In God We Trust

I was very inspired by Nayaswami Savitri’s talk for Inner Renewal week 2011, at Ananda Village, California. In it, she spoke of how important it is to live just outside of ones comfort zone; to push the boundaries of limitation just that bit further with each new experience.
Since my husband and I made the monumental decision to move out to Ananda’s first Kriya Yoga community in Pune, India, this is exactly how we have been living.

In my mind I could probably talk myself out of going to live in the Indian community with a million good reasons. Plenty have people have tried, believe me. “But you are selling your home… What is your security?…What if it doesn’t work out?…What is plan ‘B’?…Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!…” and so on.

To make such life changing committment, to Guru, and our higher Selves, we must have faith. My husband’s leap is even greater than mine, he not yet familiar with Master’s teachings. Yet we both feel Master’s vibration. That is the reality of it. We both feel we are being called to India and understand that to make this work we have to focus our energy in one direction only, not to break the flow with the energy of a ‘fall back’ plan, which surely must draw the energy in the opposite direction.

And so, our minds in this vein, we made a brief visit to the land at Pune. We were bowled over by the energy we found there.

The welcome we received from the devotees who are already living on the land was deeply moving. Only 11 or 12 people have continuously been manning this pioneering work since it began 2-3 years ago. It has been a year since our last visit and it was lovely to see familiar faces, and some new ones also.

There has been much progress in the building work and the new retreat programes since our previous visit. The increase in Master’s vibration was very evident. What immediately struck me was the ‘family’ consciousness manifested in the devotees.

We arrived in time to help in the final preparations of making the new retreat accommodations ready for the very first guests before they arrived for the weekend, to celebrate Master’s mahasamadhi. Right up until the last minute we, the devotees, were cleaning and ushering away the builders. Nayaswami Nirmala was the driving force behind, what seemed like, organized chaos.

But as in so many instances on this path, all came together in the final moment and a fantastic weekend was had by all. It was a pleasure to meet and share the energy of the retreat guests and community members that represented 14 nationalities and 13 Indian cities. The programme consisted of Satangs, kirtans, seva day, tours, and delicious meals served in great company. We received very positive feedback on the whole weekend from the retreat guests.

Tyagi Biraj, who heads the retreat programme, predicted that we would all take away from the weekend at least one moment that was very special and memorable in some way. I had many such moments in my 10 day stay; the fellowship, the Shivaratri celebrations, the energy felt during the kirtans, but if I were to remember only one, it would be the consciousness felt at the mahasamadhi weekend at breakfast, the morning of March 7th.

As per retreat protocal, we took breakfast in silence following morning meditation. The 2 previous mornings, Tyagi Biraj had read a passage from Swami Kriyananda’s The New Path, leading up to Master’s passing on the last day of the weekend. When he finished reading, this was usually the cue for normal conversation to resume. Not this day. He closed his reading with Master’s staged exit from this world. Moved to tears I could not bring myself to speak. Nor could anyone else. Slowly and reverently people left the breakfast area, maintaining the silence in the loving vibration of the auspicious event of Master’s passing. Master was so strongly present that I felt my heart would break in yearning for him, yet I also felt the yearning of my gurubhais. His legacy was felt by all.

The building programme is now commencing the second phase, which comprises of spacious flats to accommodate the 29 families who are all set to move out to the land. My husband and I being one such family.

The monks are working hard on dwellings for themselves a little further up the hill from the flats, and dwellings for the womens monastery is a piority.

As the retreat guests departed, our final few days revealed just how few people are actually keeping the energy of the community alive and my heart reaches out to them.

We left this dedicated team with a strengthened committment to Master’s cause. So deeply are we inspired by the stalwart dispositons of the resident devotees, that we will pull out all the stops to join them as quickly as possible. It is truly an honour and a blessing to serve Master, our Selves, and other devotees, in such a way as to be manifesting Master’s dream for building world brotherhood colonies.

In God we trust, knowing that only in so doing will our move to India be successful. In God do all the community residents trust that Master’s mission spreads like the wild fire he predicted. The vibration the retreat guests not living in community take with them into the world is speeding up the manifestation process of Master’s ray of Divine dispensation. Ananda’s community spirit goes with them. May we all play our part in awakening God’s love in all hearts.

Jai Guru!

Joy to you

AUM

tyagini maitreyi