A Touch of Light Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ananda
A weekly podcast dedicated to spirituality in daily life, inspired by the revolutionary teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda.
The theme of the evolution of consciousness is woven repeatedly throughout the great teachings of India. First there is the long, more-or-less automatic, evolution through the reincarnations prior to reaching the human form. This passage through the dim corridors of waking consciousness reaches its pinnacle in the higher animals, who can sometimes demonstrate extraordinary intelligence.
How we work with others is an indication of how we work with ourselves. We can apply these principles to our own lives.
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.
How can we learn to cultivate friendships everywhere and see our unity? It’s always a joy to share inspiring events that come into our lives, especially when they come unbidden and filled with “education and entertainment”—the purpose of all our life’s experiences, according to Paramhansa Yogananda.
Why does memory exist at all? Researchers are trying to discover what the mechanism is that holds and releases our memories.
Every soul yearns for the light, and will find a way to grow toward it. No matter what the obstacles, the soul will find its way upward just as a blade of grass will sometimes grow through a slab of concrete.What follows is taken from the journal of a young woman who lives in an area where it is nearly impossible for young women to find a quality education.
How can we save ourselves endless trouble and heartache? Before any important choice, we ask, “Will this help my spiritual evolution?”
It is helpful to recognize that we have two dharmas: the timeless dharma of the soul aiming to reunite with God, and the dharma of our current life. Happiness and success will follow only if we align the actions of this life with the eternal dharma of our soul.
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 can’t get far with problems, either in daily life or in meditation, unless we learn to concentrate on one thing at a time. Here's how...
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.
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.
Many of you reading this blog will have heard Swami Kriyananda’s beautiful song, “The Shawl of Gold.” But few of you will have heard the rest of the story. This is how it was revealed to me in my meditation.
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.”
The essence of world brotherhood and the essence of our spiritual path are the same: to seek unity (yoga) where others see only diversity. Yogananda urged us again and again to see God’s smiling face hiding behind all outer appearances: behind the stars and moon, the dawn and the dusk, the flowers and, yes, the weeds. All is made of God’s light.I assume that everyone who is reading this blog agrees with these basic concepts, but how do we put them into practice? Start with your meditation, since most of us begin our day that way. Always end your meditation by visualizing and praying for world peace. But today, in honor of the concept of world brotherhood, try also to visualize the faces of people of different races, religions, and nationalities.
How to detach from any problem and approach it with the understanding that only consciousness is real.
Much of the benefit of this practice comes from the conscious decision to make a plan for the week, and then to carry out your daily act of “micro joy.” What better time to start this than the day after Thanksgiving? Take a few moments right now to think about those things for which you are grateful. Write a few notes of gratitude to those who have helped or uplifted you during the year.
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.
The heart of a devotee naturally overflows with the desire to help others. In fact, this yearning is one of the first signs of a refined consciousness. In a sense it is that impulse that brought this world into existence in the first place. God, the only thing that really exists, is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss. That bliss is ever expanding and, as Swami Kriyananda put it so simply and beautifully, “It is the nature of joy to want to share itself with others. So God created a multitude of seemingly separate souls so that He could share His bliss.”
What can we do to help bring light into the world and reestablish peace and harmony in human hearts?
Do you want to help create a better world? It begins with you taking responsibility for changing yourself. Here, then, is a simple three-step process to get started.
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.
An Indian friend of ours recently mentioned a phrase that really caught my attention. While guiding her son through a challenging period she told him, “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.”This phrase can also serve as a noteworthy reminder for ourselves. At times we can get a little careless about this aspect of life, but its significance is indeed profound.Paramhansa Yogananda said, “The company you keep is important. If you leave your coat in a room where people are smoking, pretty soon it will smell of smoke. If you leave it outside in the garden, later on, when you bring it indoors, it will carry with it the fragrance of fresh air and flowers.
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.
Yoganandaji taught that it is what we do that makes us holy, not what we don’t do. His guru, Sri Yukteswar, said, “The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. . . . Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.”Only three things are absolutely essential: First is the desire to improve; second, the self-discipline to practice consistently; and finally, being open to help from a guide. Other qualities are important, but if these three are in place, the rest will follow naturally in its own time, just as the flowers of spring develop naturally into the fruits of fall.
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.
It would be helpful to introspect and try to feel the core purpose of your own life, the trunk of your particular tree. What motivates and energizes you? Look for themes that have been there since early childhood. As you meditate, try to feel the essential aspiration of your life.Once you have a sense of your purpose, it is important to honor it and allow it to guide your major life choices. As long as you stay aligned to your core purpose, the forms in which it will be expressed will reveal themselves. Those who stray from their essential vibration never seem to feel settled in anything they do.
“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.
Life is a journey filled with highs and lows. Sometimes it feels like a roller coaster, bursting with exhilarating peaks and gloomy valleys. At other times, it feels like the repetitive routine of a Ferris wheel that simply turns in endless circles. We will continue to ride the cycle of life from one incarnation to the next until we have learned our lessons. Paramhansa Yogananda said that ultimately this cycle becomes an “anguishing monotony.”
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.
