My inspiration in writing this was Swami Kriyananda’s new book on renunciation, A Renunciate Order for the New Age. Also my own desire to be a monk… but also to be married.

The old cloistered form of monasticism says you need to renounce and “get away from the world” to find God. One might say that monastics living a reclusive life are selfish in the sense they are not being a service to society. Others might say they are doing more for society since they are trying to live in accordance with the Divine, and that their prayers are doing more than social works could ever do.

On the opposite side of the spectrum you have the worldly person trying to live his life, primarily driven by what he or she can do to find happiness: good job, family, career, etc. But as we see, most worldly people aren’t truly happy in comparison to the saints who are immersed in the consciousness of God.

Now let’s say you have a non-monastic person who is religious in the sense that they attend Mass every Sunday, pray ever day, and do their best to live a God-Centered life. While this way of life is indeed admirable, unfortunately  the “idols” of the world are able to pull us into delusion much too easily.

As Yogananda said, “environment is stronger than will power.” Thus, wouldn’t the practical solution be to bring both environments together, the monastic and non-monastic lives? At Ananda, instead of trying to run away from the delusions of the world to find God, we try to see God in every life experience.

And most importantly, as Yogananda advised, we try to make our hearts our “hermitage,” so that wherever we go, there is our church, there is our God. At Ananda we have cloistered our hearts and have tried to bring that light into our service to society. As St. Francis said, “Preach the Gospel, use words only if you must.”

From my own experience I have found it truly is much easier to live in the presence of God where everyone is trying to do the same.

I came to Ananda with a deep desire for God and to share his joy with everyone, a desire that “typical” life did not fulfill for me. Being here a year and a half I am able to see how Ananda’s model of living can’t help but spread in time throughout society.

While things here aren’t perfect, there is an underlying spirit in the people, an underlying attitude of cooperation, harmony and peace, that is saturated all over the land. It is born not of pretense, but rather of the deeper inner joy found in the stillness of meditation, and in serving everyone as images of the Divine.

As I walk the forests and meadows, and see the houses and people that live here, I can’t help but imagining God speaking through every part of this community, every person, tree and building, this holy phrase: “Be still and know that I am God.”

It has been a blessed month indeed! Here are a few excerpts worth a listen:

First, from our Living Wisdom High School Concert on Friday, Dec 11th, a piece by John Rutter titled Mary’s Lullaby.

On Saturday, Dec 12th, I led an astounding performance of Swami Kriyananda’s Oratorio, Christ Lives! at Mills College in Oakland, in a beautiful chapel with marvelous acoustics! Here are a few choir pieces:
Christ Has Come

Sing Out With Joy

When Human Hopes Toward Thee Aspire

Thy Light Within Us Shining

Then back at the village, on Sunday, Dec 13th, we had our World Brotherhood Day celebration, which included performances of:
The Christ Child’s Asleep (studio recording)

And The Christmas Mystery (studio recording)

Here is a link to the video of many of the pieces performed that afternoon (Three Wise Men at the beginning, The Christ Child’s Asleep and Mother of Wisdom at 24:23).

On Sunday morning Dec 20th, we had our Christmas Sunday Service, led by Jyotish and Devi, which can be viewed by visiting our video page. It includes our children’s choir joining us at the beginning of the video for Christ Has Come and The Christmas Mystery. You’ll easily find my daughter - the only one not standing still!

That same evening we had our annual Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec 20th, which included performances of The Blue Danube, For Unto Us a Child Is Born, the Halleluiah Chorus, a visit by the Victorian Singers, and many of Swami Kriyananda’s Christmas pieces.

It truly has been a blessed month, and our wish is for you to carry with you these vibrations of Light, Love, Peace, and Joy with you throughout this coming year! May God Bless you all.

I decided during Spiritual Renewal Week in August to join Ananda’s monastery for one year at the Ananda Meditation Retreat. In celebration of Swami Kriyananda’s discipleship anniversary, the vows of monasticism were taken last Sunday. The idea of monasticism had often inspired me, but in the past I had never quite felt like I would be able “cut the mustard” so to speak, as a monk. This summer I had several realizations that made think that being a monk would not only be possible, but would be the best possible thing for me at this point in my life.

The first was that nothing outside myself would ever give me happiness and fulfillment (with the exception of Hagan Daz ice cream, right?). The lines from one of Swami Kriyananda’s songs called “One Day When I was Roaming” caught my attention. The song isn’t sung very often, I think because it seems like a sad song, but Swami can be heard singing it on the CD, I’ve passed my life as a Stranger. The ending lines were particularly meaningful to me:

For life he thought these meadows,
would give to be his own;
But life he gave not first to them,
and life he’s never known

(These lines repeat twice, and “life” is replaced first with “peace,” and then with “joy.”)

