Ananda Family News

Christmas Concert

2016-12-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

The choir thanks everyone who came to enjoy our holiday concert last weekend, and who streamed from afar. There were about 100 people in the temple (wow!), not counting all the singers and musicians. And about 100 connections came in for the live stream throughout the concert.

The musicians were in music-heaven, and we’re pretty sure the angels in charge of music were more than pulling their weight that day, too. Todd played flute for the concert, not long after he just started learning to play. A great lesson in the value of knowing how to practice. And Jasmin graced us with her gorgeous cello playing on a few pieces.

In case you missed it, or want to re-enjoy it:

Beautiful photos.
The complete 2016 Christmas concert video (use a quality speaker or earbuds for the best sound).
The audio MP3s.
And direct links to each song in the long video, if you want to head to a particular spot:
- Lift Thine Eyes (Mendelssohn)
- Cloisters
- O Come O Come Emmanuel (with flute and cello)
- Looking for a Friend
- Hayl, Mary, ful of grace (15th C.)
- Mother of Wisdom
- To Mary There Came
- Hail Mary
- The Light That Was Christ
- God is Truth, God is Love
- He Shall Feed His Flock (Handel)
- Ave Maria (Biebl)
- Shepherds Awake!
- Three Wise Men (wonderful, all-new group of singers this year)
- The Christmas Mystery
- That Night When Christ Was Born
- The Christ Child’s Asleep
- O Jesulein Süss (Bach)
  
  Small ensemble set
- Ding Dong Merrily on High
- The Seven Rejoices of Mary
- Lullay My Liking (Holst)
- I Wonder as I Wander (Niles), arr. by Tandava
- The Angel Gabriel, arr. by Tandava
- Good King Wenceslas
  
  Choir closing pieces
- In Dulci Jubilo (Bach)
- Christ Has Come!
- African Noel, arr. by Andre J. Thomas (a total blast)
- Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) (a total blast x 2)

Guru Day

2016-07-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

One person traveled from as far away as Seattle, and others came from Ananda Village for this sacred evening. The rest of us were fortunate enough to roll in from around the Bay Area, for what is widely felt to be one of the most unusual and sacred evenings of the year. It feels like a mini pilgrimage to India, with the added pleasure of clean air. A few passing trains and various other bits of noise evoked India as well, but gradually gave way to quiet.

The community courtyard had gradually transformed over several days into exquisitely decorated shrines to the Masters, and Asha brought each Master’s life to a special focus, in story and exploration of each one's message to us today. (Look for Asha’s talks to be posted here soon.) Strength in the face of challenge; kindness in the face of hatred. Easy messages to hear; hard to practice. Ever inspiring to renew, especially against the backdrop of conflicts elsewhere today.

We tried a new experiment this year, keeping all the musicians in one place, so there could be virtually no disturbance to the evening (of extra movement, cables, technology). It deepened the inwardness of the event.

All of the beautiful photos are posted here.

The Land of Golden Sunshine

2016-06-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

The Land of Golden Sunshine was a story Swami Kriyananda wrote when he was a young man, and then finally published 60 years later. He called it the most autobiographical thing he had ever written, and that’s even including The New Path, his literal autobiography.

A group of Ananda actors, dancers, and singers, led by Marcel, recently performed this little gem—the first time it’s been done here in years. This new arrangement included many of Swamiji’s songs, woven seamlessly into the story. Our small dance troupe of Rita, Karen B., Suman, and Sneha also added original choreographies, both as angels and as storm lords. Detailed sets and intricate lighting work added the finishing touches to a beautiful and powerful production.

Here’s a gallery of photos, plus a full video of the show:

(And just for an extra bit of fun, here’s a video of the 1992 production of the same play!)

Open House at the Farm

2016-05-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had a fantastic Open House event up at Ananda Valley farm. This was a chance for us to open our doors and have hundreds of friends, neighbors, and community members come in an find out what our Farm and Ananda in general are all about. The welcome crew estimated that we had 400 visitors, not counting staff and volunteers, which makes it very possibly the largest event Ananda has ever put on that did not have Swami Kriyananda physically present. (He was definitely present in other ways, though, along with all our gurus!)

Guests got to tour the farm, enjoy a vegetarian cookout, practice yoga and meditation in the temple yurt, play children’s games, sing songs, get their faces painted, dance to live music, and visit with our flock of chickens. There was even a display of paintings by Galen Wolf, an artist who lived on the property for many years, including a painting of the farm itself in the 1930’s. The weather was gorgeous, spirits were high, and the energy was delighted and joyful.

