Spiritual Q&A

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How to Overcome Fear of the Dark

Dear Friend, I am sorry to hear of your fears in this regard. Do not think you are alone in this. For the time being, avoid being in a room alone. If you must be alone (e.g. at night when

When Meditating I Experience Involuntary Movements and Gestures

Dear Madhav, If it were kundalini, you’d be in a highly ecstatic state. It could be, however, what Swami Kriyananda describes as “advance scouts from kundalini, testing the terrain so to speak.” In that case it would be better to

Why Did My Father Have to Die of COVID?

Dear A, You are going through a normal process of grieving for the loss of your father. Be patient with this process. It is normal to experience periods of denial, anger, and deep sadness. You, your family, and your father

Will God Give Me a Relationship?

Dear Souhardo, God does not bargain with us. I think you are asking for a bargain “If I give you so much devotion and spiritual practice will you give me ______? (in this case a particular girlfriend).” God is deeply

Meditation and Insomnia

Dear Friend, I am very sorry to hear of these troubles. These are not typical of those who begin a regular meditation practice. If these symptoms were occurring while meditating it would be easier to correlate the symptoms with the

Disharmony with My Roommate

Dear Natalie, I would suggest a spiritual solution. Here are 2 very effective spiritual tools. Peace and Harmony Prayer: Yogananda brought the Peace and Harmony prayer which is a powerful prayer to use whenever there is disharmony. It is simple

How To Dissolve All Astral and Causal Karma

Dear Karen, Even after the highest nirbikalpa samadhi, all yogis need to work out their astral and causal karma. All of them. Some succeed here on the material plane to achieve such full liberation (freedom from all material, astral causal

Righteous War

Dear Friend, Yes, we will certainly see righteous warfare, but perhaps we should ask what a righteous war might look like! Paramhansa Yogananda said that World War II was a righteous war. He saw it as part of the process

Wise Use of Money for the Devotee

Dear NS, Think of money as a resource, as is your time and your energy. All our resources ultimately come from God, and as devotees we want to use them to live more completely in attunement with God and the

Tinnitus and Inner Sound and Light

Dear Friend, I, too, have tinnitus. I understand that it takes many forms in terms of the sounds one hears and the way one describes those sounds. However, some of the terms you use to describe tinnitus sound suspiciously like

Dealing with Physical Pain During Meditation

Dear Marta, Is withdrawal possible? Yes, but the stronger the pain, the more difficult it becomes. It is also a personal thing: where we are at, meditatively speaking. Highly advanced meditators can withdraw their consciousness even during acute pain, during

Is Sadhana (Spiritual Practice) Enough?

Dear Friend, No spiritual effort is ever lost, so says Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. A yogi who dies without having attained liberation will be reborn into circumstances conducive to continuing those efforts, Krishna goes on to say. Krishna extols

Tuning Into Guidance About Marriage

Dear Rajul, This sense of ‘knowing’ that you ask for comes when we attune to higher consciousness and are able to hear the whispers that come from the divine to our soul. Meditation practice helps to quiet the restless mind

Can I Get to a Point Where I No Longer “Lose It”?

Dear Pooja, Please be reassured that everyone has their moments of despair, fear, worry, or just plain “losing it!” Yes, as we grow spiritually and mature our ups and downs will even out and bring to us ever-increasing satisfaction. While

Meditating After Eating

Dear Tito, Yogananda did recommend not meditating immediately after a meal. Eating pulls the energy toward the digestive system. In meditation we are directing the energy away from the organs of digestion, bringing it inward and upward to the spiritual

Is Death Arbitrary? Is it Predestined?

Dear Anusha, I am most sorry to hear of your father’s sudden death due to Covid. In this world of ours, seemingly so comfortable and stable, we forget just how precarious life is. An auto accident walking on the street,

Transcending Guilt and Reestablishing Virtue

Dear NS, Everyone goes through slumps in life — and most certainly at age 19 when the body is still undergoing many changes and the mind is busy trying to find “who am I?” Guilt, like physical bodily pain, is

In Meditation How to Stop “Mind Chatter”?

Dear Kwesi, “Mind chatter” is a very common challenge in meditation: the mind easily spins and spins. For that reason pranayama (breathing and energy control) has been taught for centuries. Yogananda taught, as one example, the triangular breathing technique: inhale,

What Are the Benefits of Malas of Rudraksha or Crystal?

