I yesterday received an e-mail pointing to the website of the Spiritual Research Foundation SSRF, mentioning that they are doing extensive research in Spiritual Sciences and sharing the benefits obtained from this research freely with all. On the site they write:

“The organisation conducts spiritual research which includes the spiritual realm, along with physical and psychological factors in determining the causative factors behind problems in life. By spiritual realm, SSRF means the realm of heaven, hell, netherworld, etc. which cannot be analysed by conventional research methodologies. It maintains that spiritual research can only be conducted by the use of an advanced sixth sense (ESP) and is more holistic than conventional research methodologies….

The Spiritual Science Research Foundation is dedicated to exploring the Spiritual science and presenting this knowledge to the world in a modern, contemporary and scientific way. This is so that the common man can understand it regardless of race, religion or culture… Our research does not offer any quick fixes to life’s problems, but what we do say is that if you sincerely put into practice the tools we suggest on a daily basis, then you will witness many positive changes in your life just as the seekers of the foundation have experienced.”

They present with practical illustrations a number of topics about which they have done research in the subtle worlds, giving an overview of spiritual causes of difficulties in life, of spiritual research in physical and mental health and of healing or of diverse spiritual facts.

On their site they present spiritual seekers/persons who have the ability of not only perceiving the subtle worlds, but also of reproducing what is perceived in the form of sketches/pictures.

A fascinating field of research, even if there might be speculative parts in it.

Last Saturday I got a parcel with a copy of the book “Practicing Conscious Living and Dying“, by Annamaria Hemingway (see also her website practicingconsciouslivinganddying.com). I didn’t know her, but I got a letter from her last summer where she asked me if I were interested in receiving a copy once it had been published, and I said yes.

I’m very cautious of accepting new books, which involve the obligation of investing time to read them. I took the time for reading the last chapter, about Annamaria’s experience with the passing of her mother, and it is worth while reading (… I’ll certainly read the rest of the stories…).

Annamaria’s account is full of subtle observations, describing the role her mother played in her life – growing up in post-WW2 Italy, then moving to England, having a full life, the outbreak of skin cancer, the slow process of disease and dying. But besides the outer events, there is a whole world of inner contacts going beyond the physical existence, which Annamaria shows that they are more essential, going beyond the end of the physical frame. The outcome is not only the assurance of the continuity of existence beyond the physical, but a process of transformation deepening the lives of all those who had accompanied the process of transition.

The book contains 16 real-life “Stories of the Eternal Continuum of Consciousness”, showing death as an integral part of life. The description says: “They show how each of the individuals concerned has come to understand that death teaches us that the preciousness of life must be lived with a sense of purpose and meaning, as a celebration of our existence.”

You also might like to read the Lunar Messenger on “Death, Birth and Continuity“.

Two stories related to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi came to my mind when I heard about his passing:

In January 1979 – I just had finished the TM-“governor”-course with the Sidhi-program – we went to Seelisberg, Switzerland, the then capital of the TM-movement, for a meeting with the Maharishi. In a lecture I heard him say that within about four years the “sidhas” (people practising the sidhi-techniques) would be seen flying over the Lake Lucerne by yogic powers, thus demonstrating the control over the “field of all possibilities”, as he used to call the base-state of the mind.
There had been great expectations around about developing yogic powers within a short while. It was attracting and misleading the attention to side issues of the path. I had experienced myself quite strong inner energies with these sidhi-techniques, but I only later understood that this isn’t the purpose of a genuine spiritual growth.

In late autumn 1977 – I just had returned from the TM teacher formation course – the German TM-groups were informed that the TM co-ordinator for Germany had been flying with the Maharishi along the “Iron Curtain”, that separated East and West Germany. The Maharishi was reported to have said that the separation of Germany would end within the next months.
I mentioned this to my father, who said to me: “You are crazy. As long as I live, the Iron curtain won’t fall.” I made a bet with him: If within the next 9 month the curtain falls, he would give me 20.000 Deutsche Mark, if nothing happens within a year, I would pay him 1.000 Marks. We signed a paper with my eldest sister as a witness and put it into my father’s safe. Of course nothing happened, and I gave him the 1.000 Mark, which he later returned to me at another occasion. I never made a bet again in my life.
I later heard the Maharshi had said that the iron curtain would fall “within a short time” – whatever this time might be. When 12 years later the curtain and the Berlin Wall fell within an incredibly short time, I was reminded of my bet, and even my father said, he wouldn’t have thought that the political situation could change so quickly.

I became increasingly immune to all kinds of prophecies and soothsaying. When I hear anything, I put it into an “inner broom cupboard”, without letting it touch me.

