Easter Celebrations

“Vivid” is the word for Easter at Ananda. The clarity of Christ’s life and message comes through our gurus and teachers so powerfully, and then resonates throughout the deep spiritual connections in our community until its practically palpable. It brings the story to life again, for us and within us.

On Good Friday we had one of our evening services that are always so lovely and inward, and we experienced our way through the story of the crucifixion via music and readings. This is an evening that can be tricky to end well—Jesus dies on the cross, leaving us in suspense about the resurrection—but we managed to wrap it up beautifully at the “intermission.” It was clear by then that, though he had died, he hadn’t been killed. He “gave up his spirit” voluntarily, rather than waiting to die on the cross, remaining completely a master of the situation, even in tragedy.

The next day (which I’ve just learned is called Holy Saturday) we had an Easter Retreat in the temple, in which Asha treated us to a few hours of more free-form story-telling and teaching. It was a time to come to a deeper understanding of not only the events of Easter but the true spiritual significance behind them all. We had people there who have grown up with the story in Christian churches, and others who were only hearing it in its entirety for the first time, and everyone gained something very worthwhile in the experience.

And then, of course, we had the glory of Easter itself. The Oratorio pieces performed by the choir and soloists come through with even more power than usual on that day, and the story is completed in all its ever-new joy.

The Easter banquet followed service (and an Easter egg hunt), with spanikopita as the main course, several tasty side dishes, creatively lavender-flavored lemonade, and a dessert that was like pumpkin pie dreaming it was in heaven. We also had a great collection of new or seldom-heard songs for the entertainment, many of which were thematically appropriate, even if only in terms of being resurrected versions of popular or folk songs. If you missed them, or want to revisit them, check out the videos!

Hawaiiana	What Do You Do with a Blissed-Out Yogi?
My, My, It's the Spiritual Eye	Take Me Home, Babaji

The full set of photos is also worth a visit. Happy Easter!