The bimonthly NCR schedule and calendar pages for November and December are available online.


Dear Friends,

Saturday Satsangs in Gurgaon

Please join us this Saturday at B-10/8, DLF Phase I, 4:30-6:00 pm. Refreshments follow.

THIS SUNDAY
Join Us in Welcoming Swami Kriyananda Home at the Same Time as This Gala Event!




SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER
11:00 am–6:00 pm

Honouring Ananda's focus on "world brotherhood communities"—
our 5th anniversary in India—
and the close of the 60th year of Swami Kriyananda's discipleship

INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, DELHI
In the beautiful gardens of Gandhi Plaza

  • Swamiji will be the keynote speaker. Because of his forthcoming move to Pune, this will be a great opportunity to meet and see him in person here in the NCR.
  • The Honourable Sri D. R. Kaarthikeyan will be our honourary host as well as another speaker, and our chief guest will be the Honourable Kapila Vatsayan, eminent scholar, member of Parliament, and chair of IIC–Asia Pacific.

  • We will have booths representing Ananda Sangha's multifaceted work.

  • We will also hold free workshops throughout the day, including stress-reduction techniques, and offer an inspirational musical concert.

  • We welcome any help you might wish to give in connection with these festivities. What kind of help? Making contacts with the media; putting up and taking down decorations; staffing booths and the reception table; ushering; and assistance with fund-raising. Call any of the Sangha contact numbers at the end of the screen for more information on volunteering.

  • Donations to help defray the sizeable costs of the event would also be most welcome (see "Donations" below about how to make them).

    The theme of "Hope for a Better World" comes from the title of a recent book of Swamiji's, which will be launched in India at the above event. In the meantime, you can read an advance description, interview with Kriyanandaji, and testimonials plus updated excerpts from the book.

    For a good grasp on what Ananda means by "world brotherhood communities" and how we envision building one in India, here is a helpful talk by Yogacharya Dharmadas at a recent satsang.

     



NEW! Dedication by Swami Kriyananda of Ananda's 1st Kriya Yoga Community in India

A special weekend retreat 27 February–1 March 2009 in Pune will bring together spiritual seekers and Ananda members from India, Europe, and America. The retreat, held in past years in Gurgaon (the Kriya Yoga and Mahasamadhi Retreats) will be in Pune to dedicate our new community.

We'll celebrate through group meditations, presentations, and classes led by Ananda acharyas, focussing on the realisation of Paramhansa Yogananda's dream to establish "world brotherhood colonies" in all lands.

Swami Kriyananda is expected to speak and will lead the dedication ceremony on the site of our new community in the countryside outside Pune. You'll be able to visit our newly purchased land and to add your blessings to this historic occasion. Further details and tentative schedule.


NEW! Upcoming Pilgrimages

TAMIL NADU,16-24 February: the ashrams of Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo; Pondicherry; Auroville; Mahabalipuram

MAHARASHTRA, 2-6 March (immediately following the Pune retreat): Ajanta and Ellora caves; Shirdi; Nasik; Trimbakeshwar

YOGANANDA'S KOLKATA, 7-11 March: 4, Garpar Road; Sri Yukteswar's hermitage; Rai Ghat; Dakshineswar—in the footsteps of the Autobiography of a Yogi 

Contact us before 15 December. For full details, see www.anandapilgrimages.org .

Online Lessons in Meditation Course

Would you like to know about meditation and the benefits it can bring?
Would you like to learn how to meditate but you don't know how to begin?
Have you tried to meditate before but gave up because you had no support?
Are you interested in the teachings of Kriya Yoga and want to learn more?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, the online Lessons in Meditation course is especially for you. It will introduce you, step by step, to the ancient tradition of meditation as originally taught by Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi. You will embark on a journey of spiritual self-discovery and learn practical, time-tested techniques that have give proven results throughout the ages:

Lessons in Meditation is the 1st part of the Ananda Course in Self-realisation, a comprehensive study of the science of yoga that has helped thousands worldwide and the core curriculum taught by Ananda Sangha. The techniques offered are non-sectarian, universally applicable to students of all spiritual traditions. They will give you practical tools to improve your daily life; help you concentrate; awaken your intuition; and bring you inner peace, health, energy and happiness.

Each lesson has a section for theory, techniques, daily routines, "Do This Today" recommendations, and additional resources available for downloading. Each week you will be able to download one 6-to-10-page lesson for your personal study. You can, of course, proceed more slowly if you wish. For further information, please e-mail medlessons@anandaindia.org.

Pledge Drive to Keep Swamiji's TV Programme on the Air Waves

If you've found Swamiji's TV show inspiring, we hope you'll make a generous contribution—but whatever is possible for you—to keep it on the air. The show costs 3 lakhs per month. Although the programme is dear to all our hearts, it's a considerable effort to find these resources every month. You can contact us directly at Ananda's phone numbers (at the end of the screen) to make a donation to help keep this treasure alive, benefitting countless millions of people worldwide.


