Rajanaka Newsletter July 15 2023: Love and Loss, Stars in the Sky, More Stories to Tell

 Saturday, July 15, 2023

 

Aho’Rajanaka,


I hope this finds you well.  I have a few things I’d like to talk about today, including Rajanaka Camp, some summer opportunities together, and the coming fall semester.  But the news this week of the passing of Sally Kempton brought an unexpected sorrow.  There’s an inescapable alchemy in the soul when love and grief come together.  So a few words about friendship and the stars in the sky.


It is said in yoga traditions that when a truly great being passes a new star appears in the night sky.  “There are so many stars, Appa.  Are they all great beings?”  He replied: “We’re that lucky.  There has been much goodness and brilliance.  But luckier still when we have seen that star burn brightly right before our eyes, here on this earth.”

I think Sally and I met in 1992.  She was Swami Durgananda, I was Professor Brooks.  I’d been invited to give lectures on the goddess traditions and Sally took a keen interest.  Soon we were in long and winding, wondrous, never anodyne conversations about everything.  I found out more about her relationship to her very famous father and the literary life of New York, her previous lives (in this current birth), and for decades after we talked about spiritual life and personal choices, always at ease, as if we’d never stopped.  Being lucky, I’ve been privileged to the erudite conversation of scholarship my entire adult life.  Academics conceal, dissemble, and ignore their personal opinions and life stories.  It’s part of the profession.  Rarely do we learn who they are, what they might really think.  When I met Sally it was as if I’d (finally) met a colleague, a friend, a spiritual compeer who wanted to talk.  She was wholly engaged in a particular spiritual path, one for which I had rapport and sensitivity but could not share.  We had many a spirited conversation about those tenets and the traditions and we always came through them the richer, having learned from one another, good friends in shared confidence of each other’s genuine intentions.  We liked one another.  No, it was more than that, we loved each other as good true friends, as kalyana mitra.  In the traditions of yoga kalyana mitra is about the most treasured thing one can say of a relationship.  It means there is trust, undisguised affection, and deep abiding respect.  Sally was kalyana mitra to so, so many people who loved her.  She was a teacher, an example of rare humanity.  I share in your grief.  If you did not know her then know that what she shared and who she was changed this world, and in every way for the better.   And that what she offered as a human being was so important that there is surely another star in tonight’s sky.

 

There will be no classes this weekend of July 15th.   It’s a week since Curry Night at Rajanaka Camp, Susan noted this morning.  Feels like yesterday.  We were expecting about 25 people and as the number swelled to almost 50, I was furiously cooking more curry.   We conjured (not too strong a word) some real conversation for these five days and the recordings are now available on our Dropbox Archive for downloading.  The topic was Śiva’s sorcery, not something I take up lightly but so very, very important once we begin to understand what is at stake and what it means.  The link is below.  You will find this worth your time, I think.  The Camp Archive is all ready for you, any time.

Camp really was pretty darn wonderful.  The company was exquisite and the conversation deep and, I think, accessible, valuable, truly salient to creating a deeper spiritual life.   Folks made new friends.  I met some in person maybe even for the first time too.  It’s a ton of work and there are many people to thank and some who really really really did a lot of the work that allowed me to do what I do.  Thank you.  I hope you know I mean it from the bottom of my heart.  We will do this again, next year, if you like.  Appa said that about every day.  “If you like, we can carry on tomorrow.”  Shall we?

We will have a Special Session on Saturday, July 22nd, 5pm Eastern.  It’ll be About Something Special and will include A Really Really Good Story.  The usual Saturday Zoom link will work fine, and that’s below the line as usual.  

On Sunday, July 23rd, 5pm Eastern, we will have a Mahabharata Session.  There will be a new story from the Forest and like all Mahabharata Sessions they are “stand alone” so you can come anytime but also are part of our approaching-vast Archive.  Downloads and links are below.

 

We’ll have announcements about more Sessions in this fast-fleeting summer and plans for the Fall Semester, which will begin in September.  Plan on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays come the fall.  I mean to show up for you.  The conversation is going to be rich and worth your time, ‘cause time you know is all we gots.  The rest is about the stars in the sky.

Let’s talk soon.  Enjoy your weekend.  I’m going to ride a bike, read some Sanskrit, and play in the yard with Sadie if it’s not too hot for her furry self.   If you need a conversation, write to me: douglas@rajanaka.com.  I’m always happy to hear from you.   Got India?  Need a postcard?  Take good care, okay?

saprema, with affection, Douglas


&&

Rajanaka Summer Camp 2023, “The Sorcery of Śiva: Teachings on Abhicara and the Luminous Shadow”.
Dropbox Archive link is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/836d746qa8917cdcgnjll/h?rlkey=bqb06vxanp69s4o17gar035nx&dl=0

Tuition for the Archive is $200, please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (same email or douglas-brooks-8).

 

THE HEART OF RECOGNITION SESSIONS

Please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8). 

*Dropbox Recordings Available IN FULL, NOW, Anytime!: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/3lvz5j1ajcidwjasy7fsl/h?dl=0&rlkey=qibpejcv3blkq0ngmjx6atsc8

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

*Tuition for the Archive is $150, please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (same email or douglas-brooks-8).

INDIA is a go.  If you are interested in joining us on the India Pilgrimage that can still happen for you.  There’s room.   There are more details below the line but you can write to me directly with any questions or interests, douglas@rajanaka.com.  Join the Facebook Group Rajanaka 2023 India Pilgrimage even if you don’t think you can come this time.  You’ll meet lovely people and you won’t be able to resist.  This is the real deal.

 

SUNDAY MAHABHARATA

ALMOST EVERY Sunday---DATES AND REMINDER ABOVE---AND there is always ia 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 Recorded Archive INCLUDING a free Audio book is here:

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

(Remember that you must download Sessions from Dropbox because when you listen directly on Dropbox you receive only the first hour.)

NEW ARCHIVE COURSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FROM THIS PAST SPRING 2023.

·      The Tamil Goddess in Six Sessions, tuition for all Sessions is $95.  You can download from here directly. Tuition is on the honor system, use Paypal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com)
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/owz6urldp6rnl4nv6bpdh/h?dl=0&rlkey=7rty7mxnjwk301bjk6vt7qtpi

 

·      Muruga of the Six Temples, tuition for all Sessions is $95 payable as PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com), here is the Dropbox link for downloading directly: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1fwu9qhlghlmz9t1a1sd2/h?dl=0&rlkey=2lz0ox3znbhl0iqc48qu59gpx

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.

  • Rasa in Theory and Practice.

Six Sessions on Saturday Evenings

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.

 

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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