Haidakhandi Universal Ashram Newsletter
 
 

Dear Friends,


What makes this Ashram so special?  All of you that come here and participate and help and give with all of your hearts.  This is truly what Shri Babaji meant when He said, the new world begins here.  Love, generosity and service abound here and I am deeply grateful to be part of it all.  Thank you to all!


Fourth of July, Guru Purnima Weekend, Family Week and the Shakti Workshop were all huge successes because of all the folks that so graciously gave of themselves to help.  They were so huge (over 150 people for Guru Purnima alone!) that I am sending this newsletter several days late!  This Ashram is a huge place for three full-residents to run and it would not in any way be possible without everyone’s help and support.  This is your home too.


I also had the opportunity to sneak away for nine days this last month to hold my newest grandchild, Avalon Devlin Wood.  Little Avalon was born on June 14 in Lafayette, CA to my son Jacob and his wife Simone.
They have been waiting for this miracle of life for five years, so it is a great blessing. Looking into her eyes is a divine experience, she is truly an angel sent by God. 


Although we have no major events planned

for August and September, they are bound to be very busy months with visitors (the dorm is already booked every Saturday night through Labor Day Weekend). These are some of the most spectacular months of the year here in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  And it is not too soon to book for Fall Navratri, as it is always a very full time.  This year it does not occur until Thursday, October 7 through Friday, October 15.  It is such a special time to come together to ask for Mother’s blessing and give thanks to Her for all of her love and grace.  I look forward to seeing many of you.


In truth and love, 

Ramloti




This Month’s Fire Ceremonies and Schedule


The new-moon fire ceremony this month is on Monday, August 9 and the full-moon fire ceremony is on Tuesday, August 24. 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. 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/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.




Fall Navratri (Divine Mother Festival) - October 7 - 15


“The glances from the angles of Thine eyes entrance us.

Mother Thy lovely face is full of kindness.

How beautiful Thou art in Thine appearance

Thine upper lip is tender as a segment of an orange.”


“Thy brilliant teeth, arrayed in perfect line

Behind Thy lips like brilliant crystals shine.

Shaped like a lotus flower’s bud,

Thy chin adorns Thy lovely face.”



These verses were written by our beloved Vishnu Datta Misra (Shastriji) while the Divine Mother, Haidakhandeswari, was appearing to him.  We read these beautiful 700 verses to Mother each day during Navratri.  We also have daily fire ceremonies, discourses, pujas, aaratis and chanting.  Why not give yourself the gift to be here in Mother’s Divine Presence during these special days?  Call the Ashram at 719-256-4108 or email us at info@BabajiAshram.org for more information or to make reservations.






Growing Baba’s and Mother’s Home


With so much growth happening at the Ashram, the Board of Directors has decided that it is time to build small hermitages for the three long-time residents, Ramloti, Premanand and Jonathan.  This will give them the quiet space that they need to continue the work they have been doing for so many years as well as free up more housing for visitors.  It may also encourage one or two more long-time residents to come to the Ashram.


After visiting the hermitages at the Carmelite and the Chama Ling Retreat Centers, we decided to make ours even simpler. The concept is based on Babaji’s kutir which is 22ft. by 10ft.  With the addition of bathrooms for the hermitages, the space will be 22ft. by 13.25ft bringing the square footage to 291.5 square feet.


Not only do these hermitages feel blessed because they are so similar to Babaji’s kutir and appropriate since first we had to build the Master’s room and then the devotee’s rooms can follow.  But the usual sequence of miracles that seem to happen around this Ashram also ensued.  First when Ramloti was thinking of making the floor plan like Babaji’s kutir, our contractor Paul Koppana showed up to consult on it.  After bringing some initial ideas to the Board all of a sudden an architect from Boulder, Simon Bialobroda, and his wife came for a two-night visit to the Ashram.  When we found out he was not only an architect but also a vastu architect with knowledge of geobiology, sacred architecture and sustainable building; we asked him to help us with the plans for the hermitages for his karma yo
ga.  He just happened to have his computer with him with his Autocad design system.  Our contractor, Paul, was able to come up on the spur of the moment with his daughter, Sage, and we discussed the plan, walked the land and placed the initial stakes for the first hermitage!


The location is the bluff in the southwest corner of the property just west of the parking lot.  We will probably work in phases for this project with the initial stage of laying the infrastructure of the project.  We see the hermitages in a pod of three sharing a common septic system, water system and backup propane tank.  Each hermitage will have its own small solar hot water panel and pv panel.

What is shown here is the initial floor plans and the results of Simon’s day of karma yoga at the Ashram.  He promises to send a site plan and elevation for the next newsletter.  How grateful we are to Simon for his generous gift and also to Shri Babaji and the Divine Mother for setting it all up so perfectly. 


