Radha House Association

Celebrating the return of the Light

We celebrated the Winter Solstice by gathering to chant at dawn on 22nd December (at a gentle 8.30 am here in France) to welcome the first of the lengthening days. It was an opportunity to reflect and envision our wishes for the future. Of course we put these into the Light! Then we had breakfast and before leaving each chose a small wrapped gift from a basket. The gists were items we no longer needed or used, but could be useful to somebody else.

Om Namah Sivaya!

Danuta, Radha Caudet Dec.2011

Dates for your Diary 2012

Jan 28th Working with the Chakras in Yarmouth Isle of Wight (see link)

Feb 5th Workshop on the Heart Chakra in Canterbury. Contact jacquelinesummer@ymail.com

April 13th-15th Timeless Books at BWY Congress Warwick University

June 15th – 17th Weekend Retreat and Rose Ceremony in Yarmouth.

Ongoing weekends and courses at Caudet France (see link)

Yoga in Braga Portugal. contact jovita.oliveira@gmail.com

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Visiting Sivananda Ashram October 2011

The Divine Life Society was founded by Swami Sivananda and has it’s ‘home’ at Sivananda Ashram on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. It’s where Swami Radha trained with Swami Sivananda more than 50 years ago and where I was intrigued to visit, to be in that place she knew and grew to love. In those days it was surrounded by jungle and its wildlife. Water had to be taken directly from the Ganges, and there were no loos. I was awed by what Swami Radha had overcome in order to gain the ancient yogic teachings and then make them accessible to the Western mind. They are presented at Yasodhara Ashram www.yasodhara.org (see link) and at other centres listed on this site.

Now, the Sivananda Ashram at Rishikesh is a huge sprawl of pink and grey concrete buildings. Brightly painted and glittering altars grace the temples and halls where worship and teaching is offered several times a day. Stern-faced Swamis patrol the grounds in the evenings armed with sticks to chase off marauding monkeys. Evening Satsang while we were there was over 2 hours long, mostly incomprehensible mantras and readings until suddenly with an explosive sounding of conch shells, horns and the clashing of cymbals. the assembled crowd broke into a joyous rendering of the Rishikesh Aarti. At last, something I could connect with! I felt like dancing! It would probably have been totally acceptable too, in that chaotic coming and going of young and old.

I am left with a huge feeling of appreciation for Swami Radha for doing what Sivananda had asked of her, which was to bring the teachings of yoga to the West, in a form which we could understand and benefit from.

Hari Om Hari Om

Find out more about Danuta’s Radha Yoga Centre in France by clicking on the link Caudet Yoga.

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The AGM weekend in October was a heartening experience for me. I had put myself forward to take on the role of President of the RHA, and was backed by everyone present at the AGM. I also felt tremendous support from those at the Ashram who had helped me when I took over the duties of President at short notice. As Swami Radha says in her book on Sanyas ‘commitment makes you a magnet’

I was first given a taste of Swami Radha’s Teachings when I visited Jayne’s London Centre in the 1990s, though it was many years before the time was right for me to visit the Ashram in BC, Canada.  When I did visit, and stayed for three months, I can truly say that my time there  was life changing.  As the years pass, I learn more and more the profound value of this teaching, and the tools it offers me.  The weekend at Pakefield was inspiring, not only to enjoy the bleak majesty of Suffolk skies in Autumn as we walked to class in the morning past the magnificent church at Pakefield, but to experience and learn from others who have been working with these teachings for far longer than I have. Thank you everyone!

Dates for your diary:

Sat Jan 28th Working with the Chakras 2-4pm in the Isle of Wight

Sunday Feb 5th The Heart Chakra 10-4pm in Canterbury

(email jacquelinesummer@ymail.com)

Teachers’ Retreat Weekend and Rose Ceremony June 15th – 17th 2012 in the Isle of Wight.

see links for more information

Do join us!

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We are a group of yoga teachers dedicated to offering this profound and challenging teaching to all who seek it.

We function as a charity, and  held our AGM at Pakefield Suffolk on Oct 22nd

Members of the Board are now as follows

President: Elizabeth Taylor

Vice President: Jacqueline Summer

Treasurer: Jacqueline Summer

Secretary: Carol Cattell

Membership Secretary Europe: Danuta Karpinska

Lisa Hickingbotham

Membership Secretary UK: Lesley Cosgrove

Reflections on the weekend will follow…

Go to the links to find classes and workshops in your area

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One of the main focuses for the board this year has been the updating of our investment policy.  It is a requirement of the Charity Commission to have an investment
policy and for it to be regularly reviewed.  The board were keen to bring this together into one simple document to support them in decision making and to provide transparency.
Jacqueline and Danuta met via skype on several occasions to brainstorm and gather information. Then, during the summer Rose Ceremony retreat, board members took time out to create a coherent policy.  It was really amazing to see how this came together into a short document that will help guide us in future.
Here it is:

