40 Years ago, on the 19th of Aug, 1982, Shreeguru Dr. Balaji Tambe planted a seed called Aumec. AUMEC stands for Aum Esoteric Connection, and as the name suggests, consisted of a small group of Shreeguruji’s ardent followers, who wanted to ensure that Shreeguruji’s work is taken forward.
For nearly four decades this group became the base of activities concerned with spreading Shreeguruji’s mission, from organising annual concert tours, sometimes in completely new places and cities, to managing meditation groups, event management, coordinating all of Shreeguruji’s travels, camps and seminars twice a year in Pfingsten and Sylvester. Along the way, to connect with the Ayurveda brand, its name was changed to Santulan Veda.
40 years on, Santulan Veda renews the pledge to continue the work for our Spiritual Master. From 22nd to 24th of September 2023, Shreeguruji’s spiritual family had been invited to a series of events in Frankfurt to celebrate the blessings of Shreeguru Dr. Balaji Tambe. The celebrations began with a meditation at Aum Hari or Santulan Life on the 22nd, followed by a sumptuous Italian dinner.
The next afternoon, members of the current board of Santulan paid tribute to Shreeguruji and recounted the journey, thanking previous founders and board members and all the family members for being part of the journey. Angelika Seitz sang a bhajan in service to the Master, Peter Kath took us on a musical journey and was then joined by the inimitable Ishwari, who sang emotionally for Shreeguruji before also regaling the audience with an absolutely hilarious song on Panchakarma. Dinner was followed by a delightful little magic show.
The next morning, on Sunday, the group met for a tour of the old Frankfurt city, guided by Nicole and Bernard Franken, who gave the group a walking presentation of the architecture in the city and its historical significance. This was followed by lunch at a traditional restaurant in the old quarter. The entire program was designed like a family get together to allow people to meet and spend time together.
We thank the board of Santulan Veda and all those who made this possible for a wonderfully organised weekend for the family.
Raksha Bandhan and Narali Purnima at Atmasantulana Village
On 30th August 2023, the residents of the Atmasantulana Village welcomed their brothers in the evening to celebrate Raksha Bandhan. The women of the village began by offering a Rakhi to Shreeguru Dr. Balaji Tambe. The brothers, living in the village and those visiting for the ceremony, were asked to sit on decorated seats, as the women go from seat to seat to perform an aukshan (rotate a ghee lamp in front of their eyes) for their health and protection, and also request the same from them. The brothers often bring small gifts as a mark of their responsibility towards the sisters.
Haritalika Puja at Atmasantulana Village
The Hartalika Puja commemorates the penance that Parvati undertook to win over Lord Shiva. Parvati sought the help of her friends to escape her father’s palace when her marriage was planned to someone else. Hartalika literally means ‘to escape with the help of female friends’. She then found a cave for shelter and began austerities to please Lord Shiva.
The Hartalika puja is performed by wives for the long life of one’s husband. Dr. Malvika Tambe performed the puja along with a group of residents on 18 September at the SKY Centre in Atmasantulana Village.
Santulan Meditation Sessions in London, started by Ashish and Neha Goyal
On 24 September, London had its first Santulan meditation session, organised and led by Ashish and Neha Goyal. The Omnom Indian vegetarian restaurant, known for hosting discourses, kirtans and bhajans, in a studio space above the restaurant, was the ideal venue to begin introducing Shreeguru Dr. Balaji Tambe and Santulan Meditation.
The event was listed on Eventbrite, a popular event discovery and booking app, inviting people to learn about Shreeguruji’s meditation and that the event would consist of techniques, conversation and then a practice session. It underscored the importance of meditating as a group.
While approximately 20 participants were expected, more than 30 people turned up, creating a great atmosphere. Shreeguruji’s altar and photo were placed at the head, with the participants able to see and receive inspiration from Him. Ashish and Neha conducted the session in tandem. They began with why one should meditate and introduced a number of Shreeguruji’s techniques and ideas. First, using music as a tool to meditate, with the SOM afternoon relaxation music as an example. Then they demonstrated lamp gazing as per the SOM morning meditation module. Next, they explained using breath, specifically Anulon-Vilom, as described by Shreeguruji in his youTube video on breath work. Finally, they taught the group how to sing AUM.They explained the three ways of singing AUM and explained the benefits of all these practices. The extremely positive response from participants is apparent in the requests that Ashish has been receiving for the meditation track link on Spotify.
The effort already seems to be developing a roadmap going forward. The Indian High Commission has taken an interest and offered the use of the Nehru Centre venue in London for Ashish and Neha to conduct 3 sessions there in the first quarter of 2024. We would like to congratulate them for this wonderful effort to spread Shreeguruji’s work. We hope and wish that this begins a wonderful journey for Shreeguru Dr. Balaji Tambe’s meditations and programs in the UK.
Atmasantulana Village group visits Shreevardhan during the Ganesh Festival
On 26 September, the Atmasantulana Village residents along with Smt. Veenji, Shri Sunil and Dr. Malvika visited the Tanushree Beach Resort in Valvati, Shrivardhan, for the traditional darshan during the festival of Ganpati. Singing Atharvashirsha to the Shri Ganesha altar established there is an important annual practice that was observed and completed by the family members on this visit.
Sanjay Tambe and Dr. Peter Kath participate in the World Health Congress in Prague
From 15 to 17 September, Dr. Peter Kath, in his capacity as President of the European Ayurveda Association, and Shri Sanjay Tambe, attended the World Health Congress in Prague. Organised by the Institute for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, whose aim is to to create mutual cooperation between medical branches and the branches of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine.
The theme of this event was ‘Accomplishments and Current Trends in TCIM for the 21st Century’. Both Dr. Peter Kath and Shri Sanjay Tambe were invited to share their views and presentations to the audience of health practitioners and researchers from all over the world, gathered at the event.
Ayurveda is recognised as one of the leading medicinal systems in TCIM and the large number of practitioners of Ayurveda from India and abroad at the event suggested an encouraging future for Ayurveda outside India as well.
