“This is all I was able to rescue from our house before the fire forced me out,” Jyotish said as he handed me a small cardboard container slightly larger than a shoebox. It was the end of a long day on June 28, 1976. The forest fire that had started that morning, and that burnt Ananda Village to the ground, was finally contained.
I knew what was in the box.
Earlier that morning I’d decided to give our house a thorough cleaning: it had been neglected ever since our son had been born eleven days before. Having almost finished with the job, I turned to clean our meditation room, when I realized it was time to leave for a medical appointment for our baby. Seeing how dusty the room had become, however, I was reluctant to leave the many sacred objects there in such a state.
Looking around, I found a small cardboard box; carefully I placed everything from the altar inside it. Among the items precious to us was a silver container with a strand of Yogananda’s hair, a rudraksha mala blessed by Anandamayi Ma, two little vases given to us by Swami Kriyananda, and a picture of Master that had been with me since I’d come to Ananda seven years earlier.
I left the box by the entry to the meditation room, which was only a few feet from the front door. Taking our son in my arms, I glanced back at the house, and felt gratified that everything was now in order. “I’ll clean the altar after I return,” I thought.
That was the last time I ever saw our home. The intense fire that struck Ananda that day burned down all the existing houses and even melted wrought-iron woodstoves. Still, Jyotish, who had been fighting the fire, was able to run inside our home in the few minutes left to him, and grab the box of treasures he spied by the door.
In the weeks and months ahead as we moved from one temporary dwelling to another, that box was our security, our strength, and our reminder that God was always watching over us. Never did we feel despair, discouragement, or even a sense of loss, but only an inward clarity about how to move forward. Over time Ananda Village was rebuilt, and stands today as a manifestation of Paramhansa Yogananda’s vision of world brotherhood colonies.
We still have those precious items, carried with us during a lifetime of serving God: They have been with us in many homes in different countries. What a great gift that box was to us! The little items it contained will one day turn to dust, but we will have always with us the imperishable knowledge that God’s presence is the only security in our lives.
In Conversations with Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda recounts the following story:
“A visitor to Mount Washington Estates,” the Master told us, “once inquired of me superciliously, ‘What are the assets of this organization?’
“‘None!’ I promptly replied. ‘Only God.’
“Divine Mother once told me, ‘Those to whom I give too much, I do not give Myself.’”
May God be the sustaining power in your life.
Nayaswami Devi
21 Comments
Dear Nayaswami Devi,
So inspiring and encouraging for us to pass the tests that divine mother is sending us, reading this account in your life.
Master and God are with us, the highest treasure and assets we have.
The thought that had occurred to you to keep those precious items packed just before leaving , Thank you Master :)
Thank you for sharing the blog.
Aum
Prem
Thank you Devi! So appropriate in this age where security and such is measured by whether you have a 401k or own a house or have an income.
Peace and Joy,
Aumkara
Glorious! Filled me with happiness.
Devi, your account has left such deep feeling inside me…… of what……..I don’t know. I wish I could express. I pray to Mother Divine to teach me to express my inner feelings!
Thank you, Devi, for the blessed reminder of Divinity always watching over us. :-)
Thank you for thinking of us by way of this reminder.
Dear Nayaswami Devi,
Maybe 30 day I spent in Ananda Assisi, but these period
change my life, give me the inner strenth, power and ethusiazam,
love for God, people and Life. spiritual teacher like you act the more
the followers of his personality and a highly cultivated spirit.
With divine friendship
Devotee from CROATIA
Mario Vukelić
Blessings Deviji,
God Alone!
God Alone!
God is all we EVER need!
~~~Peace, Josette
Thank you so much for sharing this encouraging story of your live.
Alexander
Bless You, Devi
Such a beautiful story! No matter how many times it is told, it is deeply inspiring. It will live even beyond all our bodies. Thank you for sharing the inspirations of your life. They help us know what is possible. As ever in Him, janakidevi
Your thoughts have deep impact on the mind .It will help to take mind to original eternal consciousness which is blissful and full of knowledge. The awareness improves body chemistry. Removes /eliminates toxins and impurities. One gets mastery over sense organs and body. How about using Patanjal yog sutras for productive meditation and blissful samadhi? This really simple.Thanks.
Thank you, IN GOD, beloved soul. Namaste
Thank you so much, Devi. Namaste!
Pranam Ji
Thanks for sharing, very Inspiring and assuring that God and Guru’s Blessing Ever Existing, such Inspiration bringing in God’s Ever New Joy .
With Gratitude
R Sundararajan
jai guru… thank you so much..!!!
Hari Om tatsat Jai guru datt. Good morning guruji. Thanks for the post. Very true that each second is God’s grace and he is always with us like a shadow and he takes care of those who constantly remember him. Good day.
Thank you so very much for sharing this story. So simple and so sweet. It is especially poignant as I try to find work!
Jai. Guru!
Catherine H Seattle
Thank you Devi for your beautiful posting today. As I read it I had “God shivers” all over me. I am in the final stages of moving. It has been an emotional and easy time for me. As I have developed in this lifetime realizing my divine soul purpose, God has had many lessons for me. I sit in holy humbleness. I have gratitude for everything I have been given. What I do know is there are sacred things to me and they are very simple. What I have downsized to is those sacred things. I no longer want the baggage of the material “stuff”. My “God Shivers” came from the vibration of our love. To relate to wonderful words and to feel your love through them. Thank you for dedicating your life to God…. Namaste…… Sheila
Beautiful story!! Any one of us would break down. But faith and belief in God keeps us on. We are one with the universe. Thank you for reminding me of this beautiful truth ma. The story of kriyananda was such an eye opener.
Dear Devi, Thank you for sharing this story with us. I have heard it before, and was very touched, but what a wonderful reminder of what is really important in our lives. “God Alone”.
Gloria
Devi, this is a beautiful story! What a profound message it carries for all of us. . .
Gratefully,
Priya