BANAT BANAT BANJAI – How to lighten our daily load Experiences and reflections from a disciple In the last blog, we explained that Lahiri Mahashaya‘s phrase: banat, banat, banjai (keep doing, doing, one day it will be done!) is his immortal promise for achieving our goals. We have seen how the four P’s: Passion, Perseverance, Patience and Presence, can lead … Read More
The Message of Easter
The Message of Easter “…hope for the highest and the best, for, as a child of God, nothing is too good for you. Keep on hoping. Move in that light until you travel through pathways of incarnations to your luminous home in God. Hope is born out of the intuitive consciousness in the Soul that sometime or other we shall … Read More
BANAT BANAT BANJAI –
How To Reach Our Goal
BANAT BANAT BANJAI – How to reach our goal Experiences and reflections from a disciple One day, I was asked to prepare a short speech for an evening dedicated to Lahiri Mahasaya, and comment on a specific phrase of his. I chose “banat banat banjai”: doing, doing, one day it will be done! I find it so encouraging and perfect! … Read More
New Year Thoughts
New Year Thoughts . . . Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! This is the way of the wise…” ―Paramhansa Yogananda Living in the present moment has always been a key part of the great spiritual traditions. We are counselled … Read More
Christ Lives!
Christ Lives! “Christ’s Light that shone on earth from heaven, opened for us the inner door; to all who love the gift is given, joy and freedom evermore.” “Jesus Christ is born this day, hallelujah! Born to drive our night away, hallelujah! Joy on the mountains, joy in the valleys, joy to the nations, Christ has come.” —Swami Kriananda, from … Read More
The Christmas Truce
The Christmas Truce “Do whatever you do with the thought and peace of Christ. This Christmas behold Christ born anew in the beauty of all Nature, in your awakened wisdom, in everything which wears true beauty, and in everybody who saturates himself with the fragrance of Christ’s qualities.” – Master Inner Culture magazine, December 1932 In the Bible the story … Read More
The Substance of Things Hoped For
The Substance of Things Hoped For My first job, upon arriving in Rome, was in real estate. The employer was a posh American lady, in her late sixties and as tough as nails, working in partnership with her ambitious, competitive daughter. In the Eternal City, the two ladies had been able to smell an opportunity in the business of selling and renting houses and apartments to the international community of … Read More
Ananda’s Colony in Europe
Ananda’s Colony in Europe My wife Lahari and I have had the privilege of serving in many of the ashrams Ananda has established around the world. Since our arrival in the 1980’s, we had 15 years at Ananda Village, 2 in Portland, 2 in Ananda Ashland, 3 in Palo Alto, 1 in Ananda Rhode Island, 2 in Sacramento, 5 in … Read More
The True Signs of Progress in Meditation
The True Signs of Progress in Meditation As the journey of one’s existence progresses, one finds by deeper insight into the soul that the quest of life is “Who am I; why am I here?” The animal has no power to analyze its condition and its environment; only man has that rational capacity. As such, man is meant to use … Read More
The candle of peace
The candle of peace Take the bowl of my mind and fill it with Thy understanding. Take my bottle of emotion and fill it with Thy mercy. Take the empty basket of my Soul and fill it with Thy Fragrant Wisdom. Use my life’s vessel to dip cupfuls of Thy Love and pour them into the desire-parched throats of others. … Read More
Poem by Master:
Peace
Poem by Master: PEACE I obey Thee in the Temple of Discipline. I love Thee in the Temple of Devotion. I worship Thee in the Temple of Love. I touch Thy feet in the Temple of Stillness. I behold Thy eyes in the Temple of Delight. I feel Thee in the Temple of Emotion. I fight for Thee in the … Read More
Music As Meditation
Music as Meditation “Where has My Love Gone – A Mystical Love Song” As a child, my mother encouraged us towards the arts. I played the flute, the oboe and took piano lessons for less than a year when I was just 7 years old. I never really learned how to read music, I mostly played by ear and I … Read More