My beloved souls,
I am writing to you from Banabira, the Kriya Village of Love (the only place in the world where nearly three-quarters of the little town are initiated in Kriya Yoga and living a very peaceful, sattvic, service-oriented life.
It is beyond imagination!
We are currently putting the finishing touch to a large meditation hall and guest apartments, which are are impeccably clean with beautiful tiles, Western-style toilet and shower, modern kitchen, large windows… The meditation hall itself is an island of peace surrounded by an ocean of flowers (1,000 rose bushes exactly). A place full of light and delight. In a few days, we will be hosting here our first international Kriya Yoga seminar.
Do come and visit here one day to plunge deeply in the waves of bhakti and perfect your meditation practice under the guidance of Rajarshi Raghabananda and other advanced yogacharyas.
We will post photos and videos soon in the redesigned gallery.
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| A Change of Pace |
On the advice of Raghabanandaji and many other swamis and well-wishers, I have decided that I will slightly reduce my touring schedule from now on.
I have been touring pretty much non-stop since 1988 (with a brief period of seclusion
in 2003-2004). It has been wonderful to see our modest little mission progressing in terms of number of Kriya programs and retreats and workshops and publications and trainings and service to the poor widows and abandoned children all over the world, but it has also showed some serious limitations. With so many activities and projects to coordinate all over the world, I am now facing an enormous backlog in publication projects--Rajarshi Raghabananda and I have plannedto co-write or edit nearly ten books on Kriya Yoga and Baba Hariharananda, and I have another 60 book projects pending as well... and absolutely no time to dedicate to it, which is frustrating to say the least. I am also facing some difficulties in the continuing financing of our little schools, orphanage and shelters, and I have to find a more sustainable model by seeking financial assistance from corporate, private foundations and government agencies which will ensure the continuation and gradual expansion of our charitable programs independently of my touring abilities (and limited lifespan!)
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| New Schedule for 2010 |
My new schedule is now posted on the website.
Some of the highlights for 2010 are as follows:
• The first International Kriya Yoga Seminar in Banabira, Western Orissa, India (January 26-31). Led by Rajarshi Raghabananda it gathers together for the first time a dozen long-time acharyas of Paramahamsa hariharananda and nearly a 1,000 disciples from all over the world for 6 days of meditation, discourses, study of the scriuptures, etc. in the newly-inaugurated Banabira ashram.
• The Maha Kumbha Mela Yoga Camp in the holy city of Haridwar, India (February 8-28) where nearly 100 million devotees, saints, hermits, acharyas and sadhus gather every 12 years.
• A one-week pilgrimage/trek to the “Lost City” in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia (tentative date: August 28-September 4)
• The Friends of Humanity training - Level 1 will be held September 16 – 26 in Peru either in Cuzco or in Urubamba, both powerful mystical places. The big difference starting this year is that this training will now be open to the general public, and not just for kriyavans as in the past. It is time to share this useful tools with more people.
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| A Glimpse into the Future |
Next year (2011) I will lead a storytelling pilgrimage called "In the Footsteps of Gautama Buddha".
This is a three week-long pilgrimage to India and Nepal, and will cover the four most sacred pilgrimage places for Buddhists:
1) Bodhgaya in the state of Bihar where Prince Gautama attained enlightenment under the sacred Ashvatta tree (Bodhi tree) and became known as Lord Buddha;
2) His place of birth at Lumbini, Nepal;
3) The site of his first lecture at Sarnath, near Varanasi;
4) The place where he left his body at Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur (OR: a visit to Dharamsala, headquarters of the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan community in exile).
More information will be posted on our website soon.
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| New (and old) Yogacharyas |
Some great news: Other Yogacharyas will now be touring some of our centers! Not only are we immensely blessed to now have Yogacharya Don Abrams (one of Baba's oldest disciple and first yogacharyas in the USA) visiting a few of our centers to conduct Kriya Yoga programs and retreats in our centers, but this year 2010 will also see the empowerment of a few new Yogacharyas who will be touring a few cities in North and South America during 2010. All of these new Yogacharyas have been approved by Rajarshi Raghabananda, and I am currently training them for their new divine mission. I will introduce them to you as they complete their training. In the future, some old acharyas from India might also visit the West.
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| The Storytelling Monk 2.0 |
After nearly 10 years in quasi-limbo, the www.storytellingmonk.org site is finally getting a major update!
Starting this month, you will see some important changes and additions. The most important one is about its structure: every month is now associated with a particular value, thereby reflecting the principle we are using in our Ark of love centers. January, for instance, is LOVE.
The other great news is that we have invited various professional storytellers to contribute their own retelling of metaphorical tales.
We begin this month with our dear friend and long-time devotee of Baba Hariharananda, Luis "Keshava" Lievano, who submitted "Wings of Love", a marvellous tale from the Native American tradition.
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| A Place of Grace |
A small group of us are elaborating a project that many of you have suggested over the years, and which is very dear ot my heart: to establish a permanent center in the West, a combination ashram-whole life school where I can spend several months at a stretch and give daily classes and trainings designed around a single goal: to help people spiritualize all aspects of their life. In simplicity, love, and joy. Which has always been the message of our Gurudev Baba Hariharanandaji. I have attached a preliminary draft of this vision. If you like the idea and are interested in developping this vision and making it a reality, kindly contact us informes@arcadelamor.org and do mention what resources and contacts you think you may able to contribute. For more information and to participate, please visit
http://cuscoashramteam.wordpress.com/
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| Hands that Serve |
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| If the spirit moves you to come forward and provide some financial support for our Mission, and/or to offer a profound commitment to helping the noble cause of Kriya Yoga in the area of fund-raising, editing, publishing, distribution, merchandizing, or technical support, God bless you! We would love to hear from you. Please contact Br. Devananda at informes@arcadelamor.org for more information.
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| Internet Presence |
• OUR NEW NETWORK OF LOVE VIDEO RESOURCES
We have a new video gallery where you can download beautiful videos of our various Ark of Love charitable activities around the world.
• DON BABA'S WEBSITE
You may be interested to visit the new website put up by Yogacharya Don Baba at http://kriyalove.com/
It is a treasure trove of audio, video and written documents on Baba Hariharananda and the Kriya masters.
• SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY!
In the spirit of living a simpler and kinder life, here is a new website worth checking out: http://www.whatididnotbuy.org/
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