{"id":1198,"date":"2023-07-22T15:04:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-22T15:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=1198"},"modified":"2023-07-22T15:10:21","modified_gmt":"2023-07-22T15:10:21","slug":"conversations-with-ananda-ch-36-nayaswami-asha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/conversations-with-ananda-ch-36-nayaswami-asha\/","title":{"rendered":"Conversations With Ananda — Ch. 36, Nayaswami Asha"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Asha in conversation with a guest after Sunday service at Ananda Sangha in Palo Alto, California.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asha Nayaswami is the author of Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/em><\/a>, a<\/strong> 635-page book that reveals the life of a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda to whom the Guru assigned a many-faceted \u201cgreat work\u201d that included fulfilling his dream of creating spiritual cooperative communities, as well as showing how people everywhere can understand the relevance of spiritual truth for every facet of their lives. The link will take you to a page where you can read the chapters online.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: What does it mean to be a member of Ananda?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asha:<\/strong> When we moved to the Palo Alto area to take responsibility for developing Master\u2019s work here, we quite innocently began with the idea that people would want to become members of Ananda.<\/p>\n

When we\u2019d moved to Ananda Village many years earlier, we\u2019d eagerly become Ananda members. There was an earthy reality around the idea of membership at the time, because your membership fees went to pay off the debt on the land. However, being a member was by no means a question of ownership. Rather it was a declaration: \u201cI have found my place. This is my path, and these are my brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you decide to make a commitment, the result of which will gradually dissolve the ego, it isn\u2019t an egoic thing to do. Claiming Ananda as \u201cours\u201d meant affirming a higher identity that undermines the hold of the ego. That new identity was \u201cI am a disciple. I have a Guru. Self-realization is my goal.\u201d And \u201cI have brothers and sisters in God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life in the modern world, especially in the West, is more isolating than ever. We no longer have multi-generational families living in the same house, and if you aren\u2019t married you may be quite solitary. Even if you do marry, there may be just the two of you. So there\u2019s a tremendous sense of isolation in America.<\/p>\n

Now, a tremendous strength of the American character is our sense of individuality. Unlike societies where there has always been a strong caste and class system, we aren\u2019t terribly interested in where you came from. We value people for what they are. Only in small pockets of American society do you find that a person\u2019s family defines them. For the most part, you can be from anywhere and people will take you at face value for what you\u2019ve become. And it\u2019s an idea that is very consistent with Self-realization.<\/p>\n

Paramhansa Yogananda called his work \u201cSelf-realization\u201d because he wanted to take spiritual authority out of the hands of the churches and priests and put it squarely in the hands of the individual. He wanted to create the thought in people\u2019s minds that we are responsible for our own spiritual development.<\/p>\n

He also gave us Kriya Yoga, which is far more than a technique of meditation; it\u2019s an entire way of life. The teachings of Self-realization say that we should define ourselves by the direction of our consciousness, and that we can affect the direction of our consciousness by our decisions, our energy, and our determination.<\/p>\n

Putting these trends together, you have a culture that is very independent and a teaching that emphasizes individuality. And when you ask people to become \u201cmembers,\u201d it seems a contradiction.<\/p>\n

Many of those who are attracted to this path are strongly biased against religious organizations. I often hear people say, \u201cI don\u2019t believe in institutional religion.\u201d And what exactly is \u201cinstitutional religion\u201d? It\u2019s when the institution assumes authority over your spiritual life. It says, \u201cIf you aren\u2019t Catholic you won\u2019t go to heaven. If you aren\u2019t a Christian you won\u2019t go to heaven. If the priest doesn\u2019t carry out the proper rites you\u2019ll be damned to hell. If you dance and gamble and play the wrong music, you\u2019ll be damned. But if you join our church, you\u2019ll go to heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s institutional religion. It\u2019s important to realize that a religion is not \u201cinstitutional\u201d just because it has an organized form. It\u2019s the emphasis on the institution that makes it institutionalized.<\/p>\n

The organization itself is simply a convenient shell that allows everyone to be served and understand what\u2019s going on. But nowadays there is that bias, where the people who are drawn to Self-realization, perhaps more than most, have an almost exaggerated sense of independence.<\/p>\n

Yogananda called his teachings Self-realization, but he added \u201cFellowship.\u201d So we have two ideas that would seem to be in conflict.<\/p>\n

He wanted us to understand that Self-realization is the goal, but that by following this path we don\u2019t suddenly rise above the need to support our brothers and sisters and to be supported by them \u2013 what to speak of following the Guru and supporting his work. He taught us that we need both sides, meditation and fellowship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Asha introduces her latest book at Chela Bhavan, her home in the Ananda community in Mountain View, California. Click the image for a larger view.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s particularly important today that we have fellowship, because we are living in an overwhelmingly materialistic culture that tries in every possible way to pull us away from our highest aspirations.<\/p>\n

