Nayaswami Jyotish, Author at Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi

In spite of Patanjali’s injunction regarding non-stealing, I’ve been trying to steal something from Paramhansa Yogananda during my seclusion—his magnetism. Actually, he told me to do it. Not only that, but he told me how. But as with so many things on the spiritual path, it is simple but not easy.

Here’s what Master suggested: “Great saints don’t waste their time. You have to convince them of the urgency of your heart. Then they will be attracted to you, and you can ‘steal’ magnetism from them. Automatically you will get their vibration if you are near them. But you can also feel their magnetism thousands of miles away, because their spiritual vibrations are limitless. I receive the vibrations of my guru Sri Yukteswar all the time, even though he is now reborn on another plane.” He also suggested that, to strengthen the connection, we imagine them sitting next to us while we meditate.

There are important laws of magnetism that we can use to our benefit—or to our peril. Every thought, word, and deed—positive or negative—creates a magnetic vibration that is sent into the ether. Like radio waves, we are continually bombarded by this force. More important is the constant exchange of magnetism with our environment and, especially, the people we connect with. The closer we are, the stronger the exchange. That is why we like to touch or shake hands with famous stars or politicians.

It is vital that we do our best to shun the company of those who are negative or who have harmful tendencies, and all the more so when their energy is strong, since a strong magnet will overwhelm a weaker one. This is especially important when we ourselves are trying to overcome a bad habit such as smoking or drinking, or the pull of demeaning desires.

There are many times that we can’t avoid being in the presence of downward-pulling magnetism, at work or in the home. But there are two things we can do to help. The first is to refuse to engage or be mentally affected by negative magnetism. The second is to send love. The love of the soul can transform even deadly enemies, as Gandhi demonstrated.

The stronger our willpower and the calmer we are, the more we’ll weave an aura of protection around ourselves. A good diet—and especially regular fasting—increases the flow of prana to our cells and enhances our positive magnetism. Exercise, deep breathing, yogic techniques, and, particularly, the Energization Exercises can fill us with beneficial life force.

To increase our positive magnetism, the best way, of course, is to meditate. The more attuned we are to God and the Masters, the more we are fed by their divine energy. If we tune in, they will help us understand how to work with these powerful laws of magnetism. And if we stay in touch with their vibrations, we’ll receive great protection. A true master can stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.

Another wonderful way to increase our magnetism is to be in nature. And the more open we are to plants and animals, the more we can receive their vibrations.

Devi with Papa Tree at Ananda Village.

Devi and I have a favorite tree. At the end of a path in Ananda Village where we often walk, there is a magnificent Ponderosa pine, at least a hundred feet high. It all started when we began using that tree to mark our turn-around point. Then one day we decided we should pat it as a friendly gesture. From there, it escalated.

Soon we were not just patting the tree, but sending it our blessings and good wishes. Then we realized that it was reciprocating—sending us its own positive energy. Next, we named it Papa Tree. Now there is a beautiful bond between us, and this glorious protector of the forest has become our friend. We miss him when we’re away.

Good friends share their positive magnetism but negative people give us only grief. As the old song says, “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, and don’t mess with Mr. Inbetween.”

You might like to follow my example and try to steal some of Master’s magnetism when you meditate. I don’t know how successful I am—but it sure feels good to try.

In joy,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (9:44):

Post-recording correction for this week’s A Touch of Light Podcast: As the old song says, “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, and don’t mess with Mr. Inbetween.”

As 2026 rolls around, it’s important to review the past year and make plans for the coming one. Paramhansa Yogananda strongly urged us to make resolutions at the start of each new year—to create new, healthy habits and to drop unhealthy ones.

Many people make resolutions involving physical changes: a better diet or a regular exercise routine. But as devotees, we should approach the subject somewhat differently. While physical improvements are certainly helpful, they can take us only so far. No matter how healthy our bodies become, we will eventually have to leave them behind when we depart this world. It is far better to focus on changing our consciousness, because those improvements will be permanent.

For those of us who are part of the Future Saints Club, this is a perfect time to rededicate ourselves to our spiritual quest. If you happened to miss my earlier blog about the Future Saints Club, here is the essence.

There are just three parts:

Perhaps it will be helpful if I share my own process in following these three steps.

