YYMM (Yoga-Yajnya-Mantra-Meditation) Program in India Satsang July/August 2015 | Volume 43 #3 |New Era 72

Tenants Wanted at Ancient Oaks Farm

“There is a kind of migration within the Homa community, as people find their rightful places.”

Peaceful greetings dear worldwide Homa family,

I’m writing on behalf of the Baltimore Homa Community. We have a beautiful 28 acre Homa farm in Westminster, Maryland including two streams, beautiful gardens, a lovely community center and a highly successful CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. It is the happy home of three long-haired Highlander cows who provide the dung for four hours of Yajnya every day and of course daily sunrise/sunset Agnihotra.

Patricia Norton lives there at Ancient Oaks Homa Farm, as does Taylor Logsdon, who is currently the farm manager. Adam Kandel coordinates the CSA and various members of BHC help to take care of the many things that need attending.

HAVE YOU BEEN FEELING A PULL TO MOVE OUT OF THE CITY OR ACROSS THE GLOBE TO EAST COAST AMERICA? Would you like to come live on one of the newest Homa farms on the planet? We need one or two more tenants, Homa practitioners, to come take up residence here. Please let us hear from you, so we can encourage you!

Showers of blessings for all that you are doing. Thank you for your commitment to Homa.
Maria Broom, BHC Community Correspondent

If you are interested in becoming a tenant at Ancient Oaks, please contact Patricia Norton at patricianorton38@gmail.com or Ann Couto at ranncouto@gmail.com.  

YYMM (Yoga-Yajnya-Mantra-Meditation) Program in India

by Abel Hernandez and Aleta Macan

Homa Therapy teachers Abel Hernandez and Aleta Macan presented the YYMM program in several schools in Maharashtra, India. Below is a summary of the program.

The teachings of the Fivefold Path are the core of the YYMM (Yoga-Yajnya-Mantra-Meditation) program.

Content of the Yoga-Yajnya-Mantra-Meditation workshop:

1. Yoga
   We cover the basics: Yama, Niyama, Asanas, Pranayama
2. Yajnya
   Vyahruti, Tryambakam, Agnihotra (if it is at Agnihotra time)
3. Mantra
   “OM SHREE”
4. Meditation (Pratyahara, Dhyana, Dharana, etc.)
   a) Body awareness: relaxation, stillness of the body
   b) Breath awareness
   c) Visualization, attention, concentration

Method:
We adjust the method according to the group of students (age, quantity, cultural background, clothing, understanding, etc.) and time available. The program is presented in a playful and disciplined way. We show inspiring video clips about nature, animals and exemplary models of human achievements in spite of all odds.

There are sessions of Questions and Answers to stimulate the students’  thinking and participation. And certainly everyone is allowed to laugh!

Purpose:
It is to complement conventional education and improve the total well-being of the participants. Regular education focuses on the development of mind and body (intellectual and physical abilities). In this workshop, we also focus in cultivating the “Virtues of the Heart,” as important keys for a better individual and society. Yes, there is usually room for improvement, but there is not much room for corruption in a pure, loving heart .

Objectives:
1) To increase the IQ
2) To improve the psycho-motor coordination, flexibility, endurance, strength, posture, willpower, etc.
3) To plant and develop the Virtues of the Heart (kindness, truthfulness, brotherhood, compassion, forgiveness, etc.)
4) To gently heal common psycho-physiological traumas
5) To reduce the negative aspects of emotions, feelings and thoughts, and to promote the positive ones
6) To improve the behavior and participation of the students and teachers in the process of learning
7) To stimulate the cooperation between students, teachers, parents and administrative personnel
8) To instill hope and confidence that everything can be changed into a positive direction (if we listen to our inner voice and realize that we have the Master within)

Through the YYMM workshop the process of learning and teaching is reflected as an Expression of Love.

How to Forgive

by Cathleen Gantt, Maryland, U.S.A.

You are always taught to have forgiveness, always forgive. You must forgive, you are always told.

But then someone does something to you or your loved one—something really terrible. Then you say, How do I forgive this person?

The Quran uses 3 different words for forgiveness:
AFA-to forget. Obliterate the incident from your mind.
SAFAHA-Treat the incident as if it did not happen.
GAFFAR means to forgive others as God forgives us our sins by showering GRACE. He forgives again and again.

The dictionary’s definition of forgive: To renounce anger or resentment against.

Definition of renounce: to reject, disown.

