(Told by Jayadev) I always tended to be a rebel, getting into arguments with teachers, neighbors, and anyone in authority. Even at Ananda I decided, “No one will boss me but God!” For a while I got away with it. No one interfered with my way of doing things. Then Swamiji appointed a new director … Read more
(Told by Liladevi) By the time I got to Swamiji’s lecture it was standing room only and I had to sit on the floor of the middle aisle. It didn’t matter where I was in the room, when Swamiji began to speak, I felt as if he were inside my spine, speaking directly to my … Read more
(Told by Nayaswami Lalita) During the hours when Swamiji was having open-heart surgery, I led a prayer vigil in the temple of the Ananda Sacramento community where I lived. A few others joined me, but mostly I prayed alone. Swamiji was in a hospital nearby, and afterwards I wanted to go see him. Each time … Read more
“Softer than the flower, where kindness is concerned; stronger than the thunder, where principles are at stake.” Vedic definition of a man of God It Must Be Lonely Adjacent to the lobby of the hotel where Swamiji and a few of us were staying there was a small jewelry store. For hours every day, a … Read more
by Nayaswami Asha The first time I saw Swami Kriyananda was in a tent set up behind the Beta Chi fraternity house on the campus of Stanford University, in Palo Alto, California. It was late November 1969. He was in his early forties. I was twenty-two years old. Usually the tent served as an expanded … Read more
I love a good movie with an entertaining story, and I don’t mind too much if it involves superheroes. I’ve enjoyed the X-Men films, though I find Wolverine’s hairstyle tiresome and Magneto’s ponderous utterances unintentionally funny. I was entertained by the first Thor movie, and the first and third Ironman flicks. There’s something appealing about … Read more
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