Friends walking at Ramagiri Ashram.
Thank you all for your continued contributions and enthusiasm! We’re inspired by the reflections you share and we’re excited about your plans to join us for the worldwide Vishu shared practice – in just 2 days – Sunday, April 14.
We’re all looking forward to the opportunity to ‘gather together’ for shared contemplative practice along with our friends at Ramagiri Ashram. Although we won’t be physically together, the spiritual forces that connect us are far beyond the borders of time and space. Together, we can collectively deepen our meditation to light the lamp of wisdom within us all.
The significance of Vishu is to mirror the pure spark of divinity within each of us, making this ancient ritual a very modern remedy for our times.
Here Easwaran describes the ceremony:
“In Kerala state, South India, where I grew up, the new year is ushered in with a ceremony many centuries old. The night before, while most of the family is asleep, a special shrine is assembled with all kinds of lustrous objects – yellow flowers, brassware, gold jewelry, ripe fruits, lighted oil lamps – arranged around a mirror draped with garlands. The next morning, each member of the family is led to the shrine with eyes closed and asked, ‘Would you like to see the Lord?’ We open our eyes, and shining in the midst of this bright setting we see our own face in the glass. It is a beautiful reminder of the divinity in each of us – the viewer and everyone else around.”
As you are able, we invite you to ‘join in’ on the activities scheduled at Ramagiri Ashram (Pacific Time). You might follow the schedule in your own home, or gather with a few satsang friends for some of the activities – find a way to make it work for you! Here’s the schedule:
Between 5:00-7:00 a.m.: 30 minutes of meditation
10:00 a.m.: Reading Study (curriculum here)
11:15 a.m.: Break
11:30 a.m.: Mantram walk
12:00 p.m.: Videotaped talk by Easwaran, April 18, 1987 part 1 (available on the Easwaran Digital Library starting Tuesday, April 9)
12:30 p.m.: Half-hour of meditation
1:00 p.m.: Lunch and cleanup
2:30 p.m.: Half-hour of mantram writing with Christine Easwaran
Between 5:00-7:00 p.m.: 30 minutes of meditation
8:10 p.m.: Listen to Easwaran sing his mantram to prepare for the evening video 8:15 p.m.: Evening videotaped talk by Easwaran, April 18, 1987 part 2 (available on the Easwaran Digital Library starting Tuesday, April 9)
We look forward to hearing about how you are planning to participate in Vishu on April 14 and how it goes for you! Which activities were you able to try? What insights did you gain from this experience? If you have a chance to watch the videos or participate in the reading study, please let us know about it. We’d love to hear from so we can draw on the wisdom of our worldwide community!
