Our story
- Our story
- Maitri Karuna Spiritual & Healing Center
- Why the name Maitri Karuna?
We found ourselves in the times that bring amazing possibilities, but also worries and health problems. We are focused on achievement and fast living. Nowadays, people often talk of psychosomatic ailments, health problems and chronic civilization illnesses (diseases of affluence, lifestyle disease), that often cannot be cured by conventional allopathic western medicine.
I personally call this ‘disease of the soul’. Only our soul knows the real reason why we are now here, incarnated in our body. Each one of us has the answers to all of our questions in our inner self. By turning to our inner self, listening to our own soul and intuition, we have a unique opportunity to understand the real nature of the matters and to find a path that will return us to full health, balance and harmony.
I have myself gone through a difficult life period, thanks to which I progressed and understood a lot. The state of burn out and serious problems with my digestive system have persisted for several years. From the medicinal perspective, I was healthy, just extremely tired and exhausted. I have been offered antidepressants which I resolutely refused to take. I have embarked on the journey deep into my soul, to the inner me, looking for my real Self… I have, first-hand, tried alternative techniques that led to healing my soul as well as my physical body. The journey back to health was a journey of self-realization and transformation. I am grateful to my spiritual guides, teachers and alternative therapists, that have guided me through it and pointed me in the right direction…without them, I would not have managed this process… They were not only qualified therapists, but also beings that undertook the role of my “teachers” in everyday life, who posed as my mirror and gave me the valuable life lessons. That, in turn, brought me the "healing” and full consciousness in the areas that needed to be cleansed, straightened and healed… I am sincerely grateful to them and thank them for my experience…
I have been a student and teacher of Iyengar yoga for almost 20 years. I have been leading therapy lessons from the moment I was certified as a Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher. I have known for a long while, that to be a guide and to help others on their journey of self-recognition is my dharma. Nevertheless, my own recent experience has moved me forward, opened my consciousness and inspired me to study alternative healing methods and work with energy. I have completed courses of Pranic Healing in India and have, for some time, been practicing the Access Bars Method. I have decided to offer all of this to others and to connect with other therapists, that have helped me to see things from a different perspective.
Maitri Karuna (friendliness/compassion) Spiritual & Healing Center is a project, that should be beneficial for all, that have embarked are on their journey of self realization leading towards the healing of the soul and of the physical body…
This project focusing on conscious soul healing and improvement of physical health is inspired by friendship and compassion, which are the two basic principles creating inner balance. When a person wants to ‘heal’ others or would like to be ‘healed’ by others, it is important to have a friendly attitude and compassion, so that the persons can connect in harmony … this is my vision …
My decision to found a spiritually orientated center for all of you, that wish to embark on the journey of soul healing through which you can improve your physical health, is inspired by my own life story.
The length of the journey, that each one of us shall endure from birth to the moment of completing a journey of self realization, is different for each one of us. Such journey is influenced by our behavioral patterns and wrong believes that correspond with the environment in which we are developing, but also with the karmic burden, that we bring to the specific incarnation.
The understanding, that we all have the possibility to create our own life in a way that we select and choose, with accepting full responsibility for our actions, is the journey to our healing and freedom from restrictions. Wrong convictions and behavioral patterns, adopted from others participating in our lives, only block and ruin us.
Maitri Karuna can be your pillar on your journey to the depth of real ‘Self’, leading to the life of joy and lightness, that each one of us can immediately freely choose.
Our widened consciousness brings visions and becomes our inner compass, that we call an intuition.
And as such, one early morning, in the half sleep state of mind, Maitri Karuna came to me as a vision. I have been practicing, almost daily, chanting of mantras and Yoga sutras for several years. Patanjali’s yoga sutras are the basis of the teaching of B.K.S Iyengar, with which I resonate for many years.
Yoga sutra 1.33 has been, for many years, running often through my mind as a background to my being.
Patanjali says in sutra 1.33:
“maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam”
“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”
Patanjali’s commentary to this ancient text says:
In his commentary on Patanjali’s ancient yogic scriptures, he says;
“Remember, our goal is to keep the serenity of our minds.” Whether interested in yoga or not, he says, this tool will help anyone maintain peacefulness through anything. Keep this sutra with you as you move through your daily life.
In this sutra, Patanjali says that there are only four kinds of locks in the world.
The four locks are:
Sukha – happy people
Dukha – unhappy people
Punya – the virtuous
Apunya – the wicked
At any given moment, you can fit any person into one of these four categories.
Patanjali gives 4 keys to open these locks. He says that if we always keep these 4 keys with us, when we come across any of these four locks, we will have the proper key to open it. The four keys are: maitri (friendliness), karuna (compassion), mudita (delight), and upekshanam (disregard).
Patanjali reminds us that there is a Yogic way of approaching all people, no matter what behaviors and attitudes they may be exhibiting at the moment.
When you see a happy person, use the “friendliness” key. This means being able to share in another person’s happiness or good fortune, instead of being jealous or trying to destroy their joy through a bitter attitude or negative verbal comments. Through jealousy, you will not disturb the happy person but you disturb your own serenity. So we should always have the friendliness key when we see happy people.
When you see an unhappy person, use the “compassion” key.
When someone is upset, try to help them or comfort them if you can. If they need space, then leave them alone after letting them know you will be there for them when they are ready. Don’t take pleasure in seeing someone else suffer, but remember how it felt when it happened to you and have compassion for them. By doing that, you will retain the peace of your own mind.
When you see a virtuous person, use the “delight” key. If you see a virtuous person, feel delighted. Do not envy the person, but rather appreciate the virtuous qualities and try to cultivate them in your own life. As we rejoice in and appreciate their qualities, we are inspired by knowing such greatness is possible. Observing noble qualities in others is a virtue of the heart.
When you see a wicked (non-virtuous) person, use the “disregard” key. We need to develop equanimity towards those whose actions oppose our values. It would be wonderful if all people always acted with honor and consciousness, but unfortunately this is not always the way. We ourselves, may have acted, spoken, or thought unkindly or hurt another person. So become indifferent to the person who is wicked at the moment.
In daily life we see people around who are happier than we are, people who are less happy. Some may be doing praiseworthy things and others causing problems. Whatever may be our usual attitude toward such people and their actions, if we can be pleased with others who are happier than ourselves, compassionate toward those who are unhappy, joyful with those doing praiseworthy things, and remain undisturbed by the errors of others, our mind will be very tranquil.