Nayaswami Devi, Author at Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi

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“You will never be able to walk again.” This decree was delivered to our friend by a doctor after she’d survived a terrible car crash. She’d been driving on a narrow road in a remote part of Mexico when a truck coming around a curve crashed into her jeep, leaving her with a crushed pelvis and shattered legs. She knew it would be hours before medical help could reach her. Being a doctor herself, and though in great pain, our friend used all her will power to remain conscious so she could instruct those helping her about how to remove her body from the wreckage without causing further damage.

Many hours passed before medical help arrived, and she was finally airlifted to a hospital. After hours of surgery, she awoke to find herself in a full-body cast with both legs in traction. It was at this point that the doctor delivered his seemingly inescapable verdict that she would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Our friend was a disciple of Master, however, and refused to accept this as a final decree. For three months as she remained bound in her cast, she constantly prayed and sent energy to her pelvis and leg bones. Using the technique that Yoganandaji taught in his energization exercises, she mentally tensed and relaxed these body parts, even though at first she could feel nothing. Keeping her mind focused throughout the day, every day, on this process, she gradually began to feel a flow of energy in her lower body.

Finally, when the doctor removed the cast, he was amazed to discover that her crushed pelvis and legs had actually healed. Gradually she regained the ability to walk, and now, though she has a slight limp and uses a cane, she has full mobility. She is a living testament to the power of determination and faith to rise above seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

I share this story with you because many people have told me how oppressed they’re feeling now by what’s happening in the world. War, political divisiveness, religious fanaticism, climate change, financial uncertainty—there are many reasons to feel crushed by things that seem out of our control.

Now is the time to remember our innate power to rise above whatever challenges lie before us. Perhaps we can’t change the world, but then again, united in faith in God, perhaps we can. Swami Kriyananda said that those seeking God have chosen to incarnate at this time for a purpose—to balance the downward-flowing energy around us with light and faith in a higher reality.

How do we do this? Just as our friend did, we need to keep our mind constantly focused on sending God’s energy, love, and light to ourselves, to those we know, and to the entire world. Day after day, meditate, pray, and consciously try to draw divine consciousness and grace into the world.

Remember, too, that God and His saints are all very active in helping humanity now. Master said, “Perhaps you have wondered sometimes if great souls such as Jesus are lost to the world. Not at all. The great ones are all active; it is the mission of some to try to strengthen the good in this world. And to the extent that they are able to do so, through receptive minds, the devil’s power weakens and God’s power becomes stronger.

“When a great saint is resurrected in Spirit, and takes a form in responding to sincere, receptive devotees, it means he has some part to play in the world’s destiny. I know that Christ, in flesh and blood, is in communion with Babaji in India. Together they are watching over the destiny of the world.”

We have a battle before us if we want to break free from the downward pull of the events happening around us. Let us become those “sincere, receptive devotees” who draw the grace of the great ones to help the world now. Don’t allow naysayers like that Mexican doctor to crush your spirit. And never lose hope that there will be a new dawn of unity, peace, understanding, love, and compassion for all.

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

Listen to Devi as she first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (08:04):

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On March 7, 1952, Paramhansa Yogananda left his body as he concluded a speech in honor of the Indian Ambassador at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Swami Kriyananda, who was present that evening, describes what occurred in his book, The New Path:

Master was scheduled to speak after the banquet. His brief talk was so sweet, so almost tender, that I think everyone present felt embraced in the gossamer net of his love. Warmly he spoke of India and America, and of their respective contributions to world peace and true human progress. He talked of their future cooperation. Finally he read his beautiful poem, “My India.”

Throughout his speech I was busy recording his words, keeping my eyes on my notebook. He came to the last lines of the poem:

Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God.I am hallowed; my body touched that sod!

“Sod” became a long-drawn-out sigh. Suddenly from all sides of the room there came a loud cry. I looked up.

“What is it?” I demanded of Dick Haymes, seated beside me. “What happened?”

“Master fainted,” he replied.

Oh, no, Master! You wouldn’t faint. You’ve left us. You’ve left us! the forgotten playwright in me cried silently. This is too perfect a way for you to go for it to mean anything else! I hastened to where Master lay. A look of bliss was on his face.

March 7, 1952, just before Paramhansa Yogananda left his body as he concluded a speech in honor of the Indian Ambassador at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

Jyotish and I are now in the last few days of two months in India during which we shared Master’s teachings in many different cities throughout this wonderful country. We’ve connected with a great number of dear friends, some of whom we’ve known for years, and made many new friends of people discovering Master’s work through Ananda. What a joy it has been to bathe in the spiritual vibrations of India.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all those with whom we’ve connected. The kindness and heartfelt appreciation that you showered on us will remain forever as a radiant warmth in our heart. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with such loving respect, not for ourselves, but for the great master and his teachings that we follow. It was like a great dance of love in which God was showering His blessings down on His children as they gathered together in devotion and service to Him.

As I think lovingly of the depth and subtlety, the personal closeness and acceptance of others, the spiritual wisdom and teachings of this glorious country, my mental vision expands beyond India’s boundaries. Like a film camera panning back, I begin to see a family of souls with joined hands and hearts circling the globe.

I see those with whom we connected throughout Europe in the month before arriving in India—from Italy, Germany, Estonia, Serbia, Belgium, Holland, France, Latvia, England, Russia, and Ukraine. Expanding back further, I see the many souls in America who gathered together with Swami Kriyananda beginning some fifty-eight years ago and continue to this day to help him build Ananda in dedication and devotion to our Guru.

And yet, India is the starting point for human upliftment during this cycle of time. It was here that the science of yoga was born. It was from here that our line of gurus sent Paramhansa Yogananda to America to begin uniting East and West. During our time spent in India this year, I caught a tiny glimpse of God’s plan to help His children everywhere awaken from delusion. I began to understand Master’s power to create magnetic spiritual families to carry forward his work. I see that work growing in purity of heart, clarity, and strength throughout Ananda globally. Swamiji describes this expansion in The New Path:

The stronger the family, spiritually speaking, the greater its attractive pull on new souls that may still be wandering in search of an identity of their own. A family evolves with its individual members; at last it, too, becomes a “star” in the firmament of humanity, and begins to produce great souls of Self-realization.

As spiritual “stars,” such great families become powerful for the general upliftment of mankind. Like stars, too, they then draw “planets” of less-evolved families into their beneficial auras, vitalizing them with rays of divine truth. Such families are like mighty nations. To them is given the real task of guiding the human race—not in the way governments do, by official ordinances, but by subtler, spiritual influence.

So, my friends, my brothers and sisters in God, let us not limit our vision to our individual spiritual search, or to the challenges in our daily life. We are a part of a great family of God, come together to help others, too, to find their way to truth. Master closed his Autobiography of a Yogi with these words: “Lord, Thou hast given this monk a large family!” United in his love, let us carry his banner forward.

With love and blessings in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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We live in a world in which the use of power to control others seems to rule supreme. Yet there are many kinds of power. The dictator’s ability to exert force over others may appear indomitable, but history shows us that such rulers rise and eventually fall like waves on the sea.

Then there’s the use of supernatural powers. Once someone said to Paramhansa Yogananda, “Your detractors are saying that you’ve lost your powers.” He replied, “I don’t know that I ever had any powers.” As a fully enlightened soul, he understood that any “powers” he manifested were God’s doing, not his. And he counseled people against focusing on such things. “The path to God,” he said, “is not a circus!”

High souls like Master have developed a third kind of power which is a true expression of spiritual greatness: inner power. This is the ability to live in complete attunement with God, so that one’s actions reflect, not one’s own desires and attachments, but only divine consciousness.

During our travels in India over the past two months, we’ve been launching the latest compilation of our blogs, Touch of Inner Power. Recently at the Ananda center in Pune, Jyotish and I spoke about different expressions of inner power and how they can uplift our life. Here are a few of the thoughts that we shared.

The power to accept whatever comes in life with equanimity and a positive attitude develops within us unshakable inner strength. Every test that we face with the resolve to remain unperturbed helps build within us the realization that we, too, can “stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.” Looking at the lives of spiritual heroes, you can see that they reached a point where no more testing was needed, and they stood firmly, unwaveringly in God.

The power to forgive others under all circumstances is a reflection of God’s unconditional love for all. Is this easy? Of course not, but this inner power frees our consciousness from the shadows that delusion casts on our minds. Forgiveness allows us to feel God’s light shining unobstructedly through us.

There’s an inspiring book, The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom, which tells the story of how she and her family hid Jewish families in Holland during World War II. Eventually they were arrested and put into a concentration camp themselves. Corrie and her family were devout Christians, and they never lost their faith in God. Unfortunately, she was the only member of her family to survive the privations of the camps.

After the war, Corrie began a ministry traveling throughout the world sharing the power of God’s love. After one such gathering in Germany, a man approached her; instantly she recognized him as one of the cruelest guards in the camp in which her family had died. He, however, did not remember her. Identifying himself as a former guard at that camp who’d since become a Christian, he said, “I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein,” his hand came out, “will you forgive me?”

Her initial reaction was one of revulsion, filling her with the desire to turn and run from him. She prayed to God for help. Willing herself to do what she knew she must, she thrust her hand woodenly into his. “And as I did,” she later wrote,

an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.

The power to help others, even at our own expense, enables us to break down the imaginary boundaries of ego and realize our oneness with all. Swami Kriyananda has an affirmation on “Sharing” from his book Affirmations for Self-Healing: “What I give to others I give not away, for in my larger reality it remains ever mine. I am happy in the happiness of all.” The inner power to think of others’ needs before one’s own is a big stepping stone towards dissolving the ego and attaining spiritual freedom.

And finally, the power to align our will with God’s will is a moment-by-moment choice that requires vigilance, awareness, and dedication. Swamiji told us that when he was uncertain about which course of action to take, he always asked himself, “What would Master do?”

The question is easy enough to ask. But having the inner strength to cast aside egoic desires and follow the higher guidance one receives in reply is another matter. The more we succeed in aligning our will with God, however, the more His consciousness and power flow through us and bring us inner joy and freedom.

There is a beautiful prayer on “Will Power” from Affirmations for Self-Healing: “O Infinite Power, I will use my will, but guide Thou my will in everything I do, that it reflect Thy will.”

We are all so much stronger than we realize. Let’s all strive to awaken our inner powers and realize our oneness with God.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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I am always amazed at how God continually gives us different “assignments,” or areas of inner exploration, to deepen our understanding of life. Recently I was reading an article by Paramhansa Yogananda on reincarnation in which he talked about forgiveness. “Forgiveness,” he wrote, “is more powerful than revenge. I have forgiven everyone who has knowingly or unknowingly tried to annoy or hurt me.”

After reading his words, it was as though a light bulb turned on in my mind. I knew that I needed to deepen my understanding of the true meaning of forgiveness. So I did a little research and came up with a very good definition: “Forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment toward someone who has harmed you.”

This motivated me to explore areas in my life in which, consciously or unconsciously, I was harboring feelings of resentment towards others. I was surprised to discover that, like snakes rising to the surface when boiling water is poured down their hole, many little hurts and grievances from the past now arose to the surface of my mind.

Master also wrote in that same article, “In the vault of the mind lie all the chains of bondage, as well as the keys to freedom.” Again, his simple words were deeply motivating. I decided it was time to break those mental chains and, using inner tools, to release all resentment I felt towards others.

Even in making this decision, I began to feel freer inside. Then, in meditation, I tried bringing to my conscious awareness little incidents or recurring patterns of hurt from the past. As if I were watching a movie in which it was someone else who was hurt, I tried to concentrate on different past experiences with detachment, until I could clearly isolate and experience my feelings of resentment.

In the stillness of meditation, I focused on offering these feelings up at the spiritual eye. After a few days, I could actually feel the negative patterns becoming fainter and fainter, until they finally seemed to dissolve altogether. Honestly, friends, I was both shocked and amazed at the mental freedom I felt.

Then, I experienced a shift in how I thought about those situations. It became clear to me that those who’d hurt me had actually always been my friends, and that their unkind behavior had not been directed at me personally. It reflected, rather, problems they’d been facing within themselves.

God wasn’t yet done with my lesson on forgiveness. At a recent satsang we gave in Delhi, someone asked us the question: “When I forgive someone, does it change them?” I remembered a story that Swami Kriyananda related in The New Path, about a dream he’d had in which he came to feel deep bitterness towards a beloved friend who’d treated him with condescension and even contempt. He realized that if he died with this attitude, his bitterness would draw the two of them back into similar, but reversed circumstances, in which he’d have the opportunity to treat his friend as badly as he had treated Swami. And that if he did so, bitterness on his friend’s part might draw them back yet again, leading perhaps to a succession of such “return engagements,” as he put it. He continued:

“Why take so long?” I asked myself. “Isn’t it possible to escape these waves of retribution right now? Whatever the lessons my friend needs to learn, surely I, at least, can free myself.” Then, from the depths of my heart, I cried, “I forgive him!” At that moment, with a feeling of ineffable relief, I awoke. In that simple act of forgiveness I felt that I had actually freed myself of some karmic burden.

How did this affect the other man? As Swami indicated, his personal victory did not absolve his friend of the need to learn his own lessons. And yet it did help him to this extent: When we don’t hit the tennis ball back over the net, there is no game for the person on the other side of the court to play.

Something more is involved. In the article by Master to which I’ve referred, he wrote, “Those who do evil stew in their own evil. They can’t really hurt you unless you let them. Love and forgiveness have a healing effect on yourself and on your enemies.” So our forgiveness can have a transforming effect also on those who have hurt us.

I felt to share with you my journey with forgiveness in the hope that it will help you, too, to experience the release of subconscious negative feelings. The goal of life is to find freedom from every pattern of action or thought that keeps us in bondage.

In the Astral Ascension Ceremony that Swami Kriyananda wrote, he instructs the minister to address the departed soul with these words: “Claim your soul’s freedom! Bless all who ever harmed you, or ever wished you harm. Give them your love, and your prayer for their freedom in God.” Forgiveness is truly the first step towards that unconditional love for all that the masters in every religion have demonstrated for the world.

In divine friendship,

Nayaswami Devi

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The words of a spiritual master aren’t limited to a specific time, place, or even individual. Spoken in divine wisdom, such words are eternal and universal, and can apply to each of us.

Jesus Christ said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” He wasn’t speaking only to those who were gathered with him at that time, but equally to you and me today.

Similarly, in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says to Arjuna, “Absorb yourself in Me; be wholly devoted to Me; worship and bow to Me alone: So shall you undoubtedly reach Me. This I promise you faithfully, for you are dear to Me.” He, too, was talking to each one of us.

Jyotish and I are now in India, where we recently celebrated Swami Kriyananda’s spiritual anniversary. On September 12, 1948, when Swamiji knelt before Paramhansa Yogananda and was accepted as his disciple, a spiritual wave was set into motion that has touched and often transformed the lives of countless hundreds of thousands.

During the years that Swamiji spent with him, Master made three significant statements that we can use to deepen our own discipleship. In The New Path Swamiji recounts their first meeting:

What large, lustrous eyes now greeted me! What compassionate sweetness in his smile! Never before had I seen such divine beauty in a human face.

“What may I do for you?”

“I want to be your disciple!” The reply welled up from my heart irresistibly. Never had I expected to utter such words to another human being. . . .

There ensued a long discussion, interspersed by long silences. . . . “All right,” he said at last. “You have good karma. You may join us.” . . .

Gazing at me now with deep love, he said, “I give you my unconditional love.”

This promise is given to every one of us when we sincerely open our heart, for one of the guru’s roles is to be a channel for God’s love to all of his spiritual children. True discipleship is much more than just following the guru’s teachings and practices. It is the knowing from deep within that we’ve been given a love unconditioned by time or events. This love will eventually become, as it did for Swamiji, the fulfillment of our heart’s longing and the central reality of our life.

The second significant statement that Master made to Swamiji is also related in The New Path:

One day I was standing with Herbert Freed, one of the ministers. . . . Herbert was to leave that afternoon to become the minister of our church in Phoenix, Arizona, and Master was giving him last-minute instructions. After a pause, Master said quietly:

“You have a great work to do.”

Turning to Herbert, I smiled my felicitations.

“It is you I’m talking to, Walter [Swamiji].”

The “great work” Master referred to was Swamiji’s life work of spreading his guru’s teachings. This Swamiji did through starting communities, writing books, lecturing, and in many other ways also making the spiritual path accessible to people around the world.

This work is ours as well to do, not with a sense of self-importance, but with the understanding that our life has a deeper purpose. We have joined our energy to the wave of uplifting consciousness that Master brought to the world. In so doing, we, too, are a part of his mission.

This “great work” on our part entails first and foremost our wholehearted dedication to achieving life’s true purpose: union with God. In this pursuit we become, like Swamiji, living examples to all of true discipleship.

Finally, Swamiji shares a third significant statement that Yogananda made to him, three days before the Master’s passing on March 7, 1952:

. . . For some months I had been hungering for a few words of approval from him.

Now, alone with me, he gazed into my eyes with deep love and understanding, and said, “You have pleased me very much. I want you to know that.” What a burden lifted from my heart at these few, simple words!

I think it’s fair to say that every spiritual seeker has felt that his or her striving falls short of the goal that we set for ourself. But remember, God knows our heart. Every test that we face with courage; every attempt at deepening our meditation; even, in fact, every failed effort is received by God. Don’t judge yourself for your failures. Rejoice, rather, that God and Guru are pleased with you for making an effort.

In celebrating Swamiji’s discipleship we are really celebrating the great gift to ourselves as well of the guru-disciple relationship. Swamiji’s experiences with Master can be guiding lights for our own life. In fact, the more we deepen our attunement with the guru, the more Swamiji’s discipleship becomes our own.

With divine love in God and Guru,

Nayaswami Devi

Watch a video by a devotee created in honor of Swamiji’s discipleship anniversary here.

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When Paramhansa Yogananda came to Europe in 1935 on his way to India, he stopped to visit Assisi, Italy. While there, Master made a special trip to a place sanctified by the presence of St. Francis, called “L’Eremo delle Carceri.” Roughly translated, this means “Hermitage of Secluded Places,” though over time “carceri” came also to mean “prison.”

Deeply inspired by his visit there, Master called St. Francis his “patron saint,” and later said, “I felt Christ’s presence everywhere in Assisi, but on the little forest paths of L’Eremo, I saw him walking by my side.” What is the story behind this holy place?

In 1205 Francis and a few of his fellow monks were walking, as was their wont, through the countryside outside of Assisi. As they began climbing the forested slopes of Mt. Subasio, which rises high above the town itself, they discovered an area that was dotted with many small caves. Francis found a tiny cave that would be perfect for seclusion and prayer. Brother Leo and the others soon followed his example, and each of them chose a little cave in which to dwell and focus his thoughts on God. Here they happily lived deep in prayer and contemplation.

Francis and his brothers could easily have remained there for the rest of their life, but at a certain point after deep prayer, this humble saint knew that Christ wanted him to leave his place of seclusion. His mission was to share his joyful love for God and all of creation with others, and so he did for the remaining twenty years of his life, until he died at the early age of forty-six.

Many miraculous events took place during Francis’s life. At one point, he asked his spiritual sister, Clare, to join him to discuss how to bring a life of prayer and simplicity to those who had followed them. St. Clare, who like Francis was canonized as a saint, was the founder of what is now known as the Order of Poor Clares, and was the first woman to write guidelines to create a monastic order.

During their discussion, they became so enrapt in the presence of God that a light began to emanate from them, filling the countryside. The people of Assisi saw this brilliant light and feared that a great fire had started. They raced towards this blazing light to find, not a conflagration, but Francis and Clare sitting quietly, lost in contemplation of God.

Over the centuries a small monastery and chapel were built near the caves, but L’Eremo remains essentially as it was in St. Francis’s time. The huge grey stones and little caves of Mt. Subasio are millions of years old, yet they are alive still with divine consciousness. Timelessly, they carry the inspiration of the great saints who once dwelt there.

Jyotish and I, along with our dear friends Anand and Kirtani, decided to visit L’Eremo during our last few days in Assisi. This past month has been a very busy one here, filled with many classes, satsangs, and joyful social gatherings. As soon as we entered those holy grounds, we were struck by the spiritual power and pristine beauty there. But most of all, we felt enveloped by a wave of interiorization and peace that emanates from the very stones. Thinking of Master as we walked the forest paths, we were spiritually refreshed by the spirit of God that remains there to this day.

All of us, in the midst of the busyness of life, need to remember to find times and places to which we can withdraw in solitude and renew our souls. This interiorization, through meditation and prayer, enables us to live in the spirit of the great souls who have come before us.

St. Francis walked the forests of L’Eremo nearly a thousand years ago, and ninety years have elapsed since Yogananda’s visit. But the power of great saints remains in such places, blessing and guiding all who come there to follow in their footsteps until we, too, find the inner kingdom of God.

In his beautiful song, “God’s Call Within,” Swami Kriyananda wrote:

Turn, turn, turn within:In silence of soul, in cave of loveFind My abode.

With love and joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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Jyotish and I are presently at Ananda’s Assisi community helping with programs here during their busy month of August. This week we’re taking part in a course called “Ananda: A Spiritual Lifestyle,” sharing the principles upon which cooperative communities are based. “World brotherhood colonies,” as Paramhansa Yogananda called them, are an important aspect of his world mission, one that he said would be the “lifestyle for the New Age.”

Whether or not you are a part of such a community, its guiding principles can enrich and enhance every aspect of your life. Swami Kriyananda called this approach to living “Crystal Clarity,” and he defined it in this way:

To live in Crystal Clarity means to see oneself, and all things, as aspects of a greater reality; to seek to enter into conscious attunement with that reality; and to see all things as channels for the expression of that reality.

It means to see truth in simplicity; to seek always to be guided by the simple truth, not by opinion; and by what IS, not by one’s own desires or prejudices.

It means striving to see things in relation to their broadest potential.

In one’s association with other people, it means seeking always to include their realities in one’s own.

Here are five practical ways to express this key concept, Crystal Clarity, which is at the heart of Ananda communities: Cooperation, Communication, Concentration, Creativity, and Conscious Awareness. Ananda means “joy,” and by expressing each of these aspects, you will find an increasing level of joy in your life.

Cooperation is based on the effort always to include others’ realities in your own. At Ananda we recognize that there is a broad spectrum of individual realities. When making decisions we ask not, “What do I want?” but rather, “What is trying to happen?” The result—be it in a family, an office staff, or an entire community—is that each individual feels respected and harmony prevails.

True Communication requires that everyone listen to others, and feel heard by them as well. It becomes possible when truth, not opinions, is made its underlying basis. When people live in accordance with these high principles, group consensus can easily be reached. An unspoken understanding and trust develops among people who have this kind of open, honest communication.

Concentration often results when we can see the big picture, and how our own little part fits into it. This kind of concentration is born not of self-focused tension, but of a calmness that comes when we see ourself as a channel for a higher power. Action undertaken with this kind of attentive awareness is usually highly effective, and brings with it inner joy as we experience ourself as part of a greater reality.

Creativity is a natural offshoot of living in Crystal Clarity, because it helps you to tune in to God’s endless variety as expressed in His creation. We’re having great fun during our visit here watching snails crawl across the patio of the apartment in which we’re staying. As we observe the unique beauty of each shell, the thought arises, “If God can express creativity in every tiny aspect of life, surely we can bring fresh eyes and energy to everything that we do.” Creativity and joy go hand in hand.

