It is sunny and warm as usual in this tropical paradise of Thailand. Koh Phangan is blessed with abundant beauty for those who want to feel the energy of Shakti on their way to Shiva consciousness - waterfalls, rainforest, the sea, and many peaceful spots to explore. We have ample opportunity to practice Yoga in the shade of lush trees, on sandy beaches, or even - as yogis of yore - attired in Nature herself .... Although it is possible to be freer in your ways here, show some consideration for the conservative Buddhist view of most Thais and remember to be discreet. In addition to the sunshine, with end of March have come cooling rains to boost our auras with prana and calmness.

Agama is settling into an excellent rhythm mid-season here on the island. February ended as we celebrated Mahashivaratri with a beautiful ritual of devotion presented by the Shakti Group, as well as some deep meditations on the various aspects of Shiva led by Swami Vivekananda. The spring equinox marked another auspicious moment recently as we moved into a new astrological year. May this new cycle be very beneficial for your spiritual quest! With Aries and correspondent amplification of the Third Eye, we are enjoying a new lecture series by Swami, presented several times per week, on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. By commenting on this sacred work from a Tantric point of view he brings it to a very practical level so even Tom, Dick, and Harry can understand the profound message of this core text! Yes, you heard right – these guys are still on the Path, and so is Walter…. Before and after the Sutra commentaries, there are ajna chakra meditations to enhance the energy at this level. Concurrently to this series, on other nights Swami is giving lectures on "Yoga in Daily Life." Those who attended these talks have realized the great truth that such a thing as "I don’t have time for Yoga" does not actually exist. You are challenged to put your creativity to good use and guided to integrate Yoga into every moment of your life and all that you do.

The Yoga courses are now ongoing from first to advanced months; check our website (www.agamayoga.com) for a complete schedule of programming. In addition, the spring workshop season at Agama Thailand is quickly approaching, giving us the opportunity to go intensely into spiritual subjects in a short amount of time. Tantra 2, to be held the first week of May, synchronizes perfectly with durian season (one of the oldest and most potent aphrodisiacal fruits of Asia), giving us plenty of sexual energy for the practical side of Tantra …. Expanding on this theme, next follow five-day workshops of specialized Tantric training for men and women (separately) – Complete Femininity and Vira – to help us perfect ourselves as Shaktis and Shivas. From there, Swami will take us to a new frontier: Invoking Angels, presented now for the first time, offers theoretical understanding and analysis of the angel realms and their laws, as well as clear and pragmatic methods for contacting them. Although this topic has been shrouded in New Age mystique, Swami has assured that these teachings will adopt the same rational approach with high spiritual impact as all Agama courses. And in the fourth week of May, he will present the long-requested Parapsychology workshop, in which he has promised to reveal some secrets of astral travel and clairvoyance. Thus, as you can see, Swami is making sure things are moving and improving on a spiritual level, uplifting us with both new teachings and aspiration.

At the same time, the Karma Yoga managers together with many karma yogis are taking care that Agama is developing and improving on the physical plane. We now have a Welcome Center on the main road in Haad Chao Phao, offering information for new students and also functioning as the school library, office, and study group meeting place. As the importance of Karma Yoga has been more emphasized within the school lately, and actually all students from fourth month and up are doing weekly Karma Yoga, Swami is also deepening our understanding on this subject in some of the Tuesday night question and answer talks. Great yogi Ramana Maharshi says, "The state in which the performance of the action is free of desire is the way which easily leads towards enlightenment."

Bovy Resort, home of two of our Yoga halls, has taken on an enchanting look after sunset with lights along the path, so students don’t have to trip over palm leaves and coconuts on the way to evening lectures, bhajans, meetings, and movies. Also, as part of our quest to become better acquainted with the Thai national soul, Agama is sponsoring Thai lessons for all students twice per week. "I am a vegetarian" [Pom/Chan gin je] is one of the first, most important things to learn, and the classes turn out to be very fun. Even Swami is attending some of the classes.

Over at Ananda, a brand new resort built by our student Vangelis, we now host the first three levels of the course and just graduated the fantastic Teacher Training Course class of 2006 – seven brave yoginis who struggled through this very intense and comprehensive three-month program to emerge certified Agama teachers. Ananda is slowly developing its own special energy, with pool and sauna parties, monthly full moon spirals and astrological sun sign celebrations, movie nights, and incomparable buffets: Yogesh’s Indian spreads have been a huge success. In addition, we’ve opened a second Yogi Shop here.

Meanwhile, don’t forget that the Agama centers in India (Rishikesh) and Israel (Tel Aviv) are fully running, and Greece (Thessaloniki) will soon reopen (in May). Here in Thailand, we had a good beginning to regional teaching up north in Chiang Mai but the project is at the moment suspended until we can find a new hall. Also monthly retreats have been put on hold although we are moving forward with construction of a retreat bungalow. However, on Sundays there is a mini retreat of three hours’ meditation in early morning and again in evening. And lastly, it appears ever more promising that some of Swami’s books and lectures will be finally published this year, possibly in time for a projected tour of North America beginning in September!

We hope that you can join us this year somewhere! And if you cannot, we enfold you as part of our Agama family. May you be blessed by Divine Grace to stay strongly on the path toward Self-realization.

Om shanti