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According to India’s ancient spiritual tradition, certain ritual practices have the power to attract divine cosmic energy for the benefit of the practitioner, his or her household, and the world at large. One of the most powerful practices involves homas.
Certain special offerings are made into the fire while Sanskrit mantras are chanted. The combination of the powerful energy of the fire element, the most transformational among the Five Elements, and the chanted mantras creates extremely auspicious and purifying vibrations that are beneficial to all who attend the homa.
The smoke that rises from a homa contains a powerful healing energy, and as it rises to the heavens it purifies the atmosphere, both physically and subtly, encouraging a peaceful environment and gentle weather. Even the damaging effects of natural catastrophes can be reduced through the performance of homas.
The energetic vibrations that are invoked during a traditional Vedic fire ceremony represents one of the most powerful presence of the Divine on Earth. The element of fire is associated with the upward motion of the divine kundalini energy and is considered to be the most powerfully purifying element. Every kind of negative karma can be purified by the sacred homa fire, due to divine grace.
What does UCBK offer?
We hold private and group sessions online or in-person at our West Los Angeles (Brentwood) and Santa Cruz (Felton) locations.
UCBK Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation operating as a church in the state of California since 2007 is a meditation, charitable, healing, and spiritual center, open to anyone of any faith, path, religion, or none. All donations and contributions are 100% tax deductible.
Why Are You Called Universal Church of Baba's Kitchen?
It all began when we said the name aloud for the first time in 2006, “The Universal Church Of Baba’s Kitchen,” and Shirdi Baba’s photograph fell off of an altar. Twice. Once might be a sign. Twice seemed more like a command.
It was clear, then and there, that the church Baba wanted established in the Santa Cruz mountains of California would have such an unorthodox name, expressing something of the diversity and open-heartedness of this unique community.
Shirdi Sai Baba was an enigma in his day, a beggar in torn clothes, begging bowl in hand, dressed like a Muslim fakir but an expert in the Sanskrit Vedas, the Q’ran, Parsee spirituality and other religious/spiritual texts and traditions.
A living embodiment of Dattatreya, the primordial guru energy, Shirdi Baba spent his life in the small village of Shirdi, living in an abandoned mosque, begging for his food, and performing miracles of amazing healing and divine love for the souls in this world. Although a simple man on the outside, internally Baba was one of the greatest supernatural saints and healers in human history. He has nourished the world, especially its spiritual evolution, through the great divine lights of satya, dharma, prema & shanti (truth, duty, love & peace).
Baba’s insistence on two pillars of spiritual enlightement: faith & patience, as well as his simple statement, “Sabkha Malik Ek” – “All Gods are One” – is even more relevant today than it was a century ago. A turbulent world, split along religious and ideological differences, really needs to absorb the message of universality and family-hood among all nations and peoples.
Since Shirdi Sai Baba took his samadhi (conscious exit from the body) in 1918, his popularity and greatness has spread throughout India (where there are over a billion pictures of Shirdi Baba, and many many temples dedicated to this great divine soul) and into the rest of the world.
Today, there are temples and spiritual centers dedicated to Shirdi Baba (and his universal approach to god) operating all over the world, throughout Asia, in Canada, the USA and numerous other countries.
At UCBK, we feel grateful and honored to be a part of this divine lineage of Shirdi Sai Baba, and to be creating a healing place where all are welcome, regardless of spiritual paths, religions, or beliefs.
Why a kitchen?
Because everyone gets cooked in a kitchen, because alchemy happens in kitchens, because we have a dedication to feed the world, no matter what it is hungry for: divine knowledge, healing, universal love, spiritual upliftment, bhajans/kirtan, relief from suffering, or material food and drink.
Are Donations/Contributions/Tour Fees Tax-Deductible? (Yes - 100%!)
UCBK Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation operating as a church in the state of California since 2007.
All donations, event and healing contributions, sponsorships, and tour costs are 100% tax-deductible.
Are You Open To All Religions/Spiritual Paths/Beliefs? (Yes, everyone is welcome!)
At UCBK, we feel grateful and honored to be a part of the divine lineage of Shirdi Sai Baba, and to be creating a healing place where all are welcome, regardless of spiritual paths, religions, or beliefs.
Who is Shirdi Sai Baba?
