Friday morning around 3.15 I got up to get ready for the Guru Pooja celebrations – and to be in time in the bathroom… In the bus all were still quite tired, when we rode through the city still asleep. At the Guru Pooja premises, however, the morning rituals were already going on in the huge hall, which had been prepared with colourful cloth. The morning prayer was followed by the lecture of Sri Kumar – about the path of discipleship and the 5th work of Hercules – Gathering the Golden Apples of the Hesperides.

After breakfast a number of parents with the small children gathered before the stage for the small ceremony of introduction into reading, where Sri Kumar made the child write the sacred letter OM and intonated the mantram OM Namah Sivaya. Then the ladies sat in long rows for the Lalitha Pooja, a worship of the divine Mother. It is always a very sacred atmosphere, where the rhythmic hymns resound in the air.

The day passed fast, with the afternoon pause in the palm forest, the evening prayer followed by the lecture of the Master. It was again late when returned to the Retreat Centre and dropped into our beds.

Saturday morning the Western brotherhood meditated with the Master on the dais, a very uplifting experience to sit in the centre of the energies in front of the pictures of the Great Ones

Later after the lecture the Rudra Abhishekam started, the water ritual in honour of the first cosmic ray of Divine Will. Sri Kumar and Smt. Kumari intonated the hymns, while Ravi Shankar conducted the ritual on the stage. The water symbolises the waters of space, the cosmic ethers from which all creation comes out and into which it is dissolved again. The water is poured over an oval stone, a Lingam, symbol of the creative force of the divine will, Shiva. There is a statue of a 7-hooded serpent behind the lingam, symbolising the 7 aspects of the divine energies, the 7 rays. The water flows down over the Lingam into a receptacle. It later distributed to the participants. A sublime and serene atmosphere spread throughout the air with the rhythmic mantric invocations, spreading bliss and upliftment.

Around 11 am there was the part of the Fusion of East and West. Representatives from the different countries of the west present at the Guru Poojas – Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Argentina – came to the podium to speak about their experiences with the wisdom teachings and the related transformations in their lives.

First Sri Kumar spoke about the meaning of fusion of east and west. Here are some extracts from my notes.
“The fusion of East and West is conducted under the auspicious guidance of the Great Teachers of Hierarchy. The west is looking for the inner wisdom. Wisdom is compartmentalised and then considered as eastern and western wisdom, Greek wisdom Egyptian wisdom, Mayan wisdom… It is only one wisdom expressing in many ways. It is proposed by every true teacher that the student should dive into himself and find the truth within himself. The universal wisdom he realises; initially he was matter-bound or bound in the head. He travelled to the east in him. The travel is from the west in him to the east in him, from the base centre to the ajna. For each one of us the two have to meet in the heart centre. The east and west meet in the heart, that is where love, synthesis, truth prevail. From material to spirit. The soul is equidistant to spirit and matter. It is the point where spirit and matter agree. One is not denying the material world or the spiritual world.
That is the state of the yogi. That state should happen within oneself before one travels from east to west or from west to east. He starts thinking from the heart, working from the heart and he becomes hearty. That attitude is to be reached. It is transcending of mind to buddhi, mortality to immortality. That is the immediate work of Hierarchy, that we transcend the illusion of death… The related wisdom is taught in the morning and evening classes. Man is taught to turn within himself, conquer the obstacles and find the implements within himself.
The vertical energy which exists in him can lead him to the higher worlds or to the grosser worlds. That is the work of fusion of east and west. That is the work first envisioned by Madam Blavatsky – the importance of the ancient teachings that existed in the east and in the west and in between. These earliest schools of wisdom existed, but with the advent of Kali (the dark age) the wisdom disappeared and only the religions were there with exclusive attitudes. Through Madam Blavatsky the Hierarchy informed at large the entire globe that the wisdom had always been there and it had not been an exclusive concept. Seek first the wisdom within oneself and then see it in the east and west. And then the teachings of Madam Bailey coming from the hierarchy and about 3000 groups were formed around the globe. Wisdom came through Master CVV and his yoga synthesisis. It came from Europe, North America and South America.
From Europe it comes to North and South America, this was also said by Master EK and can be seen in the books. And the teachings through colour, sound and symbol, number and also form can only be realised through a specific way of life called the Path. Unless one consecrates oneself to the path one cannot discover the wisdom. The transformation happens when one undergoes certain exercises of discipleship. The universal group beyond caste, creed, religion. Satyam Nasti Paro Dharma – there is no religion higher than truth, Mme Blavatsky said. Today the world is divided by religion, this is Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Hindus, Christians, Hebrews, etc. This had a dominance the last 2000 years. To break these divisions is a major work of Hierarchy, to bring back the truth. The humanity at large is exposed to truth, when the universe is seen as macrocosmos and humanity as microcosmos. That wisdom is available in the western countries… In tune with the energies that came to the planet the religious idea must die. Religion is a sectarian approach to truth.
In this context people who were touched by the teachings of Mme Blavatsky, Mme Bailey, Nicholas and Helena Roerich came into contact with the World Teacher Trust. If we do the fire ritual, the significance is explained, if we do the water ritual, the significance is explained. If we do it without awareness it becomes a routine, if you do it with awareness it becomes a ritual.
Christ can be seen in everyone, in the heart of the beings. It becomes the heart. It is the Lord and if you exclude the Lord who is worshipped in another form it is a limitation. God exists in every name, form, every member. To see God in every form forms the basis of truth seeking. Those gathered in the World Teacher Trust are looking for this comprehensive truth. It is not that we are establishing a hierarchy of Master CVV, MN, EK. It is not propagating certain Masters, but the Masters. The World Teacher has an army of teacher, and all who have committed to the Hierarchy are in this work. In the occult meditations coming form Master CVV you find Egyptian, Hebrew, Christian, Eastern wisdom. In that we proceed. It is the case here and also outside India. We teach the child to transform, to transform the family system, all the sacraments, marriage, to develop a good way of life.”…

Afterwards the boys who participated in the Upanayanam ceremony (initiations into Gayatri came into the hall and received the blessings of the Master.

In the little palm forest – I love so much the idyllic atmosphere.

Sitting at the computer in the hall

Sunday morning after breakfast there was the grand fire ritual in honour of the 2nd Logos, the Vishnu Homam. Vedic hymns were intonated and the flames of he fire rose high while the different devas were invoked. Afterwards there was a presentation of the new publications of Dhanishta Editions, mostly in Telugu.

Early morning ceremony of Ganesha-worship – for a good beginning of the day

The butter lights in front of the altar

Fire ritual

Book presentation – new editions of Master EK’s works

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