Swami Mukundananda holds yoga camp in NJ

Yoga is for all ages. From babies to children from adults to elderly, the practice of yoga appeals to all ages. Though commonly thought of as a fad for the 20-40 set, the practice of yoga covers all ends of the spectrum. People who live busy lives find solace and comfort and good health in yoga. Today, yoga has become a global phenomenon more than ever before in history, transcending cultures and races.

Many gurus and spiritual leaders from India come to the West to teach yoga, in the hope of popularizing this ancient Indian art. In this world of strife and anxiety, the opportunity to associate with a traveling Indian sanyasi (Monk) is a great blessing. And if that sanyasi happens to be a well read scholar, it becomes a double blessing, for one can then hear from him the esoteric knowledge of the Vedas presented in a modern context.

Images from the six-day yoga camp in Wayne, New Jersey held last
month, where more than 200 people participated.

Over 200 people attended a six-day yoga camp in Wayne, New Jersey, last month in order to learn techniques and exercises to maintain a healthy lifestyle amidst the busy daily lives they lead. Swami Mukundananda, a student of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj has been conducting yoga and meditation classes. The classes include discourse, meditation and yoga.

 The program in New Jersey was divided into two parts – yoga & meditation, and pravachan. “Swamiji believes that it is not only important to focus on your body but on the mind as well. Thus it is very important to compliment yog with meditation, followed by pravachan,” said Raj Jhaveri, one of the organizers. The yoga and mediation section was further divided into four parts – breathing, diet, meditation and relaxation. “When you do these four parts in tandem, the positive effects increase. Also, one should keep God in their mind when practicing yog and meditation,” Jhaveri added.

A two-hour pravachan was also held everyday of the camp, where Swami Mukundananda spoke about the human relationship with God. He also educated the attendees about curing ailments like heart diseases, digestion problems and diabetes by living a healthy lifestyle and incorporating yog and meditation in their lives. “You don’t have to sit in the temple for an hour everyday but when you pray to God, pray in the right manner,” Swami Mukundananda said. He also spoke about aim of life, true happiness and how to pray to God.

Swami Mukundananda received his B Tech from the worldrenowned Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He then went on to secure his MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. After that he worked for some time with the Tatas. However, material education did not quench his thirst for the Absolute Truth. He began traveling throughout India as a Sanyasi. Ultimately his search took him to his Spiritual Master, Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj.

Under the guidance of Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj, he practiced intense sadhana while residing at the ashram. He also extensively studied the Vedic scriptures and the Indian and Western systems of philosophy. On completion of his studies, his Spiritual Master instructed him to preach and assist others on the path to God-realization. 

Swamiji often tours outside India as well. He has inspired thousands of people in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, where his visits are anxiously awaited. Swami ji visited USA seven years ago and evoked a tremendous response in the cities he visited.

His lectures cover the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavatam, Puranas, Bhagavad Geeta, Ramayan, and other Eastern and Western scriptures. He establishes the spiritual truth through scriptural quotations, irrefutable logic and humorous reallife illustrations, keeping the audience absorbed and entertained. “Science has helped us in harnessing the tremendous forces of nature. However, it has no tools to harness our internal nature, the basic problems of the human mind: lust, anger, envy, greed, illusion. Spirituality is for enhancing the mind and intellect, and manifesting the inherent divinity within us,” Swami Mukundananda told the media last month.

“The real cause for stress is the unlimited desire within us, desire for material advancement. With true knowledge we can understand that the happiness we are searching for is not just in the external objects. It is within us. When we learn to put in our best effort without being attached to the results, stress immediately vanishes,” he says.

Swami Mukundananda has now been delivering religious discourses for the last fifteen years, as a preacher of the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. Swamiji will be revisiting USA in the summer of 2009.for more information, please visit, www.jkyog.org

BY SUBHAS ARORA