Rajanaka Newsletter May 6 2023

 Saturday, May 6, 2023

 

Aho’ Rajanaka,

 

I hope this finds you well.  The end of University means reading finals so you will have to forgive my absence this past week.  I have put away sharp objects and fired up the ChatGPT detector.  You never know in what form the Lord the exam might come.  


 

INDIA.  Okay, we’re going.  And the invitation just got better.  

Write to Greg (rajanakabackoffice@gmail.com) or Kim Shand (kim@rajanaka.com) for details.  The email is fixed, promised!!

 

If you’ve been interested in the pilgrimage we’re able now to extend the first deadline.  The good folks in India have made this easier.  First application and deposit is now extended to July 1st.  You have time to consider.  If you are already on board, please meet the original payment schedule.  And all payment must be completed on time.  The full invitation is below the line.

 

INDIA INTEREST MEETING on Monday, May 8th at 7pm Eastern.  Join us for an open ZOOM to address your questions and curiosities about India.  Everyone is welcome.  If you have an interest, come.  If you are just curious, come.  If you have come before, come and help out with those who are wavering, considering, wishing, and wanting.  Here is the special one-time link: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/96511142199 

 

 

This coming Thursday, May 11th at 7pm a ZOOM Conversation, Ask Anything About Everything.  I may prefer more questions than answers but let’s talk about what’s on your mind, moving your soul, and making you wonder.  Yoga, the meaning of life, what’s the capital of North Dakota, all the usual topics are of course fair game.  Given its Kali Yuga and the current utterly terrifying state of the local universe we will freewheel some too.  I’ve been practicing my Mrs Doubtfire voice but promise not to make myself a nuisance.  Every question is a good one, nothing is really outta’bounds.  Come and we’ll find truth at the bottom of a glass of green tea.  USE the usual Thursday link: 

https://rochester.zoom.us/j/98183733328

 

Sunday Mahabharata will resume on (you guessed it) Sunday, May 21st, 5pm.  I need this week for exam grading and next week is Mother’s Day.  Momma’s made it clear the evening is taken.  We’re starting a new story and this will be a wonderful time to join in.  We’re always in the middle but this is a real beginning too.  All Sessions are recorded and available for download on the Archive (see below the line for the link).  The usual Zoom is always the right one

https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250.

 

NEW SPRING COURSE ON ZOOM, SATURDAY, MAY 20TH 5PM EASTERN.  SIX SESSSIONS.

Our subject is the Great Goddess known as Bala Tripura, the Unassailable Three Cities, Bala Tripurasundari the Youthful Sovereign, Beautiful One of the Triad.  This form of the Devi invites us to consider our inner agility, poise, suppleness of mind and gentleness of heart.  We are going to focus not only on her forms and stories but learn her very distinctive mantra and meditation.  Mantra, mudra, and a plenty of subtle body made your own.

*DATES: May 20, May 27, June 3, June 10, June 17, June 26.6tg

*Tuition is $16 per Session or $90 for all.  (The Goddess is called sodasi, or 16 in Sanskrit.)

Please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8).  The *Zoom link is the usual Saturday link: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268

*All Courses are recorded and available on our Archive for download.  

 

RAJANAKA SUMMER CAMP IS STILL OPEN.  

Bristol, NY July 6th-10th.  Please come.  It’s like nothing else.  So fun.  If you can’t come in person, there will be ZOOM!!  See below for details.  COME!!!  ZOOM!!  Come and Zoom too!!  

 

 

You can write to me about anything, India, Camp, Courses, and you are welcome to grade my final papers for me if you’ve that new CBD or Patanjali hasn’t proven to be the sleep aid you thought it might be.

 

More soon.  Remember that the Daoist Zuagzi said that one good laugh is worth 10,000 serious thoughts.

 

With affection, Douglas

 

&&

INDIA DETALS AND REGISTRATION

MEET GREGG AND KIM SHAND

 

Hello Rajanaka Peeps,

 

First, for those of you who don’t know us, please allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Kim and Greg Shand and we have volunteered to help with the coordination, planning and logistics for December’s trip to Tamil Nadu.

 

There are some changes in the sign-up process from previous years, so please review the information in this email carefully. If you’ve never been to India with Douglas Brooks, it’s hard to imagine what the experience will be like. You will have inside access to the temples and their priests. It will be a trip that is entirely different from any experience booked with a travel agent. When you travel as a “Poonai” (the Tamil word for “cat”) you will not be a spectator observing the culture of south India…you will be a participant. 

 

It is humbling to find that so many new and veteran students want to continue to learn and share by attending this trip. We only bring 30 people on this trip so that: 1) the temples are not overwhelmed by our presence, and 2) you are better able to enjoy the direct, up-close and personal experience that is ahead. To meet these priorities, we will have to take reservations on a first-come/first-serve basis. When we reach 30 attendees, we will close registration and start a waiting list

 

THE BIG NEWS! We are turning back time and offering this trip at the same price that was charged in 2019! The total cost will be $5500 per person w/double-occupancy rooms*. The price could increase by $100-$200 if we are unable to purchase the plane tickets quickly! $5500 includes airfare from JFK to Chennai**, all in-country transportation on an air-conditioned bus (with WiFi and an almost unlimited cache of bottled water), lodging, daily breakfast and welcome and farewell dinners. You will need additional money for all other meals, souvenirs, temple offerings and tips. We will provide you with more details on the amount of spending money that you may want to bring. 

