After my Memorial Tribute to my dear friend Joseph Brennan that I posted on July 12, I felt compelled to let the New York IYI (his spiritual home) know that one of their devoted students and teachers had passed and to make a donation in his memory. The following letter and "In Memoriam” from his teacher and friend, of “a few decades” Swami Asokananda was just emailed to me.
He shares some interesting and additional poignant insights about Joey. His reference to being "fellow ashramites” is defined as a person or persons living in an ashram, a place of rest or contemplation. The reference to Satsang means a spiritual discourse or sacred gathering.
Dear Dr. Augustine,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful memorial tribute to Joe with us. Your close kinship shined through your words.
And thank you for your generous contribution to the New York IYI. It is very much appreciated…I wrote my own brief tribute.
With appreciation and all best wishes,
Swami Asokananda
In Memoriam
On July 9, our beloved teacher, Satsang leader, and former ashramite, Joseph Brennan left the body after an eight-month battle with cancer. I will always remember Joe with much fondness. A few decades ago we were fellow ashramites at the New York IYI. We would do our morning meditation and hatha yoga together. Then Joe would put on his suit and tie and head out to Wall Street, where he had a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. He’d be back in the evening, put on his yoga pants, and join for the 6pm meditation.
He eventually found that the intensity of the stock exchange, and the values of that life, no longer were a good fit for his temperament. He devoted himself fully to sharing the teachings of yoga with others. It was never about the money for Joe; it was all about the service. He did a little advertising with posters that promised “Satisfaction Guaranteed!” He developed many devoted students.
Joe was one of the most positive and good-natured person I’ve ever met. He knew that life entailed loss and suffering, but he used that understanding to probe deeply into the nature of the human condition. When he lost his beloved son, John Patrick Brennan, about three years ago, it seemed to have made him an even kinder and more compassionate being.
Dear friend, like everyone at the IYI, I am missing you. I have no doubt, though, that the Guru is with you and guiding you as your soul continues on its journey Home.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti,
Swami Asokananda
Note: Swami Asokananda was inititated into monkhood in 1973 by his guru, the late Sri Swami Satchidananda Saraswati. Swami Asokananda is President of the Integral Yoga Institute. He is the primary instructor for Intermediate and Advancede Hatha Yoga Trainings taught worldwide.
