{"id":1275,"date":"2023-10-14T19:42:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T19:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=1275"},"modified":"2023-10-16T15:26:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T15:26:43","slug":"conversations-with-ananda-ch-44-steven-manus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/conversations-with-ananda-ch-44-steven-manus\/","title":{"rendered":"Conversations With Ananda — Ch. 44, Steven Manus"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Steven and Rita in 2008.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q: You serve as an Ananda minister,<\/strong> and you sing Swami Kriyananda\u2019s music with the choir and in a small ensemble. Has serving in these ways been a natural expression of who you are?<\/p>\n

Steven:<\/strong> When I came onto the spiritual path in 1991, I didn\u2019t truly understand what it meant to serve. It was a time of great transition. My marriage was falling apart, and I needed something that I envisioned as a greater sense of spirituality.<\/p>\n

I was living in Seattle and practicing a meditation technique taught by Eknath Easwaran, where you memorize a scriptural passage and repeat it. The passage he recommended was the \u201cPrayer of St. Francis,\u201d so I set up a chair in the basement, and I would open the door so I had the outside coming in, and meditate and repeat the Prayer of St. Francis over and over. It resonated very deeply with me, but in time I felt that I should also take a meditation class.<\/p>\n

A friend had mentioned the East West bookstore in Seattle. He said, \u201cIt\u2019s a place where you can find out about a spiritual path.\u201d<\/p>\n

I vividly see myself walking through the door of East West and seeing many shelves labeled \u201cChristianity,\u201d \u201cHinduism,\u201d \u201cJudaism,\u201d and more. I thought, \u201cMy God, how long will it take? How can I find my path? Just look at all these books!\u201d<\/p>\n

Then I noticed a photo of Swami Kriyananda with a sign that said \u201cMeditation I Series Starting at the Bookstore.\u201d<\/p>\n

I signed up for the class. It was taught by Nayaswami Dharmadas, the former leader of Ananda\u2019s work in India, together with his wife, Nayaswami Nirmala, who now serve as the leaders of the Ananda center and community in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

I remember having a glorious five-minute meditation during the class, and then Dharmadas sang one of Swami Kriyananda\u2019s songs. He recommended that we watch a cable TV series where the singers would perform a song and Swami Kriyananda would give a short talk.<\/p>\n

I forget which song they sang. It might have been \u201cCome Gather Round,\u201d or \u201cJoy in the Heavens.\u201d But I was watching with my mouth agape, thinking, \u201cIs this real? Does such a place exist? Do such people exist?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The consciousness and sensibilities were so clear and clarifying that I was enthralled. Without exaggeration, it felt like the astral world had descended to earth. As I\u2019m saying this I\u2019m feeling the experience very vividly. I thought, \u201cI\u2019ve got to know more about this.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Dharmadas said that Ananda Seattle had a teaching center and temple that offered Sunday services, and that an Ananda community was being formed.<\/p>\n

I took more classes and got to know some of the other teachers, Nayaswamis Devarshi and Maria, and Purushottama Selbie.<\/p>\n

Puru really drew me in. When he told me about the community, I remember saying, \u201cWell, what do you expect me to do? Sell my house?\u201d Because I owned a $75,000 house that was perfectly fine, and the idea of selling it seemed ludicrous.<\/p>\n

Puru said, \u201cWell, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a bit much for me. I had struggled so hard to get the house, and if a person is in the mode of ownership, he doesn\u2019t give it up so easily.<\/p>\n

The next day I got a card in the mail from a realtor: \u201cIf you need to sell your house, I will sell it for you.\u201d The real estate market in Seattle was very challenging and houses weren\u2019t selling. I looked at the card and thought, \u201cI\u2019m not ready, but I\u2019ll put it in a drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several months later, I thought, \u201cOkay, let\u2019s see what can happen.\u201d I called the realtor, and in spite of the very difficult market the house sold in five days.<\/p>\n

I thought, \u201cThere must be more to this picture than I\u2019m aware of.\u201d And I was willing to suspend disbelief and go along with whatever it was.<\/p>\n

I moved to the community, but service was still not something I was very acutely aware of. It didn\u2019t come naturally to me, and I didn\u2019t realize that it\u2019s such an essential part of the path. I did help out at workdays while we were creating the community, and it was wonderful. They were glorious events where you could meet people and work side by side, have a meal, and sit and chat, and I loved it. But it just seemed like a way to have a little fun occasionally, and the concept of service as a spiritual practice didn\u2019t stick.<\/p>\n

