Selected from the CD album, I Came from Joy. Available from Clarity Sound & Light. To order click here

Selected from the CD album, I Came from Joy. Available from Clarity Sound & Light. To order click here

Selected from the CD album, Songs of St. Francis/ Mediterranean Magic. Currently not available. To go to the Clarity Sound & Light webpage click here

Selected from the CD album, Songs of St. Francis/Mediterranean Magic. Currently unavailable. To go to the Clarity Sound & Light webpage click here

Selected from the CD album, Windows On The World. Available from Clarity Sound & Light. To order click here

Selected from the CD album, I Came from Joy. Available from Clarity Sound & Light. To order click here

After we’d parted, I mulled over his words. His grandmother’s sensitivity, I thought, was greater than his. Granted, the radio itself wasn’t aware, but how else could she demonstrate her gratitude to God outwardly for the truths she’d been hearing? To her, the radio was simply a symbol, as also was the flower she placed on it.

“I Myself accept their offering.”
Certain images remind us more naturally of God and noble qualities, but any expression of selfless love—to images as well as to people—can help to stem the tides of natural selfishness in the heart. Images in themselves are neutral. Their influence is positive or negative depending mainly on our reaction to them. One might worship a stone if, through that symbol, one invokes God and views the stone as a reminder of the Infinite Lord. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: “In whatsoever form people worship Me, I Myself accept their offering.”

Because it is difficult for people to feel love for something completely formless and without personality, Paramhansa Yogananda recommended clothing God in a form—for people to think of God as their Divine Friend, their Cosmic Beloved, their all-compassionate Divine Mother, their Heavenly Father.

Devotees may also be inspired to love God by visualizing Him as manifested through one of the great masters who are sent to earth by God as messengers of His love. In visualizing a master’s kind eyes and loving smile, it is often easier to visualize the infinite love of God. Others may feel more devotionally inspired if they visualize the Lord as an invisible Presence in every tree, every flower, in the mountains, and in all creatures.

The Hindu, for example, visualizes God not only as omnipresent but as consciously expressed everywhere. Consciousness, according to the Hindu teachings, even in its dimmest manifestations, is actively manifested throughout the universe. The Hindu imagines God smiling from the hearts of clouds, from the rocks, from the rivers. All things, viewed in this light, are seen to belong to a universal awareness in which we, too, participate. Everything is inter-connected—like the members of an extended, and indeed cosmic, family.

A means of activating God’s response
Visualizations are helpful not only for the devotion they inspire in the devotee, but also as a means of activating God’s response. The Divine responds consciously according to whatever form we visualize lovingly. If we look to Him in Nature, He responds through Nature. If we look to Him as our Father, He responds as a Father, with deep wisdom and understanding. If we look to Him as our Divine Mother, He responds to us with motherly love.

Many Protestant Christians oppose the Roman Catholic practice of worshipping the Mother aspect of God in the form of Mary, pointing out that the scriptures don’t describe Mary as being one with the Father. However, in condemning this dogma, they close themselves to God in His motherly aspect: Her sweet concern for humanity, Her kindness, Her compassion. The Mother aspect of God is not limited to a specific form. Mary was the mother of Jesus, but she also symbolizes, and may be thought of as expressing, the Divine Mother of the universe, whose Son is the Infinite Christ.

Through great masters, and to a lesser degree through saints and angels, God responds in a special way. As conscious emissaries of His love, their mission is to help those who long for spiritual understanding. The best practice is to call to God in whatever aspect you find most inspiring, but then also to invoke the help of a great master, saint, or angel in order that, by attuning yourself to their love for God, you deepen your own love for Him.

Spiritual masters: only a hint of infinity
One should not lose sight, however, of the fact that God is infinitely beyond any devotional symbol or man’s ability to visualize Him. In no single expression, nor even in the sum of all of them, is the Infinite Consciousness fully manifested. “The wave,” Paramhansa Yogananda used to say by way of explanation, “is not the ocean.” Nor can the combination of all the waves ever describe the ocean as it truly is.

Even the spiritual masters, enlightened though they are, cannot express fully through their physical bodies the realization they enjoy inwardly. Infinity can never be more than hinted at through a finite vehicle.

Above the human level exist angels, or advanced astral beings. These devas, as they are called in Sanskrit, are less highly evolved than spiritual masters, even if a master is still living on this earth, for the devas are still evolving spiritually, whereas a master has transcended evolution itself. The devas hasten their evolution by stooping down to help human beings. To pray to a deva or angel for help need no more imply lack of faith in God than would a request for help from a brother or sister instead of taking all of one’s problems to one’s parents.

The universe abounds with innumerable entities
Indeed, the Supreme Spirit seldom, if ever, intervenes directly in the affairs of man. It may be compared in this sense to a power station, the voltage of which must be stepped down by transformers so as not to incinerate the wiring in people’s homes. The universe abounds with innumerable entities that actively direct the growth of plants and of living creatures, the manifestation of new species, and the working out of individual and group karmas.

The majority of these astral entities, whom we might call “nature spirits” or even “astral functionaries,” thrive on love, and give us more energy if we offer them our love and appreciation. If they feel unloved and ignored, they withdraw in much the same way people do when their expressions of good will are misunderstood.

The more love we give out, the more all things respond, reciprocating our feelings with harmony and abundance. Indeed, to express love toward the lower astral “deities” is, in the great scheme of things, one way of sharing God’s love, particularly if, by expressing that love, we are offering appreciation to Him, above all, for His inexhaustible bounty.

Human beings, even if unenlightened, express the Infinite Consciousness more fully than do the lower animals. Having achieved some measure of self-awareness, human beings have a duty to help uplift creatures on lower levels of evolution. Kindness to animals helps them in their spiritual unfoldment and helps us, too, for it increases our attunement to the Source of All Love.

A need for heroic dedication
It’s important, at the same time, to remember what Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita—“Those who worship the lesser gods, go to their gods. Those who worship Me (the Infinite Consciousness), come to Me.” He is referring to the different grades or levels among the forms used by devotees to focalize their devotion. Not all of these forms lead to the inner purification, and the deepening awareness and love, which gradually lead the mind to perfect stillness within.

To find God takes serious effort: the sincere offering of every thought and feeling up to Him. Ultimately, you have to offer your own self. The Bhagavad Gita tells us that God is pleased with any sincere effort to know Him, but that same scripture reminds us that if we want to know Him, we shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking that the task is easy. Only by heroic dedication can we reach the spiritual heights; not, be it noted, by mere belief.

A quest for transcendence
The ultimate purpose of visualization and devotional images is to lift the mind into communion with the Absolute. Always, the quest must be for transcendence. Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, “Even if God comes to you in vision, as for example the Divine Mother, try to see shining in Her eyes the consciousness of Infinity. Don’t be attached to form of any kind, but concentrate on achieving union with the Absolute.”

In light of Yogananda’s statement, it would be well to add that the deeper a person’s devotion to God, no matter what his religion, the less interested he or she will be in its outer forms and symbols. Why, indeed, study the advertisements for a product when you have the product itself in your hands? As your devotion grows, you will naturally incline to seek God more in the formless Self within.

Formlessness is the higher reality. Saint Teresa of Avila in Spain once had a vision of what she called the “formless Christ.” Her spiritual confessor expressed doubt. How could Jesus appear without form? He found corroboration, however, in the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas, foremost among Christian theologians. The formless Christ, St. Thomas had written, is indeed the higher spiritual experience.

I myself, on entering a Hindu temple, prostrate with love and devotion before the form I see displayed there, but afterward I close my eyes and meditate on the formless Spirit within, for which those forms are but symbols. I worship above all that One who resides in my own heart. For the true temple is the human body.

Behind all their symbols, what all true religions teach is communion with God and the upliftment of the individual’s consciousness into ever-broader, ever-deeper perceptions of Truth. The devotee who at first loves God as his Divine Mother, and visualizes Her in a human form, comes in time to perceive Her everywhere: formless, infinite, and omnipresent.

From: The Hindu Way of Awakening, The Promise of Immortality, and Rays of the Same Light, Crystal Clarity Publishers; and the 1996 talk, Kriya and the Evolution of World Religions.

Growth: “The secret of growth lies in finding more and more strength inside yourself.”  Eastern thoughts—Western Thoughts by Swami Kriyananda.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Every devotee must forsake the egoic thought, “I have meditated so much; therefore God must manifest Himself.” Along with deep meditation there must be deep devotion, humility, and surrender to God. God becomes entrapped in the net of the devotee’s unconditional devotion.

God loves mental whispers
Those who love God are always thinking of Him. You don’t have to fly away from the world. You can perform your daily activities and still think of Him. Just as the pianist is always thinking of her music, so the lover of God is always thinking of God.

God loves mental whispers. You are never so busy that you can’t whisper your devotion to God mentally. There is no possible excuse for not talking to Him inwardly. Whenever you have a real need, the thought of it is in your mind all the time, no matter what you are doing. You think, “If only I could have this,” or “if only I could do that.” That mental whisper is the real appeal of the heart. You can practice mental whispers anywhere, all the time. By this constant practice everything eventually vanishes but God.

See God in everything
Christian thinkers have denounced Hinduism because its teachings are pantheistic. Their error lies in thinking pantheism means worshiping God as everything, instead of as expressed in everything. In the highest sense God is none of the forms in which people worship Him, but it is helpful to use human concepts as a means of deepening our devotion to Him.

Isn’t it much sweeter to see His manifestations everywhere—His beauty in the sunset; His tears for human error in the rain; His tenderness expressed in a mother’s love for her baby? If God is omnipresent, isn’t it obvious that He must also be in everything? The flowers, birds, and the beauties of nature all speak of the Mother aspect of God—the creative, motherly instinct. When we look at all the good things in nature and feel a tenderness rise within us, we are seeing and feeling God in nature.

All things in creation, for those who love God, become reminders of Him. Through the beloved God helps one to find the selfless intensity of divine love. Through people’s children, He helps them to understand love as something precious, as a thing to be protected from harmful influences and nourished with devotion. We must, of course, seek God behind His veils, but even a veil may suggest the form that it hides.

Love is a selfless sharing
God is the ever-loyal Friend behind all earthly friends. Who could be a better friend than God? Through your friends, God shows you that love is a selfless sharing, without any hint of compulsion. Those who love others selflessly are already well on the way to learning the secret of divine love. All they need is to direct that love upward to God.

Radha, the greatest of the gopis, had that kind of love for Krishna, who felt free, therefore, to demonstrate his selfless, divine love for her, though in reality he gave that love equally to all. There came a time, however, when the other gopis grew jealous of Radha, and Krishna decided to teach them a lesson.

One day when Radha happened to be absent, Krishna suddenly, with a groan, cried, “Oh! Oh! I have a terrible headache! Please, won’t someone do something for me?” “What, Lord, can we do?” the gopis cried in desperation. “We’ll do anything!”

He replied, “If only one of you will press her feet on my head, my headache will go away.” The gopis gasped in horror. In India, it is sacrilegious to place one’s feet on the head of the guru. In deep consternation the gopis looked away.

After some time had passed, Radha appeared and learned of Krishna’s distress. She anxiously asked what she could do to help, and Krishna cried, “Please, just press your feet on my head! Nothing else will help me.”

“But of course, Lord. Instantly!” replied Radha.

“No! No! You mustn’t!’ cried the other gopis. “If you do, you will go to hell!”

Radha scoffed. “Why, if pressing my feet on our Lord’s head will give him one moment of relief, I will gladly go to hell for eternity!” She was about to do as he had asked, when Krishna sat up smiling. His headache was gone. And then the other gopis understood. They had been concentrating on their own safety, not on Krishna’s well-being. Now they all bowed before Radha’s greater, because selfless, love.

Human love is a reflection of God’s love
Through human relationships, God wants us to learn to love the Spirit within. Human love is so imperfect; it always ends in delusion. We must be in love with the Spirit behind the body before we can love others truly.

In one of my classes there were two beautiful young married persons. They were ideal lovers and the envy of all the class. The young man said, “If only I could get a job, we would be supremely happy. Please pray for me.” I said, “You shall have a job, but at the end of a year I shall visit you and see if that is all you need to be happy.” A baby was about to come.

One year later, I saw the young man. His back was bent, his brow was wrinkled, and he said with a bedraggled smile, “I got a job all right, but it is such hard work. However, I still believe in God.” Then I saw his wife. Another baby was coming and she greeted me with a tired, worried face, and said, “I never see my husband any more. He is working from eight in the morning until eight in the evening. We hardly have time to meditate.”

I said, “Look at my serene face. My love for my Eternal Beloved has only deepened. Wake up! Without God’s love, your love, which is merely a reflection of His love, will fade away. Feed your love with the ever-flowing power of God’s love, or it will wither into nothingness.”

The light of practical sympathy
Only one who has begun to feel his oneness with every human being can know what divine love is. We must love others not for their human personalities, but because they are manifestations of God, Who dwells equally in all.

The lesson of reincarnation is to neutralize the waves of likes and dislikes, of desire and aversion. We do this by the expression of kindness, forgiveness, and compassion to all, and by steadfast contentment in the Self. The light of practical sympathy dispels the darkness of separation and enables you to see all hearts tied with one golden cord of divine love. One who extends his love to friends and enemies alike finds the duality of love and hate vanish, and he beholds only the presence of one love everywhere.

Learn to see God in all persons, of whatever race or religion. When your mind is free from prejudice, when you unreservedly sympathize with everybody, when in mutual service you forget the little self—only then will you see the one measureless Self of the Spirit running through all.

You must yearn for God
One must yearn for God and churn the ether with the rod of devotion or He will never manifest Himself. Every night when you sit to meditate, pray to Him unceasingly. With the love of your heart, tear at the veils of silence again and again. Cry as you would to your mother or father: “Where are You? You made me. Come to me. You must come to me. You must!” Those who really mourn and wail for God incessantly, with ever-increasing zeal, are comforted by God’s own presence.

It is very difficult to reach God. If even a concert pianist must work hard to become successful in his profession, how much more earnestly must the devotee “work” at meditation and devotion in order to realize the Infinite!

Here, however, is an encouraging thought: Everyone who makes a sincere effort on the spiritual path will surely reach his goal. You cannot say that of worldly ambition. Not everyone can become a famous pianist, no matter how hard he tries. In every field of endeavor there is room at the top for very few. Everyone, however, can equally claim God as his Heavenly Father and Divine Mother. If our way of worshiping Him is incorrect, but the love of our hearts is selfless and pure, God will have no difficulty in correcting our error.

The most enjoyable experience possible
How should you love God? Love him as the miser loves money; as the drowning man yearns for breath; as the desert wanderer craves water. Love Him with the first love of true lovers. When you have learned to love Him with all your heart, you will have Him. You will then be a yogi–one who is united with God.

Union with the Cosmic Beloved is the most enjoyable experience possible. It is dream after dream, joy after joy; a thousand million divine romances in one, ever thrilling your heart. In every point of space you behold searchlights of His love, shining like a million suns. As often as you think you have exhausted His love, again and again, like a rolling surf, it crashes anew upon the shores of your mind. That is ecstasy!

From books and articles.

Growth: “The mark of spiritual growth is that for every setback there is an increased determination to succeed.” The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, by Swami Kriyananda.

When people are facing a challenge the most common reaction is to try to protect the status quo. What do people usually ask for in prayer? — health, money, security, a job, protection for those close to them. If you step back and analyze it, these are just ways of telling God, “Don’t change anything in my life.” Or, perhaps, “Make me more secure and less vulnerable to change.”

Everyone has to deal with major tests — disappointment, illness, loss, approaching death. As devotees, we should try to use change as a means of growth. Props such as drugs and alcohol, commonly used to dull the mind and hide from problems, are no longer an option for the seeker. The goal of the yogi is not to avoid change but to use every event to become free from attachments and, ultimately, from all ego-identification.

Most of the stress and pain associated with change is the result of wishing that things be other than they are. Learn to accept life and much of the anxiety brought on by change will disappear. (See visualization at end)

Positive reactions bring positive results!
One of the worst traps is to let change throw you into a mood. Moods take away your objectivity and ability to act and to master the lessons that this school of life gives you. It’s very important to find ways to keep your mind positive and free of negativity — exercise, service, prayer, affirmation, and curbing the tendency to allow moods to develop are great aids. Dump your negative mood as soon as you’re aware of it, before it grows big and destructive.

Paramhansa Yogananda gave us a powerful prescription for moving quickly through life’s trials and knowing how to deal constructively with change: he recommended that we learn to stay “even-minded and cheerful.” Even-mindedness helps us to be happy, but it does much more than that. It gives us the clarity and strength to learn our lessons and to become freed from maya and the endless cycle of reincarnation, which repeatedly plunges us into alternating waves of happiness and misery.

How do you achieve this state of mind? First, commit yourself to being happy under all circumstances. Then watch your reactions to events. As soon as you catch yourself being pulled down, reaffirm your decision to be happy. You may not be able to change the events, but you can control your reactions, which alone will transform your life. Positive reactions bring positive results!

Learn to accept that whatever comes to you is for your ultimate good. The truth is that you attract the situations that will help you learn needed lessons. The law of karma states that, good or bad, you will get exactly what is coming to you. Learn also to accept yourself with all your abilities and weaknesses, and you will discover a great source of strength.

For real power, however, go one step further – learn to be grateful for everything that comes. One of the secrets of the universe is to be grateful for everything. Through gratitude, you begin to live with faith, not fear. Then, don’t dwell on yourself, but think more of others and their needs. And don’t dwell on past events or future plans. By staying in the here and now, you will realize that you can be happy just as you are.

What are “legitimate” prayers?
Prayer is an especially powerful tool for dealing with change as long as the prayer is for something “legitimate.” What are legitimate prayers? It depends on whether the purpose is to remove an obstacle, such as hunger or homelessness, which prevents you from thinking about God, or simply the desire to add one more distraction or possession to your life. When you pray for things of this material world, make sure that those requests are stepping-stones to forming a deeper relationship with God. You can pray for necessities but it’s important to learn to discriminate between “necessary necessities” and “unnecessary necessities.”

If your prayer is for something legitimate, then it will be answered. If it’s not a helpful prayer, then quite likely it won’t be answered. Why should God become a partner to delusion and provide something that’s not helpful? Understand that to pray properly, you must align your will with God’s will. That takes a lot of discrimination. Swami Kriyananda often says that people are quite willing to accept blessings from the Divine, but are much less willing to offer their lives to God’s will. And yet self-offering is the main condition for receiving blessings in the first place.

The ultimate purpose of prayer is to disengage the soul from the ego and the hypnotic power of maya. Always make the essence of your prayer the wish to release yourself or someone else from the net of delusion. If you do that, even if you pray for something on this material plane, the power of God will be behind your prayers.

Every test: can our will be broken?
We can’t really understand the subject of change without understanding its relationship to will power. One might say that the science of religion that Paramhansa Yogananda brought to the West is the science of the proper use of will. The philosophy and various techniques that Yogananda brought are like pearls. The string that binds them into a single necklace, the element that goes through all of Yogananda’s teachings, is the proper use of will.

Yogananda said that every test is a challenge to see if our will can be broken. We quit when we get to a point where we’re no longer willing or able to put forth the energy required. We need to develop our will power until it is strong, deep, and continuous—then the whole of creation will turn itself around in order to fulfill our prayers.

How do we do that? Yogananda gave us a universal law: “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” This law is absolutely central to his teachings. There is an infinite reservoir of energy and grace ready to flow through us. Will is the switch that unleashes this unstoppable flow. In fact, the secret of success in all life is the positive and continuous use of will.

Every day, simply by saying “yes” to life’s smaller challenges, we have numerous opportunities to develop and strengthen our willpower. Say “yes” when faced with that nefarious little voice that says, “I’d rather not get up to meditate today;” or “I’m too tired to exercise;” or “I’d rather not make the effort to understand that person; he’s so confused.” Accepting such opportunities develops will power and expansiveness. So make it a point to always say “yes.”

An irresistible force of attraction
Most people come onto the spiritual path not because they’ve developed great love for God, but because something in their life has become intolerable. Others turn to God out of fear. But, even that has its purpose. By turning toward God, they form a connection with a higher power, and a relationship that is like the warmth of the sun melting a block of ice. Through meditation and devotion, the ego slowly dissolves and love for God becomes the dominant force in our lives.

Deepening your meditation and your devotion are the most important things you can do to prepare for and respond constructively to change. Tune into the joy and peace that lie deep within you. When the mind is still, you can gain new perspectives on your life. It is from these profound inner insights that true understanding comes.

Daily meditation is the way to find these deeper states. Especially important is the practice of meditating every morning and evening. In the morning, meditation prepares you to face the day with inner calmness and joy. At night, it helps you to release everything and offer all your attachments back into the divine light.

We’re like iron filings moving closer to a magnet. At first we’re pushed from behind by winds of trials, but as we get closer to God, we fall under the magnet’s influence and are pulled more and more strongly by His love, until the force of that attraction becomes irresistible. Then, as we reclaim our own higher reality as children of God, we begin to see Him reflected back in everyone and everything around us. Then change — even the most anxiety-producing change—becomes merely another expression of His omnipresent love.

Visualization for Accepting Change

The following visualization will help you accept change with calmness and enjoyment. Visualize yourself floating near the shore in a beautiful blue sea. The sea is calm, the sun is shining, and the wind is blowing gently over the water. Gradually, the waves begin to increase in strength. Now, they are tossing you about. At first you find this annoying and wish they would stop. But now you realize that you can’t control the sea. As you relax, you begin to accept the waves and enjoy the ride they are giving you. You see that they are playing with you. Stay in this state of enjoyment for a while.

Now feel that your vision is floating up above the sea and looking down on your little body. As you look down from this height, you see that the waves aren’t really big at all. From this higher viewpoint, the sea actually looks quite calm and filled with beautiful blues and greens, and little whitecaps. All is incredibly beautiful. You see that the ocean of life is your friend and your supporter.

Now turn your gaze toward the horizon endless miles away. The line where the sea meets the sky never changes. Concentrate on this line and try to feel that underneath the waves of events, you never change. You are always peaceful, always calm, always joyful. Release all attachments, all desires, all regrets. Float now in this vast ocean of contentment and bliss. When you are ready, let your mind come back to a point of concentration at the spiritual eye, between the eyebrows.

From the video, Meditation Therapy for Stress and Change, Crystal Clarity Publishers, and Clarity Magazine articles: 1998, 1992.

Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi are Acharyas (spiritual directors) for Ananda Worldwide. Nayaswami Jyotish is also Acharya for the Ananda Sevaka Order Worldwide.

Growth: “The factor of will is paramount in life. Will is the chief condition of growth.” Yogoda Introduction Booklet: Its Fundamentals, by Paramhansa Yogananda (1923).

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Adolescence: wrong choices and wrong company
My own journey to the right understanding about happiness, though in some ways atypical, presented many of the same challenges young people experience today. The main difference was that when I was growing up, my father was in the military and our family moved around – I lived in Europe and Asia as well as in the United States.

When I was very young, my family was my main environment and, even if we moved, I felt safe surrounded by their love and support. Adolescence is rarely easy, and for me it brought the usual confusion, uncertainty and concern about self-image. There were some wrong choices and wrong company, but I had the good karma to avoid the really harmful delusions of looking for answers in drugs, sex, and alcohol. (I remember arguing with friends about drugs – telling them that I didn’t want to be less conscious, I wanted to be more conscious.) Mostly, I remember it as a time of intense discomfort with myself. I couldn’t make the self I felt inwardly match the self that I saw in the mirror.

At some point in my youth I became convinced that moving to a new environment was an opportunity to present a new, improved version of me, and that I could leave behind the things I didn’t like about myself. It was an optimistic attitude, but every time I tried to change I discovered that inwardly I was the same. Wearing different clothes or trying to be something other than what felt natural to me just made me feel silly and self-conscious. It became clear that my inner challenges would always be with me. That was the beginning of understanding that true happiness had to do with consciousness, not outward circumstances.

Anyone can wash dishes or move chairs
Like most adolescents, I looked to the people around me to understand how to be happy. I could feel that there was more to life than the short-lived thrills of outward experiences; I could feel goodness in people and expansiveness in nature. Within myself I experienced a love and awareness that was much bigger than anything I could see in the people and circumstances around me. I didn’t have strong religious or spiritual role models, so it is understandable that I didn’t look for answers in that direction. But I was surrounded by very strong examples of selfless service.

Because I was shy, offering to serve was a way for me to feel secure in new or challenging situations. Anyone can wash dishes or move chairs. Being useful in simple ways doesn’t require great talent, just willingness. Many of my happiest memories involve experiences that put me in a place of self-forgetfulness. Anything that caused me to lapse into self-involvement felt superficial and small compared to the expansiveness I felt in service.

From a young age I planned to be a nurse—it was the only life that made sense to me—and I read all the books at the library about nurses who dedicated their lives to caring for others. There were many experiences of serving in Girl Scouts, as a hospital volunteer, and in YMCA and Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camps.

I was learning that happiness comes in self-forgetfulness and in being true to my inner, expansive self. Finding a true teacher in my guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, brought the pieces together and enabled me to go beyond my budding personal philosophy into a deeper understanding of a universal truth: happiness comes from within.

We choose to be miserable or happy
Today, as a teacher in the Ananda Living Wisdom School in Portland, Oregon it is my joy to be part of a school that offers the understanding and skills young people need to find true fulfillment. The Portland school is part of Ananda’s Education for Life system, which is based on principles taught by Paramhansa Yogananda and set forth in Swami Kriyananda’s book, Education for Life (EFL).

Swami Kriyananda explains that most modern education was developed with material success as the goal. The EFL system, on the other hand, is founded on the principle that what people really want from life is not the mere symbols of happiness, but happiness itself, a state of inner fulfillment not dependent on outward circumstances. According to Yogananda, we all have the power to choose happiness. “Events are neutral,” he tells us. “Whether they appear happy or sad is due entirely to the attitude of the mind.”

In the EFL elementary grades, we try to help children become aware that happiness is a choice, and that they can make choices that move their energy towards expansion and happiness rather than towards pain and suffering.

“You can knock it down, if you want”
A typical example involved a young girl, age 6 or 7, in our Portland school who frequently found life and school challenging, and usually blamed the difficulties on others. Gradually we helped her to understand that no matter what happened, it was her own choice to be miserable or happy.

A revealing moment came when her mother overheard her “instructing” her four-year-old brother that he had the choice to be happy or sad. She used as an example an incident her brother had actually witnessed—the time she had gone to her room in a huff after being disciplined by her father, but then later decided she’d rather choose to be happy.

Another instance involved a child, age 7 or 8, with an overblown sense of drama; he became very loud and expressive when things didn’t go his way. Any little thing could turn into a crisis.

One day, after he had focused a great deal of energy building a tower out of blocks, a younger child came and knocked it down. He was so stunned that he didn’t cry. The teacher immediately came over and helped the younger child express how much fun it is to knock things down, but she also encouraged him to ask permission before he knocked down someone else’s creation. The older boy (to everyone’s amazement) still didn’t yell or cry – he simply started building the tower again.

When he finished, he cheerfully announced to the younger student: “You can knock it down if you want!” This was a real victory for him, and an important step toward learning to choose happiness.

Years of hard financial stress
When my husband and I decided to homeschool our three children, there was no EFL school in Portland. But I was then a Yogananda disciple and a student of his teachings. Intuitively, I used many EFL principles within the home and in teaching our children.

I recently asked my two younger children (ages 13 and 17) whether they ever thought their happiness came from outside themselves. They readily agreed that happiness depends on inner consciousness, not on material possessions or other worldly achievements. Surprisingly, however, my son (age 17) recalled some years of very hard financial stress (which, of course, my husband and I had tried to keep from the children) and remembered thinking, during that time, that everything would be okay if we just had a lot of money.

I also remember feeling the same way. That period of financial stress extended over a long period of time and eventually brought important karmic lessons. But at the time I struggled, not always successfully, to stay calm. I was still fairly new on the path, with young children, and meditation was sporadic. However, by clinging to the Guru, I always knew that the crisis we were facing, though extremely challenging, would eventually pass.

My son’s memory of the financial concerns, and my obvious tension about it, opened the door to a wonderful discussion. I discussed with my two younger children how hard it is to maintain your inner happiness during times of crisis, if you haven’t already made a deep commitment to living that way all the time. The challenges I faced in trying to hang onto inner happiness and peace of mind when conditions were difficult show that mere belief in the principle is not enough. We need to make a serious commitment to living consciously in that reality, day by day, so that it becomes our natural way of being.

The worldly message is flawed
One point my children agree on is that their father and I have given them strong examples of selfless service. Today they all serve happily wherever they can. Just as I did when growing up, they too have experienced the joy of serving others and forgetting the little self. In the EFL curriculum, service is an integral part of the curriculum for all ages, but is particularly emphasized for teens.

By experiencing inner joy in service to others, young people begin to understand that the worldly message of outward fulfillment is flawed. They become aware  that the pursuit of happiness begins and ends in the same place: within their own self. To discover at a young age the infinite source of happiness is a deep blessing that can save them from years of suffering.

Lorna Knox is a founding member of the Ananda Portland colony and serves as a minister there, as well as a teacher at the Portland Living Wisdom School. She is the author of two books published by Crystal Clarity Publishers. Her latest project is writing a curriculum guide for Education For Life teachers. She and her husband have three children, ages 21, 17, and 13.

Growth: “Many times what seems like disaster may be a golden opportunity for your growth as a human being.” Talk by Swami Kriyananda, San Francisco, 1994.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

According to Sri Yukteswar’s explanation of the cycle of the yugas, mankind’s consciousness would have been at the peak of enlightenment in 11,500 B.C., even though most people consider this era to be primitive, its people ignorant, superstitious, and nearly savage. There is, however, a significant amount of accepted evidence which indicates man’s development in 11,500 B.C. was very different than is popularly believed. But several well-established misconceptions, including the notion of the “stone-age caveman,” perpetuate the old vision of the ancient past.

The commonly held view is that nomadic bands roamed the world in 10,000 B.C., grunting to communicate, using crude stone tools, wearing furs, while eking out a miserable existence. This image is almost indelible. We see it in natural history museum dioramas, in textbooks, in movies, in literature, in advertising, in comics and cartoons, even in the idioms we use. To say that the notion of the caveman is thoroughly accepted is an understatement. It just doesn’t happen to be true.

What gave birth to the myth?
There were two powerful ideas that gave birth to the idea of the caveman living as recently as ten thousand years ago. The first and most influential was the theory of evolution. Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species, published in 1859, established the concept that all species – including man – evolve, thus suggesting that an earlier and more primitive version of man must have existed in the past. The second idea, the importance of which is less appreciated today, had to do with the common opinion, at the time of Darwin, of the age of the earth.

Although today most natural scientists believe the world to be 4.5 billion years old, at the time when Darwin’s theory of evolution was taking hold of Western science in the 1860s and 70s, only a handful of scientists thought the earth was even 50 million years old. In the late 1800s, the average person, even the average scientist, thought the earth was far younger than 50 million years.

Combined with Darwin’s theory of evolution, the assumption of a very young earth is significant, because it led the scientists of the day to the conclusion that if man had in fact evolved from the apes, he must have evolved very recently. Many scientists in the late 1800s speculated that a “missing link” must have existed — a new species that branched off from the apes as recently as 20 to 50 thousand years ago, and which evolved from ape-like man to modern man in the short span of a few thousand years.

If the natural scientists in the late 1800s had had the perspective of a 4.5 billion year old earth, they might have theorized a much longer timeline of human evolution, and assumed a caveman period millions of years ago, rather than thousands of years ago. But because of the state of scientific understanding at the time, the idea of cavemen running around as recently as 10,000 B.C. formed and, unfortunately, still persists in the popular mind today.

The search for “missing links”
In response to Darwin’s theory, a new branch of science began to form in the late 1800s—what is now known as paleontology. Hundreds of mostly amateur scientists went out into the field to find evidence of cavemen and missing links. Not surprisingly — given human nature — they found what they were looking for. The world was spellbound by the discoveries of Neanderthal Man, Cro-Magnon Man, Piltdown Man, Java Man, and many others, all of which seemed to corroborate the theory that modern man evolved from the apes within the last 100,000 years.

However, most of these discoveries have since been discredited or significantly reassessed. The Piltdown Man was proved, famously, to be a deliberate hoax, made up from a modern human skull and the jaw of an orangutan. Java Man was shown to be “put together” from bones found up to 10 meters apart, one of which, many authorities believe, was from an ape, and some of which are now known to be thousands of years apart in age. Neanderthal Man as a species is now believed, based on genetic analysis, to be at least a million years old, and there is growing opinion that he is, in fact, the same species as modern man, rather than an earlier and more primitive one.

Perhaps even more intriguing, from the point of view the yugas provide us, is the reassessment of Cro-Magnon Man. Initially Cro-Magnon Man was considered to be a separate species from modern man and was dated as having existed for only 30,000 years: from 40,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C. Current opinion among most paleontologists is that Cro-Magnon man is in fact “early modern human” and the same species as modern man.

Evidence of advanced Stone Age cultures
Nor is it just the examination of ancient bones that makes the idea of primitive stone-age cavemen living in 10,000 B.C. highly unlikely. Over the last 10 to 20 years especially, and in part because of increasingly accurate dating methods and other means of scientific analysis (often called the New Archeology), a great many recent finds demonstrate that intelligent man’s history on earth is much longer than previously assumed.

For example, archeologists have found ancient stores of cultivated grains in Israel, at a site called Ohalo II, a discovery which indicates mankind has been growing and milling grains for at least 23,000 years. Similarly, an archeological dig in Afghanistan shows that horses have been domesticated for at least 15,000 years. Sophisticated settlements such as Göbekli Tepe and Çatal Höyük in Turkey, and Jericho on the West Bank existed as far back in time as 9,500 B.C. Fired pottery has been found in Japan and is attributed to the Jomon culture, which dates back to 12,000 B.C.

In her meticulously researched work, Plato Prehistorian, author Mary Settegast surveys the latest archeological research and findings regarding the time from 10,000 B.C to 5,000 B.C. She concludes that the members of at least some of the old Stone Age cultures were much more advanced than the gatherer-hunter societies of recent times, and were far from the conventional image of “savage creatures.” She notes also that modern-day archeologists are more and more aware of the inadequacy of the common model and are seeking a wholly new vision of man’s past.

Satya Yuga: enlightenment and simple living
What we can conclude from the finds of the New Archeology is that the “footprint” left behind by the so-called stone-age hunter gatherers, now considered to be much more advanced than previously thought, could be the same as the “footprint” left behind by people living in descending Satya Yuga, as we can envision their lifestyle from the description given us by Sri Yukteswar. A small population of spiritually enlightened people, living simply and lightly on the earth, would leave behind the same evidence of their presence in the past — small settlements and simple artifacts — as we associate with early man.

Even if Satya Yuga man did have more advanced capabilities than the new archeologists ascribe to this era, such as metallurgy and the manufacture of textiles, no evidence of it would likely have survived. Items made of fabric, wood, metal, plastic, even concrete, will only last a few thousand years, leaving behind almost no trace of their existence. Even the artifacts of our “mighty” civilization, let alone the simple structures and artifacts of 10,000 B.C., will not withstand the natural forces of disintegration arrayed against them. About the only material that lasts through thousands of years is stone.

The absence of fabric or looms does not conclusively prove that early man wore ragged furs. It is possible that woven cloth and wooden looms did exist and have simply disintegrated with time. The fact that the earliest art works we know of are cave paintings, does not preclude other paintings having been done on materials that have long since turned to dust. The absence of jewelry, or metal tools, does not necessarily mean early man did not know how to work metal; it simply means that none has survived corrosion, oxidation and disintegration, or that they were simply handed down, reused, or re-formed for millennia, as things of value tend to be.

A disinterest in physical possessions
Even if it were the case that the only tools, artifacts, and structures made by Satya Yuga man were made of stone, we need not therefore assume that the people of that time were ignorant and primitive cavemen. During Satya Yuga, the capability to control the environment and to manipulate matter to satisfy simple needs, might have naturally led people to a disinterest in physical possessions and personal comfort; they might have been content to use the simplest of tools when and as they needed them.

It is difficult for us to imagine intelligent people choosing to live in Stone Age conditions – but ours is a time when technology = good and physical comfort = obviously good, and more technology and more comfort = even better. However, in Satya Yuga, peace of mind = good, relaxation = good, simple living = good. Why one would trade a transcendent joy-filled consciousness for stress and toil, so that one could have a big house with the latest conveniences, would be as difficult for the Satya Yuga man to imagine, as it is for Dwapara Yuga man to imagine he could find happiness without them.

Given our current fixation with material prosperity, it is ironic that when people in our day want to take a vacation, they often want to go somewhere well away from the hustle and bustle of our “modern” life, away from telephones and computers—somewhere they can swim, hike, lie in the sun, be in nature, and try to relax and revive their flagging energies and, they hope, find some peace of mind. To a greater or lesser degree, most people know, without always fully understanding why, that true happiness is a state of being, not a state of having.

At the very least, recent finds, and other accumulating evidence from the past, seriously call into question the commonly held view of primitive, stone-age cavemen roaming the world 10,000 years ago. Indeed, more and more evidence points to a far longer history of civilized man than is currently assumed, and to a picture of man in 10,000 B.C. far different from the caveman of popular conception.

*******       *******       *******

From the forthcoming book, The Yugas: Keys to Understanding Man’s Hidden Past, Emerging Present, and Future Enlightenment, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Joseph Purushottama Selbie has been a minister, teacher, and business and community leader in various Ananda communities for over 30 years. His education in archeology and Eastern and Western philosophy, and a keen interest in ancient history combine to provide knowledgeable insight into the yugas.

David Steinmetz, a Lightbearer and Ananda Village resident, has worked as both an astronomer and an optical engineer. He has been giving lectures and classes on the yuga cycle model of history for more than a decade and presently teaches a course based on that model at the Ananda College of Living Wisdom. He was initiated as a nayaswami in the Nayaswami Order in 2009.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

A delusion, then, is a widespread misperception of the actual state of things. All delusions suggest distorted images of reality. Worst of all, they cause us to seek fulfillment in means that always prove to be, in the end, mere shadows.

The “great delusions” are classically three in number: wine, money, and sex. To that grouping I have added another two: the desire for power, and for fame.

Wine (Intoxicants)

Wine includes any intoxicant whose effect on human awareness is depressing or deadening, and addictive. Intoxicants are (as the word implies) toxic, and reduce one’s ability ever to relate realistically to objective circumstances. For even when people recover from their alcoholic hangovers, they find themselves less able than before to cope with their difficulties.

“Wine” doesn’t include medication — anesthesia, for example, — nor the medicines people take to reduce severe physical pain. But even pain medication can become addictive by prolonged use. Addiction is the most particular danger of drinking any form of alcohol. And although some people claim that marijuana and various “hallucinogenic” drugs are non-addictive, they present at least the danger of psychological addiction.

Escaping reality by numbing one’s awareness
Those who aspire to superconscious awareness and inner soul freedom should shun, if possible, anything that dulls one’s awareness. What makes such things delusions is that they promise escape from reality by numbing one’s awareness of it. For this reason people will often seek refuge in sleep or over-eating. However, such a “way out” is no better than that of the legendary ostrich, which hides its head in the sand at any approach of danger.

The spiritual path, on the other hand, far from being an escape from reality, offers the only way out of delusion itself, and to the only abiding reality there is.

Paramhansa Yogananda: abstain from alcohol
Many people, of course, take alcoholic drinks not to deaden their awareness, but simply to be sociable, or for the stimulation they say it gives them. Any stimulant, however, brings one under the sway of duality. Raising one’s spirits by artificial means leads inevitably to a corresponding lowering, later on.

It is a mistake, therefore, to take alcoholic drinks even socially. And although the negative effects of light drinking may not be immediately noticeable, they will become so, in time.

A student of Paramhansa Yogananda heeded for a time the Guru’s counsel that she give up drinking alcoholic beverages. After a few weeks, however, finding it socially inconvenient to abstain from alcohol altogether, she began drinking a little beer or wine at parties. When she saw the Master again a few weeks later, he looked at her sternly and said, “I meant all alcoholic beverages!”

Desire for Money

The next of the “great delusions” is money. Money is not, as tradition tells us, “the root of all evil,” for we obviously need it in countless situations. In this sense, money is a “necessary necessity,” to use an expression of Yogananda’s. We should try, therefore, to make good use of it. Money itself isn’t the problem. The problem is people’s desire for money, which can indeed be called “the root of all evil.”

False hope of finding happiness
Money never, in itself, gives happiness, nor can we derive happiness from anything we buy with money. The desire for money is a principal delusion for the simple reason that it offers endless opportunities for satisfying the desire for everything we hope (falsely) will bring us happiness.

Rich people, unless they are free from attachment to wealth and use their money primarily to help others, are seldom happy—statistically, they have been found to be less happy than poor people. Possessing wealth opens up the possibility of “satisfying” an almost limitless number of desires. The rich person is likely to devote himself to looking around for “what more” possessions and exciting experiences he can accumulate in his attempt to find happiness. Yet happiness eludes him completely, for as my Guru succinctly put it, stating the law that governs desires: “Desires, ever gratified, are never satisfied.”

An affirmation of lack
Indeed, the very desire for things is itself an affirmation of lack, which in turn is a kind of poverty. We must understand that the source of all happiness lies in oneself, never in outside things. To nourish it, we must develop an inner life.

Sexual Desire

What about the third of the “great delusions,” sexual desire? Sex is, indeed, the greatest delusion of all.

“I want something from you”
What is delusive about sexual attraction, above all, is its reaffirmation of ego-consciousness. Men and women, feeling a natural attraction to one another, hold particularly to the thought, “I — you.” That thought “I” predominates, of course: “I want something from you.”

For the devotee who wants to know God, ego is the supreme delusion to overcome. Ego is the post to which every other delusion is tied. As long as we engage in any activity (including thought) with ego-commitment, it will be difficult to escape from ego-consciousness, and the inevitable suffering it brings.

Constant thoughts of lower fulfillment
Indulgence in sex is physically and mentally debilitating — especially so for men, but also, in time and particularly with over-indulgence, for women. It keeps one’s energy firmly locked at the base of the spine, whereas the higher one’s consciousness is centered in the spine, the greater one’s inner contentment, freedom, and happiness. Sex, moreover, binds people’s consciousness, in a way that no other delusion does, to constant thoughts of lower fulfillment.

Sexual indulgence prematurely ages people. It prevents them from exercising fine discrimination, and from enjoying finer esthetic pleasures. But worst of all, as I said, it binds people firmly to the post of ego-consciousness.

Benefits of overcoming sex-consciousness
The difficulty involved in overcoming sex-consciousness is more than compensated for by the freedom that comes with inner conquest. The resulting benefits are:

a) greater energy
b) greatly increased inner happiness
c) great inner freedom
d) better health
e) much greater mental clarity
f) an ability to give love equally to all
g) joy

How can one overcome this natural urge? Not by shame, nor by disgust or any other negative attitude. One must learn to see it as a perfectly natural function, placed there by Nature to ensure the continuance of the species. The way out of it is first to think of it as a holy act — one, however, which can be transcended by even greater holiness in the thought of God.

The next thing is to be more impersonal in one’s behavior toward others, especially those of the opposite sex. To be impersonal does not mean to be cold. One can be very kind in one’s treatment of others. The important thing is not to want anything from them for oneself.

A natural magnetism exists
The next most important thing is to recognize and accept that a natural magnetism exists between men and women. It can affect them, in one another’s company, even if they are physically blind. The principal conduits for this magnetism are the eyes, and the sense of touch. It would be unrealistic to tell men and women to stop mixing with one another, though this is ideal for monks and nuns. However, to rise above this instinct, or to keep it under control, one should avoid gazing too closely into the eyes of the other sex.

Many scoff at the existence of sexual attraction simply because he (or she) meets so many of the other sex who exercise for him no attraction at all. Nevertheless, it’s always possible that an affectionate relationship may exist between certain people from past lives. That sense of special bond may awaken within him (or her) at any time.

Is there an age when the attraction is lessened? My Guru said, “No age. It is always present, until with God’s grace one has truly overcome it.” My sister-in-law once mentioned that her little daughter, aged about three, had a special giggle reserved just for little boys. And old people, even when the instinct is physically dormant, often show a special affection for young people of the other sex.

Limit the field by marriage
Avoid especially, therefore, the common practice of hugging others or touching them unnecessarily. A hug may be only a sign of friendship, but why express feeling for anyone through such a volatile sense as touch?

The best way, for most people, is to limit the field for themselves by monogamous marriage. Only when a person can mix with relative freedom from any thought that sexual differences exist does he find it easy not to be drawn downward by this “greatest delusion,” as my Guru called it. Complete immunity comes only with spiritual advancement, and even then one must be careful until the state of nirbikalpa samadhi is attained.

Desire for Power

Beyond these three “great delusions,” there are two other major ones. Supreme among them is the craving for power. What makes this craving a delusion is, again, the accompanying affirmation of ego-consciousness. All delusions, indeed, endanger one’s peace of mind, strengthen the ego, and deepen one’s sense of isolation from others and from any sense of support from the universe.

The desire for power may be less obvious than the first three “great delusions,” but with many people this desire, too, is obsessive. Indeed, in our present technological age, the desire for power is, if anything, growing in strength as the opportunities for achieving it increase.

The thought of controlling others
Power might be compared to the manipulation of chessmen on a chess board, with this important difference: a chess player may preen himself on winning a game, but the manipulation of people awakens in the manipulator the thought of controlling them. This thought causes one to reaffirm constantly his own egoic consciousness.

A true leader views his position as an opportunity to serve others. He therefore identifies himself with those whom he leads, which lessens any sense of separation he may feel owing to ego-consciousness. If, however, a person exults in exerting power over others, he will necessarily think in terms of forcing them to obey him. Power, therefore, necessarily increases a person’s ego-consciousness, making it more difficult for him to broaden his spiritual identity.

Dependence on the Good Opinion of Others

Last, I’ll mention a delusion that is actually three delusions in one. They come under the general heading of “dependence on the good opinion of others.” This little bundle of delusions combines the craving for recognition, for fame, and for worldly prominence. Anyone who harbors any of these cravings will seek support from others for his ego, rather than developing confidence in his own inner Self.

To be centered in the inner Self is the spiritual ideal. To base self-recognition on the opinions of others is to build a house on shifting sand. The greatest error in courting their good opinion lies in the fact that such dependence strips away any solid basis one might have for self-understanding. Even when others may be right — and especially where their opinions of you are concerned — you should depend on your own self-perception before God.

From Religion and the New Age and Other Essays.

Growth: “Self-control in all things is the direction of true growth.” The Art and Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

The “writing on the wall”
It all began one January day at Ananda Village when the director of The Peace Treaty asked if I would be in the play. My response was brief and to the point: “Umm…No!” Not willing to accept my answer, she replied, “Well, what if I write to Swami Kriyananda to see what he thinks about the idea?” How could I say “no” to that? I agreed to discuss it with her again once she heard from Kriyananda, but already I could see the “writing on the wall.”

