Nayaswami Hriman
Nayaswami Hriman and his wife, Nayaswami Padma, are Spiritual directors of Ananda Washington State. Prior to this, Hriman served as financial director at Ananda Village while Padma helped publish Swami Kriyananda’s books.
Articles and Videos
Answers to Spiritual Questions
Is Death Arbitrary? Is it Predestined?
Dear Anusha, I am most sorry to hear of your father’s sudden death due to Covid. In this world of ours, seemingly so comfortable and stable, we forget just how precarious life is. An auto accident walking on the street,…
Transcending Guilt and Reestablishing Virtue
Dear NS, Everyone goes through slumps in life — and most certainly at age 19 when the body is still undergoing many changes and the mind is busy trying to find “who am I?” Guilt, like physical bodily pain, is…
My Girlfriend Had an Affair. How Should I Move Forward?
Dear Suhas, I am sorry for both of you. It sounds like she needs some time, and it would probably be best not to pressure her. Who can know what the volatile mix of emotions she must have, but likely…
A Mistake While Chanting Mantras — Am I in Danger?
Dear Arijit, Please have no concern on account of the priest’s inadvertent use of your name instead of your deceased father’s in the ceremony. Only by the conscious intention to harm and by a psychic power far greater than the…
What Is Abuse?
Dear Friend, I’m not a professional psychotherapist with a ready-made definition of what behavior constitutes “abuse” from a clinical point of view. But as a metaphysician and spiritual counselor, let me begin with the simple acknowledgment that the world we…
The Spiritual Path and Desires for Fashion, Wearing Brands, Luxury
Dear Christina, Paramhansa Yogananda encouraged students to avoid luxuries and to focus on the necessities of life — and to live a more modest, simple, and what we would now call “sustainable” lifestyle. Keeping up with fashionable trends and brands…
Sexual Self-Control and the Spiritual Path
Dear Friend, You are quite correct in stating that the long-standing counsel given to us by the rishis has been to live a life of moderation — and indeed celibacy where possible. Yet great saints have also been married but…
