Many of the Ananda India staff and devotees from Gurgaon – Delhi – Noida (also known as India National Capitol Region - NCR) went to Pune the weekend of March 27–29 for a retreat on our new community land.
It was hard to believe just how much things have progressed in just one year! The last time most of us had been there was the Bhoomi Poojan - land blessing in February 2009.
Dinner in the new dining area of the Retreat
Ananda India monks headed up the extremely complicated guest transportation schedule between Pune airport and train station, Ananda apartments and hotel in the city, and the community land, which is about one hour outside of Pune.
They led sadhanas (spiritual practices) in the grass-roofed temple, and a kirtan (devotional chanting) on Saturday evening. They took us on land tours which included new houses, kutirs (cabins), monastery, roads, and garden.
They, and many helpers, prepared three delicious meals a day for about sixty or seventy people. Dharmini from Ananda Gurgaon led our choir practice and singing. Dharmadas, Jaya, Sundeep and Amol (leaders of Ananda India) did a presentation on next phases for building, and for creating Ananda businesses to support the community.
As you can probably imagine, it was one of those wonderful, joy-filled Ananda weekends when everyone feels a part of a much bigger plan and can feel Yogananda’s grace throughout.
Walking from morning meditation to breakfast past the bath house. Small kutirs (cabins) are further up the hill.
Bramhacharis Jemal and Ditya (in yellow) lead the walking tour of the land.
Exterior of Swami Kriyananda’s house.
Inside Swamiji’s living room. It was designed to hold many people!
Lunch is served.
Kirtan (devotional chanting) under the stars.
Swami Kriyananda is answering questions from the audience.
We had the very good fortune to spend considerable time with Swami Kriyananda. We watched him recording two 2-hour sessions of TV programs based on the Bhagavad Gita commentaries, to be broadcast later throughout India and Asia.
Brian McSweeney, who is visiting from Ananda Palo Alto in California, was behind the camera, and there was a gorgeous Himalayan-themed backdrop behind Swamiji. On Sunday morning, instead of filming more programs, Swamiji lovingly and patiently answered the questions of many devotees who were squeezed into his living room.
Click below to listen to the audio recording of the Q&A, 105 minutes, 48 MB
We know Swamiji was tired from filming, but he seemed in top form and looked wonderful, as you will see in the photos. It was a deeply inspiring, precious time it was for all of us.
How many of you out there have experienced or are experiencing difficulty in expressing your spirituality through the unwitting oppression of a loved one?
It is not unusual for what may seem the strongest of relationships to break down when only one of the party discovers the real mission in life: To seek ones own divinity. I’m sure my experience will touch the hearts of some and perhaps even offer a little solace and inspiration.
When I began meditating, some years ago now, my husband, Michael was very sceptical about its merits and used to tease and jibe that I was up to some jiggery-pokery witchcraft. I used to meditate with 2 friends and he named us ‘The Three Witches’. Still, despite his teasing, he left me to it. It wasn’t until I discovered Raja Yoga and he realized I was moving in a new and purposeful direction outside of his understanding that he began to get more than a little twitched.
He recognized changes in me. I was more comfortable in my own company; less interested in worldly entertainment, and reading books that had ‘God’ in the title. I was accused of becoming a religious fanatic. As my time spent in meditation increased it became apparent that my husband deeply resented his self-made exclusion from this area of my life. Rather than eagerly anticipating my meditations, as I would surely have done, I began to dread the moment when it was time to meditate because I knew that it would trigger animosity in my husband. I began meditating in secret at night, all the while praying that God give him understanding and acceptance of me as I am and what I aspire to be.
The crunch came when I was accepted for initiation into Kriya Yoga. This meant a trip to Ananda Village in California, my chosen venue, and time spent away from my husband. We had rarely been apart. When I discussed it with him I remember thinking it strange that he didn’t object in the slightest. I invited him to come along, but he declined, which didn’t surprise me, yet I wanted him to know I was not pushing him out.
I knew it had gone too well, however. A couple of weeks later, when he had time to brood on my trip away, he began verbalising his concerns; valid for him. In his ignorance I was accused of getting swept along into something dangerous and that Ananda was a cult; that I was naïve and vulnerable and was being brain-washed. My husband would not take the trouble to research the website or read any of Ananda’s literature, which may have allayed some of his fears.
