April 17, 2023

Book Donation to Ishvar Parvat Samvidalaya Library

On 17th April, 2023, the Jayanti Puja of Swami Lakshman Joo has been celebrated in the Dhyan Mandir of Ishvar Parvat, in the presence of the students of the Advaita Bhakti Retreat and members of the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama in Rishikesh. Pandit Sameer Jotshi was the celebrant.

It was fitting in that context that Professor S.K. Sopory and Srimati Meena Sopory paid a visit to Ishvar Parvat on 19th till 21st April. After the mahasamadhi of Sushri Prabha Deviji they came for the first time and brought her blessings and a precious donation of books for the Samvidalaya Library. Deviji had destined them for this ashram since they contain  books which she has received from Swami Lakshman Joo and her own books, with the trust that they will be used for sadhana and study of Trika Shaivism, to continue the tradition. We the Trustees are extremely grateful to Deviji and to Professor and Mrs Sopory for taking care of her inheritance in all respects.

We are planning to get an annotated list or catalogue prepared which can also be put online. These precious books will engage me for years to come to receive Swamiji’s and Deviji’s blessings and understanding of the tradition.

December 17, 2022

Yogini Sushri Prabha Devi (1926 – 2022)

The Yogini Prabha Deviji whose presence was a blessing for all the followers of Trika Shaivism and its Master Swami Lakshman Joo left us in her physical form on 17th December 2022. She had fulfilled all her spiritual tasks for herself and for others, and attained a true mahāsamādhi, radiating peace. Her long life was a consolation to the devotees from far and near, especially for the Kashmiris who had to leave their home land and found in her a pillar of strength, in all circumstances. Much has to be said and written about her spiritual and intellectual qualities, which she combined in a harmonious way. But in these lines of remembering a great soul I want to express my personal memories and record my infinite gratitude for what she has been to me.

A day I can never forget in my whole life was 21st September 1986, when I visited Kashmir and Ishvar Ashram for the first time. It was Prabha Deviji who welcomed me first and who conveyed to Swamiji my wish to have his darshan. He accepted her request and it was my first blessed darshan of Gurudeva. “The beginning was the end.” Thus from the very beginning of approaching this sacred tradition she acted as a mediator and helper to come closer to the Guru and to receive the teachings and the texts. What brought us together was also the love of Sanskrit and the knowledge of the scriptures. There was never a break in her kindness and support, and she could also witness my entering more deeply into the practice and study of the tradition. Her hints were sometimes very precious for understanding the Guru and the scriptures. I adored both the sisters together, and Yogini Sharika Devi had a special and very discrete grace for me. This was manifested on the last day of her life in the Ashram, before leaving for her ultimate liberation, when she gave me a special blessing before closing her eyes.

These moments bound us even more together. If Sharika Devi was a spiritual mother, Prabha Devi acted more like an elder sister, but also with a motherly touch. For me both Devis were an expression of Gurudeva’s Śakti.

When Gurudeva attained his mahāsamādhi in September 1991, six months after Sharika Devi, we were in a state of distress. My gurubahin Sarla Kumar and myself invited Prabha Deviji to come to our small ashram “Ishvar Parvat” in the Himalayan foothills for a peaceful time. Prabhaji gracefully accepted and gave us company for a blessed time of Satsang. These times of quiet and meditation helped the three of us to overcome to sadness and loneliness without Gurudeva and Yogini Sharika.

Prabha Deviji was always encouraging me in my practice and study, and then also teaching. She confirmed to me that it was Swamiji’s wish that I teach the texts of the tradition, in the light of his transmission. What more encouragement could be expected!

I am also ever grateful for her kindness and openness, whenever I brought students, friends or devotees to her she would bless them and give them guidance. She even bestowed initiation to those who were very eager and whom she considered worthy to receive it.

