This is the text-only version of the site. It is for browsers without Javascript enabled. For images, sound, and video, enable Javascript (if not already enabled) and press 'Re-enter Site'.
"The greatest influence in your life, stronger even than your will power, is your environment.
Change that, if necessary. Until you are mentally strong, you can never be what you want to be
without good environment to help you." -- Paramahansa Yogananda
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hidden Valley Ashram is an ideal setting for men seeking an environment founded on the teachings of our guru, Paramahansa Yogananda. The weekly schedule includes: individual and group meditations, inspirational classes, satsangas, service, recreational activities, and time for solitude and reflection. Spiritual counseling with monastics is also available.
Spread over one hundred acres of rural land in eastern San Diego county, the ashram is about 120 miles south of Los Angeles and 40 miles northeast of San Diego.
Nestled among rolling hills, this spiritual haven has secluded trails for contemplative walks, as well as beautiful rock formations for meditation, relaxing, and enjoying God’s beauty and intelligence in nature.
The ashram has approximately thirty full-time residents, including a number of monks and guests who serve in the various ashram departments. You will have the opportunity to serve and meditate with the monks and other residents. --------------------
Each person has a private room. Accommodations are simple, but comfortable and clean. --------------------
All meals are vegetarian and are inspired by international cuisine. Much of the fruit and vegetables are from the ashram’s organic orchards and gardens. --------------------
The ashram features a swimming pool, soccer field, gym, Hatha Yoga pavilion, and volleyball and basketball courts. Our library has a complete collection of the Self-Realization Fellowship books, plus a wide selection of other inspirational reading. The bookstore offers SRF books, CDs, and DVDs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staying at Hidden Valley provides an opportunity to immerse oneself in the spiritual life. Daily life is a balanced schedule of personal meditation, study, introspection, and recreation. The ashram schedule includes group meditations, weekly classes and services, and other optional spiritual activities. --------------------
This program allows you to live and serve for up to four weeks in an SRF ashram. Participants, all of whom are students of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons, are assigned specific ashram duties and serve along with ashram residents seven hours a day, five days a week. Serving as a karma yogi helps one cultivate the attitude, “For God and Guru” in whatever he is doing. Selfless service is a powerful way to relax the tight hold of the ego on the consciousness. Serving with other devotees also fosters deep spiritual friendships. --------------------
This How-To-Live program is for men who want to serve and live in the ashram community for up to two years. Ashram residents receive training in our Guru’s teachings and are given the opportunity to integrate them into their lives in a spiritually supportive environment. Paramahansaji said, “The greatest influence in your life, stronger even than your will power, is your environment. Change that, if necessary. Until you are mentally strong, you can never be what you want to be without good environment to help you.” Making this kind of commitment to your sadhana (path of spiritual discipline) will benefit all aspects of your life. Living in the ashram for an extended period will put your spiritual life on a firm foundation. Residents receive a small monthly allowance from the ashram. --------------------
Special weekend programs include classes, meditations, and free time to deepen your understanding of our Guru’s teachings and meditation techniques. Conducted weekend programs are thematic; different topics about the spiritual life are explored at various retreats. Kriya Yoga review is available for Kriyabans. Most programs encourage silence during the weekend. Please see the calendar section for themed programs offered this year. --------------------
Groups of men come throughout the year to deepen the bond of divine friendship and their spiritual lives. Many of these groups serve Gurudeva’s work, including ushers from SRF temples and staff for the SRF Boys’ Youth Program. Men from young adults groups also come to share time of spiritual fellowship and deepen their sadhana. --------------------
Please enable javascript to see the current suggested donations, or you can call or email the ashram.
If you would like to pay by credit card please email us at info@hvashram.org and we will call you back the same day, or please feel free to call us at (760) 749-3399.
