Ananda Valley Farm Dedication

Saturday was a momentous day for Ananda in the Bay Area. Yes, we’d already bought ourselves a farm, through no small financial miracle. Yes, a number of us have already been spending a great deal of time there, even beyond the two recent community workdays. But Saturday was the day we officially gave it to God and our gurus. And Saturday was the day they gave it back to us with their blessings. And that makes all the difference.

Over a hundred people from around the Bay Area, and even from the  Village, gathered at our new farm on a gorgeously sunny afternoon. We assembled in one of the greenhouses, with a large altar set up along one wall, folding chairs brought in for everyone, a sound system, recording setup — the works.

David and Asha spoke, sharing the story of our farm up to the current moment, and we also heard from our official farm staff members Biraj, Lahari, and Warren. James, our realtor, shared how he’d felt Swamiji’s presence “whispering from the trees” to him, all throughout the process of buying the property. And we were honored to meet Caín, the foreman who has lived and worked on this land for 39 years, and is now taking on the new challenge of teaching us all how to be farmers. A potentially daunting task, but one he’s facing with admirably good humor.

To bless the land, everyone received an envelope containing small items to distribute or bury around the property as we roamed and chanted for half an hour. We had pictures of Swamiji and the Masters, small ziplocs of Ganges water, tiny stones from Babaji’s cave in the Himalayas, and packets of soil from Crystal Hermitage. Asha had kept a large container of the finely sifted Crystal Hermitage soil for a long time, ever since someone gave it to Swamiji many years ago, and had just been waiting to see what its ultimate purpose would be. This was perfect.

To end, we gathered in a central area for a fire ceremony, and then closed by singing “Channels,” Swamiji’s song of gratitude to Divine Mother and to Her presence as expressed through all the infinite, joyful variety of creation. And a song of opening ourselves, as well, to be Her channels. It was  beautifully uplifted occasion, and the feeling of the day was that Ananda Valley Farm had clearly and unmistakably been launched on its Divine mission. Appropriately, Asha commented that the day’s photos are the first we’ve had that truly do justice to the land.

Mother, we thank you,
Your joy shines in ev’rything!
Open these channels
That the world once more may sing.

Seva in Spades

Few people probably spend as much of their free time hard at work as Ananda folks do. But then, few people have nearly as much fun at it as we do, so it’s hardly surprising.

The Saturday before last, we had our second workday out at Ananda Valley Farm (photos here, including a few from the previous week, showing the walk up to the Babaji Grotto). We had pouring rain most of the time, which apparently comes along with our valley’s nifty little microclimate, and is the envy of the other farmers in the area. So we appreciated that and moved ourselves off to more indoor projects.

The bunkhouse team cleaned and spackled walls, in the first of many stages towards making it a more inviting habitation. We also had a lot of folks working in one of the greenhouses (where the sound of the rain on the roof was deafening). They got some more seeds planted, and transplanted all the calla lilies that were growing in the ground into pots. We set aside the very first one, to do something historical with at some point.

Then this past Saturday we had a workday at the church (and those photos are here). The much sunnier weather was a boon for all the landscaping work. Team Shiva had a big day, taking out giant pampas grasses and other overgrown or otherwise unneeded plants, but the green thumbs came along behind and made sure we left things looking nice.

The un-sunburned team cleaned and organized the flower pantry and the ministers’s room, including a closet full of vases and many drawers full of decorative cloths. We even polished the candlesticks and ironed the candles. (Apparently this is a thing they need. Who knew?)

So the next time you’re at the farm or the church, take a look around at some of the shiny new energy. And get in on the fun next time!

Farewell Concert for Dambara and Manisha

On Sunday, we celebrated a remarkably enjoyable sad occasion. (Tough to do, yes, but we’re professionals.) Dambara and Manisha are moving to Laurelwood, and so we brought everybody together for farewells with an after-service concert.

We started with a sandwich bar lunch in the courtyard, along with carrot cake (for Dambara’s coincidental birthday), AUMs, blessings, and neither the first nor the last rendition of “Go With Love.” And then it was back into the temple for the concert proper.

In an effort to squeeze every last bit of song out of Dambara that we possibly can, we naturally packed the program with him. His solos ranged from classic favorites (“I Wonder as I Wander,” “To Death I’m a Stranger”) to more recent favorites (“Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind”) to seldom- or never-heard songs of Swami’s brought out for the occasion (“Melody’s Everywhere,” “Wartime Lullaby,” and more). He managed to work in a barbershop number with the guys, too.

The “Most Adorable” award, however, goes to the Dambara-Manisha duet, when they sang “Divine Friendship,” the song they skipped in their wedding ceremony 12 years ago because they weren’t sure they’d be able to make it through. Well, unfinished karmic tests have a way of cycling back around, and I’m pleased to report that our dear couple is just ever so slightly more married now.

As nothing is too good for our friends, this concert was not even limited to solely musical content. Saranya recited a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar which has to be heard to be appreciated — reading alone won’t do it. And our intrepid choir put on their dancing shoes and performed Pavani’s recent choreography to “Mañana, Friends.” Check out the video!

If you’re wondering what the off-camera laughter is towards then end, some of the singers were flinging roses, like joy, at Dambara as he sang. For further vicarious experiences, we’ve got some photos and even a full-concert mp3 you can listen to.

Dambara and Manisha will be greatly missed by all their Palo Alto friends and gurubhais. (The line for goodbye hugs filled the church aisle for an hour after the concert ended.) But we’re happy for them in their joyful, expansive transition, and we know the Portland-Laurelwood community has a lot to look forward to with the two of them up there.