We met a few weeks later after Kriyananda had replied to her email. The director told me she had never known him to be so enthusiastic about someone being in the play, adding that it is wise to listen to his advice if we want to grow spiritually. “So,” she concluded, “would you like to be part of the play?”

A tug of war was going on inside of me. I had always seen myself as a “background person,” with no interest in being in the spotlight. One side was saying, “NO! I like the way I am! Think of all the rehearsals, and how hard I’ll have to work to get over self-consciousness.” But the other side, the voice of the soul, was saying, “Yes! I want to grow and change. I want to be free!”

I observed these two warring energies for a moment. Did I want to listen to the voice of the ego or did I want to take a step toward soul-expansion and freedom? At that point there was no longer much of a decision to make. I knew what I had to do.

“Yes,” I said, “I’ll do it.”
I hadn’t won the whole war in that moment, but I had agreed to fight the battle. By saying “yes,” I had affirmed the truth that I was more than the ego, and that I was willing to raise my energy and try to break through  limiting self-definitions.

“What will they think of me?”
The rehearsals involved a fairly constant battle to expand beyond my comfortable little shell. My main challenge was not easy—to open up, get myself “out of the way,” and to project energy. Repeatedly the director encouraged me to try to “flow with it more.” Whenever I thought I achieved what she was asking of me, invariably there was more to learn.

My biggest battle, however, right up to the day of the performance, was nervousness. Unlike most plays, The Peace Treaty is performed only once each year, during the summer. Knowing that everything hangs on that one performance didn’t help my nervousness. I was constantly battling the consciousness of “what will they think of me?” and dealing with that part of myself that was afraid of making embarrassing mistakes.

A great flow of power
The day of the performance, my heart was racing as I stood backstage, waiting for my cue to go onstage in the first scene. I was becoming more and more nervous. In desperation, I gazed out over Lotus Lake, directly behind the outdoor amphitheater, and silently prayed to my Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda: “Master, I can’t do this on my own. I need your help. Please help me!”

Shortly afterwards, I got my cue and stepped out onto the stage and faced the crowd. I was saying my first line when suddenly, I felt a great power flowing through me, and out to the audience. All nervousness was swept away in that current of energy, and I knew that God was right there with me.

In fact, there was a moment in the first scene when I was able to tune into the audience, to feel its joy in the play’s comic moments, and somehow know exactly how to say my lines to increase its enjoyment. The audience was no longer a faceless crowd but a friend with whom I had formed a mutually enjoyable relationship. I realized that this, too, was the Guru’s grace because it took a certain amount of relaxation to be able to relate to the audience this way.

The same tests and lessons repeat
After that first year’s performance, I asked myself, “Do I still need to do this? Haven’t I learned what The Peace Treaty can teach me?” Foolish thought! At least I was aware enough to realize that my very desire to pull away from the play meant I still had more to learn.

When rehearsals began again the spring of the second year, I was more than a little frustrated to discover that I was still dealing with nervousness and resistance to performing. Although I now know that the same spiritual tests often repeat themselves until the deeper lessons are learned, this was my first experience of it. In fact, I seemed to be having more resistance than ever. I prayed to God and Guru for help, but it wasn’t until the director spoke to the cast before the dress rehearsal that an answer came. She told us: “The ego gets nervous, the soul loves to share.”

How helpful that was! Now I had a formula to work with. Any time I felt unwilling and nervous, I could simply say to myself, “Aha, that’s the ego, let it go. The soul loves to share.” I could then focus on that expansive attitude of sharing. I realized that nervousness is simply the ego starting to feel vulnerable. By focusing strongly on the soul’s love of sharing, I found it easier to transcend my counterproductive energies. The only times my formula didn’t work was when I was already too locked into the “what will they think of me?” consciousness. Fortunately, all nervousness vanished during the performance.

A very humbling thought
With my third year of involvement with the play, nervousness became much less of a problem and different lessons came to the fore. The Peace Treaty addresses not only the issue of how to bring about lasting peace after a war, but also many of the spiritual challenges we face as devotees. There is a charming scene in which a soldier named Baltan exclaims loudly that certain other soldiers are “vain braggarts!” His friend Ponder quickly reminds him that we need to, “Be careful. From the things we criticize in others, we reveal what we are, ourselves.”  It is of course Baltan who exemplifies the quality of being a “vain braggart.”

Now, to be sure, I had heard these lines many times and had appreciated the truth they expressed. But on that particular day that truth hit me like a lightening bolt. Suddenly I was able to see very clearly that the things that annoyed me in others—things that weren’t even necessarily bad—were qualities that I rejected in myself. A very humbling thought!

For example, I have a sensitive and soft nature, but because in our culture, masculine strength is often equated with a sort of callous toughness, I had mistaken sensitivity and softness for weakness and was critical of it in others. I had also rejected it in myself and had tried to conceal it by erecting a protective shell of callousness. But I now understand that one can possess great inner strength and still be soft. In fact, it takes great inner strength to be able to stand firmly at your center while keeping an open, loving heart, no matter what life throws at you.

A joyful celebration of devotion
My third year of involvement with the play also brought a new understanding of renunciation. Each year there are scenes that sink in more deeply. In this instance it was a dance by Gazella, a deeply devotional young woman for whom dance is a form of prayer. In the graceful movements of the dance, and the beautiful way Gazella expressed her great devotion for God, I felt and understood renunciation in a deeper way.

I saw that renunciation is not a denial of life and love, but a joyful celebration of the soul’s freedom and devotion in God, and of the determination to seek love in God alone. It is, after all, in God that all love originates. Anandamoyi Ma once said to Swami Kriyananda, “There is no love except God’s love.”

Renunciation means understanding that any love I feel, even for another person, is God’s love, and need not result in attachment. By loving impersonally, my love becomes all the greater because I expect nothing in return.

Rich with wisdom and blessings
As I approach my fourth year of performing in The Peace Treaty, I look forward with almost eager anticipation to the lessons this year will bring. In a sense, the play has become a teacher for me. The experience has given me the self-confidence to embrace a more positive image of myself, and the determination to try to say “yes” to whatever life asks of me. It has also helped me to see the spiritual path as an ongoing process of growth and expansion beyond my limiting self-definitions.

Swami Kriyananda writes that spiritual “evolution never ceases, until at last time itself becomes timelessness, and the ends we seek end in endlessness.” After three years of performing in The Peace Treaty, “endlessness” seems less like a dream and more like something I might actually be able to attain.

Peter Kretzmann lives at Ananda Village and serves with Ananda Sangha’s IT (computer) Department. He also works part-time for his father’s business, MeditationBench.com

For information about the Summer 2010 performance of The Peace Treaty click here

Growth: “We can–we must–rise above the contractive tides and swim energetically with the expansive, for thereon depend our continuing growth.” Expansive Marriage by Swami Kriyananda.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

One day as the King’s procession passed along the boulevard, he saw two blind men, sitting about twenty yards apart, shouting for alms. The king stopped his carriage to investigate. The first blind man was shouting, “To whom the King gives, he alone becomes rich.” The second blind man was shouting, “To whom God gives, he alone becomes rich.”

Whenever his procession drove along the boulevard, he heard these demands for riches from himself and from God. At last, the King, feeling flattered by the first blind man’s utterance that “To whom the King gives, he alone becomes rich,” ordered a large loaf of bread to be baked with the inside filled with solid gold. The King gave this loaf to the first blind man, and completely ignored the second blind man, who believed that God alone could make him rich.

After being away on a hunting trip for several weeks, the King again passed along the boulevard and came to the first blind man to whom he had given the loaf. This man was still shouting, “To whom the King gives, he alone becomes rich.” The king asked, “What did you do with the loaf I gave you?” The blind man replied, “Your Royal Highness, the loaf you gave me was too large and heavy. I’m afraid it was not well baked, so I sold it to the other blind man for ten cents. I was happy to receive those ten cents.”

The second blind man was no longer on the street. Upon inquiry, Akbar discovered that the second blind man had given the loaf to his wife, who had opened it and found the gold. With this she bought a home.

Upon learning this, the King, with inner humility but with outward wrath, rebuked the first blind man, saying, “You fool, you gave away my gold-stuffed loaf to your friend who depended upon God and not upon me for wealth. From now on you must change your motto and shout, like your friend, “To whom God gives, he alone becomes rich.”

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This story has a wonderful moral. Millions of people today think that all wealth comes from banks, factories, jobs, and through personal ability. This great depression* has proven that America is the most prosperous starving nation on the face of the globe. When the wealthiest country on earth, without any national catastrophe, can be suddenly thrown into poverty, it proves that there are divine laws that govern our physical, mental, spiritual, and financial lives.

Every day, as you try to become better and happier, strive also to help others become better and happier. Learn to include the happiness and welfare of others in your own happiness. The happiness of  individuals, families, and the nation depend entirely upon the law of mutual cooperation, unselfishness, and living up to this motto: “Father, bless us, that we may remember Thee always, and that all things flow from Thee.”

*This article was written during the 1930s depression.

From the Praecepta Lessons, 1934, and How To Be a Success, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Growth: “The first condition for any genuine growth in understanding is an openness to receive.” The Jewel in the Lotus, by Swami Kriyananda.

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Dear ___________:

The truth does seem to be that when we put our faith in people and in circumstances we are doomed to disappointment. There is only one who disappoints us never: God.

But if we act in the right way—not to please people, but to please Him—then it is true that all things begin to flow smoothly, and a world so full of a mixture of circumstances, pleasant and unpleasant tumbled and tangled together, suddenly is seen to be basically good and right.

Our own outlook is the most important thing to be improved. With a right attitude, even harsh-seeming treatment may appear full of hidden purpose, even kindness. To act kindly toward others with nothing but a view to buying their kindness in return would imply a selfish, mercantile attitude. The merit of kindness could never be proved in this way, for the initial act would have little in it of genuine feeling.

Rather, an attitude of true kindness will be its own greatest reward. In whatever way people respond, the kind person sees kindness somehow being reflected back to him from all sides. He is able to turn even curses into blessings, and hurts into an opportunity for inner growth.

But what I said remains true objectively also. You are looking at the short view. What we draw to us now is the result of many attitudes of the past. If people treat us harshly despite our present kindness to them, it is because the seeds of harshness have not been completely erased from our own subconsciousness. For the short view, you can certainly say that goodness begets more goodness in return than badness does. Then is it not reasonable to suppose that, if you perfect that goodness, those relatively desirable returns will improve proportionately?

Still, as I said, in the end only God can never disappoint us, for only God is real.

In divine friendship,

Swami Kriyananda

From Letters to Truth Seekers, 1973 (Currently out of print).

Growth: “Every growth in awareness is, in the last analysis, a growth in Self-awareness.”  Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness by Swami Kriyananda,

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I have stridden bravely through the strewn ashes of my past and future fears.

I am the Eternal NOW, having torn to shreds my enclosing cocoon of ignorance with the sharp knife of free will.

Now I am Thy soaring butterfly of eternity, flitting freely through immeasurable skies of time.

The beauty of my wings I spread out through Nature everywhere, to entertain all beings.

My wings are sprinkled with suns and stardust. Lo! I am beautiful!

May every silken thread that shrouded my past folly be severed forever.

See! They trail now behind me, only adding to my beauty as I wing my way to my own Self in Thee.

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

To order click here

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During my college years, my friends and I were in agreement on the deficiencies of the education we were receiving. In literature, art, and philosophy, we were subjected to the pervading influence of the French writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who reveled in meaninglessness. For all of us, it was agonizing to imagine a sterile world bereft of meaning and inspiration.

Years later, I was thrilled to discover Out of the Labyrinth by Swami Kriyananda. That book answered all my questions about life’s meaning, and replaced the barren ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre with a vision of hope and inspiration. Later, when Kriyananda published Education for Life: Preparing Children to Meet the Challenges, I recognized it as the “cure” for the ills of our society because it explained how teachers and parents could give children a sense of life’s joyous possibilities, starting at the earliest age.

In Education for Life, Swami Kriyananda writes:

A growing child needs faith just as urgently as he needs to breathe. When he is stripped of his last vestige of faith, his disillusionment transforms itself into a desire for vengeance against those who have deprived him of something so precious to his very existence.

That “vengeance” is evident everywhere today and especially in nihilistic music, high suicide rates among teenagers, violence, and addiction.

An expansion of consciousness
At the start of the book, Kriyananda asks a fundamental question: What do people truly want from life? And the answer he gives is irreducibly simple: the underlying motivation behind all human actions, however disguised or misguided, is that we want to experience greater happiness, and avoid sorrow.

We cannot help children learn to be happy, Kriyananda continues, if we merely cram their heads with facts. We must show them that true happiness comes by expanding our awareness. He explains:

An expansion of consciousness has always, in the long history of civilization, been associated with an expansion of such feelings as sympathy, empathy, and love. Far from setting oneself apart from, or even against, other human beings, self-expansion naturally includes a concern for the well-being of all.

How different, this, from the teaching of Sartre, who wrote: “To be conscious of another is to be conscious of what one is not.”

Children’s hearts receive “equal time”
Most schools focus on developing the students’ ability to memorize facts and use their reason. Little attention is paid other important facets of their natures, which, Kriyananda argues, are indispensable to the search for happiness and success.

In Education for Life, he issues a clarion call for a more balanced approach, in which children’s hearts receive “equal time.” Developing children’s calm, sensitive feelings, he says, is essential even for academic success, since reason is wisely guided only when it includes intuitive feeling.

Education for Life offers methods for reintroducing the heart into education, without sacrificing academic achievement. That this approach works is abundantly demonstrated in Ananda’s Living Wisdom Schools, where the students consistently score well above average on standardized national tests of academic achievement.

The “Stages of Maturity”
Swami Kriyananda points out that every child is unique, and must be guided sensitively, with respect for his or her present awareness. With the concept of six-year “Stages of Maturity” he gives us a wonderful framework for understanding children, and how their needs change over time.

In the first stage of a child’s development, from birth to about age 6, the child’s primary developmental task is to master the body and senses. From 6 to 12, feelings come to the fore – this is a time when children are receptive to learning through the “media of feeling” – stories, art, music, and dance. The “feeling phase” is, Swami Kriyananda points out, the most important phase in a child’s development, because it lays the foundation for everything that follows.

From 12 to 18, teenagers flex the muscles of their will, in preparation for independent adulthood. It’s essential that they know how to use their will expansively, with a heartfelt sense of right and wrong, and with sensitive awareness of the realities of others. Similarly, the life of the mind, which dominates the years from 18 to 24, needs to be guided by calm, intuitive feeling.

Kriyananda devotes several chapters to understanding children’s special needs during each six-year phase, and he gives many suggestions for teaching them to use the “Tools of Maturity” – body, heart, will, and mind – to achieve ever-expanding awareness, happiness, and success.

A unitive approach to school subjects
Education for Life makes a powerful case for a unitive, expansive approach to traditional academic subjects, one that gives children a picture of the world that is rich in meaningful connections. It includes, for example, assigning new names to traditional subjects – science, for example, can be called “Our Earth – Our Universe,” while “Understanding People” is the name he proposes for history, geography, and psychology. He writes:

The relevance of every subject should be seen in the context of human needs and of our own ability to understand. Every subject studied in school should be studied also for its relevance to other subjects.

Science, for example, has evolved a method that can provide a new tool for understanding in all the branches of knowledge. For these other studies, the scientific method — hypothesis tested by experiment — needs only be restated as belief tested by experience.

What of “spiritual” values?
Since the introduction of “spiritual” values into public school curriculums would unquestionably be met by vigorous protests, Swami Kriyananda suggests that the principles of Education for Life be introduced in small, independent schools. (The Ananda Living Wisdom Schools have applied these methods for more than thirty years.) But he also suggests that teachers in public schools can at least introduce principles, since at no point does Education for Life require the support of sectarian claims.

Qualities such as humility are by no means sectarian dogmas. It doesn’t take much experience of life to see that pride does in fact “go before a fall,” as the wisdom of the ages has always told us. Humility, like countless other virtues, is a practical concept. Why not teach it as such in the classroom?

Role models of the expansive life
Children, Kriyananda says, need role models who exemplify the expansive life. In the Living Wisdom Schools, children live and breathe the examples of great human beings – not by merely memorizing facts and dates, but by absorbing their qualities.

An outstanding example is the yearly play produced by the Palo Alto Living Wisdom School. Now in its 18th year, the all-school theater event draws hundreds of students, teachers, and theater-goers from the surrounding community to be inspired by the lives of great world teachers such as Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Moses, Rumi, Quan Yin, and the Dalai Lama.

No pompous moralizing
Education for Life argues that children learn values most effectively by being shown how values operate in their own lives. A well-known incident in the lore of Ananda beautifully illustrates this practice. A winter storm blanketed Ananda Village with snow, and the teachers compassionately let the children go out to play. They soon started a snowball fight, in which several younger children were hurt and began crying. Later, when the children were calmer, they built a snowman.

The teachers recognized a priceless opportunity to help the students learn from their own experience. Back in the classroom, they asked them, “Which did you enjoy more – the snowball fight, or making a snowman?” The children replied, “The snowman!” One student said, “Yeah, the little kids got hurt and were crying, and it made me feel bad.”

No pompous moralizing or dry logic is needed when teachers are able to help children understand how values “work” in the laboratory of their lives. In this case, the lesson was clear – hurting others is contractive and makes us feel unhappy, while cooperating is expansive and fun and makes us feel wonderful.

How to be successful? How to be happy? The answer is simple: by using our God-given Tools of Maturity – body, heart, will, mind, and soul – in ways that expand our awareness. If children everywhere learned these skills, the cloud of meaninglessness would disperse, and the light of wisdom would shine once again on their lives.

Tyagi Rambhakta lives in the Mountain View Ananda Community. He is the author of a book on fitness and sports training by yoga principles as taught by Paramhansa Yogananda (see www.fitnessintuition.com).

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Growth: “Growth must come naturally, not in violence to one’s nature.” Art & Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda.

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The size of your garden doesn’t matter — whether it’s grand in scale or a tiny plot of land. Maybe all you have is a balcony. The spirit you instill in your garden is what counts. That spirit is what will be reflected back to you and others.

What is the spirit of gardening?
What is the spirit of gardening? When we give our love, care, and energy to a garden we experience a greater awareness of life. A garden can be a channel for our kindness, creativity, nurturing energy, and attunement to nature and the Divine behind all creation. Gardening can thus bring us to an ever-deepening respect and reverence for all life.

The long-cherished story, The Secret Garden, beautifully illustrates the spirit of gardening. In that story, a walled garden has been locked for many years, but a little girl, Mary, finds the buried key and explores the garden. After a time, Mary brings two new-found friends into the secret garden (along with the gruff old gardener). Through loving care, toil, and a spirit of discovery, they restore the garden to a state of beauty and inspiration.

Each child has a unique approach to the garden and a unique way of uncovering its beauty. Through the experience of gardening, they each learn, grow, and are deeply rejuvenated physically and emotionally. Gardening changes who they are and how they relate to all of life. Finally, as the story ends, the children’s life-changing perceptions, gained through their experiences in the garden, help them bring greater happiness to others.

Where do you begin?
How does one create a garden, and experience the spirit of gardening in real life? There is no set formula where you must begin. Simply start with WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU. Then your heart will be in what you do.

Make a list that includes all that you want in your garden. For example:

• Do you want to be surrounded by greenery, or greeted by colorful flowers?
• Are you longing for a vegetable garden, an herb bed, or an orchard?
• Is it your desire to have a garden that attracts birds or butterflies; or that has a pond for frogs, fish, or water lilies?
• Would you like trees for children or cats to climb, or to provide shade on hot summer days?
• Would you prefer a secure place for dogs to run and play, or a tree house where children can gather?
• Do you need a place to entertain friends or have family gatherings?
• Are you longing for a personal refuge, a quiet place for contemplation or meditation?

Now prioritize your list, so the most meaningful items can become your initial focus.You usually can’t bring in one item without including some of the others, but at least you will have a place to start and more clarity about the process.

The four aspects of our being
We all have four aspects to our being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. These four aspects can be represented in the garden. I’ll give a few examples:

The physical person
A person who is very physical — plays a lot of sports, loves exercise, and always wants to be on the move — may want the garden or yard to have features that allow for physical activities or sports. What would you like to do at home? Is there room to play volleyball, croquet, basketball, or to swim? How about a workshop? The physical act of working in the garden — pruning, planting, weeding, raking, and composting — may also be very fulfilling to the physical person.

The mental or intellectual person
A mental, logical, or intellectual person may enjoy the visual lines of a garden, or features that spark curiosity or observation, more than he or she enjoys flowers. For such a person, the garden will need to appeal to the mind, to have an orderly or methodical layout, practical items, or elements that make sense.

What garden features fit in with the practical elements of your lifestyle? What interests you? Are you interested in a vegetable or herb garden, statuary or art, stonework, or organic gardening and composting? If your real thrill is in propagating plants, the perfect “garden” for you may be a greenhouse, a place where you can spend time in a controlled environment with your projects. Also, you may appreciate such practical items as an automatic watering system.

The emotional or feeling person
A feeling, emotional, or intuitive person will want to enjoy the feeling imparted by the garden: peaceful, happy, abundant, exotic, relaxing, playful —or maybe a variety of feelings.

If you have such a nature, what flowers, shrubs, or trees make you feel good, or evoke fond memories? Did your mother, father, sibling, grandparent, or friend have a favorite flower or garden feature that you would like to include around your own home? Also important, are there plants or elements with unpleasant memories that you want to avoid?

The spiritually oriented person
The spiritually oriented person will value a garden with qualities that uplift the spirit, expand the awareness, and are reminders of a higher consciousness or of the Divine—qualities such as inner peace, expansiveness, harmony, divine love, or joy.

The design of this garden could reflect simplicity and tranquil beauty, incorporate statues as reminders of the divine reality, or include an area for meditation or contemplation. Such a garden may have fluid lines, graceful trees or arches, sweeps of color in varying shapes and hues, and a soaring, expansive view.

Every person, of course, is more than a single quality — physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. The combination and strength of the qualities is what makes each person, and each garden, unique. Keep in mind, also, that if two people are creating a garden together, what is very important to one person may have little significance to another. Try to select features that will make the garden fulfilling for both of you.

Excerpted from The Spirit of Gardening,* Crystal Clarity Publishers. *The book from which this article is excerpted provides more details than could be included in the article and beautiful color illustrations of different types of gardens.

Nancy (Netri) Mair is a professional landscape designer and the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award in landscape design by the California Landscape Contractors Association. A longtime member of Ananda and the author of several books, she lives at Ananda Village.

To order The Spirit of Gardening from Crystal Clarity Publishers click here

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The Bowl of Porridge
(From Nayaswami Anandi)

Saint Francis had a brother monk, Brother Juniper, who was a rather simple brother and at times a frustration to his superiors. He once made a mistake and his superior chastised him for it at great lengths.

Brother Juniper woke up in the middle of that same night and reflected on his superior’s recent chastisement. And he thought, “You know, I think my superior strained his voice when he was yelling at me. I feel very, very bad about that, so I think I should do something to remedy it.”

So he went down to the kitchen and cooked up some porridge with lots of butter in it. He said to himself, “This will be very helpful.”

With a candle in one hand and the porridge in the other, he went upstairs and knocked on the door of his superior’s room. His superior was sound asleep and awoke with a start thinking something horrible had happened. He opened the door and said, “What is it? What is it?”

Brother Juniper said, “Well, I thought about your voice today when you were scolding me, and it sounded like it was getting a little bit weak. I thought this porridge would moisten your throat and prevent you from getting ill.”

His superior was irate. He said, “You woke me up for this! I can’t believe it!  I don’t want your porridge!”

And Brother Juniper said, “Oh well, if you don’t want the porridge, could you hold the candle while I eat it?”

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School Lunch

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a parochial elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher had posted a note on the apple tray: “Take only ONE. God is watching.” Further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table, was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note: “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”

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A Million To One

A man, trying to understand the nature of God, asked Him: “God, how long is a million years to you?” God answered, “A million years is like a minute.” Then the man asked, “God, how much is a million dollars to you?” And God replied, “A million dollars is like a penny.” Finally the man asked, “ God, could you give me a penny?” And God said, “In a minute!”

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A Prayer for the Day

Dear God, so far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, and I haven’t lost my temper. I haven’t been grumpy, nasty, or selfish, and I’m really glad of that! But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help. Thank you! Amen.

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The Tooth Fairy
(From Nayaswami Jyotish)

A dear friend has two daughters, one age 6 and the other age 9. The younger daughter lost a tooth and put it under her pillow when she went to bed that same night. In the morning she woke up and found a quarter where the tooth had been, and she was very happy that the tooth fairy had come.

Later, she and her older sister were in the room with their mother. After a moment, the younger sister asked her mother very tentatively, “Mommy, are you really the tooth fairy?”

The mother looked at the older daughter rather sternly and said, “Did you tell her?”

“Yeah, Mommy,” she replied somewhat sheepishly.

Without waiting for her mother’s reply, the younger daughter said, “But Mommy, how do you get to all those houses every night?”

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The sky seems bright or sad according to our own changing moods, not to its own. True growth comes first by improving our own attitudes. Eastern Thoughts—Western Thoughts by Swami Kriyananda.

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The emotions are our “demons,” for they obstruct our growth in understanding. These demons range themselves in grim determination to combat expansiveness and soul-aspiration of any kind. Out of the Labyrinth by Swami Kriyananda.

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To be a true disciple, we must be open to life, open to truth wherever we find it. In that way, we find many opportunities for growth. In that openness which is true humility, we find that we can learn from the stones, from the clouds, from everything. Lessons in Discipleship by Swami Kriyananda.

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When we try to transform ourselves by self-effort alone, we limit our potential for healing and growth. Affirmation should be lifted from the self-enclosure of the mind into the greater reality of superconsciousness. Affirmations for Self-Healing by Swami Kriyananda.

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Even failures should act as stimulants to your will power, and to your material and spiritual growth. Weed out the causes of failure and with double vigor launch what you wish to accomplish. The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success. The Attributes of Success by Paramhansa Yogananda, 1944.

Editor’s Note: Additional “growth quotations” can be found at the end of most articles.

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]]> http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2010/06/yogananda-kriyananda-growth/feed/ 0 http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2010/03/kriyananda-dharma-yogananda/ http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2010/03/kriyananda-dharma-yogananda/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:58:11 +0000 Nayaswami Kriyananda http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/?p=6639 The meaning of the word dharma is “duty,” but it’s that duty which leads you to the realization of your highest Self. There are lower and higher forms of duty, including your worldly duty, but in the highest sense, the word dharma means that action which leads you toward Self-realization.

It’s very important to understand that your dharma is uniquely your own, the things you need to do. There’s a general dharma that’s true for everyone—we all need to love, to forgive, to be in joy, to live peacefully, to be honest and truthful. But there are specific things that are inwardly right for you because they will help you to find God—and they aren’t necessarily the things you’re good at. You may be a good actor, but it may go against your dharma to be an actor because doing so could feed your ego.

It says in the Bhagavad Gita: “It’s better to fail in your own dharma than to succeed in someone else’s.” Whatever is the right way for you, that is your dharma. This principle is very important to understand because it follows from this that there are no more or less important roles in life. There isn’t anything important except knowing God, and the position you hold is totally extraneous.

I met a saint in India who had received a few letters from someone I knew, and he asked me what her work was. I explained that she was the head of an organization and described her responsibilities. He said: “Because of her position, she is able to work out her karma more quickly. It happens to be her karma to do it that way—not good karma, just karma. But it would be a misfortune for someone without that karma to be in that position because it wouldn’t help them to move forward.”

Work is not important for its own sake
People on the spiritual path sometimes make the mistake of  thinking that what they do is important for its own sake. They begin to think: “Oh, we can do big things,” or “We can accomplish wonders,” or “We can teach the multitudes, and won’t it be wonderful when everybody in the world is meditating because we got the message across to them in the right way?”

It doesn’t ever happen that way. The world drifts along in its own direction. You do things on the spiritual path with the ultimate purpose of helping yourself. If it’s other people’s karma to be helped, then they will find that help. They’re not waiting for incarnations until you arrive on the scene to help them. They will get what they’re meant to get.

And even if we can do some good in this dream-world, it isn’t good to think so. It’s much better to focus on the deeper purpose for all spiritual activity, which is to bring good things out of yourself.

The key to dharma: doing it for God
Dharma means “duty” but often, when we think in terms of duty, we think of something that’s a burden, something that goes against our desires. And, in fact, there were times in my life when I felt that way.

When I was first trying to build the Ananda Meditation Retreat, I had to leave Ananda for many months to earn the money to pay certain debts; otherwise I would have lost the land. I kept thinking, “Divine Mother, why have you given this to me?  I’ve never been interested in money, but now I’ve got to devote nearly all of my time and energy to earning money when I’d much rather stay here.”

But there came a very important lesson. After I’d met the challenge successfully, I realized that my gain wasn’t the money I’d earned. It was a spiritual gain: I felt stronger in myself. And slowly I came to understand that we don’t need to make a distinction between higher and lower duties if we act in joyful surrender to God’s will. When we understand that our joy lies in doing whatever God has given us to do, then what we do is no longer a burden but a wonderful opportunity to grow spiritually. And when we act in that spirit, He blesses us.

Succeeding against impossible odds
A very interesting example of this involved one of my fellow monks at Mt. Washington. When he first arrived at my Guru’s ashram, he had many physical problems. He only had one lung, double curvature of the spine, and there was no cushioning between many of the vertebrae. Every time he walked, it was painful. In the morning he would wake up totally paralyzed and couldn’t get out of bed. By sort of rolling from side to side he’d get up enough momentum to fall onto the floor. His muscles would then slowly begin to move and he could start his day’s work.

Yogananda put him in the kind of work that seemed impossible for a man in his condition. He had him driving the tractor, climbing scaffolding, and plastering the sides of buildings. Yet this monk did it joyfully and eventually did it very well, without difficulty. He transcended all that pain and became a person of great energy and drive.

Unfortunately, his ego later started to get strong and he became out of tune. He began to think, “I shouldn’t be doing this kind of work with a body like this. I’m getting a little older.” (He was only 35.) “I should let the younger men do this hard work.” After he began having a few physical problems, he asked Yogananda to give him a different job. Yogananda gave him a nice room and outfitted it with file cabinets and whatever else he asked for. Later Yogananda said, “No matter how much I do for him, he keeps getting worse because he’s not in tune.”

When people are in tune and work joyfully with the thought of pleasing God, then, somehow, everything seems to go well, even against impossible odds. God gives us the energy we need. Even if we don’t know all the rules, the Divine is always there, supporting us and preventing us from making disastrous mistakes. That’s one of the main lessons of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna never took part in the battle, but his very presence on the side of the Pandavas insured their ultimate success.

You must act with the right consciousness
It’s also important to understand that unless you act with the right consciousness, your dharma won’t take you any closer to God. You may get good karma but you won’t get divine freedom. The consciousness with which you do your work is the most important aspect of all, not the outward form.

For devotees, the purpose of all work is to put into action those divine qualities you’re developing inside—kindness, love, joy, peace, and calmness. If, when working, you allow yourself to become frazzled and to think, “Oh, I only have a little time to get this done; I’ll think about God later”—then there’s something wrong with the way you’re doing it. While working you should always be reinforcing those feelings of peace, calmness, love, and joy.

Your only responsibility in this drama is to express that divine inspiration as perfectly as possible. This means that you should act with the understanding that this is God’s world, not yours. You should try to do as good a job as possible without involving yourself egotistically. And you should always be trying to express those divine qualities.

Dharma is not black and white
The laws of dharma must be understood on a spiritual level, above all, and secondly, on a relative level, in the sense that there are different degrees of dharma. As it says in the Indian scriptures, “When a lower dharma conflicts with a higher, it ceases to be a dharma.” It ceases to be a right action. This is a very subtle teaching and it’s not always easy to apply.

Take the example of marriage and divorce. One of the great mistakes in this country is that people get divorced for trivial reasons—because it doesn’t “feel” right anymore, because it’s become “inconvenient.” And, of course, divorce, for such reasons, is not right. Divorce in principle is not right.

But there are times when it’s necessary. Suppose you’re married to someone who is holding you back from your spiritual life? Which is the higher duty—to waste another incarnation or to use this incarnation to find God? The Indian attitude is that if a marriage conflicts with the higher dharma of deeply offering your life to God, then it isn’t right.

There are different levels of dharma, and choosing between them is not always easy. How do we know what the right choice is?

To be truly guided by dharma in such situations, you must be able to pull back from your desires and get in touch with your soul. Only from a soul level can you understand dharma perfectly. Otherwise, you can easily come up with all sorts of rationalizations to justify what is obviously a wrong act, and you end up using this teaching as an excuse to get out of a duty rather than as a reason to cling to a higher duty.

You will receive the right inner guidance only when you have developed the inner freedom to be able to say to God in meditation: ”Everything that I have I offer at your feet. If I should die tonight, I will die a free soul because I’m not attached to anything in this world. I don’t need or want anything. I work enthusiastically for you, not for myself.” When you say that with deep sincerity, then and then only will the right guidance come. Otherwise, seek the advice of those more advanced on the spiritual path.

There is only joy
Always remember, dharma is that which leads you toward the Divine. Whatever your dharma is, it’s an opportunity not a burden—a wonderful opportunity to grow. Even if your dharma may initially be difficult because it requires of you a new kind of discipline, once you’ve got all your energies moving in the right direction, there is only joy.

From talks at Ananda Village: Following the Highest Dharma, August 11, 1985; Being and Doing, August 13, 1981; and Reincarnation, Service, and Love, 1979. To order a CD or MP3 of these talks, click here or call Treasures Along the Path (530) 478-7656.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Sorrow has no objective existence. If you constantly affirm it, it exists. Deny it in your mind, and it will exist no longer. The “hero” in man is his divine or essential nature. To acquire freedom from sorrow, man must assert his heroic self. When the heroic element is lacking in a person’s mental make-up, his mind becomes amenable to all passing sorrows, but as long as the conqueror in man is awake, no sorrow can shadow the threshold of his heart.

Tears and sighs on the battlefield of life are the liquid cowardice of a weak mind. Life is nothing if not a continuous overcoming of problems. Every problem that awaits your solution is a religious duty imposed by life itself. There is no life that is not full of problems. Essentially, conditions are neither good nor bad; they are neutral, seeming to be either depressing or encouraging according to the bright or sad attitude of the mind.

When an individual rises above circumstances by the power of courage, all conditions of life, however dark and threatening, become like the blanket of mist that disappears with the warm glance of the sun. The sorrows of the normal man are not inherent in the conditions of life. They are born out of the weaknesses of the human mind. Awaken the sleeping hero in yourself, and no sorrow will ever darken your door.

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The sincere seeker, in contrast to the armchair “seeker” who wastes his life spinning intellectual theories, takes heart at the thought of the hard work before him. A true warrior, though afraid, plunges courageously into battle when the strength of his arm is needed. A true alpinist, though apprehensive of the sheer cliff he faces, sets out resolutely to conquer it. And the sincere truth-seeker tells himself, “I know what an arduous task it must be to achieve perfection, but I will give it all I have. With God’s help, success, surely, must be mine!”

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Secret fear creates tension and anxiety, and brings ultimate collapse. We must have faith in our ability. If we lack this quality, we can acquire it through determined and long-continued practice. First, we must identify our defects. If we are lacking in will power, through meditation and conscious effort, we can develop strong will power. If we want to overcome fear, we should meditate upon courage and, in due time, we shall be freed from the bondage of fear.

Through concentration and the practice of meditation, we develop the power to focus our attention. Continual practice will enable us to concentrate our energy upon any problem without effort—it will be second nature to us. This new quality will bring success in all undertakings, both spiritual and material.

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Instead of being overcome and discouraged when confronted with challenges, thank the Father for offering you the opportunity to see what you need to learn, and to develop the strength and wisdom to meet the challenge. Every day is a fresh opportunity to gather more exploits of heroism. Retire to your center of poise within, and commune with your Father there. He will show you the way.

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Affirmations for Courage
There is a right solution to every problem. I have within me the wisdom and intelligence to see this solution, and the courage and energy to carry it through.

God is within me and around me, protecting me, so I banish the gloom of fear that shuts out His guiding light and makes me stumble into ditches of error.

Calmness: the Source of Power

Calmness is more dynamic and more powerful than peace. Calmness gives the devotee power to overcome all obstacles in life. Even in human affairs, the person who can remain calm under all circumstances is invincible.

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The soul, made in the image of the Spirit, is ever calm and eternal. By worldly desires, an individual becomes identified with the weakness of the body and fears death and bodily limitations. No matter how long you have been meditating, if you still fear bodily diseases or death, you have advanced very little. You must meditate more and more deeply until you achieve ecstatic communion with God and realize that you are formless, omnipresent, omniscient—far above all bodily changes.

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Remember that God is always beside you, guiding and encouraging you. Learn to listen inwardly to His guiding voice all through the day. No matter what your work, if it seems exhausting, confusing, or impossible, just say to Him inwardly, “Father, this is your work. Willingly I give myself to serve You.” This will immediately release all tension, and the task will seem easy.

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A businessman seeking success must always keep his mind calm. Like a tractor, he must be able to move easily over ups and downs in the field of life. A businessman who is not over-elated by success finds that his concentration is not deflected from the path of even greater success. On the other hand, the businessman who becomes depressed by business failure loses the focusing power of his concentration, and thus is unable to make renewed efforts for material success.

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The moral aspirant should not be overjoyed when victorious over a mighty temptation, nor discouraged if he finds himself suddenly a prisoner of temptation. The resolute, even-minded moral individual moves steadily forward until he reaches his goal of complete self-mastery. He does not allow temporary success or failure to obstruct his way to moral progress.

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A devotee who, after a few years of deep meditation, acquires a divine joy, should not be over-confident in the lasting nature of that experience. Similarly, a devotee who meditates regularly but experiences a sudden explosion of restlessness should not become discouraged. The aspiring yogi must keep his mind steadily fixed on the inner perceptions acquired by meditation, and not allow his mind to be ruffled by temporary outbursts of joy or restlessness. Until a devotee is firmly anchored in the Infinite, he must steer his ship of concentration over both calm and rough seas. An unruffled calmness comes only through deeper and deeper meditation.

A devotee whose mind becomes like a rippleless lake, free from the waves of mental elation, sadness, and emotional disturbances—finds within himself the unruffled clear reflection of Spirit. His altar of calmness becomes the resting place of the ever-new joyous Spirit.

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Many people know the way to peace and permanent happiness but are slow to follow it. Make use of your spiritual training. If you want to live in peace and harmony, affirm divine calmness and peace, and send out only thoughts of love and goodwill. Live a godly life and the mere contact with you will help everyone who crosses your path.

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Affirmations for Calmness:
The moment my mind is agitated, restless, or disturbed, I will retire to silence, discrimination, and concentration until calmness is restored.

The light of Christ shines through me, and therefore my mind is clear. Order and harmony reign in all my affairs.

Confidence: You Are a Child of the Infinite

Man, having been created in the image of God, is the master of his own destiny, if he will but accept and use his God-given power. The only limitation on man is self-imposed, through his thoughts. It is well-known that “thoughts are things.” The statement in Proverbs, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,” is a truth which has transformed the lives of thousands.

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If you have an inferiority complex, remember that success, health, and wisdom are your rightful heritage. Your difficulty can be overcome by determination, courage, common sense, and faith in God and in yourself. If you believe you are a failure, change your mental attitude at once. Be unshakable in your conviction that you have all the potential needed for great success.

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Cultivate the consciousness that the Divine Spirit, the owner of the whole universe and all of its abundance, is your own Father. You, as His beloved child, have the absolute right to possess everything He does. Never beg or pray for anything, but hold the thought that you have everything already, and that all you have to do is to seize it with the natural confidence of a child of God.

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No matter what your trials have been, or how discouraged you are, if you will make a continued effort to be better, you will find that, being made in the image of God, you are endowed with an unlimited power that is much stronger than your worst trials. Make up your mind that you will win, focusing all your concentration on ceaseless efforts to succeed, and you will surely be victorious.

Remember that your difficulties did not come to crush you, but to strengthen your determination to use your limitless divine powers to succeed. God wants you to conquer the difficult tests of life and to come back to His home of wisdom.

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There are many avenues through which outer influences percolate into the mind and form the inner environment. Watch the quality of the books you read. Watch the kind of people with whom you associate. Watch the influence upon you of family, country, and daily associates. Many people are unsuccessful because their families have infected their subconscious minds with paralyzing, discouraging thoughts, such as: “Oh John, no matter what you try, you make a mess of it.”

Disabuse yourself. Wake up! Affirm: “Whatever conditions confront me, I know that they represent the next step in my unfoldment. I welcome all tests, no matter how trying, because I know that within me is the intelligence to understand, and the power to overcome. I am willing to learn the lesson each experience can teach, and I am thankful for the strength and understanding developed by overcoming each trial.”

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Affirmations for Confidence:
As a perfect pattern for an oak tree is encased in the acorn, so a perfect pattern for my life was placed in me in the beginning. I shall endeavor to let this perfect plan emerge into manifestation without hindrance.

I know that each seeming difficulty is but a call to release the power which I already possess. As I express this power, I grow stronger and wiser.

* From the new book, How to Have Courage, Calmness and Confidence, Crystal Clarity Publishers. (See ad on homepage).

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Life is a school and we draw to ourselves the events, circumstances, and relationships we need to help us grow. Every problem presents us with two choices—do we expand or contract our consciousness? Do we become defensive, self-protective, and blame others, or do we use obstacles as opportunities to become stronger, to learn, and to expand? If we contract our hearts, we experience pain, not because others have made us unhappy, but because pain is the inevitable result of excessive self-focus. On the other hand, when we expand, we automatically experience happiness and fulfillment.

The promise of deep fulfillment
Meditation is a process of expanding our awareness. Through meditation, we discover deep within ourselves the soul qualities of peace, calmness, and love—and an underlying joy that doesn’t change under any circumstances. In fact, it is really our longing for these expanded states that we hope to fulfill through our relationships.

This expansion of consciousness is the essence of spiritual growth, and our relationships can be an excellent catalyst in that process. When we nurture these expanded states in ourselves and in others, profound changes can happen in our relationships. Instead of demanding, even subconsciously, that others fulfill our “needs,” we can rest in the inner fulfillment and contentment we experience in a meditative state.

Thus cooperation replaces competition, and the joy of mutual giving replaces the tension of reciprocating demands. A great sense of relaxation comes as we realize that relationships are given to us primarily to help us learn and grow, especially in our ability to accept and to love. Relationships lived in this manner hold the promise of deep fulfillment.

Friendship: the purest form of relationship
Friendship is the purest form of relationship. We choose friends for the sheer pleasure of spending time with them. Most other relationships have some sense of compulsion—the sex drive of lovers, or the predetermined roles of a family.

You will strengthen all of your relationships if you make friendship the foundation. We automatically want the best for our friends; we take delight in their strengths, and overlook their weaknesses. We can laugh together with a friend, and, at times, cry together, and we understand that our friendship is more important than getting our own way. In Indian music there is a “king” note to which the musician returns again and again throughout the raga. Make friendship the “king” note for all of your relationships.

Close and enduring relationships like marriage need to be grounded in a strong foundation of friendship. Usually the first sign of the breakdown of a marriage is that the partners are no longer friends. Even with friends, and very important for all long-lasting relationships is an attitude of respect. It doesn’t have to be formal, but there needs to be a sense of honoring the integrity and validity of the other person. Respect and love grow from the same root.

Elements that build strong, healthy relationships:
Communication: Learn to really listen to your partner and friends. The more you listen to the thoughts and feelings behind the words, the more you will begin to commune in your communication. Be attentive not just to the words, but also to the eyes, the expressions, the tone in the voice, and the unspoken thoughts of the other person. For partners, deep communication is strengthened if you can share times of silence together, and even more if you meditate together.

Love and appreciation: It is important to demonstrate your love and affection. Relationships are like plants, which flourish when given enough light and water, and wither when denied these essentials. Love and appreciation are like sunlight and water for a relationship. Men, especially, need to be more aware of verbalizing approval and affection. Connections grow stronger when people feel appreciated.

Try to bring out the best: Unrealistic expectations are poison for relationships. Remember, it is only you, not others, who can make you happy or sad. Problems arise when someone can see no further than their own needs and desires. That’s why meditation, and the expanded understanding it gives us, can be so helpful.

The fewer demands you make, the better. Always respect another person’s right to be himself, and to think and feel a certain way. There is a subtle law of magnetism between people. If you want a person to change, don’t criticize what is wrong. Instead try to create a “magnetic opening” by modeling the right behavior.

In fact, don’t try so much to change another as to bring out the best in him or her. Think first of how you can help strengthen a person and only then, of how you can improve a situation. True intimacy develops only in an atmosphere of trust. It is only when people feel secure that they are able to change.

Share uplifting experiences: Your bonds with others will be greatly strengthened if you share experiences that are uplifting and expansive—things like walking in nature, helping others in need, or attending events where the mind is uplifted. When we are inspired, our auras begin to merge with those of our loved ones.

Overcoming problems:
We shouldn’t avoid dealing with problems in our relationships, but dealing with them only by confrontation will be counterproductive. Here are some important guidelines for approaching issues:

Don’t speak or act from negative emotions: Train yourself to calm down before you discuss a problem. Negative emotions, like some diseases, are contagious and they block communication. If you are emotionally agitated, take a few deep breaths and then consciously relax the area of the heart. This doesn’t mean that you can’t express your feelings, especially where truth is involved. But your communication will be much clearer if you calm yourself first. Clear expression, offered lovingly, can be very healing.

Emphasize points of agreement: Don’t use the words “always” and “never,” as in “You always do that,” or “You never do this.” This is one of the best ways to insure that a person will become defensive. Remember, other people tend to mirror back to you the emotions you project to them. It is best to start off a discussion by emphasizing points of agreement.

Look for true solutions: Don’t try to figure out a solution to a problem on your own and then present it to the other person as a fait accompli. One-sided declarations rarely solve anything. A true solution has to elicit the commitment of everyone. The essence of overcoming problems is very simple: Look for solutions in which each person treats the other as he or she would like to be treated. In the words of Jesus, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

As a first step, always ask yourself, “Why did I draw this problem? What should I learn from it? What do I need to change in myself?” If you’re not clear on these questions, you will keep repeating the same situation until you discover what life is trying to teach you. Once you’re clear about what the real issue is, then resolve to make whatever changes in yourself are needed. When you work on yourself first, you help open the space for others to make their changes.

Karmic patterns: Sometimes we face the same issues over and over again, often with different people. In the language of yoga, these are “karmic patterns.” Be thankful, not resentful, when these recurring patterns surface. Now, at last, you can begin to work on them. Our greatest enemies are those wrong attitudes that stay hidden and unrecognized in the shadows of our mind.