First, I clarified my goal. The word saint can have many different interpretations—even, as Swami Kriyananda once wrote in a Sunday service reading, to have “perhaps, a slightly better attitude than the norm.” I have therefore identified my goal as becoming a jivan mukta—one who is free of the ego. This is a goal Swami Kriyananda challenged Ananda members to strive for. Wanting to make that goal crystal clear in my own mind, I am taking a close look at Master’s great poem “Samadhi.”

Next comes step two: identifying the changes I need to make. For me, four stand out as the most important place to begin:

A) Longer, deeper, Guru-attuned meditations

B) Practicing the presence of God throughout the day

C) Having complete faith in Divine Mother, and offering all remaining desires and projects into Her hands

D) Seeing God as the Doer in all things

Step three is journaling. I have begun writing down both the time and quality of my meditations. A typical notation might look like this: 1.5 / 2. This is my shorthand for an hour-and-a-half meditation and being focused about half the time on average. I’m using a four-point scale:

1. focused about 25% of the time. 2. about half the time. 3. three-quarters. 4. the entire time.

Alas, in my determination to be honest, there are no whole meditations with a 4—and rarely even a 3 — although I usually have some deep periods during each meditation. But like all of us, I am a work in progress. I once saw someone wearing a T-shirt that said, “Be patient with me. God isn’t finished yet.”

In addition to holding myself accountable for my meditations, I also write briefly about how my day went—my victories and my failures. Journaling is a new habit for me, and sticking with it represents my first big challenge. That is my vow to God and Guru for January.

You, of course, may have a very different goal, and different attitudes or habits to work on. The process must be personalized for each of us. Still, this approach has given me a clearer way forward for the new year than I have ever had before.

I say this to myself as much as to you, friend. Karmic circumstances vary from lifetime to lifetime, even from week to week. God understands this and seeks, through his great saints, to reassure us. Meher Baba repeatedly said, “Don’t worry. Be Happy.” Even more comfortingly, Paramhansa Yogananda said, “If you practice one millionth of the things I tell you, you will reach God.”

So, let’s all just relax, not worry, be happy, and have a magnificent 2026! 

In joy,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (7:57):

Paramhansa Yogananda said that each incarnation is like a dream within a dream, in which the soul—like an actor—plays a particular, karmically determined role for that lifetime. God mercifully hides the future from us, revealing our script only a day or a week at a time.

Yet each lifetime has certain major transition points—moments when life takes on an entirely new direction and meaning. Some of these are biologically determined and apply to everyone; others are more individual and often more transformative.

Let’s look at some of these transitions, noticing common threads and learning from them. I’ll use my own life as an example.

1) Birth (100% of the population)

Many of the basic conditions of an incarnation are set at conception: family, DNA, country, culture, language, and economic and social circumstances. I was born in 1943 to American parents who were intelligent, loving, middle class, and English-speaking. How about you?

2) Childhood (100%)

I grew up in the American Midwest and was fairly well adjusted, with good friends and decent schools. I was capable, though not brilliant, both academically and athletically. My parents, however, were not spiritually inclined. I was fortunate that—unlike some 30–50% of the population—I did not grow up in a dysfunctional family that caused significant childhood trauma with lifelong repercussions.

3) Youth (100%)

The period after puberty is often turbulent—so much so that in the Mahabharata it is symbolized by the thirteen-year exile of the Pandavas from their kingdom. Many young people wrestle with sexual confusion and, for some, substance misuse (perhaps 20–25%). In my own case, as with many of my peers, I overused alcohol, but thankfully the tendency was not deep enough to derail my future.

4) Leaving home (85–95%)

At eighteen, I left my parents’ home to attend college. From that point on, I was psychologically, socially, and financially independent. After graduating in 1966, I moved to San Francisco, where my future truly began to take shape.

5) Getting a job and becoming financially independent (75–85%)

I soon found work as a social worker. Although this did not become my long-term career, it gave me a sense of self-definition and adult responsibility.

6) Finding a spiritual path (about 50–70% identify as religious)

I read Autobiography of a Yogi in the autumn of 1966, though its effect took several months to fully blossom. On Easter Sunday, April 26, 1967, I met Swami Kriyananda. That meeting marked a profound turning point—my life was never the same afterward.

