Ideas, testimonials and personal statements regarding spirituality, awakening of faith and aspiration to an ideal life; positive thinking and spiritual healing through yoga, defending spirituality in our present society.
ONE WEEK AFTER THE SLANDEROUS ATTACKS ON NATHA YOGA CENTER NOTHING WAS PUBLISHED FROM NATHA’S SIDE OF THE STORY!!! INSTEAD THEY HAVE NOW COME OUT WITH A NEW WAVE OF STORIES AND ACCUSATIONS, BUT THIS TIME BETTER WRITTEN, AND ONLY INCLUDING A FEW LINES FROM NATHA’S REPLY. THIS IS A FORM OF MODERN INQUISITION. In the following posts i will explain gradually this last STATEMENT.
Though the attacks on me personally do not disturb me, i am very surprised about the strange angle JP newspaper has put in their story about Sublime Erotica. Having a student in the Tantra class who is a director of art movies, and participating to a project that is trying to promote a new and generous idea (TRANSFIGURATED AND SPIRITUAL EROTICISM IN ONE OF THE LEADING COUNTRIES OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION) is presented as public crime! The more this campaign against NATHA unfolds, the more it looks like a “witch hunt”. First they say that NATHA is a sect (meaning it is in control of the life of all its members!) and then they attack the personal life of some persons within the organization as if it is identified with the whole school. This is a contradiction in itself! In reality the personal life of the students and teachers is their own responsibility and it is not related to the school.
The newspaper becomes in this way the tribune of A MODERN INQUISITION!
For those who are open minded I propose a simple experience: read the article in JP and then read the real project description about Sublime Erotica and you will see the difference for yourself.
The fact that a producer is learning about the tantric teachings in NATHA and engages in finding an artistic expression of some of its principles – the ones regarding the spiritualized eroticism – it is his private business and any financial connection with the yoga school is the pure fantasy of the journalist. How many times we have to explain this for the journalist to understand it and to make serious investigations before any statements?! The only reason for this behavior is a clear goal he follows: to hurt as much as possible!
The journalist is in fact trying to exploit the public sensitivity towards sex stories and to associate some emotions with the money story they desperately try to put forth. The attempt to associate the public money with the alleged sexual services is scandalous and reveals their real intentions: to harm as much as possible.
Yet i trust the discernment of the ‘kommune’ in this matter will enable them to see through the smoke screen JP is trying to create. The yoga school NATHA will not allow such allegations to go unnoticed and will help the truth to come out.
The article is again full of manipulative techniques that i will start to analyze step by step in order to reveal the real nature of all these articles.
It becomes more obvious now that the intention of the newspaper is just to discredit me and the yoga school as much as they can, however, they don’t have many reasons and therefore they force in such twisted stories.
THE STORY OF AN SMS AND HOW MUCH YOU CAN SPECULATE IT
31st OF MAY 2009 the JP published new accusations against me. Here is my first reply to the strange twisting of the truth Celia Clausen was delivering to them.
First observation is that they give her almost three pages (!!) and gave me a small box. Here is what i have said there, exactly as the newspaper received it. If necessary i will come later with a larger answer. The whole story that was presented in JP is a twisted truth adorned with lies to make it more dramatic. Therefore i am still thinking if it is necessary for me to waste more time on such personal attacks. I know what i have said and she also knows it very well. If she choose to twist it and thus serve some hidden agendas just to make herself feel good because she is not anymore a student in the school, it is her choice. She is attacking me and not the school and it is just a personal revenge.
Here are my first considerations regarding the statements made by Celia Claussen:
All the allegations are clearly defamatory and are mixed with lies about the discussions and advice I gave to Celia and “Jesper” over time. I want to mention that all that we spoke about was as friends and I was speaking only in the name of our friendship. Nobody forced Celia in any way to do anything. On the other hand, I understand friendship from the principle: “a real friend is not the one who tells you what you want to hear, but the one who tells you what you need to hear, and he/she (the friend) stands for this”.
As there is a lot of information about this issue and Mr. Borg stated he wants only a short answer – that cannot be satisfactory for this delicate matter – I will publish if necessary (and as soon as I have more time) all the details about this situation for anyone who is interested to know about it, on my blog.
A simple review of NATHA’s courses will reveal that we offer three different courses involving children: Prenatal Yoga, Yoga for mother and child, and Yoga for children. I personally supervised the formation of the curriculum of all these courses, which, for those with common sense, is an indication of my attitude towards this issue. Celia forgot to reveal that I personally invited her to meet me with one of the teachers of these courses to practice exercises for pregnant women that help for an easy pregnancy and painless birth. About this, I was advising from the perspective of the science of Tantra.
Since the connection between NATHA yoga center and MISA was considered by the lousy journalists as a stain on NATHA’s reputation, here is how the MISA case was perceived at European level. I have to mention that none of these video clips were presented in Romania. They were filmed by an independent film producer who at that time was making an investigation regarding the MISA case. You can see for yourself the difference between the perception of some serious people who form their opinion after investigating and the slanderous proffered by the media.
Sooner or later the TRUTH will prevail…
Living in a materialistic society, it is no wonder we are generating such aberrations as this “circuit of the STUFF in nature” that almost competes with the “circuit of water in nature”. This video shows an incredible situation that does not show our collective intelligence, but rather shows the result of where the game of desires leads. As long as we try to fulfill the desires with other desires we will end up becoming consumers that feed the chain of production and consumption in order to make the fulfillment of more desires possible.
The grotesqueness of this situation is that nowadays people are no longer defined by their aspirations, by their deeds, by their revelations and understandings; instead they are defined in most situations by their STUFF. E.g. If one has an IPOD he/she already belongs to a certain group of people as we are even talking about the objects that define our personality. From the status of being tools used to express our personality in actions and achievements, in the materialistic society objects are promoted to the status of parts of our personality. In ancient times a warrior was not great because of the color of his armor, but because of his heroic deeds on the battlefield. Nowadays a man defines his personality by the brand of car he drives and the size of the gold chain around his neck. Our STUFF becomes more important than our principles, ideas, feelings and beliefs.
Opposing this tendency will make you a social outcast, a communist or a fanatic that wants to destroy the welfare system. This is also one of the points that those who want to maintain control over society will use to attack the spiritual teachers, making them look like enemies of the “social evolution”. Looking closer we can see that evolution in this moment in time is more an evolution of material production, people very often evolve in the same rhythm the frequency of the microprocessors is rising and the screens become flatter. We can say that human evolution nowadays is obsolete and people suffer a process of “technological upgrade”.
The science of yoga science teaches the principle of APARIGRAHA – non accumulation or simplicity – one of the ten guidelines that regulate the spiritual life. It is one of the most ignored moral principles of the modern time in which people have become just consumers. The shopping mania relates to the gross level of consciousness in which many people indulge, becoming increasingly robotic while turning their homes into private storing rooms. APARIGRAHA is a life principle that makes us understand the real value of each object and teaches us not to become the objects we posses, but to keep only those objects that meet our needs.
