http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com Spiritual teachings and practices for every-day living Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:59:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A celebration of joy [audio:chant-of-the-angels.mp3] Currently out of stock http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-choir-angels-joy/ This is certainly not an age when one’s spiritual aspiration should be hidden from others. The influence of worldly delusion is widespread and powerful. This is a time when people need to “stand up and be counted”—a time for active participation in the outer struggle of light against darkness. What is ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-renunciate-god-joy/ The joy of Self-awakening [audio:thy-shining-foot.mp3] Selected from Music To Awaken Superconsciousness, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-peaceful-joy-music/ The joy of defending truth [audio:brave-people.mp3] Selected from Music To Awaken Superconsciousness, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-brave-music/ The joy of infinite self-expansion [audio:vast-sea-joy.mp3] Selected from Music To Awaken Superconsciousness, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-sea-ocean-joy/ The joy of finding life's true purpose [audio:masc-tr-1-awakening.mp3] Selected from Music To Awaken Superconsciousness, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-music-joy-purpose/ The joy of finding God within [audio:i-am-thy-joy.mp3] Selected from Music To Awaken Superconsciousness, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-joy-god-christ/ Swami Kriyananda has recently completed a new book, A Renunciate Order for the New Age, in which he presents a new, universal model of renunciation. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-yogananda-god/ Some people seem to enjoy ill health, due to the fear it puts in the minds of loved ones and the special attention they receive. There is almost a defensive pride in those who constantly warn us: “I can’t do this or that; I have a weak heart.” Often I’m ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/yogananda-cancer-meditation/ From a young age I was very opinionated and often spoke and acted impulsively. If criticized, I would usually respond with anger and counter-attack with a few offensive comments of my own. Having the freedom to express negative reactions was, in my opinion, “fun” and part of being “alive.” One of ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/meditation-prayer-children/ Not long ago I was talking with a man who for years had been a minister in a nationwide Protestant church. I asked him how his church was doing, and very quietly he said, “I don’t understand it, but we’ve been steadily losing members. In fact, we have fewer members ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/science-yogananda-meditation/ Somebody said to me recently, “All I want is peace.” She didn’t understand that we must win peace by conquest. In the battle of life, every day is a struggle between right and wrong, between uplifting and debasing tendencies in human nature. The Bhagavad Gita is the story of how to ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/gita-kriyananda-yogananda/ Collectively, my many injuries represent joints and muscles throughout my entire body. These injuries, together with many illnesses and such experiences as being in a wheel chair, on crutches, and bedridden for long periods of time, have given me a perspective I would not have had otherwise. I choose to be ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/yogananda-ananda-yoga-health/ The ancient rishis (sages) of India went deeper into the laws of life, nature, and God than any other people in history. Many of the great modern scientific discoveries merely confirm what the rishis discovered centuries ago about the atomic constitution of matter and the basic laws of the physical ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/yogananda-science-meditation/ Awaken to Superconsciousness by Swami Kriyananda, as the title suggests, means to awaken to our highest spiritual potential. But what is superconsciousness?  All of us are aware of the conscious mind and, to a lesser extent, the subconscious mind in sleep and dreams. Kriyananda explains that there is a third, less ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-superconsciousness/ Once upon a time a frog lived in the sea and enjoyed the freedom of the large body of water and endless beach. When he came out of his watery home, he would take a sun-bath on the silver sands. Often, as he dozed happily on the beach, he would ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/yogananda-frogs-ocean/ This letter responds to a person seeking the “perfect” mate. