It is helpful to recognize that we have two dharmas: the timeless dharma of the soul aiming to reunite with God, and the dharma of our current life. Happiness and success will follow only if we align the actions of this life with the eternal dharma of our soul.
We heard an amazing story last year when we were visiting the Ananda Community in Assisi. A friend of ours, with whom we were staying, told us that she had a beloved dog who had recently passed away at the age of fifteen. Her heart was still grieving for the loss of her dear friend and companion.
The cedar beams framing the large, picture window were old and rough, filled with tiny holes and cracks. As I began to apply a wood stain to seal the beams, I could see that many coats would be needed to make them look finished. Standing high on a scaffold, I dipped my brush in the can of stain and began.
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.
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.
A few weeks ago Jyotish and I led the Astral Ascension Ceremony for a dear friend, Judy Fox, who passed away recently. Judy was part of a small team, as were we, that Swami Kriyananda sent to Italy in the early 1980s to help start Ananda’s work there.
We have all faced this dilemma in one form or another. With my friend’s permission, I’ll share with you some thoughts that I offered her about the art of helping others while remaining unaffected by their problems.
For one of our satsangs, in Torrance, the center leader asked us to talk about how to find spirituality in big-city life. I thought you, too, might be interested in the thoughts we shared that evening on the challenges faced by city-dwellers and some of the spiritual solutions to them.
For restless people, conditions like these are probably a torment. For yogis, being forced to go within is actually quite nice. The snow brings with it some wonderful lessons. Here are a few that have struck me.