A few weeks ago we were having a heartwarming visit with our two younger grandchildren, whom we hadn’t seen for many months due to our travel schedule. After enjoying their favorite pastime at Ananda Village—visiting the goat dairy—we were driving back through the peaceful, forested hills to our home. From the backseat of the car, the little five-year-old said quietly, … Read More
Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi
Babaji’s Advice
While we were in India, we enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Indu Bhan. Although elderly now, in his youth Indu was a key assistant and good friend to Swami Kriyananda. Indu’s mother, Rani Bhan, was a remarkable person and a great help to Swamiji during that time. She was a powerful spiritual magnet, her house constantly visited by the great … Read More
What We Saw
There’s a story about a young boy whose spirituality was so deep that he left his family to enter his guru’s ashram at the age of seven. After some months had passed, his guru told him to go back to his village for a short visit to see his family and friends. After the boy returned, his guru asked him … Read More
The Mouse Family
It happened again one evening a couple of weeks ago, while we were relaxing and chatting with some dear friends. My wife, Devi, who periodically over the years has asked, begged, or cajoled me to tell the story of the mouse family, prevailed successfully upon me once again. People always seem to enjoy this story, so I thought you might, … Read More
The Broken Shell
The boy’s father was a harsh man. Constantly criticizing and belittling others, he was feared by everyone who knew him—but not by his son, who had a wisdom beyond his years. One day when the boy was twelve years old, he came into the room where his father was sitting and picked up a beautiful shell bowl from a table. … Read More
Seclusion
Devi and I just finished a week of seclusion at a private retreat house atop Abbott Mount, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Ever-present in the distance is Nanda Devi, a mountain that many in India believe to be a living goddess. In this rarefied air, one feels the blessing of God and the Masters to be palpable. Seclusion is … Read More
Your Brain on Meditation
I sat in a lab at the University of California in the early 1970s, electrodes attached to my head and body. As an Ananda member I had been invited to participate in an early attempt to study what meditation does to the brain. Ever since then I’ve had an interest in these kinds of scientific studies. Last week I read … Read More
The Darkest Night of the Year
Right now in India people everywhere are beginning the festivities for Diwali—a holiday celebrating the reappearance of light in the world. Diwali commemorates the return of the avatar, Rama, and his wife, Sita, to their kingdom of Ayodhya after winning the war against the evil king, Ravana, and his forces of darkness. Beautiful, elaborate displays of lights are seen everywhere … Read More
Speaking Tree News Coverage
The following is a recent interview with Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi, published in The Speaking Tree, a section of the Times of India—India’s largest newspaper—devoted to articles on spirituality, wellness, and lifestyle. They discuss Ananda Sangha and, in particular, the Paramhansa Yogananda Public Charitable Trust in Brindaban. Or, access the article in PDF format here. Lighting Up Lives Nayaswami Jyotish and … Read More
India News from Jyotish and Devi
Dear Friends, We hope that you’re well. Things continue to flow smoothly here in India, with beautiful connections with devotees wherever we travel, and lots of new developments as Ananda’s work expands. This letter may be brief since we’ll be leaving tomorrow for a week of seclusion at Abbot Mount in the Himalayan foothills, but we wanted to write before … Read More
Who’s In Charge Here?
Two distraught devotees knelt before the Indian saint, Anandamayi Ma, pleading for her divine intervention. “Ma,” they begged, “can’t you stop this? It will produce so much suffering.” It was 1947—the beginning of the partition of India and Pakistan into two separate countries. The two disciples kneeling before Ma were government officials, who foresaw the disruption and pain that would … Read More
Feeding the Ants
We were staying at a little hotel near Rome. It fronted on a popular beach where hundreds of Italians came with their families: some swam or lounged on the warm sand, others jogged or walked along the promenade, and still others were there to see and be seen. It was a charming little slice of life. But early each morning … Read More
Letter from India September 2017
Dear Friends, We want to share with you some of what’s been happening since we arrived in India three weeks ago. First, we want to thank everyone for your prayers during our travels. With your help and the grace of God and Guru, we’ve managed to stay well and to keep going strong. For these three weeks we’ve been based … Read More
The Sparrow, Each Grain of Sand
She lay in the dust by the side of the road, alone and abandoned in her suffering. Her family had rejected her, and this poor widow had made her way to Brindaban, where an estimated ten thousand elderly, homeless women reside, hoping to find solace in the city blessed by the presence of Lord Krishna. The large, malignant tumor on … Read More
The Crucible
In medieval times, Damascus steel was famous throughout Europe and the Middle East because it surpassed all other types of steel with its strength and flexibility. Damascus, in southwestern Syria, became a center for the production of highly prized swords and armor. Their specialized steel-making process was one of the great industrial secrets of the times. It turns out, interestingly, … Read More
The Secret of a Remarkable Life
Today is September 12, 2017—the sixty-ninth anniversary of the day a young man knelt alone at the feet of his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda. His heart aching with divine longing, the twenty-two-year-old James Donald Walters said beseechingly, “I want to be your disciple.” The Guru paused, then replied, “You have good karma. You may join us.” Later at that first meeting, … Read More
Becoming a Guardian Angel
Swami Kriyananda was very drawn to places where Mary, the mother of Jesus, has appeared. One of these places, Medjugorje, is a pilgrimage spot for millions. When Swami visited there, he was elderly and unable to walk up the long, steep hill to get to the holy spot where Mary had appeared to the young children. In his chair, he … Read More
Letter from Assisi
Dear Friends, Today is our last full day in Italy. Tomorrow evening we fly to Delhi and begin nearly three months of traveling and teaching in all of Ananda’s centers in India. Right now we’re in the little seaside town of Ostia outside of Rome, where we’ve been relaxing for a few days with Shivani, Arjuna, Narya, Laura, Anand, and … Read More
How to Control Desires
Recently a young man asked us, “Why do we do things that we know will make us unhappy, even when we don’t really want to do them?” This is a universal dilemma, and one that brings so much suffering into life! In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks this same question on behalf of all of us to his guru, Krishna: … Read More
The Eclipse
Today, as I write this, there is a full eclipse of the sun. This rare event happens when the moon passes directly between the earth and the sun. Even though the moon is hundreds of times smaller than the sun, the apparent size of the two bodies seems the same because the moon is so much closer to the earth. … Read More