Dear NS, Malas (prayer necklaces) are usually used for counting pranayama (e.g. breathing exercises), japa (repeating a spiritual sentence during the day) or mantra chanting. They are usually made of 108 beads. In Ananda’s case, we mostly use them for

How Can We Make Progress in the Next Life if We Do Not Remember the Last One?

Dear Frank, The ego usually does not remember details of past lives, but the soul does know. If we have successfully passed a karmic test in a previous life — rising above old ego reactive patterns and attachments which would

Meditation

What Is the Difference Between Meditation and Prayer?

Spiritual Growth

What is the Difference Between Contentment and Satisfaction?

Yoga Philosophy

What is a Soul?

Health and Healing

How Are We Affected By Diet?

Health and Healing

How Can I Calm My Anxiety?

Upcoming Events

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Guided Healing Prayers with Mary Kretzmann

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Guided Meditation and Satsang with Jitendra

October 1, 12:00 pm PST

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Sharing the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda – Learn How to Live!

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Videos

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40:17
Sunday Service at Ananda Village

Many Are the Pathways to Truth

32:02

Willingness (with Nayaswami Dhyana)

1:02:21

Class 64: Autobiography of a Yogi

17:56

Paramhansa Yogananda’s Predictions for the Future, Part 1

38:34

Non-Attachment vs Indifference | Nayaswami Jaya

5:18
Ananda Music, Chanting at Ananda

Hare Krishna, Hare Rama, Hare Guru

32:10
Ananda Music

Ananda Joy Choir Assisi for UN International Day of Peace

2:24
Ananda Music

Come Gather ‘Round

6:07
A Touch More Light Podcast

What Am I Supposed to Learn? – Commentary

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6:26
A Touch of Light Podcast

What Am I Supposed to Learn?

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27:27
Ananda Music, Right Living Through Music

Finding Sanctuary in God – I Live Without Fear, Ep. 10

2:35
Sunday Services Highlights

Why Yogananda Brought a Dead Man Back to Life

6:50
Sunday Services Highlights

How to Overcome Suffering

2:21
Ananda Music

Home Is a Green Hill

3:07
Sunday Services Highlights

A Beautiful Dream of Yogananda and Kriyananda

36:39
Sunday Service at Ananda Village

Intuition Is Simple: The Intellect Is Complex

2:46
Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi, Sunday Services Highlights

How Yogananda Works with His Devotees

31:46
Ananda Music, Right Living Through Music

Love is the Answer to All Our Questions – Why?, Ep. 9

21:37
Be a Warrior for the Light, Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi

Healing Prayers for the World (With Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi)

3:39
Ananda Music

Home Is a Green Hill (by Swami Kriyananda)

Upcoming Events

Videos and Articles

Spiritual Growth

Hold Him Tight

29:38

Yogananda’s Early Years on the East Coast

1:42:24

Yogananda 100th Anniversary: Celebration at Ananda Village

1:06:45

Yogananda Coming to the West

News About Ananda

Live Events Celebrating 100 Years of Yogananda

12:37

Yogananda Performs Wedding Ceremony

1:17

Yogananda Visits New York

3:03

An Experience of Yogananda at Ananda Village

4:32

How to Attune Yourself to Yogananda

5:50

O Master — Ananda World Brotherhood Virtual Choir

Ananda Writers Group

Master Works in Mysterious, Miraculous Ways 

Meditation

How to Meditate According to Paramhansa Yogananda

Ananda Writers Group

How the West Was (Spiritually) Won by Paramhansa Yogananda

2:04

Yogananda in Samadhi

3:17

A Century of Spiritual Awakening With Paramhansa Yogananda – Yogananda Fest 2020

7:55

100 Years Since Paramhansa Yogananda’s Coming to the West: Message from Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi

2:57

Yogananda’s Early Years in America

1:11

Paramhansa Yogananda Talks About Spiritual Communities

1:22

Yogananda: A Brief Biography

39:24

Paramhansa Yogananda: India’s Messenger to the World

1:13:28

What Was Yogananda Like? Personal Qualities, Characteristics

1:46:54

Paramhansa Yogananda: Avatar of the Modern Age

2:20

Paramhansa Yogananda’s Influence in the West (with Phil Goldberg)

13:38

Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi — a Documentary

 

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