With The 3 Gurus in Australia

Nityananda Institute
The Power of Spirit through the Practice of Yoga

With the 3 Gurus in Australia

by Howard Boster

I was fortunate to be able to accompany Swami Chetanananda on his recent trip to Australia for a series of programs called “The 3 Gurus” with Swami Shankarananda and Master Charles Cannon. Swami Chetanananda was invited by Swami Shankarananda to join this program to promote spiritual awakening and upliftment.

Both Swami Shankarananda and Master Charles are practitioners in the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda. Swami Chetanananda and Swami Shankarananda have been friends for a long time, but this was the first time they’ve done programs together.

All three teachers were born in the U.S. Swami Shankarananda has lived in Australia since the mid-1990’s and is the head of the Shiva Ashram. Master Charles is the head of the Synchronicity Foundation and has a center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The programs were held in the area of the Shiva Ashram in Mount Eliza, about an hour south of Melbourne. Mount Eliza is on the Mornington Peninsula, and it’s a rural area of rolling hills. (You can find visitor information about the Mornington Peninsula and some pictures at the official site for Melbourne. The ashram has space for about twenty residents, and many other members live in houses close by. The buildings are surrounded by beautiful gardens and include a manmade pond. Swamiji and I stayed in a small house on property adjacent to the ashram.

The programs began with an introductory evening at the Town Hall in Glen Eira, close to the ashram. The program included a short talk by each teacher, chanting and meditation, followed by darshan. About 400 people attended, getting things off to a great start. Two days later a week long residential retreat began at the Shiva Ashram. The retreat programs were held in a tent on the ashram grounds. About fifty people attended the retreat during the day, and about 150 each evening.

The daily schedule for the retreat included morning meditation, seva, arati, a meditation program at noon, hatha yoga, chanting workshops (there were a number of very talented musicians), and an evening program with the teachers. The evening programs varied each night—some included talks and darshan by the teachers, some were question and answer sessions, and some included meditation led by one of the teachers. On the following day at noon, one of the guru’s devotees would recap that teacher’s talk and answer questions about it. During the week, each group of devotees had opportunities to make presentations about their practice. Swami Chetanananda answering a question from the audience

The final part of the program was a weekend intensive back at the Glen Eira Town Hall held from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm each day. Each teacher gave talks for about two hours, with Swamiji starting off as the first speaker on Saturday morning. The program concluded with questions and answers, meditation, and darshan.

There wasn’t any time for sightseeing, but it wasn’t all work. The Shiva Ashram has a really good rock band, and Swami Shankarananda is an excellent blues harp player. The band played at a café in the town of Mount Eliza and in the cafeteria at the retreat.

You’ll find a nice article about the whole event at the The 3 Gurus website. There are lots of photos (including a number of mine) on the photo gallery for the event.

The three gurus worked well together and offered an interesting combination of talents and styles. Although they all agreed on the essentials, the differences in their perspectives were revealed in the evening programs. They enjoyed each others’ company and even sang a song together at lunch one day.

During the visit, the three gurus were interviewed by a local radio station and by The Age, a daily newspaper in Melbourne. We’re working to transfer the video of that interview to a format compatible with US electronics so that we can make it available to Institute students. (We’re doing the same with footage of one of the question and answer sessions.) The article from The Age is online here. You’ll have to register to read it, but registration is free.

Everyone in Mount Eliza worked hard to make us feel welcome, and they very were gracious and respectful of Swamiji. As you might expect, Swamiji was very warmly received.

The program was such a success that there’s a possibility that the three gurus will get together for another program next year, and they’re thinking about Los Angeles. Stay tuned for details.

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