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Dario Calvaruso is the conceiver and founder of the Navakaraṇa Method. He has taught extensively in India, Nepal, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Mongolia, Indonesia, Middle-east, Europe, United Kingdom and the Americas. Head of the Navakaraṇa Community, he has trained thousands of Navakaraṇa practitioners and teachers internationally.
Heterogeneous, transformative and philosophical artist since a young age, Dario left Italy and his family when he was 21 on a journey of self-discovery and study of Sāmkhya-Yoga and Āyurveda to India, which lasted over 15 years. His first destination was Kāśi – The City Of Light (Benares, India). During this time, he began the study of Āyurveda with his teacher Paṇḍit Har Govind Miśra. On an auspicious day, while having a bath at the Ganges in Benares, Dario met Swami Jñānānanda Bharati, who took him in his āśrama at Gangotri, the source of the Holy River Ganges living with Swamijī in the Himalayas about 4,000 m altitude.
Dario learnt sāśtra-s in the orthodox tradition (guru-śiṣya paraṃparām) a rare and unique experience, especially for a Westerner. He lived with sufis in Pakistan and later with sadhus in monasteries (āśrama-s) of the śiva-siddhānta tradition in Tamil Nadu. During the years he spent in Tamil Nadu, Dario studied and practised Karaṇas (the Art of Movement) and Bharataṇāṭyam (Indian Classical Dance) with Nāṭyācārya Vṛnda Rāmanan (Trichy). At that time he also studied Yoga Darśana (Yoga philosophy) with Prof. Śrī Rangasvāmi Sourirājan at the Śrīrangam Veda Pāṭha-Śāla (one of the most traditional and highly recognised centre of Vedic Studies). He was initiated and guided in the study of Sanskrit language by Prof. Śrī Rangasvāmi Tirunārāyaṇan (a well-know Indian scholar). In 2007 Dario started his own āśrama at Srirangam (India), a city-temple and small island in the River Kaveri. Besides running the āśrama, Dario completed a period of academic studies on Yoga, Psychology, Counselling and Philosophy in India. Navakaraṇa Method came about spontaneously from his attempt to systematise different śāṣtra-s (traditional arts and sciences) into one holistic and comprehensive methodology for self-discovery, healing and transformation.
Dario has lived, studied and taught all over Asia. It was in Japan where he met the Grandmaster Fujiyoshi Etsuzan from whom he inherited and brought into Navakaraṇa the traditional Sui-Zen (sound-meditation). Since 2017 Dario has incorporated zen melodies (shirabe), creating sound-mediation practices. In 2022 Dario established Navakaraṇa Kyorei, a gurukulam and āśrama for self-transformation and organic living in Yakushima, one of the Ōsumi Islands at the south of Japan (a UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve). His project “Navakaraṇa Kyorei” has attracted international attention from movie directors and the medias.
Dario continue conducting Workshops, Retreats and Teacher Training Courses on Navakaraṇa internationally.
Navakaraṇa Lineage
Navakaraṇa Sākalya Tantra (shorten “Navakaraṇa Tantra”) is a methodology for “holistic self-transformation”. Navakaraṇa was conceived, founded and developped by Dario Calvaruso through a multidisciplinary integration of ancient practices into a modern scientific approach. Navakaraṇa is today taught by several teachers internationally.
Dario Calvaruso inherited the knowledge and practice of Sāṃkhya and Āyurveda in the traditional form from the late Paṇḍit Vaidya Har Govind Miśra (India). Yet, Dario applied these conventionally the fundamental cosmological and epistemology principles theorised by the Sāmkhya-s into Navakaraṇa only for the practical for self-directed transformation. These theories were inaccessible without basic understanding of Sanskrit language, thus Dario started learning Sanskrit form the late Paṇḍit Vaidya Har Govind Miśra and further developed the study with Prof. Rangasvāmi Tirunārāyaṇan. Sanskrit still remains an important element in understanding Navakaraṇa and its origins.
Indeed, Navakaraṇa applies Sāmkhya principles only in a conventional-sense. At the contrary of the Sāmkhya-s, Navakaraṇa does assert an ultimate truth not the navakaraṇi-s are striving for a common ultimate goal of life, like Sāṃkhya, Yoga and any belief-philosophical system of the East.
In the Navakaraṇa system these fundamental theoretical principles are not truth by themselves but only postulates for a practically development and implementation of self-directed procedures for a holistic transformation. For this reason the philosophy of Navakaraṇa is referred to as Nava-sāmkhya (i.e. New Sāṃkhya or Conventional Sāṃkhya).
The theories and procedures of Āyurveda have also be drastically redefined by Dario. At the contrary of Āyurveda where the role of an expert (vaidya), a group of therapists, expensive natural resources and a clinic are necessary to implement any procedure; in the Navakaraṇa system, the navakaraṇi himself has to know, implement and change his lifestyle by himself without relying on any external support. This system is referred to as Navakaraṇa Sākalya Tantra (the holistic approach to self-transformation).
Another important component which made Navakaraṇa as it is today is the artistic element. Dario leaned Hindustani music from the late Paṇḍit Prakāśa Mahārāja (India), Karaṇas (the Art of Movement) from Nāṭyācārya Vṛnda Rāmanan (India) and Fuke-shū (Traditional Zen Practice and Music) from Sensei Fujiyoshi Etsuzan (Japan) in the most orthodox way. Especially inspired from the zen approach to art (Fuke-shū), Dario re-elaborate music and movements away from their original context of performing art. He created a philosophical, introspective and esoterically art which is not meant for entertainment but for self-transformation. This approach to art is esoteric, as it can be understood only by a small number of people acquitted with specialised knowledge of both music and psychology.
Below are photos of Dario’s grandmasters with the only exception of the late Paṇḍit Vaidya Har Govind Miśra (India) Sāṃkhya and Āyurveda scholar, as unfortunately we could not find any photo.
From left to right: The late Paṇḍit Prakāśa Mahārāja (India), Hindustani Music; Nāṭyācārya Vṛnda Rāmanan (India) Karaṇas (the Art of Movement); Prof. Rangasvāmi Tirunārāyaṇan (India) Sanskrit; Sensei Fujiyoshi Etsuzan (Japan) Fuke-shū (Traditional Zen Practice and Music).
Tradition and innovation
Tradition is consists of the uninterrupted transmission of ideas, knowledge, techniques and experiences from one generation to the next in a way that it can continually innovate while maintaining solid the fundamental principles from which has originated. Navakaraṇa is a true example of innovative and evolving tradition.
Universality and unity of traditions
Tradition does not belong to any country, ethnicity or religion but to the person from whom and to whom is handed to. Teacher is the giver of knowledge and the person who pass the tradition to the next generation. In Navakaraṇa we highly respect both teacher and tradition without linking them to any ethnical, religious and nationalistic factor.
नवकरण कुल
Kula
Kula (कुल) in Sanskrit means “family, community or tribe”. Navakaraṇa Kula is comprehensive of everyone fully acquired with Navakaraṇa Method, and who truly apply it for self-transformation while also sharing it to create a healthy and conscious humanity. We are together freely in our diversity yet with the same method, vision and intention.
Darkness at night-time is expelled by a single moon and not by the group of a cluster of stars (एकश्चन्द्रस्तमो हन्ति न च तारागणोSपि च।ekaśchandrastamo hanti na cha tārāgaṇoapi cha). We truly value authentic relationships, where each of us contribute to the community at large by applying transformative changes into ourselves first, then enriched with knowledge and experience passing Navakaraṇa Transformative Method in person to others, for the sake of all.
