We have two dear friends in Australia who are helping to lead Ananda’s growing work there. The man is a person with great openness of heart. When we spoke with them recently, his wife shared that when they’re in public, often a stranger will come up to him and ask, “Do I know you? It seems like we’ve met before.” … Read More
Whose Dream Is This?
A farmer was standing completely still amidst the wind-blown wheat in his field, deep in thought. His wife came rushing up, beside herself with grief, crying that their only son had just been killed by a cobra. When her husband made no reply, she blurted out, “You are heartless!” “Forgive me, but you don’t understand,” the farmer replied. “Last night … Read More
Happy Birthday, Swamiji!
As I write this blog, it’s a few days before the anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s birth—May 19, 1926. To honor his life, I felt to write him a personal letter of appreciation (that I’m sharing with you as well). Dear Swamiji, It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since you left your body, because your presence in our … Read More
It’s Time to Simplify
“How can we prepare ourselves for a future that looks so uncertain?” This question was asked during a recent satsang we had with Ananda’s online Virtual Community, and it seemed an important one to discuss. Swami Kriyananda gave a series of talks which he entitled, “Building Spiritual Power Against Troubled Times.” This is one of the answers to the question … Read More
Stranger in a Strange Land
A few weeks ago Jyotish and I led the Astral Ascension Ceremony for a dear friend, Judy Fox, who passed away recently. Judy was part of a small team, as were we, that Swami Kriyananda sent to Italy in the early 1980s to help start Ananda’s work there. We landed in Northern Italy near Lake Como at a lovely summer … Read More
How Can I Best Help Them?
Recently a friend wrote asking: “How can I help family members who are going through a difficult time, or have a sour relationship with one another, without being affected by the situation personally? How does one know when to intervene and support, and when to be an observer and send support from a distance?” We have all faced this dilemma … Read More
Finding God in the Big City
Twenty million people! That’s the population of the Greater Los Angeles area, we were told recently when we visited friends and Ananda centers there. For one of our satsangs, in Torrance, the center leader asked us to talk about how to find spirituality in big-city life. I thought you, too, might be interested in the thoughts we shared that evening … Read More
The Power of Memory
“Many have been My births, O Arjuna, and many also yours. I remember all of Mine, though you remember yours not.” These words from Sri Krishna to his disciple in the Bhagavad Gita show a divine memory of the soul’s eternal nature. Memory, in its highest expression, is much more than remembering what is on a grocery list. It is … Read More
Take That Step!
Driving on a stormy night to an uncertain destination is a daunting experience for all of us. It’s also a perfect analogy for the challenges on our spiritual journey. First, we get in our car and are glad for the moment to be out of the storm. (This is our first step on the path to God, in which we … Read More
A Curious Tail
As I walked along a forest path at Ananda’s Meditation Retreat one morning, I observed an unusual drama unfold before me. Crouched a few yards ahead was Lottie, a fluffy little gray cat who kept the Retreat’s kitchen free from mice. Her gaze was concentrated on something in front of her, and by her intense crouching pose, I could tell … Read More
In Joy I Live
Anyone who has tried to have a regular practice of meditation knows that it’s no easy thing. Creating time in the midst of daily demands, leaving behind worries and preoccupations, summoning up enthusiasm every day: All of these and more are challenges we all face. What I’d like to do is to walk you through a three-step process that may … Read More
Our True Value
In the first few years after Swami Kriyananda started Ananda, a number of swamis from India visited us. Most of them were not well known and were traveling alone without any entourage, but they brought with them the authentic spirituality of India. Perhaps it was Yoganandaji’s way of helping to imbue our lives, and Ananda’s work for the future, with … Read More
Making Permanent Gains
As we enter the new year, it’s traditional to use this juncture as an opportunity to make resolutions about how we’d like to improve our life. It’s a little discouraging, however, to think back on previous New Year’s resolutions and realize that we’d resolved to change the same things in years past without any discernible results. How much exercise equipment … Read More
Freedom in Forgiveness
What is true freedom? Some would say, “It’s the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want.” That’s certainly a kind of freedom, but it’s one which ultimately leads to bondage. Living in that way, we become controlled by our desires. There is another, more enduring, type of freedom. It comes through self-discipline, calming our mind, controlling our reactions … Read More
The Message in a Strange Encounter
The winter’s night was very cold and windy, and I huddled by the little stove in my camper reading the Bible by the light of a kerosene lamp. In the early years of Ananda our dwellings were simple—without electricity, running water, phones, or any way to communicate with others. But we were more than happy to live in whatever was … Read More
A Global Circle of Love
This is a special moment in time for Jyotish and me. Yesterday we had our last public satsang in Mumbai after nearly four months of traveling, teaching, and sharing love with friends in Assisi and India. By the time you read this, we will be returning to Ananda Village. In many ways, this trip has been life-changing. Seeing the waves … Read More
Bring Me a Mustard Seed
The woman sobbed inconsolably as she pressed the body of her dead child to her bosom. A sympathetic neighbor, on seeing her so overwhelmed with grief, said, “A saint has come to visit our village. Perhaps he can perform a miracle and bring your child back to life.” Gathering the body of her child in her arms, the woman rushed … Read More
I See No Stranger
The beautiful plaque on the wall of our friends’ home caught my eye. We were in Chandigarh staying with a Sikh family who are fellow disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda. They welcomed us with such graciousness and warmth that we soon felt totally at home. The most prominent feature of the plaque that had drawn my attention was a striking drawing … Read More
Pink Man
My major field of study in college was cultural anthropology. One of my professors shared some interesting experiences he’d had during a year in which he lived with a remote tribe in New Guinea. These people were so inaccessible that they’d never seen a Westerner before. At first they just ignored him or stared at him suspiciously as though he … Read More
A Celebration of God
A small group of us just returned from a glorious trip to Varanasi, Kolkata, and Serampore—all places known for their holiness, and filled with events sacred to our line of gurus. Everywhere we saw and experienced the joyful celebration of God in many things that is characteristic of life in India, a celebration not somber and serious, but filled with … Read More