Mahamrityunjaya Havan
Date: Every Saturday
Timings: 6.30 PM IST onwards
Mahamrityunjaya havan is an ancient practice that has been used for healing and as a remedial measure for all troubles. Swami Satyananda, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga, revived this practice decades ago as part of the tradition. Every Saturday evening yoga aspirants at Satyananda Ashrams and Centers around India and the world gather together to perform this havan.
Mahamrityunjaya Havan is held every Saturday at 6.30 pm for the wellbeing and benefit of all sentient beings at Atma Darshan.
The essence of Guru Bhakti Yoga lies in utter obedience in carrying out the Guru's order and translating his teachings in life.
— Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Guru Bhakti Yoga
Date: 4th, 5th and 6th of every month
Timings: 4th: 4.00 PM; 5th & 6th: 9.30 AM IST
Guru Bhakti Yoga is a monthly sadhana dedicated to Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati, who attained Mahasamadhi on 5th December 2009 and was placed in the lap of Mother Earth on 6th December. The anusthana takes place on the 4th, 5th and 6th of every month. On the 4th, Sri Ganesha is invoked and on the 5th and 6th, Shiva and Shakti are offered worship. The occasion commemorates Sri Swamiji’s attainment of Shiva consciousness and union with Cosmic Shakti. The 4th program is conducted only offline at the ashram at 4.00 PM IST. The 5th and 6th programs are conducted both online and offline at 9.30 AM IST.
You are invited to join us during this special period of remembrance.
Atma Darshan Yogashram Spiritual Events 2024
Below is the list of Spiritual Events 2024. Please check with the Ashram office for updates.
Jan 1st: Hanuman Aradhana
Jan 15th: Makar Sankranti
Feb 14th: Basant Panchami
Feb 14th: Bal Yoga Diwas
Mar 8th: Shivaratri
Apr 9th to 17th: Chaitra Navaratri
Apr 17th: Ram Navami
Jun 1st: Swami Sivananda Sannyasa Diwas
Jul 3rd: Satyakshi Devi Samvatsara
Jul 21st: Guru Poornima
Aug 26th: Sri Krishna Janmashtami
Sep 8th: Swami Sivananda Janmotsava
Sep 12th: Swami Satyananda Sannyasa Diwas
Oct 3rd to 11th: Ashwin Navaratri
Oct 12th: Vijaya Dashami
Nov 1st: Deepawali
Dec 15th: Yoga Poornima
Dec 25th: Christmas
Hanuman Aradhana
Lord Hanuman symbolically stands for pure devotion, complete surrender, absence of ego, as well as great strength and wisdom. Invoking him on the first day of the year is a tradition inspired by our gurus, and we have been following it at ADY for the last few years. On 1st Jan, the Hanuman Chalisa is chanted 108 times to receive strength, health, positivity, contentment, joy and peace, which may help us through the year. There is also havan, Sundarkand path and satsang.
Makar Sankranti Surya Namaskara Sadhana
Makar Sankranti is very special for spiritual aspirants. It heralds the six-month period when the sun travels northwards and enhances in potency, which is considered favourable for sadhana. At the subtle level, Makar Sankranti represents the transition from darkness to light, from ignorance to wisdom, from tamas to sattwa. It is also associated with the bounty of earth, harvest and prosperity, and the rituals of Makar Sankranti honour Prakriti, Nature, as the giver of life. In yoga, the sun is represented by pingala or surya nadi, the pranic channel which carries the vital, life-giving force in the human body. On the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti, as per the tradition of Bihar School of Yoga, Surya Namaskara sadhana is performed at Atma Darshan Yogashram.
Basant Panchami
Basant Panchami is the beginning of spring and a day dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. She is the goddess of knowledge, language, music and all arts, and symbolizes creative energy and power in all its forms. Spring is the season of new beginnings. Fresh buds bloom, animals awaken and the earth seems to come to life again. Farmers and gardeners plant their seeds and temperatures slowly rise. At this time of the year, everything enters a state of renewal. Basant Panchami is also the anniversary of the foundation day of the Bihar School of Yoga. On this day in 1963, Sri Swami Satyananda founded the yoga vidya movement, to spread the light of yoga “from door to door and shore to shore”, in accordance with the mandate of his guru Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati. A special aradhana is conducted on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami.
Bala Yoga Diwas
14 February is a day of celebration for all of us, it is the birthday of our beloved guru Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. It is also the anniversary of Satyam Bala Yoga Sangha, an initiative to instil time honoured values in children while teaching them yoga. The day is celebrated as Bala Yoga Diwas or Children’s Yoga Day at Atma Darshan Yogashram. The program is conducted entirely by the children.
