Dear Friends,
It is actually very heartening to see how many people are searching for more spiritual meaning in their lives.
I am particularly impressed with the amount of young folks (older teens and young twenties) searching for more. They often arrive at the Ashram not knowing what to expect and end up extending their stays to experience more of Baba’s and Mother’s love and teachings. They enthusiastically embrace the practice of karma yoga and chanting in the temple and certainly add more aliveness to the Ashram!
As we pack up the last of the auction items to send to the winners, I am deeply touched by the generosity of so many people who donated, sponsored, and participated in the auction, helping raise $11,000 toward the upkeep of this beautiful home of Shri Babaji and the Divine Mother. No words of thanks are sufficient to Cindy Cleary for the tireless and efficient amount of work that she put into the auction. It is fun to go in and put a bid on an item but the work that goes on behind the scenes to make all the buttons work is immense.
As I write this newsletter, we have several 9-year-olds with their teacher from a Montessori school in Salida in the kitchen chopping vegetables, making salad and baking a cake; and some outside collecting kindling for the fire ceremonies. They are here at the Ashram for three days learning about Babaji’s teachings and communal life. As I said above, all this takes a lot of energy but I know in my heart that this is what Shri Babaji meant when He said to build large ashrams that would be like islands in the sea of materialism where many people can learn to work together. I am deeply grateful to be part of all of this.
Much love,
Ramloti
This Month’s Fire Ceremonies and Schedule
Our fire ceremonies in May are on Thursday, May 13 (new-moon) and Thursday, May 27 (full-moon). The fire ceremonies begin at 10:08am and are followed by a meal. Our evening aarati is at 6pm and morning aarati is at 7am. Lunch is served at about 1pm. The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open every day from 9am until 5pm.
$27 sponsorship - Copper, brass, nickel Om Namah Shivaya bracelet
$54 sponsorship - Rose Quartz, Rosewood, Garnet or Tulsi Mala
$108 sponsorship - Rudraksha/Crystal Mala or Crystal Mala
You can make the donation online by just clicking here or call 719-256-4108 or e-mail the Ashram at info@BabajiAshram.org or send us a check to: P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131. We are continually grateful for all of your support.
Another time to show your support and love of the Ashram is our annual Karma Yoga Morning on Saturday, May 8. From 9am until noon we will be catching up on all of the maintenance that needs to be done to have Baba’s and Mother’s home in tip-top shape this summer. All skill levels are welcome. We will be weeding, digging, doing small repairs, cooking, cleaning, and any thing else that presents itself.
If this is not a convenient time for you, please call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 and set up another time to come and share your skills, they are always appreciated.
An Evening of India in Albuquerque – Friday, May 14
On Friday evening, May 14 from 7 – 9pm Ramloti and friends will lead an evening of chanting, stories, and images of India in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This will be at the Unity Spiritual Center (formerly Christ Unity Church) located at 9800 Candeleria NE. This is always an inspiring opportunity to bring new and old devotees together in Baba’s and Mother’s love, please join us. There will also be many items from the Maha Lakshmi Shop to purchase (call the shop if you have a special request). Admission is by donation and will go to support the Ashram. Hope to see you there.
Guru Purnima, Inauguration of Babaji’s Kutir
and Annual Samaj Meeting Weekend – July 24 & 25
What a full and magnificent weekend this will be as many devotees gather together at the Ashram to celebrate Guru Purnima (the day you honor your teacher), tell their stories of being in Babaji’s presence, bless His new room, participate in a sacred fire ceremony and share ideas about spreading Baba’s love throughout the country at the American Haidakhan Samaj meeting. We have already heard from many of the devotees that were able to experience Shri Babaji when He was in physical form and we look forward to hearing their stories. The energy will be very high and Babaji’s presence felt by all. Please join if you are able, this will be a time you will not want to miss! Call (719-256-4108) or email the Ashram at info@babajiashram.org as soon as possible to reserve space for this busy time.
Shakti Workshop with Sofia Diaz – July 26 – 30
We are so fortunate to have Sofia at the Ashram during this week to conduct this workshop. Sofia Diaz offers a unique approach to Hatha Yoga, sacred movement and feminine spiritual practice, deriving her style of teaching and body philosophy from the South Indian temple arts. She lectures at Naropa University and teaches throughout North America. To find out more about here go to www/SofiaYoga.com
The workshop will run from Monday through Thursday (July 26 – 29) from 10am until 1pm followed by lunch. On Friday, there will be an optional trip to the Sand Dunes for fun and play with all of the families that have gathered at the Ashram for Family Week. The suggested donation for the workshop is $135 for non-Samaj members and $108 for Samaj members. There is also a concurrent children’s program each day for children 3 years and older. There is no charge for the children’s program but registration is important so that we know how many groups and counselors to arrange to accommodate all of the children. Please call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 or email at info@babajiashram.org for registration forms for the workshop and children’s programs.
Annual Family Week – July 26 – 30
For ten years now, families have been coming together at the Ashram during the last part of July. At first it was just a spontaneous gathering and after a couple of years, it became an annual event with organized programs for the children and adults. Many families have been coming all of this time and treasure it as an opportunity to experience the Ashram lifestyle of fire ceremony, chanting, aarati, karma yoga and community as well as a great vacation.
