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 … Read More
Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi
Moksha Day
Swami Kriyananda left the body on April 21, 2013. Since then, we’ve called the anniversary of his passing Moksha Day, moksha meaning spiritual liberation, or, literally, “to cut through delusion.” At Ananda Village we honor it with a six-hour meditation at Swamiji’s home, Crystal Hermitage. This is also peak season for the tulip gardens that he so loved, and this … Read More
The Mountain or the Marketplace?
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 … Read More
Children of the Light
When Swami Kriyananda wrote the Festival of Light, a ceremony we read each Sunday at Ananda centers, he included an allegory depicting the journey of the soul. It ends with these thrilling words about the purpose of life: [Evolution] had but this for its design: The birth of life, And, with life’s birth, the dawn of self-awareness: Passage through dim … Read More
The Nail in the Board
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. … Read More
How Swami Kriyananda Worked with People
It is not easy these days to find models of righteous leadership. We see plenty of negative examples but few that truly inspire us. I thought it would be helpful to write about Swami Kriyananda, the most uplifting example of leadership that I’ve ever encountered. Not only did he teach principles of good leadership but, more importantly, he modeled them … Read More
In My Guru’s Ashram
“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 … Read More
The Web of Life
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. A few days ago a friend shared an article written by the well-known writer Jean Houston, describing her “chance” encounter with an older gentleman and how … Read More
“I Remember!”
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 … Read More
The Yearning of the Soul
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 … Read More
Finding Your Dharma
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, … Read More
Embrace Your Dharma
This year’s Inner Renewal Retreat theme is Embrace Your Dharma—Your Path to Liberation. We’re delighted to announce that for the first time we will be streaming all of the classes free of charge. Over 2,000 people have already registered. We hope that you too will join us. Throughout the week, Devi and I will be exploring the profound and multifaceted … Read More
Be the Big Picture
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 … Read More
One at a Time
In such a chaotic world it is easy to feel overwhelmed. How do we cope with the pressures and demands? It helps if we break things down into small steps. Mary Kretzmann, the head of our Healing Prayer Ministry, related how difficult it is to keep staff over a long period of time. People get overwhelmed by the many tragic … Read More
What Keeps Us Moving Towards God
“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 … Read More
Stories of Attunement
From time immemorial, stories have entertained, informed, amused, and united us. Spiritual stories can also enlighten us. While I was recently in seclusion, I reread a wonderful but lesser-known book, Thank You, Master. It contains reminiscences by three direct disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda: Hare Krishna Ghosh, Meera Ghosh, and Peggy Deitz. When Yogananda returned to India in 1935–36, he spent … Read More
Secrets to Deeper Meditation
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 … Read More
Turn Within
The holidays have ended, and with it the flurry of outward activity. Now is a good time to turn within, but first a little humor, a balm for the soul. A few years ago we read this true story. A grandmother found it increasingly challenging to buy suitable gifts for her grandchildren as they got older. Finally, she decided that … Read More
Choices
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 … Read More
The Shawl of Gold
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. Angelica, for that was the young girl’s name, had been wandering alone and hungry for nearly a week. The old … Read More