And finally, there is Conscious Awareness, in which we seek attunement with a greater reality. Increasingly I realize that expanding awareness is the hidden goal for all of life: from a little moth, to a beautiful snail, to you and me. When we begin to understand—through meditation, devotion, and a conscious effort to know God—that we are so much more than our little ego, true joy naturally begins to fill our life.

When we join together with others in a shared understanding, we magnetically draw divine grace that uplifts each of us beyond our own efforts. This is the true essence of Ananda’s spiritual lifestyle, which is available to anyone who strives to live by these principles.

We invite you to join us in this great community of Spirit.

Nayaswami Devi

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Swami Kriyananda once shared a remarkable experience he’d had while giving a Kriya Yoga initiation. After the ceremony he told a small group of us who had gathered around him, “As each one of you came up for the blessing, I could feel your unique path to God.” His words were thrilling on two levels: first, that we would find God; and secondly, that our path to soul freedom lay before us and could be seen by one with higher awareness.

This is true for all of us. Though we may seem caught in the complex web of our life and the pull of the world, our bondage is temporary only. Our individual path to God actually stretches out already before us.

So the question arises, “Why is each of our paths unique?” One reason is that through past choices in many lifetimes, we have created a karmic maze from which we must find the way out. The constellation of behavioral patterns and mental attitudes that keep us bound is uniquely our own, as is the road we must follow as we do the work required to find our freedom.

It’s actually an expansive thought to consider that each person on earth is, like each snowflake, a unique creation. So it is that each one of us, from an enlightened saint to an unrepentant sinner, has a personalized path to inner happiness. Just imagine the vastness and complexity of this great drama!

There are also basic differences in human nature. Taking these into account, the great proponents of yoga have given us different paths to enlightenment: karma yoga, the path of right action; bhakti yoga, the path of devotion; gyana yoga, the path of wisdom; and raja yoga, the path of meditation. Though normally one of these is predominant, we are typically a mixture of all four approaches, and that precise mixture is different for everyone. Even if we try to walk someone else’s path, our own nature will draw us back to what is right for us.

Then there is the beautiful thought that God’s love for each of His children is particular. Each one of us is special to God, and like the prodigal son, when we return home, He/She rejoices. This truth is reflected in the beautiful image often depicted in paintings of Krishna dancing with each of the gopis. Master explains that the gopis were much more than mere milkmaids—they were enlightened sages who had come to be with the Lord, in the form of Krishna. As God loves each of us uniquely, so does the spark of divine love in our heart draw us forward in our own way to find union with that love. Another wonderful thought!

Jyotish and I are now at our community in Assisi, Italy, enjoying the devotion and joy of our family here. We’ll be in Italy for the month of August, before continuing our travels to Germany, and then to India.

Yesterday, as we sat in the Temple of Light at a wonderful kirtan, the fluttering of little wings caught my eye. It was a moth inside the temple that was repeatedly flinging itself against a closed window in an effort to escape into the beautiful garden outside. Inches away from the windowpane was an open door through which it could easily have flown out. “How like this little moth we all are,” I thought. The barrier of the physical world and our attachment to the senses keep us trapped here, unable to enter the garden of soul bliss.

Finally, a breeze through the open door enabled the moth to fly to freedom in the garden. Similarly, the breeze of grace reveals to us the way out of the suffering and confinement of this world. Though our way is uniquely our own, and we must walk it alone, still we share this journey with all of life. This is the divine drama. Through His love, God dances individually with each of us and shows us our way to freedom.

Joining with you in our journey,

Nayaswami Devi

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Swami Kriyananda lived with his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, for the last three and a half years of the great master’s life. The teachings and training that Swamiji received from him during that time have inspired and guided the work of Ananda, which now reaches countless souls throughout the world.

Here are two stories from Swamiji’s early days with his guru that can help us in our spiritual as well as our everyday life. Kriyananda wrote that he worked as hard at meditation as he did during the day at his various jobs. But at a certain point, he began to get discouraged with the progress he was making in meditation. He had the opportunity to ask Master, “Am I not trying hard enough?” Yoganandaji replied, “Too hard. It’s creating tension. In meditation you should emphasize relaxation more.”

The companion story is this. Some time had passed after the first incident. Following Master’s advice, Swamiji began to focus more in his meditations on devotion to God. He spent long hours chanting and feeling God’s love. He writes: “Gradually I found myself becoming transformed inwardly. I began to feel I had some cause for self-congratulation, when one day word came to me that Master had been talking with a group of the monks in Encinitas. During the course of the conversation he had remarked lovingly: ‘Look how I have changed Walter [his name for Swamiji]!’”

What these two stories illustrate is the difference between tension and intention. When we do anything with tension, it reflects inner resistance. This can come from a variety of causes: subconscious doubts, unwillingness, fear of failing, or attachment to the results of our actions. Whatever the cause, the tension created by inner resistance blocks the flow of our energy, and limits our ability to accomplish our goals.

On the other hand, working with intention implies a positive commitment of energy to achieve some end. This involves a willingness to try; freedom from attachment to the results; and clear, steady focus on our goal. Working with intention rather than tension produces a powerful flow of energy that can uplift our consciousness no matter the outcome of our efforts. It also is the secret key that opens the door for God’s grace to flow into our life. This is what the two stories from Swamiji’s life are meant to illustrate.

We might say that when we approach any activity with tension, it implies an ego-based attitude of “I am the doer.” But when we act with intention, it reflects the thought, “I will try my best, but the results are in God’s hands.”

When you sit to meditate, relax with the thought, “God, I love You and joyfully offer my life to You. It is Your love within me that enables me even to think of You. Let me feel Your presence.” The time will come when your sincere intention will draw His grace, and you will realize His presence with you.

In daily life, look at what you are trying to accomplish and why. Analyze objectively any obstacles that lie before you, but then, willingly and joyfully, let your energy flow steadily towards your goal. Don’t be deterred by setbacks, but keep your intention shining before you. This is not to say that you’ll always accomplish everything you set out to do, but whether you succeed or not, your intention will draw the grace to transform your life.

I’ll close with these words written to me by a friend who was diagnosed a few months ago with an early stage, but aggressive form of breast cancer:

“I just completed infusion #13. Three more to go. Then a week of radiation around the end of August. That will complete the in-person treatments. After that, I’ll begin hormone suppression therapy through medication, which will be ongoing, possibly for years.

“Reflecting on what I am learning from this journey, I am grateful: How to face a test without identifying with it. The importance of positivity and saying YES. The choice between stress or inner peace. How the loss of identity brings greater freedom.

“Behind it all is grace. Until this dramatic experience, I never realized the extent to which grace is responsible for everything in our lives. It feels like even the willingness and fortitude that are needed on my part come from grace.”

May your divine intention lead you to God’s presence in all things.

Nayaswami Devi

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I had a remarkable healing experience some years ago. One morning as I got out of bed, I felt a stabbing pain in my left knee. I phoned our doctor, a fellow disciple and dear friend, who advised me to get an X-ray. It turned out that arthritis had developed in my knee, and I was experiencing pretty intense pain.

Swami Kriyananda gazing out at the view from Crystal Hermitage.

A few days later Swami Kriyananda invited Jyotish and me to go for a walk with him in the Crystal Hermitage gardens. We happily joined him, and although I had a marked limp, I tried to ignore the pain and not make a big deal out of it. Swamiji quickly detected that something was wrong and asked me why I was limping. After I explained, he looked very concerned and asked, “Are you going to be okay?” Not wanting him to worry, I smiled reassuringly and said, “Oh, yes, Swamiji, I’m going to be just fine.”

The next morning when I woke up and tentatively put weight on my leg, I was amazed to find that the pain was totally gone! And it has returned only briefly and lightly a few times over the twenty years since then.

What had happened? I believe that there were two factors at work in this healing: the blessings of a saint and the healing power of positive thoughts. Swamiji could have said, “You’ll feel better in the morning,” and then silently prayed for my healing. Instead, by asking me what was going to happen, he elicited my active, positive affirmation that I would be well. Add to that the power of his blessings, and I received a permanent healing.

But the mind can be tricky, producing negative as well as positive results. We recently read a story from the soon-to-be-published wonderful book, The Physics of Miraculous Healing, by Ananda member Joseph Selbie. A cancer patient with tumors the size of oranges on his neck, chest, and abdomen was told by his physician that his condition was untreatable, and that he had only two weeks to live.

The patient now read about a new drug that was being tested at the hospital where he was being treated. Feeling very positive and optimistic about this drug, he insisted that he receive it. Although his doctor told him that his cancer was too advanced for him to qualify for the test, he finally agreed.

The drug was given to him on a Friday afternoon, and by Monday morning his amazed doctor wrote that the tumors “had melted like snowballs on a hot stove.” Equally amazing was that no other patient who had received the drug showed any improvement. Ten days after the first injection, the patient left the hospital with his health fully restored.

But the wily mind can produce both positive and negative results. Two months later, the man read reports stating that this new drug had proved ineffective. His health rapidly deteriorated, and he returned to the hospital again near death. Seeing the power of the patient’s mind, his doctor took a risk and falsely told him that a “new, super-refined double-strength” version of the drug was available.

Once again the patient became convinced that this drug would cure him. After his first injection of what was only a saline solution, his complete recovery took only a few days. But sadly, that is not the end of the story. Some months later, he read yet another article talking about the ineffectiveness of the drug, and within two days he was dead.

What had happened? The man’s mind produced the results—total healing or death—according to what he believed.

There is a third example of the mind’s power: the life of Swami Kriyananda. Since I first met him in 1969, Swamiji faced a variety of health challenges—some minor, others quite serious. Once a devotee asked him privately, “Swamiji, are you taking on other people’s karma?” After a thoughtful pause, he replied quietly, “Well, we all have to do our part.”

But no matter what physical problem he was going through, he never lost his enthusiasm, energy, or joy in serving his guru and in helping others. Once a friend of ours accompanied him on a visit to a new specialist. When the doctor began reviewing Swamiji’s thick medical file, he looked up at him with great concern, and asked, “How is your health, sir?”

Without hesitating for a moment, Swamiji joyfully replied, “Excellent!” And that was how he saw it.

How could he answer in that way? Was he in denial? Not at all. He had trained his mind to remain positive in spite of his health problems, and, more importantly, not to identify with them. He thought of himself not as the body, but as Spirit, and that Spirit was both perfectly healthy and indomitable. This enabled him always to have more energy than anyone else in the room.

Our takeaway can be found in this wisdom from Paramhansa Yoganandaji: “Gradually strengthen the mind so that you can depend more on its power, and you will be better and better every day. Think only positive thoughts, even in the face of contradictory circumstances. Develop such mental power that you can stand unshaken, no matter what comes, bravely facing anything in life.”

In celebration of God’s power within us,

Nayaswami Devi

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As I write this, we are in the middle of our annual Spiritual Renewal Week at Ananda Village. Devotees have gathered from around the world to dive deep in Master’s teachings, inspiration, and joy. This tradition was started by Swami Kriyananda in 1969, and continued to this day. So this marks our fifty-fifth such event—an amazing accomplishment!

The theme we chose for this year was the title of Master’s first public talk in English, given aboard the City of Sparta en route to America in 1920: “The Battle of Life and How to Fight It.” This is how he began his mission to the West: showing people how to take up arms against the forces of delusion and achieve Self-realization.

Jyotish and I gave the opening class on Monday, and I’d like to share with you some of the thoughts from my talk. (We encourage you to listen to all the classes given during this week—they are all filled with inspiration.)

In a wonderful discourse Master gave in 1939, called, “How to Find the Way to Victory,” he said, “The world is marching on in a wild drama of existence. Trying to stop the raging storms, we seem no more than little ants swimming in the ocean. But do not minimize your power. The real victory consists in conquering yourself, as did Jesus Christ. His self-victory gave him power over all nature.”

In this battle of life, the real victory lies in conquering the little self and discovering how to live in awareness of the greater Self. To this end, Master spoke about the “psychology of victory”; I’d like to focus on two points of the many that he shared.

First, there is the importance of determination and fixity of purpose. It’s essential to hold to our inner and outer goals no matter what the world throws at us. Yoganandaji said, “If your mental attitude changes constantly under the pressure of tests, you are losing the battle of life.”

Swami Kriyananda was a wonderful example of determination in the pursuit of one’s goals. In the first years of creating Ananda Village, Swamiji had to earn all the money needed for buying the property. It required ceaseless travel and teaching. At one point, he was late in making a mortgage payment, and was faced with foreclosure unless he could come up with the money in a few days.

One of his friends said, “Why don’t you come over to our house and have some tea? Then you’ll feel better.” Swamiji replied with the intensity of a spiritual warrior: “I don’t care how I feel! I want to know what I can do about it!” He spent the next several hours calling everyone he knew who might be able to help financially, and succeeded in raising the required sum. His determination did not waver under stress, and he was victorious.

Master spoke also of the need for introspection and self-analysis if we would achieve victory in life. It’s important to analyze those areas in which we succeed in action, thought, and feeling, to analyze also those areas in which we fail, and to find in each case the inner cause of those results. Here’s the catch: We need to work energetically on our shortcomings, but not to identify with them. Self-doubt and negative thoughts about oneself block our ability to succeed.

Master said, “As long as you question if you will win or lose, you will lose.” This is a daunting statement, but one that motivates us to develop the firm conviction that we will succeed. He suggested that we keep a mental diary, and every night before sleep analyze how we fared on life’s battlefield that day. Figure out how you can improve your efforts, then act on that understanding.

Finally, how you wage the battle determines your final spiritual conquest. Fight with joy, enthusiasm, and confidence, not just grim determination. Most of all, we need to hold up the shield of devotion and faith in God, for He is the true power behind our efforts and our ultimate victory.

Let your heart constantly sing a silent song to God, and fill your mind with joy. As Swami Kriyananda wrote in one of his songs for children:

Sing in the meadows and ev’rywhere: Sing out a blessing to ev’ryone!Lift up your voices, lift your hands on high. Sing and the battle is won.

With blessings and joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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“Do you have any powers?” This question is sometimes posed to Ananda teachers in India, as if to ask, “Have your yogic practices given you any supranormal abilities?” Once, when a student asked this question during an introductory meditation class, the teacher replied, “I can’t say that I have any powers.” After a moment’s reflection, he then added, “But perhaps I do have one: the power to choose to be happy at will.” Then he added, humorously, “I don’t always use this power. But I do have it.”

It’s an easy trap to fall into to think that we are weak, ineffective beings who are incapable of accomplishing our goals in life. How far from the truth this is! We’ve been gifted with many wonderful powers, but we need to know how to use them properly, and to be aware of their divine source.

One of Yogananda’s most important teachings was how to use the power of will to draw success in any undertaking. Many religions have taught that we are weak sinners, passive and incapable of helping ourselves. But understanding how to use will power to draw energy from a cosmic source is the key to accomplishing our goals—both in the world and in our spiritual search.

One time in America Master was at a revivalist meeting with many thousands of people in attendance. The minister leading the gathering was shouting at the top of her voice, “You are all sinners! Get down on your knees!” Master later said (with a twinkle in his eye), “I was the only one who remained standing. I refused to accept that I was a sinner.”

In Autobiography of a Yogi, Master writes: “Occasionally I told astrologers to select my worst periods, according to planetary indications, and I would still accomplish whatever task I set myself. It is true that my success at such times has been accompanied by extraordinary difficulties. But my conviction has always been justified: faith in the divine protection, and the right use of man’s God-given will, are forces formidable beyond any the ‘inverted bowl’ can muster.”

“Man’s God-given will” is one of our inherent birthrights, but we need to remember that we are not the Doer. It is God. As soon we begin to think, “It is I who am doing this,” we cut ourselves off from the divine source, and that flow of strength ceases to be present for us.

The ability to love and forgive is also a God-given power, one that opens our heart to an unlimited flow of blessings to all. In his song “What Is Love?” Swami Kriyananda wrote:

What is love? Is it only ours? Or does love whisper in the flowers? Surely we, children of this world, Could not love by our own powers.

When we understand that the love we feel comes from a source higher than our emotions, our capacity to love others and, in fact, all of life expands tremendously. It doesn’t matter, then, how people treat us, or if they hurt or disappoint us. We love them unconditionally, because we realize that it’s God who is loving them through us. And it is God we are loving in them.

What inner freedom comes when our love for others isn’t dependent on how they behave towards us. It is what enabled Christ, as he was dying on the cross, to utter, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”

Finally, there is the God-given power to seek Him. Master said that the ability even to think of God comes from Him. We mistakenly think that we are striving all alone to find God, but in truth it is He who is calling us. It is He behind our efforts to draw closer to Him, and to expand our consciousness. If we tune in to God’s call within, we can cooperate more consciously with Him, and make greater spiritual progress.

The ability to breathe, to appreciate the world around us, even to live at all—these are powers given by God. If we strive to see Him as the source of any power we have, we come no longer to identify with our little self, and gain the realization of the Greater Self. It is we who must use the power of will, the power of love, and the power to seek God, but with the understanding that we are using the gifts given by Him.

Once Master said to his most advanced disciple, Rajarshi Janakananda, “Never forget where your power comes from.” Rajarshi replied, “I won’t, Master. It comes from you.” The great ones know that God is the source of everything.

In gratitude for divine gifts,

Nayaswami Devi

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There’s a wonderful story that occurred when Paramhansa Yogananda visited his guru, Sri Yukteswar, on his return to India in 1935. Seeing a latent interest in spirituality in the West, our line of gurus had sent Yoganandaji to America in 1920 to bring the teachings of India there. After fifteen years of strenuous effort on his part, thousands were practicing meditation and seeking God. Sri Yukteswar (knowing that he would soon be leaving his body) then sent word to Master to come for a return visit.

When they were together, Sri Yukteswar, ever the strict disciplinarian, asked Yoganandaji if he had been changing the teachings so as to reach the Western mind. Yogananda replied, “Sir, you are like the goldsmith who works only with the pure metal of higher consciousness. I am like the jeweler who fashions the gold that I’ve received from you into beautiful jewelry so that others can wear it.” Sri Yukteswar smiled and accepted this answer.

What Yoganandaji did in bringing the esoteric path of Kriya Yoga to the West was nothing short of miraculous. He understood the needs of the times as well as the mindset of Westerners, and offered a wealth of teachings that students could readily relate to and practice. I’d like to explore a few simple practices that Yogananda gave us, and the deeper truths upon which they are based.

The energization exercises, if approached superficially, can be seen as a system of breathing and strengthening exercises, but they are so much more. They help one develop the understanding that prana, or life force, is the more fundamental reality underlying matter. The ancient exponent of yoga, Patanjali, describes the eightfold path to samadhi, or cosmic consciousness. Its fourth stage is pranayama, or energy control, and these exercises are a tangible way for us to practice it.

Yoganandaji called them his unique contribution to the science of yoga, and gave us this simple guideline to help us better understand them: “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” The more we learn to use willpower and energy properly, the more we cast aside lesser self identities in the understanding that we are beings of energy not limited to physical realities.

“Be even-minded and cheerful at all times,” Yogananda instructed his disciples. Again, these seemingly simple words hold a wealth of deep teachings. The classic definition of yoga given by Patanjali is: “Yogas chitta vritti nirodh”—“Yoga is the neutralization of the waves of feeling.” The “waves of feeling” is another way of describing the reactive process. As long as we are elated when good things happen, and downcast when bad things occur, we are caught in the alternating cycles of duality.

To transcend maya, one must try to remain non-attached to whatever happens. As Yoganandaji put it, “What comes of itself, let it come.” Then we can live in the world as true yogis, unaffected by any outward change, and walk the sure path to liberation. Why “cheerful”? Because the essence of God is joy, and we can practice His presence by always holding an uplifted outlook in our heart.

“You must learn to introspect, and keep a daily mental diary,” Yoganandaji also taught. He suggested that we do a mental review each night before sleep to analyze how we have lived the day. Again, this simple advice is rooted in Patanjali’s eightfold path, in which he speaks of swadhyaya, or “self-study.” Swami Kriyananda explains it this way: “Self-study, in a yogic sense, signifies rooting out from one’s heart those delusions and false attachments which prevent one from realizing who and what he really is: the Infinite Spirit.”

Recharging our body and mind with prana, practicing the presence of God through right attitude, and analyzing and correcting oneself each day: all these are based on the wisdom of the great sages of India. These are but a few of the myriads of seemingly simple offerings that Yogananda gave us. Try to understand and practice all of his techniques with an understanding of the truths upon which they are based.

With an outpouring of wisdom and compassion, he gave us a sure, doable path to soul freedom. “If you practice even a hundredth part of what I teach you, you will reach God,” he told his disciples.

Add to these techniques and many others the practice of Kriya Yoga, and we have all that we need to achieve our spiritual goals.

Our guru was a master craftsman, setting forth a path to God that was both based on ancient truths and understandable to modern sensibilities. Let’s not only admire the beautiful jewelry that he gave us, but eagerly wear it daily. It is wrought of the pure gold of God-consciousness and fashioned for us so that its beauty and light will guide us home.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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There is a pivotal incident in Autobiography of a Yogi in which Yoganandaji’s guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, encourages him to get involved in organizational work. Seeing his disciple’s reluctance, Sri Yukteswar says with a stern glance, “Could you or anyone else achieve God-contact through yoga if a line of generous-hearted masters had not been willing to convey their knowledge to others?”

Master continues: “An adamant resolution arose in my breast: I would share with my fellows, so far as lay in my power, the unshackling truths I had learned at my guru’s feet. ‘Lord,’ I prayed, ‘may Thy Love shine forever on the sanctuary of my devotion, and may I be able to awaken that Love in other hearts.’” Thus began his lifetime of service to others.

Some thirty years later, a young man living in New York read Autobiography of a Yogi. So inspired was he that he abandoned wealth and family, and traveled by bus to Los Angeles with the hope of becoming Yogananda’s disciple. During the four-day journey, this young man, who was later known as Swami Kriyananda, repeatedly prayed: “Lord, I want to know Thee, and to share these wonderful teachings with everyone.” How closely his prayer paralleled Yoganandaji’s! And thus began his life of discipleship and service to others.

On May 19 we celebrate the birthday of Swami Kriyananda, who passed away in 2013. In thinking of his life, we are struck by the incredible spiritual generosity with which he shared with so many for nearly sixty-five years. For many of us, Swamiji brought Yoganandaji and the Autobiography alive in a way we never could have achieved on our own. Personally, I had tried to read the book before coming to Ananda in 1969, but couldn’t develop a strong connection with it.

Then, after hearing Kriyanandaji speak about his guru, I dived into the Autobiography and into Master’s path, and found both inspiration and a sense of “coming home” that have never left. It was as though Swamiji’s discipleship was a conduit through which I, and many others, could experience Master’s presence.

Then there was his generosity in sharing the teachings. In the most creative, inspiring ways, he imparted the philosophy and techniques of this path not only to those living at Ananda, but also to others around the world. We must have heard him give classes on the Hong-Sau technique countless times, but it was always new and different. Not that he varied the technique itself, but Swamiji always approached the subject from a fresh perspective.

In other words, the way he taught was not a generic offering, but given specifically to those present according to what they were ready to receive and assimilate. Step by step, Swamiji brought us along on our spiritual journey, deepening our understanding and practices along the way until we had a subtle grasp of the subject.

