Haidakhandi Universal Ashram Newsletter
 
 




Dear Friends,


I have just returned from the Front Range where I did two fundraisers for the hermitage project.  What wonderful evenings they were!  The love and attention given to every detail by the hosting families from the altar to the delicious dinners served at the end was touching.  The chanting at each location was so high I never wanted it to end even though my voice was starting to give out.  In Colorado Springs, over 100 people joined in the chanting.  I thought the roof was going to explode off the house because the shakti was so high.  What a blessing to be part of such wondrous occasions.


I would not have been surprised if Shri Babaji had appeared that evening particularly after Shri Muniraji’s statement during Fall Navratri that Shri Babaji has taken a physical form again and that we should all pray that He comes back to Haidakhan.  These times are both challenging for many but also extremely exciting due to the love and devotion of so many people.  Indeed it seems that more and more folks are very hungry for spirituality and seeking a deeper connection with God.  We are seeing larger and larger numbers of people at our twice monthly fire ceremonies and Navratri was also very special and full of people.  There are photos below from all of these events.. 


Today, I received an email from Raghuvir, a long-time devotee of Shri Babaji.  I share some excerpts from it with you. 


“It says in the Veda's, and it was often said in speeches during Babaji's last presence, that Lord Shiva Himself incarnates in the midst of great world upheaval and humanitarian crises. Lord Shiva, Lord of destruction and creation will come in Kali Yuga to drink the poison, to destroy evil to make place for Sanatan Dharma, the true path for humanity for living in harmony with the Divine.  Let us eagerly await the Lord of Lords who descends to earth to fulfill His promise to save humanity. 


“To fulfill His enormous task  there is no need for Babaji to sit on His assan in Haidakhan.  The Himalayas's have since time in memoriam secret and sacred places where the spiritual masters of this world gather.  Through the magnificent sadhana of Shri Mahendra Maharaj, Shri Babaji walked amongst us for 14 years for this was Mahendra’s only desire that Shri Babaji would be visible for HIS devotees.  In our present state where most of us are mentally confused, emotionally unbalanced and spiritually immature we need to take inspiration from this message from Shri Muniraji to shape up quickly.


“Shri Babaji has taught some yogi's the following prayer to call on Him and He has promised to answer any sincere call.

‘Ao ao Bhole Baba Himalaya se ao.  Ao ao Bhole Baba mera hriday me ao.  Kripa karo tumara bhakton se.’

Come, come Baba from the Himalayas.  Come, come Baba into my heart.

Have compassion on your devotees.


“From here you proceed to invite Him into your mind so your thoughts will purify, you invite Him into your eyes so everywhere you look you will see the Divine.  You call Him into your actions so all you do becomes karma yoga in His name. You hail Him and praise Him and request Him to come and take possession of His assan in Haidakhan and in your heart.  He is nurtured by our love and devotion, let us prepare a feast, a bandhara, for HIM inside our own hearts by sincere practice in the way He and Shri Muniraji have told us.”

  

In truth and love, 

Ramloti




This Month’s Fire Ceremonies and Schedule


The new-moon fire ceremony this month is on Friday, November 5 and is also the Festival of Lights (Diwali) and will be followed with a special puja to Maha Lakshmi.  That evening at 7pm we will have special chanting in the candlelit temple followed by a meal and sweets in the candlelit earthship. 


The full-moon fire ceremony is on Sunday, November 21. The fire ceremonies begin at 10:08 am and are followed by a meal.  Our evening aarati is at 6pm and morning aarati is at 7am with a paduka puja in Shri Babaji’s kutir each morning at 6:45am.  Lunch is served at about 1pm. The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open every day from 9am until 5pm.


If you would like to participate by sponsoring a fire ceremony, we would like to send you a blessed item from the fire ceremony. They are:


$27 sponsorship - Copper, brass, nickel Om Namah Shivaya bracelet

$54 sponsorship - Rose Quartz, Rosewood, Garnet or Tulsi Mala

$108 sponsorship - Rudraksha Mala or Crystal Mala or Copper, silver, brass bracelet


You can make the donation online by just clicking here or call 719-256-4108 or e-mail the Ashram at info@BabajiAshram.org or send us a check to: P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131.

