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Greetings and pranams to everyone!
We are the Cultivators of Light, a nonprofit building an intentional living community located in the rugged Coast Mountains of northern California. After two years of educating ourselves on self- sufficiency and sustainability we are ready to accelerate development and bring onboard a group of friends and business partners. We are currently seeking donations that will support our application for California tax-exempt status and provide the short-term living essentials for our growing band of volunteer residents.
We are inspired by the “plain living and high thinking” advocated by Paramahansa Yogananda, often referred to as the “father of yoga in the west”. Using Yogananda’s teachings as our basis, we follow his example of world brotherhood and religious unity by serving and joining with all peoples and faiths. After fully establishing our headquarters community in northern California, our long-term ambition is to form a network of like-minded communities that will support one another through exchange of resources and ideas. We believe the growing interest in sustainable living and the spiritual values delivered by Yogananda can perfectly align to establish a lasting and continually developing movement that will be a model for generations to come.
Here is an itemized breakdown of the community needs over the next 4 months:
Nonprofit Incorporation: $1,000
Our first step is incorporating the Cultivators of Light as a tax-exempt 501c3 NGO (Non-Governmental Organization). This gives us a more comprehensive route to funding, interactions with volunteers and members, and legal security.
Food: $1600 ($400/month)
We are in the process of preparing our forest garden and orchards but they take time to propagate. A large part of the vegetable garden will produce by early-mid summer, significantly reducing our food expenses. It’s critical we have enough food for our growing community.
Internet-Skyroam hotspot: $240 ($60/ month)
To continue networking for this growing movement we require a stable internet connection as cell service is spotty at our remote location. We have a downpayment on Starlink (Tesla's high-speed internet for remote locations) which will begin later this year. But in the mean time we wish to keep our existing Skyroam hotspot in service to continue our networking efforts.
Vehicle: $1000
Our primary vehicle has seen wear and tear from travel over the past year visiting similar communities we are networking with. We need to perform routine maintenance including replacing all four tires.
Gas: $1200 ($200/month + $400 for contingent trips)
Many projects, especially forestry and milling for construction, require gas-powered tools. Also, while we do our best to minimize the number of trips into town, they are still necessary to procure supplies and meet with the local community. Additionally we anticipate making a trip or two over the period to meet with other communities across the western U.S. or to transport new volunteer residents to our headquarters community.
Guest Comfort and Work Gear: $1000
As a growing community at an elevation of 3,500’ that often sees snow in the winter, we need resources to offer those staying here safety and comfort such as warm clothes and bedding. We also require safety gear to minimize work injury. Thanks to a generous donation of work boots, we’re prioritizing eye and ear protection, gloves and chainsaw chaps.
No donation is too small. This is a fundamental movement. Anything and everything will be deeply appreciated as we want to bring as many people together as possible.
Our medium-length plan looking out past the next few months through the next year is to fully develop our northern California headquarters or pilot community. This is largely an infrastructure project and will require bringing on others interested in helping with development, including those who intend to grow with us as long term community members. We are also looking into acquiring lands adjacent to our current property to steward as part of our community. This will provide a more reliable year-round water source and provide a wider range of development opportunities. We are currently in the process of seeking a more robust funding path for these items which is a major goal of our current networking effort. But looking slightly further out as our community develops and becomes increasingly self sufficient our reliance on donations will greatly diminish.
As mentioned, our long term goal is to establish a wide network of similar communities which will begin to fulfill Yogananda’s vision of “world brotherhood colonies”. This term comes from his lectures and teachings in which he described an environment dedicated to observing spiritual and natural laws by living in harmony with the land and each other. According to Gurudev, the social order would eventually move away from city life and back to smaller organized communal areas that are self- sufficient and sustainable. In an excerpt of the ‘World Crisis’ by Yogananda, he questions “How can you meet the impending world crisis that is coming? The best way is to adopt plain living and high thinking...Choose a dwelling place that is adequate, but not larger than you really need, and if possible in an area where taxes and other living expenses are reasonable. Make your own clothes, can your own food. Grow your own vegetable garden, and if feasible, keep a few chickens to produce eggs. Work the garden yourself, or you will lose money in paying wages to a gardener. Keep life simple and enjoy what God has provided, without seeking false expensive pleasures. There is much in God’s hidden nature to fascinate the mind of man. Use your free time to read worthwhile books, meditate, and enjoy an uncomplicated life. Isn’t this better – Simple living, fewer worries, and the time to seek God – than to have a huge house, and two cars, timely payments and a mortgage you cannot meet? Man has to go back to the land; it will come to pass eventually. If you think this isn’t so you will find you are mistaken. But regardless of where your home and work are, cut out luxuries, buy less expensive clothes, supply yourself with things you really need, grow your own food, and put money aside regularly for greater security”.