Some comments from our visitors included:

“Great to see your operation today. It is definitely one of the jewels of the coast!”
“Thank you so much, my kids, husband, and I are so excited!! We absolutely loved your open house and are considering volunteering on Saturdays with our boys.”
“I am so inspired here. I would like to come out with my easel and do some painting.”
“We had so much fun! The kids don't even want to leave.”
“I am signing up for your CSA because I went on Yelp and you had the best reviews ever!”

You can find more photos of the whole day here. Jai Farm!

Healing Waters: Bernadette of Lourdes

2016-03-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

This year’s Living Wisdom School play was their 23rd annual production, presenting the life of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.

Bernadette was a poor, uneducated peasant girl, living in Lourdes in the 19th century. When only a teenager, she beheld a vision of a beautiful lady in—of all places—the town dump. Though no one else could see these visions, they continued for a few weeks, and even in the face of severe opposition and interrogation by city and church officials the holiness of these occurrences shown through.

It’s a short story, and Bernadette spend much of the rest of her life in a convent, leaving very little “plot” on which to base a full play. But that simplicity allowed for a greater focus on Bernadette’s actual experiences of the Divine, and also illuminated one of the qualities that make the LWS plays into magical experiences themselves.

It’s hard not to love all the children on stage, and every single student in the school is involved, from kindergarten through 8th grade. The little ones are so adorable, the older ones so beautifully sincere, all of them putting everything they’ve got into their performances. The opening of the heart that we strive for in all our devotional and meditation practices is a natural, automatic reaction with children.

In any other, secular, school play, we may adore the children, but there’s nowhere further to take our devotion. What makes an LWS play special is that it also offers us something sacred. We open our hearts to the children, and a vision of the Virgin Mary enters along with them. And there were times that you would swear the actors were seeing her. That’s when it truly becomes “Theater Magic.”

Keep an eye on the LWS Vimeo channel, where the video will be posted once it’s ready.

Christmas Celebrations

2015-12-30T19:59:00.001-08:00

On the weekend leading up to Christmas, we celebrated inwardly by following Yogananda’s tradition of holding an all-day meditation. Some hundred or so meditators filled the temple for eight hours, meditating with occasional breaks for chanting and listening to recordings of both Master and Swamiji, and their music. The photos capture the lovely, astral quality of the day.

Our Christmas Eve service is the bridge that connects our inner observation of “spiritual Christmas” with the outer events and celebrations that the season honors. In an extended Festival of Light, we watched the whole Christmas story unfold before us in glorious pageantry, but the bhav throughout was one of deep and reverent devotion. Photos of Christmas Eve are here.

Then finally, Christmas Day itself. Our “family service” (well-loved by all ages) enacted the story again, narrated by Asha, in a more exuberantly Christmas-morning mood, with various children, parents, and friends taking part as shepherds, angels, wise men, and even musicians.

And to top it all off, our Christmas banquet followed the morning service. For entertainment, Steven and Tandava enacted a rather different but nonetheless entertaining story: “The Amazing Hat Mystery,” by P. G. Wodehouse. (If you missed it and are wondering how we solved a mystery like those hats... well, it was either the fourth dimension or a Christmas miracle.) All the Christmas Day photos are here.

Christmas Music

2015-12-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

It’s December! And, as always, our Christmas season at Ananda comes with an almost continual soundtrack of glorious music.

The kickoff this year was the choir’s Christmas Concert, which we held after service on the 6th (lunch provided). Along with some of our favorites of Swami Kriyananda’s Christmas music, we also enjoyed pieces by Bach, Rachmaninov, Holst, Billings, and more. So much good music has been written over the centuries in honor of Jesus’s birthday, which makes this a fun way for the choir to branch out a bit and learn some new pieces. And it’s pleasing to think that someday perhaps there will be an equally broad and illustrious repertoire written by devotees of Yogananda.

If you’re looking at the photos and wondering what’s going on there at the end, we’re singing “Lord of the Dance.” So naturally that requires some dancing, and the choir can hardly be expected to do it all themselves. Check out the video of the entire concert if you want the full effect.

This past Sunday, a number of families came on stage and led us in singing “Joy to the World.” They’d been practicing this recently at our monthly Family Service. (If you’ve got kids and aren’t coming to this already, you should definitely check it out on the first Saturday of each month.) More pictures of the kids are here.

Also this weekend we had our Members’s Christmas double-party (double because it takes two nights and we still barely squeezed everyone in). What portions of Chela Bhavan weren’t packed with devotees were filled with food, and then we poured Christmas carols over the whole thing to fill in the cracks. Which of course got us all warmed up for next Sunday’s caroling trip that we’ll take around the neighborhood. (So if you’re still up for more singing, that’s your next chance!) Party photos are here.

