Haidakhandi Universal Ashram Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Happy Shivaratri! This seemed like an appropriate quote on this feast when we repeat the name of Shiva all day and night. “Practice a little Japa and meditation every day. Never stop for a single day. The mind is like a restless child, it wants to runaway. You must bring it back again and again and apply it to the meditation on the Lord. Go on this way for two or three years, and then an inexpressible joy will fill your mind. Meditation and Japa appear dry in the beginning but slowly spiritual joy will grow in you.”

These words are so true and what amazes me is how fast two or three years go by and if we are faithful to our practices, this joy and bliss is suddenly more and more apparent in our meditation and in our daily lives. I am so grateful for these practices that Shri Babaji has given to us, particularly when I travel.

I have had a glorious vacation with family culminating in Hawaii for my 62nd birthday. It was all a huge gift of an oceanfront condo lent to us by a friend and free air because of accumulated miles. My family there treated me so luxuriously as did Mother Nature with perfect warm weather, fun waves for boogie boarding, lots of local tropical fruit and even a winter crop of mangoes on the

tree down the way (yum!). During my daily aarati at my small altar I felt such bliss and gratitude to Baba and Mother for all They have and continue to give me.

So I feel very refreshed and rested, ready for all the activity of the Ashram and the upcoming celebrations. But what are most poignant in my mind are all the gatherings of devotees that interspersed my travels. The bliss and joy I experienced at these was so deeply healing. And it did not matter how many people were in attendance. For instance, at the fire ceremony and aarati in El Sobrante, CA at Saradambe’s there were only ten of us. Yet with several devotees that had been with Babaji and the majority of the rest having been to Haidakhan or monthly aaratis many times, the ceremony, the singing and the music was absolutely heavenly, I never wanted it to end. Mindia was playing her divine flute, Richard was on another small wind instrument, Saradambe was drumming and singing so sweetly to accompany my harmonium playing. It certainly felt like all the celestial angels had joined in with us.

When I came back to my son’s home that evening, I did my normal meditation before bed and was still pulsating and tingling with energy running through my body. I was in bed for several hours with all this bliss going on before I could even fall asleep. In the morning I told my daughter-in-law about my experience and told her that I thought that this must be what enlightenment feels like, it was so incredible.

Then there were the Colorado gatherings in Thornton and Colorado Springs this last weekend were there were many more people gathered. Once again the love and devotion made the chanting intoxicating. I often felt like I was leaving the ground as I played the harmonium. I know all these times we come together to share these sacred mantras and chants impacts the planet so strongly bringing some balance and peace to it. May we continue to come together in God’s name frequently!

Bhole Baba Ki Jai!

Ramloti

This Month’s Fire Ceremonies and Schedule

The new-moon fire ceremony this month is on Saturday, March 5 and the full-moon fire ceremony is on Saturday, March 19. The fire ceremonies begin at 10:08 am and are followed by a meal. Our evening aarati is at 6pm and morning aarati is at 7am with a paduka puja in Shri Babaji’s kutir each morning at 6:40am. Lunch is served at about 1pm. The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open every day from 10am until 5pm.

If you would like to participate by sponsoring a fire ceremony, we would like to send you a blessed item from the fire ceremony. They are:

$27 sponsorship - Copper, brass, nickel Om Namah Shivaya bracelet

$54 sponsorship - Rose Quartz, Rosewood, Garnet or Tulsi Mala

$108 sponsorship - Rudraksha Mala or Crystal Mala or Copper, silver, brass bracelet

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 of the Ashram.

Maha Shivaratri - All-night Chanting on Friday, March 4 and Fire Ceremony on Saturday, March 5

Shivaratri is coming soon and we are totally booked at the Ashram (not that there is much sleeping that goes on that night). We will begin our all-night chanting on Friday night at 10pm and continue until 4am. We will then take a break until aarati at 7am, fire ceremony at 10am and a huge Indian feast at about 11am.

This time that Lord Shiva’s energy is most present on the earth will be full of joyous chanting accompanied by some incredible musicians. We also have a very auspicious Shiva Lingam that will

be gifted to the temple that night by VK Sharma. It is brought to us from the Passupathi Nath Temple in Katmandu, Nepal. It has been blessed with a Rudra Abhishakum which is a non-stop milk bath to the Shiva Lingam for four hours with mantras and flowers. It is a very powerful ceremony and takes days of preparation. It is very rare to have a Lingam blessed in such a way and we will be doing puja to it throughout the night with the traditional offerings of milk, yogurt, ghee and honey. Join with many other folks on this auspicious occasion to praise Lord Shiva.

For more information call us at 719-256-4108 or email us at info@babajiashram.org. Om Namah Shivaya!

Spring Navratri - Sunday, April 3 - Monday, April 11

We are fortunate to have two weekends for this year’s Navratri since it begins on Sunday, April 3, but the rooms for both Saturday nights are pretty booked already. You may still call and see what we can work out, particularly if you can share a room with others. These nine days are so magical that it is no surprise that so many folks want to come from around the world to be with our beautiful Mother.

She just never stops giving to us. I remember one day asking our then 90-year-old Shastriji if the bed we had for Mother was big enough. He smiled so sweetly and said. “Oh Ramloti, it is only symbolic. If Mother ever slept even a second, the whole cosmos would stop.”

Please join us for these divine days that are full of chanting, aarati, fire ceremony, readings, discourses and karma yoga. You may call us at 719-256-4108 or email us at info@babajiashram.org.

Haidakandweswari Mata Ki Jai!

