Spiritual Q&A

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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

Helping Someone Who Has Suffered a Great Loss

Dear SP, Your aunt has indeed suffered a great loss. I think healing prayers for her now are essential. I encourage you to go onto our website at this link to put your aunt’s name on our prayer list. Our

My Girlfriend Had an Affair. How Should I Move Forward?

Dear Suhas, I am sorry for both of you. It sounds like she needs some time, and it would probably be best not to pressure her. Who can know what the volatile mix of emotions she must have, but likely

A Mistake While Chanting Mantras — Am I in Danger?

Dear Arijit, Please have no concern on account of the priest’s inadvertent use of your name instead of your deceased father’s in the ceremony. Only by the conscious intention to harm and by a psychic power far greater than the

I Keep Hearing My Name Being Called. What Is This?

Dear Suzi, There are two possibilities: It could be your own mind, your subconscious. If that is the case, please be very careful. If that voice in time begins to tell you to do things, you should consider psychological assistance.

Is There Anything Bad with Getting a COVID Vaccination for a Spiritual Aspirant?

Dear Anurag, Not at all. Many Ananda members and kriyabans have been vaccinated. Our worldwide spiritual directors Jyotish and Devi have received the vaccination too, giving a clear guideline. Both of them, and also other close friends of Swami Kriyananda,

The Spiritual Path and Desires for Fashion, Wearing Brands, Luxury

Dear Christina, Paramhansa Yogananda encouraged students to avoid luxuries and to focus on the necessities of life — and to live a more modest, simple, and what we would now call “sustainable” lifestyle. Keeping up with fashionable trends and brands

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

Online Classes and Events

Saturday 3-Hour Meditation

September 19, 7:00 am PST

Ananda Village Sunday Service

September 19, 10:00 am PST

Monday Morning Meditation

September 20, 6:30 am PST

Treasures Along the Path Study Group

September 20, 5:00 pm PST

Guided Meditation and Satsang with Sagar

September 21, 6:00 pm PST

More events…

The Expanding Light Retreat

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

Online Ananda Yoga Teacher Training

January 9 – May 29, 2022

Camino Spiritual Pilgrimage

September 6 – 26, 2022

Ananda's Karma Yoga Ashram Program

Ongoing

More events…

Videos

All Videos      Sunday Services

3:19
Sunday Service at Ananda Village

How to Transcend the Ego

3:52
A Touch More Light Podcast

Give God the Responsibility – Commentary

  AUDIO ONLY
4:53
A Touch of Light Podcast

Give God the Responsibility

  AUDIO ONLY
6:01:21
Ananda Music, Chanting at Ananda

6-Hour Chanting of the Sacred Mantra “AUM Guru”

20:43
Be a Warrior for the Light

Healing Prayers for the World (with Shyama and Dhyan)

12:00
Sunday Service at Ananda Village

Faith in God — The Deeper Meaning of the Story of Job

52:28

Swami Kriyananda’s Discipleship Anniversary Satsang 2021

30:16

A Lifetime Commitment ~ The Ananda Way of Life #42

36:27
Sunday Service at Ananda Village

Truth Invites, It Never Commands

1:05:18
Autobiography of a Yogi

Autobiography of a Yogi: Book Study (Class 59)

17:14
Swami Kriyananda, The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita

Only Intuition Will Give Us Our True Course of Action (with Swami Kriyananda)

7:05
The Answer

“The Answer” – Talk with Jyotish and Devi

1:24:38

In Divine Friendship (Class 51)

30:44
Ananda Music, Music to Awaken Superconsciousness

A Song of Hope – The Hill That Was Tara, Ep. 6

2:41
Ananda Music, Chanting at Ananda

AUM Guru Vigil Invitation

6:28
The Answer

“The Answer” – Behind the scenes with Michael Joseph Harris

6:02
A Touch of Light Podcast

Relax Upward

  AUDIO ONLY
5:54
A Touch More Light Podcast

Relax Upward – Commentary

  AUDIO ONLY
27:37
Ananda Music, Music to Awaken Superconsciousness

An Invitation to a Life Divine – Emerald Isle, Ep. 7

3:01

I Am Timeless — Guided Visualization

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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