Ashram Newsletter - September, 2021

September 2, 2021  |  by Ramloti

Dear Friends,

In a recent Zoom Satsang, the question of whether Haidakhan Babaji was the Mahavatar Babaji of the Yogananda book or not came up. In the online chat discussion that followed, sometimes days after because several hundred more people watch it later on YouTube, one person wrote this: “This question is not a very important one for me. Changing bodies, taking bodies, discarding bodies, and appearing in bodies are no trouble at all for the infinity of the love that meets us in and through beings like Babaji. Babaji is the indweller of all dwellings and beings: He looks out at us and for us from every particle and direction of the universe. The mysteries of His bodies, His appearances, His disappearance, His miracles, and His leelas are nothing more than the mystery of His love for us--those phenomena are not, nor do they reveal, His nature or essence or even mystery, necessarily.

More than anything else, they are just sharp reminders of His unconditional and causeless, longsuffering and infinitely generous, love for us. They are His impatient and endlessly creative yearning for us. Lucky is the being who tries to yearn for Him and love Him back! Your reference to Srimad Devi Bhagawatam 9:38, where the Goddess says She takes form in response to prayer reminded me of the words once spoken by the sweet and loving Anandamayi Ma:
I am what I was and what I shall be; I am whatever you conceive, think or say. But it is a supreme fact that this body has not come into being to reap the fruits of past karma. Why don't you take it that this body is the material embodiment of all your thoughts and ideas. You all wanted it and you have it now.

“The taking on of bodily form, subject to all the miseries thereof, is the very strongest proof we have of God's incomparable and inconceivable love for us. Jesus was as much and as happily the Son of Man as he was the Son of God. The mystery of the incarnation is the mystery of love, and every time you meet a saint, this divine truth is manifest one more time in what is truly an endless story of love--the story of our love for God, yes, but more importantly, the story of God's incomparable, inconceivable, and incredibly causeless love for us.”

Shri Babaji speaks about this phenomenon: “I am Bhole Baba (the Simple Father). I am nobody and nothing. I am only like a mirror in which you can see yourself.”

This excerpt from the Haidakhan News from July 1983 explains all of this more:
In a dialogue between Shiva and His son Kartikeya, Shiva teaches the deep significance of the Guru concept, saying “The Guru is in you and you in Him. Despite His physical form, the Guru is without beginning or end.” He continues by saying that all actions have to be dedicated, that is, surrendered, to the Guru. He is to be meditated on constantly while one is moving through one’s day. He is in every breath. His name should be repeated continuously. One should immerse oneself into every aspect of His manifestation: One’s words, actions, physical form, become totally possessed by Him, until one has become truly One, daily remembrance of and service to the Guru leads to God-realizations. Even Rama and Krishna, though themselves Divine Incarnations, undertook no important action without first worshipping their Gurus and obtaining permission for their undertakings, for on the spiritual path, nothing can be achieved without the grace of the Guru.

I am truthfully amazed and dumbfounded when I think of what has been given to me in this lifetime. The Divine Blessing to have been with Babaji while He was in physical form on three different trips to be with Him. The care, patience, and love He showered upon me, despite my lack of understanding was staggering. The fact that I was able to take my children to be with Him on two consecutive summers and watch them glow in His Presence.

I even got to sit with the above-mentioned saint, Anandamayi Ma with just a few other people shortly before She left Her body, and I did not even know who She was at the time.

So I can only attribute some good I must have done in previous lives and even more, Shri Babaji’s (quoting from above) unconditional and causeless, longsuffering and infinitely generous, love for us . I actually swoon when I become deeply aware of this. It is as if each step on this earth becomes a sacred moment in time with the Divine Presence all around me. These weekly Zoom satsangs help me remember and delve even deeper into this Miracle of Love.

Shri Babaji said on July 31, 1983 the following: “There is a Sanskrit proverb which says that in the Kali Yuga there is power only through organized groups.” We are in the Kali Yuga and I find it way too easy to get distracted and afraid with so much confusion, natural disasters, and suffering going on around me. We need each other at this time to help us remember the Divine. Whether it is through visiting spiritual places, keeping good company, reading inspirational writings, or gathering with groups of devotees that get together on a regular basis, like our weekly Zoom satsang, these have great power to help me and others keep a bigger perspective. With this I am more able to take appropriate action to help in any way possible with a loving clear head, firm determination, and deep trust in my Lord and my God, Shri Babaji.

Ramloti for the Ashram

Upcoming Events

New Zoom Satsang Time! To facilitate more countries, we are experimenting with moving the Zoom Satsang to 7am MT (3pm Central Europe, 6:30pm India, 8pm Thailand, and 11pm Sydney, Australia). The schedule is below and the Zoom link is always the same at:

Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84820406020?pwd=RXRKYnJYSDFKYmhxYVMrNXBOVGo4UT09
Meeting ID: 848 2040 6020
Passcode: 474473
One tap mobile: +16699006833,,84820406020#,,,,*474473# (US)

Saturday, September 4 – 7am MT
Zoom Satsang on "Celebrations and other special events with Babaji and the significance of the many Deities"

This should be a very interesting, informative, and inspirational gathering with folks from around the world including Meena Chandra and Alok Banerjee.

Monday, September 6 – 10am MT
New-Moon Fire Ceremony, beginning with Pitru Puja

This event will be live-streamed at:
Haidakhandi Universal Ashram Facebook Page

Saturday, September 11 - 7am MT
Zoom Satsang on “The Sacred Fire Ceremony”

Shri Babaji did a sacred fire each day at His Ashram in Haidakhan and spoke several times about the profundity of the havan. Join with many long-time devotees as they share their knowledge and experience of living with the Sacred Fire.