We are continually grateful for all of your support.




Diwali - A Celebration of Lights and of Peace - Friday, November 5

On Friday, November 5, we will be celebrating the victory of the Light over Darkness, which is what Diwali signifies.  Dramatically portrayed by candles and Christmas lights all over the temple, earthship, and the Ashram grounds, this is a spectacular evening to come together.  The day actually begins at 10am with the new-moon fire ceremony (at which we bless our checkbooks) and a special Lakshmi puja all followed by a meal.  The rest of the day is spent setting up the candles and making dinner and lots of goodies to serve after the chanting.


The evening events begin with aarati at 6pm followed by chants and songs of peace and light at 7pm.   At 8pm, dinner is served in the candlelit earthship.  We have invited several of the spiritual groups here in Crestone as well as some school groups to share songs with us that evening, it is always a magical and very profound night.  Please join us if you can.  The dorm, once again, has been nearly fully booked for the last month but call us at 719-256-4108 and we can work something out.  If you are unable to join physically, you may want to light a special candle on your altar, sponsor the fire ceremony, the Lakshmi puja or the feast.  Happy Diwali to all!



Hermitage Construction Fundraisers January 7 and 9

I
n January, Ramloti will be making her yearly tour to Florida for chanting evenings and fire ceremonies.  This year our friends at the Karin Kabalah Center in Atlanta, GA. have asked her to come there as well.  These are always very inspirational gatherings with puja, chanting, slide presentation and satsang.  There will be images of the hermitage project and its progress will be discussed and all money raised will go to the hermitage building fund.  The evenings will be at the following locations.
Friday, January 7 at 7:30pm - Karin Kabalah Center at 2531Briar Cliff Rd, #217, Atlanta, GA 30329. Call 404-320-1038 for more information.


Sunday, January 9 at 6pm - Dr. Bob Walsh’s at 1501 S.W. 52nd Terrace, Plantation, FL 33317.  Call 954-873-8083 for more information.


On Sunday, January 16 at 9am, we will perform a a fire ceremony at Harmony House at  102 Avocado Road, Delray Beach, FL 33444 followed by aarati, chanting and a potluck vegetarian brunch.  Call 561-274-0883 for more information. 


We are still organizing possible events at the Transformational Studies Institute in North Palm Beach, FL and Nashville, TN.  We hope you can join us and if you have friends in any of these areas, please let them know about it.  All are welcome.



Fire Ceremony Workshop in Hollywood, FL - Thursday, Jan. 13


The sacred fire ceremony is performed by many as a daily act of thanksgiving for all that is given to us that sustains our lives and to be part of the cycle of creation.  The significance of the ceremony are many.  It can be quite simple.  When I first began going to Shri Muniraji’s home in the late 80’s, he was doing a daily fire ceremony indoors in a small copper havan kund that was about 6 inches wide with small twigs.  You can even do a small one on your balcony.  Some folks do one each Sunday or Monday and some folks are just interes
ted in learning how to do one so that it is more meaningful when they attend a ceremony at an Ashram or center. 


Whatever your interest, we are pleased to announce that Ramloti will be conducting a class on the sacred fire ceremony on Thursday, January 13 at 926 Harrison, Hollywood, FL. 33019.  The class will begin at 10am and will go to about 3pm.  It will include a fire ceremony, instruction on performing a simple one, discussion, a questions and answer period and a potluck lunch.  If you call Ramloti at the Ashram before she departs on her tour (Jan. 6), she can bring some of the articles you would need to conduct a simple ceremony in your home including a small copper havan kund and a book about puja.  


The cost of the workshop will be by donation and all funds raised will go to support the hermitage project at the Ashram.  You may call 954-924-0408 for more information and to reserve a space in the workshop.  We will limit the class to 12 people so please call.  It will be a wonderful day together.



