Yesterday devotees around the world celebrated the anniversary of the mahasamadhi of Paramhansa Yogananda. Peter Goering gave the talk at Sunday Service and read God’s Boatman from Whisper’s from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda. An excerpt from that poem is on the photo of the stars at the end of this post. I am always deeply moved when I hear or read that poem. To imagine a love so great that the guru would return for us if need be a trillion times…

The day was lovely here. We have been having alot of rain and a little snow. But, it was sunny so walking across the meadow to and from The Expanding Light was a real treat. The meadow is green and the light was very pleasing and warm. Peter’s talk focused on the life of Yogananda, but he began with the story of the miracles that surrounded Master’s conscious exit from his body. There were stories of his meeting with his first disciple in America, Dr. Lewis, and of his mission to bring the practical and timeless teachings of the East to the West. The whole talk was delightful and I hope you can listen to it.

After service there was an Indian Banquet hosted by The Expanding Light and created by Julius Dass and Jyoti Spearin. They were assisted by some very happy helpers. And the food? Amazing!! I want the recipe. Everyone seemed to completely enjoy visiting and lingering over the satisfying meal.

Later in the evening, again at The Expanding Light, we prayed and chanted: Sri Guru Deva Aum, Sri Guru Deva Amen. The chant has been in my head the whole day.

Swami Kriyananda’s play, Jewel in the Lotus, was performed and the temple walls seemed to melt away as we were transported to the future. The play is set 200 years from now at the time Master said he would return to the Himalayas and gather up his disciples to meditate and find liberation in the mountains. I was not alone in wiping away tears as the actors brought their roles to life and were transformed by the main character, The Storyteller. Swamiji wrote this play with a perfect blend of humor, timeless wisdom and depth and made the journey we are all on toward liberation seem so real. The vibration of the room at the end of the play is always so high - I am pretty sure everyone there was ready to leave everything to go live on Lotus Mountain with the Master.

When I got home, I noticed that the stars were so brilliant in the sky. I set up my camera to take a photo. I had to leave the shutter open for about a minute or two to get the stars to register, and even in that amount of time you can see that the “stars moved” and appeared as little streaks. It was very quiet while I waited and I thought back over the day.

Peter talked about the yugas. And I tried to feel that even in the amount of time it took me to take my star picture the earth was rotating very steadily toward a new dawn, and also within our solar system the earth is moving steadily toward the center of the universe and a higher age. Yogananda’s life coincided with the transition of a lower age toward a higher age. And guess what? We are all a part of this steady progression toward higher consciousness and light. It is not always easy. But, we have the great good fortune to have a God Realized guru to lead the way, and he will never give up on us. He will come back for us a trillion times, but we have been blessed with teachings that will help us to quicken our journey. We have the great good fortune to be here and part of this great adventure that will take us toward liberation.

Jai Guru! May the Master Bless us all. I am posting a teeny video with an excerpt from one of my favorite songs, O Master. It was sung at Sunday Service.

This article covers a technique, Khechari Mudra, that is one of the most unusual in yoga and therefore a bit too strange for some people. I’m posting it here because there is quite a lot of confusion around this technique, and what Paramhansa Yogananda taught about it.

Khechari Mudra (also spelled Khecari or Kechari) is an ancient yoga technique that is used in the practice of Kriya Yoga as taught by Yogananda and his lineage of Kriya gurus. It has also been practiced by yogis and meditators for perhaps thousands of years, due to its wonderful benefits.

Yogananda privately recommended Khechari Mudra to some of his disciples, but only occasionally mentioned it publicly. He explained that he was teaching in a country where yoga was already strange enough — without also telling people about a yoga technique where the tongue is turned upward and placed into the nasal cavity, above the soft palate!

It’s important to remember that techniques alone can’t give one enlightenment or liberation. Yogananda said about Kriya Yoga:

Kriya plus devotion works like mathematics. It cannot fail.

