Question: Can I be righteous and successful at the same time? Answer: Yes, of course. As Jesus Christ said so profoundly: ” Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you”. The term “all these things” include the necessities of life though not necessarily the luxuries and comforts sought by the body and … Read More
Ask A Yogi
“What is the meaning of gratitude?”
Question: What is the meaning of gratitude? Answer: Gratitude goes beyond the things you consider good. It includes being grateful and accepting of all circumstances. And why? Because whatever comes to us is the result of something we have done in the past or, is at least an opportunity to learn and grow. And by accepting what comes to us … Read More
Ask A Yogi
“Is contentment the same as having no ambition?”
Question: Is contentment the same as having no ambition? Answer: Contentment is not passive. Contentment requires a positive effort of will and has its source in the soul’s innate joy. Contentment cannot be true unless it exists even under difficult circumstances. It means accepting what comes of its own as coming from the hand of God. Contentment can never be … Read More
Ask A Yogi
“I feel guilty about being happy when others suffer. Is this right?”
Question: I feel guilty about being happy when others suffer. Is this right? Answer: It is our nature to be happy — to be happy in our own Self. It is our nature to seek happiness and to avoid suffering. At the same time, suffering is often the most important inducement we receive to seek the truth and to seek … Read More
Ask A Yogi
“How do I surrender to God?”
Question: How do I surrender to God? Answer: Surrender is not a passive attitude. Surrender requires strength, courage, and devotion to the will of God. As Swami Kriyananda described the process of enlightenment, it is an upward relaxation with joy and willingness into super consciousness. In order to have the strength and calmness to accept God’s will, you must practice … Read More
Articles
Acts of Violence and Racism: How Should We Respond?
The members, staff, students and friends of Ananda share in the sadness and righteous outrage of yet another racially motivated murder. How can we not, both as people and as an organization that seeks to represent universal spiritual values, wonder “How long must this continue?” Our very teachings aver that we are all children of God and that behind the … Read More
Articles
The Redeeming Light
Paramhansa Yogananda describes how, as a child, he was healed of Asiatic cholera (which is usually fatal) in a blinding flash of light after his mother instructed him to pray to her guru, Lahiri Mahasaya. Albert Einstein, as a young man, was fascinated with the phenomenon of light. His discovery showed that the speed of light is the constant of … Read More
Articles
Initiation into the Nayaswami Order
Dear Friends, Padma and I wanted to share a bit more in depth about our experience at Ananda in Italy where we went for the inaugural initiation of nayaswamis and other renunciates for the Nayaswami Order on Friday, November 20. Swamiji has long recognized the need to create the opportunity for individual devotees to give themselves fully to the spiritual … Read More
Articles
A New Worldwide Swami Order
Dear Friends, Padma and I are honored and humbled to travel to Italy a week before Thanksgiving to participate in the first initiation ceremony as nayaswamis in a new, worldwide order of swamis recently announced by Swami Kriyananda, founder of Ananda, and direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. During his life, Paramhansa Yogananda invited men and women from all walks of … Read More
Articles
Children of the Light
“It takes One to know One” One of the cornerstones of the teachings of metaphysics is that all creation, and each one of us, is an integral part of the Whole, of the One Spirit of God. It is taught, further, that God manifested this creation out of Himself. In the reading for a recent Sunday Service at Ananda, in … Read More