The Bhagavad Gita tells us that at the end of every day we should ask: “Which side won?” When you see that you made a mistake, admit it honestly to yourself. Don’t feel badly; just say, “I’m trying and I will do better.”

It is a mistake to think that you will ever find the perfect mate. Life, outwardly, cannot be other than a compromise between the ideal and reality.

Today anyone who is truly aware of human directions believes we’re in for very hard times. For devotees, such times present an extraordinary opportunity for service and spiritual growth, greater than any in recorded history.

Are moral values truly arbitrary and subjective? Can we really say people can just do what they like, and that there are no personal consequences they will have to suffer, outside of the need to maintain social order?

Courtesy is a healing balm; it can soothe troubled hearts, and win cooperation even from the hostile.

Yoga makes us more aware of ourselves as bodies of energy, not merely of material substance. The more aware we become that we are energy, the greater control we have in our lives.

Paramhansa Yogananda told us more than once that in a former life he had been William the Conqueror. Some months after his passing, an inspiration came to me: I suddenly realized that I had been his youngest son, Henry, who later was crowned as Henry I.

How do you react when a test comes? You won’t be worthy of God if you try to run away from your difficulties. To succeed on the spiritual path you need that level of courage that allows you to think, “No matter how long this test lasts, it will pass in time so why worry about it?”

Never lend money unless you can feel, in your heart, that you are giving the money away. Be sensible in your lending, however. Make sure you are helping someone whose need is real.

What exactly do we mean by saying we have been given free will? If all actions are done by God, how are we free? All of us in our souls have the power either to turn toward God or to reject Him; to love Him, or to spurn Him. This, in essence, is our only true freedom.

Master seldom praised me for my labor. But he sometimes praised me for my devotion. He was more anxious that develop and perfect ourselves in this quality rather than tremendous outward labor, but in forgetfulness of God.

Most people equate wealth with investments, savings, income, or real property. Yet we’ve all known people who got by quite happily on very little money.

Yogananda never forgot for an instant that the real Doer was God. Inwardly, he was always free and at peace.

Often, during meditation, nearby odors such as car exhaust, cooking, cigarette smoke, or even upholstery can be distracting to the mind, and may awaken mental associations that have nothing in common with the mood of inner upliftment.

Often the most successful people are those who have had the most to overcome because they’ve had to put out a great deal of energy to transcend their challenges.

Understanding never comes on a purely rational level. It comes on an intuitive level, and the more we seek that plane of understanding, the more we’ll understand.

People like working with others who like working with them. It’s that simple! It will be the cornerstone of anything you build of your own happiness and fulfillment.

The highest octave of human love is the unconditional love a guru gives to his disciple. To find God, we must learn to love Him the same way: unconditionally.

When devotees feel overwhelmed by difficulties and trials, it’s mostly because they’ve allowed themselves to slip away from devotion. It is love of God that gives you the power, as Paramhansa Yogananda put it, “to stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.” The truth is that nothing will take you down if you inwardly always love God.

If we understand that, by loving, it is God’s love we express, He will surely flow through any barrier we erect of ego and self-interest, and uplift significantly the consciousness of the world.

For the current age, it’s communities like Ananda that are laying the groundwork for the future.

Always try to keep away from negative influences. Mixing with people who are negative tends to influence one to see things in negative terms.

In my relationship with Master, I have found that I’m the most in tune with him when I don’t have the thought of what I’m getting from him, but dwell rather in the thought of what I’m giving to him.

In this 40th anniversary commemorative issue, we review events and developments that have shaped Ananda’s 40 year history and look ahead to future directions.

The more we can learn to see life as a flow of unity, the more we’ll be able to find what we’re all looking for: happiness, love, and inner peace. Yogananda came to bring this vision of unity to everyone—a vision that he manifested in his words, in his teachings, and in the example that he set for all of us.

The kinds of questions we ask God determine the kind of answers we receive. If we have a clear idea of the experience we’re seeking, we’ll have a greater chance of having that experience.

Divine friendship is something one rarely encounters in the world, where everyone seems to want only to justify his own actions and character.

You will become a jivan mukta when you have given up desires and attachments. It’s that simple. When you can say, “Divine Mother I only want you. I have no desires,” you will break through the ice of delusion.

Whenever you’re tempted to feel personal about anything, take that as an opportunity to practice giving it to God, to say, “God did it, not I.” The more you do this, the freer you will feel.

These universal, conscious qualities in Nature express themselves through the power of habit.