Recently in Mumbai, India, we were asked the question: “What are some of the lessons you’ve learned on your spiritual journey, especially those involving Swami Kriyananda?” I’d like to share some of my responses with you, because they touch on issues that each of us faces as a devotee. Lesson #1: Does God Really Know That I’m Making a Spiritual … Read More

Making good decisions is one of life’s most important skills, and yet we have gotten virtually no training. Sometimes even life-defining choices such as marriage, job, or taking up a spiritual quest are given little energy. Here is an illuminating example. Some years ago, in India, we had dinner with a fine, noble man who once had been a doctor. … Read More

“Master wants you to lecture in his place at the San Diego temple this weekend. . . . He also wants you to give a Kriya Yoga Initiation afterwards.” These words were delivered to Swami Kriyananda (then James Donald Walters) after he had been with his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, for only a few months. His reaction was both disbelief and shock. “But,” … Read More

“I’m feeling so stressed at work. What can I do about it?” This, or a variation, is one of the questions we hear most often as we travel and share with others. Recently we gave a talk on “Finding Inner Peace in a Stressful World.” I will give five quick techniques for dealing with stress, but first let’s look quickly … Read More

I’m a people watcher: I love observing people as they go about their business. I try to see what their faces and body language reveal, and then imagine what they’re like and what kind of lives they lead. One thing I often observe is the restless movements people make while they’re waiting—to board a plane, for example, or for someone … Read More

We recently attended a program by an Indian doctor on the power of the mind. Some years ago he was dying of cancer, was given only a few days to live. Then he had an experience of God telling him he would be healed through the power of his mind. In his case, God had to come three times to … Read More

Swami Kriyananda sat with his eyes closed and a blissful smile on his face as he listened to a piece of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As it ended, Swamiji quietly remarked, “Mozart was a consummate artist. He never compromised integrity for showmanship.” I reflected for quite some time on Swamiji’s words, trying to understand their subtlety and depth. What … Read More

It was one of the most remarkable evenings of my life. I sat mesmerized, along with nearly two thousand five hundred others in the auditorium, listening to ragas played by some of India’s finest musicians. Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hari Prasad Chaurasia have spent a lifetime mastering Indian classical music and have been awarded the highest honors of a grateful … Read More

She was a poor cleaning woman working in a hospital in Chennai, India, where a friend of ours also worked as a doctor. There was something about her that awakened compassion in our friend’s heart, and a desire to help. Perhaps it was because the lady seemed so alone in the world and had a small child to raise; whatever … Read More

We are on the move again. We will have slept in four different hotels in the last week. Moreover, the maximum weight for flying in India is 15 kilograms (33 pounds). That’s the limit of our portable possessions these days.

Recently while in Assisi, we watched a film called “St. Giuseppe Moscati: Doctor to the Poor,” which was written and directed by a good friend and fellow disciple, Giacomo Campiotti. Watching the film some years earlier, Swami Kriyananda had said it was the best spiritual movie he’d ever seen. We certainly agree. The movie opens in 1903 in Naples, Italy, … Read More

Generally, insights are proceeded by a certain train of thought. But once in a while they just plop into the mind like a raindrop falling from a clear sky. Yesterday, while meditating with the Ananda Assisi community, a perception popped into my mind without any preamble: “We need to move from ‘Nowhere’ to ‘Now Here.’” Plop! Linguistically, it is fun—you … Read More

We were sitting in the radiant, late-August sunlight at the Ananda Retreat, overlooking the gently rolling Umbrian hills outside of Assisi, Italy, chatting with a friend of ours from Rome. She told us with joy in her warm, brown eyes and a sweet smile on her lips, “I recently came to the Retreat feeling quite depressed about many aspects of … Read More

“The characteristic features of Indian culture have long been a search for ultimate verities and the concomitant disciple-guru relationship.” Thus begins Paramhansa Yogananda’s world-famous Autobiography of a Yogi. Millions have read these immortal words, but few have lived them. One who did was Swami Kriyananda. By the force of his example he founded a movement and inspired millions. Now, a … Read More

“There is a hidden strength within me to overcome all obstacles. I will bring forth that indomitable power and energy.” Paramhansa Yogananda shared this formidable thought with us, and gave us tools to accomplish that great goal. Here are five effective ways to build our inner power. 1. Begin with Self-Analysis Introspection is a tool of which Yoganandaji spoke repeatedly. … Read More

Let me set the scene: an amphitheater packed with several hundred people while, in the background, the bare wood of an emerging temple rises miraculously. People from many nations immersing themselves in the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda. Add stirring music, drama, friendship, joy, and light. Here, for a brief transformative week, the astral plane has touched the … Read More