Guru Day Retreat

2015-08-07T15:41:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday we held our annual Guru Day Retreat. Guru Purnima is traditionally held on a full moon in July or August, and in this case just a day after a blue moon, the second full moon in July. As the sun went down over the course of the long summer evening, its light shone back into the night from the rising moon and echoed again from the hundreds of candles gradually gathering around each master’s shrine.

All five in our line of gurus have permanent shrines now on the community green — four gazebos, with Sri Yukteswar’s as the latest, and Babaji perched as always in the open air off on his own little mountain. Beginning with Jesus, we gathered at each one in turn, with Asha helping us focus our minds and hearts on the facets of our path that each one represents. Then a song, a chant, and a meditation, ending with everyone individually offering a small candle at the guru’s feet.

We had a remarkable turnout this year — about 120 people. The ranks of folding chairs spread so far around the shrines that when the time came to move from one to the next, some of us would simply turn our chairs around and already be part of the new crowd. But even in spreading itself out, an Ananda crowd creates a beautiful focus of energy and devotion, and this one carried us deeper and deeper into its vibration throughout the entire evening.

You can find more pictures here, and the audio and video recordings should be available soon on this page.

A Midsummer Night's Concert

2015-07-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Swami Kriyananda wrote so much music (over 450 individual pieces!) that much of it unintentionally tends to fall by the wayside, even with all the music we enjoy during service and at other events every week. Every once in a while, we try to correct this by putting on a concert full of little-heard and lesser-known songs and instrumentals. Plus, it’s a good excuse to enjoy more music!

This time around we had the concert in the evening, which helped give it a sweeter, more intimate feel, compared to the afternoons we often do. Another difference was that there were fewer full-choir pieces this time, with the bulk of the songs going to solos, with a few duets and trios as well. There’s a certain clarity and connection that comes through when a soloist sings a favorite song that they particularly chose to share with us, and we could feel the experience of these songs one after another building throughout the evening. Many people, even those who have heard dozens of Ananda concerts, commented on how special this one felt.

In addition to all the singing, Janice performed an instrumental from The Mystic Harp, Rita and Karen B. performed a dance duet to “Emerald Isle,” and Rita danced to “Farther Away than the Stars.”

If you missed the concert, or just want to ever-newly re-enjoy it, the video is already posted! (Due to technical difficulties, the last couple of songs are missing, and “Dublin Town” is off in its own separate video.) Enjoy!

Fourth of July Celebration

2015-07-08T17:24:00.002-07:00

This Saturday we held our annual Fourth of July Celebration at the community, with swimming, water balloons, potluck barbecue and picnic, and music. With 50+ people, we had plenty of tasty salads, side dishes, and desserts to go with our veggie burgers and dogs. See all the photos here!

The water balloon games this year started with the standard water balloon toss and gradually developed into a new invention in which one group of players tossed water balloons around in a circle, while an interlocking circle threw their balloons in the opposite direction. Increasing numbers of both balloons and participants kept things increasingly interesting.

The music included a couple of Mary Poppins classics (rewritten for yogis) and sing-alongs of “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “Brothers.” Yogananda actually used to include “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in his Sunday services, and so we decided to give it an encore at church the next day, ending with Master’s version of the lyrics (line 2 edited by Swamiji):

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
That the light of God within Him might enlighten you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free!
His love is marching on.

Happy “True Freedom Day” to all!

Farm Adventure Days

2015-06-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

[guest post from Michael and Kasey]

Here are some photo highlights from our June Farm Adventure Days!

When you think of all the components God pulled together for a wonderful week it is truly amazing. The chicks arrived a day before the first day, and all the kids got to hold these brand new baby chicks about the size of a orange. The big chickens were great fun to feed and get the eggs from. The pond with salamanders or Sally’s as the kids called them were endless fun to catch and release along with the cute small frogs. We also enjoyed art projects, planting veggies, nature appreciation games, and a trip to the beach. It’s wonderful for kids to get unplugged and get out in the sunshine to explore and play.

We want to thank our wonderful teachers that led the week of adventure days. Our daughter Kelly was in another camp being a teen leader last week after doing the same at FAD. Her comment was that the other camp was not like an Ananda teacher experience — those Ananda teachers put a lot of thought and energy into really connecting with the kids.

There are more Farm Adventure Days coming up on July 20-24, and we expect them to sell out soon! We’re looking forward to this second session, especially when we get uplifting reports like this from parents:

“Our children loved the camp so much and were extremely candid while telling us about their day.... It was so wonderful to hear about all their experiences. When they went to bed in the evening, they were so exhausted, yet couldn’t wait for the morning and their next adventure. My son said, ‘Mom, I learned so much from camp, it taught me to connect with nature and feel calm inside.’ Priceless! This is one of the best camps ever. My two boys also said that they felt loved and cared for. Thank you so much for this great program!”