Makar Sankrant Workshop w/ Sofia Diaz & Elaine Heroux - Jan. 14 - 16


Makar Sankrant is the day in India that the sun is said to begin it’s upward journey energizing our spiritual practice.  Shri Babaji said that on this day (January 14) there are no negative energies on the earth, thus enhancing our endeavors even more.  What a profound day to begin a life-transforming workshop such as the one being offered by world renown facilitator and teacher Sofia Diaz and Elaine Heroux LCSW, a graduate of Marion Woodman’s Body Soul Rhythms Leadership Training Program, who specializes in mind/body therapy using dreams and the creative arts.
Sofia has been leading workshops at the Ashram for the last three years.  This is a photo of one at the Sand Dunes.


The workshop will combine Sofia’s gifts of intuitive processing, leading group work and sacred movement with Elaine’s gifts of understanding the dream world.  We will invite the Divine to speak to us through our dreams on the auspicious Friday night of Makar Sankrant.  Saturday will be spent exploring these dreams by understanding the symbolism gifted from them and then embodying these gifts through creative movement and sacred gesture.


The workshop will be from 7pm until 9pm on Friday and from 9am until 9pm (with lunch and dinner breaks) on Saturday in Ft Lauderdale, FL.  The workshop attendees will join in the Fire Ceremony and chanting in Delray Beach on Sunday morning for the culmination of the workshop.  The suggested donation for the workshop is $108 for Samaj members and $135 for non-Samaj members, if you register ahead of time.  For those who register that evening  it will be $150 if there is still space available.   All proceeds will go to support the work of spreading Shri Babaji’s message through the American Haidakhan Samaj.  For more information call Elaine at 561-277-8326 and leave a message.



The Hermitages for Jonathan, Ramloti and Premanand


The fundraisers, pledge fulfillments and donations for the hermitage building project this month have brought the building account up to nearly $5,000.  We have additional pledges of $6,300 which means we are a quarter of the way to our first hermitage due to begin next spring.


We are so grateful to those who have organized fundraising events so far.  Shashi Agarwal’s silent Navratri auction, Preety and Abhay Sathe’s chanting and dinner event in Fort Collins
and Tanu and Sunny Khanna’s chanting and dinner event in Colorado Springs were all huge successes.


We look forward to other’s fundraising ideas for helping to build quiet spaces for Ramloti, Jonathan and Premanand.  Call us at 719-256-4108 and we can discuss your plan and help support it in any way possible.  Thank you for all of your love, prayers and donations.


Here is what one of the hostesses said about the evening in her home.  “It was indeed a blessed evening! Our place just turned into a little temple!  We will cherish this day for years to come.”  Well with over 100 people there, it should have been called a big temple and it was a blessed event.  Thank you again to all involved in these activities.


These hermitages will not only give the long-time residents the quiet and rest they need to continue their service here, it will also open up more space for visitors in the dorm and yurt. 


We ask each of you to look into your hearts and see what this Ashram means to you and to please donate as you are able. You may go to our website and donate through PayPal (you can even set up a monthly tithe). You can also send a check designated for the hermitages to the Ashram at P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131 or you can call us at 719-256-4108 with a credit card number. We want to thank you in advance for your support, love and prayers.  Together, with Baba’s grace, we can make this happen! 



Richard Cahall Steps up to the Pledge


The Ashram is my home that is shared with many.  Spending time in the earthship kitchen is like being in the midst of family activity, bustling with sights, sounds and smells.  Jonathan, Premanand and Ramloti are my family.  As the Ashram has grown and overflows with weekend visitors, the personal space for the Ashram permanent residents diminishes as they share or give up their living spaces to accommodate guests.  There are times that the Ashram runs out of space.


There is an exciting new building project to construct well-crafted hermitages as permanent homes for the Ashrams’ residents.  The need is clear, the sighting is spectacular and the design is practical and beautiful.  I’m inspired by the generosity of other members of the community.  I am pledging one thousand dollars for the construction of the hermitages.   I hope that others are encourage to add their support for a project that goes to the very heart of sustaining our Babaji home in the Colorado mountains.