What we are looking for is inside ourselves! As long as we think that it lies in things, we will be sorely disappointed. From one point of view this seems like a grim statement: Nothing in this world can bring you lasting fulfillment and happiness. But on the other hand, the keys to happiness are within us and not dependent on anything external. We can choose to be happy anytime and all the time! Anytime we think something outside ourselves will give us joy, that joy is within us already. In other words joy is within you (where have I heard that before?).

The second realization came while watching the rehearsals for Swami Kriyananda’s play, The Peace Treaty. In watching the characters Gazella and Ponder (who in the end, become monastics), I saw that renunciation is not a denial of life and love, but a joyful celebration of the soul’s freedom and devotion in God. Instead of being cold and dry, it is an affirmation to seek love in God alone. It is, after all, from God that all love originates. Any love that we feel can be offered upward and shared with God. In this it is impersonalized and in fact made greater.

The monks at Ananda’s Meditation Retreat

As I join my fellow monks and look at this year ahead, I hope and pray that this year will help me deepen my realization of the Divine within me, and help me to share that love, light and joy more fully and freely with others. In making this decision, it has been beautiful to see how the community has supported and encouraged me. It is truly a blessing to live in a place that so wholeheartedly supports the inward search for God, no matter what form it takes.

What do you think makes for success? Is it an end result? Or is it the way we do something?

This blog post is simple: it’s the story of a photo shoot done by a group of young adults living at Ananda Village. There’s a burgeoning youth movement within Ananda now, which I wrote about when it first started, and which Lisa Clark also wrote about recently from India.

The photo shoot had a clearly defined goal: get some good photos to publicize Living With Spirit, a summer program at Ananda Village for young adults age 18 – 30, that combines yoga and meditation with organic agriculture.

The photo shoot went very well—but it might have been worth doing even if our cameras had magically erased themselves immediately after the shoot.

What I’d like to communicate is a couple of things: one, the joyful, exuberant quality of the group, whose youthful energy is a unique expression in Ananda; and two, how the morning’s photo shoot showed us that the energy which goes into a thing is more important than the thing itself. Because we were serving, and having fun, it felt like we had a success in the doing as well as in the results.

We started in the “experimental orchard,” most of us posing, trimming, or digging, and several of us taking photographs. Ananta and Maria McSweeney, the coordinators of the program, are long-time and very experienced organic gardeners.

Swami Kriyananda recently asked them to move from Ananda Sacramento, where they were the spiritual directors for over 20 years, to Ananda Village, where they now farm and work with the young adults. In about a week, they and a number of young adults will move into a group house specifically for young adults, near the center of Ananda Village.

At the photo shoot, there were 11 or 12 of us. Some of us grew up here, others have come from elsewhere in America (like me), and still others have come from other continents and countries.

This was the photo of the morning—the one that we needed to get. It gives a clear idea of half of what the program offers: friendship, community, and organic gardening; and because there’s a face looking directly at the viewer, it’s a good one for getting people’s attention.

Please note Greg Traymar in the background, pointing off into the distance. (I had to throw out a couple of photos because people started imitating him!) Greg lives at Ananda Village and is working closely with Bharat Cornell, a minister at Ananda and the founder of the extremely successful Sharing Nature Foundation. (Greg directs its USA branch.)

After 10 to 20 minutes of taking photos in the garden, we walked over to where the actual summer program is going to take place…

… which provided a perfect opportunity for some tree climbing. Rachel (above) is one of the program leaders.

Rose led a devotional chant, which gave us time to take a number of photos and to record video. The chanting ended with a prayer.

This is one of my favorite photos of us. It has both good composition and a nice feeling behind it. It was a blessing to be there, taking photos; a service opportunity that I’m very grateful for.

Next we moved uphill to take some photos of yoga postures. Some of them were amusing.

Above, Melody is setting up another shot for the video recording. A talented member of our group, currently taking film courses at a liberal arts college near Los Angeles, is working on turning this footage into a video that we can share.

We have people cooperating from many locations and also cultural backgrounds. (For example, the flyer was designed by a young woman from South India.) One of the things I enjoy about publicizing this program is that it’s a team effort. Together, we accomplish much more than any one of us could on our own.

To end our photo shoot, Ananta led a 10-minute meditation. For me, though I was still taking photos, it grounded me in the sense that what we are doing with this program, with this photo shoot, and through all our marketing, is a form of service—to God above all, but also to everyone who will benefit from learning about the program, and who could be blessed by being a part of it.

Perhaps you could call this desire to serve our “ulterior motive.” I’ve never so clearly felt that doing publicity can be a service, as when working on the publicity for this program. I suspect it is because my attitude is beginning to change from one of “What can I get?” to one of “What can I give? What is the right next step for this person, or this group of people, that I’m trying to reach?” Marketing of this kind is expansive, and a joy.

