In this reflection marking his 50th anniversary of discipleship, Swami Kriyananda describes his life's work as a "seminal" rather than "exhaustive" expansion of Paramhansa Yogananda's teachings, comparing it to a genealogical tree branching outward or to Einstein's theory of relativity rippling into countless applied fields. He urges Ananda members not to imitate his specific books, music, or programs, but to meditate on them and further detail and develop the principles behind them.
He traces the teaching's lineage from Babaji and Jesus through Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar, and Yogananda, arguing that fidelity to that ray is what keeps the work spiritually potent even as it inevitably changes over time.