I am convinced that both Devis were Yoginis in the sense of the female lineage coming down from Ardhatryambaka of the origins of the tradition. The Netra Tantra defines Yoginis as follows:
  

    The Yoginis are united with Śiva,
    pure and free from weariness,
    having attained a state of union,
    they are never separated.

And the Yoginis act also in liberating and uniting others to the Lord:
  

    Being firmly established in that state (of union), 
    liberated , having become Śiva
    they are impelled by Śiva and His Śakti. 
    Being pure, they are of the nature of Śiva, by His Power.
    (Netra Tantra 20.12 – 15)

May 1, 2022

Meeting in the Cave: Visit of Sri Nochur Venkataraman and Sri Ganesan

On 7th April 2022, a unique meeting took place at Vasishth Guhā, the spiritually charged Cave situated about 30 kilometers above Rishikesh, in which many saints and seekers have found a connection with the depth of the unspeakable Reality, with or without a name. The whole symbolism of the cave, the guhā or Cave of the Heart of the Upanishads, becomes a tangible experience here. I had made a pilgrimage to this sacred spot many times, and every time the same deepening takes place, at different stages of one’s inner life.
This time there was an appointment with one of the most revered and authentic spiritual teachers in the close line of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nochur Venkataraman, or simply Nochur Swami, whose centre is in Tiruvannamalai. He and his  close disciples were already in meditation when I came, and when he was about to leave the cave I did pranāma at his feet, but continued my meditation. Being well grounded and settled within, when I came out from the darkness in the bright sunlight, Sri Nochur and his disciples were already at the Ganga. I joined them in a very natural setting and here a Satsang took place, with Sri Nochur spontaneously picking up a spiritual theme.
Some of the sannyasis  lived at Vasishth Guha in an Ashram and were inspired by the saint Purushottamananda whose birth century was celebrated recently. We also remembered Swami Shantananda who lived both here and at Ramanasramam.
Then we briefly climbed up to the other cave, Arundhati Guhā, which is not deep and opens up to a wonderful view of the Ganga. Sri Nochur told that he spent some time of sādhanā there. We all felt that it would be worth spending the whole day there. But then a visit to Ishvar Parvat was planned. This was a blessing expected since long and a very unique occasion to show the place and to have a very private satsanga which is not possible in Tiruvannamalai with so many people wanting to meet him.
In fact, I was very much moved that he set his foot at my place of sādhanā, and his  disciples sharing the experience. I had anticipated that I show them the Kutiyas, starting from the library, and having a satsanga in Dhyan Mandir. In the library I also showed him the treasures of Swami Lakshman Joo’s hand-written manuscripts. Then when going down he wanted to enter my kutiya, although I said it was in disorder (as always! but specially because I had to leave early). Obviously he was more interested in my life-style. Instead of the Dhyan Mandir he sat in my meditation room, where I said that “all is Śiva”, and started singing a beautiful Stotra, the Śivānandalaharī ascribed to Śankara. Just the very fact of his sitting in the small space of my long-term meditation has left an imprint which cannot be deleted. Then we sat on my verandah and here a very deep dialogue took place. Every time he quotes a Vedic or Upanishadic text which conforms with our Śaiva-Tantra-yoga, as I was also immersed in the Upanishads for years, this creates a very significant bridge between Veda and Āgama, and Śaiva Yoga.
In that conversation the disciple Mauli Raman also brought up my meeting with my Guru – which Sri Nochur had read in my article – and I briefly described it, which evidently moved him. We could establish a spiritual connection.
It is difficult to describe that satsanga which flowed very naturally, but at a very high level. For me the sign of authenticity is naturalness – like Gurudeva – and Sri Nochur with all his Śāstric knowledge is so overflowing, what I love, the wisdom and the experience and the human qualities all flowing together in him.
 In the Dhyan Mandir he was interested in the photos of our Guru lineage, and in the very special photo of Sri Ramana and (at that time) Brahmanchari Lakshman Joo which is on our altar. He commented on the photo of the Vietnam Shiva whose body is expressing a fullness of prāṇa and spoke about prāṇa in the Upanishad.
All this sharing of wisdom and his very presence was itself a blessing.
This extraordinary visit was completed unexpectedly two days later, on 9th of April, by the visit of Sri Ganesan from Ramanasramam, with his disciples. He is 86 but he did not shy the troubles of the way and the paths in the garden. Sri Ganesan, grand nephew of Sri Ramana Maharshi, is a treasure for the Ramana devotees, and we have an old and deep relationship. He is always ready to share his memories and experiences.  We had a very special occasion to come close when he spent a sabbatical year at the Krishnamurti Foundation, Rajghat, maybe in 1990. His visit was another moment of the deep connection with Ramana and Arunachala. I said that since I could not come to Arunachala for two years (due to Covid), Arunachala has come to Ishvar Parvat!