Miracle healing saint Shirdi Baba lived his entire life as a beggar, begging alms from the villagers in the tiny town of Shirdi. His simple outward appearance disguised the truth of his spiritual stature. He lived most of his life in a tiny dilapidated mosque with no protection from the heat, rain, and the multitudes who sought relief from their problems and suffering. He chose to live as a beggar, although he could have lived like a king. He received millions of rupees from his devotees but each day he was left empty-handed because he had distributed it all to the poor.
Baba was an incarnation of Shiva, and a rare yogi with the highest supernatural capabilities. His yogic feats were endless; he changed water into oil, appeared in many places at once, rescued countless devotees from life-threatening situations, and in his ultimate act of sacrifice, gave up his life to save the life of a beloved devotee. He demonstrated many miracles throughout his life.
This phenomenon of miracles continues to this day — since his death in 1918, Baba has become one of the most beloved and present spiritual saints in our world (as in, people actually SEE him doing helpful things for them, even when they don’t know who he is/was!). He is like a grandfather to this planet and its people — always taking care of those who are in need. There are over a billion pictures of Shirdi Sai Baba in India, today, and temples everywhere. He is worshipped by people of all faiths because he is famous for delivering what they are asking for.
Before leaving his body, Shirdi Baba made a promise to the world that whoever calls on him with faith, he will respond, “I will never forsake anyone who relies on me.”
Devotion to him is rapidly growing throughout the world among people of all faiths. His life was a demonstration of the unity of all religions and our essential oneness. Although he lived in an abandoned mosque and dressed like an Islamic fakir (holy man), Hindu prayers and rituals were performed there. People wondered if he was a Hindu or a Muslim.
“So Baba told them one statement: ‘All human beings are one. Our religion is humanity.’ Baba said he was neither Muslim nor Hindu; he was everything. Whoever calls for his help, his protection is there. Who really follows Baba, fear can never touch them. Fear is always away from them. They’re very happy whatever happens. ‘That’s fine. Great. Lovely.’ Like that. Totally surrendered.” – Sri Kaleshwar
What is a Satsang?
We come to satsangs in order to share, learn, expand our understanding, support one another, and be in spiritual community together. There is no substitute for a regular satsang group — as the higher consciousness gets generated and accessed — and expressed — through the group participation in satsang.
Each satsang has a theme — we often read whole passages from the Sai knowledge teachings from Sri Kaleshwar, and then discuss the material deeply. Sometimes we continue a theme from week to week, forming a series of satsangs around a deep subject.
Every satsang ends with a powerful group meditation, so we can digest the energy transmission, information, and new insights we’ve received during the satsang.
All are welcome to join — doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, middle, or advanced spiritual meditator and practitioner — as we discuss and share our experiences around the teachings, we all rise together.
What is the Womb Chakra?
by Alx Uttermann
Healing heartbreak requires a soul doctor on duty – and knowledge of the Womb Chakra
“We have many hospitals for the bodies, even for the minds. But where are the hospitals for the broken hearts? We need to create those.” – Sri Kaleshwar
healing heartbreak. it is such a huge subject.
what’s really implied in healing heartbreak is a soul healing.
how to heal the soul? what is the soul? it’s easy to heal bodies, minds, even the emotional heart. but what about the inner essence of a human being, the soul? what medicine heals heartbreak?
a lot of people recoil at the term heartbreak — if they’re not in the throes of a fresh relationship break-up, then ‘heartbreak’ doesn’t apply to them, they think.
but ‘heartbreak’ isn’t limited to romantic break-ups and disillusionments. heartbreak, the way Kaleshwar meant it and the way I’ve come to understand it, includes any heart-shattering, painful event or trauma.
heartbreak can include:
romantic breakups
death of a loved one
extreme loss of any kind
betrayal in business or relationships
professional disappointment
childhood trauma, abuse, circumstances (like growing up in a war zone)
military combat experiences
abuse from a mate or loved one
religious/spiritual heartbreak
the list goes on and on.
and the ripples that occur from heartbreak — symptoms that can include depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, eating disorders, suicidal behaviors, addictions, co-dependent relationships… — these negative experiences can reverberate throughout a whole lifetime, and affect all of our subsequent judgments, actions, and relationships.
we tend to choose unhealthy habits and relationships, once the heart’s been seriously broken.
the deepest heartbreak
but the deep — the deepest — heartbreak I know in humanity is the unspoken, often unaware pain of separation from the divine source.
all other symptoms, in my opinion, spring from this initial pain. the real ‘original sin’ — not a sin at all, just a karma — is the forgetting, like a baby once the umbilical cord is cut, about the super-connectedness to the cosmic, divine, universe that is each of us, inside.
so how to heal that? the Greek word holos, is the origin of the English ‘healed’. it means ‘making whole.’
