This past weekend was a very busy and joyful for the folks at Ananda Village. We hosted people from all over to celebrate the 41st Anniversary of Ananda and Independence Day.
Friends from all over came to help us celebrate, of course, but especially they came to see Swami Kriyananda who has just returned for a 2 month visit to America. This weekend is just one of three major public events scheduled while he is here.
Swamiji gave three talks: one on Saturday, one at Sunday Service and one at the Sevaka Retreat held at the Meditation Retreat. There was also a talk on Friday given by Jyotish and Devi Novak and Ananta McSweeney. The talks were amazing. All of them are on Ananda.org, so you can listen to them anytime.
Swamiji was filled to overflowing with inspiration and his talks touched on many aspects of the life of a spiritual seeker. He was quite tired from all his recent travels but came and filled the amphitheater with spiritual strength.
On Saturday night there was a concert in The Expanding Light Amphitheater that featured a 90 person choir. It was so beautiful. A new song was debuted: Larks Fly High. Swami wrote it for the new book, The Time Tunnel. If you would like to listen to it click here. It is enchanting sung by some of our Ananda children and Karen and Dambara.
Also part of the weekend was the annual 4th of July Parade. A classic! Floats! Costumes! Flags! It didn’t last very long, but I saw a lot smiling faces. Then there was picnicking and games.
Our parade started with Lady Liberty (Marga, from Spain) and Uncle Sam on a motorcylce (Lucien, from South Africa)!
We had a float highlighting the Ananda goat farm, Yogoata dairy.
And finally, five different presidents made an appearance with Andrew Jackson firing a canon with popcorn in it. Fun.
Monday was the day for our annual Sevaka Retreat held at the Meditation Retreat. The retreat center gets more beautiful every time I see it. It is so lush and colorful. The day began with a 3-hour meditation, then a brunch that was attended by Swamiji.
The sevaka members then convened to the temple of trees for brief, but inspiring reports from all the colony leaders. Swamiji spoke for about 35 minutes. It was a beautiful day.
It is SO nice to have Swamiji back in the village. He will be doing a live webinar June 15th. Check ananda.org for details.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. Blessings to you all.
Love, Barbara
Hi Everyone, It has been an amazing Spring here at Ananda Village. It was very long and wet, but the result was a very vivid wildflower season, a very long tulip season and some great clouds and luscious flowers and skies.
I have been pretty busy with all kinds of stuff, just like everyone else I know, but also have been able to get outside and photograph Ananda Village in all kinds of light.
I have also been soaking up the colors of Spring: purples, yellows, peach, pink and infinite shades of green. Summer time will bring a very different palette to enjoy. The more color I look for, the more I find.
One morning started out very gray and overcast (the first photo) and then while I was in the garden taking pictures of some of the young people in the Living with Spirit program (see Maria’s post) the clouds began to part and we were treated to this spectacular scene. The Expanding Light has been one of my favorite destination spots lately. The morning and evening light on our beautiful gardens have given me lots of opportunity to try and capture the magical feeling of being at the retreat.
A lot of energy has been going into the gardens at The Expanding Light, and it really shows. They are very lush, and new sitting areas are being creating to allow quiet enjoyment of this peaceful place.
To get the best light I have been trying shoot first thing in the morning and then later in the evening. With the summer solstice near that means getting up early. In the mornings, the land and the air seem to be meditating.
We are also preparing for Swami Kriyananda’s visit. He is scheduled to arrive July 1 and participate in the July 4th festivities. I am hoping that his arrival also means that I will be seeing lots of my friends (you) from all over, here at the village. Bless you all!! And happy summer - which is just around the corner. Love, Barbara
A view of the sunset from Rajarshi Ridge.
Delighted, no end is actually the punch line to a joke in the Peace Treaty (Swamiji Kriyananda’s 3-act play). But it describes this weekend perfectly. People were delighted with the gardens at Crystal Hermitage.
Hi everyone, last week I shared with you photos of the first weekend of Springtime at Ananda. It was cloudy and very cold. But, many hardy souls made the trek to see Crystal Hermitage Gardens. This weekend was sunny and warm! At least 1000 people took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and came to see the Gardens this week. The tulips and cherry trees were in full glory and drinking up the sun.
People of all ages enjoyed the warmth, the amazing colors and garden artistry. I think most of Ananda was involved in helping to host this special weekend. We enjoyed each others company and especially enjoyed seeing and hearing the delightful responses to the garden.
We noticed that our visitors seemed very relaxed, they explored the nooks and crannies of the gardens and were enchanted with the small patches of color and the planting combinations.
They took time to sit and enjoy the views.
Today also was special for the students who just graduated from the month long Ananda Yoga Teacher Training course held at The Expanding Light. Several of these dedicated people came over to enjoy the garden experience before heading home. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these new yoga teachers and feel good that they will be sharing the light in their new roles as hatha yoga instructors. Congratulations, everyone!