With his awareness of who we were, Swamiji helped us to reach our own potential also by suggesting challenging new areas of service. To each one, he gave assignments according to what we needed to learn, and stood beside us as we sometimes fumbled our way forward. Opening new vistas to reach for, Swamiji often worked silently and unseen beside us, guiding us forward toward the goal.

If all he had accomplished was a legacy of inspiring books and lectures, it would have been a remarkable offering to his guru. But what was perhaps most precious was that he gave of himself in so personal a way to help countless individuals on their journey to God.

In the early years of Ananda, we had a wonderful friend and mentor, Haanel Cassidy, who taught organic gardening methods. Haanel used to say that all life on earth is sustained by a millimeter of interaction between sunlight, air, and the microorganisms in the soil. It is this exchange that creates a rich soil in which seeds sprout, plants grow, food is produced, and life is sustained.

So it is with the light of God. It showers down on us generously from great souls, asking nothing in return, and activates the spiritual seeds lying dormant in our consciousness. This is what allows evolution of consciousness to continue, and fulfills the Divine Plan for humanity. Without this gift, and left to our own devices, we would forever be stumbling in the dark. Let’s offer our deep gratitude and love to those who share God’s light, and do our part to share it with others.

In divine friendship,

Nayaswami Devi

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The battle in all its intensity waged relentlessly around the great warrior. On the battlefield lay the wreckage of twisted chariots and broken bodies; the screams of wounded men and animals filled the air. All this and almost impenetrable clouds of dust created a maelstrom that would have overwhelmed the most valiant warrior. Yet he fought on.

It seemed that no matter how many arrows or spears were hurled at Arjuna, for indeed it was he, his charioteer managed to evade the onslaught. The driver also found the most advantageous positions from which to attack their foes, so that slowly, inexorably, Arjuna’s chariot and the troops he led advanced. Eventually Arjuna and his brothers, the Pandavas, and their armies would prevail against their enemies, the Kauravas—but only after great effort on their part.

What is the story behind this epic battle, and who was the charioteer that led Arjuna’s forces to victory? The great Indian scripture, the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part, tells the story of a royal family divided into two opposing branches: the spiritual Pandavas, who were Arjuna and his brothers, and the materialistic Kauravas, led by Duryodhana. Though Duryodhana could have shared the kingdom with his cousins, he drove the Pandavas out, and the great battle ensued so that Arjuna’s forces could reclaim the realm.

The identity of the charioteer is spiritually important for all of us. In the story, Arjuna and Duryodhana went separately to the powerful king, Krishna, to enlist his aid in the impending war. Krishna was asleep, however, so they both waited—Duryodhana standing proudly by Krishna’s head, while Arjuna knelt humbly at his feet. When Krishna awoke, in order to be fair he gave them a choice: One of them could have his entire army and all his great wealth. The other would have only him, and he would not fight, but only drive the chariot. Since Krishna had seen Arjuna first, he gave him first choice.

Arjuna, the great devotee-warrior, chose Krishna to be his charioteer. He knew that where God is, there lies victory. Duryodhana, the materialist, was delighted to receive the vast army of warriors, weapons, and war elephants, and all the wealth supporting them, for he put his faith in things of this world.

In The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda, by Swami Kriyananda, Master explains the symbolism of the two opposing armies. They are aspects of our own self: the internal forces of higher consciousness vs. those of materialism (represented by the Pandavas and the Kauravas respectively), which are always at war within us. For our true soul nature to prevail, we must take up the battle, while calling on God to guide us.

On the eve of the battle, Arjuna asks Krishna to drive his chariot between the two armies. Swami Kriyananda writes: “Krishna became Arjuna’s charioteer. Symbolically, what the chariot represents is the human body, the horses representing the five senses. . . . Arjuna invited the Lord to guide the chariot of his life, holding the reins of his senses and steering his course through the coming battle. Thus, the devotee also must try always to see God alone as the Doer of all his actions.

“Driving the chariot of spiritual endeavor between the two armies signifies the withdrawal of energy into the spine, and the awareness which comes to the meditating devotee that there are actually two forces within him, vying together to draw him in opposite directions: downward and upward.”

Swamiji calls Arjuna “Sadhu Everyman,” for he represents our own inner warrior who must fight to reclaim our soul kingdom. Though we ask God to drive the chariot of our life, it is we who must fight the battle with all of the strength and courage we can summon, for the opposing army of material consciousness is very powerful. Still it is God alone, whose presence we invite into our life, who determines our final victory.

In a prayer-demand from Whispers from Eternity, Yoganandaji writes:

Help Me to Win the Battle of Life

O King of Kings—train Thou in me, in the camp of discipline, the noble qualities of calmness and self-control. Be Thou their Divine General, like Krishna of yore, against the invading hordes of darkness, passion, and greed. Protect the celestial kingdom of my mind against entry by the tenacious warriors of evil. Let Thy banner of peace wave always above the strong castle of my soul.

In this battle of life we may feel that our strength is limited, but always remember that the Divine Charioteer is all-powerful. If we choose Him as our guide, He will protect us and steer our course, until, without doubt, He leads us to victory.

With joy and gratitude for God’s presence in our life,

Nayaswami Devi

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In a vision he had as a boy, Paramhansa Yogananda found himself standing in a crowded, noisy marketplace in an Indian village. The day was hot and dusty, as people crowded into dirty stalls and elbowed out with their purchases.

From time to time, someone would pause and gaze wistfully up at something in the distance behind Master. Then they would turn away with a sad sigh, say, “It’s much too high for me,” and turn back to the press and clamor of the marketplace.

After watching this repeated several times, Yoganandaji turned to see what they’d all been looking at. He found rising behind him a beautiful mountain: tall, serene, and utterly removed from the world of the marketplace. His first thought was like all the others’: “It’s much too high for me.” But then, scorning that thought, he affirmed instead, “It may be too high to ascend with a single leap, but I can at least put one foot in front of the other!”

With great will and determination he set out, and at last he reached the heavenly heights. For Master, this vision symbolized the plight of all humanity, who catch glimpses of a higher reality, but lack the resolve to rise above the material world.

What stops us from starting the “ascent” to greater awareness? Most people are simply engrossed in the marketplace. Others often give up before they begin because they think, “I’m not good enough.” Swami Kriyananda gave us helpful advice in this regard: Anything that makes you feel spiritually inadequate is the influence of Satan, the conscious power of darkness that seeks to keep souls forever bound in delusion. Forget about what you are or aren’t, and remember Yogananda’s oft-repeated words: “A saint is a sinner who never gave up!”

We’re deterred also because we think that the climb will take more energy than we have. Basic to Yoganandaji’s teachings, as practiced in the Energization Exercises, are the concepts of will, energy, and magnetism: “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” And, “The greater the flow of energy, the greater the magnetism.” By using our own willpower, we can draw on the cosmic energy all around us to enhance our own strength. With greater energy, we can magnetically draw everything we need to accomplish our goals. If we put out whatever energy we can, God will match it a hundredfold.

Another attitude that holds us back is the fear of failure. “What if I try, but don’t achieve my goal? Are all my efforts lost?” In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna these very questions. The Lord’s reply brings great reassurance: “O Arjuna, My son! One who performs right actions can never be destroyed. He is reborn on earth in a good and prosperous home. He recovers the yogic discrimination he attained formerly, and sets himself with even greater zeal to achieve final spiritual liberation. The power of former yoga practice is sufficient to impel, as it were, the reborn yogi on his upward path.” (from Ch. 6, 40–44)

“Discipleship,” by Nayaswami Jyotish. Within each of us live deeper-than-conscious memories of higher states of awareness.

What are some factors that motivate us to climb the mountain to Self-realization? First, there is the inherently unfulfilling nature of the material world. Based as it is in duality, this world offers us constantly rotating cycles of pain and pleasure, success and failure, happiness and sorrow. Master spoke of the “anguishing monotony” that, after many lifetimes, comes eventually to us all.

Then we begin to think, “There must be something better that brings true, lasting fulfillment.” This is the prod from below, but there is also the pull from above.

Within each of us live deeper-than-conscious memories of higher states of awareness. We may have had touches of memories, flashes of a time when our soul was free and filled with joy. For in the words of a beautiful song of Swamiji’s, God ever calls to His children:

Listen! Listen!Whispering within your soul:Hints of laughter, hints of joy;Sweet songs of sadness, of quenchless yearningFor the Light,For My love, your true home.

The choice is before us daily: to remain in the crowded, but spiritually empty, marketplace, or to begin the climb up the mountain to God. Kriyanandaji wrote: “The spiritual path requires courage, dedication, and the absolute conviction that only God can ever satisfy the soul’s yearning for true happiness.” The choice is really not as hard as it seems.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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All of us have habits or tendencies that bring us suffering. Though repeatedly we may try to change these patterns, they follow us around like a cloud of gnats. This is the result of the law of karma: Every action we take is a cause that has an effect, an effect that sometimes follows us even from lifetime to lifetime. These effects can be good or bad, freeing or binding, depending on the action involved.

When confronted with the effects of our past bad actions, how should we respond? It is natural, and good, to do what we can to minimize those effects. If we have poor health, we can take steps to improve it such as seeing a doctor, taking medication, improving our diet, or exercising appropriately.

In themselves, however, steps like these will not eliminate the underlying cause. To do that, as anyone aspiring to soul freedom must, we need to use the power of our mind to resist old patterns. At the same time, we should seek to replace bad habits with good ones. It’s like putting up a protective cloth over our mental garden so that the seeds of bad karma cannot germinate. Past karma then has much less power to harm us. Moreover, those karmic seeds, starved of nourishment from repetition of past bad actions, wither and die.

Most effective of all is to meditate. Each time we meditate deeply, beneficial changes take place in the patterns of our brain. Here is a meditation technique that Paramhansa Yoganandaji gives us to destroy the seeds of past karma.

Painting by Swami Kriyananda.

First, meditate upon the thought “I and my Father are one,” trying as you do so to feel great peace and joy in your heart. When joy comes, mentally affirm: “Father, Thou art with me. I command Thy power within me to cauterize my brain cells of wrong habits and past seed tendencies.” Finally, affirm and pray: “I command my brain cells to change, to destroy the grooves of bad habits that have made a puppet out of me. Lord, burn them up in Thy divine light.” Do this technique repeatedly with great concentration, and over time you will feel ever freer.

Swami Kriyananda gave us an image that is very helpful in destroying the effects of our past actions. He said rooting out old karma is like trying to pull a nail out of a board. Using the prongs of a hammer, we keep pulling, but cannot know how much of the nail remains in the board. We do not know when, but one day, after continued effort, the nail pops out. The karma is over, and we are free.

A friend of ours recently told us an illustrative story. He was directing a team of people on a new project. Unfortunately, one person on the team was resistant to our friend’s guidance; he was openly critical and challenging, even hostile. Our friend reacted negatively, and though he didn’t show it, was resentful. Some old karma had come into play.

Praying deeply to God to be able to lead the team impartially and effectively, our friend was preparing to meet with the team. Just as he was getting in the car, he felt the karma lift: “like a nail coming out of a board,” he said. He felt inwardly free, and the project moved forward harmoniously.

Paramhansa Yogananda wrote, “Don’t blame God or anyone else if you are suffering from disease, financial problems, or emotional upsets. You created the cause of the problem in the past and must make a greater determination to uproot it now.” So let’s face the self-created challenges that come to us in life, until, with indomitable will, we realize that nothing can keep us bound in our journey towards soul freedom.

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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“If I entered the hermitage in a worried or indifferent frame of mind, my attitude imperceptibly changed. A healing calm descended at mere sight of my guru. Every day with him was a new experience in joy, peace, and wisdom.” So Paramhansa Yogananda describes the years he spent in the ashram of his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar.

There is so much that we can learn from these few, simple words. The power of the guru to uplift and change our consciousness is not limited to his words or actions. The mere sight of Sri Yukteswar had a transforming effect on his young disciple.

The guru’s consciousness is a catalyst for our spiritual unfoldment. As disciples, our part is to strive to be more in tune and to deepen our efforts to know God. When we’re “worried or indifferent,” or experiencing any number of wrong attitudes, we have the ability to transcend them by tuning in to the guru’s consciousness, which can free us from the mental shackles that keep us bound.

“But,” you may be thinking, “I haven’t had the blessing of living in my guru’s ashram. I live here in a big city surrounded by materialistic consciousness. What hope is there for me to experience these divine gifts?” I’d like to share two stories of people we know who have “lived” in their guru’s ashram, despite extremely challenging outward circumstances.

The first is of our friend Joe Hunt or Jairam, who has spent the last forty years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. About thirty years ago, Jairam’s mother sent him a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi, which he read eagerly from cover to cover.

Shortly afterwards, he contacted Ananda to see if it was possible for someone to visit him in prison to teach him how to meditate. Some members were able to do this, and Jairam began meditating every morning and evening on his bunk in his prison cell. After a few years, the prison officials allowed Jairam the use of a small closet as an office for some work he was doing, and it was there that Jyotish initiated him into Kriya Yoga.

One can imagine that a prison environment is not ideal for the regular practice of Kriya. But through the pandemic and lockdowns, through illness and isolation, Jairam has spent hours daily meditating and doing his Kriyas. When we’ve visited him over the years, we could feel that he has “lived” in his guru’s ashram despite all the outer challenges.

The second story is about an advanced direct disciple of Yoganandaji, Kamala Silva, who spent many years with her guru, and wrote the book The Flawless Mirror. Later in her life, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Having no family to care for her and needing constant supervision, she was moved to an assisted living home. Members from Ananda visited her regularly, and though they expected her to be unhappy living there, they were greatly reassured to see her unwavering joy.

One day a woman from Ananda went to see her, and was shocked to see that Kamala was now sharing a room with another woman whose face had been horribly disfigured by burns from a fire. Our friend thought, “What a pity that Kamala has to look at that damaged face every day.” Kamala, however, remarked, “Have you seen my roommate? Isn’t she beautiful?”

That was how Kamala saw her—as a reflection of God’s radiant light. She, too, was “living” in her guru’s ashram, there in that small room.

I hope these stories will help you to realize that the doors to this sacred realm are always open. The choice is ours whether we want to dwell there. Living in our guru’s ashram is a state of mind, and much more: It is constantly reaching out for union with God, until we realize that the guru’s ashram has always resided in our own heart.

I’ll close with these words of Master: “O Spirit, make my soul Thy temple, but make my heart Thy beloved home where Thou wouldst dwell with me in ease and everlasting understanding.”

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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I read an intriguing article recently about scientists that are doing cutting-edge research on how memory works. Their focus is not the typical one on why memory loss occurs, but rather on why memory exists at all. In other words, these researchers are trying to discover what the mechanism is that holds and releases our memories.

We’ve all had the experience of remembering events, names, or faces from our daily life, but usually we take this ability for granted. I often enjoy trying to recall some trivial piece of information that I can’t quite access in my mind. If I sit quietly for a period of time, I sense a spark of energy, a neural impulse, starting to surface and move from the subconscious into the conscious realm. Then, like a light turning on in my brain, the answer presents itself in a calm, joyful manner, as if to say, “Ta-da!”

Sometimes our memories can even predate our present incarnation, and reflect experiences from past lives. Perhaps we meet someone new and feel an instant affinity with them, or we visit a place for the first time and have the feeling that we’ve been there before. There are many documented cases of children clearly remembering from a past incarnation details which, when researched, have proven to be true.

Paramhansa Yogananda writes on the first page of Autobiography of a Yogi, “I find my earliest memories covering the anachronistic features of a previous incarnation. Clear recollections came to me of a distant life, a yogi amidst the Himalayan snows. These glimpses of the past, by some dimensionless link, also afforded me a glimpse of the future.”

The most important use of memory, then, lies not in summoning up trivial facts, but in remembering the inner journey that we’ve traveled thus far to find God. It’s good to meditate on why you were drawn to the spiritual path, and on the associations you recall from the past. Though we may not consciously remember the connection, the guru-disciple relationship is eternal and guides us from lifetime to lifetime. By evoking this connection, we can draw on our past spiritual development to strengthen our future growth.

Though I had had no conscious memory of a connection with my guru, Yoganandaji, once I read his Autobiography I never looked elsewhere for spiritual guidance. Some deeper-than-conscious memory has held me to his teachings for the past fifty-five years, and I am increasingly aware that this has been my ordained path for many lifetimes.

One of the most powerful episodes from the Autobiography is when Lahiri Mahasaya, a householder working as an accountant for the British in India, is transferred to a remote outpost in the foothills of the Himalayas. Wandering in the hills above Ranikhet one day, he hears someone calling his name, and climbs up to a clearing dotted with caves. There he sees a radiant young man standing before him. Lahiri’s narrative continues:

“Lahiri, surely this cave seems familiar to you?”

As I maintained a bewildered silence, the saint approached and struck me gently on the forehead. At his magnetic touch, a wondrous current swept through my brain, releasing the sweet seed-memories of my previous life.

“I remember!” My voice was half-choked with joyous sobs. “You are my guru Babaji, who has belonged to me always! Scenes of the past arise vividly in my mind; here in this cave I spent many years of my last incarnation!” As ineffable recollections overwhelmed me, I tearfully embraced my master’s feet.

Memory can play a vital role in our search for liberation. Patanjali, the ancient authority on yoga, describes spiritual awakening as smriti, “memory.” We need to remove from our mind the obscuring fog of present identities such as being a man, a woman, an American, or an Indian. Swami Kriyananda wrote, “These waves of outward involvement need to be stilled. Once they become calm, one’s eternal reality is remembered at last.”

As we “improve our knowing,” the moment will come when we, too, will exclaim, “I remember!”

It’s strange to think that what we’ve been seeking has always been within us: the memory of who and what we really are. Yogananda described Self-realization as “the knowing in all parts of body, mind, and soul that you are now in possession of the kingdom of God; that you do not have to pray that it come to you; that God’s omnipresence is your omnipresence; and that all that you need to do is improve your knowing.”

As we “improve our knowing,” the moment will come when we, too, will exclaim, “I remember!”

With gratitude for this path to freedom,

Nayaswami Devi

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This week we’ve been having a wonderful gathering for Inner Renewal Retreat, whose theme has been “Embrace Your Dharma—Your Path to Liberation.” The Temple of Light here at Ananda’s Expanding Light Retreat has been packed with several hundred residents and guests; another three thousand five hundred people are enrolled online. (If you’re interested in watching the classes and other events, you can still receive a free link.)

One of the most frequently asked questions on this topic is “How do I know what my dharma is?” Let’s talk about two different aspects of this: the longer rhythms or patterns that govern our lifetime as a whole, and the situations that arise from moment to moment as our life unfolds.

While our ultimate destiny is Self-realization, there is also the dharma of any particular life as determined by our past karma. Swami Kriyananda wrote: “The duty [dharma] of every man is that which is particularly his own, ordained for him by karmic bonds he himself has forged, and must untie to release himself from attachment to ego.” Each one of us has a unique journey to soul freedom through the maze of our past karma.

Once many years ago after a Kriya Initiation, Swamiji shared with a small group an amazing experience he had had during the ceremony. “As each person came up for the blessing,” he told us, “I could feel his unique path to liberation.”

For devotees, the dharmic life pattern is something we should patiently allow to unfold, without forcing the circumstances and without undo anxiety. I had a good friend who was torn over the issue of whether she should marry or become a monastic. After a year of stressing over this, she finally asked Swamiji what he felt her dharma was. His response was: “Your karma could go either way. Let’s see what happens.”

So she waited. After five years, she had become unattached on a deep level. By that point, she was ready to accept her dharma (whatever it might be), and get on with her life. Again, she asked Swamiji what her dharma was, and this time he answered, “You should marry.” Circumstances were such that she was happily married within a few months.

One of Master’s disciples said, “Your own will surely come to you. In fact, you cannot avoid it.” Our dharma for a lifetime—especially the outward role we are to play—is most often determined by past karmic forces that we cannot control, and often are not even aware of consciously. But if we give our life to God in discipleship, service, and devotion, and wait patiently for His guidance, the right life path will open before us. The challenge is in following our dharma once it becomes clear.

For there is the problem of discerning dharmic responses to the myriad of questions that arise in daily life: What, in each case, is the right action to take? The best place to start is to tackle the problems closest at hand using these criteria: 1) address the situation with the best energy you have; 2) do it without attachment to the results; and 3) ask for the inner guidance of the guru.

Master gave us this marvelous prayer: “I will reason, I will will, I will act, but guide Thou my reason, will, and activity to the right path in everything.”

Start with the battles you are confident of winning. For example, if you are a lazy person, it would be unwise to decide, “I’m going to run a marathon and will get up every day at 6:00 a.m. to run for an hour.” It would be much better to start with a smaller goal that you can accomplish: “I’m going to walk for thirty minutes three days a week.” Conquer the negative habit of laziness by taking doable steps, and keep building on your strengths, until one day you may run that marathon. This is the way of victory over past karma by practicing right action.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: “To do one’s own duty even unsuccessfully is better than to do someone else’s successfully.” (3:35) It is important, therefore, if we are to discover and follow our unique path of dharma, that we not be attached to the results of our actions.

Bad karma is merely energy that has been misdirected. Through meditation, right action, and divine grace, we can follow our dharma, break the bondage of karma, and achieve freedom in God.

With enthusiasm and joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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There are times when life seems to bear down on us. It’s difficult then to remain positive amidst the challenges in our life, and that we see in the lives of others, and in the world at large. Yet in this world of duality, the alternating waves of joy and sorrow are a constant. It’s how we deal with them that keeps us either forever tossed on the crashing waves of maya, or resting in the unmoving peace of God.

We had a very dear friend at Ananda, Nayaswami Maria Warner, who battled cancer for many years until her passing in 2010. In the face of repeated surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy, she never lost her resilience, nor her desire to serve and seek God.

Finally, in the last months of her life it was discovered that the cancer had spread to her brain. As her husband, who was struggling with the thought of what lay ahead, pushed her in a wheelchair into the hospital, she looked up at him and calmly said: “Detach yourself. Control the reactive process. Live the teachings.” These profound words have become known as “Maria’s Mantra,” and have offered guidance and solace to many in the midst of their own struggles.

How do we find the wisdom and strength to rise above life’s challenges? Try to see the bigger picture, of which we are only an infinitesimally small part. In other words, put yourself in the context of a larger scheme of things, and live in life’s longer rhythms.

Once Swami Kriyananda needed to have some painful dental work done, and declined anesthetic because he didn’t like the feeling of dullness it caused. He later told us that during the procedure, he thought, “I’ve had a long, rewarding life filled with many happy memories. This present pain is just one moment in the whole scheme of my life’s experiences.” Everything went smoothly, and Swamiji ended up composing music in his mind as the dentist worked.

Photo taken by Nayaswami Jyotish of Nayaswami Devi while on vacation in Monterey, California.

It’s also good to take time out and absorb yourself in the vast vistas of nature. Jyotish and I just spent a week by the ocean walking along beautiful coastal trails. We were filled with joy at the power of great, crashing waves, and with wonder at the amazing diversity of life in the tide pools. It was wonderfully refreshing and uplifting.

Go into nature and gaze at scenes that expand your consciousness: mountains, the ocean, or a star-filled sky. Remember, however, that what we behold outside of us is only a reflection of what lies within.

Swami Kriyananda used to enjoy describing a cartoon that he’d once seen in The New Yorker magazine. It showed a pompous businessman with his wife gazing up at the stars. She had obviously asked him a question, and his reply in the caption was: “Make me feel small? Not at all. I was just made regional manager for my company.” Life’s wonders are lost on the self-absorbed.