Annual On-Line Maha Lakshmi Auction Hermitage Fundraiser - Saturday, April 8 Through Sunday, April 17

The annual on-line auction is just around the corner and will begin on the auspicious 6th day of Spring Navratri (which honors Maha Lakshmi), Friday, April 8 and will complete on Hanuman’s birthday, Sunday, April 17. We are continually receiving more and more exciting items for the auction. We deeply appreciate all those who have already responded with auction items and sponsor support. If you have not done so yet, you can view the auction at http://www.biddingforgood.com/babajiashram and maybe get some ideas of what you might donate or other ways to participate in the fun. You can call Ramloti at 719-256-4108 or email her at info@babajiashram.org and she can help you upload your item. Thank you for all your support. All money raised will support the hermitage building which is scheduled to break ground during Navratri.

Here are a few of the over 160 items already donated (not all of them are even on-line yet). We are grateful to have received another signed basketball from the NBA champions for the last two years, the Los Angeles Lakers. We also have been gifted this incredible GreenStar juice extractor which is practically unused and still in its box. Another lovely new item is this Classic coffee and tea set as well as a set of Hippo pro plus junior golf clubs (left handed) with bag.

Mark your Calendar for Summer!

Family Week and Workshop with Sofia Diaz - July 26 - 29

This is such a special time to be together for all of our families, many have been coming for years and years now!

We also have adult space for those that want to have an Ashram experience and participate in Sofia Diaz’s (photo on right) incredible workshop, this year entitled “The Colors of the Divine”. Since the children’s program runs at the same time, parents may also attend the workshop.

We are excited to announce that the kid’s program (which runs at the same time as the adult workshop from 10am-1pm each day) will be run by Larry and Bobbi Cecio owners and directors of Village Gate School in Encinitas, CA. The theme of the week is “Team”. Here is a blurb about what they will be focusing on during the week.

We are on teams everywhere in our lives… Our family is our first team, but then we are on teams for school, sports, hobbies and at work. And being on a team can be challenging. We don’t all think the same way or believe the same things, which can make it difficult to get along and solve problems. During Family Week, we will do a variety of engaging activities that help us to listen with our hearts, speak from our truth, work in cooperation with one another and to see the best in one another, even when it’s difficult. We teach the children to:

- Be Leaders and Followers

- Trust themselves and one another

- Set Boundaries without Fighting

- Express their authentic selves

- See how much more we can create when we work in harmony with one another.

Space is definitely at a premium so reserve as soon as possible by calling 719-256-4108 or emailing us at info@ info@babajiashram.org

The Hermitages for Jonathan, Ramloti and Premanand

Scheduled to break ground during the auspicious days of Spring Navratri the hermitage project now has about $22,000 in funds and pledges. We are very grateful to all that have given so generously and we still have quite a ways to go to be able to build the first one. These hermitages will sit on a lovely bluff to the west of the parking lot and will be for the three-long time residents who have been sharing space or living without electricity and plumbing for 15 to 20 years.

We ask each of you to look into your hearts and see what this Ashram means to you and 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 made out to HUA but designated for the hermitages 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 your support, love and prayers. Together, with Baba’s grace, we can make this happen!

Karma Yoga and Maintenance at the Ashram

Lots of snow clearing, wood collecting and planting in the greenhouse has gone on this last month. Other wonderful help has been with the computer and updating our auction items and keeping up with all the cleaning and laundry. We appreciate all who help here at the Ashram.

Recent Events

Encinitas, CA Chanting Evening

Many children and families showed up for this event. It was so lovely to see the little ones helping with the puja and then dancing in the back of the room while enjoying the chanting.

Mahasamadhi Fire Ceremony in El Sobrante, CA

What a sweet day this was at Saradambe’s. She is moving to the German Ashram soon, so we will miss the wonderful ceremonies she has hosted at her home for so many years now. We hope they will continue somewhere in Northern California. You can read more above about it.

Chanting and Fundraisers Thornton, CO and Colorado Springs

As also described above, both of these events were wonderful and so full of shakti. Many of the attendees have been to the Ashram many, many times and others were brand new but planning to come to the Ashram soon. The food was delicious and we even celebrated a birthday! Thank you to both the Telang and Celly families for hosting these special events so lovingly and with so much care. We raised nearly $1,000 for the hermitages.

Our Children and Families

Our children and families are the wealth of this Ashram. We love them so much and enjoy seeing them grow!

Calendar for 2011

March 4 - Maha Shivaratri with all-night chanting.

March 5- Fire Ceremony at 10am followed by an Indian feast.

April 3 - 11 - Spring Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.

July 14 - Guru Purnima Day

July 23 - 24 - Annual American Samaj Weekend.

July 26 - 29 - Annual Family Week and Concurrent Workshop with Sofia Diaz.

September 27 - October 5 - Fall Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.

October 26 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.

Maha Lakshmi Shop Report

Just arrived from Mysore, India! These lovely silk carry-all purses are fully lined in silk. We are having a special Shivaratri sale of only $27.

The gorgeous silk embroidered stoles measure 31” by 64” and are also on sale for only $27. Neither even on the website yet, just call 719-256-4108, and order them by the color. They will probably go quickly!

You may view and purchase most of our other items at www.shop.babajiashram.org/ You may also call us at 719-256-4108 with questions or to place an order. We love to talk with you. We accept visa, mastercard or discover. The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open everyday from 10am until 5pm.

The Shop is a major support of the Ashram, so we deeply appreciate your patronage.

Maha Lakshmi Mata Ki Jai!

March, 2011