Agama brings the authentic roots of Yoga to life through courses, workshops, and retreats, at campuses around the world.
When Swami Vivekananda Saraswati decided to reveal the Agama style, he did a broad survey of Yoga on several continents: what was being offered, how it was being taught, what the spiritual objectives appeared to be (or not be), etc. The answers to these questions painted a bleak picture of the state of this extraordinary system in today's world. Crucial aspects of Yoga were being diluted, omitted, or distorted in the teaching process. Western students especially were being offered a marketed form of Yoga that had more in common with gymnastics and fitness classes than the ancient art and science of cultivating union with God.
He set forth an authentic system, based in the genuine Indian and Tibetan tantric Yoga traditions, incorporating the proper methodology of Yoga transmission – initiation – and using a structure that highly values clarity and efficiency of the teachings, as well as proper atmosphere.
For most people who discover us, Agama is a revelation and a pleasant surprise. We have tried to summarize below some of the reasons which make this school so special, and unlike most spiritual organizations you may have experienced. While nothing can replace direct experience, these ideas will give you a hint of what to expect, and together with the indispensable reading of the other pages about Agama and our courses, it is a good start in knowing us.
Download our Level 1 Yoga Intensive brochure here
Atmosphere
When joining regular Yoga courses, many people expect to find either some blurry New Age environment or a group of rubber-bodied fitness fanatics with a distinct physical fixation. As a result, those who do not fit into these groups naturally don't feel inclined to join such courses.
We believe that neither of these approaches accurately expresses the spirit of the spiritual search, or Yoga. Neither fantasy nor gymnastics can provide that remarkable degree of self-awareness and lucidity that constitutes the backbone of spiritual life and realization. At the Agama courses one feels a spiritual fervor in the air from determined seekers who take responsibility for their lives and destinies, and who are willing to give up self-pity and ignorance for a courageous, knowledgeable approach full of humor, vitality, and common sense.
Clarity
Many people who have skimmed the surface of "spiritual" circles have been turned off not only by the degree of imagination often propagated in such environments, but also by the hazy, fuzzy way in which essential problems are approached and explained. Subjects that are outside the circle's dogma or outside of the teacher's competence cannot be tackled, or they will be answered in arty, baffling, psychoanalytical, or fruitless manners.
If you ask a fundamentalist Christian teacher about the meanings of the worship of tantric goddesses, or go to a classical Patanjali Yoga teacher from India and ask him to explain the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, most often you will get a dismissive, confusing answer that reflects ignorance.
While we believe that no one knows everything, and that there is an inherent mysterious, poetic, and abyssal nature of this manifestation, we still consider that we must reach a basic, accurate knowledge of the world in which we live. As soon as some fundamental information is scientifically and rationally understood, clear answers to most problems of our world become possible, and we are able to solve them in a spiritual manner.
At times, we encounter people who, although involved for a long time with a "spiritual path," lack an elementary compass for the vast ocean of this existence; they are unable to realize where they are placed in the big picture, what the meaning and purpose of their life is, what the next step to take is, what to expect from the great surrounding cosmos, and what their integration in the process of personal and global evolution is. We believe that all spiritual seekers must be given the opportunity to rise above such confusion. Therefore, the Agama teachings address these questions earnestly, giving a clear exposition of the subtle energies at work on the spiritual path, which includes lucid explanations of the mechanisms of diverse spiritual paths.
Quality – Defining the Agama Approach
We believe in high quality, and therefore permanently strive to keep our teaching at top-notch levels. The Agama teachings are comparable to a university-level education with a full curriculum stretching over five years, divided into consecutive blocks of study, and reaching almost all aspects of Yoga, natural self-healing, and spiritual life.
The teachings build over the years to lead dedicated students to profound depths of spiritual awareness. In addition, we also often organize workshops and events with specific themes. Comprehensive course notes, designed to ensure that students assimilate all the information, always accompany the teachings. To give you an idea, the First Level Intensive Course includes a 150-page book covering the studied topics.
At Agama, we never forget the big picture and the vertical dimension of the spiritual process. On the other hand, you don't have to worry that things may get "too serious" or that you won't find a place for simple, down-to-earth concerns, such as managing your diet, for example. What is important is to have a clear picture of life, and of the role you are performing by your actions; sometimes big things actually depend on some very small and trite factors.
Initiation – the Method of Yoga Transmission
Initiation is essential in teaching spirituality and Yoga, and this element is quite different from "teaching" in the Western sense. Initiation is a "subtle influence" whereby a specific form of energy is transferred from teacher to pupil. This is a personal experience, and cannot be acquired from books. It greatly accelerates spiritual progress, ensures accurate practice, and opens the gates for true human communion.
Through teaching by initiation we provide you with practical tools for better health, balance of emotions, improvement of mental capacity, greater happiness, and insight into the deeper meanings of existence.
Efficiency
Western people tend to have a pragmatic, goal-oriented style of living; they often transfer this approach to the spiritual quest, and expect concrete results from spiritual practice. Consequently we often encounter sincere, but confused, seekers who are using ineffective methods, and therefore only travel in fantasy lands: while dreaming about all kinds of parallel worlds and subtle energies of the Universe, they are unable to control their mind and emotions for everyday purposes. While imagining that they feel mysterious energies and that they can guide them at will, they are for example unable to obtain the most simple, down-to-earth, or healing effects in daily life.
The Agama tantric style makes such loss of resources impossible: our courses put the emphasis on practice, with specific aims to get specific results. The techniques are efficient for purifying the body and mind, removing blockages and inhibitions, and improving life so that real advancement is easily within reach. Agama gives comprehensive, clear, and deep teachings on esoteric Yoga and the spiritual life.
Other Reasons Why You Might Like to Join Us
- Have you ever thought about a natural system of healing in which information and methods from other alternative systems can be easily integrated?
- Have you ever dreamed about a way of understanding the human psyche and mind?
- Have you wished for a spirituality in which sexuality could be fully and truly integrated, and used practically for the attainment of higher states of consciousness?
- Have you desired a spiritual path that is transcendent and metaphysical, but also able to solve day-to-day problems and focus on worldly issues?
- Have you ever wondered about a spiritual path in which you could be disciplined and austere, but also where you can laugh and love, socialize, and have adventure?
- Are you interested in telepathy, parallel universes and other forms of consciousness, hypnosis, time travel, mysterious energies of nature, paranormal capacities of the human mind, Kundalini and chakras, human auras, lucid dreaming, tantric meditation, astrology, or Shambhala?
- Have you ever dreamed about the existence of a knowledge that liberally allows the practical understanding of other forms of spirituality, and which can become a "backbone" for your evolution; a system to which you can freely and constructively add many other practices from other teachings, without making a "salad" out of them or becoming ridiculous?
If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, Agama may be the place for you. We look forward to welcoming you soon at one of our centers, workshops, or lectures.