Of course this attitude will not be so convenient for the present setting of society since the whole economical machine depends on consumption and not on real needs. Therefore the implementation of such a principle in the life of many might slightly shake our economic and social setting and also the expectations and demands will not be the same. Usually the people who benefit most from this system tell us that if we stop consuming all the welfare will disappear. In truth, we will not only stop consuming but we will start practicing APARIGRAHA, and we will only use the objects we need. The system will not be the same AND NEITHER WILL OUR NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS and in the end we will have all that we need for our life from the new perspective.
The solution this movie offers will be truly successful in the case of a genuine rising of the level of consciousness beyond humanity’s current level. This is only made possible by a lot of people living their lives after a certain set of principles and this is mostly possible when people know the proper exercises that help to increase the level of attention and detachment above the game of desires. Yoga is such a system that gives the practical means for such a fundamental transformation that can penetrate to all the level of society.
Enjoy a good wake up call….
In life we are often confronted with situations in which we can take a certain decision and move towards one of our goals, but this is not easy. There is a moment that makes this decision the most important event in our life: if we act in that moment we gain all and if we don’t act we lose almost everything. This special moment can usually be perceived as a hesitation, as a break in the flow of events that gives us another perspective.
This moment of hesitation is a moment in which we are free from any previous ideas, any preconceived elements, when we are able to fly beyond the limits, but for this we have to DARE! There is much more to this DARING attitude than meets the eye.
These days I have been observing the reactions of people in the yoga school to the defamation campaign that some newspapers are spreading against NATHA YOGA CENTER. Their reactions were good from the perspective of being able to see through the smokescreen which the journalist created around this subject. Most people were surprised that an apparently reputable newspaper would do such a thing, others asked us to take immediate legal action against the journalist or the newspaper, and even more sent us messages of encouragement and solidarity. However, this is not enough! I noticed that few dared to act, to stand up and tell the truth as they know it, because it seems that they have to stand up against the entire public opinion. This case is very interesting because it shows that sometimes a newspaper can confiscate public opinion and replace it with the opinion of 3 (three!!!) people who have personal interests in the case. The other hundreds of students in NATHA YOGA CENTER may have the impression that they are standing against the public opinion if they are to tell their truth, while in reality they are just telling their truth against only three former students who have personal agendas. Apart from the immoral (and somehow illegal) manipulation that the newspaper is performing by confiscating public opinion (this is the subject of a following article) we face a problem of DARINGNESS. Three people motivated by personal interests and promoted by the agenda of a newspaper pose a big test to thousands of people to DARE or not to stand for the TRUTH. In line with these observations, here are some further thoughts on this important topic.
(see video in the end)
“To know, to wish, to dare and to keep the secret” says the ancient oral tradition of wisdom.
These four were considered the four most important principles in life, marking the path to perfection. The absence of one makes the other three meaningless and can even transform them into a mental prison.
These days knowledge is expanding exponentially as we have communication possibilities like never before. We have a vast amount of information and we are able to “connect the dots” and consequently see the bigger picture more easily than ever before. The reality that appears before us doesn’t fit (sometimes there is an immense difference) with the story that is constantly fed to us by the multitude of channels of (dis)information. Yet no one can prevent us from thinking and understanding and therefore WE KNOW!
We also have the wish to do something according to that knowledge and there are so many aspects today that require our immediate attention! We wish to perfect our being in ways that we know are possible. We wish to tell the truth about some things which we know happen in our society and are not right. We wish to be able to do something about the injustice we know goes on in our “backyard”. We wish to be able to investigate events that we know are not the way they are presented to us. We wish to be able to love and make our lover happy in the way that we know is right. We wish to be able to follow our ideals that we know are possible. Knowing all these aspects WE WISH!
Up until this point everything appears to be fine, each step in these events seem to lead to the next and evolution unfolds.
However, exactly when it comes to a practical action, when we have the moment of hesitation that gives us the freedom to act, WE DON’T DARE TO ACT in accordance with what we know and what we wish! We allow ourselves to be driven by the forces that surround us and by the desires these forces trigger inside us that seem to control “the game”. We dare not go against this apparently very powerful stream and as a result we lose our self esteem! We dare not challenge the system since we were made to believe we cannot live without the system. We dare not start an investigation on our own even if we know something is wrong and we wish to do it. We dare not begin a program of self-development even if we know we need it and we wish to do it. We dare not follow our dreams that we know are right and we wish to follow! We dare not tell the truth and we prefer to remain in the formal box of the socially and politically correct truth even if we know it is not humanly correct and we wish to say so. All in all WE DARE NOT!
Furthermore, in order to hide from this failure to dare, we quickly jump straight to the last part of the ancient phrase: we keep it secret that we know and even think to do something, but we NEVER DARE!
Without the principle TO DARE, the four principles are transformed into a mental prison instead of being the four columns supporting the “roof” over our perfected personality. Nowadays, this mental prison can be seen all over the place (if we dare to look around): “to know, to wish and to keep it all secret”!
Today this has become THE TRIPOD THAT SUPPORTS THE EGO, the mental prison in which people choose to spend their lives because they put themselves there and, after locking the door, throw away the key into the abyss of regrets.
If we learn to DARE, all four principles will work together to set us free. With this knowledge, we will wish to act and we will dare to do it, and then we will keep it secret from our ego! We will no longer consider our personality as being defined only by the events that happen to us, but we will begin to understand that we are the center of our own universe and this is a big secret!
We will dare to act silently, like the secret force of life that is always there and always secret. We will keep secret only the fact that we did it because the actions will become visible for everyone. In this way, the ego will no longer exist, being dissolved by the actions that we dare to manifest in the name of a higher principle of life that we start to directly discover in the silence of our secret place that is the soul.
It is time NOW to start learning to DARE since this is another lesson of life that sooner or later we have to take. Here is an excellent short video about this state. ENJOY and START DARING!
One of our colleagues in NATHA made a very good research on one of the so-called experts used by Jyllands Posten in their campaign. The results are astonishing and show how keen the journalist was to prove his point, even using such biased sources. In the same time the Jyllands Posten journalist completely ignores the report of real experts on NATHA and MISA. This is an unexpected material for my next study on media manipulation.
It seems that this campaign gets closer and closer to the Romanian media campaign against MISA yoga school.
Here is the research….
What is The Dialogue Center?
On 24th May 2009, Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten published an article in which some serious accusations were brought against Natha Yogacenter, including its being ‘a sect’ and ‘providing sexual services’. The source of these accusations is priest Tom Thygesen Daugaard, who is associated with (and ex-leader of) an organization called Dialogcentret (The Dialogue Centre). Since this organization is spreading lies about Natha Yogacenter, and with the help of Jyllands Posten is pretending to be an objective expert on the subject, we have decided to investigate this centre. The result was beyond our wildest dreams! Delving further into this issue we were amazed to discover many accepted authorities on the subject consider Dialogcentret to be a sect-like group, boasting radical religious views, and being by no means objective. Contrary to their objective charade, this group perceives any yoga school as standing in contradiction to the ”interest of the Danish society”.