 

* Single Occupancy rooms are available for an upcharge of $1000. 

** You will be responsible for getting to JFK on time. Our flight, Etihad Airlines, Flight 102, will be departing at 2:00 PM to Chennai on December 28th. Please plan to arrive at JFK at least 3 hours before the 2:00 PM departure time. If you live outside of the US, contact us for an airfare credit. You will need to coordinate your travel to and from Chennai so that your arrival and departure schedule does not impact the larger group’s arrival and departure times. We will land back at JFK on January 13th at 3:50 PM

After we receive your deposit, there will be a lot of information coming your way…how to apply for a visa, what to pack, the itinerary, timelines, what to expect when we arrive, etc. Through conference calls and emails, we will help prepare you for the journey. We will also be on the trip with you to help you with any questions or concerns that may arise. For now, by filling out, signing and returning the contract that is attached, a seat will be reserved for you on the trip. However, your first payment must be received no later than April 23rd to secure your place. Since we need to make various deposits and (most importantly) purchase the airline tickets immediately, to receive group rates, flight costs are non-refundable and will not be transferable by Rajanaka Yoga. Travel insurance is a good option if an emergency arises preventing your attendance. We will send you information on how and where you can purchase trip insurance. Contract and Payment Plan: Name Home Address Email Address Cell phone Emergency Phone Date of Birth Passport number and expiration: Roommate: (If you don’t have one, no worries, we will match you up) Payments Payments can be made by check and debit/credit cards, through PayPal. Paypal transactions will incur an additional 2.9% fee. PayPal payments should be sent to: douglas@rajanaka.com If you need assistance with facilitating a PayPal transaction, please contact: greg@rajanaka.com and he will be happy to assist you. Make Checks Payable to: Rajanaka Yoga Please send all checks to: Douglas Brooks, 7296 Gregg Road, Bloomfield, NY 14469 Payment Schedule The total cost for each participant is $5500. With the exception of the first payment, please note all payments are due by the 10th of each month. 

*The 1st payment will NOT BE REFUNDABLE as it is for the purchase of plane tickets and other deposits. If you cancel before Sept. 1st, payments 2-5 will be refunded if a replacement is found. Cancellation after Sept. 1st will result in forfeiture of all previous payments. **The final price of the trip will be determined at the time of airline ticketing. Airline taxes can vary $100-$200. You are also welcome to pay in full at anytime.

 

&&&

NEXT,

Rajanaka Summer Camp, Bristol, New York
*Dates: July 6th-July 10th    

*Venue: Bristol Valley Vineyards, 7235 Lane Road, Bloomfield, NY 14469 (Note: The Town of Bristol is so small that it uses several other town addresses.  Really.  This is the correct mailing/maps address.)  YES to wifi on site and two brand new bathrooms!

*Cost: $600, deposit of $200 is due now; complete payment due by June 1st via Paypal (friend and family only, use svcourses@gmail.com for the PP address) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8).

*Facebook Group: Rajanaka Summer Camp 2023 is up and running.  Just search FB and you will find a host of folks with whom you can talk to about Camp, logistics, details, whatever you like.
*Camp includes Sessions, lunch, tea, water, and snacks all day, and Curry Night Dinner.  It does not include accommodations, travel, or transportation.  The nearest airport is Rochester.  The nearest towns with hotels are Naples, South Bristol, and Canandaigua.  Air BnB is a good bet.  If you are flying and need a ride the best place to find some help is on the FB group---we can’t provide transportation.  This is a mom&pop operation that has worked well for 20 years and we’re here to help every way that we can.
*Topic has only rarely been mentioned in previous years.  However this year the plan right now is to learn the Heart of the Matrka, The Puja of the Little Mothers. This may mean little to you but it’s an important and incredibly fascinating part of the Great Goddess tradition and the theories mantra contemplation and analysis.  This is both theory and a practice that we will learn and study in detail for our entire Camp: it is rich, useful, complex, and doable.  No previous experience is required or expected.  No preparation is required.  We will learn this together every step of the way and I will provide the materials you need when you arrive.
*For all other queries send me an email: douglas@rajanaka.com  I’m happy to help.  




&&&MORE

So much more.  NEW FREE ONE HOUR, A Conversation About the Goddess Aranyani, The Wild One of the Forest, on the Archive here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fzcqc48pzzlilxa/AAB6LMj-WGPpjEBuEp6eqjz5a?dl=0

 

THURSDAYS IN MARCH & APRIL at 7pm Eastern

SIX MURUGA MYTHS: THE NONBINARY ARCHETYPE

You may not be much familiar with Ganesha’s brother Murugan.  He is really only “important” in south India where his temple cult is significant.  But in this archetype of the Tamils resides one of the great body of stories and imagergy.  One of Muruga’s names is Shanmukha, Six Faces, and for each there is a temple and a very particular story.  We will go on mythic pilgrimage together to the six temple myths of Muruga.   (In December we are visiting these very temples on India Pilgrimage.  This would be a great opportunity to make these trips. 

