Join us for an enchanting evening of art and culture to benefit the Nonprofit, Self Enquiry Life Fellowship. Enjoy a healing Ayurvedic vegetarian dinner alongside a silent auction of exquisite altar paintings and vintage photographs from our Indic heritage collection, some of which will be signed by our spiritual founder, His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda.
The evening will open at 4pm with silent auction of our sacred vintage artwork, followed by sublime Sanskrit chanting by His Holiness, who will also offer the keynote address. He will present how the Nonprofit is executing various indigenous aspects of the Sanskrit-based curriculum and is building a legacy of an authentic Sanskrit heritage in the West. As an inspirational example, video footage from our curricular work in India will be shown to share how a Vedic chanting class of village children matures into Indian classical music recording of the highest standard. Learn how the indigenous wisdom of ancient times is being revived and shared through our top-rated Nonprofit platform for benevolence in our communities and modern society.
This year we have implemented a new mobile bidding and checkout platform for our silent auction. We can assure you that the check-out and fulfillment of auction items at the end of the evening will be much smoother than in previous years. See section below on “Mobile Bidding” for further details.
Self Enquiry Life Fellowship is a top-rated Nonprofit that has earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. You can view our Nonprofit profile here.
What you Support
Your generosity enables the Nonprofit to support: (1) whole-brain accelerated learning through traditional Vedic schooling of children in India; (2) dharmic preservation projects such as revival of (a) ancient temples, (b) chanting lineages, (c) esoteric Vedic fire ceremonies and (d) indigenous green technology; (3) holistic curriculum and educational publications safeguarding the Sanskrit heritage of spiritual philosophy, sublime chanting, vintage photographs, Indic fine arts and classical music; and (4) establishment of an ashram retreat centre in the USA.
Donations and Sponsorships are channeled into two categories: Projects and Property.
Your donation for Projects supports our Nonprofit’s heritage projects. To learn more about the Nonprofit’s projects please visit hansavedas.org and click on “Projects” in the top navigation menu. Your donation for the Property will support the acquisition of a property for sustainable living where our unique holistic curriculum can be taught and practised. Your purchase of an art print at our auction sustains projects on revival of Indic sacred art, chanting lineages by schooling children, Indic classical music and value-based educational publications.
Silent Auction
During our live silent auction you will have the opportunity to view and purchase sacred art from our Nonprofit’s Fellowship archives. This collection and project preserves vintage art of the Sanskrit heritage, including rare paintings and vintage photographs. Our silent auction is the only opportunity to purchase limited edition prints signed by His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda. This year we will exhibit several rare and limited edition prints. You can preview the pieces that will be available on our online auction website. To read more about our Nonprofit’s work with sacred art please read about our Altar Painting project and Vintage Photography project.
Mobile Bidding at Silent Auction
This year you will be able to bid on our silent auction items from your mobile phone! Benefit registrants will be added automatically and will receive an automatic text message when the auction opens at 4:00pm on 12th October. Table guests for whom we do not have contact details will have to manually register for mobile bidding when they arrive at the event.
Online Auction
For those who cannot join us in-person we have added a separate online auction which will run from 7th October at 8:00am Pacific Time to 17th October at 6:00pm Pacific Time. Visit hansavedas.org/auction to preview the available pieces. Registration is required to place a bid.
Keynote Address by His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda
The spiritual founder of Self Enquiry Life Fellowship and head of the Hansavedas Mission will offer an inspirational Keynote Address titled Hallways of Art and Courtyards of Chanting. His Holiness is an ordained Himalayan Vedic monk, who hails from unbroken lineages of the combined heritage of rishi sages and nath meditation adepts. He is among the very few available outside of India who has been awarded the degree of Mahāmahopādhyāy (DLitt et Phil) by the university system in India, due to his scholarly and meditative interpretation of Sanskrit literature.
Attire
Semi-formal attire is recommended. Festive or traditional Indian clothes are appropriate as is Western style clothing that is semi-formal. Kindly note that we will be in the presence of His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda, therefore it is also recommended that attire is modest.
Accommodations
The local Houston devotees will joyfully host all out-of-town guests. Please email [email protected] with your arrival and departure dates to be connected with a host. In some cases you may need to arrange for shuttle transportation from the airport to your host family home. We recommend Super Shuttle.
Flight Booking
Those flying in for this event may use the Houston International Airport (IAH) or the Houston Hobby Airport (HOU). IAH is a roughly 40 minute drive to the venue and HOU is a roughly 30 minute drive to the venue. In some cases rides to and from the airport may be available, but in the event that rides are not feasible we would suggest either car rental or Super Shuttle.
Tax-deductible Portion of your Sponsorship
Sponsorships are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The amount of your registration and/or sponsorship donation towards this event which may be deducted for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess of money contributed over the value of the goods or services provided by Self Enquiry Life Fellowship. Following the event you will be mailed and/or emailed a formal acknowledgement detailing the tax-deductible portion of your contribution.
Should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact our Santa Barbara, California Main Office at [email protected] or by phone at 909-543-6003.
