| Photo by Eric Brolin on Unsplash
Sadhu is a holy man, a sannyasin in the Hindu tradition. Many would be surprised to learn that several women and men Pamantasan students from earlier batches in the late 60s and early 70s pursued a path of worldly renunciation during or after their university time. Some were my friends and classmates. It was a unique Pamantasan phenomenon influenced by our exposure to Yoga, Theosophy, and professors who were practitioners of these Oriental traditions.
The most influential was Dr. Perry Lim, a Theosophist and a member of Ananda Marga, a yoga organization based in India. He was popular with his students for making his Human Systems class the easiest to pass. Students from other classes, like myself, had to toil harder to pass the subject.
Through him, many learned about Ananda Marga and the free yoga courses and retreats it offered to become initiates in the practice of meditation. Dr. Lim, meanwhile, started an evening informal discussion group that included meditation on the grounds of nearby Rizal Park. Many attendees were his students. Nightly sessions attracted a growing number of Pamantasan students. Before long, a cohesive group of meditators and Ananda Marga initiates emerged. Although I wasn’t Dr. Lim’s student, I was a regular part of his group.
By my sophomore year, I was an established yoga practitioner and a vegetarian. Soon after leaving my home, I moved into the Ananda Marga Yoga House, a retreat house where the Ananda Marga Indian teacher, an avadhuta, and a yogi renunciate lived. I managed the maintenance of the Yoga House and was soon joined by several of my Pamantasan schoolmates and others as boarders in the Yoga House. In the company of our teacher, we meditated regularly, at least twice a day, and took part in social service activities, relief work during typhoons, and helped in the nightly free yoga classes for the public.
“It was not a passing fancy, for several remained renunciates for many years. Some who eventually left and lived as ordinary men and women remained devout practitioners of the spiritual path. They continue to work in the service of others and teach the spirituality of yoga.”
The House was overcrowded during the Sunday Group Meditation, attended by other members. The place became an important center of spiritual practice. Perhaps due to the constant exposure to the teacher and regular meditation practice, several boarders of the House pursued training to become full-time yoga teachers or acharyas. Several of my schoolmates would soon travel to Ananda Marga’s training center in India to meet the Master, Shri Shri Ananda Murtiji, and begin their rigorous training and studies. They all became renunciates, cutting off their worldly ties to their families to dedicate their lives to the spiritual path and service to humanity. Several former Pamantasan graduates eventually became full-fledged teachers and saffron-robed sadhus.
It was not a passing fancy, for several remained renunciates for many years. Some who eventually left and lived as ordinary men and women remained devout practitioners of the spiritual path. They continue to work in the service of others and teach the spirituality of yoga.
To this day, several Pamantasan graduates continue to practice the yoga discipline of meditation and a meatless diet like ordinary folks. This feature of the early period of Pamantasan is unprecedented and cannot be compared with any academic institution. Why poor students would abdicate the quest for material success and choose an ascetic life is hard to comprehend for many. But this was a tradition uniquely Pamantasan in its early beginnings.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Fernando B. Perfas is an addiction specialist who has written several books and articles on the subject. He currently provides training and consulting services to various government and non-government drug treatment agencies regarding drug treatment and prevention approaches. He can be reached at fbperfas@gmail.com.
