Photo Gallery of Winter in Shree Muktananda Ashram

NewYork, USA

New York, USA

Montreal, Canada

New York, USA

Mexico City, Mexico

Maryland, USA

One summer, when I was offering seva as a visiting sevite in Shree Muktananda Ashram, I was speaking with a Siddha Yoga Swami. He was telling me that the transition between winter and spring is miraculous— that the flowers blooming and the plants coming out of the snow are a miracle from nature, a gift, something beautiful to experience.

I have never seen that winter-spring transition—until today. Through the photos, I could really enjoy nature's beauty, nature's miracle. It was amazing!

Thank you for sharing these photos. It was through them that I could witness what Swamiji was talking about.

Mexico City, Mexico

As I chanted Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho this morning, I viewed the new photos from the Winter Photo Gallery. I was very touched by the photo of the melting snow turning into water droplets and dripping off the hand of the Shiva Nataraj statue. I felt the image matched the feeling I was having as I chanted and my heart slowly softened. It was such a sweet experience, as I connected even more closely to my inner experience of joy.

Arizona, USA

In these photos of winter at Shree Muktananda Ashram, all the stars in the sky seem to be dancing. The beautiful young deer are lovely with their winter coats. The wild birds look healthy and happy. The snow resembles billions of diamonds, glistening and dancing as well.
 
Great thanks to all the sevites who took such breathtaking photos, capturing the beauty of nature and all the joy that abounds at the Ashram.  How lovely! Thank you!

New Mexico, USA

Whenever I view these wonderful photos of Shree Muktananda Ashram, the sevites, and nature, and whenever I read the heartfelt and elegant shares, I am reminded of the incredible power and beauty of Siddha Yoga. And the amazing photos of the adorable cat wearing his winter coat, and “interacting” with the snowman, represent for me the playful aspects of this path and of our beloved Gurumayi, which I also cherish.
 
I am very grateful for all I have been given, and my resolve to increasingly support the SYDA Foundation, as well as all of nature, increases with each viewing. Thank you!  

New York, USA

Thank you for capturing and sharing the beauty and bounty of nature.
 
The joyful state of all the beings in the photos touched me deep within. Viewing the pictures on the gallery today felt highly uplifting! My state has been transformed, and I feel still, calm, and content.

Delhi, India

What joy, light, and love! An AUM in ice, droplets become Blue Pearls, stars sparkle and glisten in hanging ice, hearts are everywhere.

Thank you for sharing the beauty, silence, and love that fills the air.

California, USA

Whenever I see photos of Shree Muktananda Ashram, I feel a sense of wonder. Living here in India, I have always had this curiosity about what Shree Muktananda Ashram would be like during the changing seasons.

The photos of Shree Muktananda Ashram capture the striking beauty of nature and give rise to feelings of sanctity and respect. How light-hearted all the sevites look! No matter how much they have to do to clear the snow, they are doing it so joyfully.

Thank you for the beautiful pictures!

Gurudev Siddha Peeth

So many smiles! So lovely! So fun! So light! So peaceful! So uplifting!

Thank you.

California, USA

What a magical season to play in!  It is so alive and vibrant.

One photo after another, I entered at a perfect pace into that winter ballet, full of wonder and joy. With each slide, I felt that divine Consciousness was offering us a moment of its expansion.

Contemplating those amazing and unique forms, I could feel that every moment God is offering us the gift of his presence, playfully, all day long, everywhere we choose to turn our eyes.

Thank you, thank you all, for those images.

Bretagne, France

As I viewed the slideshow, a shimmering smile rose up through my entire being and my heart began singing joyfully. My physical vocal cords stopped working a few years ago. No worries—I can hear and feel my heart chanting and singing. It is singing "AUM" even now.
 
Thank you for these photos. They bring the experience of joy and freshness, love and rejuvenation, and hearing and feeling that inner smile that is singing "AUM." Thank you!

Missouri, USA

Thank you for sharing this photo gallery. It makes me so happy to see the sevites in Shree Muktananda Ashram with big smiles on their faces, enjoying the snow.
 
When I saw the hearts in the snow, it reminded me of how pure the Guru's love and grace are. The whiteness of the snow represents to me the purity of the Guru's love. And I know that no matter where I am or where the Guru is, that love will always be with me.
 
Thank you, Gurumayi.

Aichach, Germany

The peace and breathtaking beauty of Shree Muktananda Ashram have filled me to the brim. My heart is so full!
 
Thank you, Gurumayi, for this great joy. 

Vermont, USA

Truly, the photos are pure art! Thank you for sharing the unfathomable beauty of Shree Muktananda Ashram. And thank you for capturing how effortlessly Mother Nature demonstrates "flawless quietude" in everything—in every sparkling snowflake, every crystalline icicle, every glowing smile.
 