How does one develop powers? We don’t so much acquire them as embody them. In a sense, Jesus gave us clear instructions for how to walk on water, or heal others, or feed the masses: “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.” As long as we, the ego, want powers, they will elude us. But as the ego dissolves, God, the only power in the universe, will use us as He wills.
Divine love is impersonal, because it is universally rather than individually rooted. And it is also personal, because it touches each of us uniquely according to our own nature. This is what Swamiji was trying to convey to me when seeing my disappointment: To feel God’s love for us we need to open ourselves to a greater reality.
When Swami Kriyananda gave me the spiritual name, Jyotish, he said that it means “Inner Light.” Seeing light in the forehead during meditation has always been a cornerstone of my practice, which is probably why he chose this name for me.
Here are some basic techniques and principles for drawing inner guidance. First, start by calming your mind in meditation.
I will celebrate my eightieth birthday in less than a month. I thought it appropriate to share a few significant lessons I’ve learned over the years...
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.
There are many ways that we can uplift our spirits when we feel down. The most important is attuning to God and Guru. Try to feel that He is your closest friend, waiting to help you.
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.
What makes us happy? There is a deep spiritual truth: It says that happiness increases as our consciousness rises and expands, and dwindles as it falls and contracts. That is why we say “up in heaven” and “down in hell.” Every day we are given opportunities to put this into practice. The choice is straightforward: expand and be happy, or contract and be sad. Helping others will bring good karma to both them and us. Let’s spend more time giving out Divine Mother’s wheelchairs!
Why is it that people can feel so close and trusting with a stranger? There are several factors at play. First, as I mentioned about our Australian friend, his expansive heart quality touches people on some level. Through the practice of meditation and devotion, we naturally begin to project our love to everyone and everything around us. Others sense this love, and although it isn’t directed towards them personally, they are drawn to it.
Stories like these that restore our faith in the goodness of people. Examples of noble actions can go viral, spreading goodness and joy from person to person. If we are inspired by the examples mentioned above, then it is time to act in a like manner. Let’s each of us, clinging to dharma, do something today that can inspire others.
Our life’s experiences, with all their joys and sorrows, mesmerize us with a sense of their undeniable reality. Yet, in truth, everything is only a thought in the mind of God. Paramhansa Yogananda (who related the story above) explains it this way: “This world seems real to you only because God dreamed you into existence along with His cosmic dream. You are a part of His dream.
A common problem is carving out time for meditation. This challenge isn't exclusive to novices—even seasoned meditators can find it tough to dedicate as much time as they would like.And even on days when we’re not immediately pressed for time, the mental habit of anxiety over it, in addition to the many other stresses in our lives, can keep us from relaxing into the deeper states of tranquility and joy that we seek.What is the solution? Here is a ten-step program that might help.
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.
Paramhansa Yogananda wrote, “Teach me to look upon all that happens in my life with a pleased, interested attitude, that at the end of each episode, no matter how sad or difficult, I may exclaim: “Ah, that was a good show, full of thrills, suspense, and excitement! I am happy to have seen it, and I have learned much from it for my own benefit.”
“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.
Today marks my fifty-sixth anniversary of meeting Swami Kriyananda in 1967. I knocked on his apartment door in San Francisco soon after reading Autobiography of a Yogi, and he welcomed me not only into his home, but also into his life. While the lessons I’ve learned along the way are too many to list, I’d like to share some of the most significant ones with you.
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.
Anxiety is one of the diseases of our age, affecting almost two-thirds of the population, with nearly a third finding it debilitating. Anxiety, therefore, can be seen as a disease of the nerves, and the following physical methods can help cool our system and alleviate symptoms.
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?
What are some of the things we can do to calm the restless mind? A few ways to resolve this ancient problem for meditators.
How can we find spirituality in big city life? Opportunities to overcome distractions and more.
For restless people, conditions like the recent snowfalls are probably a torment. For yogis, being forced to go within is actually quite nice. The snow brings with it some wonderful lessons. Here are a few that have struck me:
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.
Karma is one of the fundamental laws of the universe. Basically, it states that every thought, feeling, and action has a consequence. In the Bible, it says, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Here are four ways to outwit our karmic consequences.
The most important points from the three sessions Devi and I did during Inner Renewal Retreat.
We are often asked, “How can I keep the peace and joy I feel in meditation amidst the demands and distractions of daily activity?” This is, in fact, one of life’s ever-present tests. Another way of phrasing this question is, “How can I keep my energy flowing in a positive direction, in tune with my higher aspirations, so that the world does not pull me down?” Here are some solutions to this great challenge.
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.
Many readers will know that Ananda Village was mostly destroyed by a huge forest fire in 1976. Devi and I were new parents with an eleven-day-old infant when the flames devoured our home, our clothes, and virtually all of our possessions. In meditation this morning I was remembering that day and contemplating some of the cherished lessons I learned.
So what is our true value? It’s not what others think of us, or even what we can accomplish in this world. It’s the realization that God is the only reality behind everything that we do and are.
I’ve come across some amazing and amusing examples of advanced souls being guided by intuition. These stories are from a book of letters from Paramhansa Yogananda to his second-most-advanced disciple, Yogacharya Oliver Black.
