Flowering Prayers

Last Friday we honored the anniversary of Paramhansa Yogananda’s mahasamadhi, a great yogi’s final, conscious exit from his body. Along with music, the evening featured several readings from Yogananda’s writings including, of course, his maha-poem, “Samadhi.” One new element was that everyone present received a card on which was written one of Master’s “prayer demands,” from his book Whispers from Eternity. We then got to write our own prayers on the back, and offer them at the altar.

Perhaps you wondered what became of those cards after the ceremony? Amy M. and a small team of volunteers took them, along with the rose petals from the ceremony, to the corner of El Camino and College, and buried them at the foot of the Ananda church sign there. They then did some repairs on the rock wall, and planted new flowers above the prayers. Now every time we walk by, we can imagine our prayers blessing the sangha and the community, and see Master smiling back at us through the flowers.

Our joyful gardeners and the newly-blessed prayer flowers.