{"id":1986,"date":"2025-12-27T16:59:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T16:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=1986"},"modified":"2025-12-27T16:59:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T16:59:25","slug":"swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-consciousness-over-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-consciousness-over-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Consciousness Over Form"},"content":{"rendered":"

I Recognized You<\/em><\/p>\n

Even though Swamiji was quite near-sighted, he always took his glasses off when he lectured.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe disadvantage is that beyond the first row I can\u2019t recognize faces,\u201d he said. His eyes were too dry to wear contact lenses. \u201cBut glasses draw the energy outward, and I find it harder to be intuitive when I wear them. Also, consciousness is transmitted through the eyes, and glasses are a barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n

He suggested we should all lecture without glasses, but most of us couldn\u2019t function as well as Swamiji did without being able to see. We wore contact lenses if we could, or perforce ignored his advice. When correcting vision through laser surgery became an option for Swamiji and for many of us, the problem was solved.<\/p>\n

At one event, when he still wore glasses but didn\u2019t wear them to lecture, Swamiji was speaking in a huge auditorium as part of a group program that included Louise Hay and a few other well-known teachers.<\/p>\n

Savitri was standing against the back wall when Louise slipped in and stood beside her. They were acquainted, and Louise whispered, \u201cI have to catch a plane, but I wanted to hear at least a few minutes.\u201d She described Swamiji as \u201cthe kindest man I have ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n

About fifteen minutes later, as Louise was walking toward the door, Swamiji stopped his lecture to greet her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Louise. Do you have to leave now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry to walk out on you Swamiji, but I have to catch a plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was wonderful to be with you, Louise. Have a safe journey.\u201d She left and he went back to his lecture.<\/p>\n

Later, someone wondered, \u201cHe doesn\u2019t see very well. How could he be so confident it was her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have to see her face,\u201d Swamiji said. \u201cI recognized her consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I Didn’t Recognize You<\/em><\/p>\n

On another occasion, Swamiji was meeting a friend at a railway station in Europe. It was someone he knew well. The woman was facing a serious spiritual test, however, and her consciousness was under a veil of darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched everyone get off the train, but I didn’t see her,\u201d Swamiji said later. \u201cI wandered around the station a few moments, wondering if I’d missed her. Then I went into the waiting room. There was only one person there, a woman standing alone. I looked at her uncertainly, then tentatively called to her, naming my friend. She answered me! Her consciousness had changed so much because of the test she’d been going through, that I actually failed to recognize her!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why Don\u2019t I Recognize You?<\/em><\/p>\n

One evening, a woman whose mind tended to be quite restless, was sitting with Swamiji and a few others in his living room. He knew she was there, but she was behind him, out of his line of sight.<\/p>\n

A sense of deep calm descended over the woman, and her mind was more still than she had ever known it to be.<\/p>\n

After a few moments, Swamiji said, \u201cWhy can\u2019t I feel your consciousness?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it is unusually still,\u201d she said, speaking to his back.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t turn to face her, but with his eyes closed, he said to the air in front of him, \u201cAh, yes. There you are. That is the explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Recognized You Even though Swamiji was quite near-sighted, he always took his glasses off when he lectured. \u201cThe disadvantage is that beyond the first row I can\u2019t recognize faces,\u201d he said. His eyes were too dry to wear contact lenses. \u201cBut glasses draw the energy outward, and I find it harder to be intuitive … 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-1986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Consciousness Over Form - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda had poor eyesight, but was able to recognize people by their consciousness.\" \/>\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-consciousness-over-form\/\" \/>\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: Consciousness Over Form - 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