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.
Here then, is a final challenge for this year. Look into your heart and find something that has “come your way, needs attention, and must be considered a duty” but that you have been avoiding. Take on the challenge, face it head-on , conquer it and free yourself from its limiting cage.
"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."
One of the fastest (and happiest) paths to Self-realization is simply to accept things as they are.
“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.
Nayaswami Jyotish reads a letter of gratitude to God and shares more on the importance of gratitude on the spiritual path.
What touched us the most, however, was seeing the divine love for others that is being offered by Ananda devotees throughout the world. Here are three stories that we heard during our travels.
The saints of all religions teach that everything in life is transitory. All human suffering is caused by seeking permanence in an impermanent world. Only through inner detachment can we find lasting peace.
Diwali, the Festival of Light, is celebrated throughout India. Lights can be seen everywhere: strings of it decorating balconies and windows, candles placed in doorways and windows and on the altars of homes, and fireworks bursting like stars in the night sky.
How can this world's fighting ever end? It is only by the upliftment of consciousness. In the teachings of India, the term “maya” is used to denote “delusion.”
Isn’t is interesting that the essence of the spiritual path is somehow magically condensed into a single sacred plate?
Inner self-transformation is never easy, no matter how you approach it. In trying to transcend self-limitations and old ways of thinking, we find ourselves clinging to the familiar, even if it no longer serves our aspirations.
Happiness is something that everyone searches for but very few are able to find. Here are five key steps that lead to permanent happiness:
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 exuberance.
Over and again through the long mists of time, great souls who have inhabited India have chosen God.
I understood that I could be myself without trying to impress others according to their standards—ones that I didn’t share. This is a gift of the spiritual path: to discover and accept our own uniqueness, and let it determine the course of our life.
This thought, ”Let’s let God decide,” should be like a mantra, a compass that guides our life. It is a shorthand way of saying, “Not my will, nor your will, but God’s will.”
Sometimes it is life’s tests and challenges that help us to feel God’s love more deeply. Recently while in Assisi, Jyotish and I contracted Covid, which fortunately was a very mild case. Now we are almost totally recovered.
The Masters work in very long rhythms to bring about the spiritual evolution of the planet. The current situation is not the disaster that it may appear on the surface to be. It is, rather, one of the steps needed for our awakening.
A recent lesson from a stranger while Jyotish and Devi waited in the airport as they departed for their tour. How important visualization is in our success on the spiritual path.
sn’t this everyone’s dilemma—clouds get in our way? A blossoming of love, faith, and clarity is the real benefit of the prayer, Let Thy will be done.
Every point of the universe can be perceived as the center. You are the center of the universe, and someday you will be able to experience this.
Every time you discover your mind caught in the negative loop, mentally repeat, “Let it Go, Let it Go.”
“Are you there, God? Are you listening to my prayers? Do you even know what I’m going through?”
We can choose to express divine love and forgiveness no matter how the world behaves. Then we build an inner fortress of higher consciousness which is impenetrable to the forces of darkness.
While out of her body, the woman had some deep insights which help us see how entrenched attitudes and habits keep us bound. Here are some important takeaways.
Here are five ways we can overcome the karma of past wrong actions, given by Paramhansa Yogananda.
This ancient teaching suggests a wisdom that can really improve our lives if we put it into practice.
When difficult events bear down and you feel discouraged or anxious, remember that the little bubble of your life is never separate from God’s endless joy, peace, and love.
How to work on manageable habits, taking on one at a time, until you can transform them.
Few of us need to concern ourselves with levitation yet, but we all should practice levity. How can we “in-joy” ourselves?
How can we translate the physical squint of an artist into the mental and spiritual squint that would be so helpful in life?
A resurrection of tulips” is a metaphor for the power of God to change all of life beneficially and fill it with His love and joy.
Now, as both individuals and global citizens of a troubled world, we face many challenges. Let’s remember to “look for a skylight.”
My young self, these are some lessons I’ve learned by traveling the road that lies ahead of you.
This gift of unconditional love is more than just a sentiment expressed by one individual to another. It imparts the power of divine love from the consciousness of the guru to that of the disciple, and with it comes the disciple’s responsibility to share it with all.
What it takes to give our love completely despite the little things that draw us outward.
This week includes a commentary with the reading of the blog. More from Devi on choosing a life for God.
Try this experiment. When you awaken in the morning and as you’re going to sleep at night, rest in the thought of timelessness.
My heart began to soar as even a few days of seclusion helped me to realign my habits with my lifelong priorities.
In many of his past lives Paramhansa Yogananda had been a great warrior and spiritual leader of humanity.
During this sacred season, how do we focus more fully on the Christ Consciousness within?
The Lord has nothing but unconditional love for us. When we can accept that, the small ardors of our heart will begin to expand into the incompressible reaches of cosmic love.
One solution to today’s problems is to train and empower a new generation filled with people like Manmohini shining the light of higher consciousness.
Shortly after arriving at Ananda in 1970, Seva became a renunciate and followed that path for the rest of her days. Ever-joyful, ever-giving, ever-loving, Seva was a beautiful role model for living for God alone.