7) Spiritual commitment as the defining center of life (about 3–5%)

From the time I met Swamiji, my commitment grew quickly. Within months I was attending classes regularly, meditating daily, and volunteering. After eight months he told me I should take Kriya initiation. My first Kriya was on December 22, 1967—so that I could practice it the following day during my first all-day meditation.

8) Finding a life calling or dharma (about 20–30%)

In 1968, about a year and a half after we met, Swami Kriyananda asked me to leave my job and become his assistant. Fortunately, I agreed. Looking back, I can see that this role was part of Master’s mission, and his plan had been set in motion long before I incarnated in this life.

9) Marriage (60–70%)

My marriage to Devi has been one of the great blessings of my life. I feel strongly that it, too, was karmically determined as part of Master’s work. We were born, I believe, to live—and model—the role of sincere Dwapara Yuga disciples. We have now been married for over fifty years and, thankfully, have not had to face the pain of separation, as do 35–45% of those who marry.

10) Parenthood (65–75%)

Becoming parents has been another profound spiritual blessing. Our son is a high soul, though he was not destined to follow our spiritual path. His teenage years were turbulent as he established his independence. Those challenging years, however, became a blessing in disguise, allowing us to relate deeply to many other parents facing similar trials.

11) Serious illness (80–90%)

Fortunately, neither Devi nor I have faced serious illness. For many people, however, illness becomes a defining life transition, especially in later years, reshaping their priorities.

12) Death (100%)

This transition still awaits us. Like most devotees, I do not fear death nearly as much as I fear rebirth. I hope and pray that I will complete my role in such a way that I may leave this world as a free soul.

I encourage you to reflect on these transition points as a way of evaluating your own life. Remember, what has happened to you is far less important than what you have become because of it.

A simple homework exercise: Look back at your own transition points, uncover the hidden lessons within them, and write a letter offering wise advice to your soul for its next incarnation.

With joy,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (11:02):

In the spirit of Swami Kriyananda, who often shared with us the latest chapter of whatever book he was working on, I thought to share excerpts from the book I’m writing now, The Heart of Service. Here are some parts of the chapter, “The Science Behind Service,” a subject of interest to many.

It is remarkable how often the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda anticipated scientific discoveries made decades later. In the 1920s, Yogananda taught that gazing into the light after meditation actually changed the brain cells. At the time, this idea was dismissed as heresy: Scientists believed that the adult brain was incapable of change. Today, however, hundreds of studies confirm the brain’s neuroplasticity.

Helping Others Helps You

In a groundbreaking 2008 study, researchers gave participants $20 and asked them to spend it either on themselves or someone else. Those who spent the money on others consistently reported greater happiness. A 2019 study revealed that people who performed altruistic acts experienced less physical pain from electric shocks. Remarkably, even cancer patients reported reduced chronic pain. Science proves that altruism pays long-term dividends—including increased life satisfaction, fewer symptoms of depression, and improved job performance and satisfaction.

Yogananda called helping others “spiritual selfishness,” because of the enormous benefits that redound to the giver.

Studies on Service and the Brain

Neuroscience has begun to map the inner pathways associated with service, showing that altruism and compassion activate the prefrontal cortex, which governs our moral reasoning, empathy, and spiritual perception. Interestingly, this region is vitalized by deep meditations at the spiritual eye. In his deeper teachings, Yogananda says that the brain doesn’t create perception; it is our soul’s consciousness, rather, that expresses itself through the brain.

One study set out to see if the benefits of meditation reach beyond the meditator. Three hundred twenty-six subjects were randomly assigned either to attend meditation training or to join a control group. Afterward, in a simple donation game, those who had undergone the training donated at a rate 2.6 times higher than the control group.

Studies using brain imaging confirmed that the brain’s reward centers light up consistently when people give. Interestingly, the act of selfless giving, without desire for a reward, shows a distinctly different neurological signature—biological evidence for the spiritual truth of selfless love.

Long-Term Studies on the Health Benefits of Service

One of the most influential long-term studies began tracking over ten thousand high school graduates in 1957. Researchers found that those involved in community service, such as PTAs, youth groups, or community centers, reported better physical and mental health even decades later. It was also “dose-related”—volunteering more showed greater benefits.