Saturday, September 18 - 7am MT
Zoom Satsang with Uday Chatterjee and Sanjeev Sarna

Uday Chatterjee and Sanjeev Sarna, long time devotees from India. Hearing these experiences are always uplifting and remind us or our rich treasure in our life to be connected to Shri Babaji and the Divine Mother.

Monday, September 20 - 10am MT
Full-Moon Fire Ceremony

This event will be live-streamed at:
Haidakhandi Universal Ashram Facebook Page

Saturday, September 25 – 7am MT
Zoom Satsang with Emam and Mahalakshmi

Emam and Mahalakshmi currently live in Goa, India and tour giving concerts around the world. Emam first met Shri Babaji in 1978 and Mahalakshmi has spent much time at Baba’s Ashrams around the world. This should be another inspirational time together.

Saturday, October 2 – 7am MT
Zoom Satsang on Shri Vishnu Datt Shastriji

Called the Shadow of Babaji, Shastriji presided over ceremonies, spoke for Babaji and w as a great scholar and saint in his own right. He always opened the Navratri Festivities and since this will be the Saturday before Fall Navratri (Divine Mother Festival), it feels appropriate to remember him at this time.

The GoFundMe Campaign and Other Fundraising Tools

We continue to be supported by many of you through different fundraising modalities. Thank you to all. It is so important during this time. Here are the links below. We are aware that many do not have the funds to donate at this time and please know that we appreciate your prayers and loving support as well.

• GoFundMe Campaign
• Donate Page (this page has links to Paypal, Amazon Smile, and GoFundMe)

Karma Yoga at the Ashram

It has been very busy at the Ashram with lots of visitors, repairs, a garden that has been prolific, preparing for ceremonies, painting the murtis, cleaning the very flooded water system, painting the temple floor, and preparing the saris for the Divine Mother for Navratri (Oct. 7 – 15). Here are a few photos. We appreciate all of your support so that we can keep Baba’s and Mother’s home here in the Rockies of Colorado in top shape for them and all who visit the Ashram.

You can make a donation at our Donate Page and you can even setup a monthly tithe as well.

Recent Events

Guru Purnima

Always a sacred day at the Ashram, we celebrated our love for our Guru with a special puja to Baba’s Padukas and to our beloved murti of Old Haidakhan Baba. This was followed by a wonderful fire ceremony with masses of flowers from the beautiful garden. Bhole Baba Ki Jai!

Fire Ceremony Blessing New Hotel in Canon City

The Ashram was asked to bless a new Holiday Inn Express in Canon City. It was our first venture out to do a program since the onset of Covid. But it was small and everyone was asked to wear masks, so we were happy to come. May they experience the blessings of Shri Babaji and the sacred fire in their new undertaking.

The Month of Saavan and Lingam Puja

We observed the sacred month of Savan, which comes after Guru Purnima and goes for four Mondays. We did a special Shiva Lingam Puja and fire ceremonies each of these days. It was very powerful.

Lord Krishna’s Birthday

Last week we celebrated Janmasthami with a lovely fire ceremony and puja to Lord Krisha. It was very sweet and full of love.

Babaji’s Kutir Totally Redecorated

As we approach Fall Navratri, we always want to have things as fresh and beautiful as possible. After 12 years, it was time to redo Babaji’s kutir. New rugs, curtains, bedding, chunis, malas, everything is lovely. And as if that was not enough, we were gifted a magnificent painting by Shri Babaji’s recently and of course, the colors were perfect for His new décor. Bhole Baba Ki Jai!

Visitors

Now that the Ashram is open on weekends by appointment, we are seeing hundreds of folks. It is truly a blessing to be with you all. Here are some photos from a few of the families, it would be impossible to post them all. Just this weekend alone, since we added an extra day, Monday, due to the holiday, we will have over 200 visitors. Bhole Baba Ki Jai!

We have been so grateful to be able to see so many of our friends after a year and a half and also so many new friends. Your presence, love, and support is a big reason this Ashram is so successful. Thank you.

Calendar of Events

Sep 6, Oct 6, Nov 4	New Moon Fire Ceremony
Sep 20, Oct 20, Nov 19	Full Moon Fire Ceremony
Sep 10	Ganesh Chaturthi
Oct 7-15	Fall Navratri

Please go to our Calendar of Events page for all events.

Satsangs on Zoom

Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84820406020?pwd=RXRKYnJYSDFKYmhxYVMrNXBOVGo4UT09
Meeting ID: 848 2040 6020
Passcode: 474473
One tap mobile: +16699006833,,84820406020#,,,,*474473# (US)

Saturday, September 4 – 7am MT	Celebrations and other special events with Babaji and the significance of the many Deities
Saturday, September 11 - 7am MT	The Sacred Fire Ceremony
Saturday, September 18 - 7am MT	Uday Chatterjee and Sanjeev Sarna
Saturday, September 25 – 7am MT	Emam and Mahalakshmi
Saturday, October 2 – 7am MT	on Shri Vishnu Datt Shastriji

Gratitude and Maha Lakshmi Shop

Once again, thank you to all who have been donating to the Ashram and purchasing from the Maha Lakshmi Shop. Both are a big help in keeping everything going at the Ashram. Please know that we always remember you in the Temple at Baba’s and Mother’s feet and at our Fire Ceremonies.

We continue to have folks reach out to us about sending a donation to keep the Ashram going during this time. Perhaps the easiest place to get information about donations and to make one is at the Ashram Donate Page. And to see our Maha Lakshmi Shop catalogue of devotional items and to purchase on line, go to Maha Lakshmi Online Shop. Call or email us anytime with questions, feedback, or requests at info@babajiashram.org or 719-256-4108. We love to hear from you.

Bhole Baba Ki Jai! Jai Ma!