YOGA BE IN

Celebration of Thought
- Raising Consciousness


These are my initial thoughts on the scope of an event in 2011 - NO ONE HAS BEEN INVITED AS YET:


  • The Woodstock of Yoga
  • Emphasize Karma Yoga, giving back to the community
  • Museum of peaceful thinkers (Ghandi, Mother Theresa, etc.)
  • Museum of Ancient art of India (at the Met)
  • Religious Congress (evoke Vivkenanda
    who came to the US in 1893, Yogananda, Indra Devi)
  • Authors of books on Consciousness
  • Aryuvedic Medicine
  • India music festival
  • Indian film festival
    (films on consciousness, like Satjit Ray)
  • Ringo Starr and Paul talk about magical mystery tour
  • Sting
  • Al Gore
  • Andrew Weil

These are my ramblings, so far no one has been invited.   

End with everyone standing on their heads in Central Park in a metaphor for topsy-turvey world we're living in now, and how we are trying to turn it back around.

The Yoga Be-in could be the event of the millennium. It could be a cross between Woodstock and the Kumbh Mela. The mind-blowing philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism and the concept of Enlightenment could be presented to a large population of people.

It would be organized around the Eight Limbs of Yoga and the Four Noble Truths of Buddha. Overall keynoters: Sri Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and His Holiness the Dali Lama. Amma, the Hugging Saint, could be featured as the "keynote hugger".

The most well-known yoga is Hatha. I'd like to break it out into the 8 Limbs of Yoga and the 4 Noble Truths. Below are my initial ideas with a few potential speakers names-many, many more will be added.

Asana: For the physical asana we engage as many yoga students and methods of yoga in New York as we can. Patricia Walden will give classes at the NY Iyengar Center along with John Schumacher, Mary Dunn and others. We would ask Cyndi Lee at Om to allow John Friend, Rodney Yee, Baron Baptiste, Lilias Folan to give classes there. We would have other teachers stationed around the city for 4 days. All the really big teachers, drawing 100 or more, would be at the convention centers. In the hotels we use we would also have booths for people who would like to sell things. More on this under right livelihood. This is on the line of what previous yoga conferences have been but it will be all over New York, some free, some charged.

We will also have John Friend, Rodney Yee, Baron Baptiste, Patricia Walden, Shiva Rea, Judith Lasater, Mary Dunn, Erich Schiffmann, Angela Farmer, Lilias, Seane Corn, and many more at the big convention centers giving classes to large groups.

Karma Yoga - right livelihood and service. I'd like to create several large service projects in which everyone could participate. I'd like to have celebrities like Bono or Ashley Judd create projects that would move masses of people to action. Things that come to mind are eliminating child trafficking, International AIDS work, education and safety for children. This would include concerts in Central Park, a Broadway AIDS night where all proceeds go to AIDS research or providing the drugs to low-income people. Right livelihood would also talk about ecology, good work, organics, fashion shows, yoga merchants, reducing and re-using things to tie in with the yamas of aparigraha, non covetousness, non-grasping, taking only what is necessary, and asteya, non-stealing. Right livelihood speakers would include animal activists and organic farmers. Other projects to create consciousness around right livelihood could include making gardens on rooftops and in blighted areas, conscious construction, slow food, direct purchase from farms by institutions.

The principle of Ahimsa. I'd like to have museums and the first floor of the UN create displays on teachers of non-violence: Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Bishop Tutu, Martin Luther King, Dali Lama, Nelson Mandela. At each speaking venue there would also be a display of their lives and works. Other speakers would include Dennis Kucinich, Al Gore, the Peace Pilgrim, and many others.

I'd like to honor teachers who brought Yoga to America like: Indra Devi, Walt and Magaņa Baptiste, Rama Jyoti Vernon, Lilias Folan, Paramahansa Yogananda, Vivekananda, Hilda Charlton, Annie Besant, Jack LaLanne, Richard Hittleman, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (perhaps by video remote interview, Pattabhi Jois, J. Krishnamurthi, U.K. Krishnamurthi, T.K.V. Desikachar, Kaustaub Desikachar, Swami Rama, Mr. Iyengar, Krishnamacharya and many more. There will be a different kind of honoring ceremonies for philosophers, religious, enlightened people, social activist, living and dead. This list goes on and on.

The niyama of Samtosa: I'm thinking of having art displays, Sothebys has a big list of art that has been taken from India over the years ask them to display it at the Met. Art, both modern and ancient, including music. A festival of films that have touched on human consciousness and that seek the higher truth, including those of include Satjit Ray. Mukesh Desai, R. Carlos Nakai, and many other musicians including my friend Sakhet Majaraj from India can contribute music.

The niyama of saucha: bring in naturopathic and ayurvedic medicine, Dr. Sunil Joshi, Vasant Ladd, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, Christiane Northrup, and numerous ayurevedic doctors. Massage centers, day spas. Food and cooking demonstrations.

This would involve many other organizations including Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, if he's alive, to lead a meditation. David Lynch's TM Foundation, Swami Rama's organization. Swami Satchanenda organization and Guru Mai.

Studying ancient texts: Svadhyaya have a religious congress similar to the Parliament of World Religions that brought Vivekananda here in 1893.

The study of world religions: cooperate with the Parliament of World Religions, Huston Smith, Matthew Fox, Rabbi Lerner, Indian gurus, Muslim leaders to create a study of the path to peace. Many more religious leaders will be recommended to us. Edwin Bryant would consult on sacred texts. I'd like to do presentations on Hindu astrology and other systems like ayurvedic astrology, palmistry, numerology, Akashic record keepers (I don't know if they can transport the leaves they use.)

These are just my beginning ideas. I'd like to aim for 2011 or 2012. If I immediately get a big sponsor it could be done in 2010. I also have to make lists of sponsors and I'd like everyone's help with this. The obvious ones are all the yoga magazines, yoga schools, yogas studios, fashion designers like Donna Karan and Eileen Fisher along with Indian fashion designers like Satya Paul using organic printing on khadi, etc. All the possible Indian handicrafts will be represented - creating a bazaar where people see how it's done and then buy it as well.

I'd like to bring stoneworkers from Mahabalipuram to demonstrate their stone work.

At this point I am accepting all ideas on this project and will incorporate them into the basic plan.

-India Supera


Be-In Questionnaire


1. I would like to help and here's my experience and what I could offer:

2. Here are suggestions of people I think should be invited and here's what they do:

3. I recommend these people to be sponsors:

4. I recommend the following venues in New York City:

5. My ideas for events:

Answers

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