| A Meeting by the Sacred River
In April 2007, a number of yoga masters and Vedic scholars at the head of various schools, orphanages, ashrams, and Yoga and Ayurveda institutes came together in Haridwar, the sacred city at the foothills of the Himalayas on the banks of the mystical Ganga River. Their purpose was to research the roots of the classic yoga taught by the ancient rishis (seers) of India and present this eternal tradition free from superstition and deviations to the modern world in a way which accords with scientific methods and reason. This unique team of dedicated researchers and advanced practitioners are the members of the SHREYAS Editorial Board, the publishing arm of their investigation.
What gives strength to the loving relationship between Swami Sharadanand Giri, Swami Amlanand Giri, Swami Sharad Puri, Swami Sarveshwarananda Giri, Dr. Acharya Girish Jha and Dr. Acharya Kanak Dwivedi is their total dedication to providing education and self-empowerment to the poor and abandoned, using the timeless tools of yoga, meditation and spirituality through their respective charitable foundations.
Nothing moves without the Divine. It was a divine call for all members to live, practice, and work together to reveal the secrets and treasures of the ancient wisdom and eternal traditions of the world. The present book is only the beginning; many more books, booklets, audio visual CDs and DVDs, and other materials have been conceived and will follow. This will begin a new era of integration of many prominent schools, traditions and knowledge into a single platform.
Swami Sharadanand Giri, founder of the Shri Paramanand Ashram Trust, Allahabad, India, and Vednidhi (Vedic Heritage Research Foundation), Varanasi, India, is a disciple of Swami Narrotamanand Giri and a world-renowned Sanskrit scholar with an infectious laughter. Armed with Master's degrees in Vedanta, Samkhya-Yoga Darshana, and Sanskrit language, he also spent eight years in achieving spiritual excellence through intensive spiritual training in the company of the great saints and sadhus in the Himalayan foothills. Besides founding and guiding numerous educational and social-relief organizations, he has guided and inspired thousands of his young students/disciples for more than 30 years to achieve excellence, prosperity and success in life by following Vedic principles. His unique contribution to mankind is his rational interpretation of the secrets of ancient Vedic wisdom which he distilled into 1000 points by which anyone can reach the pinnacle of success, prosperity and excellence. These points will be shortly published in a series of 100 booklets in a simple, easy to understand form, applicable by everyone eager to evolve within and bring about a profound transformation towards all-around success within the shortest possible time.
Dr. Acharya Girish Jha, founder of SHREYAS (Samvit Holistic Research Educational Institute of Yoga and Allied Sciences), is a world expert in Yoga, Ayurveda and holistic stress management. Born in a family of scholars and spiritual seekers, Dr. Acharya Girish Jha is the guiding spirit of more than 60,000 people worldwide. His ardent love for ancient wisdom led him to the perusal of informal learning under monks, spiritual masters and philosophers of universal wisdom. He was initiated into the eternal tradition of yoga by the great Himalayan master Swami Laxman Das Avadhootji, affectionately known as the Laughing Saint of Gangotri. During his penance and sadhana for more than 10 years, he travelled across India, meeting, learning and receiving knowledge and blessings from hundreds of saints, monks, yoga and spiritual masters living in various shakti peeth (places of divine power) throughout the vast Himalayas and beyond. His unique style of presentation of the eternal wisdom, supported by the latest findings of modern science, his well-designed programs for modern man and step-by-step revelations of spiritual secrets in simple, logical steps has transformed the lives of thousands. A series of booklets on stress management for corporate, family, and school-age children as well as on meditation, and other allied subjects will follow for the benefit of everyone.
Swami Amlanand Giri, affectionately known as “a maker of monks”, is the founder of the Sri Tripura Yogashram in Haridwar. A disciple of Mahamandaleshwar Swami Lokeshanand Giri, he has dedicated his entire life for Self realization and for the service of humanity. Living as a wandering monk for many years in Himalayas, he was initiated by one of the great spiritual masters Mahamandaleshwar Swami Lokeshananda Giriji. He has organized Yoga camps in the UK, USA, Canada, Switzerland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and many parts of India out of love, without ever asking any fees. This has attracted people from all over the world to the Sri Tripura Yogashram where they find peace, eternity and bliss vibrating all the time. Humility, love and care for one and all have won hearts of spiritual seekers, saints and strangers alike. Many spiritual seekers, yoga practitioners began their sadhana at his ashram and became world teachers in recent times. He is continuing his service to spiritual aspirants even today, where people from different traditions meet for their respective evolution. Swamiji’s ardent love for seekers has attracted people from different traditions who stay, learn, and practice yoga and spirituality in their onward march for the propagation of their knowledge to aspirants throughout the world.