WARNING from the main page of Dialogcentret’s website:
“New-religiousness, sectarianism and relativism have in many forms and variations gained position and have become a strong religious factor in the Danish population and the Danish Society”
We found it interesting to discover that back in 2004 the same Tom Thygesen Daugaard, then called Frederiksen, wrote an article called “Natha – a Holy path to God or Prostitution?” for Dialogcentret. As the article resulted in a state investigation for libel, DC defended themselves by referring to their statutes in which they clearly define their a-priori, non-objective “critical relation to new religious movements” and “this being the premise of the article and the activities of DC.”[1] Note that this position is not at all declared in the article of Jyllands Posten – the same views of Dialogcentret are presented, but this time as though they are coming from an objective expert on the subject (which is far from the truth). Why was Mr. Tom Thygesen Daugaard hiding the fact that he is not an expert and just a critic aiming to make his voice heard in matters that he consider of his interest?
Furthermore, if one just reads through the papers and documents of DC and reads what the All Danish Council and leading scientific experts have to say on this subject, one will be amazed to discover who Dialogcentret really is.
The Dialogcentret (DC) is a Christian interest group fighting against the spiritual paths they consider harmful to Christian society. Their statutes define “the area of work” to be “the new religious movements and streams challenging the Church and Society.” Furthermore, this work is to be done “based on the Christian Teaching and Confession, as the biblical texts and the scriptures of the old church normatively formulates them.”[2]
For an open minded person, does this definition not sound sectarian? It becomes more clear that if DC were to apply their own principles to their own group they should dissolve themselves.
Another relevant element from their history was in 1990 when the group addresses the Danish parliament with a plea not to give state support for Yoga, as yoga is not in the interest of Danish Society! This attitude clearly shows the “openness” and “objectivity” this group has, not to mention that this attempt to attack without discernment any yoga organization is not at all in the spirit of the same Bible to which they hypocritically refer.
DC also published a booklet called Critical Information on Hatha Yoga. This booklet can be found at: http://dci.dk/index.php?view=article&catid=109&id=143&tmpl=component&print=1
Should such a group be considered expert in problems related to yoga, after openly declaring, based on religious motivation, their adversity to any form of yoga?
Following the activities of DC, professor of the science of religion at the university of Copenhagen, Mikael Rothstein, finds them “developing towards an autonomous sect within the protestant tradition. (…) many priests do not in any way wish to be identified with the group and the ambition to create their own marked profile becomes ever more evident. At the confessional level there are barely alterations, but DC seems to accentuate things more ardently, thus bringing back concepts such as “redemption”, “a lost soul” and “guilt” to the theological vocabulary. (…) at the time DC intensifies the ambition to be something unique and special, to administrate the best of opinions and to become the centre for the one new, pure revival movement.”[3] Does this sound familiar? Isn’t this the same kind of accusations DC made about Natha Yogacenter?
In response to DC’s own initiative to suggest actions to the Danish authorities, Rothstein replies: “It is a scandal. The DC is devoid of any scientific expertise and it would therefore be completely grotesque if Danish authorities listened to their opinions on others.”[4]
Peter Lodberg, president of the All Danish Church Council, does not approve of DC’s methods: “In the All Danish Church Council we have chosen the diametrically opposing method. For us, the premise is to solve controversies and difficult questions in a common dialogue.”[5]
Tim Jensen of Syddansk Universitet finds the actions of DC to be symptoms of inner and outer crisis, which is typical for authoritarian groups following the death of their charismatic leaders. After the death of the founder Johannes Aagaard the group split in two, today’s DC being the more fundamentalist of them. Jensen says: “Like for many religions, it was a problem for them to lose their charismatic leader. At the same time, the media now has more options for opinions on new religions.” He also points to their recent actions as attempts to regain a position in the media after the increased interest in Islamic groups has marginalized DC and their mission in the public view.[6]
This is also the reason why DC was so keen to participate in the slander campaign about Natha Yogacenter, this being the only way their voice has a chance to be heard. This hunt for an opportunity to gain some public attention was also evident in their previous attempts to create public opinion against Natha Yogacenter, especially since Natha has become a big center for yoga and spirituality and therefore a good opportunity.
In conclusion, we concede that using DC as an expert on Natha Yogacenter is just another malevolent action by the Jyllands Posten journalist in his writing the articles on Natha. All of this information was supposed to come to the attention of the journalist during his investigation and we cannot believe that it was by mistake that it didn’t.
We hope that through this we have made the truth about what hides behind DC’s “expert” opinions clearer.
Here is my reply to the articles published in Jyllands Posten on the 24th May 2009. As it already appears clearer now, the articles are just a flag bearer of a systematic media campaign against NATHA Yoga center with a clear agenda. I am already in possession of information regarding the next steps of this campaign and they confirm the “prophecy” made by NATHA’s team regarding the next step: finding some angry parents and personal stories. The predictability of this campaign is a clear sign of the hidden agenda behind it.
We also have shocking material that explains as a direct example the “anatomy of a systematic public campaign of lies”. To the extent of the time I have available I will aim to reveal this manipulation step by step whilst the campaign unfolds.
I want to thank you all for the messages of support and emails, I hope we will soon have again time to talk about spiritual subjects. For the moment your contribution is a great support for the cause of spirituality.
Stay tuned for more will follow….
I wish you love in the heart and peace in the mind.
TO JYLLANDS POSTEN
Mr Orla Borg,
On my return from traveling, last weekend I had the unpleasant surprise to read the article published by JP newspaper in your name.
Counting on your professionalism as a journalist, I send you my opinion, which you had not asked for in due time, when you wrote your articles. I send you this, asking you to publish it in its entirety. It will also be published in its entirety on my blog, in case you prove to be reserved with regard to certain parts of this letter.
From the beginning I want to underline that my role as the coordinating teacher of NATHA YOGACENTER should not be mistaken with the role of the administrative council of the school. Each one does its job and the insinuation that I decide everything in NATHA is a silly calumny, with the purpose to discredit me and the yoga school and its management team. The fact that, due to my position, I am consulted by many people about different matters does not imply that I decide everything. It is more a matter of me having something to say with respect to several aspects of the school, considering that the purpose of this school is to promote yoga and my specialty is yoga.
The activity I have within NATHA YOGA CENTER allows me to be in contact with many people who ask for my advice and who are free to decide if they want to follow this advice or not and I have NEVER had a position from which I can force anybody to do what I have indicated them to do. If I had wanted to do that which you insinuate in your articles, why wouldn’t I have ensured my position in front of the others, doing so that I can have an official power of decision within the yoga school?
The fact that I can say my opinion, even in the absence of the official position of taking decisions, is because of the experience I have regarding yoga and Tantra. I assure you that this authority cannot please everybody and the proof of this is those people who are now lying shamelessly about things they previously used to embrace willingly and without being forced by anyone.
This is why it is a mistake to ask me (on Friday evening) to give you the summary of the general meeting of the association, because I am not the one who deals with these administrative aspects. These documents were handed over to the right authorities and you could have also received them if you had asked.
Another serious mistake that I ask you to correct is your affirmation that the funds of NATHA YOGA CENTER come partially from so-called “sexual activities”. These affirmations are nothing but calumnies and I am surprised you actually publish them in a respectable newspaper. In NATHA’s financial activity there is no connection to the so- called “sexual activities”. What kind of investigation did you do considering you missed this “detail”?
To help you in your investigation, you need to know that there is no financial connection between NATHA and the Tantra temple, just as there is no connection between JP and the Tantra Temple.