A Carnegie Mellon University study found that regular volunteers were 40% less likely to develop high blood pressure over a four-year period. A Harvard study involving nearly thirteen thousand people found that those who volunteered at least two hours a week had reduced biological risk factors such as inflammation, and were significantly less likely to suffer from depression.

Another study recorded the activities and feelings of 1,320 people over eight consecutive days. It found that volunteering lowered the levels of the hormone cortisol, which rises when one feels anxious or angry, yet another finding demonstrating that service has not only psychological, but also physiological benefits.

But there is a catch. The benefits only apply to those who were sincerely motivated to help others. Those who volunteered for self-centered reasons have no better outcomes than non-volunteers. As always, it is the spirit behind the action that matters most.

The Ripple Effect of Service

Research shows that simple acts of kindness create a ripple effect that influences people up to three degrees of separation away. In other words, someone who witnesses a kind act is more likely to be kind to someone else in turn. This is the reason that videos of people rescuing animals or performing small acts of kindness often go viral. Those who witness generosity feel uplifted. Kindness awakens something deep in our hearts, connecting us to our higher selves and to the divine in others. The 2023 World Happiness Report showed that societies that are more generous are also happier.

There are many more scientific studies showing that service is profoundly beneficial. For us, this is not at all surprising. Our Masters have been telling us this for decades. There is a simple takeaway: Go forth and serve!

In joy,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (9:11):

I’m writing this to you, friend, as if we’re having a conversation. That’s how Devi and I like to think of these weekly offerings—we’re simply sharing our thoughts and our journey with you and our other friends around the world.

What if, at the start of this conversation, I said, “I’ve discovered that there is one simple cure for all of our worries and troubles”? I hope that would intrigue you.

Imagine that we’re caught at sea with a hurricane approaching, and we can’t reach the shore in time. What should we do? The best course of action would be to race toward the eye of the storm.

In Yogananda’s wonderful poem, “God! God! God!” he writes:

When boisterous storms of trials shriek,

Let’s rephrase that a bit:

When the hurricane of problems shriek,

Where do we find the eye of the hurricane—this universal cure for all our worries and troubles? We find it, as Master says, in the safe harbor of “God! God! God!” God-remembrance is a central teaching of all true spiritual paths.

The seventeenth-century Christian saint, Brother Lawrence, wrote, “I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual silent and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.” He became loved by seekers of all faiths for his teachings on practicing the presence of God.

Both Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda also stressed “practicing the presence of God” as so essential to our spiritual life that we might say our path has three parts: meditation, service, and God-remembrance.

Yogananda wrote, “Of greatest help in your development is the habit of mental whispering to God. You will see a change in yourself that you will like very much. No matter what you do, God should be constantly in your mind. Mental whispers develop dynamic power to reshape matter into what you want. You do not realize how great is the power of the mind. When your mind and will are attuned to the Divine Will you do not have to move a finger in order to create changes on earth.”

So how do we develop this ability to constantly whisper to God—to find our safe harbor? Here is a challenge that I hope we will all take up: Let’s spend eight minutes a day whispering to God, or to a God-realized soul such as Master—telling Him our thoughts, sharing our troubles, asking His guidance. That doesn’t sound too hard, does it?

Here is what makes it a true challenge: We can’t have just a single eight-minute conversation with God—that wouldn’t really do much to develop our God-remembrance skills. We have to divide those eight minutes into thirty-second segments. That means whispering to God at least once during every hour we are awake.

Are we up for that?

Let’s give it a try, friend. This will be like learning to quickly sail our boat into a safe harbor while the weather is calm. If we develop that skill during the sunny days, we’ll be able to race to the eye of the storm when the hurricanes of trouble shriek and howl around us.

In the eye,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (7:45):

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “Everyone fundamentally desires to avoid pain and find happiness. This simple truth applies universally, even to animals. While the definition of happiness can vary for each individual, the underlying motivation remains the same: the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of pain.”

Most of you, our faithful readers, already understand the concepts that “happiness is a choice” and that “happiness is found within.” And yet, few of us consistently manage either to choose happiness or to find it within ourselves.

Once Nayaswami Jaya was giving an introductory talk in India. At the end of his lecture someone asked, “After all your years of meditation, have you developed any powers?” Jaya replied, “No, I can’t say that I have.” He could feel the collective energy in the room plummet.

