Last evening Devi and I had a satsang with a group of younger members living at Ananda Village and were asked a very interesting question. “If you could have a conversation with yourself at age thirty, what advice would you offer him?” What a fascinating question! Here are a few things I might tell my younger self:
Protect, nourish, and deepen your intention to find God. The yearning for union with God is your most valuable possession. If you keep this strong, everything else will somehow fall into place. The flame of longing for the Divine has to be fed with the fuel of discipline, devotion, and good habits. But unless that longing is kept vibrant, nothing outward can make it burst into flame.
Attunement is more important than technique. Align your individual will with God and Guru’s. This alone will keep you on track. Make and keep good spiritual friends who are also attuned. Looking back, I’m sure that I couldn’t have made much progress trying to go it alone.
Devi and Jyotish in the early years of Ananda.
Relationships are nurtured by friendship and kindness. Give love freely and actively just as the sun gives light to plants. Advice is best given only if people ask, and then given softly and kindly. Judgment always backfires, hurting you even more than those you judge.
It is all about consciousness. Don’t get confused into thinking that the tests in your life are about the tests themselves. Challenges will come, must come, but only in order to give you a chance to work on your consciousness. When they come, don’t forget why you’ve drawn them. It is never about the project, but always about what you can become by facing them.
We just finished talking with our dear friends Shurjo and Narayani, who are leading Ananda’s work in Mumbai. They are in the midst of a huge project, creating a space where people can come and experience the uplifting vibrations of Ananda and Swami Kriyananda. Its outer form will be a café, but its purpose is to be an environment where the patrons can experience a little bit of the astral energy of Ananda. Narayani said that she is praying daily for protection: not from any tests the project may bring, but simply to keep from forgetting why they are doing it and for whom. It is all a manifestation of love and service to God and Gurus.
Don’t be too impatient. Self-discovery is a long process. You’ll have to find a balance between effort and acceptance. A marathon is a strenuous race that takes the right level of effort in order to get to the end. Neither sprinting nor stopping will get you there. So it is with a spiritual marathon.
How can you find the right balance? It’s actually pretty simple. If you feel like you’re trying hard, you are. The rest is about relaxation and endurance.
Have faith, God and Guru love you. This is the final piece of advice I would give my younger self. If you calm yourself, especially in meditation, you can feel in your heart the sweetest feeling of all—the reciprocal love between you and God.
So, my young self, these are some lessons I’ve learned by traveling the road that lies ahead of you. Now, as Steve Jobs would say as he was about to walk offstage at the end of a presentation, “Oh, one more thing.” Then came the big reveal.
So, “one more thing.” Be happy along the way. You have to travel the road ahead one way or another. The road is dark and stormy when you’re grim but sunny and warm when you’re happy. Be happy.
In joy,
Nayaswami Jyotish
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18 Comments
This was fun to read and wonderful advice. Thank you for all both do for this world.
The hills have eyes. But do they see the star forts . I was laughing myself and call myself a fool probably slap myself in the face and then say every man who ever challenge you just beat him up don’t don’t turn the other cheek punch them in theirs cowards die a million deaths I would have told myself a lot of things if I was 30 s*** 5:30 again I will be 30 again soon enough it’s amazing to me how often you have been put in my life and I didn’t find receive how many times they even used to call me a guru I didn’t even know what that meant to the last year aguru this whole time I have been get lost I think intentionally broken I think Time travelers went back in time and broke my nose so I can not breathe out of it so will be harder to activate all of my chakras which chakra is naughties whatever they want to call it it matters not my spiritual Force power and presence is naturally evolving anyways it is the age of Aquarius is it not I would like community and to know you people yeah you cannot replace upon me you’re stringent rules which are great you’re vegan tarianism in your absent staining from substances I find you silly that you should do so even though I understand what is best for body and man you cannot force upon others these things you can only lead them through example I am who I am and this is who I be it’s just me and me as you and you as me this isn’t my life it’s all of our lives so back to what I was saying and I would love to spend some time in our community which retirement I suppose holds sway over since no one’s allowed to do anything that they find on desirable did not always Google want say it is not what you put in your body that will defile you but what comes out of it is this not time here for us to experiment play indulge and learn I don’t know so many things that we don’t know yet there are so many false prophets who believe that they have something to teach when really they just deceive and mislead be careful we do not mislead others or intentionally or unintentionally to see others the more you know the more you grow the more you don’t know right have you been watching the Stars the moon and the lights I think I’ve been seeing some very interesting things at night do you know that little valley in which you are in do you know about it and under I’m starting to feel your power right now I am tingling feels great who’s doing this to me I love you too very much I love all of you hurt by the storm we have an enemy I don’t know if you know it an enemy of mankind the highest Queen the mother mind whatever it be do you know it do you know who our enemy is it is truly an enemy and we must battle