I recognised that my husband’s insecurities were all born of his attachment and perceived need of me. A love with strings that meant he lived in fear of losing my love. He thought I would run away to this ‘cult’. I knew he felt alienated from a relationship were we had once shared the same worldly interests. He said at one point that I was moving too fast and that I should slow down and wait for him. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do that. No one has that right to ask that of anyone. He resented the change bitterly, was terribly jealous of the time that realizing God demands, yet he loved me dearly the only way he knew.
All throughout, my devotion was strong and I knew I must not give way. I stood my ground - new territory for me - and stalwartly kept the beacon burning for God in the firmness of my resolve. Through this test I gained such an inner strength that I can see that my husband has been my greatest blessing. That he was Guru teaching me to make a stand for what I perceive as Truth. I, in turn was my husband’s test.
On my return from the U.S, now a kriyaban (practitioner of Kriya yoga), my husband feigned disinterest in the whole trip and sneered at the photographs. I didn’t push the issue. I continued praying.
Then the excuse I needed to realize a life-long desire to go to India arrived. My 50th birthday! My husband had no desire to go there, but out of love for me was happy to ‘for my birthday’.
I announced that I would like to visit the new Ananda community in Pune and that I wished to take holy vows of renunciation: The vow of Tyaga, meaning I would become a tyagi (married monk) of the Nayaswami Order of Renunciates, founded by Swami Kriyananda. Poor Michael! His face told all. He thought I had finally lost my marbles, yet despite this he surprisingly didn’t raise any objection. I asked him would he like to read the vow. He declined the offer, but we went to India.
My previous blog, ‘The Land Where Saints still Tread’, tells the tale of our experience in Shirdi. The blessings my husband received changed him, yet he does not recognize that he has.
Two days following the Shirdi experience we went to Pune. I didn’t know until the day if he would accompany me to the Ananda community. Curiosity got the better of him. My husband was witness to my vowing, before God and Guru, my renunciation of the world! Never did I think I would see the day he was actually present at such a sacred and spiritually significant ceremony. He was even receptive to Nayasawmi Jaya when asked if he could offer him a blessing.
Nayaswami Jaya giving diksha (blessing) after I had made my vow
It was wonderful visiting the new land on which the community is being constructed. We had a great day. We were given a tour, met Nirmala and Dharmadas - the spiritual directors of Ananda India - I meditated with other wonderful gurubhais (fellow disciples), we had lunch and had a look round Swami Kriyananda’s new house.
Swami Kriyananda’s house
My husband even befriended one of the devotees who was tending the new vegetable garden and decided, in the midday heat, to give her a hand with the digging!
Michael working in the community garden
He thoroughly was swept along in the vibration and enthusiasm of all present and he said that he would like to return and see how the site is coming on in a year or 2. In visiting Ananda, Michael realized that Ananda members are wonderful and sincerely devout people that don’t have devils horns and chains with which to ensnare unsuspecting women!
Myself, Michael, Dharmadas and Nirmala
Discussing the vow with him that evening, Michael bravely confessed to me he actually liked the part of the vow that pertained to partnerships:
…I will view my partner as a channel of God’s blessing, guidance, and strength, and will strive always to be a similar channel in return.
I will endeavor always, through the love and respect I feel for my partner, to reach out in love and service to all humanity…
I could have wept for joy, but contained myself for fear of his embarrassment. I just nodded calmly and smiled, thanking God for this change.
Although my husband still intellectually expresses no interest in spirituality, nor any real understanding of mine, what has transpired - and I believe through prayer and blessings - is an inner transformation; an intuition that has made his love more expansive that now enables a tolerance and acceptance of my own transformation. His actions reflect what is in his heart, which his head has still to acknowledge. A truth has been recognized, that to allow me to be who I am, to allow me to move outside the box he had placed me in, has actually brought us closer together, rather than pushed us apart.
His transformation would not have happened in this way had he not been open enough to join me in my trip to India, even if only instigated by mere curiosity. Only God, however, knows how that seed of curiosity was planted!