February 05, 2022

Opening of Samvidalaya library (Ishvar Parvat) and Sarasvati Pūjā

The Trika Interreligious Trust had decided in 2020 to open a small branch library of the Varanasi Samvidalaya at Ishvar Parvat. After sorting out the books in Varanasi for the shift books were selected for Ishvar Parvat,
including duplicates and separate copies containing the main sections: Kashmir Śaivism, Tantra/Āgama, Mysticism, Spirituality, Yoga and general literature (Languages: Sanskrit, English, German, French, Hindi). This collection also contains the special gift by Prabha Deviji of books of Swami Lakshman Joo with his marginal notes, including his handwritten manuscripts. They will be accessible only to scholars/students who are qualified and approved by the Trustees. They are a treasure for future research which will throw much light on Swamiji’s thought and precision in studying, editing and working with texts of the tradition. So far nothing has been written on this aspect of his life and work.
The books were brought from Varanasi in December 2021, and on Vasant Pancami, 5 th February 2022 the library has been blessed and opened officially by a beautiful Sarasvati Pūjā performed by a Pandit from Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh, with participation of their sadhakas. The building had been restored and enlarged during the lockdown in 2021 and can be used as a multipurpose building with main focus on the library, study and writing.

December 26, 2021

Relocation of Samvidalaya, Abhinavagupta Research Library, Varanasi

Due to the covid crisis which hit Varanasi hard in 2020-21 it was decided to close the beautiful space of the library in Bhadaini and shift it to the house in Samne Ghat. The Bhadaini space was used by students and scholars and the last full program took place in the winter of 2019 to February 2020, with teachings of Vijnana Bhairava and other texts to an interesting and international group of students. It was no longer possible to continue such programs since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
The library was finally shifted to the house in Samne Ghat in July 2021 with the necessary renovation and re-arrangement of the books and research materials. After this process was completed a function of reopening took place on 26 th December 2021, with the participation of scholars, old friends and students. This was documented on video including the full talk by the director, Bettina Sharada Bäumer. It has been uploaded on YouTube, with the following link: www.youtube.com/watch
The new (old) address is: Samvidalaya, Abhinavagupta Research Library, N 1/66-F-12 Samne Ghat, Nagwa, Kedareshvar Nagar, Varanasi 221005. Contact through Mrs Vandana Tripathi, Library Assistant, mobile: 9532704566
Interested scholars and students are welcome to use the facilities especially in the fields of Kashmir Shaivism, Tantra, Indian Art and aesthetics, etc.

November 04, 2020

In Memory of Kapilaji:
Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan (1928-2020)

Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, respectfully and affectionately addressed as Kapilaji, left us on 16th September 2020.  What she was both in terms of a great scholar and embodiment of Indian Culture and Art, and in a personal relationship which lasted almost 40 years, when she was my inspiration, my mentor and my guide in our common work at the beginning stages of the IGNCA, can hardly be expressed in a brief obituary. But I will attempt it shortly. In the meantime I am very grateful that Sri N.N. Vohra, President of India International Centre, has kindly agreed to reproduce her obituary here, mainly for friends who do not know Kapilaji or only partially.

