In any confrontation of principle or of opinion, it is natural to ask, Who was right, and who, wrong? Who was the hero? who, the villain? Whom shall we applaud, and whom shall we hiss? Human nature likes to be offered winners and losers. It also wants the winners to be on the side of … Read more
Master enjoyed telling the fable, after so many years now well known in this country, of six blind brothers who received from their father the task of washing an elephant. Each boy was assigned to a different part of the beast: the tusks, the trunk, the ears, the sides, the legs, the tail. Each of … Read more
I have in my possession a Christmas card from Tara Mata in which her greeting contains these words: “To the first vice president of SRF from the second president.” For years I thought those words, “from the second president,” were a misprint, inasmuch as Tara was, nominally at least, the second vice president. It was … Read more
Rajarsi’s untimely death in 1955 came as a sad disappointment to all of us – to me particularly so, for one special reason. I had hoped that the monks, in close association with him, would be able to deepen their spiritual life. Daya Mata was elected president shortly afterward. She was the natural and obvious … Read more
“You all must work hard to organize the work after I am gone,” Paramhansa Yogananda had said. “Otherwise you won’t be able to handle all those who will be coming to you.” It was never Master’s task to organize the work in the sense here implied. His spirit was too free to be tied down … Read more
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Similar sentiments have been stated by masters down through the ages. Institutions of any kind are a means to an end, never an end in themselves. I cannot think of a single statement by any great master who ever lived that contradicts this … Read more
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