As many of you may know, Swami Kriyananda, now 84, has had some recent physical setbacks, including a visit to the emergency room last Tuesday after a fall that injured his hip. He was scheduled to be at a tea in Los Angeles on Saturday, and was heartbroken to cancel for the first time in his life an appearance of such magnitude. He didn’t even know if he would be able to make it to his publicized talk on Sunday at the Ford Amphitheater. On Sunday morning we were overjoyed to hear the news that he was miraculously on his way, either by the Grace of God, a Herculean exertion of will power, or a combination of both. I wasn’t sure in what condition he would arrive after what must have been a painful trip. However, he entered the Ford Amphitheater with great energy, and was greeted with much joy by all who were already seated in the amphitheater (his path to the backstage area was visible to all). The pictures you see of his talk at the Ford Amphitheater mark his first ever appearance in a wheelchair.
Divine Mother gave him a grand entrance, coinciding perfectly with a musical climax halfway through our preshow performance of Life Is a Quest for Joy. The next 10 minutes of the piece were some of the most special I’ve ever played. It was as if his presence fueled a spark within me, granting me the boon of tangibly feeling God’s loving presence expanding from my heart.
Having been a performer for the past 25 years, I’ve been backstage with celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Collins, Julian Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Elton John, and have often seen inconsistencies with their public personas, ranging from peaceful to exuberant, dull to vulgar.
Choir performing “Come Gather Round”
As I walked backstage last Sunday after finishing our piece, I saw Swamiji ready to go. No trace of his recent ordeal showed on his face, as he radiated joy, enthusiasm, love, and a deep sense of peace. I was simply stunned – this was no facade, as there were just a handful of us in his presence, quietly waiting.
There comes a deep joy in life when you recognize someone not necessarily for their relationship to you (a wife, a friend, a son or daughter), but for what they have brought to your life. Unlike others, I have not been in the position to be close personally to Swami Kriyananda. In fact, one day years ago I decided to try to feel towards him as I would a dear personal loved one. An hour later I passed him in the Crystal Hermitage, and I silently reached out to him with that personal kind of energy. I was amazed at how completely limiting it felt, trying to relate to him only on a superficial (egoic) level. I realized finally that I needed to go much deeper, and since then have deepened my attunement with him not by any outward relationship, but by tuning into his vibration and inspiration, especially through music. Since then, numerous times I’ve been overwhelmed at how empty my life would be without his teaching, his attunement with Yogananda, his music, and his incredible example of living for God.
For those few moments before he went onstage, I saw him not for my personal friend, or a celebrity, or even the founder of Ananda. What was overwhelmingly evident to me was a disciple’s great joy and devotion in serving his Guru – it is all he lives for now. It shone through his eyes, his face, with a force that could be tangibly felt.
I went back onstage to conduct the choir, and as we ended our set with his song Dark Eyes, you may be wondering why I was hardly moving my arms. I could once again feel that same presence of the power of love, coming from our singing, and was trying to expand that bubble of inspiration to fill the amphitheater. Could any of you feel it, I wonder?
Choir performing “Brothers”
During his talk, I sat downstairs with the choir in the green room and listened. Over the PA system I could hear his heartfelt emotion as he spoke of the beginning of his journey to live for God alone. I continued to dive deep into his vibration, not noticing how well he was articulating his words, or where his talk may be going from one thought to another. I was simply overjoyed that he had made the trip, and was here to serve all those awaiting his presence.
At the end of the show, we came back onstage to sing Peace with him, and despite his evident fatigue, still chose to sing with us, with surprising vigor. As the audience sang the final “Amen” with us, the amphitheater was vibrantly resonating with a Divine Presence that could not but open wide that hardest of hearts.
After he was taken backstage, he remained in that uplifted bliss, radiating joy as he blessed Neale Donald Walsch and his wife and a few others before leaving for his new home in Los Angeles. I know in his heart of hearts he couldn’t help but feel Yogananda’s blessings from all the energy it took to make “The Miracle Show” (as Sean has been dubbing it) the great success that it was.
Thank you Swamiji, for your continued example of a life lived completely for God, no matter what the cost.
What an incredible week we had! Here are some recordings from our concert last Monday night:
Salute The Great Paper Flag (Swami’s one political song!)
Here is a beautiful instrumental, Love Is the Aspiration Toward Perfection played by Craig Roberts, Bhagavati, myself, Todd Billingsley, and Mukti Deranja.
And another, Friendship Is Acting In Freedom, featuring Dharmini Iyer and Bhagavati on flute, Cindy Gottfried on guitar.
