Ananda Sunday Services, 2011
Every Sunday morning Ananda Village residents and guests meet at the Expanding
Light Temple for meditation, chanting, readings, and a sermon
by one of the Ananda ministers. Recording of a part of the
Sunday Service is posted online within a few days.
A Festival of Light
Performed at Every Sunday Service
Written in mystical poetry and celebrated with music, this ceremony depicts the soul’s journey from the time of its creation, through the stages of development, to its final home in union with God.
Words and music by Swami Kriyananda.
Let us lift up our hearts in a festival of light.
The essence of this ceremony has been passed down from ancient times.
O waves that we are, on the bosom of the Infinite Sea, let us celebrate our own greater reality. For now, by God's grace, our redemption is at hand.
—Swami Kriyananda, Festival of Light
What Is It, to Fail Spiritually?
December 4, 2011
Peter and Marga Goering
Grieve not, friends, if you feel that you have been foolish. No error is forever. Someday, if you keep your lamp [of devotion] lit now, your opportunity will come.
Spiritual failure, though a deep disappointment, is always temporary. “Eternal hellfire” is but a projection of vindictiveness in the human mind.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Law of Karma — Bondage or Soul-Release?
November 20, 2011
Nayaswamis Devi and Jyotish
Not by reason alone, but by Self-realization, are the ins and outs of destiny fully understood. Their web, though tied forever to the post of ego-motivation, is too intricate to be perceived as a single thread.
Only great masters can see it with clarity. It is visible to them in all its workings — not from within the tangle, but from above, in superconsciousness.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Reincarnation - The Spiral Staircase
November 20, 2011
Nayaswamis Ananta and Maria
Biblical references to previous lifetimes on earth are overlooked in the deductive process, and we find them therefore excluded from the body of official dogma.
Nevertheless, such references exist. The Bible itself presents them — as does Jesus in this passage — not as abstract teaching, but as direct, personal perception of truth.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Promise of the Scriptures
November 13, 2011
Nayaswamis Anandi and Bharat
In God’s eyes, when human beings go astray, there is nothing to forgive. All of us are aspects, only, of His own Self.
He who made us resides in us. He is not far away from us in some far-off heaven. His call to us, always, is to return to our own home, within.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Faith Is a Call to Prayer
November 6, 2011
Nayaswamis Pranaba and Parvati
When our thoughts and feelings are strongly focused and then united in growing awareness to the Divine Presence within, they can bring even seemingly unrealistic wishes to fulfillment.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Why Tell God Anything, When He Knows Everything?
October 30, 2011
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi
The answer is that we should offer ourselves up in acceptance of His abundance. Don’t pester God, as though pulling constantly on His sleeve to get His attention. Approach Him with the confidence of a child in its parent.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
What Is the Best Way to Pray?
October 23, 2011
Nayaswami Devarshi and Tyagini Lisa
The Bhagavad Gita explains that man, living as he does in a human body, finds it difficult to worship Infinity as though the ego and body didn’t even exist.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
First Things First
October 16, 2011
Nayaswami Nitai and Tyagini Latika
If a person is true to his highest priorities, he will generally find that his other needs are fulfilled naturally as well.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Victory Demands the Courage of Conviction
October 9, 2011
Nayaswamis Maria and Ananta
The struggle Jesus describes... is with our own attachment to all that is nearest and dearest to us, humanly speaking.
Ultimately, it is a war against the ego itself, and against anything with which we surround ourselves to bolster the ego’s fragile sense of security.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
In Surrender Lies Victory!
October 2, 2011
Nayaswamis Devi and Jyotish
What are the signs of true strength? We find in all cases that these are the fruit of a life wholly surrendered to God.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Many Are the Pathways to Truth
September 25, 2011
Nayaswamis Ananta and Maria
Let no one tell you what your path to God ought to be. Many are the paths. Select your own according to the dictates of your own nature, no matter how out of step that puts you with other people.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Intuition Is Simple: The Intellect Is Complex
September 18, 2011
Nayaswamis Krishnadas and Mantradevi
The intellect separates; it analyzes, then puts things together again piece by piece. Intellect lacks intuition’s flow, which descends smoothly, like a river, from the superconscious.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Truth Invites; It Never Commands
September 11, 2011
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi
Free will is a basic principle of life. God never coerces: He
invites us to live in such a way that we find fulfillment in
ourselves.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Ego: Friend or Foe?
September 4, 2011
Nayaswamis Bharat and Anandi
That which the ego relinquishes, offering it up to soul-consciousness, is reclaimed forever in cosmic consciousness. Nothing is ever lost.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Who Are True Christians?