To see the big picture, we must first expand our consciousness through meditation.

To see the big picture, we must first expand our consciousness through meditation. Feel joy within, and then behold it in the beauty of flowers. Feel love within, then behold it in the great diversity of life. Feel calm expansion within, then feel the peace of the infinite reach of stars. Feel unmoving stillness within, and see it reflected in the mountains. Feel God’s limitless power, and see it in the crashing waves and ocean deeps.

Ultimately, however, it’s not enough only to see the big picture—we must become it. This is the way of self-transcendence.

Master expresses this in so much of what he has given us. There’s his chant: “I am the bubble / Make me the sea. / Wave of the sea / Dissolve in the sea.” And his poem “Samadhi” concludes with the words:

A tiny bubble of laughter, I Am become the Sea of Mirth Itself.

That is the whole journey of life in a nutshell: Find the tiny bubble of joy within you and expand it until you become the ocean of unlimited bliss. Then, whatever life brings, you know you are a part of something much greater, of something eternal.

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.”

The traditional explanation of these words of Jesus Christ is that he’s urging his disciples to go out and convert people to his teachings. Paramhansa Yogananda interpreted Christ’s words in a different way: Christ was speaking of the inner “harvest” of divine consciousness, which few people actually seek.

Why only a few? Most people aren’t interested in a world beyond the senses. Even among those who are seeking higher realities, many are daunted by the commitment and effort that the spiritual path entails. So, what are some things that can help us to keep “working the field” until we can harvest the crop of God-realization?

Hope

Within each of us lies a seed of hope that we truly can achieve our spiritual goals. Though the soil of our consciousness may sometimes seem barren and dry, if we nurture this seed, it can keep us going.

Master said, “I remember the day when for the first time, unlooked-for, from behind the clouds of the drudgery of routine meditating habits, the aurora of bliss suddenly burst upon my consciousness. It surpassed all my expectations. Joy indescribable!”

How reassuring to think that Master, in some long-past lifetime, struggled to keep motivated! We, too, must keep alive the spark of hope that we will reach our goal.

Memory

“Are You Coming?” by Nayaswami Jyotish.

Patanjali, the ancient authority on yoga, described spiritual awakening as smriti, which means “memory.” There may come moments when we experience a higher level of consciousness that somehow seems familiar. Perhaps it’s a memory from when our soul was in the astral world, or perhaps a higher state of awareness we once held. Whatever the source of this memory, we need to use it as a point of reference in our spiritual journey.

A friend shared a true story about a family whose mother had recently given birth to a second child. The older brother, who was about four years old, was jealous of this new “intruder” who was taking away his parent’s attention.

The older boy asked his mother if he could be alone with the new baby. Unsure of what the boy had in mind, the mother agreed, but stood listening outside the door of the room. Standing next to the crib where his little brother lay, the boy whispered, “I’m starting to forget what God is like. Can you help me remember?”

Cling to any memories you may have of God’s presence, and let them lead you forward.

The Promise

Finding a true guru is, in itself, the greatest blessing on our journey toward Self-realization. Inherent in the guru-disciple relationship is the promise that he or she will bring us to God. Master said, “For those who stay in tune to the end, I, or one of the other masters, will be there to usher them into the divine kingdom.” Just as Master did with his guru, Sri Yukteswar, we must hold him to his promise to bring us to God. Our part is to stay in tune.

Grace

Then there’s the guru’s grace, which transforms our consciousness and frees us from the web of our karma. Swami Kriyananda writes in The New Path of his early days with Master: “Nightly I chanted Master’s translation of a song by the great Bengali saint, Ram Proshad: ‘Will that day come to me when saying, “Mother! Mother!” my eyes will flow with tears?’ Gradually I found myself becoming transformed inwardly. I began to feel I had some cause for self-congratulation, when one day word came to me that Master had been talking with a group of the monks in Encinitas. During the course of the conversation he had remarked lovingly: ‘Look how I have changed Walter [Swamiji]!’”

Even the desire to know God is a manifestation of His grace. A saint once said that our job is to hoist the sails of our boat, but God is the wind that blows us across the ocean of delusion.

So, my friends, the laborers may be few, but let’s count ourselves among them. Let’s keep going until, with God’s grace, we reap the harvest of bliss, which, as Master wrote, is “enjoyable beyond imagination of expectancy.”

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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Meditation is a subtle art. Although it’s essential to learn and practice its techniques properly, in the end we must make meditation a creative experience for ourself. Swami Kriyananda wrote an extremely helpful book in this regard called Secrets of Meditation. In it he gives seemingly simple, but profoundly insightful, suggestions for deepening and personalizing our practice.

There are thirty-one “secrets,” one for each day of the month. Here are a few seed thoughts from the book to help you make meditation more personally meaningful and enjoyable. (The words in bold are from Swamiji’s book; the comments are mine.)

“The secret of meditation is sitting upright with a straight spine; feeling that your strength emanates from your spine rather than from the muscles of your body.” Yogis teach that the spine is the gateway to God: not the physical vertebrae, nor even the spinal nerves, but the subtle energy channel, the “astral spine,” that flows within us. Awareness of this energy and channeling it upward to the spiritual eye fills our whole being with strength, vitality, and joy.

Practicing Master’s energization exercises and a few yoga postures before meditating helps us to get rid of “kinks” in the physical spine, so that we can sit up straight, and feel the flow of subtle energy rising within us. Awareness of this energy is the key to awareness of our own innate spiritual nature.

Once you’re seated, make a commitment to be still and ignore the restlessness of the body.

“The secret of meditation is holding your body perfectly still; gradually freeing yourself from the compulsion to move.” Before you sit to meditate, be sure that you have a comfortable seat, whether in a chair or cross-legged on the floor, so that you don’t need to move around to get settled. Once you’re seated, make a commitment to be still and ignore the restlessness of the body. Try to be aware of how you feel when your body is still, and carry this peace with you throughout the day.

“The secret of meditation is to enter instantly into the silence within, and not waste precious time in mental wandering.” Once the body is still, the greater challenge arises of quieting the mind. If you immediately catch the mind before it begins to wander, you’ll find it easier to concentrate during your period of meditation. At first this is difficult, but the more you become familiar with this uplifted state of mind, the more eagerly you will want to return to it. During the day, try to do all your activities in this state of mental stillness. You’ll be surprised at how much more you can accomplish.

“The secret of meditation is to pray with deep faith—not as an outsider to heaven, but as one whose true, eternal home is heaven.” This is perhaps my favorite “secret” from the whole book, and it’s where the real artistry of meditation begins. Choose to see yourself not as an unwanted beggar knocking on the closed gates of heaven, but rather as a cherished son or daughter who is lovingly welcomed back by God to his true home. This simple attitude can make a huge difference in your ability to relax in meditation and feel God’s loving presence calling you within.

“The secret of meditation is singing to God, out loud or silently, to awaken devotion in the heart.” Yoganandaji said, “Chanting is half the battle.” Unless we awaken the heart’s natural love, meditation can become a dry, mechanical process. Don’t worry if you can’t play the harmonium, or if you can’t sing very well. God listens to our heart, and if you chant with energy, devotion, and joy, you will feel His loving response.

Make a strong commitment to meditate regularly, and don’t falter.

“The secret of meditation is radiating blessings from your heart outward to all the world.” Inner stillness and devotion help us feel our divine connection with everyone. The desire to send blessings from your heart arises naturally as you deepen your meditation. When you pray for others in this way, your consciousness naturally expands until you feel God’s love for all creation within you. One person in deep, inner communion radiating love and blessings does more good for the world than we can imagine.

“The secret of meditation is offering yourself up wholly to the Lord, holding nothing back.” Once you begin to feel and trust God’s love for you, any sense of self-protection or holding back dissolves. We begin to think, “Whatever I am or have is Yours. Use it for Your divine purpose.” Feel that God is receiving your self-offering and uniting you with Him. As you do this, you will increasingly feel that God has taken charge of your life, and is directing your every step.

”The secret of meditation is steadfastness: For the more you meditate, the more you will want to meditate, but the less you meditate, the less will you find meditation attractive.” Finally, make a strong commitment to meditate regularly, and don’t falter. With the new year, many people make resolutions for self-improvement: we want to give up bad habits and strengthen good ones. The most important goal you can set for yourself in the coming year is to be regular in your meditation.

Let’s use well the spiritual tools given to us so that we become like divine artists, showing the beauty of God’s love and joy radiating in all creation.

In divine friendship,

Nayaswami Devi

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I read a very interesting comment recently from a man who had struggled for many years with obesity. He said that the tipping point finally came when he “realized that I could choose.” With that understanding—that he had the ability to choose what he ate—he was able to lose one hundred seventy-one pounds.

This actually was a profound insight on his part, because he realized he had the power to break the compulsion of bad habits that had kept him in suffering. He discovered within himself the freedom to choose the right action.

This insight has great importance for all of us seeking soul freedom. We mistakenly think that the chains of karma keep us forever bound in delusion, when, in truth, we have the power at any time to make the kind of choices that will set us free.

This is an especially useful concept now, as we end 2023 and begin to look at the changes we want to make in 2024. How many New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside because we approach them using only our will power!

Granted, will power is important in making any positive change, but if we are resisting the change mentally, we only create inner conflict and tension that block our will. When we realize that we can choose our actions, and then apply will power, all the pieces fall into place. This opens the door to success in achieving our goals, be they material or spiritual.

Another important choice we can make is to discriminate about what we allow to enter our consciousness. A friend recently told me a wonderful story that appears to date from the mid-1800s. More recently, for dramatic effect, it has been attributed in the modern internet fashion to Socrates, and goes like this:

One day a man came running up to Socrates, and said, “I have to tell you something about your friend who . . .”

“Stop,” Socrates interrupted him. “Before you tell me, have you put it through the three sieves?”

Eager to share his news, the man nevertheless asked, “What are those?”

“The first sieve is that of truth,” Socrates explained. “Are you certain that what you are going to tell me is true?”

“Well, no,” the man answered. “I just overheard it.”

Socrates continued, “What about the sieve of goodness? Is what you tell me something good or positive about this man?”

The fellow could only shake his head.

Finally, Socrates asked, “And the last sieve is this: Will it be useful for me to know this?”

Now the man bowed his head in shame. Smiling, Socrates said, “If your story is neither true, nor good, nor useful, please don’t bother me with it.”

These are excellent guidelines for what we allow ourselves to hear and say, for we can choose what enters our mind and leaves our mouth. We’re all bombarded with news and opinions from others, not to mention those from social media. Rather than go down a rabbit hole of false information, choose what you know to be true, positive, and useful for you to hear.

Resolve in the coming year to live more in God.

Equally important, pass what you say about someone else through those criteria. Mentally create a strong barrier in your mind, through which no critical or unkind words can pass. You’ll be surprised at the positive effect this has on your consciousness, and the freedom it brings.

Finally, the most important choice we can make is to focus our life more completely on our spiritual goals. Recently we watched the recording of an inspiring talk that Swami Kriyananda gave called “The Christmas Mystery.” He concludes with these words: “Resolve in the coming year to live more in God.” This is a choice we consciously can make.

As stated in this prayer from A Festival of Light, the beautiful ceremony created by Swamiji:

O Lord,With all my heart,With all my mind,With all my soul,And with all my strengthI choose Thy love—I choose only Thee.

Once this choice is wholeheartedly made, we begin to walk the sure path that leads to union with God. Then all other choices pale in comparison.

Wishing you a blessed New Year,

Nayaswami Devi

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Unpacking bulging suitcases after a long trip is something that most of us don’t approach with enthusiasm. As you probably know, Jyotish and I recently returned from nearly four months of traveling and sharing throughout Ananda centers in Europe and India. Upon arriving back home at Ananda Village, we were accompanied by our faithful traveling companions: two very large suitcases, two small suitcases, and a duffel bag.

As we began opening them and digging down layer upon layer like a pair of archeologists, we actually had a wonderful experience of “unearthing” beautiful presents given to us by friends along our journey. Holding each gift, whether large or small, we tried to feel the love that was being expressed to us by the giver, and to send love back to each one of them in return. It was quite an uplifting experience.

In the Western world the holiday season has now begun, with people excitedly (and sometimes frantically) shopping for gifts and eagerly anticipating what they themselves might be receiving. Thus it seems like a good time to remind ourselves of the deeper aspect of giving and receiving. Ultimately, gifts are only symbols of love: sharing our heart’s love is the true essence of gift giving.

I remember a difficult time in our life in 1976 during the first winter after the forest fire which had burnt Ananda to the ground. We hadn’t yet begun rebuilding, so we were all living in whatever dwellings we could find. Money was very tight for everyone. Jyotish and I had saved a little and had one hundred dollars in our checkbook with which to buy gifts for friends.

We had planned our shopping outing, but when the day arrived, I realized that I’d made an error in the checkbook. Instead of one hundred, we had only ten dollars with which to buy presents. Rather than getting discouraged, we stayed positive and realized that we could buy the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies to give to everyone.

With love we made the cookies, and with love we placed two for each person in little plastic bags tied with ribbons. We felt happy in doing what we could, and in doing it with love. This was true for the whole community, and it was one of the best Christmases we’d ever had.

Swami Kriyananda taught us another aspect of the art of giving. Being of an extremely generous nature, he was always gifting others for their birthdays, or weddings, or just because he wanted to share something beautiful. He told us, “When I’m choosing a gift for someone, I ask myself two questions: ‘Would it make the person happy to receive it?’ and ‘Would it make me happy to give it?’ If the answer is ‘Yes’ to both of these questions, then I’ll buy it and give it to them.”

Swamiji also said: “Whenever I find something especially beautiful or unusual, rather than thinking, ‘I must have this for myself,’ I buy it with the thought of giving it to someone else. This reduces any tendency towards attachment or greed.”

Then there is the art of receiving gifts. If we focus on ourselves and our own likes and dislikes, when we open a gift it’s easy to think, “It’s the wrong size,” or “I already have one,” or, “It’s not the color I wanted.” Instead, try to pause before opening a present, and feel the love and care that went into buying and wrapping it. Be grateful for the love that someone is offering you.

Swami Kriyananda receiving a gift of a mala from Ananda Moyi Ma in 1960.

On an even deeper level, try to see beyond the individual’s love to feel God’s love coming to you through your friend in the form of their present. Swamiji has given us a beautiful affirmation: “I give thanks to the giver behind each gift, and to the one Giver behind all that I receive. My gratitude rises with devotion’s incense to the throne of Omnipresence.”

So, give with love and receive with gratitude, but also give with gratitude and receive with love. Experience this season of gift giving as an opportunity to go deeper in your awareness of God’s unifying love, which brings all things—giver and receiver—together as one. In a beautiful prayer, Swamiji says, “I thank Thee, Lord, for all Thy blessings. But most of all, I thank Thee for Thy love.” This is the greatest gift any of us can ever receive.

With joy and blessings in God, Christ, and Guru,

Nayaswami Devi

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We were discussing some major themes in Autobiography of a Yogi with a group of close friends. This great spiritual classic is so rich in expansive wisdom that every time I open it, I find some new truths revealed. It no doubt provides unique inspiration for each person who reads it, according to the level of their own spiritual understanding.

During the discussion, one of our friends shared a thought that had never occurred to me. “The Autobiography,” he said, “can be seen as a Dwapara Yuga epic in which many problems occur, but are all resolved with the understanding that energy and consciousness, not matter and form, are the ultimate reality.” What a brilliant insight!

Throughout the book, Master faces many challenges large and small, all of which are overcome by faith and divine intervention: being healed of deadly cholera by Lahiri Mahasaya’s intercession through his photo; passing his high school exams through the help of a scholarly friend and a Sanskrit verse in an empty lot; finding his guru standing before him in Benares after desperately searching for him; overcoming his brother Ananta’s skepticism through his courage and faith during his penniless journey to Brindaban.

Through these stories and many more like them, Master is teaching us invaluable lessons. First, don’t expect life to be easy, even for devotees. Here is a wonderful affirmation Master gave us: “Life is a struggle for joy all along the way. May I fight to win the battle on the very spot where I now am.” Accept that difficulties are a part of the spiritual path, and go into the fray with strength and courage.

Master is also showing us how to detach from any problem and approach it with the understanding that only consciousness is real. Another affirmation he’s given us is: “When fear or anger or any kind of suffering comes to me, I will view it as a spectator. I will separate myself from my experiences. At all costs I will endeavor to retain my peace and happiness.” Behind the form of every test is the opportunity to transcend it and to grow spiritually. By holding firmly to this thought, we come to understand what Master also teaches us: “There are no obstacles, only opportunities.”

Finally (for the purpose of this brief blog, because one could go on at length) his autobiography shows us that, come what may, God is always protecting and guiding us. Faith in Him/Her is the best tool we have to face and overcome all of our problems.

Speaking for each one of us, Yoganandaji declares: “My earthly experiences serve as a process of destruction of my limiting mortal delusions. In God even the most ‘impossible’ dreams are realized. (‘I will give him the morning star.’ —Revelations 2:28)” This “morning star” is the divine light which shines within us, revealing God’s unwavering presence in our life.

As I write these words, Jyotish and I are in Mumbai for the last few days before returning to America after four months of traveling and teaching. My heart is filled with gratitude and joy as I realize how smoothly everything has gone. In the face of a myriad of possible problems, each step has been filled with protection and grace. When challenges have come, we’ve been given the strength to face them with joy.

In part this is true because we’ve offered our life and our service to God and Guru. Perhaps the Autobiography’s most important lesson for overcoming problems is this: Give your service, your devotion, your life wholeheartedly to God. In time you will behold, hidden behind every test, His smiling face.

With love and joy,

Nayaswami Devi

P.S. Watch this video of children from an orphanage near the Mumbai ashram, who are being taught by devotees according to Education for Life principles. Their song seems to fit perfectly with the thoughts I’ve been sharing.

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We heard an amazing story last year when we were visiting the Ananda Community in Assisi. A friend of ours, with whom we were staying, told us that she had a beloved dog who had recently passed away at the age of fifteen. Her heart was still grieving for the loss of her dear friend and companion.

One rainy night while we were there, we heard a whining and scratching outside their house by the compost pile. When our friend went out with a flashlight to see what was happening, she saw a starving, injured little dog who had gotten caught on the wire fence. Approaching him to help, she startled the abandoned creature, and he tore himself loose and ran away toward the road.

Our friend got into her car hoping, even though the night was dark and rainy, to find the poor puppy. Eventually she spotted him, and pulled over to the side of the road, but with each step she took toward him, he backed farther away. Finally, in desperation, she prayed to her beloved dog who had passed away, “Please let this little one trust me.”

Almost miraculously, the little fellow immediately turned and ran to her. Looking at her with beseeching eyes, he allowed her to pick him up and take him home.

When they got to the house, she fed him with dog food left over from her former pet. She was amazed to see that he ate three times the normal amount. From then on, he refused to leave her sight. A year later when we returned, we saw a plump, energetic, happy little beagle with a sleek coat. He was entirely devoted to our friend who had showered him with food, good care, and love.

How mysterious are God’s ways! Praying to a dog for help?

Love is more than a mere human feeling. As the great saints tell us, God’s love is the very fabric from which all creation is made. In one of Swami Kriyananda’s beautiful songs, “What Is Love?,” he says:

What is love? Is it only ours?Or does love whisper in the flowers? Surely we, children of this world,Could not love by our own powers.

It took me time to understand that it had been God loving me through all of those forms.

Many years ago before I came to Ananda and took up Master’s path, I had an interesting experience which took me some time to fully understand. It happened during my last semester of college, when I had just begun reading Autobiography of a Yogi. One sunny spring afternoon, I was sitting on a couch in the living room in the apartment I shared with several friends. No one else was at home, so the place was quiet and still.

As I gazed out the window at the sunlight on the trees, I fell into a sort of reverie. I started thinking how fortunate I had been to be surrounded by a loving family and friends. I began to visualize each one of them—parents, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, teachers, and good friends—and feel the love that they had given me.

As the image of each person faded into the next, my awareness became increasingly expanded and still, until all I could feel was that I was bathed in light and love. As I said, it took me time to understand that it had been God loving me through all of those forms.

In a wonderful letter from Swami Kriyananda to a devotee, he wrote: “If we feel God’s love in someone’s love for us, then that is right and good. I remember once in India telling the woman saint, Ananda Moyi Ma, how much I and others in America loved her. Her reply was, ‘There is no love except God’s love.’ . . . Ultimately, the only important thing you can do in life is love God. The only fact that truly matters in life is that God loves you. . . . The solution to our worries is love, and more love—divine love, not egoic love. . . . As the Bible says, ‘Perfect love casteth out fear.’”

In the face of a world in turmoil, let’s remember that God’s love for us—in fact, simply God’s love—is the only important thing, the only reality. Whether it’s expressed through the love of another person, through a pet, or through a challenging situation, look behind the surface, and see God’s love. Let it saturate your heart, and then share it with everyone.

So where do we find love? If we have eyes to see, everywhere.

Towards the One in all,

Nayaswami Devi

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Paramhansa Yogananda came to the West with a God-ordained mission: to bring teachings and techniques to help people attain higher consciousness. With wisdom and foresight, Master and the others in our line of gurus saw that a time of global upheaval was coming to the world. Out of compassion, Yoganandaji brought twofold gifts to help us deal with the impending suffering: 1) spiritual tools to achieve God contact, and 2) divine blessings to help us find the courage, faith, and strength to face what lies ahead.

My friends, global upheaval is no longer only a vision of the future; it is already upon us. Hatred, violence, destruction, and warfare are rife. What can we do to help bring light into the world and reestablish peace and harmony in human hearts?

The power of prayer is one of the greatest instruments for positive change. And so I want to share what Yoganandaji taught about making our prayers more effective.

Pray from Your Heart

Learn to speak the inner language of prayer with calm, sincere words that spring from your heart. This is not an emotionally wrought state of mind, but one that has the quiet, open trust of a child lovingly asking his mother for help. This kind of intimate conversation with God unfailingly draws His response. Yogananda said, “When you pray to God, pray from your heart. Heartfelt prayer lends power to your thoughts. It focuses them, and centers them in God. Without sincerity, that focus will be lacking.”

Pray with Confidence

When you pray, cast aside doubts and limiting thoughts. Offer your prayers, not with a sense of entitlement, but with quiet confidence and faith that God wants to help you. Yoganandaji told us, “Never pray with the attitude of a beggar. You are God’s child. Pray with utter confidence that He is listening. Utter faith, and love: these are the most important elements in prayer.”

Pray with Concentration

Before praying, calm the heart and quiet the mind through meditation. Then, when your thoughts are still, concentrate at the spiritual eye and project your prayers with a laser-like focus. Don’t become tense, but with relaxed, one-pointed energy keep holding your prayer up to God. Do it repeatedly, until you begin to feel His presence. Master said, “God answers all prayers, but restless prayers He answers only a little bit. Get control over your mind. When you can pray with concentration, the Lord will know that you mean what you are saying. Then, He will answer you.”

The Peace and Harmony Prayer

Master gave one of his direct disciples the inspiration for a powerful tool for healing conflict: what we’ve come to call “The Peace and Harmony Prayer.” It can be used to heal discord between individuals and between nations. In this context, we encourage you to use it for global healing.

The prayer is quite simple. Visualize the world bathed in light, and for one minute repeat the words: “Lord, fill this world with peace and harmony, peace and harmony.” Then visualize yourself in light, and pray for fifteen seconds: “Lord, fill me with peace and harmony, peace and harmony.” You can use this prayer, or any other that resonates with you.