A photo sent by a friend, of the “mahasamadhi” of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – his conscious passing over in meditation. Copyright: Maharishi-people in Vlodrop, Holland.

P.S.: I just got n e-mail with the text of Deepa Chopra published in The Times of India. It begins saying: “The Maharishi didn’t die like mere mortals do. He just went into what we call ‘maha samadhi’. On January 12 this year, his 91st birthday, he announced that his work in the world was over and he was going into silence. He didn’t speak to a single soul after that day. And today, he has passed so elegantly.”

You might be interested in reading the revelation by Deepak Chopra of an undisclosed illness of Maharishi and the parting of their ways.

I today read an article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung about the discovery of certain findings indicating that there had been a sunken continent in the south of the Indian ocean, near the Antarctica. An expedition of researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute to the area of the Kerguelen plateau in the contexts of the “Plates & Gates” programme of the International Polar Year wanted to find relations between continental drift and climate. They found in the depth of the oceans structures with silicone stones of continental origin, which is supposed to be part of an ancient continent having expanded much more to the north.

This fact is very interesting, for main stream scientists up to now have dismissed the theosophical doctrine of sunken continents such as Lemuria as fiction and explained the evolution of the globe with plate tectonics. The age indicated by the Plates & Gates-expedition for the sinking of the continent, supposing about 120 million years, doesn’t fit with the teachings of Blavatsky, but these are gigantic periods of time, and maybe some tectonic movements a few million years ago turn out in future as bridging the gulf between occult and mainstream science.

Not just sunken continents…

Today I got an e-mail a friend forwarded to me announcing that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has just passed over yesterday, February 5.
Old memories came to my mind: For over 8 years, from 74 to 82, I had been in his Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement, with all my youthful enthusiasm. I went through the formation as a TM-teacher and later as a “governor of the age of enlightenment”, and even became head for a TM-“Academy for Vedic Science” during my student times. I met the Maharishi a number of times, and for a while I was dreaming to work in his surroundings.

At the beginning I was fascinated by the whole ambiance and the teachings, but then I increasingly found the orientation of the movement strange and too narrow. The grandiloquent vocabulary of the Maharishi, the commercial attitude of the movement and the missing focus on selfless service as an essential prerequisite for spiritual progress were some mayor factors. But at that time the decisive “kick” out of the movement for me was that on my spiritual path I came across several experiences, which didn’t fit into the quite simplifying spiritual “map” of TM. There was a “point of no return”, where I left the TM-movement and its world view from one day to the other. It took long years of search through a number of spiritual movements and teachings to get the “missing links” for the questions I had.

A friend wrote to me about this blogpost saying: “Your blogpost on MMY rang very true and paralleled my own experience after being a National Leader for 12 years. Lack of compassion exhibited by the TM movement is a serious failing in any ‘spiritual’ organization. It is possible that the over-centralization and trivialization of the teachers may improve and the original momentum be regained.”

The TM helped me to get out of the traditional religious background and to learn new vistas of thinking, even if they needed to be revised after a while. I have observed the movement from afar, through newspaper articles about their campaigns or when encountering articles of their Ayurveda business – déja-vu feelings kept coming. Looking back I’m grateful to the Maharishi for learning the steps of regular discipline and for gaining a basic understanding of Eastern (Vedic) wisdom. May he proceed on a lightful path.

The close of a fire ritual

The return journey from India last Sunday/Monday was like a kaleidoscope whirlwind, in which situations and impressions followed with an increasing spin. First it took us away from the WTT retreat centre in Visakhapatnam, where we had been for 3 weeks, with the plane to Hyderabad. A friend, from the Spiritual Book Centre, picked us up at the airport in a small car, with another friend as a driver. Gliding through the city, conversations, different encounters, heartfelt hospitality. When entering into the road where the book centre is located, I had to identify at a police control – there had been a terrorist bomb blast directly around the corner some weeks ago.

At the police control. At different places along a small road there were desks with a few policemen.

On the roads motorbikes with women in burqas on the rear seat gave dark spots into the otherwise colourful Hindu surrounding. Nevertheless, it seems that there is a generally peaceful intermingling of the different cultures.

When buying a little lingam holder for a friend in a silver shop, I was impressed by the multi-fold oriental handicraft objects, none of these you would find in a Western shop. In a corner a little Buddha sitting on a heap of coins was covered with red kum-kum-powder, besides a receipt book.