Another highlight of the evening was the performance of the Life Is the Quest for Joy Suite, with solos by Paean Lee and Ben Skillman. Here is an excerpt of the last 5 minutes:
And finally, a beautiful performance of Life Is a Dream, featuring Ramesha Nani and Parkle Lee:
My heartfelt thanks to all the musicians and singers who made this wonderful evening possible, and of course, to dear Swamiji, without whom none of this would have been possible!
CDs of the concert are available upon request - music@ananda.org
The Peace Treaty is a three-act play that Swamiji wrote many years ago. And for about the last 10 years it has been a tradition to perform it during Spiritual Renewal Week. I know that for the actors and viewers alike, with each performance the play offers some new pearls of wisdom. The play in an entertaining way, presents the teachings and blends wisdom and humor with ease. I am always struck by the Swami’s wonderful use of the english language and how understandable and poeticly he can share deep truths.
Swamiji arrived and greeted a few friends, then settled in to enjoy watching The Peace Treaty come to life.
It started off quite dramatically, with a battle scene as part of the preshow that gave the background of the play.
And then… the scene we all look forward to… Slash, parry, slash parry. And one by one the soldiers took stage.
I am amazed at the talent of our Ananda actors. There were a few new actors, and some who took on new roles. It was fun to see Nabha transition from playing serious and thoughtful Ponder to the eccentric Baltan of clan Emerald.
The play is often profound and often hilarious.
The play contrasts good and noble qualities with bad qualities. Lord Crystar and Gazella display qualities that are to be aspired too.
The bad guys are convincingly played by some of the nicest men you could ever want to meet. They seem to enjoy playing these roles, as much as Swamiji said he enjoyed writing the roles. He laughs when he describes how absurd these Lords are when trying to preserve their domains.
There is love and music.
There are wise hermits and free and joyful spirits.
There are lessons to be learned.
And a very happy ending.
Swami Kriyananda, the playwright was honored and obviously happy with the performance.
And Swamiji honored Devaki, the director and one of characters, and the cast with a bouquet of flowers to thank them for their deep commitment to the play and its message. Thank you all for your wonderful and joyful performance and your dedication to The Peace Treaty.
Delighted, no end is actually the punch line to a joke in the Peace Treaty (Swamiji Kriyananda’s 3-act play). But it describes this weekend perfectly. People were delighted with the gardens at Crystal Hermitage.
Hi everyone, last week I shared with you photos of the first weekend of Springtime at Ananda. It was cloudy and very cold. But, many hardy souls made the trek to see Crystal Hermitage Gardens. This weekend was sunny and warm! At least 1000 people took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and came to see the Gardens this week. The tulips and cherry trees were in full glory and drinking up the sun.
People of all ages enjoyed the warmth, the amazing colors and garden artistry. I think most of Ananda was involved in helping to host this special weekend. We enjoyed each others company and especially enjoyed seeing and hearing the delightful responses to the garden.
We noticed that our visitors seemed very relaxed, they explored the nooks and crannies of the gardens and were enchanted with the small patches of color and the planting combinations.
They took time to sit and enjoy the views.
Today also was special for the students who just graduated from the month long Ananda Yoga Teacher Training course held at The Expanding Light. Several of these dedicated people came over to enjoy the garden experience before heading home. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these new yoga teachers and feel good that they will be sharing the light in their new roles as hatha yoga instructors. Congratulations, everyone!
There were first class treats available, beautiful music, and well attended concerts throughout the day.
The pool and trees in the lower garden inspired relaxation and quiet conversations. All-in-all a very lovely event. A huge thank you to everyone involved and to all our beautiful guests.
Pictured below are Jivada and Netri Mair the head planners and gardeners. They posed for me at the end of the weekend. They look great don’t they?
Swami Kriyananda’s vision for the garden, Divine Mother’s grace, and many willing and joyful souls are responsible for the enchanting, uplifting place known as Crystal Hermitage. From this place of beauty many prayers are sent out into the world. And especially now with all that is happening on our planet we pray that you feel God’s joy deep within. Bless you all.
It truly was a beautifully inspiring week of Inner Renewal, and I wanted to just quickly share some highlights from the concert on Saturday night. It was titled “A Musical Pilgrimage into God Communion”, and was filled with many very deep performances of some of Swami’s most sacred pieces.
Cloisters:
In the Temple of Isis:
Mother of Wisdom:
Make Us Channels of Thy Peace:
He Who Clothes the Field & May We Serve You:
God! God! God!
The Divine Romance:
I highly recommend listening to a larger work, Life Is the Quest For Joy, on the Inner Renewal Week page (I wasn’t able to upload here, due to size limitations).
It has been a blessed month indeed! Here are a few excerpts worth a listen:
First, from our Living Wisdom High School Concert on Friday, Dec 11th, a piece by John Rutter titled Mary’s Lullaby.
