SUNNYVALE: Swami Chidanand Saraswati, spiritual head of Parmarth Niketan, the largest ashram in Rishikesh is expected to be in the Bay Area on August 4 and will be speaking at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple at 4 pm on how one should connect to his inner net just like he connects to the internet. He is also scheduled to be in Los Angeles on August 5 at Golden Bridge Yoga at 6:30 pm. "It is wonderful to have a high speed connection to the internet, but what about your connection to the inner net?

The internet may bring you great information, but the inner net will bring you great inspiration." Swamiji urges the audience - made up primarily of young and middle aged, well-educated, successful professionals - to make sure they spend at least some time every day connecting to the inner net. "The information highway of the internet leads you to the web. But the inspiration highway of the inner net leads you to freedom rather than to entanglement.

We get entangled in the web, caught by the web, stuck in the web. When we connect to the inner net we never become stuck, but we become free. The internet is wonderful. It connects us to each other, all over the world, across oceans and continents. Use it! Connect with each other but do not forget to use the inner net which connects us to ourselves, to our own deep, divine selves, to God. "The internet is a bridge across cultures, languages and countries, allowing us to cross over and to unite as one global family. But the inner net is a bridge across maya, across our own egos, fears and desires, and when we use the inner net we unite with the Divine.

Thus, being here in this Western world, it is wonderful to succeed, wonderful to prosper, wonderful to flourish. However, if we do not have a strong connection to the inner net then no amount of material success or prosperity can bring us peace, joy and meaning in our lives. The best part of the inner net is that the line is never broken! The connection is never weak! You don't have to look for a "hot spot" in order to connect. The line is always available, always strong and always on, any time of the day or night, in any corner you may be."

What makes Swamiji's message so powerful for Indians living in the west is his unique ability to weave together seamlessly and effortlessly, ancient, profound philosophy, Sanskrit texts, scriptural passages, and modern day colloquial references. His deep understanding of ancient philosophy is matched by his understanding of the challenges faced by Indians (and others) today in the Western world.

When Swamiji is not traveling the world, spreading messages of peace, unity and harmony to audiences of every culture, he is working in India to bring education to the illiterate, food to the hungry, medicine to the sick, training to the unemployable and hope to the downtrodden. India Heritage Research Foundation of which he is founder/chairman, is engaged in a wide range of charitable, humanitarian activities including free schools, women's vocational training programs, orphanages/gurukuls, medical care programs, ecological & animal-care programs and rural development programs.

IHRF is in the final stages of compiling the Encyclopedia of Hinduism. This historic and landmark project will fill a crucial void in global understanding of this most ancient and rich spiritual tradition. Swamiji has also been actively involved in tsunami relief in South India.

From complete immediate, short term relief to reconstruction of entire villages and construction of an orphanage for tsunami orphans and home for widowed/abandoned ladies, IHRF has provided relief and rehabilitation to thousands of devastated people. Under Swamiji's guidance and inspiration, IHRF has also built the first ashrams and medical clinic in the holy land of Lake Mansarovar and Mt. Kailash.