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Talks and Writings
by Swami Kriyananda
The Road Ahead
by Swami Kriyananda
How will you and your family and friends fare in the years to come? Will you continue to eat well? to drive your own cars? to own your own homes? Will you still be able to vote in free elections? to choose your own line of work? to live and travel where you please? Are world wars now a thing of the past?
New Year’s Message 2008
from Swami Kriyananda, December 31, 2007
My wish and prayer for all members and friends of Ananda is that you devote next year to striving ever more diligently to live by the words of the chant, “Lord, I am Thine, I am Thine, I am Thine! Be Thou mine, be Thou mine, be Thou mine! I am Thine! I am Thine!”
Practice the Presence of God
This article is taken from a talk given on January 1, 1999, at the Temple of Light, Ananda in Italy, by Swami Kriyananda.
This year I suggest that you test religion or spirituality scientifically within your own self. Try for one year to think of God and talk to Him. Do it simply as a test, as an experiment. Try to think of God as yourself, inside of yourself, and think that in everything you do, “I do this with You.” Every tiny thought that comes to you, share it with Him.
Material Success through Yoga Principles
by Swami Kriyananda
Men cannot live happily by only spiritual doctrines or material riches. To bring a balance into the lives of the men of the East and the West, the method of developing an equilibrated life must be adopted.
Where There Is Dharma, There Is Victory
This article is taken from a talk given by Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy on New Year’s day 1998.
There is an Indian saying that has become Ananda’s fundamental principle: “Where there is dharma, or right action” (that is to say, action in tune with truth and spiritual ideals), “there is victory.” When we put principles first in our life, everything goes as it should, and there can be no failure.
The Eternal Present
From The Promise of Immortality by Swami Kriyananda
Divine experiences are outside of time and space. Seemingly distant, at least in time, their truth is ever present beneath the surface restlessness of life.
How Old Are You?
What part, in the vast parabola of time, does one lifetime play in our total existence?
Mystical Christianity
Translated and excerpted from a talk by Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy, Easter 2000.
When Jesus was resurrected, he said, “I am always with you,” and it is true He is. That “I” that Jesus talks about is a symbol. When Mary Magdalene saw him in the garden he said to her, “Don’t touch me, I am not yet resurrected.” What did he mean? In divine stories there are always symbols.
Be at Peace with God and Yourself
a “Conversation with Yogananda” by Swami Kriyananda
Every evening in India about 200 million viewers can see Swami Kriyananda as he reads from Conversations with Yogananda, and comments on how these words of wisdom can be useful in our daily lives. This is an excerpt from the first of his 365 talks.
What Is the Importance of Community in Spiritual Life?
by Swami Kriyananda
A point that my great Guru emphasized repeatedly in his lectures and writings was the importance for devotees of living together in community, sharing their spiritual aspirations.
Making a Difference in the World
by Swami Kriyananda
Most people want to feel that they have some positive impact on the lives of others. To make a difference in the world, however — isn’t that beyond the reach of anyone? Is our planet so small that any single influence can have much impact on it?
Self-acceptance
by Swami Kriyananda
The first attitude fundamental to “centering” is self-acceptance. You are who you are. Make the best of it, and envy no one for what he or she is. Don’t draw comparisons between you and others: Encourage yourself, rather, in your efforts to attain your own highest potential.
Grace vs. Self-Effort
by Swami Kriyananda
How often people ask God for His blessings—but what a rare few stop to consider the part they themselves play in attracting those blessings!
Whisper to God
by Swami Kriyananda
True prayer is a whispered call to God. Its effectiveness depends not on the mere repetition of word-formulae, but on focused attention.
How to Relax
From the book, Meditation for Starters by Swami Kriyananda
The Legacy of a Guru
by Swami Kriyananda
Some gurus leave behind them a legacy of spiritual writings. Others leave organizations they founded. In both cases, the legacy is more spiritual than either philosophical or material: It is of their vibrations of consciousness.
How to Find Happiness
by Swami Kriyananda
This is an inspiring article by Swami Kriyananda, published by one of the main Indian newspapers, in which he speaks about one of the key-principles in the teachings of Yogananda, a principle that he himself has put into practice throughout his life: Happiness does not depend on circumstances, but is a mental state. Even more, it is our true nature, the divine bliss of our soul. Enjoy it!
The Law of Karma
From The Hindu Way of Awakening by Swami Kriyananda
Karma is a law that determines a person’s natural level of evolutional development, and also his actual position in society. Karma is a universal law, and the companion to the law of reincarnation. Karma is not, and is wrongly understood to be, a teaching of divine punishment for the wrongs one commits. . . .
The Religion of the Future
Excerpted from Religion in the New Age by Swami Kriyananda
If religion today no longer commands the high esteem it once did, the reason is not hard to find. Throughout the world, religion has identified itself with attitudes that are being abandoned, as mankind embraces a new, less form-bound and form-conscious age of energy.
Inner Way of Pilgrimage
Excerpted from The Promise of Immortality by Swami Kriyananda
Divine consciousness exists at the center of every particle in existence: “center everywhere,” as Paramhansa Yogananda put it; “circumference nowhere.” Divine worship is therefore, and quite naturally, inward as well as outward. To one whose view is inward, all things are sacred. All life is, in this sense, a pilgrimage, and everything in existence, a holy shrine, where resides the Lord Himself.
A Letter from Swami Kriyananda about the Terrorist Attacks
September 12, 2001
The tragedy in New York and Washington was, and of course still is, appalling. I only hope it has affected none of you personally, through friends and relatives. That it affects all of us in some way is, however, inevitable.
