David's Psyched!

David Swenson just nailed the best thing about the Confluence in his new website post:

"There will be differences and similarities between how we present the system we all so love," he writes. "This will be the beauty of the event. It is a flowing together."

Apropos of Steve's last entry, that will be the best part for me: Seeing these great teachers converse with each other, listening to them compare notes, finding the common ground. And there will also be a "confluence" of students--Richard's students will be practicing next to David's next to Eddie's next to Nancy's next to Tim's. Some of us have spent a great deal of time with one teacher; some have dabbled in workshops with the others. We'll get to see the greatness of the teaching.

During his teacher trainings, Tim was often asked about this or that detail from David's book, or something Nancy or Richard might have said. Tim always treats these differences with respect and humor, never really disagreeing with the teachings of his "esteemed colleagues," as he called them. Check out David's post. You can hear the love and respect.

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.

An even better Tuesday explanation

As promised in our first post, we'll highlight the writings and goings-on of the five teachers who will lead the Confluence.

Tim Miller posted his weekly "Tuesdays with Timji" piece a short time ago, and this week's is a good primer on what Tuesday is all about and what the Ashtanga practice means, too:

Regarding Tuesdays, Guruji used to say, “Tuesday is a bad day.” When I asked him why he replied, “Some fighting.” In Vedic astrology, Tuesday is associated with the planet Mars. Of the planets, Mars is known as the “lesser malefic”—Saturn being the “greater malefic.” In Roman mythology Mars is the God of War--one of its primary associations has been with conflict, and accidents as well. Guruji would never shave on Tuesday because of this association of Mars with accidents, particularly accidents involving the head, since Mars rules the sign Aries, which is linked to the head. In Mysore, Guruji never gave anyone a new pose on a Tuesday, because of this potential for accidents.

I tend to think of Tim as as much Vedic astrologer as Yogi, if one can unwind those two. Check out his thoughts if you haven't already or don't normally.

He gives a little shout-out to Hanuman, too.

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.

Confluence Homework--Suggested Readings

You might notice, looking at the schedule (or, for that matter, the Confluence website), that there’s a good deal of philosophy woven into the subject matter. The last day of the Confluence, Eddie and Tim will be discussing Patanjali’s Sutra II.44: “'Swadyaya Ishta Devata Samprayogaha' – Union with the chosen deity comes from the study of self through the sacred texts.”

Although I’ve been pouring over the Yoga Sutras for years now, it wasn’t until Tim’s Mt. Shasta retreat last year that I found a real fire for the classics of Indian literature.

Tim closes every evening session with a story, and last year he read the first few chapters of The Mahabharata, translated by Ramesh Menon. I ordered it as soon as I got home, and could not put the it down. It was better than the best epic fiction I’d ever read, beautifully paced, with glamour, love, death, and redemption. I was hooked. That led me to Menon’s sensitive and elegant translation of The Ramayana. And of The Siva Purana. Then The Bhagavata Purana. I can’t stop reading the guy.

Let me give you an example of his style:

The Demon rode in Brahma’s flashing chariot, yoked to unearthly steeds; though Rama’s bow steamed fire, Ravana was never in one place so they could find their mark. Quick as wishes, his chariot bore the Lord of evil over land and though the air.

That’s some breathless prose! Steaming fire: a fantastic and impossible image, perfect for Rama's bow!

There are many virtues to Menon’s method of translating, but the best part is its ease of reading. Menon subtitled The Mahabharata, “a modern rendering.” “Rendering” a great word for it—boiling it down to its essential elements. The Ramayana he subtitles, “a modern retelling.” Menon knows how to bring the action alive, as in this excerpt, while still keeping its symbolic meaning (which he leaves to the reader to discover). He keeps the ancient and epic flavor without alienating a contemporary reader.

His renditions of the important figures of each epic are sympathetic and also awesome. Rama is brave, but sorrow-struck. Hanuman’s devotion develops over time, and his humility is touching, a model for us all: “Forgive me,” he says to Rama, “I am a monkey and my curiosity gets the better of me.” In The Mahabharata, Menon fleshes out Krishna so well, The Bhagavad Gita will come alive for you, a moving conversation between God and his disciple (it’s at the start of volume two).

The act of a translator is never easy, and Menon knows when to translate, when to leave the original alone—his meaning is clear in context (sometimes it’s a “chariot,” sometimes a “ratha,” depending on his purpose). But both the Mahabharata and Ramayana come with glossaries in the back to help the reader with the Sanskrit, as well as the huge cast of characters and deities.

Like me, you may not be able to stop with these two epics. The Confluence will begin with a puja to Ganesh. Menon has a starkly beautiful account of Ganesh’s origins in his translation of The Siva Purana that explains Ganesh’s role as the Lord of Obstacles. There’s also the two-volume Bhagavata Purana, the complete story of Vishnu (which I’m reading now). And a translation of The Devi Bhagavatam waits for me on the shelf.

If you get started now, you may be done by the time Eddie and Tim discuss "Swadyaya Ishta Devata Samprayogaha." And, boy, will you have studied the ancient texts!

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.

Open registration is... well, open

For those who have been waiting to register for the Confluence until after the "hotel package" was done, now's your chance.

I just saw the announcement that open registration has begun.

You can get there from here, if you want.

Now, personally, as I noted below, I think staying at the hotel will be a great part of the experience. It feels like you will be less at the "confluence" of things if you are not at the confluence, if you get my drift.

But, it could mean a savings of $400 or $500, so I get that. And for all of Tim Miller's students in and around San Diego, it might be hard to justify staying down at the beach.

Anyway, we'll try to keep our room open as much as possible for everyone.

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.

The dreaded first post

Ekam.

That's probably as good a way to start this blog as any. It works, after all, for Ashtanga.

I suppose you might be wondering what this blog's all about, or supposed to be all about.

Well, it's simple. We're hoping to be a one-stop shop for all things related, however loosely, to the March 2012 Ashtanga Yoga Confluence, featuring five of the West's senior students of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. We're excited about it, and so we want to be able to keep a running tab of things as the date grows closer.

What's that mean?

Well, we'll link to Tim Miller's weekly blog, Tuesdays with Timji. (Warning: Tim's our teacher from this handful.) Eddie Stern also blogs, and Richard Freeman's shala has one, too. We'll share updates on the Confluence as well as anything that strikes our interest, on the theory that if it interests us, it will interest you.

We'll try to have some fun, maybe be serious occasionally and work to keep the enthusiasm high.

And all the while we'll keep our practice going.

Dve.

Note: We've moved to http://theconfluencecountdown.com/.