Then he added, “Actually, I have developed one power—the power to choose to be happy. I don’t always use that power, but I have it.” The result was one of the largest enrollments ever for the ensuing meditation course.

So, if we know that we want happiness, and even know where to look for it, why does it remain so elusive? One simple reason is that when we try to clutch happiness for ourselves, it slips—like water—through our fingers. But ironically, when we seek to give happiness to others, we find it growing in our own hearts.

I recently read a fascinating article titled “A Surprisingly Simple Happiness Hack.” It referenced a study by researchers at Cornell University. Apparently, a large percentage of Gen Z students (those born between 1997 and 2012) are experiencing significant levels of depression and lack of purpose. Over the past six years, researchers have given $400 “no-strings-attached” contributions to more than 1,400 students to pursue “what matters most”—whether that meant helping themselves, their communities, or their families. The result was a dramatic increase in their sense of purpose and happiness. Most interestingly, 95% of the students used their funds to benefit others.

This study aligns perfectly with the teachings of our path: A sense of purpose and the expansion of our heart’s sympathies lead to true happiness.

As a quick primer on happiness, here are a few gems from the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda:

“To seek happiness outside ourselves is like trying to lasso a cloud. Happiness is not a thing: It is a state of mind. It must be lived.”

“Possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake. If material poverty is to be avoided, spiritual poverty is to be abhorred!”

“If you want to be sad, no one in the world can make you happy. But if you make up your mind to be happy, no one and nothing on earth can take that happiness from you.”

“Happiness comes, not by helplessly wishing for it, but by dreaming, thinking, and living it in all circumstances. No matter what you are doing, keep the undercurrent of happiness—the secret river of joy—flowing beneath the sands of your thoughts and the rocky soils of hard trials.”

“Divine joy comes with self-expansion. Suffering, on the other hand, is the fruit of selfishness, of a contractive ego. Joy awakens compassion in the heart. It makes one long to infuse divine bliss into those who are weeping in sorrow.”

And finally, this prayer:

“Mother Divine, teach me to love others and to serve others. Teach me to be true to my word, even as I want others to be true to me. Teach me to love others as I wish them to love me. Teach me, O Mother, to make others happy—to make others smile. Teach me, O Mother, to find my happiness in the joy of others.”

All of these quotes, and many more, can be found in the book How to Be Happy All the Time, part of Crystal Clarity’s Wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda series.

So, my friends, let’s revisit Jaya’s statement with a slight variation. Let us affirm: “I have the power to choose to be happy at all times. I can best remember to use this power by awakening it in all those I meet.”

In happiness,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:33):

We’ve just returned home from a three-month trip to Italy, Spain, and India. Our final major event was a Spiritual Renewal Week in Puri, attended by about 250 people in person and another hundred online. During the closing session, I floated an idea for something new: The Future Saints Club.

My thought is to experiment with it for a year, and—if it proves beneficial—to launch it more formally next year.

The Idea Is Simple

That’s it! It’s simply a sacred contract between you and God.

What to Promise

Your monthly promise can relate to any aspect of spiritual growth: techniques, habits, tendencies, attitudes—anything that will help you advance on the path.

As you study, jot down insights and reflections in your journal—a practice Yogananda himself encouraged.

If you don’t yet meditate regularly, begin there. Consistency is a noble and effective first promise to make to God. If you already meditate faithfully, work on increasing the length and quality of your practice.

If You Don’t Know Where to Begin

Wonderful! That simply means your first promise can be to explore the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda more deeply.

When our son was about three months old, Swami Kriyananda told Devi that she should give classes on Spiritual Parenting. She replied, “I don’t know much about it yet, except that you don’t get much sleep!” She soon realized, however, that he was encouraging her to study Yogananda’s teachings on the subject—and that’s where she began.

Helpful Resources

If you’d like to learn about the qualities that make one a saint, Ananda offers a wealth of resources. Here are a few:

As you study, jot down insights and reflections in your journal—a practice Yogananda himself encouraged.

Develop the Positive

Generally, it’s more effective to build a positive quality than to try to eliminate a negative one. For instance, if you struggle with worry, don’t focus on suppressing it: Develop its divine opposite, faith.

Keep It Realistic

Don’t overpromise. Take one steady step at a time—but make it count. Also, learn to distinguish between what you can control, what you can influence, and what is entirely in God’s hands.