Swami Sharad Puri is the founder of the Shivedale School in Haridwar, one of the best holistic educational institutions of the country. Ever since a young boy, he received training by Guru Mahamandaleshwar Santosh Puri Geeta Bharati, a renowned lady saint and scholar. In order to understand the plight of people and possible solutions for dispelling ignorance, he went on a pilgrimage to all the holy places in different parts of India. Swami Sharad Puriji’s passion for knowledge, inspired by the Divine within, opened a new but novel vision of serving the people through the education of young minds. He says “As education is the search for knowledge and the Vedas are aimed at the highest education of the Self (the Brahman or Absolute), both modern and Vedic education must be combined to train the young for the future of India and the world.” Swamiji not only believes in, but also puts into practice the dictum of vidya dan—charity of knowledge, as the greatest of all. A born problem-solver and an incarnation of patience, his life is totally dedicated to education and serving the poor.
Swami Sarveshwarananda Giri, affectionately known as “the Storytelling Monk”, is a French-born Kriya Yoga teacher and founder of the Hariharananda Mission in the U.S.A. and in India, and the Network of Love in South America. After practicing as a doctor in acupuncture, he followed the order of his legendary Kriya master Paramahamsa Hariharananda (a direct disciple of Swami Shriyukteshwarji), to “become a doctor of the soul” and went on to serve as his guru’s personal monastic attendant in the last years of his life. An empowered yogacharya in the lineage of Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya and Paramahamsa Yogananda, Swamiji continuously travels around the globe teaching the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga, composing and chanting sacred chants, and providing education and shelter to poor children, widows, and senior citizens in Latin America and in the Himalayas. He is also actively writing a series of books on wisdom tales, holy humor, the metaphorical interpretation of the world scriptures, and on the philosophy, science and practice of Kriya Yoga. Humility radiates in every cell of his body, service to mankind inspires him to work tirelessly, and wisdom shines in his face at every moment.
Dr. Acharya Kanak Dwivedi, disciple of Swami Sharadanand Giri, is a founding member of Vednidhi (Vedic Heritage Research Foundation). She has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the renowned Benares Hindu University and a master’s degree in Sanskrit. After more than a decade teaching philosophy at the university and writing on philosophy and Indian culture, she dedicated her life to founding and managing numerous schools and social relief organizations for children and women’s empowerment. Under the guidance and inspiration of Swami Sharadanandji, she is actively working to train young aspirants, constantly developing and designing educational programs for the study of the Sanskrit language, the Upanishads, and other scriptures for various groups visiting the centre from all over the world.
Contact Information
Swami Sharadanand Giri
Vednidhi, D-48/73, Annapurna Bhawan, Misir Pokhra, Varanasi, U.P. - 221 010, India
Tel: +91 (542) 325-9741
Email: Vednidhi [AT] dataone.in
Dr. Acharya Girish Jha
Guru Kripa, C-14, Suvidha Apartments, Plot No-25, Sector-13, Rohini, New Delhi-110085, India
Tel: +91 (11) 4204-1046 Fax: +91 (11) 2756-8393
Websites: www.shreyasyoga.com and www.yogameditationonline.com Email: avadhootji [AT] gmail.com
Swami Amlanand Giri
Sri Tripura Yogashram, Daksh Road, Kankhal, Uttarkhand - 249 408, India
Tel: +91 (1334) 245-743
Websites: www.shreyasyoga.com and www.yogameditationonline.com Email: tripurayogashram [AT] bsnl.in
Swami Sharad Puri
Shivedale School, Laksar Road, Jagjeetpur, Haridwar, Uttarkhand - 249 408, India
Tel: +91 (1334) 246-789 and +91 (1334) 329-492 / 32
Email: shivedaleschool [AT] gmail.com
Swami Sarveshwarananda Giri
In the West: Hariharananda Mission West
P.O. Box 5041, Snowmass Village, CO 81615, U.S.A.
Tel: + 1 (970) 319-1657
Email: HariharanandaMW [AT] aol.com
In India: Hariharananda Mission and Sri Hariharananda Trust
Matri Chhaya, Laksar Road, Jagjeetpur, Haridwar,
Uttarkhand - 249 408, India
Tel: +91 (1334) 321-571
Email: HariharanandaMW [AT] aol.com
On the internet: http://storytellingmonk.blogspot.com/ www.hariharanandakriyayoga.org
www.arcadelamor.org
www.storytellingmonk.org
Dr. Acharya Kanak Dwivedi
Vednidhi, D-48/73, Annapurna Bhawan, Misir Pokhra, Varanasi, U.P. - 221010, India
Tel: +91 (542) 324-7799 Fax: +91 (542) 236-6392
Email: kanakdwivedi [AT] yahoo.com |