When you finish reading what it means to forgive, all of this rejecting and disowning may make one think you have to stop feeling. Mr. Ned Howell, author of Dare to Forgive, says, “Forgiveness does not require that you cease to feel the anger, vengeance and resentment you so naturally experience. Not at all. This crucial distinction is what makes forgiveness humanly possible, albeit still strange and difficult. What does it mean to give up your title to anger and resentment or to refuse to live under their rule? It means that you set yourself free from those feelings. You no longer let those feelings own you; you disown them. When you feel the yoke of hatred start to take you in its grip, you step out. You lift it off. You renounce it. You put on the yoke of love and compassion instead.

“What is annulled in the act of forgiveness is not the crime itself, but the distorting effect that this wrong has upon one’s relations with the wrongdoer and perhaps with others.

“How do you stop feeling? That’s impossible. However, you can refuse to act on those
feelings and you can refuse to welcome those feelings when they come to your door. We renounce their control over us.

“We manage to do it every day, not only with our aggressive feelings, but also with our sexual feelings, and even our feelings of hunger and thirst or the need to use the
bathroom. We come to realize that we already know how not to act on our feelings and not let them have control over us. Some are just more powerful than others.”

Commandment 3 from Ten Commandments of Parama Sadguru states: “Forgiveness is born of strength and can never be associated with weakness. You have the power to give the blow and you abdicate it; this is forgiveness.”

Besides, the Bible states, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ saith the Lord.”–Romans 12:19 King James Version

Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, for He is the only one who knows a person’s heart, the only one who knows from whence that person and you have come.

So, we take our feelings of hurt, anger, vengeance and hatred (over which we have no control) and do Om Tryambakam Homa for at least an hour or more. You will be surprised by how things are taken, lifted from your shoulders. This includes depression or anything that is weighing down upon us.

Quoting from Mr. Ned Howell again:
“Gradually, as you resist the rule of anger, you can develop empathy for your enemy. There is no one you can’t develop something like love for, if you know their whole story. I know that sounds like an awful stretch when you are talking about people who have done terrible deeds. In those cases, simply begin by letting the principle of love rule your actions–the principle of love for all humankind, not just your friends and loved ones. Try to understand how your enemy, who was once an innocent and loving infant, turned into such a monster. As you understand, your hatred will gradually subside and in its place something like love will start to grow.”

The Orion Transmissions have addressed forgiveness:
September, 2005
“Yes, it is in compassion one heals one’s soul. Compassion is like a balm which completely heals wounds of the past and unites with forgiveness to form a healthy heart. Those who carry the burden of resentments fueled by fear of loss or betrayal always live with a shadow looming over their lives. The compassionate heart swells in light, not in shadows.

“When one opens one’s heart to forgive another, a shaft of Light passes through the being who has taken such a step forward in evolution. You see, there is great power in forgiving another’s wrongdoings, their weaknesses of character, their harsh words or even their ulterior motives! When you begin to forgive, the effects are manifold. By your own actions, you inspire truth in others, who begin to find they cannot bear to lie to you. By the deep wisdom inherent in the art of forgiving, you uplift not only your own spirit but those all around you.”

Forgiveness is for you
Forgiveness is for you, not the other person–a bridge everyone must cross over to liberate the soul, to release one’s soul from slavery, confinement, restrictions. One must liberate the soul so that we can truly love. The best reason to forgive is so that we may have mercy shown to us when we ask for forgiveness. When you think about it, that’s a real BIGGIE.

We also forgive so that our prayers may be answered (another BIGGIE) when we or a loved one are in need of help, mercy, or to be delivered from something really bad (especially if it is your children). You earn the right to be forgiven for your sins when you practice forgiveness towards others.

The poem Invictus helped keep Nelson Mandela full of love and forgiveness after 27 years of confinement:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

5th International Summer Meeting at the Homa-Hof Heiligenberg

by Johanna Jenisch and the Homa-Hof Heiligenberg Team

“So far, this has been the most beautiful day of my life,” a visitor expressed after the biggest summer meeting ever held at the Homa-Hof, where we had the honour to meet over 450 people. The Agnihotra at sunset, with hundreds of Agnihotra fires, was again the peak of the celebration. An all-embracing, uplifting flood of strengthening energy, touching the many visitors, made them feel at home. Everyone present was filled with a new energy and inner peace, radiating happiness long after.