Right attitude, devotion, and attunement to the Guru are more important than an over-reliance on exotic techniques such as Khechari Mudra. However, Khechari can be an aid to deeper meditation when done with the right attitude.

Yogananda didn’t fully describe the technique in his writings and lectures — it is explained more fully in The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, by Swami Kriyananda, and in the Khechari Mudra Booklet (an e-book available from Crystal Clarity Publishers for those who have been initiated into Kriya Yoga through Ananda).

In the ninety years since Yogananda began teaching in the West, unusual yoga practices, such as Khechari Mudra, have become more well known. Many people are confused about whether Yogananda even recommended Khechari. In fact, Yogananda both wrote and spoke about Khechari Mudra.

Yogananda wrote about Khechari in an early version of his home study course, published in 1926. The “little tongue” that he mentions below is the uvula, the soft tissue that hangs from the roof of the mouth, at the back of the throat:

This Kundalini moving brainwards, and helped by the union of nerves in the tip of the tongue and the “little tongue,” and certain centers in the nasal cavity, brings about the secretion of a fluid with union of the Life Energy and Cosmic Energy.

This secretion of nectar and union of energies do not involve any loss, but mean immense spiritual realization.

He also gave a similar explanation once to Swami Kriyananda:

Sex seems pleasant to you now, but when you discover the joy of real inner union, you will see how much more wonderful that is.

This union can be achieved physically also, by what is known in yoga as kechari mudra—touching the tip of the tongue to nerves in the nasal passage, or to the uvula at the back of the mouth.
—Conversations with Yogananda by Swami Kriyananda

In an early article Yogananda described one of the benefits of practicing Khechari Mudra:

It draws energy from the cerebrum and medulla by connecting the tip of the big tongue with the little tongue (uvula).

He gave a more esoteric explanation in a lecture in India during his visit there in 1935-6:

While practicing Kriya… a divine nectar-like current flows from the sahasrara (chakra, or spinal center, at the top of the head).

Through the performance of Kechari Mudra, touching the tip of the tongue to the uvula, or “little tongue,” (or placing it in the nasal cavity behind the uvula), that divine life-current draws the prana from the senses into the spine and draws it up through the chakras to Vaishnavara (Universal Spirit), uniting the consciousness with spirit.

The entire body is thereby spiritualized and energized. As a result, a perceptible glow may emanate from the body.
—Mejda: The Family and the Early Life of Paramahansa Yogananda by Sananda Lal Ghosh, pp. 279-28

As you can see in Yogananda’s lectures and writings, he described the different stages of Khechari: first touching the tongue to the uvula, or “little tongue” at the back of the mouth, and then placing the tongue into the nasal cavity above the soft palate.

In The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, Swami Kriyananda gives a more complete explanation of Khechari:

Kechari Mudra, “the tongue-swallowing” technique that I taught in Step Five, creates a cycle of energy in the head that generates enough magnetism to draw great amounts of energy from the universe around you.

This energy is actually experienced in the mouth as a slightly sweet, and very pleasant, taste that has been described (accurately, in my experience) as resembling a mixture of ghee (clarified butter) and honey.

This is what is known in various mystical writings as “the nectar of the gods.” A whole Veda, the Sama Veda, has been named after this spiritual nectar, or sama.

Kriyananda goes on to explain:

The positive and negative energies in the tongue and nasal passages (or uvula), when joined together, create a cycle of energy in the head which, instead of allowing the energy to flow outward to the body, generates a magnetic field that draws energy upward from the body and from the base of the spine to the brain.

It is said that the tongue turns back of itself in samadhi. The assumption of this mudra helps to hasten the advent of deep spiritual states of consciousness.

The difficulty for most people is that the frenulum, the membrane under the tongue, isn’t flexible enough to allow the tongue to reach so far back and up. Over time the frenulum can be gently stretched to enable one to practice Khechari Mudra.

Yogananda was extremely vocal with his disciples that under no circumstance should one try to cut the frenulum, as some unscientific and ill-advised “teachers” recommended.