   

Richard Cahall

HUA Board Member



Thiru Doubles his Donations to the Ashram


Most of the corporations have Matching Incentive Programs which provides an opportunity for all eligible active employees and retirees to have their contributions matched in one or more categories of giving that meet the company’s eligibility criteria. These categories are normally: education, arts and culture, health and human services, and the environment. Eligible employees may contribute to a nonprofit charity or organization like temples.  Most of the companies will match their donations 1:1.


Each corporation has its own limits.  Like my company (VERIZON) Employee Choice: $1,000 per year for any qualified nonprofit charity, matched 1:1.  In order to be eligible for a MIP match, employee/retiree donations must be in the form of a personal tax-deductible contribution of $25 or more from the employee/retiree's own assets, paid directly to the eligible 501(c)(3) organization or NCES institution. Donations must be current contributions from the employee/retiree's own assets, and must be made, not merely pledged.  Donations can be in the form of one of the following: personal check, money order, credit card payment or transfer of stock certificate.  CASH is not eligible. 


If you work for Verizon, Verizon wireless, State Gov, Federal Gov, Banks, Insurance Companies, VISA, and most other companies, these plans are available.  Please check your company Matching Gifts Program and Volunteer Incentive Program.  It is a big help to the Ashram.


Regards,  Thiru



Karma Yoga and Ashram Maintenance at the Ashram


Much of the karma yoga this month was focused on Fall Navratri.  Between all the preparations for the event, all of the duties to keep the festival running smoothly and then all the clean up, this took a huge amount of hands and service.


Once things settled down a bit, we were able to focus on other Ashram projects such as  storing our wonderful flower covers that extended the life of the garden several weeks this year.  Putting flashing around the exterior edge of the water cistern to preserve the foam insulation from solar degradation.




Jonathan has begun the work of preparing to secure and
protect the newly excavated hermitage site from erosion
with jute and rocks.  Premanand is finishing putting the garden to bed for the winter and making sure the greenhouse is well planted to keep us in greens and flowers throughout the winter. 


We are restocking the Maha Lakshmi Shop with new saris, suits, scarves and chunis for the holiday season.  And of course, beginning to prepare goodies for the Diwali celebration next week.


Some of the executive karma yoga that went on in the summer has come to a successful completion.  The entire 101 acres (acquired at different times) of Ashram land is now in one consolidated plat and it has received its Property Tax Exemption from the state of Colorado.  The water rights for agricultural, commercial and educational uses have received a recommendation to be upgraded from conditional to absolute.  This decree by the Colorado Water Court hopefully will be made official on November 9.  Please keep this in your prayers.  We are grateful for these positive results to these projects.  There is a lot that goes on in this Ashram as it is a non-profit corporation and we must keep up with all the of requirements of a corporation to maintain this status.


Another aspect of Ashram maintenance is the constant awareness of fire prevention, preparedness and education.  To this end, Jonathan and Ramloti spent this last weekend taking a course called  “Living With Fire” which really added to their knowledge and will result in more improvements in the Ashram fire protection program. 



Recent Events


Fall Navratri (Divine Mother Festival)


As warm as the weather was throughout the nine days of Navratri, so were the hearts of the participants.  It was a very harmonious, joyful and profound nine days honoring our Divine Mother.  Mother was resplendent each day as shown here in Her new saris that were donated by loving souls and sewn by loving hands.





























































We were graced with so many visitors from Canada, Costa Rica, New Zealand, India, Florida, California, Nevada, Washington, New Mexico, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Tennessee and, of course, all parts of Colorado.


Nirmal Sharma from Shrewsbusy, MA flew in with his wife, Indira for the weekend to recite the mantras for the fire ceremony.  Upon his departure, Bipin Agarwal from Denver took over the mantra recitation.  Bipin also led us in several inspiring discourses on the Sri Mad Devi Bhagavatam assisted by Annie Pace and Cindy Cleary.


