Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July celebrations at the community this year kicked off with a pool party. The choice of “in” or “adjacent to” the pool was left to the individual, though judging from the photos, many smaller individuals opted for “above,” as well. That variation didn’t last long, but was enthusiastically repeated, at least as long as Craig’s arms held out.

After a bit, the center of activity migrated out of the pool and onto the field with a water balloon toss (and, more excitingly, drop). The water balloon race that was to follow was abandoned when we realized that no one was quite sure what exactly a water balloon race is, and that the ammunition stores were becoming more depleted with every moment spent thinking about it.

An attempt at croquet nearly degenerated into outright Calvinball, before morphing back into something that might actually have approximated croquet. The three-legged race was even more successful. In fact, it seemed that we weren’t hampered nearly enough by the limb restriction, as the entire line managed to launch itself out the starting gate nearly a full second before the signal. With every competitor thus disqualified, we ran a rematch.

Our late-afternoon potluck feast took place under the trees, and was accompanied by a “Variety of Talent Show.” This included such notable acts as: Thomas Jefferson the Time-Traveling Yogi and his Declaration of Interdependence; the National Anthem (Indian); and Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto, Yin-Yang edition.

We wrapped up the day with ping-pong competition finals, all-ages water polo back in the pool, seconds or thirds back at the dessert table, and general contented merriment. Lots of fun photos here!

Nirmoha and Rosalva's Wedding

A few weeks plus one honeymoon in Hawai’i ago, our extended community joyfully celebrated the wedding of Nirmoha and Rosalva. The ceremony at the church opened with a prayer by the father of the groom, as the ranking clergy member, very sweetly welcoming Rosalva to the family. The image of families joining together is a lovely reminder of how lucky we all are to have come together as a spiritual family with both of these gurubhais, and we were only too delighted to support them with our presence, love, singing, and rose petals on this special occasion. Even Asha remarked that, as cynical as she may seem at times (during, for instance, certain sermons on non-attachment), she still always winds up with happy wedding tears.

The reception afterwards took place in the community courtyard and featured such incredibly tasty pesto-stuffed mushroom appetizers that some of us were in severe danger of not even making it to the main course, never mind the cake. But we don’t shirk our duties around food here, and nothing was neglected. To work it all off, Rita led us in several fun circle dances (rated “E” for Everyone) to the accompaniment of some favorite chants.

The musical theme throughout the afternoon was an open mic with an invitation for anyone to sing any song with the word “love” in it, thereby inducing a state of osculation in the newly married couple. These ranged from some songs of Swamiji’s, to miscellaneous show tunes, to an original song by Nirmoha’s son John. (Singing a song about love in Hawaiian also happened to result in hula dancing.) The “Best Costume” award, though, went to Chaitanya and Supriya, who sang the adorable duet from Fiddler on the Roof, “Do You Love Me?” (Since we didn’t get a video, we’ll spare you the suspense: the answer is “yes.”)

And how more about photos? Also yes!

Free & Clear Italian Dinner

[Thanks to Karen for the guest post and the photos.]

Fifty-eight people dropped into an Italian evening of delicious food, music, and inspiration on Sunday evening. We’ve been having one fabulous fundraising event after another for many years now, and this one was splendid, indeed.

Almost exactly $30,000 was raised that evening! That leaves just $231,000 remaining of the original $1 million goal. We really are almost free and clear of any debt remaining on Ananda Palo Alto’s Temple property.

Asha spoke a bit at the end, remembering the long history toward this point. There was a small, not very well-maintained building that came with the property when we bought it. It was rented for awhile, but finally, we were able to take it down in preparation for the new school building. It was a big hole in the ground for a long time, into which we threw rose petals, prayed, and began moving forward bit by bit, whenever we had money in hand to continue the process. The lawsuit intervened, but then gradually we started up again, finishing the school against all odds. With the remarkable help of many people giving what they could over a long time.

Then this Free & Clear campaign began to raise $1 million. Within the short time, the Village announced their campaign to pay off $1 million of old debt from the lawsuits in one year’s time (which they succeeded in doing just when they said — by the end of 2012). And within that same time frame, the Ananda movie raised $2.2 million — everything it needed to finish the film. More will be needed to fully do the marketing portion, but the film is done. Amazing.

