The 18th April 2018 was a special day for Kriya Yoga but especially for Kriya Yoga in Australasia. In the presence of our  beloved Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, together with our visiting monks — Swami Atmavidyananda, Swami Samarpanananda, Swami Matrukrupananda, and Swami Sampurnananda — and our two resident Kriya teachers Swami Guripriyananda and Swami Sarvatmananda, we celebrated the official inauguration of our Ashram in Lisarow, Australia.

In India, the 18th April is New Year's Day where there are many celebrations and festivities. Swami Atmavidyananda led us all in the beautiful celebration of Puja. This is a prayer ritual of devotional worship sometimes used to spiritually celebrate an event — in this case the official inauguration of our Ashram. A fire ceremony was part of the Puja along with devotional hymns, prayers, chants and purification rituals to instill peace, harmony, love and compassion in the Ashram and its surroundings. The ceremony also included a ritual to invoke the loving and divine presence of Paramahamsa Hariharananda and the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra 108 times. Through this process of reverence, honour, homage, adoration, purification and cleansing, we together celebrated a new beginning, a new year and a new Ashram, which will now be officially known as the "Centre of Kriya Meditation".

After the ceremony, a beautiful lunch was served to over 100 attendees including many non-Kriyavans. The Swami’s then participated in a tree planting ceremony where 4 fruit trees (2 mango, 1 paw paw/papaya and 1 banana) were planted to symbolise new life and new beginnings. After listening to a short address from our beloved Swami’s, the day’s events were closed with a silent meditation to give love and thanks to our Master’s for the wonderful blessings they have bestowed on us.