A Personal Account of Yogaswami by the former Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

Who Is Yogaswami?
Yogaswami was perhaps the greatest saint from Sri Lanka in modern times. The essence of his teaching was "Siva Thondu and Siva Dhiyanam" which translates as service to God through serving humanity, and Meditation on God through self-inquiry and self-realization.

Through his life, Yogaswami transformed many people's lives around the world. In 2009, I had the privilege of meeting a Yogaswami devotee who was a former Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

By Rishi Thondunathan

In 2007, my dear friend and Yogaswami devotee, Dr. Indra Sivayoham in London, told me that a former Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka was now living in Toronto, Canada. She also mentioned that the High Commissioner had written a book in which he had dedicated a chapter to Yogaswami.

We made several attempts through Dr. Sivayoham’s brother, Dr. Sriskandarajah who lives in Canada, to locate the High Commissioner and arrange a meeting. Two years later, on June 30, 2009 our meeting with the former High Commissioner, Dr. James George took place. Dr. & Mrs. Sriskandarajah accompanied me on the visit to Dr. George. When we arrived at Dr.George’s home that evening I received a very warm welcome from Dr. George and his wife, Barbara. Mrs. George most graciously served tea and we began our conversation.

Dr. George was the Canadian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka from 1960 - 1964. One of Yogaswami’s devotees, Sandaswami, also known as Soulburyswami, was the son of the last British Governor of Sri Lanka, Lord Soulbury. Lord Soulbury’s other son, Peter, also a diplomat, was the person who introduced Dr. George to Yogaswami.

Dr. George says of his first meeting with Yogaswami; “I knocked quietly on the door to his modest thatched hut in Jaffna and a voice from within roared, ‘Is that the Canadian High Commissioner?’ I opened the door to find him seated crosslegged on the floor - an erect, commanding presence, clad in a white robe, with a generous topping of white hair and long white beard. Well Swami, I began, that is just what I do, not what I am. ‘Then come and sit with me’, he laughed uproariously. I felt bonded with him from that moment. He helped me to go deeper towards the discovery of who I am, and to identify less with the role I played.”

During Dr. George’s four-year stay in Sri Lanka, he visited Yogaswami a dozen times. On one occassion Dr. George began his conversation with Yogaswami... “Swami, I think...” ‘already wrong!’...Yogaswami thundered.” And my mind again went into the non-conceptual state he was such a master at invoking, clearing the way for being.”

I asked Dr. George if he would like to pay tribute to Yogaswami and the followoing was his response:

“I’m very glad to have my turn to pay tribute to Yogaswami. I think of him as one of the greatest spiritual pioneers of my lifetime, and in a broader sense, the catalyst for the gradual coming together of Eastern and Western spirituality. Because, what he was able to do was not only talk to me about the “Gospel According to St. John” and quote “in the beginning was the word” which is how the Gospel begins, and of course as a Christian, that was how I was brought up - but he was able to take me from that all the way to the question of “Who Are You? - you think you are the Canadian High Commissioner - nonsense - that’s not who you are - that’s what you do”! Then the vigor with which he would impress that so it wasn’t just a mental idea, it was an experience - an experience from his presence to my presence. Now, as we’re trying to remember and speak about him, he is here in that presence because that energy is birthless and deathless. That is the energy that the world needs if it is to chart a course away from the destruction it seems to be heading for currently. And, I think the change, the great “turning” its been called, the change of course is coming, and Yogaswami, even so long ago, had a hand in making that turn possible. That shift of consciousness - both in the East and the West.”

After this Dr.George gave me an autographed copy of his book, “Asking for the Earth”- Waking Up to the Spiritual/Ecological Crisis. In this book he has a chapter explaining his meetings with Yogaswami. The following is one excerpt from the book:

“The Tamils of Sri Lanka called Yogaswami “the Sage of Jaffna”. His thousands of devotees, including many Singhalese Buddhists and Christians, called him a saint. Some of those closest to him referred to him as the “Old Lion” for he could be very fierce and unpredictable, chasing away unwelcome supplicants with a stick.”

After two hours of a very warm, spiritual conversation, when Dr. George and I said good-by to each other, in my mind I thought... though Yogaswami lived in a simple, thatched hut in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, he made a global spiritual impact on many levels of humanity.

PS: Dr. James George served in many capacities - as a diplomat, a naval historian, an environmentalist and author - in some of the world’s most interesting countries. Among other dignitaries, the Dalai Lama calls him “my old friend”. The author of two books: The “Little Green Book on Awakening”; and “Asking for the Earth” (chapter on Yogaswami) are available through Amazon Books and this email geojam6@gmail.com I highly recommend these books.

Wisdom From The Dying

A friend sent me this article that appeared on Guardian.co.uk . It is about the top 5 regrets that people on their death bed have. Check out the blog Inspiration and Chai too, the link is below. Very touching.

There was no mention of more sex or bungee jumps. A palliative nurse who has counselled the dying in their last days has revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives. And among the top, from men in particular, is 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard'.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom. "When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently," she says, "common themes surfaced again and again."

Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

"Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

What's your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

-guardian.co.uk

ARE YOU A MEDIC OR NOT?

Rearrange the letters below to spell out an important part of the human body; which is even more useful when erect. P N E S I                           The Two People who wrote SPINE became doctors........... The Rest are all my friends.........

LAST WILL FROM HUSBAND TO WIFE

Last night my wife and I were sitting in the living room, talking about life... In-between, we talked about the idea of living or dying.

I said to her:

'Dear, never let me live in a vegetative state, totally dependent on machines and liquids from a bottle. If you see me in that state I want you to disconnect all the contraptions that are keeping me alive, I'd much rather die'.

Then my wife got up from the sofa with this real look of admiration towards me... and proceeded to disconnect the TV, the DSTV, the Dish, the DVD, the Computer, the Cell Phone, the iPod, and the Xbox, and then went to the fridge and threw away all my beer!!

I ALMOST DIED!!

Obama and Wife ( Probably fiction )

One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn't too luxurious.

When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the President's secret service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private.

They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner. Following this conversation President Obama asked  Michelle, why was he so interested in talking to you.

She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her.

President Obama then said, "so if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant", to which Michelle responded, ...........

no, if I had married him, he would now be the President."