Yogaville: A Living Yoga Community

by Lakshmi Barsel, Ph.D.

Nestled on the banks of the James River in the rolling countryside just south of Charlottesville is the spiritual community of Yogaville (also known as Satchidananda Ashram). This community consists of some of the most loving and diverse people you could ever meet. They have come together from a wide range of different faiths, backgrounds, and nationalities to live the simple yet profound teachings of Yoga, as taught by Sri Swami Satchidananda. Their goal is to realize the spiritual unity behind all the diversity in the world and to live harmoniously as one Universal family while enjoying and honoring the differences.

The founder of Yogaville and of Integral Yoga, Sri Swami Satchidananda, came to the West in 1966. All who met him were attracted to his simple words of wisdom and understanding. He taught the ancient science of Yoga, embracing no one particular religion. All faiths, all religions are good and valid according to Sri Swami Satchidananda. Individuals choose their own path according to their own temperament. Yoga offers techniques to calm the mind and the emotions, open the heart, and make the body healthy, which can in turn be used by spiritual aspirants to go deeper into their own faiths. The "flower generation" flocked around him and begged him to stay in the West. Under his influence, thousands of these young hippies (and many others over the years) stopped using recreational drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Many more people acquired better health by adopting a vegetarian diet and a yogic lifestyle. Under his direction, Dean Ornish spearheaded his famous program to reverse heart disease by using Yoga and a low-fat vegetarian diet and Michael Lerner founded the Commonweal Cancer Programs. Among the many honors that Sri Swami Satchidananda received for his untiring pubic service are the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, the Anti-Defamation League's Humanitarian Award, the Juliet Hollister Interfaith Award and the U Thant Peace Award.

At the heart of Yogaville is the Light of Truth Universal Shrine, LOTUS. This shrine is dedicated to the universal teaching that "Truth is One, Paths are Many." Opened in July 1986, the LOTUS honors the Divine Light, the One Truth, that is behind all the world's faiths along with all the diverse paths that humankind has taken to reach that One Truth. It embodies Sri Swami Satchidananda's efforts to foster peace and religious harmony throughout the world. Built in the shape of a lotus blossom-the symbol for the spiritual unfoldment of the soul-the Shrine has a central ascending column of light that represents the one Truth. This central light divides into twelve rays that illuminate altars for all the major and minor world religions. A sanctuary for silent meditation, contemplation, and prayer, the LOTUS is a place where people of all backgrounds and faiths can come together under one roof to honor individual traditions while realizing the ultimate spiritual unity of all.

Yogaville is also the headquarters of Integral Yoga International, which oversees Integral Yoga Institutes and Teaching Centers all over the world. Just as LOTUS embraces all the religions, Integral Yoga embraces all the branches of Yoga. The goal of Yoga is to calm the mind to experience the Divine-the Oneness that permeates the entire universe. Most people are familiar with the Yoga postures, which is referred to as Hatha Yoga. This method of Yoga calms the mind by making the body strong, healthy, stress-free, and toxin-free. Another branch uses devotion and love to calm the mind (Bhakti Yoga); another uses the intellect and "discriminative inquiry" (Jnana Yoga); another selfless service (Karma Yoga); still another uses a combination of moral precepts and meditation (Raja Yoga); and so on. Integral Yoga presents all these methods and lets individuals choose the type or types of Yoga that appeals most to them.

The Yogaville community consists of people from all stations of life who have gathered together to experience a yogic lifestyle and support one another on the spiritual path. Residents include monastics, married couples, families with children, single adults, and senior citizens.

The monastics, like their Christian and Buddhist counterpart, take vows of renunciation and dedicate their lives to serving others. They belong to an order founded in India in 9AD by the great Indian saint and philosopher Shankaracharya. They serve the Yogaville and also the greater international yogic community in whatever way they possibly can: primarily as teachers, administrators, and religious celebrants, but also, as maintenance people, cooks, medical practitioners, and more.

A number of single adults and a few married couples also live at the Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville as so-called "Karma Yogis" and "Living Yoga Trainees," those who have dedicated a portion of their lives (one month to several years) to serving others and living a yogic lifestyle. The Karma Yogis commit to stay for at least a year and form a part of the workforce at the Ashram in exchange for room and board, yoga classes and lifestyle, and a small allowance. Living Yoga Trainees come for 1-6 months. They join in the daily schedule of hatha yoga classes, meditation, and service, and attend special lecture and discussion classes designed especially for their program.

The rest of the Yogaville community consists of the so-called "householders." They are single individuals, married couples and families that live on or near Yogaville and maintain separate households. They earn their living through outside employment or as employees of the Ashram or Ashram businesses. Like the other community members, householders are free to join in the daily schedule of group meditations, Hatha Yoga classes, and evening programs as their schedule permits. Their children attend an Integral Yoga school called the Yogaville Vidyalayam (Temple of Learning) where they study yoga and ecumenism along with a regular grade-school curriculum.

There is also a constant flow of overnight and day guests and program participants. Many come to attend residential teacher training programs, retreats, and workshops on Yoga and health; others to rest and relax in the country, to visit the LOTUS Shrine, or to attend the Saturday night public program.