In a recent talk, Swamiji had said we must learn to love heroically. At his open house on New Year’s Day, he was asked to elaborate. “When suffering comes, the temptation is to withdraw from the world, and shrink in on oneself. If, at such a time, you reach out to help others, that … Read more
The doctors wanted Swamiji to take a full year of rest. But he had already committed to two lecture tours—plans had been made, people were counting on him—and to two publishing contracts: a book for Warner called Meditation for Starters, and a twelve-month calendar of daily aphorisms for a company called Workman. Swamiji had already … Read more
“Now that SRF has lost everything in court, is there anything they can do to regain their monopoly?” Swamiji addressed this important question to our attorney, Jon. “Yes, there is one thing,” Jon said, “a legal principle called tarnishment. If SRF can prove that Ananda is, for example, morally reprehensible, and any association in the … Read more
This year was the 100th anniversary of Master’s birth. “SRF will focus on the greatness of Master as a personality, and his importance as a historical figure,” Swamiji said. “So there is no need for us to emphasize that side of him. Let us concentrate on the principles he taught, and the ray of light … Read more
In January, Daya Mata responded, “While we feel no ill will, but only love toward you, that love is not blind to the flaws that have put us in opposite positions.” She describes her position, and that of the other Board members, as “following devoutly the many years of counsel and guidance which Gurudev gave … Read more
In January, we officially launched the Ananda Church of God-Realization—church, not as a place of worship, but as a group of people who embrace the same spiritual path. No mention was made of the lawsuit, but launching the church was closely related to the battle we were fighting in court. Master’s path is not an … Read more
For every important decision, Swamiji relied on intuitive guidance from Master. But he never presumed, especially when a decision would affect not only him, but all of Ananda. Any new idea he would usually discuss first with a small group of leaders. If they confirmed his intuition, and the consensus was to go forward, then … Read more
For Master’s birthday weekend, all the ministers gathered with Swamiji and Rosanna at Crystal Hermitage for a three-day retreat, even though it meant not having a January 5 celebration in our centers. Coming together in divine friendship was deemed a higher priority, especially now that we were more dispersed. Many founding members of the … Read more
Even with the new book, Cities of Light, the original Cooperative Communities was still important for our 20th anniversary. Swamiji did some editing, mostly to bring it up to date, changing the title to Intentional Communities. He also worked on his poetic allegory, For What Was Man Made? which he now called The Land … Read more
The United States of America and the community of Ananda have the same birthday: July 4th, the day in 1968 when we got the Farm. The Retreat land, however, was purchased a year earlier. So we decided to celebrate our 20th Anniversary for a year and a half, starting on New Year’s day, 1987, and … Read more