Cameras, tulips, and Swami Kriyananda

Swamiji being filmed in Crystal Hermitage Gardens

Brahmacharini Narayani has been travelling with Swami Kriyananda for the past several years through all our Ananda Communities. She has become one of his personal staff.

Dear friends,

Swami Kriyananda’s health has in general been doing very well, and his spirit is always soaring in divine joy.

As you may know from having seen the pictures, we have been enjoying immensely the beauty of the 9,000 tulips planted on the Crystal Hermitage gardens. Many people from outside came to see it: around 3,000 people in the last three weeks. Everyone who came couldn’t contain the “uplifting and opening” of their hearts. Jivada and Netri have been the “garden avatars” of the Hermitage and around. They really did an extraordinary job.

Swamiji said, “I’ve been in one of the most beautiful gardens in Holland and in Kashmir, India, but not one of them is as beautiful as ours.” (Truly, it is heavenly beauty on earth!)

Two days ago, a family came very early in the morning to take some photos. The man told Swamiji, “Thank you very much for letting us be here and take these family pictures. This garden is so beautiful.” Swamiji’s reply was, “There is no point to have such a beautiful garden if you can not share it with others.”

Watching Swamiji serving his Guru explains perfectly the concept that Yogananda brought of God as “ever-new.”

After he had completed a biography of Yogananda in just three weeks, he started right away filming the movie The Disciple. Nandini, Shivani, Ted, and the filming crew came to film many aspects of Ananda Village and record some interviews with Swamiji and the Hermitage staff, and film his house and gardens. It was lots of fun and everyone who was involved (the camera crew) were completely transformed by the experience!

As you may know, Swamiji has been giving Thursday satsangs, gave a talk for Easter service, and now he has started to record the audiobook of Paramhansa Yogananda: A Biography with Personal Reminiscences.

Swami Kriyananda behind a laptop, with a microphone above

Recording the biography of Paramhansa Yogananda

He is already two-thirds of the way through, but with more chapters still needing to be recorded. Even though he has been tired, somehow his voice sounds extremely resonant and very powerful. He is even acting while he reads, which makes Yogananda more alive than ever. Swamiji says he “remembers” exactly the tone of voice in which Yogananda told Swami most of the stories that appear in this biography.

In an interview he had recently, someone asked him: “What do you feel proud of?” Swamiji replied, “I don’t feel proud of anything, because I don’t feel that I’ve done anything.” But then he went on and said, “Well, the only thing I could be proud of would be for being a disciple of Yogananda… But still, I’m not even proud of that, since I have the feeling that I don’t exist.”

Thinking of these words from Swamiji, suddenly there came to my mind what Yogananda used to say: “I killed Yogananda long ago; no one dwells in this body now but God.” Well, whatever Swamiji has “killed himself” (his self-definition) long ago or not, it is not my place to say, but as Yogananda himself told Swamiji, “You will never fall due to ego.

Dear divine friends, let’s keep Swamiji in our prayers, so that he can continue to serve Master through all this summer, all over Italy and Europe with a “radiant health and vitality” and with always an “ever-new-joy.”

Many blessings to you all and thank you for your loving friendship in God!

From the beauty of Ananda Village,
Brahmacharini Narayani

14 Comments

  1. Thanks so much dear Naryani!
    My heart filled with Joy by reading this blog.
    God Bless You!

    In Him.

  2. May Kriyanandaji live in health and continue this critical work of Masters for a 100 years.

    With great love and admiration,

    Tony Giorgianni

  3. O! so lovely to be travelling with Swami Kriyananda. I pray to God that I be bestowed with his darshan at least once in this lifetime.
    My gratitude to all of you who are in the service of Swami Kriyanandaji.

  4. Hi Narayani

    Thank you for these wonderful updates. It feels like we were also there enjoying the whole beauty and joyous moments.
    Hope to see you in India soon..
    Many wishes!
    Shilpa

  5. Best wishes for a joyful birthday and many thanks for giving me Master through Ananda, your music, your writings, your memories.

  6. What a refreshing article!
    I was there in the tulip garden mentally!!

    Can someone teach me how to grow tulips
    on a terrace garden in Mumbai’s climate?

    May God & Guru bless Swamiji with many more
    years of glowing life!

    Pranam at Guru’s Lotus Feet!!

    God bless you!

    Biswas
    Mumbai

  7. To all my Gurbais around the world–I was with Swami ten times in 1981–changed my whole view of Master’s work. Had a humorous message from Gurdev a few days ago, “My beloved Elfhost Oliver…” etc
    If any of you know of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche or any of his Sangha anywhere, please tell them Pema Dorje says hello! IN 1986 THE LAMA TOLD ME TO FOLLOW MY GURU’S INSTRUCTION…IN 1987 ON MY RETURN TO CALIFORNIA I LOCATED MY KRIYABAN FORMER WIFE AFTER 16 YEARS OF NEVER SEEING HER ONCE! Jai Guru….Oliver “Elfhost” Fuller Fort Bragg California

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