“I’d really like to practice meditation, but I just don’t have the time in my busy life,” is a comment people often make to us. We need to understand that just as the physical body needs food and water to survive, the soul needs the sustenance drawn from meditation to flourish. Once we begin this practice in our life, we … Read More
Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi
An Upcoming Event, April 11, Los Angeles
Restore your hope for a better world: Hundreds of people will gather together APRIL 11 at the Olympic Collection in Los Angeles for a guided meditation and prayer for world peace, based on the scientific healing techniques of Paramhansa Yogananda. The night will be led by Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi Novak. The first 200 attendees will receive a free copy of … Read More
In Divine Friendship
A compilation of our blogs has just been released in India in book form, entitled Touch of Light: Living the Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. As we travel from city to city to offer programs here, we’ve been “launching” the book after our discourse with a simple ceremony: a copy is brought to us tied in a bright ribbon, which we … Read More
Our Trip in India (A Letter from Jyotish and Devi)
March 8, 2015 Dear Friends, Our time in India is drawing to a close now, and we finally have a moment to share a bit with you. The two main qualities of our travels during this trip are expansion and clarification of Ananda’s mission in India. Starting with our time in Singapore, we saw that dedicated leaders are emerging to … Read More
Being God’s Advisor
I read a wonderful statement recently by the British author C.S. Lewis: “Many people want to serve God, mostly in an advisory capacity.” At least some of the time, most of us think God needs our advice on rearranging things more to our liking. When everything is going well, we think He’s doing a pretty good job of managing the … Read More
God Is the Doer
You never know when the universe is going to give you an important piece of the puzzle. This happened one time when Devi and I were with Swami Kriyananda in, of all places, a shopping mall in Sacramento, California. He had gotten a letter from someone who was discouraged after comparing his own accomplishments to those of Swamiji’s. (Aside: Comparing … Read More
A Letter From Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi on Their Travels in Singapore and India
We send you our loving thoughts from Gurgaon, where we arrived yesterday from Singapore, after a very relaxing flight from San Francisco, CA to Hong Kong. The work in Singapore is very dynamic and led by Yogi Yeo, a very dedicated man, who feels like an old friend and fellow gurubhai. We were joined in Singapore by a number of … Read More
The Common Denominator
The chemotherapy drug slowly dripped into my friend’s arm as we sat in the treatment room. She had been diagnosed some months earlier with an aggressive form of breast cancer, and, after surgery, was receiving a regime of outpatient chemotherapy treatments. The room in which we sat was a large, airy space with about two dozen comfortable reclining chairs where … Read More
How to Be Friends with God
Many people have a very complex relationship with their Heavenly Father/Mother, just as they do with their earthly parents. In fact, many attitudes and complexes toward God are simply projections of feelings experienced when growing up. Those from harsher backgrounds can see God as disapproving and vengeful, while those raised in loving and tolerant homes tend to see a loving … Read More
Good Judgment / Bad Judgment
There is a humorous but instructive story in which a young man asks a wise, older gentleman for advice: “How is it that you have such good judgment?” The sage slowly reflects, and then says, “Good judgment is born of experience.” Not entirely satisfied with this answer, the young fellow pursues his questioning: “Well, how do you get experience?” The … Read More
Understanding Is Overrated
Early in my spiritual quest, Swami Kriyananda was trying to help me balance a tendency to be overly rational. He patiently explained what I needed to do, and I said, “I understand, Sir.” He replied, kindly but firmly, “I don’t care whether you understand or not, I want you to change.”
How to Draw God’s Help in Your Life
A friend of ours in India told us a very interesting and instructive story. Indu is a lawyer, and at the time these events took place, ran a large legal firm that represented some international companies.
Anything Will Talk With You
The great American Botanist, George Washington Carver, said, “If you love it enough, anything will talk with you.” Much more than a nice sentiment, this is a fundamental truth of the universe. But in order to communicate with nature, we need to learn new and increasingly subtle languages.
How Is World Peace Possible?
The man had committed murder many times and was now incarcerated in Tihar Prison outside of New Delhi. Yet as we watched him tell his story in the documentary Doing Time, Doing Vipassana, his face was peaceful and his eyes were calm. He explained that although he’d committed many murders, he’d never felt any remorse about the lives he had … Read More
7 Revolutionary Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda
Paramhansa Yogananda’s mission was to help usher the whole world, with greater understanding and spiritual insight, into Dwapara Yuga, the new Age of Energy in which we live. It was a world-changing mission, and therefore his teachings needed to be revolutionary. In some cases what he taught was well known in India but created a revolution in the West. Others of his teachings were completely new to this age. Let’s look at some of both.
Making God’s Presence Dynamic in Your Life in 2015
The New Year will soon make its entrance onto the stage of our life, bringing with it the inescapable gains and losses, happiness and suffering. But no matter what adversities may lie ahead, they needn’t cause us suffering if we choose to live each day in greater awareness of God’s presence. Where God’s light is, no shadow can dwell.
The Descent of the Christ
The Jews, like other people of the time, were a mixture of traits good and bad. But all those dwelling in that holy land shared the desire to be free. For some, that meant freedom from the oppression of Rome, with its soldiers and tax collectors. For others it meant liberty from poverty and daily toil. But a few yearned for spiritual liberation and freedom from delusion, the greatest of all oppressors.
Why Be Sad About Time’s Passing?
It’s an interesting experience to pick up the threads of your life after returning home from a long absence. Since late August we’ve been visiting and teaching in our centers in Italy and India, and have just returned to Ananda Village after four months. Readjusting to the responsibilities and rhythms of our life here requires some time and effort. To … Read More
The Tremendous Power of Meditation
Meditation is a natural and rewarding human activity. Paramhansa Yogananda defined meditation as “deep concentration on God or one of His aspects.” Practiced daily, it produces astonishing results on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our being. It connects us with our own inner powers of vitality, clarity, and love. When done deeply, it gives us an expanded sense … Read More
With Grateful Hearts
No matter how challenging our life has been, each of us has some reason to thank God: for the air we breathe from our first breath, for the sun that gives us warmth and light, for the people that gave us food and comfort.