Once you’ve identified what needs changing, don’t dwell on the problem. Put your energy, instead, into working on the solution. Try to find the polar opposite of the problem and work on implementing that. If the problem is laziness, put out constructive energy. If it is selfishness, look for practical ways to give to others. And if it is continual conflict, find ways to create peace and love. Deep-seated karmic patterns are usually slow to change. Be patient with yourself and with others. Prayer is a great aid—ask God to help you.

A bonding practice
Relationships, like life, must have a center to which they return in order to gather strength. One of the most bonding practices for a couple is to meditate together. By returning daily to your own center, you will gather the strength you need to face all of life’s demands.

If you meditate with a partner or loved one, you might try this visualization in order to increase the love and harmony between you. Toward the end of your meditation, visualize a blue light at the point between the eyebrows. When you perceive the light clearly, let it expand, first filling the whole of your brain, and then gradually infusing every cell of your body.

As the light begins to expand beyond your body, see it surrounding and infusing your partner. Hold him or her in this light until it fills every cell, every emotion, and every thought. Let the light join your auras together. If there is any difficulty or tension between you, let the light dissolve it until there are no more shadows. This same technique can be done at a distance connecting you and others with a harmonizing energy.

From the following books and video: How to Meditate, 30-Day Essentials for Marriage, and Meditation Therapy for Relationships, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order these inspiring products click here

Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi are Acharyas (spiritual directors) for Ananda Worldwide. Nayaswami Jyotish is also Acharya for the Ananda Sevaka Order, worldwide.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

The following article places the construction of the Great Pyramid in the descending half of the cycle of the yugas, in the early centuries of the descending Dwapara Yuga, which began in 3100 B.C.  (See right sidebar for chart.)

The Great Pyramid has fascinated people for thousands of years, but the more it is studied, the more questions arise. The standard theory, that it was built as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu around 2360 B.C., using only copper tools, wood, rope and sweat, is still around, but it is less and less able to answer the questions new evidence gives rise to.

The new evidence has given rise to numerous new theories of how the Great Pyramid was built, but one theme informs almost all them—that it could not have been built by primitive people just out of the Stone Age. It is simply too precisely built to have been constructed with copper and stone chisels, and its design is simply too sophisticated to have been conceived from the knowledge ascribed to the people of that era.

A uniquely exquisite structure
Clearly, the Great Pyramid is no ordinary structure. It is composed of more than 2.3 million limestone and granite blocks, some weighing as much as 100,000 pounds and transported to the site from as far away as 500 miles. Its base covers an area of over 13 acres. It is 455 feet tall, over half the height of the Empire State Building, and remains, 5000 years later, the heaviest structure on earth.

After carefully studying the Great Pyramid with the eyes of a professional machinist, Christopher Dunn, author of The Giza Power Plant, concludes that “the Great Pyramid—by any standard old or new—is the largest and most accurately constructed building in the world.” Using modern tools of a machinist’s trade, Dunn found surfaces that were flat to within 2/10,000ths of an inch.

Mathematically, materially and aesthetically, nothing like it has been built in the five millennia since its construction. Perhaps our ascending Dwapara Yuga culture will eventually build something matching its pure and exquisite form – but it hasn’t happened yet.

New questions on how it was built
Any discussion of the Great Pyramid eventually comes around to the subject of how it was built. The standard theory—that 100,000 men labored for three months a year for twenty years, using wooden rollers and levers, plaited flax rope, hardened copper chisels, and stone tools—has many flaws.

One is simply scale. In his book, The Hall of Records: Hidden Secrets of the Pyramid and Sphinx, David Joachmans questions whether there would have been enough wood in Egypt and the Levant to provide the millions of wooden rollers and levers needed. The crushing weight of the limestone blocks would have splintered the rollers rather quickly. If, on average, ten rollers were destroyed in the process of transporting one 20,000-pound stone block, 23 million rollers would have been needed. That’s a lot of trees.

Even if the problems of scale and lack of raw materials could be explained by foreign trade, no one has provided a convincing argument for how hardened copper tools could have created the precision surfaces found all over the Great Pyramid. Even using the best tools available today, achieving a surface flatness measured in 10,000ths of an inch is difficult. Using hand tools, it is simply impossible.

There is also the problem of the mathematical precision of the Great Pyramid, whose dimensions allow one to accurately calculate pi and phi to four decimal places. Such exactness suggests that the ancient Egyptians, far from the conventional Stone Age image, had mathematical knowledge believed discovered more than a thousand years later.

And finally, there is the issue of organization: how could a supposedly primitive society be capable of the organization, planning, and building skills required to sustain such an effort for decades?

New evidence on when it was built
The date of completion of the Great Pyramid, according to the standard theory, is approximately 2560 B.C. But based on carbon dating by scientists in the 1980s of mortar between unexposed stone blocks, the completion date is now estimated as 2900 B.C.—roughly at the beginning of descending Dwapara Yuga. There is also new evidence suggesting that the site was in use for other purposes for many millennia prior to 2900 B.C.

It has long puzzled Egyptologists that the Great Pyramid is built over a mound approximately one hundred feet above the level of the Giza Plateau. Robert Bauval, author of The Orion Mystery and The Egypt Code—noting the slightly different building style used for the pyramid’s lower level—concludes that the mound may have served as an observatory before the Great Pyramid was built.

Bauval’s conclusions are supported by evidence gathered by Dr. Robert Schoch, Professor of Geology at Boston University, suggesting that the Giza Plateau was used for astronomical and sacred purposes as long as 4000 years before the Great Pyramid was built—back in descending Treta Yuga.

It was probably never a tomb
Ask most people and they will tell you that the Great Pyramid was a tomb for a pharaoh. While tombs have been found from this same period, the Great Pyramid was probably never actually used in that way.

Caliph Al-Ma’mum, who led the first exploration of the Great Pyramid in the 9th Century A.D., had to tunnel and blast his way into the upper chambers. He and his workers found no soot on the ceilings as one would expect had torches been used before. He reported that he and his men thoroughly searched all the chambers and found absolutely nothing other than the stone coffer in the King’s Chamber—no mummies or riches.

The Great Pyramid also has numerous features that would be unnecessary if it were only a tomb. Perhaps most telling is the presence of airshafts to bring fresh air into the King’s Chamber. Not only would the deceased Pharaoh not need any air, the fresh air would speed decomposition, a rather counter-productive effect if the goal of the chamber was to preserve the Pharaoh for eternity.

Furthermore, the King’s Chamber is very plain while the Grand Gallery, which provides access to the King’s Chamber, is very large with a complicated ceiling and wall design. If the goal were merely to create a passage to the King’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery could have been made much more simply. Hidden above the King’s Chamber is an extremely complex “roof,” involving six levels of ceiling made from the heaviest blocks of stone in the pyramid. Conventional wisdom is that these extra ceilings relieve the immense weight of the stone above the King’s Chamber. However, the Queen’s Chamber, which bears even more weight, has only a simple peaked ceiling.

Other theories of why it was built
Such features as the Grand Gallery and the ceiling of the King’s Chamber, as well as the mathematical precision of the Great Pyramid, have led people to search for other theories of why it was built.

Robert Bauval, in his ground-breaking book The Orion Mystery, makes the case that the Great Pyramid is part observatory and also part of a star map laid out on the ground in grand scale. The Great Pyramid and the two other pyramids on the Giza Plateau, when seen from above, mirror the alignment of the three stars that make up Orion’s belt. Currently, the alignment is very close, but their alignment may have been even closer in 11,500 B.C., when, Sri Yukteswar tells us, mankind’s development was at its peak.

A recent theory, described in Christopher Dunn’s Giza Power Plant, makes a well-reasoned and well-researched case that the Great Pyramid is the correct size to vibrate in harmony with the earth’s pulse, just as a shorter piano string vibrates in harmony with a longer string even if the longer string is octaves lower. The millions of tiny shifts in the earth’s crust, mantle, and core are believed by some scientists to result in a constant pulse, with a measurable wavelength. Dunn meticulously argues that the Grand Gallery and the King’s Chamber could have been equipped to “step up” the low frequencies of the earth’s pulse into higher and more energetic frequencies.

The Great Pyramid’s placement within the cycle of yugas suggests that the ancient Egyptians of this time understood the laws of energy. Thus, they might well have harnessed the earth’s seismic power in the profoundly simple and ecologically harmonious manner explained by Christopher Dunn.

Achieving higher states of consciousness
Many personal accounts strongly suggest that the Great Pyramid affects people’s conscious experience while they are inside its various chambers. Perhaps the best known is that of Paul Brunton, mystic and author of several books, including A Search in Secret Egypt. In the 1930s, Brunton arranged to spend a night in the King’s Chamber, during which he had a profound and life-changing out-of-body experience. He recounts that his guide told him profound truths and showed him many undiscovered chambers.

Napoleon Bonaparte also visited the Great Pyramid and requested that he be left alone in the King’s Chamber. His aides reported that he emerged some time later white and shaken. When asked what had happened, he answered evasively, implying that no one would believe him.

Elizabeth Haich, in her book Initiation, recounts a former life as an initiate in ancient Egypt. She maintains that the Great Pyramid was methodically used to help people break through into higher consciousness—people who were very close to achieving that state, but not able to achieve it on their own.

Haich recounts that the initiates prepared carefully for the experience, and that they needed to have refined their bodies, especially their nervous systems, to handle the much higher frequencies of subtle energy. They especially needed to prepare their minds, through mental disciplines of concentration and meditation, so that they would not to be overwhelmed by the experience.

Haich describes the entire Giza Plateau as a home both for those in training to receive initiation and for those who had received it. The picture Haich presents is that the initiates were Egypt’s most precious achievement, insuring that only those who were truly wise guided their government and culture.

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We will perhaps never know which, if any, of the various theories about the Great Pyramid are correct. As one can imagine, mainstream archeologists roll their eyes when they hear many of these theories. As rational empiricists, they can only accept what can be measured and therefore, in their eyes, proven. We are confident, however, that as Dwapara Yuga progresses, the growing knowledge of the Great Pyramid will play a significant role in revolutionizing archeological thought.

From the forthcoming book, The Yugas: Keys to Understanding Man’s Hidden Past, Emerging Present, and Future Enlightenment, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Joseph Purushottama Selbie has been a minister, teacher, and business and community leader in various Ananda communities for over 30 years. His education in archeology and Eastern and Western philosophy, with a keen interest in ancient history, combines to provide knowledgeable insight into the yugas.

David Steinmetz, a Lightbearer and Ananda Village resident, has worked as both an astronomer and optical engineer. He has been giving lectures and classes on the yuga cycle model of history for more than a decade and presently teaches a course based on that model at the Ananda Institute for Alternative Living. He was initiated as a nayaswami in the Nayaswami Order in 2009.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Seclusion: a turning point
My first real breakthrough in my battle against mental restlessness came during one of my early weeklong seclusions at Ananda Village. Seclusions are usually a time for going deeper in meditation, but I began mine in a discouraged state. Certain recurring, negative thoughts had followed me into seclusion. Whenever I tried to meditate, I was assailed by thoughts of my imperfections as a devotee, and the notion that I wasn’t “good enough” to meditate well.

After two days of this, I became so desperate to escape the tyranny of my mind that I decided to take charge. When the discouraging thoughts began again, out loud I shouted, “Stop it, get out!” Then, out loud and with strong will power, I started instructing myself in the basic steps of meditation.

I guided myself through the full body relaxation exercise, followed by 6 to 8 rounds of measured breathing. (Inhale 8, hold 8, exhale 8.) Then I mentally guided myself through the Hong Sau meditation technique: I watched the breath, repeated the mantra, and absolutely refused to let anything divert my attention. I was completely focused on the mantra and the breath—my lifelines to peace.

A profound experience
Soon thoughts began to dissolve and I started to relax. Gradually I was feeling more and more peaceful. After about 20 minutes, I let go of the mantra and became absorbed in a deep state of peace. I went so deep that I wasn’t even aware of my own existence. There was no body, no mind, no “I,” only peace. The experience was profound.

Toward the end of my meditation, an image emerged. I saw myself as an adult, embracing a baby in my arms. I knew intuitively that I was that baby, and I understood the message: “If you want to achieve depth in meditation, you need to accept and embrace yourself as you are. Only then can you make progress.”

That meditation convinced me that I could experience deep meditation, perhaps even samadhi (oneness with God). What I most needed was to resist, with strong will power, the negative thoughts that were pulling me down.

Discovering Patanjali’s 8-fold path
After that, my meditations improved and I occasionally achieved deep states. Attending an Ananda class series on Ashtanga Yoga*—the 8-fold path to enlightenment as expounded by the ancient master, Patanjali—gave me my next step. I realized immediately that here was a time-tested approach for finding God that I could use to deepen my meditations.

I began by focusing on Patanjali’s yamas and niyamas, the ten moral guidelines and attitudes that help us to meditate deeply and to find God. (Non-injury, non-greed, contentment, devotional surrender, etc.)  I worked with one attitude at a time, for a month to a year, depending on my need.

Contentment, especially, was an important one for me. In working with contentment, I made a conscious effort to accept things as they came, to see the hand of God behind all that happened, and to surrender to whatever God wanted of me. I resisted the tendency to try to force things to happen, and tried not to envy anyone or to compare myself with others. I made God my partner in all these efforts, and whenever I felt discouraged or had difficulty facing a flaw in myself, I offered it at the feet of God and Guru, and prayed deeply that they help me to change.

These practices proved very helpful. Through the persistent use of will power, I became an active participant in my own self-transformation, and I felt empowered. To record the changes in my attitudes, I kept a diary of my progress.

The root cause of all restlessness
While working on the yamas and niyamas, I became aware of deeper layers of restlessness I still needed to overcome. The root cause of all restlessness is ego—with its desires, attachments, and self-definitions. Practicing the yamas and niyamas loosens the grip of ego by making us more detached and impersonal, less preoccupied with the little self.

But I felt I could do even more. Intuitively, I knew that filling myself with thoughts of devotion to God would also help. When thoughts of devotion are uppermost in our minds, there’s much less room for restlessness.

As a first step, I began repeating two mantras over and over, including, “Lord I am Thine. Be Thou eternally mine.” I repeated them at the end of my meditation and throughout the day, whenever I remembered. Initially the process was purely mental, but gradually the mantras began to permeate my being, and my heart connection to God deepened.

I also found Swami Kriyananda’s affirmation for devotion** very helpful, not only for deepening my devotion but also as a mantra to “slash” thoughts. The affirmation speaks of a “sword of devotion.” Visualizing myself with a sword, I would protect my feelings of devotion by slashing any desires that surfaced during meditation.

An ocean of peace within and around me
Toward the end of this 7-year period, I attended another Ashtanga Yoga class. During that class, I understood for the first time that true meditation begins only after one reaches the state of absorption (dhyana)—a state in which the ego is dissolved and we become one with a divine quality, such as peace or love.

I asked myself: where was I in this process? I was working on my attitudes and on devotion, but how often did I experience total absorption?  I took my new understanding as a challenge to deepen my meditation by achieving greater stillness of body (asana) and deeper states of interiorization (pratyahara), two of the steps in Patanjali’s 8-fold path.

Working with both these practices was like climbing a mountain—you can reach the top one step at a time, but strong will power is necessary. With asana, I started by sitting perfectly still for five minutes, while paying close attention to subtle muscle movements and tension in different bodily areas. Gradually I was able to sit for longer and longer periods until I could sit perfectly still for an hour or more.

Interiorizing the mind followed a similar course. I started with measured breathing and ended by visualizing the energy being withdrawn from my extremities into the spine. I followed this with Hong Sau, visualizing the little “I” (Hong) dissolving into Spirit (Sau). When sitting in the silence afterwards, I “cauterized ” any thoughts by visualizing a laser beam. Gradually I extended the periods of silence.

I worked with both these practices for about a year. Eventually, I was able to sit in the silence, undisturbed by bodily movements or restless thoughts, for an entire hour. Sometimes deep peace filled my heart, mind, and body. It was like becoming an ocean of peace—I felt it within me and around me. And I knew that nothing external could ever give me this kind of experience.

“Dying to the world without dying”
These practices led up to the second major turning point in my battle against mental restlessness: the eight-hour Christmas meditation at Ananda Village. Since I wanted to enjoy the entire eight hours without attacks of restlessness, I decided to prepare in advance.

A month before the meditation I fasted from all sensory input—no movies or mainstream magazines. I read only books by Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda. I kept a simple healthy diet and avoided sugar. From the moment I awoke until I went to sleep, I used my will power to infuse my soul with God, trying to be aware of the divine presence at all times—while walking, serving, eating, talking. Sometimes I fell short of my goals, but I kept trying.

The day of the meditation, I had only one desire: to disconnect from the world and experience the presence of God within. Mentally I etched on my forehead Yogananda’s definition of meditation: “Dying to the world without dying.” I was convinced that if I “died to the world,” I would go deep in meditation. I prayed deeply to God and Guru to help me do it.

After practicing each meditation technique (Hong Sau, Aum, Kriya Yoga), I tried to interiorize my consciousness more and more deeply. Next I recited the 23rd Psalm as a devotional self-offering to God and continued to sit in the silence. Once, when a desire was about to tempt me, Swami Sri Yukteswar’s beautiful promise came to mind: “Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.” Quickly, I slashed the thought. Five hours passed, and I was doing well.

During the meditation breaks, I avoided eye contact with people and stayed inwardly focused. Nothing existed for me, only the one-pointed desire to unite my consciousness with God. In the remaining 3 hours, I mentally repeated the Gayatri and Mahamritanjaya mantras (for purification and liberation) 108 times each, counting with my mala. If any thoughts came, I “slashed” them with the sword. After repeating each mantra, I would sit in the silence for about 15 minutes.

“When I meditate, don’t interfere!”
I put forth constant effort during the eight hours. At the end, I was mentally exhausted and felt only a little peace. Yet, my meditation practice improved immensely after that. By now, my ego knew that I meant it when I said: “When I meditate, don’t interfere!” The battle is not over, but with my ego less of an intrusion, I can relate more deeply to my higher Self.

I learned that we can achieve major progress in meditation by the conscious use of will power.  It takes constant effort and constant calling on God. Each step of the way, we must ask: “Lord, what do I need to change in myself to get closer to you?” When we ask with deep sincerity, God always answers.

Diksha McCord, a Lightbearer, lives at Ananda Village and teaches at the Expanding Light Guest Retreat. She was initiated into the Nayaswami Order in 2009.

* Ashtanga Yoga: The Eightfold Path of Patanjali:
•   Yama (control)
•   Niyama (non-control)
•   Asana (posture), stillness of body
•   Pranayama (energy control)
•   Pratyahara (interiorization of the mind)
•   Dharana (one-pointed concentration)
•   Dhyana (meditation, absorption)
•   Samadhi (oneness with God)

** Affirmation for Devotion, by Swami Kriyananda:
With the sword of devotion I sever the heart-strings that tie me to delusion. With the deepest love, I lay my heart at the feet of Omnipresence. From Affirmations for Self-Healing, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

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All avatars have realized the eternal, unchanging truth, and they have never opposed one another’s teachings. Their disciples and followers, however, due to their limited understanding, have repeatedly introduced incorrect interpretations into their guru’s teachings. Thus the avatars come again and again, to correct people’s misunderstandings of the eternal, unchanging truth.

Why Buddha didn’t talk about God
Buddha came at a time when people were abusing the Vedic teachings to gain worldly ends. So Buddha, a Hindu, was not sanctioning sectarianism when he urged people not to depend on Vedic gods and rituals. He was seeking only to correct their misunderstanding of the scriptures. By emphasizing self-effort, he sought to encourage people to take spiritual responsibility for their lives, and not to depend passively on God, or on minor “gods,” for boons of temporary fulfillment.

Because Buddha was working against a strong trend, when he talked about the importance of self-effort, he couldn’t afford to say, “But on the other hand, grace is also important,” without leaving people totally confused, even though the truth includes both teachings. Buddha came during the dark age of Kali Yuga when mankind had fallen into a lower state of consciousness, and couldn’t easily bring these two teachings together.

So when people asked about God, he consistently refused to speak of God and affirmed the need for the individual self-effort. Because of that emphasis, his disciples thought he didn’t believe in God. As a result, Buddhism evolved as an atheistic religion. But the fact that Buddha never said not to pray—indeed, Buddhists themselves pray to the Buddha—shows that he didn’t exclude God or divine grace: He simply emphasized the importance of personal effort in addition to faith in God.

Ultimately, the problem with Buddhism, as the Buddhists presented it, was that it offered  nothing toward which people could direct their love and devotion. Without love, spiritual progress is ineffectual, like a man on crutches in a race against Olympic athletes.

Swami Shankaracharya: Seek union with the Absolute
Swami Shankaracharya or Shankara (as he was also known), centuries later, corrected misconceptions on the part of Buddha’s followers, and brought many people back to Hinduism. But it wasn’t Buddha’s teachings he contested, only people’s misunderstandings of them.

Rejecting the atheism of Buddha’s followers, Shankara explained that God is pure Spirit beyond all duality and the only reality in existence. He taught that the goal of life is union with that Absolute, which he described as Satchidananda—ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss. One attains union, according to Shankara, by meditation on the inner Self and discrimination.

Shankara also corrected the mistaken understandings of the doctrine of nirvana on the part of Buddha’s followers, who defined nirvana as a state of nothingness or annihilation. Shankara explained that nirvana exists, but that beyond nirvana there is another state of consciousness, which we all are longing for: Satchidanandam.

Paramhansa Yogananda later elaborated, saying that in the final merging into God there is, in the beginning, nirvana—a cessation of all waves and desires, a state of nothingness. But then, in that darkness, suddenly comes the great bliss of Satchidanandam.

Misconceptions among Shankara’s successors
Shankara’s followers later took his teaching not only as his reply to the mistaken understandings of Buddha’s followers, but as a new definition of Hinduism. Nothing, they proclaimed, exists except that Absolute; all else is delusion, a dream. And since, by their understanding, manifested creation is only a dream, it doesn’t even exist.

Here was another of the misconceptions that surface repeatedly in religion. For dreams do, of course, exist—as dreams! If a person hits his head in a dream, his dream head will hurt. Creation, in other words, does exist in its own context. It simply isn’t what it appears to be.

Shankara’s followers became known as Advaitins, believers in advaita or a non-dualistic view of reality. The problem with advaita, as Shankara’s successors presented it, was comparable to the problem with Buddhism as interpreted by Buddha’s successors: there was no place for love or devotion. Love implies the duality of subject and object, of lover and beloved. But if only the Absolute exists, then the duality of lover and beloved cannot exist. Who can be devoted to whom?  Overlooked by Shankara’s followers was that Shankara himself had composed a book of devotional hymns to God as the Divine Mother.

Ramanuja and Chaitanya: a relationship of love with God
Ramanuja tried centuries later to correct this flaw in advaitic reasoning by teaching a devotional form of advaita known as Vishishta-Advaita. He declared that the soul is not a delusion but exists eternally; when we merge into God, we never lose the soul. Therefore we can, and must, develop a relationship of love with the Creator.

Chaitanya, centuries after Ramanuja, also emphasized the importance of devotion.  Already famous as a brilliant scholar when a dramatic vision of Krishna changed his life forever, he began urging people to abandon philosophical speculation as dry and useless and to immerse themselves in the love of God.

Man, he said, needs nothing except God’s love. He taught people to worship the Lord by chanting to Him devotedly in the form of Krishna. “The Lord’s name, the Lord’s name, the Lord’s name is man’s only path to salvation!” This was his famous declaration.

Misconceptions among Chaitanya’s successors
Many of Chaitanya’s followers (Vaishnavas, they are called) took his teaching literally and insisted that Krishna himself is the Lord. The truth, of course, is quite the opposite. Krishna, the man, could not possibly be God. God, rather, is all His manifestations, including Krishna. The wave is not the ocean. On the contrary: the ocean has become all of its waves. It is a fallacy to claim that any one wave can be the whole ocean! Christians have made this same mistake regarding Jesus Christ.

Images of Krishna symbolize a number of deep truths. Vaishnavas, however, have accepted those symbols as the truth itself. Because tradition depicted Krishna as blue-skinned, for example, Vaishnavas say his skin was therefore actually blue. His traditional coloring is, in fact, symbolic of the sky, which in turn is a symbol for infinity. God, in other words, is infinite. Indeed, He is also formless.

Moses: a teaching similar to Buddha’s
In Palestine, another great master, Moses, taught people to worship one God instead of many gods. In this respect his teachings were like Buddha’s. Both masters insisted on self-effort and right action. And both spoke against the worship of lesser deities—angels as they are called in Christian tradition—in the hope of receiving wealth, pleasure, success, and worldly power in recompense. Moses again, like Buddha, urged people to develop their own inner strength, and to shun all lesser goals as ultimately disillusioning. He taught people to love the Supreme Lord, and to obey His commandments faithfully.

In the centuries following Moses, the Jews, with considerable ingenuity, developed endless ramifications of the Law of Moses. They forgot his supreme commandment, to love God with one’s whole heart, and to love everyone in God’s name. Instead, they fell away gradually from devotion to God, and became engrossed in religious technicalities. Such always is the danger, when the priesthood of a religion gains too firm a hold on guiding it: Minor details—important to professionals in every field—take precedence over the spontaneous expression of love.

Again and again, the prophets sought to guide the Jewish people back to a closer relationship with the Lord. Alas, again and again the Jews returned to their legalisms. They even went so far as to persecute their prophets, whose only desire was to help them.

Jesus Christ: the supreme importance of loving God
What Jesus Christ taught was not a contradiction of the Mosaic Law but, as he himself stated, its fulfillment. He stressed the supreme importance of loving God. Western emphasis on group consciousness, however, soon changed what was an essentially Eastern approach to truth, bringing his teachings under the control of a central organization. In exercising this control, the church diluted Christ’s message, developing an essentially outward focus. Herein lay its own special misunderstanding of the truth.

Christianity, too, needs to balance its understanding of truth: to bring organizational control into harmony with individual conscience.

Is there any hope for religion?
Is there any hope for religion in this tumult of contradictions? Indeed there is! The hope for religion lies in religious history itself—not in its lamentable squabbles, but in the repeated efforts of great masters to return mankind to the underlying, eternal purpose of religion.

The great Moslem woman saint, Rabbi’a, once said, “He is no true lover of God who does not forget his suffering in the contemplation of the Divine Beloved.” The message of every great master is the same: “Forget your sorrow-producing conflicts: Love God!”

From: God Is for Everyone; Awaken to Superconsciousness, Crystal Clarity Publishers; and Kriya Yoga and the Evolution of World Religions, a May 1996 talk at Ananda Village. To order these inspiring books & CDs click here

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My mother died in March 2008 at the age of 95. She had visited Ananda Village three or four times in the decades I’ve lived here. Her first visit was in 1971—the age of tepees, trailers, and outhouses—and she was in shock at the life I’d chosen. She kept asking herself what she’d done wrong that I would end up like this. After a few days, however, she began to experience some of the magical joy and love that is Ananda. On later visits, while she was never enthusiastic with my choice, she came to appreciate the people who lived here and the way of life that has been created.

A need for support
As she grew older and needed some sort of care, I asked if she wanted to come to Ananda Village and received a definite, “No.” She wanted to stay in her own home in St. Louis, despite the fact that none of her children were anywhere close by to help her. Luckily, she had a couple of relatives who could be called on in emergencies.

At the age of 92, she was still living in her four-storey house (and regularly using the attic and basement). I phoned her daily to monitor her situation, and I was becoming concerned. She had a couple of incidents that required trips to the emergency room. My siblings began to tell her that she must move to a place with more support. The more they insisted, the more she refused. Frantically they called me, saying I had to do something.

My brother and sister are both medical professionals. Their insistence on how dire the situation was turned my concern into real anxiety about what to do and how to do it, especially since I live in California.

Calling on Yogananda for help
I went to my meditation room to meditate and ask for help. After laying everything at Yogananda’s feet and calling on his guidance, I felt a great calmness come upon me and the knowledge that everything would work out well.

I then called my mom and said, “I know you don’t want to leave the house, but I’d like to come there for a week. We can research choices that might work for you when you feel ready to move.”  She agreed, and I went to St. Louis for one week.

Throughout that time I held on to the calm assurance I’d been given in meditation. I never urged her to do anything, but always asked what she wanted to do next. By the end of those seven days, we’d found an extraordinary independent living facility and had moved her into it for a one-month trial visit. The tiny apartment available at the time was ideal, overlooking a quiet garden, and close to the abundant facilities for meals, entertainment, exercise, and socializing.

After a month, she decided to sell her house and move her belongings into that apartment. Unbeknownst to me, one of my cousins was in real estate, and sold the house the first day it was on the market. Within a couple of months, my mom began to enjoy her new surroundings and the many fine people there.

Her greatest dread
As early as I can remember, Mom’s greatest dread, and therefore mine, was that she would become incapacitated and have to live for many years in a nursing home. She moved into her apartment in 2006, and near the end of 2007 began to have more problems.

My mom was always a very energetic lady, with lots of will power and interest in life. She could be critical and complaining, but you could never fault her for lack of zip. She now had slow internal bleeding that required her to go to the hospital for transfusions. Despite the transfusions, she began to be more confused and tired. Mom’s condition became so bleak that the Personal Care Director, by now our good friend, suggested Mom might be happier in assisted living. This suggestion came shortly before another trip to the hospital for a transfusion.

I was in California at the time and spoke to Mom on the phone as she lay in the hospital bed waiting for the transfusion. She was very unhappy. I was amazed when she said, “I have plenty of money, and yet I can’t even eat. Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I should have joined Ananda.” Surprisingly, she seemed on some level to be open to the value of a spiritual life.

Prayers for my mother
I was very concerned about Mom’s unhappiness and felt she needed all the spiritual support she could get. So, I wrote to Swami Kriyananda’s secretary to see if he would ask Kriyananda, my teacher, to pray for my mother. (Swami Kriyananda had actually met my mother on one of her visits to Ananda.) I didn’t know when Kriyananda might get the message.

The next day I called Mom after her transfusion and asked how she was. “I feel great!” she said. Then she told me that she was reading a spiritual book I’d given her a year before. At that time her response to the book was somewhat caustic. Now she was enjoying it. In the middle of our conversation, she quoted one of Yogananda’s well-known sayings, “Circumstances are neutral.”

It was an amazing phone call. Then I opened my emails and discovered that Swami Kriyananda had begun praying for my mother.

Every time I spoke with her after this, she seemed quite gay, bursting with good will and love for all. She simply couldn’t think ill of anyone, even people she’d criticized in the past. The Personal Care Director said, “Your mother is SO much better! I don’t think we should move her!” How grateful I was to feel that my Guru’s blessings had flowed to Mom, thanks to the prayers of Swami Kriyananda.

Bubbling with joy
I visited Mom after that hospitalization. The difference in her was dramatic. She looked years younger, full of life, and she was bubbling with joy. Throughout the visit she almost didn’t know what to do with the joy she felt. She was fun, funny, and expressed the greatest kindness, love, and appreciation for all. The last month of her life was the happiest and most loving that I’d ever known her to be.

After I left, Mom became much weaker physically, and we arranged hospice for her. The hospice caregiver met Mom on a Friday and immediately set up ‘round the clock care for her. On Saturday, Mom took a dramatic downward turn. I was able to get a plane ticket for that Sunday.

As I was ready to leave for the airport, I felt to phone Mom. She answered with great sweetness and joy and said: “Hi honey.” When I told her I was on my way, she said, “Oh, I’ll be so happy to see you.” I gave the phone to my husband, Bharat, and she immediately told him, “I love you very much.” He said the same back to her and handed the phone back to me. By then, Mom was mumbling sleepily and seemed to let go of the phone.

By the time I got to St. Louis at about 10 pm, she was already in a deep, deep sleep. Hospice had her on morphine to control her tendency to hyperventilate. She never woke during the time I was there, but I felt fine about that—she and I had said all that was needed during the past month. Monday morning I got to her room early, meditated with her, and prayed. She left her body that same afternoon, very peacefully.

The guru’s guiding hand
I felt a deep joy at Mom’s passing—that she escaped her body and her great dread of living in a nursing home. After the funeral, beautifully performed by Bharat, her good friends voiced just what I felt—that she left exactly as she wanted to. I shared with everyone that the last month of her life was the happiest and most loving I had ever known her to be.

Paramhansa Yogananda had visited St. Louis on his cross-country lecture tours. My mom’s Uncle Charles had gone to his lectures and had hosted the Master in his home. Near the end of her life, Mom began to say that perhaps she, too, had met Yogananda. I don’t think she had, since I believe such an event would be clear in her memory. But I do feel that his hand guided her departure from the body, and blessed us both in the process.

Nayaswami Anandi is a founding member of Ananda and a Lightbearer, and was initiated into the Nayaswami Order in 2009. She is on the staff at The Expanding Light guest retreat at Ananda Village doing teaching, organizational work, and writing. She also works as an editor for Crystal Clarity, Publishers.

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Roaring with sadness and hunger, and heavy with the baby lion, the lioness fell asleep at the edge of the forest near a pasture. As she dozed, she dreamt of seeing a flock of sheep grazing. When, in her dream, she pounced on one of the sheep, she jerked herself awake. With surprise and great joy, she discovered that her dream was true: a large flock of sheep grazed in the pasture right near her.

Forgetting the heavy baby lion in her body, and impelled by the madness of hunger, the lioness pounced on one of the young lambs and took it into the depths of the forest. The lioness did not realize that during the exertion of her mad leap at the lamb she had given birth to the baby lion.

The flock of sheep were so paralyzed with fear by the attack of the lioness that they couldn’t run away. When the lioness had departed and the panic was over, the sheep woke from their stupor. They began to bleat out lamentations for their lost comrade, when, to their great astonishment, they discovered the helpless baby lion crooning in their midst. One of the mother sheep took pity on the baby lion and adopted it as her own.

The young lion grew up amidst the flock of sheep. Several years passed, and there, with a flock of sheep, roamed a huge lion with long mane and tail, behaving exactly like a sheep. The sheep-lion bleated instead of roaring and ate grass instead of meat. This vegetarian lion acted exactly like a weak, meek lamb.

One day, another lion strolled out of the nearby forest onto the green pasture, and to his great delight beheld this flock of sheep. Thrilled with joy and whipped by hunger, the great lion pursued the fleeing flock of sheep, when, with amazement, he saw a huge lion, with tail high up in the air, fleeing at top speed ahead of the sheep.

The older lion paused for a moment, scratched his head, and pondered within himself: “I can understand the sheep flying away from me, but I cannot imagine why this stalwart lion should run at the sight of me. This runaway lion interests me.” Ignoring his hunger, he raced hard and pounced upon the escaping lion. The sheep-lion fainted with fear. The big lion was puzzled more than ever, and slapped the sheep-lion out of his swoon. In a deep voice he rebuked, “What’s the matter with you?! Why do you, my brother, flee from me?”

The sheep-lion closed his eyes and bleated out in sheep language, “Please let me go. Don’t kill me. I’m just a sheep brought up with yonder flock.”

“Oh, now I see why you’re bleating.” The big lion pondered again, and a great idea flashed upon him. He caught the sheep-lion by the mane with his mighty jaws and dragged him toward a lake at the end of the pasture. When the big lion reached the shore of the lake, he pushed the sheep-lion’s head so that it was reflected in the water. He began to shake the sheep-lion, who still had his eyes tightly closed, saying, “Open your eyes! Look! You are not a sheep.”

“Bleat, bleat, bleat. Please don’t kill me. Let me go. I am not a lion, but only a poor, meek sheep,” wailed the sheep-lion.

The big lion gave the sheep-lion a terrible shake. The sheep-lion opened his eyes, and was astonished to find that the reflection of his head was not, as he expected,  a sheep’s head but a lion’s head, like that of the lion who was shaking him with his paw. Then the big lion said, “Look at my face and your face reflected in the water. They are the same. My face roars. Now! You must roar instead of bleating!”

The sheep-lion, convinced, tried to roar, but could only produce bleat-mingled roars. As the older lion continued to exhort him with slapping paws, the sheep-lion at last succeeded in roaring. Then both lions bounded across the pasture, entered the forest, and returned to the den of lions.

*******       *******       *******

The above story aptly illustrates how most of us, though made in the all-powerful image of the Divine Lion of the Universe, have been born and raised in the sheepfold of mortal weakness. We bleat with fear, lack, and death, instead of roaring with immortality and power, and preying on wisdom and unlimited prosperity.

These teachings are the new lion that will drag you to the crystal pool of meditation and give you such a hard shaking that you will open the closed eyes of your wisdom and behold yourself as the Lion of Divinity, made in the image of the Cosmic Lion. Those of you who strive continuously will forget your mortal fears of weakness, failure, and death, and will learn to roar with the power of almighty immortality.

From: Praecepta Lessons 1934; See also, How To Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence, Crystal Clarity Publishers. ( See ad on homepage).

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January 8, 1976

Dear——:

Thank you for sending me the transcript of that “reading.” I appreciate your letting us know about this material. I must say, however, that Paramhansa Yogananda didn’t recommend going to mediums. In fact, he recommended definitely against it. It can too often, he said, be a real trap. I urge you not to get involved in such things. For while it is true that good things sometimes do come through such channels, that good is usually mixed up with a great deal that is not valid, and is not helpful at all. The question remains, how to tell the difference? The mere fact of being in the astral world doesn’t make souls omniscient!

As for the specific threat of destruction to Ananda, I can only say that I truly don’t expect such to happen. On the other hand, if it be God’s will, then there is nothing we can do to prevent it. We are doing our best to serve God as He wills. The rest is in His hands.

But to get some perspective on the matter, it is important to realize that, of the predictions made in this manner, the majority—the vast majority—have proven false. Someday, of course, the earthquakes may come, but even Edgar Cayce spoke only of changes to the coastline, not of the whole state being destroyed. Since California is, at this time, the most spiritual part of America it is difficult to imagine that the entire area will be wiped out.

God, truly, is our only protection in any case. It seems far better to trust in Him, and to try to follow His guidance, derived through meditation and prayer, rather than to get sidetracked in the questionable truths of astral beings who purportedly speak to us through mediums.

You seem to have a fairly good understanding of the limits of this kind of experience. I would repeat again, however, that Yogananda recommended that we not get involved in such matters.

My best wishes to you and your family.

In divine friendship,

Swami Kriyananda

From: In Divine Friendship, Letters of Counsel and Reflection, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

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I beheld Thy bliss-face emerge from the dark shadows of my ignorance, where it had been hidden for long aeons by my indifference. And, seeing Thy smiling joy, I know that my own happiness mirrored Thy blessed image. My heart’s tiny capacity for love mirrored Thy infinite love. My little peace of mind mirrored Thy awe-inspiring, majestic calmness.

I will blame the fates no longer for any suffering that comes my way. Beloved Divine Mother, it was my self-made darkness that hid the glory of our mutual love. Now I see myself reflected in Thy bliss, and know that I, too, am perfect bliss. For my own mirror is clear, now; I behold Thy reflection in it, O Thou ever-sacred, omnipresent, perfect bliss!

I pour libations of my love at Thy feet of immortality! I pour out my heart to Thee from the overflowing chalice of my soul! I wash with the precious musk of my reverence Thy feet of ever-moving progress in everything.

From: Whispers from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

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I was browsing in a used-book store, not intending to buy anything, when I first saw this book. I picked it up and, with what felt like only natural curiosity, started to turn to the table of contents to look up “Gemini.” Instead, the first thing that caught my eye was Kriyananda’s statement dedicating the book to the reader “patient enough” to resist the temptation to “skip back and forth,” looking up specific signs.

Laughing at myself for having been caught red-handed, I simply purchased the book and took it home to read properly.

An emphasis on self-help
Many people think of astrology as simply describing the more-or-less fixed aspects of our personality: whatever “the stars” may have decreed for us. But as devotees, we know that a wise spiritual teacher can guide us in how to use our “pre-existing tendencies” to achieve further spiritual growth.

This is exactly what Swami Kriyananda has accomplished in this book. Your Sun Sign as a Spiritual Guide gives excellent advice on what we can do, given who we are, to achieve the highest spiritual expression of each of our qualities. With all there is to learn and practice on the spiritual path, it’s very helpful to have someone with Swami Kriyananda’s insight to recommend what we might need to focus on.

No sign, Kriyananda emphasizes, is inherently more or less spiritual than any other. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, and since we are all children of God, we will all eventually make our way back to Him. But the next step on that journey is different for each of us. This book gives us specific concepts, techniques, and practices to work with to make that next step in the most positive direction possible. 

“What’s your sign?”
The sun sign is the one most people know about, the subject of the classic question: “What’s your sign?” My own sun sign is Gemini, and Kriyananda very accurately zeroes in on many of the qualities that make us Geminis such a mentally-oriented lot. For each sun sign, however, he offers a clear perspective on how any given trait can be either positively or negatively directed.

For Geminis, for instance, he emphasizes the importance of mental detachment, which for a Gemini may make the difference between wit and wisdom, or between true understanding and mere cleverness. Similarly, a Gemini tendency towards worry, fickleness, and unreliability is really just an expression of the same qualities that can be positively developed into adaptability, creativity, and, as Kriyananda puts it, “great subtlety of thought.”

Kriyananda also discusses various yogic practices that are particularly applicable to each sign. For Sagittarius, as well as other fire element signs, he offers a fire meditation for burning away ego attachments. Addressing the discriminating, critical faculty of Virgos, he recommends the practice of neti neti — “not this, not that” — for delving into the deeper source of all desires and experiences. And for regulating the constant rising and falling of a Gemini’s restless mind, he recommends the practice of Kriya Yoga.

Your moon and rising signs
Though the book’s title refers specifically to sun signs, Kriyananda also briefly discusses the moon and rising signs. Unlike your sun sign, which is the “public facing” aspect of your personality, your moon sign describes your inner system of value and meaning—what makes things important to you. Your rising sign, on the other hand, concerns what Kriyananda calls your “basic quality of receptivity,” how you form initial reactions and impressions.

If you know your moon and rising signs (or other components of your horoscope), you can simply read the analyses of the appropriate sun signs with a view to applying them to specific aspects of your personality. For example, my moon and rising signs both happen to be Scorpio, which adds a significant shading to my Gemini characteristics.

The moon in Scorpio gives me a strong sense within myself of what is right and important, and a disinclination to try to conform to other standards. Contrary to the talkative extroversion of a Gemini, this Scorpio influence will often have me behaving in a more introverted way. My Scorpio rising sign reinforces this introverted tendency, directing my initial reactions in an inward direction, particularly in new or unfamiliar situations.

Knowing this about myself, I find a great deal of helpful practical advice in the Scorpio chapter, particularly about balancing aspects of my nature. Since a Gemini can be prone to living too much in the mind, the intensity and control of Scorpio can be a powerful aid to focusing my thoughts and turning them into actual accomplishments.

An interconnected whole
Kriyananda does an excellent job throughout the book of presenting the entire zodiac as an interconnected whole. He shows how the different signs can be related to each other by season, by planet, or by element (earth, air, fire, or water). This gives us a variety of perspectives from which to understand any quality.

Gemini, for example, is one of three Spring signs, and therefore has a connection with the two other Spring signs, Taurus and Aries. Each of these signs manifests the Spring-like energy of new beginnings and growth in a different way, and each is necessary for success in any venture. Tuning into this overall flow of energy helps me carry my ideas forward, beyond the purely mental stage. I am able to see the subsequent steps in the process not as foreign to my nature but as an actual extension of it. 

Universal characteristics
While working on this book, Kriyananda wrote a letter to an astrologer discussing some of his ideas.* In it, he described what he was doing as “universalizing each sign by addressing myself not only to Geminis, Leos, etc., but also to the Gemini, Leo, etc., in all of us.”  He writes that one of the “fascinating” things about the signs is “how they pin-point basic universal characteristics in man.”

Kriyananda’s observations are worth keeping in mind as we read this book. We all manifest the various qualities of each sign to some extent. Indeed, the very qualities that describe each of us as individuals are often the same ones that connect us as brothers and sisters in God.

Graham Waldon became a part of Ananda in 2009 and now lives in the Palo Alto community. Currently unemployed, he has spent much of the last year doing volunteer work, meditating, and devouring books by Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda.

* See In Divine Friendship, Crystal Clarity Publishers, page 253.

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The list of subjects to which Yogananda applied his cosmic vision is seemingly endless, and all this was in addition to his real mission—to bring us practical and proven techniques for soul liberation. No wonder he said, “If you do one-hundredth of what I’ve given you, it is sufficient.”

One of Yogananda‘s practical regimes for personal improvement that I’ve taken to heart is his “Nine-Day Cleansing and Vitalizing Diet.” Since the first time I tried it many years ago, I’ve experienced remarkable results, and have tried to do it with groups, a few others, or alone each year.

What is the Nine-Day Cleansing Diet? The brief description that follows provides all the information needed for you to successfully complete the diet.

The food allowed each day for the nine days is:
1 ½ grapefruits
1 ½ lemons
5 oranges
1 cooked vegetable with juice (quantity optional)
1 raw vegetable salad
1 glass orange juice*
3 cups of Vitality Beverage (one cup at each meal)

*to be taken every night before going to bed with ½ tsp. of senna leaves or Swiss Kriss, and later increase to 1 tsp.

Vitality Beverage:
2 stalks chopped celery
5 carrots (chopped) including part of stem
1 bunch chopped parsley
½ qt. chopped dandelion, or turnip greens, or spinach
1 qt. water
No salt or spices

The vitality beverage may be prepared in two ways, the first being preferable:

1. After putting celery and carrots through food processor, or chopping them finely, lightly boil them in the water for ten minutes. Then add selected greens and parsley and boil ten minutes more. Strain by squeezing through a cheesecloth.

2.  Use the same ingredients, but do not cook them. After putting them through a vegetable juicer, strain as above.

Drink one cup of the beverage, prepared by either method, at each of the three meals. That’s it—nothing more, nothing less.

The vitality beverage is essential to the cleansing action of the diet. I’ve tried both of the above two ways of preparing it and prefer the first, which involves boiling the chopped vegetables.

The raw vegetable method produces a juice similar to fresh carrot juice. The cooked method produces a bland-tasting broth similar, for those of you familiar with it, to Beiler’s “Potassium Broth” or Paavo Aerola’s broth, both of which are recommended for cleansing purposes. Try both the boiled and raw vegetable methods and decide for yourself.

What results have I experienced?

• Vitalization and healing of the body.
• Freedom from psychological dependency on food.
• Breaking of bad eating habits.
• Five to ten pound weight loss.
• Cleansing of skin, eyes, lungs and intestines.
• Improved health for a period of months.
• Increase energy level and need for less sleep.
• Rejuvenation of body and mind.
• Increased clarity of mind.
• Greater awareness of subtle flow of life force.
• Deepening sense of joy.
• Deeper, more inspired meditations.

Sound too good to be true? There are, let me assure you, challenges. It takes a strong will and self-discipline to finish the full nine days.