Regarding the connection of total dependency that you insinuate NATHA YOGA CENTER has to MISA in Romania, I firmly state here that NATHA uses the integral yogasystem put together by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru, synthesizing in an exemplary way several traditional yoga systems and adapting it for the needs of the modern person. This is why, regarding the yoga and tantra courses, NATHA YOGA CENTER is in close collaboration with MISA yoga school and many of the yoga teachers in NATHA collaborate with the yoga teachers in MISA in Romania as well as from other countries, regarding the organizing of seminars, courses, summer or winter camps. There are no financial connections between the two yoga schools, as MISA offered NATHA the yoga system for free with the only condition that it is followed correctly!
As a student of Gregorian Bivolaru, I was asked by NATHA to take charge of coordinating the yoga and tantra courses as well as the work of forming new teachers. My role is to ensure that the structure and principles these courses stand for are respected within the teachings in NATHA. I have to remind you that even in the case of a so-called “franchise” of a company, there is a clear discipline of the process of copying the system from one company to the other so that the system is not corrupted by deviations from the initial purposes.
Moreover, in the case of a spiritual system with all its complexity, it is natural to have a certain clarity regarding its transmission and to have a person with experience in the system to take care of this process. Only one with a malicious mind or driven by a hidden agenda can twist this situation, presenting it as an authoritarian system that has nothing to do with spirituality.
Your request for me to personally send you NATHA’s annual budget shows another serious lack of information from your side, considering you already wrote about this yoga school, and a little research would have shown you that I am not in the position of sending you such a financial situation, for the simple reason that I do not have the position that gives me direct access to this financial situation, especially on a Friday evening! I know for a fact that NATHA’s sources of income are only the course payment and the support from Copenhagen’s Kommune. Your other statements in your articles, regarding NATHA’s financial funds coming from sexual services, is blatant slander and I ask that you take them back immediately. As a coordinating teacher in this school Iparticipate actively to the courses and activities of the school and I have never taken part in such manifestations within the school.
In fact, the articles presented in JP contain other absurd statements that I will point out in the present reply and – when time will allow – in some further comments showing also who is behind this systematic slander campaign.
I personally know Kim Schmock as well as “Jesper” and I can say with full responsibility that all the statements they made are only lies and twisted versions of the truth, with personal revenge and material profit as their main motivation.
I am surprised that a journalist with your experience was misled, without even checking the truth of these statements. I tend to believe that you know as well as I know the importance of a word once spoken, and the difficulty of taking it back. To further help your investigations, you should know that Kim Schmock has a huge personal interest in putting down the yoga school, currently being in a court dispute with NATHA over a property from which he wants to gain 2.5 million kr, paid by the work of his former colleagues from the yoga school. We have hundreds of witnesses regarding this situation, and the property is the subject of an ongoing court case. Besides, you need to know that several times his violent actions against some students of the yoga school have requiredpolice intervention, and this can be easily verified with the police in Helsinge. All these facts disqualify him from the very beginning as an objective source in the discussion you started. His statements are only the expression of a personal interest as he made the same statements several times in front of his colleagues, when his behavior required police intervention. We can provide you with video recordings of such violent episodes from Kim Schmock’s side. I also want to underline that the personal problems he has against me make “Jesper” an equally unreliable source. For the time being, I will respect his wish to remain anonymous and will therefore not reveal his real identity.
As for bringing The Dialogue Centre into discussion, I am sure the reply the NATHA team offered you (but which you didn’t publish), could provide you with enough arguments that would show that once again you were wrong in your choice of sources. Personally, I did not have ANY direct contact with those people who claim to be experts about us and I definitely did not have the occasion to keep a Dialogue with them, dialogue that is hypocritically used in the title representing their organization.
I also want to underline here some important elements regarding the initiative my wife and I had some years ago (in 2001), to participate in a project of making a series of movies which combine erotic art with an educational purpose. Perhaps this will be the only part that you will quote from my letter, as it seems to be the only interesting subject for you.
First of all, the connection between this project and NATHA YOGA CENTER doesn’t exist since the movie “The Magic passage” was made before we came to Denmark! This project was afterwards stopped and since 2002 we didn’t involve ourselves in other productions, being focused on the activities in the school. You intentionally “forgot” to put that in your articles because it would have weakened your allegations. Bringing it up now and in connection with NATHA YOGA CENTER shows a clear intention to discredit me and to indirectly to shed a strange light on the yoga school. This is a classic method to transfer some impressions to the subject you want to depict in your own colors.
This movie was made as an artistic and educational movie where eroticism is shown in a spiritual manner, offering an alternative to the pornographic productions that invade today’s market. Any honest person who watches it without prejudice can see that.
Besides, to say that such a movie was made for material purposes is completely stupid. As it can be seen in the video clip “The Making of…”, the cast and crew that took part in making this movie was rather big, and you need to know that the movie was sold by the company producing it for only 3000 euros. This amount can be checked in the contract that the distribution company has. To make such a movie with this crew and make some profit within this sum of money would be an amazing achievement, even in times of financial crisis, but back in 2001 – 2002 this would have been impossible. Therefore to connect this project with the finances of NATHA proves bad intentions that are beyond making mistakes. In light of this, it becomes clear to anyone that you had a dirty hidden agenda when you started this so-called “investigation”.
Through this project, what we aimed for was not material profit (my wife and I did not earn any money for our participation in the project), but to trigger a new understanding of human sexuality as seen from a spiritual, superior point of view, where love and transfiguration, combined with self-control, uplift human beings. We didn’t do this by breaking the principles we teach in tantra, on the contrary, we were aiming to find an artistic expression for them. In absence of material profit, since when is it a crime to openly express love and spiritualized eroticism as a possibility of personal transformation? Positioning the images from the “The Making of …” as a crime in your article, tends to manipulate the public opinion into believing something that doesn’t exist. There are so many strange attempts to represent love and human intimacy in a deformed way and they are not the subjects of a slander campaign, some are even gaining international prizes. Why is an open and honest project, done without material gain, presented in this strange light if not for a hidden agenda?
In your articles, there are also other manipulation techniques that you use in order to induce a state of fear about NATHA, as if it is a dangerous organization. Besides the fact that this is only a cheap manipulation technique that has nothing to do with the moral and professional integrity of a journalist, it also represents a grave violation of truth. The repetitive use of certain imperative warnings, as if NATHA YOGA CENTER is a real public danger, BUT WITHOUT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT ANY OF THESE WARNINGS, can only put you in a ridiculous light in the eyes of those who are lucid and who can easily see this perverse strategy. Nevertheless, for future reference, I ask you to refrain from such cheap strategies and to have the uprightness to say things clearly and objectively, in the name of the accuracy you owe to your readers.
In this reply you have requested from me, I also want to show you that NATHA YOGA CENTER is an organization with many spiritual projects, which you fail to mention in order to give the image of a sect that is blindly focused on some obsessive sexual subjects. How can you imagine that hundreds and hundreds of people will allow you to libelously speak of their work and their spiritual path with such cheap dirt.
