Free and Clear Luncheon

In 1994, after seven years in a suite of office rooms on California Ave., we scraped together the downpayment for a church of our very own and moved into what is now the Ananda Palo Alto temple. The building was formerly a Catholic church, but Asha said that when they visited it for the first time, they found there a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi, as well as Swami Kriyananda's autobiography, The Path. So it felt like Master was already there, getting it ready for us.

The 1994 congregation making the inaugural march to the new temple.
Who can you recognize? (Click photo to enlarge.)

At the time, we didn't know how we would be able to handle the new mortgage payments that were more than triple our previous rent, but in true Ananda spirit we put out all our best energy and trusted in God to carry us through the rest of the way. All of that energy and grace over the last 17 years has transformed the temple into a beautiful, sacred space, drawing and inspiring truth-seekers from all around the Bay Area and beyond.

Before and after: The St. Aloysius Church before we moved in,
and a more recent photo of its new incarnation.

At the beginning of this year, we still had approximately $1 million of debt left to be paid off on our church. The “Free and Clear” campaign began with the goal of eliminating that debt, and this was the theme of Sunday’s fundraising luncheon.

Lunch in our beautiful piazza.

After service we enjoyed a tasty Indian buffet and assorted desserts outside in our Italian piazza. Around the courtyard were displays of various old photographs of the church as it was when we first moved in, and of Ananda members painting and renovating it. There have been some pretty dramatic changes over the years since then! Asha spoke of our church's short history, and the larger sweep of Dwapara Yuga ascending that we're all part of, and Shanti led us in affirming as a community our goal of owning the church outright, that we might truly give it as a free gift to God and gurus.

Asha inspiring the multitudes.

You may have seen the jigsaw puzzle picture of our church that has been on the altar recently. Each puzzle piece filled in there represents another $25,000 that has been paid off. Sunday’s event (and some other activities leading up to it) resulted in an impressive $107,000 collected, with an additional $87,000 pledged over time. Well done, all of us!

See more photos of the event here, as well as a selection of video clips here. 

A Few Photos

As you may have heard, Swami Kriyananda spent some time in Palo Alto last week, before flying to Italy. He didn't make any public appearances, but a number of devotees did gather at Chela Bhavan to send him on his way with blessings. John P. took a couple of photos to share:

In other photographic news, we have an updated congregation photo online. Look at all those beautiful, joyful faces!

Karen says: 

This year's Easter congregation photo was the FASTEST EVER. It took about 10 minutes to have everyone line up and take their smiling faces. And it took a volunteer Photoshopper (Jeff C. - thank you very much) about 6-7 hours to roll some heads, till all the best ones were in this final composite. 'Off with their heads' has a more positive connotation these days.

White Light Kirtan Band Concert

On Friday night, the White Light Kirtan Band played a concert at East West as part of their current tour throughout California. The band consists of 10 high schoolers from the Living Wisdom School at Ananda Village, and has performed its energetic blend of Eastern and Western chanting styles for audiences across the country.

The White Light Kirtan Band. Lineup unfortunately
out of date due to the graduating nature of students.

The band in its current incarnation has a high proportion of girls, whose voices they use to good effect with some lovely high harmonies. They also have a ukulele and a xylophone, which were delightful additions to the more standard set of guitar and harmonium. (The final song was a beautiful Hawaiian chant with ukulele duet.) Palo Alto's own Mary-Katherine led the percussion section with the djembe (a large, African hand-drum), as well as taking her turns on lead vocal, harmonium, and ukulele.

White Light's most recent CD:
From the Darkness Comes the Light.

These young musicians are talented, and many have a stage presence well beyond their years. But the best part is that they have the right energy for this kind of music. The concert was beautifully uplifting and left me with a smile on my face and in my heart all the rest of the night.

First Harvests From the New CSA

The Ananda Palo Alto residential community has started a new CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) program this year, and we've just completed our first two weeks of very successful harvests!