I was enjoying my work. I had a successful job for the first time in my life, and I was doing really well and making good money. And then Puru said, \u201cWould you be interested in working at East West Bookstore?\u201d<\/p>\n

I talked with the store manager, Nayaswami Nivritti, who told me about the position. But I was fixed in the mode of being a retail manager and salesperson. I was very, very good at my job, and I was selling like crazy. I said, \u201cYou\u2019re asking me to move from being the most successful salesperson in this company to being a clerk behind the counter.\u201d Because in my mind it was a step down. I don\u2019t remember her response. But I essentially said, \u201cThank you \u2013 no.\u201d [Laughs]<\/p>\n

Puru and I then went to lunch, and I can picture it clearly. He said, \u201cGee, I hope you weren\u2019t offended by what we asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

I said, \u201cNo, of course not.\u201d But I thought, \u201cWow!\u201d Because I was so impressed that he would have the sensitivity to think that I might be offended by being asked. And I probably did feel it as an affront, but I didn\u2019t connect it with him personally or with Ananda.<\/p>\n

As it happened, Puru\u2019s wife, Lakshmi, was planting seeds for me to go on an Ananda pilgrimage to India. I had had an interest in India, because I\u2019d been a history major with a minor in Indian political development.<\/p>\n

At the start of the pilgrimage we gathered at the Ananda community in Palo Alto, and I flew down in advance and met some more Ananda people and saw the community. Those meetings eventually led to the leaders in Palo Alto asking me to move down and co-manage East West Bookstore in Mountain View.<\/p>\n

When I came to East West, the concept of service still wasn\u2019t there for me, and as a result I got in trouble because of my attitudes and the nature of my energy. I did some things well, but I did some things poorly because I still hadn\u2019t caught on to the idea of selfless service.<\/p>\n

I have a strong will and a level of stubbornness, and I\u2019m sure that God decided He needed to knock me upside the head. But that was fine, because it\u2019s part of the spiritual life \u2013 whatever it takes is what we\u2019ll get, if we\u2019re open to learning our lessons. And because I was open, I got pounded around a bit.<\/p>\n

I spent two years at East West, and then I worked for two years at Bookbuyers, a huge used book store across the street from East West that was owned by Ananda members. And I got pounded around a bit more.<\/p>\n

Then I was asked to move to Ananda Village to serve at Crystal Clarity Publishers as the salesman. But I was laid off after a month, and then I was offered a position at Earth Song Caf\u00e9, a health food store and restaurant that Ananda formerly owned in Nevada City.<\/p>\n

I was one of two assistant managers. Nayaswami Daiva was the overall manager, and I worked with Scott Roberts as the other co-manager. And that\u2019s where I finally began to learn about service.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re working in a restaurant, you don\u2019t have a choice but to work very hard. I like physical labor, so I really enjoyed that part, but it was very, very taxing.<\/p>\n

It was at the restaurant that I first truly saw service in action, thanks to Daiva and Scott. They served selflessly, as many others also did. It was a group of very strong devotees, and service was modeled for me over and over in ways that I was able to absorb more readily. And so I really began to see what it meant to serve in a selfless manner, and to understand the benefits for our spiritual development.<\/p>\n

I resonated with Scott in particular. All Scott did was serve. He did whatever was asked of him, and he would do it without being asked, over and over, and I admired his spirit greatly.<\/p>\n

Scott didn\u2019t seem to have any limitations as to the circumstances in which he would put out his full energy. It didn\u2019t seem to matter to him, and I was mightily impressed by that. Because I had no problem putting out lots of energy on my own terms, but there were situations where I was less eager to put out energy than others.<\/p>\n

I still have my own ways, which are different from his. So the lesson was twofold \u2013 one, I saw strong devotees serving heartily, and I saw how important it is. And I realized that we all have different natures. I could admire and learn a great deal from Scott, but I wasn\u2019t always able to adopt his ways, because they weren\u2019t mine.<\/p>\n

Still, it gave me an opportunity to see service in a very vivid and real way, and to understand the value of it and the benefits, in addition to realizing that I needed to find my own way forward on the path.<\/p>\n

I also needed to get a stronger sense of who I was, as a small self connected to a larger Self. And it was really through serving at Earth Song that the connection began to open.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s such an essential part of what we\u2019re doing at Ananda \u2013 to begin the process of growing from identifying with the small self with a little \u201cs,\u201d and to start feeling our oneness with the larger Self with a big \u201cS.\u201d And working at Earth Song helped me get started in the process.<\/p>\n