A joyous get-together, accompanied by high summer temperatures, led the way. As in previous years, a range of activities were on offer: guided field tours, apiculture, ghee-making, market stalls, a cowdung-drying demonstration and more. There was a lively exchange of amazing experiences amongst visitors who were already practising Agnihotra. After a short introduction for those interested and did not know Agnihotra yet, there was an opportunity to ask questions. We were very happy to answer general questions about Agnihotra and other fire techniques. We were pleasantly surprised to see not only the large number of visitors, but also a colourful mix of all ages from different regions and countries.

Newly introduced this year was the “Agnihotra Contact Service” which was actively used. Those who wished to contact other Agnihotra practitioners left their contact information on a list and pinned an assigned number on the map of regions. The suggestion is that this be extended to other countries at the next summer meeting.

Many expressed gratitude towards our commitment to pass on the original Agnihotra for free to as many people as possible.

To all of you a heartfelt thank you for coming, for your understanding, your positive feedback and your support, both financially and otherwise, which contributed to the success of this event. Your suggestions will be taken into consideration in the planning of the next meeting. We hope you will stay in contact with the Homa-Hof.

With Agnihotra we received an omnipotent instrument to give something back for the gift of Life and to place it as a positive sign of healing and trust.

From Shree Vasant’s Teachings

Advice to Couples
Normal earthly love that is only physical never lasts. Both of you have to be in tune on the spiritual plane. Strengthen that. Do not deny the physical. That also improves quite naturally. But more meditations, more prayer, more chanting. Every day the demands of the world are great and one can focus all his attention on “getting things done.” But always keep sacred times for meditation.  Have no fear, no anxiety.

Strengthen the love between you and radiate that love. Do not find fault with each other. Love and protect each other. There are really negative energies in the atmosphere. Weakness makes one easy prey. So all the time Mantra.

Calmly, quietly sit together and discuss this. Do not leave the situation unresolved. Never any anger. Never any blame or judgment. Learn to love each other. Do not use harsh words in speech directed at each other, another, or even when no one is the intended recipient. Keep the tongue pure. In all humility, with reverence serve each other.

Realize the difference between love and lust. Lust never lasts and rarely turns into love. By learning to accept each other’s faults and imperfections and loving each other with great devotion, you will reach a beautiful state of joy.

Preserve the sanctity of marriage. Always look to service first. Take care of each other with all love and devotion.

On Fivefold Path
Suffering is not necessary. Where is it told in any of the literature, in any of Shree’s Commandments, any of these Fivefold Path teachings, where is it told that we must suffer? Nowhere is it told that man and woman must suffer. That they do suffer, this is observed, but the opposite is taught–that they need not suffer.

Fivefold Path is quite simple really. If one follows the steps of the Fivefold Path, one will progress to a higher level. The progress is assured by practice of Yajnya as a materal aid. Agnihotra is the basic Yajnya.

On Homa Communities and Family Life
Fault-finding is not a way to solve anything. Only LOVE. All forgiveness. All tolerance. Acceptance. Then, a community based on these principles, using Fivefold path as a guideline, can be productive, economically self-sustaining and creative. More music and more songs in the homes. Children especially gravitate towards music even as young babies. Music is healing.

The work is teaching [Fivefold Path]. It is also in listening. It is also in play. Let there be laughter and joy in the  HOMA home. Not always serious. Not always what must be done. Not to become lazy, but to enjoy time together.

On Pure Intent
When the aim is pure, no moment is a wasted one, even if mistakes are made. Then all mistakes are merely stumbling blocks to make you stronger as you overcome them one by one.

On Taking Responsibility for One’s Actions
Take responsibility for your own mistakes. That is karma. You can accept the mistakes and learn from them, or you can fight them and miss the lesson. Either way, it is karma.

 

Fivefold Path for Happy Living

1. Perform AGNIHOTRA for purification of the atmosphere which leads to automatic purification of mind.
2. Practice DAAN (sharing of assets in a spirit of humility to reduce attachment to worldly possessions).
3. Practice TAPA (becoming better managers of our energy expenditure by training the body and mind to react to all circumstances in life with Total Love).
4. Perform KARMA (every action for self-purification only and thus no expectations which bind us to the material world).
5. Practice SWADHYAYA (Self-study) for liberation. Who am I? Why am I here? My work on this planet is to learn to react with total LOVE with each opportunity given to me.

This is the Fivefold Path for happy living on the planet. By practicing the Fivefold Path you become better members of your society, group, religion, community, etc.