The Trunk and the Branches

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.

Swami Kriyananda wrote a small booklet, India’s Ancient Book of Prophecy, about a similar reading he had during the time he lived in India. These profound readings were written many thousands of years ago by sages who were able to transcend the limitations of time. Nadi readings come from the line of Sukhdev, a revered Indian master. The information itself was fascinating, and perhaps I will write about it another time. The purpose of this blog, however, is different.

The reading began by addressing the reason for my present incarnation. It said, “The purpose of this incarnation is moksha (spiritual liberation) and Guru seva.” Other friends who have had readings were told quite different reasons for this life, showing the uniqueness of each individual path. These two, however, are the core energy of my life, and as long as I stay aligned with that intent there will be a flow of energy and grace from the Infinite.

Not everyone is able to have such a reading. However, it would be helpful to introspect and try to feel the core purpose of your own life, the trunk of your particular tree. What motivates and energizes you? Look for themes that have been there since early childhood. For me, there was always a deep and abiding desire to know truth at the deepest level possible. Only later did that core energy eventually lead me to read Autobiography of a Yogi and to meet Swami Kriyananda. As you meditate, try to feel the essential aspiration of your life.

Once you have a sense of your purpose, it is important to honor it and allow it to guide your major life choices. As long as you stay aligned to your core purpose, the forms in which it will be expressed will reveal themselves. Those who stray from their essential vibration never seem to feel settled in anything they do.

The driving force of Swami Kriyananda’s life was his discipleship to Yogananda. When he read Autobiography of a Yogi as a young man, it awakened in him his life direction. As he traveled from New York to California in 1948 to meet Yogananda for the first time, he said his predominant thought was, “I want to find God, and I want to share Him with everyone.”

As I write this, it’s the seventy-fifth anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s meeting his guru. His first words that day were, “I want to be your disciple.” This was his essence, and his life became a creative expression of that intention.

Groups, too, have a core purpose. To a certain extent the purpose of my life—moksha and Guru seva—are shared by many who have been drawn to Ananda. Many of us feel that we incarnated in order to find God and to help Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda with their mission in this age.

There is a great power and grace that flows to those who stay attuned to this particular ray. This is not meant to be exclusive. There are many true paths, and even among the disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda there are several different valid groups, each with its own basic vibration and purpose. Master, in this case, is the trunk and each group is a different branch.

My friends, I urge you to take some time to clarify your life’s purpose. All else will follow naturally.

In divine friendship,

Nayaswami Jyotish