Maha Shivaratri Sadhana & Aradhana
‘Shivaratri’ literally means the night of Shiva. It is the night of union of Shiva (Consciousness) and Shakti (Energy). It is a state where our consciousness transcends the limited experiences of the individual mind and ego in the realm of time, space and matter (which is called the ‘day of consciousness’) and connects with the Supreme Reality, the ultimate experience that every yoga sadhaka aspires for (‘the night of consciousness’). Shivaratri reminds us of this goal. Mythologically, the festival of Maha Shivaratri symbolizes the divine incarnation of Lord Shiva on earth. It is also the day when Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati. And it is the day when he became ‘Neelakantha’ by swallowing the deadly poison that came to the surface during ‘samudra manthan’, the churning of the ocean. We begin this auspicious day by invoking the divine grace of Shiva through a morning sadhana and celebrate the union of Shiva and Shakti. During the evening aradhana, a special abhisheka is offered to Tarakeshwar Mahadev, our own Shiva at Atma Darshan.
Chaitra Navaratri Sadhana & Aradhana
Chaitra Navaratri is celebrated during the shukla paksha, or the bright fortnight, of the lunar month of Chaitra. Its first day marks the beginning of the new year of the Hindu calendar. It is also known as Vasanta Navaratri, as the nine auspicious days occur in the Spring season. Rama Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama, falls on the ninth day of Chaitra Navaratri. Chaitra Navaratri is observed all over India as a time of sadhana and worship. It marks the change of season, a transition from winter to summer, bringing in its wake changes at the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. It is a time to align oneself with the divinity in the whole creation and bring about changes at the deepest levels. Therefore, we invoke and harmonize the Devi and Rama energies during this Navaratri with a special yoga sadhana and chanting.
Rama Navami
Rama Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh avatara of Vishnu. It falls on the ninth day of the shukla paksha, bright fortnight, of the month of Chaitra, and marks the culmination of Chaitra Navaratri. Sri Rama is known as maryada purushottam, the epitome of righteousness and appropriateness. By invoking him, we invoke the power to walk the path of dharma for the wellbeing of all.
Swami Sivananda Sannyasa Diwas
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was born in 1887 in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and practised as a medical doctor in Malaya. When he received an inner calling to serve and uplift others through the spiritual life, he returned to India and travelled to Rishikesh. Here he was initiated into Dashanami Sannyasa by Paramahamsa Vishwananda Saraswati on 1st June 1924. A special program is organized on this day to celebrate the auspicious occasion.
On 23rd June in the year 2014 the prana prathisthapana of the Cosmic Shakti in the form of Satyakshi Ma took place in Atmadarshan Yogashram. Since then, we commemorate the Samvatsara of Satyakshi Devi every year. In these times when the world faces the uncertainty of life and livelihood, She has been an anchor and refuge inviting us to refine, redefine and find ourselves. The Devi and Guru shaktis have blessed the ashram space with their grace. The significant day of Her arrival at the ashram is commemorated with a special Devi homa and aradhana.
Guru Poornima or Vyasa Poornima is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Ashada. On this day we honour our Gurus who dispel the darkness of ignorance by bringing forth the wisdom in us. Guru is Brahman, the Absolute, or God Himself. He guides and inspires you from the innermost core of your being. He is everywhere. You just have to empty yourself and tune in to the Guru tattwa. The Guru Poornima celebrations at Atma Darshan Yogashram begin at 6 am with Guru Pooja and continue until noon. We invoke and connect with the Guru tattwa together on this day so the presence of Guru magnifies in our lives and touches all around us with joy and inspiration.
‘Yogeshwara’ Sri Krishna is the Lord of Yoga or the Lord of Yogis. Krishna, whose very name invokes divine love and manahprasad (state of happiness), preached bhakti yoga, jnana yoga and karma yoga, all of which lead to the path of moksha or spiritual liberation and self-realization. Krishna’s teachings show us, among other things, how to maintain balance between material and spiritual life, with awareness. We begin the auspicious day of Janmashtami by invoking the divine grace of Krishna through yoga sadhana. The sadhana consists of chanting, asana, pranayama, yoga nidra and meditation. In the evening, there is an aradhana dedicated to Sri Krishna.
