Rajanaka Newsletter: Red Skies, Human Rights, Shark Week, and Rajanaka Camp

 Saturday, July 1, 2023

 

Aho’ Rajanaka,

 

I hope this finds you well.  Is you sky red?  Breathing easy?  And if that weren’t quite enough, Shark Week is almost here and if you can’t make it in person to Rajanaka Summer Camp do remember you can tune in, even from the beach on Amity Island.  Who needs a trashy paperback when you can have Rajanaka?  A little lite listening to go with your boycott-busting Bud Lite?  Your call.

If you find out you’re gonna need a bigger boat, don’t be shy to ask.  We got room and we’ll lend you Roy Scheider Approved Look Like Joe shades.  Zoom and our Dropbox-based Archive means we’re real easy to find---somewhere between Gilligan’s Island and Lost, our re-runs are easily as good.  So join the Professor.  Remember that guy could make a radio from a pair of coconuts but couldn’t figure out how to get off the island.  Tune in to Camp.   Tap the Archive.  Pour yourself something cool---but only if you promise not to torture your partner or children with endless hours of the Rajanaka me…”oh, that guy’s voice, again?”.   

 

It’s the conclusion of Pride Month---we are genuinely proud for and of all those for whom this Pride is their own--- and we are near to this week’s attempted celebration of the audacious claim to independence.  Maybe we should stick with sharks?  They are likely more honest and just than the Court’s foul majority.  Doesn’t every year seem more ironic in a not good way?  Must we really litigate again 1860? 1960?  Jaws, 1975?  Can we instead look back but not go back?  Please? Together we are going forward.

 

Sorry for opening on such a glum note but when good folks are besieged just for who they are, when human rights are being denied, nay, taken away, and there is no remedy is in sight, it’s no time to turn the other way or pretend that Mercury retrograde or laser beams are in your brain or some other nonsense.   Sadly RFK, jr. is as crazy as he seems, poor fella’.  Don’t you be.  The world is where yoga needs our help.  Yoga is about engagement: pink unicorn wishful thinking won’t do.  And don’t fret about not getting it all perfect: yoga can’t be reduced to perfection if we love our mortal selves.  We are only free if we learn to bind ourselves to values that set others free to live their lives.

 

And if we choose a freedom with no concern for the world then others will make it their business to bind us---and it’s a fair wager that you won’t like any of that, not one bit.  Yoga has to be about better and figuring out what that means. Appa used to say, ‘eternity will take care of itself, we’ve got more things to do here and now.’  Gotta’ love the guy, ya’ know?  We can only do our own yoga if we do it together.   Thank goodness for you, I say.  Sermon over, and apologies for the prosaic pleonasm (and bad alliteration. ;-) ). 

 

We’re readying for Rajanaka Summer Camp, which begins on Thursday, July 6th, at 2pm Eastern.  Live Camp is here in Bristol, New York and meets at Bristol Valley Vineyards on Lane Road.  So what’s Camp?  It started long ago in a galaxy far, far away.  But more recently when you good folks invited yourselves to my house around the 4th of July some 20 years ago.  This story is actually for reals.  Since then it’s been too much fun not to do it.

I often announce topics and lordyknows that would be better for “business” but since when has that been our purpose?  And even when I do announce a topic it ends up being about whatever has been working its way through my notebooks.  I mean to make it interesting, accessible, worthwhile conversation.  Come.  I promise my level best not to let you down--- and if I do, I’m confident you will let me know.   If this is not enough then remember that the great 4th century philosopher Bhartrhari said that the world was a run-on sentence and the Mahabharata reminds that all the really good stuff is unexpected and often nothing more than digression, detour, and a bit of wandering.  Wander on, calmly, and I promise we will not get (too) lost.  We mean to be good hosts whether you are here in person or Zooming in from afar.

Camp Sessions Schedule:
Thursday, July 6: 2pm Opening.  We will end before 5pm.

Friday,  July 7: morning 9:30am-Noon, afternoon 2pm-4:30pm

Saturday, July 8: morning 9:30am-Noon, afternoon 2pm-4:30pm

Sunday, July 9: morning puja at 10am, afternoon 2pm-4pm

Monday, July 10: morning 9:30am-lunch.


This year there are some very cool things about Camp.
*Our venue Bristol Valley Vineyards, is cozy, sweet, and now has brand new bathrooms, lovely ac, and is just right for our needs.  Our hosts are my wonderful neighbors the Anselms.  On Friday evening, very shortly after we finish the afternoon session (about 5pm), we’ll be having a wine tasting.  Nick makes some mighty rad mead and other very lovely wines.
*Lunch comes over from our house every day and Susan has it all planned.  Picnics under the trees and places to stay outta the sun, hopefully not the rain but we got that covered too.
*Saturday is Curry Night, so you know, curry.  And pie.  Who could object to pie?  Likely some music, no one drives out unchecked for safety.  We mean to have fun.
*Sunday morning is puja and that will not go on too long nor will it prove less than a glorious mess, as it should be.
*Susan has specially prepared her art studio for those of you who would on Curry Night like to visit.  Art happens here.  So can you.  There are smaller pieces she says would even travel well.

*ZOOM will be happening for those of you who can’t make it to Bristol.  And there will be recordings, hours and hours of them.  This is The Good Stuff, the deep dive that feels right and safe and changes things inside, moves things around in a good way.

*If it’s last minute and you need a place to stay, our very local campground is cozy and safe.  Look here, https://www.bristolwoodlands.com.  Make your own arrangements but we’re here to help.

 

 

There is no Saturday Session today.  We completed our six Sessions on The Heart of Recognition last week.   Those are now available on Archive Recording.  Lots to learn, serious but accessible, this is a fine primer into the world of Kashmir Saivism.  I’m going to let you know what they think, why they think it, what difference that matters to them, where they are likely not so right and how they might yet be helpful and interesting for our 21st century lives.  Get those recordings if you missed these sessions and pay for them after you’ve listened at least once through, then drop the tuition.  We are always on our honor around here.  Do good, be good, learn lots, don’t delay, times’a comin’ for ya’.

 

No Sunday Mahabharata this week.  CAMP IS COMING.  We’ll resume on Sunday, July 16th at 5pm, all the usual details including all of the recordings are below the line.  

 

Write me a postcard, I will send one back.  Send it to Sadie the pup, she loves getting mail.  And neither of us leave the yard unless we’ve got very good reason.   See you soon, take care, okay?

Saprema, Douglas
&Susan&Sadie

 

^^^

HERE’S THAT PROVERBIAL LINE THAT’S BELOW

THE HEART OF RECOGNITION SESSIONS

DATES:

*Tuition is $16 per Session or $90 for all.  

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.  

 

RAJANAKA SUMMER CAMP, BRISTOL, NEW YORK, COME!!!
ON ZOOM TOO!!!  SO YOU CAN STAY HOME AND COME TO CAMP TOO! 
*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.

*ZOOM LINK FOR CAMP LIVE: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95779901732 
*LIVE 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.



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

 

 

 


&&&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.

 

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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