Celebrating Ananda

September has always been a significant time of year for the Ananda Palo Alto community, and so we like to roll a number of celebrations into one big “Celebrate Ananda” event. Some previous Septembers of note have been:

• 1980 - Purchase of East West in Menlo Park
• 1989 - Purchase of the residential community in Mountain View
• 1992 - Beginning of Living Wisdom School
• 1994 - Purchase of our Temple property
• 1995 - East West moved to Mountain View

Over 100 people attended this year’s party at the residential community, which began with delightful circle dancing created and led by Rita.






Fine food, of course, is never far from an Ananda celebration. Lunch included tofu and paneer barbecued skewers, Indonesian rice salad, Anika's mother's famous baked beans, a mixed greens salad bar, and desserts extraordinaire lovingly baked and brought in by Marie and Simoné.



The festivities also included the world debut of Ananda Samadhi Bingo. The squares were filled with spiritual qualities and names of our gurus, and completed lines were marked by cries of “Samadhi!”

Congratulations to the winners: Anika with one complete line, and Kasey, Suman, & Eric, with two lines intersecting. (Though all participants are, of course, welcome to achieve samadhi, regardless of the state of their board. Contact your guru for more information.)

Many more wonderful photos of the day here!