DR. (SMT) KAPILA VATSYAYAN

Padma Vibhushan (2011)

Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, who would have been 92 in December this year, passed away peacefully at her residence on 16 September 2020 after a very brief illness. I had known her from around the late 1970s when I came to Delhi to work for the Union government.

After serving the Ministry of Education (differently named from time to time) for nearly four decades, she superannuated in 1986 as Secretary Arts to the Government of India. Actually she never “retired” and was the ruling deity in the realm of arts and culture for over half a century. Trained as a classical dancer, she was a scholar, teacher, researcher, educationist, administrator, and a practitioner who conceived and set up several pivotal institutions to the advancement of higher learning. Besides being the founder Academic Director of IGNCA, and later the Chairperson of this eminent institution, she was responsible for the planning and materialisation of several museums, archival repositories, libraries, et al.

As Director of the India International Centre I worked closely with Kapilaji during the period when she was Vice-President, President and Chairperson of the IIC-Asia Project (subsequently renamed as the International Research Division) and, later, as her fellow Life Trustee. Throughout her long association with IIC she stood firm, literally alone at times, to defend and protect the high values and integrity of the Centre. Arriving around noon everyday she invariably attended all the programmes and remained available to one and all – Staff, Members and the many scholars who came to seek her help and guidance.

As an eminent member of the UNESCO Executive Board, Kapilaji very significantly enlarged her contacts and interactions with the intellectual fraternity, all over the world. While she got seriously engrossed with the larger civilisational issues, she remained intensively involved in crafting practical approaches on how the invaluable corpus of the Indian traditions and systems could be fused with the demands of modernity while particularly ensuring the pluralistic and spiritual foundations of our ancient sociocultural heritage were not eroded. In recent years, she recurringly voiced concern about the growing challenges to the pluralistic dimensions of our social framework.

Kapilaji’s absence shall be missed by all those who had got to know her. Her passing on marks the end of an era.

N.N. Vohra

4 November 2020

Originally published in The India International Centre Diary, August-September 2020, p.11;
re-published with the kind permission by Sri N.N. Vohra, President, India International Centre

February 10, 2020

YouTube channel for Bettina Bäumer's teaching on Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra

In 2014, Bettina ji taught Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (Rishikesh). Thanks to AHYMSIN (Association of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies International) and Mr. Sameer Jotshi, complete video recording of this teaching along with recitation of slokas is now available on YouTube. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel below.

Link: www.youtube.com/channel/UCljRqClLfROAgwASugyWmUg

The Vijñāna Bhairava is one of the early Tantras of non-dualist Kashmir Shaivism or Trika, which contains the spiritual practices and mystical experiences of the tradition. It teaches 112 ways of attaining supreme Consciousness or union with Śiva and also includes experiences of daily life which can become entry points to the Divine.

Bettina ji has been teaching this text in retreats and seminars and her German translation and commentary has become a classic. She has also translated the verses and contributed an introduction to the commentary by Swami Lakshman Joo (Vijñāna Bhairava. The Practice of Centring Awareness, Commentary by Swami Lakshman Joo, Varanasi, Indica Books, 2014).

21st December, 2019

A report on the months from June to October 2019

I was in Austria  from end of  May, collaborating  at  the University  of  Salzburg  in  the  Biography  project, with  Christian  Hackbarth-Johnson  and  Geetu Garewal (my  biographers  in German  and  English).  At  Pentecost  we  went  to Niederaltaich  for  the  Byzantine  liturgy  and  to pay  my respect  at  the  tomb  of  the  former  Abbot  and  my  spiritual  friend  Fr.  Emmanuel  Jungclaussen  who died in November 2018.

