Nayaswami Jyotish, Author at Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi

Devi and I have just started a new phase. We are both taking a “writing seclusion” to work on books that we feel inspired to write, but which have been delayed due to our organizational responsibilities. The Ananda world is flourishing at this point, and we both feel that we can focus on writing for a few weeks or months. We’ll still continue with needed public events—ceremonies, Sunday services, and satsangs—but will pull back from meetings and personal interactions for a while.

Preparing to write has given me the opportunity to reflect on the balance between meditation and service, a core teaching of our path. Many books have been written, and numerous classes offered, about meditation, but much less attention has been given to the service aspect. Several years ago, I was inspired to write a book about service, and now, finally, I am beginning. It is tentatively titled The Heart of Service.

While organizing my material, I came across an extraordinary letter from Master to his most advanced disciple, Rajarshi Janakanada. In it, he talks about the difference between God-given duties and ego-driven ones. Here is a brief excerpt from that letter:

Very few of us know how to differentiate between the duties created by us and the duties assigned to us by God. Most think of their own desire-created duties as divine duties. Human desire-created duties bind and cause reincarnation. Even those who know what divine duties are do not know how to accomplish them divinely, and instead picture and plan according to their own wishes. Self-created duties and ideas of performing them when frustrated cause great misery and disappointment; but divine duties performed divinely, whether frustrated or fulfilled, cause happiness in the doing—and in doing them again and again until God is pleased, whatever the result may be.

So, a vital question for us is “What are our God-given duties?” As Master has said, it is difficult to discriminate between God-given and ego-inspired duties. There are, however, some guidelines, both general and personal.

General Duties: Especially for those of us who are disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda, general duties are those we take on as part of a collective mission to help him uplift world consciousness. We can assume, then, that those duties we’ve inherited as part of this ray are God-given. It is important to acknowledge, however, that while we strive for divine alignment, our still-active egos will influence even these. We may “picture and plan according to our own wishes,” but at least we will be going in the right direction.

Personal Duties: In addition to our shared mission, we each have personal responsibilities that can help or hinder our spiritual progress. Our primary personal duty is to aspire and move toward Self-realization. This means to engage in deep, sincere meditation and sadhana. Secondly, we must deal with this incarnation and our karmically drawn responsibilities in a dharmic manner that will help free us from the chains that “bind and cause reincarnation.”

Most of us have family, job, and social responsibilities. If we perform these in a dharmic and non-attached way, they will lead us toward our soul’s destined freedom from the dream-world of maya. We have, after all, incarnated at the exact time and place that gives us the opportunity to evolve toward the final goal of Self-realization.

To avoid “human desire-created wishes,” the best, and only, way is to pray deeply and act in such a way that our human will is guided by divine will. That is why Master advises a daily practice of meditation, prayer, and self-offering. He has said that his highest prayer is, “I will reason, I will will, I will act, but guide Thou my reason, will, and activity to the right path in everything.”

Even great masters face the test of offering themselves into the will of God. The fact that they pass it successfully is meant to give us examples of right choices. These examples remind us that surrendering to God’s will may not always be easy, but it leads to true freedom and fulfillment.

Recall Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Another example is Babaji announcing his decision to leave this world, but then acceding to the request of his sister, Mataji, to remain here for the good of mankind.

The most important thing is our intention. May we each develop a daily practice of deep, sincere self-offering. Let us pray, above all, for attunement to God and Gurus. This is the way to personal freedom, and the best way to become instruments of divine light for the world during this turbulent time.

In divine friendship,

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 (10:48):

Many years ago, a friend showed me a humorous book called something like, How to Keep Your Norwegian Happy. On one page, in large letters, would be the problem. Then you turned the page to find the solution.

For example: “Your Norwegian is worried.” Turn the page, and the solution is: “Give your Norwegian a cup of coffee and wait fifteen minutes.”

No matter what the problem was, the solution was always the same: “Give your Norwegian a cup of coffee and wait fifteen minutes.”

So it is with life. Obviously, the solution to life’s problems is not just a cup of coffee. But there is, indeed, a universal answer. Give your brain a cup of light, a cup of higher consciousness, and wait fifteen minutes.