The program for adults is the workshop described above or any karma yoga during the 10 – 1pm time-frame. For the children, they will break into different age groups and do karma yoga, hatha yoga, art projects, chanting, hiking, games and group processes. Everyone will then come together for lunch and cleanup from 1pm – 2pm. Afternoons are reserved for the families to organize field trips to the hot springs swimming pool, hiking, horseback riding, park and other places. We have evening aarati at 6pm followed by dinner.
It is a great week and everyone seems to love it but the rooms are already filling up fast in the dormitory. Please call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 or email at info@babajiashram.org as soon as possible to reserve space. The suggested donation for an adult to stay at the Ashram for a week is $135, there is no charge for children. Hope to see you.
It is amazing how fast the building of Babaji’s room is coming along. The solar heat is installed and already working well, the interior is painted, the doors and windows are stained and placed and the sun tube (to let light into the entry hall) has been installed.
Next week they will be finishing and oiling the floor and beginning the stucco on the outside. It is going to be so beautiful!
It already feels very good inside. I recently walked in and as I looked out the windows and saw all the trees to the south and the setting sun out the west window the thought suddenly came to me, “Babaji is certainly going to like His new room!”
As stated above, we will have the dedication of the kutir on Guru Purnima weekend. Guru Purnima morning (Sunday, July 25), we will so a paduka puja and give chandan in the room for the first time. Please attend if you are able.
We have deep gratitude to the Agarwal family for building this tribute to Shri Babaji.
Bhole Baba Ki Jai!
Maintaining Baba’s and Mother’s Home
All of these repairs take funds so we ask you to please donate as you are able. You may go to our website and donate through PayPal (you can even set up a monthly tithe). You can also send a check to the Ashram at P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131 or you can call us at 719-256-4108 with a credit card number. We want to thank you in advance for you support, love, and prayers.
Successful Annual Online Auction
What a great success this year’s online auction was, over $11,000 raised. We wish once again to thank all who participated in some way to make it so successful.
This year the auction closed on a Sunday just before our lunch, so when the final count was announced during lunch, we were all elated. It is always fun to share the success of the Ashram with many friends.
Many Groups Visit the Ashram
It seems like springtime brings many groups of students to the Ashram. We had a group from the high school in San Luis, a group from Aspen High School, a group from Denver College, a group from the Montesorri School in Salida and a group from Colorado College. We always provide tours for them and some stay for a ceremony or even a day of karma yoga. We then see many of the students at a later date on their own.
Families and Visitors
Once again, we have so many families, children and other visitors coming to the Ashram, it is really our wealth. Some, like Gretchen and Roberta, stayed a month or more others, like Ricahrd and Marti, stayed for several days or a week. Others came for an overnight, a day, lunch, a fire ceremony or a few hours. We appreciate everyone that graces us with their presence. It is always hard to say goodbye after becoming so close to them all but we do know that visitors almost always return, so we will see them all again. Many have been coming several times a year for years, like Marti who first came in 1988.
Calendar for 2010
May 8 - Karma Yoga Morning 9 - noon and Bal Gokulam followed by lunch
May 13 - New-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal
May 14 - Chanting and images of India with Ramloti at 7pm at Unity Spiritual Center (formerly Christ Unity Church) located at 9800 Candeleria NE.
May 25 - Bowling in Monte Vista with the Ashram from 1pm - 3pm
May 27 - Full-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal
July 24 - 25 - Annual American Samaj Weekend
July 25 - Guru Purnima Day
July 26 - 30 - Annual Family Week and Concurrent Workshop on "Shakti" by Sofia Diaz
October 7 - 15 - Fall Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.
November 5 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.
The Shop has received a new DVD on Shri Shastriji, called “Shastriji, the Voice of Babaji.” Vishnu Dutt Shastri referred to himself as the shadow of Babaji since he was so close to Him. Whenever Babaji wanted something translated for the Westerners He would normally ask Shashtriji. Shri Babaji has said that Shastriji has been a voice of the Divine for thousands of years and wrote some of the great Ancient Vedic scriptures. This film is to honor and remember him for his devotion and dedication to the the Divine Mother and to Babaji. He has always been a great inspiration and through this film he still shows us that remembering God is the only sensible thing to do in life. Shastriji also gave many speeches, wrote the Haidakhadeswari Sapta Sati and was a prolific writer. This 30 minute documentary is a great treasure and can now be purchased from the Shop for only $18.
We have also received two new CD’s from the Haidakhandis. The first one was recorded live at last year’s Guru Purnima celebration in Switzerland. It is titled Siddhahsram and contains many Om Namah Shivaya chants and other favorites with Harogovind, Pujari, Ganga and Moti Ma on harmonium. This sells for $18. The second CD is a double CD and was recorded in July in Paris with Hargovind Baba on harmonium with Alok Banerjee on dollak and many Haidakhandis backing them up. It contains a booklet with all of the words and translations to the 20 chants. Many of these chants have rarely been recorded and are precious because they were often sung in the Presence of Shri Babaji during His last manifestation. The name of this CD is Teri Sharana Me Aya and is $18. The profits from the sale of these CD’s and DVD will go to support the Babaji Charitable Hospital in India.
The Maha Laksshmi Shop is open everyday from 9am until 5pm. You may view and order the majority of the items online at www.shop.babajiashram.org/ You may also call us at 719-256-4108 with questions or to place an order. We accept visa, mastercard or discover. The Shop is a major support of the Ashram, so we deeply appreciate your patronage.
