There is a story of second-grade teacher who asked her students one day to make a drawing of whatever they would like. As she walked through the aisles of desks handing out crayons and paper, the teacher was soon pleased to see that each child eagerly began working on his or her picture.
Recently a dear friend of ours, Lorne Dekun, passed away. Born in Michigan, Lorne came under the spiritual training of Yogacharya Oliver Black, one of Master’s most advanced disciples, who had a center there.
In the early years of Ananda, especially during the cold winters, an essential item for survival was a good down sleeping bag. This was because very few of our dwellings had adequate heating.
I was reading an article by Paramhansa Yogananda when I came upon a passage that stopped me in my tracks: “I remember the day when for the first time, unlooked-for, from behind the clouds of the drudgery of routine meditating habits, the aurora of bliss suddenly burst upon my consciousness. It surpassed all my expectations. Joy indescribable!” To think that … Read More
Swami Kriyananda’s guidance to others forms the bedrock of the spiritual life of countless souls throughout the world. One pivotal piece of advice he gave me in the early days of Ananda changed my understanding of how to approach the spiritual path. I had been a disciple for a few years and had been hit by a karmic test that … Read More
ParamahnsaYogananda called this Nine-Day Cleansing Diet “a method for rejuvenating the body cells and awakening the latent powers of the mind and the inner forces of the soul.”
During their time together at Twenty-Nine Palms, Paramhansa Yogananda gave much personal instruction to his disciple, young Donald Walters, regarding Donald’s own future, and also the future directions of the work.
In the spring of 2004, Swamiji called and said that with the work starting to grow in India, a short biography of his life was very much needed.