I made a stand for what I perceive as Truth. I demonstrated to Micheal a faith in God such as he has no option but to accept will never falter. He recognized he had a choice to either move with me, at his own pace, or to stand on the side line watching me walk on. We cannot hope to instigate change by trying to impose our will on other people. We can only ever change ourselves and calmly watch the repercussions.
Now?.. my husband will look at the clock and remind me it’s my meditation time. Together we are visiting Ananda Assisi, in Italy, this summer. He also wishes to accompany me to Ananda Village next year and said he might even listen to a talk or 2!
My dear husband’s latest gesture of an expanding love comes in the form of an alter he has built for me in our spare room.
My altar
I am told it is only with very good karma that a person will find a partner that is devout. Two years ago I could never have dreamed for such blessings; that my husband’s love would become less selfish and more divine in nature, and he doesn’t even realize…or does he?
When you think about the wave of yoga that has swept the nation, you may not immediately make any connections to Christianity. In fact, many people may indeed be drawn to the yoga movement simply because it has no outward ties to any formal religious dogmas.
Yet for me, my spiritual journey has always been Christ centered, and remains so to this day, where I find myself living in the midst of those who I can readily call “true Christians.”
I have had the great blessing to be born into a God-loving family - in fact, my father is a Presbyterian Pastor. Some of my earliest, fondest memories are evenings filled with singing and fellowship at our house with the church youth group, led by my father. This was in the 70’s, so songs like “Pass It On”, and others from “Godspell” filled our house with vibrations of love and happiness, and being so young, I could embrace it whole heartedly and tangibly feel the music’s effect on my soul. I had a few great blessings of Christ’s presence as a child, made known to me by an overwhelming vibration of love in my heart.
As I grew up, I became very comfortable with being part of the church, but never really identified myself as an overt Christian. My peers didn’t really talk about God much, and I wasn’t going to push my beliefs, perhaps from a fear of persecution from a unidentifiable past. I was once asked if I was going to be a minister like my dad and his own father, but I honestly couldn’t see myself following in those particular footsteps.
It wasn’t until I was out of graduate school and living a married life that I found myself needing to feed a spiritual hunger that had been growing within me for all of my life, and became deeply involved in our local Presbyterian Church in Evansville, Indiana. I appreciated our pastor’s words from the pulpit, but I was growing more and more disillusioned with how few people, if any, were actually living the life that Christ had offered.
Deep questions began to haunt me: How many Christians, if Christ were to come again into our midst, would “drop their nets” and follow him? Where could I find souls filled with a greater power of love, of humility, of the unalloyed joy of Christ’s presence? And most pressing, what must I do to become a true Christian?
With my father as my nearest and dearest role model, I whole heartedly offered my energy in service, for that was what I had seen as the ultimate role of being a Christian. I engaged myself in many committees, served as a youth director and sang in the choir, but after 6 months of strenuous service with no means to balance it, I ended up exhausted and sick.
It was at that critical point where my wife prodded me to take a long, deep look at my life.
We were reading metaphysical books that mentioned meditation, but I had no idea what it was or how to do it. At the bookstore, the saleswomen pointed out book after book, but then perked up and said - “Oh, but you must read this - it’s a classic!” On the cover of this book was a face that seemed so familiar, that called out to me with Divine Love and Friendship. The book, as you may have guessed, was Autobiography of a Yogi. I took it home and immediately engrossed myself, on the way to finally finding the answers to all my questions and the clear path to the fulfillment of my spiritual longings.
I was thrilled to find in the book not a rejection of Christianity in favor of something new and different, but rather a very scientific explanation of how true Christianity and yoga are linked together. Countless stories of the Yogi-Christs fill the pages, bringing alive Christ’s message in a very vibrant relevance. I found myself strengthening my devotion to Christ, rather than turning away from my Christian upbringing. For those of you who haven’t yet read it, you can read it online or as a free Kindle edition download.
A few months later I entered the Ananda Church in Beaverton, Oregon for a Sunday Service, and immediately knew that I had found my true home. Everyone I met felt like an old friend, and as the service commenced, I once again felt the tangible presence of Christ making itself known to me as an overwhelming vibration of love in my heart. Tears of joy streamed down my face as I knew my life would never be the same again.