It is possibly out of such concern that certain teachers in Yogananda’s lineage are afraid of discussing Khechari Mudra. But there are some very simple exercises which enable one to gently stretch the frenulum and tongue enough to practice Khechari.

How did Yogananda recommend adding the practice of Khechari to one’s meditation and Kriya practice? Gradually, as Swami Kriyananda has explained:

He (Yogananda) didn’t talk about (kechari) much, but when he found somebody who could do it, he was very glad and urged them to do it.

One time he said to Dr. Lewis, “You’re not doing Kriya right.”

And doctor said, “What do you mean, sir?”

And Master said, “You should be doing kechari mudra.”

After Doctor told me, I asked Master, “Should I be doing kechari while practicing Kriya?” And he said, “Not yet.”

He didn’t emphasize this a lot. I think it was because he was teaching thousands and thousands of people in America who weren’t ready for this kind of thing. All Master did was bring people into the technique step-by-step rather than giving them everything all at once.

Khechari Mudra clearly isn’t for everyone — but it is extremely helpful for all meditation practices, including Kriya Yoga. And again, right attitude, devotion, and attunement to the Guru are more important than technique alone.

I’ve been practicing Kriya and meditation with Khechari for about thirty years. Because of the wonderful benefits it has for meditation, I would suggest that all Kriya Yogis, and any serious meditator, at least consider learning Khechari Mudra.

In many years of teaching Khechari, I’ve seen that most people can eventually learn how to do it by practicing certain exercises taught by Lahiri Mahasaya. These exercises, and a more complete explanation of Khechari Mudra, are explained in the previously mentioned Khechari Mudra Booklet (an e-book available from Crystal Clarity Publishers for those who have been initiated into Kriya Yoga through Ananda).

After Yogananda told Nayaswami Kriyananda that his life’s work was “writing, editing, and lecturing,” Kriyananda asked, “But Sir, haven’t you already written everything that is necessary?”

Yogananda looked shocked. “Don’t say that,” he replied. “Much more is needed.”

Since then, Nayaswami Kriyananda has gone on to write almost 100 books. And even so, I doubt he has covered even a tenth of all the ways of bringing Yogananda’s teachings into every part of life, if that! I expect the number could even be as small as a thousandth.

Kriyananda has said that he writes “seminally” — he wants his writing to inspire other works. I could see these delving more deeply into specific concepts, or into how those concepts apply in new fields. An effect of him writing in this way is that passages in his books often have deep meaning.

A small example: he wrote two plays, The Peace Treaty and The Jewel in the Lotus. But in each, how full of meaning the lines are! A close study of them, as an actor playing one of their parts must make, yields a wealth of insight.

Right now we’re rehearsing The Jewel in the Lotus at Ananda Village, which we’ll perform on March 6. The beginning of the play reveals a conflict between father and his son. The father is trying to get the son, who only wants God, to work for him in his shop. “My dear boy,” he says, “It’s perfectly obvious. Didn’t you yourself just say God is the money that we spend? Well, then — the more you have of money, the more you’ll have of God. Simple!”

I love that argument — the reasoning is perfect on it’s own level of ignorance!

The struggle between the father and his son represents the timeless struggle between material consciousness and soul aspiration. The son says, “I want to find God,” and the father responds by trying to pull him back into the father’s own very material world.

Nayaswami Kriyananda’s and Yogananda’s works reward exploration. In fact, as a “live” experiment, let me open a random page of Swami Kriyananda’s The New Path, and we’ll see where it takes us…

* * * * *

My eyes fell on this sentence on page 231, in the chapter, “Paramhansa Yogananda”:

Daya Mata [a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and the president of Self-Realization Fellowship] tells a story dating back to when she was a teenager and new on the path. At first, in her association with him, he had treated her lovingly, like a daughter (which indeed she had been to him in a former incarnation). Once her feet were planted firmly on the path, however, he began to teach her the superior merits of impersonal love. To her now, feeling for him as she did the affection of a devoted daughter, he seemed all at once aloof, even stern.

