“I love Lokananda – so wonderful to be able to stay immersed in the shakti all the times.” 

“Its the most depthful and effective course offered -with so much time to really steeling the depth of my being while working on being able to talk about it and teach it. Also the support of being in the ashram at Lokananda was a big plus…it really works!”

“Housing was great! I’m so happy that Lokananda is available.”

Everywhere you look in the newly renovated Lokananda is a reminder of the Self. The pictures of Gods and Gurus, the mirrors reflecting the light and reflecting your own face – another Divine Being honored in this sacred space.

Swami Nirmalananda named our new home for one of the key sutras in Kashmiri Shaivism:

Lokaananda.h samaadhi sukham — “Siva Sutra 1.18

The bliss of Self-Knowingess is experienced in its fullness in every place and every time.

Please donate to the Capital Campaign so we can continue to offer full immersion programs at Lokananda: Your Bliss Place. Click here to donate.

It has been six months since your donations have aided us in moving our teacher training programs into our new Downingtown building, Lokananda. The students have been moving in and out in a graceful flow as we are back-to-back in our immersion programs.
With decorating complete, each room has taken on a personality and earning itself a name from Swami Nirmalananda.

Ground floor:
• Main Entry: Svagatam (pronounced SVĂĂ-gă-tăm, means welcome)
• Meditation classroom: Kailasa (pronounced KĂEE-lă-să, name of a sacred mountain in the Himalayas, the home of Shiva)
• Asana (yoga) classroom: Tapovan (pronounced tăp-O-văn, means the place of spiritual effort)
• Yoga therapy room: Rasayana Kutir (pronounced ră-SĂĂ-yă-nă ku-TĬR, means the place of healing)

2nd floor:
• Dining hall: Annapurna (ĂN-nă-PŬR-na, means abundance of food)
• Student lounge: Deviloka (DAY-vee-LO-kă, means the abode of the goddesses)
• Bedrooms — Varanasi (vă-ră-NĂĂ-see, the name of a sacred city in India)

3rd floor:
• Apartment 3E (closest to the parking lot) Bedrooms: Arunachala (ă-roon-ĂĂ-chă-lă, the name of a sacred mountain in India)
• Apartment 3W (nearest the intersection of 30 & 322) Bedrooms: Rishikesh (RĬ-shĭ-kesh, the name of a sacred city in India)

We need your continued support to our Capital Campaign for renovations for a new roof, new plumbing, blanket washing equipment, etc. Click here to donate and learn more about how your dedicated funds are helping build our Bliss Place.

“Décor is fabulous! All needed comforts are there. Love that there are blankets in every room.”

“Everywhere you look is a reminder of the Self.”

By Kristine Freeman

We members of the Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram community are in partnership with our Teacher, Swami Nirmalananda. The essence of this partnership is the flow between Guru’s Grace and Disciple’s Grace. Because Guru’s Grace enlivens the physical space in which she teaches, Lokananda, our new program and training facility, is now tangibly full of transformative Shakti. Disciple’s Grace flows in the form of financial support to manifest Lokananda, the place where our Guru’s embodied Divine Grace can be grounded.

Over the past year and a half, our 130-year-old Lokananda has been diligently, intelligently and artfully renovated. It’s already a turbocharged space. Through more than a decade in the Svaroopa® yoga community, I have experienced teacher training and other programs in many different places. None of them have felt as “rocket powered” as our new Lokananda, which physically integrates all facets of our organization under one roof: meditation center, training facility, immersions and retreats, local classes and administration. Lokananda is your launch pad into your own Self. This space has the capacity to help open you to your inner fast track.

Kailasa – Meditation Room

My experience of the Divine within has already been so much greater than in any other space. Speaking for myself and the rest of our Board, I thank the 36 donors who have already contributed to the Capital Campaign; you have taken us a huge step forward — in fact, 20% of the way toward our goal of $150,0000. Because of your financial support, the interior of Lokananda is comfortable, beautiful and fully supportive of your experience of svaroopa!