Checks can be made out to "Self-Realization Fellowship". Memo line: "Hidden Valley Ashram". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ashram tour consists of videos and slide shows. Javascript must be enabled in order to view them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To view the current schedule of conducted weekend retreats, enable Javascript. Below is a sampling of retreats currently offered:
Millions of people live a one-sided life and pass on in incompleteness. God has given each of us a soul, a mind, and a body, which we should try to develop uniformly. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Join us for a weekend focused on how to live a balanced life in today’s fast-paced world. This program also provides an opportunity for physical, mental, and spiritual renewal in an environment ideal for quiet walks, introspection, and interiorization.
Conducted by SRF monastics, this program will include: Achieving your balance in your life; Self-awareness for positive change and growth; The art of introspection: Being receptive to inner intuitive direction; Writing as an effective tool for self-awareness; Getting control of your time and your life…. Awareness of personal obstacles on your path; Clarifying priorities and setting personal goals so you have time for what really matters;Identifying true needs…. Setting realistic goals for spiritual, emotional and material success; Identifying your strengths and capitalizing on them; Facing negative emotions in order to deal constructively with them; Review of Hong Sau and Om Techniques of meditation; Guided meditations and devotional services.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
This silent retreat will be dedicated to the devotional approach to God, and will include inspirational talks, guided meditations with emphasis on devotion, and periods of devotional chanting. Among the topics to be addressed will be: Adopting a lovable concept of God; Cultivating the desire for God; The heart: Powerful center of feeling and love; Chanting as a form of deep devotion; Love, devotion, surrender.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
This is the highest relationship – that of Guru and disciple. The Guru or Spiritual Preceptor expresses the highest ideal for love and friendship. He wants nothing but the disciple’s good; and leads him, through incarnations if need be, to the ultimate good or God. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
The weekend program, conducted by SRF monks, will include: The Guru as the ultimate friend; Not limiting the Guru; Cultivating receptivity to the Guru’s inner guidance; Meditations lead by monks. Step-by-step instruction in the practice of the Guru-given techniques of meditation, with periods of stillness and devotion; Devotional chanting with kirtan (Indian instruments); Practicing the presence of the Guru.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
Untying the cord of breath that binds the soul to the body, Kriya serves to prolong life and to enlarge the consciousness to infinity. The yoga technique overcomes the tug of war between the mind and the matter-entangled senses, and frees the devotee to reinherit his eternal kingdom. He knows then that his real being is bound neither by physical encasement nor by breath - symbol of mortal man's enslavement to air, to Nature's elemental compulsions. Master of his body and mind, the Kriya Yogi ultimately achieves victory over the ‘last enemy’ - death. Kriya Yoga plus devotion, it works like mathematics, it cannot fail. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
The weekend program, conducted by SRF monastics, will include: Step-by-step training in the practice of Kriya Yoga as well as the Hong Sau and Om techniques; Guided meditation and group practice of Kriya Yoga; Opportunities to ask questions regarding the practice of Kriya and the other meditation techniques given by our Guru; Time in a spiritual environment to experience God’s presence as profound peace, love, and joy; A Kriya ceremony on Saturday evening.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
During this silent retreat, we will review the theory and practice of the meditation techniques taught by Paramahansa Yogananda, and the attitude of mind by which we can “imbue scientific meditation with devotion”, a necessary step for spiritual success. The retreat program will include group practices of: Energization Exercises – revitalizing all the body parts with life force, by the use of will power; Hong-Sau technique – relaxing and concentrating the mind on the object of meditation; Om technique – expanding the consciousness by tuning the mind to the cosmic Om vibration; Group meditations, inspirational classes, and question and answer sessions.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
Sound or vibration is the most powerful force in the universe. Music is a divine art, to be used not only for pleasure, but, as a path to God-realization. Vibrations resulting from devotional singing lead to attunement with the Cosmic Vibration, or the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
This is a retreat for devotees who want to improve their chant leading abilities and also for devotee who want to dive into chanting as a powerful way to awaken devotion in their personal sadhana. The weekend program, conducted by SRF monastics, will include: The art and science of chanting--overall training in dynamic, devotional chanting; Specific techniques for effective chanting; Training in specific instrument(s) of your choice by the monks who play in the Convocation kirtans; Getting beyond the instrument you are playing to allow absorption into the chant; Harmonium technique; The intuitive art of leading a group in chanting; How to create a devotional mood when leading a group; The power of music dynamics (soft, loud, slow, fast, chanting); Methods for working with other members of a kirtan group so there is harmony—avoiding power struggles.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
Concentration is a core component of yoga. “Yoga,” Paramahansa Yogananda said, “is a method for restraining the natural turbulence of thoughts, which otherwise impartially prevents all men, of all lands, from glimpsing their true nature of Spirit.” We perceive the Spirit within when we have attained a state of profound stillness and silence called pratyahara. The Master said, “When the devotee has attained pratyahara, the life is switched off from the senses, and the mind and consciousness are still and interiorized.”