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the TM founder/guru) did a beautiful translation of some of the verses of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the epic scriptures of Hindu India. this line stands out:
“yoga is the disunion of the union with sorrow.”
the union with sorrow, one could say, is the human condition, generally.
it is the self that believes itself to be bound to this body, this personality, this life. it is the self in total pain about mortality — “one day I will die, I will be no more.” and the self that has forgotten its inner, immortal consciousness, an inner spark (soul) that has already lived countless lifetimes in many forms, and will continue to incarnate until that yoga, that union with the god consciousness, is restored while in a human form.
which brings me to one major source of restoring that wholeness, that healing of the soul — a chakra not mentioned in conventional books or discussions on the subject, because it’s been hidden in the ancient knowledge from millenniae ago — the Holy Womb Chakra.
the Holy Womb Chakra
the knowledge about this chakra in the human energy system comes from a 7000-year-old manuscript written by the rishis of ancient India.
basically, every human being (regardless of gender) has a Womb Chakra – it is beyond all chakras, and located roughly where the human female’s womb area is. it is the direct link, the direct channel, to Mother Divine’s creation capacity (which is why every woman can create life, literally creating a soul inside the womb). men link to the Womb Chakra of Mother Divine, energetically, through their own physical mother’s womb chakra. (they are one step removed from the direct creation energy of Mother Divine.)
the Womb Chakra is where the karmas of a person’s soul are stored — lifetime to lifetime to lifetime. they come ‘due,’ as it were, through the Womb Chakra operating with Kala, Time.
the human soul goes up and down through all the chakras, but most of the time, resides in the Womb Chakra. if a Womb Chakra is shaky or damaged, the soul is confused and doesn’t know its proper self/home/creativity energy.
how does a Womb Chakra get shaky or damaged?
#1 cause — by giving or receiving heartbreak (on any level.)
#2 — by having an excessive amount of sexual partners in one lifetime — each sexual partner makes a soul-to-soul bond, Womb Chakra to Womb Chakra. every person is bonded at the soul level with any partner they ever had, and that means whatever the other person is feeling, so are you. over time, and different partners, this makes the Womb Chakra super-shaky, and the soul is totally confused, not knowing where it really belongs.
when illness or catastrophic accident (like a deadly snake-bite) happens, if one has the capacity to heal the womb chakra in another person, the situation will balance out, and fast. illness is a sign that the womb chakra isn’t balanced. so are continual heartbreaks or sequences of negative events.
practical example: a child comes up with a terminal disease. they never did any bad karmas in this lifetime. they’re innocent. but yet, they are super-ill. how can we begin to understand this, from an energy point of view?
a catastrophic illness means, the person’s womb chakra is disturbed from other lifetimes, and those karmas are coming due now. (who knows who among us were Roman hordes, pillaging and raping our way across Europe and Africa? or Ghengis Khan’s minions… or…….?) and it can be healed through strengthening, and purifying, the Womb Chakra.
the Holy Womb Chakra from the ancient knowledge of India
there is a whole system of powerful holy prayers, a spiritual process, that restores the integrity of the Womb Chakra over time. we were given this technology in 2006, from my teacher Kaleshwar, and I have been practicing, first, then teaching it, ever since. and the results are incredible.
people’s relationships with family, friends, and mates — they smooth out when the Womb Chakra techniques are practiced, over time. even really awful, disconnected, turbulent ones.
the relationship with one’s own inner self and divine spark — strengthened unbelievably, astronomically.
people finding their proper soul mate — happens as a result of the Womb Chakra being purified.
illnesses washing out, emotional disturbances washing out — and, most important of all, the underlying heartbreak washing out.
curious to know more?
you can find a link to the Womb Chakra information here — http://tinyurl.com/HWCinfo and at www.kaleshwar.org, under ‘teachings’.
