May 6, 2014
Dear Sevites for the Chanting Tour,
From March 22 through April 26, the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014—Satyam Shivam Sundaram traveled to eight cities throughout Australia, from coast to coast. Siddha Yogis and new seekers participated in satsangs as well as sadhana circles and activities for families and young people. These satsangs and events supported participants in studying, practicing, assimilating, and implementing the Siddha Yoga teachings on the practice of chanting.
The Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014 was Gurumayi Chidvilasananda's initiative. This initiative was made manifest through Gurumayi's grace and blessings, and through the selfless efforts of hundreds of sevites who are dedicated to the Siddha Yoga path.
We, the Trustees of the SYDA Foundation and the Siddha Yoga Foundation of Australia, wish to take this moment to thank all the sevites in Australia and New Zealand who hosted the Chanting Tour. Many of you had offered seva during Gurumayi's three teachings visits to Australia, and the training you received and the expertise you honed were an invaluable support for the Chanting Tour. This tour also utilized the time and skills of many young and new sevites, who participated in their first-ever tour on the Siddha Yoga path with great enthusiasm.
Every single detail was attended to by those sevites who were already accomplished and learned, as well as by new sevites who contributed their skills and eagerness to learn. Thank you to all.
Thank you to Gurumayi's music students, who were role models and taught Siddha Yoga chanting to Siddha Yoga musicians, new and old, and to all who participated in the Chanting Satsangs. Thank you to the Siddha Yoga musicians with professional expertise. You gave your best at each Chanting Satsang and were exemplars of musicianship. Thank you to all the instrumentalists and vocalists who played and chanted during the tour, supporting Siddha Yogis and new seekers in experiencing the transformative power of Siddha Yoga chanting in Australia and on every continent. What a dynamic Siddha Yoga music ensemble you were! You strengthened the practice of chanting in many people's lives and ensured that Gurumayi's intention for everyone to experience the power of chanting was realized. You also inspired so many Siddha Yogis and new seekers to take up the study of music, so that they in turn can offer seva on the Siddha Yoga path.
Thank you to the Siddha Yoga music teachers, meditation teachers, speakers, and hatha yoga instructors for the Chanting Tour. Thank you for bringing your years of studying and applying the teachings of the Siddha Yoga path to the seva you offered. You supported participants in understanding the history and significance of chanting, and how each of us—seasoned students and newcomers alike—can engage with this invaluable practice anew, and experience its benefits. Thank you for contributing to the fulfillment of Gurumayi's initiative—the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014.
Thank you to the many hundreds of sevites who have offered seva for the SYDA Foundation—staff members, visiting sevites, home sevites, and sevites from all corners of the globe in Siddha Yoga Ashrams, meditation centers, and chanting and meditation groups. You took deep interest in supporting Gurumayi's Chanting Tour, and your love for Gurumayi is a beacon of light for all
Siddha Yogis and new seekers.
Thank you to the friends and family members who supported Siddha Yogis and new seekers in fulfilling their heart's desire to participate in and offer seva for the Chanting Tour. We greatly appreciate how, in your own way, you contributed a great deal to the Chanting Tour. So we thank you very warmly.
We want you all to know that, each time we visit the pages of the Siddha Yoga path website dedicated to the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014, we will continue to experience gratitude for all your contributions. As we make this pilgrimage to the Siddha Yoga path website, again and again we will relish:
- studying the teachings on chanting
- reflecting on the fruits of chanting
- reading about the teaching and learning events of the tour
- hearing the music
- listening to the vignettes
- seeing your radiant faces in the images
All of these amazing gifts on the Siddha Yoga path website were made possible through Gurumayi's grace, compassion, and sacred efforts.
The Chanting Tour was Gurumayi's gift to the world. It touched and transformed people's lives. It gave hope and renewal to countless seekers. It awakened love for God in people's hearts. It reintroduced the Siddha Yoga practice of chanting to those who had first tasted its nectar many decades ago. It strengthened the Siddha Yoga community in Australia and in many Siddha Yoga meditation centers around the world. It was a golden opportunity for children as well as young adults to learn about the Siddha Yoga path through Siddha Yoga music.
As we thank you, we also hold the vision of how you will continue to serve with the same fervor and commitment, ensuring that the Siddha Yoga legacy is created and fortified.
Thank you all, now and forever, for offering seva for the
Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014—Satyam Shivam Sundaram, and for contributing to the success of a historic milestone: the first-ever Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour!
Warm regards,
SYDA Foundation Board of Trustees, and
Siddha Yoga Foundation Australia Trustees