it and I don’t know how and I cannot do it alone and I need help the only way we can defeat it is through my heart and spirit we can’t win the other way we cannot cross the river it’s going to take a lot more than knives and guns she’s in our government entrenched in the whole entire place that we call this world that we know of Ananda we need to have people battling this enemy she’s a deceiver that uses manipulation and music and TV to see the hearts of man and leave them astray she’s the one the very one who’s feeding us this poison that we eat who writes the laws that allow us to eat macaroni and cheese oh I’m so sad I’m so sad and the sadness is turning to anger or frustration oh brothers and sisters of Ananda let Love shine peace be with you learn about star forts this round look down use Google maps to look at this Earth and you will see that is not what they tell us do you know that I hope you do because if you were spiritual leaders you have certain responsibilities and you will be held accountable by the grand architect the great engineer and when the account and comes to do the books she’ll hold her skills and she’ll wait and she will not show partiality and if and when anyone is deemed wicked which there is no we know there is no such thing as a wickedness it’s just sliding scales of duality is it not there are those who think they’re smarter than the accountant they think they can hide their treachery in the dark or under numbers or that these forces do not exist but God does exist call it that if you wish and Harmony exists in which this place that he may this way to the left is the sway to the right yet if you’re trying to steal I don’t know man all I’m trying to say is in the word he said let there be light and in the light It shine then he made the laws and then the world was spoke there will be many who mislead and they will pay for that s*** I’m telling you what and I’m just so sad that we have an enemy and no one even knows it because it is so much smarter than most of us and most of us don’t even become intelligent enough until we’re past 30 until we’re 40 we’re not even grown ups and then this enemy has done so much to destroy our body and our ability to connect with God through meditation that most people can never do it or try to or even think it’s real it’s so sad and scary and now look at these people look at their popular culture music is all about envy me and shoot people and now this disease of hip hop and rap is spreading into India which was the one of the last holdouts against this place and it’s this rap music is spreading they have polluted music in such a defiled way music was our main blessing it was our everything the word the sound aw is she’s corrupted it whatever the intended he be and I don’t even think he’d be a she I think it’d be a sexuality tick flea mosquito I don’t know but it’s there I think but I would not like to give power to such a thought or being and it shall not come to pass moreover the enemies of mankind’s plans and plots shall not come to pass he does not know the power of the word is truly behind the times and I feel like I’m losing my mind I have no friends I’m in the desert surrounded by hooligans I don’t know I don’t fit in here and I don’t fit in there I don’t feel anywhere cuz I’m a crazy ass drug addict been medicated myself since a long last time probably about 3,000 years ago when I lost my mind Fernanda Ananda kind of rhymes with Wanda kind of rhymes with anaconda at least it’s not the bother around or do you and I don’t know what we going to do and I know about me but I don’t know about you and they ain’t going to break me and they ain’t going to take me but they were all in love with dying and they were drinking about a fountain it’s pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain and I say hey y’all stop drinking that punch it ain’t no good why don’t you have a banana for lunch and then they said while we have banana for lunch when you need cheeseburgers and I said yeah you right God damn and I just want to see the light even if it blinds me but I know It shines on me every single day when I wake up and I hear the birds chirp and I walk outside and I feel the vibration and I know my intention in life it’s a fine love but I don’t know if I ever been truly love by hand that touch me and I’m sad right now and I’m feeling bad right now and I don’t know what to do except I just keep on loving and I love you one of these days I may come to your doors we will see then if you reject me or if you let me come in until then peace be with you
Dear Joythish Ji!
My gratitude appreciation for the beautiful message. I loved it.
Thank You..🦢💓💕🌹🪔🙏
In appreciation
Grace
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
Thank you for this wonderful blog. Very useful advice and suggestions to be put into practice.
Joy,
Prem
Awsome advice, thanks enjoy reading it in the morning good way to start my day.
Thanks
Frank
I loved, loved, loved reading this! I am so grateful that Ananda Village supports this way of living and being. Thank you for a morning cup of inspiration.
Best yet, Jyotish. Big smile here. 😊🙏
This is a KEEPER blog, THANKS MANY TIMES OVER.
Dear Jyotish- Thank you so much. I’m well past 30. but this is exactly what I needed to read this morning. We are buried at work and I’ve been praying for relief instead of determinedly, consciously looking for the skylight and solutions in the problems.
Joy and Blessings to all, Sushila P
Reading this is like getting a map, one to keep referring back to again and again. Thank you Jyotish, for the guiding light of Swamiji and Master that shine through you, and through these words of wisdom. I am forever and eternally grateful for this path and this spiritual family.
Bingo! I love it.
Delicious vibrations and most precious advice! Thank you!
Thank you Jyotish! All of your blogs are very helpful and uplifting. God bless you. Om
Wonderful. Simply Wonderful!
Words and inspiration to live by and uphold … not only for the present, but for the future also.
Thank you.
Beautifully stated! Thank you!
A joy to read :-)
Thank you 😊 this is so beautiful
I needed to hear this right now. Sending love and gratitude to all. ❤
Very powerful and simply stated. Blessings