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Devi and I just finished a week of seclusion at a private retreat house atop Abbott Mount, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Ever-present in the distance is Nanda Devi, a mountain that many in India believe to be a living goddess. In this rarefied air, one feels the blessing of God and the Masters to be palpable. Seclusion is … Read More

I am continually amazed at the comprehensiveness of Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings for the balanced development of body, mind and spirit. There is almost no aspect of our lives to which Yogananda hasn’t applied the ancient science of yoga, and given us a practical, straight-forward regime to follow—getting along with your employer, developing personality, finding the correct spouse, destroying bad habits, … Read More

After years of failed attempts to manifest my New Year’s resolutions (ever happen to you?), I finally hit upon an approach that really does seem to work. When I shared this new strategy with friends at a recent satsang at Ananda Village, some of them asked me afterwards, “Could you write a blog about this so we can better remember … Read More

Astrology is a very deep subject, but most people consider it a kind of superstitious guide to material progress. If you use astrology only for guidance in material matters, you will be doing its teachings an injustice. Astrology is too vast, both mathematically and philosophically, to be rightly grasped except by people of profound understanding. In ancient times, astrology was … Read More

The Final Exam SWAMI KRIYANANDA The most important moment of life is, in a very true sense, its last moment. For death is when we take our final exam. The thought uppermost in the mind at that time will determine whether our future takes us upward, or sideways, or downward: upward, towards greater spiritual clarity and freedom; sideways, towards further … Read More

Six Strategies for Challenging Times November 16, 2017 This article is unique in that it has been drawn from Clarity articles published by several authors: Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda, and Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi. Sources are listed at the end of this article. 1. Your best astrological amulet When devotees feel overwhelmed by trials and difficulties, it’s mostly because they’ve … Read More

Relax & Feel One of the most difficult concepts for most people to grasp is that we don’t so much achieve Self-realization as we relax into it. We are constantly bombarded with the message that success depends upon making a strenuous effort. While this is often true for worldly success, it is the opposite for spiritual attainment. One time Swami … Read More

Recently, a long-time friend shared with me that they are not doing their spiritual practices; they are without faith, and even losing their belief. This person explained to me that they know what needs to be done but do not have the energy to do it. It saddened me deeply to hear this. The only door open to me was … Read More

In his autobiography, The New Path, Swami Kriyananda shares a fascinating dream: “I was living with many other people in a torture chamber. For generations our families had lived here, knowing no world but this one; the possibility of any other existence simply never occurred to us. One awoke, one was tortured, and, at night, one found brief respite in … Read More