I teach the full Womb Chakra knowledge as a workshop and/or webinar, and have pre-recorded teachings available for purchase, as well.
Womb Chakra Healings – 9 sessions of 9 minutes each….
later, Sri Kaleshwar empowered a number of students to accelerate the healing and rebalancing of the Holy Womb Chakra in others, by giving nine healing sessions with a 9-minute transmission of energy, to ‘reset’ the integrity of the Womb Chakra.
this series of healing is a kind of short-cut into the strengthening and purification of the Womb Chakra.
these Womb Chakra healing sessions are a profound journey into the foundation of healing, as the layers and layers of old traumas, karmas, and vague pain (from who knows when?) are released, systematically, over the nine healing sessions.
What is a Fire Homa Ceremony?
A homa is a sacred fire ceremony in which various forms of the Divine are invoked in a sacred fire that has been kindled according to the guidelines in the Vedic scriptures. They bring powerful healing and spiritual upliftment.
According to India’s ancient spiritual tradition, certain ritual practices have the power to attract divine cosmic energy for the benefit of the practitioner, his or her household, and the world at large. One of the most powerful practices involves homas.
Certain special offerings are made into the fire while Sanskrit mantras are chanted. The combination of the powerful energy of the fire element, the most transformational among the Five Elements, and the chanted mantras creates extremely auspicious and purifying vibrations that are beneficial to all who attend the homa.
The smoke that rises from a homa contains a powerful healing energy, and as it rises to the heavens it purifies the atmosphere, both physically and subtly, encouraging a peaceful environment and gentle weather. Even the damaging effects of natural catastrophes can be reduced through the performance of homas.
The energetic vibrations that are invoked during a traditional Vedic fire ceremony represents one of the most powerful presence of the Divine on Earth. The element of fire is associated with the upward motion of the divine kundalini energy and is considered to be the most powerfully purifying element. Every kind of negative karma can be purified by the sacred homa fire, due to divine grace.
Why Is A Homa Helpful?
Encouraging a peaceful environment every kind of negative karma can be purified by the sacred homa fire, due to divine grace.
Is Sitting in a Homa Fire equivalent of doing Intense Meditation for a Month?
Yes, it is true that sitting in one homa fire (for an hour or more) can roughly be the equivalent of doing intense meditation for a month.
“Intense meditation” means sitting in meditation for 10-12 hours a day.
What Should I Do BEFORE a Homa?
What Can I Expect DURING A Homa?
During the actual homa ceremony, we start with a few introductory mantras, bringing in the energy of our divine lineage, including Sri Kaleshwar, Shirdi Sai Baba, Buddha, Jesus, Mother Divine and other divine souls, for bringing the highest healing and blessings to all who attend.
Then we light the fire, and chant powerful ancient Sanskrit and Telugu mantras together, as a group. These mantras vary depending on which kind of homa we’re doing and what energies we’re invoking, although some flavor of the Mother Divine energy is always an important part of the process.
While the homa fire’s energy is building and people are chanting the mantras, everybody gets to hold a rose and a few sticks of incense, which will later be offered to the fire in the final group offering.
We offer sacred materials into the fire, including ghee, rice, flowers, incense, and a coconut.
The special Full Moon homas, for increasing prosperity on all levels (including spiritual) and for connecting in a beautiful way with the Mother Divine directly, involve a few more specialized offerings: nine different types of oils, fruits, flowers, and seeds.
It’s not uncommon for people attending a homa to experience internal heat intensifying, since the internal heat is a response to and reflection of the external fire.
Many different purification symptoms, and symptoms that the soul is being super-charged in the fire’s energy and power, can also occur, such as:
- Intense emotional cleansing and release
- Powerful heart-opening joy and love
- Negative thoughts and agitation swirling around in the mind as they wash out of the person’s system
- Altered states of consciousness including going into deep meditative trance
- Insights into what really needs healing in our lives, or solutions to problems that hadn’t been clear
- Physical, psychological, emotional healing
- A sense of inner peace and calmness
At the end of the ceremony, after all the mantras have been chanted, we offer our collective prayers and intentions as a group in the form of incense and flowers.
