27 December morning Sri Kumar (Master KPK) gathered the Western members for a welcome talk in a small hall in Sadguru Tapovana, Bangalore. There were about 40 Westerners. It was a leisurely talk but very thrilling. Full of joy Sri Kumar told us that his office just got the great job of doing the auditing of the State Bank of India for three year. They were chosen among 10 revision groups. He said that for 27 years he had been doing revisions on a high level but that this will be the biggest task and a kind of honour for his office and will be the close of his professional career. He further talked about the changes going on in India and in the world and had some exchanges with group members.

Master Kumar and Kumari Garu entering the hall, together with Mr. Joshi

Directly after the gathering an Indian friend from New Jersey, USA, came to Sadguru Tapovana. Srinivas had helped me with the Sripada biography by providing one of the three English translations I had used and also a number of photos. At the moment, he is traveling to different places in India related to Lord Dattatreya. He showed me a photo of an ancient painting of Sripada Srivallabha dating from his lifetime in the 14^th century which had been secretly handed down in a family in Central India and not yet disclosed to the public. It showed a beautiful young man with a radiant male-female countenance. Srinivas called another friend who arrived after a few minutes with another person. They were also related to Dattatreya and we had a lively conversation. I presented a copy of the German Sripada book to Srinivas and we took some photos.

Together with Srinivas and Sabine, who helped proof-reading the book

In the afternoon, Master Kumar opened the December Call celebration with a Ganesha puja and singing some stotrams in Sanskrit. After the evening prayer the grandson of Master CVV from Kumbakonam and another person related to the work of Master CVV were honoured. Later, Master Kumar started with the series of talks on some profound spiritual topics. Here is a short extract from the evening lecture of the second day (my notes, incomplete, might contain mistakes):

“We have been pondering upon the splendour of the central vertical column, the cerebro-spinal system, into which there is the descent of the Master. Our true abode is the same cerebro-spinal column. When we are out of it we are out of the house of the Father. That is how we become a stray son, when we don’t know how to come back into it. We are then the stray son or the prodigal son, meaning we have lost the purpose of life and we are doing whatever comes to you from the objective life. We are like a kite without the threat. A kite which loses the thread of the holder of the kite loses his direction. The Master who is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, he makes the central vertical column as his abode. He teaches us and we, in tune with him, need to live in the world. There is a purpose for each one of us and the purpose can only be known when we are in the sanctum sanctorum in us. The Masters give us the technique and they move within. They see that the wandering son gets back to the house. We have all come from the same house. We need to know why we are here; we need to come into the temple. We can enter it either in the West, the muladhara, that is what the Hatha Yogis do, and we can enter the temple from the South, that is the heart centre. You can also enter the temple from the East, that is the brow centre. Three entrances are there from ancient most times, one relates to Hatha Yoga, one to raja Yoga, and one to Lord Krishna. In 6^th chapter of Bhagavad Gita recommends that we enter from there. The ancient most way was to enter from the West. You cannot align with the divine when you are outside the temple. That is why the prayers done with an objective mind do not reach which is deep down in the subjectivity. When we get aligned with the divine, we know the very purpose of our life, the will of the Divine. The initiates relate with the divine in a given day and a given time. Father, thy will be done, and yet fulfil your purposes because you have willed us to be. We are willing to conduct in the world.“

The grandson of Master CVV

In the morning of the second day there was a water ritual (Rudra Abhishekam) and in the afternoon of the second and third day the children of Sadguru Tapovana gave performances of dance and of scenes from the Scriptures, of the lives of Rama and Krishna among others. It was touching to see the great enthusiasm on their faces and the devotion with which they expressed with music and dance, clad it colourful robes.

On December Call, 29 December, Master Kumar conducted a fire ritual. Afterwards there were the rituals of name giving, blessing of the children and introduction into writing. Clothes were distributed to all members from the West – from Argentina, Columbia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, USA – and from different centres of India. The members the Bangalore brotherhood presented to us a watch in the form of an orange star and the symbol of perfection and a saying: Through time I keep an account of all” (from Bhagavad Gita).

Then the book Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam, which I had translated, was released. It was a very special moment for me. Master Kumar explained the profound importance of this incarnation of the Cosmic Teacher upon earth in three subsequent incarnations and he recommended that it should be read in the groups (see more about it on the website www.sripada-srivallabha.org)

Friday morning, there was a question-answer session for 1.5 hours, where many sublime points were discussed. After lunch two buses brought us to the airport. Some memories of my first visit to Bangalore in 1982, on the way to Puttaparthi, came to my mind while we were driving through the heavy traffic of the huge city with one third more inhabitants than the whole of Switzerland.

Our plane was precisely in time but the two planes with other group members were greatly delayed. Around 10 pm we arrived at the Retreat Centre in Visakhapatnam, for the next part of the journey.

Evening meditation with children sitting on the dais.

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