The first time I heard Swami Kriyananda talk was in 1980 or 1981 at a hall in San Francisco. I was meditating with another group at the time, but friends of mine who were with Ananda told me to go and hear Swami. I asked them what he talked about. They couldnt tell me what he said specifically, but the said it was a great talk!
I drove up to San Francisco and took a seat about two thirds of the way back in the hall. Jyotish and Ram made some brief remarks and then Kriyananda came on. As he began to talk, I became aware of a particular golden aura that began to surround the room. It looked like the angel hair you used to see on Christmas trees, but a beautiful golden color. It wound itself around the hall as I watched and it enveloped everyone!
I listened intently to what he was saying, and I could discuss the points of his lecture with people after the event, but it was clear that the experience of being in that aura was the most important thing. No wonder people couldnt remember what he said! I have not had an experience like that before or since.
Five or six years later, I went to India with the first Ananda pilgrimage, which was led by David and Asha. When we got to Calcutta and went into Yoganandas house, it gave us the feeling of going home. As I sat there feeling the vibrations of the place it began to dawn on me that I recognized this feeling! I regressed back in memory, trying to find out how I could recognize something in a country I had never visited. And then it came to me. The feeling was the same that Id had when listening to Swami Kriyananda talk for the first time in San Francisco.
This experience has been clear proof to me that Swami is channeling Yoganandas vibrations and teachings to us as purely as any human being possibly can.
-Rick Bonin
