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I had mentioned in my blog earlier last month that I sat down and wrote a proposed Inauguration Address for President OBama and posted it to him, and a copy to his speech writer. I didn’t receive a reply and didn’t expect. The White House staff said the new President receives around 40,000 letters per day. Continue reading
We completed our 11th Dharma Gathering in Sarnath, near Varanasi, India. The Buddha gave the first turning of the Dharma wheel in Sarnath to five yogis. We are turning the wheel as well with around 70 to 80 participating. Many live a nomadic way of life through regular visits to India and the East for weeks, months and for some years. Continue reading
Extracts from a report to teachers, managers and co-ordinators.
India (spiritual, not economic India) continues to act as a major turning point in people’s lives. Travellers living out of a backpack, attending retreats, Dharma Gatherings can experience profound shifts in consciousness that have a lifelong influence. Dharma teachers, managers and co-ordinators contribute to the process of change. We have a fine network of people involved in our programmes in India quietly determined to stay true to deep values, sustainable lifestyles, love and a liberated way of life. Continue reading
Tiruvannamalai. On the edge of this modest sized Indian town in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India, about five hours on the local bus from Chennai, stands the renowned ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the much loved teacher of Liberation, who has been adopted as the patron saint by the Western Advaita (non-dual) tradition, even though the saintly Ramana never referred himself as belonging to the Advaita tradition and dismissed advaita and vaita as relative concepts. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, I read on line the inauguration speeches of about 10 US Presidents. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and F.D. Roosevelt gave insightful, honest and concentrated statements of their vision. Other inauguration addresses consisted of swathes of rhetoric, a litany of platitudes, instantly forgettable – sometimes reminding me of the Peter Sellers film “Being There.” Continue reading