“Even though many of us are doing meaningful work,” said Asha, “the waters of time close in over you. It’s hard to leave something behind of lasting value. But when you leave a temple behind, it’s a real legacy, both individually and collectively. Every time I walk into that Temple, I feel an immense sense of gratitude. So much happens there. Each of you has divine memories of what has happened to you in that space.”

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!

The Life of Krishna

This year was a milestone for the Living Wisdom School Theater: their 20th annual production! Sixty-one children and a handful of supporting teachers incarnated on stage for us in the lila — the divine play — of the life of Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna himself tells us that “in whatever way I am approached, in that way do I respond. All men come, by whatever path, to me.” This play was a delightful way to approach him. His story is said to uplift all those who even so much as hear it, and surely even more blessings come to us through the incredible care and dedication of this entire, remarkable school.

As usual, the hero of our play was portrayed in turns by several different actors, representing different stages of Krishna’s life. It’s always fun to watch the effect this has, as you can come to see behind the individual representations, the same Divine source animating them all. As Nirmoha put it, you see the actors playing Krishna on the stage, and once in a while you can even see Krishna as well. I was particularly taken with the itty-bitty blond girl playing baby Krishna. Her dramatic dance of vanquishing the demons sent to slay him, and then standing triumphantly on stage with arms outstretched victoriously, was adorable, powerful, and moving, all at once. Such an unexpected confluence of impressions and feelings can just surprise you into an uplifting shift of consciousness, and God slips right into the gaps.

You can find more photos of the play here, and Friday night’s performance was filmed if you want to get a recording from the school once it’s all been put together.

Mahasamadhi Celebration

Last Thursday, March 7, was the 61st anniversary of Paramhansa Yogananda’s mahasamadhi. Though he left his physical incarnation behind, as devotees we know that this hinders a true master not a bit, and we remember his words: “to those who think me near, I will be near.” Appropriately, the celebration was very deep and inward, with generous pauses for meditation, the better to tune in to Master’s quiet presence within us.

The framework of the evening was provided by Rammurti’s reading of excerpts from Yogananda’s maha-poem, Samadhi. Each segment of the poem branched off into a related reading from Autobiography of a Yogi, a chant, a slideshow of photographs, and a choir or solo song (performed from the sidelines for minimal interruptions). Speaking as someone who was only involved in one of those branches, there was something rather magical about how it all came together. Watching it unfold through, around, and beyond that little portion was just beautiful.

There are a few photos of the altar and the slideshow you can look through. For musical accompaniment, I might suggest reprising in your mind Dr. Lewis’ song that so perfectly summed up the evening:

So silently and sweetly the Master comes to me,
His love and joy enfold me in bliss and ecstasy.
My mind is calm and peaceful, all cares are swept away,
And in his omnipresence I know that I am free.

So sweet the sound of Aum, ’tis Master’s voice I hear,
In all pervading silence he whispers “I am here.”
My heart with joy is flowing, it sings eternally.
There is no other love like the Master’s love for me.

Sharing Music and Nature and Bliss

We’ve been blessed by several visitors from other Ananda colonies recently. First, Nayaswamis Raghu and Sabari came down from Sacramento for a weekend. They led Sunday service, taught a class on moving from Happiness to Bliss, and — first but not least — Raghu led the Friday evening kirtan. It was a delightful time to indulge in a few extra Indian bhajans, as well as to enjoy a chanting reunion with Raghu, who used to lead many kirtans here before moving to Sacramento. Not only do we have a few photos of the evening, but there are even recordings of many of the chants that you can download.

This past week we’ve had Nayaswamis Durga and Vidura with us from Ananda Village. On Saturday, Vidura and Dambara organized a hike at Rancho San Antonio, which included a number of Bharat’s famous Sharing Nature games at the top of a hill with a beautiful view. (Photos from that day are here.) Durga and Vidura gave a satsang at Chela Bhavan last night, filling us in on various happenings up at the Village and elsewhere, including the plans for the new temple. They also gave Sunday service last weekend, and will again this coming weekend, so if you haven’t gotten to meet them yet, there’s still time!