MANSOOR

Mansoor was born into a traditional Muslim family in Old Delhi in 1954. Post-partition India, was full of deep wounds and distrust between the different religious communities. From a very young age Mansoor was acutely aware of these immense contradictions and there was a feeling that somewhere, there must be a common ground and a meeting point beyond all these conflicting religious and sectarian beliefs.
In his teens Mansoor, by chance, started reading books by Ramana Maharishi, whose teachings were to later have a profound influence on him.

At the age of 17 Mansoor travelled around Europe and then went on to live in America for the next 24 years. There he was able to view life from many different angles and explored a wide range of spiritual traditions: Vedanta, J.Krishnamurti, Zen, Catholicism, Transcendental Meditation, EST etc. He travelled on pilgrimages, and at times was also actively involved with different spiritual organizations.

This period abroad, most importantly led to, and developed Mansoor’s unorthodox understanding and appreciation of Indian philosophy. He had to explore, outside in order to recognize the great wisdom, sitting in Indian spiritual traditions. 

In 1992 Mansoor returned to India, discovered Vipassana and then started practicing Yoga in the Sivananda tradition. A whole new path opened up for him, combining the practice of awareness learnt in Vipassana with Hatha Yoga. Mansoor became a Yoga teacher, and has now been teaching and conducting retreats in USA, India and Europe for the last 13 years. His multi-facetted background, and his openness to embrace and to experience Knowledge from many different sources, has given Mansoor a unique approach, and he has stirred and motivated students from all over the world.

In 1998 Mansoor started studying the scriptures seriously, and taught himself enough Sanskrit to be able to understand the original Indian texts. This knowledge of scripture, particularly the Bhagavad Gita, which has always been closest to his heart, balanced with personal experience, has given a depth to his understanding. He is able to share and communicate this understanding in a remarkable and revealing way, creating a bridge between all the different traditions, East and West, ancient and present.

I have been very fortunate to have been working with Mansoor for the last nine years and to benefit from his guidance, his inspiration, and now to assist in writing this book on Chup Sadhana.

This book seems to have had a life of its own, and has undergone many changes and transformations over the last 2 years.

The final version, which has turned out to be an exploration of Silence, was written in Rishikesh on the banks of the Ganga.

Clarissa 7th January 2009

Forward to the book 'Chup Sadhana' by Mansoor

CLARISSA

Clarissa was born in Austria in 1956 and from early childhood lived in different countries around the world. After completing her postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art in 1981, Clarissa spent several years travelling in Thailand, Burma and Indonesia, and lived in India for many years. This was a time of exploration in the world of art and design.

Throughout her life, Clarissa has explored many different spiritual traditions, and has worked with various teachers. In the early years, the focus was on Sufi, Buddhist and Dzogchen teachings. Later on Yoga and Vipassana meditation have become the main practice.

Her inner journey really took off when she started practicing Yoga, and met her teacher Mansoor, with whom she has been working closely for the last ten years. A vast new horizon opened up for her with the study of scripture, and she was able to recognize the experiences she was having in her own Yoga practice, in this wider context.

Clarissa started teaching Yoga in 2002 in India, where she lived for many years. Now Clarissa is currently based in Zurich running Mandala Yoga Centre   www.mandalyoga.ch