Rajarsi Day

2015-06-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

[guest post from Sharmila]

About 30-35 Ananda gurubais and friends showed up on Saturday to clean up and beautify our temple (inside and out), our teaching center entryway, the temple entry from El Camino Real, and the piazza grounds.

Living Wisdom School got some wonderful help in sanding and painting the picnic tables, and painting hopscotch on the ground for kids to play.

Marcel had wonderful help from Sahadev and others in putting together a tool shed, organizing and cleaning out the tool room.

Anandaprem had quite a crew helping her clean up and beautify the flower pantry, and the ministers’ room. Jan was our early bird “dust bunny” cleaning and dusting cobwebs from every corner, and going on to lend her energy to numerous other tasks.

Many thanks to each and everyone who helped, with wonderful fun energy. A good time was had by all, and lots of great conversation happened around the beautiful snack table. Thanks, Master, Swamiji, and Rajarsi, for being present with us today.

[More photos here!]

New Shrine Installation

2015-05-14T12:43:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Jay’s loving volunteer labors, we have a beautiful shrine for the bust of Master in the piazza now. After service last Sunday, David and Gary carried the bust out into the courtyard, followed by everyone else, with chanting, and a dedication by Shanti. Rose petals and happiness poured out to bless the presence of the guru, lovingly symbolized by his likeness. Drop a petal of devotion next time you pass by....

A few photos here and lots more photos here.

Easter Congregation Photo

2015-04-09T16:51:00.001-07:00

Whoops — I forgot to mention in the last post one of our other Easter traditions: our annual all-congregation photo. Here we all are!

If you want to get the high-resolution version, click on the photo above, then click “More,” then select “Download.” Enjoy!

Easter Week

2015-04-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Our Easter festivities kicked off on Palm Sunday with a choir concert following service (and lunch). The choir had had a great time learning several new pieces by Handel, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, some of which have been voted among the top-10 favorites of choirs nationwide. And, of course, there was also a generous selection of Swami Kriyananda’s music, which will some day be on such a list. An extra treat was cello accompaniment to two of the songs, provided by Hiroki, an LWS student. We’ve got some photos of the day here, plus a video of the entire concert for your enjoyment.

Then this past Saturday it was time to stop letting the choir have all the fun. Asha hosted an Easter retreat based around Swamiji’s Christ Lives Oratorio, with everyone singing along. Barbara and a visiting Chaitanya led the singing, and everyone sang melody, both to keep it simple and devotional, and also to more directly tune in to the words, consciousness, and inspiration of each piece. So even for choir members it was a different and special experience. (Photos are here.)

Holy Week culminated in a glorious Easter celebration. One new element this year was a choreography to “Rise in Freedom” (an excellent Easter chant). It was performed by four of our dancers at the beginning of service, but the whole congregation got to join in later on (at least as far as the arm motions were concerned). We also got a performance of “Lightly I Fly” from many of the children and families who have been rehearsing it for us at our Family Services the past couple of months.

Our Easter banquet was held in the temple rather than at the community, due to impending drizzle, but all was bright with delight inside. Entertainment included juggling, violin music, banjo music, stand-up comedy, and the inaugural performance of the Ananda Ukulele Ministry (AUM). Clean-up inspiration provided by David and Karen’s rendition of “Who Will Clean Up?” to Swamiji’s tune of “Who Is Sylvia?” Photos of the entire Easter day can be found here, and if that’s not enough, also here.

In closing, here is the ukulele band’s rendition of an ancient Sanskrit Easter blessing song:

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
on a bright Ananda Easter Day.
That’s the sattwic greeting that we send to you
from the land where yogis pray.
Here we know that Easter will be full of light:
we’ll meditate by day and then again at night.
Mele Kalikimaka is the wise way
to say Happy Easter to you.

LWS Play: George Washington Carver

2015-03-26T08:44:00.001-07:00

In Living Wisdom School’s 22-year run of exceptional performances, this year’s play was a first. As always, its subject was an inspiring spiritual figure, but for the first time it was also a scientist: George Washington Carver. As the introductory scene acknowledged, science and religion have not always gotten along well together, but in today’s society it’s important to be reminded that they can, and indeed, should. The fusion of the two also paralleled the post-Civil War struggle for racial integration that was another major thread throughout the play.

Students portraying the teachers as they
discuss the subject of this year’s play.

The music throughout the production featured two songs as its main themes: “How Can I Keep from Singing?,” a beautiful hymn in tune with Carver’s optimistic and indomitable spirit, and “Amen,” a joyful, hand-clapping gospel classic. This year also included a number of dance choreographies, among them an adorable ballet of nature devas healing sick flowers to the music of “The Blue Danube,” one of Yogananda’s favorites. Dance was also used very effectively in some of the action scenes — a Civil War battle and a mob scene — to soften the scary moments for some of the younger children while still conveying the intensity of those events.

