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Ananda Sangha of Portland
October 306 Dwapara (2006)
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In This Newsletter
Articles & Letters
Lead Article: Spiritual Vitality
Environment, Attunement, and JoyMy India (by Paramhansa Yogananda)
Energy and Energization (by Swami Kriyananda)
News, Events and Schedules
Dear
Friends,
Greetings. September has been an extraordinary month, full of uplifting opportunities of all kinds—from the pool party and re-opening of “Master’s Café” to Satsang with devotees from around the world (Russia, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and different Ananda Centers in the US).
We have probed into the Mahabarata, the Art and Science of Raja Yoga, Energy and Energization, Cycles of Time, Ananda Yoga Teacher Training, the Path of Kriya Yoga, the Spirituality of Giving, How to Meditate...
The women have gone on retreat, a new group of souls have finished their preparations for Initiation into Kriya Yoga, the Living Wisdom School added 7th and 8th grades to their curriculum, Lewis & Clark students have returned and joined our swelling ranks…
The very air is full of spiritual vitality and we are thrilled to be sharing such a dynamic time with everyone.
Of course, the value of all these activities has nothing to do with the activities themselves. It has, however, everything to do with what is awakened within us through our participation. The simple act of spending time with other truth-seekers, in inspired circumstances changes our very nature.
We are delighted that the pace settles out a bit in October and early November, prior to entering the holidays. It is a great time for taking this newly awakened energy and bringing it more deeply inward with longer meditations, kirtans, shared meals at the Community (and elsewhere), and service projects that get our physical environment ready for the winter.
Meanwhile, around the world, the battle between light and dark continues to intensify. Selfishness, narrow-mindedness, hatred, violence, apathy, all continue to try to expand their influence. Even in places where there is no obvious influence of these forces (here in greater Portland for example), apathy and depression are rampant.
The effective response to these forces is to awaken devotion, increase our commitment to staying in uplifting thoughts and friendships, to engage in shared and meaningful service.
Read the lives of Masters, spend time at the Mandir, help beautify the Community, attend the group meditations and kirtans. Make yourself into a channel for these teachings—and the kindness and joy that are their byproduct. Learn to chant, join the choir, determine to watch fewer movies (and then only those that uplift and strengthen your courage and joy), ensure enough exercise (especially the Energizations).
The capacity to grow in spiritual strength is boundless. Let us each engage in the joy of being channels of God’s light and love into this troubled world. Lord, make us into spiritual heroes.
May God and Gurus bless and guide us all.
In Divine Friendship,
daiva and ganga mata
Environment, Attunement, and Joy
Dear Friends,
In three weeks, Ganga Mata and I will be heading to Gurgaon, India to spend a couple of weeks with Swami Kriyananda and the other disciples serving there.
There are several reasons for the trip at this time, the most significant has to do with the need for us to stay in tune.
I have watched, over the years, myself and many other truth-seekers, and found some very interesting patterns.
The first is that without meditation and the willingness to create an inner life, not much ever really changes for a person in terms of improving the quality of life experience.
The second is that meditation by itself is not enough. I have seen people who meditate even long hours yet become more egocentric or self-involved. Meditation seems to be a necessary but not sufficient criterion for spiritual growth.
Third, those who reflect the most joy and freedom are the ones who deliberately select their environment—placing themselves in close contact with those who already have what they are seeking to experience in their own lives. (A state of receptivity is essential to benefit from environmental influence.)
While there are many ways to increase attunement (including reading books that have the vibration you seek, singing and chanting, devotional practices, exercising new spiritual practices…), the simple function of environment is perhaps the most critical. Yogananda used to say “environment is stronger than will.”
This power of satsang, environment, companionship, is always the most significant when it is tied to shared service. When people simply “hang out” together, the tendency to become self-involved is enormous. When people serve together, their synergy releases a dynamic joy that uplifts them as well as all those whom they serve.
For Ganga Mata and me (and for Ananda as a whole), the purest source of inspiration comes through Swami Kriyananda and the consciousness that he imbues into every moment, every act. Being in his environment strengthens our own ability to grow and remain in the state of consciousness he has. Serving with him refines that attunement.
Our joy and our responsibility to you, to Master, to God, is to bring as much of that consciousness through our own lives as possible. With the last year of business and growth here, it is time for us to spend some time in Swami’s world, soaking up his consciousness and making ourselves more open to God’s grace.