You may experience irritability in the first few days. Whether this reaction is caused by the release of toxins, I don’t know, but it’s wise to give someone on the diet a wide berth during the first few days. My husband, Jyotish, and I have an agreement that anything said during the beginning of the diet cannot be held against us. This plan has worked well, and we’ve stayed together through many successful attempts at the cleansing diet.

Sometimes people have headaches during the first few days, especially those addicted to coffee or black tea. The headaches seem to be caused by caffeine withdrawal.

You may also find a psychological change in your attitude towards food. Although you are actually eating large quantities of food, because the food is without salt, oil, or seasonings of any kind, it doesn’t provide the sensory satisfaction that we usually get from food. You may find yourself not interested in food at all.

Interested in trying the diet?
Here are a few tips I’ve discovered:

1. Practice Yogananda’s Energization Exercises at least once a day during the diet. Your awareness of subtle life energy is greatly increased at this time, and you can feel more sensitively the flow of prana through the medulla to the body parts.

2. Take regular sunbaths exposing as much of the body as possible to direct sunlight. Yogananda said you can receive up to ten times the benefit from solar energy if you consciously draw it into your body cells.

3. I find the Nine-Day Diet easiest to complete during the spring or summer months, which seems to be a natural cleansing time for the body. Also, because of the decreased caloric intake, the body tends to feel cold during the diet, which is less of a problem in the warm weather. In the spring and summer, there is also a greater variety of vegetables available for steaming.

4. Yogananda also recommends taking nightly warm baths with Epsom salts or some other good bath salt. The cleansing and rejuvenation of the skin produced by the diet are remarkable, and these warm salt baths aid in this process.

5. The regime of food consumption that works best for me is: Breakfast—grapefruits and vitality beverage; lunch—salad and vitality beverage; and dinner—steamed vegetables, lemons and vitality beverage, with oranges eaten through the day. Experiment and find what works best for you.

6. When coming off the diet, eat lightly and simply for the first few days. Someone once said, “Any fool can fast, but it takes a wise man to end his fast well.”

Yogananda called this Nine-Day Cleansing Diet “a method for rejuvenating the body cells and awakening the latent powers of the mind and the inner forces of the soul.” I heartily encourage you to launch into this spiritual adventure and challenge, and enjoy for yourself its remarkable benefits.

Reprinted from Clarity Magazine, July 1988. Nayaswami Devi, together with her husband Nayaswami Jyotish, is Co-Acharya (Spiritual Director) for Ananda Sangha Worldwide.

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A Prankster
(An incident recounted by Paramhansa Yogananda)

In India I kept both the long hair that many yogis grow for spiritual reasons, and a beard. My guru had told me to keep my hair long, so when a fellow passenger on the ship—his name was Rashid; he was a Muslim—said to me, “You should keep either long hair or a beard, for Americans will never accept a scarecrow who sports both!” So then, when he offered to shave off my beard for me, I accepted. Well, he was definitely a prankster! He shaved off half my beard, then went off on his own, leaving me helpless! Maybe two hours passed before he returned, laughing, to relieve me of the other half of my beard!

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Semi-Developed Intuition
(A story by Paramhansa Yogananda)

Once at a farmhouse I met a man who had semi-developed intuition. He bothered everybody with the display of his intuition. He tried it on me several times. Eventually I had an overdose of his semi-intuitional practices and decided to wake him up.

One day, while we were sitting in the farm parlor and the door to the house was closed, we heard footsteps, and I asked my semi-intuitive friend:

“Will you please tell me who is at the door?”

He forthwith replied: “It is my uncle coming home after many years, and he never even wrote me about it.”

The door was opened and the uncle appeared, and when questioned he verified the statement. He said that he had come suddenly without notification. My friend triumphantly exclaimed:

“See, I have fully-developed intuition and not semi-developed intuition as you often say.”

Then I remonstrated: “My friend, beware. You will make a horrible blunder some day. You have a little intuition, but you have not practiced the technique of developing it to the extent that you can really depend upon it.” He laughed at me, but soon I had the occasion to laugh at him. My mischievous prayer was answered.

One dismal, rainy day, we were again sitting in the farm parlor when suddenly there was a loud knock on the closed door. I said to my friend: “Now use your semi-intuition and tell me who is knocking.” He concentrated for a moment, then said: “My brother has unexpectedly arrived. Open the door.”

I laughed and replied: “No, not I. I wouldn’t go near the door—my intuition tells me not to. You had better open the door yourself.”

Saying this, I ran to the other side of the room. He opened the door, and in rushed the farm bull with menacing horns, angrily seeking shelter from the rain. My friend jumped aside frantically and the bull ran after me. Of course, I was prepared for it and simply stepped aside, loudly exclaiming: “My friend, your semi-intuition indeed foretold about your “brother” arriving!” (Praecepta Lessons, 1938)

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AUM, Peace, Amen
(From an Ananda Village parent)

At Ananda Village, the prayer at meals ends with the words, ”AUM, Peace, Amen.” One day a little girl, at the end of the family meal, asked a question that had long been on her mind. “Why, Mommy,” she asked, “do we always bless the peas and almonds even when we’re not having any for dinner?”

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“Sri Ram, Jai Ram”
(From Swami Kriyananda)

Years ago I was recording a Sanskrit chant, “Sri Ram, Jai Ram.”  It’s a wonderful chant, and I sang it from my heart—from the heart center. But toward the end of that recording session my energy slipped into the cervical center, which is opposite the throat. The heart center expresses love, but the throat center expresses calmness and expansion. When I sang it from that center I could feel calmness and a sense of expansion in my energy and voice. I said to the engineer, “Let’s record it again,” and I sang the entire song from the throat center.

A friend of mine’s two-year-old child loved this chant, and always wanted to hear the recording. One day when she was scolding him, he looked up at her and said, “Sri Ram, Jai Ram.” He had felt the calmness of the chant and was trying to pacify his mother with that vibration.

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Spiritual awakening is accompanied by a rising energy and consciousness in the spine. In this spiritual state, one may indeed dance, laugh, and sing with unending gladness, wrapped ever in breezes of inner joy. The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, by Swami Kriyananda.

The awakening of the chakras comes only after long, careful discipline. Great joy, as well as great mental and spiritual power, come when the seven “gates” are open. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Explained, by Paramhansa Yogananda.

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Divine awakening depends upon channeling all of your energy upward, and focusing it at the point between the eyebrows. That is what Jesus meant when he said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy strength.” The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, by Swami Kriyananda.

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Pranayama means control of the energy in the body, and its direction upward through the spine to the brain and to the Christ center between the eyebrows. This alone is the pathway of awakening. Essence of Self-Realization, by Paramhansa Yogananda.

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The awakened kundalini alone can bring healing to the “poison-bite” of delusion. St. Teresa of Avila described her ecstatic experiences as resembling “the upward shot of a bullet through a gun”—an acceptable account of kundalini awakening. The Promise of Immortality, by Swami Kriyananda.

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Despite the diversity of outward religious forms, the path of inner, spiritual awakening is essentially one. Rays of the Same Light, by Swami Kriyananda.

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Yoga practice awakens the faculties, clearing away impurities that have too long kept the mind in a state of ignorance. The highest purpose of yoga is to facilitate the awakening of divine awareness. Eastern Thoughts—Western Thoughts, by Swami Kriyananda.

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Will power is the key to awakening energy. Yogananda used to say, “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” We can apply this principle to the task of keeping the body in good health and healing our illnesses and also to drawing inspiration at will. Art as a Hidden Message, by Swami Kriyananda.

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The guru acts like a lighthouse, shining the Divine Light with a mighty blaze of awakening into the darkness of human delusion. Without such a high influence it is impossible for the devotee to rise to great heights. The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, by Swami Kriyananda.

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The attitude needed for spiritual awakening is one of joyful surrender and receptivity to the inflow of divine grace. Rays of the Same Light, by Swami Kriyananda.

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What is needed today is a spiritual army of souls demonstrating—not militantly or aggressively, but with sincerity declared—their commitment to higher values, to God, and to a firm rejection of worldly values.

Just consider a modern street in the pulsing heart of any city, with crowds rushing here and there bent on the business of profit, acquisition, and involvement with desires. In any such crowd there may be a few people whose thoughts are focused on higher goals. But who, on beholding that crowd, would gain any inkling of the fact?

It is time, certainly, for those few who know from within that there is a higher way of life, to demonstrate clearly, in some outward manner, that they have a more valid goal than mere absorption in materialism and ego-consciousness.

A renunciate order in which people demonstrate their commitment not by shouting their beliefs, waving flags and banners, or in other ways campaigning outwardly, but simply by the garb they wear—this, surely, would be a minimal way to “stand up and be counted.”

Why a new renunciate order?
In my new book, A Renunciate Order for the New Age, I propose a new model of renunciation for this new age of energy. I also propose to open the path of renunciation to all those, whether married or single, who deeply yearn to know God. Both women and men may become swamis and couples may work together toward that goal.

The monastic order of swamis in India was reorganized many centuries ago by the first, or adi, Swami Shankara. The age in which he lived, Kali Yuga, was far more materialistic than the age in which we live today. People weren’t nearly so mobile and their mental horizons were narrowly circumscribed.

To find God, or to realize the Divine Presence in one’s life, was almost impossible for those who were not specifically devoted to spiritual progress. Those who lived in the world, who engaged in profit, and particularly who were married and had families, simply could not expand their horizons to include the divine search.

The old way was right for those days, when mankind’s awareness was much narrower. In modern times, matter is known to consist only of vibrations of energy. People’s thinking is more fluid, more intuitive, more centered in principle than in outer forms.

Renunciation, as practiced in the past, no longer appeals to people in this age of greater freedom of thought and consciousness. It is more uplifting nowadays to concentrate on the positive aspects of renunciation. Burn up all attachments—to home, for instance—but concentrate positively on the complete absence of ego itself. Be humble, but not self-abasing; instead, see God as the true Doer of everything.

The old method of renunciation was world-negating; the new one is samadhi-affirming. One’s concentration, in other words, is on the joy of soul-freedom in God.

It is now possible, in this age of increasing enlightenment, to emphasize such positive aspects of renunciation as soul expansion; the inner freedom of simple living; greater mental and spiritual clarity through sexual moderation or, best of all, through complete sexual abstinence; and the sheer delight of discovering joy within oneself.

Freedom from ego consciousness
During Kali Yuga, most people could not comprehend that the ego really has no existence except in its fleeting dream-reality. Today, however, people are able to understand, at least intellectually, that our separate reality is but an illusion and that we are all, in truth, but a single reality. It is thus easier for people today to focus on ego-transcendence directly instead of approaching it indirectly through non-attachment and strict non-involvement with the material world.

The real delusion to overcome is the bondage of ego-identity. The true goal of renunciation is to help one to rid himself of that self-limiting identity. Freedom from ego-consciousness, therefore, is the primary direction I envision for true renunciation.

More important than working on specific desires, attachments, and outwardly directed delusions is the work we do to eliminate our sense of separatness from the great Ocean of Life. All who would become worthy of the kingdom of God must expand their ego-consciousness to the vast Self of which the ego is but a little part—a mere grain of sand on a vast beach surrounding the ocean of cosmic consciousness. All must seek infinite self-expansion. As Paramhansa Yogananda wrote in his great poem, Samadhi:  “Myself in everything enters the Great Myself.”

The stages of renunciation
To become inwardly sure that you are ready for full sannyas, or complete renunciation, you should first go through the stage of preliminary renunciation— brahmacharya, if you are single, or tyaga, if you are married. Men who practice tyaga are known as tyagis; women, as tyaginis. Single men are called brahmacharis; women, similarly, are called brahmacharinis.

Married people may often do better to wait until they are past the child-rearing years before embracing the stage of tyaga. How long should a couple wait before they commit themselves to a life of tyaga? It should not depend only on age. Young persons, too, may be ready. But all must prove themselves—to others as well as to themselves—before taking this step.

The vows of brahmacharya and tyaga are vows truly, and not mere resolutions. You must have sufficient conviction to be able to say, “I am sure, now, that this is the direction I want to go, and I will build my life around it.”

When you feel ready to proclaim outwardly your complete commitment to the spiritual path, you may embrace formal sannyas and become a swami. At this stage, renunciates ought to no longer see themselves as men or women. Thus, renunciates of both sexes should be given the same title:  swami.

Because this is a new renunciate order, I recommend that all swamis receive, in addition to the title, the designation naya—that is to say, “new.” Thus, my own name would be Nayaswami Kriyananda.

Only God is qualified to judge
What this new renunciate order will emphasize is direction, not fixed attainments. Fixed rules belong to Kali Yuga. The true path to God is directional. It does not consist of fixed and absolute regulations.

Regardless of any future slip in one’s dedication to one’s ideals, so long as the direction of his aspiration is upward, there should be no outward punishment or “demotion” from whatever status he has attained. One is fit to be a renunciate at every level, including that of swami, as long as he shows that his heart is firmly dedicated to achieving final perfection.

Because many of the virtues mentioned here are questions of attitude, one’s worthiness to continue to keep the title tyagi or nayaswami must be left up to the individual’s conscience. There comes a point where only God is qualified to judge.

The important thing is that one’s true direction be toward God, not away from Him. A slip is not a fall, and does not in any way deserve to be condemned. I once said to my guru, “I would rather die than succumb to temptation.” He remonstrated, “why be so absolute? If you keep trying, God will never let you down.”

Why stand up and be counted?
A new order of renunciation would lose much of its spiritual merit were it kept a secret. It is desperately important today for people who long for a higher way of life to be reassured that they are not alone. If there is safety in numbers, there is also the need for reassurance from a sufficiency of numbers.

I don’t say, “Join Ananda.” Rather I say, wherever you are, and whatever your path or stage of life, join this order; embrace its ideals; commit yourself to them in action.

If you are married, discuss this way of life with your spouse. I haven’t asked you to roam the highways like the sannyasis of old but simply to change your attitude toward life. Married couples would admittedly find it difficult—in the streets, or even about the home—to wear the garb of tyaga, but on special spiritual occasions, surely, they can do so.

Brahmacharis, brahmacharinis, and swamis (whether married or unmarried) should be less reticent. To show the courage of their convictions seems to me right, and even necessary. The face they show to the world should normally include not only their eyes, mouths, and noses, but also their life commitment.

A signal to those who share your ideals
Such a social change must be introduced gradually. Paramhansa Yogananda, when in America, dressed in a normal business suit. He demonstrated the differentness of his calling, however, by wearing a scarf—not orange, in fact, but white—covering his chest. In India, he wore the traditional orange garb of an Indian swami.

Although he wanted our daily garb to be normal, he did say that he wanted us someday to wear monastic garb. Has that day arrived yet? Perhaps not in the West. In India? More probably.

Married couples would find it very awkward to wear a special garb except at public spiritual functions. They can, however—indeed, all monastics can—wear something suggestive of their spiritual vocation: turquoise for tyagis; golden yellow for brahmacharis; royal blue for nayaswamis.

They could wear shirts or blouses of the appropriate color. When men wear suits, they could wear an appropriately colored handkerchief folded visibly in the breast pocket; women could do the same with scarves, sashes, or something else that is suitable.

The point in any case is not to stand up and be counted by others, but as a signal to those who share your ideals: “You are not alone.” Gradually the signal would become more and more widely known and accepted. The time when it becomes widely respected will be, I suggest, when a monastic might feel free to go anywhere, fully dressed in the suitable garb.

A non-institutional renunciate order
I have tried to make it clear, and want to emphasize again, that this new renunciate order  is not my movement. It is not confined to one organization nor is it limited to the members of Ananda. It is intended to stand alone.

Since Paramhansa Yogananda was sent, however, to help bring fundamental change to an entire civilization, I have proposed that all swamis of this new renunciate order accept him as their adi (first, or supreme) guru.

But I don’t want to approach the order to the slightest degree as something sectarian. It should become sufficiently widespread to effect a broad change in society. For I deeply feel that this movement can help to uplift the world.

I state urgently that mankind very desperately needs our new renunciate order. Many thousands of people need, now, to “stand up and be counted.”

Excerpted from A Renunciate Order for the New Age, Crystal Clarity, Publishers.

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The order is based on renouncing the ego rather than renouncing the world, and is intended for people everywhere, including married couples, who are committed to finding God. It is not tied to Ananda, nor will it be centralized or even administered by Ananda. Kriyananda describes it as a “non-institutional” approach to renunciation.

In the book, Kriyananda invites all those who are already living by these principles, whatever their religious affiliation, to become part of the order. He gives vows for single renunciates (brahmacharis), married renunciates (tyagis), and for final renunciation or sannyas (swamis), to which he adds the term “naya,” or new. Thus, a number of us have already become nayaswamis.

With Kriyananda redefining renunciation in ways appropriate for this new age, Dwapara Yuga, one can easily see monks from Christian and Buddhist traditions deciding they would like to live according to these liberating principles. He ends the book with an invitation to swamis everywhere, who feel in tune with these new concepts, to join the order. 

God and Guru are directing the show
Central to this order is the concept that all true renunciation involves dissolving the ego. In past ages one approached dissolving the ego indirectly by controlling outer behavior. While it is important to renounce attachment to possessions, sexual indulgence, and self-will (the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience), it is even more beneficial to renounce the ego, where all desires and behaviors originate.

Renunciation also means developing the faith to live entirely in tune with the will of God. For “control freaks,” this may be a scary thought, because you must renounce not only self-interest, but also the thought that you are in control of your own life.

Even sincere seekers find old karmic patterns of desire and attachment blocking their attunement efforts. So we need to keep reminding ourselves to make attunement with God and Guru uppermost. We always need to remember that God and Guru are directing the show.

Why take an outward formal step?
Some may think, “I’ve already committed myself to the spiritual quest as deeply as I can. Becoming part of this new order won’t change that. Is it necessary to take an outward formal step to make that statement of commitment?”

No, of course not. Our relationship with God is sacred and private. And yet, those of us who have taken formal vows, or are even considering taking them, have found the process to be an enormous aid to our inner life.

Furthermore, the world needs clear examples of renunciation. In one sense, we’re taking this step to show that offering one’s life to God leads to the very happiness that so many are seeking through materialism.

The world seems to promise fulfillment — through fame, wealth, sexuality, power— but every one of these turns out to be a dead end. People find that even if they achieve every goal, happiness still eludes them.

Those who are deeply committed to the search for God have a responsibility to demonstrate that living for God-realization does lead to both spiritual and worldly fulfillment. In the words of Christ: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

A road map to Self-realization
Swami Kriyananda lists fourteen qualities of a “true renunciate” which apply to the three forms of renunciation he presents in the book. (See list at end of article)

One might say that these qualities, as presented in the book, describe a person who has achieved Self-realization, or is close to achieving it. Obviously these states are not easily attainable and are probably beyond most who will be joining the new order. But, those of us who take this step of formal renunciation should assume that these fourteen qualities describe our code of behavior and consciousness. In fact, these are wonderful directional pointers for anyone seeking freedom from ego.

Someone remarked, “Even though Swamiji has been urging us to become jivan muktas (freed while living), it always seemed beyond my capacity. Seeing these fourteen points makes me think, ‘I can do that!’”

Samadhi affirming vs. world renouncing
Kriyananda describes this order as “samadhi-affirming,” rather than “world-renouncing.” In the past, during Kali Yuga, people attempted to spiritualize life by suppressing worldly attractions. Releasing these attachments is still a very important part of the spiritual life. We can’t simply ignore the fact that maya (delusion) exerts a tremendous pull on the consciousness.

But more effective than pushing away or denying desires is to affirm the freedom that comes with getting rid of ego. True renunciation is overcoming the ego from which all worldly pulls arise. To push away desires doesn’t overcome ego. At best it overcomes some of the impediments to getting out of ego-consciousness.

What gets us out of ego is an expansion of soul consciousness beyond the egoic “I” — the soul identified with the body and the personality. By expanding our consciousness, we begin to break that identification. The ultimate expansion of consciousness is the state of samadhi, or complete oneness with God.

So, the new approach to renunciation is to concentrate not so much on what we want to overcome, but rather on what we want to become.

What expands our consciousness?
What are the things that expand our consciousness? Take a concept like non-attachment to possessions. The old method was not to have possessions because of the danger of becoming ensnared in delusion. This approach was negative: “I can’t have this. I can’t have that. All possessions are perilous.”

The new approach is to emphasize the self-expansion and freedom that non-attachment brings. Thus Paramhansa Yogananda suggested that we embrace simplicity rather than poverty. Simplicity is the voluntary release of “unnecessary necessities.” It leads to inner freedom and the realization that we own nothing and belong to no one. This approach is positive, expansive, and samadhi-affirming.

If someone insults you – laugh!
Now, in Dwapara Yuga, we know that energy is the basic substance of the universe and we can understand subtler approaches to renunciation. We understand that it is not outward form, but inner self-offering, that helps us transcend the ego. Swami Kriyananda says that often in his book: “Ego transcendence is renunciation!”

In the chapter in the book called “Ego Transcendence,” Kriyananda gives 27 techniques for transcending the ego. People have a tendency to think that renunciation means never to smile or laugh or enjoy anything. All these old Kali Yuga images come to mind.

But renunciation in Dwapara Yuga is not joyless. Kriyananda’s suggestions are absolutely charming. He says, for instance, “If someone tells a good joke, don’t think you have to tell a better one; let them have the final word. If someone insults you—laugh.

Here are a few other examples from the book:

If someone makes an incorrect statement, don’t bother to correct him—unless you consider it important to do so. Then, instead of flatly contradicting him, make it clear first that you know he is interested only, as are you, in the truth.

Don’t be self-effacing. Simply show calm respect to everyone. Show respect even to foolish people—and more so, if anything, to children, because of the common tendency to speak to them condescendingly.

In conversation, don’t wait impatiently for your “chance to speak your piece.” Listen respectfully, and, if possible, listen with interest.

In group conversations, be neither a groundhog (diving into your hole in fear of your own shadow) nor a lion (beating everyone into submission with the loudness of your roar), but think rather in terms simply of sharing with others.

Be sincere. Don’t “back bashfully into the limelight”—as someone once described Albert Einstein doing. Let your modesty express your true feeling, and not be a show you put on to impress others.

If someone challenges your point of view, never let the discussion sink to a level of personal animosity.

Little points like these are the building blocks to ego transcendence, and make the process so real and doable. And as we read that chapter we realize that renunciation isn’t about what God takes away from us—it’s about finding the freedom of no longer having all those pesky thoughts of “I,” me” and “mine” revolving around ourself.

New ego-transcending colors
Kriyananda selected a “royal blue” color for the nayaswami robes because it supports ego-transcendence better than the traditional orange. In explaining he says:

Orange goes with declamation, blue with sharing and with an invitation to share with others. Orange goes with imposition, blue with sympathetic self-offering. Orange when outwardly directed can induce egotism, blue can inspire self-expansion to infinity.

The old orange color was an image of authority, but if we take that image too far it becomes just another bundle of self-definitions: “I am a swami. I am a renunciate. I’m better than others.” Soon we find ourselves encased in yet another veil of ego.

In A Renunciate Order for the New Age, Swami Kriyananda is creating a new way of life that addresses the needs of spiritual seekers today. It is a crowning achievement of a life of making Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings accessible to people everywhere. Its impact on society will be far-reaching, perhaps beyond anything that we can now envision.

The Marks of a True Renunciate
by Swami Kriyananda

What are the marks of those whom I’d consider worthy of being accepted true renunciates? They would be those who have achieved noteworthy progress toward the attainment of the following virtues:

1. They have no, or very few, attachments or desires.

2. They are without anger. (Anger appears in the heart when one’s desires are thwarted.)

3. They accept without prejudice whatever life gives them, and live by the principle,  “What comes of itself, let it come.”

4. They never seek to justify or defend themselves, but accept all judgment by others dispassionately, as experiences given them by God for their higher good.

5. They keep in their hearts primarily the company of God.

6. They are indifferent to others’ opinions of them.

7. They work without personal motive, to please God alone.

8. They are impersonal in the sense of wanting nothing for themselves, but never in the sense of being indifferent to the needs of others.

9. They see all beings as striving toward the attainment of Satchidananda: ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss, no matter how presently misguided the efforts of some people may be. Thus, they feel kinship with everyone, and with all life.

10. They accept nothing as their own, but only as being “on loan” to them, for the benefit of others.

11. They view pleasure and pain equally, as opposite (or dual) expressions of eternal, divine bliss.

12. They have meditated daily for years.

13. Because they are always happy in themselves, they are impervious to insults, outer suffering, failure, defeat, or disaster. They strive to live the ideal that Paramhansa Yogananda voiced when he said, “You should be able to stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds!”

14. They strive to love God unceasingly, and ever more deeply, in a spirit of utter openness to be guided by His will.

Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi are Acharyas (spiritual directors) for Ananda Sangha Worldwide. Jyotish is also Acharya for the Ananda Sevaka Order, worldwide.

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But this, dear students, is a jellyfish philosophy. It is not the way to truth. What is true is that if your father died of cancer and you continue to live as he did, you may follow in his footsteps.

Sickness is the result of breaking some mental or physical law, either in this life or in a past incarnation.  It is your job to free yourself from the shackles of undesirable hereditary tendencies, including habits of ill health. Like everything else worth attaining, you must work for it!

Divine healing at Bethesda
The mind controls the body. The will of a person who has been ill for a long time becomes so weak that he cannot overcome the illness. However, faith can revive the power of his will and effect a healing. The Bible tells of such a healing.

In Jerusalem, Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda, where a crowd of people waited to bathe in the healing waters. At certain times the waters vibrated and emanated healing currents. The first one to enter after the waters moved was healed.

Jesus saw a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years lying by the pool. He had no one to help him, and when the waters vibrated—someone else always got in ahead of him. Filled with compassion, Jesus asked, “Wilt thou be made whole?”  When Jesus found that the sick man was receptive and desired very much to be healed, He said, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk.”

The man was healed by his own awakened faith and the revival of his will, which aroused the latent life energy of his own brain and served as the antenna for the cosmic energy from Jesus.

The power of the mind
Most physical diseases have their roots in the mind. You can produce disease in your body merely by allowing yourself to be hypnotized by the thought of disease. In trying to get rid of an illness, people often concentrate more on the gripping power of the illness than on the possibility of a cure, and thus permit the illness to become both a physical and mental habit.

It is a mistake to think this way. Never allow your mind to entertain thoughts of illness or limitation. The subconscious habit of “disease consciousness” exerts a strong influence on the continuity of chronic diseases. In fact, chronic mental or physical diseases always have deep roots in the subconscious mind.

That is why all affirmations ought to be impressive enough to become mental habits in the subconscious mind, which will, in turn, influence the conscious mind. In this way, strong conscious affirmations can influence the mind and body through the medium of the subconscious.

Fear: the enemy of will power
Will power is the main dynamo of the body, converting cosmic energy into life force. The stronger the will, the greater the flow of energy into the tissues and body parts.

Often during illness, however, people become discouraged and permit subconscious tendencies to hamper the will. If the illness is serious or prolonged, memories of previous ailments, as well as past failures and disappointments, often fill the mind with fear that the body cannot recover.

Fear is one of the greatest enemies of will power and health. It paralyzes the will, disrupts the life force flowing through the nerves, and lowers the vitality of the entire body. Physical health slowly fails from want of life force. If, however, a person resolutely refuses to be afraid or disheartened, his will can produce the life force needed to heal the body.

Health: your divine birthright
Fear of sickness belongs to the domain of ignorance. Of course, if you are stricken with ill health, you should strive for health without being afraid of failure. While struggling, however, you must understand that the struggle for health is born of delusion, for you already have what you need in the inner Self.

Once a healthy, wealthy, and wise prince dreamed that he was poor and ill. In the dream he shouted, “Oh, I am suffering from cancer and I have lost all my wisdom and riches.”

His wife, the queen, woke up and roused him, saying, “Look, prince. Laugh and rejoice, for you are neither suffering from sickness, nor have you lost riches and wisdom. You are comfortably lying at my side in health and wisdom, in your rich kingdom. You were only dreaming about these catastrophes.”

So it is that many people are dreaming about lack when they might claim their birthright of joy, health, and plenty as children of God. Only by meditating and attuning to God’s consciousness, do we realize the truth that this universe is God’s dream. In a dream you may think that you are ill but once awakened, you see it is not true. When awake in God, so also do you  know that this life is nothing but a dream.

Meditation leads to permanent success
We can change certain aspects of our own ego-dream by altering the way we think. For example, when we are ill we can make a strong affirmation of good health and become well again. But meditation alone leads to permanent success.

By connecting your individual energy with the unlimited storehouse of inner cosmic energy, you can overcome ill health. To achieve permanent success, you must meditate morning and night, and concentrate the superconscious peace rays on the brain, scorching out the seeds of past failures and stimulating the success tendencies.

During meditation, you feel the power of concentration in the will center at the point between the eyebrows, as well as a feeling of complete peace throughout the body. To scour the seeds of past sickness from the brain cells, you must transfer the power of concentration felt at the point between the eyebrows and the peace feeling of the body, to the brain. This impregnates the brain cells with peace and power, and modifies their chemical and psychological composition.

By repeatedly concentrating this vital power on the brain for long periods of time, you will eventually destroy all lurking disease tendencies from the past.

Right approach for devotees
Illness can be a serious obstacle on the spiritual path. Do your best, within reason, to achieve health, but always keep your efforts proportionate to the true, long-range goal of life, which is to find God.

Many saints have had serious illnesses. The test of spirituality is one’s inner state of consciousness, and, above all, the purity of one’s love for God.

There was a saint who fell ill. His disciples pleaded with him, “Master, so many have been healed by your intercession. Why don’t you pray to the Divine Mother to heal you, too?” This seemed to him not a bad idea; he accepted their suggestion. When he prayed, the Divine Mother appeared to him.

“Of all things!” She rebuked him. “You, who have realized your oneness with the Infinite, and who have so many bodies you live through, want now, by praying for this one little form, to limit yourself to it? For shame!” The saint deeply regretted his error, and prayed, “Mother, Your love alone is all-sufficient!”

It is wisest to be impartial. If you have health, but are attached to it, you will always be afraid of losing it. And if you fear that loss, but become ill, you will suffer. It is better to rise above outer conditions altogether, so that they cannot affect you. Try to rise above the pairs of opposites: pleasure and pain, heat and cold, sickness and health.

Conditions are always neutral
Remember: conditions are always neutral; they seem happy or sad owing only to the attitudes of the mind. If a man is ill, afflicted with arthritic pain, and slogging through deep mud on a winter night, he can yet be happy just the same. With a strong will, he’d be able to ignore every difficulty and his happiness would remain unaffected.

Not that those circumstances would have been pleasurable. Nonetheless, a human being can be happy under the worst circumstances. Mind has no connection with the body apart from whatever connection you choose to give it. To pass life’s tests, you need to develop elasticity of the mind.

When your mind can remain completely apart from the body at will, you will be free. Why not remain forever joyful in the Self? By tuning into God and waking up in His consciousness, you will know that this life is nothing but a dream.

From articles, and books, 1930-1942.

To view Swami Kriyananda’s talk, “Attaining Radiant Health and Well-Being,“click here:

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One of the great blessings of meditation is that I am less reactive emotionally and can now view situations more objectively. Gradually I am learning that it’s possible to remain centered and act with kindness even in harsh or chaotic circumstances, whether in my personal life or in my work as a Family Court attorney.

Do we reap what we sow?
A recent experience with a tenant in a rental house I own brought greater clarity around these issues. This tenant—a woman—was living in the house when I bought it. I was counting on the rent payments to help offset the monthly mortgage payments and was pleased I didn’t have to find a tenant on my own.

At first, this woman, who owned a small business, seemed reasonable and paid her rent on time. After a few months, however, she started paying the rent later and later in the month. Over the course of two years, she often experienced financial difficulties in her business and would fall behind in her payments.

My task, which I did not enjoy, was to call her whenever the rent was overdue. Whenever I called, I made a special effort to treat her with kindness and respect. I also prayed for her well-being. From the spiritual teachings, I assumed that if I planted “seeds” of love, kindness, and respect in my dealings with this woman, eventually I would “harvest” the same from her.

As the months passed, however, she responded more and more rudely. Often she accused me of being a “ruthless attorney” for asking for payment, in light of her financial troubles. I disliked her treatment of me but I assumed her anger reflected disappointment and pain about her business difficulties. I continued to pray for her and to treat her with kindness and respect, hoping that the seeds I was planting would eventually soften her attitude.

Toward the end of the two years, things worsened. Without my permission, she rented out one of the bedrooms in the house. By then, she owed three months back rent and refused to discuss any plan for paying the past due amount. There were no signs of improvement in her behavior toward me. In fact, she berated me each time I called and let me know she was paying other debts but choosing not to pay me.

After calling one last time, I served her with a notice to vacate and filed an eviction action. She moved out of the house, leaving it in a condition requiring major repairs.

Disappointed and hurt
I was hurt and disappointed in how things had turned out. I found myself questioning whether the spiritual teachings were even true. If they were true, why, then, didn’t she treat me with the same courtesy and respect I had shown her?  Why didn’t my kindness bring kindness in return? It upset me to think that she had perceived my kindness as weakness and looked upon me as someone she could manipulate.

Worst of all, I found myself wishing the same kind of negative treatment for her! I was ashamed of such thoughts and prayed and did japa whenever they arose. Nonetheless, my negative reactions persisted. When I meditated, thoughts of her behavior distracted my mind and prevented me from meditating deeply.

Gradually, over the next two months, through prayer and meditation, my feelings became more neutral. I felt more empathy for her, less focused on my hurt feelings.

Acting with non-attachment
Calming my negative emotions helped me understand that the spiritual teachings on “cause and effect” were true—the sages weren’t wrong!

But my understanding had been too simplistic. I now understand that when and how I reap the benefits of my positive energy depend on many things, including the strength of my magnetism, my tenant’s receptivity, and whatever karma I need to balance.

I may have behaved well in the situation with my tenant, but I certainly haven’t behaved well in all my relationships. Perhaps I had behaved badly toward my tenant in a former life. Or perhaps she was a “stand-in” for someone to whom I owed a karmic debt.

I had also lost sight of one of the most important teachings of the Bhagavad Gita—to relinquish attachment to the fruits of my actions. Meditation was helping me calm my emotions, but I was nonetheless very attached to my tenant’s responding a certain way.

Today I feel only compassion for my tenant for the suffering she experienced and gratitude for the important spiritual lessons I learned. As often happens, those who upset us the most turn out to be our most important teachers.

Emotional distress and physical pain
Not long ago I reached a point where the emotional challenges of my work as a Family Court attorney were pulling me down. Most of my adult clients are charged with child neglect or abuse. Some are incarcerated and many are emotionally unstable. I also represent abused and neglected children who are in foster care or with a family member pending the outcome of their cases. The eyes of every child I represent express deep sadness even when the child smiles.

Often I carried my clients’ pain and suffering in my own body, as either emotional distress or physical pain. Doing japa throughout the day was helpful, especially in dealing with my emotionally disturbed clients, but I needed something more.

Inner guidance: say healing prayers
At a certain point I felt the inner guidance in meditation to recite healing prayers whenever in the presence of others, and especially during my workday. The next day there were plenty of opportunities to pray for people. Whenever not completely alone, I would say the healing prayers I’d learned from Ananda:

Divine Mother, Thou art omnipresent. Thou are in all Thy children. Thou art in this person. Manifest Thy healing presence in his/her/their body, mind and soul.

Sometimes I used a shorter prayer: “Receive Lord in Thy light this child.”

Praying for others
In the courthouse hallway while waiting for my hearing to be called, I said healing prayers for my client and everyone who passed by. At the hearing, I prayed for the judge, his assistant, the court reporter, the opposing party—and everyone else in the courtroom. Anytime I didn’t have to speak I prayed. I found that I could listen attentively to others and pray at the same time.

While driving home, I prayed for all the drivers on the road, for my loved ones, my clients, my dog, and anyone I could think of who needed a prayer. Time flew as I drove 70 miles from the courthouse to my home.

When I arrived home I felt uplifted and deeply grateful in my heart. Surprisingly, my body and mind felt refreshed, even though I had worked long hours.

Amazing changes in everyone
Each day, whenever I could remember, I continued to say healing prayers, asking Divine Mother to bless all, to heal all. One day, I had twenty hearings that involved extensive contact with clients with major mental health problems. I prayed while listening to my clients and while waiting to speak at the hearings—and I was amazed by the changes I saw.

One teenage client arrived for his hearing looking very distraught. While sitting next to me, his body shook and his face twitched. He moved his hands constantly—either snapping his fingers or hitting his thighs. Within a few minutes of praying for him he was much less distraught and his twitching and hand movements had slowed considerably.

Another time, while waiting for a hearing to start, I was confronted by the mother of an adult client in prison. She had previously phoned and asked for copies of all documents in her son’s case and had not been pleased that I could not provide them without her son’s consent.

Now, when we met for the first time outside the courtroom, her eyes were angry and she breathed heavily. I immediately started saying healing prayers for her. Soon her breathing calmed down and she began to relax. During the hearing, I sent healing prayers to everyone in the courtroom. Afterwards, my client’s mother thanked me and has not called since.

Effects of healing prayers
I find that healing prayers help both my clients and me. Healing prayers take the burden of my clients’ pain and suffering from my shoulders and place it on God, where it truly belongs. Now, whenever my heart starts to ache over a client’s situation, I am reminded to pray and the pain dissolves.

As I feel less burdened by my clients’ suffering, I am freer to help them in ways that I can—primarily with my advocacy skills. As the instrument I too am blessed. I feel more compassionate toward my clients; sometimes a sweet positive energy suffuses our encounters. Where previously I often saw them as a burden, they are now reminders of God’s wisdom and love.

My clients are helped in other ways. Previously my adult clients were very angry and blamed “the system” for removing their children from their homes. However, with time and many healing prayers, they now pull their lives together and are either reunited with their children, or consent to the children’s being adopted or placed in foster homes. Most of my cases are now settled without a trial.

A divine experience
Recently I was driving home after a long day of visiting clients, both children and adults. I was tired, the traffic was noisy, and my business clothes were uncomfortable. Suddenly, my heart was soaring. Tears of joy filled my eyes and I heard myself say, “I love God.”  Never before had I felt such bliss.

Healing prayers have opened my heart to the flow of God’s love through me to my clients. In the process, my heart has become more open to God’s love—and to loving God. That is the greatest blessing of all.

A spiritual seeker since 1991, Daniella Nitya Ferrari is currently the leader of the Ananda Meditation and Book Study Group in Sedona, AZ.  In her work as a family law attorney, she represents indigent clients and abused and neglected children.

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I was sympathetic because I knew he  believed deeply in the teachings of his church, but I realized that people are no longer content to hear, “Heaven will come after you die.” People want to do something right now that will make them better people.

And science is confirming that you can do things that will make you a better human being. In the process, science is also corroborating some of the most fundamental teachings of yoga.

Meditation: are they just sleeping?
It was my good fortune to participate in one of the very first scientific studies on meditation in the late 1970s at University of California at Irvine. I participated as both a researcher and guinea pig—that’s where I first learned to meditate.

The controversy in science at the time was whether people were doing something unique when they meditated or just sleeping. Well-known physiologists were saying, “When people meditate, they’re just napping and, of course, anyone would feel better with a little extra sleep.”

But the studies showed that meditation is a unique state, distinct from both normal waking consciousness and sleep, and that it has profound effects on a person’s body, brain, and nervous system. Since then, other studies have shown that meditation promotes calmness, uplifted feelings, will power, and a sense of humor, and is especially helpful in overcoming anxiety, depression, and addiction.

A tool for self-change
Paramhansa Yogananda, citing the ancient yoga teachings, was saying these very same things in the 1920s when he first came to the United States. He said, “I bet I can take a group of boys with the worst character and the most restless temperament. I’ll teach them to meditate two hours a day for four years in the way I tell them—and I’ll make saints of them.”

Yogananda was far ahead of science in understanding that these and other benefits of meditation reflect actual changes in the brain. He explained that during meditation, a person’s life force accumulates in the brain and permeates the brain cells, changing their composition. This process replaces harmful negative tendencies with positive, constructive tendencies.

At that time, most neuroscientists would have said, “Impossible. By the time you’re 25, your brain has finished changing.”

However, in the last twenty years, science has discovered that the brain is not only the most changeable part of our body, but that it is extremely fluid in how it responds to our behavior—any new activity, not just meditation, results in changes. When we learn a new language, ride a bicycle, or start a new job, we begin growing new brain cells. Within two weeks, there are significant brain changes.

Similarly, if a person gets into the habit of being very angry, the brain starts laying down new nerve pathways to allow that person to express anger more fully. As that happens, the nerve pathways that allow him to feel peaceful and happy start to wither and become less effective.

A new approach to psychotherapy
These new findings are being applied in very positive ways. Already there are changes in the practice of psychotherapy. In the behavioral health program at the clinic where I work, we use “cognitive behavioral therapy,” which builds on what science has shown about meditation and the changeability of the brain.

We teach everyone in the program to meditate, although we may call it by a different name, such as “relaxation technique.” We also give them behavioral assignments — new behaviors to learn, including affirmations. Our behavioral therapist might say to someone, “Okay, you’re mad at your mother. What positive steps are you going to take in the next week so that you will feel differently a week from now?”

For the vast majority of people, the cognitive behavioral model works far better than traditional psychotherapy’s practice of focusing on old issues and patterns. We’ve seen that people with habits of anxiety, panic, fear, or anger can learn new ways of responding to life. People with a long-standing history of depression can eventually go off medication. Those addicted to alcohol or drugs can overcome their addiction.

Increasingly, there are medical insurance plans that are only approving this type of therapy because studies have shown that it works.

Why is the brain so changeable?
Why is the brain so changeable? Because, as Sri Yukteswar said 120 years ago in The Holy Science, “Matter is only a vibration of energy.” Our bodies, including the brain, are not really solid. They are only holding patterns of energy—an inherently changeable medium.  As Yogananda explained in his early lessons:

All so-called solids that we see are not solid. They are nothing but flying atoms held together by a magnetic force. Even the atoms are an illusion, for behind them lies an ocean of energy manifesting itself through the atoms as rocks, trees, water, and human and animal bodies.

In 1905 Albert Einstein scientifically confirmed this fundamental teaching of yoga—that matter in its essence is energy. However, only in the last 30 years has there been overall agreement in the scientific community. The breakthrough came with the findings of  “quantum physics,” which studies the atomic and subatomic world.

“Vibrating strings of energy”
Quantum physics has shown that at the subatomic level, the universe no longer seems solid, and that we’re dealing with units best described as “smears of energy.”

Subsequent investigation suggests that these “smears of energy” are really tiny “strings” that vibrate like the strings on a cello. “String theory,” as it’s called, sounds very much like what Sri Yukteswar said over 100 years ago: to think of matter not as something solid but as vibrating energy.

More recently, the physicists who work in string theory have been saying, “As we look more closely as these vibrating strings of energy, they don’t even seem like energy; they’re more like thoughts.”

String theory is exactly how yogis from ancient times have described the nature of the universe. God, in creating the universe, first vibrated his consciousness into thoughts. He then vibrated those thoughts more grossly into energy, and finally, He vibrated that energy more grossly into physical forms.

Our environment can change us
If we want to become better people, we need to pay attention not only to our own thoughts and actions but also to our environment. When we move through the world, we’re constantly interacting with it on very subtle levels of energy. To think that we can be in a bar, a crowd, or an airplane and not be affected is a bit like being in a restaurant with a smoking and a non-smoking section, and thinking that all the smoke will stay in the smoking section.

The teachings of yoga have long discussed this influence of environment in terms of energy and magnetism. Yogananda himself often cautioned students to avoid negative, unwholesome environments. In his early writings, he made this sobering pronouncement:

The thoughts we think, the feelings and desires we harbor, are vibrations that affect, and are affected by, those of countless other people. Vibrations of thought are so powerful that if you live in the same building with persons who have wrong thoughts, they will affect you if you are not powerful enough to protect yourself.

The thoughts and the behavior of the scientist
Subatomic researchers are still in the early stages of understanding the exact mechanism by which environmental vibrations affect us, but what we already know is startling—that even minimal interactions between the observer and a subatomic process can change the subatomic energy patterns.

For example, a subatomic process will behave one way while being observed and a different way when being ignored. If the scientist observing a process leaves the room and returns, the process will have changed, suggesting that the process reacted to the researcher’s departure. We also know that the researcher’s expectations about a subatomic experiment can affect the outcome of the experiment.

These early findings suggest that science is well on its way to confirming Yogananda’s cautionary statement. At a minimum, they suggest that night clubs, bars, and loud rap music should be avoided.

A revolution in the spiritual sciences
The last five years have seen the development of a new field in science—neurotheology, scientific research into how spiritual practices affect the brain and nervous system.

Using new medical technology, including brain scans and other imaging techniques, scientists in the field of neurotheology can observe changes in the brain directly. Already they’ve compared what occurs in the brain of a Catholic nun when she does her rosary with what a Tibetan monk’s brain looks like when he’s doing his prayers.

We don’t yet have scientific studies on Kriya Yoga, which works directly on the brain and central nervous system, but I don’t think we’re far from the time when we’ll begin to see such studies. We’ll be able to look at a brain scan and understand why Yogananda described Kriya Yoga as “the airplane route to God”—a means of greatly accelerating spiritual progress.

As that happens, the number of people practicing of Kriya Yoga throughout the world is likely to increase significantly. People in this new age of energy are not only eager to become better people, they are looking for the fastest, most effective means to that end.

Excerpted from talks and interviews.

Peter Van Houten, a Lightbearer and resident of Ananda Village, is the founder and CEO of Sierra Family Medical Clinic near Ananda Village.

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The Bhagavad Gita is the story of how to fight that battle and reunite with eternal bliss, our true nature. It’s not an easy battle. While a part of you is saying, “I want freedom, I want joy, I want the higher Self,” the other part is saying, “Oh, no! Please let me hang onto this!”

To fight this battle and achieve the highest attainment takes a great deal of will power and determination.  It’s not enough to say, “Well, I’m trying.” No, don’t just try. Do the right thing until you can do it with all your will power. God won’t be satisfied if you just “mean well.”

Summoning sufficient will power
I recall a monk who lived at Paramhansa Yogananda’s Mt. Washington headquarters while I was there. This young man experienced many high spiritual experiences, but his karma, our Guru told him, was very complex. He had good spiritual karma, which gave him his deep experiences, but those experiences were, as the Master hinted, the result of the disciple’s soul desperately trying to keep him from leaving the spiritual path.

Yogananda once said to him, “If you leave the spiritual path this time, you will wander for another 200 incarnations before you return to the point you have reached already in your spiritual evolution.”  Alas, the young man did leave the path. Later, he visited the Master and wept “so bitterly” that, Yogananda told us, “I wept with him.” There was nothing our Guru could do about it, however.

Yogananda did say to him, when he paid that visit, “If you try hard now, you may reduce the number of those incarnations to seven.” But the young man’s directional flow of energy was already too strongly toward worldliness. From all I’ve heard about him since then, he simply resigned himself. Instead of saying, “I haven’t yet succeeded,” he accepted, sadly, that in this life he had fallen completely. He wouldn’t have had to accept this conclusion, had he summoned sufficient will power.

