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Ashram Mission Statement
We aspire to live the Teachings of Haidakhan Baba, to share the Love of Babaji
and the Divine Mother with others, to hold this Ashram as Their Home,
to serve humanity, and to be stewards and caretakers of the land.
May, 2009
Dear Friends of the Ashram
What a full and wonderful month it has been at the Ashram, so abundant with Babaji's and Mother's blessings. Finishing up the last few days of Navratri as well as a very successful on-line auction, hosting lots of visitors, receiving the huge shipment from India, shoveling over four feet of much needed snow, and several fund-raisers in Denver made April very memorable. Full reports and photos follow below.
May looks to be just as busy with lots of karma yogis due to arrive to help with the spring work of preparing the garden and the maintenance of the Ashram getting it ready for all of our summer visitors and activities after a long winter. On Saturday, May 16 we will have our Annual Karma Yoga Morning from 9am until noon followed by lunch, when many of our local friends join us to help with projects around the Ashram. This year it will run on the same morning as our children's program, Bal Gogulam, so that the whole family can attend.
Once again, we want to remind you about the Annual American Haidakhan Samaj weekend on July 18 and 19 and our annual Family Week running from July 20 24 sponsored by the Ashram and the American Haidakhan Samaj. We are also very excited about the concurrent workshop, “The Dance of Love Between Us and That.” Focusing on the aspects of Radha and Krishna, this will be a wonderful opportunity to explore the dynamics of male and female energy through chanting, stories, and sacred movement. We are so grateful that Sofia Diaz will once again take time from her busy schedule to come to the Ashram and lead the program. I will be facilitating it with her. Read on to find out more about this exciting week.
Evening aarati at the temple is at 6pm and morning aarati is at 7am. Lunch is served around 12:30 and we love you to visit. The new-moon fire ceremony is on Sunday, May 24 and the next full-moon fire ceremony is on Sunday, June 7. All fire ceremonies begin at 10:08am and are followed by a meal. If you would like to participate by sponsoring a fire, we would like to send you a blessed item from the ceremony. They are:
- $27 sponsorship - Copper, brass, nickel Om Namah Shivaya bracelet
$54 sponsorship - Rose Quartz, Rosewood, Sandalwood, or Tulsi Mala
$108 sponsorship - Rudraksha or Crystal Mala
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 at P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131. We are continually grateful for all of your support.
In truth and love, Ramloti
Karma Yoga Morning and Bal Gokulam Saturday, April 18
Our annual Karma Yoga Morning has always been a huge help to the Ashram to accomplish some of the tasks that accumulate over the winter when it is generally too cold or the ground is too frozen to dig. This year we will undertake such jobs as helping to restore our drainage ditches, trim trees around the Ashram grounds for fire mitigation, patch small parts of our stucco, and restructure the path on the west side of the earthship. We will begin at 9am and end at noon.
This year we decided to run our children's program the same morning so that the whole family can participate together. Bal Gokulam is an opportunity for our children to learn about the Ashram tradition focusing on a different Deity each month. They also do some simple yoga, listen to a story about the deity, color, and complete the morning with a puja. We invite all to come to the Ashram that morning. For more information, please call 719-256-4108.
Guru Purnima Day - Tuesday, July 7
Seems like July is quickly approaching and one of the first events of the month is Guru Purnima, the full moon in July that we honor our teacher, Shri Babaji. This year Guru Purnima falls on Tuesday, July 7. At the Ashram we celebrate this day with a Paduka Puja at 9:30am followed by a fire ceremony at 10am and a meal afterwards.
Each year there is also an international gathering of Babaji devotees, generally at one of the European Ashrams. This year it will be a several day gathering (July 2 - 7) celebration at the Schweibenalp Ashram in Switzerland and Ramloti will be attending. She will be accompanied by Ashram Board member, Shashi Agarwal and perhaps Premal Tridvedi from California. This is a great time to come together with other devotees from around the world. They are expecting well over 200 people. For more information about either event you can call the Ashram at 719-256-4108.
Annual American Samaj Meeting
July 18 & 19
The American Haidakhan Samaj, is the organization of devotees in America that helps spread Babaji's love and teachings. The Ashram will be hosting the Annual weekend on Saturday, July 18 (with meeting beginning at 9am) and Sunday, July 19.
Each day there will be a Paduka Puja and chandan at 6am followed by a fire ceremony, aarati, and chanting. There will also be plenty of time to hear great stories about Babaji and discuss ideas for the Babaji centers around the country.
We are always quite full for this wonderful weekend so call or email the Ashram to make reservations at 719-256-4108 or info@babajiashram.org.
Annual Family Week - July 20 - 24
Sponsored by the Samaj & the Ashram
Directly after the Samaj weekend, we will have our annual Family Week from Monday, July 20 through Friday, July 24. This is such a special week for all of our families. We have been watching many of these children grow for the last ten years since the inception of the program.
Besides an opportunity to chant and sing aarati, there are programs for the children in the morning. Afternoons are free for the families to take off for field trips to some of our wonderful attractions such as the hot springs swimming pool, horseback riding, and hiking in the woods. The last day we normally end with a hike, swim, and lunch at the Great Sand Dunes National Park as shown in the photo.