The estimates for the project are not all calculated yet.  We expect to keep the hermitages under $40,000 each.  We are still waiting on bids for bringing the water line down from the earthship and installing the septic system and propane lines.  We would like to at least put in the infrastructure this Fall before the ground freezes so we are ready to work on the first hermitage in Spring if the funds permit.  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 you support, love and prayers.  Together, with Baba’s grace, we can make this happen!  




Recent Events


Fourth of July

Once again our loving families from Denver and Center came and cooked and sold food at the Crestone Park after the 4th of July parade.  About 150 people enjoyed the food and they raised around $1,008 which will be the first money donated into the new account for the hermitage fund. The local community always looks forward to this wonderful food lining up as soon as we brought the food at 11am, we were sold out by 2pm!  We are so grateful to these folks and all that come up with these great ideas to help support the Ashram.  This is what has built it and keeps it going so well.  Thank you!




Guru Purnima, Inauguration of Babaji’s Kutir & Samaj Meeting


What a blessed and amazing weekend this was with Babaji’s kutir (His new room) blessed.  Built in memory of Yamini Agarwal, Bipin, her father is shown here with Jade at Baba’s bed.  Her mother, Shashi, chose to go the the Guru Purnima celebration in Cisternino, Italy as she was not sure she could bear to see all the young folks that played with her daughter at the event last year. 

After the vastu puja, paduka puja, chandans and aaratis the room reverberates with Baba’s love.  Already folks have entered it for meditation and found themselves weeping in bliss and profound devotion.  The stories shared by the devotees that had spent time with Shri Babaji after the inauguration of His new room were deeply moving.  They seemed to transport folks to Haidakhan and indeed Baba’s Divine presence was very palpable.
Over 150 attended the fire ceremony followed by chanting in the kirtan hall on Sunday, Guru Purnima Day.  It was amazing!  And still visitors kept arriving with over 200 people fed that day by Baba’s grace!


The American Haidakhan Samaj meeting was also very meaningful as we sat in small groups to discuss what sustains our connection to Babaji and the greater Babaji family and how to enhance that.  Many wonderful ideas such as:  Samaj monthly updates, monthly community japa and prayer times, prayer page on the website, more local chanting tours, workshops on puja and fire ceremony around the country, personal contact between members, brochure on the Samaj and ceremonies and many others ideas were shared.  It is such a rich time to be together. The photo shows seven of the ten Samaj board members that were in attendance from around the country in Babaji’s new kutir.




Annual Family Week


Everything was totally full and beyond full, from accommodations, to love and full participation for family week this year.  Many of the young children who have grown up each year at family week are now in their late teens and served as junior counselors for the young children.
They indeed passed on not only their skills, but also their love and enthusiasm.
Each morning’s family meeting had over 30 people sharing ideas, appreciations for one another and problem solving any issues that arose living together as family for the week.  Each day the children participated in karma yoga which included helping with meal preparation, laundry, weeding, clean up, collecting wood and making malas for the temple.  This help made the week run smoothly with so many people at the Ashram.  There were usually 60 people for lunch each day after the children’s prog
ram and Shakti workshop.


We are deeply grateful for the local folks from the community that came in and taught the children yoga, Heartmath and bhajans.
 


The children made a collage of their experience and gratitude which is hanging in the temple with the dates for next year’s family week.  It will run from Tuesday, July 26 through Friday, July 29, 2011 with a fire ceremony on Saturday, July 30 followed by an optional trip to the Sand Dunes.  Mark you calendar and reserve your rooms as they were booked several months in advance for this  year’s event!



Shakti Workshop with Sofia Diaz


Profound, life-changing, amazing, joyful, educational, revealing, freeing, transformational, energizing and community building were some of the words that were given to describe this workshop which was intuitively and skillfully orchestrated by Sofia Diaz.  We are so grateful for her presence and willingness to give to the Ashram in this way.  It seemed that all of the nearly 35 participants took away so much Shakti and awareness from this week together.  



Jonathan’s Family Visit the Ashram


Jonathan won the rafting trip on the Ashram online Auction generously donated by Cindy and Thomas Cleary.  He invited his family from Kansas and they all had a great time.



Our Children and Visitors


Our wealth is certainly in all the folks that call this Ashram home.  We especially love the children and all the families that we see year after year (or some week after week) watching the little ones grow.  Thank you to you all and may Mother and Baba bless you abundantly!












Calendar for 2010 and 2011


August 9, 2010 - New-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal.


August 24, 2010 - Full-moon fire ceremony at 10am followed by a meal.


October 7 - 15, 2010 - Fall Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.


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


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 - October 5 - Fall Navratri, the Divine Mother Festival.


October 26, 2010 - Diwali, Festival of Lights. Fire ceremony at 10am. Chanting at 7pm.




Maha Lakshmi Shop Report


The shelves are overflowing with new items from India.  Call about the latest arrivals and, hopefully, they will all be on the website in a few weeks.  The Maha Lakshmi Shop is open everyday from 9am until 5pm.  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 Shop is a major support of the Ashram, so we deeply appreciate your patronage.

 

August, 2010