Choir News

Every week at our satsangs, as well as at special events, our choir sings music written by Swami Kriyananda. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you. Please reply to this e-mail or speak to Dharmini after a satsang.

A Kriya Yoga Community in India!

As we've been happily announcing for some time, Ananda Sangha India is in the process of purchasing land and planning to build our 1st Ananda Kriya Yoga community in India. If you're interested in being part of this effort, there are ways you can participate in bringing Paramhansa Yogananda's dream of world brotherhood communities based on yogic principles into manifestation here in his homeland.

Here is a beautiful letter from M. B. Gupta of Ananda's Noida community with a personal suggestion as to how each of us, by making a small daily contribution, can "grow" a sizeable offering for the new community.


Activity Descriptions and Updates

For fuller descriptions of our classes and events, and occasional updates, please read the details below and check our Web site often under the "NCR Schedule" link, where we add changes to the bimonthly schedule if and when they become necessary.

Also check at our Web site (lower left) for links for each of our major centres across India, where local activities and contact information are listed (Delhi and Noida in the NCR; Bangalore; Hyderabad; Kolkata; Mumbai; and Pune). Do you have friends or family in these localities? If so, these pages may be of interest to them.

Help Us Spread the Word!

Have you benefitted from Ananda's events and classes? If so, please help us publicise them by telling your friends and family. There's nothing like word of mouth!


Joy and blessings,

Dharmadas and Nirmala


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Satsangs

GURGAON This and every Saturday, 4:30-6:00 pm, B-10/8, DLF Phase I.

DELHI Sundays 5:30-7:00 pm, at our new East Delhi centre, 50 HIG, Chander Nagar, Ghaziabad (opposite Vivek/Yojana Vihar, near Chander Nagar Club). Contacts for further information: 98992 00634 or 98100 56320.


Free Introductory Meditation Class

This class is now offered by appointment in Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida, in Hindi and English. Contact numbers for each location are as follows:

DELHI 98100 56320

GURGAON 98990 14209; 98992 67698; or (0124) 405-9550

NOIDA 92132 11859; 92131 20704; or 98102 33591

Ananda Yoga Classes

Our beginner yoga course is a 4-day series offered once a month running from Tuesday to Friday, 7:00 to 8:00 pm, during that week. We go into basic asanas, proper breathing, various warm-up exercises, deep relaxation, and a short version of Paramhansa Yogananda's Energisation Exercises. We teach the Ananda Yoga method, a spiritual approach developed by Swami Kriyananda to classical hatha yoga.

Next beginner series: 16 to 19 December.

Open classes—available after the beginner series—take place on Saturday morning (no longer on Sunday morning till further notice) 9:00-10:00 am plus Wednesday evenings, 7:00-8:00 pm.

GURGAON B-10/8, DLF Phase I.


Group Meditations

Deepen your meditation with other devotees. All are welcome.

DELHI Two weekly opportunities at this time:

  • Wednesdays, 7:00-8:30 pm at the Needu residence, South Delhi. Contact number: 93122 21665.
  • Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 pm at 6, Tilak Marg, Sagar Apartments, 10/B. Contact number: 98100 56320.
    Sunday morning meditation will be resumed at a later date.

GURGAON Every morning, 6:45-8:30 am except Thursdays, 6:30-9:00 am, and Mondays, when we have extended meditation 6:00 am until 12 noon alternating weeks. Please enter and leave the temple as quietly as possible, and on long meditations Monday morning, stay if at all possible at least until 9:00 am. B-10/8, DLF Phase I.

NOIDA Wednesdays, 7:30-8:30 pm; Saturdays, 7:00-9:00 am; and Sundays, 9:00-10:00 am. E-18, Sector 52. Contact numbers: 98111 81085 or 98101 23643.


"A Way to Awakening" TV Programme

Although AASTHA channel has set the timings for Swamiji's programme 6:30-6:50 pm daily, please check your local TV guide each week to make sure.

Seva Corps (Volunteers)

We offer many opportunities for joyful service in Ananda Sangha. Right now we are in particular need of helpers during the day for the visitor table at our main community house, Gurgaon, and answering phones a few hours each week. We could also use help in updating our data base.

If you would like to know how you could help out, please contact Sangeeta at 98992 67698 or e-mail us at ananda@anandaindia.org. Also please note needs for our new Pune community under "A Kriya Yoga Community in India!" (above).


Donations to Ananda Sangha
Donations to help spread Paramhansa Yogananda's teachings throughout India are gratefully received and acknowledged, tax-exempt under Section 80G. Cheques are made payable to "Ananda Sangha Donations". Other options are available as well.
____________________________________________________________________
Ananda Sangha
B-10/8, DLF Phase I      Directions
Gurgaon (HR) 122 002
98990 14209    98992 67698    (0124) 405-9550
   Web site: http://www.anandaindia.org
    E-mail: ananda@anandaindia.org
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