February

New Year’s Celebration 2011 - 20112

Saturday, December 31

Noon – Midnight

 

We will ring in the New Year with our 10th annual day-long recitation of the great Ram Mantra:  Om Shree Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Rama. This immensely potent mantra has the power to bring about the resolution of old negative patterns and to introduce wisdom and compassion into consciousness. We will recite the mantra from noon on Saturday, December 31, until midnight. We seek to terminate negativity and nurture the positive in ourselves, our community, and the entire world.

 

We are asking those who are interested to sign-up to repeat the mantra for one-hour shifts. You can repeat the mantra alone or with a group. If you are unfamiliar with mantra recitation and need instruction, let us know and we’ll teach you. If you are uncomfortable committing to a full hour by yourself, let us know and we’ll team you up with someone else. At midnight we’ll take a break and eat, drink and make some merry. After that we’ll chant kirtan and hang out together. If you have special needs or would like overnight accommodations, let us know and we’ll take care of you.

 

The Ram mantra WILL resound from the Kailash Ashram from noon until midnight as we bring in the New Year. We would be happy to have you join us.

 

 

**********************************************************

 

Shivaratri

The Night of Compassion

Monday, February 20th

9:00pm until dawn

 

Once a year, prior to the New Moon before the Spring Equinox -- perhaps the darkest time of the year -- we celebrate the auspicious night of Shivaratri, "The Night of Compassion." Shiva means “the consciousness of infinite compassion." A person who has no compassion is shava, a corpse. The choice is ours: we aspire to Shiva or we expire as shava. On this night we make a bold statement to become more compassionate. We spend the entire night in prayer and celebration, seeking to find the divine compassion within our hearts, that we might enjoy peace and be vehicles of this compassion in our families and communities. As dawn arises, we will hold a small ceremony at the spring-fed stream behind the ashram.

 

We will begin the evening with a Shiva Puja (ceremony) and then continue with kirtan (chanting) through the remainder of the night. There will be snacks and hot chai available all night. It is not as hard as it might seem to stay up all night as the energy is so high and positive. For those who would like to rest or sleep, however, we have accommodations available. Please call for more details or to let us know how to make you most comfortable on this great night.