The quest for spiritual health is a practical necessity, not a lofty ideal

An article on Swamiji published on Pittsburgh Tribune

Swami advocates easing stress through spirituality
By William Loeffler, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The quest for spiritual health is a practical necessity, not a lofty ideal, says a Hindu yogi who begins a six-day residence Saturday at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills.
Swami Mukundananda is a spiritual leader whose lectures apply the ancient Vedas, or Hindu scriptures, to the challenges of 21st-century existence. He teaches audiences how to manage stress through yoga and meditation.
“Spirituality is not removed from our mundane practical life,” he says. “If practiced for some time on a daily basis, it helps us in doing all the other activities throughout the day as well. “
His program “The Science of Devotion & Grace” runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 6 to 9 p.m. June 20 through 23. The series is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Dr. Nagu B. Krishnappa, chairman of the board of trustees for the Sri Venkateswara Temple, says he met the swami last year during a Pittsburgh appearance.
“I was so impressed with this person, the way he communicated, the way he taught Vedic knowledge in practical life,” Krishnappa says.
Krishnappa, a pediatrician with a practice in Greensburg, says the swami’s program is about wellness, not proselytizing.
“It is not a speech about the Hindu gods, that’s not the issue at all,” he says. “They’ll talk about your own body, how you control your own body, how you control your own mind and how you control your own soul, and how you balance them.”
Mukundananda looks as one might expect a holy man to look — serene countenance, flowing saffron garments, a high forehead marked with a line and a dot that resembles a red exclamation point. The marks symbolize his devotion to the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna, he says.
But he also has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, India’s preeminent business school. He was a mechanical engineer before he renounced his position, at age 23, to pursue a life of spiritual devotion. In addition to lecturing at Hindu temples around the country, he’s spoken to staff at Google headquarters in California and the Kellogg School of Management in Illinois.
“A lot of Indians who have come to the U.S.A. from India share the same education as I do,” says Mukundananda, 50. “They are engineers and MBAs. They do have this desire for spiritual knowledge. They would like to hear it in terms that make sense to them. When they come across a swamiji who has the same educational background, that gives them confidence that they can relate to the message and the manner in which it is presented.”
The ancient Hindu gods might not have foreseen that their wisdom could be applied to such matters as corporate management, but Mukundananda says the teachings transcend millennia.
“When you do realize that your effectiveness in management depends on your state of mind, it makes sense to cultivate our own mind,” he says. “In other words, ‘Manager, manage thyself.'”
Non-Hindus are welcome, Mukundananda says.
He will discuss breathing techniques, body relaxation and proper diet. His particular form of yoga will include spiritual exercises, a component he says is neglected by most yoga studios in the United States.
He drew laughs during one appearance when he explained why we couldn’t remember our past lives: If we did, he said, we’d be arguing with those who had bought or inherited land and other possessions we left behind when we died. There would be chaos.