Ashram Newsletter - August 2024

July 25, 2024  |  by Ramloti

Dear Friends,

I have just returned from a very powerful trip to the International Celebration of Guru Purnima celebrated this year in Schweibenalp, the Center of Unity, in Brienz, Switzerland. The surroundings in the foothills of the Alps with the Lake of Brienz below are stunning and the beauty of nature abounds everywhere. In this ideal setting, a community of about 25 people live and run this retreat center with great joy and attention to maintaining the pristine environment.

Founded by Sundar Singh in 1982, at Shri Babaji’s direction, it houses a temple to Shri Babaji and a large dhuni for sacred fire ceremonies. With over 200 devotees coming together in this special place, the energy was very high, and Shri Babaji’s Presence was palpable.

The chanting was so alive that it was hard to leave the kirtan hall even though it was late at night, and I had not eaten for many hours. Somehow for me, tiredness and hunger evaporated when I was chanting with everyone in the temple. I will write more and include many photos and video clips of this special time below. What I would like most to address in this letter is the month of Sawan, the month of Lord Shiva, which began on this special full-moon day of Guru Purnima. Shri Babaji said: “This month [the lunar month of Sawan, beginning with Guru Purnima] is a beautiful month, dharmic and full of charm. It is the month of abundance of green. Mahaprabhuji blesses you on this day. Let it be a happy day. All of you should be happy and peaceful. Mahaprabhuji blesses you with happiness and peace.” July 28, 1983. On Guru Purnima afternoon, I did a short interview with Martin Baba from the Holland Ashram on Sawan that may give you more insight into this special month. https://youtu.be/IO3e-SYPxIw.

I have always felt that this was an auspicious time for me to honor Lord Shiva. Babaji had me join in the Parthiv Puja for two weeks at the culmination of Sawan in the summer of 1981. I was in Haidakhan for the summer with my two boys and we had just returned from what turned out to be a challenging trip to Vrindabam, let me tell you about that first.

I had asked Baba if my children and I could accompany Him to His Ashram in Vrindabam where He would be celebrating Guru Purnima. It seemed like such a wonderful opportunity to be with Babaji on the day of the Guru, see His Ashram in Vrindabam, and also visit Shri Krishna’s childhood home.

When I asked Babaji for permission to go, He said “Yes”. But as the time approached, He seemed to be warning me that it may not be such a great idea to go. He kept asking me, “You like hot? You like very, very, very hot?” I kept responding that I did not like very hot weather, but I did want to go with Him to Vrindabam.

So, we left the Ashram with Baba and the group of devotees. Since it was monsoon season and the Gautama Ganga River was very high, we had to take a 5-hour hike through the mountains culminating in a hand-pulled tram ride over the raging river to reach the road. Moving a little slower than the others, we got lost in the mountains for a while and when we finally caught up with the people who stayed behind to help us, we had to hurry to catch the overnight train. As soon as we arrived in Vrindabam, one of my sons became feverish and sick with the other one becoming sick a few days later. True to Babaji’s warning, it was very, very hot, and the hotel that all the devotees stayed in was a distance from the Ashram. So, with sick children, I hardly even got to be with Babaji during our stay there. We were very happy to get back to Shri Babaji’s home and the cooler temperatures of Haidakhan.

So here we are back at the Ashram and Babaji suddenly tells me to join in this special puja for two-weeks which entailed making hundreds of clay Shiva Lingams, doing special pujas, fasting, and keeping silence. It is called Parthiv Puja. Fortunately, we had been at the ashram long enough that my children had their routine and karma yoga jobs helping in the shop. I had also told them to look to Shri Babaji for any guidance which they did, since I was in silence.

Although I was surprised to find myself doing this unfamiliar activity all day for two weeks, it was also a deep time for me, doing this repetitive task of making Shiva Lingams, repeating Om Namah Shivaya silently, keeping silence, and fasting. And like so many things that Shri Babaji showed me, it was significant for my future life at the Ashram here in Crestone.

This year, the month of Sawan has 5 Mondays in it. At the Ashram we will live stream the last four Mondays (as I was traveling the first Monday) doing a Shiva Lingam Abhisekam in the morning hours. Lord Shiva brings great auspiciousness to our lives, particularly if we take some steps toward Him during this special time of year. So set you intention, decide on some kind of fast or commitment of repetitions of Om Namah Shivaya and meditate on the great Lord.

With deep love,
Ramloti for the Ashram

Recent Events

Guru Purnima at Schweibenalp

As I spoke about above, Guru Purnima in Switzerland was wonderful. With lots of deep and energetic chanting, daily big fire ceremonies, lots of satsangs with devotees, morning Chandan, paduka pujas, seeing old and new friends, Whirling Dervishes dancing, and the beauty of the place made it so special. I was honored to lead the second of four havans during the celebration. Here are a few photos and links to satsangs with devotees. Most of the photos from that week are with visitors and karma yoga toward the end of the newsletter.

