I have more reasons to celebrate the Ashram’s birthday than to celebrate my own. Shrii Guru Gita says, “Birth is into not-knowingness, spellbound by Maayaa’s worldly dance.”
While everyone celebrates a new baby’s arrival, the baby is taking on the pain of separation from God. The birth of an Ashram is different; it is the birth of something that will free many from the seeming separation that had kept them bound. Hundreds, thousands or more will be freed through this Divine Work. That’s my goal.
On your birthday, you want to party. On the Ashram’s birthday, I want you to have a Divine Party – something that brings you closer to your Self, something that brings you closer to your enlightenment. So we have created a Japathon!
Japa has great powers inherent within it. All the great Masters obtained their state through japa, but they did 6, 8, 10 or 20 hours a day. When you do even 5 minutes, your state is expanded. You are uplifted. You are instantly settled deeper into your own Divinity. What if you actually did many hours every day? Wow – what amazing possibilities!
For this event, if we all lived in the same area, we could get together in one room and do japa together. When yogis chant together, not only do the yogis benefit, but the whole world receives blessings. Plus each yogi gets great openings, even levels that would be very hard to open on their own. Since so many of you live at a distance away, we’re doing a virtual event – on the phone together on Saturday 9/28 at 10 am (Eastern Time). Or you can do japa anytime on the Birthday Weekend, for minutes or for hours, whatever works best for you.
Master Yoga celebrated its 21st birthday, with celebrations in so many studios around the world from Brisbane to Stockholm and across Canada and America. Teachers decorated with balloons, made yummy treats, lit candles and sang “Happy Birthday” with their students. Marjane Vitaletti described how meaningful it was, “As we sat in a circle and talked about the gifts that [Svaroopa® yoga] has given us, we actually laughed and cried at the same time. It was an overwhelming sense of joy to talk about the healing that occurs with this practice.” Click here for articles and photos.
Now we are having another birthday event, just like every family has lots of birthdays to celebrate. Only this time we’ll do spiritual practice together, and you can have a party afterward if you would like! Celebrate the Ashram’s birthday by participating in our Japathon!
Register to get the phone codes for our conference call and join us for my opening talk, followed by 20 minutes of japa, mantra repeated aloud together with Svaroopis from around the world. With an opportunity like this, please try to imagine the impact our japa will create: on ourselves, our loved ones, our whole kula (community) and the world. We need your help; we need your voice.
I thank our Japathon! sevites for their hard work and their contagious enthusiasm — this is going to be a great event. The Committee members are: Ellen Mitchell (coordinator), Deborah Woodward, Gayatri (Barbara) Hess and Vicharinee (Su) Chafin. Our phone japa is being led by four Certified Meditation Group Leaders: Niranjan Matanich, Vibhuti Courtney, Rudrani Nogue and Rukmini Abbruzzi.
The Japathon! is a gift from the Ashram, to the Ashram, and to each other. Happy Birthday to all of us! Get ready to receive the greatest gift of all, your Self.
Resources:
Japathon! web page with articles, recordings of Swamiji’s talks on japa, event details
Poster for our phone event on Sat. 9/28,10 am Eastern Time
Register for our phone event and get the phone codes
Share your experience or your event on our FaceBook page
Give a Birthday Gift to the Ashram.
Shop for japa malas (beads) and meditation supplies
Svaroopa® Yoga 