If we were to write a book, perhaps entitled, How to Make Your Life Happy, the pages might read something like this:

“Your brain is worried about the aftermath of the American election.” Turn the page and: “Give your brain a cup of faith and wait fifteen minutes.” Faith is the antidote to worry.

During the turbulence following Indian Independence in 1947, some devotees came to Ananda Moyi Ma asking if she would intercede. After a period of meditation she replied, “Don’t you think He who created this world knows how to run it?”

Master has said, “Faith is the intuitive experience of all truth.” If we want to perceive truth, we must appreciate that a great ocean of consciousness lies underneath the small waves of current conditions.

A friend posted a beautiful quote by Master: “The one thing that will help to eliminate world suffering—more than money, houses, or any other material aid—is to meditate and transmit to others the divine consciousness of God that we feel. A thousand dictators could never destroy what I have within. Every day radiate His consciousness to others. Try to understand God’s plan for mankind—to draw all souls back to Himself—and work in harmony with His will.”

If you want to heal the polarization between people, there is a solution: “Give your brain a cup of kindness, and wait fifteen minutes.” Master says, “Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.”

Feeling stressed? “Give your brain a cup of gratitude, and wait fifteen minutes.” Gratitude is the antidote to negative reactions. Swamiji has said that “gratitude opens the heart and connects us to the flow of divine blessings.”

We don’t have to go anywhere to find a cup of higher consciousness. All we have to do is meditate, calm the restless wavelets of thought, and look beneath the surface of our agitation. Divine consciousness is already within us, just waiting for us to pay attention.

Acting as a channel of light is especially important during turbulent times. A friend of ours shared a vision in which Babaji was asked, “Why don’t you do something to stop all the evil in the world?” The great avatar responded, “My job is not to suppress evil, but to increase the light.” As disciples of this great lineage, this is our mission also. Let us freely offer light to everyone who crosses our path.

During the next few days and weeks, let each of us strew the seeds of faith, gratitude, and kindness. Share with others a cup of whatever you want for yourself, and your bounty will multiply. Then, like a field of wildflowers in springtime, our world will become filled with beauty and wonder.

With a cup of 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 (08:44):

We just concluded an historic event: India’s first-ever Spiritual Renewal Weekend. One of the traditions that Swami Kriyananda started was a weeklong retreat designed to renew our spiritual commitment and inspiration. At Ananda Village Spiritual Renewal Week has been held every year since 1969. In the early days Swamiji did it all: teaching classes, providing evening entertainment, offering personal counseling, and even leading walking kirtans in the morning to rouse guests from their tents and lead them to meditation. Now, with Ananda’s global spread, we have hundreds of souls who can help lead various aspects of these events.

Our first Indian event was held at our center in Pune, welcoming a standing-room-only live audience with hundreds more joining online. Devi and I gave the three morning classes on the theme “The Time for Knowing God Has Come.”

During the second class, “The Role of the Guru,” we discussed the guru’s protection and ever-watchful care for his disciples. When Babaji met Lahiri Mahasaya in the Himalayas, he told him, “For more than three decades I have waited for you here—waited for you to return to me! . . . Though you lost sight of me, never did I lose sight of you! I pursued you over the luminescent astral sea where the glorious angels sail. Through gloom, storm, upheaval, and light I followed you like a mother bird guarding her young.”

One might tend to think of this as a drama between two liberated souls, but it reflects the relationship between the guru and each one of us. A touching story from Gurgaon, India, illustrates this. A young girl and her brother were barely in their teens when they tragically lost their mother to cancer. In the midst of their grief, the young girl’s mother came to her in a dream. “You and your brother are disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda. Find a center where you can receive his teachings,” she said.

After a search, they found an Ananda center nearby and began attending classes, bringing their reluctant father along with them. Over time, they found not only a new loving spiritual family, but also their destined spiritual path. The daughter just received initiation into Kriya; her brother will also be initiated when he is old enough.

A final story about “miraculous” protection comes from Malka, an elderly widow who passed away two years ago. She visited Ananda Village on a pilgrimage before going on to New York to visit her sister. While in that city she fell and shattered her arm very badly. The attending surgeon wasn’t sure he could set the arm, and thought he might have to amputate it.

