Ananda’s Colony in Europe
My spouse Lahari and I’ve had the privilege of serving in lots of the ashrams Ananda has established around the globe.
Since our arrival within the 1980’s, we had 15 years at Ananda Village, 2 in Portland, 2 in Ananda Ashland, 3 in Palo Alto, 1 in Ananda Rhode Island, 2 in Sacramento, 5 in Gurgaon, 3 in Pune, 10 extra again in Palo Alto, and most just lately 1 in Mumbai. One may rightly say we have now been a few of Ananda’s wandering sadhus!
Every Ananda location has its personal strengths, and inevitably, its personal quirks. However all have encompassed the identical underlying threads: Grasp, Swamiji, meditation, service. The readings are the identical, the prayers are the identical, the chants are the identical, the kriyas are the identical. The languages used might differ, however Ananda FEELS the identical in all places you go across the globe.
Beforehand, we had by no means spent longer than two weeks at a time in our sister ashram in Assisi, Italy. However present circumstances have provided me and my spouse the present of spending three consecutive months there.
What are a number of the issues that make the ashram at Ananda Assisi so particular? It has so many components, too many to jot down about in a single quick article. How are you going to not point out lunches on the Terre di Luce farm, the boutique, the ashram program, the programs they train, or the seva program? Every individual’s perspective on Ananda is sure to be distinctive. Acknowledging that, I’m going to deal with solely three elements from the numerous that may very well be written concerning the ashram at Ananda Assisi.
The Choir
The primary of my private favourite elements is the Ananda Assisi choir. Peter Treichler has been the director for the previous decade, and the schedule he units may be daunting. Simply hearken to the choirs’ schedule for this week simply concluded. There was a 4-hour retreat for each singer on Tuesday, a 1 ½ hour rehearsal for the bigger choir on Wednesday, a 2 ½ hour rehearsal for the smaller choir on Thursday, then a forty five minute live performance for all of the friends on the retreat that very same evening, a 15 minute sing through the Friday evening introduction for brand new courses beginning on the retreat, and a serious 90 minute launch of their newly recorded album on Saturday night. The choirs’ regular three songs for Sunday Service rounded off this gorgeous week of music. Now, admittedly, this week had extra choir occasions than some, nevertheless it suggests how central the choir’s work has develop into for the entire ashram. About 25 members of the Assisi ashram participate actively on this side of Ananda’s work, attuning increasingly subtly to Swamiji by way of his music.
Espresso bars
I notice that the second side of the Ananda Assisi ashram I need to spotlight may sound a little bit irreverent. It’s the chats that happen over espresso and cappuccino! Virtually every day I’ve had deep conversations whereas sipping espresso drinks at one of many two “bars” that Ananda members frequent. One is instantly throughout from the visitor’s eating corridor, the place Rasamayi serves. The opposite is the bar in Morano, a mere 5 minutes down the highway, the place Simone and her household serve. For these unfamiliar with practices in Italy, “bars” right here serve a tiny little bit of liquor and a complete lot of espresso drinks! In each locations there may be a lot heat banter happening. It has been amidst these joyful environment that my most significant religious conversations right here in Italy have taken place.
Temple of Gentle (Tempio di Luce)
And on a extra severe word, the third of my most favourite elements of life on the Ananda Assisi ashram is that Tempio di Luce! How does one describe the expertise such a spot offers us? It’s nonetheless. It’s quiet. It’s candy. It enfolds you. It is filled with presence. It’s dynamic. It’s hovering. It attracts you upward. The sunshine is available in from all instructions. The cupola appears to radiate mild. These beams coax us towards that supply of Gentle above. It’s troublesome NOT to meditate deeply in such environment. Every thing on this temple is conducive to surrendering your self simply into an upwardly altered state. To place it succinctly, the Tempio di Luce meditates FOR you…
Moksha Mandir
And naturally, what different Ananda middle has the place the place Swamiji took his final breath? The Moksha Mandir makes clear to me that all the things that’s essential about my life comes by way of Swamiji. That each precept he taught I now take as my very own. That my ideas about easy methods to be and easy methods to suppose on this planet come from him. In these environment I notice that the identical tangible silence I really feel within the Moksha Mandir is identical silence I really feel on the shrines for the Catholic saints in Assisi—for Francis, and Clare, and Joseph of Cupertino. There’s NO distinction! Profound peace. Profound stillness. Vacancy that’s utterly full. Stillness that’s pulsing with dynamism. It’s like my pores and skin tingles with out bodily trigger. That’s what the Moksha Mandir is for me.
So sure, all Ananda’s colonies are the identical, in essence. However I can’t assist having a particular place in my coronary heart for Ananda Assisi. You in Europe who reside so near such a holy spot are tremendously blessed. Don’t miss the chance to go to typically!