In the night at the airport, faces of Western tourists and businessmen mixed into the crowd of Eastern travellers. Video screen announcements, neon-light, immigration and security checks. Waiting and dozing. Then being packed together into the belly of the airplane for the next jump, to Dubai. Here high halls full of artificial palms, with glittering pomp. Posters promised that when you buy an apartment, you’ll get a BMW or a Bentley for free and have the chance of winning a private jet or a private island – what might be the price of the apartment? Arab ambiance, somewhere in a no-man’s land of transit passengers. Back to check-in, meeting again a friend who had travelled via Chennai, with fever. Also my cold got stronger, preparing for the little fever of the coming days.

Then in the plane, in a virtual dimension we were passing over Iran, the Black Sea, Crimea, back to Europe – without noticing it except on the screen map with the route indications. In the meanwhile the on-board movie system took me to The End of the World with the Pirates of the Caribbean, and to Death at a Funeral with dark British humour. Sitting beside me a young Swiss lady was polishing her finger nails for about an hour – what a deep concentration on a profound subject. Other faces in the plane were also now again very Western: Piercings at a brow instead of brow marks like in India, blond coloured hair with gel, brown holiday faces in sport dressings. Western individualism was coming back to the fore.

When we were riding from Zurich airport back to Berne through a beautiful “warm” winter weather of 6 degrees – about 22 degrees colder than the day before, I thought of the question of the driver in Hyderabad: How can people live in such a cold surrounding in Europe? Do the offices close during the cold times? He had no idea about the living conditions we are used to in the West. I felt that people over here, though many know through travelling to other parts of the globe, have no idea of the worlds the inner journey can lead you. And that it might take some time for me to digest the many diverse impressions.

Inside the Spiritual Book Centre, Hyderabad

Saturday morning we visited the Bala Bhanu School at the outskirts or Visakhapatnam. This school of the WTT imparts spiritual, moral and social values besides the normal education and renders education to children up to Xth standard. We were invited to participate in the celebration at the eve of India’s National Independence Day. The celebrations started with a little parade and the hoisting of the flag of India, followed by a number of talks by students on the founding fathers of India’s independence as well as on the role of the students for shaping the future of the country. Afterwards Sri Kumar gave a talk to the students (extracts):

“In school the children are prepared to be servers for society and not exploiters. If we don’t learn this from the very beginning in life, then later it is difficult to bring order and rhythm into life. Whatever they are at home, at school teachers are to be angels for the little angels to inspire them to aspire in a right way to form into a very constructive unit of consciousness. It is a work of alchemy, transforming children, not imposing on them any form of fanaticism. The man turns out to be an educated being, when culture and civility are imparted.
This school transforms children into the path of life and gives them the right direction, so that the children of today can give their contribution to the society from in 20 years on during a period of 30 to 40 years. So much is inherent in the sacred Bala Bhanu, meaning ‘The Infant Sun’. It is expected that they will be like a sun and shed light all around. There is a grand life beyond routine, and when you lose your life in routine, the whole purpose is lost, and routine overtakes the inspiration and aspiration.

At school prayer is inculcated as a habit, and a plan to work, varieties of work are inculcated. Today children are too much exposed to routine, so they are exposed here to energies which strengthen them. It is all thanks to the inspiration of Master EK and of the Spiritual Hierarchy. When the same orientation exists at home like in school, then the child transforms faster.
Idealism is one thing, practicality is important. The management handles the school well so that I am free for other things.“

After the talk a number of students gave presentations of dance, yoga asanas, gymnastics, or singing. It was an impressive insight into the work done at that school – and the presentation an inspiring mix of discipline, devotion, national pride and Bollywood-ambiance with the music and dancing. A beautiful end for our stay in India.

A dance presentation at Bala Bhanu School, Visakhapatnam

“I love my India” – a kind of national pride and enthusiasm for learning hard to be found in the West

Early Wednesday morning after breakfast the group started for a journey to Rajahmundry. On the highway you could see ox-carts or motor rickshaws going on the verges of the road – and sometimes also a rickshaw came driving in the wrong direction – flexibility.

An ox-cart on the highway

In Rajahmundry the World Teacher Trust is constructing a 5 storey building on the banks of the river Godavari – the 2nd longest and a most holy river of India. On the banks of the river the Government has given to 12 spiritual organisations, who are doing service activities, ground to establish buildings there. Since over 20 years the WTT-Rajahmundry is doing substantial service activities and is well-known in the surroundings.

In Rajahmundry all 12 years, when Jupiter is entering Leo, there is a huge gathering of pilgrims from all over to take a bath in the Godavari during the auspicious time of 12 days. Especially around that time the WTT-brotherhood is caring for pilgrims, offering food and shelter, doing transportation etc. The building is still a structural shell, but will be finished during 2008. The brotherhood offered us a warm welcome and showed us the building, explaining the different activities to be held there in future.

After lunch we went to a landing stage and entered a boat, which took us on a 2.5 hours ride up and down the huge river.