On the Sunday of Navratri, Sofia Diaz brought her teacher, Shyamla from India, to the Ashram.  She graced us with a dance, adding to the specialness of this Navratri.

The last day of Navratri, we honored the children.  Over 35 children were honored throughout the festival.  Many of the children who used to receive gifts have now grown up and helped distribute the gifts and served lunch to the younger children this year.


We served over 100 lunches on several days of Navratri.  Thank you to all who helped make this possible and a blessed time.





In Memory of Fred Huffman, Karma Yogi Extraordinaire!


We are very sad to inform you of Fred Huffman’s passing on to his next life on October 6.  Fred and his wife Carol have been involved in the Ashram since 1985 when they sent their son Kailash to come and help with the building of the temple.  It is hard to believe that both Kaila
sh (who passed away last October) and his father Fred both left this mortal world in the last year.  Both were a huge part of the building and maintenance of this Ashram.


Fred was the main impetus and laborer on our water system in 1991 and has continued advising and helping with it since that time.  Diverting the water from the Spanish Creek was no easy feat and he used to glow as he told about standing in that 40 degree water for hours building the dam and the intake pool with no other protection from the cold water other than the mantra Om Namah Shivaya.


Fred also was one of the builders of the yurt which still houses Jonathan and many other visitors.  He was the main designer and builder of the earthship which we use to this day for the Shop, office, kitchen and dining room.  We will miss this wonderful man and his beautiful, generous and positive spirit.  Our love and prayers are with his lovely wife, Carol and his daughter Donna.  We love you Freddy and trust that you are in heaven playing golf with Kailash and straightening out the water system up there!


Our Children, Families and Visitors


Once again, it was a very full month at the Ashram.  The weather, the prolific garden and fall
colors could not have been more spectacular. 


Folks came to celebrate new births, show their parents from India the Ashram, introduce their friends from school or work to the Ashram, prepare meals, attend fire ceremonies, help in the garden or just visit.  We even had three birthdays at the Ashram this month.













Calendar for 2010 and 2011


November 5, 2010 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.


November 21, 2010 - Full-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal.


December 5, 2010 - New-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal.


December 21, 2010 - Full-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal.


January 7, 2011 - Hermitage Construction Fundraiser in Atlanta, GA. Call - 404-320-1038.


January 9, 2011 - Hermitage Construction Fundraiser in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Call - 954-873-8083.


January 13, 2011 - Fire Ceremony Workshop w/ Ramloti in Hollywood, FL.  Call - 954-924-0408. 


January 14 - 16,  2011 - Workshop with Sofia Diaz & Elaine Heroux in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Call - 561-277-8326.


March 4, 2011 - Maha Shivaratri with all-night chanting.


April 3 - 11, 2011 - Spring Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.


July 14, 2011 - Guru Purnima Day


July 23 - 24, 2011 - Annual American Samaj Weekend.


July 26 - 29, 2011 - Annual Family Week and Concurrent Workshop.


September 27, 2011 - October 5 - Fall Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.


October 26, 2011 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.




Maha Lakshmi Shop Report



We have been doing a lot of restocking just in time for the holiday season.  The shelves are full of new beautiful saris, suits (men’s, women’s and children’s), hundreds of scarves, jewelry, cd’s, t-shirts, murtis and books.


One of our newest books is Pebbles from the Pond - Timeless Wisdom Tales .  Several of these stories from the book were shared by Bipin during our discourses each day of Navratri.  This is a wonderful collection of tales from India with their lesson beautifully told by Swami by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda the head of the Kriya Yoga Ashram in Florida.  It sells for $18.95.


We also have a new book on Puja called Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna by Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Vittalananda Saraswati.  This deeply profound book sells for $22.95.   


You may view and order the majority of the items online at www.shop.babajiashram.org/  You may also call us at 719-256-4108 with questions or to place an order.  We love to talk with you.  We accept visa, mastercard or discover.  The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open everyday from 9am until 5pm.


The Shop is a major support of the Ashram, so we deeply appreciate your patronage.


Maha Lakshmi Mata Ki Jai!

 

November, 2010