The night before the operation she was alone, afraid, in pain, and unable to sleep. Then Swami Kriyananda entered the room, sat on her bed, and gently stroked her arm. He said, “Everything is going to be all right, Malka.” And it was. Remarkably, Swami was in California at this time. When we later told him of the incident, he responded, “I have no knowledge of that happening. But,” he added, “the soul is quite capable of acting without the knowledge of the ego.”

Such dramatic stories give us faith, but they are rare. More important, in practical terms, are other ways the guru helps us.

Teachings and techniques. His (or her) most important service to us is the teachings and techniques that guide our lives, and give us a step-by-step path to the realization of our own divine nature.

His magnetism subtly transforms our consciousness. The more we open ourselves to him, the more he can influence our awareness. Yogananda said that he looks through the consciousness of his disciples every night while they sleep. He also said that he would help work out our remaining karmic “kinks.”

Finally, his love and divine promise are the greatest gift of all. In Yogananda’s poem, “God’s Boatman,” he said,

Oh! I will come back again and again!

If we think him near, he will be near. If we seek his guidance and protection, he is eagerly waiting to give them to us. What an extraordinary blessing to us all!

In divine friendship,

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 (10:22):

During our recent travels, I’ve come across some quotes on the internet credited to Abraham Lincoln. None of them, as it happens, can be reliably, or for the most part even plausibly, attributed to that great man. Such is the age we live in. A lot of what we read or hear these days is of questionable reliability, and we need to use our own discrimination and common sense.

There is a difference, however, between fact and truth. Regardless of who first uttered these quotes, they each contain a kernel of truth, which is eternal and can never be created but only perceived. Here are a few of them, both witty and wise, along with my comments.

“Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” This is one of the great secrets of life, and a founding principle of Ananda. We often express it as “Joy is within,” or “Happiness is a choice.” Happiness lies in the mind and in our reactions to events, not in the circumstances themselves. Few of us will ever have to face the kinds of challenges that Lincoln endured, yet he made up his mind to be happy. If he could do it, so can we.

“Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.” As long as the ego is active, we’ll project our own flaws onto others. Only when we quiet our thoughts and desires, as we do in deep meditation, can the ego ebb and wisdom arise. This requires both self-effort and self-offering.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “God cannot be attained by so simple an act as merely dying! To die is easy, but it is very difficult to attain that high level of consciousness in which the soul can merge back into Infinity.

“What, indeed, would worldly people do if they found themselves confronted with such a possibility? What would they do, for that matter, even in heaven? They would complain about everything and go on arguing and fighting among themselves, just as they did on earth. And in the process, they’d only turn heaven itself into another kind of hell!”

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” Our perception of the world is shaped by the filter of our own minds and hearts. If something is bothering you, the problem is likely not the blemish you see there, but some flaw in yourself.

“Great men are ordinary men with extraordinary determination.” And, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left behind by those who hustle.” Effort is essential, but the effort itself becomes easier and more effective if it’s oiled with enthusiasm. Swami Kriyananda defined enthusiasm as “the spirit of joy channeled through the power of the will.”

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Too often we work ineffectively with dull minds and dull tools. Let us sharpen ours with meditation and the practices and attitudes of our path that raise our consciousness.

“The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it.” Why complain about the state of the world? Complaints change little and simply fuel our own anxiety and unhappiness. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get busy creating a new and better world. That is the challenge and the opportunity that Master and Swamiji have offered us.

I’ll close by following one final piece of advice, which we all should follow: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

In the joy and wisdom 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 (8:44):

How can we know whether or not we’ve led a victorious life? Generally, victory implies a comparison—one team outscores the other; one party or country wins a battle; someone rises to the top of the corporate ladder and becomes wealthy. But when it comes to the battle of life, it is fruitless to compare one person’s life against another’s. Does material wealth, high position, or an easy existence mean that you have led a victorious life?

None of these gets to the core of the question. Is there, then, no way to determine whether you’ve led a triumphant incarnation? There is, indeed, a way to evaluate your progress, but it involves measuring inner, not outer, victories. In the end we will take with us only our consciousness and the realizations we have gained.

This, then, gives us a way to assess whether or not an incarnation was victorious: Did our consciousness expand, or did it contract? Did we grow toward Self-realization or become more self-involved? More properly, since we are complex creatures, the question should be, “In what ways did the choices I made help me expand, and in what ways did I contract?”

