Dear Friends,
Well the enchanting and powerful Old Haidakhan Baba murti is now in the temple here in Crestone and what a reception it received here and in every city that we visited along the way. It is wonderful to have the beautiful murti here and feeling His influence. Traveling with the murti was a good part of the last month and it was definitely a mix of great highs and some challenging times too. Over the years I have always noticed the difference between the two sides of the Haidakhan Ashram in India: the main side with the murti of Old Haidakhan Baba and the gufa side with the Divine Mother Murti like ours here. The main side feels more like Shiva energy, stronger, stricter, a bit rougher where the gufa side has always felt more soft, more loving, like the Mother. We have often been told that the Ashram here in Crestone has always felt more like the gufa side with the strong Mother energy.
All of that being said, it makes me wonder if some of the challenging times that I had on this last trip and even to the present, has to do with a sterner Shiva energy now at work on me. I had an abscessed tooth extracted just before I left for my trip to pick up the murti and the abscess was slow to diminish. I had to take heavy-duty antibiotics into the first part of my trip. I was out of commission one whole day in Oregon with a low grade fever and exhaustion (probably still from the infection and antibiotics), I got food poisoning one day in San Diego, and by the time I reached Denver, I began to come down with an infection in my sinuses and head. This dripped down to my lungs causing a deep bronchial cough and laryngitis the first day I was back at the Ashram and now after a week I am finally getting my voice back and the cough is diminishing.
Knowing that Shri Babaji is always looking after my best interest, I am praying and meditating a lot on the meaning of these events. I know that part of the lesson is not taking on too much. I questioned whether having Baba’s murti on my family vacation, which involved many flights, would be too much since it requires daily bathing and puja and He weighs about 30 pounds. Also adding an extra trip to the LA area for pujas and fire ceremony was definitely extra travel. I often ask myself the question, “when is it appropriate to stretch a little and when is it best to not”. But it has been a few years since Hiroman and I began talking about bringing Babaji to the Ashram and we have been waiting for the murti expectantly, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity when I was headed to the Pacific Northwest for my family reunion. It did all work out very smoothly: many people got to have darshan of Babaji at all of the events and it was a great joy to have my sisters and grandchildren help me bathe Him, put oil on Him, dress Him, bring Him flowers and prasad, and offer the aarati lamp. Of course all of this was planned before I had the abscessed tooth, which definitely lowered my energy level.
Looking at more of the possible metaphysical causes of my various illnesses, it seems that I need to keep life a little less complicated and also make sure that I communicate more quickly and honestly when I feel hurt or frustrated. I am also probably a little overly concerned about my family and my grandchildren’s affairs. The realization here is that if I totally trust that it is all in the Divine’s hands, I only have to keep focused on the mantra and let the Divine take care. This also brings up the lesson of not being attached to the outcome. I sometimes focus on how I think it should look rather than allowing life to unfold in its own beauty.
So I am grateful to have these lessons in my life. At the end of any illness, there are always so many gifts and deep appreciation for what I have learned. I have signed on to living at an Ashram where the teachings keep coming, now adding the Shiva energy of the new Babaji murti to Mother’s energy opens us all up to even more teachings. For this I am truly grateful. Om Haidakhandi and Om Haidakhandewsari Jai!
With deep love,
Ramloti
Ceremonies and Schedule
The full-moon fire ceremony this month is on Saturday, July 12 (Guru Purnima) and the new-moon fire ceremony is on Saturday, July 26. This month they both begin at different time. The full-moon will begin at 9am with a paduka puja and puja to the new Babaji murti inside the temple followed by the fire ceremony at 10am. The new-moon fire on July 26 will begin at 11am to facilitate a final meeting for Family Week and the Sofia Daiz workshop, which end that day. Both of these fire ceremonies are followed by a meal. Please arrive freshly bathed, in a long skirt or pants with shoulders covered, and having fasted from grains, cereals, meat, eggs, garlic and onions. Fruit, yogurt, nuts, veggies and tea or coffee are fine to eat before. Also, if you have a dietary need for something more hearty before our meal at 11:30 or so, please partake.
