeling that some door slammed shut.
In the evening there was a beautiful puja dedicated to Tripura Sundari, and I realized that in order to create such a blessed atmosphere, great strength was needed. And the owner of this power is exactly our Mataji Swami Parameshvariananda. Her name alone can say a lot 🙂 How did I not immediately pay attention to it? I decided to fix my mistake.
The next morning I asked to meet with Mataji, talked to her about all my previous doubts, asked for forgiveness and asked to give me an diksa mantra, if it was possible. Mataji thought a little and said she would give me the mantra after the exam. After that, the preparation for the exam went well, and, as I wrote above, I was not even called for an oral exam.
After the exam, I received a mantra and a spiritual name. Although I do not take spiritual names seriously, so I will not announce it here. As our Vedanta teacher Swami Janardanananda said, the Atman has neither form nor name. Therefore, in order to feel like the Atman, a new name, in my opinion, is not necessary.
Swami Janardanananda. An Expert of Vedanta and the Conductor to the Higher Worlds
My favorite teacher on the course was Swami Janardanananda. At the request of Mataji he in her place lectured on the main subject. He told us about Vedanta, about Adi Shankaracharya and voiced the key phrase of his teachings in Sanskrit: ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।.
It can be translated approximately like this: «Brahman (Supreme Deity) is the Truth, The World is Mithya (this concept is absent in European languages, and its meaning was explaining long time to us in lectures), Brahman and Jiva (Individual Soul) are inseparable.»
The point is that we are already Brahman. The world is not at all what it seems. The word «mithya» means the substance from which something is made. For example, mithya for a pot is clay, for a table is a wood, for a person are 5 elements of the physical body. Thus, the whole world is only a substance from which various objects are made. Behind all this is only Brahman and he is real. And there is no a separate soul.
Separation is illusory. From the point of view of Vedanta, the main goal of a person is to realize that he is Atman or Brahman. If we realize this, we will not suffer. The main cause of suffering is preference. All of these are our “likes” and “dislikes”.
If we will be able to perceive existence as a stream of events without evaluating, then life will become simpler and calmer. Life is simply a journey «from unreality to reality, from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge».
Swami Janardanananda told us about the different levels of cognition of reality, and it was felt that this was part of his personal experience. His words were credible. They had both strength and depth. Its presence alone calmed the mind and set the mind on the perception of complex philosophical concepts.
He was a close student of Swami Vishnudevanada and told us a lot about him. One hot day, when we wanted to sleep to cheer us up, he told the story of how Swami Vishnudevanada sent him to the high mountain in Gangotri to establish the Narayana Bank.
No, do not think that it is about money. The word «bank» in the English language means «place of storage of stocks.» In this case, these were sheets of paper with a mantra: ॐ नमो नारायणाया। «Om Namo Narayana.» Throughout the year, people in different countries did lykha japa, that is, they wrote this mantra on paper many times. Swami Sivananda wrote about the benefits of such japa in his books. In the tradition of this line of lykha, japa is one of the key practices.
«Om Namo Narayana» is the mantra of God Visnu. Vishnu is responsible for preserving this world, therefore, his mantra has the power of protection from negativity and creates positive energy around itself. The written mantras, placed in a high clean place, are able to spread positive energy in all directions over long distances. Increasing positive energy was the goal of creating this Repository.
The mountain that Swami Vishnudevananda chose was located above his cave in Gangotri. It is called Vishnu Peak, perhaps for this reason he chose this mountain to place the repository of the Vishnu mantra. The mountain was quite high. How to get there, it was not clear. Local Sherpas refused the young monk a request to escort him to the mountain. They said that the idea is crazy, and only a madman can ask him to do this, and accordingly, the one who is going to fulfill is also mad.
But for our Swami, this was primarily a test of faith in his Guru. After a long search, he found a man who agreed to escort him to the mountain. The journey was a long one. They walked for about 6 hours. In some places I had to walk in the snow. Young Swami ji saw snow for the first time in his life. He was completely unprepared for this and walked in the snow in ordinary Indian slippers.
There was another test on the mountain. Sherpas decided to make a fire to make tea. But a strong wind blew, and dry grass caught fire. Fire began to spread everywhere. There was no way to repay it.
To save himself, Swami Ji hid in a small cave and began to chant the mantra «Om Namo Narayana». After some time, the fire died out. We can assume that the Mantra worked as a defense, and the element of fire obeyed.
Our Swami Ji placed the papers with the mantras in the crevice, set the flag and went down. Of course, such stories took up little space in his lectures.
He told mainly about Vedanta. It was the main subject of our course, therefore it was Swamiji who handed us the certificates of its successful completion.
Uma Maheshwari. Expert in Asanas and Pranayamas
Practical classes on asanas and pranayamas were conducted by a wonderful woman named Uma. At classes, not only 12 asanas from the basic sequence were given. The classes were varied. We performed quite complex asanas as well. For example, Eka Pada Shirshasanu, Garbha Pindasanu, Padangustha Dhanurasanu, Vrishchikasanu, Hanumanasanu. That is, the practice was not an entry level.
I especially liked how the deflections were explained. Now I have adjusted my practice, aligning it with the knowledge that I received in the Uma Ji lessons, and the back bending in the upper part of my spine began to turn out much better.
