Dhyanyogi Murti Visit
January 30 & 31, 2009
tentative dates depending on the weather
Come join us for this unique and powerful opportunity
The auspicious reunion of the SPIRITS of
Swami Kripalu and Dhyanyogi
January 30 & 31, 2009*
at Power of Love Temple
*The murti of Dhyanyogi will be traveling from East to West Coast across America and there is always the possibility of delay or change in schedule due to the weather. Please check the Temple schedule for an up to date report.
Tentative schedule as the Murti travels across America:
Farmington, CT Jan 21, 22 and 23
Cleveland, OH Jan 24 and 25
Chicago, IL Jan 26, 27, and 28
Council Bluffs, IA Jan 30 and 31
Boulder, CO Feb 1, 2, and 3
Albuquerque, NM Feb 5, 6, and 7
Tucson, AZ Feb 8, 9, and 10
And hopefully we can arrange for a site in the Los Angeles that would cover the Feb 12, 13, 14 dates.
Tentative schedule at Power of Love Temple:
Friday, January 30 puja and satsanga from 6-9pm (it's o.k. if you arrive late)
Saturday, January 31 from 10am to 4 pm
Open darshan with puja, meditation and chanting. This will be like an open house - come when you want and leave when you want. Soak up the energy and offer love and respects.
Dhyanyogi was a friend of Swami Kripalvanandaji (Kripalu) for whom Power of Love Temple was dedicated. This visit will be a special reunion of their spirits: a very unique auspicious event and a powerful opportunity for you to have the blessing and experience of the subtle presence of these yoga masters.
A group of 4 disciples of Anandi Ma and Dhyanyogi will be transporting an 800 pound murti of Dhyanyogi in a trailer from the East Coast to the West Coast. They will start in Farmington Ct. and travel to Antioch, CA for the installation and full pran pratistha ceremomy.
The plan is to energize the murti of Dhyanyogi with love and devotion as it travels across America. It has been sugested that we offer some simple Pujas, practices and the chanting of the ÒFive Stanzas to the Gurus SandalsÓ. We will also have satsanga as these two fabulous yoga lineages come together.
What is a Murti? "Devotional practices centered on cultivating a deep and personal bond of love with God often include veneration of Murtis. This is similar to our ability to communicate with others through the telephone. One does not talk to the telephone, rather the telephone is a way to interact with another person. Without the telephone, one could not have a conversation across long distances; and without the sancitified image, one cannot easily talk with the Deity." -Satguru Shivaya Subramuniyaswami.
In Hinduism, a Murti typically refers to an image, a deity, in which the Divine Spirit is expressed. (muurta) Hindus consider a Murti worthy of worship after the divine is invoked in it for the purpose of offering worship. Thus the murti is regarded during worship as a point of devotional and meditational focus. The process of invoking the Divine is called Pran Pratishtha. Anandi Ma has done this ceremony with the Murti of her guru Shri Dhyanyogi.
Pran Pratishtha literally means infusing life into an idol. Without breath (pran) a human body is nothing. Similarly, a sculpture is a piece of metal, wood or stone until life is infused into it. This is done through a detailed ceremony by chanting mantras requesting God to reside in the sculpture. Once this is done the idol/sculpture becomes a deity. Thereafter, it must be bathed, clothed, given ornaments, food, incense sticks and articles of prayer, followed by arti in the morning and evening.
Pujay Swami Shri Dhyanyogiji was one of the greatest of the 20th century yogis. As a teacher or Satguru, he was one of the most powerful: able to read people's lives at a glance, and able to transfer his own energy to thousands. As a true saint, he stunned America with his extraordinary love, compassion and insight. He was an authentic master of Kundalinin Maha Yoga. He was a wandering sadhu (holy man) and now his image is wandering across America and making a stop at Power of Love Temple so that you can come and experience and be energized by His presence.
Shri Anandi Ma and Dileepji are in India and will not be here in the physical for this event.
