International travel can be challenging and stressful, but fortunately Jyotish and I handle it fairly well. For some people, however, flying in itself causes great anxiety. They’d rather take a train, boat, or car—anything other than a plane—to reach their destination.
About six months after Swami Kriyananda passed from this world, Devi and I had a Nadi reading about our life—past, present, and future. This experience was fascinating on many levels. The pundit who did the reading had only our birth date, time, and place: the standard information needed to cast an astrological chart. Using this, he found in his storage room long, narrow wooden boxes containing ancient Sanskrit writing on palm leaves with readings for each of us.
One of Swamiji’s most inspiring and powerful means of sharing with others was through his book, The New Path. Though autobiographical in form, the book’s main purpose is to show Yogananda’s spiritual greatness, and how he guided his disciples towards union with God.
Life is a journey filled with highs and lows. Sometimes it feels like a roller coaster, bursting with exhilarating peaks and gloomy valleys. At other times, it feels like the repetitive routine of a Ferris wheel that simply turns in endless circles. We will continue to ride the cycle of life from one incarnation to the next until we have learned our lessons.
In most parts of the world, the school year is about to begin. Children are assembling their new backpacks, books, and clothes for the year ahead. New subjects and tests loom on the horizon. It’s an exciting time for children and their parents, though perhaps for different reasons.
In today’s class one of the speakers talked about the time when Paramhansa Yogananda visited Therese Neumann, the Bavarian saint. In a chapter about this visit in Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda revealed that, in her elevated consciousness, Therese had transcended the need for food. She said that she awoke one day with neither the need nor the desire to eat. In other words, this “power” came to her spontaneously.
Some years ago Jyotish and I arrived at Ananda’s community near Assisi, Italy, where Swami Kriyananda was then residing. We hadn’t seen him for many months, and were eagerly looking forward to having some relaxed time with him to enjoy the blessings of his company.
Most people, even beginners, are able to see some kind of light in the forehead during meditation. This is because light is an innate aspect of our spiritual essence and is reawakened by any spiritual effort.
In The New Path, Swami Kriyananda recounts an amazing story about Señor J. M. Cuaron, one of Yoganandaji’s direct disciples and the SRF center leader in Mexico City.
I will celebrate my eightieth birthday in less than a month. While my personal inclination would be to let the occasion slip by unnoticed, the precedent set by Swami Kriyananda impels us to honor the event with a celebration. He understood that these occasions are wonderful opportunities to knit our worldwide family together.