On the way back from the CVV Sharing meeting I visited several friends. First I travelled with Wolfgang to the place where he is living now, the community living project in Dahlem-Harmstorf, a small village south of Hamburg. Already during the two hours drive we had an intense exchange, also about his commitment in another project in South Germany – project peace, a fascinating one-year training and orientation for young people between 18 and 25. Wolfgang is now also active in creating a North German equivalent of project peace.

Wolfgang and his wife Karina are also the initiators of the community project in Dahlem-Harmstorf, “Gemeinschaft Mittendrin Leben” (Community Right in the Middle). It is a living community that develops without a hierarchy and where each one is and remains autonomous and responsible for themselves, also in financial terms: the community is the owner of the land and buildings by way of shares for constructing the houses.

Upto now they have a total of 12,000 square meters of land available, with houses of a former farm with  a former main house and residential house, stable building and a barn. The main house of 1889, with about 300 square meters of living space, is a listed building and was renovated by April 2017. Two new buildings (straw bale houses) have been created in 2017, and they are currently expanding their group house (the “Backhaus” – baking house). In the project, 15 to 20 residential units are supposed to emerge, as well as common areas (shop, office, workshop). There is more space around with a forest and meadow area; the group will decide what happens to the areas and buildings, how and where they will be developed.

When we entered the residential building, where Wolfgang is living, lots of children boots were lying in the entrance corridor – a children’s festival as well as a marriage had just taken place the previous days. Several young families with were around, partly community members.

Wolfgang took me on a tour through the site – first we visited the “Backhaus”, where renovation work is taking place; at the same time, it serves for organisational meetings.

Then we visited the two new “straw bale” buildings which had a very nice ambience. The first residents just had moved into one of the houses; everywhere signs of ongoing work were still to be seen.

The barn will be transformed into a big assembly hall for meetings, concerts etc. Wolfgang explained: “In this area there are many innovative people who have come in the wake of the Gorleben protests – against the construction of a nuclear repository. The university of nearby Lüneburg has developed to a centre for environmental and ecological development research.”

“Here we will have gardens and a parking”, Wolfgang explained.

In the evening I met several members of the project – they regularly meet on Sunday evenings for an open silent meditation in the living room of Wolfgang and Karina’s apartment. There was a 84 years old lady who is still living in the direct neighbourhood – she now has given her manor house to the community and plans to move into one of the new apartments: “I’m thrilled to start something new at my age.”

Next morning before leaving, Wolfgang and I made a little promenade along the countryside. He explained that the whole area belongs to two big farmers; the extensive use of the soil in great parts of the larger area has destroyed the foundations of life and big masses of slurry from mass pig farming is sometimes creating a pungent smell. “The economic pressure and the expectation of the customers for cheap meat has devastating results. Up to now the ecological awareness is still dormant or has not reached yet awakened an awareness of the consequences. It is private farming, and the state does not intervene.” They hope for a change in the attitudes by working for a change in consciousness.

Early morning, the day after spring equinox, I started my annual journey to North Germany for the CVV Sharing meeting. On the way, I visited some family members and friends before I continued further north to Hude in Oldenburg, Germany.
It was already the 9th “CVV Sharing” and the fourth time we met during the weekend after spring equinox at the seminar centre “Lichtblick” (“Bright Spot”).
The motto of these meetings is “Experiment – Experience – Expression” and the inspiration given by Sri Parvathi Kumar for the 2018 meeting was:
“The Master permeates within the cerebro-spinal system. Contact within and permeate in Presence.”

This year, there was an increased focus on meditation: we followed a meditative alignment every three hours with longer meditations – up to one hour – at 6 am and pm and at noontime.

There were profound exchanges in small groups and in plenary, where we spoke about inner movements and group experiences, and we did experiments with triangular group visualisations.

Friday evening there was an input with group exchange about Sri Kumar’s message for the New Year (contained in the Aries Vaisakh News Letter).

Saturday afternoon, two members gave a contribution on “Myth and Music” – one member presented thoughts about Greek mythology and the Lyra – the invention of the instrument by Hermes and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice; the other member transmitted the myths into guitar improvisations. Later, the group sang a continuous “OM” in different pitches for ten minutes – it created a strong synchronisation of the group. Afterwards there was an exchange about meditation.

Sunday after the morning meditation we assembled on the terrace for a short fire ritual. And while the group sung “Agnaye Swâhâ, Agnaya Idam Na Mama” each group member put a stick into the flames – a thrilling ambiance.

Later, a group member gave an input about the network of light and the experience of Buddhi, and we exchanged about group experiences. Afterwards, we went to a small lake in a nearby forest to speak the Global Peace Prayer and the Invocation for United Europe.

