I remember feeling a little desperate in the fall of 1992. We had volunteered our home in Santa Rosa to hold Sunday services, kirtans, classes, and other gatherings for our Ananda meditation group. That house had been a real blessing. It not only had rooms for everyone in our family but it also had a large sunroom in the back … Read More
Divine Mother shared a message with me this morning through Her play of sunlight and mist. It is captured here in the following video. The Divine Romance The gardening team at Crystal Hermitage had just finished setting up sprayers for a long bed of irises that adorned a welcoming walkway. The sun was at high noon making my newfound friend, … Read More
The famous novelist Herman Melville, who authored Moby Dick 170 years ago, made this interesting statement: Life is a voyage that’s homeward bound. From a yogic perspective, was he correct? What do you think enlightened yogis would say? If they agree, then what kind of a journey is this life? And what exactly does home mean? Further, and perhaps most … Read More
Our Inner ‘Contrast Land’ Do you remember when you first started to meditate? Do you remember the moment when you set out on your path to enlightenment, to God and Self-realization? Wasn’t that a most wonderful time?! Didn’t you receive a special blessing at the beginning of your spiritual journey? Weren’t you blessed by some precious, special glimpses of the … Read More
The Disciples of Christ A disciple of Christ is anyone who is seeking to emulate Christ in any measure. A disciple of Christ, by gradations, can be one of the 12 apostles or Mary, the Mother of Christ, or Joseph, or Mary Magdalene, or St. Paul, who was headed to Damascus to kill Christians. When Jesus knocked him off his … Read More
What is the reason for the season? Nayaswami Ananta: We celebrate Christmas really based on two factors. Of course, the Old Testament leads us toward Christmas with the promise of the Messiah, and all throughout the Old Testament this comes to Christmas. The winter solstice is right around Christmas. I have heard that the date of Christmas was moved or … Read More
The Christmas song by Swami Kriyananda called “The Christ Child’s Asleep” holds a special inspirational feeling about the celebration of Christ’s birth. It also addresses the broader issue of how ‘all people here on earth’ can uplift their consciousness into the highest Christ Consciousness. Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda often mentioned that Christ did not come to show us how … Read More
HOW CAN I HAVE A SPIRITUAL CHRISTMAS? Nayaswami Ananta: I think a spiritual Christmas is a really important goal. It would be an absolute shame to have [only] material Christmas and miss the real gem that we are offered every December 25, also at Easter, and the celebrations of avatars of any religion. Christmas is a cultural event. The world … Read More
Dear Ones, The prayer sessions on Zoom continue to go deep. Join us if you can. A wonderful core group has developed with many of the people showing up several times a week. All are welcome to attend – please see the links at the end of this post. I am traveling to visit my parents and other family members … Read More
“What will you have — tea or coffee?” This is the standard question I am asked whenever I visit anyone’s home. Evidently, coffee (when I say coffee, I am referring to all caffeinated beverages) is more than a simple beverage — it is a social phenomenon that connects people. When I started meditating, like many other aspiring yogis, the idea … Read More
