By Amala Cattafi, PresidentSVA Board of Directors
Namaste Svaroopis! In January, I had the great honor to accompany Swamiji to her Boston satsang. It was amazing! While I know many of the dear yogis in the Boston, I had never attended a community event there.
When we arrived, nearly 100 yogis were awaiting Swamiji, with everyone doing japa. You 
could feel the depth of devotion, the love, and the Grace flowing through the room. The Boston community, like many of our other GeoCenters, understands the importance of coming together to support each other’s growth, as well as to support the sustenance and expansion of the Svaroopa® Sciences. The level of their generosity and commitment moved me greatly!
could feel the depth of devotion, the love, and the Grace flowing through the room. The Boston community, like many of our other GeoCenters, understands the importance of coming together to support each other’s growth, as well as to support the sustenance and expansion of the Svaroopa® Sciences. The level of their generosity and commitment moved me greatly!In writing this article for this leg of our Capital Campaign for Lokananda, it was clear to me that I wanted to share the big picture of my Boston satsang experience with you. In order for an individual yoga studio to grow and thrive, there must be committed teachers who want to bring the experience of the Self to their students and their local community. That must grow into supporting students to go on and become teachers in their own right, which grows individual yoga studios into thriving GeoCenters pulsating with Grace, benefiting everyone. It requires generosity and selflessness to comprehend and support this big picture view.
Lokananda is the mother ship of Svaroopa® yoga worldwide. Plus it is your personal place to learn about and soak in the experience of the truth and joy of your own Self. To have such a physical place of pulsating Grace is a blessing. Yet that reality can be under-appreciated or forgotten in the midst of daily life. While you easily feel it when you are in a program, it is easy to become distracted when you return home.Just as your own practice needs constant attention, so it does not deteriorate, our pulsating 130 year-old-grand lady needs attention and maintenance. Just call a roofing contractor for a quote on a membrane roof and you will see only a small piece of what this entails!
I want to thank the 65 yogis who have already contributed to our Bliss Place campaign. In the last 5 weeks, they have added $26,979 to bring our total collected and pledged up to $63,348. We are 42% of the way to our $150,000 goal.
Just as your personal practice is an expression of your commitment, so is your financial support. It is easy to forget the financial realities of what it takes to maintain such a building. While I am not a sports fan, I respect the team effort a sport takes, all working together for the one goal. So it must be with our community. All yogis, longtime teachers and new students, whether you favor the asana courses, the meditation programs, or both – ALL of us have a stake in getting to the goal… of raising enough capital to maintain our mother ship in the very best condition.
Please donate today! Those of you who are committed and generous donors, while I continue to thank you, please don’t stop now! For those of you who have been sitting on the sidelines, now is the time to step up and dive in. Your pulsating, Grace-filled, Bliss Place building needs YOU! YES, YOU….
This is the big picture view.
OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo nama.h
By Kevin Maloney, SVA Business Manager
As for motivation, why do staff members come to work at SVA for less money than they could make somewhere else? Why do so many community members volunteer so much of their precious time and resources to help this organization operate? What is that motivation? Can you put a finger on it? Or is it a gentle, mysterious feeling deep inside that moves you and moves them?
I must confess. My bliss is still dependent on my location. In shopping for a new home last year, I viewed houses of all shapes and sizes, trying to find the right one. In each location, I would stop and ask myself, “Will I be happy here?” My answer was not always “Yes.” Clearly I need to do more yoga.
Luckily our Svaroopa® yoga community now has a place, Lokananda, dedicated to bliss. What do communities typically dedicate spaces to? They dedicate space for learning as they establish schools and universities. They dedicate space for a socializing when they build a community hall. With war memorials communities dedicate space to honor veterans. Communities, and the people in them, dedicate space to things that are important to them. We who practiceSvaroopa® yoga and meditation have dedicated a place to bliss, the bliss of your inner knowingness. How auspicious!
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