The final round showed that the group much appreciated the longer meditations and all felt very uplifted and inspired. Next year, we will meet again in Hude on the first weekend after spring equinox, for the 10th CVV Sharing.

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Ritualistic work is the conscious following of a rhythm, aligning with the rhythm of nature. An important annual rhythm are the cardinal points of the year, the equinoxes and the solstices.

At spring equinox – 24 March 2018 – we met at the Paracelsus centre, like in previous years, to celebrate the beginning of the new annual cycle, the entrance of the sun into Aries. Outside, it looked still like winter; it was cold, snow and fog were covering the nearby meadows and hills. But the air was filled with the dynamic impulse of the transition which was taking place in nature. And we created spring ambiance with some primroses, candles and colourful fruit. It is always like magic when a little altar is set up – beauty and the geometry of the arrangement manifest a subtle magnetism uplifting the surrounding.

Our little group of seven members tuned up to the energies of spring equinox by lighting candles, singing mantrams and reciting the Equinox Prayers. Afterwards, I read and commented on the message of Sri Kumar for the New Year (contained in the Aries Vaisakh News Letter). In the South Indian cycle of 60 years it is called Vilambhi, meaning slow down – to clear hindrances and to lay the foundation for a deeper, sustained growth.

After lunch, we made a little walk along the nearby pathway which is part of the European pilgrimage network leading to Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain. Later we had a vivid exchange about principles of yoga and how we apply them in daily life. After the evening meditation we set out for our journeys home.

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The visible planets are the physical bodies of great conscious entities expressing themselves through these forms. Just as we have incarnated into our bodies to grow and to make experiences, these sublime beings also live in their planetary globes to undergo their evolution on a cosmic scale. All the stars in the sky are at various stages of evolution. There are planetary entities higher than our planet, and there are suns higher than our sun. Like a flower that grows and unfolds to bring forth seeds for future flowers, our planet also unfolds like a beautiful flower, preparing future stages of evolutionary growth.

I visualised the earth inside the petals of a huge flower. For this, I worked on a photo of a Brahma Kamala flower (Saussurea obvallata, transformed from a Wikimedia photo by Sujay25), making it glow like a lantern. I created the starry background with the help of the beautiful Stellarium software. The stars are like fireflies blinking in the darkness of a magical garden.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings. If you want to print the image, you can download the file in medium and high resolution format.
The different zodiacal signs are clustered in groups – you can see here all my Aries paintings.

During my last stay in January 2018 at the WTT Retreat Centre in Visakhapatnam, India I participated in a one hour video discussion moderated by Anuraag Saxena, an Indian from Singapore, originally from Visakhapatnam. See here my previous post.

Five other group members from the West also took part in the lively discussion. It was about our spiritual path in search of the eternal wisdom, in India called Sanatana Dharma.

With his videos, Anuraag is trying to inform Indians abroad about the rich heritage of India and make Indians aware of their treasures of Sanatana Dharma, the essence of Hinduism. None of us Westerners would coin ourselves as “Hindus” (the title of the video says “Why I became a Hindu?”) but we deeply agreed with the core values, esp. also “Vasudhaiva Kutumbaka” (see in one of the video links), meaning “all the world is one family”.

Here are the links to the video discussion as well as to the 10 4-5 min. snippets. These are his accounts on Facebook and on Twitter.

1.       Sanatana Dharma. What’s so cool about it?
2.       Singularity & Vasudeva Kutumbakam
3.       Katy Perry Vs. Spirituality
4.       Science Vs Spirituality: Opposing forces?
5.       Wealthy but lonely. The curse of Western Capitalism
6.       Digestion & Appropriation of Indic knowledge
7.       Is God a woman?
8.       Why is Catholicism against Diversity & Inclusion?
9.       Purushattva & the resurgence of Yoddhas
10.     In the end: Be Liberal

There is a cyclical movement of time in creation. It is like the growth of a seed to a tree bringing forth new seeds. The wisdom teachings explain that there is no end to existence. When a physical form is dissolved, it does not end but continues to exist on subtler planes. With seven cosmic pulsations the creation descends and ascends again. From innermost realms, it comes down to objectivity; and after a while, the direction is changed and there is again an ascent via subtle and causal states to the absolute state. Our earth is part of a chain of seven globes. There are earths in preparation in three preceding states, we are on this present earth in the fourth state, and there are earths in recession in three succeeding states.

I illustrated this great pulsation with the circle of the serpent eating its tail, a symbol of the eternal movement of time. I created three semi-transparent globes on the descending arc and three globes on the ascending arc with a crescent of the present earth at the centre. I transformed a photo of the gears of an old pocket watch (Wikimedia, Sachin Sandhu) and placed it in a desert-like surrounding symbolising the slow movement of time. From its centre grows a Brahma Kamala flower (transformed from a Wikimedia photo by Schwiki), a mundane replica of a celestial flower growing at high altitudes in the Himalayas, symbolising the sublime unfoldment of nature.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings. If you want to print the image, you can download the file in medium and high resolution format.
The different zodiacal signs are clustered in groups – you can see here all my Pisces paintings.