From Steve Kelley, a local disciple of Shri Anandi Ma and temple slave:
Along my life's path have come many natural joys. But they are not accidents. They are gifts and keys to future joys. Pujay Swami Shri Dhyanyogiji was one of the greatest of the 20th century yogis. As a teacher or Satguru, he was one of the most powerful: able to read people's lives at a glance, and able to transfer his own energy to thousands. While he was in this second teens (age 113-116) I received his energy through Shri Anandi Ma. I received a release of stress and a replacemnt of joy and peace. After Dhyanyogi left his body his presence came to me one day as he chanted along with a Beethoven Quartet playing on my radio. His sense of humor was still intact. (I had sometimes disparaged Beethoven compared to Shubert and Brahms.)
Dhyanyogi linked people of my time (baby boomers) to the India of the 19th Century. Born in 1878, and living until 1994 (116 years), Dhyanyogi knew and worked with saints of all religions throughout India. His own guru linked Dhyanyogi's disciples to a lineage traceable to Sita and Rama, Vasistha, and before that into prehistory. After he left his body in 1994 his grace continued worldwide. His ashes are present in a temple built for him in Nikora, India where his murti resides. Thanks to Shri Anandi Ma, and her husband Shri Dileepji and all their disciples, two more murtis will be enshringed in America.
When You Come:
It is appropriate to greet our special guest (Dhyanyogi's Murti) with utmost respect and reverence... as if he is here with us in the flesh. Steve Kelley pointed out that the murti's are even more alive than us as they would be conscious all the time. The plan is to back the trailer up to one of the temple windows and open it so that Dhyanyogi can see into the temple and you can see him. This way you will have the most comfort in the heated temple. Winds on top of the hill can be bitter.
You can take your shoes off in the entry - instead of outside. If you come Friday night, you might want to bring a flashlight as it should be pretty dark when you leave.
It is best to not come empty handed. Flowers or a piece of fruit is traditional, or even a stick (which represents the obstacles on your path). Anything that is symbolic from you is appropriate. Of course, money always works to help to support the work of both these yoga masters (Kripalu and Dhyanyogi and Power of Love Temple). Most important is that you come. Feel free to bring your friends. If we have snow or ice on our lane, I'm making arrangements so that you can park at the neighbors and then call to have someone come with a 4 wheel drive vehical to take you up the lane. If we have snow on the lane, Dale will pull the trailer up the hill with his tractor.
Dhyanyogi died at ages 95 & 116 years
Well, that's just bad press. Great Saints never die. Their energy and teachings stay helping humanity to infinity.
However..... There is one true documented story of Dhyanyogi from his small book "On Death and Dying" with a later recounting from Anandi Ma's book "This House is on Fire".
On December 7, 1973 at 9 pm in the village of Bandhwad, India at the age of 95 Dhyanyogi unexpectedly died while experiencing a high temperature of 106. Living with him was teenager Asha Ma (Shri Anandi Ma) whose parents hoped Dhyanyogi could stabilize their daughter in this material world. Her natual state in her early teens was in deep samadhi. Very unexpectantly Dhyanyogi felt ill and collasped. All life functions stopped. His body lay virtually untouched for 3 days.
Even in death his body carried enough energy when touched to cause four disciples to faint. In Shri Anandi Ma's book, he accounts the fascinating experience that he had after death, his interaction with evolved beings and his darshan with Lord Rama. He could not stay long in Lord Rama's darshan as Lord Rama said if he did, then they would burn his body on Earth. He died with unfullfilled desires to help people, so he had to go back and fulfill them. As he came down he saw people preparing to make arrangements for his cremation. Anandi Ma, was upstairs in meditation and he was downstairs. She crawled down the stairs still in meditation and put his head on her lap and opened his eyes. He saw the light from Ma's eyes entering him and revitalizing all his senses.
Before that time many of Dhyanyogi's local disciples resented her presence and her spiritual gifts were not recognized. Now Dhyanyogi would change that. And eventually she was designated at the one to carry his lineage to all. Dhyanyogi lived another 21 years and left his body at the ripe old age of 116 years.
