We accomplished a lot in this afternoon’s music retreat, but a particularly powerful moment for me was answering the following question:
“In your heart of hearts, what do you want most to accomplish in the music or the Arts before you leave the planet?”
This was my answer:
” To help establish a really deep, really strong, absolutely clear and attuned core music leadership that will protect and carry forward Swami’s musical legacy far into the future, which will assure the future of Ananda as well.”
Beyond that, I’m just so grateful… to be part of such a dynamic team; for the blessing of our music; and for the meaning and purpose it gives to my life.
No, I didn’t actually visit India this afternoon, but having lunch with Nayaswami Dhyana was the next best thing.
Dhyana has been one of my favorite Ananda teachers ever since I heard her give a downright thrilling Sunday service over New Year’s weekend way back in 1999. I’ve always loved her combination of deep wisdom, down-to-earth practicality, and delightful humor.
She’s been serving with Ananda India for over twenty years now (hard to believe!) and it’s always a joy to learn about the progress of the work there through her photos, videos, and stories.
Of course, I’m still waiting (im)patiently to see if all for myself. 😊
The village of Maglio di Colla (which translates as “Mallet of Glue”)
We spent this evening at a pizzeria called Ristorante Washington and located in the village of Maglio di Colla, about thirty minutes outside Lugano.
We traveled along a small, curvy road in a sparsely populated area. As we got out of the car I felt like we were really out in the countryside. Until we walked into the restaurant, that is!
It had a cozy, homey kind of feel, but was quite large. And within half an hour it was completely full, and felt like a popular restaurant in the middle of a big city.
We were there to meet new friends Gianna and Maria Grazie (who are friends of a friend of Graziella’s) who are acquainted with Ananda Assisi.
It was delightful getting to know them. And as they’re relatively new to Ananda they really enjoyed hearing our stories and about our experience with Ananda over the years.
We also learned from them that there’s going to be an Ananda event here in Lugano in early May, which we’re definitely looking forward to attending.
Maybe you’re as curious as we were about how a restaurant in Switzerland came to be called “Washington”. Turns out the great-grandfather of the current owner emigrated to the United States back in the 1920’s. He eventually returned to Ticino and had a family, naming his son Washington and his daughter Philadelphia.
Washington opened the restaurant named for himself and it’s still in the family. A fun story, but I really have to wonder what became of the daughter named Philadelphia!
Let’s see, it must have been sometime early in 1999 that I first “met” Swami Kriyananda.
My very time at an Ananda event was Shivaratri in February 1998, after which I attended a few Sunday services, then started taking a meditation class in May. Within a few months I knew Yogananda was my guru, and I took discipleship in November 1998.
However, Swami Kriyananda was a mystery person to me. Given his Indian name, I was surprised to learn that he was an American. Everyone spoke of him with great love and respect but living in Italy at the time, he wasn’t around for me to gain my own impression.
Not surprisingly, the music of Ananda made a real impression on me right from the start; as I was getting more involved I felt to tune into it more deeply. I had picked up a free “sampler” cassette tape with a selection of musical pieces on it and decided to listen to it while working on an art project.
There was quite a variety — in style, instrumentation, size of group — but then there were a number of solos in a male voice that I guessed must be this Swami Kriyananda guy. It’s a little embarrassing to confess that my professional musician ears were in critique mode as I listened, wondering if his being the founder was the reason he got to sing the solos (boy, was I clueless!).
Then the song “Love Is a Magician” started. It has a slightly jazzy electric piano intro, to which I had a rather cynical and condescending response, but once Swami began singing the words I immediately burst into tears and sobbed throughout the entire song.
It was as though the loving power of his consciousness was an arrow that bypassed my mental processes to directly pierce me right in the center of my heart. In that moment I knew Swami Kriyananda was the truest and deepest of friends, and that I could trust him with my life.
In yesterday’s blog post I talked about our upcoming Christmas concert, but I didn’t mention any specifics!
So, here’s the scoop: the concert “premiere” will be Sunday, December 20 at 6:00 pm (Pacific time). All the pertinent information , including the link, can be found at www.ananda.org/christmas.
Plus you can check out the other inspiring events which are listed there as well.
And of course I want to mention yet another wonderful event (which isn’t listed on the Ananda website): Ramesha’s LIVE Kirtan Concert!
He invites you to join him for devotional chanting and short periods of meditation that will help you open your heart to the deep blessings of the Christmas season. It’s happening this Saturday, December 19 at 5:00 pm (Pacific time) on Ramesha’s Facebook page.
Here’s to a glorious, inspired, heartfelt, joyous, uplifting, fun, beautiful Christmas (take that COVID-19)! ✨
This is how the cover looked back then; it’s been updated since.
My friend, Bharat, just had a birthday. And thinking about him on his birthday brought to mind a precious memory.
It was San Francisco; late 80’s or early 90’s. I was pursuing my career as a classical flutist, including regular coaching sessions with Robin McKee, associate principal flutist of the San Francisco Symphony.
During one of her visits back East to see her husband (who was principal flutist of the Baltimore Symphony at the time), Robin invited me to house sit at her home in Mill Valley. It was a beautiful spot — quiet, woods all around, and with an amazing stereo system!
