To spread the original, universal and eternal truth, path or law of yoga, which remains forever the same in essence, yet always adapts to the time and place.


Rudi Kuhn was born 7th of januari 1951 in Surinam, South America. At the age of 11 he left for the Netherlands where he studied chemical engineering and built a career as a researcher of paints and plastics.

After a solvent poisening and ending of his reseach-career, Rudi started studying the human body-chemistry from a western biological point of view. Later, guided by "Dada" (i.e Hindi word for elder brother) Harish Johari, Rudi began to see the body chemistry through the holistic approach of the Ayurveda.

It was in 1977 that Rudi met Harish Johari and started studying and practicing his teachings, which proces is still going on at present. Learning, living and travelling with Dada, as Harish Johari is called by his family-members and friends, Rudi mastered the arts of Ayurvedic massage and Indian vegetarian cooking, as well as the science of Hindu numerology. The Ayurveda, which literally means "science of live", was not only taught theoretically by Dada. He was a living example of the daily practice of Ayurvedic principals.

Travelling throuhg India and living with the Johari family there, gave Rudi a firsthand experience of "the Ayurveda way of live", and the importance of rites and rituals in daily live. The time spent with Baba Dwarka Das at the Gauri Shankar temple in Bareilly had a special impact on his understanding of the art of healing.

Meanwhile Rudi also studied the basic medical sciences of anatomy, physiology and pathology, orthomolecular therapy,HLB and LBA (blood-analyses), phytotherapy, kinesiology and Bio-energetic functional diagnostics.

Since 1984 Rudi works as a teacher, lecturer, therapist and professional story-teller.

Story Telling Performances

Introduction

"By his masterfully dramatic and humoristic ways of story telling, and his art of teaching through beautiful stories, Harish Johari has inspired me to become a story teller", says Rudi. He is also glad that Dada has transformed some of the many hundreds of stories he told, into his books "The Monkeys in the Mango Tree" and "The Birth of The Ganga", maintaining the art of painting pictures with his words.

From 1979 till 1986 Rudi has performed daily on TV in the Dutch version of Sesamy Street as a story teller and actor. Since 1991 his art and performance skills as a story teller have further been developed by training, workshops and performances with the story-tellers collective "O'Rare", of which he is a co-founder.

On stage Rudi performs solo or together with some or all members of O'Rare, for audiences of all ages, adjusting the stories to the situation at hand.

Anansi Stories

Time: Performing each of these stories will take 15 to 25 minutes

For young children Rudi will sing songs and play his guitar as part of the perfomance, and will invite the children to partake as actors playing the story.

Anansi in Debt

Anansi borrows money from Mr. Cockroach, Sister Chicken, Brother Fox, Tiger and Hunter. He arranges for them to come in that same order to get back their money. He causes Chicken to eat Cockroach, Fox to eat Chicken, Tiger to eat Fox, and Hunter to shoot Tiger. In the end Anansi is free of debts and even succeeds to get some money by blackmailing Hunter.

Anansi Rides on Tiger's Back

Anansi throws a bet with all the other creatures in the forest that he will use King Tiger as his horse and ride him through the woods. Knowing Tiger's pride and bad temper, they raised high bets against Anansi's plan. By staging a dramatic act with two rotten eggs, he makes King Tiger believe that he's severely ill. Thus he succeeds in getting a ride on Tiger's back to go see the dentist and wins his bets.

Anansi Eating Peppers

In order to marry the wealthy Princess Wrinckleface, Anansi has to pass the test of eating a bowl full of the hottest peppers without showing any signs of discomfort. By faking all the signs of severe pepper burning as the natural behavior of his kind, Anansi passes the test.

Anansi, Cat and Rats

Anansi visits the Rats, while carrying in a basket on his back, the best singer of the forest and his friend Brother Cat. Reassuring the Rats, Anansi explains that their natural enemy recently had a severe burning accident. Cat showes his his leggs in bandages and starts singing while Anansi plays his guitar. The Rats adore good music, and soon they forget their fears and join the swinging party that is going on. In the climax of the feast, Brother Cat suddenly takes off his bandages and kills many Rats before they understand what is happening. And so Anansi and Cat had enough food for a while.