By deep relaxation and correct practice of Guru-given techniques of meditation, we can learn to attain pratyahara, the beginning of true meditation. This weekend program will help you intensify the focus of your meditation, allowing you to move toward deeper states of consciousness and inner communion with the Divine. Conducted by SRF monastics, this program will include: Guided meditations; Inspirational, pragmatic classes on improving concentration and interiorizing life force and consciousness; Instruction and application of the meditation techniques to attain an interiorized state; Open discussion with the minister about meditation practice --------------------
When the ego steps out, God steps in. When the ego steps in God steps out. There is not room for both. ~ Rajarsi Janakananda
The weekend program, conducted by SRF monastics, will include classes on: Outer and inner renunciation Understanding what has to be renounced; Means of accomplishing inner renunciation; Esoteric renunciation.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. --------------------
By understanding the theory of Kriya Yoga, as explained in Kriya lessons 1-2-3-4, the student will receive more benefit from the actual practice of the Kriya Technique. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
The weekend program, conducted by SRF monastics, will include: Step-by-step training in the practice of Kriya Yoga, Maha Mudra, and Joyti Mudra; Guided meditation and group practice of Kriya Yoga; Opportunities to ask questions regarding the practice of Kriya and the other meditation techniques given by our Guru; A Kriya ceremony on Saturday evening.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual Kriya counseling. --------------------
You must seek quiet places where you can regularly get away by yourself and be free to think of God. When you are with people, be with them wholeheartedly; give them your love and attention. But also take time to be alone with God. Millions of people live a one-sided life and pass on in incompleteness. God has given each of us a soul, a mind, and a body, which we should try to develop uniformly. Practice the art of living in this world without losing your inner peace of mind. Follow the path of balance to reach the inner wondrous garden of Self-realization. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
The weekend program, led by SRF monks, will include: Conducted meditations and guided sessions on introspection; Focus groups discussing specific aspects of spiritualizing business; Pragmatic, interactive classes; Guided goal setting; Explanation of the divine laws of magnetism, generosity, volition and abundance.
The monks conducting the program will also be available for individual counseling. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To make a reservation, please call between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday. You can reach us at: (760) 749-3399 [Fax: (760) 749-3323], Email: info@hvashram.org. Please be aware that conducted weekend programs often fill up weeks in advance.
Hidden Valley Ashram16455 Old Guejito Grade RoadEscondido, CA 92027 --------------------
We suggest you bring the following items: a warm jacket, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, walking shoes or hiking boots, a swimsuit, a notebook, and rain gear (November to April). Summers are often very warm, but be prepared for cool weather at any time. If you are participating in the Karma Yoga Guest Program please bring work clothes and footwear. If you are interested in the Residential Program please contact us for additional information. --------------------
Enable Javascript for access to Google Maps and also a detailed local map. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Checks can be made out to “Self-Realization Fellowship”, memo line: "Hidden Valley Ashram".You can mail your donation to: Hidden Valley Ashram16455 Old Guejito Grade RoadEscondido, CA 92027 --------------------
Please email us at info@hvashram.org and we will call you back the same day to take your credit card information, or you can call us at (760) 749-3399 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For young men interested in monastic life, Hidden Valley Ashram provides an ideal opportunity to experience ashram life. Residents have the opportunity to participate in the monastic routine, to be with others considering a monastic vocation in SRF ashrams, and counsel with the monks.