One evening in Encinitas he addressed her that way. She went out onto the bluff above the ocean behind the hermitage, and prayed deeply for understanding. At last she reached a firm resolution. “Divine Mother,” she vowed, “from now on I will love only Thee. In beholding him, I will see Thee alone in him.”

Suddenly she felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her. Later she went indoors and knelt before Master for his blessing, as she always did before retiring for the night. This time he greeted her gently, saying, “Very good!”

From then on he showed himself once more affectionate toward her. Now, however, their relationship was on a deeper level, for the disciple saw him at last in that impersonal light in which he beheld himself.

Nayaswami Devi once told me that, if ever she related to Nayaswami Kriyananda in a personal way, it was like a wall went up between them. I realized later that he didn’t put up that wall; it was the inevitable result of holding a personal attitude towards anyone. We have a choice in how to relate to people: as personalities; or as souls, unique expressions of God.

I’ve noticed this with Devi herself. I often relate to her as a personality, and at these times she can seem distant. But the more impersonally loving I am, and the more I think of God instead of “Devi,” the more expressive her friendship is.

And I’ve sometimes thought, What a gift! She places my spiritual needs above everything else. And she isn’t just doing this for me, she’s doing it for many, many people — maybe everyone. Wouldn’t you call this Divine Friendship?

This past week at Ananda Village and The Expanding Light has been filled with inspiration and spiritual friends. It seems impossible that 12 different talks in six days about the spiritual path could hold one’s attention from beginning to end. But it did. The theme for Inner Renewal week was: Going Deeper into God.

The weather generally has been pretty gray all week with some rain. Inside the Expanding Light temple was warm and cozy. The choir sang many of my favorite songs.

The talks were very insightful, encouraging and challenging.

Anandi gave a great talk on the energization exercises. If you need any new inspiration to fuel your love for these exercises you will like this talk. You can click here to watch it.

All the talks can be accessed through ananda.org or here. I am always amazed at the depth of spiritual understanding of our teachers and of the devotion of my fellow disciples.

The week also included Kriya initiations and the very special Pilgrim initiation.

This was a special evening for me. My husband, Dave, and 102 other people took Pilgrim Vows. I felt very blessed to be part of this ceremony. These are the vows:

I understand, and intend from now on to live by my understanding, that life is a pilgrimage, of which the final goal is to find and merge back into God.

Bless me, and direct my footsteps ever to the summit of Thy holy mountain.

They are beautiful aren’t they? You can find out more about them here. There was such a sweet devotion and spiritual power in the room as we took our vows. I saw alot of joy in everyone’s face.

So, next week Dave and I will be going to India! We will be with Latika, and Jyotish and Devi. I can’t believe it is only one week away! We will be in Gurgaon for the Inner Renewal Weekend there. Swamiji is planning to be there. We will also get to celebrate Master’s Mahasamadhi in Pune. I am thrilled to be able to see the great work happening in India and to be with Swamiji and my gurubhais. I plan on trying to post to this blog and also onto my Twitter account. If you would like to see some of my posts you can follow me here. I don’t know how connected I will be to the internet, but I will try to update as best as I can. I hope you will connect with me!

May the Masters bless us all. Let us radiate peace outward and create a web of joy around the world. I have been visualizing joy as an unbreakable silver string through the center of my body. It connects me to the cosmos and God’s divine joy. It connects us all.

With love,
Barbara

I teach science at a public high school in a southern California suburb. This is my third year of teaching and though not a veteran yet, you can say that I have mastered it quite a bit. But I thought I’d share with you some of my experiences as a brand new teacher. While on one hand they did not feel pleasant, especially at the time, on the other hand they are some of the most cherished experiences of my life as a devotee, as Master’s (my Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda’s) child.

Let me give you a little background about myself. I had very little experience of the school system in the U.S having completed K-12 in India. An American high school classroom felt very “foreign” to me; the teenage jargon, the dress code, the behavior, the attitude – I was at times completely overwhelmed! – not to mention the pressure to perform anew in front of a 40 member class audience five times a day and the need to come up with new lessons every day, five days a week! I was exhausted!