Let’s make the Ananda Sangha and Community a haven of powerful inspiration, profound satsang, meaningful service and deep communion.
We will take you all with us as we go, and will pray daily for you. We ask for your prayers as well.
In His Joy,
daiva
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Membership—For those of you who are members of the Ananda Portland Sangha (Gold, Blue, or White) we have created a special graphic icon next to the description of classes that will indicate that your membership benefits apply. Look for the special star µ symbol throughout the newsletter! Want to become a member? Talk with Daiva or Ganga Mata Glazzard.
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Guitarists & Harmonium Players: would you enjoy learning to play the songs for the Festival of Light on Sundays? It’s a wonderful way to become part of the Sunday Service team! If so, talk with Satyaki (satyaki@anandaportland.org).
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Feng Shui for the Devotee’s Home: Enhancements and cures for entrances, important areas and helpful hints, from Yogananda’s teachings.
Sunday, November 19th, after Service (noon-2:00), bring lunch and a floor plan of your home...Please pre-register by Thursday November 16th.Cost $25 µ -
Master’s Café is open—After a month of quiet and cleaning, the kitchen/dining room at the Community is up an running. Call Hollis at 503-997-4316 to sign up for a cooking slot.
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Music,
Music, Music—Swami Kriyananda used to say “If you want to get to know me,
play my music.” Kirtans, Chanting, Choir, Concerts, sing your heart out. For
those who have yet to develop your natural musical abilities, we have cds
available—the world class concert from Bhagavati and Ramesha; the “How to be
Happy all the Time” concert by our own choir; and new Kirtan recordings from
Crystal Clarity. Also, Satyaki can guide you on how to enter into the choir
when you are ready to add even more magnetism and joy to your musical world. -
Harmoniums for Sale! “Chanting is half the battle!” The Harmoniums are due any day—we only have a limited number coming in and it will be a while before we get more. There are few things that enrich the inner life like adding your own chanting to your daily practice. See Daiva to get yours.
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The Mandir Boutique is filling up with all kinds of goodies to help uplift your life, beautify your home and take you deeper into the inner world. Keep an eye open for new items for you and for your holiday gifting—a great way to spread the light.
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Ananda Goes on Pilgrimage—Thirty four great souls (from Ananda around the country) have left for Mother India on a 28 day pilgrimage “in the footsteps of our Masters.” They will spend the next month meditating and praying and drawing attunement from the sites where our own line of avatars actually lived, taught, and brought the light of God to the world. As we tune into (and pray for) them, we can share in the blessings they are receiving. What joy for us all.
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Swami Kriyananda is Working on a New Book -- Yogananda’s commentaries regarding the Bible… stay tuned for another spiritual classic.
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Join
Crystal Clarity’s Each One—Reach One Campaign!
The Each One - Reach One Campaign is, in some ways, like the Random Acts of Kindness and Pay It Forward movements that swept the nation a few years ago. These movements inspired people to reach out beyond their immediate family and friends, often to people that they didn't even know and maybe wouldn't ever know, and give them an unexpected gift. Our Each One - Reach One campaign offers, in the form of The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, a tool to help bring uplifted consciousness, deep inner peace and bliss.Do you know someone who would benefit from uplifted consciousness, deep inner peace and bliss? Then join our Each One - Reach One Campaign. When you purchase a copy of The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita at the regular cover price, we will provide you with additional copies at half price! Purchase additional copies to give away to family, friends, co-workers, local libraries, and others you would like to reach out to and help us uplift the world one person at a time.
from Whispers from Eternity (1949 Edition) by Paramhansa Yogananda
Not where the musk of happiness blows,
Not in the land where darkness and fears never tread,
Not in the homes of perpetual smiles,
Not in Heaven or the land of prosperity
Would I be born—
If I have to put on a mortal garb again.
A thousand famines may prowl
And tear my flesh,
Yet would I love to be again
In my Hindustan.
A million thieves of disease
May try to steal the fleeting health of flesh,
Or the clouds of fate
May shower scalding drops of searing sorrow—
Yet would I there
In India love to reappear!
Is this, my love, a blind sentiment
Which beholds not the pathways of reason?
Ah, no! I love India
Because there I first learned to love God and all things beautiful.
Some teach to seize the fickle dewdrop—Life—
Sliding down the lotus leaf of time.
Some build stubborn hopes
Around the gilded, brittle body-bubble.
But India taught me to love
The soul of deathless beauty in the dewdrop or the bubble,
Not their fragile frames.