“How Can I Keep from Singing?”
performed by the all-school chorus.

The play excelled not only as entertainment, but as a history lesson, with the events coming to life before our eyes. Anyone who grew up in the United States probably remembers reading, for instance, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in school. But hearing these words in context, recited by students putting their hearts into it, conveys the power of that speech at that moment in a way no textbook can. We’re lucky to have many original quotes from George Washington Carver himself as well, conveying his consciousness all the more directly.

“The Blue Danube” ballet.

Far beyond mere rote memorization, participation in the play develops deeper skills in the students, including flexibility and grace under pressure. An example: For the final evening, several children were unable to perform. With the entire school already fully involved, there had been no bandwidth to assign or train understudies. So just before showtime, the director simply asked who else in the cast knew the missing students’ lines. The volunteers stepped into their new roles with all the confidence of actors who had paid complete attention in rehearsals even to scenes that were not originally their own.

Singing of the many uses of the peanut
(in peanut hats).

More photos from the dress rehearsal can be found here, and keep an eye on the LWS Vimeo channel for the official performance videos (coming soon)!

Enchanted Tea at the Farm

2015-03-19T13:16:00.002-07:00

[Guest post by Karen B. Check out the Ananda Valley Farm website to keep up with the latest news from the farm!]

While yogis are no strangers to moments of delight, beauty and surprise, the Enchanted Tea fundraising event on the farm this past weekend may have set a new standard for experiencing such divine gifts amidst the clucking of nearby chickens, the insulating charm of greenhouse surroundings and the fresh, earthy scent of a recently enhanced straw floor.

The nearly 35 guests (and an equal number of volunteers) who attended enjoyed a lovely afternoon of tea, various courses of delicious handmade foods representing different countries, and the splendid musical entertainment of a talented vocal quartet.

While refinement was in the air, and a cadre of waiters was on hand to serve guests in sit-down fashion, the order of the day was the much-anticipated opportunity to offer support to our beloved farm, and the many projects that await funding in order to proceed.

What began as an inventory of 30 items in need of sponsorship, quickly transformed into a list reflective of the true generosity of spirit that has accompanied the Ananda Valley Farm from its inception.

Many projects were fully funded; among them a mobile chicken coop, equipment to expand seedling production, funding to expand the accommodations at Seva House, new fruit trees for the orchard, solar-powered valve controls for watering, landscaping and a wishing well for the Temple yurt, and even the addition of an espresso machine for the Seva House kitchen. And, lastly, the entire room erupted in cheers and applause at the announcement of the funding of the final item on the list: a horse.

Stay tuned for the many seva opportunities that will arise as these upgrades to the farm are purchased and become ready to install.

For now, we would like to express gratitude to all of those whose willing service contributed to an exquisite experience at the farm, and to God and Gurus for the abundant blessings that continue to grace the life of Ananda Valley Farm.

[You can find more photos of the event here!]

Master's Birthday & "Meeting the Master"

2015-01-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

Master’s Birthday Celebration, 5th January

One of our most sacred days - our Guru Paramhansa Yogananda’s Birthday - reminds us of the very reasons we are here and what our purpose is.

Master mentioned (The Divine Romance, p. 398) that it is beneficial to meditate on the birthdays of any of the Self-realized gurus, as these days are auspicious and filled with blessings. Thus, we started Yoganandaji’s birthday with a two-hour meditation and followed with chants, songs and music.

We then listened to Swami’s recorded story how Master’s book Autobiography of a Yogi affected him deeply and changed his life. This reminded many of us of our own unforgettable experiences we had while reading this sacred book.

Asha then continued to talk about the essence and importance of the guru-discipleship relationship, pointing out how the guru has the power to “unravel our karma for us” and how he guides and protects us. She ended her talk by encouraging us to pray to Guru and God to “give me the grace to love you and give me the grace to know how you love me.”

After the sermon we had a beautiful devotional ceremony renewing and reaffirming our vows and supporting others in their reaffirmations. We had a group of new initiates into the Sadhaka as well as Sevaka orders.

Although our Guru has left his body, he is always with us. Swami reminds us, “we know from our experiences how real his presence is, we know from our experiences how real that guidance is and that’s what has made this community, what it is.”

Here is the video link to Swami’s and Asha’s talks.

Ananda Palo Alto Players Present Meeting the Master, 17th January

Last Saturday evening we witnessed a new milestone in Ananda’s spiritual activities: a way of writing and performing plays on such a deep soul-level which so far has not been seen nor experienced before - as mentioned by many who came to see the play.

The play conveys the experiences, blessings, healing and feelings of the early disciples, when they met Master for the first time, and includes loving anecdotes of their relationship with their Guru.