So, my friend, we invite you to join in prayer with your brothers and sisters in God throughout the world. With devotion, confidence, and concentration, let’s offer our united prayers for world peace. As Christ says in the Bible, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. . . . And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

With joy and hope,

Nayaswami Devi

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At Prince Siddhartha’s birth, his father, the king of the realm, was told that his son would be either a powerful ruler or a great spiritual leader. Wanting his royal lineage to continue, the king did everything he could to prevent the young prince from seeing the ephemeral nature of life. This, he hoped, would keep him from seeking higher realities.

The king therefore instructed the royal charioteers never to take the prince into the city, where he would see the common lot of human suffering. To keep him further absorbed in the transitory world, the king built a beautiful pleasure palace for Siddhartha filled with lovely young maidens and youths whose company he could continually enjoy.

But the day eventually arrived when Prince Siddhartha grew restless and tired of his idyllic life. He called his charioteer and told him to drive him into the nearby city. Knowing that the king had forbidden this, the chariot driver tried to dissuade his prince from going, but Siddhartha insisted.

Into the city the golden chariot went. Here, for the first time, Siddhartha saw someone desperately ill. Shocked, the young prince demanded, “What is that?” His charioteer replied, “That is sickness, my lord.”

“Does it happen to everyone?” he asked.

“Yes, my lord,” the driver replied. Siddhartha struggled to absorb this new reality.

On they went through the city until they spotted someone old and decrepit. “What is that?” the prince asked in a trembling voice.

“That is old age, my lord.”

“Does it happen to everyone?” Siddhartha again asked in disbelief.

“Yes, my lord.” Now the prince was in a state of deep turmoil as he saw the suffering inherent in human life.

Finally they saw a funeral procession with a dead body being carried to the cremation grounds. Deeply shocked, he asked one last time, “What is that, driver?”

“That, my lord, is death.”

“Does it come to everyone?” he asked with great earnestness.

“Yes, my lord. It comes to everyone.”

So deep had been Siddhartha’s absorption in the transitory nature of the world, it seemed as though time had now stopped. The next day he left behind his kingdom, his pleasure palace, and all the comforts he had known. He was determined to find enlightenment in order to alleviate the suffering of mankind.

After years of seeking and striving, he finally achieved his goal and became the Buddha, “the Enlightened One.” On the day of his spiritual awakening, in the forests of Bodh Gaya, the unseen power of one soul uniting with God reverberated throughout the land.

Storytellers recount that in distant parts of the country a fishmonger and his wife ceased arguing; a dishonest merchant decided to treat his customers fairly; a widow lost in grief was suddenly comforted; and a ruler abandoned his plans to wage war on a neighboring kingdom. A great pulse of peace, compassion, and harmony spread across rivers, mountains, and valleys, and changed everyone it touched. That is the power of one.

The world in which we live today is rife with tension, dishonesty, power-seeking, violence, and warfare. In the face of it all, feeling helpless and hopeless as so many do, it is far too easy to fall into a pit of despair. Yet each of us has within him the power to make a difference. Here are three ways that we can release the power of one.

Expand Your Inner Peace Through Meditation

Spend some time during each meditation consciously resting in inner peace. When you feel this aspect of God, concentrate on its vibration, and let peace permeate your being. Then expand it outward to touch other people and lands. Each day, try to expand the time you are absorbed in peace, and return to this awareness throughout the day. Make it your reality. Feel that you live and move in a bubble of peace, and share it with all.

Love Heroically

Once, when Swami Kriyananda was asked for the best way to prepare for hard times in the world, he replied, “Learn to love heroically.” Be more aware of the needs of others, and do what you can to help them. Pray for those people and nations that are suffering. Pray especially for anyone for whom you’ve had negative feelings. Transform your heart into a fountain of unconditional love for all—whether they be good or evil, wise or foolish, friend or foe. Without any regard for such distinctions God loves all equally. We should strive to do likewise.

Whatever lies ahead, we should keep our hearts filled with love for God, and faith in Him. Trust in the thought that His loving protection is with us always. Perhaps this finds its best expression in the immortal words of the Twenty-Third Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths ofrighteousness for his name’s sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

When Buddha attained enlightenment, he gave us a model of how we, too, can help others through our spiritual efforts. The power of one soul can make a difference in this world of suffering. Let us unite our efforts and expand this power of one to embrace countless numbers of people everywhere. Then, the world will know true peace and harmony.

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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The cedar beams framing the large, picture window were old and rough, filled with tiny holes and cracks. As I began to apply a wood stain to seal the beams, I could see that many coats would be needed to make them look finished. Standing high on a scaffold, I dipped my brush in the can of stain and began.

What led up to this moment was this: One morning in about 1972, Swamiji entered the dining room at the Meditation Retreat, and asked those of us finishing breakfast, “Is anyone free to help me paint the inside of my new dome?”

The Ananda construction crew had just completed his home. Although some finishing work such as interior painting was still needed, Swamiji was eager to move in. A group of us happily volunteered and drove over to Crystal Hermitage, ready to begin.

This launched one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. It was about ten o’clock in the morning when each of us started our painting tasks, with Swamiji working alongside us. I chose to stain the beams framing the windows.

Though the building was new, the carpenters had chosen to use a rough cedar wood for some of the dome’s trim. After a few hours of work, Swamiji said, “Let’s take a break for lunch, and then come back and do some more.”

The real magic began to happen after the lunch break. I climbed back up onto the scaffolding, and continued to stain and restain the rustic beams. Glancing at the clock as we started up after lunch, I saw that the time was a little after one p.m.

Being focused on our painting, we were oblivious to the passing of time. We painted and stained, and rather than feeling tired, we were increasingly joyful to be helping Swamiji. Finally he said with his usual magnetic enthusiasm, “Well, everyone, let’s call it a day.”

We were surprised to see that since it was dark outside now, time must have gotten away from us. Again I glanced at the clock, and to my amazement it wasn’t evening, but two a.m.! We had been so concentrated on what we were doing that we were totally unaware that more than twelve hours had passed.

I think Swamiji blessed us that day with the experience of a deep, prolonged state of concentration. That was probably how he approached everything he did, but for us it was a revelation to see how a sense of timelessness accompanied our absorbed concentration.

For time and space are not real in themselves, but are divisions that belong to the realm of maya, or duality. In fact, the Sanskrit word “maya” means just that: “the measurer.” With a deeply concentrated mind, we can enter the state of superconsciousness, which transcends such dualities. I believe that is what happened as we painted Swamiji’s dome that day.

Kriyanandaji often spoke of the importance of bringing “keen, alert attention” to everything that we do. The next step is deeply to focus our attention not only on what we’re doing outwardly, but inwardly on God. This is essential for deeper meditation and spiritual awakening.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “The minutes are more important than the years. If you fill the minutes of your life with thoughts of God, you will find the years of your life automatically saturated with the consciousness of God.

“Never think of tomorrow. Take care of today and all the tomorrows will be taken care of. Do not wait until tomorrow to meditate. Do not wait until tomorrow to be good. Be good now. Be calm now. It will be the turning point of your life.”

There lies within us the latent power to focus our mind totally on God or on one of His qualities, such as love, joy, compassion, selflessness. When we do this, the rough exterior of life begins to melt away, and the heavenly gardens of the “Eternal Now” open their gates to us, changing our perspective on reality forever.

Doing, doing, one day done,

Nayaswami Devi

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San Francisco to Frankfurt . . . Frankfurt to Rome . . . Perugia to Rotterdam . . . Amsterdam to Delhi. This has been our journey since mid-August as we’ve traveled to various Ananda centers in Europe sharing Master’s teachings. (We just arrived in Delhi today.)

International travel can be challenging and stressful, but fortunately Jyotish and I handle it fairly well. For some people, however, flying in itself causes great anxiety. They’d rather take a train, boat, or car—anything other than a plane—to reach their destination.

There’s another kind of fear of flying that affects many people on the spiritual path. It’s the apprehension about “taking off” spiritually, or in other words, taking a leap into the unknown of expanding awareness.

A longtime devotee and friend of mine told me recently, “Occasionally I’ll begin to go deeper in meditation and touch a level of awareness that I haven’t experienced before. But as my consciousness expands, I instinctively pull back. I really don’t know why.”

What is it that makes us inwardly withdraw from deeper experiences in meditation?

One common cause is a feeling that we’re not yet ready or worthy to experience expanded states of awareness. This is just the ego trying to defend its own turf. It plants in our mind the misconception that we have to earn the right to grow spiritually.

We don’t need to be “worthy” to be calm. Holding the mind in deep calmness is what opens the doors to expansion of awareness. So when a new level of depth begins to emerge in meditation, try to hold your mind and breath steady. Don’t push it away, but rather relax into it—just as we relax into our seats as a plane is lifting off the ground.

Another cause for pushing away deeper states is the thought: “I still have many duties for which I am responsible. I have to keep my feet on the ground.” Yes, most of us must fulfill our worldly responsibilities, but that doesn’t preclude going deep in meditation. Sri Yukteswar advised his disciples to “keep your feet on the ground, but your head in the clouds.” In fact, time spent in deep meditation actually helps us to fulfill our responsibilities, because it brings greater clarity of mind, energy, and intuitive perception.

Lotus Lake at Ananda Village, photographed by Barbara Bingham.

In a beautiful ceremony written by Swami Kriyananda, God says to the devotee: “Open your heart to me, and I will enter and take charge of your life.” The more we can surrender our life into God’s hands, the better things will go. So try to remember that, contrary to what the ego thinks, it is God who is responsible for our life.

Finally, we often pull back from deep meditation for fear of the unknown. We think, “I’m not sure who I will become if I lose my sense of individual identity.” I can tell you, however, having watched hundreds of devotees develop over time, that they become more clearly who they already were in essence, and more able to express their own unique soul nature.

Master said, “When this ‘I’ shall die, then shall I know who am I.” So let’s strive to transform the fear of flying spiritually into the joy of soaring in our own higher Self, in the limitless skies of divine consciousness.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

In her commentary (below) on this blog, Devi describes Swami Kriyananda’s spiritual allegory The Land of Golden Sunshine, which beautifully illustrates the challenge that she’s described above, and the glorious destiny awaiting each one of us when finally we offer ourselves up fully into God’s light. You might enjoy this video of a dramatic reading of that book, staged by devotees in Ananda Palo Alto in 2017.

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“I want to be your disciple.” Seventy-five years ago, on September 12, 1948, a young man knelt before Paramhansa Yogananda, and with intense yearning spoke these words. It was the beginning of a journey that changed his life, and by extension our life, and the lives of millions of others throughout the world.

For the young aspirant was Swami Kriyananda (then James Donald Walters), and the Master accepted him as a disciple at that first meeting. Swamiji went on to serve Yoganandaji’s mission—sharing his teachings, spirit, love, and joy—for the remainder of his life until his passing in 2013.

One of Swamiji’s most inspiring and powerful means of sharing with others was through his book, The New Path. Though autobiographical in form, the book’s main purpose is to show Yogananda’s spiritual greatness, and how he guided his disciples towards union with God.

Here are the opening words of the first chapter:

There are times when a human being, though perhaps not remarkable in himself, encounters some extraordinary person or event that infuses his life with great meaning. My own life was blessed with such an encounter more than sixty years ago, in 1948.

Had anyone suggested to me prior to that meeting that so much radiance, dynamic joy, unaffected humility, and love might be found in a single human being, I would have replied—though perhaps with a sigh of regret—that such perfection is not attainable by man. And had anyone suggested to me, further, that divine miracles have occurred in this scientific age, I would have laughed outright. For in those days, proud as I was in my intellectual, twentieth-century “wisdom,” I mocked even the miracles of the Bible.

No longer. I have seen things that made a mockery of mockery itself. I know now from personal experience that divine wonders do occur on earth. And I believe that the time is approaching when countless men and women will no more think of doubting God than they doubt the air they breathe.

At Ananda Assisi, we recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Italian edition, Il Nuovo Sentiero. That evening Jyotish and I spoke about the book’s creation and its lasting spiritual impact. When Swamiji was writing it, he would often invite Ananda Village residents over to hear him read each new chapter, fresh from the typewriter. If, however, we were expecting just to listen to him passively, we soon learned that Swamiji had another idea in mind.

After he’d finished reading, he would ask us, “What do you think? Do you have any comments or suggestions?”

At first, new devotees that we were, no one had the audacity to venture a reply. But Swamiji wanted our input, so he pressed on until someone raised their hand and a discussion began. In part, I believe, it was to see if what he had written was clear to the reader.

There was something more, however. Swamiji knew that it wasn’t enough for us just to hear spiritual teachings passively: we needed to think and talk about them, question them, and make them our own.

What Master brought to the world at this time is a new and dynamic expression of religion. To grow spiritually, more is needed of us than merely going to church and listening to a minister deliver a sermon. We must embark upon the journey ourselves, and do our utmost to understand the teachings and to live them.

Il Nuovo Sentiero, the Italian edition of The New Path.

Jyotish shared an interesting insight the evening of the celebration in Assisi. Swamiji’s first two major literary works were The Art and Science of Raja Yoga and The New Path. The first is a handbook on the philosophy and techniques of yoga and meditation; the second is a handbook on discipleship.

These two themes are an expression of the opening sentence of Yoganandaji’s Autobiography of a Yogi: “The characteristic features of Indian culture have long been a search for ultimate verities and the concomitant disciple-guru relationship.”

This is the legacy of Swamiji’s life: the search for truth and attunement with the guru. He showed us how to walk “the new path” ourselves and inspired us to share its blessings with all.

With deep gratitude for the Great Ones who show us the way,

Nayaswami Devi

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In most parts of the world, the school year is about to begin. Children are assembling their new backpacks, books, and clothes for the year ahead. New subjects and tests loom on the horizon. It’s an exciting time for children and their parents, though perhaps for different reasons.

Here in Assisi we were recently discussing why people on the spiritual path have so many tests. It’s for the same reasons that schoolchildren do: to see how much we’ve learned and discover what things we still need to work on.

For we are all learning. And the School of Soul Evolution, in which we’re enrolled, has no summer vacations. It lasts from incarnation to incarnation, and continues until we have learned the karmic lessons we must in order to be free.

So tests often come to devotees to raise to conscious awareness the hidden karmic patterns that cause us suffering. The tests reveal both small and big karmic blind spots, and depending on the degree of misery they bring us, we’re motivated to overcome them.

An Italian friend of ours (we’ll call her Maria) told us a story that illustrates this point. Along with others from Assisi, she had traveled to India to visit holy sites and to see Swami Kriyananda. At the end of the trip, everyone was packing for the return flight to Italy early the next day.

Because she had bought many gifts for friends, Maria was worried that her suitcases would exceed the weight limit. Her mind began to whirl. “Oh, dear,” she fretted, “what if they don’t allow my bags on the plane, and I get separated from my friends? What if I miss the flight, and get stranded at the airport?” As the day wore on, she grew increasingly anxious, until she was in a state of near panic.

Then her phone rang. It was Lila, Swamiji’s cook, saying that he wanted Maria to come over to talk. Hurriedly, she made her way to his home, and they had a brief, loving exchange. Then he said, “I have a number of salt lamps that I’d like you to bring back to Italy for me. Can you fit them into your suitcase?”

Swallowing her anxiety, she smiled and replied, “Of course, Swamiji.” She returned to her hotel room even more anxious than before, but somehow managed to cram the heavy lamps into her bags. Now she was certain that they exceeded the weight limit and that impending disaster loomed.

Well, you can probably guess the rest of the story. At the airport the next morning, when the ticket agent put her luggage on the scale, it was indeed well over the weight limit. Without a word, he attached the requisite tags to her bags and sent them down the conveyor belt.

She could only smile at the panic she’d suffered so unnecessarily. Upon reflection, she saw a pattern: How often she had allowed needless worries about the future to destroy her peace of mind. It was the heightened example of this test that helped her see the karmic tendencies of fear and anxiety that often plagued her. More importantly, it helped her see how to overcome such trials with courage and faith.

“All of life’s experiences are for our education and entertainment. But how few are either educated or entertained.”

Our tests come not to punish us, but to show us in bold relief where we are in error, and how to correct it. Master said, “All of life’s experiences are for our education and entertainment.” “But,” he added ruefully, “how few are either educated or entertained.”

So devotees are, in fact, often tested more frequently than most others, because we’ve asked God to guide us to freedom. And as we continue our education in the School of Soul Evolution, we arrive finally, at the end of each incarnation, at what Swami Kriyananda called “the final exam.” In his beautiful essay by that name, he wrote: “The most important moment of life is, in a very true sense, its last moment. For death is when we take our final exam. The thought uppermost in the mind at that time will determine whether our future takes us upward, or sideways, or downward: upward, toward greater spiritual clarity and freedom; sideways, toward further involvement in desires and worldly attachments; or (the least fortunate) downward, toward greater darkness, confusion, and ignorance.”

So, friends, keep this in mind: Every test that comes, if we embrace it as an opportunity to overcome past karma, brings us closer to final freedom.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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Some years ago Jyotish and I arrived at Ananda’s community near Assisi, Italy, where Swami Kriyananda was then residing. We hadn’t seen him for many months, and were eagerly looking forward to having some relaxed time with him to enjoy the blessings of his company. Much to my disappointment, however, it was evident that Swamiji was very busy with writing ... Read More

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In The New Path, Swami Kriyananda recounts an amazing story about Señor J. M. Cuaron, one of Yoganandaji’s direct disciples and the SRF center leader in Mexico City: “I was badly in need of a job,” Señor Cuaron told Swamiji, “but for a long time could find no work anywhere. Then one day an excellent offer came from a company ... Read More

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As a lifelong meditator, I love to hear people’s experiences of how meditation has helped them. Here are a few such stories which, taken together, show a broad spectrum of benefits that meditation can bring. Recently I was talking with a friend, the mother of three children under the age of six, who has begun meditating during the past year. ... Read More

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The spiritual path can sometimes seem like an endless struggle up a steep cliff, with little to show for our efforts along the way. But the ability to find the strength to keep going is what separates the dilettante devotee from the true seeker. Deep commitment is the secret to drawing God’s presence into our life. There’s a beautiful story ... Read More

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We have two dear friends in Australia who are helping to lead Ananda’s growing work there. The man is a person with great openness of heart. When we spoke with them recently, his wife shared that when they’re in public, often a stranger will come up to him and ask, “Do I know you? It seems like we’ve met before.” ... Read More

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A farmer was standing completely still amidst the wind-blown wheat in his field, deep in thought. His wife came rushing up, beside herself with grief, crying that their only son had just been killed by a cobra. When her husband made no reply, she blurted out, “You are heartless!” “Forgive me, but you don’t understand,” the farmer replied. “Last night ... Read More

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As I write this blog, it’s a few days before the anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s birth—May 19, 1926. To honor his life, I felt to write him a personal letter of appreciation (that I’m sharing with you as well).

Dear Swamiji,

It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since you left your body, because your presence in our lives has only increased over time. My appreciation of who you are and the spiritual gifts you gave us has also grown.

Right from the very beginning, when I arrived at Ananda in 1969 and had the privilege of meeting you, I saw how you treated everyone with respect, be he young or old, wise or foolish. You saw the highest potential within each person, a potential that often eluded our own limited awareness at the time. More importantly, you guided and inspired us to realize that potential.

I remember the time in 1979 when you gave a weekend program to nearly a thousand people at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. You were scheduled to give a concluding talk on Sunday morning; on Saturday evening, you asked Jyotish and me if we would speak as well. Jyotish had already been teaching for several years, but I was new to it, and the thought of speaking before a huge crowd terrified me. Yet I trusted that you wouldn’t ask anything of us that we didn’t have it in us to do.

Sunday morning, I sat nervously in the front row waiting for you to call us up on the stage to speak. Despite my attempts to organize my thoughts, my mind was reeling. The only words that kept repeating themselves were, “You can’t do this. You can’t do this.”

Finally the moment of truth arrived, and as you asked us to come up, a miraculous thing happened that shaped the course of my life. I literally felt your hand reaching out to me mentally, assuring me that you would be with me and guide me through the talk. And so it proved. That was the launch of my teaching career, and now, nearly forty years later, I still feel your guiding presence with me whenever I share with others.

You also helped us find the inner strength and courage to deal with the tests life brought us. The examples of your calmness and unwavering faith—during Ananda’s huge financial challenges, strong opposition from local authorities, and a devastating forest fire, to mention only a few—served as beacons of courage, enabling us to deal positively with whatever came our way.

Do you remember your first words to me when you saw me after the forest fire which had left us homeless with an eleven-day-old baby? Without giving me a moment to waver, you said strongly, “How are you, Devi? Well? That’s good.” You then walked briskly away, but left me with an inner fortress of strength that helped me to handle the difficult days ahead.

Weeks later you wrote us a note which I still have in my little box of treasures. Do you remember it? You wrote, “I was so touched by everyone’s spirit. . . . It is admirable, and certainly pleasing to God. I believe many blessings will flow from it, and from this trying experience. I was particularly sad for you, Devi, to be given such a test so soon after having your baby. But then, what God gives, we take. He has His own program for our spiritual growth. If we place ourselves unreservedly in His hands, He proves to us abundantly how unfailing His love is for us.”

Finally, I want to thank you for the dual goals that you embraced in 1948 upon reading Master’s Autobiography of a Yogi for the first time. From that moment onward, you dedicated your life to seeking God and to sharing Him with others. Had it not been for your resolute commitment, I know for certain that I never would have embarked on the spiritual path in this lifetime. Nor, I believe, would have the countless thousands of others who drew and continue to draw inspiration from you.

So, my dear Swamiji, in whatever heavenly realm you are now residing, please accept my eternal love and appreciation. You gave us a life in God, and made it fun and entertaining as well. Till we meet again, I remain forever your grateful follower, your devoted student, your loving daughter in God.

devi

P.S. Please join us online for a celebration of Swami Kriyananda, which will appear live on YouTube here on May 20th.

Listen to Devi as she reads the blog, then expands on it, often adding special behind-the-inspiration stories and answers to common spiritual questions. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (9:15):

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“How can we prepare ourselves for a future that looks so uncertain?” This question was asked during a recent satsang we had with Ananda’s online Virtual Community, and it seemed an important one to discuss.

Swami Kriyananda gave a series of talks which he entitled, “Building Spiritual Power Against Troubled Times.” This is one of the answers to the question of preparing for the future. Our only real security comes by building spiritual power through deepening our devotion and faith in God, the basis for an inward knowing that His protection is always with us.

This power is not ours for the mere asking, however, but needs to be developed by deep, regular meditation and increased attunement with the guru. As our awareness of God’s presence in our life deepens, our trust in His protection and guidance increases as well.

Yoganandaji gave us a powerful affirmation to use in times of uncertainty: “I will go forth in perfect faith in the power of Omnipresent Good to bring me what I need at the time I need it.”

Over the years, the story of Ananda has been a living testimony to the truth of this statement. God and Guru have stepped in repeatedly to rescue us and provide what was needed in even the most dire of circumstances.

There is also a second way to prepare for an uncertain future: Simplify Your Life. The more we can free ourselves from the burden of too many possessions, the easier it is to release the thought that security comes from things. Then we can move forward easily into whatever the future may bring.