Cricket helps Anansi

Anansi, on his nightly predatory expedition in King Tiger's garden, gets caught in a trap. Stuck onto the glue-doll His Majesty had placed on the path, Anansi gets helped by Grandma Cricket. But while helping Anansi, she gets glued to the doll and is left behind helpless by Anansi.......

How Death Came To Us

In search of food, Anansi came at a hut, in front of which there was a smoking grill full of freshly smoked meats. At the door sat a person clad in a cape, so that his face was quite hidden. Anansi politely asks for some food, but getting no answer simply serves himself a good meal and then takes some home for his family. After some more visites Anansi takes his eldest daughter there and leaves her with the old man to help him in housekeeping. Now being a relative, he had the right to share the old man's food. When on the next visit he found pieces of his daughter on the smoke table, he beat up the old man, who then revealed himself as Death and angrily chased Anansi all the way to where the Humans live....

Hindu Stories

Time: Performing each of these stories will take 15 to 25 minutes

For young children Rudi will sing songs and play his guitar as part of the perfomance, and will invite the children to partake as actors playing the story.

The Gini and the Pole

An old weaver obtains a Gini (a spirit like the one emerging from Aladin's lamp) and puts it to work. When he can't keep the Gini busy, the latter becomes destructive. But the weaver, just in time, finds the way to stop the Gini. By ordering him to climb up and down a long pole until he is needed for some job, the Gini's destructive tendencies are curbed. The essence of this story explaines how mala-japa, which is the practice of repeating a mantra while using a Hindu rosary, helps to subdue the destructive tendencies of Ego and Mind, while harnessing the creative powers they represent.

The Gini and the Pole - by Harish Johari - long version

The White Elephant

On a moonlit night Shankar, the royal gardener, sees a white elephant in the garden, and recognizing it as the vehicle of Indra, the Lord of Heaven, grabs it's tail as it flies back to heaven. Before returning he pics a heavenly flower for his wife, to bring proof that he had been there. And in spite of her solemn promise not to reveal her huband's secret, half the village crowded the garden on the next full moon, demanding to join the journey. Unable to refuse their request Shankar held on to the tail, while his wife clasped his leggs and her cousin grabbed her leggs. This went on and as Indra's elephant flew up, he carried along a long strand of villagers through the skies.

Because of the curiosity and impatience of one of the villagers, and the irritation and anger of Shankar, the whole cue fell back to earth and such a beautiful white elephant was never seen again in this world.

Dumb Boy and the Scoundrels

Sent on an errand by his mother, a boy walked along the road to the village with his donkey behind him. As he cheerfully sang while holding the rope that was tied around the donkey's neck, he was spotted by two scoundrels hiding in the bush. They silently sneeked up behind the boy and while one untied the donkey and fixed the rope around his own neck, the other led the donkey away. Once his friend and the donkey were out of sight, the scoundrel suddenly stopped and told the starteled boy that the curse which had changed him into a donkey must have been lifted by his mothers remorse. He had beaten his mother after drinking alcohol, but was determined to never let it happen again. The boy accepting the scoundrels story, went home and told his old mother, who silently shook her head. The next day she gave the boy her last money to go and buy a new donkey to work the fields. As he entered the donkey market, he recognised his donkey standing there for sale. He walked up to the donkey and whispered in his large ear: "You have been drinking again and beating up your mother?!......I will never buy you again".

Rudi's Hindu repertoir contains many of the stories told by Harish Johari, some of which are printed in his books "The Monkeys and the Mango Tree" and "The Birth of The Ganga".

Paintings by Rudy Kuhn :


White Tara, wash painting on silk, 1985

 


Bird , wash painting on silk, 1989


Nrsinga, the fourth incarnation of Vishnu.
Worship of Nrsinga promotes helpfulness to others.

Wash painting on paper, 1979

 
 

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Rudi KuhnThis page was produced by Rudi Kuhn

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Sanatan Society is an international networking association of students of the late Harish Johari, joining efforts to promote his teachings of yoga philosophy, tantra, worship, art and love. Sanatan Society stands for the original, universal and eternal truth, path or law of yoga. Though it is Hindu in origin, Sanatan Society is not limited to any religion, race, time or country, nor in fact to any particular organisation. More about Sanatan Society...


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