Several areas around the community have been turned into permaculture gardens and orchards, and are now happily providing us with fresh, organic produce. Having a share in the CSA means that for a fixed price you get a box full of whatever the garden is producing, every week from now through October. There are currently 12 shares in the CSA, and we may even add more if the garden's output keeps increasing.

So far, the harvests have included lemons, avocados, radishes, beets, lettuce, kale, chard, tat soi, chives, oregano, mint, parsley, and more. We'll have tomatos and squash coming along in due time, as well as fruit and almonds from the orchard, and probably many more nutritious things that are as yet only seeds. It's a great way to eat ultra-local, healthy, organic food, and to get more in touch with the flow of the seasons and the bounty of the earth.

Ramani, Amara, and Diego are heading up this project, but it depends heavily on volunteers to keep it all going. If you're at all interesting in helping out, let one of them know!

More photos from our first two harvests can be found here, courtesy of Amara.

Divine Mother Kirtan and Meditation

[Anandaprem shares the following note and photos.]

On Wednesday, May 10, Ananda’s new San Jose Meditation Group created a lovely evening of devotional chanting to Divine Mother, meditating on Her blessings and Her grace in our lives. The meditation room, highlighted by a devotional altar was bathed in serene candlelight and pictures of the divine.

Susan and Phil Hoffert have graciously opened their home for twice monthly meditations. The group meditates together the second and fourth Wednesday evening of the month beginning at 7:30 pm until 8:30 pm and ending with a short time of fellowship. This group is for new and old meditators alike. For more information, please email Susan at sjmedgroup@anandapaloalto.org.

Easter Sunday: Bunnies, Shrines, and Theater

On Sunday we had a full day of festivities to celebrate this joyfully holy day. Sunday service featured a special selection of extra music by the choir and soloists, which always helps to bring the story of the resurrection to life, as it were. After service, we had a quick "community portrait" photo shoot on the front steps of the church. What a big, happy family we make!

If your eyes happen to be closed in this photo, don't worry. We took several shots, and we have a volunteer who has valiantly offered to photoshop all the best versions together. Can true perfection be attained through technology? We shall see.

After service we moved to the community, where the weather was ideal for Easter brunch on the green. Many loving volunteer hours went into preparing and serving the excellent food (the soup alone I was ready to just eat all day). And, of course, the Easter Bunny herself made an appearance, delighting children of all ages. 

As we had so many people gathered at the community, it seemed an auspicious time to officially launch and dedicate a new community project: the creation of a shrine to Lahiri Mahasaya. A number of volunteers, including the current class of Sadhaka trainees, have been working on the plans for this and will start construction soon. We have a statue of him already, and a patch of ground has been cleared for a gazebo and some new landscaping. For the dedication ceremony, we brought the statue out on a table so we could sing to it an invocation, and shower it with rose petals and with our blessings and prayers. Keep watching that space for something beautiful!

And then, of course, what better way to round off a fun afternoon and stimulate the digestion of Easter Brunch than some good laughs from a P. G. Wodehouse play? An extra-large cast of 10 presented Uncle Fred Flits By, complete with Steven smoking an incense "cigar" and Craig taking on a second role as a parrot.

More photos of the day can be found here. Many thanks to everyone who made it so delightful, and Happy Easter to all!

Joy Singers of L.A. on Tour

[Karen shares the following note.]

Lauri and Bhagavati are both former Ananda Palo Alto buddies who, along with Peter and Ramesha, are now part of the new Ananda LA Joy Singers group. They performed for us on Sunday evening at Chela Bhavan, to a full house of friends and singers. A tough audience gave them rave reviews. They have an unusually lovely sound and a terrific blend.

They're planning to put together a CD, and you'll definitely want to get a copy. It will help them raise some money to get rolling, too. We'll keep you posted.

They are working on taking this music on the road, and welcome your ideas and contacts in Southern California where they can perform. Churches, schools, yoga centers, retreats -- if you have any contacts, please drop a note to Ramesha.