YOGA IN NEPAL – Karmayoga and Beyond

Babita Tamang likes to draw. A smart 6 or 7 year old, she is one of the 100 young ones at the Sri Aurobindo Yoga Mandir.

Like her most kids here only know their approximate age. Coming from all kinds of situations, they end up at the Ashram where they are cared for and offered a multi dimensional learning environment.

They are the lost (and found) children of Nepal.

Orphanages in Nepal often get a bad rep as places where children are explored for money by unscrupulous individuals who seize this opportunity to collect donations. But here I see only love.

The Ashram founded by Swami Ramachandra Das, a one time street urchin himself, has a mission: “To replace pain and ignorance with divine peace, knowledge and bliss by the growth of consciousness.”

Many of the children are in fact orphans, others come from abusive homes or difficult situations that push them into the streets or into back breaking jobs with seemingly no escape.

The Ashram located on the slopes of the Chandragiri Mt. above Kathmandu has a beautiful and bountiful organic farm, a dairy, comfortable housing and a school where the children are taught often by volunteers who come to help out.

Sandrine and Annie are here from France for a month. Annie is a teacher so in addition to French lessons, she is teaching a class on bullying.

I take on the trash situation with the 4th and 5th graders while talking with the younger ones about the importance of preserving the natural world in Nepal.

In addition to teaching the children self sustenance through farming, weaving, herbal incense production and naturopathy, the Mandir gives them a safe place to grow.

Daily meditation and chanting practices as well as music and dancing provide opportunities for holistic development.

While all yoga paths lead to the same destination Karmayoga, the one of unselfish action, is the yoga practiced here. By serving others and allowing that service to be the greatest realization of all, one transcends the ego. This is the path of those like Veda, the young principal who grew up here and now gives his time and energy to the little ones.

In another part of Kathmandu is the Shining Stars Home . Smaller and initially a result of the Maoist insurgency that left many children without families or homes, Shining Stars has older mostly teenage children some of whom will remain here through adulthood. Raju who has Down syndrome loves to dance and really makes a show of it. It is heartwarming to see how he is embraced and encouraged by his peers and mentors.

photo by Arazu

VSN the Nepali non-profit which established the Home also supports other projects in disadvantaged communities. This time with the help of the Bamboo group it has provided volunteers to rebuild a school wall in  one of the villages near Pokhara.

On the other side of the Kathmandu valley lies a center for a different kind of practice  – Raja Yoga better known as Ashtanga. While the photo sells an image geared towards the western crowd, the teachings here are very formal and strict as to structure and sequence.

This month Dr. Chintamani is training a large and diverse group of aspiring yoga teachers from as far as Poland, France, the Netherlands, Germany and even Brazil. Nepal Yoga Retreat also offers multi day programs for trekkers looking to relax and restore before continuing the journey.

Humbled by my stay at the Ashram and centered by 6 intense Yoga and Pranayama sessions at the Retreat, I long for yet another kind of practice – Jnana. The goal of Jnana is to realize the divine oneness inherent in all beings. It requires quiet reflection.

As I embark on yet another journey, this time to the border with Tibet, I look forward to the solitary meditative walks through the Langtang Himalayas.