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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.
February, 2010
Dear Friends of the Ashram
With
the New Year there has been a lot of new energy at the Ashram. Several
graduate students from Naropa University in Boulder arrived on New Years
Eve to begin a two-week karma yoga retreat at the Ashram. A few days
after that, another young man arrived for a month from California. These
young folks, all in there twenties, have been very inspirational to
me. Their willingness to try on new practices, to jump in whole-heartedly
to all the different karma yoga projects, and their commitment to making
this world a better place, has really touched my soul.
We have also had many other young visitors. I guess college classes
do not begin until mid to late January, so many were visiting the different
retreat centers in Crestone and came to the Ashram as well. One day
we had four people editing the book about Old Haidakhan Baba, four people
helping with the meal preparation, and others in the temple running
the children's program, Bal Gokulam. I know this is what Baba meant
when He said, "Build big ashrams where many people can gather and
learn to work together." It is from here that the new world begins.
A world of community, service, and love for all. I have great hope.
Read on for reports of the activities in January and for the events
coming up in February. Shri Babaji and the Divine Mother has blessed
us so abundantly in our lives.
In truth and love, Ramloti
February Fire Ceremonies and Schedule
Our
fire ceremonies in February are on Saturday, February 13 (new-moon)
and Sunday, February 28 (full-moon). The fire ceremonies begin at 10:08am
and are followed by a meal. Our evening aarati is at 6pm and morning
aarati is at 8am during the winter. Lunch is served at about 1pm. The
Maha Lakshmi Shop is open every day from 10am 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, Sandalwood, or Tulsi Mala
$108 sponsorship - Rudraksha/Crystal Mala 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 to: P.O. Box 9, Crestone, CO 81131. We are continually
grateful for all of your support.
Bal Gokulam
Our
monthly children’s program, Bal Gokulam, will be on Saturday,
February 20 from 10am until noon followed by a potluck lunch. This program
continues to be very important to our local families and it seems as
if each month brings new ones.
Cindy Cleary and Vesper Gers take the children and adults through some
simple and fun yoga postures, teach them a few simple chants, tell a
story about the deity that is being honored that day while the children
color a picture of the deity. They then bathe, dress, adorn, and offer
aarati to the deity and finish with a few more chants. After they finish,
they all come over to the earthship for a potluck lunch. If you would
like to join in and your child is any age (or even if you do not have
any children) you are welcome. We do require that a parent or guardian
be here at all times.
If you have questions about the program you can call Cindy at 719-256-5007
or Vesper at 719-256-4569.
Chanting in Colorado Springs
The home of Monica and Sumit Celly's (and their son, Arindam)
will be the location for a chanting and satsang gathering on Saturday,
February 6 from noon until 2pm followed by lunch. The location is at
2840 Helnsdale Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80920. The occasion is to help
bless their new home.
We hope that you can join Ramloti and all the wonderful folks of Colorado
Springs on this day. For more information you can call Monica at 719-533-1579.
Maha Shivaratri - February 12
The night of Shivaratri is Friday, February 12 and we will chant from
10pm until 4am. Four times during the evening we will have pujas to
the Shiva Lingam with special prayers and chants. We will also bathe
the Lingam in milk, yogurt, honey, and ghee during these pujas. It is
the night that the moon is farthest from the earth and Lord Shiva is
most present.
We are already hearing from people in Denver that they plan to join
us for this special night. Normally, there are nearly fifty people still
chanting when we do our final puja at 4am. Many others join for as long
as they are able. The energy is very high and focused.
The next morning, Saturday, February 13, we have our new-moon fire
ceremony at 10:08am followed by a feast. Please join us for all or any
of the festivities.
Bowling
and Birthday
Wednesday, February 17
Our next bowling outing will be on Wednesday, February 17 from 1pm
until 3pm at the SLV Superbowl on 1020 2nd Ave. in Monte Vista. This
date just happens to coincide with Ramloti's birthday, so it will be
a great party.
Please join us and remember, they offer a special deal to the more
mature folks of only $4 for shoes and all the games you can bowl. Call
the Ashram at 719-256-4108 for more information or carpooling.