But the great masters teach us that our every thought, word, or deed plants a karmic seed. In one way or another, these seeds are destined to return to us.
How is a collaborative approach an underlying theme in much of what Swami Kriyananda created?
Don’t feel overwhelmed by how much you may need to learn. We’ve been placed in this “great school of life” to find joy and freedom from all limitations.
We should play our roles as well as possible, and act with pure intentions. Be like a lighthouse shining your light into the darkness.
Jyotish shares an important spiritual lesson through the parable of the frightened boy.
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.
How can we train ourselves to choose to be happy regardless of circumstances? Here are several ways that have worked for me, although you may well have other strategies that work for you.
Karma doesn’t always come back immediately, but hangs around for a while. Here are some techniques for overcoming karma.
We just received news that a friend in India, Ashok Baba Kulkarni, is close to leaving his body.
How do we plan for our next incarnation. See life as a school with everything that happens to us for our personal growth.
We have the delusion that words, written or spoken, are the only means of communication.
How are attitudes can create hope for a better world: meditation, devotion, self-offering.
How if we get behind the outer-shell appearances to the underlying energy of a situation, we can move mountains.
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.
Nayaswami Jyotish thanks Swami Kriyananda for the ways he changed Jyotish and countless others.
The pandemic in India has created a situation that is both heartbreaking in terms of human suffering and staggering in its numbers.
What is an "old soul?" And what Yogananda shared about a new social model for the world.
Rather than write about Swami Kriyananda in honor of his Moksha Day, Nayaswami Devi writes a letter from her heart to share with readers.
One of the most difficult concepts for most people to grasp is that we don’t so much achieve Self-realization as we relax into it.
What is the approaching time of which Swamiji speaks? It is a new dawn, when people seek and find their answers within through meditation and prayer.
“How’s your day going?” someone will ask you. “A total 2020,” you’ll answer. “Say no more,” will be their reply.
reading and discussing books is all too often merely an intellectual exercise, even when it is inspiring. We want to take a different approach and make the scriptures come along. How do we do that?
Here are some of the qualities of a mother that are expressed in an exalted way by the guru, in honor of Yogananda's
Paramhansa Yogananda spoke of the “anguishing monotony” that comes when we realize that we’ve been trapped for a long time in a world where true happiness cannot be found.
Both stories here illustrate a valid part of our quest to catch God. Sometimes we need calm, sustained determination, remaining alert for God’s whispers.
There are times in the spiritual journey when we grow discouraged, or when doubts assail us. The path before us can become obscure: We may feel lost, with no light to guide us. Then the questions come: “Am I good enough to follow a path to God? Will these teachings really work for me?”
How can we achieve inner peace? It is easiest to find in the stillness of deep meditation.
I recently read an article by a dance teacher that gives us surprisingly helpful advice about how to deal with life’s challenges.
Now, a half-century later, we find ourselves needing solutions to another crisis: the chaos of the pandemic and the resulting economic and political disruption.
Let’s look at some changes that most of us face—loss of material possessions, health challenges, and the passing of loved ones—and find ways to rise above the suffering they bring.
Usually we give people presents on their birthday, but what do you give to someone who has everything? who is everything?
How can we draw the most from these four events to deepen our spiritual life throughout 2021?
This year, for the first time in decades due to the pandemic, we didn’t meditate in any of our temples.
Paramhansa Yogananda created a fresh approach to spirituality for Dwapara Yuga, open and unbound by any specific religious context.
Here are a few heartwarming true stories that exemplify the principles of world brotherhood...
“Where are the great saints and saviors to help guide us today? God doesn’t seem to be present in the world anymore.”
How do we open ourselves to the reality that God’s love is with us right now, and in truth has always been there?
How do we keep the inner company of saints, so that they can help us cross the ocean of delusion?
Valuable tips on what we have been doing to stay inspired during these times of lockdown and turmoil.
So many of us find ourselves in inner turmoil as we try to figure out, “How will this story end?”
I rarely recommend films, but we saw a new one last week that is not only engrossing, but important to the future of humanity.
Sometimes it isn’t possible to stop a thought or a desire, but it is always possible to spiritualize it.
Today we find people increasingly separated from one another by mutual judgment and misunderstanding.
An essential teaching of the spiritual path is, as Swami Kriyananda put it, “Say ‘YES’ to life!”
Last night I had a dream of Paramhansa Yogananda. These are relatively rare for me, and are always spiritually important.
I first heard of Babaji-Krishna (for they are one and the same) in reading Autobiography of a Yogi. Of all of our line of gurus, for me this deathless yogi living in remote reaches of the Himalayas seemed the most inaccessible.
A number of friends have recently mentioned to us that they’re feeling overwhelmed, and just don’t have the energy to deal with all the demands in their lives.
Often when some opportunity unexpectedly comes our way, apparently by chance, we remain oblivious to the fact that God was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Painting for me is not an end in itself, but a way to participate in the flow of divine grace.
“If you would do even one one-hundredth of what I have taught, you would find God in this lifetime.”
It is said that at the moment a great soul achieves enlightenment a wave of blessing is felt around the world.
