Our recent time in India was life changing in many ways. Over time we’ll be sharing with you some of our experiences there, but one of the inner transformations that occurred for which we are very grateful is a strong desire for longer, deeper meditations. This grace began during our seclusion in the Himalayas, and has continued upon our return … Read More
What an amazing day! Six of us were in Pench Tiger Reserve with Satya Prakash, a friend and gurubhai, and a very high official in the Indian Forest Service. He is one of the world’s top experts in preserving tigers. India has taken a lead in this area and is helping some eighteen other countries that have tigers still living … Read More
“I really didn’t want to come on this trip, because I like to be alone and not around a lot of people, but a friend convinced me to go, so here I am,” said the slightly embarrassed young man. It was a strange comment to make, and one that stood out in contrast to what others were saying at the … Read More
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to practice gratitude to God. Take the time to thank God for everything: review your life with gratitude for absolutely everything that has happened and been given to you. Also, be thankful for that which has been taken away from you, as an expression of Divine Love meant to free you from ego consciousness. —Nayaswami Jyotish Enter into this … Read More
As Devi and I took our morning walk through the countryside near our rural Pune Ashram, we were met with a scene that has changed little in the last thousand years. Crops have just been harvested, and the farmers are plowing their small fields with wooden plows pulled by bullocks. They wave as we pass, and we somehow bridge the … Read More
The wheels of our bus were perilously close to the crumbling edge of the road as we drove up into the foothills of the Himalayas. The heavy monsoons earlier in the year had washed away sections of the road, or caused great pits to appear in the middle of it. Both of these obstacles had to be carefully negotiated to … Read More
Happy Diwali! A message from Jyotish and Devi this Diwali, Nov. 11, 2015: Diwali represents the victory of light over darkness – the Light of God, the Divine Light, over the darkness of our own consciousness. Now is the time to commune with the light inside of us. Give the greatest gift of all, the gift of yourself. Give that gift … Read More
By Paramhansa Yogananda Our Father, President of the United States of planets, galaxies, stellar systems, and universes, Thy democratic rule of free choice and individual evolution is bringing Thy citizen-children nearer and nearer to Thy high ideals. Born in Thy states of democratic free will, we inherited our celestial birthright of eternal, everlasting freedom. But, alas! we squandered that inheritance, … Read More
Dear Friends, It’s with joy and gratitude to God that we share with you the events that occurred during the past two weeks here in India. It began with the first of two consecutive weekend pilgrimages to Babaji’s Cave on Drongiri Mountain. A group of about forty-two pilgrims gathered in the cold, dark, and smog at the Delhi train station … Read More
We’re in India and recently had lunch with Indu Bhan, whom you may remember as the man who told us the fascinating story of how he and his companions found Babaji’s Cave. Indu is a font of amazing and inspiring stories, and he asked us if we would like to hear about the most memorable talk he had ever attended. … Read More
Swami Kriyananda invited us over for tea one afternoon to discuss a change he had in mind for Ananda. When he asked our thoughts, I responded with some emotion, because I felt that a principle was at stake. Swamiji looked at me steadily and said, “You may be right, but when you speak so emotionally, it’s hard to accept what … Read More
We have been helping give a Meditation Teacher Training course here in India, and, as part of the training, we talked about how to give magnetic classes. But the same principles apply to other areas of life: doing your job with magnetism, or having magnetic relationships, or developing the magnetism that draws God. Magnetism, you see, is produced whenever there … Read More
“We’ll never get all this work done by the end of the week,” I lamented to Jyotish. In 1982 Swami Kriyananda had asked us to lead Yoga Teachers Training, which was held at the Meditation Retreat. Because we’d need to be available for the students, we realized it was necessary to move to the Retreat—six miles away from our home … Read More
Dear Friends, Time, we are told, is not a fixed reality, but relative, and in India it’s a little more relative than in other places. More than three weeks have slipped by since we arrived, and the days have been so filled with vivid experiences that we haven’t found time (there’s that slippery creature again) to write you about what’s … Read More
It was in the fall of 1966 that I found Autobiography of a Yogi, although in truth I think it found me. It was a time of great transition in my life. I had graduated from college and moved to San Francisco a few months earlier, and was just starting out as an independent adult. I was looking for a … Read More
“Doctor, please help me. I think that I’m really sick,” the worried patient said. “My body hurts all over: when I touch my arm, it hurts; when I touch my chest, it hurts; when I touch my head, it hurts.” After running a battery of tests, the doctor reported to his patient, “I’ve got good news and bad news. The … Read More
This morning Devi and I spoke with someone who was feeling overwhelmed and a little guilty because he couldn’t keep up with all the “should do’s” on the spiritual path. I doubt if there is a devotee alive who hasn’t had these same thoughts. On the one hand, there are hundreds of techniques, habits, and attitudes that could be helpful. … Read More
The troubled young man knelt amidst the crumbling ruins of the chapel and prayed. A few years earlier he had been a carefree youth who enjoyed partying with his friends. Then a war came, and he joined the army looking for adventure. Captured in one of the battles, he was held prisoner for a year and suffered from recurring high … Read More
Dear Friends, It’s hard to imagine that we’ve been in Italy for nearly a month and that our time here is drawing to a close. The visit has been so filled with rich, uplifting sharing with our friends, as well as many public satsangs for community members and guests. Indra and Benedetta’s wedding was beautiful and joyous, with his father … Read More
September 12th is the anniversary of the day in 1948 when Swami Kriyananda first met Paramhansa Yogananda. Those of us who are members of Ananda consider this day as our collective “Spiritual Birthday.” Devi and I are in Italy and will celebrate this sacred occasion by giving a talk to several hundred people at a Yoga Festival in Rome. I … Read More