Look at your home and work environment and ask yourself, “What do I really need?” During a period of our life when Swamiji sent us away on many assignments, we moved thirteen times in fourteen years. To make this doable, we would regularly go through our possessions and ask about each one, “Do I use this? Do I love it?” If the answer to either of these questions was “yes,” we would keep it. If not, then out it would go.

It was actually a wonderful process, and although we have had a consistent home base for some years now, that approach to our possessions stays with us still. In fact, we usually have a small pile of things that no longer pass this test which we lovingly give to others. But remember that it’s not having possessions that’s the problem. It’s our attachment to those things that binds us to the fear of losing them.

When you stop defining your security according to outer possessions or circumstances, you find a surprising degree of inner freedom. Yoganandaji wrote: “Seek happiness more in your mind and less in the acquisition of things. Be so happy in your mind that nothing that comes can possibly make you unhappy. Then, you can get along without things you have been accustomed to. Be happy knowing you have acquired the power not to be negative. Know, too, that you will never again become so materially minded that you forget your inner happiness, even if you become a millionaire.”

There’s a delightful story of a wandering sadhu whose only possessions were a loincloth and a blanket. Once a curious passerby asked him how he could get by with so little.

Surprised, the saintly sadhu answered, “What do you mean? I have everything I need—a roof over my head, a comfortable bed and pillow, and ample clothes to keep me warm.”

Puzzled, the passerby asked, “Where do you have these things?”

The saint replied: “When it rains, I put the blanket over a tree branch, and that is my roof. When it’s time to sleep, I arrange the blanket into a nice bed, and when I’m cold, I wrap the blanket around me. I have all that I need.”

“Autumn Reflections,” by Nayaswami Jyotish.

The inner freedom and joy of this sadhu can be a model for us all. Master said, “Happiness blooms naturally in the hearts of those who are inwardly free. It flows spontaneously, like a mountain spring after April showers, in minds that are contented with simple living and that willingly renounce the clutter of unnecessary, so-called ‘necessities’—the dream castles of a restless mind.”

So, my friend, to prepare for an uncertain future, remember these two things: 1) Deepen your connection with God, the source of everything; and 2) Simplify your life and realize that security and happiness lie within.

Towards a brighter future,

Nayaswami Devi

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A few weeks ago Jyotish and I led the Astral Ascension Ceremony for a dear friend, Judy Fox, who passed away recently. Judy was part of a small team, as were we, that Swami Kriyananda sent to Italy in the early 1980s to help start Ananda’s work there.

We landed in Northern Italy near Lake Como at a lovely summer villa that belonged to a friend and fellow disciple. Sound idyllic? Perhaps, but as the months passed and temperatures dropped, living in a summer house with little heat during the coldest winter in Europe in one hundred years was a huge challenge for all of us.

Moreover, living in a different culture from what we were accustomed to, knowing very few people on whom to call, and having none of our usual comforts all reinforced the feeling that we were “stranieri,” foreigners. As time passed, we felt more and more like “strangers in a strange land” (Exodus 2:22).

Swamiji knew all of us well, however, and felt that we had the strength and commitment not only to survive the challenges, but to grow spiritually in the process. And so it proved. We soon realized we had one of two choices: 1) to let our energy drop, and sink into loneliness and depression; or 2) to raise our energy level and deepen our faith in God’s guiding presence with us.

Together our small team consciously chose the second option: to keep our spirits uplifted and to look for ways to share Master’s great teachings with seekers in Europe. From these humble beginnings, Ananda now has a thriving international community outside of Assisi, Italy, as well as centers spreading throughout Europe.

Our friend Judy, who was there that first winter, had an especially joyful and ebullient nature, and helped us all to stay positive. At her Astral Ascension Ceremony, her partner of twenty-seven years, Ric, shared with us a beautiful story about her.

Judy met him shortly after returning to California from Italy, and told him about Master’s path and Ananda. Then (after knowing Ric for only ten days) she told him that he should visit Assisi, because: “The farther you are from home, the closer you are to God.”

With those simple words, Judy captured our whole experience of that difficult first winter. With nothing familiar from which to draw, we had to tune in to another form of comfort and sense of “home”: God’s presence.

This world—which alternates between seeming welcoming and familiar to seeming unloving and foreign—can never really be our home. Why? Because on the deepest level, it’s only an impermanent illusion. We are strangers in a strange land. Our true soul home can only be found by reuniting with God, from Whom we sprang lifetimes ago.

So remember, when you’re going through a difficult time outside of your comfort zone and the world seems inimical and unwelcoming, think of Judy’s mantra: “The farther you are from home, the closer you are to God.”

And at those other times when life is going all your way? Recall Judy’s mantra to mind just as forcefully then. Will you rest comfortably in all that’s familiar? Will you, in Yogananda’s immortal words, “bask in the familial warmth”? Or will you embrace self-expansion and as yet uncharted waters? This choice is always before us.

I’ll close with these stanzas from Swamiji’s beautiful song, “God’s Call Within,” which captures the essence of our soul’s search:

Listen! Listen!Whispering within your soul:Hints of laughter, hints of joy;Sweet songs of sadness, of quenchless yearningFor the Light,For My love, your true home.

Friend, how long will you wander?Friend, as long as you seek your homeIn a land where all are strangers,Love locks her door.

Turn, turn, turn within:In silence of soul, in cave of loveFind My abode.

Listen! Listen!Whispering within your soul:Hints of laughter, hints of joy;Sweet songs of sadness, of quenchless yearningFor the Light,For My love, your true home.

Your fellow wanderer,

Nayaswami Devi

You might enjoy joining us for a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s moksha. Learn more. Devi shares more about the life of Swami Kriyananda and the example he lived for all of us in her commentary for this week, below.

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Recently a friend wrote asking: “How can I help family members who are going through a difficult time, or have a sour relationship with one another, without being affected by the situation personally? How does one know when to intervene and support, and when to be an observer and send support from a distance?”

We have all faced this dilemma in one form or another. With my friend’s permission, I’ll share with you some thoughts that I offered her about the art of helping others while remaining unaffected by their problems.

1) Try to meditate before talking with them. One of the fruits of meditation is the ability to detach yourself from the events around you and maintain a state of inner equilibrium under all circumstances. This is by no means easy, but needs to be cultivated continuously with energy and determination. During your meditation before meeting them, visualize them surrounded by God’s light and love.

2) Accept people as they are, while at the same time relating to their own higher nature. If people feel accepted, it allows them the space to self-correct the behaviors that are causing them unhappiness. While meeting with them, pray and see them resting in their true self—divine love and wisdom. Unconditional acceptance is what God offers all of His children. Try to be a channel of this for others.

3) Don’t give direct advice unless they ask; rather, listen attentively so that they feel open to share with you. Often an open ear is all people are really seeking. You can inwardly ask God to guide them from within themselves. If they do ask for advice, present it in a positive, nonjudgmental way. A beautiful passage from Master in this regard is: “I am the servant ready to serve all needy minds with my simple advice, with my gifts of healing truth, and with my humble wisdom gathered in the shrine of silence.”

4) If you feel yourself getting engaged in negativity, quickly and consciously detach yourself. Be attentive to your own reactions, and inwardly strive to remain centered. Without seeming to withdraw, hold your mind at the spiritual eye. You can also quietly practice regular breathing: inhaling, holding the breath, and exhaling to the same count. Yoganandaji wrote: “When fear or anger or any kind of suffering comes to me, I will view it as a spectator. I will separate myself from my experiences. At all costs I will endeavor to retain my peace and happiness.”

Always send love.

5) Always send love. Don’t withhold this no matter how difficult the situation. Once a friend of ours was working as a doctor in an emergency room. Late one night, the police brought in a drunken, homeless man who had fallen and broken his arm. He was screaming, both with pain and fear, and it took two policemen to hold him down. To their amazement, our friend told the policemen to leave the treatment room—that she could handle him alone. Surrounding him in love, our friend was able to get the man to calm down so that she could set his arm. Afterwards the poor man looked at her beseechingly with eyes filled with years of loneliness and want, and asked, “Will you be my doctor?” He felt her love surrounding him—a feeling he hadn’t known for a long time. Healing can take place on many levels. By expressing love and forgiveness, not only can we help others, but we can remain uplifted as well.

6) Finally, offer them to God for His help. Remember that God is always in charge of guiding every soul to inner freedom. We are all on a journey to find the truth of who and what we really are. Offer a helping hand to others, when you can, but remember that ultimately, true happiness and freedom come when we allow God to guide our life.

I’ll close with these words of Master’s: “I will be a fisher of souls. I will catch the ignorance of others in a net of my wisdom and offer it for transmutation to the God of all gods.”

With loving friendship,

Nayaswami Devi

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Twenty million people! That’s the population of the Greater Los Angeles area, we were told recently when we visited friends and Ananda centers there.

For one of our satsangs, in Torrance, the center leader asked us to talk about how to find spirituality in big-city life. I thought you, too, might be interested in the thoughts we shared that evening on the challenges faced by city-dwellers and some of the spiritual solutions to them.

Distraction vs. Focused Attention

Driving on big-city freeways is an experience in itself. It’s almost overwhelming to deal with the long commutes, the speed of the traffic, and the constantly flashing billboards screaming (as a friend of ours once humorously put it), “Eat me. Buy me. Take me home!” The mind gets scattered in a myriad of different directions, and even after arriving at your destination, it takes an effort of will to get focused again.

This is no small obstacle to achieving peace of mind, but the opportunity is also there: to keep the mind more concentrated on whatever we’re doing. Build up the habit of attentive awareness in everything you do—talking with a friend, working on a project at your job, going for a walk. While driving, listen to something uplifting—beautiful music or an inspiring talk—and give it your attention.

The more you make the conscious effort to concentrate, the more will you find yourself actively and rewardingly engaged in every area of your life. And the greater will your ability be to go deep in meditation.

Self-Interest vs. Self-Giving

The forces of competition and self-interest are strong in any large group. Even lab rats turn on one another when placed in overcrowded tanks. The seeming cold indifference in a big city may lead us to think, “If I don’t look out for ‘Number One,’ how will I get by?”

The opportunity here is to counter the pull of self-interest by consciously finding ways to serve and to give to others. We have a friend in Los Angeles who would give her daughters a small weekly allowance, and then (at their request) drive them to an area where homeless people lived, so that they could give their money away.

Find ways to help others, even at your own inconvenience or loss. Keeping the heart open to those in need frees us from preoccupation with the demands of our limited self. Ultimately we realize that God alone is the provider, and that the more we give, the more we are given. Self-giving also leads us to experience a loving connection with all of life.

Self-Indulgence vs. Self-Control

Big-city life offers many dark pathways that lead to overstimulation of the senses, even to the point of self-destruction. Master set up his headquarters in Los Angeles, and lived there for nearly twenty-five years. He would sometimes walk up and down some of the seedy, bar-lined streets in order to bring light and upliftment to the poor souls there trapped in addictions.

The opportunity for us here is to examine our own life and find areas where we lack sufficient self-control. Take up a challenge with the thought, “I will practice inner discipline so that others may follow my lead and develop self-control in their life.”

When you’ve improved in one area, take up another challenge, until you begin to see that you—not old habits or karma—are in charge of your life. What freedom comes with this realization!

Downward Emotions vs. Uplifted Feelings

The sheer number of life stories and struggles in a big city can create a fog of hopelessness and despair. Especially now with economic and political uncertainty rife—and with the possibility looming on the horizon of even worse to come—it’s easy to be pulled down into negativity.

To counter this tendency, we should strive energetically to keep hope and joy foremost in our minds. One of my favorite quotes of Master’s is, “Life is a battle for joy every step of the way. May I fight to win the battle on the very spot where I now stand.” These words have stood me in good stead through many a difficult situation.

Once you choose joy under all circumstances, you begin to find that joy is your constant companion.

In sum, finding God in big-city life comes down to this: In each of life’s circumstances, choose the highest and best road to follow. And use all of your strength and commitment to stay the course.

Remember these words of Yoganandaji: “There are no obstacles, only opportunities.” Your very effort will uplift those around you, whether you live in a big city or a small ashram. Then you become, as Swami Kriyananda used to say, “part of the solution, not the problem.”

In divine friendship,

Nayaswami Devi

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“Many have been My births, O Arjuna, and many also yours. I remember all of Mine, though you remember yours not.” These words from Sri Krishna to his disciple in the Bhagavad Gita show a divine memory of the soul’s eternal nature.

Memory, in its highest expression, is much more than remembering what is on a grocery list. It is the soul’s ability to transcend the limitations of time.

Paramhansa Yogananda spoke of the “easy resurrection of memory” through which he brought to mind past experiences with his guru, Sri Yukteswar. With a trained and heightened sense of memory, we can meld past, present, and future into the eternal now. Patanjali, the ancient authority on yoga, described spiritual awakening as smriti, which means “memory.”

The yogic teachings describe three different levels of our awareness. The subconscious mind is the repository of all of our past experiences, impressions, and thoughts. It’s the archives for our memories, not only of this life, but of all of our lives.

The conscious mind is the operating system that responds to the details and challenges of daily life. It’s how we solve problems, make decisions, and plan for the future. The conscious mind draws on memories held in the subconscious to inform its decisions, so they work together.

The superconscious mind is our higher, intuitive faculty that allows us to expand our awareness beyond the limitations of the ego. Through it, we can experience our true Self, and ultimately our oneness with God.

From this description, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that it’s a progression—that all we need to do is focus on the superconscious mind and forget about the “lower” levels of awareness. But it isn’t that simple.

Swami Kriyananda said something in this regard that has always intrigued me. Superconsciousness, he wrote, is found at the thin line between the conscious and subconscious minds, rather like the horizon line between sea and sky.

Here we come to the power and importance of memory. The subconscious is much more than a dreamy, unaware state of hidden compulsions. Rather it’s an intrinsic part of our journey to enlightenment, both because it contains useful lessons from the past, and because it’s not limited to dwelling in the present.

Yoganandaji spoke often about how to develop the power of memory, and how to use it properly. “Memory,” he said, “is that faculty of the conscious mind which, through the help of the subconscious mind, can recall any past conscious experience. Always awake, the subconscious mind is buried beneath the conscious mind, working during sleep and constantly memorizing experiences during the state of wakefulness.”

“In order to perform important duties and recall valuable experiences for daily use, one must be able to work with the material recalled to the conscious mind by the power of memory. The subconscious mind can be trained to recall at will all conscious experiences.”

Here are some ways Master gives to develop our memory:

1) Morning and evening, rap the scalp with the knuckles, then massage it with the fingers as taught in the Energization Exercises.

2) Perform every action with keen attention. Attention is the needle that cuts grooves in the memory cells.

3) Every night, remember in detail everything that happened during the past week. Try also to remember in detail the principal events of the month with regard to your life, your city, your country, and the world.

4) Before going to bed and upon awakening, command your subconscious mind to be attentive to all your activities and to store all valuable experiences.

Sri Yukteswar with Paramhansa Yogananda in Calcutta, India, 1935.

This brings us to the proper use of memory. Yoganandaji said, “Memory was given to us to keep alive only life’s good experiences and lessons. To remember bad experiences and dwell upon them is an abuse of God’s gift to us of memory.” This doesn’t mean that we suppress bad experiences or ignore past mistakes. Rather, we should move on from painful experiences, and concentrate on filling our memory banks with positive, divine recollections.

As Sri Yukteswar said to a new student who doubted his own worthiness to seek God: “Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. . . . Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.”

Ultimately, what is the best use of this divine gift of memory? Remembering God. As I write this today, it’s the seventy-first anniversary of Yoganandaji’s mahasamadhi.

To honor our great Guru, take some time at this very moment to remember his impact on your life. When was the first time you saw his photo? When did you first read his Autobiography of a Yogi? What was your first impression of it? If you’re a disciple, when did you realize that he was your God-given guru? Sit in stillness with these memories, and try to feel the timeless nature of your bond with him.

Recently a friend sent us a description of an experience a direct disciple of Master had with him some decades after his mahasamadhi. Yogananda appeared to him holding a white and gold book in letters of light, entitled The Book of My Life. Master held it, and told him to turn the pages and read from the book. As he turned the pages backward and forward, he saw accounts of his previous and future incarnations, in which his guru was always guiding him.

Though, like Arjuna, we may not consciously remember our past lives, the eternal love between guru and disciple is always there, just beneath the surface. The more we’re able to access the stored memories of our Guru’s presence, and hold the thought of him in our conscious mind, the more quickly we will be able to realize our oneness with him.

With the joy of remembering God and Guru,

Nayaswami Devi

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Driving on a stormy night to an uncertain destination is a daunting experience for all of us. It’s also a perfect analogy for the challenges on our spiritual journey.

First, we get in our car and are glad for the moment to be out of the storm. (This is our first step on the path to God, in which we have a longing to escape the turmoil of life and find peace of mind.)

Next, we’re uncertain about driving in the storm. We even begin to question if getting to the destination is worth it, so we decide to cancel the trip. (Some new seekers lose heart before they begin, and decide that the unknown destination of finding God and the demands of the trip are too much. They quit before they’ve even begun.)

Then, if we’re plucky enough, we summon up the courage to start the car, turn on the headlights, and check our GPS unit to get an idea of where we’re going. (We generate the initial energy to start the journey, then put out the positive energy that enables us to find a true guide—the guru—who can show us where we’re headed and how to get there.)

So the journey begins. Since the headlights enable us to see only a little distance ahead, we proceed slowly and cautiously. We hope that the road will become clearer as we continue driving. (Each step on the spiritual path is revealed as we approach it. The techniques and teachings come into focus as we proceed.)

At this point, the storm seems to be letting up, and we begin to relax and enjoy the journey. As we draw closer to our destination, streetlights appear to guide us, the road gets wider, and the signs for our journey’s end are more frequent. (As we continue towards our spiritual goal, the dark karma that obscured our way seems to lift. Our inner path to God becomes more brightly illumined, and reaching Him begins to seem possible.)

Finally, as we approach our destination, we begin to speed up, because we see that we’re nearing the journey’s end. With a sigh of relief, we realize that the goal that for so long seemed obscure is now familiar and welcoming. (Though the spiritual journey is seemingly filled with perils and uncertainty, as we continue the momentum builds. We realize that there was always an Unseen Passenger in the back seat silently guiding our way to our true home in God.)

To complete the journey, we must find the faith to trust that we are never alone on the spiritual path, and that God’s grace is always with us. But we must also have the courage to take the next step, and then the next, until we arrive at our goal.

“The Path,” by Nayaswami Jyotish.

Once Yoganandaji was correcting a disciple for some behavior that needed changing. The man tried to justify himself by answering, “That’s easy for you to say—you’re a master.”

Yoganandaji replied with great force: “And what do you think made me a master?” In other words, it’s by facing our challenges and overcoming them that we attain soul freedom. The journey may seem dark and daunting, but if we take each step in front of us, with God’s grace, we will get there.

Master, who has the soul of a spiritual warrior, wrote a wonderful poem, “My Soul Is Marching On.” It’s filled with the determination and power to reach the journey’s end. As you read these stanzas excerpted from the poem, try to visualize him in armor of gleaming light holding a flaming sword to guide us forward:

The flowers bloomed, then hid in gloom,The bounty of the trees did cease;Colossal men have come and gone,But still my soul is marching on!

Darkness, death, and failures vied;To block my path they fiercely tried.My fight with jealous Nature’s strong,But still my soul is marching on!

Take the next step with determination, friend. Marching bravely we will reach—each one of us—the journey’s end.

Nayaswami Devi

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As I walked along a forest path at Ananda’s Meditation Retreat one morning, I observed an unusual drama unfold before me. Crouched a few yards ahead was Lottie, a fluffy little gray cat who kept the Retreat’s kitchen free from mice. Her gaze was concentrated on something in front of her, and by her intense crouching pose, I could tell she was about to pounce on it.

But moments before she sprang, I saw something shoot off nearly ten yards ahead and lie wriggling in the path. Quietly drawing closer to find out what was happening, I saw that Lottie now held in her jaws the small, limp body of a lizard: a brown skink. These lizards have a remarkable ability to project their tail when attacked. Sure enough, the detached tail was what I’d seen thrashing around farther down the path.

Confused by the movement, Lottie dropped the skink, which began creeping into the underbrush, and ran after the tail. After holding the bony appendage in her mouth for a few moments, the cat realized that she’d been tricked, and ran back to catch the lizard, which was still in sight.

Much to my amazement, this spectacle repeated itself: the detached tail, still thrashing around, caused Lottie to drop the lizard once again and run after it. The second time, however, the little lizard was quicker and escaped to freedom, leaving Lottie with only a bony snack for all her efforts.

Watching this singular drama play out before me, my mind was in a whirl. I continued on my way to the Retreat’s dining room for breakfast, and shared the story there with my friend Seva. “Surely there’s some spiritual lesson in this,” I said to her.

Without missing a beat, Seva replied with one word: “Detachment.”

As amusing as this story is, there is in fact a deep message in it for all of us. Non-attachment is one of the fundamental attitudes on the spiritual path. Why?

When we are firmly held in the jaws of suffering, it’s important to cut loose that which is holding us back: that unfulfilled desire, or unattainable possession, or unsatisfied expectation of how others should treat us.

We also should seek inwardly to release things of a positive nature to which we’re attached—our possessions, our friends, our children, our spouse. This doesn’t mean that we reject them or give them the cold shoulder; rather, we should try to see them not as ours, but as gifts on loan to us from God. Then everything in life becomes much sweeter, as we begin to perceive God’s presence behind everything.

Is this easy? Of course not, but it is effective. Every time we inwardly detach from something troubling us or to which we’re clinging, we gain control over our happiness and our lives. In his book Affirmations for Self-Healing, Swami Kriyananda wrote:

Nothing is ours. No one belongs to us. Mentally, we should make a bonfire of our love for God, and cast into it all attachments, all desires, all hopes and disappointments.

It helps mentally to examine one’s heart every evening, and liberate it anew of all desires. Pluck out from your heart any burrs of new attachments that you find clinging there. Cast them joyfully into the fire of devotion.

Pray to God energetically, “I destroy all my attachments. They are no longer mine, Lord. I am free in Thee!”

Here Swamiji offers us practical tools to aid in this process of detachment. Ultimately the choice is very simple: cling to your old attachments or find freedom in God.

In case you’re wondering, brown skink lizards do grow back a new tail. But for us, may our tale end when we replace all of our attachments with the one attachment to God alone.

Towards inner freedom,

Nayaswami Devi

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Anyone who has tried to have a regular practice of meditation knows that it’s no easy thing. Creating time in the midst of daily demands, leaving behind worries and preoccupations, summoning up enthusiasm every day: All of these and more are challenges we all face.

What I’d like to do is to walk you through a three-step process that may help you find renewed focus, energy, and enthusiasm for meditation.

Step One: Before sitting down to meditate, become aware of the thoughts and feelings that are running through your mind.

Problem: Are you feeling rushed, and thinking, “I’ll get this over quickly”?

Solution: Decide how much time you have, and be fully present for each moment.

Problem: Is your body feeling tense?

Solution: Try doing some pranayamas or a few yoga asanas.

Problem: Are you feeling discouraged, or that you’ll never be able to meditate deeply?

Solution: This feeling of failure is probably present in everyone who takes up meditation. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna: “But if you cannot think of Me, then give Me your intention.” Begin each meditation with the thought, “Today I give You the best effort of which I am capable.” Don’t look back or forward, but just offer God your intention to try your best today.

Step Two: As you begin to meditate, immediately bring your full, focused energy to the spiritual eye.

Problem: Does your mind quickly revert to daily activities and problems?

