Hello all. My name is Dylan. I live in the Ashram (school of meditation) of Swami Shankarananda south of Melbourne in Australia. Swamiji is an old friend of Jeremy Silman’s both in the world of chess and the world of Spirituality.

I work in a café where I serve and meet the same people week after week. Eventually the regulars want to know more about me and ask me where I live.

At this point there are a multitude of possible reactions, and I think I have experienced most of them. Among the most common are, "Do you watch TV. Are you allowed spare time? What do you eat there? Do you have friends? And to my great joy I have the opportunity to tell them the truth. That living with Swamiji in his Ashram is natural Yoga; there is TV, golf, poetry, pizza and chess.

I always walk away with a chuckle and warm heart because I love to introduce people to Swamiji, to the Ashram, and to the possibility of a life of powerful spirituality.

Living in his Ashram for the past five years, I have seen people from every area of society become involved in spiritual life in their own unique way. I am constantly surprised by his ability to give the teaching in a way that each individual can connect with and comprehend. It is an incredible ability to relate openly and compassionately to the present experience of each person.

Swamiji's emphasis is always that we should learn the inner tools of expansion and growth and have them as our own. We then become increasingly empowered in our own practice and inner states.

Swamiji once said, “An enlightened being doesn’t have something that we don’t have. He simply has a stable and strong connection to his core, his Inner Self. We all have that possibility and we all touch that place at different times in our lives. The difference is that he knows how to stay anchored there. Even if something throws him temporarily, he quickly reconnects with his inner joy.”

Swamiji was born in Brooklyn New York, the son of an artist and a schoolteacher. A precocious child, his father taught him chess at a young age. Later he went to Columbia and became a professor of literature. In the early 70s he became interested in Yoga and Meditation when he met Baba Ram Dass. Soon after, he travelled to India were he met his Guru and was initiated as a Swami.

Though rooted in ancient yogic traditions, Swamiji's teaching is an expression of his own experience. Our Self-inquiry groups or our breakfast table conversations can and often do range from high philosophical discussion, to intimate personal counselling, problem solving, a debate about global issues or a friendly banter about our favourite sports. Regardless of the form, these moments of relationship with a teacher like Swamiji are always instructive.

These inner tools and wisdom will now be available here in the form of excerpts from Swamiji's book, questions and answers, and more. Swamiji is also a strong chess player (US National Master) and you can look forward to his reminiscences of his friendship with Bobby Fischer, and experiences with some other chess masters.

Included is a link to our web site. Please visit. There you can purchase Swamiji's book and find a calendar of events. For any specific questions either to Swamiji or myself, please address an email to me at: askus@shiva-ashram.org and I will help you.

In my experience, the hand of inner transformation is never so powerful as it is under guidance of a real teacher like Swamiji. Normal life becomes an arena of growth. Grace reveals itself as the real context of life. So it is with great joy that I welcome you to begin a "cyber Satsang" and to a deeper relationship to your own Self.

Happy For No Good Reason