For more information on the S.R.F. Monastic Order, go to http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/about.aspx?id=64
If you find that your environment isn’t suited to your goals, find another that will aid you. By changing to the right environment, you help to develop your magnetism and to change yourself for the better. Mix with those people who are models of what you would like to be. —Paramahansa Yogananda
One should seek pleasure in good company that helps to shape one’s will and judgment to pursue true happiness. —Paramahansa Yogananda
If one wants to find liberation and to understand what right actions are, he needs to seek the society of those who love God and meditate on Him. —Paramahansa Yogananda
A man who used to own a ranch near here was quite materialistic. I urged him to come to Encinitas fro time to time, and he did so. After the first few visits, he said, with tears in his eyes, “I never realized there was a place whose very atmosphere could speak so much of God’s presence. ” You see, religion must be practical. It must create some change in you – in your consciousness, and in your behavior. All those who have been coming here regularly have changed their lifestyle for the better. They have been spiritually influenced by this environment. —Paramahansa Yogananda
At the right time, and in the right environment, all good and bad actions of the past come to fruition, just as seeds sprout under the right conditions. This explains why it is important always to mix with good company. You don’t know what kinds of seeds, whether of disease or other negative happenings, are dormant within you. —Paramahansa Yogananda
Your greatest enemies are your bad habits. They will follow you from one incarnation to another until you overcome them. In order to free yourself from fate, you must cure yourself of bad habits. How? Good company is one of the best medicines. —Paramahansa Yogananda
Change yourself by yourself. It can be the easiest thing to do, or the hardest thing to do: easy if you meditate and keep good company; difficult if you don’t meditate and if you mix with people who wrongly influence you. —Paramahansa Yogananda
Analyze your own life. In the morning you get up and quickly say a short prayer. Then you eat and go to work. Next comes lunchtime, more work, and then dinnertime and some useless diversion; and before long you are off to bed. The same old thing, every day! And every day your will is being broken by the dictates of your habits and environment. Why do you allow this? You excuse yourself and say, “Someday I will try to do those things I know I should do. ” But that day may never come. Why limit your capability to the adage, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew”? I believe you should bite off more than you can chew, and then chew it! Don’t be useless. Make your life worthwhile. —Paramahansa Yogananda --------------------
Greater than all riches is true friendship. If you can be a true friend to people, you will find God. —Paramahansa Yogananda
My master Swami Sri Yukteswarji used to remind me: “Always be watchful of your company—the company of your friends and the company of your thoughts.” —Paramahansa Yogananda
Friendship is the purest human expression of God’s love, because it springs not from any dictates of biological or social instincts but from the free-will choice of the heart. —Paramahansa Yogananda
To me, true friendship is the greatest of all treasures. I love friendship that is given without any demand, friendship for the sake of friendship, without expectation of anything in return. —Paramahansa Yogananda
Grateful friends are only the Lord in disguise, looking after His own. —Paramahansa Yogananda --------------------
So long as you breathe the free air of earth, you are under obligation to render grateful service. —Sri Yukteswar
That God has given me the privilege to serve is my blessed good fortune. I want nothing; my only desire is that I may establish this work as a divine oasis where aspiring souls may quench their thirst. —Paramahansa Yogananda
Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position. —Anonymous
When one identifies no longer with his little self but with his divine Self, he rejoices, as does God, to be the servant of all. —Paramahansa Yogananda
To receive and communicate love, divine love, is our God-given duty in life. —Sri Daya Mata
Here I lay at Thy feet My life, my limbs, my thoughts and speech. For they are Thine; for they are Thine. —Paramahansa Yogananda --------------------