Mark Your Calendars
Spring Navratri - March 15 - 23
We have so much to be thankful for to the Divine Mother for all that
She gives to us. The Divine Mother Festival, Spring Navratri is when
we take most of nine days to say thank you and honor Her. The dates
are March 15 through March 23, so put the dates on your calendars and
call the Ashram for reservations as soon as you know you will be able
to attend as the dormitory always fills up quickly, particularly on
the weekends. The phone number is 719-256-4108.
Annual Spring On-line Auction -
April 11 - 25
Last year's on-line auction was a huge success and a lot of fun too!
We raised over $12,000 which made it possible to pay off the entire
kirtan hall loan in 2009! Thank you to all who made it possible.
Back by popular demand, we have set the dates for the Spring On-line
Auction from Sunday, April 11 at 10:08am until Sunday, April 25 at 1:08am.
This year the funds raised will go to maintain and enhance this beautiful
home of Shri Babaji and the Divine Mother, so that it will always be
in excellent repair befitting Them and ready to receive each of you.
Our goal for 2010 is $15,111.
Many people have already volunteered to donate again this year and
we also have many special items that were blessed in Haidakhan and are
from Shri Babaji. You can already view the items that have been donated
by going to www.biddingforgood.com/babajiashram.
To all who donated items last year, if you wish to donate again, just
email us at ccleary@roperugs.com
or call Cindy at 719-256-5007 with the information as we still have
a lot of it on file. Those of you who did not come up with anything
to donate, perhaps looking at what has already been donated will give
you some ideas. Sometimes something that you no longer use or have room
for is just what someone else is looking for. What a great way to recycle!
Or perhaps you have a service you can offer on-line. We also appreciate
those who would like to be a sponsor. Please begin thinking what might
sell and how you can support the Ashram in a very fun and valuable way.
Thank you!
Maintaining Baba and Mother's
Home
We
were very blessed this month to have many karma yogis helping to maintain
Baba's and Mother's home. Each of the buildings were cleaned from ceiling
to floor. Windows were washed, cupboards cleaned, woodwork oiled, and
rugs were vacuumed or washed. We also were able to collect huge amounts
of fire wood and fill the freezer with our sweet breads made from the
produce from our garden; pumpkin, apricot, currant, and plum. Yum!
This maintenance is done with love and attention because it is what
is needed to keep this beautiful home of Shri Babaji and the Divine
Mother in excellent condition befitting to Them both. It is also important
to keep it in good condition so that we can host all of you that enjoy
coming here for spiritual refreshment from time to time.
We
invite you to participate as you are able. Many of you cannot come for
an extended period of time to help with the karma yoga but perhaps you
can add energy to this work through your financial support. There are
several ways to do this and we appreciate deeply what ever you are able
to do. We are all so fortunate to share this home with Shri Babaji and
the Divine Mother here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado
We would like to encourage you to make a monthly automatic pledge toward
the Ashram maintenance. 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 Pay
Pal 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.
Recent Events
Sharing Babaji's Love in Florida
The
programs in Florida were once again inspiring, fun, high in shakti,
and full of love. This has become such a special annual event that we
have decided to call it our Winter Mela (celebration). It will take
place, with the grace of Shri Babaji, the weekend closest to January
14 which is Makar Sankrant. This is the day, according to Indian tradition,
the sun begins its upward journey bringing more light and support to
our spiritual practices. It is a very auspicious time to have a holy
bath, to meditate, chant, and perform fire ceremonies.
Each of the three venues had its unique energy and flavor. Each was
well attended with both new and old friends eager to share their devotion.
The chanting, dancing, and satsang (sharing words of truth) were touching
and left a warm feeling in the heart. These programs are always so re-invigorating
to the spirit that people travel great distances just to attend.
We are very grateful to the American Haidakhan Samaj for cosponsoring
this event, which is part of the work of the Samaj to foster and support
the centers of Babaji around the country. To find out more about the
Samaj go to www.BabajiSamaj.org. We hope you can attend next year.
