It was on the 7th of May (Ananda Purnima) that we celebrated the birth of our guru and mentor. At 5 o’clock in the morning we started singing Baba Nam Kevalam, simultaneously in 3 different areas: on the water tank, among the ground floor columns of the pagoda, and on the wooden upper floor. We could still enjoy the blissful moon light…
At first there were only few of us, then more children came in…
When the first sun rays caressed our faces, all of the children were there, fresh and clean with gleaming pressed clothes on. The children were the life of the kiirtan, and the younger were even more intense than the older ones!
We celebrated out of gratitude and love for our Guru and hero, the special person that has brought Baan Unrak project alive. The person that has inspired thousands of people to do something noble in their life.
He is the master of mystics and spiritual seekers alike, and a loving father to the children of Baan Unrak. It was not easy to recognize him when he was alive, as he was hidden among the ordinary people of the world, with the very simple manners of a perfect gentle man. Now that he left his mortal form, he is in the heart of the people that came in contact with his beautiful Neo-Humanist philosophy.
That is why it is natural for us to celebrate his birthday.
We do it with kiirtan: the singing of the universal mantra, Baba Nam Kevalam (= Love Is Everything) aloud while ideating on Universal Love. It gives a feeling of bliss and prepares the mind for meditation.
The children did the decorations the night before. The outcome was enchanting. Everything was beautiful. It was a perfect setting for our celebration.
Our special baker took time to go to the closed bakery to make a beautiful birthday cake to complete our celebration. We celebrated meditating, singing, and with sweets and smiles.
BAAN UNRAK AWARDS
In this special occasion, we also took the opportunity to reward the children that had performed outstanding actions of kindness and love to all.
Here you can see how we celebrated before:
Every year has a different flavor, a unique atmosphere… but the essence of it doesn’t change: our feeling of gratefulness towards Him.
This year, the birthday celebration of our spiritual master marked a turning point for us. It is the beginning of a new phase in Baan Unrak.
We will tell you more about the new changes in the next blog articles…