The stories were presented by Paramhansa Yogananda’s early disciples such as Gyanamata (played by Asha), Dr. and Mrs. Lewis (Marcel Hernandez & Anandaprem), Kamala (Erica Kellogg), Durga Mata (Kristy Norfleet-Andrews, author of the play), Rajarshi (Garth Gilchrist) and Kriyananda (Rammurti Reed).

The play was for all of us an amazing experience: while we listened to the accounts of the disciples, how they met Master for the first time, we could feel through their owns words what an incredible life-altering, blessed experience this was. We were transported to the times when Master lived, how he behaved and acted, how his disciples loved and revered him, how it was to receive his unconditional love and protection.

At some stage of the play we did not only feel part of the play, but we could feel the same feelings as they were expressed by all disciples who were been played and who were playing the part. Here are some more pictures.

This soul-quality and soul-experience which occurred during this evening, made a strong impression on us, but also left a blessed imprint on our consciousness and made us feel, on a very deep level, joyful.

If you have not yet seen the play, you still have a chance to see it this Saturday, 24th of January, at 6 pm at Ananda Sacramento.

Of course, we have also here a recording of the play (Part 1 + Part 2). Enjoy!

With lots of love, joy & blessings,

Mirela

Christmas & New Year Celebrations

2015-01-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

Already two weeks have passed since we have had our Christmas celebration and we still hold in our hearts, minds and souls the sacred ceremony of the birth of Jesus which we experienced inwardly in longer meditations and outwardly with our families and friends.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve provided us with the opportunity of an inward celebration of Christ with a two hour meditation. For most of us, this was one of the most beautiful and devotional evenings, reminding us of the potential awakening of the Christ Consciousness within each of us. We listened to holy songs, music, chants and to Asha’s sermon guiding us deep into the spirit of Christ. In the latter part of the evening we enjoyed a beautiful creation of Jesus’ birth with a life nativity scene reflecting the devotion and grace of that moment.

The evening culminated in a reverential candle light ceremony at the feet of baby Jesus. Many of us were deeply moved.

Here are some more pictures

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day Asha narrated the Christmas story with beauty, warmth and clarity, which not only touched the minds and hearts of the children present, but also of all the adults.

Some children were dressed up as angels, shepherds and kings, and joined the live nativity scene, having much fun but also acting with reverence throughout the ceremony. For more pictures click here.

Later we enjoyed a delicious banquet while also appreciating and rejoicing with our family and friends this very holy day.

After the Christmas banquet we were shown a scene of the forthcoming play Meeting the Master, which will be shown on Saturday, 17th of January, of how Master celebrated Christmas with his disciples and how he lovingly would prepare and give presents to everyone. Here is the link to the video.

See also here some fun outtakes from Christmas Day (pre-event) pix.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve started with an inward celebration of letting go of the old year and welcoming the New Year with a two hour meditation. We witnessed and celebrated the taking of the Pilgrim’s Vow of Intention and Renunciate Vow of Brahmacharya by two of our gurubhais.

The evening then followed with a talk by Asha, accompanied by music and songs, and ended with an extended fire and purification ceremony in which we each got to offer ourselves and our aspirations for the new year up to Guru and God. Click here for some more pictures.

House Blessing at Chela Bhavan

On January 3rd we held a house blessing for celebrating the signed agreement to purchase Chela Bhavan for $600,000. The amount of $50,000 has been paid and a debt of $550,000 remains which will be covered through the on-going monthly rent and future donations. We chanted, meditated, prayed and sent out many blessings in every corner of the house. The evening ended with some tea and shared food.

Wishing you all a very special year with many sacred, joyful and blessed moments and gatherings like the ones we just experienced.

in Master's Love & Joy

Mirela

Highlights of Our Pre-Christmas Activities

2014-12-24T12:20:00.002-08:00

1. Christmas Concert, 7th December

Our annual Christmas concert was a most exquisite treat for our soul and heart.

The choir sang old medieval pieces such as Gaudete, British and French Christmas carols from the 16th century, pieces from Mendelssohn, Bach, a new composer Sir John Taverner and, of course, Swami’s compositions.

There were many excellent solos, duets and quartets accompanied by the whole choir and beautifully performed trumpet, violin, guitar and piano solos. Listen here for recordings and video.

Many visitors commented that they felt so much joy, warmth and appreciation for the music, the singers and musicians.

2. Members’ Christmas Parties at Chela Bhavan, 13th/14th December

For many members this is their favorite event!

We all sat around a beautiful decorated Christmas tree with “Nayaswami-blue” Christmas lights, chatted, shared the food we brought and sang a wonderful list of old as well as modern Christmas carols.