Right attitude toward mistakes
The Bhagavad Gita is set on a battlefield to help us understand that to find inner peace we must fight against those qualities that pull us downward from our higher aspirations—anger, jealousy, passion, greed, and so on. The natural tendency of human beings is to go downward. But only by reversing that flow, which means bringing our energy up to the spiritual eye and the brain, do we find freedom.

So be very firm. Remember yes, you can make mistakes; and yes, you can go in the wrong direction; and yes, if you do so, it is not going to be easy. Every step toward darkness is a step toward suffering. Those who suffer are those who are out of tune with the Divine.

But the more in tune you are with your higher Self, the more blissful you always feel. Then nothing can touch you. People can persecute you, martyr you, but it won’t touch you. Nothing will bother you when you have that consciousness of God’s peace within yourself.

Which side won?
The Bhagavad Gita tells us that at the end of every day we should ask: “Which side won?” This is very important. Before you go to sleep, meditate and then ask yourself: “Did I err in any way? How have I improved? What shall I do tomorrow to improve myself?” 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.” But you must be absolutely ruthless in your truthfulness.

There’s the story in the New Testament of Jesus meeting the woman of Samaria at the well. Paramhansa Yogananda said she was a fallen disciple of another lifetime and that Jesus had purposely gone to Samaria to find her and, if possible, to redeem her.

When Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband,” and she said, “I have no husband,” he was pleased with her answer. He told her, “You have had five husbands and the one you are living with now is not your husband.” He didn’t ask the question to bring out her moral degradation; it was to test her truthfulness. When he saw she was completely truthful, he knew she was fit to be redeemed.

Don’t bury your mistakes under the carpet. If you honestly face your faults and say, “I will fight this tendency in myself. I am not that”—you can be free.

“Get Thee behind me, Satan”
We need to understand that as we meditate more deeply, our lower subconscious tendencies become a little anxious and try to stir us. You sit there meditating and the ego begins to think, “Ah, a glass of milk would be pretty good right now, or a walk —and I’ll get back here sooner or later.”

This is the symbolism of Yudhisthira in the Bhagavad Gita. Yudhisthira represents the soul-quality of calmness, and the tendency, when a person feels very calm and very much in tune, to think, “Well, I can gamble; it can’t touch me.” I’ve seen people do this. They say, “Oh, I couldn’t be hurt by that delusion.” But the world has its own power and unfortunately the dice are loaded. If we go in that direction, that’s how we’ll get caught. Yudhisthira had a weakness for gambling. He gambled against a skilled gambler who knew how to win by cheating, and he lost everything.

Temptation always comes to spiritual seekers at their points of special weakness: pride; sexual desire; the longing for romance; a desire for money, fame, vengeance, or worldly power. These are examples, merely. Delusion can assume countless forms.

The world is full of angels and demons. It wouldn’t hurt to realize that any time you feel angry, lustful, greedy, or any of the negative attitudes that come to people—that this is not you. This is something you have accepted into your aura. If you treat it as a separate being, then you can say, “Get away from me!” As Jesus said, “Get thee behind me Satan!”

How to fight temptation
In trying to decide whether or not a thing will be good for you, always ask: “Will it raise or lower my energy?” Things may seem like great fun but if they will lower your energy—stay away from them. If they will seriously lower it—shun them like the plague. Remember, you should always try to turn your energy inward and upward toward the spiritual eye and the brain.

The principles of self-control are primarily sexual, but self-control in all ways is very important—not to drink too much, not to eat too much, not to laugh too much, not to do anything too much, because it will spill your energy outward. But the greatest spill of all is through sex.

Temptation is anything that tempts you out of yourself. If your want to find God, a part of you should always be somewhat withdrawn, observing.

The power to uplift the inner energy
In fighting the battle with your lower nature, the key is to reach the point where it becomes more pleasurable to sit thinking of God, praying to Him, and feeling his presence, than forgetting Him and becoming restless. Focusing within on God, and on the higher attractiveness of His love and bliss, is the best way to overcome any lower sensory attraction.

The most important thing on the spiritual path is to love God. It’s not enough just to get good karma. You have to open your heart to God, and that doesn’t mean simply keeping an open mind. (“Yeah I’m willing.”) There has to be an aspiration for the light, for divine love.

From that heart quality comes the power to uplift the inner energy from the senses and the body. As you lift one hand up to God, God will lower two to pick you up. Divine grace, ultimately, is the key to everyone’s salvation.

The need for a guru
So, it’s very important to reach the point of knowing that you want to know God and to feel the bliss of His presence in your heart, and that these are the most important things in life. To achieve that, you also need a guru.

A true guru is the highest kind of saint, having attained oneness with God. This means he is able to infuse into receptive disciples his own spiritualized consciousness, and raise those who are spiritually ready to the same exalted state as his own. The power of God and Guru is greater than all delusions. As you meditate deeply, that power will come more and more to the fore.

When “efforts end in ease”
So, in the beginning there is a constant struggle between your higher and lower tendencies, but there comes a point when, as Yogananda put it, “efforts end in ease.” After a while, as you meditate more and more deeply, there’s no struggle involved.

The truth is that you can be liberated in this lifetime if you work hard at it, especially with the practice of Kriya Yoga, which gets the energy flowing right where the battlefield is: in the inner spine. When you can bring your energy strongly into the spine, it dissolves all those things that are holding you back, and you become free.

From Religion and the New Age, Keys to the Bhagavad Gita (Crystal Clarity Publishers) and recent talks on the Bhagavad Gita.

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I choose to be thankful
So, it may not be surprising that, as a yoga teacher, I specialize in yoga therapy for musculoskeletal issues and bring to my work an expertise and compassion borne of experience. Rather than be resentful of what appears to be more than my fair share of injuries and illnesses, I choose to be thankful for what I have learned and for the blessing of being able to help others reach for optimal health—physically, mentally and spiritually.

I would like to add that I have never thought of myself as someone prone to illness and injury–I have always seen myself as healthy and hardy. You might even say that I had to work really hard to get some of my injuries. As an athlete, ballet dancer, horse rider and trainer, I often pushed myself to limits most people would have avoided.

Injuries led me to my dharma
Looking back, I can see the hand of God and Guru clearly helping me, through my many injuries, to fulfill my dharma as a yoga teacher. The injuries cut off some of the other avenues I might have taken—professional dancing, modeling, acting—pursuits that easily could have prevented me from having a spiritual life.

It was a back injury in the early 1980s that led me to Ananda. After a completely unhelpful visit to an orthopedic surgeon, I was feeling very low regarding my situation. Unexpectedly, I received a flyer from the Ananda San Francisco House announcing  a three-month intensive yoga teacher-training program. I had no desire to teach yoga, but while staring at the flyer I had an unexplainable “knowing” that taking this course would be a lifeline out of my downward spiral.

And it was! I had no idea the course would cover not only yoga postures but also yogic philosophy, spirituality, and the concept of a guru. I learned that everyone had a guru and I looked forward to finding mine.

It took several years for me to realize that I had already found my guru:Paramhansa Yogananda. By then, I had opened my own yoga studio in San Francisco and was teaching yoga.

A blessing not to feel pain
A source of deep fulfillment in my work as a therapeutic yoga teacher is the smile on peoples’ faces—the “light bulb” moments when pain has disappeared or is suddenly no longer acute. Often it’s a blessing  not to feel pain for any period of time. Many students have found pain relief, healing, and have avoided surgery through the therapeutic yoga sessions.

In a therapeutic yoga session, the problem presented by the student is usually physical, but the healing is both physical and spiritual, and often unexpected. This scenario is especially true with students new to yoga who would never seek spiritual counseling.

One example was a student who complained of a chronic shoulder problem. After I led him through a series of restorative poses, he began to open up and mentioned a disagreement with his daughter. Apparently feeling more comfortable, he then launched into a discussion of the issue underlying his shoulder problem: his Catholic background, his deepening feelings for Yogananda and the yogic spiritual path, and the conflicts these feelings caused him.

I spent most of the rest of the class quoting the Bible and pointing out the deeper meanings, and showing how they parallel the yoga teachings. The student found the parallels very reassuring, and by the end of the session his shoulder felt fine. He is now exploring Yogananda’s teachings more deeply with the goal of becoming a disciple.

A way to accelerate spiritual progress
I try to meet people where they are and to help them accordingly. However, when working with devotees, I can talk openly about meditation, the subtle energies, prayer, and spiritual growth as part of the healing process, which can lead to faster results. Devotees already understand the benefits of yoga postures, how they can help us sit for long periods of meditation and redirect our energy upward to the spiritual eye.

One student needed help with his spiritual practices and guidance on a hip problem. After observing him, it became clear that one practice would resolve both concerns. I instructed him to keep his attention at the spiritual eye at all times to the degree possible.

On a physical level, this upward focus lifted his torso enough to take the load off  his hips, and helped correct his hip and postural problems. As for his spiritual concerns—focusing more frequently at the spiritual eye throughout the day energized his entire spiritual life. This is a practice Yogananda strongly recommends for all devotees as a means of accelerating spiritual progress.

I put my trust in Yogananda
In my work as a therapeutic yoga teacher, I always pray to Yogananda  and ask him to guide me in how to work with students so that each one receives what he or she needs. I say, “Master, this is your student, you tell me what to do.”

By this process I have spiritualized my work and it has become a form of sadhana. Sometimes the guidance I receive makes no sense to me but it always turns out to be the right thing.

Once, for example, one of my “student-teachers” was guiding an older woman with a history of lower back pain. Following the teacher’s guidance, the woman was doing leg movements and stretches that had the potential to strain the lower back. My first impulse was to rush over and “correct” the situation. Wanting to be respectful to my students (especially when they are guiding others), I paused and asked Yogananda what to do.

The answer was to “do nothing.”  I asked again to be sure and the answer was clear: “Do nothing.” So, I put my trust in Yogananda and let the situation unfold. Later in the class, when the students gave feedback, the older woman expressed her gratitude and enjoyment for the helpful leg exercises her teacher had given her—the ones that “common sense” told me would not be good for her. I smiled and inwardly thanked my guru.

A different perspective on pain
As I’ve learned to rely more on God and Guru, and to understand that I am not the “doer,” I have become a more effective therapeutic yoga teacher. I receive the inspiration I need and teaching is much easier, with better results for my students. Also, by attempting always to practice the presence of God, I naturally begin to spiritualize everything I do, including my work.

As for my own healing journey, in the years since I first found Ananda, meditation and the practice of Kriya Yoga have given me an entirely different perspective on pain, which allows for a different experience of pain. As it says in the Bhagavad Gita, “even a little practice of this inward religion will save you from dire fears and colossal suffering.”

Nicole DeAvilla Whiting lives in Marin County with her husband and two children. She teaches Ananda Yoga at the Expanding Light Guest Retreat at Ananda Village and in Marin County, where she also leads an Ananda meditation group.

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A rediscovery of ancient knowledge
Much modern knowledge, indeed, is not new, but only a rediscovery of what was known before. The ancient Greeks knew, for example, that the earth is round, and that it is not at the center of the universe. The ancient calendar of the Mayas, in Central America, was more exact than the modern calendar. And the writings of ancient India indicated sophisticated knowledge of the cosmos, including the atom.

Modern scholars, however, blithely believe that 10,000 years ago all men were sunk in a barbarous Stone Age. They summarily dismiss as “myths” all records and traditions of very ancient civilizations not only in India but also in China, Egypt, and other lands.

Knowledge of the subatomic world
The “atomic theory” is generally considered a new advance of science, but the atomic structure of matter was well-known to the ancient Hindus. One of the six systems of Indian philosophy is Vaisesika, which deals with the atomic nature of matter.

One of the foremost Vaisesika expounders was called Kanada, “the atom-eater,” born about 2800 years ago. Kanada brilliantly described the atomic structure of matter and assigned the origin of the world to atoms. In the Vaisesika treatises, the atom is described as resembling a miniature “solar system” and possessing an incessant vibratory motion.

The scientific knowledge recorded in the ancient Vaisesika treatises covered a vast spectrum. Other known scientific Vaisesika expositions include:

• The relativity of time and space
• The law of gravitation and its causes
• The movement of needles toward magnets
• The circulation of water in plants
• Heat as the cause of molecular change
• The nature of kinetic energy
• The radiation of heat and light rays (the modern “cosmic rays” theory)

Duality: the “texture and structure” of creation
The ancient Hindu scriptures declare that the physical world operates under the law of maya, the principle of duality. God’s one consciousness took on the appearance of opposites—positive and negative, light and darkness, pleasure and pain, etc. Every great scientific discovery of modern times has merely confirmed this simple pronouncement of the rishis.

Newton’s Law of Motion, for example, is a law of duality: “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.”  To have a single force is impossible. There must be, and always is, a pair of forces, equal and opposite.

The entire physical world reflects this polarity. Electricity is a phenomenon of repulsion and attraction—its electrons and protons are electrical opposites. Similarly, the atom, like the earth itself, is a magnet with positive and negative poles.

Maya or duality is the very texture and structure of creation. Scientists can do no more than probe one aspect after another of its varied finitude.

The limits of scientific knowledge
All creation is governed by law. Natural laws manifest in the outer universe and are discoverable by scientists. But only through the inner science of yoga is it possible to know the subtler laws ruling the hidden spiritual planes. Science, for example, understands that the activity of electrons and protons underlies all material forms. But scientists do not know how electrons and protons rearrange themselves into different forms and create different kinds of matter.

It is the fully Self-realized master who understands the subtle laws governing the material levels. He knows, through intuition, that it is the Divine Intelligence that commands electrons and protons to arrange themselves in different combinations. Atoms and electrons are blind forces, but prana, the intelligent life force, guides their activity according to the karmic design.

Science studies the nature of the universe outwardly, proving its existence by experimentation. But what is true to reason and sense perception is not always true. The only way to know truth is to intuitively realize it. Can you know the taste of sugar without tasting it? No! So it is with the yogi.

The yogi goes beyond experimentation to actual experience–he experiences everything within himself.  The scientist investigates the atom outwardly through experimentation, but the yogi becomes the atom. From within alone can a thing be understood in its true essence.

Future steps in man’s awakening
As steps in man’s awakening, God inspires scientists to discover, at the right time and place, the secrets of His creation. When we think of how fast light and electricity move, the flight of airplanes seems like the movement of an ox cart.

The time will come when man will learn to change the atomic vibrations of his gross body, make them into an astral force—and shoot along with the astral light rays, traveling faster than the speed of light. However, when man learns the full mystery of mind and matter, he will be able to travel faster than any force—material astral, or light. If he wished to be in the sun or the moon or the fastest star, he could be there instantly.

Truth—a constant rediscovery
Yoga is an ancient science, thousands of years old. Its perceptions form the backbone of the greatness of India. However, the truths espoused in the yoga teachings, are not limited to India, nor to those who consciously practice yoga techniques.

Whenever a great scientific or spiritual figure arises, East or West, his message does not differ in any essential respect from the ancient philosophy of India. Truth is One, though men call it by various names. There can be not be two truths.

Destroy all books, all traditional learning, and still the basic truths of life would be discovered all over again, exactly the same, by the inquiring spiritual mind with its penetrating insight.

Excerpted from books and articles.

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Kriyananda explains that there is a third, less well known state of awareness called the superconscious—the source of who and what we are in our highest spiritual reality, also known as the “soul” or “higher Self.”

Superconsciousness is that level of awareness that we experience when our mind is in a calm and uplifted state. It is the hidden mechanism at work behind intuition, spiritual and physical healing, and successful problem solving.

The physical center of superconsciousness is in the frontal lobe of the brain, at a point midway between the eyebrows, also known as the Christ center or spiritual eye. The more we are able to draw our energy and awareness upward to the Christ center, the higher our level of awareness.

Right attitude: key to effective meditation
Kriyananda points out that everyone has the potential to experience superconsciousness, but in most people it lies dormant. Meditation is the most direct way to awaken the superconscious, but to meditate effectively, we must first understand the goal of meditation and the important role of attitudes in attaining that goal.

Since the goal of meditation is to realize the oneness of all life, it’s important to live in such a way as to constantly affirm that oneness. Kriyananda writes that the first step in the development of right attitude for meditation is to learn to see others not as rivals, but as friends:

If I am willing to hurt the life in me as it is expressed in another human being, then I am affirming an error that is diametrically opposed to the realization I am seeking to attain. It is necessary if I would truly realize the oneness of all things, for me to live also in a way as constantly to affirm this oneness—by my kindness toward all beings, by compassion, by universal love.

The “right attitudes” discussed by Kriyananda are the universal moral principles of yoga, the yamas (the don’ts) and niyamas (the do’s). One of the best known of these is ahimsa, or non-injury, popularized by the protest movements of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Ahimsa addresses not only harmful actions, but also the harm caused by negative thoughts.

Passivity and mental blankness
Kriyananda cautions against passivity and the common misconception that meditation consists of making the mind blank. Mental blankness, he says, opens the mind to the lower vibratory influences and can be very dangerous.

And although relaxation is an important first step toward meditating, meditation is much more than just quieting the mind or sinking into subconsciousness.  Proper meditation requires deep concentration and sustained dynamic energy.

The distilled essence of Yogananda’s teachings
In Awaken to Superconsciousness, Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, distills the essence of the original yogic science brought to the West by the great yoga master. He leads the reader step by step through the methods by which we can attain this state of heightened awareness and begin to transform our lives.

Written in clear easy-to-understand language, the book provides a wonderful overview of the nature and purpose of meditation. Each chapter is filled with insights and wisdom from Kriyananda’s lifetime of experience as a world teacher and foremost exponent of meditation and yoga practice.

Beginning with simple relaxation exercises, the reader will find an easy-to-follow approach that combines breathing exercises, affirmations, mantras, guided visualizations and centering techniques as a preparation for meditation itself. At the end of each chapter there are meditation exercises, which help one to become more attuned to the superconscious level of reality.

In addition, Kriyananda offers practical advice on concentration, keeping the spine straight and the body relaxed, the best times of the day to meditate, duration and regularity of practice, and how to organize our time for maximum benefit.

The most meaningful activity in life
Quite apart from the outward benefits, the practice of meditation is, in and of itself, one of the most rewarding of all human activities. Kriyananda describes meditation as “simply the most meaningful activity in my life—indeed, the most meaningful activity I can imagine.” 

Awaken To Superconsciousness is a complete course in meditation and can be practiced with equal effectiveness by anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, whether agnostic or atheist. One’s personal experience is the only yardstick of effectiveness. 

Nayaswami Nakin, a minister and longtime member of Ananda, lives at Ananda Village and serves in the Sangha Office in a number of capacities, including as editorial assistant for Clarity Magazine.

To order a copy of Awaken to Superconsciousness, contact Crystal Clarity Publishers click here.

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Curious, one day he hopped over to the well to take a look at his brother-frogs. As soon as he looked into the well, all the well-frogs greeted him in frog language saying, “Hey, you homeless derelict, jump in and enjoy our spacious home.”

The sea-frog smiled but shook his head, gently declining and saying, “Some other time. Not now, friends.”

On the way back, the sea-frog nearly burst out laughing as he recalled Mr. Big-Talk, the narrow-eyed leader of the well-frogs saying, “Come into our huge home.” The sea-frog pitied the frog-leader’s ignorance and was disturbed to see the frogs living like sardines in the little well.

The sea-frog thought, “Maybe here’s a chance do some good. Perhaps I can help the over-crowded well-frogs by bringing them to my spacious home.” Thus thinking, the sea-frog retraced his footsteps back to the well. The well-frogs croaked out another welcome.

The sea-frog jumped into the well and, instead of falling into the water, landed on the back of a brother-frog. The well was so crowded that the frogs covered every inch of the water. Mr. Big-Talk, the frog leader, came hopping on the backs of a few slave-frogs and greeted the sea-frog.

After entertaining his guest with delicacies, the frog leader asked, “My friend, whence comest thou?”

The frog of the sea replied, “From a very vast place called the sea.”

The well-frog then asked, “What is your purpose in honoring us with a visit?”

The sea-frog replied, “To take you all to my sea home, where you won’t die of suffocation and can live in freedom and security.”

In response, the proud frog leader answered, “But pray tell me first the size of your sea?” Jumping the distance of one foot, he asked, “Is your sea as big as that?”

The frog of the sea replied with a slight smile, “Nay, nay, my friend, the sea is much bigger than that.”

The well-frog, with a smile of superiority, jumped two feet and asked, “Is your sea as big as that?”

The sea-frog, smiling more than ever, replied, “Nay, nay, my friend, it is much bigger than that.”

The well-frog then jumped from one side of the well to the middle and hoarsely asked, “Is your sea as big as that?”

The frog of the sea, now laughing loudly, said, “Nay, nay, nay, my friend, it is much bigger than that.”

Then the poor well-frog puffed up in wrath to his full strength and jumped from one side of the well to the other and said, “Can your sea dare be as big as that?”

The frog of the sea, restraining his laughter, confidently replied, “Nay, nay, nay, my friend, my sea is much bigger than sextillion wells like yours.”

The frog of the well was completely beside himself because he could not inflate himself with more wrath. He shouted, “Imposter! Impossible! Nothing could be bigger than our great big well!”

After many hours of word-battle in frog language, the sea-frog persuaded the frog of the well and his brother-frogs to visit the ocean.

The frog of the well, upon seeing the great body of water, bowed at the feet of the sea-frog and exclaimed, “Mighty brother-frog, indeed your watery mansion is much larger than we ever could conceive. We never would have known this if we had remained in our confined little home in the well. It is only by comparing our home in the well with your huge sea home that fortunately, we now understand the littleness of our own homestead.”

The frog of the sea shook hands with the frog of the well, and all of his brother-frogs, and they all lived happily in the sea forever afterward.

**********      **********      **********

The above story illustrates how worldly people live in the over-crowded “well” of sense-happiness, clamoring and shouting for a little room for peace. The sense-bound man cannot comprehend the inner experiences of the spiritual man who communes with God and roams in the sea of Bliss. Only if the materially minded man actually launches his consciousness into the ocean of Bliss, which is reached by meditation alone, can he understand the limitations of his meager happiness.

Similarly, a bigoted religionist gets a little joy from following a hide-bound religion, but he can never even imagine the boundless happiness of seeing all churches as one church of God, all religions as one Truth, and all religionists as the  children of the same one God.

The dogmatist in life lives in a prison of limitation, and after he passes the portal of the grave, he can only expect to live in another prison of dogma there. However, a wise man, after death, finds each speck of space a temple of Spirit, each spark of wisdom a tabernacle of His Presence, and each heart the sanctum of the Infinite.

Leap out of the well of limitation and plunge into the sea-bosom of unending wisdom and bliss, which is continuously roaring on the banks of your inner silence.

From the Praecepta Lessons, 1938.

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Dear ——:

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. This is true in every walk of life, even in the ashrams of saints, for the world is limited, relative, and otherwise conditioned in countless ways.

Seek perfection, therefore, within yourself. The more you depend on outer circumstances to give you perfection, the more you will find disappointment. Remember, too, that your path to perfection depends not only on inner growth, but on the application of that inner growth to outer circumstances.

In other words, a relationship that seems lacking in personal fulfillment may be a great spiritual blessing for the opportunity it gives one to be a channel for divine love and service to help the other person. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Service and sacrifice, not outward fulfillment, are the essence of spiritual development.

In divine friendship,

Swami Kriyananda

Excerpted from, In Divine Friendship, Letters of Counsel and Reflection.

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Never will I let my mind dwell on anything that reminds me not of Thee! I will disdain the nightmare of ignorant behavior. I will court all dreams of noble achievement: those of love, kindness, and understanding, for they are Thy dreams.

Though I dream many dreams, wakefully I will ever think of Thee. In the sacred fire of constant remembrance, kept ever alight on my soul’s altar, I will ever behold Thy presence with the watchful eyes of devotional love.

Thy grace has shown me that the dualities of health and sickness, life and death, joy and sorrow are but passing fantasies. I am finished with those eternally self-canceling delusions!

I am persuaded at last that there is but one abiding reality: Thy eternal, ever-conscious, ever-new, ever-thrilling, infinite Bliss.

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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He predicted that there would be worldwide economic instability, hardships, and other upheavals—things that sound very negative if they didn’t presage extraordinary spiritual opportunities for us individually, and also for society as a whole. These difficulties, he said, will bring about a widespread change in values, away from materialism toward simplicity and a greater dependence on God. He prophesied three hundred years of peace, with prosperity becoming relatively equal throughout the world.

For devotees, such a time presents an extraordinary opportunity for service and spiritual growth, greater than any in recorded history. Especially because of the difficulties, and because there is so much to be learned, there is an opportunity to accrue great good karma, even to be freed from all delusion, if we think in terms of being instruments for the Light.

I read a book by a woman who regressed people to the time before they were born and asked them, “Why did you choose this particular time of upheaval and suffering that we are likely to experience?” She found that not one spoke of suffering. Every single one spoke of opportunity. This is one of the most wonderful times in the history of mankind to be alive.

A new wave of consciousness
Understandably, no one wants to hear predictions of doom and disaster. I don’t insist that you accept this view of the future. I do consider it my duty, however, to share with you what I consider to be more than likely developments. The events Yogananda predicted are already unfolding. The change from one yuga to the next is often the normal time for such things to happen.

With the start of Dwapara Yuga in 1900, a new wave of consciousness entered the world—one that emphasizes energy and flow; that sees religion not as fixed and dogmatic but as based on individual experience; that sees the world as one community, not just separate little countries all fighting for their own rights.

Opposing this new Dwapara Yuga consciousness are old Kali Yuga institutions and ways of thinking. This opposition has been building up for over a century and it’s coming to a head. We need to be prepared for upheavals and hardships, and one of the best ways to prepare is to band together with like-minded friends and start communities.

Paramhansa Yogananda’s urgent message
Paramhansa Yogananda had a vast mission. It included not just the enlightenment of a few disciples but the upliftment of an entire civilization. An important step toward the accomplishment of that mission was the creation of cooperative spiritual communities—“world brotherhood colonies,” as he put it. In his last years, Yogananda repeatedly urged his listeners to start such communities.

“Band together,” he would cry, “those of you who can do so, in small spiritual communities where you can grow your own food, produce your own vegetables and eggs, and, if possible, have your own fresh milk!  Live simply, close to God, and with other people who love God.” Such communities, he said, would serve as models for the new age, when countless similar self-sustaining communities will popularize voluntary cooperation over competition as the true key to lasting prosperity and inner fulfillment.

Yogananda’s message went beyond simply presenting people with an attractive idea. There was urgency in his plea because he foresaw the challenges and hardships that awaited mankind. A community is the best insurance possible when there’s hardship, because a group of people can support one another in ways that individuals living separately cannot. I offer this as a fact, but not as an inducement to join Ananda; I want people to join Ananda because they love God, and want to find God.

I believe these communities are the wave of the future. Many of them will form for the selfish reasons I’ve given because they’re valid reasons. Today anyone who is truly aware of human directions believes we’re in for very hard times. Friends have been sending me articles which advise people to think seriously of living close to the land, where they can grow their own food and live simply. We no longer need to rely on prophecy alone to instill a sense of urgency.

Why a spiritual focus?
In the 1960s, hundreds of communities were started in a great “back-to-the-land” movement. Why did most of them fail? They failed because the people involved didn’t put spiritual principles first in their lives, but concentrated on outward material goals: solar energy, new economic systems, revolutionary architectural concepts. Their idea of heaven on earth was of some system where everything material would function perfectly. Given this materialistic approach to the ideal of finding a new way of life, they were bound to fail.

One of the most persistent human delusions is the belief that good systems will produce good people. It’s people, not systems, that need perfecting. Good systems will function well if the people running them have the good will to make them work. If people have good will, even bad systems can be made to limp along somewhat successfully.

It’s people who make communities and, more than that, it’s people in tune with a divine state of consciousness. For a community to succeed, you have to love God. You have to dedicate yourself to a principle that transcends the potential pettiness of human nature.

Love of God is the first and most important ingredient in a community’s success. One thing that love of God accomplishes is that it opens the heart to wisdom and joy. Without love and joy, judgment and intolerance will surely enter the scene, sooner or later. Judgment, whether of others or oneself, is discouraging and keeps one from rising in inner freedom.

When you live with people who have God as their ideal, you find that it’s much easier to raise your own consciousness. One very important thing you learn is self-giving and sharing. If you want to find God, a self-giving life is essential.

Choose one spiritual teaching
If you start a community, it certainly doesn’t have to be an Ananda community. I hope that long into the future Ananda will be inspiring the start of other communities, but not supervising communities. Try, if possible, however, to spend some time in one of our Ananda communities—live among us for at least a few weeks. Successful community living is a matter in which understanding must come largely by osmosis. It cannot come only through the written or spoken word.

Without the strength and inspiration that come from affiliating with an already-functioning network of communities like Ananda, the wisest thing may well be to “think small.” Paramhansa Yogananda himself recommended to most people that they pool their resources with a few friends.

It’s important that a community agree on certain basic spiritual principles and dedicate itself to one spiritual teaching.  During Ananda’s first years, when people in the kitchen at the Ananda Meditation Retreat were cooking with onions, someone would come in and say, “Oh, Krishna doesn’t like onions.” After this went on for a while I said, “Listen, this is not Krishna’s kitchen. It’s Yogananda’s kitchen and Yogananda liked onions.”

You don’t want to have to tiptoe in your own “living room.” If there were lots of people living at Ananda Village who didn’t believe in reincarnation, out of consideration and respect, in their presence we wouldn’t be able to talk about something central to our beliefs.

The social pattern of the future
Paramhansa Yogananda said that the idea of communities would spread worldwide and become the social pattern of the future. During hard times, the Ananda communities will offer an answer on how to live simply and put God first. In more than 40 years of existence, the Ananda communities have demonstrated that people can live by high ideals, love all, and have communal harmony.

It’s by having communities where people can see spiritual truths being practiced by a number of people that this way of life becomes convincing to people. Ananda offers an example that can be useful to people wherever they live. From all over the world people write and say that their lives are more meaningful because of what Ananda is doing. This is a model that can change the world in a positive way.

When you can’t live in a community
What if you can’t live in a community or start one? Place your faith in God above all, but God expects you to use common sense also. Since it’s evident that there is a likelihood of  hard times ahead, it would be wise to make a few preparations, at least, for the possibility of upheavals.

But don’t concern yourself too fearfully with creating a situation, or finding a place, of perfect safety. Your very fear might attract danger like a magnet. Do what seems reasonable to you, then leave the results in God’s hands. Be sensible, however, and don’t expect to be protected by faith alone—unless, indeed, your faith is so strong, and focused so one-pointedly, that all your energy flows toward God.

Wherever you live, try always to be a channel for the Light. How do you serve the Light? By giving joy, not sorrow; peace, not nervousness; love, not hatred. It’s people who love God and think of God who are keeping this country and world afloat. If it weren’t for such people, this world would plunge into even greater darkness.

So don’t be afraid. When you love God and act sensibly, He takes care of you whatever happens, wherever you live. Even if you’re going in the wrong direction, He’ll correct you. This is something Paramhansa Yogananda promised. I know it’s true because I’ve seen that protection again and again in my life, and in the lives of other devotees.

From a July 4, 2009 talk at Ananda Village; books and publications; and the following recording, “Preparing for Challenging Times.”  To order a CD or MP3 of these talks, click here or call Treasures Along the Path (530) 478 7656

To view Swami Kriyananda’s talk, “How To Overcome Worry,“click here:

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Never discourage a dying person
Once two students of mine, a brother and sister, had a very interesting experience. The sister lay dying in a room with her brother and doctors in attendance. When the brother left the room for a moment, his sister had a spasm and appeared to have died. The doctors exclaimed, “All is over; her pulse has failed.”

As soon as the brother came back, he ordered everybody out of the room, and then shook his sister vigorously, crying, “Sister, remember what Yoganandaji told you: If you make the effort you will live.”

His sister made a supreme effort and her breath returned. She sat up and told of her experience: “I was trying through my will power to stir the life force in my inert body, but as soon as I heard the doctors say, ‘All is over,’ I lost the will to live and experienced a complete inertia in my muscles and internal organs.”

So remember, never say anything to discourage a sick or dying person from making the effort of will to live, even if death appears certain. It is the exercise of will power that connects the life-sustaining energy to the body.

To keep your will power strong, try never to lose interest in life. Death comes when your will gives up. You become so tortured by illness or pain that you say, “All right, let me go.” And you give up.

The process of dying
When the average person dies, the entire body usually becomes paralyzed, just as when a part of your body sometimes “goes to sleep.” In the beginning the dying person is conscious of this process.

When the heart begins to grow numb, there is a sense of suffocation because without heart action, the lungs cannot operate. This sense of suffocation is a little painful for only one to three seconds, but because souls reincarnate many times, they retain the memory of this painful feeling of suffocation. This memory causes fear of death.

During this feeling of suffocation, attachments to possessions and loved ones sometimes come strongly to mind and there is a struggle to bring the breath back. At this time, a condensed review of all the good and bad actions of this lifetime takes place in the mind of the dying person. The senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing then vanish in succession, with the sense of hearing being the last to leave.

The soul next finds itself suddenly relieved of the body’s weight, the necessity of breathing, and any physical pain. When the soul realizes that its body is gone, it becomes reconciled to dying and experiences a sense of soaring through a very peaceful tunnel.

When a person dies suddenly, as by a gunshot or sudden accident, he experiences practically no physical pain. If he has lived a good life, he seldom suffers any mental agony.

The period between death and rebirth
In the astral world, people of worldly consciousness enter a sort of gray mist. Some of them are vaguely conscious, depending on the sensitivity of their perception, but for many it is like a dream. They aren’t quite sure what is going on.

If your intuition is even slightly developed, however—especially if you’ve meditated and prayed some in this life, but also if you’ve served others, even as a soldier who fought heroically in battle—you will find that the astral world is far more beautiful than this one, and extremely enjoyable!

What binds us to this world?
Many superficial devotees are haunted by the fear of death. Rather than lament the inevitability of death, they should try in every way to become free of all earthly attachments by tuning in to Spirit in meditation.

There is the story of a man who, as he lay dying, saw that the oil lamp in his room was burning too high. He called out to his son, “Hey, Ramu, turn down that light: It is wasting oil!” There the man was, on the point of leaving his body—the “oil” in his own “lamp” was nearly exhausted. And still he worried about wasting the oil in that lamp! Such is worldly attachment. Even at death, people cling to what they call life.

Most people lose all interest in this world at the time of death. That is natural and right: After all, they are soon going to have to leave it! Besides, this world is God’s, not ours. That mental disinvolvement at the approach of death should remind everyone of the need to be inwardly non-attached throughout life, even while busily engaged in worldly activities. Eternal bliss awaits you if you remain non-attached to this world, and “attached” only to God.

Always be vigilant and monitor your reactions
Devotees haunted by the fear of death must learn to separate the immortal soul from the consciousness of the mortal body. You are sent on earth to witness earthly experiences—heat and cold, disease, war, famine, pain and suffering—as unaffectedly as you would watch a motion picture. When you are able to watch your own life’s experiences as unaffectedly as you watch motion pictures, you will leave this earth in death as a free master.

Earthly experiences do not create attachment until the heart is touched. The heart, through its likes and dislikes, binds an individual to the wheel of birth, death, and earthly suffering. So always be vigilant and monitor your reactions. Gradually learn to control your reactions to both agreeable and disagreeable experiences.

Remember, however, that renunciation of material objects, of itself, does not insure freedom from attachment. It is by communing with the greater bliss of Spirit in meditation that a person learns, through deep inner conviction, to rise above the likes and dislikes of the heart and to relinquish the lesser joy of earthly experiences.

The devotee who meditates deeply and experiences the pure joy of Spirit attains an unwavering mental calmness and is able to rise above the duality of pain and pleasure.

Learn to die “consciously”
Although the ordinary person at the time of death is not conscious of his soul moving through the spiritual eye, devotees who are unattached to the body, and who have  achieved control over the life force, experience no loss of consciousness at death. They move consciously through the spiritual eye and experience what is known as “conscious death.”

In the superconscious state of meditation, the eyes become fixed at the spiritual eye at the point between the eyebrows. As human beings, we are like the unhatched chick in the shell. By meditation and concentrating on the spiritual eye, we can bore a hole in the roof of the shell and the soul can slip out into the infinite.

In other words, by deep concentration at the light of the spiritual eye, we gradually learn to send our energy and consciousness through the spiritual eye into the infinite.  Many devotees have beheld this tunnel of light (the spiritual eye) ushering them into the infinite at the time of death.

An unshakeable inner conviction
The ordinary man fears death, but the wise man sees birth and death as changes playing on the bosom of Spirit—just as waves repeatedly rise and fall on the bosom of the sea. A soul awake in omnipresent Spirit loses his delusive nightmares of births and deaths.

A poet or religious fanatic may imagine this cosmos to be only a dream in the mind of God, but that will not help him overcome death and attain immortality. The yogi, however, through ecstatic communion with God in meditation, achieves an unshakeable inner conviction of the unreality of the physical cosmos. By beholding the universe as a dream of God, he becomes one with the omnipresent Spirit and attains immortality.

From articles and lessons, 1930-1938, and Conversations with Yogananda, recorded by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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But, because the change is recent, attachments to old thought-forms still haven’t completely faded. In a kind of dying gasp, the old ways of thinking are trying to block the new and inevitable changes. Much of the worldwide conflict, upheaval, and economic instability that we see in today’s headlines is due to the turbulent transition between these two ages.

What is the best way to live during such challenging times? We need a two-pronged approach, a balance between practical action and faith. We can and should take steps to prepare for the possibility of economic depression, natural disasters or warfare. God helps those who help themselves. But we must also understand that this world will always have uncertainty and its accompanying anxiety. To find true peace of mind we must learn to live more by faith.

A divine power sustains you
Faith is much more practical than most people realize. There is an infinite reservoir of divine love and support, and if you open yourself to that flow it will sustain you.

The great saints—those who know God—can live by that power alone. One time, St. Francis (whom Paramhansa Yogananda called his patron saint) called a convocation of his brother monks. About five or six thousand from around the world gathered on the plains below Assisi.

As more and more monks arrived, Brother Elias, a monk who tried to “organize” St. Francis’ work, began to get very upset because St. Francis had made no arrangements whatsoever for feeding the group. Brother Elias said to St. Francis, “This is terrible! Even though we live by begging, such a large group can’t go out begging. Think this through, Brother Francis. What you are doing is irresponsible!”

Not knowing how the group would be fed, yet filled with faith in his beloved Jesus, St. Francis ignored Elias’ concerns. Soon, without anyone asking, the townspeople, out of love for their beloved Francis, came with wagonloads of food to feed the brothers.

Having true faith, St. Francis was able to call upon God’s abundance. But Brother Elias, filled with doubts as he was, would not have been able to draw that Divine response. The point is, we must always act according to our current level of understanding, but also learn to deepen our faith in God. The more we give ourselves to Him, the more He will sustain us.

Swami Kriyananda said: “My experience is that the most practical thing of all is faith, because it works. If you really have faith, somehow things work in incredible ways—not blind faith, but faith born of the experience of God’s inner presence. That’s the real meaning of faith. The deeper the experience, the deeper the faith.”

Lack of faith creates tension
When circumstances force us to live beyond the actual level of our faith, it creates tension—the same tension Brother Elias felt. Most of us still have underdeveloped faith and anxiety. We say, “All right God, you have managed to take care of me every month for 45 years but I’m not sure you will be there this time around.”

St. Francis was above that kind of doubt and anxiety and so also was Paramhansa Yogananda. In his latest book, The New Path, Swami Kriyananda relates the following story as told by Yogananda: “In the early days of Mt. Washington, a visitor once inquired of me superciliously, ‘What are the assets of this organization?’

“‘None!’ I replied unhesitatingly, ‘Only God.’”

The great saint, Anandamoyee Ma, had that same deep faith. One time Swami Kriyananda asked her about world difficulties. Her reply was simple and memorable, “Don’t you think that He who created this world knows how to take care of it?”

Above all, God wants us to grow and expand. It wouldn’t help us if He resolved our fears by saying, “Oh, poor you. You’re a little worried? Let me give you whatever you think you need—money, savings, security. Then you won’t have to worry.” What He says is,  “Why don’t you develop more faith so you need never worry again?”

Our true security
As devotees who are consciously seeking God, we’ve signed on for the “fast track.” Our souls have chosen this turbulent time to reincarnate because it will bring us the lessons we need to evolve spiritually. Often those lessons will push us over the edge of our self-imposed limitations. Our choice is whether to welcome our lessons with gratitude or to reject them and have them heaped upon us unwillingly. When the ego resists this process, we suffer anxiety and pain.

We’ve always appreciated something a friend said to us years ago. Talking about difficult times in the future, he said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I haven’t saved much, but I’m like a cat. Drop me, and I’ll land on my feet no matter what happens.” Gaining that kind of centeredness and inner confidence is much more important than outward bulwarks.

Our true security lies in our deepening attunement with God and Guru, and the sense of God’s inner presence. That comes not only through sadhana and deep meditation, but also by living your life with the consciousness of God’s presence.

As you go about your day, feel that He is doing everything through you. Feel Him acting, not just in big ways, but also in the hundreds of little decisions that you make every day, every hour. Paramhansa Yogananda often said, “The minutes are more important that the years.” Each night before sleep, review how well you sustained this practice throughout the day.

Ultimately, when our faith is deep enough, we can say to Divine Mother, “I’m putting all my eggs in your basket. You take care of the details.” This is not irresponsible if our attunement is profound. As our faith deepens and we rely more on God, we will be guided to make the right choices outwardly. More importantly, what happens to us outwardly just doesn’t matter very much.

So, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Depend more on God than on the things of this earth. Depend more on God’s abundance and on your own inner ability to draw whatever you need.

Will God make it easy for us?
Does that mean He’s going to make it easy for us? No. Does that mean that He’s going to provide everything that we want? Absolutely not! That would destroy our chance to advance spiritually.

Just love God and let come whatever may. Don’t love God because you think it’s a sneaky way of getting all your desires fulfilled.

In the times ahead we may be riding some rough waters. Anandamayee Ma said something very important. She said, “In times of world testing, the devotee will be supported as though on the surface of the waves, like a little boat riding the waves. But those whose minds are immersed in materialism and matter-consciousness, will be drawn under as though in an undertow.”

“I will go forth in perfect faith”
Life has but one true purpose, and that’s the expansion of consciousness. We will go on and on until we achieve that state of perfect consciousness known as satchidananda—ever-new, ever-existing, ever-conscious bliss. Our soul has far greater vistas to explore than this little mud ball of a planet. We might as well get on with it.

There’s an affirmation from Scientific Healing Affirmations that’s very powerful for these times: “I will go forth in perfect faith in the power of Omnipresent Good to bring me what I need at the time I need it.”

So love God and work on deepening your attunement. Everything you are seeking flows from that attunement and the deep faith that it brings.

Based on talks given at Ananda Village on March 25, 2005, September 11, 2005, and August 15, 1999.

Jyotish and Devi Novak are Acharyas (spiritual directors) for Ananda Sangha Worldwide. Jyotish is also Acharya for the Ananda Sevaka Order, worldwide.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Suddenly, those projects evaporated, no longer having any life or substance. In those first few seconds, I felt the slam of a battering ram to my gut, the breath totally knocked out of me. I was engulfed in horror and disbelief as I watched my worst nightmare unfold before me.

An immediate balm to fears
I went home and a few friends gathered around me. Not until an Ananda minister performed the Ananda astral ascension ceremony* for the soul of my son did I begin to feel grounded again in my body. I calmed down and started to sense that my son’s soul was protected.

I had been so afraid that he would be lost and confused after leaving the body in such an utterly abrupt way. The astral ascension ceremony acted as an immediate balm to those fears—I began to feel God’s inner presence again, and although I continued to have extreme ups and downs, from then on I knew Johnny was safe in God’s hands. Several months later he came to me in a sweet peaceful dream and let me know how fine he really was.

The start of the healing process
During those first few days, friends and family came in a constant stream, offering help on every level. One of my wonderful computer friends created a composite picture of Johnny with Jesus and Paramhansa Yogananda. In the photo Johnny is leaning against them, and they are embracing him.

That photo started my healing process—looking at it reminded me that Johnny was safe. We made an altar around that picture, placing with it many other photos of all stages of Johnny’s life and the many flower arrangements friends had brought. Several nights I slept in front of that altar, finding my only peace there.

A week after Johnny’s death we held a memorial service in the amphitheater at Ananda Village. Over 500 people attended. Johnny had excellent friends from all walks of life, but I had no idea just how many lives he had touched until he died. I could tell by looking into their eyes that many of his friends had no way of emerging from their grief and emptiness over his loss.

A power comes into me
While walking to the amphitheater I felt weepy, nervous, and shaky, but I didn’t have a choice but to speak. I wanted to give those of Johnny’s friends who didn’t have a spiritual base something that would help them transcend their loss.

Suddenly I felt a power come into me, and the nervousness vanished. God was giving me the strength to do this. That same power flowed through the two Ananda ministers who led the service and many of those who rose to speak about Johnny. Throughout the service, there was a tangible feeling of God’s presence.

To try to bring a little peace to Johnny’s friends, I decided to talk about his life and some of his incredible soul qualities. Johnny had a huge heart that embraced many people’s realities, an uncompromising independence, strong energy and will power, and a wonderful sense of humor. He was courageous, loyal, and non-judgmental.

To honor Johnny’s spirit it is important for those of us who loved him not just to appreciate his wonderful soul qualities, but to affirm them in ourselves. It is a tangible way to preserve his memory.

A way to feel close to his soul
Along with his beautiful soul qualities, my son also had a deep appreciation and love for nature. I share his attunement with nature, but perhaps not to the depth that he possessed it.

I have found since his passing that when I pray to perceive his spirit, to feel close to his soul, it happens sometimes during meditation, but more often when I am out in nature. I need to be inwardly still, listening and watching. With each experience, I feel calmed and uplifted.

I have had the experience of a coyote stopping in the middle of the road to make eye contact and commune. The following morning, at the exact same time, another coyote crossed the road and repeated this behavior. Beautiful small grey foxes have appeared and disappeared at regular intervals. Two hawks once engaged in aerial battle in my sight. I recently saw my first bald eagle, circling and soaring above my head.

These beautiful glimpses into nature are God’s gift to me, a way to communicate with Johnny’s soul. I have learned that others have had similar experiences after the death of a loved one. Each of these experiences is unique and has the special “flavor” of the loved one. Each is an offering of love to those left behind. It’s as if our loved ones are saying, “I’m right here. I love you. Just listen and I’ll connect with you.”

The “back and forth” of grieving
Even when we tune into our loved one’s soul nature, we still grieve in a very human way. We can’t help it. No longer can we talk with them, touch them, hold them. The reality of their solid existence is simply over. Grieving is an experience that flips back and forth from the deep calm knowing that your loved one’s spirit is in God and alive in your heart, to the experience of suddenly, without warning, breaking down uncontrollably in the grocery store because you miss his laugh so much.