19 November 2017, pencils and photo work

On the way back from India we had a stop-over for eight hours at Delhi airport. While strolling through the shopping area with my friend, I saw a shop with devotional objects of a higher quality. A red figurine of Hanuman stood out between various white figures. It was well made but I didn’t want to buy anything. The situation was quickly forgotten in the bustle of the return journey.

Some days later I was surprised to find a little package in the mailbox sent by friends I had met in India. The envelope contained a present, a thank-you for some help. I opened the box and found a little red Hanuman statue. It touched me and I felt I had seen it before… I hesitated a moment and then put the figurine on my meditation altar.

It was only next morning that I realised, Oh, it’s the same statue I had seen at Delhi airport. My friends did not take the same return journey, so they must have found the little statue somewhere else… A subtle network of connectedness.

I pondered on the symbolism of Hanuman, a manifestation of the first Logos, of the Cosmic Fire. I have an inner relationship with him, especially since translating the Sripada Srivallabha biography where a chapter deals with Hanuman. I had no external symbol – so he seems to have come to me in this way.

According to the Eastern wisdom teachings, the whole creation is brought forth through an impulse coming from the background of existence. It is described as a light emerging from the “Eye of Shiva”. At the end of one creation, all is again absorbed into this eye of Shiva, the lord of divine will until the next creation is brought forth.

The passage of emergence and mergence is called the point of Aquarius. In the human body, it corresponds to the higher third eye at the top of the forehead. When this “Eye of Shiva” is opened in us, it is like a lightning expressing the divine will and passing through the whole system. This eye can create and destroy; therefore, the knowledge about it cannot be given to the present humanity which is selfishly oriented.

To visualise the first impulse I fused images of ripples on a water surface, of a galaxy and of sunrises. I transformed a photo of a statue of Shiva (Wikimedia: Kachnar City, author Shivam S.) holding a trident with a drum and a mala, symbols of the vibration of sound and of the ether. The serpent around his neck represents the kundalini energy lifted up to the creative planes. From out of his third eye, the impulse of electric fire penetrates all planes of existence.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings. If you want to print the image, you can download the file in medium and high resolution format.
The different zodiacal signs are clustered in groups – you can see here all my Aquarius paintings.

17 October 2017, pencils and photo work

As a prelude to the Guru Pujas celebration the group went to Simhachalam to visit the temple of Lord Narasimha, the incarnation of the Man-Lion. Like in the previous years, the bus brought us uphill to the temple compound. From a sideway we came to the main entrance and then entered the inner Sanctum Sanctorum where an idol of Narasimha is covered with sandalwood powder forming a lingam. The priest performed a short ritual by chanting some suktams and lighting camphor flames. Then we received scented water and tulsi (holy basil) leaves as a blessings. Afterward we surrounded the temple through the inner court and at the end got a laddu (sweet) as Prasad (blessing). Then most of us took the stairway downhill the beautiful slope, along little temples and statues. There is a magical ambiance of sacred aspiration you perceive when pilgrims ascending the long stairway leading from the plane to the hilltop.

When we arrived in the valley the stream of trucks and tuck-tucks winding through the village brought us back into the “mundane” sphere. We went to our little “dining hall” in the backyard of a house in a side-lane. The cooks from the retreat centre had prepared a good meal for us. Afterwards we went with a bigger group of Western members to the nearby palm forest where we wanted to make “siesta” like in previous years. To our surprise the compound was surrounded by a fence and a farmer chased us away. He showed us a way to a barren field where the full sun was glaring. Most of the group returned. With two friends I went on and after 2-300 meters we found a field with some palm trees – an excellent place to rest.

In the meanwhile the Indian group members had set up the Guru Puja hall and the altar with the pictures of the Masters. It is always astonishing to see how quickly the hall manifests as the beautiful meeting place for the Guru Puja celebrations. It was set up in the forecourt of a pilgrim centre – the chairs and carpets surrounded bushes and trees which became decorations in the hall. On the stage there were the pictures of the great saints and Masters of Spiritual Hierarchy – a very inspiring sight.

Around 5 pm Sri Kumar and his wife opened the yoga conference with a ritual dedicated to Lord Ganesha, an embodiment of the cosmic principle of wisdom. Over the following 3.5 days, there was a series of discourses for about two hours after the morning and evening prayers/meditations. The discourses were held in Telugu and translated into English and from there to German and Spanish, with a live transmission to YouTube. This was the 57^th celebration – it was started in 1962 by Master EK; since 1978 they were held at Simhachalam. About 3-4000 persons take place. It is difficult to imagine how much work it needs to set up the whole structure and to maintain the purity of the place.

