A Touch of Light Podcast

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, “I … Read More

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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 attend … Read More

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

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

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