{"id":1908,"date":"2025-08-30T15:27:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T15:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=1908"},"modified":"2025-08-30T15:27:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T15:27:48","slug":"swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-a-calm-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-a-calm-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Swami Kriyananda — As We Have Known Him: A Calm Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Asha Nayaswami<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had a difficult decision to make. Desperately I prayed to God, \u201cWhat do You want me to do?\u201d But no matter how much I prayed I couldn\u2019t get an answer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked to speak to Swamiji about it. When we met, he was sitting in an armchair and I was on the floor in front of him, with an ottoman between us. As I began to explain my dilemma, I was so overcome with emotion I collapsed against the ottoman, buried my head in my hands, and began to sob.<\/p>\n

Through my tears, I said to Swamiji, \u201cIt is so hard to know what God wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swamiji looked at me calmly and said simply, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

We sat together for a few moments longer, but it was soon clear he had nothing else to say to me, so I left.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may not be hard for him<\/em> to know,\u201d I thought, as I made my way back home, \u201cbut it is hard for me.\u201d Swamiji\u2019s answer, however, had not referred to either one of us. He spoke of the simplicity of the task itself.<\/p>\n

Later I prayed, \u201cWhy<\/em> is it hard for me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Instantly the answer came: \u201cBecause you don\u2019t want to know. You are afraid that God\u2019s will may contradict other desires of your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first time I heard Swamiji speak, I thought, \u201cHe is the most intelligent man I have ever met.\u201d That impression has been more than confirmed by all my experiences in the years since. I had often wondered, \u201cWhat is the secret of his remarkable intelligence?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReason follows feeling,\u201d Master said. Whatever the predisposition of the heart, the mind will follow. Most people are predisposed in favor of their desires, attachments, and the fear of facing an unknown challenge. All these block one\u2019s ability to perceive reality.<\/p>\n

Swamiji\u2019s only \u201cpredisposition\u201d is to know the truth. He is not plagued by what Master calls the \u201cthwarting cross-currents of ego.\u201d He has a single desire: To know God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

Swamiji leads with his heart. From the side, he looks like a strung bow: straight spine, outwardly curving chest. The clarity of his mind comes from the courage of his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn teaching meditation,\u201d Swamiji said, \u201cpeople speak of the need to calm the mind<\/em>. In fact, it is the heart<\/em> that needs to be calmed. That is why devotion is fundamental to success in meditation. When the heart is calm and one-pointed in its focus on God, the mind is also still, because there are no restless feelings to disturb it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatanjali defines the state of yoga, meaning \u2018union with God,\u2019 as \u2018Yogas chitta vrittis nirodh<\/em>.\u2019 Yoga is the \u2018neutralization of the whirlpools of feeling.\u2019 These whirlpools\u2014chitta<\/em>\u2014reside in the heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus put it this way, \u2018Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\u2019 Purity means the absence of any other desire except the desire for God. This is our natural state. It is not something we have to acquire. All we have to do is remove the impurities of the heart which keep us from knowing ourselves as we truly are: One with God.\u201d<\/p>\n

That simple exchange with Swamiji\u2014my anguished cry, \u201cIt is so hard to know God\u2019s will,\u201d and Swamiji\u2019s calm, three-word answer \u201cNo it\u2019s not.\u201d\u2014was one of the most influential encounters I have ever had with him.<\/p>\n

Whenever I find myself struggling to know God\u2019s will, instead of crying repeatedly, \u201cWhat do You want me to do?\u201d as if God had to be persuaded to tell me, I pray instead, \u201cWhat am I afraid of?\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the answer comes in a flash of intuition, or after long, and sometimes painful introspection, once the fear is removed, Swamiji is right. It may still be hard for me to follow<\/em> God\u2019s will, but it is not hard to know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Asha Nayaswami I had a difficult decision to make. Desperately I prayed to God, \u201cWhat do You want me to do?\u201d But no matter how much I prayed I couldn\u2019t get an answer. I asked to speak to Swamiji about it. When we met, he was sitting in an armchair and I was on … 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-1908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwami Kriyananda — As We Have Known Him: A Calm Heart - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 51-year disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda recalls how she learned the right way to pray.\" \/>\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\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-a-calm-heart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swami Kriyananda — As We Have Known Him: A Calm Heart - 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