We’ve coined the name “The Forest '' for the network of communities, or world brotherhood colonies that the Cultivators of Light establish and connect together. Each community or colony will support one another physically, financially, and spiritually to achieve a common goal of world peace through brotherhood. Although our current emphasis is on our headquarters colony, the Cultivators of Light are beginning to travel to other existing and developing communities and are starting to grow The Forest. We teach methods of natural farming, regenerative agriculture, sustainable building, sustainable water and energy harvesting, and other facets of self-sufficiency. At the same time we get to meet creative and resourceful people and learn new ideas and techniques. As we begin to establish The Forest our dependence on donations will largely disappear as resources are traded between colonies. The colonies, in turn, will serve the world by offering sustainably derived resources, educating and supporting their surrounding communities, and most importantly offer inspiration and leadership.
A second guiding principle after the teachings of Yogananda stems from study of the varna system of ancient India, a four-class societal structure. Formerly, India was largely governed by one of these four classes called the Kshatriya class, made of warriors, kings, and social governors. Essentially, the Kshatriya class is those who uphold the most important principles for a functioning society such as truth, justice and harmony. It’s our understanding that the difficult times the world finds itself in is synchronous with degradation of this class. Its degraded state is perhaps most vividly experienced by the uneasy feeling many of us get about the quality of other people around us, political leaders or even of ourselves. The uneasy feeling is ultimately the result of the struggle to maintain qualities of resolve, moral authority and intellectual influence among the swirl of other forces at play. A renaissance of the Kshatriya class means restoring the balance of power to those whose most basic and unyielding desire is to uphold harmony and to bring out this warrior-like quality in others.
The Cultivators of Light will begin to rebuild the Kshatriya class by first recruiting and harnessing the warrior-ready out there that are excited right now to bring about fundamental change. At the same time we will welcome those curious and seeking something different. Studying Yogananda’s teaching as a colony member they will make progress toward realizing their greater self, unleashing their inner warrior. Then the warrior in all members will be further cultivated through their integral role in the sustenance, protection, and development of their particular colony in addition to The Forest at large. The Forest will then contribute to redevelopment of the Kshatriya class society wide. They will serve as a source of inspiration, guidance and courage that will empower people across cultures to become the leaders we need to move closer toward harmony with each other and the planet.
Stay updated with our ongoing projects and community life through our Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/cultivatorsoflight/
Thank you for your time, love, and contributions. In Divine Friendship,
Cultivators of Light
We are the Cultivators of Light, a nonprofit building an intentional living community located in the rugged Coast Mountains of northern California. After two years of educating ourselves on self- sufficiency and sustainability we are ready to accelerate development and bring onboard a group of friends and business partners. We are currently seeking donations that will support our application for California tax-exempt status and provide the short-term living essentials for our growing band of volunteer residents.
We are inspired by the “plain living and high thinking” advocated by Paramahansa Yogananda, often referred to as the “father of yoga in the west”. Using Yogananda’s teachings as our basis, we follow his example of world brotherhood and religious unity by serving and joining with all peoples and faiths. After fully establishing our headquarters community in northern California, our long-term ambition is to form a network of like-minded communities that will support one another through exchange of resources and ideas. We believe the growing interest in sustainable living and the spiritual values delivered by Yogananda can perfectly align to establish a lasting and continually developing movement that will be a model for generations to come.
Here is an itemized breakdown of the community needs over the next 4 months:
Nonprofit Incorporation: $1,000
Our first step is incorporating the Cultivators of Light as a tax-exempt 501c3 NGO (Non-Governmental Organization). This gives us a more comprehensive route to funding, interactions with volunteers and members, and legal security.
Food: $1600 ($400/month)
We are in the process of preparing our forest garden and orchards but they take time to propagate. A large part of the vegetable garden will produce by early-mid summer, significantly reducing our food expenses. It’s critical we have enough food for our growing community.
Internet-Skyroam hotspot: $240 ($60/ month)
To continue networking for this growing movement we require a stable internet connection as cell service is spotty at our remote location. We have a downpayment on Starlink (Tesla's high-speed internet for remote locations) which will begin later this year. But in the mean time we wish to keep our existing Skyroam hotspot in service to continue our networking efforts.
Vehicle: $1000
Our primary vehicle has seen wear and tear from travel over the past year visiting similar communities we are networking with. We need to perform routine maintenance including replacing all four tires.
Gas: $1200 ($200/month + $400 for contingent trips)
Many projects, especially forestry and milling for construction, require gas-powered tools. Also, while we do our best to minimize the number of trips into town, they are still necessary to procure supplies and meet with the local community. Additionally we anticipate making a trip or two over the period to meet with other communities across the western U.S. or to transport new volunteer residents to our headquarters community.