Our evening aarati is at 6pm and morning aarati is at 7am, with a paduka puja in Shri Babaji’s kutir at 6:30am. Lunch is served at about 12:30pm, and we invite you to join us. (Call if you are a group or have special dietary needs.) The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open every day from 10am until 5pm.
If you would like to participate by sponsoring a fire ceremony or a bhandara (feast), we would like to send you a blessed item from the fire ceremony if you request. They are:
$27 sponsorship - Copper, brass, nickel Om Namah Shivaya bracelet
$54 sponsorship - Rudraksha, Rosewood, or Tulsi Mala
$108 sponsorship - Rose Quartz Mala or a copper, silver, brass Om Haidakhandi bracelet
You can make the donation online by just clicking here or by calling 719-256-4108, or by emailing the Ashram at info@BabajiAshram.org. You may also send us a check made to HUA to: P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131. We are continually grateful for all of your support of the Ashram.
Guru Purnima in Crestone and Switzerland
With the arrival of the new murti of Old Haidakhan Babaji in late June, Guru Purnima will be extra special this year. It will be celebrated here at the Ashram in Crestone on Saturday, July 12 with a paduka puja and bathing of the New Murti at 9am and fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal. For more information please call 719-256-4108.
The International Guru Purnima Celebration will be in Schwibenalp, Switzerland and will run from July 9 - 13. There are always hundreds of devotees here with tremendous shakti and love for our Lord Babaji. For more information or to make reservations please go to www.schweibenalp.ch. Americans that will be traveling there so far are: Lok Nath, Maureen DeCosta, Ramloti, Shashi Agarwa, and perhaps Gayatri Devi.
Annual American Haidakhan Samaj Weekend
The Annual American Haidakhan Samaj Weekend will be held at the Ashram from Friday, July 18 through Sunday, July 20. There will be gatherings to share ideas and stories, chanting, aarati, daily small fire ceremonies and lots of great time together. The annual meeting of members is scheduled for 3pm on Saturday, July 19. All are welcome to attend. To learn more about the Samaj please go to www.babajisamaj.us and to reserve space in the dorm, please go to www.babajiashram.org. We hope to see you all there. Bhole Baba Ki Jai!
Ashram Annual Family Week - Wednesday, July 23 through Saturday July 26
Family Week, which will run this year from Wednesday, July 23 through Saturday, July 26, is very full already. The dormitory is totally booked already as well as all of the camping space. If you really want to attend, call us and we can see if anything can be worked out. We are thinking to rent an extra house for adults, so call if you are interested in this possibility. We could also put your name on a waiting list for the dorm.
The children’s program includes circle time, yoga, karma yoga, chanting, arts and crafts and other fun activities. The children’s program runs from 10am until 1pm and is followed by lunch. The families then organize outings for the afternoon to the Sand Dunes swimming pool, hiking, horseback riding, or the Sand Dunes National Park.
The suggested donation for an adult to stay at the Ashram is $135 per week. Children attend the camp and stay at the Ashram free of charge, they are a gift to the Ashram!
Email the Ashram at info@babajiashram.org or call at 719-256-4108 with questions or to reserve a space.
Workshop with Sofia Diaz - Wed. through Sat. July 23 - 26
The Workshop at Family Week this year will be centered - by meditation practices, breath awareness and, of course, the celebration of each other’s company in these precious bodies – on the noticing of the meeting of the inner offering of our lives to this moment and the outer offering of Grace toward us. We have been and are being given the universe, to receive this ominous Grace, there is something to give back NOW. Its easy, it’s refreshing, it’s perfectly obvious in the circumstance of good company and THE GREAT FIRE. May the Inner and Outer Fires burn in our living of the Grace we are Given!!!!
