Sunday Service
Schedule for Sunday Service in Bothell:
9:00a Fire Ceremony & Purification
9:15 am: Silent group meditation
10 am: Sunday Service
10:10am: Circle of Joy (Sunday School)
Sundays at Ananda Meditation Temple are the highlight of the week and are an excellent occasion for your first visit. Sunday Service is drawn from the ancient meditation tradition of the East and the mystical traditions of Christ, with scriptural readings from both the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. Service includes music, chanting, a brief period of meditation, inspirational talk, and a beautiful ceremony called A Festival of Light.
Paramhansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi and guru-preceptor for the work of Ananda, encouraged respect for all religions and all forms of sincere worship, service, and meditation. His own line of guru-preceptors include Jesus Christ, Babaji (formerly Krishna), Lahiri Mahasaya, and Swami Sri Yukteswar. Therefore we show particular respect and reverence to Yogananda and these illumined souls who sent him to the West. But our devotion is essentially and always, as he taught us, to God alone, and to the manifest divinity in those whom God sends to earth in human form to teach and uplift others.
At Ananda, each person who comes and participates does so with his or her own, inner realization and recognition. No one form of reverence, belief, or personal relationship to God or the gurus is expected or assumed. All are welcome to the weekly services and meditations. The only suggestion we make is to come with an open heart and an open mind.
Families with children are welcome to come to regular Sunday Service at 10am. Shortly after the service starts, at around 10:10am, children will be invited to attend Circle of Joy (Sunday School) in the downstairs classroom. Circle of Joy is appropriate for children ages 4-10. Read about Ananda’s full children’s offerings here.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sunday Service
What happens at Sunday Service?
Sunday Morning meditation begins at 9am. Fire Ceremony and Purification Ceremony start at 9 with meditation to follow. This portion is optional and concludes at 9:45.
The main portion of Sunday Service begins at 10am.
- Opening Prayer, song, and changes (15 minutes)
- Meditation with closing affirmations (5 minutes)
- Reading from “Rays of the One Light” and talk by one of the ministers (30 minutes)
- Offertory with music (5 minutes)
- Announcements
- Festival of Light (25 minutes)
What are the fire and purification ceremony?
At 9am each Sunday, we perform a Fire Ceremony and Purification Ceremony, which are optional.
For the fire ceremony, we light a fire and the ministers perform the ancient Gayatri Mantra and Mahamrityunjay Mantra. These are sanskrit mantras affirm our desire for freedom and liberation.
The Purification ceremony is an opportunity for individuals to pray for purification and invoke God’s grace and power through the masters. To do this:
- Write on a piece of paper (provided) a prayer or a quality of yourself you would like to offer to the masters.
- A line will form as people approach the ministers.
- When it is your turn, kneel or sit in front of a minister, and quietly say, “I seek purification by the grace of God.”
- The minister, on behalf of God and the Masters, will respond, saying, “The master says, ‘Open your heart to me, and I will enter, and take charge of your life.’ ”
- A brief period of silent prayer ensues, and includes a blessing given to you in the form of a gentle touch from the minister in the area of your heart to transmit divine blessing in a form that is customary in India.
- The minister will then say to you: “By the grace of our masters, you are free!” You may stand, and take your written prayer slip to the altar-dais to offer a silent prayer and place the paper in the jar, which will later be burned. Nobody will see what was written on your paper.
What is the Festival of Light?
Each week, we conduct the Festival of Light as the concluding segment of the Sunday Service. The Festiva of Light combines poetry, music, readings and ceremony to recount the soul’s long journey toward Self-realization, and to celebrate the blessing of God-realized masters who come into the world to assist soul in that journey. During this segment you are invited to participate in singing and reciting (responsive) prayers. Near the end of the Festival of Light, those who feel so inclined are invited to come up to the altar to receive teh “Touch of Light from the masters.” The ministers act as a channel for the masters in giving each person a blessing at the “spiritual eye” (in the forehead, with a gentle touch for a few seconds using the index finger of the right hand).
Who is on the altar?
The pictures on the Altar, from left to right: Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-1895); Babaji Krishna, Jesus Christ, Swami Sri Yukteswar (1865-1936); and Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952). We honor them for their divine attunement.
Are you Christian or Hindu? What denomination?
We honor all faith traditions, East and West, as being united in the truth-teaching that we are all children of God. Ananda is dedicated to showing the underlying unity in the original teachings of Jesus Christ and of Krishna, and to share the art and science of meditation, including the practice of Kriya Yoga. Yogananda called our path “Self-Realization.”
Is there Sunday School or Child Care?
Ananda offers Sunday School (or Circle of Joy) for children ages two through twelve.
Do I need to be a member, register, or signup?
Ananda does not have a formal membership process and no sign up is required. Just come as you are and you will be welcomed.
Is there a dress code? Should I take off my shoes?
There is space to leave your shoes outside the sanctuary but this is completely optional. There is no formal dress code though we do ask you dress modestly and respectfully.
Are there refreshments?
A vegetarian lunch is served on a donation basis after service in the Yoga Hall.
Past Recordings
Many are the Paths to God with Bruce Davis
This Sunday we’ll explore how to use our differences with others as a way to grow our own love for God in all his forms, and find that for true lovers of God, differences melt away.
Welcome to Sunday Service at Ananda Washington. Live from the Ananda Blue Lotus Temple in Bothell, Washington
In person at the Blue Lotus Temple and livestreamed.
Ananda WASHINGTON is based in Bothell, WA at the beautiful Blue Lotus Temple on Bothell Everett Highway on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and was founded by his direct disciple Swami Kriyananda in 1968. Learn more at https://www.anandawashington.org/paramhansa-yogananda/
HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH Subscribe to our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@AnandaWashington
If you have been touched in your own journey by Ananda and our videos please consider making a donation so that we, as a spiritual family, may all continue to reach and inspire souls everywhere: https://www.anandawashington.org/online-donation-monthly/
Dive into Yogananda’s spiritual teachings with join a class or event: https://www.anandawashington.org/classes-calendar
Learn to meditate with Ananda Course in Meditation: https://www.anandawashington.org/learn-to-meditate/
Download the FREE Ananda Meditation app and watch guided meditations https://www.ananda.org/meditation/app/Show More
