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October, 2006Dear Friends of the Ashram,
Premanand and I have just returned from a wonderful tour to Denver and the Pacific Northwest. Busily in preparation for Diwali, I would like to first send you this newsletter full of pictures of Fall Navratri and the tour. I will send Diwali photos next month. Beyond Diwali, we are looking forward to November 4 when we will have an Indian cooking class and fund-raiser for the Crestone Charter School's trip to India. Then on Saturday, November 25 we will have a kirtan concert and workshop by Vamadeva (this is Thanksgiving weekend). We are also busily ordering new shop items so that the Maha Lakshmi Shop will be full for Christmas. We appreciate your support. We have been busy chipping away at our kirtan hall loan. Read on to find out about all of this. With the shortening of days, our evening aarati has shifted to 6pm for the remainder of the winter. Morning aarati remains at 7am. Our full-moon fire ceremony this month is on Sunday, November 5, and the new moon-fire ceremony is on Monday, November 20. The fire ceremony begins at 10:08am and is followed by a meal. If you would like to sponsor a fire ceremony ($108) or bhandara (feast) ($108) you may make the donation on line by just clicking here or call 719-256-4108 or e-mail the Ashram at info@BabajiAshram.org or send us a check at P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131. Thank you for all of your support. In truth and love, Ramloti Indian Cooking Class and Fund-raiser
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This wonderful photo of Shri Babaji was taken in 1981 when my children and I were hiking out of the Ashram to visit devotees in Alamora with Baba. The image was taken by a man from Canada and sent to us recently by surprise. Just looking at it brings me back to that special moment. The river was high and so we had to cross in a hand-pulled tram that sat six people. Baba invited my two sons and I to cross with Him so we had many special minutes basking in His Divine energy. Bhole Baba Ki Jai!
The Ashram is collaborating with and helping to lead the Crestone Charter High School students to India next Spring. They will be visiting Delhi, Agra, Amistar, Dharmasalla, and Jaipur as well as traveling to Babaji's Ashram in Haidakhan to experience life in a small village and an Ashram. This is a big trip for them and so the fund-raising is important. This event will an evening of Indian food and Indian entertainment and will be on Saturday, November 4 from 6pm until 9pm. Most of the food will be prepared at the Ashram earlier in the day in conjunction with an Indian cooking class which will run from 2pm until 5pm. Three Indian families have volunteered to come from Denver and teach the class and oversee the food preparation. The last fund-raiser, held in Spring served over 100 people and raised about $1400 for the trip. Please call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 for more information or e-mail us at 
It is also our good fortune that Vamadeva will lead a kirtan workshop that afternoon from 2pm until 5pm. The workshop will be a combination of learning new chants, the significance behind each one, and singing them. Vamadeva sings Sanskrit chants from the Shiva, Vishnu (Ram-Sita, Radhe-Krishna) and Divine Mother traditions - Kali, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. He leads kirtan and kirtan workshops around the country and is highly regarded as a deep and soulful kirtan leader.
As I look around during all of our major celebrations and three-day weekends, I wonder how we were able to accommodate all the people that came here before the kirtan hall was built. The last day of Fall Navratri we had a hundred or more people inside listening to the final discourse on the Devi Bhagavatam as shown in the photo. We are so grateful to Mother and Babaji for allowing this expansion to take place. |
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Navratri Children
More and more children are coming to the Ashram and participating in the ceremonies. The last day saw at least 35 children and all received gifts of crowns, veils or lunghis, small gifts, candy, and money. Families value this time of community and a place where their children can learn about respect for spiritual traditions and for people of different cultures. The Ashram appreciates our children and family so much.
Navratri Fire Ceremony and Pujas
The whole Fall Navratri seemed especially blessed this year. The weather was warm and sunny, the chanting and ceremonies were very heart-full and harmonious, many people contributed their time and energy, and the last day sitting with 150 or more people at the fire ceremony was particularly powerful. How blessed we are to have been given these rituals and ceremonies by Shri Babaji to bring here to the West. When we gather together at these times, the effect upon the environment and the whole cosmos feels very strong. Bhole Baba Ki Jai!
Northwest Tour
The Northwest tour sponsored by the Ashram and the American Haidakhan Samaj (click here to find out more about the Samaj) was great. It began with a kirtan evening in Denver hosted by Arvind Suman and several other families. Even though it was in the middle of the week, we had about 50 people in attendance. It was so nice to see many of the families in their own neighborhood who normally travel the four hours to the Ashram.
We then traveled to Eugene, Oregon where Charles, Miyuki, and Peggy organized a lovely fire ceremony and kirtan evening. Some folks drove eight hours to attend the event! Sitting around the havan kund with about 50 people, we were just about ready to begin when a huge flock of geese flew directly over us calling out loudly. It seemed like an excellent beginning to a strong ceremony.
Our final stop was in Monroe, WA at the home of Don and Kay. Here, on several acres of beautifully wooded land, they have a temple and a large havan kund which were built in 1985 and 1986 when Shri Muniraji and Shri Shastriji visited their center. Although the numbers were smaller at this event, the majority of attendees have been coming for years and many met Shri Babaji in His physical form. So the aaratis, havans, and satsang were especially strong.
Calendar for 2006 - 2007
November 4 - Indian Cooking Class from 2m - 5pm. Indian Dinner and Entertainment Fund-raiser for the Charter School 6pm -9pm
November 25 - Kirtan workshop with Vamadeva from Boulder, 2-5pm and kirtan, 7-9pm.
February 16 - Shivaratri, all-night chanting
February 17 - Shivaratri fire ceremony at 10:08am followed by bhandara
March 18 - March 26 - Spring Navratri, nine days honoring the Divine Mother
July 23 - July 27 - Annual Family Week and Kirtan Workshop
July 28 - Annual American Haidakhan Samaj Meeting (click here to learn more about the Samaj)
July 29 - Guru Purnima
October 10 - 18 - Fall Navratri, nine days honoring the Divine Mother
Maha Lakshmi Shop Report
The Maha Lakshmi Shop continues to receive new items. Many new purses, bags, hand-painted om and Ganesh pendants, and deity T-shirts in both children and adult sizes have just arrived. You can view them all on our web site at BabajiAshram.org.
We recently got the book, Shiva Mahavatar by Pola Churchill back in stock. This new edition has many photos and great stories and sells for $15.
We would also like to announce a large sale on the video, Have Guru Darshan, by David Berry with music by Turkantam. This 57 minute video has been heralded over the years as one of the best videos about Shri Babaji with footage of Him and the Ashram in Haidkahan from the years 1977 - 1981. The blurb on the video cover reads, "A unique, mesmerizing and rare living portrait providing glimpses of Hadiakhan Baba. Visit His Ashram at the foot of the Himalayas and experience Babaji luminous darshan.” This revised edition from 2001 is definitely worth having in every home. To make this more possible, we are offering the video for only $10.08 plus shipping. It is available in both formats, PAL (for Europe) and NTSC (USA and Canada).
You can call the shop toll-free at 1-866-686-4185 daily from 9am until 5pm. We do take Mastercard, Discover, and Visa. We thank you for all of your shop purchases as the revenue from the shop is a huge support for the Ashram. To view all the items in the Maha Lakshmi Shop, please refer to our newly updated web site at BabajiAshram.org. You may order on line through paypal or e-mail us at shop@babajiashram.org, or of course, place the order over the phone.