Thank you, Gurumayi, always and forever, for your outpouring of teachings wrapped in love. And thank you, too, to the photography and website seva teams!

California, USA

Thank you very much for such a marvelous slideshow. I could feel the soundless silence of nature in each scene penetrating my heart. And I could feel the love spreading out from there to all around the globe.
 
Thank you for taking me there. 

Madrid, Spain

Wow! It is amazing how the pulsating, ever-present energy shines through these crisp, serene winter scenes. What a great reminder of the divine Power within us all.
 
Thank you for sharing these scenes with everyone!

Florida, USA

Oh, such fun and delight!  After a long day, I feel as if my spirit has been whitened and lightened with the purity of snow and the joy of play!
 
Thank you, sevites, for bringing me along!

New York, USA

Thank you for sharing the wonderful, exquisite winter expression of Mother Nature at Shree Muktananda Ashram!  Each picture filled my heart, and I felt so much joy watching all the devotees enjoying the splendor of these sacred grounds.
 
Seeing these moments on the website helps keep me connected to the Shakti, and most of all to the amazing gifts I have received throughout my sadhana.
 
Thank you to Gurumayi, whose blessings make everything possible! 
Thank you to all the sevites whose seva makes it possible to see these Shakti-filled pictures.

Georgia, USA

Earlier this week, while I was taking a walk, I was drawn to the silent beauty of the icicles that decorated the trees and homes in our neighborhood. It was as if, in their silence, the icicles spoke volumes about the creativity, delight, and joy that manifest in all forms—crystalline and sparkling. So you may imagine the great smile that arose from within me when I saw the icicles in the Winter in SMA Photo Gallery.

Truly, silence connects us all to the great Heart.

Missouri, USA

I live in Alaska and I love to take photos of the icicles that hang outside our windows in the winter. When I saw the icicle photos, I instantly recognized that the formative forces that create icicles are the just same here in Alaska as at Shree Muktananda Ashram. When I beheld these enchanting photos, they revealed to me, beyond any shade of doubt, that there is no distance between me and the Guru, even though I live so far away from her geographically. The Guru and I are one.

Thank you, thank you, dear Gurumayi! Thank you to the sevites who offered their time, care, and love to bring these icicles to the Siddha Yoga path website.

Alaska, USA

As I began looking at the images, my heart longed to be in Shree Muktananda Ashram. However, as I continued, the stillness of the Ashram winter led me into my open heart and I realized how alive and palpable the shakti of the Ashram is within me, and how oceans and continents cannot dilute this connection.

Thank you, Gurumayi and Baba, for this gift to seekers, this mystical source of grace and power.

Lilyfield, Australia

While looking at the photos, I was suddenly surrounded by the quietude of Shree Muktananda Ashram. I almost felt the wind that blows around the lake in my face, and I experienced silence within. How powerful an image filled with Shakti can be!

Thank you for capturing quietude in such a beautiful way and sharing it with the world.

Beirut, Lebanon

The icicles are a beautiful reminder of the column of light in us all. These beautiful images of winter ice and snow also bring to mind the abode of Shiva, a lovely reminder in the month of Mahashivaratri.

Each icicle is complete and still, with form and yet transparent, reflecting light throughout yet also able to reflect that which surrounds it. Each one radiates a vibration and pulsation that gives texture to its unique form. 

I became quiet inside looking at each image, filled with a gentle awe at the diversity of nature's bounty.

California, USA

These icicles are completely divine! They make me feel connected to the same divinity within myself. And I can return there, the moment I think of them. I profoundly enjoy seeing and remembering these icicles.

Thank you, God. Thank you to everyone who made these images possible.

Embrun, Canada

The exquisite beauty of these icicles reminds me of how form manifests from the formless.

Icicles are a reminder of the infinite cycles of the seasons. Icicles are harbingers of spring—they indicate that the sun has begun to melt the ice. Icicles represent one aspect of the beauty which winter can bring.

Nassau, Bahamas

Goodness! I am so delighted by these photos of icicles!

One thing that came up for me was heartfelt appreciation for the eyes that have captured these beautiful images, and for the generosity in sharing this beauty with all of us. Thank you.

In some of the images these icicles remind me of Bade Baba's fingers, in others they look like Shiva's long jataa (hair), and in still others they look like bones—like something which is very much inside of me. When I reflect on all my interpretations, I realize that these icicles remind me of different parts of one human body, of one Self! They also give me the sensation that nature is gearing up to celebrate the sacred event of Mahashivaratri.

Salutations to Shri Gurumayi!

Thane West, India

Thank you so much for the photos of icicles; they are beautiful. Having the darshan of these icicles really uplifts me on a cold grey day in London.

