Christmas Concert

The choir thanks everyone who came to enjoy our holiday concert last weekend, and who streamed from afar. There were about 100 people in the temple (wow!), not counting all the singers and musicians. And about 100 connections came in for the live stream throughout the concert.

The musicians were in music-heaven, and we’re pretty sure the angels in charge of music were more than pulling their weight that day, too. Todd played flute for the concert, not long after he just started learning to play. A great lesson in the value of knowing how to practice. And Jasmin graced us with her gorgeous cello playing on a few pieces.

 In case you missed it, or want to re-enjoy it:

• Beautiful photos.
• The complete 2016 Christmas concert video (use a quality speaker or earbuds for the best sound).
• The audio MP3s.
• And direct links to each song in the long video, if you want to head to a particular spot:
  • Lift Thine Eyes (Mendelssohn) 
  • Cloisters
  • O Come O Come Emmanuel (with flute and cello) 
  • Looking for a Friend
  • Hayl, Mary, ful of grace (15th C.) 
  • Mother of Wisdom
  • To Mary There Came
  • Hail Mary
  • The Light That Was Christ
  • God is Truth, God is Love
  • He Shall Feed His Flock (Handel) 
  • Ave Maria (Biebl) 
  • Shepherds Awake!
  • Three Wise Men (wonderful, all-new group of singers this year) 
  • The Christmas Mystery
  • That Night When Christ Was Born
  • The Christ Child’s Asleep
  • O Jesulein Süss (Bach)
    
    Small ensemble set 
  • Ding Dong Merrily on High 
  • The Seven Rejoices of Mary 
  • Lullay My Liking (Holst)
  • I Wonder as I Wander (Niles), arr. by Tandava 
  • The Angel Gabriel, arr. by Tandava 
  • Good King Wenceslas
    
    Choir closing pieces 
  • In Dulci Jubilo (Bach) 
  • Christ Has Come!
  • African Noel, arr. by Andre J. Thomas (a total blast) 
  • Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) (a total blast x 2)

Christmas Celebrations

On the weekend leading up to Christmas, we celebrated inwardly by following Yogananda’s tradition of holding an all-day meditation. Some hundred or so meditators filled the temple for eight hours, meditating with occasional breaks for chanting and listening to recordings of both Master and Swamiji, and their music. The photos capture the lovely, astral quality of the day.

Our Christmas Eve service is the bridge that connects our inner observation of “spiritual Christmas” with the outer events and celebrations that the season honors. In an extended Festival of Light, we watched the whole Christmas story unfold before us in glorious pageantry, but the bhav throughout was one of deep and reverent devotion. Photos of Christmas Eve are here.

Then finally, Christmas Day itself. Our “family service” (well-loved by all ages) enacted the story again, narrated by Asha, in a more exuberantly Christmas-morning mood, with various children, parents, and friends taking part as shepherds, angels, wise men, and even musicians.

And to top it all off, our Christmas banquet followed the morning service. For entertainment, Steven and Tandava enacted a rather different but nonetheless entertaining story: “The Amazing Hat Mystery,” by P. G. Wodehouse. (If you missed it and are wondering how we solved a mystery like those hats... well, it was either the fourth dimension or a Christmas miracle.) All the Christmas Day photos are here.

Christmas Music

It’s December! And, as always, our Christmas season at Ananda comes with an almost continual soundtrack of glorious music.

The kickoff this year was the choir’s Christmas Concert, which we held after service on the 6th (lunch provided). Along with some of our favorites of Swami Kriyananda’s Christmas music, we also  enjoyed pieces by Bach, Rachmaninov, Holst, Billings, and more. So much good music has been written over the centuries in honor of Jesus’s birthday, which makes this a fun way for the choir to branch out a bit and learn some new pieces. And it’s pleasing to think that someday perhaps there will be an equally broad and illustrious repertoire written by devotees of Yogananda.

If you’re looking at the photos and wondering what’s going on there at the end, we’re singing “Lord of the Dance.” So naturally that requires some dancing, and the choir can hardly be expected to do it all themselves. Check out the video of the entire concert if you want the full effect.

This past Sunday, a number of families came on stage and led us in singing “Joy to the World.” They’d been practicing this recently at our monthly Family Service. (If you’ve got kids and aren’t coming to this already, you should definitely check it out on the first Saturday of each month.) More pictures of the kids are here.