On Saturday, Dec 12th, I led an astounding performance of Swami Kriyananda’s Oratorio, Christ Lives! at Mills College in Oakland, in a beautiful chapel with marvelous acoustics! Here are a few choir pieces: Christ Has Come
Sing Out With Joy
When Human Hopes Toward Thee Aspire
Thy Light Within Us Shining
Then back at the village, on Sunday, Dec 13th, we had our World Brotherhood Day celebration, which included performances of: The Christ Child’s Asleep (studio recording)
And The Christmas Mystery (studio recording)
Here is a link to the video of many of the pieces performed that afternoon (Three Wise Men at the beginning, The Christ Child’s Asleep and Mother of Wisdom at 24:23).
On Sunday morning Dec 20th, we had our Christmas Sunday Service, led by Jyotish and Devi, which can be viewed by visiting our video page. It includes our children’s choir joining us at the beginning of the video for Christ Has Come and The Christmas Mystery. You’ll easily find my daughter - the only one not standing still!
That same evening we had our annual Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec 20th, which included performances of The Blue Danube, For Unto Us a Child Is Born, the Halleluiah Chorus, a visit by the Victorian Singers, and many of Swami Kriyananda’s Christmas pieces.
It truly has been a blessed month, and our wish is for you to carry with you these vibrations of Light, Love, Peace, and Joy with you throughout this coming year! May God Bless you all.
Swami Kriyananda has often said that music has the power to change consciousness, and I have always believed that to be true. But there are always new levels of understanding to discover.
I have been singing in the Ananda Portland choir now for many years and find that my consciousness is always uplifted when I concentrate on the music written by Swami Kriyananda; whether singing in choir practice, a performance, or singing to myself in the car. I know I feel more expansive and joyful at those times. But it is difficult to convey in words the power that is within each song.
This week we had two opportunities to sing in concert and celebrate the Christmas season. The first time was a Catholic sanctuary here in Portland. There is an annual festival of lights and a beautiful stone chapel with amazing acoustics. Choral groups sing every night in the chapel and we were honored to be one of them. The day of the concert, when I should have been meditating, practicing, and happily preparing for the evening performance, I was home feeling irritated and moody.
It was my one day off during the week and I felt pressured to get a lot done in very little time. The house was in chaos because of several unfinished projects. The Christmas decorating had just begun and boxes were everywhere. My daughter had a piano lesson and there was no place for the piano teacher to even sit. My oldest son was coming home for the holiday and there was no place for him to sleep or put all the stuff he was bringing with him. There were several stressful issues that came to a head on the one day I didn’t want to deal with them, and the idea of singing in a challenging concert became more of a burden than a joy.
When we arrived I was still feeling impatient and irritable while we waited our turn. After warming up and reviewing details, we all sat to meditate a bit before we were called upstairs to the stage. After meditating just a few moments, I felt calmer, but not exactly inspired. We stood in the lights to sing the first song and I could see friends in the audience. I prayed it wouldn’t be a disaster. The first song was Children of God:
Children of God, your time of trial has ended!
See where the dawn irradiates the night.
Soon all your tears will rise like dew to the sun,
Sorrow will turn to joy, your griefs to delight.
Children rejoice for lo, the kingdom of God,
Comes in full splendor,
It needs but your sight.
Listen to an earlier version (some of the words have changed, but the melody is the same) of the song:
My mood was gone and in its place was joy and gratitude.
When you sing a song with that message, there is no room for anything but joy. We sang for forty more minutes and the joy grew. As the story of Christmas unfolded through each piece, the little me disappeared and I felt a kinship with everyone in the audience and those beyond the gray stone walls. We were all blessed by Christ, and we could all experience the consciousness he manifested, if we turned our sight within.
A few days later was another concert. This time the setting was more intimate – just a small gathering of the Portland Ananda sangha. But the vibration of the music is the same, regardless of the setting. I felt blessed beyond measure.
I’ve reached a new level of awe for what Swami Kriyananda has given us. There is something about these two experiences that reach deep into my consciousness. I know the vibration of this music is changing much more than my emotions. It is not just an easy answer to mood swings (although that is a good place to start!). If I can feel it changing my consciousness, and my perception is extremely limited – I know there are subtle changes happening beyond my awareness.
I urge you to listen, sing, play, hum, and memorize the music of Ananda. I don’t know if it is the greatest gift Swami Kriyananda has given the world, he has given so many. But I am convinced it is the most accessible and powerful transformational tool available on the planet today.
Use the music of Ananda to experience the truth of Christmas. Open your heart to the message of light and love that Christ brought and that can be experienced by every soul. Children rejoice for lo, the kingdom of God,
Comes in full splendor,
It needs but your sight.
Free samples of music by Swami Kriyananda can be found at Crystal Clarity and at Ananda.