Solution: Start with repeating or chanting with concentration the words from Master’s poem, “Samadhi”: “From joy I came, for joy I live, in sacred joy I melt.”

Problem: Do you find that when you make an intense effort your body gets tense?

Don’t look for results; remember, simply, that this is your time with God.

Solution: Become aware of where you’re holding tension, then inhale, tense, and consciously relax those body parts.

Problem: Do you hold the subconscious thought that you’ll never achieve your goals for meditation?

Solution: Don’t look for results; remember, simply, that this is your time with God. In his book Secrets of Meditation, Swami Kriyananda writes: “The secret of meditation is to pray with deep faith—not as an outsider to heaven, but as one whose true, eternal home is heaven.”

He also writes: “The secret of meditation is affirming that you already are those high truths towards which you aspire: inner peace, divine love, and perfect joy.” Try to feel that everything you are seeking is already within you.

Step Three: After you finish meditation, throughout the day try to hold on to the feelings of peace that you experienced.

Problem: Do you leap into activities as soon as you finish meditation?

Solution: Build a bridge between meditation and activity. Consciously do simple activities, such as making your bed, during which you keep your mind calm and centered.

Problem: As challenges arise during the day, do you fall into negative emotions and reactions?

Solution: Keep the peace of meditation as a constant reference point throughout the day. If you feel yourself getting agitated, immediately try to direct your energy to the spiritual eye until you feel calmness restored. You can also bring to mind again Master’s words: “From joy I came, for joy I live, in sacred joy I melt.”

As we walk the spiritual path, it’s hard to see changes in ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t growing. Once Swamiji was discussing the progress that various Ananda members had made. Almost unaware of what I was saying, I blurted out, “I don’t see that I’ve changed all that much.”

With great intensity, he said, “How can you say that? You’re an entirely different person than when you came.” This is true of anyone who sincerely tries their best to meditate and follow the spiritual path.

Let’s meditate with joy, live in joy, and eagerly anticipate the day when we melt in joy once more. And in our love for God, offer to Him the fruits of our efforts.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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In the first few years after Swami Kriyananda started Ananda, a number of swamis from India visited us. Most of them were not well known and were traveling alone without any entourage, but they brought with them the authentic spirituality of India. Perhaps it was Yoganandaji’s way of helping to imbue our lives, and Ananda’s work for the future, with deep spiritual vibrations.

One of these swamis said something in answer to a question I put to him that made a lasting impact on my life. I asked, “How do you develop the kind of dedication that enables you to stay on the spiritual path for your whole life?”

His answer puzzled me at the time, and over the years I’ve tried to understand its deeper meaning. He replied simply, “Don’t compare yourself to others.” That was it.

We’d never met before, so his response couldn’t have been based on seeing something in my behavior. But high souls have a deep sense of intuition that enables them to pierce to the heart of things. Over time I could see how his reply had hit home.

I saw how most of my training in life was to find my value by comparing my performance to that of others. “Am I better than my classmates?” “How much better?” “Am I the best?” were questions that ran through my mind. I wanted to do well in school and work, but my only gauge to judge my value was to compare my performance with others. This kind of thinking may get you to the top of your class or job, but it has its limitations in our spiritual growth.

Recently I read an article by a psychologist about something called “Goal Orientation Theory.” According to this, there are two kinds of goals: 1)“performance-oriented goals,” also called “ego-goals” (I’m not making this up), and 2) “mastery-oriented goals,” also called “learning goals.”

With “performance-oriented goals,” we try to show others how well we’re doing and are concerned about how they judge us. With “mastery-oriented goals,” we seek challenges and try to overcome difficulties, and our primary concern is self-improvement.

This psychological distinction reflects the same thing that the swami told me years ago. By comparing ourself with others, we’re stuck in a world of smoke and mirrors in which all we see are distorted reflections of who we really are. By seeking inner challenges and personal growth, we move towards self-mastery, wherein lies our actual value. And in the ultimate realization of our oneness with God we find truly the only thing in life worth achieving.

In his book Visits to Saints of India, Swami Kriyananda wrote about a saint he’d visited in 1960 named Yogi Ramiah, or Sri Rama Yogi. Yoganandaji had previously visited him during his return trip to India in 1936, and said that he was a fully liberated master.

Swamiji wrote, “I found Sri Rama Yogi by nature extremely withdrawn, hiding his spiritual glory from a wish to avoid curiosity seeking.” He lived in a small village in southern India, with only a few aged disciples around him. Sensing his high state of consciousness, Swamiji asked him why he didn’t have a more public work through which he could help many people.

Sri Rama Yogi answered simply, “God has done what He wants to do with this body.” He was able to cast aside the lower expression of self-will for the higher value of doing only God’s will.

So what is our true value? It’s not what others think of us, or even what we can accomplish in this world. It lies in the truth that God is the only reality behind everything that we do and are.

Yoganandaji put it beautifully with these words: “Beloved Lord, teach me to feel that Thou art the sole activating power, and that in recognition of Thee as the Doer lies the value of all my life’s experiences.”

And remember, in God’s eyes we are all “the best.”

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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As we enter the new year, it’s traditional to use this juncture as an opportunity to make resolutions about how we’d like to improve our life. It’s a little discouraging, however, to think back on previous New Year’s resolutions and realize that we’d resolved to change the same things in years past without any discernible results.

How much exercise equipment is bought at the beginning of the new year only to be sold unused a few months later? Yet at the same time, it’s encouraging to reflect that we’ve never given up hope and are still trying. Our desire to improve remains with us, because it’s prompted from a higher level of our own consciousness.

Once I was leading a New Year’s retreat at The Expanding Light, during which we each made a list of resolutions for the coming year. During a break in the class, one of the students came up to me and said, “I find that very depressing.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him in surprise.

“You’ve been on the spiritual path for a long time now,” he replied, “and you still have things about yourself that you want to change?”

Fortunately a friend of mine, Roma, happened to be walking by at that moment and rescued me. With a twinkle in her eye, she said, “Devi is the only one in the community who isn’t perfect yet. That’s why we have her working with the guests.” We all laughed, and I hope the young man realized that the search for perfection is a long process.

There’s an aspect of personal transformation that’s often overlooked, and it’s the main thought I want to share with you today: To make lasting improvements in our life, it takes more than our own personal efforts. True inner change comes about through a combination of sincere devotion to God and the grace that it draws.

One of my favorite passages in the Bhagavad Gita is: “To those who meditate on Me as their very own, their hearts ever united to Me by incessant inward worship, I supply their deficiencies and make permanent their gains.” (9:22)

It is God who “supplies our deficiencies.” He/She alone knows our shortcomings, loves us unconditionally in spite of them, and gives us the strength and understanding to transcend them. Our minds may be clouded by past karmic tendencies, but when the light of God’s love and wisdom shines in, we gain the power and clarity to overcome them.

And it is God who “makes permanent our gains.” Sometimes it’s hard to see the spiritual progress we’ve made. We can become so focused on how much farther we have still to go that we fail to appreciate how far we have already come. Remember, whatever progress we’ve made remains with us on some level, because it’s based on the truth of our own being.

Through our devotion, the sense of “I-ness” that identifies with our limitations begins to dissolve. When, time and again, we stray from the knowledge of who we really are, God is there to steer us back on course towards our own highest potential.

So as we enter the new year, remember, whatever the outer circumstances, to keep your love for God foremost in your mind. This is the most powerful and effective way to turn our resolutions into realities.

Referring to the passage quoted earlier, Swami Kriyananda writes in The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita: Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda: “Thus, the highest teaching, which Krishna expounds here, is to love God, the Infinite Spirit, above all: ‘to meditate on Him as one’s very own.’ God alone can lift us out of the relativities of karmic merits and demerits into the absolute peace and freedom of Infinite Being.”

Wishing you a blessed and joyful New Year,

Nayaswami Devi

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What is true freedom? Some would say, “It’s the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want.” That’s certainly a kind of freedom, but it’s one which ultimately leads to bondage. Living in that way, we become controlled by our desires.

There is another, more enduring, type of freedom. It comes through self-discipline, calming our mind, controlling our reactions to things, and accepting that everything in our life comes from God. This kind of freedom brings inner peace, and calm acceptance of whatever comes. Self-control frees us from sense compulsion, and from the ceaseless fluctuations of the restless mind. We become masters of ourselves.

Another key to finding inner freedom is the practice of forgiveness. We have no control over the behavior of others. Holding onto past hurts and grievances only strengthens the false thought that we are subject to the ceaseless fluctuations of an inimical universe. Forgiveness is an act of both divine courage and love. It affirms our strength, and our ability to react positively even in adversity.

“Yes,” we may think, “I want to love everyone, but if you only knew what she did to me—I just can’t forgive her for that.” With this kind of thinking, we reduce in our mind the vast field of God-awareness into mere patches of brambles and thorns. To forgive others reminds us that beyond the joys and sorrows of this world, our true life is in God.

In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells a remarkable story of forgiveness. She, her father, and her sister Betsie were resistance workers against the Nazis in Holland during World War II. Though not themselves Jewish, they hid many Jews in their home and helped them to escape. Corrie and her family were eventually arrested and sent to a concentration camp, where her sister and father perished.

Corrie survived and later began a global ministry, sharing the teachings of Christ throughout the world. She tells this dramatic story:

It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower door in the processing center at Ravensbrück. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there—the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fräulein,” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!”

His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on his. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself.

The past two weeks, Jyotish and I offered you two practices to follow during this holy season: 1) to feel God’s love flowing through you constantly throughout the day; and 2) to accept willingly whatever is given to you as yours to do.

Now in this third week of Advent—the month before Christmas—we offer you another suggestion. Follow these words of Swami Kriyananda: “Claim your soul’s freedom! Bless all who ever harmed you, or ever wished you harm. Give them your love, and your prayer for their freedom in God.”

May you, like Corrie, feel God’s love flowing through you as you forgive others. May each one of us place our little candle on the divine altar of forgiveness, whose light can heal and bless the world.

Wishing you blessings in this holy season,

Nayaswami Devi

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The winter’s night was very cold and windy, and I huddled by the little stove in my camper reading the Bible by the light of a kerosene lamp. In the early years of Ananda our dwellings were simple—without electricity, running water, phones, or any way to communicate with others.

But we were more than happy to live in whatever was available—campers, teepees, old delivery trucks—just to be part of Ananda. Here we could dedicate our lives to God as well as help Swami Kriyananda fulfill Yoganandaji’s dream of world brotherhood colonies.

On this particular night as I was reading, I was startled to hear a loud pounding on the door. I cautiously opened it, and there on the cinder block step stood a strange man with a wild look in his eyes.

“I need to come in,” he said in a demanding voice. Offering silent prayers to God for protection, I stood aside and let him enter.

He sat down on one of the two benches at my little table. “I’m hungry. What do you have to eat?” he again demanded. (More silent prayers on my part.) I offered him some food which he ate voraciously.

“I’m thirsty. What can I drink?”(Still more silent prayers.) I placed some water before him, which he quickly gulped down.

Seeming to relax a bit he said, “I like it here. It’s nice and warm.” After a pause he added, “I have these big sores on my arms.” He rolled up one of his sleeves and showed me open, oozing sores on his arm.

(“Please God, resolve this quickly,” I fervently prayed.)

A few more moments passed. Then he suddenly stood up and said, “Thank you. I have to go now,” and quickly departed.

Totally baffled by what had just happened, I sat stunned for a few minutes. Then taking a few deep breaths, I continued reading the Bible. These were the first words that my eyes fell upon:

For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;

Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? . . .

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

“God,” I asked inwardly, “was it really You who came in the form of that desperate man?” I never saw the stranger again. To this day I’ve suspected that the encounter was God’s way of showing me that He Himself receives any act of kindness we express to others.

Now as we approach the Christmas season, it’s a good opportunity to introspect and cleanse our hearts of any negative emotions we may hold towards others. Throughout December, I’m taking up the personal challenge of holding only positive, loving thoughts towards everyone—be they wise or foolish; well-kempt or disheveled. Remember that love offered to any form of life is love offered to God.

In Whispers from Eternity, Master writes: “Let every feeling that I have glow with Thy love. Let every act of my will be impregnated with Thy divine vitality. Let every thought, every expression, every ambition be ornamented by Thee.”

I invite you to join me in this challenge for the rest of 2022: to feel God’s love flowing through you in each moment of the day. This is the greatest gift you can give to the world. And who knows? God may come in hidden form to receive it.

Your sister in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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This is a special moment in time for Jyotish and me. Yesterday we had our last public satsang in Mumbai after nearly four months of traveling, teaching, and sharing love with friends in Assisi and India. By the time you read this, we will be returning to Ananda Village. In many ways, this trip has been life-changing. Seeing the waves ... Read More

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The woman sobbed inconsolably as she pressed the body of her dead child to her bosom. A sympathetic neighbor, on seeing her so overwhelmed with grief, said, “A saint has come to visit our village. Perhaps he can perform a miracle and bring your child back to life.” Gathering the body of her child in her arms, the woman rushed ... Read More

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The beautiful plaque on the wall of our friends’ home caught my eye. We were in Chandigarh staying with a Sikh family who are fellow disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda. They welcomed us with such graciousness and warmth that we soon felt totally at home. The most prominent feature of the plaque that had drawn my attention was a striking drawing ... Read More

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My major field of study in college was cultural anthropology. One of my professors shared some interesting experiences he’d had during a year in which he lived with a remote tribe in New Guinea. These people were so inaccessible that they’d never seen a Westerner before. At first they just ignored him or stared at him suspiciously as though he ... Read More

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A small group of us just returned from a glorious trip to Varanasi, Kolkata, and Serampore—all places known for their holiness, and filled with events sacred to our line of gurus. Everywhere we saw and experienced the joyful celebration of God in many things that is characteristic of life in India, a celebration not somber and serious, but filled with ... Read More

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Today is our last day in the Ananda community near Assisi. In a few days we’ll be flying to India to greet friends whom we haven’t seen for three years and to experience the expansion of Ananda’s work there. Our time in Assisi has been filled with blessings as we’ve shared together with our gurubhais the joy of a life ... Read More

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“If you only knew how much God loved you, you would die for joy.” These words from St. Jean Vianney, a French saint of the nineteenth century, have always inspired and motivated me spiritually. Jyotish and I are visiting Ananda’s community and retreat center outside of Assisi now, and are staying in the lovely guest apartment of two good friends, ... Read More

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The throngs of excited travelers moved quickly past us as they dragged their luggage and children along in search of their departure gates. We were in the Frankfurt airport with a long layover waiting for our connecting flight to Rome, and then on to Assisi. We would be spending the next month in Assisi, sharing with our Ananda spiritual family ... Read More

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Our two large suitcases lay partially full on the floor. For the past two weeks, we’d been slowly filling them with clothes and travel items for our trip to Ananda centers in Italy and India. We’ll be gone for three and a half months, so planning what to bring for different climes and times has been a bit challenging. I ... Read More

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“Are you there, God? Are you listening to my prayers? Do you even know what I’m going through?” I think we all have thoughts like these from time to time—especially when we’re facing challenges in life. To keep our faith strong, it’s important to remember those times—and we’ve all had them—when our prayers have in fact been answered. Recently a ... Read More

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There is a story about a saint who was peacefully meditating under a tree along the banks of the Ganges. At a certain point he heard a rustling overhead and opened his eyes to see a large scorpion moving along a branch overhanging the river. When the creature reached the end of the branch, it fell into the water below. ... Read More

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The old woman lay in bed critically ill and in great pain. For her daughter, who was providing loving care, seeing her mother’s physical suffering was hard to bear. Even more difficult, though, was seeing her mental anguish. She kept repeating: “I must have very bad karma to be in such pain. God must be very displeased with me.” Seeking ... Read More

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I’ve always enjoyed the pastime of blowing bubbles. Whether doing it as a child, or as an adult watching children delighting in it, the sight of iridescent bubbles floating through the air has never ceased to thrill me. I even had a friend who could blow different-colored ones on request: By some secret technique, pink, blue, or yellow bubbles would ... Read More

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Recently we had a wonderful satsang with Nayaswamis Devarshi and Dhyana, who shared many inspiring stories about the work in Ananda India. Devarshi is the head of a small but growing monastery near Chandigarh in northern India. In talking about what’s making their life together so uplifting, he spoke of their “dynamic harmony”: a shared spirit of joy, service, and ... Read More

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There’s a story of a young disciple who came to his guru’s forest ashram for training. The guru blessed him and asked him to begin collecting firewood for the ashram’s stoves. Willingly he carried out this task, and as the days, months, and then years passed, he continued to serve humbly in this way. One day as he was returning ... Read More

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I’ve always enjoyed the beauty and poetry of words. There’s a certain category that I find especially delightful: the terms for gatherings in nature. Expressions like “a flamboyance of flamingoes,” “a murmuring of magpies,” or my favorite, “an exaltation of skylarks,” all hint at the glory of God’s creation. Well, I’d like to create one of my own now: a ... Read More

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My friend was apprehensive and not a little frightened as she entered the room to begin her first radiation treatment. She’d recently been diagnosed with cancer, but fortunately the doctors had been reassuring—telling her that it was readily treatable, and that she should expect a full recovery. Still, as she and her husband waited for the treatment to begin, not ... Read More

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Its true origin is unclear. Some say it was from ancient Egypt, others from Greek mythology. But whatever its source, the phoenix—the immortal bird which rises anew from its own ashes—is a powerful symbol for us today. Both literally and figuratively, the world does seem to be crumbling into ashes: literally, as the cities of Ukraine are being destroyed by ... Read More

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The date was March 7, 1952. Paramhansa Yogananda stood to address the large crowd gathered at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles to honor India’s Ambassador to the United States. Swami Kriyananda, who was present at that event, described what happened next in his book, The New Path: “His [Yoganandaji’s] brief talk was so sweet, so almost tender, that I ... Read More

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When I was a young child, I would occasionally wake up crying in the middle of the night from a bad dream. Fortunately, I had a wise, loving mother who would come and sit by my bed to comfort me. Her advice on such occasions was always the same: She didn’t ask about the scary dream, but would say, “Let’s ... Read More

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As a child, I hadn’t the slightest thought that I would live my life for God, but that proved to be my destiny. For some people this concept of living for God might seem intimidating, or grim, or filled with dour self-sacrifice and denial. But it’s quite the contrary. From my own experience and that of hundreds of others I ... Read More

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In last week’s blog, Jyotish talked about some of the insights he received during his seclusion. Today I’d like to share with you also some that came to me during this time (or more accurately this “time out.”) As soon as I closed the door and entered the Crystal Hermitage Guest House, where I spent my seclusion, I was filled ... Read More

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After years of failed attempts to manifest my New Year’s resolutions (ever happen to you?), I finally hit upon an approach that really does seem to work. When I shared this new strategy with friends at a recent satsang at Ananda Village, some of them asked me afterwards, “Could you write a blog about this so we can better remember ... Read More

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In many of his past lives Paramhansa Yogananda had been a great warrior and spiritual leader of humanity. He told his disciples that he had been William the Conqueror, who stormed the beach at Hastings, England, in 1066 to establish one of the oldest continuous governments in history. In another former life, he indicated, he was King Ferdinand III of ... Read More

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Ah, Christmas: the season of social gatherings, gift giving, wonderful food, glittering decorations, hustle and bustle . . . and yet it is so much more than any of these things. Paramhansa Yogananda said that at this time of year the Christ consciousness is especially close to earth, and more accessible to those who reach for it. And he gave a mystical ... Read More

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We did an interview recently with our good friend, Phil Goldberg, author of The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru. The interview was in honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first publication of Autobiography of a Yogi in December 1946. During the interview Phil raised an interesting question: “What would the ... Read More

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This past week has been a time of introspection for us. Nayaswami Seva, our dear friend of more than fifty years and one of Ananda’s founding members, passed away suddenly last Sunday of a heart attack. Though eighty-six years old, she was in good health and was still serving dynamically throughout the community. Shortly after arriving at Ananda in 1970, ... Read More

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It was July 31, 1949. Paramhansa Yogananda had been invited to speak at, of all places, a Beverly Hills society garden party. His hostess expected him, no doubt, to make a few gracious remarks to her guests, who could then get on with their socializing. Were they in for a surprise! Swami Kriyananda writes about this event in The New ... Read More

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Some years ago our four-year-old son came to me with an odd expression on his face and said, “I didn’t do nuffing, Mommy.” His transparent attempt to appear innocent gave him away, and I asked, “Where didn’t you do nothing?” Looking down, he admitted, “In the closet.” We went there straightaway to discover what mischief he had gotten into. A ... Read More

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“You should write a book on collaborative medicine.” Swami Kriyananda once gave this advice to Dr. Peter Van Houten, the physician for Ananda Village, and the founder of a national award–winning rural clinic. Recently we had an inspiring visit with Peter and his wife, Patricia, during which he shared about how he practices medicine “collaboratively” at his clinic. First, there’s ... Read More

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Little did I know, that first day I arrived at Ananda Village—July 4, 1969—that my real education and, in fact, my real life was about to begin. Twenty-two years old, I had just finished college. Up until then I had basically spent my whole life listening to teachers feed me facts, figures, theories, and formulae. Though I’d excelled in my ... Read More

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I read a true story recently about a woman who was tending her son in the hospital following a long, difficult surgery. Three days after the procedure, the boy was still in a great deal of pain, and the worried mother was unable to sleep. As she paced the empty hospital corridors alone at three in the morning, tears of ... Read More

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Sometimes the best gifts come in unexpected packages. Perhaps this is God’s way of encouraging us to see the hidden treasure lying beneath the challenges in life. Here are three such gifts that at first glance seem to come in very odd wrappings: solitude, silence, and spiritual hunger. First, the Gift of Solitude. Most people are either uncomfortable or bored ... Read More

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There’s a joke I enjoy sharing about a traveler who found himself lost in an unfamiliar countryside. Luckily, he spied an old farmer standing by the side of the road surveying his fields. Approaching the old man, the lost traveler asked, “Excuse me. Do you know the way to Smartsville?” The laconic farmer paused for a while, and then replied, ... Read More

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All of life is bound together by a common purpose. From the lowliest worm to the most exalted saint, all are seeking the same goal: bliss. This search may take many forms—from finding a juicy leaf to union with God—but this shared desire for true happiness motivates us all.

People do themselves a disservice when they put great saints on a high pedestal beyond their own attainment. The masters are not different from us in kind, but in degree of awareness. They’re our spiritual parents who have walked before us on the path to bliss, and they’ve come to show us how we, too, can get there.

“Babaji and Christ,” by Nayaswami Jyotish.

In Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda writes of the deathless Himalayan master, Babaji: “Only one reason, therefore, can motivate Babaji in maintaining his physical form from century to century: the desire to furnish humanity with a concrete example of its own possibilities.”

Our own possibilities: this is what we should bear in mind when we become discouraged about our spiritual progress. Swami Kriyananda once told us about a letter he’d received from someone who was downhearted that while Swamiji had done so much in his life, he himself had been able to accomplish so little. Swamiji was quiet for a while, then added strongly, “He shouldn’t feel that way about himself. He needs to understand that I’ve just been at it longer.”

By putting saints in a special category, we blind ourselves to the fact that they, too, have had tests and flaws that they’ve overcome by perseverance. Remember that the great ones have stood on the exact spot where we stand now. With determination and hard work, however, they’ve surmounted the obstacles that stood between them and bliss.