August 28, 2011
Peter and Marga Goering
Nowhere do we find Jesus condemning, or even gently criticizing, other spiritual masters.
His criticisms were reserved for worldly attitudes, and for those hypocritical Pharisees who had allowed religion to become, for them, a pretense.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
How Should We Meet Our Tests?
August 21, 2011
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi
Jesus during his temptations in the wilderness overcame them, and thereby set an example for all time, by clinging the more determinedly to God.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Does Satan Exist?
August 14, 2011
Nayaswamis Anandi and Bharat
God’s hidden reality cannot be understood by the reasoning faculty. A willingness to seek the underlying reality behind appearances is essential for those who would know God.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Does God Hide the Truth?
August 7, 2011
Nayaswami Nitai and Tyagini Latika
Behind even God’s most open expressions there
lies impenetrable mystery.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
How Democratic Is Truth?
July 31, 2011
Nayaswamis Maria and Ananta
The scriptures advise, not secrecy, but discretion in
the sharing of truth.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Do You Need a Guru?
July 24, 2011
Nayaswamis Devi and Jyotish
All the saints, aware as they are of the hazards of the adventure,
agree on the importance of having a guide, or guru.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Self-Effort, Too, Is Needed
July 17, 2011
Nayaswamis Parvati and Pranaba
Passive dependence on grace hasn’t the
magnetism to attract grace.
Boastful self-confidence, however,
which closes itself off from the higher, divine power is shallow,
brittle, and — given life’s many uncertainties — susceptible to
ultimate failure.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Self-Reliance vs. Self-Reliance
July 10, 2011
Nayaswamis Gyandev and Diksha
Our strength must come from within, but must be coupled with recognition of our inner link
with broader and higher realities.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Abiding in God
July 3, 2011
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi
To the disciples, Yogananda spoke of the importance of
attunement with the guru. To others, he urged the importance
at least of attuning oneself to higher consciousness.
Can an eagle rise without support from the sustaining air?
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Redeeming Light
June 28, 2011
Nayaswamis Mantradevi and Krishnadas
The divine light — pure, calm, liberating — is the only final cure for every kind of
delusion: ill health, emotional grief, and spiritual ignorance.
Seek it daily in the silence, in deep meditation.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Eternal Now
June 19, 2011
Nayaswamis Ananta and Maria
God is as
much with us now as He will ever be.
It is not He who needs
to come to us: We need to come to Him! And that process of
coming is a matter of transforming our self-perception.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
How Devotees Rise
June 12, 2011
Nayaswamis Devi and Jyotish
Divine blessings are not common in this world. They are extraordinary. When they come, we should give them priority over any other consideration.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Why Do Devotees Fall?
June 5, 2011
Nayaswamis Bharat and Anandi
Doubt not the power of delusion. Respect it — indeed,
fear it, though not in the sense of cowering before it.
For, as Yogananda said, “One is not safe until he attains nirbikalpa
samadhi — the state of final union with God.”
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Inner Kingdom
May 29, 2011
Peter Goering
The legend of Adam and Eve is allegorical.
It describes how the
first human beings dissipated their spiritual energy, centered
in the spine. The spine is the channel through which flows the
river of baptism and of spiritual life.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Best Way to Worship
May 22, 2011
Nayaswami Kriyananda
The overarching concern is to include in one’s worship daily, inner communion with the Lord.
God is Silence: He must be sought, therefore, in inner silence. God is Absolute Love: He must be sought, therefore, in the silence of love.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Activity vs. Inner Communion
May 15, 2011
Nayaswamis Pranaba and Pravati
Do your duty in life, counsels the Bhagavad Gita, but never lose sight of Him to whom all action should be dedicated.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Secret of Right Action
May 8, 2011
Nayaswamis Maria and Ananta
Jesus didn’t tell Martha: “Martha, you are doing too much.” He told her, rather, “You are letting your work affect your inner peace.”
That was the contrast: not work vs. contemplation, but restless preoccupation vs. peaceful absorption under all circumstances.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Perfection Is Self-Transcendence
May 1, 2011
Nayaswamis Anandi and Bharat
See whatever comes to you unasked for as a manifestation of God's will. Be grateful for the pains you experience, for they are healing strokes of His love.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Easter Sunday Service: Resurrection for Every Soul
April 24, 2011
Nayaswami Kriyananda
The resurrection of Jesus, doubted by many but affirmed by those who were close to him, was a miraculous event, though one not unique in history.
Resurrection, Yogananda explained, means transformation, ultimately, from any lower state of being to a higher one.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Palm Sunday: Who Is This Son of Man?