The dorm fills up quickly for this week, so please call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 or email us at info@Babajiashram.org soon for more information or to make reservations to stay at the Ashram.
The Dance of Love Between Us and That Workshop - July 20 -24
During Family Week we are very excited to announce that we will have a very special concurrent workshop for adults and the older teens. It will be conducted by Sofia Diaz who leads programs around the world and has studied Indian philosophy, yoga, and sacred dance for twenty-seven years. She will be joined by Ramloti from the Ashram. This year's title will be The Dance of Love Between Us and That. Focusing on the intertwining of the male and female energies in this tradition, we will particularly look at Radha and Krishna through story, chants, and movement.
The workshop is runs daily from 10am until 1pm. The suggested donation is $108 for Samaj members, $54 for teens, and $135 for non-Samaj members with some scholarships available. Call or email the Ashram soon to make reservations at 719-256-4108 or info@babajiashram.org.
Kirtan Hall Update
We did it and thank you to everyone! We made over our auction goal and earned $12,500! Between that and the last fundraisers and donations, we have been able to pay down the kirtan hall loan to just under $8,000! It is looking possible to have this all paid off by the end of the year. That would be such a blessing. We are so grateful for all we have at the Ashram and to all the folks that make such a difference here helping, donating, praying, and loving this place. We are truly blessed.
We would like to encourage you to make a monthly automatic pledge to continue paying down the kirtan hall loan. Either call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 with your credit card number and ask us to charge a set amount every month ($501, $108, $54, $27, $10.08....) or go to our website and ask PayPal to deduct a certain amount from your account each month, Click Here. You can also send a check to the Ashram at P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131. We want to thank you for all of your continued support in this meaningful project.
Recent Events
Fundraisers in Aurora and Brighton
More generous folks set up some wonderful events on the last Sunday of April. Shashi and VK Sharma transformed their living room in Aurora into a large kirtan hall where about 45 people gathered for chanting, slide presentation, and a huge Indian lunch. It was lovely to be in their home and to see so many old friends and meet new ones. Even now, several of the attendees are planning their first trip to the Ashram.
Later that evening we went to Brighton (about a half hour northeast of Denver) to lead chanting at the Santan Mandir. Over 100 people watched slides of the Ashram and then joined in for a very energetic and uplifting kirtan. There was another huge Indian feast after this program. Like the program in Aurora, the evening was not even over before several people began planning a group trip to the Ashram for their first visit. There are so many wonderful people who support the Ashram!
Snow!!!!
Over four feet of snow fell during April! These photos are taken on Easter Sunday. Lisa and her son ended up staying a bit longer then they expected at the Ashram but made some great oatmeal cookies and helped with the shoveling too. We were actually concerned about the lack of snow throughout the end of winter, but now we should be in good shape, with plenty of water in the beautiful Spanish Creek that supplies the Ashram water system. Once again, Mother and Baba take such good care of us.
Families and Visitors
Every person that comes to the Ashram makes a difference.
Darell Laird was here for almost two months and did huge amounts of karma yoga. We felt honored to share his birthday with him. By surprise, Bhargavi also showed up with her husband and son to celebrate her birthday on the very same day!
What a blessing that 18 students and their teachers from Aspen High School came to spend a morning of aarati and karma yoga at the Ashram the day after our huge shipment from India arrived. All 35 crates were emptied, thousands of murtis priced, and organized in the shop by lunchtime.
Thank you so much for your help!
Our families continue to attend the ceremonies at the Ashram and the children seem to understand the sacredness of the space. They really add so much to all the events at the Ashram.
Even when traveling we still get to enjoy the families and watch the children grow. Benjamin and Gavin (Ramloti's grandsons) are expecting a new baby brother in August. The Trivedi family, in Los Angeles, is celebrating the graduation of their second child, Kedar, from college. It is hard to believe they lived here at the Ashram when the kids were still in grammar school and high school.
Calendar for 2009
July 7 - Guru Purnima Day with Paduka Puja at 9:30am, fire ceremony at 10:08am, followed by feast.
July 18 - 19 - Annual American Haidakhan Samaj meeting at the Ashram.
July 20 - 25 - Annual Family Week at the Ashram.
July 20 - 25 - The Dance Love Between the Divine and That Workshop at the Ashram with Sofia Diaz and Ramloti.
September 18 - 26 Fall Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.
October 17 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.
Maha Lakshmi Shop Report
Shri Babaji's Rudraksha Beads sold very well during the auction. If you were not one of the fortunate winners, we do have more in the Maha Lakshmi Shop for you. The price is $108 and will come with a 5x7" color photo of Shri Babaji wearing perhaps the very mala that this bead was taken from.
Our huge shipment from India is now in the Shop and ready for your perusal thanks to our great karma yogis from Aspen High School. We have some lovely new murtis, devotional items, brassware, and drums. Our shelves are very full. You can check out the shop website for all our new items, or e-mail us at shop@babajiashram.org.
You can also always call us on our toll-free number at 866-686-4185 to order or for more information. We love to talk with you. We thank you for all of your shop purchases as the revenue from the shop is a huge support for the Ashram. We are open daily from 9am until 5pm. We take Mastercard, Discover, and Visa.
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