.jpeg)
Jai Madhav ji 🙏
Thank you all for the overwhelming support you showed for our newly launched newsletter. This space is for us to grow together, so please feel free to reply and share how you are doing or suggest any improvements you would like to see.
In this edition, we share last weeks updates from Nirvana Yoga Global, and along with it, insights from Guruji’s recent discourse.
Community Update:
Spirit in Action: Seva at Kudappanakkunnu Devi Temple
While the path of Nitya Sadhana transforms our inner world, Seva (selfless service) allows that inner peace to flow outward to the community.
On the occasion of the Kudappanakkunnu Devi Temple Pongala, the volunteers of Thapovanam Siddhashram had the opportunity to serve the hundreds of women and children participating in the ritual.
Pongala is a festival where women cook Payasam, a sweet dish, using clay pots and firewood. To support them under the intense heatwave currently affecting Kerala, and amidst the smoke from the fires, our volunteers organized a refreshment stall, serving chilled Buttermilk, Fresh Lime Juice, and drinking water.
As Guruji teaches, when we help others find relief from their discomfort, we become mediums of the Shunyabalashakthi Energy. The smiles and gratitude of the devotees were the true fulfillment of the day.
Celebrating Vishu: The Festival of Harvest and Hope
Vishu is the traditional New Year of Kerala, a season that celebrates the abundance of nature and the arrival of the spring harvest. It is a time to honor the cycles of life and set intentions for a year filled with light and selfless service.
While the traditional custom of Vishu Kaineettam involves elders gifting money to the younger generation, at the Ashram, we observe a different kind of abundance.
Over two decades ago, Guruji introduced a transformative concept: Vishu Thai Distribution. Instead of coins, we distribute organic saplings (Thai) to the public for free.
By gifting life instead of money, Guruji aims to create a deeper awareness of organic farming and our individual responsibility in sustaining nature. This tradition reminds us that true prosperity is not found in what we spend, but in what we plant and nurture for the generations to come.
Guruji’s Vishu Message: A Call to Honor the Earth and its Guardians
In the light of the sacred phrase “Karmarupe Ishvaran Virajith” (The Divine manifests in the form of action), Guruji has called upon us to observe this Vishu as Farmers’ Day.
"We must never forget that it is the tireless perseverance and hard work of every farmer that sustains each and every one of us. We must always be ready to honor these farmers, who provide the very sustenance that keeps us alive.
Our spiritual journey should not be limited solely to the purification of the individual soul or the acquisition of knowledge. It must also encompass the transformation and upliftment of society as a whole, as well as the protection of our Mother Nature.
When we recognize the ultimate truth within ourselves, cast aside our ego and selfishness, and engage in Nishkama Karma (selfless action) in harmony with all living beings, our journey toward the Sathya Yuga (the Age of Truth) becomes smooth and certain.”
Guruji teaches us that the spiritual journey includes protecting nature too. He realized this truth years ago, not from a book, but through a deep, personal bond with the trees around Him. This is a story narrated by Guruji to the disciples during a discourse:
The following teachings are presented exactly as they were shared—meant to be reflected upon, not merely read. As Guruji often reminds us, we must learn to "read between the lines." The true wisdom is not just in the words themselves, but in the silence and the realizations they awaken within you.
"I would like to tell you a story today.
I was bedridden at home at the age of 19. Even though I was only 19, my mind felt like it was 91. I couldn't do anything, I couldn't learn anything. Just alone in my room.
But I was traveling through a different world.
Outside, there was a Rose Apple tree. Since I didn’t much to do, I tried to count every single leaf on that tree. I wanted to finish it, but I never could. The leaves would fall, or the wind would move them, and I would lose my place. I started again and again, but I was never able to finish.
One day, I saw that all the leaves had shed. Only the bare tree was left, standing without a single leaf. I thought the tree would wither away and die.
I told my mother, "It is gone."
But my mother said, "It will blossom again."
After a few days, I saw something. New buds were forming right out of the wood. My mother said it was going to flower and give fruits.
The tree was showing me something important. It was telling me: "I am not dead yet. I am coming back powerful. You can count the leaves again now—and count the fruits too, if you want!"
I watched the very first flower bloom. Then, it blossomed fully. It was beautiful. The flowers fell to the ground like a silky carpet. Lying there, I didn't even feel bedridden anymore. Everything felt so alive—the new buds, the sprouting leaves, the full bloom.
The tree was back to its fullest. It seemed to ask me: "What do you think now?" I could never forget that moment.
I realized then: what was I doing just lying in bed? Whatever I thought was dying was actually coming back. I learned that lesson. After that, I talked to all the trees there. I had small talks with them, and they talked back to me. They told me, "We are here with you."
Later, my family had to sell that big house and the land full of trees. But now, I know all the plants and trees around this Ashram just as well. Even just lying inside my room, I know them. I loved nature in that way, and nature loved me back. They have a soul. They love us.
We once had an Areca Nut tree here in the Ashram. We needed the fruit for pooja (rituals), but it wouldn't fruit for a long time.
I went to it and gave it a gentle smack—just five or six times, slowly. I told the tree, "If you don't fruit now, you will be cut down. I am not even joking. I will plant something else here instead"
A few days later, I told my disciples I wanted to see it. There were fruits—so many fruits!
What happened there? I gave the tree a warning, and it responded."
This story from Guruji had a profound impact on me. The tree did not announce its return. It simply grew — quietly, persistently, from within.
May your practice also be like that. Not loud. Not hurried. Just steady, and alive.
Now I would like to hear from you. What did you learn from this?
I'll be waiting to read your messages.
Jai Madhav ji,
Dhanvayogi
Founder, Nirvana Yoga Global
