“I have sought You, I have found You and I have felt You in my own heart… here in the intimacy of my Being, in the august solitude of my inner world.”
- Father César Dávila
Father César Dávila (1910-1999) was a Catholic priest, a doctor of Sacred Theology and, at the same time, a yoga master, a tireless messenger of meditation as a way to make contact with God.
He was born in Patate (Tungurahua, Ecuador) on 1 November 1910 and was ordained a priest on 29 June 1934. He earned his Doctorate in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogotá.
After a deep spiritual emptiness due to the lack of an inner experience of God, Father Dávila had a providential encounter with a yogi from India who was visiting Ecuador.
This yogi, Pandit Sri Bhek Pati Sinha, a follower of the message of Mahatma Gandhi, introduced Father Dávila to the practices of the purest Hatha-Yoga and Raja-Yoga, and taught him the art of meditation, which would be the guide to the awakening of his new inner life.
Thus, Father Dávila devoted himself to the experience and practice of the teachings of the Great Masters of the East, especially of Paramahansa Yogananda.
The master–disciple relationship
I came to the Padrecito (as we, his disciples, called him) at an early age. At barely 15 years old, I felt that the happiness offered by parties, fun and relationships was fleeting and passing.
On the other hand, silent visions in my mind and heart subtly drew me towards the yogis and their mystical path of spiritual realization. Any photo in a book, any image in a documentary, attracted me deeply, vitally inviting me to transcendence. That desire to know that something more, to connect with that essence of happiness and inner life, led me to the encounter with Father Dávila.
From the moment I met him, Father Dávila had a magnetic effect on me. No matter how much I rejected the Catholic religion, his guidance was a source of rest for my frantic mind and troubled spirit. Even when Father Dávila shared talks with us and we practised Yoga and meditation, the training he gave me was always in everyday life. The classic way in which masters taught their disciples in the East.
Our master-disciple relationship developed mainly on retreats at the beach, or at the ashram in the mountains where he spent moments of inner reflection, on visits he made to our Yoga Center of the Asociación Escuela de Auto-Realización in Guayaquil (Ecuador), on visits I made to his house in Quito. In letters and phone calls. And, of course, in his inner guidance in daily practice.
He was always clear in pointing out that he was only an instrument, nothing more. That the work was God's. He never told me: “I am your master” or anything like that, and I never told him: “I am your disciple”. It was rather something natural, without pressure or complicated obligations beyond trying to practise daily the methods he had proven to attain divine realization.
Was he an enlightened being? A realized being? For me, he was. But he had that enlightenment of the clear mind and the kind heart. That realization of being truly human, with his virtues and flaws, with his smile and his severity when it was necessary. Sincere, frank, humble, but strong, firm and of character. I never saw him hunched, not even in his advanced age. His example of sustained practice is, to this day, my source of inspiration. He never criticized my development or my spiritual practices, but my manners, customs, my dispersion, points of view and, above all, my ego were crushed to rectify them and transform me into a decent human being.
In his last year of life, sitting in his house in Quito, he once told me: “Continue with your practices, keep going, don't worry. The day will come when your natural maturity has arrived and the fruits you will have gathered will be so great that you will know how to value what you have received. Continue with your practices, for that day will come and your maturity will bring that spiritual development that the human being seeks”.
My eternal gratitude at the feet of Padrecito Dávila; his guidance and light in my life will be something I can never repay.
~ Gustavo Plaza
The Self-Realization School Association
In 1972, after years of study, practice and constant sadhana, Father Dávila founded the Asociación Escuela de Auto-Realización as a means to share with his brothers and sisters this awakening to the inner life through Meditation.
His psychic development was remarkable, so much so that many considered him a great mentalist. But it was his love of God, his inner silence and his serenity that made him a true spiritual guide.
As a priest he was always faithful to the Church, making his school of meditation recognized by it, but he never criticized another religion or rejected people for being of another creed. He founded his school as a non-profit and non-sectarian entity that allowed any person of any creed to approach the teachings of Yoga and meditation.
He published several books, such as Palabra Eterna, Guía al Infinito, Las Llaves de Tu Reino (Concentración y Meditación), Mi Hermana la Muerte, among others.
More information about the Self-Realization School on the website: aea-yoga.org
