never been forced conversion. People are seeking it out
because it is dynamic. It is not a fixed philosophy. It is an
invitation to get to that state within yourself with techniques.
There are specific techniques, as a a very verifiable
methodology which you can verify from your own experience
where you start to get to that state where the meaning starts
to happen. You yourself experience the meaning by looking for
meaning in life and the meaning is not static. It is dynamic. So
how one benefits is by living a greater life, a free life. You live
more fully and totally and the crisis of meaning ends.
I find that we can see globally, that targets have been set as the
meaning of life. When we get them, it doesn’t work. For
meaning is a dynamic thing, it cannot be static. So that’s how I
see it and that’s why I think Yoga Vedanta is so relevant even
for this moment because it really allows us to get to that state
of consciousness from where all meaning arises. That is the
ultimate, that’s why I’ll call Rishi, the seer, the one who sees.
From where one sees is at that subtlest level of consciousness
as you start to refine your consciousness, that level is seen
now. At that level, awareness starts to become expansive and
you start to see it, where what is relevant at what level, but
nothing can hold you. You cannot be limited by any ideology.
So, this is one of the greatest contributions of this land of India,
that it has not given the world any ideology because ideologies
are clash, this has given the world a way of arriving to a
meaning, a dynamic state of consciousness which is
evolutionary. Somebody moving in that direction will never be
in conflict because he or she is always learning, always evolving
and growing. So that’s how I see.
Q. “Sattva Connect” seems to be a very fresh and
innovative step in the world of Yoga today. What is Sattva
Connect and how does it help seekers, practitioners &
trainers to find answers to questions that keep cropping up
within them each time they dive deep into the practice?
A. Well, we are living in the age of technology and information.
Like your publication, it is a great contribution and this could
only happen now. Hundred years ago there was no Yoga
magazine, it’s now because we are living in the age of
technology, we are living in the age of information and when
we can use these tools to make the teachings more accessible.
So Sattva Connect is using the technology to make the
teachings more accessible. We have practices, we have specific
meditations, we have Pranayama practices, we have Asana
classes, we have Kriyas, there’s a lot of talks based on sessions
on different aspects and different teachings. We are always
filming, because it helps people. Somebody who might not be
able to travel, they can switch on their laptop and find
inspiration.
Within Sattva Connect we also do livestreams from India,
where people can ask questions. Swadhyaya, or self practice is
the most important and sometimes, you know, because in the
west, we find, it is always the studio model, but the greatest
victory is when you start practicing just by yourself, so this
upper connect platform is designed also for that, so that you
can switch on, take a class, and start to develop a personal
practice. It’s very precise, it’s very clear. If you have any
questions, you can write about it. There’s a team of people
who answers it and the platform itself is dynamic.
So there’s always a new content being added. There is a great
need for people to understand nutrition and, so we are
building videos on that, just even how to alkaline the body.
There are members who have never met me. Sometimes
when I am doing livestreams, people are calling me from Brazil
or Argentina, or Turkey, who would have not had access to
this. So this was the vision to create that, because when I was
in America, this was the thing that people would ask a lot that
how can we continue.
Sattva Connect is like an online Ashram. We need to be
relevant in our approach. So, I can say, if Buddha was alive right
now, in body, he would have a website. He would have a
social media hangout, he would be on covers of magazines.
So, we have to get in tune with the times and use what nature
is providing us. And, that’s why conscious media, I think is a
powerful tool. Like, you know, a student of mine, he just made
this documentary called “Heal”. It’s all about self healing and it’s
being shown all over America now. But it’s this conscious
media, like what you are doing, I think, is of paramount
importance right now. Because there’s so much information
we have bombarded at people, and most of it is gibberish. So,
within that, if there can be conscious media, I think, it’s great.
Art is very powerful. So, if we can really infuse this information,
this media, with value of consciousness, I think it can have a
very positive effect.
JAN 2018
YOGIC HERALD 11