There were first class treats available, beautiful music, and well attended concerts throughout the day.
The pool and trees in the lower garden inspired relaxation and quiet conversations. All-in-all a very lovely event. A huge thank you to everyone involved and to all our beautiful guests.
Pictured below are Jivada and Netri Mair the head planners and gardeners. They posed for me at the end of the weekend. They look great don’t they?
Swami Kriyananda’s vision for the garden, Divine Mother’s grace, and many willing and joyful souls are responsible for the enchanting, uplifting place known as Crystal Hermitage. From this place of beauty many prayers are sent out into the world. And especially now with all that is happening on our planet we pray that you feel God’s joy deep within. Bless you all.
The past two days were the first weekend of the long-awaited-for Springtime at Ananda Open House. After many, many months of preparation the doors were thrown open and the public was invited to share in the glorious colors of the Crystal Hermitage Gardens.
As you can see, the weather was not spring-like. In fact, it was quite winter-like and for most of the two days it threatened to rain. (And it snowed last evening!) The members of Ananda who were on hand to host this popular event dressed in parkas and hats.
Last year we greeted hundreds of people per weekend. This year the numbers have been far fewer. But those who braved the cold were greeted by warm and loving smiles and treated to dramatic skies and richly colored tulips, pansies, alysums, and green shrubs and trees. We also had a selection of fine teas donated by Teavana, and gourmet scones baked by Netri.
One good thing about the cold weather is that the tulips and other flowers may last longer. According to the weather service the rest of the week will continue to be cloudy and cool. At the moment, it appears that it will not rain next weekend - so we are hopeful that people will hop in their cars and visit.
The amount of planning and planting that went into the gardens, the planning that went into hosting potentially large crowds required a nearly heroic output of energy. But, no one complained that the turnout was smaller than expected and actually took the timeless advise to “not be attached to the fruits of our labors” to heart.
Major projects, like new stone paving near the standing Buddha, a french drain and new stone pavers around the retaining wall at the entrance to the dome were completed in the last hours before the doors opened. Railings were put up all along the stairs leading down to the gardens and the path to the upper entrance was rerouted to lessen the incline. The path now is not only easier, it is more beautiful in how it opens up in front of the gates at the shrine.
I wandered around the gardens these past few day, enjoying conversation with my friends and feasting my eyes on spectacular colors. I used a variety of lenses and tried angles to challenge myself to see new things.
The overcast skies create nice lighting conditions for flowers. Yesterday, after a light rain there were little rain drops on the tulips that looked like diamonds.
Every year, Netri, Jivada and the green team plant new color combinations so the waves of color this year were unique. And there is more to come. Because of the weather, the tulips on the lower terrace are slower than the upper terraces and have yet to bloom.
This morning begins a week of team teaching and evaluations of the yoga teacher trainees. The past three week students from the US, Switzerland, and Sweden have been studying Ananda Yoga at The Expanding Light. They are a delightful and dedicated group. I am going to head over to Hansa Temple to serve as one of the evaluators. So, I will end this post with photos of some of the flowers. Blessings to you all. Love, Barbara
Yesterday devotees around the world celebrated the anniversary of the mahasamadhi of Paramhansa Yogananda. Peter Goering gave the talk at Sunday Service and read God’s Boatman from Whisper’s from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda. An excerpt from that poem is on the photo of the stars at the end of this post. I am always deeply moved when I hear or read that poem. To imagine a love so great that the guru would return for us if need be a trillion times…
The day was lovely here. We have been having alot of rain and a little snow. But, it was sunny so walking across the meadow to and from The Expanding Light was a real treat. The meadow is green and the light was very pleasing and warm. Peter’s talk focused on the life of Yogananda, but he began with the story of the miracles that surrounded Master’s conscious exit from his body. There were stories of his meeting with his first disciple in America, Dr. Lewis, and of his mission to bring the practical and timeless teachings of the East to the West. The whole talk was delightful and I hope you can listen to it.
After service there was an Indian Banquet hosted by The Expanding Light and created by Julius Dass and Jyoti Spearin. They were assisted by some very happy helpers. And the food? Amazing!! I want the recipe. Everyone seemed to completely enjoy visiting and lingering over the satisfying meal.
Later in the evening, again at The Expanding Light, we prayed and chanted: Sri Guru Deva Aum, Sri Guru Deva Amen. The chant has been in my head the whole day.
Swami Kriyananda’s play, Jewel in the Lotus, was performed and the temple walls seemed to melt away as we were transported to the future. The play is set 200 years from now at the time Master said he would return to the Himalayas and gather up his disciples to meditate and find liberation in the mountains. I was not alone in wiping away tears as the actors brought their roles to life and were transformed by the main character, The Storyteller. Swamiji wrote this play with a perfect blend of humor, timeless wisdom and depth and made the journey we are all on toward liberation seem so real. The vibration of the room at the end of the play is always so high - I am pretty sure everyone there was ready to leave everything to go live on Lotus Mountain with the Master.