This may be the most important period of our life. We are under pressure from multiple sources: a worldwide pandemic, a troubled economy, and now, a global call for sweeping social change.
As a nation we carry the burden of many people still being shackled by racial hatred and prejudice. A violent storm is upon us, caused not by wind and waves, but by the arousing of our American conscience and passion for justice.
How do you work with your challenges? See which of these categories most closely describe you.
In the midst of these dark clouds of uncertainty, Swamiji’s life can provide us with a light to guide us forward.
“I think you and I have been brothers in a past life,” Swami Kriyananda once remarked to me.
“That’s not what I look like!” our friend objected during a self-help session she was attending. This friend (let’s call her Tara) related to us how each member of the group had been asked to look in a full-length mirror and describe how they saw themselves.
“How are you coping with the lockdown restrictions?” This is a common question these days.
Times of adversity push people toward the extreme ends of the spectrum, into wisdom or ignorance.
In this time of social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, use outer circumstances to your advantage.
Sometimes, as you can imagine, I felt overwhelmed by all of the problems and challenges we faced, and would go to Swami Kriyananda for advice and solace.
From our first day there, people kept asking us, “Have you seen Kanchenjunga yet?” In my ignorance, I didn’t even know what Kanchenjunga was, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t seen it.
These are difficult, even unprecedented, times for the world. The spreading coronavirus, as well as the ripples of economic and social disruption, have sent shock waves throughout the whole planet.
Me? Live in a tepee? In the early years of Ananda Village, before we had the resources to build houses, we looked to the Native American culture for solutions in creating homes.
He was just twenty-four years old when he was found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit.
Few of us are destined to be struck by a car, but we will all be hit by our karma. When a karmic test comes, it is best to relax and learn from the experience.
How do seabirds survive the impact of a violent hurricane? Recently a friend sent me an interesting article about this. The birds use a simple technique: they fly in the same direction as the winds, which spiral inward toward the center of the hurricane.
Swami Kriyananda urged members of Ananda to strive for liberation in this lifetime. One morning Devi and I were eating breakfast with him in his home in India, and the conversation turned to the question of liberation. We said, “Why is it so hard to find God? It seems to be a daunting task, and we don’t feel like we’re making enough progress.”
Swami Kriyananda was a man of deep spiritual realization, and he also had a delightful sense of humor. His laughter helped us to understand that if God is joy, then the spiritual path should be fun, too.
In 2013, about six months after Swami Kriyananda’s passing, Devi and I visited a “Nadi reader” in Bangalore, India. These readings, written thousands of years ago by an ancient lineage of seers and astrologers, give detailed information and advice regarding people yet to be born.
This year, 2020, marks the one hundredth anniversary of the launch of Paramhansa Yogananda’s world mission. The scope of his accomplishments in one lifetime was remarkable.
The Vedas teach that God manifests creation through the vibrations of AUM. Poetically, we might say that God sings creation into existence just as we might sing a song to express our thoughts and feelings.
I’ve come to realize that many are drawn to spiritual teachings because of their good karma generated from past efforts. Very few, however, continue to invest new energy into their spiritual life and build the kind of new karma that helps one remain loyal to the end.
Christmas Eve and the visit of a saintly presence hold important lessons. Two of them are the stillness of the moment before certain events, and the act of selfless giving.
Yogananda explained that the Biblical expression describing Jesus Christ as “the only begotten of the Father” refers not to the man, Jesus, but to the infinite Christ Consciousness with which he was identified. The word “Christ” is not a name, he went on to clarify, but a title meaning “the anointed one.”
We will be having our annual all-day Christmas meditation on December 23. This tradition was started by Paramhansa Yogananda, who suggested that we should celebrate a “spiritual Christmas” with a long meditation as well as a “social Christmas.”
“Isn’t it self-evident?” you may ask yourself. Yet when we look at the rising divorce rate, the incidence of abused or neglected children, and the escalating expressions of hatred and violence throughout the world, it seems clear that most people have forgotten the art of loving.
This is a story about Mullah Nasreddin, one of innumerable tales about the mischievous Sufi mystic of thirteenth-century Turkey.
As we watched it, the river seemed to be telling us many things: of the constant change that is part of life; of the joy that comes when we enter into its flow; of the eternal consciousness that pervades everything.
Our time now in India is fast drawing to a close. This morning during our daily walk, Devi asked me, “What is your main takeaway from this trip?” Without hesitation I replied, “It is the sense that we haven’t been doing anything. God is doing it all.”
Each year as we prepare to go to Abbott Mount, two desires arise in my heart. One is a soul call: ”I want to feel God’s presence more deeply in meditation.” The other is much more mundane, yet it still pulls at me: “I’d love to catch a glimpse of the elusive red-billed blue magpie.”
At one point in the story, Krishna goes to talk to one side of the ongoing conflict in an attempt to prevent the upcoming battle. The author talks about different methods of dealing with conflict.
The days of divine protection in Brindaban are not over. For many years, abandoned and abused widows from throughout India have made their way there to seek the protection of Lord Krishna. It is estimated that eight thousand homeless, destitute “widow mothers” beg on the streets for their survival.