Also since I had opted for what is called the internship instead of traditional student-teaching, it meant I had no mentor or guide to lend me a helping hand. I was on my own. However I did have Master and Divine Mother by my side.

Our school has a strict electronic policy that students cannot use electronic devices in the classroom. One day, and this was probably within the first three months of my first year, I had confiscated the cell phone of a student who was using it in the class and kept it on my table. It had never crossed my mind that it is possible for my students, the 14-15 year olds, to steal! Yes, I was naïve as I soon found out to my horror! The cell phone was gone and I realized it right after the class got over. It was very embarrassing as a teacher! What am I going to do?

I remember visualizing holding Master’s hand for support; “Everything is fine” – I felt calmer and centered. I talked to another teacher and she advised talking to the class which I did the following day. I told them how deeply disappointed I am and why I do not expect such behavior from the class. At the end of the class two students quietly came up to me, after everyone else had left, and said “We know who took the phone!”
Eventually the thief confessed and the phone was returned to the owner. I quietly thanked Master.

Another time I had left my thumb drive on the desk computer in my classroom. Again something one should never do, as I learned very quickly. As it turned out I had to call sick the following day. When I finally returned the day after the thumb drive was gone! Now that thumb drive had not only all my lessons, power point presentations and files, it also had all my assignments that were due at the university where I was completing my teacher preparation course. Remember that was my year of internship which means I had to go back to the university to my student-teaching class every week and yes, all my homework and papers ready to be submitted to the State was in that thumb drive. And it did not have a back-up. I was lost! Also there was a little hub like connection in the classroom where the video player, CD player, computer and speakers were all interconnected and connected to the overhead projector. Someone had pulled out every cord out of every socket and everything was lying in a big meshed up pile on the floor!

I went to see my department head about this incidence. He said this happens. As teachers we happen to enrage teenagers who then take out their anger on us. He also told me not to take it personally and that he too has lost his zip drive in a similar way. I was grateful for his support and kind words. However even though I understood it all, I was panicking in my mind – “what will I do without my lessons and assignments?”

I didn’t think I had the time and energy to recreate the lost work again – something that is sure to take months. I didn’t have all that time. I returned to my classroom and closed my eyes and tried to meditate. I mentally gave my problem to Divine Mother. “Thy will Ma, thy will; and whatever that is, its ok with me.” I felt lighter and relaxed and started to get ready for the next class.

Later that same day, I got a call from my department head. He said he’s found a zip drive and wanted me to check if it was mine. As it turned out it was mine! He, while keeping an eye out for his lost drive, by chance, saw something zip drive-like lying on the roof of one of the classrooms. The science building being a two-storey building allows a view of the rooftops of surrounding single storey buildings. Some students(s) might have thrown the zip drive and it landed on the roof. The recovery felt miraculous and I felt so grateful, both to him and to Divine Mother, that words didn’t come easy to me. I prayed that he find his drive too.

There were so many similar incidences that first year as I went fumbling my way into the school system and every time I experienced the guiding, protecting hand of Master and Divine Mother. We devotees do have an umbrella, in form of Divine Mother’s love and guidance, to protect us from the storms of our karma. We might get a little wet but isn’t it wonderful to experience the umbrella around us? And I’m thankful for all the storms. Looking back, how else would I have experienced Divine Mother’s umbrella?

Ananda’s founder, Swami Kriyananda, spends his time primarily in 3 countries: America, Italy, and India. As he recently quipped, “Well I have these [8] communities that I’ve started, and I have to check in every now and then.”

Today Swamiji arrived safely and soundly in Gurgaon, India. As he stepped out of the car, he said, “So nice to see you all! Wow! You’re all looking well.”

Mr. Bij–who met Swamiji in India in 1959 and received kriya initiation from him then–said, “We’re glad you are looking so fine.”