Our second meditation closed with a prayer that we draw the right people to the program: the people who are seeking it, and who can benefit from it.

The photo shoot was simple, and photo shoots happen all over the world many times a day, but how many include periods of meditation and prayer?

For one reason or another, it was joyful. Perhaps it was because of our meditation, but also, I often feel a sense of joy and blessing when this group of young adults together.

Melody wrote,

Well, to begin with, it was such a joy to have us all together. Even if it was for a “fake” workday. I loved how everybody just got in there and helped, whether it was shoveling or pulling scotchbroom, or zooming in with the cameras and taking great shots.

My favorite part was when everyone was chanting underneath that huge oak tree. It was so magical. I knew Paramhansa Yogananda was watching us, flowing through us, and literally contacting those who will come to our program this summer.

There was so much fun energy and good ideas within our group. I just kept thinking and saying, isn’t this so great!?

During the photo shoot, we weren’t focused on the outcome; we were focused on the energy. In fact, I think we were more interested in having joy, in having fun, than in taking great photos. And it was all in service. Surely God blesses this kind of attitude.

Swami Kriyananda has often said the things we do don’t matter so much; what is important is how we do them. This photo shoot was an experience for me in why, though the things we do may be normal, the way we do them can make them deeply meaningful.

Related

This group here at Ananda Village is just one part of the worldwide youth movement within Ananda, which is also taking place in Europe and India.

Living With Spirit, the program we were taking photos for, is taking place for the 3rd year this summer, June 28 – July 12. It’s an immersion in spiritual living, based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. You can click here to learn more about the summer program, or to share it with some young adult you know who is looking for deeper meaning in their life.

Lisa is a long-time member of Ananda India, and recently moved from Gurgaon, near Delhi, to help start the Ananda community near Pune.

Recently, Ananda Sangha in Pune held the first Youth Campout and Retreat on the land where the future Ananda Community will be, an hour outside the city.

We defined “youth” as being “anyone willing to sleep in a tent.” Indeed, the participants ranged in age from pre-school to a youthful gentleman in his seventies.

The weekend included group meditation, service projects, free time to enjoy the peace of country life, and a group discussion lead by Jaya Helin, who has been a member of Ananda Sangha for 40 years.

The topic of the discussion was “When To Sprint and When To Be a Long-Distance Runner on the Spiritual Path.” Jaya said, “When you enter the spiritual path, you will awaken seeds of past good karma. These can help you with your spiritual practices, and bring comfort and security in these troublesome times.”

There was also a great deal of enthusiasm for the service projects which included beginning a “test garden;” painting a small house where the land’s caretaker currently lives; digging terraces and swales to recover rainwater; and starting a greywater recovery system, in order to use water more efficiently.

When asked why they chose to participate in the retreat, two young men from India’s high-tech world said that they came to get away from the stresses of daily life, and to enjoy the company of other like-minded people. They also wanted to have time to meditate with others in order to deepen their own meditation practices.

A young mother of two, who, along with her husband, is a dedicated member of Ananda Sangha, said that the retreat was “an opportunity to get away from the harsh crowds, noise, and traffic of the city, and to recharge myself with time in the countryside in order to go back to daily life with more gusto.” She and her husband open their home in the city every week to host group meditations.

It was an amazing weekend with devotees of varying ages, countries and backgrounds coming together and finding joy in uplifting company, simple service, and, most satisfying of all, meditation with like-minded souls. We are all looking forward to the next opportunity to take a break from daily responsibilities, recharge with service and satsang, and then return to daily life “with more gusto.”

Related

• Ananda India Community Dedication, a post by Jaya Helin
• Living With Spirit summer program for 18 – 30 year olds; a two-week immersion in the spiritual life at Ananda Village

On August 31st I was honored to be a part of something wonderful and new at Ananda: the start of a dynamic youth movement.

Over 20 young people from Ananda centers around the world hosted a lunch-and-concert fundraiser at Ananda’s Institute of Alternative Living and Meditation Retreat.

It marked the first time that a large group of Ananda’s youth had come together to accomplish something significant. It was a tangible demonstration of the younger generation’s dedication and sincerity, and it meant something special for the future of Ananda.

Rather than tell you about the event with words only, let me share some of the photographs that were taken.

A lot of people had to come together to make this event happen, but the one driving force more than any other was Narayani (on the right, above).

She oversaw the event as a whole, and was personally involved in the meal planning and decoration. She attracted many others to be involved in the project by the sheer power of enthusiasm.

This is where Swami Kriyananda sat. I was one of the waiters for his table, and spoke with him at several points during the lunch. He was very gracious; among other things, he asked me to tell Narayani that the meal was “superb” and “wonderful.”