I gave  a  lecture  at  the  University  on  “Tantra:  a  misunderstood   tradition  of   Hinduism”.  On  19th  June  I went  to  Leipzig  to  celebrate Sadananda’s 50th  birthday  with  his  family  and  students. I also used the occasion to  attend  a  wonderful concert of Bach Motettes in the traditional Thomas  Church.  Beginning  of  July  I  went  to  Trins  village  in Tyrol  to  give  a  retreat  on Madhya:  Finding  the  Centre  (see  report  under  Seminars). Walking  in  the splendid  mountains  was  a joy. On 16th  July  was  Gurupūrṇimā  which  we  celebrated  with  a  small  group  and a meditation  near  a waterfall.  End  of  July,  we attended  a few  concerts  of  the  Salzburg  Festival,  Ouverture  Spirituelle.

Two  visits  to  Vienna  were  dedicated  to  meeting  my  sister  Angelica,  and  a  few  friends  and  former  students.

Beginning  of  August  I went  to Usha  Hamm  in  Wiltingen  near  Trier  and  we  drove to  Chevetogne Monastery  in  Belgium  for  the  feast  of  the  Transfiguration  on  6th  August.  The  monks had  just  elected  a new  Abbot,  Fr. Lambert Vos,  with  whom  I  established  an  excellent  connection,  besides  meeting  my  spiritual  friends  Fr.  Maxime,  Fr.  Irenee, and  Fr. Pierre  de  Bethune  who  came  from  his  own  Monastery  of  Clerelande.  The  Byzantine  liturgy  of  Chevetogne  is always  a  deep  experience. 
On  12th of August  a small  group  of  friends  and  students  accompanied   me  to  meet  Brother  David  Steindl-Rast  who  is  now 92,  at  his  Monastery.  It  was  a wonderful  spiritual  meeting. On 15th August,  India’s  Independence  Day  and  the  Dormition  of  Mary, I met  the  former  Austrian  Ambassador  to Delhi,  Christoph  Cornaro  and  his  wife  Gail  in their  castle  at  the  Traunsee, reviving  an  old  friendship.

On 19th  August  there was  an  official  meeting  with the Rektor (V.C.)  of Salzburg  University,  Prof.  Dr. Heinrich  Schmidinger,  in order  to  sign a contract  between  the  University  and  myself,  handing  over  all  my  documents,  manuscripts, correspondence,  diaries etc.  to  the  University.  They are  and  will  be  deposited  in  the Bettina Bäumer Bibliothek of the  Centre for Intercultural Theology (Zentrum für Interkulturelle Theologie und Studium der Religionen). 

I returned  to  India  on 27th August into  the  heavy  monsoon  and  the nearly  flooded  Varanasi:  With  Shivam  we  worked  on the editing  of the conference  Volume  from  Shimla  on  “Science  and  Spirituality:  Bridges  of  Understanding”,  which  was  completed  in Phulchatti  beginning  of  October   and  sent  to the  publisher  D.K.  Printworld. 

For  the  retreat  in  Deer Park  (19-26 Sept)  see  under Seminars.

Most  of  the  month  of  October  was  spent in  personal  retreat  in  Ishvar  Parvat,  Phulchatti  before  returning to Varanasi for the winter  months. 
 

30th April, 2019

"The Yoga of Netra Tantra" Book Release

At the end of the retreat on 'Advaita Bhakti: Meditation on the Sivastotravali of Utpaladeva', the newly published book "The Yoga of Netra Tantra: Third Eye and Overcoming Death" was released at Dhyan Mandir, Ishvar Parvat, Phulchatti Village in the presence of all participants. Bettina Bäumer shared her journey with this text over 3 decades followed by a reading of selected passages from the translation by Shivam Srivastava.

