Re-Landscaping at the Temple

One recent Saturday, 17 souls from the “Sadhaka Excel” Monday night satsang group swept like a swarm of avenging landscapers over the front gardens of the Ananda Sangha temple on El Camino Real. The gardens which once served to frame our lovely church building were last reworked 13 years ago, and have more recently begun instead to hide the beautiful old mission-style building from motorists passing by. And hiding isnʼt something an organization with a worldwide message wants to do.

So, after morning snacks and an opening prayer, the Sadhaka group went to work. Under Sahadevʼs able guidance, they cut, hacked, dug, and took the old vegetation right down to the roots. Some of the old bushes had grown over 6 feet tall, completely blocking the view of what was behind them. A few of the best old plants were saved to use around the edge of the parking lot and the piazza, filling in gaps where older trees had passed on into the arboreal astral world. Climbing ladders, the sadhakas tore the old vines off the walls, allowing the original arches to show themselves off again. The trees along the sidewalk were pruned of drooping branches.

Thanks to a day of joyful devotion and energy, passersby can again see what a wonderful shape our temple has. New flowers are already planted to give instant color to the front garden until the next major revision is mapped out. This workday is envisioned as the first of many more steps yet to come in restoring the exterior of our temple site to all its former glory, and more!

(More photos here.)