But more work on the “old dame” is needed, such as a new roof (isn’t that most always the case with the purchase of a new home?), more plumbing and wiring and a reserve for upcoming needs. Please look into your heart and into your wallet to see how you can be a part of Disciple’s Grace with a contribution to our Bliss Place Capital Campaign. Be part of creating the place for easy access to your own Divine Self.

To the 36 donors who have already contributed, we thank you so much. We could not have gotten where you are without you. Now we need the larger community to step in and help us get to the final goal. When we say any amount is welcome, we mean it!! We truly do!!! Your participation is even more important than the amount. Let us count you in. Then Lokananda will be ready to welcome you into a sacred space like no other.
“Just as a lightning bolt strikes the earth, Divine Grace must be grounded. It is yogis who make this happen, through their own practices as well as by providing a home for the Master who embodies and shares this Grace. I am forever grateful to those who make me able to do my work.” — Swami Nirmalananda

At Lokananda, your Bliss Place, you will be nourished from inside and outside. Swami Nirmalananda carefully selects not only the curriculum of each program and the design and decor of your cozy accommodations, but the menu that will help feed your body, mind and Self. Nirmalananda explains, “Integrating Ayurvedic principles supports your physical changes, mental and emotional processes and the inner experiences you are having. Cooking with Ayurveda is not yoga – but it’s very yogic.”

Annapurna – Dining Hall at Lokananda

Annapurna – Dining Hall at Lokananda

“Excellent. Chef William was very responsive and willing to change things as required.”               Maitreyi

“The rooms are cozy and very well kept. The meals are very tasty and nourishing. My special food needs were met.”                                                                                                                                            Mangala Allen

“Both the housing and meals at Lokananda were a very positive experience for me.”              Rudrani Rosemary Nogue

Click here to help nourish Lokananda’s two teaching halls and upstairs apartments that house our immersion programs.

By Prakash (David) Falbaum

Together we are becoming established in bliss, as a community. Nothing has made this clearer than last fall’s great start on our Bliss Place Capital Campaign. The generosity of many Svaroopis has provided some of the needed funds to move our renovations of Lokananda forward, to make it our full-service retreat center for our full-spectrum yoga.

Lokananda means “bliss place,” and is ready to welcome you into a center saturated with shakti, streaming with the Grace of the Guru.  I feel that Lokananda is truly my home away from home and I hope you feel the same way. Here you are nurtured with delicious, healthful vegetarian meals to support your practices. Our Chef is able to customize any dish for soy-free, gluten-free, vegan and any other dietary restrictions. Lokananda houses you in comfort and community and at 23% less than The Desmond. Even the dormitories are infused with shakti. Wow!

I feel intensely how much the Ashram means to me, knowing now we are all housed in an Ashram campus. Now that we are housed, fed, immersed and trained in Lokananda, we receive a direct connection to all the inspiration that flows through Swamiji, without any external impediments.

While our Fall Capital Campaign got us going on the updating of our “new” 130-year-old building, there’s lots more to do. As we appeal for your support of this important project, I hope you’ll eagerly jump in, for you are creating your own spiritual home – for yourself and for others. Especially if you are not one of the 36 donors who generously gave last fall, we invite you to participate now in “raising a bliss building.” This event is a more profound community endeavor than even the traditional barn raising!

It feels good to give when you can see the future that your contribution will bring about. When you contribute financially to complete Lokananda renovations and prepare for the care of the building, you can be sure your donation goes to an immeasurably good cause for others as well as for yourself. As your opening to Self expands, you pave the way for others who seek the More.

With donations to date, we have been able to complete a full year of renovations, but we still need your contribution. As with any construction project, we are dealing with overruns. As can be the case with a real estate purchase, a new roof is needed. And then there are the unforeseen maintenance issues that arise anywhere.

So we still need $113,000. That can sound like a lot of money, but we are a large community, and your contribution, in any amount, moves us toward our goal. If each yogi contributes the amount that truly fits your budget, out of gratitude for the growth and opening you’ve already experienced, we are THERE, established in our Place of Bliss. We are established in a strong and charming building already steeped in Shakti. I hope you will join me in giving until it feels good!

Click here to donate or for more info, or simply phone us at 610.644.7555.  Thank you for your loving generosity.

OM svaroopa svasvabhavah namo namah