A friend sent us a fascinating article on the strong influence that gratitude and positive emotions have on us. They not only affect us personally, but also influence the world around us.
The group of thirty people broke up into pairs, laughing as they began to play “Camera,” one of Joseph Bharat Cornell’s Sharing Nature games.
Worries seemed to be my entire mental diet. As I sat trying to meditate one day, an image came powerfully to my mind. “Time is like a river on which you are floating. You can never occupy more than one place at any moment. Just focus your whole attention on where you are right now, and let the river take care of itself.”
So often we feel alone, unsupported, or unloved by an indifferent universe. We need reminders to show us that we are never alone, but are ever embraced by a loving, benevolent God.
The insight that came was this: I couldn’t control my restless mind at that moment, but there were many things that I could control.
A shadow of doubt began to creep into my mind: “Can we really do this? Is it beyond our capabilities?” Then I looked up at a photo of Master on the wall opposite me and felt a calm reassurance flowing from his eyes.
There was something missing; the life I was living was a cage. Yes, the cage was comfortable—I had a good job, earning both money and respect—but I felt constrained, earthbound.
If you want to know God’s will in a moment of crisis, you have to practice when it is easier.
ach of us, impelled by the desire to reconnect to our true Self, must fight this battle, and the spiritual path gives us the tools and support that we need.
People sometimes ask us, “How do you manage to travel for so long and keep strong and centered?”
When we love God, He will play with us—sometimes by giving us the gift of a frigid winter, other times by coming to us as a guardian angel in overalls, but always by giving us His blessings.
We are living now in unstable, volatile times, but we can see this as either a misfortune or an opportunity.
There is an enlightening quote of the Dalai Lama’s that goes, “People should be loved and things should be used. Unfortunately today, things are loved and people are used.”
The new temple is beautiful beyond what we had even imagined, but now we might ask ourselves the deeper question, “Where does the true Temple of Light reside?”
Next week Ananda will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. We took possession of the land we now call Ananda Village on July 4, 1969.
Throughout history there have been great heroes who, seeing the injustices of their times, fought against them and changed the lives of thousands. One such heroine was Harriet Tubman.
Young or old, devotee or not, God gives us, each and every one, His love, acceptance, and support. If we try to do the same, we will help create a better, gentler world.
Ask yourself, “Why do I do this work? What aspect of my consciousness led me to choose it?” Use this bit of self-analysis to help you find and fulfill your dharma.
Caring about others during a time of personal difficulty is the hallmark of an expansive consciousness.
Her name was Ofelia. She was born in Mexico and grew up in an orphanage there. In her early twenties she made her way to California, where she married and raised twelve children.
Who among us has not had to deal with his share of trials? And when storms of trials arrive, the advance troops are the howling winds of worry.
What are some of the qualities of youth? A sparkle in the eye? A buoyant step? An enthusiasm for life? Laughter that springs easily from the heart?
There are many interesting connections between being an artist and being a spiritual seeker. The other day it struck me that there is a kind of “spiritual” color wheel—I’m given to these musings from time to time.
I’d like to share with you some of the life lessons I learned from Swamiji; perhaps they include lessons that you, too, have learned from the Divine Life that guides us all.
Let this be my wish: If sometime in the future I get amnesia—if my name, possessions, occupation, and very identity are all stripped away—then, like the character in my dream, let only love remain.
The process of creation and evolution—whether for a great, heavenly body or an individual soul—has in each case a similar pattern. Let’s start with the example of the birth of a star.
Our days and weeks are so entrancing that we rarely step back to see a broader perspective. When we do so, we see that there are layers to the apparent reality.
Swami Kriyananda told us the tale of a boy who came to a saint and asked to become his disciple. The holy man said, “Come with me,” and took him down to the river Ganges.
Life can sometimes be downright discouraging when things don’t go the way we want or expect.
Today’s class was on living a balanced, integrated life. Paramhansa Yogananda said that a true scripture must address all levels of our being: physical, energetic, mental/emotional, and spiritual.
Here, then, with nine gems from the Bhagavad Gita, is a five-minute overview of the evolution of consciousness we all must experience.
Last week a dear friend of ours from India visited Ananda Village for the first time. What a wonderful experience it was showing her around and explaining to her the many aspects of this remarkable community.
So, how do we find solutions? The best way is to let the Divine solve the problem for you. If you can get yourself out of the way, and use your intuition, a solution will come quickly.
It’s not always easy to feel joy in life, especially when we’re bombarded with discouraging news and wrenching images of human suffering. Yet holding on to happiness in spite of everything is a challenge which confronts everyone.
It’s often easier to visualize Yoganandaji’s consciousness as impersonal and spanning infinity than to think of him as “the closest of dear friends.”
At the peril of disillusioning you, dear friend, I thought you might enjoy seeing my New Year’s resolutions for the coming year. I’ll keep it simple, which suits my nature.
The story goes that at the time of Christ’s birth there was a fourth wise man who was also watching the skies and knew that a great enlightened being was about to appear on earth.
I thought it would be helpful to give some tips on how to deepen our meditations, especially longer ones.
