runbei

This is for those quiet souls who feel awkward in crowds and on social occasions. I was thrilled to move to Ananda. At last! I rejoiced, I could live among people who shared my spiritual ideals. We could talk about anything – Reincarnation! Yogananda! Devotion! When we went to the outhouse, we could shout “Hari … Read more

I’ve mentioned that when we were in Swamiji’s company, God would often use him to help us loosen our hold on the ego – a surgical operation that was seldom without discomfort. At times, in his presence, it felt as if the world had disintegrated beneath me and all my familiar supports were torn away. … Read more

Speaking of cameras, in the summer of 2018 I conceived the idea of adding a video camera to my photography gear. I hoped to find something small and inconspicuous that I could use during music rehearsals and in the classrooms at Living Wisdom School. While investigating the best models, I watched several videos that recommended … Read more

I posted this chapter on Ananda Garden several years ago, but since it figures prominently among my memories of Swami Kriyananda, I am re-posting it here, especially as is among the most popular among readers. While browsing in a bookstore in Palo Alto on a summer evening in 1974, I found a copy of Swami … Read more

It amazed me to see how Swamiji could help so many people at the same time, even if they weren’t relating to him, but were just faces in the crowd. I noticed it first during the informal gatherings that Swamiji would host at his home in the early years. An occasion stands out – it … Read more

I discovered Ananda through Swamiji’s book Cooperative Communities – How to Start Them, and Why, which I found while browsing in a bookstore in Palo Alto. Ananda seemed the answer to a prayer. I had always thought how wonderful it would be to have a community where disciples could live and worship together, with “job, … Read more

 I had the blessing to be in Swami Kriyananda’s presence many times over the years, though we never had an outward relationship such as he enjoyed with friends who had given their lives unreservedly to the work, and who had doubtless done so in many former lives: Jyotish and Devi, Asha, Vidura, Durga, and others. … Read more

In the last chapters, I told how Swamiji could use humor to teach us. But he could also be very serious. Walking to Sunday service at the Expanding Light, I was about a hundred yards from the temple when a car drew alongside and the back door swung open. Swamiji smiled and said, “Would you … Read more

I was at Swami Kriyananda’s for a private interview. After we had chatted, Swamiji rose and walked me to the door. Continuing our conversation, he said, speaking forcefully, but with a twinkle in his eye and a trace of humor in his voice, “I’ve told you before – you’re TOO HARD on yourself!” Later, I … Read more

 My first three years at Ananda were miserable. I was in an almost unbroken state of inner turmoil, torn by moods and depression, triggered by a sense of my unworthiness. At the deepest level, my problem was that I was much too self-involved. Swamiji tried to help me rise above the turmoil. If he saw … Read more