Swami Veda Bharati was a child prodigy with aflair for scriptural knowledge. But his life took a new turn when hecame into Swami Rama's orbit. Today, he is a reknowned spiritualteacher and author who travels all over the world.
At the tender age of five, he could meditate foran hour a day. Memorized 4,000 sutras of Panini at 6 1/2. Taught hisfirst course on Yoga Sutras of Patanjali when he was 9.Addressed huge gatherings all over north India at 13. And when he was33, he earned himself a B.A., a Masters as well as a Doctorate inSanskrit from the University of London within a span of three yearswithout the benefit of any formal education. Yet, Swami Veda Bharati(originally named Usharbudh Arya), a renowned spiritual teacher basedin Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, considers being a disciple of SwamiRama his primary qualification.
It is said that you meet your guru only when thetime is right. This holds especially true for Veda Bharati. Duringthe Kumbh Mela of 1950 at Hardwar, he went looking for the mostrevered sage in the Himalayan tradition. This journey of discoverytook him to a conference of sages where everobody unanimouslysuggested Swami Rama's name. But he did not get to meet his masterthen. It was only in 1969, when he was at Minnesota, that the mastercame calling. Ever since, "I am in his orbit", he says.
So, what was so extraordinary about Swami Rama?Swami Veda describes him as a person of 100 different faces, a'phenomenon'. He could master any area of life--be it meditation,poetry, establishing a hospital or teaching.
Swami Veda states that apart from being aspiritual person, Swami Rama was also a superb administrator. In1992, Swami Rama set up the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciencesat Jolly Grant near Dehradun, one of the largest hospitals in northIndia. In 1996 he left his body. But before that, he had alreadymanaged a medical faculty of 100 people along with fully equippedmedical and nursing colleges. This in a country notorious for thepace at which things work. Today, the hospital offers a combinationof holistic therapies along with mainstream medicine.
According to Swami Veda, Swami Rama offered himmany siddhis but he only asked for samadhi. So, he was givenone ashram to "carry on the purely spiritual part of the legacy", hetells you with great aplomb.
Swami Rama left different gaddis (seats) todifferent disciples. In that sense, he did not appoint a spiritualsuccessor. Swami Veda says:"Everyone is unhappy that he has not givenample recognition to his disciples." But he himself considers thatirrelevant. Even in his own case, Swami Veda confesses: "I am such apuny character compared to such grandeur ..."
Swami Veda was married to Lalita Arya in 1961. Shenow stays in Dehradun and runs KHEL (Kindness, Health and Educationfor Lepers or Kid's Health, Education and Laughter), which the coupleset up in 1983. Unlike many on the same path, he did not face anyconflict between spirituality and marriage. It was understood by hisfamily that "God will call him".
Since he has been running a meditation center inMinneapolis. He is almost always travelling through the year,providing spiritual guidance to those who seek it. He also runs theRishikesh Ashram of Swami Rama and another ashram he has opened a fewkilometres away, called Swami Rama's Sadhaka Grama. The residentialfacility of this ashram, however, is open only to those who areinitiated in the tradition of Swami Rama.
Swami Veda claims to do half of his sadhana atAmerican airports. He says that between running a worldwideorganisation, travelling and answering hundreds of e-mails every day,the only time he gets for this personal sadhana is whilecommuting.
Talking about his inclinations, Swami Vedabelieves he can neither be a businessman nor can he manipulate themedia. So he just sits in his ashram and takes whatever people offer.He also claims that his primary meditation is moral purification. Heexplains: "Even when I am speaking, I must check myself ... am Ibeing rude? Am I boasting?
Today he knows 17 languages and can conductlectures in 10 languages. On asking how he grasped so manylanguages--sometimes barely within half an hour--he saus, "It justhappens. It is God's gift. Besides, apart from relaxation, i practiceYoga Nidra, which can aid quick and easy learning."
He feels that in most cases, our capacity forrecalling is hampered due to various external and internalinterferences. The storing of information is not the problem, butrecalling it is. Swami Veda just needs to visualise the place, thepeople sitting, and the exact words come in a flash. Once he gets ridof the externals with yoga, "it all comes together and rises up likefoam from the unconscious mind".
According to Swami Veda, one of the tragedies isthat we take phrases from the West and present them as Indianphilosophy. Citing the example of 'mind over matter', he claims thatthis statement is a fallacy in strict Indian philosophy. That isbecause the mind, which has been defined in the Indian tradition as aparticular energy field, is one of the devolutes of prakriti, whichis manifest in matter.
He is also upset with the way yoga is practised inIndia today. He feels that due to a lack of standardization, mostteachers of yoga don't have the necessary meditational andphilosophical background. "A lot of yoga these days is gymnastics, hecomplains.
He believes that meditation has unimaginableapplications. But for its optimum use, it has to be so integratedwith the consciousness that one can go to any layer of the mind onewishes to operate from. He has also authored many books on meditationincluding Superconscious Meditation, Mantra andMeditation and Meditation and the Art of Dying.His translation and commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali(first two of the four sections) is being recognized as themost authentic by western Indologists.
Although belonging to the intense and ideologicalHimalayan tradition, Swami Veda's lecture can be poetical as well asmethodical. His The Light of Ten Thousand Suns, forinstance, is a poetic discourse that includes edifying compositions.He appropriately chooses his style of discourses and the language fordifferent people. For those in the knowledge industry, such as IT, hewould even divide his teachings into categories.
Talking about the 'master-disciple' relationship,he feels that this term, which is used with immense care in theHimalayan tradition, has become a 'fashin' these days. He himself hasonly a few close students and intimate friends whom he calls his'guru brothers'. Although he might address someone as a disciple toenocourage him, he says: "My restriction on them is to work in aself-effacing way."
Swami Veda feels that yoga and meditation tend toinfluence all aspects of life. So, all the arts and sciences havecome from the meditative states of their creators. But that is not soany more, especially in the West. He explains: "Whenever a culturebecomes too smug, contact with an outside culture comes as a shock."At the same time he mentions that if you look at the history ofmankind, you witness a similar degree of interest in spirituality allover. It is a myth that there has been a sudden rise in need forspirituality in the West. The first upsurge of spirituality inAmerica started with the Quakers and William Penn in the early 19thcentury, he points out.
According to him, means of achieving happiness arerather simple. Just like carrying water in a sieve or having peace ofmind. You just turn the water into ice, stabilize it and you cancarry it anywhere. Similarly, you just need to stabilize yourmind.
And if you don't know the technique for that one,you can simply begin with feeling the flow of yourbreaths.
"Those who don't know the limits of yoga willconfine it to stress management. But those who do know will have 200people for stress managements and keep an eye open for those who canbe told that there is more."
He puts it beautifully in this verse:
Let your mantra come through, Riding on thevehicle of
the mind,
the prana, and
the breath,
in that order, from within,
coming to the surface,
and merging with the awarenessof
your breathing.
Contact: Swami Rama's Ashram, Sadhana Mandir, Ph.(0135) 431 485.
E-mail: sadhanamandir@vsnl.com;
Website: http://www.bindu.com
Copyright 2002 Magazine 'Life Positive',India