You can control outward actions: your meditation, energization, and daily habits. These are appropriate subjects for firm promises.

Inner qualities such as moods, emotions, and restless thoughts are more subtle. You can’t command them to change instantly, but you can influence them through prayer, affirmation, and visualization.

A guru once told his disciple, “I’m leaving on a trip. While I’m away, try each day to move that large, unsightly boulder in the courtyard.” The disciple tried and failed daily. When the guru returned, the disciple shamefacedly confessed his failure. The guru smiled and said, “I knew you couldn’t move it—but look how much stronger you’ve become through your efforts.”

A Personal Invitation

The Future Saints Club is entirely voluntary. My own journal is ready—its pages still blank but filled with possibility. I’m going to do my best to move the boulder of ignorance from my courtyard.

If this experiment speaks to your heart, join me. Let’s each take our next step toward sainthood, then check in with one another in a few months.

In the hands of God,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:25):

We are now in the final two weeks of a three-month international trip. It has been a wonderful journey—a time to meet new friends and to reconnect with others we’ve known for decades. The spiritual family of Ananda is powered by friendship, laughter, joy, and deep inspiration.

This has truly been an inspiring, even life-changing pilgrimage to sacred places in Italy, Spain, and India. And yet, travel also brings its challenges. During this time, we’ve given more than a hundred classes and satsangs, spent countless hours in cars and airplanes, and eaten—since we’re among friends here, I’ll be candid, overeaten—countless meals.

One of the blessings of such a trip is that it has forced us out of our comfort zone. By nature, we tend to cling to what is familiar. Ancient sea maps expressed this fear of the unknown by marking unexplored areas with the warning, “There be monsters here!”

Yet the spiritual path is designed to dissolve the ego. And since the ego clings to its “safe” territory, we must learn to step beyond the borders of comfort.

Master once said that life is meant for “our education and entertainment.” Both came into play during this journey. On our first night in Ávila, Spain, we wandered into a medieval festival alive with colorful costumes, lively music, and booths overflowing with foods and crafts. It was a feast for the senses—highly entertaining! Later that evening, however, we returned to our monastery lodging where the beds were harder than our aging bodies are used to, and the pillows were far from ideal. Then came the education.

Here is a great secret: If you can quiet the mind and heart, you will discover joy at the center of every circumstance, pleasant or difficult. When you relax into the moment and trust Divine Mother, you find Her loving hand in everything.

Swami Kriyananda once arrived in Calcutta after a long journey, expecting to be met at the airport. When no one appeared, instead of panicking, he inwardly asked, “Divine Mother, what do You have in mind?” At that moment, a stranger approached him—someone who turned out to be the friend of a man Swamiji had long hoped to meet. It all worked out far better than his original plan.

So often Divine Mother has marvelous adventures waiting for us if only we relax into Her arms. On this trip, Devi and I stepped into a small chapel in Segovia, Spain, expecting only a brief look at an ancient building. Instead, we were embraced by an overwhelming spiritual power. St. John of the Cross had prayed there for countless hours, and the vibrations were still alive. We meditated deeply, bathing in that unexpected blessing. After years of travel, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. Life is filled with hidden treasures of grace, hiding just beneath the surface and waiting for us to notice.

Swamiji himself showed us the ultimate example of joyful surrender. His very last word before leaving the body was simply: “Anything.”

What a perfect mantra to carry with us as a guide for life.

In joyful surrender,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (7:41):

In A Festival of Light, Swami Kriyananda writes about an eternal pattern: “A prayer of love went up from earth, and You responded. A ray of Your light flashed out from the heart of Infinity. . . .”

When enough souls yearn for God, He sends a saint in answer to their calls. Recently, we were blessed to go on pilgrimage to the sacred places of several such saints in Europe.

We began at Ananda Village in California, a community dedicated to living the yogic teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. From there we traveled to Ananda Europa near Assisi, Italy—another of Yogananda’s “world brotherhood colonies.” This community is nestled in the land sanctified by St. Francis, whom Yogananda called his “patron saint.”

Our pilgrimage continued in Spain, where we visited the shrines of St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross. We concluded in Seville, home to two thirteenth-century kings, Ferdinand III and Alfonso X, who almost certainly were Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda in former incarnations. On the surface, all these saints may seem separated by time and place, but as the pilgrimage unfolded, we began to perceive a deeper, repeating pattern.