If you try to draw similarities between the structure of a sect and NATHA then why don’t you notice the striking similarity between the press campaign you aim to trigger and the extremely violent press campaign against MISA in Romania. In Romania, the press campaign has reached the limits of the absurd. Did you know that in Romania more than 7000 vicious articles were written about MISA yoga school and IT WAS NOT ONCE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO REPLY!! In this context I wonder why you do not check your quoted sources before publishing the article and not afterwards. What does a journalist in a democratic country think about this? The press campaign in Romania contained proven lies as well as statements that were not proven by any journalist and by any court. How come such a situation is not seen by a journalist who is a specialist in such matters? Is it only a coincidence that these mistakes shown here in this letter are only in NATHA’s disadvantage? Statistically speaking, in the absence of a hidden agenda, “natural” mistakes belong equally to both sides, so that in the end each one has something to win and something to lose.
I wonder why JP did not raise the problem regarding the unbelievable abuse of the yoga movement, MISA in Romania, particularly after 2004. We announced the Danish press about these events, bringing about the international disapproval of Romania, however, your newspaper did not find that subject interesting. Now, all of a sudden, you find it interesting, but without making the minimum effort to update the information and to present the situation in a balanced way.
In the name of the same balance you have to know that the Swedish Supreme Court ruled that Gregorian Bivolaru cannot have a fair trial in Romania, and one of the reasons was the slanderous press campaign against him and the yoga school. This is why the fact that you present the file – which was abusively opened by the Romanian authorities against 21 yoga teachers – in the terms presented by the mass-media and not according to correct legal terms is a strange attempt to mislead (among many others in these articles!). It makes me wonder what is it that you are so keen on proving? What kind of journalism do you practice, since you can afford such an intentional error? Considering these specifications, I ask you to make the necessary corrections and to remember that I am at your disposal with the information you need so that the investigations you make can be objective.
After the attack against Natha Yoga Center by the Danish news paper Jyllands – Posten on Sunday 24th of May, the following day many Danish newspapers blindly jumped on the band wagon joining the slanderous campaign. For me, as an observer of the Romanian campaign against MISA yoga schools it is interesting as it becomes more and more obvious that the events follow the same pattern.
For now, Natha’s team have made an excellent reply to the accusations so far. The following text is the reply. Stay tuned, as more will come ….
I wish you love and peace.
REPLY TO JYLLANDS-POSTEN
These lines constitute the reply that we offer to the campaign of untrue and slanderous remarks that the newspaper JP triggered on 23rd May, 2009.
We insist that this reply will be published in its entirety, and that our right to reply will be respected within a fair dialogue. The full version of this reply appears on www.natha.dk. We hope that JP will have the fairness to publish this reply, giving it the same attention that they have given our critics without giving us the chance to reply until now.
We wish to clarify from the beginning, that we are open to discussion spiritual matters which are more difficult to understand, but we do not consider that placing lies and slanderous remarks in a debate, as JP has done, brings any good aspect into the discussion.
Even from the title, the journalist from JP proves a sheer ignorance of some principles and launches a double mistake:
1. Using the phrase “sex-sect” in relation with the name of Natha. Natha is not a sect and this statement must be immediately corrected.
With some elementary research many relevant sources that state quite clearly what a sect is and is not could have come to the attention of the journalist. Moreover, the most ridiculous aspect is that there is a specialist report related to Natha, which refers to the same subject as researched by Karl Erick Nylund. Dr Nylund is a priest and doctor of theology and is arguably Sweden’s foremost authority on sects. Following his investigation, Dr Nylund concluded that Natha and MISA are not sects and as such they have nothing in common with the structure of a sect. Dr Nylund found ‘..in the MISA case, we can find none of the criteria defining manipulative sects…MISA is a yoga movement where the participants aim at self-perfecting and improving their state of health and harmony through a lacto-vegetarian diet and yoga techniques.’ To read the full report by Dr Nylund, please visit http://www.gregorianbivolaru.com/sweden-3-2.php. On the following link you will find the report on MISA and Natha by the Swedish sociologists from Skop Research. Their report was one of the main pieces of evidence in the extradition trial of Gregorian Bivolaru ruled by the Supreme Court of Stockholm on 11th – 12th October 2005. Some of the conclusions in their report are that MISA and Natha are not sects but organizations with an open social structure and an open ideology. “Considering the interviews we had in Denmark, we can absolutely draw the conclusion that the yoga practitioners want to be part of the society. There is no reason for them to get isolated. They even expressed their wish to include yoga as part of the public education, such as university courses – mutual wish for yoga schools or other alternative medicine organizations.” To read more about this report, visit http://www.gregorianbivolaru.com/sweden-3-3.php
How could a journalist make such serious allegations without doing the minimum research? This information is readily available on the internet. The use of the phrase “sex-sect” in connection with Natha is a grave mistake and must be immediately corrected. The status of Natha Yogacenter is a ‘People Enlightening Association’.
2. The second mistake that we ask to be immediately corrected is the placing of Natha in the category of organizations which focus on sex. Tantra is a millenary spiritual science that, among other things, offers the possibility for a human being to use, in a spiritual way, our inborn sexual potential! Natha teaches Tantra courses in which the subject of sexuality in its spiritual aspect comprises only a small part of the teaching. Therefore, to place Natha in the category of organizations which focus on sex is akin to saying that a high school is a sexual education institution just because sexual education is in the school curriculum. Through this typecasting, it is obvious that their intention is hostile. To clarify this matter, we add to the appendix, for the curious ones, a curriculum of an entire year of Natha’s course material for our Intensive Yoga course (what a serious investigative journalist should have found himself). In this way you will be able to form your own opinion about whether or not you consider if Natha deserves to be labeled as a “sex organization”. (Link in appendix 1).
Another serious mistake is that although the investigation took place over several days, the journalist didn’t find time and still hasn’t found time! to ask Natha for their side of the story. If he had have done so, he could have avoided implicating himself in the personal revenge acts of some ex-members of the association. If he had only contacted Natha as the ethical code of journalism obliges him to do, all the aforementioned mistakes could have been easily avoided. The yoga school was first contacted on Friday afternoon when the board of Natha could no longer gather to prepare a reply. Moreover, upon being contacted by Natha’s P.R. representative, the journalist declared that he wouldn’t use Natha’ s opinion in this edition anyway, and that MAYBE later, in another edition he would do this. We are very curious to see if this reply will be accepted in the spirit of correct and balanced communication.
Another serious mistake is the reference to the Dialogue Centre as experts on the subject. Simple research would have revealed that, among others, Michael Rothstein, Danish sociologist of religion, affirms that “The research of Dialogue Centre has nothing to do with science of religion… in reality Dialogue Centre was never anything more than a Christian community under strong and authoritative leadership.” Read the article in Kristelig Dagblad at: http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/14029.