This is the focus of the “life review” we will face as the soul exits the body in death. But it is also a good question to ask during a nightly review of the day’s activities. Each evening, sit quietly, review the day, and ask yourself: “How did I expand, and how did I contract?”

Given the complexities of life, it may not be easy to determine whether we have expanded or contracted. Many of the most important choices we face are driven by karmic tendencies, especially those related to the primordial compulsions seemingly imposed upon us by the nature of creation.

Life’s basic urges for security, pleasure, and power are reflected in the energies of the lower three chakras. Each chakra has two poles, a spiritual direction and a worldly one: one that expands and another that contracts our consciousness. Here is the essence of the choices we face:

1st Chakra: Security. The choice: possessions versus faith.

2nd Chakra: Pleasure. The choice: worldly desires versus contentment.

3rd Chakra: Power. The choice: outer authority and control versus fiery self-control.

Autobiography of a Yogi is filled with stories and examples of how the saints deal with these issues. Yogananda’s wonderful story of his trip to Brindaban demonstrates the issue of worldly possessions versus faith. His elder brother, Ananta, flings a challenge at him: “So you feel quite independent of Father’s wealth.” Master’s immediate reply is, “I am conscious of my dependence on God.” Game on.

Could Master “go forth in perfect faith in the power of Omnipresent Good, to bring me what I need at the time I need it”? Yogananda relates what happened when he returned, having “miraculously” fulfilled all of the conditions of the challenge. His skeptical brother “turned sober, then solemn. ‘The law of demand and supply,’ he said, ‘reaches into subtler realms than I had supposed.’”

But how does this apply to our daily lives? When faced with an important choice, pause and ask yourself this question, “What will be the effect on my consciousness?” As an example: If offered a promotion or new position at work, the vast majority of people will make the decision based on material considerations: increased money or social standing. Few will pause and ask, “What will the effect be on my consciousness?” Be one of those few.

When the end of life comes, we will be asked whether or not we made good choices. If we work day-by-day at expanding our consciousness, using the techniques of meditation and selfless service, we will be able to say, “Yes, I did. I had a victorious incarnation.”

In the light,

Nayaswami Jyotish

P.S. We discussed this topic at greater length in a recent talk we gave in Gurgaon: “How to Be Victorious in Life.”

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 (9:07):

A friend recently posted a beautiful letter by Sister Gyanamata, Paramhansa Yogananda’s most advanced woman disciple. She addresses the yearning for union with God which all sincere disciples surely share. Here is her letter:

In the house that I shall never see again, save in poignant memories, I used to stand by a window and look out at a cherry tree. I did this in the early morning and only upon days when discouraged by spiritual failure, or, if not complete failure, at least failure to attain the success I especially desired.

It must have been in the winter time that this happened, because, as I stand at this ghostly window and look through it at the cherry tree, its branches outlined against the sky are beautiful but bare.

This is the first scene that presents itself, and as I look at it, my soul passes again into the darkness of despair because this eternal birth, the birth of the Christ-Child Consciousness, has not taken place in me.

Wordlessly, my soul cries unto God: “O Lord! Is then my birth to be without fruit? Shall nothing be born in me?” Without sound comes the answer: “Whatever takes place in time must have time to mature. What would it avail if you went out under the tree and wept, demanding cherries on the instant?”

Then, in pictures presented to me, I followed the tree through the season. The clouds came and it was washed with rain. I saw it drenched with sunshine. The blossoms appeared. It was a pink glory. The leaves, the hard green fruit. Then the last transformation of all: baskets stood under it, piled with red fruit.

As with the tree, so with the eternal birth. In the darkness, in the rain of sorrow, in the sunshine of joy, the new consciousness is taking shape in you. On a day that may be distant, but is sure, it will be born and you shall enter into the golden consumption which you have sought through many lives. Believe, stand firm and you shall see the glory of the Lord.

We humans are an impatient lot—strikingly so, when our lives are viewed against the backdrop of eternity. Unless we have developed the ability to see our past incarnations, we can see only this one life, with all of its cravings and disappointments. We have the teachings of our Masters about infinity, reincarnation, and the battle of life, but they do not satisfy the pangs of yearning in our hearts.