During Johnny’s memorial service I felt strong and enveloped in God’s grace, at peace with his passing. Two days later I was sobbing over a box of Cheerios that had belonged to him. I am learning to accept both realities as the healing process runs its course, and I move deeper into the center of the experience and find peace there.

A word about how to relate to a person who has experienced a deep loss: Don’t avoid, always approach. Even if you can’t think of appropriate words to express your sympathy, give silent love. Hold the person. Words are so inadequate most of the time anyway. Sensitivity to this reality is important. I have deep, meaningful memories of the ways people comforted me, and I will never forget these kindnesses.

The gift of boundless love
The alternative to shriveling up in pain from the loss of a loved one is to love more. Pain can either contract or expand the heart. When we choose expansion, not contraction, we have room to move around within the grieving process—we have the space to stretch out and touch our loved one’s spirit.

After all, the love we feel for our friends and family is not our love. It’s God’s love, and that love is immense, unfathomable, and forever expandable. It can never be squeezed only into the forms of those few we call our own.

The secret gift of the loss of a loved one is that you get catapulted into a world of expansive love. Along with feelings of deep human loss, I have experienced the gift of that boundless love.

Everyone experiences loss
This is my story. And yet, it is not just my story; it is everyone’s story. We will not avoid the pain of catastrophic loss in this life. There is a story in the Indian tradition of a widow with one beloved son. The son died, and the mother was inconsolable. She went to a holy man and demanded through her sobs that he bring her son back to life.

The holy man agreed. “Yes,” he said. “I will do this. But first you must bring me some oil from the home of a family in the village that has not experienced death.”

The old woman left the presence of the holy man with a spring in her step. She hurried from one village door to the next, asking for the oil. But gradually her elation faded. In her own deep pain she had forgotten that the sorrow of death is universal. She returned to the holy man humbled, understanding that everyone suffers for his lost loved ones.

Our tests are tailor-made
None of us is a stranger to sorrow in this life. Since I had previously experienced another kind of loss, I knew that shock, anger, denial, and eventual acceptance are some of the stages in the grieving process. This test, however, was out of all proportion to anything I had ever been through.

I have read a number of helpful articles on the grieving journey and have found some solace in the sense of common experience. It is a relief to know that one’s emotions pass through a general pattern during this process. And yet, our tests are tailor-made for each of us. I have found that my experience at times fits the pattern of the typical grieving process and at other times becomes uniquely my own. I am attempting to let the process happen through me, not to arrange it, anticipate it, or judge it.

I do know this—I have a connection with Johnny that has not been broken by death. If there is something to be thankful for in this experience it is that in seeking to go deeper in Spirit to connect with Johnny, I have gone much deeper in Spirit. And I have become more aware that there is no separation between Spirit and me.

* An Ananda ceremony to uplift and comfort the departed and the bereaved.

Hridaya Atwell, a Lightbearer and long-time Ananda member, serves in the Ananda Living Wisdom School as co-director and teacher in the junior high and high school.

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The tumultuous “peace” movement
Back in the late 1960s, I was very involved in the anti-war or “peace” movement, as it was called. With the distance of time, it’s very easy to romanticize what was going on then.

In reality it was a very tumultuous time. There was tremendous friction and very little harmony. Even our peace rallies often erupted into riots. I attended a peace rally in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco where one of the speakers was a Buddhist monk from Vietnam. He chided the crowd saying, “You say you want peace but look at yourselves! You will not bring peace with shouting and screaming and name-calling.”

I had been inspired toward social activism by the dignity, love, and commitment to non-violence that Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others had brought to their expressions of protest. Repulsed by the violence and discord of the peace movement, I gradually separated myself from social activism and began reading Indian philosophy. After coming onto the spiritual path, I understood that there can be no peace and harmony without meditation and tuning into the Self within.

Meditation brings rays of harmony to the world
When we don’t have harmony on this planet we have war, disease, and famine. Paramhansa Yogananda lived in this world during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the rise of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, and many unspeakable horrors. While all of that was happening, Yogananda and his most highly advanced disciple, Rajarshi Janakananda, a successful businessman, sat on the beach in Encinitas, California and meditated.

By taking time out to meditate were they advancing Yogananda’s mission of unity and harmony? Yes, because by tuning in to the consciousness of God, whether on a beach, under the trees, or in cities and towns, we become channels for harmony. Great souls like Yogananda and Rajarshi serve as spiritual lighthouses, shining divine rays of love and harmony into the world.

Inner peace is contagious
In June I went to the river near Ananda Village with a group of 24 young people between the ages of 18 and 30. All had come to Ananda Village for a two-week “Living with Spirit” program of yoga, meditation, community, and sustainable agriculture. It was a hot day and we went to swim, tune into the natural setting, and practice yoga and meditation.

The river was the usual mix of moms with their kids, a few people swimming, some people relaxing with beer and cigarettes, and a little loud music. At five o’clock, one of the youth leaders said, “Let’s energize.” So we began with a prayer and, facing the river, started doing Yogananda’s Energization Exercises.

As we energized, the people around us and on the opposite bank looked inquisitive but respectful. Gradually the river became quieter and more peaceful. After energization, we sat in meditation and the vibrations became even more peaceful. People who were laughing and joking as they floated down the river on rafts became quieter when they passed us. A calm, harmonious magnetism radiated outward from our group. By the time we ended the meditation, there was no one on the opposite bank.

Swami Kriyananda writes that inner peace is “contagious and has an uplifting effect on those capable of receiving its influence.” I felt that the people who had left, and those who had floated past on rafts, had taken with them a little peace and harmony, and a little more happiness. 

“What is trying to happen?”
What else can we do to bring harmony and peace to the world? Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda, as his disciple, have understood that harmony comes from meditating and listening to the “melody.” The “melody” is God’s will.

When asked if Ananda is developing and growing in the way he envisioned, I’ve heard Swami Kriyananda say, “I didn’t envision it.” His approach has been to meditate and harmonize his efforts with the Guru’s vision, and then to let the chips fall where they may. His total surrender to the will of God and Guru means that we can only do our best by listening to Divine Mother’s plan and watching Her drama unfold.

When Ananda Village needed to start a business to provide jobs for people, Swami Kriyananda suggested that we open a restaurant in Nevada City. At that time, Nevada City had the most vegetarian restaurants per capita of any area in Northern California. We wondered: “Should we go forward?”

Kriyananda encouraged us to look at the situation superconsciously. He pointed out that Paramhansa Yogananda had opened a restaurant in Hollywood as a way to share high vibrations—people when eating are taking in vibrations and are sensitive to the consciousness of the cooks, servers, and staff. He said that if the devotees working in an Ananda restaurant thought first and foremost of serving others, and of sharing vibrations of love and joy, we would succeed. So we opened the restaurant—“Earth Song” —and it succeeded marvelously.

The question that Swami Kriyananda has condensed from the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda is one we always ask: “What is trying to happen?” In everything we do, we try to listen to the “melody” and then go forward in the unity and harmony of Spirit.

In June 1976 a forest fire destroyed 450 acres and 21 of the 22 homes at Ananda Village, all uninsured. The county was at fault and Ananda could have sued and recovered its losses. Instead, Swami Kriyananda wrote the county supervisors to say that Ananda would not be suing. He said: “We don’t want to take our bad luck out on our fellow citizens by increasing the county’s insurance rates.”

I still remember the thrill I felt reading Kriyananda’s letter posted on the wall in the Ananda Village mailroom. I was so happy we could live our philosophy even if it meant foregoing a lot of money.

Awaken to the unity
It’s difficult to watch the world run headlong into war, famine, disease and greed—to watch it besmirch this planet with chemicals and, in the name of religion, wipe out beautiful statues of the Buddha in Afghanistan. It’s very hard to watch all of this foolishness and say, “I surrender everything into the hands of the Divine Mother,” but we must.

The essence of Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings is to awaken to the unity that connects us to every being and every aspect of creation. Whatever our role, we must see ourselves as a part of the great divine whole and have compassion for our brothers and sisters who are acting in ignorance. And we must discover those actions that move us towards harmony, peace, love, joy, and reverence for all life.

This is often the missing element in the ecology and environmental movements. In trying to help the planet, many have fallen into violent or hateful tactics. The need to respect the divine ecology that keeps life healthy and abundant is sometimes lost in anger over corporate greed. Anger is not beneficial to plants or animals. Harmony with nature requires harmony with the Spirit that animates nature and dwells in all of us, even if obscured by the ignorance of greed.

Allow God to channel harmony through you
To understand what each of us can do to assuage suffering and increase the light, we need to meditate, contact God, and pray for guidance. But there are a few simple and profoundly effective things we can all do that will allow God to channel harmony through us:

• At the end of your morning meditation, visualize the light of God radiating out from your body and consciousness, harmonizing each situation of the day. See your co-workers, clients, children, friends, and the people you see on the way to work bathed in a light of harmony and filled with a joyful, harmonious vibration. Pray to be a channel for harmony in everything you do.

• Close your meditation chanting AUM, blessing every situation and person you will come across during the day.

• As you go through the day, try to send a vibration of harmony by silently asking God to bless every person and situation. Feel God harmonizing each person and situation through you.

• If you are interested in ecology, try meditating on the phrase, “You are a part of all there is,” and try to feel the Divine flowing through all ecosystems—rivers, lakes, mountains, soil, plants, animals, and your own body. Let love, gratitude, and peace drive your ecological work and it will be a thousand times more fulfilling and effective.

• Whatever you do, see your work as a service to your fellow human beings. If we concentrate on how our work benefits others, it becomes karma yoga—selfless service. Feel that God is playing your part and the parts of those being served.

And thus, as Swami Kriyananda writes, “the ripples of positive, joyful influence spread outward into the world.”

Based on a July 3, 2009 talk at Ananda Village.

Ananta and his wife, Maria, are Lightbearers and reside at Ananda Village. They currently serve as coordinators of the Youth Ashram, the Ananda Farm, and the Sustainability Program at Ananda Village.

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Are moral values a matter of social convenience, or do they exist in the natural order?  Are moral values only subjective?  Or are they universal?

The Western either /or approach
In the West, moral values traditionally have been viewed as absolutes—right or wrong, good or bad. This type of moral rigidity actually makes a person less moral, not more so. The extremes of self-righteousness which this view permits has led to the Crusades, the witch-burnings, the Spanish Inquisition, and countless other ungodly acts committed in the name of God.

How, you might ask, was it possible for religiously minded people to imagine that they were serving God by such deeds? Only one answer suggests itself. They believed in the absoluteness of right and wrong. Convinced that the authority of the Church was an absolute good, they persuaded themselves that any challenge to that authority was a threat and therefore absolutely evil and wrong.

They considered themselves the champions of the good. Whatever means they used in defense of their convictions were thus, to them, inconsequential.

Nihilism: life has no meaning
The discovery of the relativity of time, space, motion, and nearly everything else in the universe has undermined people’s faith in the existence of absolute moral values. Not only the young, but many people now insist that values are “merely relative” and that no higher law exists. Many have embraced the philosophy of nihilism—that life has no meaning.

Jean-Paul Sartre, a proponent of this philosophy, maintains not only that life is meaningless, but that every human being is free to determine his own moral values, and no one else can decide questions of right and wrong for him.

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?

The example of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the ideal of Sartre’s philosophy. Here was a man who was completely lacking in conscience. He bowed to no God, honored no laws, and scorned the most time-honored traditions. His only values were those which suited his own convenience. If the populace opposed him, he was perfectly capable of causing millions to perish.

But he was not free. He was a slave of countless fears and suspicions. As he had dealt fairly with no one, so also was he incapable of imagining fairness or goodwill to be genuinely a part of anyone’s nature. Always he was steeled to meet his foes, lest they spring on him unawares.

Stalin’s life was an example of a simple, universal fact of human nature: If a person acts to hurt others, or if he ruthlessly opposes the interests of others, he will automatically—indeed, necessarily—steel himself to receive their opposition in return. The man of ruthless ambition can never relax trustfully. Forever tensed (since he knows not when the opposition may strike), he is unable to find even a moment’s peace.

And so, too, for other crimes. Anyone who makes his living by thievery may be completely amoral, and not at all perturbed that he is behaving in a way that others consider wrong. But he punishes himself nonetheless.

The thief has several fears. He has the normal concerns of ownership. He also knows that  what he’s taken is not rightfully his and is therefore in constant danger of being reclaimed. And, since he sees the world with the consciousness of a thief, he suspects that the world is full of people who want to rob him of all that he owns.

Happiness—the key to moral values
Paramhansa Yogananda writes that everybody wants basically only two things: to find happiness and to avoid pain. What we see is that some people find it and some people don’t. Why?  Because there are principles involved, and they’re universal.

One of the most natural impulses in life is toward self-expansion. All creatures reach out for new experiences, new knowledge, broader identifications. To help someone in need is a virtue not because scripture or society says so, but for the simple reason that nature implants in us an urge toward self-expansion.

When you think of others, you’re expanding your own awareness. Jesus Christ taught, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is more blessed, indeed, because giving is self-expansive and creates joy in the giver. The generous heart beholds a trusting, not a hostile, world.

A self-serving attitude, by contrast, is contractive because it goes against that natural impulse toward self-expansion. To kill someone, to desire to hurt another living being in any way—or even to harm our environment, which too, in varying degrees, is alive and conscious— is to go against that natural urge for self-expansion.

The moral justification for behavior
Moral principles thus have their roots in our own nature. The moral justification for generosity is not that some deity, or society itself, demands it of us, but that our own fulfillment depends on expanding our awareness and sympathy from that which we know to infinity. Sooner or later, everyone who lives in the right way will find himself becoming happier and happier.

Similarly, it is wrong to steal from others, or to injure them, not because of societal or scriptural strictures, but because one is punished by his own nature, which causes physical contraction and tension, and a mentally self-defensive attitude. As a consequence, we experience pain.

If the goal of every person is to avoid suffering and attain happiness, then the eternal question of right and wrong can be decided quite simply by this criterion. What makes an act right? The answer: its capacity to increase happiness. And what makes an act wrong? The answer, again: its power to lessen happiness and increase suffering.

The more selfish you are, the unhappier you are. The more selfless and giving you are, the happier you are. It’s a formula that never varies.

Judging the rightness of an action
The philosophy of nihilism is thus ultimately self-defeating. But the answer is not a return to moral absolutes. Values, along with everything else in the universe, are subject to the vagaries of relativity. In the realm of daily, practical living, right and wrong must be considered in the context of specific acts and situations.

To give an example: Were a lazy fellow one day to declare with energy, “I’m going to go out and get a job, and then work hard to become a millionaire!” everyone, including saints, would applaud. Were a nobler person like Gandhi, on the other hand, one day to make the same announcement, his decision would be met with universal dismay, even by worldly people.

In true moral law there are no absolutes, only directions. We should therefore view moral and spiritual perfection as a directional development, and not demand absolute perfection of anyone.

The Indian attitude toward morality is directional, not absolutist. In India, perfection is viewed as a goal toward which one must strive. The Indian attitude accepts everyone as being at a different stage of development, and encourages him to grow toward perfection, however distant the horizon may seem at the moment.

Is it not better, after all, to encourage a baby to crawl than to scold it because it can’t run? A truly generous person, for example, might find joy (as St. Francis did) in giving away his last possession to a beggar. A selfish person, on the other hand, might suffer acutely in being forced to give away even his second piece of cake.

There are degrees of maturity. The rules must necessarily change according to the degree. Action that too far outstrips a person’s actual understanding may result only in frustration; certainly it will not result in meaningful growth. That is why the Bhagavad Gita says, “In doing the activity appointed to one’s own state of being, one does not acquire any fault.”

Expanding beyond relativity
Values at every level of society should be taken out of the rusty enclosure of absolute definitions and viewed as a directional development. The “good” should motivate one to achieve the “better,” and the “better’ should inspire one toward the “best.”

However, the spiritual challenge that every great master delivers to humanity is no mere exhortation to be “moral.” It is to become as perfect as God is! We are asked literally to expand our sense of selfhood to infinity.

It is in contact with the deeper Self that the natural urge toward self-expansion comes into its own. Ego-consciousness belongs in the realm of relativity, but true bliss is found in that deep state of consciousness which is the very heart of existence, and is beyond relativity.

From Out of the Labyrinth, Crystal Clarity Publishers, and talks and articles.

To view Swami Kriyananda’s talk, Self-Abandon vs. Self-Control,” click here:

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This woman (whom I’ll call Nancy) was at her bank, waiting to make a deposit when suddenly, she found herself right in the middle of a bank robbery. Nancy became very fearful and “lost it” emotionally. At the time, her basic response when something challenging moved into her life was to take two steps back.

Afterwards, Nancy was very disappointed in her response and thought, “I’ve got to do better.” To change this fearful tendency in herself, she put a great deal of time and energy into practicing the AUM technique* in meditation.

A way to overcome all fear
Communing with the sound of AUM in meditation is one of the easiest ways to become completely absorbed in the Divine. By regular communion with AUM, we overcome all fear, including the fear of death. Swami Kriyananda said when he first heard AUM in a dynamic way, the whole world could have gone up in flames and it just wouldn’t have mattered.

In addition to meditating on AUM, Nancy also did other things to attune her consciousness to the sound of AUM. She went through her day chanting “AUM Guru,” thereby seeking the Guru’s help in attuning to AUM. She reminded herself that everything she saw—the sun, flowers, birds, plants, people—was a solidified manifestation of AUM. Whenever a tense situation arose, she would silently and lovingly call on the power of AUM to calm herself and others.

A second bank robbery
Three years later almost to the day, Nancy was again at her bank when another robbery occurred. This time it was much more violent, and she was knocked to the ground. But from her three years of practicing the consciousness of AUM, she remained very calm despite all the commotion around her.

The tension was especially high in the area where the robbers were standing with their guns. Nancy decided to begin crawling “discreetly” toward the file cabinets where she would be farther away from the robbers. She said, “I wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem.” A terrified woman on the floor, sensing Nancy’s calmness, began scooting towards her. Nancy grabbed the woman’s hand and guided her around a file cabinet where they were both out of the way.

Later, during an interview with the FBI, Nancy was the only witness who could give an accurate description of the robbers. She was told that the odds of being involved in two bank robberies were incredibly low.

Nancy attributed her calmness to having attuned her consciousness to AUM. She said, “My response to life has become totally different. Now, like my husband, who always takes two steps towards everything that comes his way, I do that too.”

A loving unity with all life
Nancy’s story shows the inner strength and transcendence that come from communing with AUM. Paramhansa Yogananda tells us that by listening to the omnipresent sound of AUM, our consciousness gradually expands from the limitations of the body into the freedom of omnipresence where all life is one.

AUM is the cosmic vibration by which God created and sustains the universe. When we commune with AUM in meditation, we experience the divine unity and harmony underlying all creation—and we know without a shadow of doubt that the universe is not against us, but with us in loving unity. By communing with AUM, we enter into, and flow with, the stream of God’s love and bliss.

We tend to think, “Gosh, there’s so much in life that’s unpredictable.” But we know of other devotees who have been in life-threatening situations and have felt only calmness and a sense of harmony. Like Nancy, whenever a devotee makes a sincere effort in meditation to know God as Spirit and to live in His reality, God, seeing our sincerity, protects us when we’re in danger.

Like so many others, I too have had this experience. After some years of meditating and attuning to AUM, I came very close to drowning.

Trapped under a waterfall
It happened a number of years ago when I gave a week-long nature program at the Expanding Light Guest Retreat at Ananda Village. One day I took the people in the program to the river for a swim. It was June and the water was a little high. All of us were swimming near a beautiful waterfall about five or six feet high.

I swam a bit too close to the edge of the waterfall where the water was churning and I  was pulled underwater. Somehow my leg got stuck under the rocks. I tried to free my leg but couldn’t.

Surprisingly, I was very calm. I remember thinking, “Is this how I’m to go, Master?” It was as though I was watching myself going through the experience. I was running out of breath, but I didn’t become nervous. I simply continued trying to free my leg.

Finally the leg pulled loose and I was able to rise to the surface of the water and get a mouthful of air. But I was immediately thrown right back down under the water. Moments later I was again able to rise to the surface. I managed to get another quick mouthful of air before again being pulled under the water.

One of the men in the group noticed what was happening and he and two other men formed a chain. With the chain supporting him, one of the men reached down into the water, grabbed my arm, and pulled me to safety.

Reflecting on the experience afterwards, I was happy to realize that I’d remained calm the entire time. Many of us have had similar experiences where God has stepped in and protected us. From the deep calmness that we feel, we know that He is with us. Whether we live or die, we know we are safely in His hands.

The blueprint of AUM
A scientist at Yale University in the 1940s was studying salamanders and discovered something very interesting that also applies to us. A salamander egg contains an electrical field with the blueprint of the adult salamander. As the salamander starts to grow, the force field of that blueprint guides it to maturity. The same thing is true of plants. Every seed has the blueprint of the mature plant.

This is even more true of us. God has stamped our souls with His image of perfection. As Swami Kriyananda has said, “We aren’t physical bodies; we’re blissful manifestations of AUM.” As we enter into the consciousness of AUM, that image of perfection becomes more and more our reality.

Join the cosmic choir
Try to live more in the consciousness of AUM.  Remember that every sound you hear, even the honking of a horn, is an expression of the cosmic sound of AUM. Listen to sounds in nature as if they were the AUM vibration—the ocean surf, the wind in the trees, the singing of birds. This practice will help you hear the AUM sound in meditation.

The following meditation by Swami Kriyananda will also help attune you to the Infinite Sound:

Imagine a choir composed of every atom in the universe, each one an individual, but all of them singing together in blissful harmony.

In your own mind, join that mighty choir, composed of all life.

Determine from today on to sing in harmony with the universe. Don’t impose on the great anthem of life your little wishes for how you want the music to sound.

Unite your notes to that Infinite Sound.

The more you do so, the more deeply you will know yourself to be an expression of the soaring anthem of Infinity.**

Whenever you feel anxious or inharmonious, use this meditation to attune yourself with God and all creation. Live more in the consciousness of AUM. One who constantly sings AUM during his activities, and with his whole being, makes his life a continuous song of joy.

From an August 12, 2009 talk and other articles.

Bharat Cornell is a Lightbearer and longtime Ananda member. He works in the Sangha Office at Ananda Village as Meditation Support Coordinator. He is also the author of Sharing Nature Book Series.

*One of the meditation techniques introduced by Paramhansa Yogananda and taught by Ananda Sangha.

** From Awaken to Superconsciousness, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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The Buddha and his disciples were all vowed to celibacy and the renunciation of carnal love. And yet, one day, when the great Buddha and his disciples were resting in the cool shade of a tree, a courtesan approached him, attracted by the glowing body and face of the Master.

No sooner had she seen the celestial face of the Lord Buddha than she fell in love with him, and with open arms ran to Buddha to embrace and kiss him, exclaiming loudly, “O beautiful Shining One, I love thee.” The celibate disciples were astonished to hear the Buddha’s reply to the courtesan. He said, “Beloved, I love thee too. Do not touch me now, however. Not yet.”

The courtesan replied, “You call me beloved and to me you are my beloved. Why, then, do you object to my touching you?” The great Buddha replied, “Beloved, again I tell thee, I will touch thee later; not now. Then I will prove my true love for thee.” The disciples were shocked, thinking that the Master had fallen in love with this courtesan.

Years later, as Buddha was meditating with his disciples, he suddenly cried out, “I must go! My beloved, the courtesan, is calling me; she needs me now. I must fulfill my promise to her.” The disciples ran after their Master, hoping somehow to save him, though he seemed madly in love with the courtesan.

The great Buddha, followed anxiously by his worried disciples, came to the same tree where they had met the courtesan before. There she lay, with her beautiful body covered with putrefying, odorous smallpox sores. The disciples cringed and held themselves far from her.

The Buddha, however, took her decaying body, held it like a child, and placed her head on his lap, whispering to her, “Beloved, I have come to prove my love to thee, and to fulfill my promise to touch thee. I have waited a long time to demonstrate my true love, for I love thee when everyone else has ceased loving thee. I touch thee when all thy summer friends fear to touch thee any more.”

Thus speaking, Buddha healed the courtesan and invited her, now purged by him of all carnal desire, to join his growing band of disciples.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Personal love is selfish, and considers its own comforts—often at the cost of everything else. Divine love is unselfish; it seeks the happiness of the object of its love, and is not limited or partial. God loves both the wicked and the good equally, for they are His children. All those who aspire to know Him must prove to Him that their love, like His love, is for all.

When a soul proves to the Heavenly Father that he loves his good and evil brothers equally, then the Father will say, “My noble son, I accept thy love, for thou lovest all with My love, even as I do.” To love those who love you is natural, but ego-inspired. To love those who do not love you, or who even hate you, is to express supernatural love and to see God in all.

From The Praecepta Lessons, 1934. See also Spiritual Relationships by Paramhansa Yogananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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

The secret of right understanding
Understanding comes by sympathy,
and still more by empathy.
As undampened notes on a piano
will resonate with the notes
played on other instruments,
so kindness and generosity
remove the “damper” of egotism,
helping one to
“resonate” with others
in their pains and difficulties.

First, be true to yourself
Inner peace is like oil:
It lubricates the machinery of life, and enables
everything to function smoothly.

Reflections everywhere!
People mirror back to you
the feelings you hold toward them.
If you want to be liked, first of all,
show others that you like them.

The loving heart
The heart is like
the door of a building:
The air and light of truth can enter only
when the door is kept open wide.

Face life’s trials
Trials are like dogs:
They lose heart
when we confront them, but give eager chase
the moment we turn and flee.

Spiritual progress
Spiritual progress should
be relaxed and natural,
not forced. Think of it as a growing tree
reaching out gradually to touch
a greater reality. One reason for not
judging others is that one learns thereby
not to judge himself. Remember:
Nature never makes sudden leaps.

Loyalty
Make loyalty the
rudder of your barque of life.
If you stand firmly by high principles, not even
the strongest gales of wrong opinion will be able to
blow you off course. Be loyal above all to
truth as you most deeply understand it. You will
then keep growing in strength and understanding.

True security
The wise have ever said that
one should place his full
trust only in God.
To rely too much on outer circumstances
is like expecting stability of a ship at sea.

You are part of the vastness of life
Accept reality as it is,
and try to harmonize yourself with it.
Truth, like Mohammed’s mountain,
won’t come to you: You must go to it.
In another sense, of course, there is
neither coming nor going:
the pilgrimage you must make is
to plumb your own inner depths.

True understanding
Dogmatism is like still photography.
True understanding is like cinematography:
It helps one to perceive constant change,
and then to observe that change
as proceeding from a single beam of eternal light

Our bridge of ascension
Divine grace, like a ray of light, is needed
to illuminate the darkness of this world.
Only on rays of grace can we rise,
and only by so ascending can we escape
the dense fog of cosmic delusion.

* From the forthcoming book, Images of Wisdom, Seeing God in Everyone, Crystal Clarity, Publishers.

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Through the bursting vibration of cosmic sound and the surging of Thy holy name, I have removed the cork of ignorance which so long separated me from Thee, though we lived together so closely!

Now my body-consciousness will meet Thy all-surrounding, all-pervading consciousness. No longer will I walk heedlessly, in Thee, but never knowing and feeling Thee. Thine image within me shall meet Thine image everywhere.

By releasing the “I-ness” in me, I will know that I am Thou, and that Thou alone art the little egos of us all.

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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Dear ________,

Question:
How is yoga of particular importance (for everyone) in today’s electronic, stressful world?

Answer:
You’ve paired two things that needn’t of their own nature be paired. So here, in fact, there are two questions in one. The first is, “How is yoga of particular importance in today’s electronic world?”

The answer is that 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.

By increasing the flow of energy to the body, one can maintain good health, and overcome illness and other physical setbacks in record time. By increasing the flow of energy in one’s work, one can be more successful in everything one attempts, and can greatly shorten the time for achieving it. With great energy, indeed, one can do in a few minutes what others may require weeks or months to accomplish.

By increasing the flow of energy to other people, one can vastly increase and deepen the love and friendship between oneself and them, and also affect them for the good in their own lives. By increasing the flow of energy in one’s life, one finds abundant happiness, insight, and wisdom in guiding one’s affairs.

As for the question of stress, yoga helps one to become calmer, more centered in oneself (in a good way—that is to say, it produces the opposite of self-centeredness), it puts one more in control of oneself and one’s own life, and helps one to resolve problems with much greater ease.

Question:
Why do you think yoga is so intriguing to many Hollywood celebrities—that is, why do you think so many of them are getting interested in it?

Answer:
I think that living in a world of fiction helps to develop in those people who are more aware a sensitivity to alternate realities.

Of course, the physical aspects of yoga are attractive to people whose livelihood depends on their looking young and physically fit, which they can accomplish through Hatha Yoga.

But the inward, truer aspects of yoga are most attractive to those whose minds are open and are not enclosed in habit-created patterns of thought. Certainly the movie profession invites new ways of looking at things.

I hope this helps.

In divine friendship,

Swami Kriyananda

From In Divine Friendship, Letters of Counsel and Reflection, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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Master revealed to us that he himself had been Krishna’s closest friend and disciple, Arjuna. (“Prince of devotees,” the Bhagavad Gita calls him.)

We found it easy to believe that he had been that mighty warrior, for Master’s incredible will power, his innate gift for leadership, and his enormous physical strength (when he chose to exert it), all pointed to someone with the tendencies of a mighty, conquering hero.

Divine power is rooted in love
People who knew only of Paramhansa Yogananda’s extraordinary love and compassion, his sweetness, and his childlike simplicity were sometimes taken aback when they encountered his power. Few realize that power and divine love are opposite sides of the same coin.

Indeed, divine love is no gentle sentiment, but the greatest force in the universe. Such love could not exist without power. Great saints would never use their power to suppress or coerce others, but power is, nevertheless, inextricably a part of what it means to be a saint.

It took extraordinary power, for example, for Jesus Christ, alone in a crowd, to drive the money-changers from their tradition-sanctioned places in the temple.

Worldly people fear this power in the saints, and, fearing it, persecute them. They don’t realize that a saint’s power is rooted in love, or that it threatens nothing but people’s delusions and ignorance-induced suffering.

Warrior and conquering hero
Yogananda’s power was not only a product of his divine awareness; his human personality, too, reflected past incarnations as a warrior and conquering hero.

In Calcutta, in his youth, he was approached more than once by people who wanted him to lead a revolution against the British. There was something in his very bearing that bespoke the intrepid warrior.

William: noble, generous, forgiving
He told us more than once that in a former life he had been William the Conqueror. Educated as I had been during my early years in the English educational system, I had always thought of William as one of history’s great villains.

On learning that that supposed “villain” was my own Guru, I made it a point, needless to say, to study several biographies of William in order to get a broader picture of what he’d really been like.

I found that William the Conqueror was indeed, in every way, a great man. Morally, in an age of widespread profligacy, he was chaste and self-controlled. Spiritually he was deeply religious, and never (so I read) missed a day of mass in his life. He was noble, generous, and forgiving.

A divine commission
He lived, however, in an age when conquest could be accomplished only by a very strong will. He told us he had been given a divine commission, which I have since come to understand was to bring England out of the Scandinavian sphere and under the influence of Roman Christianity.

During his lifetime, William promoted the recovery of old monasteries and generally gave great support to the church, endorsing also the concept of chastity for the clergy. William and Archbishop Lanfranc, together, unified the church, and reorganized it from the ground up.

Quite as important in the context of those times, they connected the church administratively and liturgically with Rome. His closest friends were spiritual men like Archbishop Lanfranc (who in this life, Yogananda stated, was Swami Sri Yukteswar) and Saint Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury.

A fierce demeanor
William’s occasionally harsh behavior was forced on him by necessity, and never sprang from personal anger (though, consistent with my observation of Master himself on occasion, William’s demeanor sometimes appeared very fierce).

I asked Master once (I was thinking of his lifetime as William): “Sir, is an avatar [a divine incarnation] always aware of his oneness with God’s omnipresence?”

“He never loses his consciousness of inner freedom,” Master replied.

“The will of a single man”
William’s life, when studied in this light, gains new luster and meaning.

The British historian, E.A. Freeman, wrote in his biography, William the Conqueror: “[What we English are today] has largely come of the fact that there was a moment our national destiny might be said to hang on the will of a single man, and that was William [the Conqueror].”

Earlier, Freeman stated: “The Norman conquest has no exact parallel in history largely owing to the character and position of the man who wrought it. The history of England for the last eight hundred years has largely come of the personal character of [that] single man.”

William’s legacy: a united kingdom
England itself was by no means so Anglo-Saxon as relatively recent writers, including Sir Walter Scott, imagined. The north, according to recent DNA testing of old bones, was heavily Scandinavian, and the east came under what was called Danelaw, and must have been more Danish than Anglo-Saxon.

It was William who united the constantly warring earldoms into one kingdom. His legacy, moreover, which bound every native to primary loyalty to his king, saved England the fate of medieval Europe, which saw constant baronial conflicts.

England’s government dates back to the conquest by William, who brought England to a level of security, stability, and legal organization that made it possible for it to survive the death of medieval society and continue on into the modern age. England is the oldest continuous government in the world, the second being the United States.

Swami Kriyananda: William’s youngest son
Some months after Master’s passing, an inspiration came to me: I suddenly realized that I had been his youngest son, Henry, who later was crowned as Henry I.

I had always known with an inner certainty that I had been a king in the past—not that it mattered to me in the present. Leadership had always come to me naturally, however, and in no way caused me to feel important because of it.

I now went to the Los Angeles public library and read up on facts about Henry that were too detailed to appear in a book intended for the general public. It surprised me to see how many parallels there were, even in little matters, between Henry’s life and my own.

Henry had been born late enough in William’s life to be in a position, after a relatively brief hiatus, to carry on William’s mission. The last thirty-three years of Henry’s life were years of exceptional peace and prosperity in England.

The most powerful king in Western Europe
Though Henry I is considered the “least-known” of all English kings, the reason for his obscurity is that he simply worked quietly to establish his father’s mission. Albeit known in his lifetime as the most powerful king in Western Europe, he never expressed an interest in enlarging his dominions.

All he ever did was conquer back territory that had been lost by his older brothers’ ineptitude. His Coronation Charter became the basis of the future Magna Carta.

An embarrassment to his memory
William’s first two sons were an embarrassment to his memory. He bequeathed Robert, his oldest, the dukedom of Normandy, knowing that he could not give him the crown of England because of his traitorous nature. (Even as William was lying on his deathbed, Robert, with the aid of the king of France, was staging a rebellion against him.)

William Rufus, the second son, was loyal to their father in his fashion, but gave no evidence of understanding William’s mission, and dedicated himself wholly to his own power, position, and glory. Perhaps a hiatus in William’s mission was necessary for his true spiritual heir, Henry, to develop a deep understanding of it.

*******       *******       *******

A different kind of conquest
Yogananda, like William the Conqueror at Hastings, came to America to establish a beachhead—not, in this case, of worldly conquest, but of divine communion.

Like William the Conqueror, Yogananda was divinely ordained to play a very difficult role. He came to a whole new continent where he was completely unknown and opposed by many. He needed an indomitable spirit of conquest to be able to bring God’s message to the world for this new age of energy, the age of Dwapara Yuga.

Yogananda’s mission was to change world consciousness. The model he established on all levels of life has been so all- encompassing that I believe he will one day be called, “The Avatar of Dwapara Yuga.”

Yogananda’s spiritual family
Many have been born and are being born in the West to assist Yogananda in his mission. Many others are being attracted to it for the first time by the radiant magnetic influence, the spiritual “gravitational field,” it has created.

Yogananda’s spiritual family forms part of a greater spiritual “nation” of which Jesus Christ and Sri Krishna (in this age, Babaji) are also leaders.

Such families are like mighty nations. To them is given the real task of guiding the human race—not in the way governments do, by official ordinances, but by subtler, spiritual influence.

*Excerpted from The New Path — Chapters: “Reincarnation,” “The Guru’s Reminiscences,” and “A New Way of Life.”  (Supplemental excerpts from: The Light of Superconsciousness, Crystal Clarity Publishers; and a March 2007 talk in India.)

For a related article, see below: William the Conqueror: Laying the Foundation for an Age of Energy, by Catherine Van Houten.

Resources:
To view Swami Kriyananda’s talk in India discussing Paramhansa Yogananda and William the Conqueror, click here Discussion of this subject starts at 13:27 minutes.

For information on The New Path by Swami Kriyananda, click here

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

]]> http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-kriyananda-gita/feed/ 8 http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-luxury-money-god/ http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-luxury-money-god/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:56:17 +0000 Paramhansa Yogananda http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/?p=2699 Plain living and high thinking are among the highest teachings of  the masters of India.  At the very start of a student’s training, plain living is emphasized.

Pitfalls of luxury
Fostering the desire for luxuries is the surest way to increase misery. Day and night the worldly man thinks of money, clothes, food, drink and other material objects.

Though he obtains these things, he does not enjoy them fully, for he is never satisfied. Either he is always looking for more or he is afraid of losing what he has. Often he becomes so engrossed in making money that he doesn’t have time for the material comforts after acquiring them.

A luxurious material life is pleasing only to the eyes; few realize “what price material comforts.” Overly luxurious living results in an excessive expenditure of nerve and brain energy and a reduction in longevity.  Worries, lack of freedom, and misery are the harvest of a materially busy life, devoid of God and the appreciation of God’s beauty in life and nature.

Don’t be a slave to money or possessions. Those who work for the ego and its desires become entangled in the net of ever-recurring earthly desires. Learn to live simply, renouncing unnecessary “wants” and constantly increasing desires.

What are your real needs?
People are so busy multiplying their material comforts that they end up considering many unnecessary things as essential. Often they are in debt from buying new automobiles and clothes on the installment plan, while ever grasping for more things and plunging deeper and deeper into prolonged work.

It is important, therefore, to differentiate between true “needs” and “wants.” A desire for a pleasurable sense object is often mistaken for a need instead of an artificially created want. Very few people know the real meaning of needs or necessities.

What are your real needs? Shelter, food, clothing, health? There is little difference between eating food from a gold plate or an iron plate. The food in both cases is equally satisfying to hunger. Learn to use cheaper things in an artistic way. Your needs are few, while your wants can be limitless.

Concentrating on needs is an antidote for the insatiable greed for money or possessions. Boil down even your needs. If the need is boiled down to specific things, it can then be easily satisfied. Focusing your attention on one “need” at a time is the first step in the right direction.

Your real needs must be met, but too much time is wasted in rushing about acquiring more and more transitory “necessities,” which merely support the impermanent bodily house of the immortal soul.

God will give you what you need
Houses, money, and automobiles may be necessary to modern existence, but unless you give some time to God and meditation, you can never make life truly happy. To cut life off from its divine invigorating source depletes it of the truly satisfying joys of existence.

Seeking first the Kingdom of God, as Jesus taught, is the surest way to lasting happiness. When by meditation you reclaim yourself as a true child of God, you will receive not only God’s imperishable kingdom of everlasting bliss, but also all the perishable things you need. The imperishable Kingdom of God contains within it all the perishable goods of the world.

The essence of true spiritual living
When Jesus told people to seek God first, he was not telling them to neglect the material life. He was speaking only against giving it one’s entire attention.

Few people, however, know how to balance the material and spiritual life. Many people think they must first have prosperity and only then can they think of God. But those who ignore God to seek perishable material things end up wallowing so deeply in the mud of desires and mundane worries that they cannot extricate themselves.

Everyone can follow the inner teachings and true essence of Christianity. They can avoid luxury and satisfy only their real needs. True Christian living, and all spiritual living, consists of seeking God’s peace and joy in meditation and making one’s material life very simple.

Balancing the material and spiritual life
The material life should not be neglected but it should be lived in God-Consciousness. You must put your principal thought on God, the Giver of life and its necessities. Acquire everything you need with the thought of God, with your attention resting on Him.

Most people, however, are unable to balance the material and spiritual life. The material man acts with the consciousness that he is the doer and makes himself miserable through his likes and dislikes. He is unaware of the joy and freedom that come from knowing that God is the Doer and working with one’s attention focused on Him.

By regular meditation, people can train their minds to perform all the duties of daily life with the consciousness of God within. All materially-minded men and women should understand that their lives can be freed from endless physical and mental ills simply by adding deep daily meditation to their schedule.

Make service your goal
People must also realize that all work and business activities are for the sole purpose of serving others. Without this understanding, strenuous work and business activity produces nervousness and greed for money. Make service to mankind, rather than money, the goal of all your activities and you will see your life change for the better.

God has sent man into this life so circumstanced with hunger and desires that he must work. Whoever eats has to pay for the food, and it is better to be able to buy your own food than to live on charity.

A man of God, however, works diligently not for any selfish desire but to please God and to share the fruits of his actions with God’s children. Learn to work with the consciousness that God is the Doer and with the goal of serving others. That is the sure way to happiness.

Simplicity leads to happiness
Happiness blooms naturally in the hearts and minds of those who are inwardly free, contented with simple living, and willingly renounce the clutter of unnecessary, so-called “necessities. True happiness is lasting, because it is spiritual in nature, whereas the “happiness” based on sense pleasure soon turns to sorrow.

God is the source of all life and all prosperity. When, by meditation, you achieve a deep contact with God, you will know that whatever God has, you also have. It isn’t what you own, but what you can acquire at will, that is real prosperity.

From articles and lessons, 1930-1942, and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Explained, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Resources: To read, “What is True Wealth?” by Swami Kriyananda, click here To learn more about Money Magnetism by Swami Kriyananda, click here

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Q. Peter, you started a medical clinic two years after moving to Ananda Village. Since then, you’ve had the responsibility of running a busy rural clinic while also providing medical services to clinic patients. In addition, you’ve often had to respond to medical emergencies in the evening after work and on week-ends.

Under these circumstances, how has it been possible for you to put God first in your life?

A. Since becoming a devotee, I’ve always tried to see my life as belonging to God. Interestingly, I started doing that much more consciously during a period when I was facing more challenges than I thought I could handle.

Q. What was happening at that time?

A. It was during  the late 1980s. The clinic had been open for about five years, but we were still just barely hanging on financially. I was working all the time, doing everything from seeing patients, managing the finances, and being on call most nights.

In the midst of all this, local doctors were criticizing me for starting a clinic with so little medical experience, claiming that we didn’t provide good health care. Then county officials began pressuring us to move to an approved structure, which we simply couldn’t afford to do.

That was the last straw. I began asking myself, “Is it really my karma to be a doctor? Are all these problems a ‘sign’ I should be doing something else?” I started thinking seriously about closing the clinic and wrote Swami Kriyananda for advice.

After consulting with him, I understood more deeply that it was God’s will for me to be a doctor, and on some level I relaxed. I realized that it didn’t matter if the challenges felt crushing, or if my ego was bruised by the criticism from other doctors. What was happening was God’s will for me–His way of making me stronger.

The problems still existed, but I became more resilient in dealing with them because I no longer struggled against them. I relied more on God’s strength and guidance for solutions. It was an important turning point in surrendering to God’s will.

Q. Another important aspect of putting God first involves consciously acting as His instrument and channeling His love to people. Is this something you do in your work at the clinic?

A. Yes, but I’ve had to learn to do it. My inner relationship with God has always been very devotional, and it’s been easy for me to feel love for God. One of my main lessons in this life has been learning to give that same love outwardly to people.

At the clinic we see about 15,000 patients a year, most of whom are society’s dropouts—indigent, homeless, and often mentally ill with difficult personalities. They’re people you have to work at loving—and I’ve had to work at it.

Q. How did you “work at it?”

A. When seeing patients, I would consciously try to feel God’s love in my heart– and then project that love out to them. At the same time, I would also pray for them. Gradually, my heart opened to them, especially as I began to see how deeply healing it was for patients when I worked with them in a loving way.

Q. Specifically, how was it healing for your patients?

A. It had a calming effect on  those who were agitated or disturbed emotionally. In general, their physical and mental health improved, and they had a greatly improved ability to make constructive decisions about diet, smoking, exercise, intoxicants and other things that affected their physical and mental health.

Q. In your many years of practicing medicine, there must have been times when you did your absolute best but something nevertheless went “wrong.” How does that affect you? Have you been able to develop non-attachment to the “fruits” of your efforts?

A. For someone like me who really takes what he does seriously, non-attachment has been very difficult. Many times something has gone very badly for a patient and I thought maybe I was at fault. Usually it turned out that I wasn’t.

But I’ve realized that if I let my concentration lapse for 30 seconds, I could miss a key piece of information and the patient could end up being harmed, or even dying, from my mistake.

Q. Was there a turning point when you became stronger in non-attachment?

A. Yes, about six or seven years ago. I was injecting cortisone into a patient’s back to relieve pain and accidentally punched through the muscle into the lung. The patient ended up in the hospital with a collapsed lung. It’s the kind of thing we routinely warn patients about, but it was horrifying to actually have it happen.

The patient made a perfect recovery, but it felt terrible to have hurt someone who trusted me. Still, I’m grateful for the experience.

Q. What did you learn?

A. I realized more deeply the message of The Bhagavad Gita—that in this world we have no choice but to act. Things like this are going to happen even though we try our best. We have to understand that the results of our actions are completely in God’s hands, and always give what we do to Him.

If your work involves a lot of exposure and a high level of responsibility, as mine does, you’re going to make “big” mistakes, not little mistakes. I have to be willing to accept that and surrender it to God. He’s the Doer. The results of my actions belong to Him.

Q. When did you first understand that God was the Doer and that He was working through you in all health care situations, even when the outcome wasn’t what you want?

A. This is perhaps the most important lesson on the spiritual path, and it’s been a gradual process. It started when I was an intern and had no choice but to depend on God because often I didn’t know what to do. After praying, I would know what to do. Even today, when with a patient, if I don’t know the solution, I always pray.

But there’s a deeper level of seeing God as the Doer, when you begin to feel God flowing through you, silently guiding your thoughts and actions. Only for the last five or six years have I begun to feel that more continuously.

Back in the first days of the clinic, I tried to think that way, but it was mostly affirmation. More recently it’s been the reality.

Q. Have there been any dramatic instances of this?

A. Yes. Sometimes I’ll be talking with a patient, trying to figure out what’s wrong, and suddenly find myself talking about something I know absolutely nothing about. I’ll look it up afterwards and find that what I’ve told the patient is correct.

It’s very humbling and always reminds me who’s in charge. But I don’t think I’m unique. If we see what we’re doing as a service and an offering to God, the superconscious will sometimes infiltrate our thoughts and behavior.

Q. Paramhansa Yogananda said that willingness is one of the most important spiritual attitudes. Has willingness been a challenge for you?

A. Willingness has been my hardest challenge because I like things to be organized and predictable. It’s sometimes difficult to stay willing when it’s 6:00 p.m., I’ve already seen 25 patients and would really like to go home—and suddenly there’s one more patient who really needs to be seen. My battle is to not do the easy thing by sending the patient to the hospital emergency room or telling him or her to come back the next day.