Through their actions this organisation have shown themselves to be more deserving of the title, Monologue Centre instead of Dialogue Centre, as they formed their statements about NATHA WITHOUT HAVING ANY CONTACT WITH NATHA AND WITH THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIVITIES IN THE YOGA SCHOOL. All their statements are only manipulations of some slanderous remarks which have been gathered from the media, in particular the Romanian media, without even having the common sense to make the minimum effort to address the school that they so assiduously attacked. A simple verification of the sources, which is a fundamental part of the ethical journalistic process would have made it clear that the Dialogue Centre are champions of the slanderous monologue, and they have a particular penchant for indiscriminately attacking yoga schools. We did some research to help the JP journalist and here are some of our significant and shocking discoveries:
In 1990, before Natha Yogacenter even existed, Dialogue Centre wrote a letter to the Danish Parliament in which they spoke against any public funding of any yoga centres in Denmark. Self proclaimed crusaders, Dialogue Centre have since then been working proactively to stop public funding of any yoga school in Denmark, claiming that they are indeed not objective in their viewpoints. In 2004 Dialogue Centre published the article “Natha – a Holy path to God or Prostitution?” in which Tom Thygesen Frederiksen (the same source quoted in the current JP article). When Natha complained to the press authority, Tom Thygesen Frederiksen defended himself with the following statement: “Dialogue Centre and its paper, Den Nye Dialog, is by its own statutes, and also publicly, a forum based on an opinion that is founded on a traditional Christian standpoint and has a critical relationship to new religious movements. This is the premise for the article and the activities of Dialogue Centre”. Yet, on May 24th, JP is publishing the same views of the same person presenting it as an “expert” opinion, even though he himself openly states he is not objective. Also the newspaper, Kristeligt Dagblad, has published an extensive article about Dialogue Centre, written by journalist Leif Kiil Soerensen on 20th December, 2006, in which Dialogue Centre is criticized and given the name ‘the Monologue Centre’. Here is the link: http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/14029:Kirke—tro–Dialogcentret-kritiseres-for-ensidighed.
We would like to emphasise that when NATHA requested the support of Koebenhavns Kommune, this request was made publicly and this request was also posted on our website. This fact drew the attention of those from Dialogue Centre who immediately made serious allegations about the school, allegations which tried to stop the Kommune’s support. This shows both the openness of our school that has nothing to hide – by publishing the intention just before receiving these funds on the site – and the role of redeeming, that the Dialogue Centre unjustifiably assumes. These attacks launched then by Dialogue Centre contain, strangely enough, exactly the same lies which are now circulating with the help of JP. Significantly, Dialogue Centre launched these attacks without bothering to make a single phone call to Natha, to communicate (HAVE A DIALOGUE) with someone from the management of the yoga school. We regret that this attitude has also been “contaminating” the JP journalist.
In the light of these statements made by Dialogue Centre, Koebenhavns Kommune conducted an investigation into the yoga school. Following months of investigation, they gave Natha the status of “association for enlightening people”. How is it possible that after a few years the same campaign, using the same arguments which proved to be false once, is again taken into consideration? Simple verification would have brought to light all these aspects and avoided this situation in which the work and leisure time of hundreds of people is pulverized by the slander of a “Discrimination Centre”.
A simple examination shows that all the sources quoted by Orla Borg are of questionable reliability. Another example of this is the “ex-member of Natha” Kim Schmock, who is accusing Natha of being involved in providing sex-services. Yet Mr Borg omits to mention some relevant information about this source: Kim Schmock has an ongoing legal dispute with the school, in which he is trying to steal from Natha a property valued at 4-5 million kroner, and he hopes through his unfounded accusations to gain public support for his purpose. For several years he has harassed and aggressed several of Natha’s yoga students, sometimes even to the point that the police had to intervene. It is clear that this person is biased and has much to gain financially by attacking Natha, therefore his statements cannot be trusted. However, Mr Borg does not mention these facts at all, instead he quotes Schmock as a reliable source. This information can be found on Natha’s website and could have easily been discovered by the journalist. If he had contacted Natha he would have been informed of this. We can only conclude that either the journalist did not properly investigate the story, and therefore he should not have made such accusations, or he knew of Kim Schmock’s background and chose to ignore it, still using him as a reliable source and intentionally withholding his background from the readers and in doing so, committing an act of manipulation.
Use of key words such as WARNING in the beginning of the article is part of the classical methods used to manipulate the mob. The statements which say that Natha is an organization that earns money from sexual activities are unfounded and constitute serious slander. The fact that Natha offers courses where people can learn, among many other things, also how to spiritualize the intimate life, does not mean that it offers sexual activities. Therefore, this statement must be corrected as it is not true.
We want to bring to your attention that the lies the journalist refers to in the title “Sex, Lies, and Yoga Courses” are the only the ones included by the journalist in his articles. In order to say that someone is lying, one needs to prove that the statements are not correct. Yet in the article none of Natha Yogacenter’s statements are presented, therefore, the term lies cannot be applied to the school. Instead the statements of so-called witnesses and specialists are included and in the following we will demonstrate that the presented statements are not true and therefore they are LIES.
JP tries to show their concern for the citizens by using the headline “WARNING”, yet we ask where JP’s concern really lies since they did not verify any of the statements in the article, for concern for the same citizens!
The intention to manipulate the opinions of the citizens is obvious in the use of the persona “JESPER” who desires to remain anonymous out of fear for his future and for his career. However, if this man is upright and what he says is true, what kind of career can be jeopardized by such an upright attitude which exposes the lies and manipulation (maybe except a political career and only in some cases).
The journalist tries to insinuate that the yoga school would represent an obvious danger – we emphasize that innuendo is a masked form of slander. This case is underlined by the anonymous aspect of Jesper’s character. The same innuendo appears several times during the set of articles from JP and represents a serious slender to all honest and open men, who practice yoga or who teach yoga in this school! Statements as : “WARNING” , “naive danes are in danger…”, “what is hiding behind the appearance?”, “dialogue centre warns”, “risks to become enrolled”, “I highly warn”, “everything is based on a lie”, are a clear indication of this intentional strategy
Being clearly a deliberate gesture of inducing a state of fear and obscurity upon the Natha yoga school, we ask ourselves what lies behind such a bad intention which doesn’t belong to the methods of a professional such as the journalist from JP?
In connection to this mysterious Jesper, the quotation of an anonymous source as the basis for serious allegations is unethical because it does not allow the accused to ever be able to verify the truth of the claims of the anonymous accuser. Remaining anonymous he can hide his hidden agenda. If someone accuses another he must also be available to be questioned. Since we do know who this Jesper is we can affirm that all of his remarks have no validity because of a very strong personal dependency relationship that the ‘Jesper’ has with some of the teachers in the school. We do not want to expose him and for this reason we find it irrelevant to explain the story behind this. Considering that due to his anonymity we will never be able to refute any of his claims, JP should either completely remove any reference to him or else they should reveal his true identity.
Another serious statement that we ask JP to correct immediately is that Natha Yogacenter is an organization that promotes prostitution. It is naïve for a journalist to believe that you can attribute such a statement to an anonymous character, and to believe you are absolved of all responsibility. The statement is so absurd that we don’t consider doing anything more than to ask for its immediate removal! We remind Mr Borg that the title of investigative journalist, to which he aspires, obliges him to verify the statements that he publishes, even if they come from anonymous sources, especially in the case in which the opinion of the other party is not checked at all! Since these statements are not demonstrated by any facts they should be rectified immediately.
Another serious violation of the truth is the entire series of lies regarding the financial situation of Natha Yogacenter. We understand that this financial crisis affects many, but we do not understand this as a reason for manipulation. The statement that money from the Kommune ends up in the same “box” as the money coming from the so-called sexual activities is, once again, a tendentious insinuation, which is based on a lie that was repeated several times throughout the articles. Natha had never made any income from offering of sexual services! In the yoga school sublime sexuality has always been openly discussed as a chapter in people’s spiritual life. Efficient methods through which the sexual experience can be refined and spiritualized for spiritual benefits have even been taught – however it is a big leap from here to sexual services or prostitution – and the journalist jumped to conclusions on purpose.