In the 14 years since then, I’ve fully embraced this path based on Christ’s greatest commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart (devotion), with all your soul, with all your mind (concentration), and with all your strength (the inner Path of Kriya Yoga);
and Love Thy neighbor as Thyself.
Our spiritual teacher, Swami Kriyananda, has written a deeply meaningful book, Revelations of Christ, which offers the teachings of Christ from the experience and perspective of Paramhansa Yogananda. Swami Kriyananda continues to serve as an incredible example of a life lived for God alone.
I would also be deeply remiss if I didn’t mention the Oratorio Christ Lives that Swami Kriyananda has written, based on Christ’s life and the inspiration that he received while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Here are some recordings from our recent December performance at Mills College.
It is with great joy and gratitude that I continue to offer my life in service to God, following Christ’s teachings with the help of my Guru, until I find myself face to face with the Christ consciousness that has promised to meet me at the end of my quest.
A few days ago I got into the car at 5:30am to begin my day of activities. There was a meditation, a meeting, then school and then work at the temple waiting for me. It was dark and cold and my family was still sleeping in the house. The car wouldn’t start.
I woke my saintly husband and we problem solved together. I thought the gas had been siphoned off so I walked to the gas station and then we tried again after putting a couple gallons in. It still wouldn’t start. My husband offered me his car and he called the mechanic.
We learned we had a broken fuel pump. The fuel pump is essential for getting the fuel into the engine where it does its job of making things go. I could pump in fuel all day, but if the fuel pump doesn’t work, nothing moves. It didn’t seem like a lesson in energy at the time, it seemed like a lesson in how to let go of $600.
This morning, I received a very sweet, friendly email reminding me that my scheduled posting for this site was overdue. I, of course, already knew this because I have been hitting “snooze” every time the little reminder window would pop up on my computer screen.
I had plans to sit at my computer and write this morning – and then all day, but not for this blog. I have a curriculum writing project I’ve been part of for over a year and that deadline is months overdue.
Living Wisdom School, where I teach part-time is on spring break, but there are hours of planning, classroom clean-up and preparation to do before the kids return. I will spend half of the break helping my mother in her recovery from surgery so I won’t be in town.
I’m still working at the Portland Temple and Teaching Center (which doesn’t take spring break) and we have two significant events this week, besides the regularly scheduled classes and daily opportunities to serve. There will be a Nayaswami Renunciate Order initiation for the first time in Portland. I will be taking a Pilgrim vow and as part of the staff I am involved in the preparations and planning for the event.
The home scene involves ferrying kids to friends and classes today too, along with the daily piles of laundry, dishes, and spring chores.
All this is to say – each day is full to overflowing with opportunities to learn that God is the Doer. I can get anxious, tense and on the verge of panic if I think about every THING that must be done and the inadequate time I have to do it. There simply is no way to succeed.
As I practiced Yogananda’s energization exercises this morning, the words of the prayer seemed to vibrate with meaning: O Infinite Spirit, recharge this body with Thy conscious, cosmic energy. Recharge this mind with Thy concentration and determination. Recharge this soul, and all souls, with Thy ever-new joy. O Eternal Youth of body and mind, abide within me forever and ever. Amen.
There is infinite cosmic energy flowing all the time – all I need to do is to open up to the flow. I had a sudden flash back to the early morning car episode. My consciousness is the fuel pump!
My daughter is here practicing piano while I write and her fingers are flying over the keys. I can almost see the energy flowing into her and producing the beautiful music. If her fuel pump wasn’t working there would be no beautiful music filling the house. It’s her willingness and openness to the divine energy that makes it happen. I can let beautiful things happen through me too, if I open the fuel pump of my consciousness and allow the energy to move where it can do the job.
Whenever I experience a deepening understanding of universal truths, there follows an overwhelming gratitude to my guru, Yogananda, and his devoted disciple, Nayaswami Kriyananda, for the teachings that make the understanding possible. Without access to what is offered through Ananda, I would still be struggling in the dark wondering why things don’t work the way I want them to. How to say thank-you for such a gift? Allow God to be the Doer.
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.
Have you heard the saying “Man plans and God laughs”? I want to tell you of my recent experience in India, not because I wish to talk about myself, but because I want to demonstrate how God’s plans will always over-ride our own for the higher good.