Is there anything that we can do to quicken the ripening of the fruit of Self-realization? While faith and patience are the most important attitudes, self-effort is also needed. There is, in nature, a wonderful symbol of the balance between the effort and the patience that are required. In Italian, the sunflower is called “girasole,” or “sun-turner.” While a plant cannot force its seeds to ripen, the humble sunflower can turn itself to keep facing the sun.

Here are a few ways we can stay turned toward the Divine Light.

Unlike the sun, which by its warmth ripens fruit, God is deeply aware of our longing. Turn toward His light and He will help us through all the seasons of our lives.

In the light,

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 (9:05):

As we near the end of our annual trip to the Ananda community near Assisi, Italy, I am reflecting on the beauty and depth of this year’s experiences. It has been a time filled with classes, satsangs, warm friendship, great food, and ever-expanding joy. Among the many highlights was an evening dedicated to launching the Italian translation of our latest book, A Touch of Divine Wisdom (Un Tocco di Saggezza). Our Italian friends have a genius for creating special events and this evening was no exception. It began with a short play that starts with this scene:

Babaji is seated in the lotus posture somewhere in the high Himalayas. He slowly opens his eyes from deep meditation and beckons Sri Yukteswar to come to him. “At my request,” Babaji says, “please undertake another task. Will you not write a short book on the underlying basic unity between the Christian and Hindu scriptures?” When Sri Yukteswar hesitates, unsure of his abilities, Babaji says, “My son, why do you doubt? Indeed, Whose work is all this, and Who is the Doer of all actions?”

As these words are spoken, the actor portraying Babaji hands Sri Yukteswar a wide golden ribbon. Sri Yukteswar then reads a few words from his book, The Holy Science, before calling Yogananda to him. He asks him to write his great opus, Autobiography of a Yogi, and gives him the golden ribbon. Yogananda then passes the golden cord on to Swami Kriyananda who writes The New Path. Swamiji, in turn, passes the ribbon on to us, and we each read a few sentences from Un Tocco di Saggezza. The golden cord unites us all.

What a beautiful and insightful image! Indeed, there is a golden cord that connects each of us to the Masters and to the blessings of the “Doer of all actions.” The fruit of this grace only rarely manifests as a book. It is more likely to blossom into the simple acts of our day: a meal prepared with love, a gentle supportive smile, a few heartfelt words of friendship.

I have started using a new visualization to deepen my connection with our great gurus. At the beginning of meditation, as I mentally repeat each of their names, I visualize a ray of light like a golden cord connecting the heart of each master to mine. As I do so, I try to open myself completely to their love and blessings. In the Purification Ceremony, written by Swami Kriyananda, we repeat these words: “The Master says, ‘Open your heart to me, and I will enter and take charge of your life.’” In my visualization I try to see and feel this as clearly and powerfully as I can. It has served to greatly intensify my connection with my divine guides. I suggest that you also give it a try.

It is not enough, of course, just to receive this grace in the form of a golden cord. We must also pass it on to all those we meet during the day. Whether through visualization, or simply an inner sense of connection, we should see ourselves as both recipients and channels of a golden cord of Divine Grace.

In 1974, I was traveling with Swami Kriyananda and three other Ananda members on a journey around the world. Our first stop was at the ashram of Master Subramuniya in Hawaii. As we were leaving, he said something that has always remained in my mind: “You all have brought your light to us, and we have added our light to yours. Now, as you travel around the world, continue to give and receive, wrapping the whole planet in threads of light!”

My friends, today more than ever, the world desperately needs to be wrapped in cords of golden light. Let us each accept and share the golden cord of love, joy, and blessing that emanates from God.

In the light,

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 (8:37):

“Have you developed any powers after all your years of meditation?” This question was asked of an Ananda teacher, Nayaswami Jaya, at the end of a lecture in India. The talk was intended to spark interest in students for an upcoming course on meditation.

“No, I can’t say I have,” said the humble lecturer. Bad answer! You could feel the energy of the audience deflate. Then, after a pause, he added, “Actually, I have developed one power. I’ve developed the power to choose to be happy at will.” A murmur of approval swept through the audience. It was the largest sign-up for a class series ever.