Here are links to a few of the Satsangs we did while we were together.
Sundar Singh: https://youtu.be/Q1YxDkwieag
Pujari, Raghu, and Ramloti: https://youtu.be/SSfYhzZOhKk
Raghunandan: https://youtu.be/d5Gz9Ju0yFI
Here is a short clip of some of the chanting after the Fire Ceremony:
https://youtu.be/ZTsaaz5StQo

Guru Purnima at HUA

There was also a beautiful Guru Purnima celebration and fire ceremony at the Ashram in Crestone.

A couple got married at the Ashram.

New York Fire Ceremonies

On my way to Switzerland, I fulfilled the request of Neil Desai and came to his home and did fire ceremonies. The larger one on Saturday was rained out and so we did one inside with flower petals. It was beautiful and touching to see about 40 people offering flowers to the small fire kund. It was also very special to see a few New York devotees that I had not seen for well over ten years, Melody, Tamako, and Jen. The following day, we did a small fire on the beach before I flew to Switzerland. It was an inspiring time in New York.

Upcoming Events

Sunday, August 4 - New Moon Fire Ceremony - 10am MT

New moon fire ceremony and pitru puja followed by chanting and lunch.

Monday, August 19 - Full Moon Fire Ceremony - 10am MT

Full moon fire ceremony followed by chanting and lunch.

Paduka Puja and Chanting in the Denver Area

Mark you Calendars for the weekend of September 14 and 15 when Shri Babaji’s Padukas will come to the Denver area.
Saturday evening Sept 14 at 6pm in the home of Ajay and Sabina Pradhan. Call 720-732-6141 for more details.
Sunday morning, Sept 15 at 11am in the home of Ashwini and Rahul Nipunge. Call 720-201-8583 for more details.

Daily Events at the Ashram

We have daily Aarati and Chanting at 7am and 6pm, which last about an hour. We also have a daily Small Fire Ceremony when we do not have the larger one. Please call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 for exact timing for these. The daily fire ceremonies are live-streamed at Haidakhandi Universal Ashram Facebook Page.

Maha Lakshmi Shop

One of the ways that the Ashram is supported is through the sales at the Maha Lakshmi Shop. Here are a couple of items you may wish to order.

Rukmini and the Turning of Time, The Dawn of a New Era. By Dena Merriam - $24.95

The main story of this book takes place before, during, and after the Mahabharata War, an event that marked the ending of one era and the beginning of another—a time when spiritual knowledge was decreasing but material development increasing. The story begins in the ancient city of Dwarka and is told through the voice of a dancer of that time. It is a story of Rukmini, the wife of Lord Krishna, who is said to be a rebirth of Mata Sita, both of whom are avatars of the great deity, Narayani. A very engaging book full of teachings of service to others. https://mahalakshmishop.wazala.com/products/rukmini-and-the-turning-of-time-the-dawn-of-an-era/

Golden and Teal 8” Buddha - $99

This beautiful Buddha Murti is 8" tall. Gautam Buddha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born to the Earth as the son of King Kapilvastu. Having observed the natural phenomenon of birth, sickness, old age and death, he realized that nothing on this earth is stable. His search for truth led him away from his kingdom and all civilizations. After deep meditations he returned to deliver speeches and serve human kind. A beautiful piece for your home or temple.
https://mahalakshmishop.wazala.com/products/gold-and-teal-buddha-8/

The Maha Lakshmi Shop makes up a large part of the Ashram budget, and is open daily from 10am until 4pm. Thank you for your support.

Bhole Baba Ki Jai! Jai Ma!

Other Ways to Support the Ashram

First and foremost is to pray, pray, pray for all the disturbances amongst people and life all over the earth. This is a time of great challenge, and Babaji spoke over and over again about the power of prayer, the mantra, havan, puja, and seeing all as children of one Divine Mother Earth.

You may also support financially by going to …

• GoFundMe Campaign
• Venmo (@babajiashram)
• Donate Page (this page has links to Paypal and GoFundMe)
• Amazon Wishlist

Ashram Wishlist. The Ashram could really use some new chairs for its “Ashram Table”. After many years of use, they are patched in many places and ready to be replaced. We have found some very sturdy ones, which are on our Amazon Wishlist. If you feel moved to support us in this way, it would be great. Thank you for all you do for the Ashram.

Calendar of Events

Please go to our Calendar of Events page for all events.

Karma Yoga

Everywhere we go, there is a lot of karma yoga done so joyfully preparing for and cleaning up after the ceremonies. The experience both in New York and Switzerland brought this to mind vividly. Babaji spoke continually about the importance of this spiritual practice, Karma Yoga. Here are photos from Crestone, Denver, New York, and Switzerland, the great family of Karma Yogis.

Visitors to the Ashram and Other Events

I have included here photos from all of the events this last month. The lasting friendships formed around the world adds to the community of devotees even if we only see each other once a year. What a blessing to have so many dear people in one’s life.