Swami Sivananda Janmotsava
Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh is the inspirer of the Bihar Yoga tradition. A great spiritual luminary of the 20th century, Swami Sivananda was born on 8th September 1887. Swami Sivananda lived life in all its completeness; at once a great saint of the calibre of Christ; an administrator in the highest position; a sannyasin with total detachment from life; a man brimming over with compassion; a bhakta and devotee of God, and side by side a philosopher of superior intellect; a man of discipline and strictness, as well as loving kindness for every sentient and insentient being of God.
Swami Sivananda developed yoga as a practical, integrated subject which everyone could apply in their lives. Embodying the spirit of service to humanity, he inspired and guided thousands of spiritual seekers to practise yoga and lead a divine life. Swami Sivananda inspired research into the ancient traditions to investigate the benefits of yoga for the development of the human personality, thus instigating the integration of traditional yogic wisdom with modern scientific knowledge. His eightfold path: serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize, be good, do good, became a roadmap for spiritual aspirants worldwide, and continues to inspire the work of the Bihar Yoga branch of his lineage. Today, his light spreads far and wide for the upliftment of everyone, everywhere.
On 8th September we celebrate Sri Swami Sivananda’s Janmotsava with chanting, havan and kirtan.
Swami Satyananda Sanyasa Diwas
Swami Satyananda Saraswati was born in 1923 in Almora. Drawn to spiritual life from an early age, he left home at the age of eighteen and surrendered himself to Swami Sivananda Saraswati in Rishikesh, who initiated him into Dashnami Sannyasa on 12th September 1947 on the banks of Ganga and named him Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
Through his untiring seva and abiding faith and love for his Guru, he gained an enlightened understanding of spiritual life. Hailed by his Guru with the following words, “Few would exhibit such intense vairagya at an early age. Swami Satyananda is full of Nachiketa vairagya”, he became an authority on Yoga, Tantra, Vedanta and Kundalini Yoga, and a stalwart of Swami Sivananda’s mission of “Yoga from shore to shore and door to door”.
On 12th September, we conduct chanting, havan and kirtan in remembrance of Sri Swamiji’s day of samarpan.
Ashwin Navaratri
The nine-day period of Navaratri is considered one of the most auspicious for spiritual sadhana. This is the time to awaken, purify, integrate and harmonize our body and mind. Awareness and practice during Navaratri helps to de-clutter the mind and remove the mental toxins, so that it becomes possible to leave behind all that hinders our spiritual growth, and march forward on the path. We try and connect our individual consciousness with the Divine during these nine auspicious days and invoke the grace of the Cosmic Mother. The sadhana allows one to cleanse, balance and refine oneself and return to the regular rhythm of mundane life with renewed vigour.
There is a daily sadhana during the Navaratri consisting of chanting, asana, pranayama, yoga nidra and meditation. There is also chanting and havan.
Vijaya Dashami
Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Ashwin. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Vijaya Dashami coincides with the culmination of the nine-day Navaratri festival. The occasion is celebrated at the ashram with a havan and aradhana dedicated to the Cosmic Mother.
Deepawali
Deepawali is the festival of lights. This is the day Sri Rama returned to Ayodhya after killing the demon-king Ravana. On this day, Sri Lakshmi, the goddess of all auspicious qualities, is worshipped. The true message of Deepawali is contentment, and the grace of Mother Lakshmi allows us to cultivate this quality within and overcome our limitations, negativities and lower tendencies. As we light the lamps outside and fill our homes with light and joy, we also light the inner lamp and allow our inner being to radiate the same light and joy. At Atma Darshan, the children of Bal Yoga Sangha conduct havan, chant, and light clay lamps to celebrate Deepawali.
Yoga Poornima
Swami Satyananda was born on the full moon (Poornima) day of the lunar month of Margasheersha which falls in December. The day is celebrated with an aradhana comprising Satyam Sahasranama havan, chanting, kirtan, Rudrabhisheka and Devi Aradhana. It is an occasion to bathe in bhakti and smaran, and offer our devotion, adoration and worship to Sri Swamiji as we come into alignment with the higher vibrations of illumined consciousness emanating at this time. The grace and blessings of Sri Swamiji are perceptibly experienced by all.
Christmas
Christmas is the birthday of Lord Jesus, the yogi of the East. He was an apostle of non-violence and peace. Christmas is the message of universal love, peace and goodwill among all nations. The day on which the Christ consciousness is venerated is also the day on which Sri Swami Satyananda came into this world, as per the solar calendar. Therefore, the celebrations are dedicated to both Christ and Sri Swamiji.