Wouldn’t we all like to be able to be happy whenever we chose? Here are some keys to bringing that power under your control:

Expand Your Consciousness: Happiness automatically increases as we expand our minds and hearts. Conversely, it diminishes as we become more self-focused. Meditation and selfless service, which are the pillars of our path, are essential practices for accomplishing this expansion.

Practice Detachment: We surrender our power to be happy to the extent that we believe it depends on anything outside of our own self. Want more money? Desires are valid as long as they help meet the needs of a simple life. But if we yearn for more than we need, we become slaves to our cravings. Desire is a greedy taskmaster, demanding our contentment as its first payment.

My father earned an architectural degree by juggling several jobs at the same time, one of which was as a delivery boy for an upscale store. He told me that it was a great learning experience. Most packages went to the homes of the wealthy, and he saw firsthand that money didn’t guarantee happiness. He ultimately chose to spurn riches for a life of simplicity, honesty, and integrity. This legacy is something that I cherish deeply to this day.

When desire, your great enemy, tries a sneak attack, fend it off by inwardly affirming the words of a chant by Swami Kriyananda: “I own nothing, I am free! In myself I am free. I own no one, I am free! In myself I am free. I need nothing, I am free! In myself I am free. I need no one, I am free! In myself I am free. I am free, ever free! In myself I am free.”

Know That Happiness Is a Choice: Once we truly realize that happiness doesn’t depend on external factors, we gain a very precious gift. We can then, like Jaya, choose to be happy under any circumstances. Happiness rarely comes in big chunks, and when it does come that way it doesn’t last long. It is much better to find happiness in the little ripples of life than to wait for the big, unsustainable waves.

At first, happiness seems to depend on whether experiences are pleasant or unpleasant. But if we exercise the power of will to choose to be happy under all circumstances, we rise above their ability to control our moods.

Share Happiness with Others: It is a universal law that the best way to receive something is first to give it away. As Paramhansa Yogananda wrote, “Laughter is contagious. I shall spread the contagion of my joy in the hearts of all those I contact, so that this health germ may conquer the universe by its smiles of sunshine and peace.”

It is equally important to be receptive when others give you the gift of their joy. On Monday night there was a huge party, in part, to celebrate my birthday. It was called an “Enchanted Evening” and the joy, laughter, great food, and friendship surely made it so.

The spiritual rewards for being able to choose happiness are profound. Devi and I are currently at our community in Assisi, Italy, teaching classes on the Bhagavad Gita. Today’s class is on “The Two Paths Open to Departing Souls.”

Swami Kriyananda has called death “the final exam.” It is the moment when the soul leaves the body and determines its future incarnations. If we are able to exit through the spiritual eye we will go permanently into the light. If, however, desires are too strong, we will be compelled to reincarnate.

As with any important test, preparation is the key, and these keys to happiness are some of the best possible ways to prepare for that final exam. If we pass, we go into God’s eternal bliss and light, beyond all shadows of earthly unhappiness.

In the joy 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 (9:52):

A friend wrote us recently expressing concern about the current state of affairs with politics. Her concern was not what you might expect, fretting that her candidate of choice might lose. No, her concern was that tensions had grown so severe that even her devotee friends were caught up in expressions of fear and disgust. She asked if we could do anything to help the situation. This blog is one of the ways we are responding.

Swami Kriyananda addressed this problem, as he so often did, with a song, “Yes, It’s Devil Worship!” Swamiji had a genius for coating wise teachings in humor, letting deep truths slide down like a sugar pill. The first verse and the refrain go like this:

Brother, I’ve a faint suspicion

What we need is light!

These are serious times filled with division and turmoil, times that stress the need for all well-intentioned people to take action. To help overcome darkness let’s become lighthouses of uplifted thoughts and actions.

Paramhansa Yogananda said:

Mankind’s destructive thoughts and deeds distort the ether and throw the atomic and thermal combinations out of balance, creating natural disasters—earthquakes, spitting volcanoes, tidal waves, and cataclysms. All natural calamities are the indirect results of the accumulated evil actions of individuals and nations.

World War I produced a world-chilling snowball of karma that swelled into the devastations of World War II. Immediately after this war there will be great famines, influenza, new kinds of diseases, earthquakes, and floods—offshoots of the bad vibrations caused by the hatred and selfishness of warring nations and the agonies of the slaughtered and injured.

