from

Holiday Greetings

This year, Baba's Taos ashram served between 700 and 1000 meals

per week of Maharajji's prasad. The "Hanuman's Garden" farm har-

vested 2 tons of organic produce and distributed a free bag of organic

veggies each week to 14 needy families throughout the farm season

thanks to the "Donate a CSA Share" program.

By Maharajji's grace, the

Taos ashram community

continues to serve in Ba-

ba's tradition of "Feed

Everyone." As the year

comes to a close, let's take

inspiration from Dada's

words in his book "By His

Grace"....

"Babaji kept close watch

on everyone and every-

thing, down to the tiniest detail. He would visit the kitchens to keep

people alert. Early in the morning, as soon as the prasad-puris and

vegetables or halva-was prepared, he would examine it carefully to see

if the right ingredients had been used, if the potatoes were well-

cooked, and if the puris were well-fried. He would say that it was of

utmost importance to maintain the purity and sanctity of the prasad.

At Kainchi, huge quantities of food were served every day as prasad, in

sufficient amounts as to constitute a full meal for the majority of peo-

ple. Especially in the countryside, hunger is the bane of a large por-

tion of the population. Maharajji would remove the hunger of as

many as would come to him. Often he said, 'Food is God. Feeding the

hungry is actually worship.' People were well-acquainted with his

statements: 'God comes before the hungry as food', and 'First bhojan

(food) and then bhajan (prayer).'

Sometimes the amount of food prepared seemed to be more than could

be distributed, but Babaji always knew how many persons would be

visiting and how much prasad was to be served. He would tell me,

'Dada, prasad can never be in excess or surplus. It all depends on how

you distribute it. There should be no waste or misuse. People give

their money and provisions to Hanumanji. The day they are wasted,

they will not give to Hanumanji any more. This must not be forgotten.'

The bhandara would continue openly until five o' clock. Babaji used to

make his rounds of the ashram after the gates closed. One day we

came to the prasad room and found there was a full basket of puris and

two buckets of potatoes that had remained undistributed. The puris

could be taken by the ashramites at night, but the potatoes would

surely be wasted. The prasad had been distributed by some elderly

people. I said, 'Couldn't they see by three or four o'clock that they

needed to increase the amount of prasad that was distributed?'

Baba looked at me, smiled and said, 'Dada, you do not know how very

painful it must be to give. They would rather waste and throw away

than give to others...It is not easy to do bhandara in

the name of Hanumanji. If you give only to the people

of your choice, then the food will remain and go to

waste. If you have offered your food to Hanumanji, it

no longer belongs to you. Hanumanji himself sees that

people get their prasad.'

If you think that you or I have something, we cannot

give. You must think of it as Hanumanji's-that only

he can give. You are only the ladle, the leaf on which

it is being given".

Anandi

General Manager

The Neem Karoli Baba Ashram

Greetings!

As the nights grow longer, and the cold settles in, we are

thankful for the vibrant community at NKB Ashram in Taos,

NM.

Throughout the year we have said goodbye to good friends,

greeted new babies and families into our circle. We have sung

to Hanuman, prayed to Baba, honored the

Goddess in all of her forms. We honored all of our

children (Kumaris) on the tenth night of Durga

Puja.

We celebrated an abundant

Thanksgiving and gathered

around the big table in the

kitchen for a family style

Hanuman Chalisa before

enjoying Prasad.

As we go into the new year,

after experiencing these

darkest nights may we

remember how precious are

our connections to each

other.

Namaste!

Harmony

Media Manager

Neem Karoli Baba Ashram

Taos, New Mexico

Winter Schedule Temple is open daily 7 am-8 pm in winter (October-March) and 7 am-9 pm in sum-

mer (April-September).

Weekly Schedule

Tuesday Kirtan (starting at 4 pm in winter, 5 pm in summer) Followed by prasad

and evening aarti

Thursdays-Reading from the Ramayana, the beautiful tale of Ram, Sita and Hanu-

man, every Thursday at 6 pm in the temple room.

Sunday 11 am Chanting of Hanuman Chaleesa Followed by aarti and prasad

2016 Festivals Maha Shivaratri Monday, March 7

Festival starts at sunset and continues all night

Hanuman Jayanti Friday, April 15-Saturday, April 16

Chanting of Hanuman Chaleesa begins at 1:08 pm on Friday and continues for 24 hours, fol-

lowed by aarti and prasad

Guru Purnima Monday, July 18-Tuesday, July 19

Chanting of Maha Mantra (Hare Rama, Hare Krishna) begins at 1:08 pm on Friday and contin-

ues for 24 hours, followed by aarti and prasad

Maharaj-ji's Mahasamadhi Bhandara Friday, September 9-Saturday 10

Chanting of Hanuman Chaleesa begins at 1:08 pm on Friday and continues for 24 hours, fol-

lowed by aarti and prasad

Navratri

Saturday, October 1-Monday, October 10

Festivities begin each evening at sunset.

I feel so blessed each day to come to Baba’s ashram, to use the skills I acquired

through my lifetime, to contribute and take care of the earthly needs at the

ashram. Thank you to all the donors through who’s kind-

ness & generosity we can lovingly continue our work

here. Thank you to my co workers whose hard work and

seva is so evident and heartfelt. By His grace... With so

much love. Tara

Marigolds

Happy

Birthday

Hanuman!

Bhandara 2015 This year’s Ram Lila was first class!

We practiced for many weeks to

entertain guests with this fantastic tale of

Sita and Ram!

Durga Puja