Moreover, the attempt to confuse the life and individual opinions of some private persons with the activity of an organization is a typical discrediting action, usually used in politics! Has Mr Borg mistaken the section of the newspaper in which he writes?
Here we do not discuss the fact that many years ago a teacher (even if he is a coordinating teacher), decided to make a movie in order to illustrate a millenary Tantric method or whether or not the fact that it was artistically successful. The movie and its making has never been a secret and therefore we cannot speak of it as being an attempt to mislead public opinion. The intention to insinuate that these private actions are a characteristic of the yoga school is scandalous. We respect the private choices that each person makes in life and we encourage each individual to live according to their principles. Such statements show a serious lack of knowledge about yoga since the science of yoga cannot be judged by what some yogis do in their personal life. This intentional confusion aims to suggest that Natha Yogacenter is promiscuous so as to argue that the granting of funds from the Kommune was a wrong gesture. How come the investigating journalist did not discover that among Natha’s students there are medical doctors, students of reputable universities, famous actors, renowned sexologists, psychologists and musicians? The method used by the journalist is one in which you find a particular aspect which could be considered to be true from a certain perspective and then generalising this aspect in an abusive way, thus applying this aspect to other aspects which the journalist wants to demonstrate – in this case presenting Natha as a firm for sexual services. If he had asked us, we would have been at his disposal to provide complete information about the school’s financial status and as a result the investigation would have been truly complete. In this case, probably the investigation would not have ended with the scandalous results that Mr Borg successfully obtained by using this simple method of manipulating public opinion.
This series of lies is completed by the following lie which completely distorts the possible outcome of the trial regarding the 21 yoga teachers in Romania. As a result of the “investigations” made by Mr Borg, he finds the 21 yoga teachers accused of “prostitution, trafficking of women and tax fraud”, when in reality the trial is about the following accusations: human trafficking and constituting such a group. The only aspect taken into account was the way ‘karma yoga’ (voluntary work done in a spiritual way) was interpreted by prosecutors within the Romanian law. The indictments don’t contain any sexual accusations or references to prostitution. The only reference to prostitution or women trafficking is to be found in the Romanian tabloids, none of these ever being proven or the subject of a trial!
Is Mr Borg incapable of differentiating between a juridical source and a source from a tabloid??
Without needing to discuss the truth of the accusations from the Romanian authorities, it is clear that the investigating journalist is distorting the facts.
Attentively following the unfoldment of the events in connection to MISA Yoga School in Romania (The abuse of MISA by the Romanian government even became a subject of discussion in the European parliament and is one of the reasons why Romania, as a new member of the European Union, received warnings from the European Forum regarding Justice) we cannot help but notice a strikingly similar procedure! Calumnies are thrown out to the press without any prior investigation, the accusations are based only on the opinions of ex-students (only 2 of them) and of groups with a clearly preferential agenda…no, we are not describing here the Natha case in the Scandinavian press, but the MISA case in the Romanian press, in order to show the striking resemblance. The only difference is that in Romania the government dared to make physical abuses against yoga practitioners. Hopefully, we will not see that in Denmark.
If we are to follow the plan that is shaping up through this campaign, the next step is to find one angry parent, who lost his or her child in the sect, even if the child is in his second youth or maybe even close to retiring! Let us see if what follows in this campaign will put us in the position of prophesizing, by making this anticipation, or it will prove us that our country is more mature and that here we truly know how to integrate all cultures and human aspirations in a superior spirit of mutual understanding.
To conclude, all these specifications give us the right to ask JP to make the necessary corrections. Their mistakes bring grave material and spiritual prejudices towards Natha Yogacenter.
I took the following article from Nathas web page because of the new presentation…
Natha Presentation Video
Our New Presentation Movie
Welcome to first time visitors and current students of our school. This new presentation movie and the following article are both a premiere.
Who are we after all? Since Yoga and Tantra are fundamentally about recognizing our true inner nature, from a certain perspective we can say that we are, who you will find yourself to be after years of intensive training and inner transformations. Natha Yogacenter fundamentally consists of two equally important uniquums: Its teaching system and its students. Natha Yogacenter has for the last 15 years had a privileged position in the alternative environment of yoga and meditation schools in Denmark.
First of all, we became known for being the only school for many years beside ‘Vækstcenteret’, who were teaching the ancient practice of Tantra and its exemplary induction into the mysteries of human consciousness, through a genial elaborated teaching system equilibrating the Western science of matter and the Eastern wisdom of spirit.
Who are you? Becoming a student of Natha, you follow the spiritual journey of thousands of people who during the years have got to taste the powerful reality of beauty and serenity experienced through yoga and tantra and thus transformed inspiring teachings to fruitful self knowledge. 15 years ago Natha Yogacenter was seeding what is now aspiring to become a silent implosion of consciousness within our society.
The profound understanding of life and inner maturity which goes in lovers hand with a genuine understanding of Tantra has, through the broad variety of students from all kind of social, religious and ideological positions, created an opening in society to integrate in our everyday life, for example a more profound understanding of our sexuality (our basic life resource), our consciousness (our essential identity) and our purpose for being here and now (our destiny).
We do not expose students or former students to cheap PR. Still it is no secret that you today can hear a famous sexologist promoting the tantric ideas, or find well-known actors, dancers, musicians, screen-writers, scientists or businessmen relating to their work of life in a tantric way.
In this way our yoga school is discretely and indirectly awakening and amplifying certain positive and harmonious creative forces in our society and contribute to the higher common goal of developing the beneficial structures in our culture.
As a result of several years of research and studies of the effects of our teaching system it has been recognized as being highly competent. First by the students who intensively practised the different yoga and tantra techniques, and then by the society as catalysing the development of certain admirable human qualities.
That actually means that all the courses we are teaching are acknowledged as being based on scientific methods and facts concerning the information you will receive in the written course material. Also the practice of yoga, tantra and meditation got the blue print to have incredible beneficial effect on the physical and psychic health of the human being.
It was a great step for Natha Yogacenter and also for the recognition of yoga and tantra as practices and disciplines, being a field of experience where science and spirituality meet and even merge together.
The generous support from the Kommune has given the privileged opportunity for our yoga school to employ several yoga teachers and thus secure a much higher degree of stability and progress of the activities, by helping the teachers to dedicate more time and energy to their important role as trainers for the students of the school.
Nevertheless like in any other association, one of the main pillar principle of our yoga school is that it belongs to those who involve themselves and who take initiative, and in this way gradually transforms the teachings of yoga and tantra from theory to a way of life.
Therefore the yoga school insists in its entire structure and works on the principle of voluntary work integrated in the course material as the practice of karma yoga: how to turn any exterior action into a profound inner experience of awareness.
The daily routine The daily routine of the yoga school is structured as in any ‘folkeoplysende forening’ with an executive board elected on the yearly general assembly for all the members. The board are responsible of carrying out the administrative tasks and legal procedures of the association.
That does not mean that they are doing it all on their own. The yoga school can be compared with a living organism, where different teams are taking care of vital functions, necessary to keep the school running.