Table of Contents: https://utpaladeva.in/fileadmin/bettina.baeumer/docs/NT_Contents_Table.pdf 

Available at:

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/8124609667 

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/8124609667

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/8124609667

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/8124609667 

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/8124609667 

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/8124609667

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/8124609667

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/8124609667 

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/8124609667 

USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/8124609667  

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/8124609667

28th October, 2016

Consecration of Dhyan Mandir, Ishvar Parvat (Phulchatti)

A Dhyan Mandir (Temple of Meditation) has been constructed in the garden of Ishvar Parvat, in order to provide a space for a small group of practitioners. It was consecrated and inaugurated on 28th October, 2016 in the presence of Swami Ritavan (Spiritual Guide and Head of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama) and the spiritual family and friends of Bettina ji. Her long-standing dream has been given concrete shape by the wonderful alternative architect, Didi Contractor, who specializes in mud-architecture in a very creative and artistic way. Her students/interns have helped in supervising this unique construction, and the caretaker Shiv Sagar has coordinated the work. The outcome is both, aesthetic and has a contemplative atmosphere. Bettina ji is deeply grateful to Didi Contractor for her genial design and her continuous support of this project. 

A few stone slabs with Sanskrit inscriptions have been fitted in the walls and indicate the purpose and inspiration behind Dhyan Mandir. One sloka from the Sivastotravali (13.6) expresses the movement from meditation to vision, and to union with the Lord. Two Sivasutras express the very basis of the spirituality: caitanyamAtma, 'Consciousness is the innermost nature of everything', and: udyamo bhairavah, 'Uprising or elevation itself is Bhairava'. Below a photo of Shiva the mantra so'ham is installed, leading to identification with the Divine. The Devi is present in her different forms in three niches, one of them being an icon of Mary, 'the Virgin of the Sign', indicating the inter-religious openness of the space. The entrance porch has a welcoming murti of Nandi, and a protecting Ganesha (sculpted in Varanasi).

In the introductory reflection on the meaning of this mandir, Bettina ji referred to her earlier article "From Guha to Akasha", because this space is like a cave for a deep retreat within, in the 'cave of the Heart', but it should also lead to the openness and infinity of Space. 

This consecration was an inauguration of what is going to happen in the newly created space - whether a solitary retreat or a small group sharing their spiritual practice, in meditation, by reciting stotras, or by studying a spiritual text - in order to fulfill the vision and purpose of Dhyan Mandir.

December 2015

A Report on 2015

Since I have a website I had stopped writing annual reports, although it is not the same as sharing the life experience. But the year 2015 has been so extraordinary that I am inclined to summarize it and share the essential events – as far as they can be communicated. How much is beyond words and cannot be communicated.

The year started  with a pilgrimage to Tiruvannamalai, where a group of friends came together. The Ramanasramam was crowded but the caves of Arunachala, and giripradakshina (circumambulation of the holy mountain) were a deep entering into the silent mystery of this sacred mountain. The other attraction was the inspired teaching of Sri Nochur Venkataraman on Ramana Maharshi’s Tamil Hymns to Arunachala. A real spiritual communion was established between us, involving also a dialogue between the Ramana Way and Kashmir Shaivism. On 13th January we were back at Varanasi, with some teaching in Samvidalaya (my Library), on Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasāra, among other texts. On 25th, the evening before the Republic Day, I received the news that the Indian Government has chosen me for the Padmashri, a high civilian award. The actual conferring by the President took place on 8th of April. On 26th also Frere Antoine Desfarges OSB came to Varanasi for a month, to work with me on the manuscript of Swami Abhishiktananda’s Diary, for a new and complete edition (still far from being completed). It was wonderful having him with us, a strengthening of my Benedictine association of this year.

In February Baba Harihar Ramji of Aghor Ashram came to Varanasi and we re-established a spiritual bond, extending also to Shivam, my dear student.

On 11th February my students and friends from Varanasi celebrated the Padmashri in a beautiful function, with a Dhrupad concert by Ritwik Sanyal and Ashutosh Bhattacharya.