What can we do? Here are some suggestions:

Personally pray for those you might otherwise condemn. Pray that Divine Mother fill them with love, light, and joy. One time when our son was about five years old, he must have been feeling guilty about something. He asked Swami Kriyananda, “Does God like bad people?” Swamiji’s reply is a classic: “God likes bad people, but He doesn’t like the bad things they do.” It is important to separate the person, especially the soul, from the current personality or actions.

Help uplift others. If someone tries to engage you in negativity, especially if they are distressed or filled with anger, bring in the light. Don’t argue with them: that just deepens the darkness. Either divert the subject or, as Swami Kriyananda suggests, meet them “with silence, respect, and goodwill.”

Counter any negative thought or energy with its opposite, positive quality. As the famous prayer* goes, “Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.” It is important to uplift others, but even more so to counter our own negative tendencies with positive ones.

Finally, both individually and in groups, send out waves of light into the world through prayer. Devi and I are doing this by using the Peace and Harmony Prayer:

Lord, fill this world with peace and harmony, peace and harmony. (Repeat this ten times.)

Lord, fill me with peace and harmony, peace and harmony. (Repeat this three times.)

You can also send light to any individual by substituting their name for “this world.”

At this critical time in history, what the world needs, what we need, is light. Let us find it within, and spread it everywhere.

In the light,

Nayaswami Jyotish

*Commonly attributed to St. Francis, the prayer was actually written by William the Great (“the Conqueror”) of England (see crystalclarity.com/164).

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 (8:10):

The phrase “God is watching” often comes across as a stern warning, an admonition that any misstep will be punished by an ever-alert, ever-vengeful Divine Judge. This perspective can fill us with a sense of dread.

But let’s flip it around and view it as it truly is. God is our Father/Mother, ever ready to help when we need it. This idea sounds simple, and it is. Yet, until we truly accept this on all levels—body, mind, heart, and soul—we will find it hard to open ourselves to God. Hearing simple stories of divine intervention can help. Here is one that was sent to us by Rima, the manager of Ananda’s award-winning café in Mumbai, just last week:

A café requires a yearly health certificate to stay open. Due to some changes in personnel, the application wasn’t filed on time. At six p.m. one day in the third week of June, a man and woman arrived for a surprise health check and asked to see the certificate. The manager had been running on a nearby beach and was thirsty, so she just “happened” to stop by the café for a drink. I’ll let Rima tell the rest in her own words:

“Now the baristas let out a sigh of relief and told the officer, ‘Here she is!! That’s who you need to talk to.’ I had walked into a trap. I already knew we didn’t have the certificate, and I NEVER lie. So, I took the woman for a little walk around the café and showed her the boutique as I gave her a little understanding of Ananda and Master and Swamiji. She was listening.

“Suddenly my eyes fell on your painting [note: there are many prints of my paintings for sale on the walls] and I thought to myself, ‘Hmmm, what would you have me do, Jyotish!?’ She caught my eyes looking at your painting and she said, ‘This is beautiful.’ I replied, ‘Isn’t it? It’s made by our dearest spiritual leader of Ananda; his name is Jyotish.’

“She said, ‘Wait a minute, does he wear blue?’ I said ‘YES.’ She said, ‘I met him three years ago at an event, and heard him talk. He is a very nice man. His wife also wears blue clothes and she smiles a lot.’ I said ‘YES!!! The best smile ever, isn’t it?’

“Alright, now that I built this whole thing up, trust me, it was ten times more dramatic. Five minutes later she touched my arm and said, ‘OK, we are leaving. When you get the time, WhatsApp me the certificate.’”

So, yes, God is watching and is ready to help us when we need a little extra boost. In this case He plucked out one friendly health inspector from a city of twenty-one-million people. The Ananda Café is a source of great light in Mumbai, and apparently He didn’t want to see it shut down over a technicality.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “No man lives who has not seen certain of his prayers granted.” On the other hand, God will not do our work for us. Master said that his highest prayer is, “I will reason, I will will, I will act. But guide Thou my reason, will, and activity to the right path in everything.”

He will guide our lives if we open our hearts to Him, and He will help us when we need a boost after having done our part. Personally, I am enormously grateful that He is keeping a close watch on me.

In the light,

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 (9:30):