The second International Congress of Yoga and Alternative Therapies organized by Atman, the International Federation of Yoga and Meditation, proved that the previous Congress had not simply been “beginner’s luck” or an “accidental” result. It again took place in Bucharest, between 13th and 17th of October, where it was again hosted by the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute, probably the largest yoga school in Europe. The 2010 Congress visibly exceeded the previous similar event, both by attendance but especially by quality.
The spiritual effervescence manifested concretely into a high level of participation. With more than 80 lectures and workshops taking place across four yoga halls, generously provided by MISA, this Congress offered a great spiritual feast to the public. If we relate to the famous parable of the talents told by Jesus (Matt. 25:14-30) as a reference text regarding efficiency in spiritual evolution, then we can say that the International Congress of Yoga and Alternative Therapies already succeeded in at least doubling its talents, after only the second Congress.
Wise men say, when man takes one step towards God, God takes 100 steps towards man. During the first Congress, both the organizers and participants did their best to bring ancient yoga wisdom to the Western world. Thus, we can say that they took the necessary first step towards the Absolute, towards the Divine Supreme Consciousness, the eternal source of any form of wisdom. As a consequence, the second Congress was firstly a clear expression of the “100 steps” that God made towards those who value and promote authentic spirituality. This is why in the opening ceremony, some amazing synchronicities were presented, that led to the name of the Congress: “God is giving us signs…”.
Like the previous Congress, the second came to life through the enthusiastic voluntary work of people from MISA and other members of ATMAN, who once more surprised both speakers and participants with their hospitality. The warm atmosphere created by the gathering of friends who came from all over the globe, combined with the thrill and excitement of meeting new people and making new friends gave an overall heartfelt feeling from the very beginning.
Not only did the number of lectures, seminars and workshops more than double, but also the variety of subjects and their quality exceeded all expectations. Yoga is a universal spiritual science, developing the human being’s path to transformation and evolution. It is a path that leads towards fulfillment of the most important ideals of the human being. Here in the West, yoga was adapted to the culture and modern lifestyle and in this process it has suffered a dramatic simplification, to the point of becoming almost spiritually “sterile”. Hidden by the superficial yet sometimes quite spectacular effects of yoga practice, the true ancient path of yoga has often been forgotten, and its simplified form fits with the agitated lifestyle (and minds) of most people today. But, by cutting out the spiritual aspects, yoga loses almost all of its best and wonderful gifts that it has to offer to contemporary people.
During the second Congress, spiritual seekers from genuine yoga schools gathered together in an effort to revive and present to a large and interested public the true spirit of the yoga system that goes far beyond the impressions we have nowadays. Amongst the traditional yoga and ayurveda subjects – which also reached further depths both from a theoretical and a practical aspect – participants were amazed to encounter a large number of studies proving the profound connection between authentic spiritual traditions and the development of modern science. Recent discoveries in physics, medicine, neurology, psychology, genetics etc regarding personal development and improving the quality of life were explored, and connections were made with universal spiritual principles. We learned how correctly and perseveringly applied spiritual practice is not only a method to generally enhance the quality of both life and health, but it represents an extremely important basis for educational processes and for academic research. From this perspective, a very promising project was presented for the first time at this Congress: an Integral Planetary Spiritual University, a place where spirituality will become the science of the future and science will become the most appropriate method for confirming the steps taken on the spiritual path. This wide opening towards the borderline sciences and their connection to spirituality was also a “trailer” for the coming third Congress.
An important aspect to mention here was that as well as the lectures on yoga and alternative therapies the participants had the chance to enjoy some short but consistent presentations on some of the yoga schools across Europe and the world, who were participating in the Congress. This created a state of unity in diversity and a communion of spiritual hearts – an invaluable treasure, like a source of spiritual light, which all those participating could take home with them.
Also held for the second time, the Contest for Promoting Spiritual Values was again the peak of the entire Congress. Once more, hundreds of yoga practitioners gathered for a spiritual manifestation which kept the audience breathless for several hours. And once again, the true winner of this contest was the spirit of fraternity and unity, along with the spirit of genuine transformation of all those whom by joining, aimed to perceive an objective feedback of their personal level of evolution. New standards of quality and endurance were established, which became alive examples for all the other yogis.
The entire second Congress seemed to be held under a sign marked, “miraculous”. Not only were the amazing subjects of “divine miracles” or “providential signs” presented and analyzed from various points of view, there were also many “magic” moments over the four days. Along with the quality of the presentations, the eloquence of the speakers and the curiosity and openness of the audience, the artistic performances were genuine gateways towards realms of universal beauty, harmony and truth. After two amazing music concerts (Catalin Truta (OMU) and Jeszenszky Istvan) which took the audience through the spiritual values of the ancient, sacred Romanian and Indian music, the Sophrozin theatre group, followed with the performance, “Call of Paradise”, helping the warm and generous public to become aware of the 100 steps God has made towards man, through direct experience.