Shivaratri fell on 17th February, with the usual intensity and fervour of the City of Shiva, combined with the Dhrupad Mela music festival. Immediately following the great festival we started an intense retreat-seminar in Veda Nidhi, on an extraordinary text of the Yoginī tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, the Vātūlanāthasūtra (with commentary by Anantaśaktipāda).

Beginning of March I had to be in Shimla for a meeting of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS). I was invited as a National Fellow for a period of two years, for which I joined the Institute in April. After a short retreat at Ishvar Parvat I went to Bhopal (M.P.), where I had been asked to teach a 15 days  course on Kashmir Shaivism, at the start of a new “Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies”, located near the famous Buddhist site of Sanchi Stupa. It was a real spade work, with no infrastructure of a University, and a small but very interesting group of students, but it turned out to be an important event for all of us. Fortunately it was also a collaboration with Sadananda Das who was teaching Sanskrit, resuming our long and close collaboration. The main text studied was the Śivasūtra with Vimarśinī. It was combined with very enriching excursions to some of the great sites of Madhya Pradesh: the pre-historic caves of Bhimbetka, the famous Sanchi Stupa, the Udaygiri Caves of  Gupta period, the Bhopal Museum, the Shiva Temple of Bhojpur, and, most exceptional, Chanderi with a number of Shaiva Siddhānta Temples and Mathas spreading out (dating from the 7th to the 13th century), a discovery I owe to my colleague Prof. R.N. Misra who has done extensive research on these archaeological sites.

After this adventure I had to be in Delhi in order to receive the Padmashri. Four days guest of the Indian Government at Ashoka Hotel, with the impressive award ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 8th April, with the President, Sri Pranav Mukherji, bestowing the investiture. I felt it like a secular initiation, and the joy of my work and person being recognised by the very centre of Indian democracy. 

My 75th birthday was celebrated in the quiet of Ishvar Parvat with a visit to the cave of Vasisht Guha. Immediately after I shifted to Shimla with Shivam, to join the IIAS as a National Fellow.

Here I have to say a few words about Shivam. We met at a seminar in Deer Park Institute (Bir, H.P.) in May 2014 where I gave a teaching on the Yoga of the Netra Tantra. Shivam was attracted to Kashmir Shaivism by reading my book “Abhinavagupta’s Hermeneutics of the Absolute”. A brilliant young man from Uttar Pradesh, Shivam has a very different background, having studied technology (I.I.T. Kanpur) and Public Administration at Columbia University (New York), and having held several posts in the U.S.. In 2013 he decided to return to India to study philosophy and spirituality. His intensive search brought him to Kashmir Shaivism. Since then he has attended all my seminars on various texts of Kashmir Shavism. It is a very enriching relationship for both of us.

We both returned to Deer Park Institute  for a seminar on the Spanda Kārikā in May, with a large and excellent group of students.  

The coming months in Shimla I was also busy with two book projects. The first is a commemoration volume for Pandit H.N. Chakravarty (co-edited with Hamsa Stainton), titled “Tantrapuspāñjali; Studies in Tantric Traditions in Memory of Pandit H.N. Chakravarty” (submitted to IGNCA in October, to be published in 2016). The second occupied me till January 2016, containing a collection of my articles (edited by Sadananda Das), titled  “Paśyantī: Insights into Indian Traditions”, which will also be published by IGNCA.

Descending to the plains of Haridwar-Rishikesh in the extreme heat of summer (for some film shooting) I had a chance to meet Swami Veda Bharati on 8th June for the last time. He attained his samādhi in July. Though our spiritual friendship started only three years ago, it was very enriching and supportive.

In June a pilgrimage brought us, Shivam and his family, to the Devi Temple of Bhima Kali in Sarahan, one of my favourite temples in Himachal, with a splendid view of the snow peaks.

