Renewed Enthusiasm at the Chananda Cultural Society Ashram
November has been a busy month at the Chananda Cultural Society. After the three-week long exciting pilgrimage through India with more than 65 pilgrims (including one week of Summit University experience in Darjeeling), there is a renewed enthusiasm in the ashram.
We had the first of the three outreach workshops, Secrets for Attracting Money and Cosmic Abundance to Youheld at the reputable venue, the India Habitat Center, located in the heart of New Delhi. About 20 people attended – half of them were new students. The workshop was held on a Sunday, from 10:00 am-5:00 pm, with an hour of break for lunch. We explained the Hindu chart of the Presence, the science of I AM affirmations using visualizations, and the miraculous power of the violet flame mantras to attract prosperity to our lives.
Two other workshops on violet flame and angels are scheduled for December 6 and December 20 in New Delhi. During the workshop, people asked many interesting questions regarding the challenges in attracting the cosmic abundance in their lives. We sold several books, CDs and other literature on the teachings of the ascended masters and invited people to come to our follow-up workshops at the ashram.
Interestingly, the workshop coincided with the festivities of Diwali which was celebrated on November 11. On this day, people share their abundance with family and friends. Diwali, also known as the festival of lights is the most significant of the Hindu festivals in Indian culture and is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across India. The shopping malls, markets, houses, temples, and buildings are decorated with colorful lights.
The festival is particularly associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the beginning of the new financial year in India. Huge firework displays are held while families feast and share gifts. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. The preparations and rituals typically extend over a five-day period, but the main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month of Kartik (October 28 -November 25). The ashram building was decorated with lights.
During the second week in November, we had two surprise visitors from the USA—Justina and Ruben Torres came from Chicago to the ashram on November 15 and stayed with us overnight. They had been traveling in India for about a week. It was a pleasant surprise to have them at the ashram and we talked about different things. It was such a joyful experience to have the opportunity to share, eat, talk, drive and decree together. We pray more church friends from America and other countries can visit the ashram and share their heart flames!