Visitors Experiences at the Ashram
Haidakhani Ashram Experience, Colorado Style by Madhuri
Usually I spend
some winter months at Haidakhan Headquarters in Northern India. This
year Babaji put me here. I was planning to spend the winter in Costa
Rica, but somehow I am doing my usual Ashram stint here. First, I must
say, I so appreciate the hard work, faith and courage that the devotees
put into this place, surely they started in the mid-1980s with just
a piece of mountainside. Now there are beautiful and simple buildings
to make everyone’s stay comfortable. Certainly, easier on the
body then staying the winter in Haidakhan Vishva Mahadham in India.
Being a die-hard Shiva/Kali worshipper, and remembering old, old temples
from a past life, it often comes as a surprise to find myself in this
new, clean, beautiful temple with the wonderful Murti of Haidakhandeswari.
The Mother here is visited by many Indian people who worship her as
Maha Lakshmi. It is a novelty to me to worship in a Lakshmi temple.
Sure, I am hoping the blessings will stick to me a little, if She pleases!
It has been a highlight of my experience to live here on the mountain
overlooking the desert below. My soggy (after 30 years in Ireland) old
bones like to soak up the dryness and the daily bright sunlight. Before
morning aarati I read some books on yoga and some Sanskrit, which is
still sacred “diplococcoid” for me. However, I still persist.
I love it so much! (I need translations, of course!) Then, I sit outside
to witness the first sunlight lighting up the distant and snow capped
mountains. Sometimes, the sunrise has the added bonus of the moon setting.
Spectacular! I bundle up in warm clothing because of the snow that is
always on the ground here!
Then, off to the temple for some japa before aarati. Aarati two times
a day charges and purifies my energy body. The twice monthly fire ceremony
is also a major highlight, bringing Babaji’s padhuka’s to
the Dhuni and back with blowing of conch shells, ringing of bells, and
sounding the damaru. Everyone joins in whole heartedly. How blessed
are the local people and even the small school children, to be able
to participate! Then there is karma yoga, an inspiring concept. This
is the kind of yoga that will save the planet and your soul, so I suggest
that everyone please join in where ever you may be!
If you have never been here before, I recommend you come and experience
the spiritual practice and the blessings of walking the path of yoga.
If you have visited before, I imagine you would like to come back some
time soon. I am grateful to Bhole Babaji and all the people who have
been inspired by Him to establish this beautiful ashram and to all the
devotees doing this work elsewhere. Bhole Baba hi Jai! Love to all!
Meg: I came to the
ashram not knowing what to expect. Within the first few days I came
to uncover parts of myself that I had no idea were there, and had been
hindering my heart from fully opening to it’s capacity. I credit
the karma yoga practice for this new knowledge of my own “self”-
and the ability to open my heart up more towards the divine love and
energy. Crestone is the perfect place for this practice, as is, the
community of the Haidakhandi Universal Ashram. After two weeks I feel
like this is my family. I have a deep, deep admiration for the people
I have met here and the amount I have learned. I know I will be traveling
back here again to visit my friends of the ashram and Babaji; all of
which will forever be part of me. Namaste.
Patrick: Many strange
coincidences led me to this ashram. I had never really thought I would
find myself in such a place. But through forces unseen and only vaguely
understood here I am. Thus far it has been a very powerful yet subtle
transformative experience. It would seem such an environment forces
one to face themselves on a very deep level, as we in our modern lifestyles
have such a resistance to hard work for a purpose beyond money. The
egos want to maintain patterns of laziness and selfish indulgence are
grooved deeply into our psyche. Such a lifestyle as the one here at
the Ashram will provoke ones mental patterns of resistance to surface
and allow for insight into who you are as an individual giving rise
to transformation through awareness. This can really help to clarify
the tricks of the ego, its methodology, so to speak. One can soon find
oneself coming into a state of peace having let go of the game of attachment
and seeing selfless service as a tool of purification and insight.
I myself have had some very profound awakenings into my own thought
patterns of worry. Seeing how the mind is constantly “fishing”
in the past and future dragging attention away from the present now
that is. One can really begin to appreciate Babaji's method so simple
yet profound for those with an open attitude. I will have to agree with
Babaji, karma yoga is quit fitting for our time.
