In this time of social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, use outer circumstances to your advantage.

Sometimes, as you can imagine, I felt overwhelmed by all of the problems and challenges we faced, and would go to Swami Kriyananda for advice and solace.

From our first day there, people kept asking us, “Have you seen Kanchenjunga yet?” In my ignorance, I didn’t even know what Kanchenjunga was, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t seen it.

These are difficult, even unprecedented, times for the world. The spreading coronavirus, as well as the ripples of economic and social disruption, have sent shock waves throughout the whole planet.

Me? Live in a tepee? In the early years of Ananda Village, before we had the resources to build houses, we looked to the Native American culture for solutions in creating homes.

He was just twenty-four years old when he was found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit.

Few of us are destined to be struck by a car, but we will all be hit by our karma. When a karmic test comes, it is best to relax and learn from the experience.

How do seabirds survive the impact of a violent hurricane? Recently a friend sent me an interesting article about this. The birds use a simple technique: they fly in the same direction as the winds, which spiral inward toward the center of the hurricane.

Swami Kriyananda urged members of Ananda to strive for liberation in this lifetime. One morning Devi and I were eating breakfast with him in his home in India, and the conversation turned to the question of liberation. We said, “Why is it so hard to find God? It seems to be a daunting task, and we don’t feel like we’re making enough progress.”

Swami Kriyananda was a man of deep spiritual realization, and he also had a delightful sense of humor. His laughter helped us to understand that if God is joy, then the spiritual path should be fun, too.