Blessings of Peace

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Hari Om Beloved Gurubais, Friends and Family of Yogaville!

May the Blessings of Peace fill your hearts and homes during this Holy Season! May the Light of Truth be always present everywhere!

When I look to the sky, Something tells me you're here with me
and everything's all right. When I feel like I"m lost,
something tells me you're here with me
and I can find my way when you're here.

~When I look to the sky: recorded by Train
Music and Lyrics by Pat Monahan, Scott Underwood, James Stafford and Charlie Colin

That's how I feel when I behold Yogaville: gazing into the orange sherbet-streaked sky
framing Kailash; listening to the diversity of ages and cultures sharing ideas during a walk from meditation or watching the smiling faces reflecting the Light of Understanding.  When I look at Yogaville, I see of all of us-every long-time devotee, weekend program participant, karma yogi, employee, swami and friend and most especially, Sri Gurudev-imbued into this spiritual home  Yogaville. There is no need for fear here, we are blessed beyond words with grace under the auspice of Sri Swami Satchidananda Maharaj.

Thirty years ago, in 1979, the Ashram property in Virginia was purchased.  In this small
span of time we have made great progress toward seeing Sri Gurudev's vision for Yogaville become a reality.  Our collective efforts, focused through inspired intention set by the vision of Sri Gurudev, have manifested this Heaven on Earth.  Hearts, hands and generous spirits have pitched in with joyous determination to build new buildings, create programs, greet guests, prepare beds, wash linens, cook and clean up each meal, tend the grounds, teach Hatha Yoga, Meditation or Raja, make schedules, run errands and perform devotional pujas. We have stood together through trying times and triumphs working together in Sat-Chid-Ananda each and every day, year after year  building and keeping the vision of Heaven on Earth alive and well here in the heart of Virginia.

We have set a goal of raising $216,000; by March 2010 and at the time of writing this newsletter, we are nearly halfway there! An interesting phenomenon has occurred this year: We have had an increase in the number of people pitching in with smaller donation amounts.  It seems that people believed it when I said that if 2000 people offer $108 or 200 people offer $1008, we meet the goal! Heartfelt offerings of even a few dollars are cherished.  Drops really do make oceans!  In a year with a tough economy facing the world, our  nation and many individuals, donations to charities is down across the board.  However, you have continued to be inspired by the beautiful spirit of Yogaville and have shown your love through good wishes and generous donations making this year's fundraising efforts successful.  Thank you so much to all who have given and to those who continue to give regularly.  We rely on your partnership to keep the vision alive and thriving. I would like to share some of what's been happening here at Yogaville this year along with an introduction to some new happenings.

LOTUS (The Light Of Truth Universal Shrine) continues to be the heart of Yogaville. Its pink petals surround and protect the inner sanctum where a person can abide for a time in the all-pervading Peace of Oneness.  Throughout LOTUS' twenty-four years of existence, we have learned a lot about the challenges of being caretakers of such an unusual structure.  LOTUS is essentially an art-piece on an architectural scale.  As such, we find ourselves in constant response to its ever changing list of needs and demands.  As some of you may recall, we have had water-proofing challenges, issues with the original tiles, the beams, the plywood forms, the lining of the ponds to name a few.  The current waterproofing system looks like paint, but is actually the waterproofing material dyed to our color specifications and applied in a completely new way.  Every time we apply any new coloration or clear-coating, we are actually adding layers to the waterproofing.  The leaks are sealed, and the system is easier to repair when cracks do appear.  With a structure such as LOTUS the natural movement of the beams will guarantee cracking regardless of what is applied on the exterior.  The fortunate thing about this material is that it is relatively easy to repair, recolor and keep functional.

Across the river from LOTUS coal trains haul their black gold from the West Virginia mountains and cast black dust over the Shrine.  This forces the need to power-wash it regularly.  That, in turn, means we need to apply clear-coating more often as the top coats are worn away.  The
All Faiths Hall in the lower level needs to have the carpet replaced because it is worn after surviving twenty three years and at least one flood.   The display cases featuring interesting artifacts and texts from each of the faiths are in need of an update and rearrangement. 

Wash the Shrine two times a year and apply clear-coating every other year: $12,000 
Refurbish the All Faiths Hall: $12,000 
Operate the LOTUS for one month: $1800 
Sponsor LOTUS for a day: $60

Academy and Programs: Each year the Integral Yoga Teachers' Academy and Programs hosts hundreds of new Integral Yoga Teacher Trainees and participants, who have been inspired by the comprehensive nature of Integral Yoga for one's whole life.  Weekend programs are evolving to include a widening variety of presenters.  These bright and talented teachers bring such a depth of experience and understanding here that we are left in grateful awe of the bounty of the Universe. 

The Academy and Programs Department seek to improve the quality of the experience guests have by improving the quality of our classrooms; replacing carpet with bamboo, sound-proofing, humidity control and repairing some insulation around the basement windows.

