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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.


Ananda Ministers

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


Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Nayaswami Devi

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

Ananda Minister

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

Ananda Minister

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

Nayaswami Kriyananda

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

Nayaswami Pranaba

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

Nayaswami Maria

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

Nayaswami Anandi

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

Nayaswami Kriyananda

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

Nayaswami Ananta

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

Nayaswami Diksha

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

Nayaswami Parvati

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

Nayaswami Maria

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.

Nayaswami Bharat

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

Nayaswami Ananta

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

Nayaswami Pranaba

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

Nayaswami Anandi

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

Nayaswami Parvati

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

Nayaswami Bharat

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

Nayaswami Devi

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

Nayaswami Maria

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

Nayaswami Nitai

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

Peter Goering

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

Nayaswami Krishnadas

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

Nayaswami Jyotish

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

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Sunday Services, 2010