runbei

Jesus told his Pharisee critics, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Every divinely ordained institution is created for the welfare of mankind, and not for the sake of controlling anyone. Babaji made a similar statement to Lahiri Mahasaya on the occasion of their first meeting. In response to Lahiri’s thought … Read more

It had long been agreed that Swamiji’s body would not be cremated, but enshrined at Ananda Village. For eight days, the open casket sat in the Temple of Light in Assisi, as devotees from around the world came to say a last goodbye. Then it was sealed, and Anand and Kirtani traveled with it to … Read more

In January, for his vacation in Goa, Swamiji wanted only Narayani and Shurjo with him. Miriam was there, too, but at another hotel. She was always on call, and once a day came to check on him. The same week that Swamiji went to Goa, I went to Los Angeles to see the director’s cut … Read more

When film director Ted Nicolau first started working with Swamiji, they were going to make a movie about his life with Master based on The New Path. Then they decided to include more about Ananda than was in the book. Now, Ananda had become the whole focus; the new title was Islands of Happiness. There … Read more

When he left for Hawaii, Swamiji intended to be back in Los Angeles for Christmas, but he developed a blood clot deep in his leg and it wasn’t safe to fly. He didn’t return until the middle of January. In February, he taught the first AKASH series. Usually Swamiji speaks extemporaneously, but this time he … Read more

In January, Swamiji returned to India. The builders had been working feverishly for months to construct a house for him on the community land; just a few more weeks and it would be ready. The plan was for him to spend those weeks in Goa, and then move in. Before leaving on vacation, Swamiji wrote … Read more

The work in Gurgaon was going well; it was Pune now that needed energy. Swamiji had been away from India for almost a year. During that time, more land had been acquired and an architect was hired to design the new community. No one could live on the land, though; it was too raw. There … Read more

Swamiji had planned to take a seclusion in Assisi in January. Fortunately, the doctors said he was well enough to travel. They prescribed several months of chemotherapy. He had two sessions in India; Miriam would administer the rest at Seva Kutir. At 7:30 a.m., when he stepped out of Guru Kripa on his way to … Read more

At Guru Kripa, all the systems worked, and the house was arranged entirely to Swamiji’s liking. India was becoming quite livable for him. With his compromised lungs, though, even with air purifiers in every room, it wasn’t wise for him to spend two months in the damp, polluted air of the Delhi winter. So in … Read more

In April, there was a book launch for the Indian edition of The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita. The protocol in India is that the author attends, but he doesn’t always speak. The event is a time for others to say laudatory things about him. R. Kaarthikeyan had become a good friend. He was the … Read more