By Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver

Our spring fundraiser theme is “Namah.” It’s a beautiful Sanskrit word that means to honor or to bow to.  Give yourself the gift that keeps on giving by honoring the source of the teachings with a donation. 

It’s not the amount you give; it’s the act of giving itself that makes a difference. It makes a difference in you. When you contribute to the Ashram, you honor your own Self. You honor your own process of spiritual development. You honor the One Self, being all – being you, being me and beyond. How do I know this? It comes from my own experience. 

Every fall and spring, I set aside money so that I can donate in the Ashram’s twice yearly fundraisers.  It’s part of my spiritual commitment, not just to the Ashram, but to my Self.  It’s a reciprocal arrangement.  I give to the Ashram so that Gurudevi can continue to give to me and others through her deep yet accessible teachings.  When I donate to the Ashram, I feel the effects that Gurudevi describes:

Giving and sharing are a mark of personal, and yogic, growth. 

You grow by caring. You grow by contributing.

It’s not just about my devotion to Gurudevi and her teachings.  It’s about me. Gurudevi felt the same way about her teacher, Baba Muktananda. She said:

While I tried to make it all about him, the bottom line was that the difference in him made a difference in me.  When I was with Baba, I was better able to be me, deep inside to really be me. I could rest in my own Self.  That was the goal; he kept turning our attention inward.

This is my goal too — to keep turning my attention inward, to my own inner essence, my own Self.  In this spring’s fundraiser, I encourage you to let the deep well of your innermost essence bubble up.  Let its impact open you ever more deeply to the One that is being you and being all. 

Our donation categories this spring are all about namah, honoring.  You can honor your local teacher or your Ashram teacher. You can honor the Ashram, the organizational structure that supports the teachings. You can honor the efforts that make Gurudevi Nirmalananda’s teachings free and accessible on our website, social media and podcasts. 

With a donation, you take your yoga into the world, and into your own being.  And in return, please know the gratitude and devotion with which the Ashram honors You.

Donate on our website or call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or you can send your check to Svaroopa Vidya Ashram, 116 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, PA 19335.  Thank you.