1 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Greetings from Bal Ashram March, 5 2008 Dear Friends, These last few weeks at Bal Ashram have been filled with activity, all in anticipation of our annual Foundation Day on March 4 th. This year's celebration will be extra special as we will also inaugurate the new temple on the same day. The temple, school classrooms, darshan structure and grounds are being prepared and beautified for this big day where hundreds of people will walk through the Ashram gates in celebration of Bal Ashram 's 7 th year of existence. Work starts early in the morning and continues after midnight. More than 50 workers are here daily and all the children, staff and visitors have been working hard, too. The new temple from above.
2 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Paul inside the temple working with his team to create the new dhuni - Paul has been involved in every aspect of construction since arriving last November. His efforts have been invaluable, he is always smiling, and in his own words, I am in bliss. This machine polishes the stone floors it has been running from morning to night, for the last week, to complete three full rounds of polishing.
3 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Working on the pillars and front steps - incredibly beautiful and detailed work is done just by the accuracy of the worker's eyes and a few small tools. Preparing the low wall and flower bed along the side of the temple.
4 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Loknath and the older boys. Working on the temple's front door.
5 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM New classrooms in progress. Last night after dark the concrete floors were set, and right now, the workers are up on the roof laying the rest of the tiles and inside the rooms plastering the walls. During the last few days, the big blue truck has come more than 20 times with full loads of dirt, and again it is here right now as I type.
6 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM All the workers, children, staff and volunteers stopping for a Samosa break beside the new classrooms. Consultation with Babaji. Left to right, a devotee, Girish (a young man from the local community who comes everyday, and helps to manage the projects and workers), and Paul.
7 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Bamboo and straw darshan hut where devotees and friends will come to pay their respects to Babaji. Getting the heavy stones out of the way - here also you can see the play area that we built ourselves and installed last year.
8 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Even the small children are eager to lend a hand. Here are Vijay and Sohum. Amidst all the activity, many from the local community continue to come for free eye check ups and glasses. The work that Dr. Ivor from England started continues by a local optometrist who sees people several times a week.
9 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Weekly washing of shoes - left to right: Sohum, Kashi, Shiva, Deepak. Study time - Shiva, Samyak, Kamla, Deepak, Amit.
10 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Recently, we made a visit to Babaji's breathtakingly beautiful and serene village farm with Deborah and Eamon (from Sonoma, Ca.) and a few of the children. Babaji spent the first 14 years of his life here. Thank you for all you continue to do to make this place possible. Your generosity touches and brightens the lives of so many people. Namasté, Shivani Visit Bal Ashram on the web at http://sonomaashram.org/bal _ashram.php Back to Top
11 of 11 5/16/2009 4:38 PM Lineage SonoMa Ashram Bal Ashram Seva Publications Homepage SonoMa Ashram P.O. Box 950 Sonoma, CA 95476 Tel: 707-996-8915 FAX: 707-996-0388 info@sonomaashram.org 2008 Aghor Publications, all rights reserved