Also this weekend we had our Members’s Christmas double-party (double because it takes two nights and we still barely squeezed everyone in). What portions of Chela Bhavan weren’t packed with devotees were filled with food, and then we poured Christmas carols over the whole thing to fill in the cracks. Which of course got us all warmed up for next Sunday’s caroling trip that we’ll take around the neighborhood. (So if you’re still up for more singing, that’s your next chance!) Party photos are here.

Fourth of July Celebration

This Saturday we held our annual Fourth of July Celebration at the community, with swimming, water balloons, potluck barbecue and picnic, and music. With 50+ people, we had plenty of tasty salads, side dishes, and desserts to go with our veggie burgers and dogs. See all the photos here!

The water balloon games this year started with the standard water balloon toss and gradually developed into a new invention in which one group of players tossed water balloons around in a circle, while an interlocking circle threw their balloons in the opposite direction. Increasing numbers of both balloons and participants kept things increasingly interesting.

The music included a couple of Mary Poppins classics (rewritten for yogis) and sing-alongs of “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “Brothers.” Yogananda actually used to include “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in his Sunday services, and so we decided to give it an encore at church the next day, ending with Master’s version of the lyrics (line 2 edited by Swamiji):

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
That the light of God within Him might enlighten you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free!
His love is marching on. 

Happy “True Freedom Day” to all!

Easter Week

Our Easter festivities kicked off on Palm Sunday with a choir concert following service (and lunch). The choir had had a great time learning several new pieces by Handel, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, some of which have been voted among the top-10 favorites of choirs nationwide. And, of course, there was also a generous selection of Swami Kriyananda’s music, which will some day be on such a list. An extra treat was cello accompaniment to two of the songs, provided by Hiroki, an LWS student. We’ve got some photos of the day here, plus a video of the entire concert for your enjoyment.

Then this past Saturday it was time to stop letting the choir have all the fun. Asha hosted an Easter retreat based around Swamiji’s Christ Lives Oratorio, with everyone singing along. Barbara and a visiting Chaitanya led the singing, and everyone sang melody, both to keep it simple and devotional, and also to more directly tune in to the words, consciousness, and inspiration of each piece. So even for choir members it was a different and special experience. (Photos are here.)

Holy Week culminated in a glorious Easter celebration. One new element this year was a choreography to “Rise in Freedom” (an excellent Easter chant). It was performed by four of our dancers at the beginning of service, but the whole congregation got to join in later on (at least as far as the arm motions were concerned). We also got a performance of “Lightly I Fly” from many of the children and families who have been rehearsing it for us at our Family Services the past couple of months.

Our Easter banquet was held in the temple rather than at the community, due to impending drizzle, but all was bright with delight inside. Entertainment included juggling, violin music, banjo music, stand-up comedy, and the inaugural performance of the Ananda Ukulele Ministry (AUM). Clean-up inspiration provided by David and Karen’s rendition of “Who Will Clean Up?” to Swamiji’s tune of “Who Is Sylvia?” Photos of the entire Easter day can be found here, and if that’s not enough, also here.

In closing, here is the ukulele band’s rendition of an ancient Sanskrit Easter blessing song:

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say 
on a bright Ananda Easter Day. 
That’s the sattwic greeting that we send to you
from the land where yogis pray. 
Here we know that Easter will be full of light: 
we’ll meditate by day and then again at night. 
Mele Kalikimaka is the wise way 
to say Happy Easter to you.

Christmas & New Year Celebrations

Already two weeks have passed since we have had our Christmas celebration and we still hold in our hearts, minds and souls the sacred ceremony of the birth of Jesus which we experienced inwardly in longer meditations and outwardly with our families and friends.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve provided us with the opportunity of an inward celebration of Christ with a two hour meditation. For most of us, this was one of the most beautiful and devotional evenings, reminding us of the potential awakening of the Christ Consciousness within each of us. We listened to holy songs, music, chants and to Asha’s sermon guiding us deep into the spirit of Christ. In the latter part of the evening we enjoyed a beautiful creation of Jesus’ birth with a life nativity scene reflecting the devotion and grace of that moment.

