April 27th, 2007 by Nayaswami Devarshi
I have a favorite chant that was frequently sung by Sri Yukteswar, Paramhansa Yogananda’s guru. It’s titled Desire, My Great Enemy:
Desire, my great enemy,
With his soldiers surrounded me,
Is giving me lots of trouble, oh my Lord,
Is giving me lots of trouble, oh my Lord.
That enemy, I will deceive,
Remaining in the Castle of Peace,
Night and Day in Thy joy, oh my Lord,
Night and Day in Thy joy, oh my Lord.
What will be my fate?
Oh Lord, tell me.
Pranayam be thy religion,
Pranayam will give thee salvation,
Pranayam is the Wishing Tree,
Pranayam is the Wishing Tree.
Pranayam is Beloved God,
Pranayam is Creator Lord,
Pranayam is the Cosmic World,
Pranayam is the Cosmic World.
Control the little pranayam,
Become all-pervading pranayam,
You won’t have to fear anything anymore,
You won’t have to fear anything anymore.
Pranayama (or pranayam) means in Sanskrit, “control of one’s life force, or energy.”
Most people think that pranayama describes various breathing exercises and yoga techniques. Yogananda explained that “pranayama is a condition, not a technique.” The very purpose of pranayama exercises is to give us complete control of the inner life force. This is the true meaning of pranayama.
Paramhansa Yogananda said that the author of the chant took poetic license by saying, “pranayam is Beloved God” and “pranayam be thy religion.” Even so, he emphasized that the words of the chant do describe the only way to union with God, through control of one’s energy.
What does control of one’s energy have to do with union with God? Yogananda said:
God answers all prayers, but restless prayers He answers only a little bit. If you try to give someone something that doesn’t belong to you, your gift won’t mean much to him, will it? However touching the gesture, it will be lacking in substance!
So is it when your mind is not your own. You may want to give it to God, but you can’t. Your prayers, then, are hardly more than a gesture.
Get control over your mind. When you can pray with concentration, the Lord will know that you mean what you are saying. He will answer you, then, in wonderful ways.
The Kriya yogi, through ever- deepening practice of Kriya, controls his life force to the extent that he can withdraw the energy that would otherwise go into restless thoughts and desires. As a result of that control, he can achieve final union with the divine in deep samadhi meditation.
Even if the Kriya Yogi falls short of the ultimate goal, he finds over the years that his meditations become ever deeper, and that God answers his prayers “in wonderful ways.” This has been true in my own life, and in the lives of countless other Kriya yogis.
P.S. The chant, Desire, My Great Enemy, is beautifully performed on the chanting CD titled Power Chants, available from Crystal Clarity Publishers.
April 24th, 2007 by Brahmachari Nabha
After nearly a month, our trip to the holy city of Rishikesh (see earlier post) still lives in my mind as a series of inspiring memories. One of these is our group’s visit to Vanamali Devi, an internationally well-known spiritual light, who is also an author and speaker.
 Vanamali Devi has a beautiful ashram overlooking the Ganges (the view is pictured here), and, in the room where we met, an altar which is carefully and devotionally arranged (also pictured).
Our group had a short (30-minute-ish) audience with her. One of the first questions we asked was if she would talk about devotion. She replied, “That is one of the hardest things to talk about!”
So she took a charming approach to the subject: why wisdom is a necessary prerequisite for deep devotion.  Wisdom, she said, is the knowledge of what we would be devoted to, and without it, we become dogmatic and fanatical, focusing our energy not on our perception of God, but on our conception of Him: on mere belief or superstition.
My favorite part of our audience was her answer to this question, and her follow-up answer:
“Would you tell us something about your life story?”
Her response: “I’m trying to forget this body [in other words, transcend the ego], and you ask me to talk about it?” Everyone laughed.
And there was a follow-up question:
“How do you forget yourself [transcend the ego]?”
 As I recall, she replied that, over time and by continuous practice, the thought that God is the Doer “superimposes” itself onto the current attitudes of the mind – and then this way of seeing life becomes the living reality. I found her attitude deeply encouraging: the thought that time will bring the goal to hand. As yogi-Christ Lahiri Mahasaya said, “Doing, doing, one day done.”
For those interested, Vanamali Devi leads a retreat at Ananda on May 11 – 13, at Ananda’s Meditation Retreat; details for the retreat are here. Much of the retreat will be in silence; talks, meditations, and a question and answer session are also part of the schedule.