As devotees, the pitfall is to decide that we have only so much energy—and no more. Just when I think I’ve done everything I can do, Divine Mother often says, “But there’s so much more you can do,” and then shows me that’s true.

Q. If being willing leaves you with less time for meditation, wouldn’t that adversely affect your spiritual progress?

A. Not necessarily. Recently the clinic went through a very challenging 3-year period when it looked like we might close. We’d been doing very well for a long time. Then gradually we lost most of our top medical staff and couldn’t replace them because finances had become very tight.

For a while I was the only one seeing patients and working 16 hours a day just to keep the clinic afloat. I couldn’t meditate much. Yet it was a period of real growth for me spiritually.

It helped me understand that God will work with us in the ways we need for our spiritual development, and we shouldn’t think that the only way we grow spiritually is by meditating eight hours a day. We just have to be willing to do what God asks of us.

Q. How did the experience change you?

A. I had to confront a number of my fears very directly. The clinic was something I’d worked on for almost 30 years and it looked like it was going to fail. I could have ended up financially ruined. There were so many ways this could have happened.

More than once I felt like I was going a little crazy with the whole thing. I got stretched far beyond what I thought my limits were, and yet, looking back, I can see that God and Guru protected me the whole time.

Q. I imagine you gained a much deeper level of trust and faith in God?

A. The experience definitely took concepts like “faith” and “trust” and made them much more real because I’d lived it. Repeatedly I had to say, “God, you’re going to have to protect me because I’m going far beyond what I think I can do.”

And God came through and produced a miracle. From any standpoint, the clinic should not be standing today.

Q. Didn’t you need a certain level of faith and centeredness to successfully go through a test like that?

A. For sure. Being a devotee for many years gives you the momentum to get through things that would have been insurmountable earlier on the path. You’ve already gotten through many challenges, and you’re more confident that God will carry you through this one too. You learn that God will always protect you, provided you do your best and keep moving forward, no matter how hard it gets.

Peter Van Houten, a Lightbearer, lives at Ananda Village and is the founder and Medical Director of Sierra Family Medical Clinic.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

The dream has now turned dark for many people. Economically, we’re in a very difficult period. Millions have lost jobs. Whether the downturn will become a protracted depression or whether there will be catastrophic events, as some have predicted, we don’t know. But we do know that many people are fearful for the future.

The question for us is: how can we stay open and expansive in this time of uncertainty and turmoil? How do we remember that God is always supporting and guiding us? Three key attitudes will be our allies: Gratitude, Non-attachment, and Generosity.

Gratitude

Several attitudes help generate happiness, but first and foremost is gratitude to God for everything in life. Gratitude invites a flow of grace while grumbling blocks those sustaining rays and leaves us exhausted and bitter.

If we don’t appreciate God’s gifts, how can we hope to feel His presence or keep our hearts open? Without an attitude of gratitude, we reject the lessons He is trying to teach us.

It isn’t enough just to think about gratitude. We must actively feel grateful and express it consciously. When we open our hearts in this way we find that murky feelings of anxiety and isolation fade away. The antidote to negativity is to make it a habit, several times a day, to thank God for whatever you are experiencing at that moment.

Thank God for the hardships
Don’t thank Him only for pleasant things. Thank Him also for difficulties. Life is a mixture of ups and downs—of what we embrace as “positive” and reject as “negative.” But, since we so often misjudge what is good or bad karmically, it is best to thank God for everything: good, bad, and indifferent. Too often we’re like a patient spitting out the very medicine that can make him well.

Paramhansa Yogananda said he would correct only those who gave him permission to do so. How do we give him permission? Not with words but by opening our hearts to him. So, be grateful to God for everything. Sing Him love songs in the silence of your soul. Then see what that does for your heart.

Non-attachment

Second in importance is gratitude’s cousin, non-attachment. Our likes and dislikes splinter the world into little pieces, which is a classical definition of maya or delusion. Attachment is the main obstacle to knowing ourselves as children of Divine Mother.

With an attitude of non-attachment — simply accepting what is happening — we can respond to life according to what is right rather than what pleases us. Non-attachment doesn’t make us into some kind of machine. We still feel and, in fact, can feel more deeply than when we are in a reactive state.

The next time you eat a meal try to deeply experience the various tastes without judging them as either good or bad. You’ll see that non-attachment actually allows you to deepen your experience.

Like gratitude, non-attachment should be practiced on a daily basis. When an experience comes that you don’t like, try to accept it calmly and appreciate its hidden lesson.  Similarly, when something comes that you like, say “Thank you, God. I give any sense of attachment back to You.” By non-attachment we become supremely free inside.

An inner fire ceremony
Swami Kriyananda has suggested a technique to help with non-attachment. Visualize a fire at the point between the eyebrows and offer into the flames everything in your life.  Especially at night, before sleep, it is good to give God all your possessions, your emotions, your likes and dislikes, and, in fact your very life. Offer back everything and then go to sleep in a state of inner freedom.

It is very important to cast into that fire all those things you are reluctant to give up; money, relationships, job, children. These are the attachments that have the biggest grip on you.  When you are experiencing a state of worry or anxiety it is helpful also to practice this visualization as you wake up in the morning. That way you can start the day with a clean slate.

Another helpful technique is to visualize the heart as a golden ball with threads coming out of it. Each thread represents an attachment, some of them tiny and some the size of thick nautical ropes. But, however big, cut them away until that golden ball is completely free. Then polish it until it is bright and shiny. Doing that two or three times a day cleans your aura, develops non-attachment, and allows the heart’s natural love to shine forth.

Gratitude and non-attachment take you a long way toward being even-minded and cheerful at all times, a state of mind that Paramhansa Yogananda suggested we try to hold in all circumstances.

Generosity: Selfless giving to others

Selfless giving to others, even when in difficult circumstances, brings lots of joy. Paramhansa Yogananda and all great masters have chosen, from a life of complete freedom and joy in God, to reincarnate in bodies doomed to suffer hardships and death. Having no karma, they do this solely for our sakes. To be in tune with them, we, too, must learn to give selflessly.

“How can I serve you?”
It is very helpful to keep in mind that we don’t really have anything of our own to give; we are simply channels of Divine Mother. She is the source from which all things flow. To think otherwise is to diminish our potential. If we can but rid the mind of egoic self-definitions, there is absolutely no limit to what She can do through us.

It is very uplifting to pray to Divine Mother every morning, “How can I serve you? How can I see only You in others today?” Every person has something to offer, because God resides equally in everyone. In these difficult times, people desperately need our love and kindness.

A very natural way of giving to others is through simple kindness. When Swami Kriyananda goes into a store, he doesn’t treat the clerk like an automaton; he creates a connection. Often it’s just a little question or comment: “Oh, what a beautiful blue in that broach you’re wearing” —just enough to begin to create a bond that allows the person to open up. It’s habitual with him to shed a little bit of kindness and joy everywhere he goes. We should try, as Paramhansa Yogananda said, to be “smile millionaires.”

Non-attached and inwardly free
When you give to others, it’s important not to carry a merchant consciousness. Don’t think, “If I give them this, what will I get back?” Try to live more in the faith that the law of karma guarantees that you will get exactly what is coming to you. God and Guru will always show you what is for your own highest, spiritual good if you let them.

Your real reward, when you give to others in a selfless spirit, is freedom from want. The more you give away, the more non-attached and inwardly free you become. Then life becomes beautiful.

A poem by Yogananda says it beautifully: “I have nothing to offer Thee, for all things are Thine; I grieve not that I can not give, for nothing is mine, nothing is mine. Here I lay at Thy feet my limbs, my life, my thoughts and my speech, for they are Thine, for they are Thine.”

“Pay it forward”
It is best not to expect rewards for what you give to others. There’s a movie, Pay it Forward, in which a person helps someone who is in trouble. When the recipient says, “I’ll pay you back,” the giver replies, “I don’t want you to pay me back. I want you to pay me forward. Pay off your debt to me by helping three other people.”

And thus, waves of kindness spread in ever widening circles. In this spirit try to help others feel that they too are channels for the light and love, which the world desperately needs in these worrisome times.

These three together—gratitude, non-attachment, and selfless giving — are very powerful ways of attuning to God during times of difficulty. As Paramhansa Yogananda often said, “The channel is blessed by what flows through it.”

When we truly feel that we are acting as a channel for the Infinite, then not only will we be a source of strength to others, but we too will experience great freedom and joy.

Based on talks at Ananda Village, January 31, 2009 and February 11, 2009.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

What helped me most during the “in between times” was to call on God and Guru’s grace in times of need by doing japa. When my mind became negative or fearful I would do japa by repeating a mantra, and my negative thoughts would usually dissolve.

In stressful situations like driving to out-of-the-way locations, which is often necessary in my job as a family court attorney, doing japa would calm me down and I was able to find my destinations.

Kriya Yoga: a turning point
Receiving Kriya Yoga initiation in 2006 was an important turning point in learning not to compartmentalize my life. Since then, my meditations have become deeper and I find it easier to remain centered in the midst of life’s storms.

As a result, I’ve been able to experience first hand the truth that all life situations, and not just the time spent in meditation and prayer, are opportunities for spiritual growth.

A challenging relationship
A year after receiving Kriya Yoga initiation, I went through one of the most challenging times in my life as an attorney. I had been appointed by the court to represent a woman whose teen-age daughter had been removed from her care and placed in foster care.

This woman was very disturbed emotionally. Initially, she spent most of our meetings berating me, threatening either to fire me or to report me to the state bar association (she couldn’t fire me since I was court-appointed), or fixating on fears not based in reality.

Familiar fears
A year and half into my relationship with this woman, I felt inspired during one of her tirades to gaze at her at the point between the eyebrows (the spiritual eye), and to think of her as a child of God. The effect on me was immediate.

Despite her negativity, I suddenly felt immense compassion for her—and for myself. I realized that in many ways she was my teacher. She had fears that were familiar to me—fears of not being loved, of being rejected by society, of not being appreciated, of being misjudged, of not being good enough.

The differences between us were only a matter of degree. She allowed her fears to overwhelm her to such an extent that she was unable to function. I, on the other hand, was learning to control my mind and transcend my emotions through the practice of meditation, prayer, and japa.

Listening more intuitively
That was a turning point in our relationship. After that, I saw every phone call and every meeting with her as an opportunity for inner growth—for me to remain centered and compassionate no matter what she said or did, and to listen more intuitively to how best to help her.

I learned not to insist that she spell out her exact positions on the legal situation with her daughter—something that was extremely difficult for her to do. Instead, I encouraged her to express her feelings and emotions, which turned out to be far more productive.

I learned to listen to her, to translate her feelings and concerns into coherent legal positions, and to present them in court in an organized manner. She felt that she had been heard and was grateful for that.

She even seemed healed by the process. She was more relaxed during our meetings, less anxious. Her tirades became less frequent and less “dramatic.” At one point she even invited me to join her at a dinner at her church, which was a huge demonstration of gratitude and kindness on her part.

At the end of our 3-year attorney-client relationship, she no longer perceived me as someone who might hurt or abandon her but as an ally, someone on her side.

A mysterious illness
The biggest step forward in my progress toward seeing my spiritual and everyday life as one came in 2008 when I was hit with a mysterious illness. Just a few months earlier I had been enjoying long hikes with my dog, meditating and doing yoga postures regularly, and carrying a heavy family law caseload.

Suddenly I was struggling with dizzy spells, bodily weakness, and a sense of being totally overwhelmed by any minor demand on my time and attention.  In less than two months, however, 15 weekend guests—students and teachers from the Ananda Institute and other Ananda friends—were due to arrive.

One week before their arrival, a blood test disclosed a vitamin B12 deficiency. I wondered: how fast would the vitamin B12 pills make me feel somewhat normal again?

Opening to God and Guru
I considered canceling their visit—the events planned for the weekend included a kirtan, Sunday Service, and a hike and visit to the local Buddhist Stupa Park. How could I, in my state of total fatigue and discomfort, get the house ready, plan meals, cook, set up sleeping arrangements, and look somewhat happy to see them when they arrived?

Though weakened by illness, I was nonetheless determined to find a way to be ready for my guests. After meditating, I surrendered the situation to God and my Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, and asked them to take charge of my body and flow through me so that things would be ready for my friends’ arrival.

I curtailed my work schedule as much as possible and each day managed to get one thing done.  I was pale and eight pounds thinner the day my Ananda friends arrived, but the house was clean, the food was ready, and I felt blissful to see so many bright faces at my doorstep.

A marathon of joy
The weekend was a marathon, but I felt so much joy I could barely eat or sleep. My home vibrated with music, laughter, singing, love, and devotion.

I have several musical instruments in my house but I am not a musical person and cannot play any of them. During that weekend, those instruments heard beautiful tunes as the students played Swami Kriyananda’s music all day long.

By Monday morning all my guests had left, and I had a few days to rest before the arrival of another weekend Ananda guest and more Ananda events. My body was still somewhat weak, but once again everything got done.

During the Sunday evening satsang in my home, the visiting Ananda minister spoke about energy and quoted Paramhansa Yogananda’s statement that one small gram of human flesh has enough energy to light up an entire city. We did Swami Kriyananda’s Superconscious Living Exercises and my body felt refreshed. What most amazed me were my vitality and readiness to serve.

Many blessings; many lessons
What did I learn from these two experiences? I learned that if I put total effort and willingness into a project, not only do I open myself to God’s wisdom and guidance, I also receive the strength I need to serve.

I learned also that there is no difference between the “spiritual” and the “mundane” when I perceive myself as God’s instrument and am willing to do whatever needs to be done. My willingness opens the door to the infinite source of all energy and strength.

Though I had heard and read many times, “God is the Doer,” this was my first experience of what it meant to act with the sense that God was acting through me. Previously, I had always felt that I was the doer, even when thinking of God during activities or consciously trying to serve God through others.

What a difference it is to experience the truth that God is omnipresent, all-pervasive, and ever-ready to pick us up when we stumble or fall!

Everything is an opportunity
The blessing I most cherish is the growing realization that all situations in life are opportunities for inner growth. It was easier perhaps for me to learn this lesson when the outward activities were of a spiritual nature, like the Ananda events I hosted in my home, rather than my daily mundane duties.

But it has become clear that what’s important is not what I do but being in a state of surrender and alignment with the divine will.

My health and strength have returned. Life’s many duties have become simpler and much less exhausting. I continue to enjoy spiritual retreats but I also enjoy my daily spiritual journey. Everyday I pray that I become a better devotee, more surrendered to the divine will, so that God can flow through me in all that I do.

A spiritual seeker since 1991, Daniella Ferrari is currently the leader of the Ananda Meditation and Book Study Group in Sedona, AZ.  In her work as a family law attorney, she represents indigent clients and abused and neglected children.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

In late summer 1087, William the Conqueror, king of England and duke of Normandy, lay dying. Tension hung in the air.

The fate of the Anglo-Norman kingdom was now to be decided. Fatally injured by his stumbling horse, and in great pain from an internal hemorrhage, William was nevertheless completely clear in his mind. He  brought all his formidable will power to bear on the question of who would succeed him.

Which son would succeed William?
Twenty-one years had passed since the conquest of England. Even in his extremis, William was surrounded by some of his inner circle: barons and bishops. Each knew that his own future depended on William’s decision in the matter of succession.

Much of the tension in the room was due to the fact that Robert, nicknamed “Curthose,” the Conqueror’s oldest son and previously designated heir, now 33 years old, was in active rebellion against his father. Even now, Curthose and his sycophantic followers were conducting raids on Normandy’s borders, urged on by William’s nemesis, Philip I, King of France.

A very strong Norman tradition, however, held that the lands a ruler inherited from his father should pass intact to his oldest son. On the other hand, anything that a man had gained on his own, through conquest in his lifetime, could be disposed of as he wished.

Robert’s crippling limitations
It took no great insight, however, to know absolutely that Robert Curthose lacked the character to lead others and govern wisely. It must have been a grave disappointment to William, for clearly it had been his intention, at first, to confer on this son both England and Normandy, and he had taken pains to train him in government and in diplomacy.

Repeatedly, however, he had seen Robert’s crippling limitations. He had forgiven the young man’s first open rebellion. Most damning of all was the fact that Robert now, through his alliance with Philip I of France, had been stupid and selfish enough to risk the sovereignty of the Anglo-Norman kingdom itself.

William the Conqueror, as death approached, determined that Robert Curthose should have no part in ruling either Normandy or England. He perceived these two lands not as separate entities, but as one kingdom, united under a single ruler.

Counter-arguments from inner circle
Now, however, William’s inner circle and close companions bore down on their dying lord with counter-arguments regarding the succession. There was Norman tradition to be considered: Robert was the oldest son and so should at least, by right, have Normandy.

Many argued also that they had taken oaths of fealty to Curthose as his father’s successor, at King William’s behest. If Robert were not given some part of the kingdom, then he would be in a strong and easily justified position to attempt to take it by force. Many would feel the righteousness of his claim, certainly to Normandy.

It was surely difficult for any of these men fully to comprehend the Conqueror’s deepest reason for refusing to name Curthose his successor: that this son did not understand or share his father’s vision for the future of the kingdom he had created.

Curthose was ruled by sentiment and self-interest. His father, however, acted to manifest a vast vision for the crucial role that England, in particular, would play in the ongoing future, even up to our own times.

A wise and ever-practical leader
The king also knew the hearts of those who were now urging him to reconsider his decision to disinherit Robert Curthose. It was clear to the dying William that these powerful men were determined to support his oldest son; quite probably they would do so regardless of whom he named now as his successor.

Such was the reality of the situation, and this wise, ever-practical leader made the best decision possible under the circumstances. In great pain, and (as one contemporary chronicler expressed it) “worn out by their importunities,” William the Conqueror reluctantly agreed to name Robert Curthose as his successor to the duchy of Normandy.

The oldest son, however, was to have only Normandy. The crown of England was, William decreed, to go to his second oldest son, William “Rufus” (the “red”), who was now present in the room.

Those present greeted in silence King William’s decision to name William Rufus as his heir to the throne of England. Though they had urged the reinstatement of Curthose as William’s heir, they must have been shocked to realize that William was actually willing to split the Anglo-Norman kingdom, rather than put all of it under Robert’s control.

With war between the two sons inevitable, did the Conqueror have some more long-range plan for resolving this issue?

William’s promise to Henry
As if in answer to this extreme dilemma, King William summoned to his bedside the youngest of his three living sons, Henry, who was then eighteen years old, and whom William had only recently knighted. Like Rufus, Henry had been at his father’s side at the siege of Mantes where William had been fatally injured.

The young man now knelt by his father’s bed. “To you, Henry, I bequeath the great treasure of 5,000 silver coins,” the Conqueror said, smiling warmly on his youngest son, whose qualities and intelligence he had “lost no opportunity to encourage,” as chronicler William of Malmesbury put it.

No one spoke; all were waiting for Henry to say something. “Father, what shall I do with this money, if I have no land on which to spend it?” Henry’s voice was steady as he presented this reasonable question.

In feudal Europe, even a significant fortune was no guarantee of ever having true wealth and power, for these came with land. Land alone, in those days, was true wealth.

The silence continued. Everyone strained to hear the king’s reply. Only a few, however, could hear William’s words:

“Be patient, my son. For in time you shall have all that your brothers now have, and shall be greater than they.” The father placed his hand in final benediction on Henry’s bowed head. His words proved no empty prophecy, for years later they were fulfilled to the letter.

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Why Reincarnate as a Warrior King?

Our exploration of all the ramifications of Paramhansa Yogananda’s statement that, in a previous lifetime, he had been William the Conqueror, has brought us to the final and all-absorbing question: “Why?”

Why would a soul, who has won freedom from any need to reincarnate at all, elect to return to earth as a warrior king?

What was at stake in 12th century Europe, and in England in particular, that caused a Self-realized master to don once again the heavy cloak of a physical body — this time, as William the Conqueror?

Setting a new course for the Western world
Nearly every historian would agree that, on that autumn day at Hastings in 1066, a completely new course was set for England. To gain a truer perspective, we need to compare England on the eve of the Battle of Hastings to what England had become by 1135, the year of King Henry’s death.

Within that relatively short span of nearly seventy years, William the Conqueror and King Henry I not only changed England, but set a new course for the whole Western world.

Rome: a more truly Christian influence
On the general impact of the Conquest there is nearly universal agreement: the cultural and political reorientation of England, deflecting it from a more-or-less pagan Scandinavian influence toward the more truly Christian culture of southwestern Europe. This reorientation toward a wholly new stream of Christian influence is profoundly significant.

Prior to 1066, England had become overwhelmingly Scandinavian. This Nordic influence represented a major departure from the purer stream of Roman Christianity. Nordic Christianity was heavily mixed with paganism, and paid little attention to the clearest fountain of Christianity in existence at those times: the Roman.

Had the Norman Conquest not brought England into a new relationship with the church in Rome, and thereby reconfigured alliances throughout Europe, the Roman papacy would have been isolated. The purest stream then extant for the religion of Jesus Christ, and for the recovery of classical knowledge, would have shrunk to a trickle.

A harmoniously integrated new culture
Much — in fact, very much — hinged upon England’s orientation. Though she was tucked off in a corner where one might not have thought her influence crucial to the development of Europe, she had the advantage of being a separate island, close enough to Europe to have strong ties with it, yet removed enough to enable the development of a new spirit.

The world at that time was emerging from the depths of a dark age. Literacy was on the rise. It was safer to travel. People were seeking a better way of living, as may be seen in the numerous monasteries that began to appear. The development of a harmoniously integrated new culture could be accomplished, perhaps, only in this island setting.

One can infer from the Gospels that Jesus Christ, in launching a new expression of devotion to God, had urged people to form little Christian communities. England may be said to have presented a similar opportunity: a separate body of land, open to new development in social, intellectual, and spiritual ways.

Paramhansa Yogananda also, in sermon after sermon, urged his listeners to create separate, self-sustaining communities where a new consciousness, and a new way of life, could be developed. Though he was not able to bring this idea to fruition during his lifetime, his disciple Swami Kriyananda has succeeded in doing so.

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William the Conqueror and the Church

David Douglas, in his great biography of the Conqueror, stated: “No aspect of the career of William the Conqueror is of more interest — or of more importance — than the part he played in the history of the western Church between 1066 and 1087.”

Opposed centralization of church power
Some of the most forceful personalities ever to occupy the throne of Saint Peter, beginning with Pope Gregory the Great, served as popes during the reigns of William and Henry. William supported Gregorian church reform in ways that strengthened the church spiritually and also the spiritual life of individuals.

However, he steadfastly resisted those aspects of the reform which called for the increased power of the church in secular matters. William was also adamant that all matters pertaining to the church within the Anglo-Norman kingdom would be decided internally by those churchmen closest to the situation.

“God is center everywhere”
Paramhansa Yogananda did the same with the worldwide organization he founded: Self-Realization Fellowship. As much as possible, Yogananda tried to manifest on the material plane the ancient dictum: “God is center everywhere; circumference, nowhere.”

He named his organization itself after that principle: Self-realization. This term would in time, he said, become accepted as embodying the underlying truth of all religions.

Time has brought a greater unfoldment of awareness, but already in the 11th century William not only wanted to bring England under the wholesome influence of Roman Christianity, which more truly reflected the spirit of Christ, he also wanted England to develop its own integrity so that the religious spirit would flower from within the individual.

King Henry’s intentions were precisely the same in every detail as those of his father.

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England’s future role

In this book it is our thesis that the Conqueror’s vision anticipated the role that England, specifically, would play in bridging East and West, uniting the strengths of each to bring mankind to the present time when the general level of consciousness on our planet is rising toward greater unity and also greater subtlety and refinement: an age of energy which promises greatness for the future.

*Excerpted from the forthcoming book by Catherine Van Houten: Two Souls: Four Lives — The Lives and Former Lives of Paramhansa Yogananda and His Disciple, Swami Kriyananda.

For a related article, see above: Paramhansa Yogananda as William the Conqueror, by Swami Kriyananda.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

If we had the blessing of being suddenly drawn up into that superconscious state and seeing our lives from that perspective, we would realize how utterly trivial it is whether we sign that big contract or get a raise, whether somebody insults or praises us, whether people understand us or not. We would realize that these things just don’t matter.

In the superconscious state, we understand that this world is a delusion, a cosmic dream. We are no longer attached to the body, to the opinions of other people, or to any outward realities.

Live centered in the Self
The whole spiritual life is a process of learning to live superconsciously. To do that, we must become completely centered in our higher Self because that’s where our power and growth begin.

In human terms, you can accomplish a great deal if your will power is strong and you direct your energy with enough positive expectation. But beyond a certain point, the ego can’t accomplish very much unless it is attuned to the superconscious, and it takes a lot to tune in.

You must recognize that there is a higher aspect of consciousness, even of your own consciousness, over which you have no control. You are offering yourself up into something you can’t command, but the consciousness that comes, which is your own higher Self, doesn’t impose itself on you.

You must first be receptive. But when you have the courage, determination, and faith to accept whatever it gives, you find that life’s greatest tragedies can become doorways to the greatest joy.

Right attitude: the main requirement
Years ago there was a movie, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” which depicted St. Francis as a sort of glorified hippy, loping dreamily through fields of flowers—nothing at all like the life he actually led, which included many tests and trials.

Many people were inspired by the movie, but if their understanding of the spiritual path remained on that level, they wouldn’t last very long. The spiritual path is very challenging and you’ve got to approach it with the right “weapons.” Those “weapons” are the attitudes we take on when we come onto the spiritual path.

Many people think that the spiritual path is seeing visions and having all sorts of wonderful phenomena, but basically the spiritual path is right attitude.

You can’t run away from difficulties
How do you react when a test comes?  I once said to a brother disciple who was going through a big test: “Well, after all, you’re young. You have at least 40 more years on the path, and you’ve got to get through this sooner or later.” That practically threw him into a pit of despair. That’s because he didn’t have much courage.

You won’t be worthy of God if you try to run away from your difficulties, if you aren’t willing to do whatever work is necessary to achieve freedom. 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?”

When a nail is buried in a board, you don’t know the size of the nail, but if you keep pulling on the nail, eventually it will come out. Similarly, you may have very little bad karma left to pay off, or you may have a lot more.

What does it matter? Work at it, and sooner or later it will pass. Remember, God will never let you down if you love Him and keep seeking Him.

Love: the divine wavelength
Love is the most important quality of all. Love is what pulls us out of delusion.

In fact, we can’t put one foot in front of the other on the spiritual path until we begin to develop that devotional quality, that self-giving love—the sweetness, tenderness, and softness of feeling that come when you’re no longer protecting the ego. Ultimately, we must learn to approach God with the total trust and faith of a child.

The first duty of every devotee is to keep alive the lamp of devotion. Without love, you won’t grow spiritually because love is the wavelength on which the Divine functions.

“Maybe I can do better”
An attitude of learning is also fundamental. Always be ready to listen to what seem like silly points of view; they may have something to teach you. We need to feel there’s a great deal of truth we don’t yet know, and to be open to that truth, regardless of the source.

In fact, I’ve seen that the moment I write somebody off as too stupid to teach me anything, God uses that very person to teach me something. We need an attitude that says, “Maybe I can do better; maybe I can learn from this situation.”

Willingness is pleasing to God
Willingness is one of the most important attitudes and something Paramhansa Yogananda always emphasized. When you’re willing to give up your own desires to serve God, when you’re willing to put yourself out that extra bit, when you’re willing to say “yes” instead of “no” —that’s what pleases God.

Remember the principle: “The greater the will, or willingness, the greater the flow of energy.”  The more willing you are, the more energy you have.

When you have an attitude of openness, of saying “yes,” you find that things start to go well for you spiritually because willingness gets your energy moving in a positive direction. The goal of the spiritual path is to get all of your energy moving in that direction.

Calm, cheerful acceptance
Right attitude means being able to accept everything impartially. Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, “What comes of itself, let it come.” That doesn’t mean only the good things; it means anything.  And it doesn’t mean whipping yourself up into a false sense of well-being.

The basic attitude is to be “even-minded and cheerful”—an attitude of neutrality, of calmly and cheerfully accepting whatever God gives.

In the spiritual life, attitude is more important than anything else and it’s something we can keep growing in until we reach the perfection of union with God.

Seek higher guidance in daily life
How do we bring more of the superconscious into our lives?  We must understand that there are two levels here: daily life and meditation. In our waking state we can lift our consciousness up and be guided by the superconscious level.

Always try, if a problem comes up in your life, to put your mind at the point between the eyebrows, the center of superconsciousness. Then withdraw a little into yourself and try to feel in your heart what the right solution is.

Let that calm, inner feeling be your guide. Otherwise all the reasoning in the world can lead you astray, no matter how right it looks. The heart and intellect need to work together. You will be surprised at how easily you can do this once you have the practice, and how much better everything flows.

Open yourself inwardly in meditation
But the other side of this is meditation. We must go deeper and deeper in meditation, because it is there, really, that we come into contact with the superconscious. The more you open yourself inwardly in meditation, the stronger that ray will be on all levels of life.

Years ago, when I was busy building Ananda, I was going through a time of great trial, giving classes in city after city, and putting out as much energy as possible just to stay afloat. The only person helping me was my secretary who answered letters, sent out book orders, and helped set up talks and advertising. One day she decided it was just too much, found another job, and quit without notice.

I felt so hurt that a friend of mine would betray me like this. I had all the tools to reason my way out of it, but my feelings kept getting in the way. I would tell myself, “Well, it’s all a dream,” but it just didn’t work. My mind was going more and more into a tailspin. So I said, “O.K, my rational mind isn’t capable of getting out of it. Let me meditate.”

I meditated and when I became very calm, I asked God to come to me. Suddenly I felt this great peace and love come over me. When I felt that presence very strongly, I said, “God, I have this problem, but I don’t want to think about it anymore. You just show me how I should feel.”

You think in a different way
All of a sudden, a wave of understanding came upon me, and I saw the situation in a completely different light. Suddenly I was concerned for her because she was a friend who had made a mistake.

I was so concerned for her that I no longer thought about myself. I even went and visited her. I discovered that she was ill in bed, and I did what I could to make her feel better.

That may seem like a preposterous way to behave when she was the one who left without notice, but God can give us these superconscious attitudes that make everything look different.

When you’re in tune with the Divine, you think in a completely different way. You look for the hardest jobs, not the easiest; you look for what you can give away, not what you can get; you look for how you can help people, not how they can help you. You don’t think in terms of, “What am I receiving?”  but, “What can I do to please you more, God?”

A deep memory
You will only be happy if you live, day by day, the realities of the superconscious level of your own existence. We carry within us the deep memory of where we came from in God. It’s a quiet voice in the background, hardly to be noticed. By living in tune with it, we become that.

Excerpted from Intuition for Starters and The Light of Superconsciousness, Crystal Clarity Publishers, and from the following recordings: “Right Attitude, The Basis of the Spiritual Life”; “Tools of Superconscious Living”; and “Good Friday.”  To order a CD or MP3 of these talks, click here or call Treasures Along the Path (530) 478 7656

Resources:
To view Swami Kriyananda’s recent talk on meditation, click here
One meditation expert called it “the best short talk on meditation” she’s ever heard.

For information on Swami Kriyananda’s book, Awaken to Superconsciousness, click here

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Seemingly a daunting task
At the start of my spiritual search, I defined the spiritual path primarily as meditation. I was fortunate to have a very regular daily meditation habit from the beginning. While not always deep, I would tell myself, “At least I’m moving in the right direction, toward the true goal of life.”

It wasn’t until I had been meditating some years, and became involved with Ananda, that it finally dawned on me that success on the spiritual path was not just about meditation. It was a fulltime job that demanded a complete change in thought patterns. I was being asked to look at every moment of every day and to bring God into it, and I was supposed to do this while trying to deal with all the demands of daily life.

This was a daunting task. Even though I grasped it intellectually, my habit of using the rational mind to influence and direct my life was deeply ingrained and much stronger than my attempts to practice God’s presence. Often my daily life went on just as before.

A gradual shift
Once I committed to the spiritual path, God and Guru introduced circumstances into my life that pushed me in the direction I needed to grow.  First marriage and later, a baby, brought new challenges.

More recently I have been asked to serve in positions that require me to work closely with many diverse people, and I get pushed out of my comfort zone more often. As challenges arise, I remember more often to ask Divine Mother in the moment, “What would you do?” and to pray for guidance about specific situations and people.

Nonetheless, I can still get swept away in the busy details of life. I may have a nice morning meditation but then, boom! Here comes daily life.  After a couple of hours of responding to emails, answering the phone, dealing with the crisis of the day, I might remember, “Oh yeah, think about God and Guru.” Then the phone rings again and off I go.

The day will go by, and I will sit to meditate at night and realize that I had not called on God or Guru during the day. I remember more often than I used to, but not as much as I aspire to.

I’ve begun to realize that it’s mainly during moments of adversity that I remember to focus and draw on God’s presence, ask for guidance, or do japa. I’ve come to see how valuable the difficult times are, and how we can embrace adversity as an impetus to remember to practice God’s presence.

So I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned about turning emotional upsets into opportunities to call on God.

A four-step process

Recognize the upset
The first step is to recognize when I am off center. Most of us are really good at recognizing emotional agitation in others but less so in ourselves. In the midst of the upset, we usually see the problem as “out there;” something’s wrong with the world, with another person, not with us. But Yogananda teaches that events are neutral; it’s our reactions that cause us to suffer.

How do we recognize the agitation? It might be an unsettled feeling centered in the heart. It might be thoughts that keep coming when we’re trying to accomplish a task or sit to meditate: “Why did he do that to me?” “Why did they say that to me?” “I don’t want to feel this way.”

Some people live so embroiled in negative emotions—anger, worry, fear, hatred, jealousy, grief, pride, resentment— that an agitated consciousness seems normal. Fortunately, devotees have a meditation practice. The more we meditate, the more we begin to live in that calm inner center. When emotional agitation pulls us out of it, we recognize the need to do something to regain our inner calm.

Step back/disengage
After recognizing the agitation, do whatever you need to do to get out of the emotional whirlpool. Choose a technique: Do deep breathing. Silently chant “Aum Guru” or some other mantra. Focus at the spiritual eye and pray for calmness. Look at a photo of the Guru, especially the Guru’s eyes.

If possible, change your environment so that you’re disengaged from the outer stimulus that pushed you over the edge in the first place.

Separate yourself from the person or persons who upset you. Unplug from the media so you’re not reminded of the economic stresses that worry you, or the undefined fears of disaster that haunt your subconscious. Remove yourself from the surroundings that remind you of the loss of a pet or loved one.

I have found that the calming techniques are usually more effective if I can get a little space from what upset me in the first place.

Redirect the energy
One of the problems I experienced in trying to draw on God’s presence was that my efforts were plagued by low energy. My mind would get distracted, my prayers would be half-hearted, or I would slip into a subconscious state.

However, when feeling negative emotions, I noticed that even though I was in a negative vortex, my prayers and meditation efforts had much more energy and meaning. Suffering can thus lead to positive spiritual changes once we succeed in redirecting our energy and offering it up to God and Guru.

So when you’re alone, redirect that energy by using it to chant, meditate, and call on God and Guru to help you. When we put more energy into calling on God, He is much more likely to respond.

The initial response is usually a reconnection to interior calmness and joy. But, I have found that it can also take the form of alleviating the outward problem that precipitated the upset in the first place.

Gratitude
And then give thanks that someone or something “pushed your buttons,” and for the last several days you remembered to call to God because you were miserable. Thank God for giving you the opportunity to do that. By remembering how much calling on God helped you, you move closer to living always in His presence.

This approach in action
An example of how this approach can solve a problem in a dramatic way involved our son when he was a year and a half old. He became sick and couldn’t keep any food down. It seemed like a normal sickness, but after two days and he was still throwing up and crying, worry began to set in.

This went on for three more days. By day five we had seen a doctor, followed the instructions, but nothing had changed. Our son was still sick, and hadn’t eaten in four days.

More and more my wife and I were becoming caught in a vortex of negative emotions—fear and also anger because we weren’t getting any sleep. All along we’d been reading books trying to find an answer and asking everyone we knew for advice—but we had not called on God.

Finally, on the fifth day, we woke up and said, “Oh, let’s pray.” So we began praying and offering the situation up to God and Guru. We also put our son’s name on the community’s healing prayer list. Within a few hours Divine Mother sent the answer in the form of a community member who approached my wife and asked, “What’s going on?”

My wife filled her in, and the community member (who was Italian) said, “My son had something like that. Doctors in this country don’t usually recognize the symptoms, but it’s called acetona, and it’s a ketone imbalance. Here’s a homeopathic remedy, which I happen to have, that will take care of it.” My wife gave our son the remedy and within three hours, he was completely back to normal and eating.

But, we had been caught in such a powerful vortex that it had taken us five days to step back and remember to bring God and Guru into our search for a solution. Once we had disengaged enough to call on God, our fervent prayers were quickly answered. We still remember this incident, and are grateful for the lessons it taught us about the power of bringing God into our lives.

Transcending the greatest adversities
My son’s illness was a dramatic example of how adversity can remind us to call on God. Many people have transcended the greatest of adversities by clinging to God.

One instance that I read about recently is Corrie Ten Boom’s story. (The Hiding Place and Tramp for the Lord.) Corrie was a middle-aged woman living in the Netherlands with her older sister and father when the Nazis occupied her country. Hers was a very devout Christian family with a deep inner relationship with Jesus.

For hiding Jews in their house, Corrie and her sister were arrested and sent to a Dutch prison. Later, they were moved to Ravensbrook, a concentration camp deep in Germany, with unbelievably horrendous conditions. In both places Corrie and her sister led secret Bible sessions with other prisoners, prayed for people, and constantly drew on Jesus’ inner presence.

Corrie’s sister died in the concentration camp, but Corrie’s deep connection to God and Jesus gave her the strength to overcome her grief, hatred, and despair. She survived, was released, and later traveled around the world telling people that it was possible to transcend the worst adversities if you pray and call on God and Jesus.

She even went to Germany. Once, after giving a talk on forgiveness, a guard who had been at Ravensbrook walked up to her and extended his hand. He didn’t remember her, but she recognized him: he had been one of the cruelest guards.

She wrote that during those seconds, she wrestled with the most difficult thing she had ever done. She silently prayed, “Jesus help me! I can lift my hand. I can do that much, but you supply the feeling.”

Slowly she raised her hand and gave it to this man. At that moment, she was flooded with the most incredible love and joy. She wrote, “I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did in that moment.”

We have to learn our lessons
Life is a school and we can’t really drop out—we have to learn our lessons. The good news is that the masters promise that God will never give us a test we’re not capable of passing.

So remember to embrace the adversities that come. When we’ve made practicing the presence of God a more dynamic part of our spiritual life, we find that we don’t wait five days after adversity strikes to call on Him. It becomes second nature because we’re always involving Him in our lives.

Peter and his wife Marga are Lightbearers who have lived at Ananda Village since 1992. He has served as manager of the Meditation Retreat and the Expanding Light guest retreat, and currently is village manager in charge of planning and day-to-day operations of the community.

Resources:
To read, “Our Greatest Work in Life” by Swami Kriyananda, click here

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

This book represents a complete revision of a former book of mine, DO It NOW!  Today, fourteen years later, I offer this revised version both because of  my continued enthusiasm for the book, and out of my continued growth in the insights it expresses.

Feb. 7. Never lend money unless you can feel, in your heart, that you are giving the money away. This practice will spare you much grief. For as Shakespeare said (through Polonius in Hamlet), “Loan oft loseth both itself and friend.” Tell God that you place the money in His hands. He will then see to it that you will not lack. Be sensible in your lending, however. Make sure you are helping someone whose need is real. I’ve often pondered movie actors who carelessly gave away vast sums of the money they were earning, but years later died in penury.

June 10. Honor your commitments, even those you make to yourself. If you’ve told someone, “I’ll go out and buy a newspaper today,” and the news you wanted then reaches you by some other means, go out and buy the paper anyway. Do so purely to maintain your promise—to him, and to yourself. For you should view even casual commitments in the light of promises. To do so will give you such a power of truth that your mere word will have materializing power.

July 5. My bottom line for many years has been, not money or profit, but inner peace. I’ve refused to allow anything to stress me to the point of stealing away that treasure. It is better, I’ve felt—and experience has borne me out—to leave undone even important things, if attention to them might undermine my peace. For without peace, one is all too prone to error. From inner peace, moreover, come enlightened decisions. People’s expectations of me can never equal what is expected of me by God.

July 16. Is there any subject on which you feel sensitive? If so, decide, “I will change myself.” A sore spot on the body tells us something is wrong there. When people “rub you the wrong way,” see what is wrong in you, that you’ve been made to flinch.

July 25. Why is there so much violence in the world? Surely it is that people are disharmonious in themselves. Today’s terrorists imagine they’ll improve the world by making it over in their own image. Were they ever to succeed in destroying everyone who disagreed with them, they’d only turn their energies to butchering one another. Ultimately, the only way for the world to know peace is for people everywhere to seek it within themselves.

July 27. Never resort to self-justification. If people are interested in hearing your explanation, state the facts simply and impersonally, but never descend to the embarrassment of self-defense.

Aug. 23. Live as much as possible at the center between every duality. Everything is dual; that is how the one Spirit manifested its Creation. Every up is balanced by a down; light is always balanced by darkness; pleasure, by pain; emotional love, by hatred. I say “emotional love,” because there is no opposite to divine love. Nor is there a balancing opposite to divine joy. Eternal truths lie at the center between all opposites. Therefore I say, live more at that center: in the heart center, or chakra, of your own spine.

*From the Forthcoming book, Do It Well, (a completely revised version of Do It Now), Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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Master and disciples woke with the dawn, spreading their prayers with the sun rays and subsisting on jungle fruits and roots. They slept beneath the Nature-hewn caves on the lower spur of the forest-hills.

Disciple Rama had renounced the sophisticated environment of his parental manor and had joined the jungle hermitage in order to live its very simple life. As time went by, however, Rama began to display his usual over-critical spirit and started finding fault with the simple disciplinary duties of the hermitage.

His Master had warned him not to go to extremes, but nonetheless, one day Rama said to his Master:

“Honored sir, I find I have left one family only to get into another, larger family here. I used to perform duties at home and here I have to do the same thing. At home we ate and worried about food and cleanliness, and I see that we do the same thing here.

“Master, I am fed up with the material duties of your hermitage, which are nothing but substitutes for the worldly duties I performed at home. I want to get away from all materiality and live in solitude by myself in the temple of contemplation.”

The Master answered warningly: “Son, you may go, but beware that you don’t get enmeshed in delusion by living surrounded only by your own erroneous thoughts. You may escape the good people of the hermitage, who are far better than worldly people, but it will be very difficult for you to fly from your own restless thoughts, which may lead you astray.”

Rama paid no heed to the entreaties of his Master and fellow-disciples and sallied forth in search of a solitary spot. To be free from all encumbrances, Rama left behind all the simple belongings of his hermitage-life, taking with him only two pieces of rag to serve as loincloths, and a begging bowl for water.

At last Rama found a very quiet place on the top of a hill at the outskirts of the jungle and the local village. His home was now a hollow rocky ledge under a huge shade tree. The first night passed in peace, though he was lulled to sleep by the howling of jackals, coyotes, and jungle tigers.

When dawn arrived, the young anchorite, Rama, was dismayed to see that a mouse had made a few small holes in the second piece of rag, which he had hung on a tree branch. That silent thief–a nocturnal monkey–had stolen his begging bowl.

Rama thought: “Heavenly Father, I left all for You and now You have taken my bowl and sent a mouse to make holes in my very last possession — the piece of rag.”

At this moment a villager was passing by the rock, and having caught sight of the young anchorite, halted to pay him respect. Seeing that he was worried, he inquired: “Honored Saint, prithee tell me what is worrying you?”

On hearing about the rag, the villager advised, “Your Holiness, why don’t you keep a cat to frighten away the mice?”

“That is a marvelous idea, but where will I get a cat,” remarked Rama anxiously. “Well, that can easily be fixed, for I will bring you a cat tomorrow,” replied the villager.

The next day Rama added to his possessions a fuzzy Persian cat. This solved the problem of the rag, for the mice knew better than to hazard death for a tiny bit of rag.

Every day, with a newly acquired begging bowl, Rama would go to the village to fetch milk for his cat. A year went by and the villagers ungrudgingly supplied free milk for Rama and his cat. Then one day, the village elder said to Rama as he begged for milk, “Holy Rama, we are tired of supplying you with milk.”

“But how is my cat going to live?” retorted Rama. “Why don’t you keep a cow?” replied the village elder. “How can I get one?” asked Rama. “I will give you one right now,” was the village elder’s happy answer.

Rama, beside himself with joy, returned to his sylvan home with a cow. Now Rama, the cat, and the cow formed a nice family, cheering one another in mutual language of affection. This cow, which was known as the “Saint’s Cow,” would roam about, marauding the paddy fields of the villagers for food, causing them extreme anguish.

Another year passed, and finally one day the villagers came in a group and complained about the ravages wrought by the “Saint’s Cow.”

“Well, how am I going to feed my cow?” asked Rama. “Why don’t you have your own land? We will give you a twenty-five acre piece of land,” the villagers said.

Rama was delighted with this. He gathered together the children of the village and, exhorting them in the name of God, had them build a cottage-hermitage, till his soil, feed his cat and cow, and, in short, do all the hard work required on his farm, for no pay.

The villagers mutely tolerated these saintly privileges for two whole years until they found that they could not get their children to perform their own duties at home. In a body they went to Rama and complained.

“Your Holiness, we shall have to stop loaning you our children to do the work on your farm. Our own farms remain neglected without the help of our children.”

“Well, how am I going to manage my farm without the help of your children?” asked Rama.

“Why don’t you get a mate and raise your own children? Any of us will be happy to give you a marriageable daughter. It will be an honor, for you will be a wonderful spiritual husband,” cried the villagers in unison.

“That is a brilliant idea,” cried Rama.

In a month Rama was getting ready to be married, when his Master, alerted by intuition, came to the rescue. The Master, on meeting Rama, said, “I thought you left the hermitage to get rid of material duties, and now I see you have a cat, a cow, land, home, and I hear that you are going to get married. What is the matter with you?”

“Well, Master,” cried Rama, “This is all for a rag. I got the cat to save my rag, and took the cow to feed my cat, and accepted the land to supply my cow with fodder, and now I have planned to marry to have children to work on my farm because the villagers refused to lend me their children.”

After Master and disciple had indulged in a hearty laugh, Rama left his newly acquired family and farmhouse and returned to live under the benign wisdom-saturated influence of the jungle hermitage.

*******       *******       *******

This story illustrates that if you leave the world for God, see that you also  forsake worldly thoughts from within. Otherwise, wherever you go, your worldliness will go with you, attracting to you a worldly environment.