In Swami Kriyananda’s autobiography, The New Path, he tells this story from Yoganandaji’s life: “Bernard [one of the monks], upon whom Master had been urging some difficult undertaking, remonstrated one day, ‘Well, Sir, you can do it. You’re a master.’

“‘And what do you think made me a master?’ the Guru demanded. ‘It was by doing! Don’t cling to the thought of weakness, if your desire is to become strong.’”

If we face our tests with confidence and strength, these same challenges become our greatest tools for spiritual growth. Then we can see our limited human consciousness not as a barrier, but as a bridge to divine accomplishments.

This, then, is the gift of the great souls who have walked before us on the spiritual journey: They show us that we, too, can find the bliss we’re seeking. They have given us techniques, tools, right attitudes, as well as their examples of courage and strength to guide us on.

In Swami Kriyananda’s play, The Jewel in the Lotus, one of the characters is a saintly sadhu wandering in the Himalayas, who tells a small group of his followers: “A true guru comes to this earth, not to show people how different he is from them, but to inspire them with a sense of their own divinity.”

We are one with all life in our shared quest for bliss. We are one with the great masters in our shared innate divinity. It is up to us now to claim these inherent aspects of our being as our own, and finally to reach the end of our soul’s journey.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

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Recently we were discussing the law of karma with a few friends. One of them made an interesting comment that karma doesn’t always come back immediately, but hangs around for a while. It isn’t, he said, as if there were a credit card company keeping track of charges and payments each month. That’s why we need a “Master Card” to help us work through our karma over many lives.

The “Master Card” is, of course, the guru: God’s agent acting in this world to guide each soul to freedom. A disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda told us of an interesting dream he once had. In it, he was walking along a beach with a child’s plastic pail and shovel in his hand. He suddenly came upon a huge mound of tarlike black material, and he knew that this was his past karma that he must remove to be free. He began laboriously to chip away at the sticky mound, filling his little pail only halfway after much effort.

He persisted at the task, when, almost at the point of giving up in despair, he heard a loud racket coming from the other side of the tremendous pile before him. Quickly running to see what was making the noise, he saw Paramhansa Yogananda riding on a backhoe with a huge bucket, joyfully scooping up vast quantities of the “tar-ma” and throwing it into the sea.

“Shores of Cosmic Peace,” by Nayaswami Jyotish

By our own efforts, the task of removing our past karma seems nearly impossible. Still, we must earnestly do our part. A discouraged disciple once said to Master that working out all our karma seemed hopeless, that “one might as well try calming the waves on the ocean.”

Yoganandaji answered: “It is a big job, I grant you. Still, it isn’t nearly so difficult as it looks. For, ask yourself this: What is it that causes the waves to rise and fall in the first place? It’s the wind. Without wind, the surface grows calm automatically. Similarly, when the storm of delusion abates in the mind, the waves of action and reaction subside automatically. So what you must do is still the waves of your mind by deep meditation, and then, in meditation, rid yourself of the consciousness of ego-involvement.”

When Yogananda said that the wind is what keeps the waves crashing, he was referring to the breath. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna says to Krishna that the mind is restless and more difficult to control than the wind. Krishna replies that it can be controlled by yoga practice and mental dispassion. The deeper meaning of this passage, as Yogananda explains, is that by calming the breath through pranayama and meditation, we gain control over our mind, and can transcend ego-identification. Then the seeds of our karma cannot find soil in which to take root in our consciousness.

Here is a technique for using the breath to overcome past karma:

Click on the image to open this as a printable PDF.

1) Inhale deeply and concentrate all your energy at the point between the eyebrows.

2) Feel that you are burning away faults, bad habits, negative thoughts or tendencies— fruits, all, of your past karma.

3) Exhale completely and keep your breath out as long as you can comfortably. Feel completely free within yourself.

4) When you breathe in again, think of a positive image or memory, and let it fill your mind.

5) Repeat this several times in a row. Practice this daily until you feel a release from some karmic burden.

Yogananda also counseled that by acting without desire for the fruits of our action, we will gradually be freed from the bondage of karma. To act is necessary. But, “During activity, never feel that it is you who are acting. Act, instead, with the thought that God is the Doer. . . . Desireless action is the pathway to freedom.”

This is one of the main themes of the Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna tells a reluctant Arjuna that he must fight the impending battle of good against evil. He goes on to explain that by selfless action we are playing our part in this world and fulfilling our destiny. “Therefore, strive conscientiously during the performance of all actions, whether physical or spiritual, to act without attachment. By activity without self-interest, one attains the Supreme.” (3:19)

The grace of the Guru; meditation and breath control; action without attachment to the results: These are the keys to overcoming karma. Yoganandaji showed us these ways in which we can remove the mound of our past karma and open the doors to soul freedom.

Your friend in God,

Nayaswami Devi

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The little boy was orphaned at an early age when both of his parents were killed in a tragic accident. Fortunately, he was taken in by his loving grandparents, who raised him in the tradition of his people: the Cherokee.

Thus begins The Education of Little Tree, a beautiful book which describes the ways of these indigenous people, and their reverence for the Great Spirit and for all of creation.

As the boy grew to maturity, he was trained by his grandparents in both practical and spiritual skills. Then the time came when his elderly grandmother knew her life was coming to an end. As was the Cherokee tradition, in her final moments she looked into her husband’s eyes and said, “Next time it will be better.”

No regrets, no apologies, no clinging to what was, but simply the assurance that all souls are forever joined in spirit and are evolving towards higher consciousness.

This practice reflects the wisdom of the Indian masters, who tell us that life is a school to teach us the lessons our soul needs to find freedom. We move from incarnation to incarnation until we realize who and what we really are. Yoganandaji described the soul’s journey as an ascent up “the spiral stairway of wakefulness.”

What can we do to prepare for our next incarnation? First, look at the unfulfilled desires and ambitions to which you’re clinging. Ask yourself, “Do I really want these? Will they bring me lasting happiness?” If the answers are “yes,” then put out the energy to achieve them, and move on. If not, work to weed out their roots, which can entangle your consciousness.

Introspect and look at the negative mental or physical habits that hold you back. It takes honesty, persistence, and energy to overcome these, but with determined effort you can change any aspect of your life.

Don’t identify with your faults, but understand that these are just reflections of actions you performed in the past. They are karmic patterns you yourself set in motion, that now you can change. As Sri Yukteswar said, “Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.”

The ideal is to do your best, and to remain objective and non-attached. Every challenge you face in life is a lesson placed there for one purpose: to teach you something you must learn in order to find freedom. Don’t waste time on things that are empty distractions and ultimately slow your spiritual progress.

It’s important also not to dwell on past mistakes or failures. Keep affirming the virtues you want to develop, and take these goals forward into your next life. Once Swami Kriyananda was asked by his guru, Yoganandaji, to be in attendance at the deathbed of one of the Master’s students, a dignified man and a retired architect. In the last moments of his life he muttered remorsefully, “I’ve done many bad things in my life.”

Afterwards Swamiji came to Master and recounted what had happened. Yoganandaji replied, “He shouldn’t have said that. He will take this attitude of regret and guilt into his next incarnation.” Master went on to say that even if you are dying of a terrible disease, if you can affirm, “I am well” at the end, you will take that thought into your next life and have a healthy body.

In the distance, Moksha Mandir, Swami Kriyananda’s final resting place, at Crystal Hermitage. “Moksha” means final soul liberation.

So, how do we plan for our next incarnation? Right now take stock of your life: Eliminate what’s holding you back, and strengthen, or at least affirm, what will take you forward. Ask God to show you the soul lessons you need in this life, so you can quickly learn them. Always live in the thought that inner freedom is very near.

If you do these things, you may be surprised to find that your present life, too, is transformed. There may indeed be no compulsion to reincarnate at all. As Yoganandaji said, “When your schooling is done, and the end comes, and people are crying at your passing, you can rejoice and say, ‘Beloved One, Master Death is opening for me the gate to freedom. I have had enough schooling now. I shall go out no more.’”

With joy and freedom,

Nayaswami Devi

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Swami Kriyananda has written a visionary book called, Hope for a Better World! The Small Communities Solution. In it he shows how the materialistic attitudes of society today have brought us to the present state of worldwide tension and suffering. He also describes how global peace and happiness can be achieved through the spread of spiritual communities.

“Is it realistic,” he writes, “to hope for peace and harmony in this world? Yes, of course it is, if one’s hopes are kept realistic. Peace and harmony must be sought first on a small scale, not in grandiose schemes of world betterment. The important thing, always, is that people be allowed to develop as individuals.”

Though Swamiji shows how communities are the solution for the social ills that plague us today, we know that not everyone has the opportunity or desire to live in them. People everywhere, however, can practice the underlying attitudes that have been at the heart of Ananda’s success for more than fifty years. This success can be measured in terms both of the upliftment it has brought to the world as a whole and of the true happiness of those individuals who live by these basic principles. Here are some of them that we all can apply in our daily lives.

Working with Energy and Fluidity

The hallmark of the new age in which we live—Dwapara Yuga—is a vision of the world as consisting not of fixed, separate forms but of fluid, unifying energy. In creating Ananda Swamiji put out tremendous power, but with the understanding that energy has its own intelligence. To succeed in any project, he didn’t ask, “How have others done this before?” or even, “How have I done this before?” He tried to think in new ways as guided by the dynamic energy now awakening in the world.

Much of the conflict we find around us is between the forces of change and the fear of losing the status quo. By attuning with this flow of universal energy, you’ll be amazed at the new, creative solutions that emerge to guide you forward in any situation.

Seeing the Unity in Diversity

Behind the diversity of nations, cultures, and religions there is one divine consciousness: God. The more we see past the superficial differences that divide us, the more we perceive people’s underlying unity. Yoganandaji therefore called his intentional communities “world brotherhood colonies.”

One of the greatest gifts of living in a community is to accept and respect others whose perspectives may be very different from your own—and to cooperate with them. This can be done by trying to see the common thread in seemingly opposing points of view.

When people cooperate in this way, each individual gains an expanded perspective that shows a higher purpose to even mundane activities. Much of Swamiji’s success came because he supported the ideas and growth of everyone.

Living in Simplicity

Another of Yoganandaji’s main tenets for community life was “plain living and high thinking.” When we begin to break the dependency on material things for our happiness, we find inner freedom and Self-sufficiency.

You may know the story of our experience of living through the forest fire in 1976 that destroyed most of the homes and structures at Ananda Village. Our son was ten days old when we lost our home and all of our possessions.

At first, I must admit, I was in a state of shock, but the maternal instinct then quickly asserted itself. I realized that the sense of home and security that I wanted for our child was not dependent on outer things, but had to spring first from my own heart. No loss of possessions could diminish the love and nurturing that I would give to our son. This was an incredibly freeing and life-transforming experience—it has shaped my life ever since.

Developing Strength AND Flexibility

Everyone’s life has its share of challenges. In watching Swami Kriyananda build Ananda, I saw that he had perhaps more than his fair share. Strength is needed to deal with one’s difficulties, but not the rigid type that we see in weight lifters who move about like stiff robots.

Strength needs to be balanced with flexibility, of the kind we see in hatha yogis. A number of times over the years, Swami Kriyananda would put out tremendous effort to accomplish some goal in building Ananda. But if he came to feel that this was no longer the right course, he would turn on a dime and redirect his efforts towards a different end. He adapted to what was needed at any given time, and wasn’t afraid to look foolish for changing his mind.

Faith and Self-Offering

God is ultimately in charge of everything we do and everything that befalls us. By trusting in His loving presence, communities and individuals can weather many a storm. The more your faith is tested and validated, the more you can offer yourself unreservedly to God and Guru.

Yoganandaji has a beautiful prayer-demand: “O Spirit, teach me to pray and worship incessantly, with deepest concentration. O Spirit, balance my meditation with devotion, and purify my devotion with all-surrendering love unto Thee.”

Meditation, devotion, self-offering—these ultimately are the bedrock upon which communities are built, and upon which we can build our lives in God.

Joining hands and heart with you in this great adventure,

Nayaswami Devi

Receive gifts when you preorder the newest release in the Touch of Light series, Touch of Peace: Living the Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. This includes a special behind-the-book interview with Jyotish and Devi.

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Over the years I’ve learned a lot about life by observing parents shopping with their children. Once in a supermarket I watched a little girl who was noisily demanding of her mother some goodie she wanted. After trying repeatedly to placate her child with noncommittal answers, the mother finally blurted out in exasperation, “The answer is maybe, and that’s final!” This kind of answer has proved very useful to me over time.

I witnessed another drama at a different grocery store: this time at Master’s Market at Ananda Village. Shortly before the dinner hour, a mother had brought her young son along as she shopped for some items for the evening meal. The boy, a quiet, thoughtful child, saw an array of chocolate bars and cookies on the counter and asked his mother if he could have one.

“Not before dinner, dear. It will spoil your appetite.”

Her simple reply brought a profound change in him, and his eyes began to look distant and sad. It was as though he was remembering many such occasions, perhaps from other lifetimes, in which his expectations for happiness from material things were thwarted. Looking earnestly at his mother, he said, “Mommy, I don’t want to be in this world anymore.”

Quickly doing a complete turnaround, his mother replied, “Here, why don’t you have two candy bars?” But the “aha” moment had already happened. The cords of his attachment to this world had begun to fray.

Those “aha” moments are the portals through which deeper insights come to us and change our lives. Watch for them, for example, when you’re trying to make a decision about which course of action to follow. Usually we approach such decisions rationally, weighing the pros and cons. Once in a while, we have an “aha” moment in which we can see the ultimate outcome of each choice. Then we know confidently which road to follow.

Watch for such moments also in understanding others. There is a tendency in human nature to categorize people and put them in boxes—whether it’s a person we’ve known for a long time, or someone we’ve just met. Sometimes, however, we’ll have an “aha” moment when we see a certain look in their eyes, or hear something they’ve said almost to themselves, and we can see who that person really is. Hold on to this deeper understanding and your friendships will continue to grow and blossom over time.

In meditation, it’s especially important to watch for these moments of awakening. From time to time, we may find ourselves plodding along in our spiritual efforts, but not having the breakthroughs that take us to a deeper level. Then, one day, as Yoganandaji put it, “From behind the clouds of drudgery of routine meditative habits, there burst upon my consciousness the aurora of bliss.”

When these moments come, and they will, don’t let the experience fly away like dry leaves in autumn. Emblazon it on your mind. Try to return to that state of consciousness in meditation as often as you can. The intensity of the “aha” moment may fade over time, but if you inwardly cling to it, you will never lose it entirely.

Finally, watch for those magical moments in seeking God’s presence in your daily life. A friend of mine was sitting in a secluded garden at Crystal Hermitage on a quiet, windless day, and was silently sending her love to God. Suddenly, without a hint of breeze, the wind chimes hanging in a nearby tree began playing one of Yoganandaji’s chants, “I am the bubble, make me the sea.” At first she thought she had just imagined it, but when after a few minutes it happened again, she knew that God was listening and responding.

If we continue to look for God’s presence around us, we may be surprised to realize—AHA—that He was always there. Master has written a beautiful prayer-demand: “O Father, may I behold Thee: above, beneath, behind, around—wherever I turn my gaze! Train the children of my senses never to stray from Thee, who dwellest at the heart of everything. Turn my eyes inward, to Thy changeless beauty. Attune my ears to silence, that I may hear Thy subtlest music. Breathe on me the heavenly scent of Thy sacred presence.”

When the veils of delusion part, we will realize that these “aha” moments are not random occurrences. They are God’s way of lovingly answering His children’s demands and guiding us forward through life.

With joy and blessings,

Nayaswami Devi

You might enjoy the new book trailer for our upcoming release of Touch of Peace: Living the Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, the fourth book in our Touch of Light series.

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There is a powerful story from the life of Paramhansa Yogananda about the importance of rising above our likes and dislikes. It took place at a special ceremony at which he gave a lady student a red rose to wear. “But I don’t want a red rose,” she protested. “I want a pink one.” The Master answered her strongly, “What I give, you take.”

Paraphrasing Master’s words, Swami Kriyananda wrote to us in 1976 just after the forest fire had destroyed all of our homes at Ananda Village. “I was so touched by everyone’s spirit. It is admirable, and certainly pleasing to God. I believe many blessings will flow from it, and from this trying experience. I was particularly sad for you, Devi, to be given such a test so soon after having your baby. [Our home was destroyed eleven days after our son was born.] But then, what God gives, we take. He has His own program for our spiritual growth.”

What God gives, we take. Living with full acceptance of this truth frees us from the downward spiral of ego-centered self-interest born of our likes and dislikes. The sage Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, offers this classic definition of yoga, or union: “Yogas chitta vritti nirodha”—Yoga is the neutralization of the waves of feeling.

The limited ego is constantly telling us, “I want this, not that: this situation, not that; this outcome, not that; this person, not that.” Reacting to life according to our likes and dislikes keeps us forever bound to the delusion that things in the material world have the ability to make us happy or sad.

“Twenty-Nine Palms,” by Nayaswami Jyotish.

But when, through meditation, we begin to still these ego-born feelings, a new realization dawns on us: We are now, and have always been, part of a much greater reality: God’s unconditioned joy. Our awareness of this has been limited only by our infatuation with limitation.

Look at the suffering in the world around us now, and perhaps in your own life. Rather than pushing difficulties away, or angrily shaking your fist at an indifferent God, try to see everything as coming from a loving Divine Mother for your spiritual growth. Every test, if met with the right attitude, becomes a blessing to draw us closer to God.

Here are two suggestions that can help you overcome the tendency to act according to your likes and dislikes. First, when you are given a choice about a course of action, don’t ask yourself, “What do I want?” but rather, “What do You want, God?” If you have the courage and self-honesty to follow through from an expanded perspective, you’ll find yourself making very different choices that ultimately work out for the better.

Second, when difficult situations arise over which you have no control, don’t bemoan your fate, or try to avoid the problem. Inwardly accept that the test has come from God, and ask, “What should I learn from this? Where is the hidden blessing?”

After the forest fire at Ananda Village, I came to see the blessing in losing everything we had: the realization that my security didn’t come from outward things, but from God’s presence in my life. From that understanding came a strength and peace that have remained with me through many tests over the years.

To quote again from Swamiji’s letter: “If we place ourselves unreservedly in God’s hands, He proves to us abundantly how unfailing His love is for us.”

With joy in God and Guru,

Nayaswami Devi

Together we raised $57,916 for the COVID-19 India Relief Fund mentioned in last week’s blog. Thank you on behalf of all those who will be supported by these funds. Please continue to join us daily for healing prayers at 8:00 am PDT, and 8:00 pm PDT for the Astral Ascension Ceremony.

https://www.ananda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Commentary-on-What-God-Gives….mp3 Download the audio recording of this week’s blog by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (4:49):

https://www.ananda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/What-God-Gives….mp3

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The pandemic in India has created a situation that is both heartbreaking in terms of human suffering and staggering in its numbers. Many reputable sources say that the reported statistics of 400,000 new cases of Covid and 3,000 deaths per day are actually many times lower than the true figures.

Yet what really brings this situation home for me are the letters and texts from our friends in India. This morning we received one from Ananda’s center leader in Bangalore, in which she wrote: “The situation here is astonishing. Almost every member of our community has a friend, relative, coworker, or someone else close to them who either has Covid, is recovering in the hospital, or has passed on.”

And from an Ananda group leader in Mumbai: “Today we did another Astral Ascension Ceremony. . . . Fifteen more deaths within our Ananda family and friends since last Sunday.”

Even as we grieve for and with our friends, I think we all are asking, “Why is this happening?” One can point to mistakes made by political leaders and to the dire consequences of poverty and overpopulation, but we should also look for deeper reasons behind what’s occurring on the surface.

Swami Kriyananda has said that India is the guru of the world. Through their search for ultimate truth, India’s sages down through the centuries have given us the science of yoga, the model of the guru-disciple relationship, and the Vedantic philosophy in all its depth.

Now is the time for people everywhere to reflect on India’s teachings that this material world, which seems so real, is only maya, delusion. The light of God’s consciousness, from which our souls have been brought forth, is the only true, lasting reality.

In the Bhagavad Gita, when Arjuna grieves for those who will die in the impending battle, Krishna consoles him with these beautiful words:

With words of love (and seeming wisdom) you have been grieving over those who deserve no lamentation. The wise mourn neither for those who live on earth nor for those who leave it. . . .

The indwelling Self is ever changeless, imperishable, and without limitation. Only these fleshly garments can be destroyed. . . .

That Self is not born, nor does it perish. Self-existent, it continues its existence forever. It is birthless, eternal, changeless, and ever the same.

In Paramhansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, we read in page after page about the unreality of death. In thrilling stories he tells of the physical resurrection after death of his guru, Sri Yukteswar, and in turn of his guru, Lahiri Mahasaya. The first of this spiritual lineage, Babaji, is a deathless master who has chosen to remain in a physical body for this cycle of time to guide and uplift humanity.

Master also relates there his own unusual vision regarding death. While in Kolkata at his father’s home, Yoganandaji was sadly reflecting on the vast toll of death occurring on the battlefields of Europe during World War I. Suddenly he found his consciousness transported to the body of the commander of a battleship under siege. A bullet pierced his chest, and he fell dead.

“At last the mysterious footstep of Death has caught up with me,” he thought. Suddenly he found himself once more seated in lotus posture at the home in Kolkata. Joyfully, he realized he was alive in a body free of wounds. No sooner had he begun rejoicing, however, when to his bewilderment he once again found himself in the body of the dead captain.

“Lord,” he prayed, “am I dead or alive?”

A dazzling light filled the horizon. The words came forth: “What has life or death to do with Light? In the image of My Light I have made you. The relativities of life and death belong to the cosmic dream. Behold your dreamless being! Awake, my child, awake!”

What consolation can those of us find who have lost loved ones? Of course, we will grieve for them as Master did as a young boy when his mother died. But beyond that loss is the promise that our souls will be united forever in God.

Yoganandaji wrote a beautiful prose-poem entitled “Conquering Fear of Death: The Dying Youth’s Divine Reply.” It tells of a beloved youth who is mortally ill. His family sobs, begging him to stay, but he replies joyously, “You weep for me dark tears, sorrowing at your impending loss in me, but I weep for you glad, joyous tears, for I am going before you—yes, for your own welfare’s sake also—to light candles of wisdom all the way. I shall wait for you there, to welcome you to my place of eternal freedom with my one and only Beloved, and yours.”

So, my friends, why is this happening? Perhaps to remind us that God’s light and love are the only realities is this world of shadows. The suffering of the pandemic will pass, but grief and suffering will come again wearing another garb. The only lasting way out is to dissolve into God’s light.

Let us draw comfort from His eternal reassurance. It will give us strength to serve others in need. As my friend from Bangalore wrote in her letter, “This situation has brought so many people together from all over India. It is the spirituality and depth of India that are shining forth during this time of horror. Everyone is helping in some way, big or small. People everywhere are stepping up and being selfless and creative in helping their country.”

With loving thoughts and prayers,

Nayaswami Devi

Join your energies to bring more light, more solace to our loved ones, and to our larger family, the entire world, with these resources from Ananda India and Ananda Sangha Worldwide. In addition, many of us are practicing the Astral Ascension Ceremony during this time for souls in need— download it here as a PDF.

https://www.ananda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Commentary-of-Facing-Grief-and-Loss.mp3 Download the audio recording of this week’s blog by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (7:50):

https://www.ananda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Facing-Grief-and-Loss.mp3

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