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/kriyananda-marriage-yoga/ I take this sacred vow: Never will I lower my love’s gaze below the eyebrow-horizon of my constant thoughts of Thee! Never will I turn my uplifted inner sight away from Thee! Never will I let my mind dwell on anything that reminds me not of Thee! I will disdain the ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/12/yogananda-grace-prayer-god/ We are on the eve of a great change. The world is not on a downward swing as many think. The challenges now facing the world are bringing the lessons needed to move civilization toward a new dawn. Paramhansa Yogananda long predicted such a time. He predicted that there would be ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/cataclysm-yogananda-yuga-god/ We mortals have so many misconceptions about death that it has grown in importance and implanted in us the idea of annihilation and pain. Death is simply one of the steps in the soul’s journey from the state of changeable matter to the changeless state of Spirit. Never discourage a dying ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/death-yogananda-god-disease/ Certain periods in history are of major importance in the growth of planetary awareness, and we’re living in such a time. We’ve moved from Kali Yuga (the age of materialism and matter consciousness) to Dwapara Yuga (the age of energy and fluidity in thinking). But, because the change is recent, attachments ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/novak-faith-jesus-yogananda/ On July 31, 2008, my twenty-five year old son, Johnny, died in an accident. When I heard the news of his death, I was in the parking lot of the Living Wisdom School at Ananda Village where I work. It was 9:00 AM; many important projects awaited me in preparation ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/death-grief-nature-yogananda/ Paramhansa Yogananda came to the West with a world mission—to bring unity and harmony to the world through the understanding that we are all one with the Infinite.  How do we, his disciples and followers, participate in his worldwide “course correction?”  What can we do to bring harmony to this ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/ecology-peace-war-yogananda/ We are living in a time of extraordinary confusion about moral values for the simple reason that people don’t know what is right and what is wrong. In the last century, scientific developments shook the very foundations of traditional religious and moral beliefs, leaving many to wonder if moral truths ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/kriyananda-morality-stalin-god/ Have you ever failed at something and Divine Mother later gave you a second chance? Recently, an Ananda devotee told me an inspiring story of having a second chance, but only after she had worked very hard to go deeper in meditation. This woman (whom I’ll call Nancy) was at her ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/aum-kriyananda-yogananda/ In India, Buddha is considered one of the incarnations of God. He was the son of a King of India and lived about 500 years before Christ. In the course of his travels, Buddha and his disciples underwent a curious incident which left the disciples, for a time, puzzled as ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/buddha-yogananda-love-smallpox/ The art of happy living Life's joys are like quicksilver: Tighten your grip on them, and they will fly from your grasp. To hold on to happiness simply receive it, as it were, in the cup of your hand. Don’t clutch it with attachment. Attachment Attachment, like an unripe fruit, clings to whatever nourishes its hopes of fulfillment even when ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/aphorisms-kriyananda-happiness/ No more shall my consciousness remain bottled in this little vessel of flesh, corked with ignorance. No more will I remain moving through the sea of cosmic consciousness—night and day, years, decades, and how many incarnations!—so close, yet never able to contact Thy sea. Through the bursting vibration of cosmic sound ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/ignorance-yogananda-prayer/ Swami Kriyananda answers a reporter’s questions about yoga’s importance and growing popularity. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/yoga-energy-peace-kriyananda/ A devotional journey based upon the mystical poetry of Paramhansa Yogananda. [audio:mystic-throne.mp3] Selected from Metaphyical Meditations, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/meditation-kriyananda-music/ Rainbows and Waterfalls takes you on mystical wings to a land of dreams and mystery. [audio:rainbows-waterfalls.mp3] Excerpted from Rainbows and Waterfalls, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/rainbow-kriyananda-peace-joy/ A guided visualization into the expanded awareness of deep meditation. [audio:Moonbeams.mp3] Selected from Metaphyical Meditations, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/moon-kriyananda-meditation-joy/ Musical meditations evocative of nature's mysteries. [audio:invocation.mp3] From Relax: Meditations for Flute and Cello, Clarity Sound & Light. To order, click here http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/devas-kriyananda-flute-cello/ Uplifting music to help you experience a dynamic sense of inner calmness. [audio:land-of-mystery.mp3] From Music to Awaken Superconsciousness, Clarity Sound & Light. To Order, click here. http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/mystery-kriyananda-music-joy/ Words and music to relax and awaken within you inner peace. [audio:inner-peace.mp3] Currently out of stock http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/09/peace-kriyananda-music-joy/ What is wealth? Most people equate it with investments, with savings, with income, with real property. Yet we’ve all known people who got by quite happily on very little money. I’ve known others, by contrast, who seemed barely able to scrape by, even though they may have earned several times ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/wealth-success-kriyananda/ When Paramhansa Yogananda was a mere boy, he cried for the Divine Mother’s love as few men cry even for worldly possessions. Whole days he would spend in thinking only of Her. When he could, he remained by himself, meditating long hours. After meditation, he silently and lovingly offered every ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/devotion-yogananda-meditation/ 1. Sweet Zucchini Salad Colorful accent to main course. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/recipes-salad-tomatoes-basil/ Thou art my Father Success and joy I am Thy child Success and joy. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/success-yogananda-affirmation/ Incense is used traditionally in religious worship. Though to some people it may perhaps seem a little too “churchy” and ritualistic, in fact it serves three very valid purposes—not only for church services, but for personal meditation and devotional activities. 1. Blocks distracting odors Often, during meditation, the nearby odors from such ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/incense-kriyananda-devotion/ 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, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-luxury-money-god/ In 1982, in a trailer two miles down the road from Ananda Village, Peter Van Houten, a medical doctor and Ananda Village resident, started a clinic for an area without medical services. Twelve years later he donated the clinic to a local non-profit corporation. He continues to serve as medical ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-cortisone-ananda/ Paramhansa Yogananda often said, “Creation is a dream of God and the goal of life is to awaken from the dream.” 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-gratitude-god-yoga/ When I first became a spiritual seeker, I often participated in spiritual retreats where I experienced blissful meditations. Returning to my everyday life was a different matter altogether, however. I usually fell back into old behavioral patterns and was often quite miserable. What helped me most during the “in between times” ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-god-kriya-ananda/ The Death of William the Conqueror 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, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-reincarnation-yoga/ A friend of mine once came close to drowning and suddenly saw his whole life flash before him. He had not been interested in spiritual truths, but in that flash he saw his life in a completely different perspective. He realized that only those things that helped him to grow ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/kriyananda-yogananda-yoga/ In my experience it is not always easy to remember God during the good times. Then something upsetting happens, we feel bad, and we call on God. Emotional upsets get our attention. Seemingly a daunting task At the start of my spiritual search, I defined the spiritual path primarily as meditation. I ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-child-parent-yoga/ The sayings in this book consist of lessons I myself have learned in life, whether by experience or through trial and error; sometimes by deep pain or disappointment; many times through an inner joy almost unbearable. What I've presented here is the fruit of many years of thoughtfully directed living. ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/kriyananda-money-peace-yoga/ In the depths of a jungle in India lived a holy Master and his disciples. Far removed from worldly desires and sense-drugging environments, these childlike devotees of simplicity led a simple, natural life, free from the burdens of unfulfilled ever-increasing hopes. Master and disciples woke with the dawn, spreading their prayers ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-yoga-renunciation/ January 25, 2007 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/kriyananda-gunas-yogananda-god/ My allotted plot of consciousness was small. Carelessly I let it grow barren; it produced no crops of inner, life-sustaining culture. Now the bleak winter of dead opportunities approaches with its pall of unproductivity. My lot is small, and my life’s season is short, yet now I would produce a mighty ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-prayer-god-yoga/ At Paramhansa Yogananda’s Mt. Washington headquarters, reincarnation was normal to our way of thinking. We took it quite in stride if ever Master [Paramhansa Yogananda] told us, as he sometimes did, about our own or someone else’s past lives. Master revealed to us that he himself had been Krishna’s closest friend ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/yogananda-kriyananda-gita/ http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/samadhi-yogananda-bliss/ My Dear Ones, 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/06/kriyananda-yogananda-devotion-2/ When we discuss the subject of success in general terms, one key aspect is using our will power to accomplish our goals. But we must also remember that there’s such a thing as success in failure, in being able to go through life’s difficult periods and come out stronger. You don’t ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/success-karma-kriyananda/ Why do people doubt God? Doubts arise from uncertainty, and uncertainty arises from attachment. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/yogananda-doubt-faith-christ/ Ananda member Joseph Bharat Cornell is the founder of Sharing Nature Worldwide. His books on nature awareness have sparked a worldwide revolution in nature education and have been translated into twenty languages. In Japan alone, there are 30,000 trained Sharing Nature leaders. Q. Bharat, when did you first realize that nature ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/bharat-cornell-nature-children/ I remember when I first felt a fear that was bigger than a shadow in my closet. I was about nine years old, and my friend and I were lost in a German cemetery after dark. Our fathers were U.S. Army officers stationed in Germany, and we were on a day ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/fear-children-cancer-prayer/ Disaster planners allow for the 50-year flood, and if they’re really concerned they also plan for the 100-year flood. These are the times when the storms come and create such havoc that only those high above the flood plain survive. Economically and in other ways, the world is headed toward that ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/yogananda-greed-conflict-fear/ Excerpted from an upcoming book by Purushottama Selbie and Byasa Steinmetz. 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 ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/yogananda-dharma-yugas-solar/ I recently had to give counseling to someone who I knew would never understand any advice I might give. His ego had built too many protections around itself, and I knew he would find a way to rationalize an excuse for anything I said.  So I didn’t offer any advice. ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/kriyananda-yogananda-intellect/ Thomas Alva Edison was one of the foremost inventors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Not only did he play a key role in ushering in the modern age of electricity, he also laid the groundwork for many of the technological innovations that modernized the world. In the ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/edison-inventor-electricity/ Sananda was a great saint who traveled across the plains of India with a large group of disciples. Some saints preferred to stay in one place, meditating at the feet of the Infinite without the distraction of continuous travel. Others considered it spiritually necessary to leave each lodging place after ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/yogananda-hindu-fire-saint/ In this letter Swami Kriyananda advises a devotee to always try to react “usefully.” Dear ——: In any line of work one can’t expect constant wins. What one loses, however, if one reacts unhappily, is that people hesitate even to offer suggestions. In time, they begin seeking help elsewhere, even if they ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/kriyananda-leadership-success/ by Paramhansa Yogananda I come to Thee with the song of my smiles. Whatever treasures have lain in the secrecy of my soul, I bring eagerly to Thee. I bring Thee all the honey from the hive of my heart. All that was ever mine is now Thine alone. The sunlight of this world, shining upon ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2009/03/yogananda-prayer-fulfillment/ by Swami Kriyananda Highlights from a talk by Swami Kriyananda at Ananda Village on September 13, 2008 during a celebration of his 60th anniversary of discipleship to Paramhansa Yogananda. The complete talk is available at: http://www.ananda.org/40anniv/multimedia.html I thought it might be useful to talk about things I have learned from my Guru, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/yogananda-kriyananda-leaders/ Always avoid the evil of selfishness. Any person who lives selfishly for himself does not really live at all, for he chokes the expansion of his life. But when a person extends his sympathy from his family, to his neighbors, and to the world, he expands and connects his little ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/prosperity-yogananda-samaritan/ Q. You moved to Ananda Village in 1975. What prompted that? A. I had been a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and doing Kriya Yoga for three years. When I heard about Ananda Village, I decided to visit because I very much wanted to start a spiritual community based on Yogananda’s teachings. I ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/ananda-god-kriya-garden/ by Gyandev McCord Before I came to the spiritual path, my primary tool for accomplishment was willpower. It worked very well in many areas—school, job, sports—and I soon found it valuable in spiritual pursuits as well. I also was heartened to learn that Paramhansa Yogananda said that a strong will is ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/hatha-yoga-mccord/ What a fascinating illusion God has created! In our essence we already are one with Him, but we’ve accumulated mental limitations that prevent us from realizing it. This “bundle of self-definitions,” as Swami Kriyananda calls it, forms the ego and creates the delusion that we are separate from God. So ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/guru-discipleship-yogananda/ Being with children as a mother or a teacher has been my own special path to God. I spent thirty years raising four active children, the last twenty-four of those years at Ananda Village. The year my youngest child left for college, I began teaching pre-school. If I had any regrets ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/children-preschool-meditation/ When devotees feel overwhelmed by difficulties and trials, it’s mostly because they’ve allowed themselves