Improve Classrooms:  $15,000

The Yogaville Farm: This year the Yogaville Farm was in full-swing as the focus of a Yoga-based resident internship.  Coupling the powerful lessons of Yoga with the daily service of learning to grow organic vegetables has formed a very positive program.  Many eager volunteers have arrived and others are already signing up for the 2010 growing season!  Our modest goals of providing 35% of the Ashram's produce needs during the growing season were exceeded to reach a season-high level of 43% in July and August!  In addition, we have created a Yogaville CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that is serving 10 families who purchased shares at the beginning of the growing season. We hope to expand the CSA next year with new share sizes such as a Home Canner's option that would provide enough of the current bumper crop for storage and a Salad Lovers option which will only feature salad type veggies and not so many cooking ones.  We will continue to offer singles, couples and family shares. Even if you don't live at Yogaville, you can support our CSA by sponsoring a share for a needy family.  (Contact Sharada Stish at SAYVA for information) We open a farm stand every Sunday and invite the community to bring their musical instruments, lounge chairs and Frisbees down to the Farm for a relaxing afternoon.  The Farm has a need to drill a well and fence additional acreage so that we may use more of this fertile land to feed Yogaville. 

Drill a well $7,000
Fence additional acreage $5,000 
Sponsor a CSA membership for someone in need: $154 - farm stand right justified

Monastery HVAC: At long last, the HVAC system in the monastery is being replaced! 
The monks graciously waited while virtually every other building had this much needed upgrade. They demonstrated the example of peaceful renunciation, indeed, even when the system left them overheated or chilled.  However, this summer, the system suffered a series of severe failures that made it clear that the time to replace and upgrade the system had arrived.  We have studied the building and found that window tinting on the south-side, new ridge vents and better placement of attic fans, in combination with the new high-efficiency system, will drastically improve not only the quality of life for our revered swamis, but will realize a substantial savings in heating and cooling costs.

Cost of the Monastery HVAC replacement/upgrade, window tinting and attic work: $30,000

The Lotus Guest House III: LGH3, as it is called, has become home to several long-term residents, lending a quality of life that we are happy to be able to offer these beautiful karma-yogis.  Guests and staff enjoy the new rooms as the building is divided to accommodate the different needs of the residents and guests.  Overlooking a wooded area and the recreational areas behind the other Guest Houses, LGH3 it is a beautiful and much needed addition to our inventory of available lodging.  Donations to the Building Fund will go toward paying the loan for this lovely facility as well as funding new projects.

Building Fund Goal: $57,000

Archives Digitization Project: Ever since Sri Gurudev began speaking to us, we have recorded His words of wisdom.  Over the years, the technology changed from reel-to-reel, to cassette, to VHS to DVD and now finally, we are transferring all media into digital format for permanent storage on multiple hard-drives.  It is our intention to have three complete copies of the entire Integral Yoga Teachings as given by Sri Swami Satchidananda and have these digital archives accessible to any and all who are interested in learning.  Many of these materials are degrading in quality and transferring them to hard-drive is our best hope of saving them for future generations.

In the past eighteen months, 109 reel-to-reel tapes spanning 1968 to 1980 have been transferred which is about 60% of the unique reel to reel media.  ALL of the DVD's and 99% of VHS video tapes have been transferred to hard drives.  There are 115 PAL tapes (from the EU and Australia) that have not been transferred to either DVDs or hard drive, yet.  480 or 7.5% of the about 6720 cassette tapes have been digitized (50% of these tapes have full transcriptions).  We still have 9000 feet of film that need to be digitally preserved and a very complex database that needs to be finished.  The funding for this project has been exhausted by moving the digitization this far.  We need to keep the funds coming to continue this most vital effort essential to making the Teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda available for all of us to enjoy. In an effort to demonstrate the accessibility of a totally digital and keyword-tagged archives, we have launched www.AsktheSwami.com, in which eventually hundreds of questions answered by Sri Gurudev will be made available with a simple query and click.  Currently there are one hundred questions on the site with more being added weekly.

Archival Project: $34,000

Integral Yoga Schools-Vidyalayam: We have very exciting news for those who love the Vidyalayam!  A patron has pledged to match every dollar donated dollar for dollar up to $10,000!  This is very good news as the school has made some major investments in repairing the roof on one of the buildings in addition to other maintenance projects, upgrading curriculum materials and providing scholarships to those in need of financial assistance.  Please consider making an offering to further the mission of Sri Gurudev's school here at Yogaville.

Vidyalayam Fund: $10,000

Remember Yogaville is your home, too!

We are doing our best to further the mission of this wondrous place, and we welcome your input and ideas, as well as donations, to help us do that. Share with us in letters and email how you could feel more connected to, supported and cherished by the Ashram.  How can we serve better?  We invite you to join our email list so that we may send regular news and updates on the upcoming special events, projects and people who make up Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville. 

For your convenience, we now have an online donations section on our website where you can easily make single or recurring donations. You will also be able to earmark where your donations are applied. Click Here to continue to the donations section - we greatly appreciate your generosity!

Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi,

Sharada Metro Stish,
Operations VP, SAYVA

 

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