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 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

Today is our last day in the Ananda community near Assisi. In a few days we’ll be flying to India to greet friends whom we haven’t seen for three years and to experience the expansion of Ananda’s work there. Our time in Assisi has been filled with blessings as we’ve shared together with our gurubhais the joy of a life … Read More

“If you only knew how much God loved you, you would die for joy.” These words from St. Jean Vianney, a French saint of the nineteenth century, have always inspired and motivated me spiritually. Jyotish and I are visiting Ananda’s community and retreat center outside of Assisi now, and are staying in the lovely guest apartment of two good friends, … Read More

The throngs of excited travelers moved quickly past us as they dragged their luggage and children along in search of their departure gates. We were in the Frankfurt airport with a long layover waiting for our connecting flight to Rome, and then on to Assisi. We would be spending the next month in Assisi, sharing with our Ananda spiritual family … Read More

Our two large suitcases lay partially full on the floor. For the past two weeks, we’d been slowly filling them with clothes and travel items for our trip to Ananda centers in Italy and India. We’ll be gone for three and a half months, so planning what to bring for different climes and times has been a bit challenging. I … Read More

“Are you there, God? Are you listening to my prayers? Do you even know what I’m going through?” I think we all have thoughts like these from time to time—especially when we’re facing challenges in life. To keep our faith strong, it’s important to remember those times—and we’ve all had them—when our prayers have in fact been answered. Recently a … Read More

There is a story about a saint who was peacefully meditating under a tree along the banks of the Ganges. At a certain point he heard a rustling overhead and opened his eyes to see a large scorpion moving along a branch overhanging the river. When the creature reached the end of the branch, it fell into the water below. … Read More

The old woman lay in bed critically ill and in great pain. For her daughter, who was providing loving care, seeing her mother’s physical suffering was hard to bear. Even more difficult, though, was seeing her mental anguish. She kept repeating: “I must have very bad karma to be in such pain. God must be very displeased with me.” Seeking … Read More

I’ve always enjoyed the pastime of blowing bubbles. Whether doing it as a child, or as an adult watching children delighting in it, the sight of iridescent bubbles floating through the air has never ceased to thrill me. I even had a friend who could blow different-colored ones on request: By some secret technique, pink, blue, or yellow bubbles would … Read More

Recently we had a wonderful satsang with Nayaswamis Devarshi and Dhyana, who shared many inspiring stories about the work in Ananda India. Devarshi is the head of a small but growing monastery near Chandigarh in northern India. In talking about what’s making their life together so uplifting, he spoke of their “dynamic harmony”: a shared spirit of joy, service, and … Read More

There’s a story of a young disciple who came to his guru’s forest ashram for training. The guru blessed him and asked him to begin collecting firewood for the ashram’s stoves. Willingly he carried out this task, and as the days, months, and then years passed, he continued to serve humbly in this way. One day as he was returning … Read More

I’ve always enjoyed the beauty and poetry of words. There’s a certain category that I find especially delightful: the terms for gatherings in nature. Expressions like “a flamboyance of flamingoes,” “a murmuring of magpies,” or my favorite, “an exaltation of skylarks,” all hint at the glory of God’s creation. Well, I’d like to create one of my own now: a … Read More

My friend was apprehensive and not a little frightened as she entered the room to begin her first radiation treatment. She’d recently been diagnosed with cancer, but fortunately the doctors had been reassuring—telling her that it was readily treatable, and that she should expect a full recovery. Still, as she and her husband waited for the treatment to begin, not … Read More

Its true origin is unclear. Some say it was from ancient Egypt, others from Greek mythology. But whatever its source, the phoenix—the immortal bird which rises anew from its own ashes—is a powerful symbol for us today. Both literally and figuratively, the world does seem to be crumbling into ashes: literally, as the cities of Ukraine are being destroyed by … Read More

The date was March 7, 1952. Paramhansa Yogananda stood to address the large crowd gathered at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles to honor India’s Ambassador to the United States. Swami Kriyananda, who was present at that event, described what happened next in his book, The New Path: “His [Yoganandaji’s] brief talk was so sweet, so almost tender, that I … Read More

When I was a young child, I would occasionally wake up crying in the middle of the night from a bad dream. Fortunately, I had a wise, loving mother who would come and sit by my bed to comfort me. Her advice on such occasions was always the same: She didn’t ask about the scary dream, but would say, “Let’s … Read More

As a child, I hadn’t the slightest thought that I would live my life for God, but that proved to be my destiny. For some people this concept of living for God might seem intimidating, or grim, or filled with dour self-sacrifice and denial. But it’s quite the contrary. From my own experience and that of hundreds of others I … Read More

In last week’s blog, Jyotish talked about some of the insights he received during his seclusion. Today I’d like to share with you also some that came to me during this time (or more accurately this “time out.”) As soon as I closed the door and entered the Crystal Hermitage Guest House, where I spent my seclusion, I was filled … Read More

After years of failed attempts to manifest my New Year’s resolutions (ever happen to you?), I finally hit upon an approach that really does seem to work. When I shared this new strategy with friends at a recent satsang at Ananda Village, some of them asked me afterwards, “Could you write a blog about this so we can better remember … Read More