To be a monk means to be someone who is filled with this desire to find God.
In one sense, nobody thinks he’s good enough to live this life.
But, on the other hand, nobody is asking for perfection either.
The life is a process of working on yourself
and as long as you are willing to do that,
that’s really the only qualification.
Why did I come?
Well everyone has their unique story.
For me it’s a calling.
I never saw myself becoming a monk.
If you asked my friends where they thought I would be
it certainly wouldn’t be in a monastery.
I was just an everyday guy doing everyday things I guess.
And then I went to a place called Hidden Valley,
which is an opportunity for male members
to have retreats and experience the life there.
And, I was hooked.
I just felt the joy of serving something other than myself.
I’d never felt anything like that before.
Let us begin the exercises.
Heavenly Father, it is Thou who dost directly sustain our bodies.
Awaken within us conscious will, conscious health,
conscious vitality, and conscious realization.
The routine itself gives you peace
and a great foundation to build your spiritual life on.
Just following with the group and the routine, the schedule that we have,
makes everything so much easier.
Being out in the world, trying to practice these techniques,
you would probably have to use five to ten times as much energy
and willpower and effort to actually do the routine
that we do automatically each day.
That fact in itself is so helpful when later on
you sit down to pray and meditate
and try to contact God within.
Divine Mother, help me to seek Thee
as the ever-increasing bliss of meditation.
You know, when one is looking at the ashram from the outside
one has a certain perception;
and when you go to Hidden Valley that perception gets a little more concrete
because you have first-hand experience of what an ashram is like,
what the monastic lifestyle is like,
and the routine and so forth.
But, when you actually come into the ashram,
not just living at Hidden Valley as a retreatant or a resident,
but you actually enter the ashram as a monk,
it is a whole different ballgame, so to speak,
where it dawns on you the purity and the sanctity of this lifestyle
that you have embraced.
In theory, I had a certain concept,
but when you actually start living it on a daily basis
it is overwhelming in the beginning because you realize that,
if I continue to live this way
the potential of this lifestyle
to completely transform my consciousness is infinite.
The first years of monastic life its training:
postulant training; novice training.
They are meant to give a practical experience
of what living as a monk means.
When an aspirant is thinking of taking this life as his own lifestyle
so they have an opportunity to come here and experience it.
Divine Mother, give us food, health, and prosperity for the body;
efficiency for the mind;
and above all Thy love and wisdom for the soul.
Aum. Peace. Amen.
It is not like a theological course in a college.
Here it is fully experiential from the very [first] day to the last day.
Monks generally live a rather structured life
and here [in the postulant ashram], life is very structured.
There is a moment for everything.
There are two periods of individual meditations.
Two to three periods of group meditations during the day.
There are periods set aside for study,
periods set aside for classes,
and periods set aside for recreation, sports, and of course, rest.
And periods for fun, too— we have fun activities periodically.
Postulant life is just the beginning.
Then there will be a few years as novice
where the young monk will learn more.
I can remember when I was making that decision to come in
and it was a challenge to make that final decision
and take that step forward.
I don’t know other people’s experience but
it just wasn’t like a clear 100%
like I really knew exactly what I wanted to do.
So I had to take a leap of faith I think,
and muster up enough courage to take that step and trust Master.
How do you feel now?
Are you still leaping or have you landed one foot on the other side…?
I feel once you settle into the life and get a few years here,
and the experience unfolds,
it feels like your family, it feels like home.
When you are first applying, it feels like a world away.
I am trying to think of applicants now.
For me, it was like “gosh, how would I get to that point
to convince my family, my friends, quit my job.”
These are all big jumps to make.
So I feel for people who are thinking about the life, it’s not easy.
In a sense, there’s like rings of fire you have to jump through.
Really just take little steps: going to Hidden Valley was huge for me.
Seeing other monks in action, going to a conducted retreat,
and seeing a monk there. “Oh wow, this person is just normal.”
The first time I went to Hidden Valley for six months,
I loved it; I loved the community.
There were a lot of people my age doing the same thing—
I hadn’t had that in the world.
I felt kind of like, in a way, a loner in the world.
I had friends but not people who I could have that deeper friendship with.
At Hidden Valley, I think I found that in a large part
and that was a big inspiration for me to take the next step
and apply to become a monk.
I didn’t apply that time;
I left for a while.
And one day I remember riding my bike
and all of a sudden, it just hit me:
“You are missing the community.
You had been so happy at Hidden Valley
and now you are back out and doing the things you like,
but you are missing that spiritual community.”
I didn’t fall off my bike but it was like, “Wow!
Okay, I have to go back to Hidden Valley.”
And then I did shortly after.
It was like trusting that strong feeling.
From there I lived there for about a year
while I was applying to come into the ashram.
I’m still here.
The monastic life is, in essence, a journey within:
an interior search for one’s own divinity.
And yet, it is not a withdrawal from life,
but ironically, the means to actually live life fully
and give back to the world and others,
the best and highest that we all aspire to
and are capable of as complete human beings.
Yes, I would definitely say that if someone is thinking about the monastic life,
and whether it is worth the effort or not,
it has certainly been worth the effort in my lifetime.
It has completely changed my state of consciousness.
In fact, to be perfectly honest with you,
I have to think sometimes pretty hard to remember
how I was when I first came into the ashram.
As we draw closer to God, and we feel His presence,
we feel His love, we feel that inner peace and joy,
we cannot but be a happier person, a happier individual.
And, that is what we are after.
Well, I think I can honestly say I am a very different person
than 14 years ago when I entered the ashram.
I think in every way, physically, mentally, spiritually, I have grown.
Physically, I am healthier because I eat better; I exercise regularly.
Mentally, I have a better attitude, I feel.
I am able to stay more calm, and more contented,
and more happy despite outer conditions.
I am less moody,
and I am able to get along better with people.
And, spiritually also, I feel I have progressed because
there is a focused effort that is happening on a daily basis
in the ashram community on an individual level
and on a collective level.
So, I feel that I am a new person.