We were all deeply touched by the sacredness of the Christmas songs and were filled with the spirit of love, warmth and friendship (more pictures here).

3. Master’s All-Day Christmas Meditation, 20th December

On Saturday we had our 8-hour Christmas Meditation which included beautiful music and talks from Swami and Master. The temple was packed with many people enjoying this sacred tradition.

4. Carol Singing in the Neighborhood, 21st December

With flashlights armed we followed Asha’s bicycle trail and sang one carol after another while walking arm in arm, chuckling and marveling at the Christmas light decorations of our neighbors. At every house our neighbors’ eyes and faces lightened up while they listened to the carols. Some neighbors joined us and some offered us some chocolate and biscuits. At the end of our carol singing tour we stood in front of one house where an old lady seemingly living alone, had just returned from hospital standing in her dressing gown in the doorway with tears running down while we were singing a couple of carols.

What a wonderful blessing that we had the opportunity to touch so many hearts including those who very much needed it.

wishing you all

Merry Christmas
Bon Natale
मैरी क्रिसमस
(Mairī krisamasa)

with Love & Joy in Master

Mirela

East West Appreciation Night

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On Tuesday, the 2nd of December, we had a special evening at East West Bookshop: we celebrated the existence of this special store and our gratitude to our customers and all members of the staff, with talks from David, Asha, Santosh and Tandava, accompanied by a tasty buffet and beautifully played piano music by Todd.

The talks reflected upon the importance of this special place in our lives, our community, and the Bay Area, and also on it’s nation-wide impact as one of the largest New Age, metaphysical bookshops. For three decades the store has been a platform both to convey Master’s teachings and to be genuinely universal in providing a wide spectrum of spiritual books for those seeking Truth and Self-realization.

Asha and David expressed their gratitude to the store’s dedicated and creative staff who do so much more than just selling books, crystals, music and other merchandise. They continuously have followed Swami’s advice to “just love your customers’’ and have kept creating a bookshop with great commitment and energy to meet the needs of its customers. Thus, they developed a place, where people could come to “know themselves and find their own ray of that true light” as descibed by Santosh, one of the longest serving members of the staff.

The evening included a great appreciation for the many customers who support the store by shopping, taking part in the many different programs, interacting with staff members and discovering Ananda and Yogananda’s teachings. David and Tandava pointed out that the store has been a family and community where people find “spiritual sustenance,” new genuine friends, insights, guidance and healing.

Asha recalled how Swami bought the bookshop in 1980 and how he intuitively knew that this was the right decision, commenting to her that “good decisions do not take time, but they take energy.”

The purchase of the bookshop caused Ananda to move in this area resulting in many more activities and enterprises aiming to “revamp a whole culture, to show how Master’s teachings, creatively applied, can change the entire pattern of society.” Swamiji continued that “I am just one person, and there is only so much I can accomplish by myself. If I can start a movement, however, and many people begin to act creatively from inner inspiration, as I have, then a great work can be done.”*

Click here for more pictures and listen to the talks.

in Master’s light,

Mirela

* P.S. Quote is from Asha’s book Swami Kriyananda: As We Have Known Him, p. 238

Thanksgiving Celebration

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Our Thanksgiving celebration was a wonderful treat for our soul, mind, heart and palate.

The morning started with a one hour meditation and followed with a moving sermon taking us on a journey highlighting the history of this auspicious holiday with the speech of Abraham Lincoln declaring this day of “… thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father, to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as consistent with the Divine Purpose to full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union.”

Throughout the sermon Shanti as well as Jyotish and Devi (broadcasted from Pune, India) reminded us of the meaning and feeling of thanksgiving and the importance of holding gratitude in our thoughts and hearts for God, our line of Gurus, Saints, our families and community.

The sermon ended with a beautiful prayer from St. Teresa d’Avila:

“May there be peace within, may you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing that you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into our bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance, to praise and love. It is there for each and every one for you.”

We were then treated to a wonderful delicious lunch which included a very tasty salad, nut loaf with golden gravy, roasted vegetable medley, mashed potatoes, cranberry orange compote, persimmon pudding and pumpkin pie.

During lunch we enjoyed a superb, lighthearted and funny entertainment, which included a joyfully performed Shakespearean talk and song, a well-presented reading of P.G. Wodehouse’s “The Fiery Wooing of Mordred,” from the collection Young Men in Spats, and ended with the debut of our own Ananda-“Elvis” with a creative and funny rhymed song instructing everybody to help to clean up.

After much laughter, the heartfelt warm family gathering ended with Asha’s brief talk encouraging us to be open and receptive to participate and engage in the forthcoming Christmas festivities as much as we can, as “there is a special kind of blessing in the air that all of us can really take part in and find our lives significantly changed by it.”