“Yes, you know it’s a miracle,” Swamiji said. “When I left here, I nearly died. I had a mini-stroke the day before I left. Everything went black. Anyway, suddenly [in Italy] I had a miracle and I was well.” Smilingly, he added, “Maybe you’ll be stuck with me for a few more years now.”

The devotees in India are thrilled to have Swamiji back in India after 8 months. On January 4th he has a large lecture in Delhi, “A Celebration of Paramhansa Yogananda’s Life and His Mission”. On this evening he will launch his 100th book, The New Path: My Life with Paramhansa Yogananda, and another book, A Renunciate Order for the New Age.

And on the next day, January 5th–Yogananda’s birthday–Swamiji will conduct the first initiation in India into this new order (the third initiation worldwide).

Please keep Swamiji in your thoughts and prayers during these two historic events.

I want to tell you about my friend, Sanandi Reardon, and her miracle plant.

Sanandi and I have known each other for many years. She is a deeply devoted disciple and Kriyaban who lives in Carson City, Nevada. She is unable to visit Ananda that often, though she tries to come at least once a year. She’s always a bit strapped for income, but she always gives what she can to the Ananda Annual Appeal.

Sanandi recently was laid off (again) from her job at a health food store which is having to close its doors because of the economic downturn. She has raised children of her own and also three step-sons, and now has grandchildren. All in all, she is a truly great soul and a good friend.

Through all her life challenges and for as long as I have known her, Sanandi has continued to send me dozens of letters, cards, notes, photos, and gifts every year–always upbeat, always brimming with God and Guru’s love. Recently, in one of her letters she related a truly remarkable story about a house plant she owns, including a photo to prove it.

Sanandi has always maintained a beautiful meditation room where she practices Energization, yoga, and meditation daily. She decorates it beautifully and loves to spend time there.

Part of the décor of her room are many beautiful house plants. A few months ago she noticed that her hoya plant had produced a unusually long flower stem. The stem proceeded to grow out of its pot, turn a sharp corner and nestle itself right up against her framed color photo of Yogananda, just below his chin. If she turned the plant in any other direction, the flower on it’s long stem would return to it’s position touching the photograph.

A hoya flower is really a lot of smaller flowers all clustered together, hanging off a single bare stem–looking a bit like a lot of little pink trumpets grouped together.

So if this event was not miraculous enough, one day, one of the individual pink trumpet flowerets turned itself in the opposite direction from the way all the rest of the flowerets were facing, so that it could reach up and actually “kiss” Yogananda, right on the chin.

Here are the contents of the note she wrote me to accompany the photo:

“July 24, 2009, Dear Savitri, I thought it was special when the Hoya plant produced a flower for Master (Paramhansa Yogananda), but when the little flowerets separated from the whole to offer itself to Master, I was stunned. I couldn’t wait to share this picture with you. I call it ‘Master’s Latest Devotee.’ Love and Blessings, Sanandi”

I was stunned too and asked her if it would be OK to share this story as a blog on our website. She was happy to say yes. So thank you to my dear friend, Sanandi and to her special devotee plant, also.

This story reminded me very much of the story told in The New Path, Swami Kriyananda’s autobiography: “[Paramhansa Yogananda’s] sensitivity to all living things inspired sensitivity from them in return. Not only people and animals, but even plants seemed to respond to his feeling for them. His gardens flourished. Tropical mangoes and bananas grew at Mt. Washington, where the climate is not conducive to their survival.

Shraddha Mata (Miss Sahly) told of watching one day what she called a ‘rose devotee,’ which kept turning in its vase to face Master as he moved about the room. When he was sitting in his chair, she noted that the rose was facing him. Twice, however, when he was called to the door, she noted the rose facing in that direction. Several repetitions of change of directions finally caused this event to surface in her mind.

‘Sir,’ she said finally, ‘you have a new devotee.’ She indicated the rose which, now that he was seated again, had turned back toward him.

He looked at it for a moment, then smiled.”

‘Plants,’ Master explained, ‘have a degree of consciousness.’ Above all, like every sentient being, they respond to love.