Guest Comfort and Work Gear: $1000
As a growing community at an elevation of 3,500’ that often sees snow in the winter, we need resources to offer those staying here safety and comfort such as warm clothes and bedding. We also require safety gear to minimize work injury. Thanks to a generous donation of work boots, we’re prioritizing eye and ear protection, gloves and chainsaw chaps.
No donation is too small. This is a fundamental movement. Anything and everything will be deeply appreciated as we want to bring as many people together as possible.
Our medium-length plan looking out past the next few months through the next year is to fully develop our northern California headquarters or pilot community. This is largely an infrastructure project and will require bringing on others interested in helping with development, including those who intend to grow with us as long term community members. We are also looking into acquiring lands adjacent to our current property to steward as part of our community. This will provide a more reliable year-round water source and provide a wider range of development opportunities. We are currently in the process of seeking a more robust funding path for these items which is a major goal of our current networking effort. But looking slightly further out as our community develops and becomes increasingly self sufficient our reliance on donations will greatly diminish.
As mentioned, our long term goal is to establish a wide network of similar communities which will begin to fulfill Yogananda’s vision of “world brotherhood colonies”. This term comes from his lectures and teachings in which he described an environment dedicated to observing spiritual and natural laws by living in harmony with the land and each other. According to Gurudev, the social order would eventually move away from city life and back to smaller organized communal areas that are self- sufficient and sustainable. In an excerpt of the ‘World Crisis’ by Yogananda, he questions “How can you meet the impending world crisis that is coming? The best way is to adopt plain living and high thinking...Choose a dwelling place that is adequate, but not larger than you really need, and if possible in an area where taxes and other living expenses are reasonable. Make your own clothes, can your own food. Grow your own vegetable garden, and if feasible, keep a few chickens to produce eggs. Work the garden yourself, or you will lose money in paying wages to a gardener. Keep life simple and enjoy what God has provided, without seeking false expensive pleasures. There is much in God’s hidden nature to fascinate the mind of man. Use your free time to read worthwhile books, meditate, and enjoy an uncomplicated life. Isn’t this better – Simple living, fewer worries, and the time to seek God – than to have a huge house, and two cars, timely payments and a mortgage you cannot meet? Man has to go back to the land; it will come to pass eventually. If you think this isn’t so you will find you are mistaken. But regardless of where your home and work are, cut out luxuries, buy less expensive clothes, supply yourself with things you really need, grow your own food, and put money aside regularly for greater security”.
We’ve coined the name “The Forest '' for the network of communities, or world brotherhood colonies that the Cultivators of Light establish and connect together. Each community or colony will support one another physically, financially, and spiritually to achieve a common goal of world peace through brotherhood. Although our current emphasis is on our headquarters colony, the Cultivators of Light are beginning to travel to other existing and developing communities and are starting to grow The Forest. We teach methods of natural farming, regenerative agriculture, sustainable building, sustainable water and energy harvesting, and other facets of self-sufficiency. At the same time we get to meet creative and resourceful people and learn new ideas and techniques. As we begin to establish The Forest our dependence on donations will largely disappear as resources are traded between colonies. The colonies, in turn, will serve the world by offering sustainably derived resources, educating and supporting their surrounding communities, and most importantly offer inspiration and leadership.
A second guiding principle after the teachings of Yogananda stems from study of the varna system of ancient India, a four-class societal structure. Formerly, India was largely governed by one of these four classes called the Kshatriya class, made of warriors, kings, and social governors. Essentially, the Kshatriya class is those who uphold the most important principles for a functioning society such as truth, justice and harmony. It’s our understanding that the difficult times the world finds itself in is synchronous with degradation of this class. Its degraded state is perhaps most vividly experienced by the uneasy feeling many of us get about the quality of other people around us, political leaders or even of ourselves. The uneasy feeling is ultimately the result of the struggle to maintain qualities of resolve, moral authority and intellectual influence among the swirl of other forces at play. A renaissance of the Kshatriya class means restoring the balance of power to those whose most basic and unyielding desire is to uphold harmony and to bring out this warrior-like quality in others.
The Cultivators of Light will begin to rebuild the Kshatriya class by first recruiting and harnessing the warrior-ready out there that are excited right now to bring about fundamental change. At the same time we will welcome those curious and seeking something different. Studying Yogananda’s teaching as a colony member they will make progress toward realizing their greater self, unleashing their inner warrior. Then the warrior in all members will be further cultivated through their integral role in the sustenance, protection, and development of their particular colony in addition to The Forest at large. The Forest will then contribute to redevelopment of the Kshatriya class society wide. They will serve as a source of inspiration, guidance and courage that will empower people across cultures to become the leaders we need to move closer toward harmony with each other and the planet.
Stay updated with our ongoing projects and community life through our Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/cultivatorsoflight/
Thank you for your time, love, and contributions. In Divine Friendship,
Cultivators of Light