Then we ‘cool down’ a little bit, at times, by singing some bhajans and kirtans, sacred songs praising and invoking the divine.
What Can I Expect AFTER Attending A Homa?
As the purification side of healing goes on, you may feel agitated or irritable, or have sensations of heat or tingling in the physical body. Similar to any energetic healing experience, you may find that you want to rest a little more than usual during the day, and drink more water than you might normally.
Emotions of all kinds (sadness, joy, anger, gratitude) might run a little high.
Sleep is usually deeper and feels more restful after a homa. Dreams may be vivid. Memories of the homa fire itself (even the scent of the smoke!) may come to mind at seemingly strange or random times.
Sometimes the mantras you chanted at the homa will return in your mind, as though a record of them is playing. It’s a beautiful chance to go deeper with the mantras, and to re-experience the same healing energy, at any time, that you encountered at the homa.
A sense of well-being and inner peace, or a feeling of connectedness to your Higher Self or the divine, however you consider it, may increase. Moments of open-heartedness, and a deep appreciation for loved ones and all beings in general, may occur!
WHERE Do Homas Take Place?
The Universal Church of Baba’s Kitchen fire homas done in Santa Cruz, and West Los Angeles, are available to anyone, anywhere, you can even host one at your home for participation in the powerful blessings and healing that result from these divine fire ceremonies.
WHEN Do Homas Take Place?
The fire homas are performed every full and new moon. Special fire homas are part of auspicious spiritual festival times throughout the year, like Maha Shiva Rathri in the spring, and Navarathri in the autumn.
WHY Would I Want To Host A Homa At My Home?
There are many different reasons why a person might want to host a homa.
It’s also important that whoever attends a homa make some contribution to the process. For maximum healing to take place, it’s important that an energy exchange of some kind is involved – either a small financial donation, bringing food/drinks to share at the homa, providing homa supplies like roses or ghee, helping to clean up after the ceremony, etc.
By making a small donation, we can bring great benefit to many creatures, and this enhances our own pool of merit, or positive karma.
Positive karma makes the path of our lives smooth and clear, and gives us the opportunity to be in the presence of and benefit from holy people. Thus, sponsoring the sacred homa can both reduce one’s negative karma and enhance one’s positive karma, which makes life more conducive to spiritual practice and which ultimately leads to the highest liberation.
"Sponsor A Homa" - What is that and how can I do that?
In order to receive the blessings and high energy from the divine fire, you can sponsor a fire homa in your own name, or someone else’s, and the names of sponsors are read out during the fire homa. The entire group of attendees says, “Om MAMA” three times after each name, to send the fire’s energy & healing vibrations to that individual.
Sponsor A Homa!
The dakshina (suggested donation) for sponsoring a fire homa is $30 per person (& per homa).
Yes! I’d like to sponsor an up-coming homa by making
a tax-deductible credit card payment
You can contact Alx for specifics if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, either by calling 831-421-1921 (West LA) or emailing UCBK directly.
Can Homa Be Held Indoors?
What happened to co-founder Jonathan Rosen?
Jonathan D. Rosen, minister, master healer, singer, siddha, spiritual teacher, UCBK co-founder, and inspirational heart of service, left his body (in mahasamadhi) suddenly on 11/26/16, after an unexpected heart attack.
He has had a prodigious, ongoing impact on the Sai spiritual community both locally in Santa Cruz, California and worldwide (Europe, India, other parts of the US) for nearly two decades.
Jonathan’s loving presence, brilliant mind, heart-melting singing voice, dedication to spiritual service, irrepressible sense of humor, and dynamic advocacy for our veterans and our homeless people has moved the hearts – and changed the lives – of many grateful people all around the world.
The outpouring of love for him, on social media, via emails and texts and phone calls, has been overwhelmingly beautiful.
There are no words to express the simultaneous sense of loss and gratitude to such a tireless, helping, compassionate human being.
Jonathan is cherished – and will be so, forever – by the UCBK community, his family and friends, colleagues and students.
His contributions and tireless work on behalf of our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness in Santa Cruz County, through four different service organizations, will continue to bear fruit for years to come.
Jonathan was buried at the Felton Community Cemetery, Felton, CA, on Tuesday, December 6th, 2016. His funeral was live streamed on Facebook, with over 1200 people watching, worldwide.