to slip away from devotion. In difficult times, the most important thing is that you love God. That is your best astrological amulet, your most secure protective curtain. And if you love Him, then why be ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/recession-business-finances/ Recently, while on an airplane flight to visit relatives, I was reflecting on the previous week at the clinic where I serve as medical director. It had been an intensely busy and stressful week, and I was recalling the particular afternoon when a number of people with emergency situations arrived ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/medical-stress-health-healing/ A story for the entire family A proud prince and his large retinue galloped into a Hindustan jungle on a hunting expedition. After bagging many game birds and animals, the prince and his party lost their way in the jungle. They had food but no water, and though they searched frantically, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/yogananda-philosopher/ Excerpts from a letter and statement from Swami Kriyananda to Ananda after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Dear Ones, In all sincerity our first concern can only be for those whose suffering is right now. I cannot honestly spare my heart’s love for the people who perpetrated this suffering. Nor can I love ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/terrorism-911/ O Eternal Fire, Thou art the little soul-flames rising through the burner of cosmic manifestation. Each human being is but one Flame, separate-seeming from all others, and also from Thy Universal Source of Power. Thou dost appear many, finite, limited, small or large, but ever divided, shooting up as separate entities through the pores of living organisms. But Thou alone art that one, eternal ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/12/soul-flames/ Someone asked me the question, “What are your dreams for Ananda?” I dream most of all of a community where we are free to seek God more and more, where people can meditate and chant many hours each day, and that inspires others around the world to start similar communities. Nowadays ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/children-ananda-kriyananda/ It is especially important on the spiritual path to understand the power of habits. Unspiritual habits like restlessness can easily destroy weak meditative habits. Those who meditate only occasionally, or for just a short time, find that their desire to meditate vanishes when challenged by the powerful habit of restlessness. When ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/habits-will-power-meditation/ Flying on airplanes has always been challenging for me. Whenever there was any turbulence, my body would go into a fear mode. I would spend the rest of the flight praying and, if the turbulence was severe, preparing for death. My practice when I first step on an airplane is to ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/transcendence-hang-gliding/ Thomas à Kempis is known primarily for his book, The Imitation of Christ, one of the most popular and influential Christian works of all time, second only to the Bible. Describing Thomas à Kempis as “a very great saint,” Paramhansa Yogananda recommended his book “unreservedly” saying, “It is a wonderful book. ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/kempis-christ-saint/ When I first visited the Portland Ananda Church in 1996 and heard the small choir sing a few songs by Swami Kriyananda, I thought, “Oh, how sweet that this man has written some nice music.” The music seemed “simple,” and being a professional musician I was a bit condescending in ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/eby-musician-ananda/ In the Bible, there is a well-known parable of the ten virgins, five of whom are wise, the other five foolish. While awaiting their bridegroom, they all fall asleep. When they hear the bridegroom approaching, all of them arise to light their lamps, but only the five wise virgins have remembered ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/jyotish-devotion-bible/ The things that hold us back spiritually are all within ourselves. They are experienced as fatigue, discouragement, self-pity, reluctance, unwillingness, and also those negative attitudes that come from taking the outer world too seriously—anger, bitterness, resentment. All negative attitudes spell our own undoing because they draw the mind away from God ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/anger-resentment-fatigue-kriyananda/ Paul and Mike hated each other even when they were boys growing up in Philadelphia. They quarreled at school, and when they grew up, they were business rivals and loved the same fair maiden. One day Paul, who was slightly stronger, gave Mike a sound beating. He left him senseless ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/karma-evil-seeds/ Swami Kriyananda discusses how to relate to a spiritual teacher. Dear_____ In my relationship with Master, I have found that I’m the most in tune with him when I don’t have the thought of what I’m getting from him, but dwell rather in the thought of what I’m giving to him. When ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/relationships-spiritual-teacher/ Volumes of Thy savior voice resound through the loudspeaker of every loving heart. The voice of Thy wisdom roams through the ether of space, seeking everywhere hearts that are tuned to ecstasy. Sadly, Thy warning sermons pass unheard by souls deafened with the static of sense pleasures. O Divine Broadcaster, tune our souls, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/09/savior-yogananda/ Introduction Ananda is one of the world's most successful intentional communities. Ananda came into existence in the late 1960s, a time when America saw thousands of attempts to create new models of living. Most of those experiments never survived their first year, but Ananda has thrived and grown.  