Farming, Hiking, and Discipling

Well, maybe you thought last month was busy, but this past weekend certainly gave it a run for the money. (Any aspiring writers out there who want to help me keep up with all this? Drop me a line.) Here are the highlights (click the links for photos)....

Swami Kriyananda’s 65th discipleship anniversary on Thursday evening was the first we’ve celebrated since he left his body, but as many have commented, in some ways he’s more with us now than before. We had a very sweet and simple ceremony, with short talks from several folks who don’t usually frequent the microphone, but who shared their thoughts on Swamiji and discipleship. Some chanting, meditation, and a community offering of flowers at the altar rounded off a quietly devotional evening.

On Saturday, a group of 27 enthusiastic hikers took a trip up to Tomales Point for a joyful 9-mile satsang by the sea. The day began in fog, but a meditation break took care of that, with eyes opening up to sunny skies by the end of it. There were many herds of elk around, mostly in “harem” formation for mating season, but with the notable exception of an all-male herd of brahmachari elk. Vidura led some Sharing Nature games, and Shanti provided gourmet sandwiches for lunch. (Chris hosted a delicious dinner at his home afterwards — we don’t let our yogis go hungry around here!) The highlight of the day was the final destination — the tip of Tomales Bay that offered a 360-degree view of endless blue.

Also on Saturday (that was a tough decision day), we had our first workday at the new Ananda Valley Farm. Forty volunteers spent the morning doing a lot of the early stages of work required to turn the property back into a functioning farm. We cleared out a huge dumpster’s worth of old, broken farm equipment, furniture, and other abandoned items from the barn and from the bunk house. We also got rid of a broken-down shed, started clearing a trail up the hill to the spring (and what may one day be a meditation spot), and we even got a few seeds started (that’s how you can tell it’s really a farm).

Fun weekend! If you’re ever bored, give us a holler. There’s a lot more where this all came from.

August Roundup

The month of August was not nearly as dull as the lack of activity here on Ananda Family News might suggest. Luckily, if a picture is worth a thousand words, our trusty Ananda photographers can easily pick up the slack. Click each event name below for an album of photos. Enjoy!

The month started off with a gourmet fundraising dinner to raise money for improvements to Master’s Kitchen. It was held at Chela Bhavan and featured Ramani’s daughter Danielle as the chef who prepared such an inspiring meal that it resulted in donations to the tune of $9,700 for the kitchen!

Erica and Craig’s wedding on August 10th, was so popular that it literally outgrew the church, and we held the ceremony and the following (enormous) potluck on the community green. And fittingly enough for the wedding of two teachers, it was absolutely overrun by the most well-behaved small children imaginable. 

You may have heard already, but guess what? We bought a farm! A group of Ananda investors signing legal documents may not make for the most entertaining photographs, but... well, it’s pretty awesome anyway. (If you haven’t been following this particular saga, Asha summarizes it all beautifully here.)

And to round out the month, we had our annual Krishna Kirtan outside in the community courtyard... a balmy summer evening filled with the names of God.

Not bad for one month! What's next?

Guru Day

Swami Kriyananda has taught us that we can be divine channels to receive and transmit inspiration in any area of human endeavor. A musician will find a melody, a writer receives words, a mathematician discovers new equations. And when an Ananda community comes together, we draw to ourselves a very special kind of inspiration that is uniquely ours, born out of our deep connection to this spiritual family and to our line of gurus.

Our annual Guru Day celebration is a beautiful experience of this, with all our collective energies coming together for an evening to focus so one-pointedly on each individual guru in turn. Through five rounds of chanting and meditation, guided by Asha’s words, we come to feel each guru’s influence at every level of our lives, from our own personal thoughts, to buying a farm for the whole community, to behind-the-scence guidance of world events. Each of these threads running through our lives from the masters weaves us closer together and closer to God.

Gathered in the afternoon sunlight at the Jesus shrine.

A constellation of candles around Babaji.

There are many more lovely photos of the evening, and Asha’s talks on each guru have been posted as well. Download them here: Jesus, Babaji, Lahiri, Yukteswar, and Yogananda.

The Unheard-Of Concert

Our choir concerts here are always very special events, but this Saturday’s was a particular extra kind of fun. From Swami Kriyananda’s vast collection of compositions, we pulled out a magnificent selection of songs that are rarely — if ever — performed. Shakespeare featured prominently in the program, Swami having written a whole album of songs based on his lyrics. We also enjoyed a few children’s songs, as well as selections from Mystic Harp, Rumanian Memories, and more.

The evening included just a few well-known favorites, but even those came with some surprises. It turns out that the solo for “Mother of Wisdom” is beautiful in Italian. And with “Home is a Green Hill” as the closing song, the audience was invited to join the choir up at the altar. With the choir around and the masters above, it was just sublime.

As well as having some great photos, the entire concert was recorded (through a new system that should give a much better rendition of what the sound is actually like in the temple) and you can download all the MP3s here. Not only that, but we got nine of the performances on video. All the links are below, but first, you absolutely have to watch “Big Frog, Little Frog.”

Here’s the complete list of the videos:

• Come Away Death
• Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
• It Was a Lover and His Lass
• Who Is Sylvia?
• Big Frog, Little Frog
• Good Night, Sweetheart
• Dearest, When I Think of Thee
• Yes, It's Devil Worship
• Go on Alone!