Jnana Yoga - Sunday Online
Sivananda Ashram’s Jnana Yoga Group has been meeting every Sunday morning for
approximately thirty years. I was asked to fill the facilitator’s role nearly five years ago. Some of
the core members have been attending for well over two decades and over time new members
have become integrated into a close knit group. A dedicated group of seekers, firmly established
in the search for truth based upon right knowledge. Every Sunday members meet in the Ashram
library with receptive minds, probing the mystery of being. Come rain or shine, over Christmas and
Easter nothing has stood in the way of this persistent enquiry into the Self… Until of course
Covid19 raised its insidious head.
When this corona virus became a dangerous reality, an emergency IYA Board meeting was called.
It was a long night, trying every which way to keep the Ashram program running. I proposed the
Jnana group be transferred to the yoga hall where social distancing could be practiced, or the west
veranda when the hall was in use. Emails went out and preparations were made, signs put up and
hand sanitiser sourced, but it soon became clear, as the 4sqm per attendee became legislated,
that there was no hope of a discussion group under these circumstances. It was with a heavy heart
that I wrote the email to our group members, that we would not be able to meet until further
notice.
It was only a matter of days before the leaders of our Ashram community were exploring online
options and Zoom was chosen as the platform of choice. With Sherryn and Shakti (Christine) flying
ahead, organising online hatha yoga, I began reading the communications and pondering the
possibility of online Jnana Yoga. Not in any way a lover of technology, somehow, I was carried to
the doorway of possibility and with a short three-week hiatus, on Sunday 12th of April, our
Sivananda Ashram Jnana Yoga Group, transitioned to the virtual world. Our first meeting had
twenty-one attendees, all engrossed and deeply pondering the wisdom of The Yoga Vasistha, our
current study text. I was amazed at how easily I became enamoured with the depth of thought and
discussion. The computer screen on my lap dissolved and there before me were my soul friends
and fellows in arms on this quest for truth.
If you have a yearning to know the essence of your being, if the question: Who am I? Drives you to
search the deepest levels of consciousness, why not take a risk and join us? Registering online is an
easy process, log on to the Ashram website and click on the pink Jnana Yoga link and select our
next Jnana meeting. You will find us very happy to have your participation. If you’re unsure, then
all you need do is listen, there is no pressure to speak until you feel comfortable to do so. There is
even a link to the online text.
Meg Meyer