On 1st July I flew to Salzburg for a two-month stay (on leave from IIAS). A meeting of the ‘Association Ajatananda’ took place near Lyon, from 6th to 9th, where we discussed about the publication of the spiritual diary of Marc Chaduc/Ajatananda. It was a good meeting. From Lyon I proceeded to Paris, to meet my revered colleague and great scholar of Tantra and Kashmir Shaivism, André Padoux (in his nineties). From Paris Usha joined me to visit the monastery of Frere Antoine at Le Bec Hélouin, a beautiful and peaceful place. Both, the Ajatananda meeting and this visit again strengthened my link with the Benedictines.

My next duty in Salzburg was the coordination and collaboration with the Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) in organising an ‘Ouverture spirituelle’ on Hinduism, Indian music, theatre and dance. This was truly an intercultural experience, mediating between the two cultural worlds, with some splendid performances in the University Church (Kollegienkirche). The enchantment was great on both sides, the Indian artists and the Festival audience.

Shivam came to Salzburg for one month in connection with a project from the Centre for Intercultural Theology at the University of Salzburg, and sharing the musical events. On 6th August a small group of friends went to Hochkönig, climbing up to the sacred place which we had discovered during the Puregg seminars. We carried a Devī image (mask) from Himachal Pradesh and performed a simple but deeply significant pūjā. Again an interreligious (and inter-mountain) ceremony!

On 11th August Shivam and I travelled to Trier, and with Usha to Chevetogne in Belgium, my favourite Benedictine Monastery of Byzantine rite. These were days of entering deeply into the liturgical and mystical tradition of the Christian East, with personal meetings with Fr Maxime Gimenez, whose spiritual friendship is the greatest gift of these last years. For Shivam it was an initiation in this tradition with its rich musical expression.

Back in Austria we had a (too) brief visit to Vienna, meeting with my family and my former students. A week-end seminar on Netra Tantra brought us to Innsbruck (Yoga Tirol). On the way back to Salzburg we visited Grossarl, the village where my family took refuge during the Nazi regime in the last year of the World War. It was very moving to see it after all those years and to vaguely recognize the places where I spent the most difficult year at the age of 4-5. Now it is a beautiful touristic village, with a memorial for the priest who had protected us and saved our life, Balthasar Linsinger.

End of August Shivam and I returned to India. After ten days in Varanasi I joined Shimla again in September, this time together with Sadananda Das, to work on our volume of collected articles.

In October I was invited to Srinagar (Kashmir) for a seminar on Sufism and the Rishi tradition at Srinagar University (organised by ICCR). It was the first occasion for Shivam to visit the places sacred to Kashmir Shaivism, the Ishvar Ashram, now empty, Harwan etc. On 26th October when I had to present my paper, I had hardly started to speak and suddenly an earthquake shook the whole building. Everybody ran out in the open. It was the earthquake with its epicentre in Afghanistan. We could resume the seminar and a dialogue between Sufis and Shaivas.  

After our return to Shimla I was also busy preparing my paper to be presented at a seminar on Aesthetics which took place at the IIAS in November. This was an occasion to release the book “Utpaladeva: Philosopher of Recognition”, edited by Raffaele Torella and myself (published by IIAS and D.K. Printworld). It is a milestone in the literature on non-dual Kashmir Shaivism.

After this seminar we left Shimla for Ishvar Parvat for some quiet days of retreat, before returning to Varanasi. In the first week of December we held a retreat-seminar on  “Quest of the Absolute: The Parātrīśikā Vivarana of Abhinavagupta”, at the beautiful and history-rich campus of the Theosophical Society. It was a wonderful group and, with the musical collaboration of Manju Sundaram, an enriching experience. The conclusion was a grantha-pūjā (worship of the text studied) performed by all, guided by Dr. Ajithan from Kerala, with a dance offering by Navtej Johar from Delhi.

The Christmas celebration at my home was again interreligious, and a deep sharing. After Christmas I left Varanasi with Usha for Chennai and Tiruvannamalai, to celebrate the New Year at Arunachala.