The evening culminated in a reverential candle light ceremony at the feet of baby Jesus. Many of us were deeply moved.

Here are some more pictures




Christmas Day

On Christmas Day Asha narrated the Christmas story with beauty, warmth and clarity, which not only touched the minds and hearts of the children present, but also of all the adults.

Some children were dressed up as angels, shepherds and kings, and joined the live nativity scene, having much fun but also acting with reverence throughout the ceremony. For more pictures click here.

Later we enjoyed a delicious banquet while also appreciating and rejoicing with our family and friends this very holy day.

After the Christmas banquet we were shown a scene of the forthcoming play Meeting the Master, which will be shown on Saturday, 17th of January, of how Master celebrated Christmas with his disciples and how he lovingly would prepare and give presents to everyone. Here is the link to the video.

See also here some fun outtakes from Christmas Day (pre-event) pix.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve started with an inward celebration of letting go of the old year and welcoming the New Year with a two hour meditation. We witnessed and celebrated the taking of the Pilgrim’s Vow of Intention and Renunciate Vow of Brahmacharya by two of our gurubhais.



The evening then followed with a talk by Asha, accompanied by music and songs, and ended with an extended fire and purification ceremony in which we each got to offer ourselves and our aspirations for the new year up to Guru and God. Click here for some more pictures.



House Blessing at Chela Bhavan

On January 3rd we held a house blessing for celebrating the signed agreement to purchase Chela Bhavan for $600,000. The amount of $50,000 has been paid and a debt of $550,000 remains which will be covered through the on-going monthly rent and future donations. We chanted, meditated, prayed and sent out many blessings in every corner of the house. The evening ended with some tea and shared food.

Wishing you all a very special year with many sacred, joyful and blessed moments and gatherings like the ones we just experienced.

in Master's Love & Joy

Mirela

Highlights of Our Pre-Christmas Activities

1. Christmas Concert, 7th December

Our annual Christmas concert was a most exquisite treat for our soul and heart.

The choir sang old medieval pieces such as Gaudete, British and French Christmas carols from the 16th century, pieces from Mendelssohn, Bach, a new composer Sir John Taverner and, of course, Swami’s compositions.

There were many excellent solos, duets and quartets accompanied by the whole choir and beautifully performed trumpet, violin, guitar and piano solos. Listen here for recordings and video.

Many visitors commented that they felt so much joy, warmth and appreciation for the music, the singers and musicians.

2. Members’ Christmas Parties at Chela Bhavan, 13th/14th December

For many members this is their favorite event!

We all sat around a beautiful decorated Christmas tree with “Nayaswami-blue” Christmas lights, chatted, shared the food we brought and sang a wonderful list of old as well as modern Christmas carols.

 We were all deeply touched by the sacredness of the Christmas songs and were filled with the spirit of love, warmth and friendship (more pictures here).

3. Master’s All-Day Christmas Meditation, 20th December

On Saturday we had our 8-hour Christmas Meditation which included beautiful music and talks from Swami and Master. The temple was packed with many people enjoying this sacred tradition.

4. Carol Singing in the Neighborhood, 21st December

With flashlights armed we followed Asha’s bicycle trail and sang one carol after another while walking arm in arm, chuckling and marveling at the Christmas light decorations of our neighbors. At every house our neighbors’ eyes and faces lightened up while they listened to the carols. Some neighbors joined us and some offered us some chocolate and biscuits. At the end of our carol singing tour we stood in front of one house where an old lady seemingly living alone, had just returned from hospital standing in her dressing gown in the doorway with tears running down while we were singing a couple of carols.

What a wonderful blessing that we had the opportunity to touch so many hearts including those who very much needed it.

wishing you all

Merry Christmas
Bon Natale
मैरी क्रिसमस
(Mairī krisamasa)

with Love & Joy in Master

Mirela

Thanksgiving Celebration

Our Thanksgiving celebration was a wonderful treat for our soul, mind, heart and palate.

The morning started with a one hour meditation and followed with a moving sermon taking us on a journey highlighting the history of this auspicious holiday with the speech of Abraham Lincoln declaring this day of “… thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father, to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as consistent with the Divine Purpose to full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union.”