When I got home, I noticed that the stars were so brilliant in the sky. I set up my camera to take a photo. I had to leave the shutter open for about a minute or two to get the stars to register, and even in that amount of time you can see that the “stars moved” and appeared as little streaks. It was very quiet while I waited and I thought back over the day.
Peter talked about the yugas. And I tried to feel that even in the amount of time it took me to take my star picture the earth was rotating very steadily toward a new dawn, and also within our solar system the earth is moving steadily toward the center of the universe and a higher age. Yogananda’s life coincided with the transition of a lower age toward a higher age. And guess what? We are all a part of this steady progression toward higher consciousness and light. It is not always easy. But, we have the great good fortune to have a God Realized guru to lead the way, and he will never give up on us. He will come back for us a trillion times, but we have been blessed with teachings that will help us to quicken our journey. We have the great good fortune to be here and part of this great adventure that will take us toward liberation.
Jai Guru! May the Master Bless us all. I am posting a teeny video with an excerpt from one of my favorite songs, O Master. It was sung at Sunday Service.
Tulips sprouting at Crystal Hermitage.
If you read my last post you knew I would be writing to you next from India. However, shortly before we were to leave we got one of those phone calls nobody likes to get. A beloved family member passed away.
I went over to one of my favorite places: Crystal Hermitage and found solace in the springlike weather and vibrant greenery. I was completely alone and completely immersed in the stillness of the gardens.
The tulip sprouts were reaching for the sun and all kinds of birds were singing and hopping from tree to tree. The soil was rich and nurturing. I walked up to the Shrine and spent time listening to the wind chimes that seemed to want to remind me to pause and go deep in the sounds and the silence. I offered prayers for people who have written to Ananda for prayers and for friends I knew that were also dealing with loss and trying times. I felt connected to a calm joy. Even the Bhuddha statue seemed to radiate prayers and peace.
Here is a teeny little video (58 seconds) of a few of the sights and sounds in the garden. I hope that it conveys some of the peace I felt. Om Guru. And blessings to you all. Barbara
This past week at Ananda Village and The Expanding Light has been filled with inspiration and spiritual friends. It seems impossible that 12 different talks in six days about the spiritual path could hold one’s attention from beginning to end. But it did. The theme for Inner Renewal week was: Going Deeper into God.
The weather generally has been pretty gray all week with some rain. Inside the Expanding Light temple was warm and cozy. The choir sang many of my favorite songs.
The talks were very insightful, encouraging and challenging.
Anandi gave a great talk on the energization exercises. If you need any new inspiration to fuel your love for these exercises you will like this talk. You can click here to watch it.
All the talks can be accessed through ananda.org or here. I am always amazed at the depth of spiritual understanding of our teachers and of the devotion of my fellow disciples.
The week also included Kriya initiations and the very special Pilgrim initiation.
This was a special evening for me. My husband, Dave, and 102 other people took Pilgrim Vows. I felt very blessed to be part of this ceremony. These are the vows:
I understand, and intend from now on to live by my understanding, that life is a pilgrimage, of which the final goal is to find and merge back into God.
I will endeavor resolutely, therefore, to direct all my thoughts and actions toward that end.
I will offer up all material desires for purification in the fire of divine bliss.
I will offer up all attachments for purification in that cosmic fire.
I will search my heart daily for any lingering desires and attachments, and will offer them to Thee, my Cosmic Beloved.
I will strive to be an example to others of a pure, discriminating, and noble life.
I will offer the fruit of all my actions and labors to Thee alone.
Bless me, and direct my footsteps ever to the summit of Thy holy mountain.
They are beautiful aren’t they? You can find out more about them here. There was such a sweet devotion and spiritual power in the room as we took our vows. I saw alot of joy in everyone’s face.
So, next week Dave and I will be going to India! We will be with Latika, and Jyotish and Devi. I can’t believe it is only one week away! We will be in Gurgaon for the Inner Renewal Weekend there. Swamiji is planning to be there. We will also get to celebrate Master’s Mahasamadhi in Pune. I am thrilled to be able to see the great work happening in India and to be with Swamiji and my gurubhais. I plan on trying to post to this blog and also onto my Twitter account. If you would like to see some of my posts you can follow me here. I don’t know how connected I will be to the internet, but I will try to update as best as I can. I hope you will connect with me!
May the Masters bless us all. Let us radiate peace outward and create a web of joy around the world. I have been visualizing joy as an unbreakable silver string through the center of my body. It connects me to the cosmos and God’s divine joy. It connects us all.