After her talk, I felt like we were good friends – a feeling which had come seemingly out of nowhere. I think this is a common experience to have when meeting spiritual people, who are good friends, first, with the Self who is in all. I told my Dad about this feeling, and about the retreat, and he said, “I think you should definitely go!”
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April 22nd, 2007 by Koral Ilgun
 I have just finished the fourth and final week of Level 1 Ananda Yoga Teacher Training. After five years of living in Ananda Village I have finally been able to take the time off to do this four-week program. I am so glad I did. The course has been educational, fun, inspiring, challenging, deep in yogic teachings (not necessarily in that order) and I got to meet some wonderful people along the way. Our teachers have done an absolutely amazing job in presenting the material and preparing us to go out and spread these teachings. It’s been a very busy four weeks as we had very little free time in between classes, but the effects of this immersion into the great science of Yoga are enormous.  On the physical plane, we learned each posture included in this training in minute detail with keen attention to safety, as well as how that posture effects our energy. On a spiritual level, the yogic philosophy classes made about the other half of the class time and they really brought everything in perspective as well as helping us go deeper in our practice, whether meditation or yoga postures or the rest of our daily lives. If you have ever wondered whether you should sign up for this course, I have only one thing to say (with the risk of sounding a bit cliche): Just Do It! You will be glad you did and the experience will stay with you for lifetimes.
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April 12th, 2007 by Kent Williams
Recently, Jyotish and Devi Novak, the Spiritual Directors for Ananda, were with Swami Kriyananda in India. They said in a recent gathering with many of us:
One morning, when we were with Swamiji in India, we asked him how we could grow towards God more quickly. He replied very simply, “The whole secret of spiritual progress is to transcend the ego. This is best done by longer and deeper meditation, and by seeing God as the Doer in all our actions.”
As a result, we began daily all community meditations on weekdays in our Mandir (called “Hansa Mandir,” where we hold Sunday Services). Sraddha, my wife, and I had been discussing our interest in more group meditations, so we commited to attending daily. I wondered if I could do it every day, but then realized I only had to make one decision, and not five decisions every week.
That decision was to just do it, as this was a priority. Sometimes I have commitments the night before, but I know I will wake up early enough to be there. Sometimes I might have to leave a little early for work. Some folks come earlier and some stay later.
I have to say that already it has been a blessing to come together with many of our neighbors to meditate every day, and I really look forward to it. We don’t socialize, just pray, chant and meditate. Sometimes, as we depart, there is eye contact and a recognition of the higher Self in each other; and always, a deeper connection inside with the Divine.
I am glad I have made this community meditation a priority.
April 7th, 2007 by Nayaswami Devarshi
Recently I’ve been struck yet again by how effective Kriya Yoga is for causing deep changes in people’s lives and consciousness.
Not long ago, I was checking someone’s Kriya practice. This person received Kriya about a year ago. At the time they received the initiation, I wasn’t quite sure that they were ready to practice the technique. They didn’t seem to have the necessary focus. Kriya requires a serious commitment in order to be most effective.
Imagine my surprise when I saw them completely changed, after only one year of Kriya practice! They had bright eyes, clear mind, and a deep sense of joy. I saw increased energy, and a growing desire to serve others. Their meditations had improved to the point where divine inner communion has become a powerful daily reality.
I have seen similar results in others, time and again, so I shouldn’t be surprised any longer. When Paramhansa Yogananda called Kriya Yoga an “Ancient Science,” he was addressing one important aspect of Kriya. A true science is proved by experiment. Moreover, it has to be proved not only by one person, but by anyone, anywhere, who performs the same experiment.
The Kriya “experiment,” done correctly, produces remarkable results in all who practice it. Results aren’t always instantly noticed, but are inevitable for those who follow the Kriya path sincerely and with deep devotion.
One time I was talking with Peggy Deitz, a late, long-time disciple of Yogananda. She wrote the beautiful book Thank You, Master, describing her time with Yogananda. She remarked that the Path of Kriya is somewhat like planting a fruit tree.
She pointed out that if one follows the right gardening practices by fertilizing, watering, and protecting the young tree, it will inevitably bear fruit. It won’t always be quick, but when the time is right, the tree will produce the long-awaited fruit.
The Path of Kriya Yoga is the same. It is truly a science, and when practiced the right way, it will, without exception, bear the fruit the yogi is seeking – divine joy, a lightness of being, clarity of mind, boundless energy, and direct experience of God. I’ve seen this ‘experiment’ proven time and time again.
As Yogananda said, “Kriya plus devotion works like mathematics. It cannot fail!”
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