I rarely recommend films, but we saw a new one last week that is not only engrossing, but important to the future of humanity. It is called A Life on Our Planet, by David Attenborough, and is available on Netflix. He was born in 1926, less than two weeks before Swami Kriyananda, making him 93 years old. In the film, … Read More

It’s no question that we’re living in very challenging times. Many friends have told us that with all the uncertainty and stress around them now, the days and weeks seem to run together in a blur. They’re either waiting for life to return to normal; hoping that things will improve; or fearing that they will only get worse. This cycle … Read More

Occasionally, something will grab hold of my mind and won’t let go. Does that happen to you too? A few weeks ago I was watching an Ananda video on YouTube. As internet sites do, they suggest things they think might interest you. In my case, there was a link to the song “Shenandoah.” Perhaps foolishly, I played it, and then … Read More

Swami Kriyananda often asked Jyotish and me to accompany him to various appointments, and we always relished the chance to spend time with him. On one such occasion, we found ourselves seated in the dentist’s office waiting for Swamiji to be called. (Our dentist, a good-hearted man, confided to us that he always booked an extra thirty minutes when Swamiji … Read More

After more than a month and a half at sea, the City of Sparta, the first ship to leave India after World War I, docked in Boston Harbor. On board was a twenty-seven-year-old Indian, Mukunda Lal Ghosh. To the immigration officials who were checking the papers of the passengers that day, he probably looked rather unremarkable: not very tall or … Read More

The young man had been inwardly struggling for many years, until he’d finally reached a point of despair. “Does life have any meaning? Can truth and lasting happiness really be found?” These questions haunted his waking and sleeping hours. In desperation he decided to join the merchant marine, hoping in travel to escape his mental torment. While waiting in New … Read More

An essential teaching of the spiritual path is, as Swami Kriyananda put it, “Say ‘YES’ to life!” When an opportunity to do something positive comes your way, you will always benefit if you agree. At first, however, Divine Mother may keep the benefit well disguised. Here is an interesting story that I have rarely shared. One time, a year or … Read More

Paramhansa Yogananda wrote in his Autobiography of a Yogi that no insurmountable barrier exists between the human and the divine states “save in man’s spiritual unadventurousness.” What a surprising statement! One might expect that he’d have said lack of devotion, or reverence, or knowledge of the scriptures. But Sri Yogananda was a master of yoga who brought us revolutionary teachings … Read More

Last night I had a dream of Paramhansa Yogananda. These are relatively rare for me, and are always spiritually important. I don’t want to relate the whole dream: Blessings are precious, and it is usually best to keep them to yourself. Sharing them usually dilutes their power. But there was a small segment in a longer dream that I feel … Read More

A number of friends have recently mentioned to us that they’re feeling overwhelmed, and just don’t have the energy to deal with all the demands in their lives. If you are feeling this way it may help to know that you’re not alone—the whole world is stressed and worried. We can’t cure the ills of the world, but there are … Read More

A friend of ours recently told us a good joke. A man was late for an important meeting and was frantically looking for a parking place. Though an atheist, he cried out in desperation, “God, if You find me a parking place, I’ll believe in You.” Just at that moment a spot miraculously opened up right in front of the … Read More

The Inspiration Most of my paintings are meditation born. That is, an inspiration will come during meditation or at a time when my mind is quiet. Often it will be an intangible subject such as a quality or a particular color. For instance, this painting is called “Vastness.” The idea came during meditation while I was trying to expand my … Read More

Never write poetry on a lazy summer morning. I was sitting in bed reading a good book, sipping tea, and enjoying some quiet relaxation. But eventually I couldn’t put it off any longer, and I knew that it was time to face the tasks at hand. As I was about to swing my feet over the bed to the floor, … Read More

We have just finished one of the most remarkable weeks in the long history of Ananda. Last week we held a worldwide online Spiritual Renewal Week. This event is a tradition at Ananda, going back more that fifty years to the roots of our work. In the early days, Swami Kriyananda led everything: the sadhanas, the classes, the evening entertainment. … Read More

“If you would do even one one-hundredth of what I have taught, you would find God in this lifetime.” Paramhansa Yogananda encouraged his followers with these words, for he knew that the revolutionary teachings he brought had the power to transform lives. Though he launched his mission one hundred years ago, spiritual seekers and even scientists are only now beginning … Read More

It is said that at the moment a great soul achieves enlightenment a wave of blessing is felt around the world. Here is what happened that day long ago when Gautama meditated under the banyan tree and became the Buddha. The leopardess was well past her prime, but though age had taken some of her strength, it had given her … Read More

A revolution against racism and social injustice is upon us. Like the slow rise of water behind a dam, this revolution has been building for a long time. Finally, one drop too many fell on the rising water: the death of George Floyd while in police custody. This released the flood of global conscience which is sweeping away the long-standing … Read More

This may be the most important period of our life. We are under pressure from multiple sources: a worldwide pandemic, a troubled economy, and now, a global call for sweeping social change. Tests provide opportunities. How we react to these challenges will determine our future karma, certainly for this lifetime, and perhaps for many incarnations to come. Paramhansa Yogananda used … Read More

The violent storm that had struck off the coast of Donegal, Ireland, in 1748 was threatening to take down Captain John Newton’s ship, the Greyhound. Newton was not a religious man, and moreover he was a slave trader: The cargo hold was filled with Africans who had been captured and were now chained in horrific conditions. As the high waves … Read More