The suggested donation is $108 with partial scholarships available. For more information about Sofia Diaz and her work around the world go to www.sofiayoga.com.
Email the Ashram at info@babajiashram.org or call at 719-256-4108 with questions or to reserve a space.
Movie Manor Fundraiser for the Ashram - Sat & Sun, Nov. 8 & 9
We are excited to announce a different and fun fundraiser for the Ashram at a hotel in Monte Vista (15 minutes west of Alamosa) named Movie Manor. The reason for the name is that it also includes a drive-in theater that you can view and hear from your hotel room. (One of a kind in the United States.) It is owned by a couple of Indian families that frequent the Ashram and they were happy and excited to support this idea by donating 45 or so rooms for us to use.
We are planning for the weekend of Nov. 8 and 9. The idea would be to bring many families from the front range and New Mexico for a weekend of kirtan, puja, aarati, a classic Indian movie, dinner, and breakfast (even a fire ceremony and maybe some cricket, if the weather is conducive).
The donation for the room, dinner, breakfast, movie, chai, snacks, and to support the Ashram is only $216 per room. It should be great fun, inspirational and also a great community builder. The families we have mentioned it to thus far have already signed up for rooms and volunteered to help cook some of the food.
So mark your calendars for that weekend to have wonderful time and to help support Mother and Baba’s home in Crestone. You may also want to book your room soon, as it will probably fill up quickly. Call 719-256-4108 or email at info@babajiashram.org
Karma Yoga at the Ashram
We are so grateful to all of the those who can come and help at the Ashram and to all of you that help make these projects possible by your financial donations. 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) to 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 for your support, love and prayers.
Recent Events
Old Haidakhan Babaji Murti Comes to the Ashram
What great festivities we had when Babaji arrived in Oregon, California, and Colorado. It was amazing how quickly everything fell together and how many people availed themselves to this opportunity to do puja to Babaji. Thank you to all who organized. Here are some of the photos:
Finally home to Crestone where so many people and lots of children greeted the murti with a lovely puja and fire ceremony.
One of our staunch supporters at the Ashram is author and teacher, James O’Dea. He is currently the lead faculty of the popular Peace Ambassador Training hosted by the Shift Network, past director of Amnesty International Washington DC office, as well as past president of the Institute of Noetic Science. Through him we met Philip Hellmich, who is the Director of Peace at the Shift Network and is deeply devoted to the Divine Mother and the sacred fire. He invited us to perform a fire ceremony on their beautiful land, which I did when I was in the Bay area last month. About 15 people attended and it was a very powerful and lovely event. It is wonderful to do the simple fire ceremony (we have a portable copper havan kund) in as many places as possible.
Plenty of Visitors to the Ashram
Calendar for Events at the Ashram in 2014
July 12 - Guru Purnima
July 19 & 20- Annual American Haidakhan Samaj Weekend and Meeting. Their new web address is www.babajisamaj.us
July 23 - 26 - Annual Family Week w/ concurrent Sofia Diaz Workshop.
September 23 - October 1, 2014 - Fall Navratri - Divine Mother Festival with daily fire ceremonies, pujas, discourses, reading, chanting and other ceremonies.
October 23, 2014 - Diwali, Festival of Lights.
The next photo is of Shri Babaji’s lotus feet taken at the time of His Maha Samadhi. This is only available at this time in 8x10 size for $14. (On the shop website)
We have redone the Maha Lakshmi Shop website making it more easy for you to navigate. Please take a look at www.mahalakshmishop.wazala.com and give us some feedback.
The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open every day. We can bless an item at Mother’s feet for you if you ask. You may call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 and place your orders over the phone (every day from 10am until 5pm Mountain Time). We are happy to answer any questions. It is really nice to connect in this way. We take Visa, Mastercard or Discover.
The Shop is a major supporter of the Ashram, so we deeply appreciate your patronage.
Maha Lakshmi Mata Ki Jai!