As a result of that experience I\u2019ve grown in willingness, bit by bit. Willingness to say yes to life, not as merely a cheerful slogan but under circumstances that might be uncomfortable. And for the most part, I believe I now know enough to say \u201cyes.\u201d There\u2019s still a lot of work to do, but I\u2019ve moved past a certain threshold to where I\u2019m able to say yes when something is asked of me. It\u2019s very seldom now that I don\u2019t say yes when I\u2019m asked to serve. There are a few areas where I may bristle, and there are times when I\u2019ve said no because I\u2019ve gone inside and felt \u201cIt seems okay to say no under these circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think that service should never be offered mindlessly. With openness, absolutely, and with willingness, by all means. But we need to recognize that there will be people who can always say yes, and it\u2019s great for them. It might even be great for us, but if there are times when you aren\u2019t truly able to say yes with joy, it\u2019s probably better to commit to doing just what you can do joyfully, and otherwise just do your best. But at this point, I do say yes virtually all the time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as if I\u2019m broadcasting it, \u201cHey, I said yes again!\u201d It\u2019s internal \u2013 \u201cSure, let\u2019s do it, because it\u2019s within my area of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> Swami has used the phrase \u201chumble service,\u201d which evokes pleasant images of a happiness where we are childlike before God. Is that a condition of service that we can get to once we\u2019ve released our inner resistance?<\/p>\n

Steven:<\/strong> I do relate to that sense of simplicity. It resonates with me strongly. But the route I\u2019ve chosen is a bit more complex. I\u2019m striving for an inner simplicity, and a childlike acceptance and openness. I enjoy that relationship with Master. It\u2019s very fulfilling, but I\u2019ve found, in my experience, that it comes a little differently for me.<\/p>\n

I can be sweeping the walkway, doing a very simple service, and I can feel that sense of joy. Physical tasks help me connect with joy more readily than other kinds of service. I love them for that joy, but if I feel that other things are being asked of me I\u2019ll try to be open to that same connection as well.<\/p>\n

I find that my ability to serve grows when I\u2019m asked to speak \u2013 to give a class or a talk or a workshop, because it\u2019s where God is most powerfully serving through me, and it\u2019s deeply fulfilling. As Yogananda said, \u201cThe instrument is blessed by that which flows through it.\u201d I also see the beneficial effect it has on others when I serve in that way, and it brings me an even greater sense of fulfillment.<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> You also serve by singing in the choir and in a small group. Swami Kriyananda said that his music is not a peripheral aspect of Yogananda\u2019s work here \u2013 that it\u2019s central.<\/p>\n

Steven:<\/strong> It\u2019s been central to my experience of the spiritual path! The music is fulfilling beyond any words. When I came to Ananda, Nayaswami Nirmala brought me into the choir right away. Singing with others has helped me immensely in learning to get along. It\u2019s been an important lesson.<\/p>\n

The music is a wonderful way to explore our mutual attunement with a higher harmony. It develops your ability to get in touch with the way energy is flowing through you. You get immediate feedback not only on whether you\u2019re hitting the notes, but also on whether your energy is harmonious. It\u2019s even more pronounced when you\u2019re singing in a small group. The music is a tremendous arena for spiritual change.<\/p>\n

Our awareness may be cluttered with the \u201cthwarting crosscurrents of ego,\u201d as Master called them. The music can lift us out of those currents and clarify us in no more than a moment \u2013 quite literally, it\u2019s gone in a second and only purity reigns. That purity comes from God, and it flows through the heart. It\u2019s the \u201cportable paradise\u201d of which Master spoke. For me, to have discovered that it can happen so readily and so consistently tells me that Swamiji is channeling inspiration from the highest level of consciousness, and I do want more of it. It\u2019s an amazing experience that I recommend to everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: You serve as an Ananda minister, and you sing Swami Kriyananda\u2019s music with the choir and in a small ensemble. Has serving in these ways been a natural expression of who you are? Steven: When I came onto the spiritual path in 1991, I didn\u2019t truly understand what it meant to serve. It was … 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-1275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nConversations With Ananda — Ch. 44, Steven Manus - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda shares his experiences learning the value of selfless service in the spiritual life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/conversations-with-ananda-ch-44-steven-manus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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