Tuition is $15 per Session, or $90 for all Sessions to PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com) .  If you can’t make it live, the Archive recording will always be available.  

The Zoom for all Thursdays at 7pm is always the same. ZOOM LINK: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/98183733328

 

You can find all of our Newsletters on the Kalliyam Blogspot here:

https://kalliyam.blogspot.com/2023/01/rajanaka-newsletter-january-10-2023.html

 

And so much to read on the Rajanaka Sammelana, Rajanaka Adesa, and the Contraiety [SIC] Blogspots, links here:

 

https://rajanaka.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-story-in-news-rajanaka-past-and.html

 

https://rajanakadesa.blogspot.com/2023/01/vrata-resolutions-and-new-year.html

 

https://contraiety.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-you-havent-earned-is-more-important.html

 

What will you find?

Six Sessions and PDF to aid in study.  Write to me if you need help.

Description: No form of Hanuman is more important or less understood and studied than the great Pancamukha.  Here Hanuman bears the visage of Varaha the Boar, Garuda the Raptor, Hanuman the Monkey, Narasimha the Lion Man, and Hayagriva the Horse.  We will bring this character to life in mythos, mantra, and mudra, in theory and practice, and there will be new stories and work that extends far beyond what we have done before with the Tantric Hanuman.  Everyone is welcome.  We start at the beginning and we go deep.

Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me.  Your access is guaranteed.  Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like.  Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.

  • Saturday CORE: Rasa in Theory and Practice.

Time: Six Sessions on Saturday Evenings, 5pm Eastern

Dates: January 14 we begin!  Jan 14/21/28 then February 11/18/25

ZOOM link for all Saturdays: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268 

ARCHIVE is HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c

Description: Rasa means essence, taste, liquidity, flavor, sentiment, elemental feeling and emotion.  At the heart of the study of poetry, Rasa Theory is a remarkable, rich, and complex method of analysis and appreciation of artistry and aesthetics.  But rasa is also a roadmap, a process and practice, a method for understanding and exploring our most elemental feelings.  Rajanaka has among the most developed and useful rasa traditions of yoga.  At the center of every yoga is engagement with feeling and the development of “taste”: rasa is the core of our being and here we learn the way through that labyrinth of essence.

Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me.  Your access is guaranteed.  Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like.  Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.

 

  • SUNDAY MAHABHARATA.  

EVERY Sunday is a new story, every bit of it makes sense no matter when you choose to attend!

Time: Sessions on Sundays at 5pm Eastern.
Dates: Every Sunday unless we announce otherwise!

ZOOM link is the same for all Sundays: 

 https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250

Tuition: $15 per Session or $20 and all goes to India causes. Your call. Complete Archive INCLUDING a free Audio book is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0 

 

Tuition for any of these Archives is $150 for complete access. You are on your honor to access them as you please and offer tuition via PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or by Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com or douglas-brooks-8).  

 

Gayatri Mantra

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r58rwnp3ryxgi6a6y8yme/h?dl=0&rlkey=59kbd7hjdrl8n809zv8becmdi

 

Lalita 1000 Names

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/18o5rtle7p91hz2/AADQnph8ofpPAX5mtW7mX-L4a?dl=0

 

OM Autobiography

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/11jd30d14ibjjtv3wauaj/h?dl=0&rlkey=1wugbag9m7myo1c50gt6qoa6d

 

Shakuntala for India

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/osx5n6i9vrz5vi5ek9vch/h?dl=0&rlkey=pa7akqysgrauu07mw9te61yb1

 

Pancamukha Hanuman

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d62llefrjvyidefn3uequ/h?dl=0&rlkey=p774e7zbme37d8cc49ocysog2

 

Rasa Theory

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c

 

Free Saturdays in 2023

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rm505c2fcy04y3upn5abv/h?dl=0&rlkey=6gk1d5rzyypn0r37100wzv5hk

 

Sricakra Puja Appa Svadhyaya

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bi7z70589ztuak4/cakra%20puja.wav?dl=0

 

Religion 270 The Meaning of Life

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ab5ioprn7bk2qgsd8800i/h?dl=0&rlkey=k9g4xukvctff91fkye1wo5mdr

 

Poised for Grace Audio Book

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iw0za7jwml6m7mc/AACjDhxf9owOXjbkzT2r2k-Ra?dl=0

 

Patanjali Essential Core

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2qd7wc5qroiva3v/AAAaZPvnc9I2JQSrO88Iv1exa?dl=0

 

Sivakamasundari Practicum

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ifddb0hglwrm5hx/AABGyYYfSJ9B_KHhU1LgdsT3a?dl=0

 

Mahabharata Sundays
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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