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A woman at Ananda made a foolish mistake. Her thoughtless remarks at a public gathering placed Swamiji in a bad light. This caused a misunderstanding with others that took some effort on his part to rectify. Swamiji took it calmly, and fortunately no lasting harm was done. Days later, however, she was still depressed about … Read more

(Told by an Ananda devotee) Often Swamiji will accept people who are spiritually sincere, but difficult to get along with, giving them a job when no one else in the community will. Usually, contact with Swamiji deepens their attunement and helps smooth out their rough edges. Aiden (the name is changed for privacy) was one … Read more

I had gotten myself into a bad situation. I would have talked to Swamiji right away, but he was in seclusion, and I didn’t want to bother him. Someone told him anyway, and Swamiji sent a note asking me to come and see him. He was in silence, so we communicated at his typewriter. I … Read more

This Episode Introduces the Next Section of the Book: Divine Friend & Teacher  “I have had two desires in my life. The first is to find God. The second is to help others to find Him.” Swami Kriyananda   White Umbrella We were returning from a visit to the ashram of another spiritual teacher. The … Read more

(Told by Miriam Brown) Swamiji was extremely ill with double pneumonia and it wasn’t safe to leave him alone. He had a high fever and his lungs were so compromised I didn’t need a stethoscope to tell what was going on—I could hear from across the room. In the intervals between the coughing fits, he … Read more

”The doctors have offered me more chemotherapy,” Happy Winingham (an Ananda member) said to Swamiji. “They say it will keep me going for at least another few years. Should I take it?” Happy had AIDS and several times had come close to dying. ”The treatment could be quite unpleasant. Death doesn’t frighten me, and maybe … Read more

When he arrived in America for a two-month visit from his home in Italy, Swamiji’s health was poor and, as the weeks passed, it got worse. Finally, he was so weak he could barely walk. Swamiji was staying at the Crystal Hermitage, and Jyotish and Devi, who live nearby, tried to persuade him to go … Read more

I Recognized You Even though Swamiji was quite near-sighted, he always took his glasses off when he lectured. “The disadvantage is that beyond the first row I can’t recognize faces,” he said. His eyes were too dry to wear contact lenses. “But glasses draw the energy outward, and I find it harder to be intuitive … Read more

(Told by an Ananda devotee) In the 1980s I got involved in a small singing group within Ananda. It was a time when Swamiji’s music had just begun to take hold, and all the “official” groups concentrated exclusively on the music he had written. This group’s stated purpose was to sing everything but Swamiji’s music. … Read more

A strange moral dilemma puzzled me for years, even though the problem was purely hypothetical, in that it could only arise if I were a prisoner in a concentration camp! Perhaps because I was born Jewish just after World War II, it seemed important to resolve. Finally I found the right moment to ask Swamiji. … Read more