Each evening the group of Westerners returned to the retreat centre in Visakhapatnam, where we used to arrive around 10 pm; and each morning we left for Simhachalam around 4.50. Each morning there was a grand ritual: Thursday a fire ritual in honour of the Second Logos; Friday a ritual of the women in honour of the divine mother; Saturday a water ritual in honour of Rudra/Shiva. Afterwards, there were book presentations, blessings of children or other activities.

Friday morning there is always a session on “Spiritual Fusion of East and West”. Together with three other group members from Germany and Spain, I was asked to come onto the podium. Sri Kumar presented the latest WTT publications from Europe and spoke about his tours of last year. Then I was asked to start. I spoke about a Windows (creator) update of my laptop which happened during the December Call in Bangalore and drew parallels to the inner updates we receive by gathering for group lives.

A kitchen was set up for the Western members in the court of a house where we took our meals or partly passed “siesta” time. Besides the meetings I had exchanges with Indian group members and received a number of books.

The time quickly flew by. Yesterday evening there was a closing ceremony of “Guru Padukam” – worship of the feet of the teacher, a profound spiritual symbolism of linking to the divine. The Western members were told not to participate – we would have a meeting with Sri Kumar next morning – and so we returned early in the evening.

Sunday was Pongal/Sankranti, the lunar winter solstice, which is celebrated here as beginning of the year. In the early morning fires were burning in the streets while we went to meditation. The members from Bangalore joined us at Radhamadhavam. After morning prayer Sri Kumar distributed new publications to some of the group members.

Later after breakfast I went with a few members with a taxi to the Planetary Healing Centre outside Visakhapatnam. I love the place very much; however there was a certain decline over the last years. I better understood it after some observations during a talk with the owner of the site who invited us to tea and cookies. Later we went into the beautiful Healing Centre, sang 21 times OM and then did a small ritual in the garden. Afterwards we went to the beach an enjoyed the waves and the sand – a beautiful end of a very beautiful group life. Many group members have already left. Tomorrow at noon time my return journey to cold Switzerland will start.

Last Sunday afternoon Sri Kumar had invited the group to coffee, tea and cakes on the roof platform of his house. There you have a beautiful view over the city and part of the ocean. We took some group photos and enjoyed the sublime array of evening colours of the setting sun.

Next day after Morning Prayer I went with two friends to the nearby beach where some youngsters were already playing cricket. The rising sun was transforming the ocean into a field of golden light from where the waves were running towards the beach. For a while we walked through the wet sand leaving our imprints for some short moments on the beach before the next wave washed them away again. There was a little temple with a statue of Krishna and Radha. The sun reflecting from the waves looked like a radiant halo around the couple.

Afterwards we looked for the flower show where we wanted to buy a plant for as a gift to the Master and his wife. It turned out to be a flower nursery. A man who was watering the flowers told us that it would open a little later. We returned after breakfast. One flower captivated our eyes and we knew that this was the right one. The lady owner came over to put it into a pot and soon we left with the little messenger of the plant kingdom.

Tuesday morning there was the final lecture of the group life. It was full of profound wisdom, rounding up the whole serious of talks:

“If we relate to the great Masters and the Avatars, we relate to their virtues. Relating to the teachings and lives of them is of great virtue. If we do not relate it is a great loss. We relate every morning and afternoon for 1.5 hours. There is a subtle upliftment. That is why we meet again and again to the group livings. The personalities may not seek the meetings but the souls bring you here. When you come to India there are problems to the personality – change of ambience, of food, of place – why does the soul wants it? The soul is related to the will, knowledge and action – Iccha, Gnana and Kriya. Gradually you are relating to the virtues of the incarnations or the teachings. Thus, a transformation happens. Speeches would manifest a magnetic impact. If people do not manifest virtues in their lives their speeches would not manifest a magnetic impact. When some speakers speak we do not feel like listening again and again even if they are speaking with great knowledge. The related magnetic impact would not be there. Unless you practice and utter there is no magnetic impact on others. That is how the seers say, those who live wisdom and follow the laws of Manu and of Jupiter and experience the energies of Neptune and relate to the 16 grades of the Moon, when they have realised themselves they have a magnetic impact. The teachings of Jesus, of Pythagoras, of any great initiate, they inspire through cycles of time. Such speeches enable an upliftment.”

In the afternoon there was the valedictory function – giving thanks to the various helpers and, above all, to Sri Kumar and his wife Smt. Kumari garu. Group members from 9 different countries expressed their gratitude through word, poem and song; then Sri Kumar and his wife presented gifts to every member. After the evening prayer they invited us to a grand dinner served in the ground floor – a beautiful end of this 31^st January group living for members from the West.