Hans-Jochen Heyer
In 1966 I was born into a Protestant Christian family, I was baptized, we often went to church on Sundays, I went to confirmation classes and was then confirmed.
At the age of 15, I went to the USA for four months as part of a student exchange program, where I attended a Calvinist school and thus gained some insight into Calvinism.
During my high school graduation, I took religious studies as my third subject. Even as a child and young man, I believed in God and thought a lot about spiritual things. Because I studied religious studies in high school, I also began to read books about God from other cultures and religions.
At the age of 24, I bought some books about yoga in an esoteric shop in Bochum and began to study on my own. At the age of 25, on a trip to Thailand with my travel companion Robert Aulinger, I received my first mantra from an Indian Hindu astrologer and decided to travel to India.
Many trips to India and other countries followed. In India I travelled to many spiritual places such as Rishikesh, Haridwar, Bodgaya, Dharamsala, Pushkar, Hampi and Pontcherry (Auroville, where I spent about 6 months of my life) and had many spiritual experiences. I attended several Khumba Melas and also at techno trance parties in Goa and at Rainbow Gatherings in Australia, for example, I gained insight into many spiritual things such as yoga and at the same time met many spiritual people such as sadhus, gurus, yogis, babas, shamans, spiritual aborigines, etc.
I visited many ashrams, communities, temples and religious places not only in India. For example, I also made a pilgrimage on the Way of St. James and visited places like Santiago de Compostela, Viang Vieng and Meteora. From January 1st, 2020 to January 30th, 2022 I trained as a yoga teacher at Yoga Vidya. It should also be noted that on May 29th, 2016, I married Ms. Supawadee Vorakritinai (Buddhist and Hindu from Chumphon, Thailand) in an authentic Hindu ceremony at the Shri Ram Ashram, Tapovan, Laxman Jhoola, Rishikesh, India.
I now call myself a Hindu, but I also recognize my Christian affiliation. Spirituality and the search for God are a common thread running through my life.