Dayna Larson: Before
arriving at the Ashram in Crestone, I had plenty of time to wonder what
my stay would be like. I saw myself hungry, tired, and anxious to be
back in Boulder. I had no idea what sleeping accommodations would be.
I wondered if there would be beds, cots, or just bare floors. And did
we need to bring our own food, or was it all provided? What if they
only served one thing and it was the one thing I didn’t like to
eat? Other students had told me about their retreats: constant meditating,
little eating, and little sleeping. One fellow student tried to ease
my mind about it by saying; “They’ll probably give you a
juice box or something so you don’t get too cranky.” All
the stories were about how hard it was, but not how rewarding. So these
thoughts occupied my mind on the five-hour drive to Crestone.
We finally arrived. A little nervous but surprisingly excited. The
mountains at Crestone, speckled with retreat cabins and incredible views,
didn’t seem like the worst place to spend two weeks. Then we got
to meet the staff and check out our accommodations. After settling into
the routine of aarati, breakfast, karma yoga, lunch, break, karma yoga,
aarati, and dinner/quiet time, I realized I was less on retreat and
more returning home. Ramloti, with all of her love, compassion, strength,
and probably a lot of patience, opened what is her life and home to
three giggly Naropa Grad students, who were a little unsure of what
was expected of them. I don’t know if I can properly or articulately
convey what my full experience has been here. As previously mentioned,
it just felt like coming home. While that is a great feeling to have,
the question for me that will remain unanswered until I return to Boulder
is: Did the home I found exist only in Crestone or in myself?
Cecily Joy: I had
no idea what I was getting myself into as we heading towards this little
Ashram in Crestone. I was ready for a spiritual adventure and that exactly
what I got. The first thing I learned was practice of karma yoga. I
was shocked to find it was a simple practice of service with a goal
of connection to the divine. I was even more shocked about the profound
effect it would have on me. Who knew cooking and cleaning with a simple
mantra in my heart would raise my spirits so intensely?
Yet, as much as the care-holders of this place would have you believe
that the main practice is karma yoga, it was the bliss surrounding the
land and the people that I will cherish the most. From the joyous chants
to late night chats in the kitchen, it was the open hearts and hospitality
of the people that aided my spiritual purification.
Every moment, every chore and every song here changed me a little.
I can only hope that I take this newfound aliveness back with me to
my daily life. Om Namah Shivaya.
Children, Visitors, and Families
Calendar for 2010
February 6 (noon) - Ramloti will lead chanting
and satsang at 2840 Helnsdale Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80920. Call
Monica and Sumit at 719-533-1579 for more information.
February 12 - Maha Shivaratri - all night
chanting to Lord Shiva, 10pm - 4am.
February 13 - New-moon fire ceremony at 10am
followed by a meal.
February 20 - Bal Gokulam (children's program)
10am-noon followed by potluck lunch.
February 28 - Full-moon fire ceremony at 10am
followed by a meal.
March 15 - 23 - Spring Navratri, the Divine
Mother Festival.
July 24 - 25 - Annual American Samaj Weekend
July 25 - Guru Purnima Day
July 26 - 30 - Annual Family Week and Concurrent
Workshop.
October 7 - 15 - Fall Navratri, the Divine
Mother Festival.
November 5 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire
ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.
Maha Lakshmi Shop Report
We have such a
wonderfully full and diverse shop, something for everyone. Here are
a few of the items that are particularly popular. Tibeten Singing
Bowls beautifully etched inside and out. These bowls are 5.5"
in diameter, comes with a wooden striker, and sell for only $54. We
also have 4" for $27.
These resin,
brightly painted Ganeshes are 2" (only $5) and 3.5" ($9).
They are a very popular item in the Shop.
They are shown with our lovely hanging, etched, brass om. We have
two sizes: 6" for $12 and 10" for $27.
Here our brass Ganesh is reading (an Om book). This delightful statue
is 8" and sells for $81.
Finally
our silver/brass Saraswati murti is 10" tall and sells for $153.
You can check our website for all the new items at BabajiAshram.org
and order
on line through pay pal 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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