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
Three Things I Learned from Swamiji Everything I know about Paramhansa Yogananda, is a result of knowing Swami Kriyananda. I realise my own reading and practice have helped me to know Master also, but Swamiji’s life, teaching and his discipleship have profoundly informed all aspects of my spiritual life. Out of the many, many important things I have learned from … Read More
Mother Of Us All Our neighbor’s car door was badly scratched. The householder, a dentist, had sandpapered the damaged area on the driver-side door, but that had only served to highlight the need for the whole door to be repainted. The little boy I was at that time, normally inattentive to concerns about cars, couldn’t help but notice the big … Read More
Swami’s Moksha Day – with Blessings from Turtle Pond The sacred ten-year Moksha Day anniversary commemorating Swami Kriyananda’s transition into the Light fell on April 21, less than a month ago. That day, I was given a special blessing, starring a member of the animal kingdom. It was a perfect springtime afternoon. Rich with spiritual symbolism, the scenario seemed like … Read More
Faith as a Practical Value: How Free Should Anything Be? Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, my Paramguru, was quoted by Paramhansa Yogananda in Autobiography of a Yogi as stating, “So long as you breathe the free air of earth, you are under obligation to render grateful service.” Who is to serve whom? The “air of earth” is simply there; it comes … Read More
THE PRINCIPLES Was it wise of me – and, given the subject matter of these lectures, was it practical to be so generous, since we were in dire need? Some might certainly consider my behavior irresponsible; I, however, knew that I could immediately reach five thousand people who knew Ananda and knew what we were doing. So, I do not … Read More
The gratitude in me has been the engine that has moved everything. Even in complex situations, from an early age, I could sense a glimmer of light and felt inwardly grateful, at peace, in the face of situations such as those that the mind poses, deluding us that there are obstacles and not opportunities. I smiled inwardly at that sense … Read More
The Devoted Heart Long ago my youngest son, age five at that time, asked me, out of the blue: “Dad, do you exist?” “Yes,” I responded, without thinking. The answer, I now think, was just as interesting as the question, coming out of the mouth of a little child. What made it interesting was its immediacy. Of course I exist! A … Read More
Since childhood I had been taught by my parents to say “thank you” whenever someone gave me a gift or had a kind word towards me. I had always felt that word resonating inside me as a light, humble sound, as if it was supposed to tiptoe in… By pronouncing it, it was as if something changed in me, I … Read More
Receiving We spoke extensively about donating – how important it is and how it can help us to expand our consciousness. When we donate, we definitely activate generosity magnetism, then the Universe answers with the same generosity by sending us its gifts. These could be monetary gifts, or they could come in differents forms: for example, we could received something … Read More
From the Gift of Compassion to The Gift of Light « Away in a manger No crib for a bed The little Lord Jesus Laid down His sweet head… » This Christmas carol sings in my head as I set out the creche next to where our Christmas tree will soon stand. It’s a beautiful creche, bought in the streets of … Read More
Service to others From the numerous texts that Yogananda passed on to us, one of the themes that he always very deeply addressed is selfless service to others. Let’s play a game and imagine ourselves before the Master who is speaking to us. Just as in interviews, we will be the ones to ask questions, using the letter D, and … Read More