In Master’s Joy & Blessings

Mirela

P. S. The rest of the photos are here.

The Arts & Crafts Fair

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“Too often on the spiritual path, devotees are afraid to be creative because they think creativity itself leads to ego. This is not true. When the ego is offered into the divine, then creative work becomes an expression of God. Then it helps you spiritually. In fact, in order to grow, you have to express yourself in this way - creatively as an instrument of the Divine.” - Swami Kriyananda

Last Sunday at our annual Ananda Palo Alto Crafts Fair our devotee artisans were thankfully unafraid of sharing their creativity with us. They enveloped us with their beautiful, vibrant and uplifting energy expressed in

hand tied gemstone and Rudraksha malas
Christmas ornaments with Master’s picture
healing remedies and body care products co-created with the devas, from Ananda Village Permaculture
paintings and inspirational posters for children
handmade hats, scarfs, Kimonos and other items of clothing
toys and elegant jewelry

Our Ananda artists included all ages - from teenager to retiree - and from a wide range of different professions who find pleasure and satisfaction in “making things out of things.” For most of them being creative was a way of “just having fun” and having the experience of “letting the Divine flow through you.”

Ananda Valley Farm joined the Crafts Fair for the first time with a beautiful autumnally decorated table of wonderful nourishing food such as sweet breads, homemade canned items, eggs, etc. Many enjoyed in particular the hot curried cauliflower dish while walking from one crafts table to the other or chatting with each other.

We discovered also that some of our gurubais have creative pursuits we did not know of, and the fair was a wonderful way to admire this side of them in a heartfelt, loving, social gathering with much laughter.

in Master’s Creativity, Light & Love,

Mirela

PS:
Quote is from Asha’s book Swami Kriyananda As We Have Known Him (p. 238)

The Jewel in the Lotus

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Last Sunday we gathered together and enjoyed a wonderful tasty Cuban meal and watched the beautiful, inspiring play The Jewel in the Lotus written by Swami Kriyananda and played by the Ananda Palo Alto Players.

The play tells the story of transformation including the conflicting yearnings for money and God in families, the power of the guru’s love for all people and creatures, and the effects of saints in our lives. The villagers find their love for God rekindled and their lives changed by listening to the storyteller, a wandering spiritual seeker, who shares his wisdom through inspiring and instructive stories in particular of Sri Paramhansa Yogananda.

We enjoyed a beautiful play with magnificent, colorful costumes, wonderful uplifting music, songs and chants, elegant and gracious dancing and impressive as well as inspiring performances by all the members involved in the play.

Every member of the Ananda Palo Alto theater group mentioned that it was a most transformative experience to work together on this play over the last 4 months. They felt very uplifted and inspired working with the words written by Swami Kriyananda, but also enjoyed the camaraderie, the friendship and the joy of seeing how each of them in their own way progressed, changed and transformed by, for example, facing their fears of being on stage, going beyond their comfort zone and internalizing and living the written words of the play.

During the play we not only had the pleasure of enjoying a beautifully and stunningly presented and skillfully directed and performed play, but we also experienced how our friends transformed themselves on stage in a most amazing, impressive and inspiring way. It was a blessing to watch our gurubhais showing us a side of themselves we have not yet seen and celebrating with us together their newly developed skill, ability and thus, transformation - the theme of the play.

For more photos click here.

in Master’s love,
Mirela & Tandava

Editors’ Note:
After about 5 years of writing this blog Tandava is giving the authorship over to Mirela. Please join me (Mirela) to send blessings to Tandava for his service: AUM, AUM, AUM

1st Annual Harvest Festival

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A new milestone for Ananda Valley Farm: The first annual Harvest Festival! After so many joyful workdays over the last year, it was time to go up there and just play.

Our amazingly resourceful farm staff and volunteers filled the afternoon with activities, including face painting, boat racing, pumpkin racing, tug-of-war, egg toss, ultimate nerf, hay rides, sharing nature activities, a plant identification lesson, a hike, and probably more that elude the memory at the moment.

After a delicious dinner in the greenhouse, we headed out to the pond for a sunset arati. Everyone received a small, paper bowl “boat,” containing flowers, a candle, and a stick of incense. Then to the accompaniment of prayers, chants, and Aums, we launched them all out on to the water.

And for the grand finale to the day, we had the farm’s first contradance! Omprakash came down from Seattle to teach the dances and play fiddle. The rest of the band was made up of his old contradance buddies Karen and David (on fiddle and piano, respectively), and Tandava (playing banjo and fiddle). With lots of enthusiastic new contradancers (including a very young one) we turned Sahadev’s workshop into a surprisingly good dancehall.

If you weren’t able to join us, plan on it next year. This is just the start of a wonderful tradition. More photos of the day are here.