This year on the joyful occasion of Gurumayi’s Birthday, visitors from around the world joined with SYDA Foundation staff in Shree Muktananda Ashram to offer seva in preparation for the celebration. They cooked delicious food, including colorful cupcakes; created gorgeous flower arrangements for every puja; and lovingly tended the entire Ashram and its sacred ground.
And many sevites supported the live video stream–Janmadin ki Jay Jay! Gurumayi ki Jay Jay!–that went out to the entire global Siddha Yoga sangham via the Siddha Yoga path website in celebration of Birthday Bliss 2019.
It was a great pleasure to move all around Shree Muktananda Ashram through these photos in order to see the beehive of activity that lay behind the magnificent celebration of Gurumayi’s Birthday. The photos really brought home just how many departments and talents were involved in these preparations, from rangoli drawing to videography and other technical arts, from food preparation to dance and music, from flower arranging to rehearsing of prayers.
I was especially moved to see the love, dedication, focus, and intergenerational collaboration offered so steadfastly by all these sevites over so many days. Yet it was clear to me that the gifts were flowing not only from the sevites to their beloved Guru, but also in the opposite direction. For so many Siddha Yogis to be given so many avenues to contribute to the delight and beauty radiating from these celebrations was surely one of the most remarkable birthday gifts exchanged. I see the very abundance of these opportunities as the gift of our own supremely generous and compassionate Guru.
Illinois, United States
Seeing everyone preparing for the celebration with so much focus, love, and devotion brought me back to memories of seva. When we offer seva together, joy abounds!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Siddha Yoga path and all the love you bring to our lives.
Oregon, United States
These photos brought tears to my eyes as I experienced the devotion—and the sadashayata—embodied by the sevites even before the satsang in honor of Gurumayi’s Birthday. How lovely!