April 17, 2011
Nayaswamis Ananta and Maria
Was Jesus a human being, merely? Those who, on Palm Sunday, called him king little realized the actual nature of his kingdom. He was far more than what they imagined. His consciousness, however, was centered in infinity.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
How High Should We Aspire?
April 10, 2011
Nayaswamis Diksha and Gyandev
The highest virtue is to transcend the very thought of personal virtue in the realization of God alone as the Doer.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
To Each According to His Faith
April 3, 2011
Nayaswami Parvati and Tyagini Latika
Our faith is the attractive power of our underlying state of conciousness. Goodness attracts goodness. Evil attracts evil. Whatever there is in you of lightness or dark, offer it up to the heights.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Deeds vs. Intentions
March 27, 2011
Nayaswamis Maria and Ananta
Jesus Christ emphasized repeatedly the spirit, not the letter, of the law.
In Chapter 5 of the Gospel of St. Matthew he speaks of the sin of killing, and of the legal punishment attendant on that sin, but says that more important than the act is the desire to kill, or to do harm.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Due to technical difficulties, one minute of Maria's
talk is missing, for which we apologize.
We Are Children of the Light
March 20, 2011
Nayaswamis Bharat and Anandi
The great masters, including Jesus Christ, have always emphasized the divine potential of mankind. To encourage us, they address us as children of light, not of darkness.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Reason vs. Intuition
March 13, 2011
Nayaswamis Ananta and Maria
Jesus, when addressing his critics, appealed to reason and common sense.
In his training of the disciples, however, he, like all great masters, encouraged in them the development of a higher faculty: soul-intuition. For it is only by intuition that spiritual perceptions are achieved.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Dogmatism vs. Common Sense
March 6, 2011
Nayaswamis Pranaba and Parvati
Common sense goes beyond abstract reason, for it is rooted in actual experience.
Even common sense, however, is deficient when the judgment called for goes beyond sensory experience. Ultimately, what Jesus emphasized always, was intuitive perception.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
By Thinking Can We Arrive at Understanding?
February 27, 2011
Nayaswamis Anandi and Bharat
Jesus taught that the intellect alone can never lead one to truth. Without love, indeed, there is no ultimate verity.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Can Man See God?
February 20, 2011
Nayaswamis Parvati and Pranaba
Many great saints claim to have seen God. If we ask, then,
“Can God be seen?” rather than, “Can man see God?” the answer
is, “Yes! Else those saints lied, and the scriptures themselves
lied.”
For Jesus also said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Law Is Perfected in Love
February 13, 2011
Nayaswamis Bharat and Anandi
Justice to all is a human law, though divinely inspired. Truth goes deeper than mere justice.
While following the law, we should strive always to trace it back to its origins in the vision of God.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Importance of Soul-Receptivity
February 6, 2011
Nayaswamis Devi and Jyotish
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
This was the Bible passage Paramhansa Yogananda often quoted to his disciples.
“Be in tune,” he would tell them. “Delusion can’t touch you, if you will keep in tune.”
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Mystery of an Avatara, or Divine Incarnation
January 30, 2011
Nayaswamis Maria and Ananta
Great avatars, such as Krishna and Jesus Christ, are born as babies even as we all are. They take human form, and go through normal human experiences as they grow from childhood to adulthood.
The important thing to understand is that, even as they are like us, so are we also like them. Their realization can be ours, too. They come on earth to show us our own divine potential.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
The Infinite Christ
January 23, 2011
Nayaswamis Nitai and Jyoti
Disciples saw the master clothed in human form, and therefore judged him in terms of his greatness relative to the greatness of other teachers.
Wisdom, however, sees the master’s very greatness in terms of a cosmic unity.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Is God Present Even There, Where There Is Ignorance?
January 16, 2011
Peter and Marga Goering
If there should rise suddenly within the skies
Sunburst of a thousand suns
Flooding earth with beams undeemed-of,
Then might be that Holy One’s
Majesty and radiance dreamed of!
—Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita, translated by Sir Edwin Arnold
Did God Create the Universe — or Become It?
January 9, 2010
Nayaswamis Krishnadas and Mantradevi
The universe is not separate from God the Creator, but a part of Him even as our own dream-creations, during sleep, are figments of our consciousness. God’s is the life; God’s, the reality.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
At the Heart of Silence — the Eternal Word
January 2, 2011
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi
Divine vision beholds the oneness of cosmic vibration, of
which all things, no matter how diverse, are manifestations.
Cosmic Sound—the “Word” of God—and Cosmic Light: These
are eternal. The world, as revealed to us by our senses, is
illusory.
—Swami Kriyananda, Rays of the One Light
Next
Sunday Services, 2010
