ABHYASA ASHRAM IS a meditation center which practices universal meditation as taught by the ancient lineage of yogis of the cave monasteries of the Himalayas. The tradition has no name, and is not affiliated with any of the institutions or religions of the plains of India or other countries surrounding the Himalayas, although individual meditators may personally align themselves with a wide variety of religions or institutions. We may refer to the tradition as "the tradition of the Himalayan masters" or "the Himalayan tradition", but that is for the sake of convenience, and is not a style or brand name as is popular these days.

At Abhyasa Ashram we have aspirant training, not teacher training. Aspirants with various degrees of experience naturally teach others within the context of their own lives and modes of service.

EACH PERSON IS PURE CONSCIOUSNESS: From the perspective of our meditation tradition, each person is perfect, pure consciousness (atman, purusha, shakti) at the core of her or his being. The entire process of sadhana (meditation and contemplation practices) is to reduce the colorings that usually veil that realization (often called Self-realization). This is done by systematically receding inward through senses, body, breath, conscious and unconscious mind.

MEANING of YOGA: At Abhyasa Ashram the word "Yoga" is used in its traditional meaning, rather than the revisionist meaning of Yoga as merely a gymnastic or physical fitness program. Yoga means “union” of the individual consciousness and universal consciousness, Atman and Brahman, Jivatman and Paramatman, as well as Shiva and Shakti (it's okay if you don't yet know the meaning of these words). It is pure consciousness (Purusha) standing alone from primal manifestation (Prakriti). Yoga is widely said to be over 5000 years old, while an even cursory review of modern Yoga "styles" reveals that most are less than a few decades old. Our practices are from the meditation tradition of the Himalayan masters, as passed down from the cave monasteries of the Himalayas through Swami Rama (and the lineage of Bengali Baba and Mahavatar Babaji), not the institutions in the plains of India. To write or speak of "traditional" Yoga does not mean doing anything on blind faith belief. The very heart of Yoga is based on personal experience. One is not to merely "believe" anything, but to explore within and discover for oneself that the principles, practices, and insights are valid.

COMMUNITY and BELIEFS: Yoga is traditionally taught, practiced and learned through close relationships in a community of noble friends, known as kalyana-mitra. Guru is a stream of knowledge of direct experience which, though it may operate through a person, is itself not a person. While some participants in ashram activities have a theistic (god) orientation and others a non-theistic orientation, we virtually all intuit that there is only one, nondual (advaita), absolute reality even though it may appear to be dualistic.

PURPOSE: Our purpose is to share with people who have an interest in the principles and practices of the Himalayan masters, including traditional Yoga Meditation, Vedanta, and internal, meditative Tantra (Yoga, Vedanta, Tantra). Our community of meditation and contemplation is devoted to serving those who deeply long for the direct experience of union with the eternal, pure center of consciousness, the bliss of being that is one with the absolute reality, as the wave who seeks to remember it is one with the ocean. One word for that union is "Yoga."

MEANING of ABHYASA and ASHRAM: The word "Abhyasa" means "practices." Abhyasa is purposefully choosing to do that which leads to "sthitau," which is a stable, steady, undisturbed inner calmness or tranquility. Abhyasa is one of the twin foundations of Yoga, along with Vairagya, the mental stance of non-attachment (Yoga Sutras 1.12-1.16). The root of the word Ashram is "shrama," which means "effort" or "striving." A meeting center, hermitage or home of a swami or other person serving people in their efforts towards inner peace and spiritual awakening may called an Ashram. Thus, our community of meditation, contemplation and learning is known as Abhyasa Ashram. More than any physical location it is really a place of the heart, an inner sanctuary of silence.

WE ARE A SMALL COMMUNITY: Our ashram is a small community of sincere and loving people, some of whom live locally in Florida, and many of whom live in other cities, states, and countries. If you would like to see what we're doing, please take a look at the calendar or contact me through the "Contact Us" button if you have questions. Take a look at the ashram website, or my website on principles and practices, which are linked just below. Stop by and visit for meditation for a few minutes of stillness and silence.

May your meditations today bring you peace, happiness, and bliss.

In loving service,

Swami Jnaneshvara ("Swami J")


Ashram Website: http://abhyasaashram.org/
Swami J Website on Principles/Practices: http://www.swamij.com/
Bio: http://www.swamij.com/swamijnaneshvara.htm


NEWSLETTERS:
Abhyasa Ashram: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AbhyasaAshram/
Meditation reminders: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yoga-Meditation/
Yoga Sutras: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yoga-Sutras/


CALENDAR: http://www.meetup.com/abhyasa-ashram/events/calendar/

Oms in the meditation hall:

"To the serious student, there is only one real book to study and learn from--
the greatest of all books and that is the very manuscript that you, yourself are."
~Swami Rama