{"id":2042,"date":"2026-03-21T15:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T15:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=2042"},"modified":"2026-03-21T15:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T15:48:27","slug":"swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-help-should-be-individual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-help-should-be-individual\/","title":{"rendered":"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Help Should be Individual"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ananda is an ashram. We don\u2019t advertise to find the most qualified people for the jobs that have to be done.<\/strong> We welcome devotees and find a way for them to serve. We do the best we can with whomever God sends. \u201cPeople are more important than things,\u201d is one of the principles Swamiji\u00a0 taught us.<\/p>\n

One of the gardeners was having difficulty with some of those whom God had sent. Late in the autumn, she said to Swamiji, \u201cWe have to get the crops in before the freeze comes, or months of work will turn into compost overnight. There\u2019s no margin. People\u2019s souls<\/em> may be more important than things, but aren\u2019t some things more important than people\u2019s egos<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Swamiji laughed. \u201cYes, of course they are! But look to your own motivation. For you, that is a more important consideration even than the crops. Before you challenge others, discriminate carefully\u2014for your own sake. Be sure you are differentiating between the demands of your <\/em>ego and the well-being of your soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you say to others, when your own motives are clear, will show respect for them as people. When your own attitude is right, you will say to them, ‘This is what we<\/em> must do,’ not, ‘This is what you<\/em> must do.’<\/p>\n

\u201cCircumstances often drive us in directions we\u2019d rather not go. Sometimes we have to be pushed hard to see which way we\u2019ll break. How people respond, <\/em>however, must be left to their free will.\u201d<\/p>\n

A woman was supposed to be working as my assistant, but her moods made her so unreliable it was like not having an assistant an all.\u00a0 I appealed to Swamiji for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is full of reasons why she can\u2019t do the work I give her. What is my responsibility to her?\u201d I asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe hasn\u2019t yet committed to this spiritual path,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will be a victory for her if she does, but she is still making up her mind. We should help her if we can, but we don\u2019t have an obligation to her. If you feel to speak frankly, go ahead. She needs to see this path for what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first, the woman rose to the challenge. In the end, however, Ananda was more than she\u2019d bargained for and she left. Swamiji said, \u201cFor her sake I am sad that she wasn\u2019t able to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years later I had another assistant with a similar temperament. I sensed, however, that her case was different. Again, I appealed to Swamiji.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I speak frankly, I think she\u2019ll quit, and will probably leave Ananda,\u201d I said to him. \u201cShould I risk it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d replied Swamiji. \u201cShe isn\u2019t mature enough to respond in the right way. She isn\u2019t ready to meet your needs, or even the needs of the work. Still, you have to accommodate her because she belongs here. She is part of our spiritual family. The work she does is less important than keeping her in this positive environment so she can grow spiritually.\u201d<\/p>\n

I found a way to work with her, and, as Swamiji predicted, Ananda has been of great help to her spiritually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ananda is an ashram. We don\u2019t advertise to find the most qualified people for the jobs that have to be done. We welcome devotees and find a way for them to serve. We do the best we can with whomever God sends. \u201cPeople are more important than things,\u201d is one of the principles Swamiji\u00a0 taught … 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-2042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Help Should be Individual - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda worked with "difficult" people.\" \/>\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-help-should-be-individual\/\" \/>\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: Help Should be Individual - 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