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Questions on Freedom and Evolution
Swami Radha, May 1985
In this video from May 1985, Swami Radha encourages us to reflect through self-inquiry: What am I? What worlds do I live in? Where am I now? Where do I have choice? Where was I before I was born? Where do I want to be? How do I think of a greater power?
View the video
And Now Begins… the New Temple of Light!
Yasodhara Ashram is delighted to announce that we have chosen Patkau Architects of Vancouver to create the conceptual design for the new Temple of Light.
“Patkau is attuned to the symbolism of the Temple as an expression of Light through form and has a wealth of experience to help us achieve it,” says Swami Lalitananda.
Principals Patricia and John Patkau responded enthusiastically to the news: “We feel a real connection to what your community aspires to, and we are very interested in the potential of creating something luminously beautiful in that landscape of yours!”
Patkau Architects is renown for excellence in design and is the winner of many architectural awards (including Royal Architectural Institute of Canada gold medals and Governor-General awards). John Patkau said they “will be approaching the Temple as part of an ongoing body of research projects where the invention of architectural form and structure coincides with the invention of the building process.”
Prior to the Ashram contacting her, Patricia Patkau had just attended her first yoga class and was feeling a strong attraction to the wild beauty of the Kootenays.
The Patkaus will visit the Temple site, currently home to the beautiful transitional Temple, on November 30.
Yasodhara Shopping Goes Online
Just in time for holiday shopping – we are pleased to launch our Yasodhara Online Store!
Share the teachings through the ease of at-home shopping, selecting from a wonderful range of Timeless Books, CDs and DVDs, plus past issues of Ascent Magazine. For the first time sold-out issues of Ascent are now available in downloadable PDF format.
Yasodhara Online Store is also offering Yasodhara’s three music books, the Yasodhara water bottle, mug, bag, stickers and journals – lovely reminders of your stay here and thoughtful gifts for others.
We look forward to serving you in this new, convenient way.
One Woman’s Journey to the YDC
Char Mustard of Peterborough, Ontario returned to Yasodhara Ashram this summer to start a one-year residency that includes Karma Yoga and participation for a second time in the Yoga Development Course (YDC).
After my first YDC and teacher training, a resident said, “Make sure you start teaching as soon as you get home.” I did just that – first in the church basement, then my farmhouse attic, and most recently at my in-town home.
Last year, when I stated my intention to repeat the YDC, everything fell into place. My son Luke and daughter-in-law Margo – both Yasodhara teachers – stepped forward to look after my Hatha classes and household. I decided to drive across the country to challenge my idea of security and to see this precious land. My courage grew each day of the trip as my faith deepened.
Now as I do Karma Yoga in the Preserving Kitchen and office, teaching and offering satsangs, Divine Mother constantly confirms my decision. I’m entering the YDC with an open mind and a feeling that I’ll be moving closer to my human potential while stepping up to a life of service.
Contact us for more information or to register if you would like to join Char and others on the YDC journey.
Yasodhara 108 Helps Change Lives
Thank you to everyone who supported the Yasodhara 108 fundraiser. 546 donations raised $26,723 for the Young Adult Program (YAP)! The enthusiasm of each participant was uplifting, the generosity of each donor humbling. Swami Jyotihananda was our top fundraiser at $5,000 and offered 108 Hari Oms daily.
The Young Adult Program supports 18-30 year olds who stay at the Ashram for Karma Yoga and courses.
Lily Cuthbertson, in the YAP for six weeks, says, “I’m only 18 and I’ve been very touched by my time here. The last line in a poem by Shane Koyczan is ‘lend the world your Light.’ Since being here and finding Light in myself, I feel like I can take the first steps to lending that Light to other people who may need it. And that’s a huge gift.”
Learn more about the Young Adult Program. Your gifts of support are always greatly appreciated.
Retreat Bears Fruit
“Yasodhara Ashram arrived in the form of Swamis Samayananda and Matananda to offer the teachings and fill us up spiritually,” says Elaine Ito, organizer of the weekend outreach retreat near Toronto. Cindy Phillips, a participant, relates why this retreat was so important to her.
Twelve years ago I participated in the Young Adult Program. It was life-changing! I discovered my passion for farming and everything associated with it from seed saving to preserving. I found my way to live a loving life.
The next few years, I married and had two beautiful children, learned as much as I could about farming, moved to the country, built a garden, got involved in community, school and farmers markets… and all this from a seed that was planted in my heart at Yasodhara.
Fast forward ten years: busy with the daily routines of being a wife, mother, farmer, employee and curious student, I look online and discover a Stilling the Mind retreat is offered 45 minutes from my rural home. I go, participate, meditate, cry, laugh and remember why I am doing everything I am doing. I am ever growing into Divine Light.
Yasodhara Outreach will continue to grow next year. If you are interested in organizing something in your area, email outreach@yasodhara.org.
Gifts of Community
Donna Lee Elke of Bellingham, Washington describes how being in spiritual community supported her recent Artist Retreat.
I’ve been painting and weaving for twenty years and it was clear I was moving into something else, possibly writing. To understand more, I wanted to open myself up to the stillness, the silence within and without. And I wanted to do this within community.
At first I was planning to bring all my writing with me to the Ashram; then it came down to just one piece that I had begun twelve years ago. I thought, “You never know what might happen.” A few days before the end of my Artist Retreat, the writing came through. Completely.
The words “delight” and “gift” summarize my experience. I got to delight in the gift of community, the Karma Yoga and the joy of learning. Satsang was the gift of communal gratitude. Hidden Language Hatha Yoga was the gift of my body – flexible and strong and a vehicle to joy. The meals were the gift of healthful food eaten in silence. Finally was the gift of knowing who I am and what I am here to do at this time in my life. This is what Yasodhara Ashram has given me – the delight of connecting to the Divine within.
Vist our website to learn more about retreat opportunities at the Ashram.
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December Bhajan Blast – Join us Sunday, December 14 2:30 – 3:30 pm MST for this joyful live-streamed event featuring devotional music, inspiring words and sacred dance. This is the last planned 
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