She also gave us pranayama. In this school, breathing is performed under the caunt of a teacher. For me it is very difficult to give instructions, sound the count of breaths, and monitor how the students breathe. In my classes, I never count breathing, because I know for sure that I can go astray. She did a great job. After this course, my breath holding increased. I believe that this is including her merit
In addition to the usual classes, we had classes for older people, for children and for pregnant women. During the class for pregnant women, we were asked to stick pillows under T-shirts to understand how a woman feels when she has a big belly. Not very comfortable condition I must say. However, we looked funny with these pillows. Especially the boys.
Sivani. Owner of a magic voice
Sivani taught us to sing Bhajans and Mantras, and she also explained the Bhagavad-gita to us. She has a beautiful voice, and Sanskrit words from her mouth sounded divine. She explained in detail to us the meaning of all the Bhajans and Mantras that we sang.
As I wrote above, we not only sang in chorus. Each of us had to become at least once a soloist. That is, we have to choose some Bhajana and sing it on satsang as a leader. Sivani helped us to choose Bhajana, was teaching the correct melody and instilled confidence in our strengths.
In Bhagavad-gita classes, we first read the text in Sanskrit, then Sivani translated it to us and explained the text according to the comments of Swami Sivananda.
Dr. Saravan. Mysterious person
Each yoga teacher training course has its own skeleton. He was there too. Dr. Saravan called him Cattappa. What does the word «kattappa» mean I do not know. I remember that one old warrior was also called in the tamil film “Bahubali”. The warrior was strong and powerful. This is probably a reference to strong bones 🙂
Alas, I do not have a photo of our Anatomy teacher. During lectures it was forbidden to take photographs. The teacher came to us for a week, gave his lectures and went to another Ashram to give the same course. I did not find any information about him on the Internet. Therefore, the photo is not he, but the skeleton. Moreover, not our skeleton, but the one to which he went to Kerala.
Meanwhile, Dr. Saravan read the lectures on Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga perfectly. I especially liked the way he began his course. He drew one cell and said: «That was the first living organism.» Then he began to say that organisms are prone to unification. When there is a union, the separation of functions begins. And he began to draw other cells. Saying what functions a living organism has, he began to form organs from cells and outlined in general terms all the systems of the human body.
Thus, our body turned out to be a universe for cells. The idea of Micro and Macro Cosmos was traced in this explanation of the structure of man.
In the following lectures, he spoke in more detail about each human system. He always began with the most difficult moments. He said that we can read simple things in a textbook. Thus, he began the lecture with what was in the textbook closer to the end of this topic.
At first, this approach seemed strange to me. But then I realized that it was very convenient. He always had enough time for the most important things. Since we all had a textbook, we could read simple descriptions of the structure of organs ourselves, but he explained to us how the organs work much better than what was written.
In addition, at each lecture, he spoke of how yoga positively affects each of the systems. There were also lectures on the benefits of vegetarianism and the benefits of yoga in general.
CONDITIONS in the KUTIR
Nutrition
The food was lacto-vegetarian. Twice a day. At 10.00 and at 18.00. At 7.30 and at 13.30 tea with cookies was given. It is noteworthy that at 8.00 we had a class of asanas and pranayama. That is, half an hour after the cookies, we went to do asanas. However, the first asana was Shavasana, then we sang mantras, and when the turn reached Surya Namaskar, the cookies did not interfere.
I liked the quality of the food. She was diverse and sharp enough. They gave a lot of beans. To avoid poisoning, we were given water with the addition of potassium permanganate. Even tea was with potassium permanganate. I drank this water to a minimum. I had a kettle, and I boiled tap water.
The rooms
When registering, you can choose the type of accommodation: dormitory or double room. I decided to live in a double room.
Our room was pretty big. There was even a table and shelving. We had our own toilet room.
When other students came into our room, they were amazed at our conditions. The rest had rooms of the same size, but they lived in them for 10 or 12 people. The beds were bunk. For 10-12 people there were two toilet rooms. So, if you decide to go to Netala, I advise you to pay a little more, but live in normal conditions.
The fact is that most of the money goes specifically for tuition, not accommodation. I paid $ 3,250 for this course per month, and girls who lived in a hostel for $ 2,750. The difference is $ 500, and living conditions vary greatly.
OUR GROUP
Our group was international, but its basis was made up of the people of India. There were 36 people in the group. Three of them are from the USA, two from Canada and Japan, one from Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Germany and Russia. So there were 12 foreigners on the course. That is only one third.
Everyone was different, but everyone was a mature person. We lived as one friendly family. Our teachers were also always there. In this Kutir we lived, as in Guru Kul, that is, in the family of the Teacher. This place and these people will forever remain in my heart.
TRIP TO GANGOTRI
On the course we had 3 days off. On the first one we had a trip to Gangotri, on the second one it rained all day, and on the third one there was unbearable heat. So something worthwhile can be told only about the first day off.
The main purpose of this trip to Gangotri was to visit the cave of Swami Vishnu Devananda.
It is located on the banks of the Ganges. It looks more like a small house than a cave. That is, there are walls, a normal floor, an altar is made. But the conditions are, of course, ascetic.
Swami Vishnu Devananda often practiced his austerities here. And in 1986, even did it in January. I must say that in May it was cool here. In January, in general, on the verge of survival, probably.
As I understand it, it is over this cave that there is a mountain where there are records with the mantras «Om Namo Narayanaya». But we heard this story after the trip, so I can’t say for sure.
The group and I meditated in a cave, then left it and went to the Ganges. The wind became very strong. We sat on the shore and felt the power of the nature. Gangotri is certainly a place of the great power where you want to return. No wonder there are a lot of caves where Swamis live.
The author of the article is Olga Bulanova.