For most people it has become very obvious that we have to change the world. But if we set out to do this, we have to ask ourselves: What is it that we can actually change? At first, it seems as if there were an almost endless panorama of possibilities. We could try to change capitalism by making the wisest … Read More
A major karmic challenge in this life arose during my early school years. One day a boy emerged from a large group of children playing in the schoolyard. He walked over to me and said, “We are friends.” His announcement was accompanied by a rather fierce handshake. He told me his name was Edmund. The friendship that ensued for Edmund … Read More
There was a period in my life, sometime during my mid-twenties, when I was despondent because my girlfriend had left me.I simply couldn’t comprehend how and why this had happened – and so unexpectedly! Maybe the deep bond that I felt with her had eclipsed my awareness of residual effects of traumas of her dysfunctional childhood. Maybe she could already … Read More
Years ago, I was part of a small group driving from Ananda Village to San Francisco. It was a long journey so we stopped at a restaurant along the road for lunch. My friend, a young teenage girl who sat next to me, was the first to receive her order. It was a beautiful and delicious plate of spaghetti. When … Read More
It must have been sometime in the mid-nineties when I was part of a small group spending informal time with Swami Kriyananda, who had arrived from America a few days earlier. The energy was high and joyful, as always in Swami’s presence, and the conversation free flowing. I knew about the challenges he’d faced in America, where a lawsuit had … Read More
There is nothing wrong with being happy to belong to a certain family, community, social class or nation. Every individual needs a social base to work from. A yogi’s spiritual progress will be tested first by his ability to relate appropriately to those near him: his family in other words, biological and spiritual. As long as these are, even to … Read More
In The Holy Science Swami Sri Yukteswar lists eight negative qualities that prevent the natural magnanimity of the heart to manifest. Interestingly, he states that only after the heart is free of these obstructions, man becomes fully fit for the practice of Asana – remaining in steady and pleasant posture. An interesting statement for Hatha Yoga teachers all over the … Read More
Not being an American myself, Thanksgiving Day means little to me, though giving thanks each day means a great deal. There’s not only much to be thankful for, but, actually, everything to be thankful for. In fact, giving thanks for benefits received is itself of benefit, and costs nothing. When the English author, Rudyard Kipling, was at the height of … Read More
Find something each day for which to give thanks, and thus form the habit of gratitude for all the good gifts the Father has bestowed upon us. Paramhansa Yogananda Being asked if I would like to write a blog on gratitude – my response was ‘what an absolute delight’! It’s one of my favourite subjects, and for good reason! It … Read More
Patanjali, in the Yamas (the proscriptive principles) of his Yoga Sutras, had an interesting way of advising aspiring yogis to be truthful. He wrote, “Avoid non-truthfulness.” Indeed, if there is no reason to conceal a truth, isn’t it likely that one will want to be truthful? What Patanjali was saying, then, was not so much that truthfulness is a virtue … Read More