I could tell that he enjoyed the meal just by seeing how he was eating. And yet later, I was told he said to someone, “I’m feeling so much bliss that I can barely eat.”

When we were cleaning up, I found his half-finished dessert! It was true prasad, true holy food.

Weeks of planning, preparation, and rehearsal went into the event. I was involved in organizing the concert. The fact that we have many talented young singers and musicians at Ananda Village made this easier! Some of them are pictured above.

Melody (also a singer) is one of the deeply committed young people who have been with Ananda for a long time. She said about this event:

“[It] helped me to finally connect with all the other young people, because it was so deep. Everything we were doing was for Master and Swamiji. …

“I could feel such a deep connection with everyone, with nature, the gardens, and Master as we prepared the beautiful setting. That time of service all Saturday and Sunday was almost a deeper experience than the lunch and concert.

“All I can say is JOY! I felt so much joy, and it lasted for about 2 days afterwards. A very high experience for me, which I’ll never forget.”

The event was on a Sunday. By Friday, tables and chairs were being moved into place. On Saturday, a large group of us congregated at the Meditation Retreat and served for as long as we could, getting things ready.

A few people hardly slept that night as we worked on into Sunday morning and up to 1:00 pm, when the lunch began.

The lunch went smoothly. It was an interesting thing: things were happening everywhere, everyone seemed busy almost constantly, and yet everyone seemed pretty calm, and whenever I needed help, someone willing was close-at-hand.

Unaccountably, and perhaps partly because I was busy serving, I also felt deeply calm.

After the lunch, everyone walked to the “Temple of Leaves” to listen to the concert.

I’ve sung in many concerts at Ananda, including huge oratorios with 70 and 100 singers, Christmas concerts, spring concerts, concerts where Swami Kriyananda was present, and more — but this concert was one of the most inspiring I’ve ever performed in.

Ramesha, an experienced and talented musician, was our conductor. He said that:

“… while you guys were singing I felt something major happen.

“I don’t know how to put it in words, but at some point in the performance I felt a strong wave of joy, sweetness, and purity flowing from all of you, and we were all perfectly connected on a deep level, while God was using your voices to express Himself, showering the audience with His grace.

“I feel blessed to be part of this sacred energy.”

After singing for around 45 minutes, we invited all the youth in the audience up on the stage to sing one of Ananda’s theme songs, “Many Hands Make a Miracle.”

There was a pause, and someone said, “define youth!” (We’re all ageless in our souls, after all!) Everyone laughed.

In case you’re wondering, too, our working definition for youth is “anyone under 40.” It’s a good definition because it doesn’t exclude anyone who wants to be a part of what we’re doing. Currently, our ages range from high-school-age through early 30s.

After the concert ended, Ania (above) read a letter she had written to Swami Kriyananda on behalf of all of us.

“Dear Swamiji,

“You have started this community right here on this sacred ground 40 years ago. By inspiring many souls with your vision and quest for Self-realization, you and they, (some of whom are here today) have worked harmoniously to build the first self-sustaining, world-brotherhood communities devoted to God and Self-realization in this age as models for the world.

“And at this time, the next cycle of Master’s vision is unfolding with the coming of many young disciples who are dedicated to carrying on His mission into the challenging but promising future ahead.

“You have showered us with inspiration from the example and the fruits of your discipleship on which we will draw day after day and year after year ever more strongly as we refine our intuitive receptivity.

“We look up to You, Swamiji, as children do to mighty oaks, and aspire and strive to grow as strong in God you have, and to shelter all who come with wisdom and peace, and to freely share fruits of love and joy.

“Thank You from all our hearts for all that you and Master have given and will continue to emanate to us into eternity.”

A number of people, including myself, were moved to tears. Ania’s letter expressed our own feelings so clearly! Devi Novak, one of Ananda’s spiritual directors, later wrote, “I was moved to my core when I saw the spirit of the next Ananda generation taking the baton to carry on Master’s mission that Swamiji has manifested in to this world.”

Swami Kriyananda then lifted his hands in blessing. He said something that may have been meant for all those, everywhere, who will carry Paramhansa Yogananda’s mission into the future.

He said:

“I feel the masters’ blessings go to you, and empower you, and fill you with bliss.

“Thank you very much, and more than that, I thank Master for you, and I thank you for what you will do for Master. I know that with your blessings, you will carry on his mission into the new age. ”

“May God fill you with blessings.”

Swami Kriyananda has often said that Ananda is the most important thing happening today. Its 40-year-old working model is the best proof we have that a better world is possible.

As my mind returned to these thoughts over and over again this last week, I felt deeply grateful to be even a small part of something so great.