A Blueprint in the Ether

The defining qualities of Ananda are meditation, service, and community life. Remarkably, we saw this same pattern reflected in the lives of all of the saints we visited. I am convinced that we are part of one vast spiritual family, returning again and again to seek God’s light and to share it with the world.

Here are a few glimpses of how these historical threads weave together:

Saints as Yogis

Striking as this history is, the spiritual patterns are even more so, and even more important. If we define yoga in its true sense—the science of union with God—then surely all of these saints were yogis.

Do these not beautifully mirror Patanjali’s stages of pranayama, pratyahara, dharana/dhyana, and samadhi?

The Eternal Path

There is but one God and one eternal spiritual path, expressed in different forms according to the needs of the age. We are fortunate in this respect. Each of these medieval saints endured great physical hardship and suffering. But, as Swami Kriyananda observed:

“Whereas suffering and sorrow, in the past, were the coin of man’s redemption, for us now the payment has been exchanged for calm acceptance and joy.”

May we live this pattern with gratitude, dedication, and joy.

In calm acceptance and joy,

Nayaswami Jyotish

P.S. A friend has written a beautiful account of our pilgrimage in Spain, with many photos. You can read it here: The Spirit of Spain, Shaped by Saints.

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:46):

Paramhansa Yogananda wrote, “Every mother is a manifestation of God’s unconditional love, though human mothers are imperfect, and the Divine Mother is perfect.” He also said, “My mother was everything to me. My joys rose and set in the firmament of her presence.”

After his mother’s passing, Yogananda was inconsolable until he had a vision of Divine Mother. He wrote, “Haloed in splendor, the Divine Mother stood before me. Her face, tenderly smiling, was beauty itself. [In celestial tones her words rang out:] ‘Always have I loved thee! Ever shall I love thee!’”

St. John Vianney once said, “If you knew how much God loves you, you would die for joy!” God reveals His unconditional love especially through the many manifestations of Divine Mother. In India, She comes to Her devotees as Kali or as one of many other goddesses. In Europe and the West, She usually appears as Mary.

Millions have found solace and healing through Her apparitions. At Lourdes and Fatima, countless pilgrims have received blessings. In Medjugorje, She has been appearing since 1981, and still comes daily to Marija, one of the visionaries. A friend who was fortunate to be in the room during one of these apparitions shared: “Everything became absolutely still—no street noises, not even birds singing. During the appearance, which only Marija could see, there was an amazingly powerful presence, and a great flow of energy and blessing in the spine.”

We are currently in Seville, Spain, where the bodies of Ferdinand III and Alfonso X reside. There is strong evidence to show that these were the thirteenth-century incarnations of Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda. In that lifetime both were deeply spiritual, as well as great warriors who fought to return the land to Christianity. Ferdinand (Master) so loved and trusted the Divine Mother that for more than twenty years he rode into battle with a small statue of Mary attached to his saddle. With Divine Mother as his protector, he was never defeated.

This age is badly out of balance. The angry, divisive, power-mad energy needs to be replaced with unconditional love. One of the best ways each of us can help the world is to open our hearts to Divine Mother in meditation and offer Her love, friendship, and support to everyone we meet.

The painting depicting Divine Mother’s love, gifted to friends by Swami Kriyananda.

Swami Kriyananda was, like Yogananda, deeply blessed by his earthly mother. While she was pregnant with him, she prayed repeatedly, “Lord, this first child I give to Thee.” A friend once saw him resting with eyes closed beside a pool. As she approached, he opened his eyes and said softly, “I miss my mother.”

Another time, in Sorrento, friends accompanied Swamiji into an art gallery. He stood transfixed before one painting, tears streaming down his face. The next day they returned, and again he gazed at the same painting, his eyes filled with tears. Later he gifted the painting (shown here) to these friends, saying, “This is how Divine Mother loves every one of us.”

I expect that his words that day by the pool carried a deeper meaning: that he was longing not only for his earthly mother, but also for his Divine Mother. For that longing was the story of his life, and of Yogananda’s as well. As they longed for their Divine Mother, so too must we. So must we.

In Divine Mother’s arms,

Nayaswami Jyotish

Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:55):