By Rosamund Burton; as appeared in the Nova, January 2007
A phenomenon called the Oneness University is now spreading its influence beyond its crucible of India into receptive hearts and minds in the West. Rosamund Burton has a rare interview with one of its directors, Sri Anandigiriji.
How many people have looked back at their university or school days and realised they learnt a great many facts, but nothing about life essentials such as love and happiness? The rapidly expanding Oneness University near Chennai in South East India looks set to change this glaring omission.
The Oneness University was founded in 2001 by Sri Bhagavan Mukteswara and his wife Sri Amma Padmavathi and since then word of its remarkable approach has gradually percolated into the wider world. In search of their own explanation of their work, I speak on the telephone to Sri Anandagiriji, one of its three directors, and also the coordinator of the programs for Westerners.
I cannot help associating "university" with gowns and graduation ceremonies, but Sri Anandagiriji explains that this is not a place where education is taught. Instead, all the courses are "to raise levels of consciousness". the university focuses on the development of the individual, what Bhagavan refers to as "the flowering of the heart". In this state, a person is happy and experiences life as a joyous celebration, rather than full of trials and tribulations. Believed up to now to be attainable by only a select few after many years of spiritual practice, this state of grace is being offered through Bhagavan and Amma to the thousands of people flocking to this spiritual centre.
In the case we should doubt its influence and reach beyond India, the work of the Oneness University has attracted the attention of people throughout the world. Course participants have included one of the Pope's secretaries, members of both the Austrian and German royal families, the Governor of Mexico and his family, and personal growth teacher, Anthony Robbins.
When I asked Sri Anandagiriji about Bhagavan and Amma he says they are "avatars".
"An avatar," he explains, "is someone who has come into the world with a very specific purpose. We believe them to be spiritual avatars with the purpose of helping the spiritual growth of mankind." He goes on to describe Bhagavan as a manifestation of the divine masculine and Amma as the divine feminine.
Bhagavan and Amma are very definitely flesh and blood, a married couple with a son called Krishna, after the beloved Hindu god of love and playful joy. The university has about 130 nuns and 70 monks, all of whom have taken a vow of celibacy. Sri Anandagiriji became involved in the organisation because he attended the Jaavashran School, which Bhagavan and Amma ran before they founded the university.
"This was a regular school," says Anandagiriji, "but it was Bhagavan's vision to develop the child not just for a good career, but also for a good life." Students were valued, there was an atmosphere of friendship, and "there was not fear, no competition and comparison."
Sri Anandagiriji describes having his first spiritual experience when he was just 14 years of age. This was when he discovered the nature of Bhagavan and Amma's mission and, with this understanding well beyond his years, decided to stay with them and carry out this spiritual work.
At any one time there are between five and six thousand students at the Oneness University and courses range in duration from one week to three weeks. there are processes for families, people from the corporate world and school and college students. Recently, the university has also started running courses for schoolteachers, after it was seen that the change a teacher underwent while at the university had a very positive effect on her pupils.
There are also specific programs for people for different faiths, including Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
Most people who go to the university are Indian. for foreigners, the 21 day process is the only course available and that attracts between 300 and 500 participants every month. The first group of australians and New Zealanders completed the program as recently as November.
The first phase of the three weeks focuses primarily on relationships. "This is a very crucial part of all our courses," explains Sri Anandagiriji, "because Bhagavan says that life is relationship. It is relationship which give meaning to one's existence . By true relationship Bhagavan means free of all fear, insecurity and hurt. When we are free of all this it is like the heart opens."
The second week is called "awakening to reality" and participants are given teachings and also insights into the workings of their minds, about themselves, their teachers and life in general. in the final week of the course the focus is on connecting to the divine.
"We call it awakening to God," says Anandagiriji. Students are taught to connect with the divine through whatever form is most appropriate for them, for example, through Christ, or Buddha. This divine energy is called deeksha. they become awakened and, as a result, are able to increasingly experience god, and feel constant love and peace. Toward the end of the 21 days, participants are given the power to transfer this spiritual experience to others, so they can go back to their respective countries and give and teach deeksha.
Lisa and Pasquo Cassetta, who are the coordinators of the Oneness University in Australia, completed the 21 day program in January 2004. Pasquo has been a yoga and meditation teacher for 20 years and Lisa had been on her spiritual path for 15 years, with different teachers. Lisa describes coming away from the Oneness University with a deep sense of peace and no mind chatter, and also feeling incredible compassion and love, which she says is not personal, but rather a true connection. it's a connection that doesn't come cheap – the price for the course is US$5,000, excluding the cost of the airfare and transport in India. However, Lisa assures me, the deeksha is permanent, although some people do choose to return to the Oneness University and do a 10 day advanced course. She believes that being prepared to pay that sum of money is a key component of a participant's commitment to change. Nevertheless, she continues, it is possible to get a taste of deeksha closer to home when, over 2007 Australia Day long weekend later this month, Sri Anandagiriji will offer the Oneness University teachings in Adelaide, along with over 100 deeksha givers. And for people unable or unwilling to travel to India, deeksha is becoming more widely available throughout Australia.
One fascinating development underway at the Oneness University is the Hundred Villages Project. Members of the university are working to improve the lives of people living in a hundred villages surrounding the university campus. When the villagers were first approached they asked for material and financial assistance from the university, and had no interest in spiritual nurturing. However, people began to experience a difference through the phenomenon of deeksha, says Anandagiriji. their lives began to change from hopelessness and despair manifesting as boredom, alcoholism and violence to renewed happiness and joy, both within families and communities as a whole. With this has also come a greater sense of material prosperity and fulfillment.
"Before we started this Hundred Village Project working with these villagers, there was a lot of domestic violence," Anandagiriji recounts. " Husbands used to come home drunk and beat up their wives and children, so there was a lot of unhappiness in the family. This has dropped by 80 per cent I would say. People have stopped drinking. We never taught them, or advised them not to drink, it happened very naturally. They got happier as their relationships improved, and it was no longer necessary for them to drink. their health has also improved, and children have shown more interest in learning."
This project, which is due to be completed in the next couple of years, is already being welcomed as an exciting portent of a more peaceful world. When an estimated 100,000 people living in one area collectively raise their level of consciousness, the vibrational impact of the heightened state of happiness and connectedness is breathtaking to imagine.
As I often find myself struggling with bouts of anger, not to mention my constant mind chatter, the prospect of being able to raise above life's day to day anguishes and issues is very appealing. For once, perhaps we should suspend our critical judgment and put our faith in what such work has the potential to achieve for our discordant world.
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