We have thus a teacher team, an office team, a communication and press team, a reception team, a restaurant team, a cleaning team, a ‘genitor’ team and presently we also have a ‘construction team’ organised by the male students of the school, who are finishing the last details on our new yoga house, Concordia.
For about 15 years – as long as the yoga school has existed – all the ‘vital organs’ have only been running on voluntary work, thus secured by dedicated students and teachers of the school spending all their spare time on maintaining important tasks.
The teacher team If the board care takes the administrative management and decision making part of the association, the teacher team is in many ways its beating Heart, from where the teaching are supposed to radiate the legacy and both guide newcomers to discover the profound and mysterious world of meditation and give more advanced students the chance to go even deeper in their yoga practice and comprehend its results through consulting experienced yoga teachers.
The teaching system of Natha is a system developed by many years of experience and kept on the same direction by a senior teacher, having the role as coordinating yoga teacher. The role of that teacher is to coach the other teachers and to secure that the teaching is kept according to the copyright teaching system, thus making sure that any student who sign up for the courses will be taught an efficient, safe and authentic yoga, which has proved to carry beneficial fruits for thousands of people.
Presently the coordinating yoga teacher is Mihai who for the last seven years has been guiding and coaching the other teachers.
A harmonious integration in society Being a very charismatic person with a great human understanding and spiritual clarity Mihai easily gains the sympathy and respect of the people around him. Often you will find a queue of people waiting to seek his advice in many different matters of life. Sometimes you might even find members of the board lined up in the queue, asking his advice on vital matters for the school.
Natha is thus an excellent example of how a yoga school with a traditional legacy and an authentic teaching system can be integrated harmoniously in a modern society and even in a governmental support program.
As all the members of the board are either dedicated students or yoga teachers it is their responsibility and also their challenge to translate the legacy of yoga, tantra ad meditation into a practical context, taking decisions about vital matters as economy, press and other administrative priorities.
Thus, the yoga school becomes the perfect playground for people to practice yoga and tantra and at the same time contributing in a beneficial way to build within our society some important social meeting places where people of common interest in personal and spiritual transformation can develop within everyday life.
In the general assembly, on the 16th of March 2008, the great decision of moving to Concordia on Nordre Fasanvej 230 was taken. The decision had major consequences for the yoga school in all aspects.
Even though it was a big step and some had their doubts about its impact, now, one year after the move, we have created the perfect nurturing environment for the further development of what might become a whole new way of life.
Who is Grieg? Natha yoga center has received all of its teachings from yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru, or Grieg, as he is called by those who are close to him. Grieg is the founder of this remarkable and unique yoga system, which is combining the ancient Oriental spiritual teachings with modern Western science, in a perfectly coherent synthezis. To learn more about this true spiritual master and amazing and fascinating being, you may visit www.gregorianbivolaru.com.
Grieg first established the Romanian yoga school M.I.S.A (the movement for spiritual integration with the Absolute), from where the teachings then spread to many other countries around the world, through the openning of new yoga schools, all of which are also following the teachings of Grieg. Natha yoga centre is the first of these schools to be founded outside Romania. All these yoga schools, including M.I.S.A, are now part of the Atman yoga federation, which is founded on the spiritual teachings of Grieg. For many years, Natha yoga centre received its teachings from M.I.S.A, including thousands of written courses of yoga. In the last years, Natha has begun to also contribute to the creation of new teaching materials, by forming new courses, and sharing these teaching materials with the rest of the schools within the Atman federation.
The new tantra course Natha yoga center is having the first tantra course which is structured, containing material and techniques which are taught progressively, in weekly courses, over a period of many years. This course is combining theory with practicing of techniques and thus allows the ancient tantric wisdom to become easily grasped and put into use by the modern human being. Indeed, this tantra course, by combining the age-old tantric teachings with modern theories, is holding within it a valuable key for resolving many of the problems of the modern age and for assisting each of us in the quest for fulfillment, happiness, harmony, love and personal transformation. The tantra course introduces the notion of sexual continence – meaning the perfect and effortless control over the sexual energies. This control allows both men and women to make love indefinitely, to experience many orgasms, even hours at a time, without the sexual discharge which brings with it the loss of the energy. In this way, both men and women develop an enormous energy within their being, which will be at their disposal in any aspect of their lives. The sexual continence, as taught in Natha’s tantra course, is empowering the human being on a process of releasing and dissolving of all the frustrations, conditionings, limitations and stress which are keeping him in a state of inner lack of freedom and unhappiness. Through the teachings contained in this tantra course, life itself becomes a spiritual practice – a spiritual journey of the human being on his way to discover his true nature.
Yoga teacher training course: Natha yoga centre also holds a course of training for aspirant yoga teachers. This in-depth training course lasts five years, and at the end of which, after passing a written and practical exam, and after handing in a special project, the graduates receive a diploma of being a certified yoga teacher. Natha’s teacher training course is developing new generations of yoga teachers in all the schools of the Atman Federation. The new yoga centre of Natha – Concordia, in Nordre Fasanvej 230, is a perfect facility for hosting this teachers training course, offering appropriate space for the large number of teacher aspirants as well as yoga halls of a high quality.
At the end of February 2009 we celebrated the graduation of over 80 new yoga teachers, who are now offering the ancient wisdom teachings of yoga all over the world, each of them working selflessly to serve his/her own community in this manner.
Natha and the Atman Federation
Natha is a Danish people’s association, being in the same time part of the Atman International Federation of yoga schools. While Natha is completely independent from an administrative perspective, nevertheless, it has a very fruitful spiritual cooperation with the other schools of yoga within the Atman Federation. This cooperation is taking the shape of the sharing of the spiritual teachings and written materials and the exchange of teachers between the schools. Yoga teachers from Natha have gone to teach in other yoga schools in different countries, and even started other yoga schools within the Atman federation. In this manner, Natha, along side its sister schools from the Atman federation, work together in harmony to make the spiritual teachings available to people in many countries around the world, considering that spirituality is necessary for the human fulfillment and happiness, now more then ever. Thus, Natha yoga centre is dedicating itself completely to the purpose of serving human beings, and helping them to achieve spiritual transformation and a harmonious life full of joy, on every level.
Continuous Transformation: Today, the teachings of Grieg continue to be the living spirit at the heart of Natha yoga center. Grieg’s teachings have influenced hundreds of thousands all over the world and have introduced many revolutionary notions such as ”the law of resonance”. For all those who know him or have encountered his teachings, Grieg continues to be an ever radiant source of inspiration and guidance on the spiritual path, manifesting through his own being the very ideals that all spiritual seekers aspire to. His recent announcement of the new spiritual community ”for God, through God, with God, in God” which will be formed in Romania in the summer, as well as the invitation to join this community, which he has extended to all those who feel God’s calling, have both awakened great enthusiasm in many spiritual practitioners around the world. To know more about this amazing being, to read his biography and much more, you may visit www.gregorianbivolaru.com/whoisgb-1.php. It is Grieg’s teachings which make Natha yoga centre be a spiritual school full of life, enthusiasm and vitality, always growing and improving, a school in continuous transformation, a school for continuous transformation.
Written by Sahajananda Porslund and Arthur Lederer
