A monastic disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda once had a dream in which his fellow disciples were running in a race. He understood the race to be toward soul liberation. In this dream each runner, at some point, fell to the ground. Some devotees got up right away, while others took longer. What was important, the disciple said, was that everyone … Read More
I lost the battle last night. Yogananda said that life is a “battle for joy” – and I lose more often than I like to admit. When you find a true teaching, a true guru, and a spiritual family who reflect and support your ideals, it is a major victory, and life seems infinitely more doable. But the real work … Read More
Delighted, no end is actually the punch line to a joke in the Peace Treaty (Swamiji Kriyananda’s 3-act play). But it describes this weekend perfectly. People were delighted with the gardens at Crystal Hermitage. Hi everyone, last week I shared with you photos of the first weekend of Springtime at Ananda. It was cloudy and very cold. But, many hardy … Read More
It’s a little hard for me to understand why I have self-acceptance or self-esteem issues. I had a decent childhood, with no major abuse that I can remember. But certainly I’ve had this issue to deal with. And it certainly seems to me that this problem is epidemic in the world around me. I thought I’d share some things I’ve … Read More
The past two days were the first weekend of the long-awaited-for Springtime at Ananda Open House. After many, many months of preparation the doors were thrown open and the public was invited to share in the glorious colors of the Crystal Hermitage Gardens. As you can see, the weather was not spring-like. In fact, it was quite winter-like and for … Read More
Note from the editor: Krishna Deep, a monk at Ananda’s new community in Pune, is writing about Yogananda’s birthday celebration there in March 2009. Dear Gurubhais, Wish you all happy Master’s birthday!!! Entrance to the community, graced by Master’s presence. Today is a special day for all of us, no doubt. The sacred ceremony of the monastic vows is taking … Read More
Dear Friend, We just spent nearly a month in India visiting Swami Kriyananda and our many friends there. Being in India is always an adventure – things don’t work according to the same rules that we rely on in the West. By training and experience, we expect things to happen according to well-thought-out plans and predictable outcomes. In India, things … Read More
Dear Friend, Paramhansa Yogananda was asked by his disciples what they should do when he physically left this world. His reply was, “Only love can take my place.” Some years ago a friend asked Swami Kriyananda what we should do if times got really tough on this planet. He replied, “You’ll have to learn to love heroically.” I’ve pondered these … Read More
