Meditation and relaxation have to be the best things in the world. No matter how much you work or how hard life can be, meditating will always be a good way of forgetting about everything and returning to a clear mind. It’s a hard point to contradict. Not all of us, or we can say that just a few of us actually meditate and at least try to meditate and reach another level of mindfulness.
In this fast-moving world where everything seems so superficial, meditation is a good way to relax.
In this occasion we are going to take a look at a charity based in Santa Barbara with many connections with their spiritual roots and homeland and with a national reach. There is also a religious component to the teaching they transmit to their followers and volunteers, but they are not a religious cult or church. Their name is “Hansavedas: self-inquiry life fellowship” and their mission is to preserve all their ancestral knowledge that comes from the Sanskrit heritage such as literature on spiritual philosophy, Vedic practices that talk about peace and mindfulness in communities and within your own spirit, Himalayan yoga that helps people with daily issues, Ayurveda to teach wellness and mindfulness, meditation techniques from lineages that talk about mental clarity and compassion and that promote self-empowerment, among followers and visitors.
If you take a closer look at their name, “Self-Enquiry Life Fellowship” you can see that it embodies their approach which is to use subtle self-inquiry in order to reach human excellence. The word Hansavedas means “Self-realized being who is the knower of consciousness and beholds resplendent wisdom” and this is what their teachings are all about.
They define themselves as a common place, or forum where people that have certain knowledge can transmit it to other people by using self-enquiry. They also use the expression Self-realization as a synonym of self-inquiry in order to address the fact that they teach how to reach a level of consciousness and awareness of the inner and outer world.
The way they support themselves is by the long network of adepts, volunteers, teachers, initiates, and the fellowship of seekers and devotees that are committed to the mission that they have which is to reach as many people possible that are interested in exploring, enquiring, experiencing and getting enlightened through traditional Himalayan teachings.
So, how do they teach or transmit such knowledge?
They have a very complete and holistic curriculum that is aimed at people that want to have this knowledge to try different things in their lives or to try to reach levels of mindfulness that they have never experienced before. They focus on being updated and building a legacy within the United States by preserving the ancient wisdom tradition and teaching meditation techniques that can be included in modern world activities.
Their educational program takes a look at esoteric Sanskrit scriptures; uses, studies and understands intonated Sanskrit chanting methods; preserves and teaches historic archival imagery and rare meditative arts; and collaborates with many publications on spiritual philosophy. They also use Vedic fine arts and classical music related to meditation in order to transmit and preserve the Sanskrit heritage.
As any educational curriculum or approach, they have their own masters that are Vedic monks of ancient monastic orders. Although it is not common that Himalayan monks who are based in Himalaya come to the modern world to share their knowledge with seekers or communities that follow them, Swami Vidyadhishananda, who is an ordained Vedic monk of the Giri monastic order, is the person that leads the Hansavedas Mission and the spiritual milestone and creator of the Non-profit.
As for the teachings, they come from a curriculum that is based on an accelerated learning system that is taken from the Vedic Shruti method and the Himalayan meditation techniques. They use a Hansavedas curriculum which is one of the Fellowship’s Teachings and serves as the point of entry to many people seeking guidance through spirituality, wisdom teachings, mindfulness and meditation. In this type of teaching and in this way of life, service to the community and others becomes and after effect of being centred and having a life full of meaning and mindfulness.
Traditional Vedic learning used the mind and body to encourage accelerated learning approaching the brain and its uses in a whole different way and by using techniques that have been studied and applied by many generations of students and that have reached understanding of conceptual and perceptual truth that have allowed them to successfully apply meditation to their lives.
Don’t forget to visit them in the Santa Barbara area in this address: 1805 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Suite G ,Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Be sure to also check this post on a charity that using dance to transform lives