Sunyoga Newsletter No27 September 2024

Sunyoga Teacher Training Course 15-21 September, Lachipur

by Rajendra Kulkarni

When I saw Sunyogi Umasankarji for the first time in the Sunyoga basic course, I immediately sensed his energy. I had the good fortune to spend time with a Siddh Mahatma, so I know about Siddha Mahatma’s energy. I know how it feels in the body and mind when you are in the vicinity of Siddha.
When Sunyogiji started teaching exercises, I realised there is a yogi in the physical body teaching…and willing to answer your questions.
Finding a yogi is very very rare, and he is willing to teach is a more rare happening.
Learning Sun meditation was relatively easy for me as I had been Sun gazing for quite some time, and getting its benefits was also easy.
The real tough time started when he started teaching Yam, Niyam, etc. First of all, what he was talking about was different from what had been written in the scriptures. Secondly, he spoke with a deep Bengali flavour and a heavy Bengali accent. This was tough to understand and all the more difficult to reconcile with what I already knew from the scriptures. As a result, I spent most of the time in the class, sleeping. I almost slept for the rest of the three days in the class.

I continued with my practice after the basic course. I read the Essence of Sunyoga. I could hardly understand the philosophical part of Sunyoga. I started getting a feeling that Sunyoga is nothing but just Sun meditation with Yam, Niyam, etc., pasted to it, and this pasting is not very strong. I felt Yam, Niyam, etc., are not really integral parts of Sunyoga. (However, after understanding Sunyoga better, I now can recognise how fundamental Yam and Niyam are for Sunyoga.)
But I continued my practice patiently.

Eventually, I enrolled in the advanced course. I was mentally prepared for not understanding Sunyogiji’s words and sleeping in class.
But to my surprise, I could understand his every word. His Bengali accent and flavour were the same, but I understood every word and its meaning. I was wondering, “How is this happening?” But then I realised I was able to connect to his energy. I could understand his words through his energy—all credit to my continued practice of Sun meditation!

The first major barrier between Sunyogiji and me to understanding the language was broken. But his concepts of Yam, Niyam, etc., were still beyond my apprehension.
My thirst for understanding Sunyoga remained unsatisfied.
When the teacher’s training course was announced, I immediately enrolled. My primary or rather sole intention was to understand the concepts of Sunyoga.
I am delighted to say that I have started understanding Sunyoga—many thanks to Sunyogiji and the course.

My insight about the course

Axel, a dedicated disciple of Sunyogi ji, started bombarding me with teacher training material within a few days of enrolling. It contained recordings of Yogi ji’s past teacher training classes, audio, videos, text files, pdf files, and PPT files—a treasure of very important knowledge. It gave me a summarised glimpse of the course.
But what happened in the course was beyond my expectations.
Yogi Ji was teaching, and we, as students, were learning. Roles were switched many times during the flow. Students became teachers and explained the slides of the PPT. Students led exercises, chakra meditation, and Sun meditation, too. Many sessions were concluded by students narrating what was discussed in the session in gist form.
The training started with Yam, Niyam. Yogi Ji explained it in detail and from different perspectives, too. This led to the conclusion that Yams were not actually Yams but fruits of following Yams.
And the Yam… is built into the Sun meditation practice itself. If we follow the Sun meditation instructions in toto, by word and in spirit, yam is automatically followed. That’s why sun meditation expedites the spiritual development process.
The best part of the course was when Yogi Ji forgot he was a teacher and became Guru or Yogi in complete form!

Sometimes, students asked questions, or sometimes, discussions led in a different direction, which triggered him to change his role and become a guru or yogi.
It happened many times in the course.
During such events,
— he narrated many incidents of his life,
— explained hidden wisdom in the scriptures,
— logic behind forms of various gods,
— science in the Puranas,
— What are Dharma and Adharma, and why do you need to take the side of Dharma or Adharma. You can not remain neutral,
— Concept of Ardha Nari Nateshwar,
— the bigger picture of happenings in the world…..
And many more subjects with plenty of stories.
The river of wisdom was flowing. How much one can take or absorb depends on one’s own comprehension.
Whenever it happened, everyone forgot about time and place..
At such events, I felt…. I was in Gurukul, sitting under a banyan tree and taking preaching from the Guru. They were such enlightening moments.
So to conclude, why the teacher’s training course?
To understand Sunyoga’s intricacies and thoughts behind its design, experience Yogi Ji’s presence and flow of wisdom.
It was an amazing experience.

Many of you are already practicing Sunyoga and reaping its benefits. But practising after thoroughly understanding its core will be all the more rewarding.
I strongly recommend doing the teacher’s training course as early as possible.