I returned only last week from a most inspiring trip to India with blessings I could not have imagined. My first trip there, I had prayed that I would meet a Realized master.
For more than a year now I have been corresponding with Swami Kriyananda (direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and founder of the Ananda communities) regarding meeting up at his newly founded community outside Pune, in the Maharashtra state of India. I consider Swamiji has now proved, in countless ways, that he has indeed reached jivan mukta status (freed while living) and that his was the saintly meeting that would answer my prayers.
It was always risky to plan in stone, however, as Swamiji never knows where he will be one day to the next for much of his time. Yet, it all looked good and my information when I left for India was such that I had a confirmed appointment with him. Only the day before I was to visit Ananda, I learned that Swamiji unavoidably had left, 4 days before, for Gurgaon, Delhi, which is a great distance from Pune. I calmly accepted the situation, knowing that all was right as it was. But did this superficial disappointment prevent me from meeting a saint? I don’t believe it did.
The day before I had visited the pilgrimage town of Shirdi, which boasts the place of the saintly Sai Baba’s Mahasamadhi (great samadhi in which a Realized master consciously sheds his mortal frame).
Shirdi Sai Baba
It was a Saturday. The town was literally heaving with pilgrims from near and far. The roads were gridlocked and not much ground could be seen above the sea of heads. When my husband, our driver and I located Sai Baba’s sacred shrine I was utterly dismayed by the throng of people queuing to receive darshan (vibrational blessing) from the famous shrine. I could see thousands upon thousands of devotees. This queue, we were told, was currently taking 5-6hours to reach the centre of the temple. The sun was at it’s highest, therefore the heat too much to stand in for any length of time. Disappointed, but again accepting life as is, our driver suggested we return in the evening as he hoped it would be less busy.
On the way back to our car, we walked counter-current to the advancing queue of pilgrims. All I could see was a flowing river of heads. Suddenly there appeared a gap in the crowd. I saw an old swami, dressed in the traditional ochre robe, long hair and mala’s (prayer beads) adorning his neck. He was advancing in a strong purposeful march, yet with such grace and agility he seemed to glide with the athletic prowess of a much younger man.
As he fast approached, our eyes met, and I couldn’t have hoped for the beaming smile from the angelic face before me. His eyes expressed instant recognition of me as an old friend, yet it went much deeper than that. I beamed back too, recognizing immediately this old soul as my oldest and dearest friend; my own. It was a meeting after millennia apart; the warmth, the love conveyed, the beatific smile….but those eyes!
Then, as fast as he approached, he was gone! I couldn’t get his face out of my mind: His eyes; the aura of youth on an old, yet very agile body. My husband and our driver didn’t appear to notice him at all.
It wasn’t until I was in meditation the following morning when… wham! The realization came upon me that this swami was indeed a man of Realization: A man of God. I have no doubt that I brushed the path of a true saint this day; that by default I received darshan from him as our eyes met, and also that he was a dear old friend that I was karmically bound to meet again in this life for mine and possibly his spiritual advancement.
That same evening the queue was still lengthy, though considerably less than earlier. We had a 15 minute wait at the entrance gate, with some confusion as to what to do next. Our driver was trying to get instruction as to where we should go as this was a massive temple complex. Then Divine Mother blessed us by sending the temple superintendent to lead us past the waiting throng of pilgrims to receive darshan at the holy blessed shrine of Sai Baba. We had not asked for preferential treatment, only that we wished to pray at the shrine and receive darshan. The experience was transforming for me. Walking barefoot along the pilgrim route up to the golden dais of his enshrined body with the acoustics of the ancient and powerfully effective tones of sanskrit mantra chanted by the high priest, I pranamed (bowed with hands in prayer position at the heart and forehead) at the feet of his saintly body. The energy in the ether was super-charged. We were further blessed by the high priest and were given prasad (food of the gods) and sacred ash, both infused with Baba’s blessing.
Sai Baba’s Shrine
In my hotel room that night in Shirdi I knew I was changed. I deeply felt the blessings from the saintly swami and beloved Sai Baba which remain with me. What a day! Two saints instead of the one I had prayed for.
Divine Mother, you can override my plans any time you like. I thank you.
