{"id":1937,"date":"2025-10-25T15:37:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=1937"},"modified":"2025-10-25T15:37:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:37:47","slug":"swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-nishkam-karma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-nishkam-karma\/","title":{"rendered":"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Nishkam Karma"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Told by Nayaswami Lahari)<\/em><\/p>\n

My husband and I were in charge of setting up a lecture for Swamiji in April 2002 at his alma mater, Brown University. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Everything went wrong. People we relied on didn\u2019t keep their promises. Promotions didn\u2019t go out on time. Even the beautiful spring weather turned suddenly cold and drizzly.<\/p>\n

Swamiji had been hoping for a big crowd and I was embarrassed and nervous about letting him down. At breakfast the morning of the event, I warned him about what was to come, so he wouldn\u2019t be disappointed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNiskam karma<\/em>,\u201d Swamiji said calmly, quoting in Sanskrit from the Bhagavad Gita.<\/em> He was reminding me to be detached, to perform \u201caction without personal desire for the fruits of action.\u201d Do your best; then leave the results to God.<\/p>\n

We were understaffed, and I had to work right up to the moment when Swamiji began to speak. The effort aggravated a physical condition and I was in such pain I couldn\u2019t sit up, but had to lie down on a bench in the lobby.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t help that my worst fears were realized. Only a handful of people came. \u201cNishkam karma<\/em>,\u201d I repeated quietly to myself. Finally I felt well enough to sit up for the lecture.<\/p>\n

By the time we closed the hall and joined Swamiji for a late dinner at a nearby restaurant, I was in such pain again I could barely move my arms. I\u2019d had episodes like this before, and they had lasted for days.<\/p>\n

Swamiji had saved a place for me next to him. When I sat down, within 30 seconds all the pain was gone, just like that.<\/p>\n

The lecture that night was based on Hope for a Better World!\u2014The Small Communities Solution<\/em>, the book Swamiji had just published.<\/em> In it he takes on, as he puts it, the \u201cBig Guns\u201d of Western civilization: Plato, Machiavelli, Marx, Darwin, Freud, and others. He shows the reader how not to be awed by \u201cintellectual authority,\u201d but to reason from one\u2019s own experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a book for young people,\u201d Swamiji said, \u201cidealistic, imaginative. They are the ones who will understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

His hope (for a better world) was to give a series of lectures on college campuses and start a youth movement toward establishing cooperative communities. Brown University was a trial balloon.<\/p>\n

Now Swamiji said, \u201cWhen I was meditating this afternoon, before we left for the lecture, Divine Mother told me it wasn\u2019t going to happen in the way I had hoped. This, evidently, isn\u2019t the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

On another occasion, Swamiji said, \u201cMany good and beautiful things that are God\u2019s will for this world never manifest, for lack of willing human instruments to receive them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For this reason, Jesus wept for Jerusalem. \u201cO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!\u201d (Matt. 24:37)<\/p>\n

The planning for this lecture had been a comedy of errors. I remembered a time during a lawsuit against Ananda when every<\/em> decision went against us, no matter how unfair. Our spirits were sagging, but Swamiji buoyed us when he said, \u201cThe law of averages dictates that at least a few things will go in your favor. When everything<\/em> goes against you, you know it is Divine Mother making it happen that way. I simply accept Her will, whatever it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nishkam karma<\/em>. Do your best, then leave the results to God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Told by Nayaswami Lahari) My husband and I were in charge of setting up a lecture for Swamiji in April 2002 at his alma mater, Brown University. Everything went wrong. People we relied on didn\u2019t keep their promises. Promotions didn\u2019t go out on time. Even the beautiful spring weather turned suddenly cold and drizzly. Swamiji … 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-1937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Nishkam Karma - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A long-time disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda tells how his direct disciple Swami Kriyananda modeled non-attachment.\" \/>\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-nishkam-karma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Nishkam Karma - 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