Keep life simple. Learn to appreciate and enjoy unsophisticated pleasures. I am happy to see so many people today getting back to that ideal. Some individuals are so full of tension and restlessness, it is impossible for them to look at the beauties of nature—a tree, or a sunset—and appreciate them. —Sri Daya Mata
I don’t think anyone enjoys the beauties of nature more than I do. But I don’t have to see a whole forest; I don’t have to visit a whole field of flowers. I find that joy in the breeze flowing through one tree, or in the patterned elegance of one tiny desert flower. One is enough, because I see the hand of God behind it. —Sri Daya Mata
O Infinite Beauty, Thou art more beautiful than all things beautiful that come from Thee. The beauties of nature are but waves of Thy beauty, dancing in Thee, O Invisible Spirit of Beauty! —Paramahansa Yogananda ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“This is a great place! A rare jewel! I can only come once a year, but my few days here have become a highlight each year to re-energize my spiritual practice and to relax from the stress of the world.”
“My visit has been a turning point in my spiritual life.”
“I come to Hidden Valley because for me, there is the desire to be in an ashram. Don’t lose that feeling!”
“During my times at Hidden Valley, I felt the tremendous benefits of spiritual family, both while at Hidden Valley, and after returning home.”
“The value of being part of a spiritual community can really only be known after having experienced it firsthand. Deep bonds are formed between all those involved: meditating and serving together in a beautiful and harmonious environment such as Hidden Valley strengthens everyone and creates a support system unmatched by any other.”
“The friendships I formed while staying at Hidden Valley are incomparable to any I found elsewhere. No introductions were even necessary – from the moment I arrived, I was surrounded by souls ‘once more friends to be’.”
“I can read Master’s How-To-Live teachings and get some understanding; but going to Hidden Valley I see, feel, and am lovingly supported in how to live.” --------------------
“An excellent program – I loved it.”
“It was about as good as it gets.”
“The monks in the kirtan group were very inspirational and generous in sharing their expertise in and joy of chanting.”
“Please, please have this again. I am not a kirtan performer but I might become one thanks to this program.”
“The enthusiasm was marvelous. Never saw such energy.”
“I’m new to SRF -- joined only a few months ago. It was a very intense experience for me. I will definitely be back from NJ.” --------------------
“Three reasons why Hidden Valley is a valuable step for those who are considering monastic life: (1) The tranquil environment is conducive for introspecting about one’s decision of becoming a monk. (2) One has the opportunity to follow a schedule that is comparable with the schedule of a monk. (3) In Hidden Valley, it is easy to speak to monks if one has questions about monastic life”.
“Hidden Valley Ashram lies in a picturesque valley, well removed from the pace and norms of modern-day living. Here, I had the invaluable opportunity to experience a Self-Realization Fellowship monastic community environment. This personal investment of time proved instrumental in my own final decision between becoming a householder or monastic disciple.”
“Hidden Valley was very beneficial for providing a smooth transition into the monastic life.”
“Hidden Valley provided me with the basic understanding of what monastic life would be like. Getting to live and work with the monks, following the ashram routine, and experiencing what it is like to live in a spiritual community helped prepare me for becoming a monastic myself. I’m very thankful for Hidden Valley because it was there that I really was able to test out, clarify, and move forward with my desire to become a monastic.”
“I found at Hidden Valley a true spiritual home and an opportunity to focus all my energy toward what my heart was seeking, a simple but profound life dedicated to God through meditation and, serviceful activities. Becoming a monk was then as natural as it can be.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enable Javascript in order to be added to the ashram mailing list for news and announcements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information on Self-Realization Fellowship, go to
http://www.yogananda-srf.org