Throughout the sermon Shanti as well as Jyotish and Devi (broadcasted from Pune, India) reminded us of the meaning and feeling of thanksgiving and the importance of holding gratitude in our thoughts and hearts for God, our line of Gurus, Saints, our families and community.

The sermon ended with a beautiful prayer from St. Teresa d’Avila:

“May there be peace within, may you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing that you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into our bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance, to praise and love. It is there for each and every one for you.”

We were then treated to a wonderful delicious lunch which included a very tasty salad, nut loaf with golden gravy, roasted vegetable medley, mashed potatoes, cranberry orange compote, persimmon pudding and pumpkin pie.

During lunch we enjoyed a superb, lighthearted and funny entertainment, which included a joyfully performed Shakespearean talk and song, a well-presented reading of P.G. Wodehouse’s “The Fiery Wooing of Mordred,” from the collection Young Men in Spats, and ended with the debut of our own Ananda-“Elvis” with a creative and funny rhymed song instructing everybody to help to clean up.

After much laughter, the heartfelt warm family gathering ended with Asha’s brief talk encouraging us to be open and receptive to participate and engage in the forthcoming Christmas festivities as much as we can, as “there is a special kind of blessing in the air that all of us can really take part in and find our lives significantly changed by it.”

In Master’s Joy & Blessings

Mirela

P. S. The rest of the photos are here.

Easter Week

It’s been quite a busy Easter season here over the past week! We kicked things off on Palm Sunday with a performance of Swamiji’s oratorio, Christ Lives. The oratorio has long since evolved beyond a mere concert, into a profound experience of attunement—attunement with Swamiji, with Jesus, with the meaning of Easter. The choir was at its finest, we had a wide range of new and returning soloists, and as a special treat, Chaitanya came down from Sacramento to conduct. If you’d like to relive it, you can download a recording (one long track, or individual songs). We have new microphones now that record at a much better quality, much closer to what one actually hears in the audience.

The following weekend carried the Easter story on through our Good Friday service, a Saturday Easter retreat led by Asha, and finally, Easter Sunday itself. At the end of Sunday service we took our occasional-traditional congregation photo, this time in front of the altar, from a camera in the balcony, rather than outside in front of the church. Wonderful to be able to include the masters (visibly) in the shot with us! (More Easter pictures here.)

After service we headed over to the community for egg hunting and Easter brunch in perfect Spring weather. Spanakopita formed the main course, accompanied by salads, soup, and two tables full of desserts. For entertainment, we started with two classic songs updated for yogis — “Beginning to See the Light” (of the spiritual eye) and “Get Me to the Church On Time” (for kriya initiation). A delightful, original skit told the story of The Three Little Devotees and the Big Bad World. And Elvis made a reappearance for the final song, “Heartbreak Cleanup Hotel.”

Though Easter was now over, we still had one more important, new occasion to come together for. Monday, April 21st, was the first anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s passing. Master had told Swamiji as a young monk that he would find God—and final liberation, or moksha—at the end of his life. Swami got there by devoting his life to serving Master and helping all of us progress along that same path. We held a special service honoring him for this, and the evening included a beautiful slideshow composed entirely of photos of Swami, and selections of his music. We ended by offering rose petals at the altar, among all the photos of Swamiji, in a mood so sweet and intimate that no one wanted to leave. It was a very loving tribute to the man who made all our spiritual lives possible through Ananda.

A few photos from Monday are here. Asha also gave a webinar that morning, titled “Remembering Swami Kriyananda.” You can watch the recording of it here.

Happy New Year

New Year’s Eve at the temple began with a long meditation and a Pilgrim Vow initiation — always an auspicious way to herald a new beginning. Then during the service itself we held an extended purification ceremony in which we each got to offer ourselves and our aspirations for the new year up to God and Guru. It was a very personal and inward celebration, and all the more so for its contrast with most of the other celebrations going on around the planet at that time! You can see a few photos here.

On the day after New Year’s, East West Bookshop closed for its annual Inventory Day, inviting numerous friends and volunteers over for a joyful work party. In addition to getting an accurate tally of the merchandise, we also took the opportunity to clean, organize, or throw away anything the could possibly be cleaned, organized or thrown away. Doesn’t it look like fun? The store positively glows now with the fresh infusion of energy.

