FULL MOON MEDITATION WITH SWAMI VEDA BHARATI
SWAMI VEDA INVITES YOU TO MEDITATE FOR AN HOUR WHERE EVER YOU ARE, IN YOUR HOME OR WITH FRIENDS.
TOTAL BEGINNERS, NON-INITIATES AND INITIATES ARE WELCOME.
FULL MOON DATES:
2009: 10 JAN 9 FEB 10 MAR 9 APRIL 8 MAY 7 JUNE 7 JULY 5 AUG 4 SEPT 4 OCT 1 NOV 2 DEC
2010: 30 JAN 28 FEB 29 MAR 28 APRL 27 MAY 26 JUN 26 JULY 24 AUG 23 SEPT 23 OCT 21 NOV 21 DEC
For dates into 2010 & onwards see: www.swamiveda.org /www.bindu.org
TIMINGS:
7 AM in India (IST), surrounding countries adjust the time accordingly, for example Iran is 5 AM.
8 PM in Asia, 8 PM Singapore time. Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand adjust their times to coincide with Singapore time 8 PM.
8 PM in U.K. (Greenwich Mean Time).Those in all European, and all African time zones, please adjust your sitting time to coincide with 8 PM United Kingdom (GMT).
10 PM in New York (Eastern Standard Time). Surrounding countries and regions of South, Central and North America and the Caribbean to match their time to 10 PM EST, New York.
WHEN IS THE FULL MOON ?
The calendars differ. The western calendar used to have ten months. Then two Roman emperors thought they were stars in heaven; they added their names, Julius and Augustus Caesar, so two months were added, July and August. But the Roman (Julian) computers were not programmed properly! They forgot to re-number the months. Sept means seven but September is the ninth month! Oct means eight but October is the tenth month! Nove means nine but November is the eleventh month! Dece means ten but December is the twelfth month! Even the Gregorian calendar did not make the necessary adjustments.
In the ancient civilizations, for whom timings of sacred events were very important, there are two kinds of calendars, solar and lunar. “Year” and “month” are terms in astronomy. Same conjunction of stars, planets and constellations should occur at the same time to mark the start of a year or a month. Various festivals in ancient traditions including India are held according to the solar or the lunar calendar. That is when the energies flow.
So the dates of the Full Moon Meditations are announced after our Ashram astronomologers (neologism here!) have worked out the exact hours and minutes as you will see in the attached announcements of dates.
Swami Veda and other teachers will sit with you according to these dates. Please do join in the shared Full Moon mind-field.
People often ask, how do we tune into the Indian time? That is not how it goes. On which ever continent Swami Veda is at any given time, he sits at the times announced for your continent. Swami actually meditates four times during the Full Moon 24-hour period to accommodate people at the designated meditation timings. So he actually has cycle of four sessions for different continents. Please meditate at the time for your continent—Swami Veda will be there.
METHOD OF MEDITATION
Those who have not learnt to meditate before, but would like to join Swami Veda Bharati, disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas, in his meditations on the Full Moon Days, may ask for his booklet titled Beginning Meditation and a cassette of guided meditation.
Till then, and till you have had the opportunity to take some training in correct way of sitting and correct way of breathing, the simple procedure to follow is:
1. Sit as straight as you can on an even, firm but cushioned surface.
2. Relax your forehead.
3. Relax your facial and physical musculature.
4. Bring your awareness to your breathing.
5. Breathe slowly, gently, smoothly, evenly; without jerk or sound in the breathing.
6. Now feel the touch and flow of the breath in the nostrils.
7. Let there be no pause between the breaths; as one breath is completed, begin
to feel the next breath flowing and touching in the nostrils.
8. After a few breaths, choose:
A. whichever name of God is your favourite according to your tradition or religion;
B. or a sacred but short phrase or prayer word from your scripture or tradition.
Some suggestions are as follows:
I. Those who wish to follow the Himalayan tradition may use the sound so in the in-breath and ham in the out-
breath, without a break in the cycles of ham-so with the breath.
II. The Sikhs may use: Vaah-e-guru or Sat-naam
III. Muslims may use the word Allah or any sacred phrase (such as
IV. La-Illah-Illillah, or Allaho or Allahoo), or one of the 99 names of God.
IV. Jews may use Ha-shem
V. Christians may use one of these: Jesus or Yeshu, Hail Mary, Ave Maria, Maranatha (Aramaic) or Kyrie
eleison (Greek).
VI. Mazdayasnians (Zoroastrians, Parsees) may use any of these:
ahura mazda
ahuu va-iryo
esham vohu
but for total beginners of the Mazdayasnian tradition the best recommendation is to use the phrase vohu-
mano
VII. The Jainas may use Om, Om hreem, or Hreem arham
VIII. Those who prefer total nirguna, transcendental, trans-qualitative divinity may use only Om
IX. The Buddhists may use the word Buddho to start with.
X. The Theravadin Buddhists may choose to use no word whatsoever only practice mindfulness of breathing.
XI. If you do not believe in a form of divinity or spiritual incarnation and so forth:
exhaling, think Oooonnne (One)
inhaling, think Twwwoooo (Two)
without a break in this count with the breath.
9. Exhaling, think that phrase; inhaling think that phrase. The phrase is not to come in the mouth nor on the tongue; it must
me only a mentation.
10. Let there be no break between the breaths, nor between the incessant flow of the thoughts of the same phrase.
11. As soon as you become aware that you have lost the flow and other thoughts have begun to arise, re-start the same
procedure from the beginning with number 1.
12. Sit for as long as you wish.
13. Let the quietness of the mind continue even after you rise.
14. If you practice this even for 2-3 minutes at a time many times in the day, you will notice subtle changes in yourself for the
better.
15. Whatever you will do repeatedly with the mind, that will become the mind's habit; calming the mind repeatedly will return
your mind to its calm nature.