London, United Kingdom

These beautiful icy images speak the language of quietude. At the same time, they remind me of the tremendous love and compassion I have always experienced during my stays as a visiting sevite in Shree Muktananda Ashram.

Cologne, Germany

Thank you so much for these photographs of icicles. These pictures made me realize how Gurumayiji is teaching us to acknowledge each and every particle of the universe. They also reminded me of the state of wonder that Gurumayi describes in her book Enthusiasm as Babaji’s constant state.

Seeing photos from Shree Muktananda Ashram gives me a special kind of heat in my body and really connects me to my heart. My eyes become moist as I remember my Guru's love and compassion.

Thank you, Gurumayiji.

Delhi, India

Seeing the beauty of nature and the devotees young and old at Shree Muktananda Ashram opened my heart and reminded me of a time when I lived and served in that sacred place through all the seasons of the year, almost thirty years ago.

No matter how many years have gone by since then, Shree Muktananda Ashram will always be my spiritual home.

Virginia , USA

Thank you for sharing the scintillating beauty of snow-covered Shree Muktananda Ashram.

When it snows, I feel the enchanting beauty of silence. Sound is softened, everyone slows down a little, and I feel a natural and irresistible longing to go inside and meditate. In meditation, I sometimes go to a great snow-covered plain where I walk through snow and wind to a dwelling place. I meditate there in front of a beautiful, hot fire. I feel deeply nourished by the shelter, the heat of the fire, and the beautiful silence that exists there.

Thank you, Gurumayi, for your grace and for teaching me to meditate.

Washington, USA

It delighted me to see Shiva Nataraj dancing in the snow. Thank you for this heart connection.

London, United Kingdom

I have never really had an experience of snow since I am from Southern California. And, in fact, I've always had a fear of it. My grandchildren and my son and his wife may be moving next year to the East Coast, and I was expressing this fear of snow to them. When I saw these pictures, they brought me peace. The beauty and love that I felt in these pictures brought me a sense of trust.

Thank you, dear Gurumayi, for always guiding me back to the Self.

California, USA

Especially in winter, the forms of tree branches remind me of the beautiful Shiva Nataraj in front of Anugraha, with the Bhagavan Nityananda Temple behind it. Similarly, when I see heart shapes in the snow or in a cloud, I see how forms exist throughout the natural and spiritual realm.

New York, USA

At the moment, I am sitting in a hospital room with a close relative. We are waiting while the doctors are working to figure out what tests need to be done for his situation. I am awed that despite the difficult circumstances, by the grace of Gurumayi and the grace of modern technology, I am able to patiently sit here engaging so sweetly with pictures of the sunrise, nature scenes, and sacred buildings (and beings), and experience a tender heart energy evoked repeatedly in my own heart and all around me.

Thank you so much for making it possible. Truly, the greatness of the Guru is beyond words.

Georgia, USA

Nairobi, Kenya

I experience so much love and peace streaming from the Ashram buildings and the exquisite forms of nature all around.
 
Thank you, Gurumayi, for showing us the love that pervades everyone and everything. Thank you to all who offer seva in Shree Muktananda Ashram— your love is tangibly present in the Ashram atmosphere. Thank you to nature, whose myriad forms constantly uplift and inspire me.

London, United Kingdom

Massachusetts, USA

With each passing photo, stillness descended upon me—the stillness and inner peace that my Guru has bestowed upon me.
 
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your unending grace that brings such sweetness to my life.

Sydney, Australia

I remember the beautiful silence that accompanies these gorgeous snow-filled scenes. It's the same silence I experienced in the midst of monsoon rains in Ganeshpuri. Thank you for drawing me into that stillness with just a glance at these beautiful images.

California, USA

Experiencing each image of the winter gallery, I am struck by all the ways that nature's beauty shines as it embraces change.  Just as our beloved Guru bestows grace, touching all, winter's snow bestows grace, touching all. The purity and serenity from this grace is reflected in myriad and unique ways. As snow bathes evergreen branches, Lake Nityananda, Lord Shiva, the bridge, and each part of Shree Muktananda Ashram, it seems to paint the soul of each sacred place with love. And as change continues, the sun melts a kiss of grace on the grass revealing a heart. More love, more grace inviting us to be still and feel the lotus flower within us blooming.
 
Thank you, Gurumayi, for helping us to experience the profound beauty of nature.  Each of these images is a beacon of light and warmth, welcoming us to the wonders of our sacred path together. There are so many treasures around us, if we take the time to see them and feel our heart reflected in their beauty.

New York, USA

A wondrous benediction of nature. I am serene, quiet, wanting to go inside and meditate. I felt I was looking at God’s portrayal of a bucolic winter scene. I became still, as though the grace of the Guru had descended upon me.

South Carolina, USA

Oregon, USA

New Delhi, India