After nearly three months in India, we’ll be returning to America in a few days. Although it will be a welcome change to stop traveling and have some familiar things around, my heart is filled with profound appreciation for all that we’ve received here.
Recently in Mumbai, India, we were asked the question: “What are some of the lessons you’ve learned on your spiritual journey, especially those involving Swami Kriyananda?” I’d like to share some of my responses with you, because they touch on issues that each of us faces as a devotee.
Making good decisions is one of life’s most important skills, and yet we have gotten virtually no training. Sometimes even life-defining choices such as marriage, job, or taking up a spiritual quest are given little energy.
Nitai, who had been a school teacher before coming to the community, once commented to Swamiji, “Many families with children are starting to move to Ananda. We really need a school here to serve them.”
“I’m feeling so stressed at work. What can I do about it?” This, or a variation, is one of the questions we hear most often as we travel and share with others.
What is happening to our consciousness when we live in such a restless way? Repetitive, nervous movements of the body, eyes, and, especially, the mind break up our experience of reality and time into small, discrete units.
Our thoughts and emotions affect the body through various chemical, electrical, and hormonal pathways. But most healing modalities completely ignore the importance of the mind and emotions and therefore never address a disease’s root cause.
Patience, inner strength, devotion, and trust in God: these are attitudes that help us find peace and understanding in this confusing world of mirages.
This last weekend we saw a remarkable validation of what happens when, in spite of all obstacles, you act on your intuition.
It’s important for people seeking higher consciousness and peace on earth to join together, showing the unity of all people on this quest. And we can make every day of our life a “day of yoga,” if we understand it in a deeper way.
Pets are our teachers, acting as mirrors for our behavior. All faiths have a variation of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Gardens are most productive and happiest when every plant is getting what is required. Lesson: Live a balanced life.
Master often spoke of this world as being like a dream or movie. Today, he might have used the analogy of a video game. Imagine a complex and incredibly addictive game, called “Life.”
Throughout Swami Kriyananda’s life this “philosopher king” expressed tremendous generosity of spirit. Anyone who came to him for spiritual training — everyone he met, in fact — was welcomed into his kingdom of joy.
In the Hong-Sau technique we simply observe the breath, whereas with Kriya we actively control the breath. These two together not only lead to deeper meditation, but also help to balance and improve brain functioning.
As plants grow toward the sun’s light, so too do our souls reach up toward the light of God. At first our inner growth may seem slow and hesitant, but gradually, as the yearning in our heart grows stronger, our movement towards the light gains momentum.
We all find ourselves in situations that are unpleasant, but from which there is no easy escape. If we let frustration get the upper hand, it will lead to anger, which will then lead to conflict.
These gardens have a special magic that attracts and uplifts people. The sensitive blending of colors and the imaginative landscaping are sublime.
Our instructor was a joyful, free spirit who told us, “Paint whatever comes to mind.” Suddenly everyone froze.
Working with one of India’s premiere leaders in education, our small team is creating a vision and feasibility study for a world-class Institute of Leadership based on Paramhansa Yogananda’s principles of higher consciousness.
Early in their time together, Paramhansa Yogananda instructed his direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda, that his work in this lifetime would be lecturing, editing, and writing.
Lurking behind many of today’s headlines you can see power struggles that are not very different from ancient times. The difference is that, in today’s world, there are few “Places of Refuge.”
Whenever we get a chance to visit Hawaii, we’re awed by the power of life force, or prana, that permeates everything here.
“You need to become more childlike,” Yogananda said, and quoted the saying of Jesus, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”
What are the three pillars of the spiritual path, and how can we be free in this lifetime?
Yale University recently offered a course that’s proved to be the most popular one ever given there. The topic was “Happiness.
A friend recently sent us an article by the head of Mercedes Benz, talking about some of the disruptive changes that are coming due to the combination of AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics.
There was a time in my life when it seemed as if circumstances were all conspiring to make me miserable.
I am currently writing a book with the working title Ananda Seva, about the power of selfless service and how it can help dissolve the ego.
Up to that point, I’d been walking along silently, but my mind had been busy with an active flow of thoughts. Hearing his words, I tuned in to the quiet and peace that he was experiencing.
In a practical sense, teamwork is needed if we want to accomplish tasks beyond the scope of a single individual. There are certain stages to forming a team.
As you embark on the voyage of 2018, whatever obstacles may lie before you, remember to draw on the examples of the great spiritual warriors.
The tide of the old year is ebbing, and the new one is rolling in. It is time, once again, for New Year’s resolutions: the best opportunity to rid yourself of those habits you know to be self-destructive, and to develop those that you know will improve your life.
Next week I will celebrate two important milestones. December 22 will be the fiftieth anniversary of my first Kriya Initiation. The next day will be another fiftieth anniversary: of my first eight-hour Christmas meditation.
What can we do to stop worry? Is there something to break the toxic downward pull of mental anxiety and depression that is plaguing so many people?
She asked Babaji a question that is in the minds of many of us: “Why don’t you do something to stop all the darkness we see in the world today?”
