Ashrams
For Devotees --Purpose & Suggestions
Written by Ken Drummond on August 15, 2005
The
purpose of Ashrams for Devotees (AFD)is to provide a place for devotees
to live while practicing a lifestyle based on the teachings of
Paramahansa Yogananda.
We strive to support and serve SRF.
The
guiding principles of AFD are Love & Service, as exemplified by
Master’s teachings. These principles are at the core of any community
guidelines.
I try to serve others physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Service
Rather
than coerce others into certain actions, my attitude is to serve them
if it will help them, perhaps encouraging them likewise to serve others
to the best of their ability, since I know that it will help them to
serve as it is helping me. It will make them feel good about
themselves. Even when we are not feeling well, it can help us to serve
others. My attitude is only one of trying to be helpful if this advice
can be received as such. Otherwise I merely serve each one in ways that
might help them.
Getting Along
Master
spoke of the community in Encinitas saying if there was any disharmony
there he would be the first to leave. This is my approach to getting
along, not to try to relocate others but to relocate myself. This works
toward achieving my personal environmental objectives, while not adding
extra difficulty to others. I think it might also give a message of
caring. I can then visit the locations I have left from time-to-time,
but don’t need to feel trapped in a place that is uncomfortable for me.
Lifestyle
We
strive for plain living and high thinking. My feeling is to accept
anyone who comes, quite possibly applying the above principle for
getting along. My focus and ideal is to live with sincere devotees, so
I will always be jockeying my location to try to achieve that. But I
also want to include community outreach as part of my service, though I
want my main service to be connected to helping the spread and practice
of the teachings. I prefer to utilize simple and quite basic
dwellings-until the time comes where everyone we are in contact with is
adequately housed. Then we can improve the dwellings of everyone if it
is deemed necessary. But this is my own idea, how I intend to proceed
in this experiment. Each person will have their own needs and their own
wants.
Financial Matters
My
ideal is to live with no monetary exchange whatsoever, to do everything
based on Love & Service. Until we get there, I want money to be
freely given and received. If money is what one wants to give in the
way of service that is fine. Any service is appreciated from anyone.
There is no coercion or expectation here.
Education
I
want to help facilitate the learning and practice of Master’s teachings
wherever I go. Let us offer and receive knowledge and experience
freely, not hounding or boring people, but exchanging lovingly,
patiently, humbly, enthusiastically. I envision what might be called an
SRF University, but with free and simple learning and research, not
artificially structured.