Foundation for International Spiritual Unfoldment

This article is about FISU, the International Organization for teaching Meditation for Spiritual Unfoldment. For other uses, see FISU.

Foundation for International Spiritual Unfoldment (FISU) is an international organization that provides courses of Meditation for Spiritual Unfoldment. It is a non-denominational, non-sectarian organization, registered as a UK Educational Non Profit Making Charity (No: 1061185)^[1] where its headquarters are based in London.

Overview

FISU was established in 1988 as a continuation of IFSU (International Foundation of Spiritual Unfoldment, founded by Gururaj Ananda Yogi) by Gururaj’s prime disciples Rajesh Ananda(b. 1959, Barking, Essex, England) and Jasmini Ananda (native of Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago) who have led the Foundation ever since. It aims to "advance the education of the public in spirituality and related subjects with particular reference to the teachings of Gururaj Ananda Yogi", providing guidance in meditation and spiritual unfoldment.^[1]

The proposed benefits of meditation include overcoming stress,^[2][3][4] depression,^[5] anger,^[6] neutralizing mood swings,^[7] increase creativity,^[7] peace of mind,^[8] inner strength,^[9] increase happiness,^[10] improvement in health,^[11] and generally improving the quality of life.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

Meditation for Spiritual Unfoldment

FISU (Foundation for International Spiritual Unfoldment) uses Spiritual Unfoldment as the method for its meditation philosophy. This is realized by the lectures made by Gururaj Ananda Yogi and Rajesh Ananda on many different subjects ranging from practical to philosophical, metaphysical to mystical, sublime to divine.

Meditation for Spiritual Unfoldment focuses on the regular practice of meditation and conscious effort in the daily living. By this, as questions will arise from within, the meditator as a spiritual aspirant will continuously seek answers towards further knowledge.

The practice of Spiritual Unfoldment meditation then goes further on and the gained knowledge (as a "spiritual" / "mind" food) is digested and assimilated by the meditator. The cycle then continues and restarts as knowledge is acquired, forming the basis for further enquiry. When this information is fully digested and assimilated it becomes wisdom.

The Spiritual Unfoldment meditation school of thought holds as principle that since all humans are individuals spiritually, mentally and physically, they must therefore be treated individually when it comes to the Path of Spiritual Unfoldment and the way they should practice meditation on that path. In practice, since each individual person / meditator is tuned in a distinct "vibration" (known as mantra), the meditation practices to be used by the individual must be unique. A personal mantra is attributed to each individual which is used in the Spiritual Unfoldment meditation, reflecting one’s personal vibration, one’s individuality. The mantra is prescribed by a Spiritual Master (Guru) who has the ability to "hear" that vibration into each person.

The Path

The principles of the Path that are pillaring, lead to and from the Spiritual Unfoldment meditation are:

• the Unfoldment of the Heart,
• the finding of Greater happiness,
• a life of Philosophy -that is a living philosophy- under a non-denominational / non-sectarian spectrum.

Courses and International Training Centers

Whilst its headquarter is located in the UK, FISU currently provides meditation courses with more than 70 Teaching Centres worldwide in many countries: Australia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Spain, Thailand, America, Switzerland, China, Hong Kong, Germany, Hungary and the UK.^[17]

Qualified FISU meditation teachers provide courses (individually or in small groups) of prescribed personalized meditation techniques. Courses may be residential, non-residential, corporate and for children.

Notable FISU Meditators

• Kevin Jolly - Former badminton European and Commonwealth Games gold medalist and National champion for England,^[4] known for his quick temper^[18] used FISU meditation to decrease stress, after having a heart attack.^[19]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Charity Commission record, charity-commission.gov.uk, retrieved 2009-09-07.
2. ^ Stoppler, Melissa, M.D.. Meditation Reduces Stress and Improves Health, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
3. ^ Stoppler, Melissa, M.D.. Stress Management Techniques (cont.), medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
4. ^ ^{a b} Elliott, Jane (2006-4-30).'I was fit, but still had heart attack', bbc.co.uk, 30 April 2006, retrieved 2009-09-07.
5. ^ Staff. Depression: Alternative Therapies For Depression, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
6. ^ Davis, Sylvia. Boost Your Emotional Health, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
7. ^ ^{a b} Staff. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
8. ^ Shelton, Linda (2004-4). The art of meditation: quick escapes to focus your mind and soothe away stress - One-, Five- & 10-Minute Solutions, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
9. ^ Scherr, Michaela. Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe, with which meditation should I go?, usenature.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
10. ^ Davis, Sylvia. Emotional Wellness: Boost Your Emotional Health, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
11. ^ Lindauer, Carly (2005-10-27). Dalai Lama, top scientists to discuss science & clinical applications of meditation, medicalnewstoday.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
12. ^ Staff. Definition of Meditation, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
13. ^ Staff. Meditation Is Good Medicine, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
14. ^ Vogin, Gary. Pain, Pain, Float Away, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
15. ^ Helm II, Standiford, MD. Pain Management, medicinenet.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
16. ^ Staff. Meditation: Take a stress-reduction break wherever you are, mayoclinic.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
17. ^ Staff. FISU Meditation Starts Courses in Scotland (press release), newswiretoday.com, retrieved 2009-09-07.
18. ^ Partington, Dr Sarah and Dr Elizabeth (2006-9-10). Don't Lose Your Rag!, badminton.tv, retrieved 2009-09-07.
19. ^ Staff. Kevin Jolly (testimonial), fisu.org, retrieved 2009-09-07.

Bibliography

• Abhedananda S. (1969). Spiritual Unfoldment. Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. ASIN B000GOZ7NK
• Anderson, V (editor) and Morosani R (editor). (1993). From Darkness to Light : A Selection of Talks by Gururaj Ananda Yogi. American Meditation Society. ISBN 1-8837-9700-4
• Anderson, V (editor) and Morosani R (editor). (2002). The Master Reflects. American Meditation Society. ISBN 1-883797-01-2
• Gururaj Ananda Yogi. (1998). Glimmer of Love. Cape Town: Esquire. ISBN 0-620-12856-9
• Taylor, S (editor). (1980). The Path of Unfoldment, An Introduction to the Teachings of Gururaj Ananda Yogi. London: VSM. ISBN 0-9506781-0-4
• Trine, R.W. (1995). In Tune with the Infinite. Thorsons. ISBN 1-85538-364-0
• Vivekananda S. (2005). Bhakti-Yoga. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1425322352
• Vivekananda S. (1982). Jnana-Yoga. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center. ISBN 0-911206-21-3
• Vivekananda S. (2003). Karma Yoga. Kolkata: Trio Process. ISBN 81-85301-89-1
• Vivekananda S. (2003). Raja Yoga. Kolkata: Trio Process. ISBN 81-85301-16-6

External links

• Official website