The two bridges in Rajahmundry are the most attractive long bridges found in Andhra Pradesh.

We landed on a sandy beach to enter into the river and enjoy the scene. On the way back to the landing stage the group chanted Purusha Sooktam, Sri Sooktam and other mantrams, while a beautiful sunset shed its light over the river.

Afterwards we went to a silent place at the banks of the Godavari River. The river is dedicated to Rishi Gautama, who had been meditating there, and there was a statue of the seer at the river. We sat for a while on the banks for a meditation.
Then we had a short visit to some of the spiritual centres in the immediate vicinity of the WTT-centre: A temple of Lord Dattatreya, where a little pooja was being done, and an ISKON (Hare-Krishna) Temple, where we witnessed singing of Krishna mantrams and an arati (waving camphor light in front of the altar) and returned to the WTT-building for dinner.
The group of Rajamundri had prepared a gift for each of the Western group members, with photo of the future centre in a beautiful golden frame, for the ladies a panjabi dress and a small decorated box and for the men a towel and a little statue of Ganesha.
Later in the evening we returned back to Visakhapatnam, where we arrived after a 4.5 hours drive in the early morning hours.

Tuesday morning started with a fire ritual for Pushyama full moon (Pushyami is the constellation of the moon at that time according to Indian calender).

Sri Kumar explained that this full moon is to be regarded as Capricorn full moon:

“Though the solar god is already in Aquarius, this full moon is regarded still as Capricorn. When the full moon happens when the sun just changes sign, it is the full-moon of the completing month. So it is not the full moon of Aquarius. The impact of the full moon is more with the previous month, therefore the full moon has to be taken as the full moon of Pushyami, the full moon of Capricorn, where the energies of the solar and lunar gods are around the heart centre.”

In the evening the group went to the site with the statue of Master EK at the beach road of Visakhapatnam for evening meditation in the full moon energies.

On the way along the beach road – in midst of all the lower lights it is easy to ignore the greater light.

Later in the evening we assembled at 9 o’clock pm on the roof of the World Teacher Temple, Radhamadhavam  for full moon meditation, guided by the Sri Kumar. It was an enchanted ambiance with the light of the moon and the sound of the mantrams reverberating through the night sky.The atmosphere there is particularly charged with strong spiritual vibrations.

Monday afternoon the group went to Hamsavanam – Ramadri, where the World Teacher Trust has developed over the years a temple compound with a big statue of Hanuman and a number of little statues and temples.

All over the place there are installed little stones carrying pictures of Rama, Sita and Hanuman. Under them there are stone coffers containing thousands of booklets, in which disciples have written many million times the mantram Sri Ram. R is know as the seed sound of Cosmic Fire. The sound “rha” is known to the American Indians as their Sun God as well as “Rha-aam” is also the Fire God of the Egyptians. This sound uttered and written repeatedly burns up the impurities of the physical, emotional and mental planes, making thus the personality transparent and receptive to the higher energies. Thus at Ramadri the vibration of that mantram of cosmic fire has been “earthed”, emanating protection and healing power into the surrounding.

Three couples of our group, my wife an me among them, were invited to join the ceremony of installing 16 new coffers with mantram booklets. There were about 150 persons joining the ceremony. With the sound of the mantram RAM, flowers were spread over the booklets, followed by kum-kum and turmeric. Then the coffers were closed with a plate and a small stone monument with the pictures and a flower was put atop. A coconut was broken and the content poured around and camphor-light and incense waved over the coffer – symbols of the personality opening to the soul, and the soul merging with the super-soul.

After this ceremony the group assembled around a tree, under which a new statue of Lord Shiva was to be ceremoniously installed. In the beginning the black statue was carrying a red scarf, a sign that its “eyes” weren’t yet opened. When they are opened in a ritual it is an important moment: The eyes spread light, and through the eyes you can see the soul of a person.

During the ritual a mason built a pedestal onto which several men lifted the statue. Sri Kumar and his wife Kumari, assisted by other persons, started washing the statue with different materials – coconut water, milk, curd, ghee, honey, a turmeric paste, sugar and other materials were poured over all parts of the statue and then washed away again. This Rudra or Shiva Abhishekam (or water-) ritual is a means of charging the statue and the environment with the vibrations of the ritual.

After the washing over, the statue was decorated with flowers and camphor light was waved over it. It was a magnificent ambiance – the lights, the flowers, the smells at this beautiful place overlooking the Gulf of Bengal, with the sounds dispersing into space and the radiance of the full moon lighting the place.

The ritual took about 2 hours. Afterwards “Prasad” (food gift from a ritual) in the form of spiced and sweet rice and bananas was distributed to all those who attended the ceremony.