Her sages taught me to find my Self
Buried beneath the ash heaps
Of incarnations and ignorance.
Through many a land
Of power, plenty and science,
My soul, garbed as an Oriental
Or an Occidental, traveled far and wide,
Seeking Itself:
At last in India to find Itself.
If mortal fires raze all her homes and golden paddy fields,
Yet to sleep on her ashes and dream immortality,
O, India, I will be there!
The guns of science and matter
Have boomed on her shores,
Yet she is unconquered.
Her soul is free evermore!
Her soldier-saints each day
Rout with realization’s ray
The bandits of hate, prejudice, patriotic selfishness,
And burn the walls of separation dark
Which lie ‘tween children of the One, One Father.
The Western brothers by matter’s might have conquered my land;
Blow, blow aloud, her conch-shells all!
India now invades with love, to conquer their souls.
Better than Heaven or Acadia,
I love thee, O my India,
And thy love I will give
To every brother-nation that lives.
God made the earth, and man made his confining countries,
And their fancy-frozen boundaries.
But with the new-found love I behold
The borderland of my India expanding into the world.
Hail, mother of religions, lotus, scenic beauty, and sages!
Thy wide doors are open,
Welcoming God’s true sons through all the ages,
Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves and men dream God.
I am hallowed; my body touched that sod!
Pilgrims, we send you our love.
* * * * *
The daily practice of meditation is the foundation of all that we do at Ananda. Each month, we offer both introductory (one-night) and comprehensive (four week) classes. Look for Meditation for Starters, (one night) in October, 7:30-9pm $40 (includes materials) or Developing and Inner Life: Learn to Meditate, (four weeks), beginning October 10, 7-9pm, $150 (includes materials). µ
from The Art & Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda
Energy,
endurance, health—even our actual physical strength—depend on the amount of will
power we can bring to bear on any situation. I remember once reading of a woman
whose house caught fire. In the desperation of the moment she picked up the
piano and ran out of doors with it. (Talk about attachment!) Doctors attribute
such displays of strength to a sudden flow of adrenalin, but I have seen cases
where no emergency was present, only an extraordinary will to succeed, and in
these cases, too, the strength was phenomenal. Yogis claim that such feats of
strength depend not so much on a flow of adrenalin as on harnessing the natural
energy of the body and of the surrounding universe.
“There is enough energy in one gram of flesh,” Master used to tell us, “to keep the city of Chicago supplied with electricity for a week.” In a recent experiment at some Western university (I think it was Stanford), one human cell was converted into energy. The resulting flash of light was reported to have been many times brighter than the sun.
Yet we complain that we are too tired to do the supper dishes!
We ARE energy. The very atoms of which our physical bodies are made are but energy. All matter is a manifestation of that energy. The more we maintain a consciousness of this reality, the more we can rise triumphant over the bondage of matter. Fatigue, weakness, disease—these have no part of our true nature. Even in little ways, once we learn this truth, we can demonstrate its usefulness.
Energy is the connecting link between consciousness and matter, between mind and body. For energy is, in its turn, but a manifestation of consciousness. In the last analysis, all things are but manifestations of Spirit. When you will your arm to move, it is energy, not matter, upon which your will acts directly. The energy, in its turn, acts upon the muscles of the arm, tensing them and making them move. If you will your arm to move, but don’t send any energy to it, it will remain motionless.
The amount of energy flow, as well as the simple fact of its flow, depends on the exertion of will. If you go to pick up what you think is an empty bucket, the energy you exert will not be enough to lift it if in fact it is full. In this case, you must exert more will, and send more energy; you will then be able to lift the bucket easily. To put it simply, the greater the will, the greater the flow of energy. There is, literally, no limit to the degree of will, and therefore to the measure of energy, that one can summon in any undertaking, simply because a strong will is not limited by the actual energy potential of the body; rightly applied, it draws directly on the energy of the universe. I say rightly applied, for to many people an exertion of will power suggests a grim, tense kind of determination, an exaggerated awareness of obstacles and difficulties that implies a “no” vote from the subconsciousness even while the conscious mind is affirming “yes.” Willingness, then, might better suggest the kind of will power intended here. In this sense, the axiom is as true for man’s relationship to the cosmic energy as to the energy of his own body: The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.
Remember it. Emblazon it in your mind. Repeat it to yourself several times a day. This single truth can revolutionize your life.
