Sivananda Ashram Neyyar Dam

First week at the Ashram: November 13-20, 2011

The main hall where we had Satsung, asana class and lectures. It could hold well over 300 people.

I arrived just before 6 p.m. on Saturday November 12th, after a two-hour drive from Varkala. It was intimidating to walk into the ashram, a place so foreign in comparison to anywhere else I’ve been. Arriving at the ashram just in time for supper, I was immediately greeted by an eclectic group of people eating on the ground in otherwise total silence.

Eating hall. "Silence Please"

Saturdays regularly feature a talent show during the Satsung (a gathering of people who talk about and assimilate the “truth”). I was truly impressed by the people who performed. The acts included a two-man duo singing “Stand By Me”; a solo by a woman who performs with a band in New York; and a mime dance theater performed by a professional dancer from Mexico City. I was really excited to start training with so many interesting and incredibly talented individuals.

Sunday was my first full day, and I quickly realized that it would take a while to get used to the ashram’s schedule. The morning bell rang at 5:20 a.m. and again at 5:50 a.m. Satsung started at 6 a.m. and included a twenty to thirty minute silent meditation, thirty minutes of chanting and a concluding talk on the philosophy of yoga. I admit it was no easy task for me to focus on meditation or singing in a foreign language while still half asleep. It was hilarious, though, to hear the “harmony” of the numerous different accents gathered in the hall. Following Satsung, morning tea was served.

Tea tree

Unfortunately, thanks to my lactose intolerance, I couldn’t drink the chai tea sourced from the ashram’s own dairy cows. Yoga asana (physical exercises) started at 8 a.m. and run until 10 a.m. The first hour of the asana practice was largely focused on pranayama (breathing practices) to help increase our prana (vital energy). Following yoga asana, brunch was served, which was to be enjoyed in silence so that attention and energy could be focused on digesting our food. At 11 a.m., we had one hour to complete karma yoga (the yoga of action). Everyone was assigned karma duties at the start of training, which ranged from serving food to cleaning toilets. I was fortunate to receive the job of cleaning the office and giving announcements at dinner.

Our first lecture, given at noontime, taught us the essentials of chanting, including group practice. This session reminded me of singing in church with my family when I was young. When I tried to abstain from participating, I would simply stand upright and think about the things I would have preferred to be doing, but when I finally relented and joined in, I found that in spite of my terrible voice, I actually did enjoy singing. Our teacher translated the songs we learned at the ashram, which were written in Sanskrit. The translations made the songs so interesting and meaningful. It’s cool to think about how many languages have evolved on this planet, and the incredible similarities they share. On a side note, there were a lot of people enrolled in the training course that didn’t realize there would be chanting, and they were extremely annoyed by this information when they finally found out. It turns out that, oddly enough, some of them felt they were being subjected to some sort of brainwashing.

At 1:30pm we had our second teatime (thankfully they served herbal tea in the afternoon), followed by our second lecture at 2 p.m. This lecture was given by the Swami (a person who has taken the oath of renunciation and abandoned their social and worldly status to follow this path), who taught us about the history of Swami Sivananda and how the ashrams and teaching centers came to exist, as well as the philosophy of yoga.

The Swami. Reading from the book of "truth".

This lecture ran for at least ninety minutes, and keeping attention while sitting on the ground with my back screaming was one of the hardest parts of the day. 4 p.m. brought the second yoga class of the day, which left me fatigued and ready for supper by 6 p.m. Evening Satsung started at 8 p.m., followed by lights-out by 10:30 p.m. Having never lived with such a strict schedule, I realized I was in for a challenge.

The initiation for the TTC, which took place on the night of the 13th, included a long ceremony, but when it concluded the participants were able to go to the front to introduce themselves and express their reasons for taking the course. The people came from numerous countries: Sweden; England; Ireland; Denmark; Poland; Lebanon, Greece; Japan; Korea; Columbia; the USA; South Africa; Australia; and New Zealand. And a large number were, of course, from India. The reasons that people came were just as varied, and I knew that I was going to learn as much or more from these people than from the teachers of course.

When the course officially began on Monday, everyone was excited and eager to start. However, we were all shocked when we realized that the head Swami was one of the rudest, most ignorant and non-compassionate people that any of us had ever met. He led both the morning and evening Satsung, and barked so loudly into the microphone for the duration of the course that it was almost impossible to hear the voice of anyone else. After the second day, several people started wearing earplugs to prevent his voice from ravaging their eardrums. One of the biggest problems with this Swami was how hypocritical it was for him to be preaching the yogic lifestyle.

An amazing depiction of two people who are facing one of life's challenges.

Physically, he is a man of about 5’9”, with the worst combover I have ever seen covering about 15% of his bald head and a pot belly to rival any North American beer drinker’s. He radiated negativity, arrogance, and cynicism. There was a permanent scowl across his face, which only changed into condescending smiles when he belittled his students. His usual answer to any question was that our “egos” and “ignorance” were preventing us from understanding. He was as useful as an unedited Wikipedia entry for all the knowledge he “possessed.”

It didn’t take long before a few big “egos” in the crowd became very upset and confronted him directly. On the third day, during one of his lectures, a man from Denmark went up to the front of the class to ask him a question. “What is your job here? You don’t do pranyama, you don’t do asanas, you can’t teach! What is your job? We all just call you the man in the big orange dress!” Needless to say, the Swami became increasingly enraged as the man continued to scream. The man did not back down until the Swami threatened to call security. I felt like I was on a reality TV show. I never expected to witness that type of anarchy in an ashram lecture. Not surprisingly the man from Denmark was asked to leave the ashram.

Shambu taught the asana class. I have never met a yoga teacher with such a big ego; his classes were nicknamed “The Shambu Show” after the second day.

"The Shambu Show"

He managed to turn yoga into a spectator sport by picking out individuals who were able to demonstrate each pose “the best,” and putting them on stage for everyone to marvel at. A round of applause followed each person who went on stage. I wasn’t aware that yoga was supposed to be a talent show.

The Ashram grounds had amazing landscaping.

There were a lot of disgruntled people after the first few days that were extremely confused by the lack of spirituality displayed by the leaders of the ashram. Unfortunately, I suppose the personas of these people had caused them to develop an arrogance that justified treating us “ignorant people” in a demeaning way. I came to realize that the hardest part of this course was not going to be anything like I had imagined, but rather the same problem most of us have to regularly deal with: not reacting to arrogant people with big egos. I thought that a place dedicated to practicing yoga and creating peace would be a happy and positive environment. But this was far from the truth, as the people working for the ashram seemed anything but happy.

An area that was often occupied between classes with people reading or taking a nap.

I think that living this same schedule everyday for years caused them to lose balance in their life, and no one can find peace and true purpose without it. It just seemed like they were bored with what they were doing and chose to take their frustrations out on the students. By the end of the first week over fifteen people had quit the course; I was only surprised that the number wasn’t higher.

We had every Friday free, and our first day off was such a great break! The week was exhausting, so a group of us decided to head to Kovalam beach and relax for the day. I realized how much easier it was to enjoy my freedom after having such a demanding daily schedule for the past week.

A much needed day of recuperation on the beach.

If anything, I hope this course will leave me with a greater appreciation for the freedom that I have—and so often take for granted.