This was a period of intense inner processing and growth for me, so the break from my regular routine felt like a real blessing. I particularly remember spending hours sitting in the living room, which as I recall had huge picture windows with bird feeders; some comfortable seating; a coffee table of some sort; the amazing stereo system; and a few bookshelves.
It was simplicity. It was soothing. I sat there for hours: listening to music, gazing out the window at the trees and the birds. And reading a book I had found there, titled Listening to Nature.
Unity was my spiritual home in those days and I had recently been introduced to the concept of tithing to the source of inspiration; from whatever organization or person from which I felt spiritually fed. Well, I was so deeply touched by Listening to Nature that I just had to send a tithe check to the author, whose name was Joseph Cornell. Of course, I had no idea who he was or where he lived, so I mailed the check to Dawn Publications with an explanatory note.
Years later — after I finally found Ananda — I made the connection and realized that Joseph Cornell (aka Bharat) had provided me with my very first experience of Master’s vibration, through the work founded by Yogananda’s direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda.
Thank you, Bharat, for that precious gift. Happy birthday!
It’s been a full week of dramatic shifts and turmoil — both inner and outer. I think as a country we’ve crossed a line from which there is no turning back — for better or for worse; while for myself, I feel like I’m coming back to center, but with increased awareness….and increased visibility as well!
It feels good to have opened myself up to being part of the dialogue; it will be interesting to see just what exactly that means going forward.
Which brings me to the question of race at Ananda, which a number of friends have asked about.
Speaking only for myself, I have never once felt any sort of discrimination or prejudice in my twenty years as a member of Ananda. On the contrary, I have felt a level of feeling “at home” and a sense of belonging beyond anything I had ever felt before.
In order to explain this a little better, I’d like to explore the idea of being “colorblind.” I remember one time many years ago, when I was in college, being part of a conversation where a friend was trying to describe me to someone who was going to be meeting me for some reason.
The adjectives included “short”, “dark hair”, what I was wearing, etc…and I finally broke in to say, “tell them I’m black!” I mean, it seemed ridiculous to me to ignore what — in that particular setting — would have been the quickest and simplest identifier. To me, that’s a false colorblindness that actually draws more attention to the differences.
At Ananda I’ve experienced what feels to me like true colorblindness, when someone’s attention is drawn to the color of my skin and they’re surprised, because they had never really noticed it.
Hmmm…that explanation seems a little lame, and yet…that’s how it has felt! Why? Because as devotees living in spiritual community, we are committed to shedding our egoic self-definitions in order to fully realize the truth that — in essence — we are all one in God.
The more we believe that and live that, the more we can look at everyone around us and all we see is the light in their eyes and the joy in their smiles. And we will feel the love in their hearts and know that we’re all expressions of the one light and joy and love of God.
Of course, most of us aren’t entirely there yet, but we’re committed to trying and we’re getting closer all the time.
There’s no getting around it: we really are in this for the long haul! And I’m struggling to comprehend the full extent of how this will impact our music ministry.
I almost feel guilty typing these words, when there are people facing issues of life and death or utter poverty as a result of the pandemic.
But the fact is that music has been a key element of Ananda from the very start. Swami Kriyananda composed over 400 pieces of music which, over the fifty years of Ananda’s existence, became like the soundtrack of Ananda throughout the world.
Participating in choir; performing for Sunday service; offering our devotion through chanting; singing before meals and before meetings…our lives have been permeated with the music of Ananda.
So what happens when we can’t sing together?!? Well, we’re about to find out. 😕
Shivaratri is an annual event celebrating the Indian deity Shiva, the destroyer of delusion. It also happens that — twenty-two years ago — it was my very first experience at an Ananda center!
I believe Shivaratri is pretty much the most “Indian” event of the year for Ananda. At Ananda Palo Alto two decades ago, there was Indian storytelling; Indian costumes; Indian dance; someone dressed like Shiva and his consort, Parvati; Sanskrit chanting; Indian decorations; and hot chai to keep us awake all night (the traditional celebration lasts from 6pm to 6am). Definitely not the usual entry point for a brand new devotee!
Needless to say, I have fond memories of that first Shivaratri. It was all completely foreign to me — colorful and chaotic and somewhat wild — and I loved it. It was also my first taste of true devotion.
Tonight Shivaratri is being celebrated for the first time in our new Temple of Light at Ananda Village, and I was tempted to see if I could do it again. But I’ve worked so hard on establishing a healthier bedtime routine and didn’t want to risk it. So I’m honoring Shiva by reliving it in my memory instead.
Yes, I know I’ve missed my deadline but tonight I have a pretty darn good excuse: Jyotish and Devi gave a satsang about their time in Italy and India, and especially about the amazing project that is developing in Delhi.
I won’t go into details (since I’m on “borrowed time” here), but what I told Devi at the end of the satsang perfectly conveys how I felt (and still feel!): “Mind officially blown!”
This is huge, wonderful stuff; my spiritual family is doing it; and I can hardly believe I’m a part of it all!