Jyotish and I just returned from a three-month visit to Ananda communities and centers in Assisi, throughout India, and finally in New York City. It was an incredible experience, and here are some of the things we saw…
My wife, Devi, who periodically over the years has asked, begged, or cajoled me to tell the story of the mouse family, prevailed successfully upon me once again.
The boy’s father was a harsh man. Constantly criticizing and belittling others, he was feared by everyone who knew him — but not by his son, who had a wisdom beyond his years.
Seclusion is a very important part of the spiritual search. In his Praecepta Lessons, Paramhansa Yogananda wrote…
As an Ananda member I had been invited to participate in an early attempt to study what meditation does to the brain. Ever since then I’ve had an interest in these kinds of scientific studies.
Diwali is a celebration of the light that shines through the darkness, of the victory of virtue over evil, and of the inner transformation of all of our darkness into divine consciousness
Two distraught devotees knelt before the Indian saint, Anandamayi Ma, pleading for her divine intervention. “Ma,” they begged, “can’t you stop this? It will produce so much suffering.”
The human heart has an infinite capacity for love, and when kindness flows, we are not only uplifted, but often healed of some old karma.
She lay in the dust by the side of the road, alone and abandoned in her suffering. Her family had rejected her, and this poor widow had made her way to Brindaban, where an estimated ten thousand elderly, homeless women reside, hoping to find solace in the city blessed by the presence of Lord Krishna.
In life, some people make progress faster than others. This is true in school, business, athletics, and virtually any field of activity. While some people seem to be born with more ability or in better circumstances, true greatness is made, not born. In fact, it takes many lifetimes for a soul to be forged into the human equivalent of Damascus steel.
Today is September 12, 2017 — the sixty-ninth anniversary of the day a young man knelt alone at the feet of his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda. His heart aching with divine longing, the twenty-two-year-old James Donald Walters said beseechingly, “I want to be your disciple.”
This living example of unconditional love begins to permeate and slowly change their hearts and lives. One key in the transformation is the commitment of the Guardian Angel for an entire year, which allows the time needed for growth and healing.
Recently a young man asked us, “Why do we do things that we know will make us unhappy, even when we don’t really want to do them?”
Today, as I write this, there is a full eclipse of the sun. This rare event happens when the moon passes directly between the earth and the sun.
Paramhansa Yogananda once said, “I used to think Satan was only a human invention, but now I know, and add my testimony to that of all those who have gone before me, that Satan is a reality.
A friend wrote recently asking for advice about problems at work. His job is in a competitive environment where others disrupt the harmony, compete in unfair ways, and take credit for work they haven’t done themselves.
Recently we were sharing with some friends about how a true guru demonstrates God-consciousness through his actions, and guides us inwardly to find that state ourselves.
Sometimes people wrongly think that spiritual teachings such as these are not very useful in the “practical,” everyday world. But here is what two of the most successful men in the world, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, have to say about focus.
Our potential to transform ourselves and positively to affect the world around us is much greater than we realize.
Strength builds strength, will power builds will power, and every little victory leads to final victory.
As we drill down past those things which separate us, we find, waiting patiently, our innate spirituality.
If we’re in the grip of some negative emotion it seems nearly impossible even to begin to think about the divine qualities (peace, love, light, sound, power, calmness, joy, wisdom). But there is a solution.
Only when we see everyone as a brother or sister, a child of our same one Father/Mother, will we finally see true peace and harmony.
Yet in some recess of our awareness, we know that life’s changes are inevitable, and become distressed by the fact that things don’t stay the way we want.
Interestingly, for those who accept a Vedantic view of reality the idea of a virtual universe seems quite natural.
Meditation — it can seem hard or easy depending on how we think about it. Let’s look at some common problems people have that make meditation seem hard.
In a recently published article, Yogananda gave us one, suggesting that we develop twelve Godly qualities as a means of overcoming the ego.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This second sentence of the Declaration of Independence has been called “one of the best-known sentences in the English language.”
We need more global warming. No, not the kind where the average temperature rises. I mean where the average consciousness rises. The only true cure for many of the world’s problems — war, poverty, and even rising temperatures — is for mankind’s consciousness to expand.
What is the nature of divine love that can evoke such a lifelong silent relationship? I believe it’s a beautiful blend of the personal and impersonal: touching the innermost part of our being, but at the same time dissolving our individuality.
Today is the fourth anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s leaving his body. Ananda Worldwide celebrates this occasion with what we call “Moksha Day,” a day dedicated to Self-realization, or spiritual freedom.
The faces of the young couple were radiant as we led them in their wedding ceremony in the chapel at Crystal Hermitage.
I would like to ask you to take a moment, close your eyes, and answer this question in your own words: What is happiness?
Deep meditation requires one-pointed focus, so concentrate on only one thing at a time.
Nayaswami Jyotish speaks about Paramhansa Yogananda’s mahasamadhi or conscious exit from the body.
I went to work for Swami Kriyananda in 1968, and my first day was an absolute disaster!
Paramhansa Yogananda would sometimes gaze lovingly at his disciples and say, “If you only knew how beautiful you are. I see you all as beings of light.”
It’s hard to describe the feeling of upliftment and joy: Many people have told us, “It feels like we’re in the astral world here!”