When I went out to buy a small appliance recently, I became aware of the extremely disturbing music that was being played in the store. They were demonstrating a TV with the volume turned up, and I told every manager I could find that if I had come in only to browse I would have walked out, because it was so disturbing to my peace of mind.<\/p>\n

In such a world you need all the help you can get, because it isn\u2019t easy to generate sufficient spiritual magnetism to counteract those downward-pulling forces by your own power.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t easy to keep a regular practice without meditating with others. It isn\u2019t easy to understand the teachings without drawing on the counsel of others. It isn\u2019t easy to understand the attitudes that please God without having solid examples of people who can show you the right direction to walk.<\/p>\n

Without the company of other seekers, it isn\u2019t easy. We need those who are more advanced, just as we need people who may be less advanced, or just like us, because they can all help us find our way.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t easy to open your heart to include others, if it\u2019s no more than a nice idea and you don\u2019t have actual people around you to practice on, and that God can use to help you grow.<\/p>\n

Spiritual fellowship removes these deficiencies, and it\u2019s why Yogananda wanted those who are dedicated to this path to band together. Because when people attune themselves to the Divine together, they create a powerful spiritual magnetism, and it\u2019s easier to feel God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

Spiritual company \u2013 satsang<\/em> (fellowship with truth) \u2013 is very practical. Ours is an individual path, but it becomes infinitely easier when you have company.<\/p>\n

Yogananda said that good company is stronger than will power. It has a very practical role in our spiritual life. You can chant with other people. You can sing in a choir with them. You can listen to their experiences. You can have like-minded friends. You can explore the possibilities of selfless friendship, knowing that your gurubhais\u2019 character and values will be enough like yours that you will have a common foundation of understanding.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to say \u201cThis path is important to me,\u201d but in the real world we vote with our time, our energy, and our money, and if we\u2019re thinking and talking about how serious we are about the path, but we\u2019re never actually giving, the real problem is that you won\u2019t get nearly as much out of it.<\/p>\n

The more we give, the more we find coming back to us. If you want to be an athlete, you give by training. If you want to be a good mother, you must give to the child. If you want to have a good marriage, you must give to your partner. You can\u2019t just pretend, because your spouse or your child will know if you\u2019re truly giving. And of course it\u2019s the same with God.<\/p>\n

When you have other people around, it helps you refine your understanding until you reach a state of mind and heart where you are truly giving, and where you\u2019re reaping the rewards. And when we\u2019re talking about membership and commitment, a very good question to ask is \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/em> If this path is important to you, why would you not<\/em> put energy into it? Why wouldn\u2019t you put your name on the line and devote yourself to making it happen?<\/p>\n

If you believe in it, and you\u2019re benefiting from it, and you think it will help others, you\u2019ll naturally want to give your energy to it. Because, at the very least, it will be good karma for you, because the energy you invest will bring great benefits to others, and those benefits will come back to you in the form of success karma, the karma of spiritual opportunities, good health, inner well-being, and so on.<\/p>\n

Good karma comes from giving, and the higher the level on which we give, the more it helps us \u2013 \u201chigher\u201d in the sense of the higher the vibrations you help set in motion for others.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I urge people to become involved and committed and to give, for the simple reason that it makes their own lives better.<\/p>\n

The Master gives his life to create this work, and he needs instruments to keep it going and make it strong, so it can serve many others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just going to take initiation. I\u2019m just going to get Kriya.\u201d What is that saying? It\u2019s saying \u201cI\u2019ll never become a friend to the Guru.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of mother would you be, if you gave birth and then abandoned your baby? You must commit yourself to that which is important to the one you say you love.<\/p>\n

My observation, after four decades on this path, is that those who embrace it not only as a principle and a practice, but who turn it into a flow of energy through their participation, their enthusiasm, their money, and their service, go much faster and much deeper. And for those who claim the teachings but don\u2019t put anything behind it, to my everlasting regret and theirs, nothing much happens, and as a result they drift away.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t that the blessings aren\u2019t there; it\u2019s that they don\u2019t open themselves to receive them, by giving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asha Nayaswami is the author of Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer, a 635-page book that reveals the life of a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda to whom the Guru assigned a many-faceted \u201cgreat work\u201d that included fulfilling his dream of creating spiritual cooperative communities, as well as showing how people everywhere can understand the relevance of spiritual … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nConversations With Ananda — Ch. 36, Nayaswami Asha - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 54-year disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda shares her thoughts on the importance of spiritual company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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