Sunday January 5th was the 121st anniversary of Paramhansa Yogananda’s birthday, but we went ahead and began the festivities on Saturday night. The best birthday present to give to our guru? Ourselves, naturally. And so everyone who has taken any step along Ananda’s particular ray of the spiritual path had the opportunity to reaffirm their vows and support others in their reaffirmations. (A few first-time initiates slipped in to the Sadhaka and Sevaka vows as well.)

Then at Sunday service the next day we celebrated a birthday gift, as it were, from Master back to us. We’ve just acquired a beautiful statue of Yogananda, done by an Italian sculptor named Sandro da Verscio, with personal guidance from Swami Kriyananda. Master has a completely blissful smile on his face as he meditates, and his presence shines through the statue so clearly that it’s a breathtaking joy to behold. At the end of service, the entire congregation came up to the altar to shower it with rose petals before it made a procession down the aisle to its more permanent home in the foyer. Isn’t it lovely?

Many blessings to all in 2014 — and Happy New Year!

Post-Christmas Roundup

The final lap of our annual Christmas marathon began with our all-day meditation on Saturday the 21st. Some additions to the altar this year were some items of Swamiji’s — a shirt and a pair of slippers that he wore in the last days of his life. These were in the right-hand niche, where they will later have a more permanent installation, and they were the source of much inspiration and devotion for everyone gathered there. More photos of the day are here.

Our caroling expedition around the neighborhood the following evening was a delight, as usual. This year we even absorbed a few neighbors into the group as we made our way around the Monroe loop. These included three small children with plastic trumpets, who provided an enthusiastic fanfare for the end of each carol.

Our Christmas Eve service came next in the ever-alternating Christmas dance of inward and outward energies. This beautifully devotional evening comes across well in the photos, but to fully appreciate them requires a vivid imagining of the exquisite music by a small ensemble and several soloists.

And then finally, Christmas Day. The family service was a glorious pageant full of angels, shepherds and kings of all sizes, and we got it filmed this year, so you can watch the entire thing here. And if you enjoy the photos, you can even peek backstage for the costuming and some outtakes.

The Christmas banquet had more tables full of people than we had days of Christmas, so we had to double up on the seven swans a-swimming and a few others just to get through the song. The entertainment also included a brand-new play, written by Marilyn and involving 12 actors, a director, a pianist, a sound technician, and the baby Jesus. It was quite a production! (Cliff's notes version: Santa and baby Jesus do indeed manage to share some Christmas cheer with a number of folks who very much needed it. Two thumbs up!) And, as a final number inspiring us all to help clean up, the three wise men were paid a return visit by a king of a different sort. (Okay, so we didn’t look remotely like Elvis, but we did our best.)

Merry Christmas to all!

Pre-Christmas Roundup

Ah, December... that magical month when there’s just too much fun to keep up with. In case you’ve managed to miss any of the recent goings-on, we’ll catch you up here before we get started again this weekend.

A couple of Sundays ago we enjoyed a post-service lunch of our traditional veggie chili and cornbread, and then a post-lunch choir concert. In addition to many of our Ananda Christmas standards, we also had a rousing medieval Alle Psallite (in Latin and German both), and an Ave Maria (in Russian) by Rachmaninoff. There are a few photos here, lots of mp3 recordings here, and we even managed to get a fun video of the men’s ensemble singing Riu Riu Chiu.

Last week we enjoyed the Bay Area theater premiere of our Finding Happiness movie. We rented the Aquarius Theater in Palo Alto for a Wednesday night and a Saturday morning showing, and had about 400 people total come see it. (Photos here.) Some of the crowd was “us,” of course, but there were also many new people, as well as many friends and family who didn’t really know much about Ananda. And many positive reactions from people as they left the theatre, from smiles to tears (the good kind). Tons of people bought DVDs for Christmas gifts, and one new person walked out and registered for 3 classes, including the 12-week Raja Yoga class. A very successful debut all around!

And finally (for the moment) we had our Members’ Christmas Parties over the weekend. Two potluck evenings at Chela Bhavan enjoying the three S’s of the spiritual path: sweets, savories, and songs. (Did I get that right?) Photos are here.

All caught up? Ready for the next week? See you soon at the all-day meditation, the caroling party, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day!