Overriding principle
With a view to furthering the objects of the charity our overriding goal is to invest in people deepening their connection with the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha.
Financial policy
1, To preserve and protect our capital until it is required to invest in people.
2, To invest ethically.
In particular, our priorities are:
a)To work with and invest in bodies that have a positive approach within their operations;
b)To work with and invest in bodies that interact positively with their local community; and
c)To work with and invest in bodies who have a positive environmental impact.
Where we use a third party to choose our investments, the third party must have a positive approach to choosing their ethical investments.
3, Our monetary capital needs to be accessible within 3 months.
4, Day to day funds (held in current and savings accounts) are not to exceed £5000.  This amount can be altered where necessary and is to be reviewed annually.
5, Board members are responsible to the members for good housekeeping at all times and in particular on leaving office.

What became quickly apparent from the process of creating our investment policy was that while investing our capital wisely to support our goals is important, the key investment we are involved in is in people.  Exploring this part of our investment policy is therefore going to be the focus of this autumn’s AGM.
Plans are coming together for the meeting in October.  It will be taking place at the Pakefield retreat centre on 22 October.  We hope to bring together local students with the wider Radha community.
As well as a morning workshop, shared lunch and the AGM itself, there will be a discussion session asking: what are our goals? What do we want to offer, to whom and how?  How can we support each other and grow our community?
Everyone is welcome to be a part of the day. Please contact Elizabeth if you would like to join us.  If you can’t make it to the AGM weekend in person please send in your ideas of how we should be moving forward.

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We will be holding our Annual General Meeting at the Pakefield retreat centre on Saturday 22 October.

There will be a full weekend of classes and satsangs as well as the AGM and a reflection session.

You are welcome to come for all or part of the weekend and there is the possibility to stay at the centre.

Please contact Elizabeth if you would like to attend.

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Jovita writes from Braga:

“It was a very pleasant surprise to have a nice group of people in the Satsang of last Saturday.  It is an encouragment to carry on.  We had a few yoga friends coming from Porto that helped to make a nice group.  Some of them were here when Swami Radhananda visited us so they are becoming familiar with Swami Sivananda Radha’s teachings.   Before the Satsang we did a Hatha Yoga practice with reflection that also motivated the people to come.  I send you two pictures where you can see the group (16 people) and our altar in the centre of the circle with the prayer list, the cental candle symbolizing Divine Light, the 5 candles representing the senses and the prasad.”

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Carol writes:

“As the gull is held in the invisible hand of the wind; the unfathomable
weightlessness of peace and stillness where a moment expands into eternity
there I too was held in Radha’s light touch.  It is as if it is only when my mind
stalls, captivated in the wonder and awe of nature that I am able to acknowledge
that presence which is Her Truth.

Yarmouth is a pretty seaside village with a busy harbour in the summer season,
transporting visitors, by ferry, to and from the mainland.  The marshlands
and sea attracts a rich birdlife.  A most beautiful setting, hosted by Elizabeth,
a venue providing all the right ingredients for the teachers retreat and rose
ceremony.

James, Jacqueline Elizabeth and myself came together for this special weekend
to celebrate the end of the Radha Year.  United in our expression of gratitude as
we gather together the threads of our learning from the past year in order to
move forward in clarity and strength.

We used picture, symbolism and reflections to explore questions and topics
inspired from the Rose Ceremony book – ‘Who am I?’, ‘Power’, ‘How do I
punish myself?’ and ‘How do I reward myself?’.  James also led us through
a meditation on the heart and the power of discrimination.  We offered our
dualities with each rose petal, in return for Her blessings.  The powerful perfume
of the rose and the subtle vibration of the mantra filled the air and filled our
being.  With our grudges safely burned we celebrated our commitment in dance.
We danced to Divine Mother; we danced to Radha.  We danced as the gull dances
when surrendering to the upward currents of warmth, being lifted higher in
the light and the mantra, bowing to Her gifts, Her grace and Her challenges.
Renewed and refreshed we move forward to the next year.”

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Elizabeth writes:

“The weekend was for me an important and affirming experience.  I was happy that we were able to meet and combine our devotional practice with lively discussion and laughter.  Divine Mother’s roses are still giving off a beautiful aroma in my yoga room and my students were glad to receive some rose water yesterday.  As we were about to start the ceremony on Saturday, I noticed a change in the atmosphere of the room, as if another loving and feminine presence had entered.  This made the ceremony very special, and I felt gratitude that my work in making this happen, and all of your efforts to be here, had resulted in something powerful, which could indeed attract the ‘unseen’.”

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Caudet Yoga Centre is mentioned in the Guardian newspaper.  Click on the link below to find out more:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/may/08/camping-in-france-canvas-opinion

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