Live simply if you are a renunciate. Do not complicate a boiled-down material existence and entangle yourself in material things, gathered in the name of spiritual necessity.

This story illustrates also that one must never go to extremes in the spiritual life, but by gradual steps, conquer the sense-inclined mind.

Finally, this story shows that no one should live without performing some material duties. But it is better to perform material duties in the company of wisdom-guided people than among materially-minded relatives, or in the company of one’s own habit-governed mind.

From the Praecepta Lessons, Vol. 3, 68-70, 1938.

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In this letter Swami Kriyananda responds to the question: What exactly do we mean by saying we have been given free will? If all actions are done by God, how are we free?

Dear ___________

I’ll be glad to try to answer your questions.

First, soul freedom is a reality, but it must be understood on a deeper level than that of the ego.

Freedom, to begin with, is true only of the soul. Limitation of all kinds is the meaning of bondage, and ego-consciousness is the greatest limitation of all, from which all others proceed. Ego makes us think we have a separate, individual reality.

As waves on the sea appear individual, yet have no lasting reality except as manifestations of that one great body of water, so we ourselves, in ego-consciousness, rise and fall, wavelike, on the ocean of God’s consciousness, success followed by failure, happiness followed by sorrow, fulfillment followed by frustration, ever subject to the contrasting states of duality. Our separateness from the ocean, however, and even from one another is a mere appearance. Man may be described as simply a bundle of self-definitions.

Paramhansa Yogananda described divine consciousness as “center everywhere, circumference nowhere.” Man’s limited existence is the “circumference” formed by his egoic self-definitions. When those limiting self-definitions are removed or dissolved, nothing remains to prevent his consciousness from merging into and becoming one with God. In that stage it is not that we lose all identity; rather, we expand our identity to infinity.

Being omniscient, it must be added that we retain the memory of having been, each one of us, a separate ego. In this way, Yogananda explained, nothing is lost in the Infinite—not even the ego. We can revive that memory of individual existence again, if ever the Divine wills that we return to earth to uplift and save other wandering souls.

Man cannot be free in ego-consciousness, except in the sense that his soul-consciousness within him can impel him to direct his energies and aspirations toward God, or toward maya. Everything man does in his egoic state is conditioned by his own past actions, and by the countless outside influences to which he is subject. For man is integrally a part of the great Web of Existence. Egoic individuality is an illusion.

Man has only this much freedom: his soul, being a part of God, is not separate from Infinity. Thus, 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. Since karma and worldly influences prevent him from expressing that freedom, it must be added that man is free also to the extent that he can free his mind from all habits and separative samskars.

In other words, if he is self-controlled he has greater freedom than someone who is completely bound by habits. Good qualities, which are the attributes of Sattwa guna, cannot in themselves bring release from ego. All qualities, however noble, being born of ego-consciousness, conceal the inner soul. The Gita tells us they hide it as smoke hides a fire: A little puff of wind, and the fire becomes fully visible.

Sattwa guna is like a thin veil covering soul-consciousness and concealing it. A little meditative effort is all that is needed in order to blow away the last delusions of egoic separateness.

The darkening qualities of Tamo guna, on the other hand, form a thick covering which conceals the soul within them as if in deep darkness. The Gita compares Tamo guna to an embryo in the womb: Time alone will enable the embryo to emerge into the clear light of day.

God does indeed do everything, but He also created delusion, and operates through the three gunas to bring about His cosmic magic show. We cannot operate through the ego without becoming intrinsic parts of the cosmic illusion. Hence, in our egos we are free only to the extent that we turn back, even with great effort, toward God. Only as we shed ego-consciousness can we reclaim our divine freedom, which means becoming one with God again.

I hope this answer proves helpful.

In divine friendship,

Swami Kriyananda

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My lot is small, and my life’s season is short, yet now I would produce a mighty harvest. I will expand my kingdom of will power. To do so, I must conquer new states of consciousness, enlarge my achievements, and outgrow, in consciousness, every limiting horizon.

But, O Father Divine, there are billions of my hungry thought-families and their little ones to feed! And, for them, I need a big harvest during this short season of my earth-life.

The irrigating waters of my craving many times grew dry, while my soil of inner culture was left undeveloped. Now I will work all the harder, using the machinery of scientific technique in my search for Thee.

O Divine Sower, with Thine unseen hand throw Thy living seeds of inspiration into the cultivated furrows of my awakened resolution.

In this short, remaining season of my earthly life let me reap the largest harvest of all: Thy cosmic vision!

* Full title: “May I Reap the Greatest Harvest in the Short Season of this Earth Life,” from Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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Our Guru seldom praised me for my labor. But he did, sometimes, praise me for my devotion. For he was more anxious that we work to develop and perfect ourselves in this heavenly quality than that we do tremendous outward labor, but in forgetfulness of God. The chief purpose of his mission was to teach us, and all people, an inner, divine productivity.

I knew Master three and a half years. And if there is one point that stands out in my throng of sweet memories, it is the fact that what pleased him always, above everything else, was devotion, and a constant inward remembrance of God. Good work without devotion might have impressed him, but it never thrilled his heart.

How many weep for the Divine Mother as Master wept when he was a boy? Our greatest work in life should be to express that divine yearning, that love. When we can reflect it, we shall be able to work ten times as hard, and a hundred times as effectively, as we do when we draw only on our own scanty powers. When we think of the Lord first, our hearts sing for joy and all our work goes easily.

We must discipline the mind! Divine Mother has given us a project more urgent than the printing of any book, and that is to learn to live constantly in the consciousness of Her. Her deadline of death is more important, and less alterable, than any publishing date.

Our work should be a conscious, loving service to the Lord. It should be a devotional offering to Him.

*Excerpted from Letters to Truth Seekers, copyrighted 1973 (Currently out-of-print).

Who among these, then, was the more truly wealthy? It isn’t merely a matter of how much you have, but rather of how well you know how to use what you have. Wealth cannot be equated with some fixed quantity. If one is wealthy in his mind, or in his spirit, he may require very few material possessions to be perfectly satisfied with life. If, on the other hand, one considers himself wealthy only for his material riches, he may be convinced he is poor even if he has fifty million dollars, perhaps only because some former classmate of his has ninety million.

Wealth is the consciousness of abundance. And poverty is the consciousness of lack. Wealth and poverty are both states of mind. You are as rich, or as poor, as you believe yourself to be.

Essential to my theme in this book is the importance of the right mental attitude, not only for defining the parameters of happiness intelligently, but also for attracting wealth in the first place.

The purpose of this book is to help you to attract money in such a way as not to make it a burden on your peace of mind, but a doorway, rather, to genuine opportunity. It is to help you to learn how to use money wisely, in such a way as to acquire the greatest possible benefits for yourself and for others.

*Excerpted from Money Magnetism by Swami Kriyananda

Resource:
To view Crystal Clarity Publishers’ “Leadership & Money” section, click here

He was no misanthrope, shunning the society of men because they displeased him. He loved people, and endeared himself to them by his kindness, his wit, his ability to inspire them. But he wanted God, and he knew that to find the Supreme One he would have to be one-pointed in his inner search.

After coming to the hermitage of his guru, Sri Yukteswar, he became if possible more in earnest than ever. Other disciples talked instead of meditating. Yogananda spent many hours in solitary communion.

Other disciples forgot God, whether they worked or loafed. Yogananda kept his mind all day long focused at the Christ center, mentally talking to Divine Mother. Wherever he went, in his heart there was a never-ending song of divine love.

He had been sent to earth charged with a tremendous mission. Lesser teachers would have bowed under the mere thought of the responsibilities involved. Lesser teachers would have destroyed their health and their peace of mind worrying, struggling frantically to get everything done. They would have consumed themselves with a sense of their own importance.

But Yogananda never forgot for an instant that the real Doer was God. He was only an instrument. God’s was the hand that guided that instrument. Inwardly, he was always free and at peace.

When organizational responsibilities threatened to take his mind from the Divine Mother, he never said, “Well, I will do this work first; it is more important. Later I shall think of God.” “No work is possible,” he wrote, “without the power to perform it borrowed from Thee.”

He would put everything aside to chant or meditate until his mind was firmly rooted in God. Only then would he return to his work. That is how he was able to accomplish such tremendous things in his life. He never acted from ego-consciousness.

Man’s power is limited, but God’s is without limitation. And always Yogananda’s prayer was, “Lord, guide and strengthen me, for without Thy help I can do nothing.”

*Excerpted from Letters to Truth Seekers, copyrighted 1973. (Currently out-of-print)

Preparation time: 10 minutes Serves: 5
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Sauté for 5 minutes:

¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

Add and sauté until slightly soft:

6 zucchini, cut into rounds

Add:

2 tablespoons tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 pinch black pepper

Serve warm or cold.
(From Global Kitchen, Crystal Clarity Publishers)

2. Tomato Basil Salad
A cooling salad for a festive or everyday meal.

Preparation time: 25 minutes Serves: 6

Place in a bowl:

3 large tomatoes, cut into crescents
6 mushrooms, cut into 1/8 inch slices
¼ cup olives, sliced
1/3 cup artichoke hearts,* quartered
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

In a small bowl, mix dressing:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 pinches dried mustard

Pour dressing over vegetables and toss. Add, to taste:

½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Serving idea: Good with Bulgur Garbanzo Salad.
*Use artichoke hearts packed in water, not vinegar.

(From Global Kitchen, Crystal Clarity Publishers)

3. Mexican Salad
A meal in itself

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time for rice: 45 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes

Sauté for 5 minutes in medium skillet:

1½ tablespoons butter
1½ cups cooked rice
scant ½  teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon coriander
scant ½  teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika

Allow to cool. In a large bowl, mix the above with:

1½ cups cooked kidney beans  (canned work fine)
1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
¼-½ cup minced yellow or red onions
one 4-ounce can diced Ortega chilies
one 3½-5-ounce can pitted black olives, sliced

Then add:

3 tomatoes, diced
1/3 pound cheddar cheese, cut into small pieces

Top with:

¼ pound corn chips, broken into bite-size pieces

Chill and serve with Ranch Dressing, This salad goes well with corn bread

(From Simply Vegetarian! Crystal Clarity Publishers)

4. Seasoned Spinach Salad
Simple but delicious.

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes Serves: 4
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Thaw and drain water from:

1 pound frozen spinach

Sauté in a skillet for 5 minutes:

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and whole
thawed spinach

Cover and let simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Discard garlic cloves. Place spinach in a serving dish and add:

½ cup black olives, sliced

Serve warm.

Variations:
Add ½ cup pine nuts to sautéed spinach. You can also mix this salad with cooked basmati rice.

(From Global Kitchen, Crystal Clarity Publishers)

All the wealth of this earth
All the riches of the universe
Belong to Thee, belong to Thee.

I am Thy child.
The wealth of earth and universe
Belongs to me, belongs to me,
O belongs to me, belongs to me.

I lived in thoughts of poverty
And wrongly fancied I was poor
So I was poor.

Now I am home and Thy consciousness
Has made me wealthy, made me rich.
I am success, I am rich.

Thou art my treasure, I am rich, I am rich.
Thou art everything, Thou art everything.
Thou art mine.
I have everything, I have everything.
I am wealthy, I am rich.

I have everything, I have everything
I possess all and everything
Even as Thou dost, even as Thou dost.
I possess everything, I possess everything.

Thou art my wealth.
I have everything.

From Scientific Healing Affirmations, 1924 edition.

1. Blocks distracting odors
Often, during meditation, the nearby odors from such things as car exhausts, food cooking, cigarette smoke, or even upholstery in the room where one sits can be distracting to the mind, and indeed may also awaken mental associations that have nothing in common with the mood of inner upliftment.

The gentle, pervasive scent of incense can help to block that often-bewildering diversity of smells, smoothing them out into a single, prolonged, and continuous sensation that itself, especially with repeated association, becomes uplifting. Gradually that one, over-all scent becomes an aid, not a distraction, in directing the mind one-pointedly toward contemplating higher realities.

2. Creates an uplifted mood
A second benefit from incense pertains to the sense of smell itself, which is said to be the most memory-stimulating of the five senses. How often does the smell of something become immediately associated in our minds with some memory—perhaps from years ago, perhaps even from our early childhood.

The regular use of incense during devotional and meditative practices gradually causes an association of that scent with those practices. Thus, the scent helps one to return more instantly, without effort, to an uplifted mood.

3. Helps to focus the mind
The third benefit is more particular. During the yoga practice of watching the breath, the best place to concentrate on the flow of breath is the point where it enters the body. I don’t mean the nostrils, but rather where the breath enters the head. This point is, of course, quite close to the point between the eyebrows, the Christ center recommended in yoga teachings as the best point at which to focus one’s concentration.

An awareness of the scent of incense at that point, and the association of the scent itself with devotional upliftment, help one to keep the mind focused on the breath entering and leaving the body.

Excerpted from a longer article in Religion and the New Age, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To read the full article, click here

You don’t have to be a slave to your bad karma. It was energy you put out in the past that created that karma, and if you put out the necessary energy now, you can get rid of it. Every hardship you meet with the right attitude and energy makes you stronger and helps to rid you of some of that karmic burden.

Accepting what is
There are two things we can do to get through life’s difficult periods. We must learn to accept the difficulties and also to overcome them—and we must learn to do both.

When I say that we must learn to accept the difficulties I’m not saying that if the world treats you badly, you should get a hangdog expression and wait to be kicked again. You don’t have to do that, but you don’t have to fight back either.

Success depends to a great extent on one’s willingness to accept reality as it is: as something to be faced if you don’t have the ability to control it. When you accept reality as it is, your energy becomes positive and that positive mental attitude, if directed wisely, will help you transform failure into success.

The real source of success
When I speak of success, I mean the kind of success you attain by sheer hard work. There’s success that comes to you on a platter due to past good karma, but if you just passively ride that wave, you’re not making progress. The energy you put out is the real source of your success.

I knew a group of people who were starting a company and kept talking about all the millions they would make. But I could see that they weren’t putting out the energy necessary to get those millions, and the business never did get off the ground.

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. So don’t worry about the obstacles you’re facing. See them simply as things to overcome. If you put out the necessary energy, the results will take care of themselves.

Focused, solution-conscious energy
Success at anything depends upon concentrated energy. One-pointed concentration, if directed with will power and energy, generates a magnetic field that can attract success.

So, do everything with keen interest. People who work with only half their mind focused on their task never really succeed.

Equally important is solution consciousness. Don’t mix with people who only see the obstacles, but with those who find solutions and succeed in their efforts. At Ananda, when I see people with problem consciousness, I keep them at a distance. I don’t mean to be unfriendly to anyone, but low energy people can pull you down with their failure consciousness.

The solutions to our challenges are in the ether. When you’re solution conscious, you put out the kind of magnetism that attracts success, and a higher force begins working in your life. You’ll be amazed how often answers come to you, sometimes out of the blue.

Similarly, when you become deeply concentrated, as in meditation, you reach a superconscious level of awareness, and at that level, God can work through you.
By becoming open to His inspiration, you can accomplish things well beyond your self-perceived abilities.

People are really seeking happiness
What we’re really looking for when we think of success is happiness. Many people think, “When I have money, I’ll be happy.” The truth is that people with a great deal of money are often among the most miserable.

Nor does human love bring you happiness. That, perhaps, is the greatest delusion of all. Everybody wants a mate and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing in itself, but it’s such a compromise with what the heart really wants. We’re looking for perfection of love, and we won’t find it in another person. In fact, you won’t find fulfillment in anything unless you have it in yourself.

The success you’re looking for doesn’t depend on anything external; it depends on your attitudes and inner self. The more you can share whatever life gives you with others, the more you will find the kind of success you’re really looking for—which is happiness.

Seek the best for everyone
I was in Sicily a few years ago, and I went into a shop to buy a hat to protect me from the sun. I don’t usually wear hats so I asked the woman there, “Which hat do your customers like best?” She said, “They pay me and they leave. I have no more interest in them.”

I said, “Here you are, wasting eight hours a day just thinking of how much money you’re going to get, and not seeing these people as an opportunity to make friends? You’re not finding happiness in your work because you’re not thinking of how to make other people happy. What is the use of living like that?” I left, and I didn’t buy a hat.

The next year I was again in that town. I happened to be walking past this woman’s shop, and she was outside. She came up to me with tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you. You taught me a very good lesson.” She was weeping because it was so important to her to have understood that simple principle.

When a person seeks the best for everyone, actively and generously, his chances of finding happiness are great. This is why Jesus Christ said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” When you give, you feel more bliss because you’re expanding beyond the little ego.

Leveling out the duality
The world has a million ways of involving you. The more you get caught up in the outward expression of life, the more you will have to deal with the duality of it. Every success will be balanced by a failure, every victory by a defeat.

But the more you can remain even-minded and cheerful at all times, the more you can level out the duality and achieve the kind of success that is worthwhile. It depends entirely upon your courage and equanimity, especially your refusal to be upset when things don’t go well.

When William the Conqueror landed in England, the first thing he did was fall in the sand, and a gasp of horror went through his entire army. They were thinking, “Oh, what a bad omen. We’ve come to conquer a country and the first thing our leader does is fall down flat on his hands and knees.”

But William was a man of extraordinary courage. He said, “I am so determined to grasp this country that I have taken it in both my hands!” And everybody cheered.

If you take everything that comes to you with that kind of attitude, the worst failure can bring success. I’ve had many failures in my life. I’m grateful for them because they’ve helped me to develop the power to find the success I truly want.

Seek success in the Self
How do you develop that power? The more you can live centered in the spine, the less anything will affect you. This is why Kriya Yoga is such an important science. Kriya helps you to get control over the energy in your spine and to raise your energy and consciousness completely toward God, who is beyond the states of duality.

When your mind is settled within, you find that you are always happy because you experience the joy of the soul, to which there is no opposite joy. You are joy. It’s not something you achieve by getting anything.

Hold your consciousness up
Always remember that God is not up in the heavens. He’s part of your own consciousness. The more you open yourself to Him, the more whatever you need— opportunities, inspiration, understanding—will come to you. But if you turn away from Him, even a little, you begin to lose that grace.

You have to hold your consciousness constantly up to Him. If you can do this, you’ll find success in whatever you do, and also the highest kind of success — realizing God’s bliss within.

From a July 26, 2008 talk in Los Angeles and Material Success through Yoga Principles.

Resources:
How to Be a Success by Paramhansa Yogananda

Many people saw Jesus display miraculous powers, but failed to perceive his spiritual greatness. They were so enamored of the material delusion that they could not intuitively perceive the truth of his existence.

“O thou of little faith”
Doubt is a common obstacle on the spiritual path. Even Peter, Christ’s leading disciple, succumbed to doubt.

Peter, by the power of faith, had become attuned to the Divine and free enough from the material dream of matter to be able to walk on water. When he saw Jesus walking across the lake toward the boat carrying him and the other disciples, Peter, at Jesus’ request, left the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

But when the wind grew strong, Peter became afraid and started to sink. He cried, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus caught him and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” *

By “faith,” Jesus did not mean mere mental belief, but the deep intuitive realization of the body’s immaterial nature that comes through meditation. Only by the unshakable conviction that God is the sole reality can one permanently transcend the consciousness that matter is real and the habit of doubt. Then the body can walk on water or fly in the air, at will.

The blind alley of curiosity
Devotees who are trying to contact God through meditation often fall into doubt from spiritual curiosity.

I would find great joy in contacting God by meditation, then suddenly my mind would become very curious and ask: “If you know and feel God, why not ask Him what happened to Jesus, Shakespeare, Krishna, and other great human luminaries, or your own relatives of the earth?” When God would not immediately respond to my questions, I would become a “Doubting Thomas,” losing the joyous contact of God in meditation.

Beware of the dangers of spiritual curiosity. Many devotees would have found God and understood all the mysteries in the cosmos had they not strayed into the blind alleys of spiritual curiosity. The only way to know the beginning and end of all beings is to contact God in meditation.

Pitfalls of the mind
Don’t depend too much on your reasoning faculty. Wisdom can’t be achieved through reason and intellectualizing the truth. With too much reasoning comes hesitation, confusion, and doubt. In the end, you may find that your will power has become so paralyzed that you are incapable of acting at all.

Similarly, the long-continued over-study of all sorts of philosophical principles and treatises, without assimilating and testing them in one’s own life, results in doubt, indifference, and disbelief in all spiritual laws. It not only kills the hunger for truth, it also destroys the power to discriminate between good and bad teaching.

The harvest of wisdom
With God-consciousness comes unlimited powers, but there are few people who steadily develop themselves by meditation and form an unshakable conviction of the all-powerful nature of God.

God does not speak in words. Being a Spirit, He vibrates His consciousness through vibratory sound, which can be heard in meditation by devotees with developed intuition.

When less receptive devotees first hear the cosmic sound in meditation, they are filled with delight by both the sound and its wisdom vibrations. However, as soon as they are tempted by material pleasures or persecuted by tests, they fall away — that is, they cease to meditate.

But there are those devotees who, surrounded by good company and good thoughts, contact the cosmic sound in meditation and patiently continue their meditative efforts until they contact Him more deeply as ecstasy. By contacting God as ecstasy, they reap the harvest of wisdom manifold, far beyond their dreams.

The vast image of God
God made us in His image, and as we meditate more, the image of God becomes predominant. Our tests are only designed to show us that we are Spirit. So never give up. Earth-life is not perfect. It is the arena in which we test our spiritual attainment. We must be able to behold the image of God at all times.

The physical body is a dream, and death is a dream. Every time you are tested, just say, “I am dreaming.” Ultimately nothing can really happen to you. The big fish eats the little fish, and both are dreams.

* Matthew 14:22-31.

Excerpted from East West and Inner Culture Magazines, 1925, 1934-1942; Conversations with Yogananda; and The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita.

Q. Bharat, when did you first realize that nature was important to you?

A. When I was five-years-old. I was in my backyard and looking intently upward into a thick fog when all of a sudden, bursting through a gap in the fog, came a flock of pearl-white snow geese. It seemed as if the sky had given birth to them. Seeing the snow geese thrilled me deeply, and ever since I’ve wanted to immerse myself in nature.

By the time I was twelve, I was waking up at dawn to run through the wildlands near my home. I took such delight in everything I saw that I often ran right through the ponds and marshes.

Q. When did you know that your career path lay in doing something connected with nature?

It was when I was a student at Chico State University and majoring in international relations. In one of my courses I read a statement by a 19th century European leader who said, “I don’t want war, but I want my country to get what it wants.”

This was during the Vietnam War and I, like many others, felt a deep desire to bring peace into the world. But after reading that statement, I realized that the self-interest of people and nations made it very difficult to achieve world peace.

I had been spending many days in the wilderness and feeling at times a joyous sense of stillness and expansion. Recalling these experiences, I thought, “This is real peace. This is something true that I can share with others.”

So I changed my major to Nature Awareness. I was the first student to be accepted into Chico’s special major program, where a student could create a non-traditional degree. I also started a meditation practice to try to experience more regularly the joyous serenity and expansion I often felt in nature.

Q. After you graduated from Chico State, did you find a way to share with people the peace you experienced in nature?

A. By then I knew about experiential nature activities, which I had immediately recognized as a way to imbue nature encounters with a dynamic sense of joy and receptivity. After graduating in 1973, I began developing my own nature activities and sharing them at outdoor schools and camps.

Both children and adults enjoyed them immensely. The activities became very popular among educators and youth leaders, and soon nearly every Boy Scout camp in the western United States was using them.

Q. You later presented many of those activities in your first book, Sharing Nature with Children. What prompted you to write it?

In 1975 I joined Ananda and soon entered the monastery. I was under the impression that monks should not be involved in society, but knowing how much people loved the nature activities,  I decided to write them down for posterity. I thought I was writing the book as a last gift to the world.

Swami Kriyananda, however, had other plans for me. After Sharing Nature with Children was published, he suggested that one of the senior monks begin arranging autograph events to promote the book. It was due to Kriyananda’s encouragement that I began making public appearances.

Q. Sharing Nature with Children has been widely praised as a landmark book. What distinguished it from other nature books?

A. Most nature education books then available engaged only the intellect. I wanted to engage people’s hearts and intuition so they could deeply experience nature. The book was also practical, with easy-to-use activities and inspiring stories that captured people’s imagination.

Paramhansa Yogananda said that rather than explain things to people, we should help them put out the kind of energy that brings them onto the wavelength of what we’re trying to teach. Each nature activity in Sharing Nature with Children is a little discipline that helps children and adults become more sensitively aware of nature and their higher Self.

Q. Why did eight years pass between your first and second book?

A. I was planning to write a sequel to Sharing Nature with Children when Swami Kriyananda asked my wife, Anandi, and me to become leaders of the developing Ananda Palo Alto Center. He said, “The work you’re doing in nature is wonderful, but you’ve come to Ananda to find God and I have to honor that.” So I suspended all of my nature work for the three years we were in Palo Alto.

Kriyananda’s words were really about following God’s will and embracing divine opportunities. Serving in Palo Alto was very helpful to me spiritually and also gave me the understanding and tools to write a much better book. From teaching the meditation classes at the Ananda center, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of stillness and inner receptivity, not only for meditation but also for deeper nature experiences. Through prayer and meditation, I later found ways to apply what I learned in writing my second book, Sharing the Joy of Nature. *

Q. Can you explain how you were able to do that?

A. I created a system called “Flow Learning,” a way of sequencing nature activities to awaken in people a strong flow of energy and open them to an experience of absorption and expansion. An experience of absorption is the key to deeper nature experiences.

The great naturalist, John Muir, would become so absorbed in the natural world that he would lose consciousness of his own separate existence and feel himself merging with the totality of nature. His great love and reverence for life came from his experience of oneness with everything around him.

For Flow Learning to work, I also had to create many new nature activities. I would think of a spiritual principle from Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings, hold it in my mind, and pray: “How can I create a way for people to easily experience this principle?”

“Expanding Circles,” for example, is based on one of Yogananda’s meditations where you expand your sense of self. In this activity, you sit quietly in nature and gradually, in stages, expand your awareness to encompass everything you see.

One woman who did this activity said, “At first I felt like I was composing a picture. After a while I found that I’d stepped inside and become the picture.”

Q. What has been the response to Flow Learning?

A. Very enthusiastic. Our Sharing Nature leader in Brazil gave a workshop based on Flow Learning for Amazon tour guides. They were skeptical at first but after several activities, one person approached her and said with deep emotion, “You are helping me find the forest inside of me! We don’t know the forest in this way!”

In Switzerland, the professors at a teachers’ college were so enthusiastic about Flow Learning that right after my speech, one professor eagerly asked me, “What was life like before Flow Learning!”

Flow learning shows people how to awaken energy and direct it upwards for superconscious inspiration. For most people this is a revelation. Today Flow Learning is widely used by educators and corporate trainers throughout the world.

Q. Have Flow Learning and the new Sharing Nature activities caused people to become more interested in the spiritual life?

A. Yes. Through the experience of absorption, people achieve a deep level of peace and joyful expansion. Often they become interested in forming a meditation practice to cultivate and enhance the feeling they had during the workshop.

Often people are caught up with the mundane realities of life and fail to appreciate life’s underlying unity and harmony. But the understanding that we are a part of something larger than ourselves is Nature’s greatest gift. As people experience their larger reality, they become inspired and their life priorities change.

Q. You have offered sharing Nature programs in countries like Japan, China, Brazil, and Greece — places where the spirituality varies. What is the response of people who are Taoists or Buddhists or follow other spiritual paths?

A. When people experience divine qualities like peace or love, they become deeply appreciative, no matter what their culture or spiritual tradition.

I recently gave an “Inner Nature” workshop at a Zen community in Devon, England, and the leader there told me, “We wanted to include environmental awareness in our programs, but didn’t know how to do it and stay true to our spiritual calling. The Sharing Nature activities are perfect for us.”

Sharing Nature is based on universal principles. In Greece people said the Sharing Nature program was just the way Plato taught, and in Japan they said it was very Japanese.

Q. Sharing Nature has triggered a consciousness revolution based on direct experience through nature activities.  It has changed the consciousness of millions of people and given them the tools to change others. How can someone receive training to lead Sharing Nature programs?

A. In May 2009 I’ll be offering a five-day training and retreat at Ananda’s Expanding Light Guest Retreat. People new to Sharing Nature as well as Sharing Nature leaders from around the world will be attending. The program includes nature meditations, nature activities for children and adults, Flow Learning, and much more. It’s going to be a wonderful week.

* The name was later changed to Sharing Nature with Children, II.

To read the inspiring story of Sharing Nature around the world and to learn more about the upcoming May 2009 Sharing Nature Training & Retreat Week, go to: www.sharingnature.com

Bharat Cornell is a Lightbearer and longtime Ananda member. In addition to his nature activities, he works in the Sangha Office at Ananda Village as Meditation Support Coordinator. His many books on nature awareness include, Listening to Nature.

Our fathers were U.S. Army officers stationed in Germany, and we were on a day outing with a babysitter and our little sisters. When it was time to go home, we thought it was quite cute and funny to hide, and we hid so well they couldn’t find us.

By the time we realized that the babysitter had left, believing we were ahead of her on the path, the tourists were gone, it was dark, and we were lost. I knew we would be in trouble at home, but wandering alone in a gloomy, empty graveyard was more frightening than any punishment I could imagine.

Fear-consciousness: a common habit
I got out of that mess through the kindness of strangers, and as I grew up my fears grew too. I had a pretty normal, middle-class American life and rarely did any of my fears actually materialize. But fear consciousness is a common human habit, so I kept my fears close to my heart and carried them with me.

The Bhagavad Gita promises that even a little practice of meditation frees one from dire fears and colossal sufferings. When I came onto the spiritual path and my life became consciously God-centered, much of my fear consciousness left. There was a feeling of restfulness and calm as I let go of anxiety about myself. But some habits take a lot of energy to shake loose.

The second big fear challenge occurred after I became a wife and mother. Our neighbor’s beautiful 16-year-old daughter died suddenly. It was a shock to everyone who knew her, of course, but particularly difficult for parents. This is the nightmare all parents share. I watched my own children with gratitude mixed with terrible fear. My husband and I also had to deal with their fear – as they faced death for the first time in their young lives.

My sensitivity to the emotions of the neighborhood was acute during this period. It was not long after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There was another young neighbor girl fighting cancer and an adult neighbor who had died recently. I could sense the entire block vibrating with confusion, fear and doubt.

Acting with love
The downward pull of the emotions around me needed to be reversed, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. I knew, however, how Swami Kriyananda responded to challenges: with great energy and will power. So I walked around the block at night and prayed for every household with deep concentration. I visualized every home bathed in light. And I prayed for a way to act.

It came to me that our grieving neighbor loved roses and a few hours of research revealed that there was a species of rose that shared her daughter’s name. My husband and I thought it would be a small, but meaningful gesture to buy the roses for the family. After more research I found that the roses were only available in Canada and could not be shipped across the border.

I was crushed to have the momentum for the lovely idea stopped so soon. But my husband was more solution conscious – he thought we should go to Canada.

As this idea took hold, I could feel my consciousness shifting into a lighter, more positive direction. It was not a small undertaking, packing up three young children and making the arrangements. We contacted friends and neighbors and received enthusiastic support as well as financial donations for the roses. The trip was fun and successful.

We returned with two rose bushes in the car and lighter hearts. The gathering at which we presented the roses was emotional, but full of love. I tried to put our sympathy into words and invited everyone to add their energy by signing the accompanying letter.

Fear loses its grip
The willpower and energy we poured into acting with love helped to shift the consciousness of an entire community. Others responded with gratitude and relief, as they saw a way to express their sympathy in an expansive way. We were not able to lessen the grief suffered by that family, but we were able to show them that love and friendship were still a part of their lives. And fear lost its grip on our hearts.

Now I act quickly in response to fear. As soon as those thoughts creep in, I move the energy upward and out, away from my little self and into loving concern for others. I’ll write a sincere note of gratitude to a friend, or pour energy into a task that is helpful. I don’t want fear thoughts to settle in and get comfortable.

Keeping company with high-minded souls also helps to change fearful thinking. A friend, the director of a charter school in California, told me of meeting with community leaders and educators to discuss the drastically reduced availability of funding.

Fear and pessimism were strong, but she explained how exciting it was to feel the shift in consciousness as they all began to add up the “intellectual capital” they had access to, and the “creative capital” they shared. The atmosphere of fear and loss changed to one of abundance and infinite possibilities.

New hidden layers of fear
I haven’t totally shaken the fear habit, but now I recognize it and act to change it. Recently, I found new hidden layers to my fears when my husband was facing serious health issues. For weeks we had appointments and tests with four different specialists. Every doctor thought the likelihood of cancer was high, and it took awhile to work through the lists of possibilities and find the answer that ruled out cancer.

One day, during all the doctor visits and tests, I realized my breathing had become shallow, my posture was rounded and my arms were frequently folded across my chest. I was trying to protect myself from outcomes I didn’t want.

“It’s not myself I’m fearful for,” my little inner voice said, “it’s just that I’m afraid for him.” But it’s a trick – all of our fears are rooted in fear for ourselves.

I certainly didn’t want to see my husband suffer, but my thoughts were also crowded with concern for myself: “How could I support the family, care for a sick spouse and see to the needs of three children? What if I couldn’t do what was needed? What if I wasn’t strong enough? What if I failed – as a wife, as a mother, as a disciple? If he dies, how will I face life alone? “

So I began to check myself. I would roll my shoulders back, breathe deeply and affirm, “I welcome everything that comes to me as an opportunity for further growth.” * This simple change in posture was enough to open the energy flow and allow more expansive thinking. I focused on my heart and upper body, because that was where I felt the impulse to cave in. I visualized my heart open and strong and felt calmness replacing fear.

The power of prayer and surrender
As I felt calmness return, I was also able to see God’s hand in every place I had previously felt fearful. Solutions and reassurance seemed to flow through every situation.

The teachers I work with stepped in without hesitation whenever I had to be gone. I unexpectedly had the use of my mother’s car to get to appointments. Anonymous gifts appeared that helped make Christmas possible for my family. The doctors were kind and generous about discounting our bills when they found out we were self-employed.

I could feel the prayers of friends and family all around us. Even the weather seemed to be a blessing as winter storms closed down the city and offered my stressed and worried family the opportunity to be home together and feel comforted, just when we needed it the most.

We now know that my husband does not have a life-threatening cancer, but a chronic arthritic condition that is serious, but manageable. We also know the power of prayer and surrender to God’s grace in all things. I was ready to accept whatever the diagnosis brought because it was so clear I wasn’t alone, and I learned that everything we need comes to us when we can welcome whatever God is giving.

Speculation about the future is natural at the turn of a new year, and as world events unfold, the future, ever uncertain, holds frightening possibilities. Above all, I try to offer my life into God’s hands and to live in the realization that there is no place or circumstance outside of God’s love. Every effort I make to know God more completely brings greater joy and freedom from all fear.

*Affirmations for Self-Healing by Swami Kriyananda

Lorna Knox is a founding member of Ananda Portland and teaches at the Ananda Living Wisdom School in Beaverton, OR. She is the author of Scary News and I Came From Joy!, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Economically and in other ways, the world is headed toward that 100-year flood. Companies that have prospered for 100 years are on the brink of bankruptcy. There is a great trembling in the foundations of the things people have looked to for their fundamental security. Paramhansa Yogananda long predicted this would occur because of imbalances in man’s consciousness.

The eternal wanderers
In The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Paramhansa Yogananda describes the streams of consciousness that flow through the world as the “eternal wanderers.” We don’t create these streams of consciousness; we tune into them. And there’s always a balance between light and dark, between the upward pulling energies and the downward pulling energies.

The dark streams of consciousness flowing through the world at this time are basically of three types: a consciousness of conflict, of greed, and of fear. And they are causing enormous problems.

The presence of conflict is obvious. It’s reflected in terrorists who blow up hotels and kill hundreds of people; in conflicts between people of different economic levels; and in the minds and hearts of people throughout the world.

How do we overcome conflict? Not by creating bigger conflicts or by building bigger, smarter bombs to kill more and more terrorists. It simply doesn’t work that way. We don’t overcome conflict by adding more darkness, but by adding light and specifically, by increasing its opposite, harmony.

God, the source of all harmony
Those of us who are part of Ananda are dedicated to living in exactly the way the world needs right now, which is living in harmony, not just with each other but, more importantly, with God, the source of all harmony. Not only can we model that for the world but, by living more consciously that way, we can also bring more of the vibration of harmony into the world.

There is also the stream of greed. Yogananda said that the depression of the 1930s was the result of greed.  If anything, that greed has grown stronger over the many decades since the 1930s. How do you overcome greed? Not by taking but by giving; not by thinking of yourself, but of others.

The problem with conflict, greed, and ultimately fear is that they cause you to turn your energies in upon yourself, and pit you against others: rivals, other countries, and anyone who thinks differently. In the end, such divisive thinking shatters the world into separate fragments.

In fact, it’s the satanic force trying to draw people’s consciousness downward into separation.  And those downward pulling energies whisper to us so-called “solutions.”

Choose the positive solutions
For conflict they whisper: “If only you build bigger armies and smarter bombs, you can eliminate the bad people and end conflict.” With greed they whisper: “If only you can rebuild your stock portfolio, and find a way to make a fortune, you will be secure and happy.”

You’ll read articles that say, “There’s real opportunity out there in this down market. If you get in at the right time with the right stocks, you can become a gazillionaire.” And it’s put in such a way that those who are susceptible begin to think that getting more and more money really is the solution to all their problems. Carefully avoided is the thought that your gain may be someone else’s loss.

So, the solution to greed is not more greed, just as the solution to conflict is not more conflict. Greed contracts the heart. The solution to greed is the awakening and expanding of heart qualities such as kindness, compassion, and caring for other people.

And likewise with fear: The solution to fear is not hunkering down and becoming self-protective. It’s opening our hearts with courage to help others. The heart can’t simultaneously contract in fear and expand in love. So choose love not fear.

Attune to God’s consciousness
Most of all, we have to attune our consciousness to the positive flow of God’s consciousness—to the eternal source of all positive energy. Tuning in to the ray that Yogananda brought into this world, and becoming channels for that energy, will help counteract the dark consciousness afflicting the planet.

In fact, we have a wonderful opportunity at this time, because as the downward force gets stronger, the upward potential also becomes stronger. Yogananda said that during the next great depression, people would be half as wealthy but much more spiritual.

So this year, especially, we need to reach out with positive energy—with love of God and each other, with caring about people who are going through difficult times, and with the desire to spread harmony in the world. And as we put our energy and consciousness on the line, we must understand that we aren’t acting alone. We’re acting as manifestations of a great spiritual potential that is waiting, like lightning, to be released.

Seize this opportunity
How does lightning happen? Tremendous amounts of energy gather in the clouds, ready to be released. First a thin thread of energy goes up from the earth into a cloud; then the lightning bolt follows that thread down to the earth. We’re the little thread of energy reaching up into the positive energy of God’s consciousness, which is waiting to be released as a bolt of light to uplift world consciousness.

If we want to be in tune with God, we must seize this opportunity and be a channel for light. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “May you be born in interesting times.” We’re in a very interesting period right now and, on some level, we’ve all chosen to be here at this time to help the world.

So let’s all of us be channels for light, for love, and for the consciousness that Yogananda has so wonderfully and beautifully given us. That, especially, is the challenge and the blessing that awaits us this year.

From a December 14, 2008 talk at Ananda Village. Jyotish and Devi Novak are Acharyas (spiritual directors) for Ananda Sangha Worldwide. Jyotish is also Acharya for the Ananda Sevaka Order, worldwide.

In The Holy Science Sri Yukteswar describes a recurring cycle of human development called the cycle of the yugas (or ages). He tells us that we are in the ascending half of the cycle, in the second age or Dwapara Yuga. [See chart]

Sri Yukteswar explains that the cycle of the yugas is caused by influences from outside our solar system that affect the consciousness of all mankind. As the yugas advance, mankind increasingly manifests its higher potentials and expresses dharma (divine virtue) more and more completely.

According to Sri Yukteswar, with the start of ascending Dwapara Yuga in 1900, mankind as a whole is developing toward greater dharma. To fully express dharma is to express our highest divine potential.

Today, when many are turning a blind eye to exploitation, inequity, and injustice, it may not seem that the world is actually getting better! However, through the cycle of the yugas and the evolution of dharma, Sri Yukteswar offers a profoundly reassuring vision of where mankind is heading.

Ignorance, passivity, and fatalism
In 500 A.D. at the start of ascending Kali Yuga, mankind as a whole was in a low state and dharma was only one-quarter developed. The intellect of mankind was dull and the average man could only comprehend gross matter, which led to an experience of life lived through and for the senses.

The motivation of the average person was passive acceptance, which expressed itself as a fatalistic acceptance of circumstances, without the will to change, or even the belief that circumstances could be changed. Most people made only simple, basic choices to minimize pain or maximize pleasure.

Human rights as we understand them today did not exist. More often than not people were considered property, either as outright slaves, or virtual slaves, such as serfs, who were tied to the land and subject to the lord of the land. Women were subject to their husbands and fathers. Owners had the power of life and death over their slaves.

Most of the world religions existed during Kali Yuga – Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity. Though exalted in their origins, the common man’s practice of them was very ritualistic. Religions demanded exclusive adherence. Priests insured obedience and rival religions were abhorred.

Higher spiritual knowledge existed, but it was hidden away and protected in convents and monasteries, temples and ashrams. Only a few were able to understand and use inner-directed spiritual practices.

Though Kali Yuga did produce its high-minded poets, philosophers, noble statesmen, and erected beautiful churches, temples and monuments, the experience of the average man was that of passive and ignorant acceptance of simple, hard and basic lives. The oppressive and materialistic mores of the age meant that each person sought primarily to physically survive and maximize the pleasures of the senses.

The transition to Dwapara Yuga
At the twilight of Kali Yuga and the beginning of Dwapara Yuga, people began to awaken to their higher potential. As Sri Yukteswar puts it, people began to have respect for themselves once more. The brutal ways in which man had treated his fellows, gave way to an appreciation of the dignity of man, humanism, and enlightenment.

We see evidence for this in the timing of the Enlightenment (1600A.D-1800A.D.), involving a switch from a reliance on commandments and authority, religious authority especially, to a reliance on reason and science. The intellect of man had awakened and reason had come to the fore. By the start of Dwapara Yuga in 1900, dharma was one-half developed.

The discovery of personal energy
While mankind’s awareness was limited to matter in Kali Yuga, the advent of Dwapara Yuga brought with it the knowledge that energy is the underlying reality of matter. Just as science has now separated the concepts of energy and matter, so also have many people discovered a subtle energy within the physical body, their life force, and with the discovery comes a greater ability to transform themselves.

With this new awareness comes the conviction that a person can, using one’s own energy, affect one’s circumstances and achieve one’s goals. Thus, with the start of Dwapara Yuga, the motivation of man has been to break free of the passive acceptance of the past, to develop self-will, and to try to shape the world to his liking.

The pursuit of happiness
Today, the average citizen in one of the world’s prosperous nations has more wealth, education, and thus more freedom to follow his or her interests, than nearly anyone who lived during Kali Yuga. With their basic needs assured, many are able to make life choices purely for the sake of their individual happiness.

This may well be the single most powerful drive shaping the actions of billions of people around the world today. And people are taking advantage of their freedom to pursue their happiness with dedicated zeal!

Today’s predominant pursuits are: accumulating wealth, property and other objects; experiencing endless variations of sensory and mental experiences; gaining and using personal power; and striving for personal achievement. And people are pursuing personal happiness without much regard to others.

Not a pretty picture
Like watching a child grow up, we may lament some of the “phases” the child must go through on its way to maturity. So, too, the results in this “phase” of ascending Dwapara Yuga are lamentable: self involvement, personal excess, self-destructive behavior, extreme accumulation of wealth at the expense of others, and greed and self-interest untempered by ethical considerations.

Much of Dwapara Yuga, so far, does not paint a pretty picture, and one can sympathize with those who think the world is going to the dogs.

In our society today, however, there are those who seek a more lasting happiness and fulfillment in selfless pursuits, such as serving others or seeking inner joy, born of meditation and inner experience. Currently, such people tend to stand out significantly from mainstream society, precisely because most people tend to follow their self-interests.

Yet, according to Sri Yukteswar, man is developing toward greater dharma. It is as if mankind as a whole is conducting an ongoing experiment in how to find happiness. Like Thomas Edison, who experimented with thousands of different types of filaments for the light bulb before finding the right one, mankind is also experimenting, and through trial and error will eventually learn to seek happiness in ways that give more lasting results.

Two over-arching lessons
Through mankind’s search for outward happiness, and before Dwapara Yuga reaches its end in 4100 A.D., mankind will learn two over-arching lessons:

One – the experience of happiness, the feeling of being happy, is the result of movements of our life force in our bodies.

There is a hypnosis, a mass conviction, that if we can just accumulate enough things— enough money, enough pleasures—we will break through into feeling truly happy. But if things outside ourselves actually possessed the power to make us happy we would stay happy as long as we had those things.

Seeking happiness outside ourselves, more often than not, makes us unhappy. Most things outside ourselves are beyond our control, and the perfect consummation of most of our definitions of happiness never occurs.

The truth is, it’s our inner reaction to things that makes us feel good, because our reaction releases a flow of our own life force in the body. The great news is that mankind’s newly emerging awareness of energy, of life force, is the seed that will grow and eventually bestow the understanding that happiness and well-being are the result of our life force flowing positively and abundantly through our bodies.

Learn to properly direct your life force and you will be able to experience positive feelings at will. Increase the flow of energy and you will experience them even more generously — which brings us to the second overarching lesson of Dwapara Yuga:

The experience of happiness is enhanced through the expansion of one’s awareness and sympathies.

Once people become more aware of their life force, they will discover that to focus only on one’s own happiness contracts the flow of life force. A generosity of spirit, an open-hearted way of dealing with others, an awareness and concern for the welfare of others, a willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of others—these expand the flow of life force.

Even now we recognize this. People honor Mother Teresa not just because of her accomplishments, but because they recognize the wisdom of her life, and they recognize that wisdom through having seen her shining eyes and joyful face. As the lessons of the years are learned, people will eventually take it for granted that the wellbeing of others is as important to their happiness as their own circumstances.

Dharma’s steady advance
Many people alive today already know this simple truth, but for mankind as a whole, alas, it will take centuries to learn. But the ascending yuga’s effect is inexorable.

According to Sri Yukteswar, the minutely changing awareness of mankind, brought about by dharma’s steady advance, can have no other outcome.

Purushottama Selbie has been a minister, teacher, and business and community leader in various Ananda communities for over 30 years. His education in archeology and Eastern and Western philosophy, with a keen interest in ancient history, combines to provide knowledgeable insight into the yugas.

David Steinmetz, a Lightbearer and Ananda Village resident, has worked as both an astronomer and optical engineer. He has been giving lectures and classes on the yuga cycle model of history for more than a decade and presently teaches a course based on that model at the Ananda Institute for Alternative Living.

Resources: Religion in the New Age