µ Ananda Portland membership benefits apply to this class or event
The
Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
The deepest spiritual truths, kept alive through the dark ages in India, held with purity and clarity in this great scripture. Now, through the inspiration of Paramhansa Yogananda and the editing of Swami Kriyananda, we have access to these truths in a way not before available. We will be exploring this text and finding ways to apply it to our lives right where we are. Join us for this most powerful series of meetings.
Thursdays October 5, 12, 19, 7-9 pm at the Mandir, $50 (includes book) µ Daiva Glazzard
Weekend
with Ananta & Maria McSweeney
Ananta and Maria, dear friends and spiritual directors of Ananda Sacramento, arrive for a weekend of satsang with their Portland friends. They are known for their kindness, quiet sense of humor, rich insight, and beautiful chanting. Everyone is welcome to join for a lovely Friday evening of chanting, meditation and stories from the Path. There will be time for personal connection over tea and cookies. They will also be the ministers for Sunday Service on the 8th.
Friday, October 7, 7-9pm, Donation; Saturday, October 8, 10am-12pm
Anyone who already has Kriya or has prepared for this initiation needs to call or email the Sangha Office ASAP to register for this Kriya Initiation.
Details will be given at the time of registration.
503-626-3403 or daiva@anandaportland.org
Living Wisdom School 10th Anniversary Celebration
For 10 years, Yogananda’s educational principles of Education for Live have been made available in the Portland area by the Living Wisdom School staff and supporters. Beginning with just a few students, the school now embraces preschool through grade 8. Entertainment for this evening will be by this year’s students and graduates. Come and join in this magical evening of celebration and see the great blessings that are set free through this form of education.
Monday October 23, 7 pm; Donations accepted, all proceeds
go to the Beaverton Library
Deepen Your Meditation Retreat
“Meditate more and more deeply, until calmness and joy become second nature
to you. To be ecstatic is not difficult. It is thinking that it is difficult
that holds you apart from it. Never think of divine joy as distant from you, and
it will be with you always.” Paramhansa Yogananda
Set aside this day to deepen your contact with God. (Pre-requisite: Developing Inner Life class series or equivalent)
Saturday October 28 , led by David and Karin LaBriere 8:00-4:30 , $65
µ
Some of the most fun on the path occurs on days of “Karma
Yoga.” Twice a year, spring and fall, we gather at the Ananda Community to share
a day full of service projects, energy, friendship (satsang), meditation, and
great food. Join us for this Harvest Day—Please call David LaBriere at
503-888-1551 to let him know to count you in...See you there.Ananda
Community, Saturday October 21 8:30-4:00
(Availble at the Mandir Boutique)
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Autobiography of a Yogi
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The Path
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The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
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Cities of Light—a Plan for This Age
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Out of the Labyrinth
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Hope for a Better World
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God is for Everyone
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Conversations with Yogananda
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The Essence of Self-Realization
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The Artist as Channel—a guide to Self-Realization
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The Art of Supportive Leadership
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Money Magnetism
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Affirmations for Self-Healing
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Scientific Healing Affirmations
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The Art and Science of Raja Yoga
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Saints Who Moved the World
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The Soul Journey
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Practicing His Presence
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How to be Happy All the Time
Weekly Postures Schedule at the Mandir
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Monday |
10:00-11:15am |
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Tuesday |
5:45-7:00pm |
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Thursday |
5:45-7:00pm |
$10 per class or $36 for 4 classes. µ
Watch for Prenatal Yoga coming soon!
4 Robyn Granquist
Tad Pierce (c)8 Richard Marshall
12 Liv Schwenk (c)
19 Bill Smith
Tracer Burge (c)22 Susan Peterson
27 Lorna Knox
30 Rick Greene
Blessings to all these great souls! If you’re missing from our list, please let us know.
Nov 7
Class: Developing an Inner Life--The Foundation of Daily Meditation begins, 4 Tuesdays, $150, 7-9pm. µ
Nov 23
Thanksgiving Vegetarian Potluck at Ananda Community, 1:30pm
Dec 16
5-Hour Christmas Meditation, 8am-1pm
Dec 16
Christmas Gala Evening, 7-9pm
Dec 23
All-Day Christmas Meditation, 8am-4pm
Dec 24
Christmas Eve Service, 10pm
Dec 25
Christmas Morning Meditation, 8-10am
Dec 23
Christmas Vegetarian Potluck at Ananda Community, 12:30pm
Watch for details on these events in upcoming newsletters.
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