Tag: Ramesha

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One of Ramesha’s best

Ramesha recently shared this video from a few years ago. It’s so beautifully moving that I want to share it here as well.

This is what he writes about it in the video description:

This is a rather particular chant titled “They Have Heard Thy Name.” It was written by Yogananda. It’s a heartfelt prayer asking God to give comfort to those who are suffering.

LYRICS:
They have heard Thy name, the blind halt and lame. (2)
They have come to Thy door, Lord, they have come to Thy door;
Give them an audience, Lord.

They have heard Thy name, the blind halt and lame. (2)
Those who are in despair, wipe Thou their tears! (2)
They have come to Thy door, Lord, they have come to Thy door;
Give them an audience, Lord.

They have heard Thy name, the blind halt and lame. (2)
Those who are drowned in sin, to whom will they go? (2)
They have no one, Lord, they have no one;
Do not turn them away.

🙏

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A walk down memory lane

We’re working with Crystal Clarity Publishers on an upcoming project and needed some detailed information about the “Joy Is God” recording that we did in Ananda Assisi back in 2005.

Our memories were fuzzy so I had to search and search until I found a copy of the CD with the original liner notes (it’s changed several times since it first came out). And what a find!

We were ensconced for two days in Swami Kriyananda’s home near the Assisi retreat center (he was in India). Our recording engineer drove down from Lugano in a van containing his mobile recording studio, which he parked outside Swamiji’s house.

The musicians were from Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and America — all of them dear friends and great devotees. I wish we could have remained close to all of them, but almost twenty years have passed and it’s not easy to stay connected when you lead busy lives on separate continents.

What I love most of all is this shot of Ramesha and me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself looking happier than in this photo.

Joy is God, indeed!

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Going on and on and on…

It’s been a while since I shared one of John Roedel‘s amazing poems.

Ramesha read this one today and was deeply touched. He thought I might want to put it in tonight’s blog, and he was right.

on my last day
here on Earth
let me be like I
was on my very
first day

let me be

ready for my
great voyage
between worlds

let me be

ready to ride the cosmic
river of the vast unknown

on my last day
here on Earth
let me be like I
was on my very first

let me be

ready to see what
all the fuss is on
the other side of
the womb that I’ve been
hearing so much about

let me be

ready to be bathed in
a light that I could have
never have imagined

let me be

ready to be held in
the arms by my lovely
creator and to feel safer
than I ever have before

on my last day
here on Earth
let me be like I
was on my very first

let me be

ready to see the smiling faces
of all those who have been
eagerly waiting to meet me

let me be

ready to be swaddled up
in the warmest cotton
blanket of fresh starts

on my last day
here on Earth
let me be like
I was on my very first

covered in the
miracle of creation

no wonder newborn
babies cry

no wonder 45-year old
men cry

it’s all such an adventure
it’s all such a journey
it’s all such a circle
it’s all such a flowing river
it’s all such an endless passage

it’s all such a mystery

and it goes on and on and on
and on and on

it all goes on

and we go on and on and on
and on and on

we all go on

oh, divine light
oh, sacred spirit
oh, God

please let me

go on and on and on
and on and on

oh, I can’t wait to see
what comes next

~ john roedel

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Part of my heart is still in San Francisco

Photo by Amogh Manjunath on Unsplash

It was Ramesha who read this morning that Tony Bennett had passed away at the ripe old age of 96. He told me the news and then asked who Tony Bennett was.

Of course, I immediately started singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which meant exactly nothing to Ramesha, who was born and raised in Switzerland.

But as I sang the song — the entire thing, remembering pretty much all the lyrics — I remembered just how much I loved “the City by the Bay” for the twenty-odd years I lived there.

And even though I was never a huge Tony Bennett fan, I feel a lot of sadness on his passing. As well as a whole lot of gratitude for gifting us with this wonderfully iconic song.

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Patiently waiting their turn…

…are the many photos from our trip to Europe that I haven’t yet found the time to organize and share!

I was reminded of the fact when I stumbled on this photo of the house where Ramesha was living when I first moved to Switzerland.

We hadn’t been in that neighborhood in maybe ten years, but it sure brought back lots of memories.

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Intention of life = LOVE

I was really struck by this photo and quote that Ramesha posted to Facebook today:

LOVE NEUTRALIZES FEAR…
“All doubt, despair, and fear become insignificant once the intention of life becomes love.” –Rumi

It got me reflecting on what is the intention of my life? And I realized that there truly can be only one correct answer: LOVE.

I wonder what would change, what would feel different if each morning I were to affirm that “the intention of my life is love.”

The intention of my life is love. ❤

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Making pizzoccheri

For today’s adventure we joined Fulvio in making pizzoccheri for lunch. It was great fun and turned out delicious.

The pasta is made from 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour
In America we’re used to measuring cups; in Europe they weigh ingredients instead
Fulvio adding water to the flour
First the pasta gets a good stir
Then it gets worked by hand
Ramesha begins the process of rolling out the dough
Fulvio rolls it out even thinner and also flips it over
Dividing the rolled out dough into sections, then cutting it into strips
This is what you end up with
Next step was cutting up potatoes…
…and coste (or bietola)…
…which we know as Swiss chard
Meanwhile Ramesha was grating cheese
Lots and lots of cheese!
First the potatoes are added to boiling water, then the Swiss chard
Next comes the pasta
Time to melt some butter, to which is added garlic
The view from the kitchen while all this was going on
Akuna hung out in the kitchen with us, hoping someone would drop some food on the floor
The cheese and butter are mixed in with the (drained) potatoes, chard, and pasta (definitely NOT a low-calorie dish)
Ramesha dishes it up; boy oh boy was it good!
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Back to the beginning

Ramesha and Bhagavati with Adelia

The other day we visited one of Ramesha’s oldest and most important friends.

When he was seven years old, he started attending yoga classes with his mother, and Adelia was the yoga teacher. She eventually became a close family friend and it was from her that he borrowed Autobiography of a Yogi (in Italian, of course) when he was thirteen years old.

An key moment in finding his spiritual path in this lifetime.

This is the actual copy of the AY that Ramesha borrowed!