The thoughtful person ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/06/ananda-kriyananda-yogananda/ [caption id="attachment_5" align="alignright" width="230" caption="Swami Kriyananda"][/caption] I want to talk about one of the great events of the 20th century—the coming of a soul whose special mission was to show the world a vision of divine unity. That soul was Paramhansa Yogananda, who came as a world savior for this age, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/kriyananda-ananda/ God, who is love, created man through the love of two souls, and through love alone man can find his way back to God. Parents and children should understand that their relationship is not fortuitous, but is due to a divine plan. Family life is the laboratory in which human love ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/children-parenting/ All the great masters of India that I have known were childlike. They displayed all the qualities of sincerity, frankness, non-attachment, universality, forgiveness, truthfulness, calmness, sweetness, laughter, and freedom from worry of a child—minus the latter’s ignorance. To love children is to love some of the most beautiful of God’s ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/yogananda-god-parents-children/ “We have a friar and a half!” rejoices. Teresa of Avila after recruiting the first two monks to join her reform of the Carmelite religious order—an effort to return Carmelite monasteries and convents too their original emphasis on the interior life. The “half” was likely John of the Cross, just ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/cross-avila-love/ There is much more to be “seen” than what our physical eyes can perceive. Visible light, which includes all the colors of the rainbow, occupies only a very small section of the electromagnetic spectrum. An aura is an electromagnetic energy field which surrounds all things. Paramhansa Yogananda explains that the aura ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/auras-astral-electromagnetism/ Q. Mangala, for more than 30 years you have been a Nurse Practitioner. As a devotee, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced in bringing your service in health and healing in alignment with your spiritual goals? A. Years ago, I discovered that one of my biggest challenges as a ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/nursing-health-healing/ The attributes or aspects of God are basically eight: peace, calmness, love, joy or bliss, light, sound, power, and wisdom. True meditation is a state of intense awareness in which one is absorbed in an actual experience of God in one of his attributes. The practice of meditation is different, however, ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/god-meditation-peace/ I’ve often been struck by our tendency as humans to compartmentalize our lives. You see this in grade school students when they sit, watching the clock, knowing that if they can just sit through another five minutes of math, they get to go out and play. You see the same ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/yogananda-buddha-francis/ Self-sacrificing mothers and hard-working fathers often say to me: “But, Master, I have practically no time for myself.” This attitude shows very poor organization and utilization of time. I am not advocating neglect of one’s duties; that, of course, would be contrary to the laws of spiritual development. I am entreating ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/phyical-health-healing/ Some years ago, we were having lunch with Swami Kriyananda at Earth Song Café, the health food store and restaurant in Nevada City which Ananda then owned. He said, “The Ananda people working here are doing a good job. They’re being very friendly to people, but they’re not being divine ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/discipleship-inspiration/ Swami Kriyananda responds to a devotee who asked for advice on how to respond to a friend's angry letter. Dear _______: You asked for my suggestions on how you should respond to _____'s letter. You might write a brief note thanking him for the friendship and concern that prompted him to write as he ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/anger-friendship-ananda/ Thou didst wipe away the soot of indifference which covered my soul, and it shines with Thy light. I know now that I am Thy child. Likewise, enable me to wash all souls with love, and to behold even the darkest souls as Thy children, as my very own—as my sleeping brothers. Through the kindly strength ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2008/03/souls-forgiveness-prayer/ I once said to the great Indian saint, Ananda Moyi Ma, “We would love for you to visit America.” She replied, “I’m there already. Why should I go?” Time and space don’t really exist; they’re basically all in the mind. We think of a star as being light years away but ... http://www.anandaclaritymagazine.com/2007/12/jivan-mukta-yogananda/