Music
On Saturday 31st May 2008, we invited people who had been attending regular weekly meditation programs to come to the Sahaja Yoga Centre at Wamuran, 60 km north of Brisbane, for an advanced meditation workshop. We had emailed subscribers to the newsletter as well, but as it turned out, the weather had other ideas!
Heavy rain, storms and flooding hit the Sunshine Coast area that weekend and some people indicated they might not be able to attend. Preparations were well in hand, however, and plenty of food and refreshments had been organised.
Despite the conditions, ten guests braved the elements and the muddy driveway, to further their knowledge of Sahaja Yoga. After the introductions, some light refreshments were offered, and then it was into the meditation room to start the proceedings.
After a formal welcome to Wamuran, a brief introduction to Sahaja Yoga followed. After this we went through the Self-realisation, as some people had never attended a program. Then out came the footsoak bowls. Yogis helped in clearing chakras during the guided meditation and we could feel the vibrations increasing. A demonstration of working on one’s own chakras was then given and instructions for meditating at home.
A period of quiet meditation followed, accompanied by some sitar playing. The vibrations were strong during the meditation, and people’s faces seemed to take on a more serene appearance.
A talk by Shri Mataji called “Establishing Your Self-realisation” followed. We rounded off the workshop with some bhajans, ending with the Maha Mantras. Meditation then continued, accompanied by some quiet music.
The delightful smells from the kitchen soon brought our attention to our nabhi chakras, however, and then it was time to mingle around the dining table savouring the cuisine. Our guests were genuinely happy and at ease, and most didn’t want to leave, staying for cups of tea, laughing and chatting with the yogis. Some even helped with the washing up!
Amazingly, it was only after everyone had gone, that we realised that it hadn’t rained at all during the entire program, even though destructive winds and torrential rain had been forecast.
The feedback from the guests was extremely positive. We are planning to hold monthly workshops in the future on the last Saturday of each month.
Peter Hewitson
Wamuran
On Sunday 25 May 2008, “Nirmala Devi – Freedom and Liberation” was shown at the Logan Entertainment Centre. Preceding the film, the Brisbane Sahaja Yoga music group, “Sahaj Sangeet”, performed for 40 minutes.
Even though the film had been shown previously during March this year, this was the Brisbane Sahaja yogis’ first event at a large venue. We had decided to go all out and the music group had been practising for weeks. More than 25,000 flyers were distributed in 13 suburbs and posters placed in most of the libraries. A broadcast email was sent out to all Queensland subscribers. The Entertainment Centre also promoted the event on their website and in their weekly newsletter. Glenda, Coralie and Robert did a radio interview and a newspaper article with photos appeared in the “Logan and Albert News”.
During the planning stage, it soon became apparent, as Glenda constantly reminded us, that the venue staff were extremely professional and their desire to give us the best chance of success was foremost. At 10.00am on the day of the event, the musicians arrived for sound checks which were thoroughly performed by the audio technicians. We rehearsed a few of our songs while adjustments were made. It certainly sounded impressive.
Dr Akshay was to be our “anchorman” and to finish our rehearsal, he went through his introduction after which we did our run-on behind closed curtains.
It soon became time to change into our kurtas and saris and get ready for the big event. Ten minutes before curtain time, we lined up in the order in which we would be sitting and silently raised our kundalinis, sitting in quiet meditation.
Then we heard Dr Akshay’s voice welcoming everyone and announcing the sequence of events. We had no way of knowing how many people were sitting behind that curtain but we hoped there were many.
Suddenly, Glenda waved us forward and we quickly took our places on stage. As the curtain drew back, we started singing the “Maha Mantras”.
We looked into the audience but saw only complete darkness! All the lights were on us! At first this was a little disconcerting, but then we forgot about the audience, and just gave it our all. The mood lights were constantly changing and sometimes we would get a glimpse of a few faces.
All too soon, we had finished our performance and the curtain drew back again. Now the audience was actually clapping!
We made our way backstage to the welcome lunch which the yoginis had provided. After the 20-minute interval we joined the audience on the balcony to watch the film.
Everyone seemed to be intently interested and at the conclusion of the film, Dr Akshay demonstrated where to place the hands. Then the screen faded to Shri Mataji giving Self-realisation. Only one couple left at this point and even the two audio technicians got their realisation.
We found out later that a little over one hundred people had attended. For Queensland this is probably our best result so far. We later mingled with the crowd in the foyer, handing out flyers and talking to interested people. All the comments we received were favourable and it certainly gives us encouragement to do more events of this kind in the future.
Peter Hewitson
The festival of Vasant Panchami is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magha (January – February).
This “Panchami” is also known as Saraswati Day, because it is believed that on this day the Goddess was born. As Diwali is to Shri Lakshmi and Navaratri is to Shri Durga, Vasant Panchami is to Shri Saraswati, the Goddess of art, creativity, knowledge and learning. She represents the free flow of wisdom and consciousness. She is the Mother of the Vedas, and chants to Her often begin and end Vedic lessons.
Saraswati literally means “the flowing one”. In the Rigveda it is said She represents a river and the deity presiding over it. In later mythology, Shri Saraswati was identified with Vach or Speech. The “flowing one” in an allegorical sense may mean speech also – perfect speech which denotes intelligence.
On this Vasant Panchami day, Lord Brahma is said to have created His consort Goddess Saraswati, infused speech into Her and bestowed the Veena in Her hands. She was thus named as Veena Vandini (veena player) and Vani Dayyani (recipient of speech). As the spouse of Brahma and the Goddess of wisdom and eloquence, She is known by various names such as Veenapani (holding the veena), Sharada (giver of essence), Vagisvari (mistress of speech), Brahmi (wife of Brahma) and Mahavidya (knowledge supreme).
The colour yellow is given special importance on Vasant Panchami. On this day, Shri Saraswati is dressed in yellow garments and worshipped. Books, articles, instruments of music and arts are placed before Her. In the evening after the Puja is over, the idol is immersed in the sea with serenity.
In all educational institutions of music, arts and science in India, Saraswati Puja is observed with great reverence. Saraswati Puja is also performed during the Navaratri or Dusshera. In India, Hindus prefer to wear yellow clothes on this holy day. Sweets of yellowish hues are distributed among relatives and friends.
Children are taught their first words on this day, for it is considered an auspicious day to begin to learn how to read and write.
Vasant means “spring”, and Vasant Panchami heralds springtime in India, a time of renewal and creativity of life in nature.
(Photograph: freewebs.com)
“Lotus & Phoenix II” will be presented by Nayika Indian Dance which features again in the City of Sydney Chinese New Year Festival 2008.
This is a unique concert with both traditional Chinese music and classical Indian dance inspired by the symbolism of the lotus and phoenix, not to be missed by the Asian arts connoisseur.
Versatile musicians of the Sydney Sizhu Ensemble led by Tony Wheeler, and Indian classical dancer Vimala Sarma, celebrate Chinese New Year in a unique concert featuring Chinese traditional music and classical Indian dances inspired by the symbolism of the lotus and phoenix. The lotus is a symbol of purity and beauty in both Chinese and Indian cultures. This show provides an opportunity for Sydney Chinese traditional music-lovers to hear Chen Hong Yu, an inspirational vocal artist. The Indian classical dances featured include pieces performed by Vimala in the recent dance festival in Chennai.
Date: Saturday 23 February 2008
Time: 7.30 pm
Location: Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Macquarie Street, Sydney
Cost: $35.00 plus booking fee
Bookings/Information: Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX (438 849) or on your mobile www.moshtix.mobi and all moshtix outlets.