I just received news today that our beloved teacher Lila Ostermann passed away on Thursday June 24th. She was 90 years old. For those of you who had the honour of knowing Lila, she was a woman whose presence will be missed but whose memory will be forever etched in our hearts.
Lila left our community of Lindsay to move to Salt Spring Island about 8 years ago and for the past couple of years had been living in an assisted centre for Seniors. Her son, Mattias Ostermann, had passed away early last year. Lila apparently became poorly mid-June and deteriorated quite quickly. Her loving friends were with her as she passed and they chanted Om Tryambhakam for the last 2 hours of her dear life. She was embraced by the light, in peace and stillness, with her loving Babuji waiting to receive her.
Lila was a remarkable, loving and strong woman with a personality to match. She touched and affected many people throughout her years of teaching yoga and truly lived what she taught. I think for those who knew her, we all have a "Lila" memory - one that may make us smile, laugh or bring a tear to our eye. It was hard to not embrace this tiny powerhouse of a woman! She was definately a catalyst in my life, as she brought me a respite from the stresses of both my inner and outer worlds -- without being aware of the shift her classes were bringing to me. She allowed compassion to move into our lives and to think about the words we spoke to ourselves. She made us laugh, as she marched us into the ladies room of the Armouries to show us how to do a proper "squat" should we ever find ourselves in India. She was the first teacher who exposed us to Laughter Yoga as she would just start to laugh....HA HA HA.... and before we knew it, the whole class was in laughter. Her stories of her life both prior to yoga and within the ashram, intrigued us all as she shared snippets throughout the years. She was a unique woman who changed perspectives of many as she brought yoga into our small community of Lindsay.
For those of you who have been in our studio, the photo of Lila (taken by Anders Widjedal) truly captures her personality and sparkle. Please take a moment for Lila to honour her life. Honour the gift that she gave to you through her yoga, whether it was one class or numerous. Namaste Dearest Lila. I bow to the light in you.
The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
Om. Tryambhakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan
Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat
We worship Shiva - The Three-Eyed (tryambakam) Lord (yajamahe);
Who is fragrant (sugandhim) and nourishes (pushti) and grows (vardhanam) all beings.
As the ripened cucumber (urvarukamiva) is automatically liberated (bandhanaan) (by the intervention of the "farmer") from its bondage to the creeper when it fully ripens;
May He liberate us (mokshiya) from death (mrityor), for the sake of immortality (maamritaat).
Spiritual Significance of the Shiva Mahamantra
Lord Shiva is referred to as tryambakam, the three-eyed one, because his third-eye has been "opened" by the powers of penance and meditation.
The third eye is said to be located in the space between the eyebrows, and is "opened" when one experiences spiritual awakening. So, when we pray to Lord Shiva, we are in essence asking for his blessings and assistance in opening our third eye of spiritual knowledge. The natural consequence of this awakening is that we will be led towards spiritual liberation or moksha, and attain freedom from the cycles of death and rebirth. The goal of chanting this mantra is to spiritually "ripen" so that we can free ourselves Lord Shiva can free us from our bondage to all the material things that bind us!
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