What Do We Pray for?
by J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda), Friday, September 14, 2001
I was watching many people on television today as they observed a few moments of silence to honor the victims of last Tuesday’s tragedy. During those moments of silence, I saw several people glance around as if asking themselves, “What do I do in this silence?” Obviously, the answer was to pray. However, I found myself asking along with them, What should I pray for?
Ten Questions on World Events
Answered by J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda)
What do you feel is the single most important thing people can do to help the world crisis situation?
A Path of Energy
Excerpts from a satsang with Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy
Yogananda placed great emphasis on energy, because the world has entered, he said, an age of energy, called Dwapara Yuga. Energy is the bridge between human and divine consciousness, a necessary bridge we need to cross in order to reach an ever-expanding realization.
The Science of Kriya Yoga
Translated and excerpted from a talk given by Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy in the summer of 2000.
One must understand that it’s necessary to calm and withdraw the energy from the body and direct it to the Christ Center, so that this love does not lose itself in emotion but expands itself in Infinity. This is an experience that the saints all have but they don’t call it yoga because they don’t know it. It is important to know . . . that the practice of the techniques is central and fundamental.
The Secret of Devotion
Excerpts from talks given by Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy.
Yogananda said that God chooses those who choose God. The love that you draw from Him you feel in your heart, and the more you love Him the more you will see Him. God doesn’t count your failings, Yogananda said. He wants only that you love Him enough. Try to love God ever more. In the end all that remains is God and His love.
The Future of Ananda
Excerpts from talks by Swami Kriyananda October 1999 at Ananda Assisi.
I think we are on the eve of a great change, and you can be a part of that change. God is trying to bring about a balance between East and West. I believe this civilization is going to come in for very drastic revision. Ananda will play an important role at that time. Families living in communities, consciously dedicated to God, can be a tremendous inspiration to people everywhere.
How to Find Spiritual Security in Difficult Times
This article is taken from a seminar given by Swami Kriyananda in Lugano, Switzerland, on March 19–21, 1999.
We are now at the end of the first century of Dwapara Yuga, and what we are seeing is that there really is a struggle between the old and new ages. There is a tension between the old ways of thinking and the new, which is trying to enter the human mind and liberate our consciousness from material limitations.
Be a Channel for Inspiration and Inner Strength
This article is taken from a seminar by Swami Kriyananda in Turin, Italy, on Feb. 18, 1999.
All the masters have come, not to impress us with their greatness, but to give us faith in what we ourselves can become. When you pray with sincerity to be a channel for God, He will give you many inspirations and will help you. When you launch yourself with faith and trust, He gives you wings. Gradually trying to fly, you will fly; and the more you do so, the more inspiration will come to you.
Living in the Flow of Guru's Grace
This is an excerpt from a talk by Swami Kriyananda on September 12, 1998 at Ananda in Italy.
In all these fifty years, I’ve spent a great deal of my time meditating on Master and trying to understand more and more deeply what he did and said. It’s been the focal point of my entire life. Everything I’ve done has been an outgrowth of what Master gave us. I haven’t created anything new.
Ananda's Beginnings: God Is Our Stocks and Bonds
Excerpts from a talk by Swami Kriyananda during Ananda's thirtieth anniversary celebration, June, 1998.
One of the things that excited me was the fact that Master also was very interested in starting communities. I remember the talk he gave on world brotherhood colonies at a Beverly Hills garden party. His voice thundered, “I sow my thoughts in the ether! These vibrations shall not die!”
Preparing for Life's Final Exam
On April 3, 1998, Swami Kriyananda performed an Astral Ascension Ceremony for two Ananda members who had recently passed away. This is an excerpt taken from his talk given at Ananda in Italy.
Let us take the passing of our loved ones to be a reminder of this truth, and let us give our lives more and more to Him and prepare every day for that which is the only certainty in life — death. In this way we will come to understand, as I am sure all saints have understood, that death doesn’t truly exist, only life exists — a life of joy, of love, of beauty, and of peace that becomes more glorified as we release this heavy physical form that binds us.
Life Is a Dream
Excerpts from a satsang with Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy.
We are part of a great infinite dream and He is dreaming us. But He has us the power to awaken from this dream, to be not compelled to remain always in the delusive reality of this world.
What Do You Want Me to Do?
Excerpts from a satsang with Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy.
Certainly humanity as a whole is beset by difficulties, crises, moments in life when important decisions need to be made. The question always needs to be: "What does this inner God want? What brings me more in tune with Him and, above all, how can I serve Him?"
Love is a Magician
This talk was given by Swami Kriyananda at the dedication of the new Hansa temple at Ananda Village on May 18 1997.
Love is the only thing this life is all about—not just love of people, or of things, or of any one point in space, but simply love itself. One practice that will help you to experience this is to keep in mind the thought that God has always loved us. As Jesus said, “Anthony, I was always with you.” God is always with us, and He’s waiting for us to turn our attentions to Him.
Working with God
Excerpts from The Promise of Immortality in the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Kriyananda
For one who is sincerely seeking God, the important thing is to develop an ever-deepening awareness of God's presence—not during meditation only, but in every activity. What counts most is the intention behind a deed.
The Christmas Mystery
From a talk given by Swami Kriyananda on Christmas day, 1991
A Christmas Letter
from Swami Kriyananda
Master often called his mission to the West “The Second Coming of Christ,” because he was blending the spiritual traditions of East and West. Starting this Christmas season, let us concentrate more deeply on the great adventure of living the Christian life in Dwapara Yuga style.
Sharing Christmas 365 Days a Year
This article is taken from a talk given by Swami Kriyananda at Ananda in Italy on December 23, 1998.
Jesus was thinking of others. This is joy, when we can follow his example, not think of ourselves, but think of sharing. Sharing is maybe the most beautiful thing about Christmas. Gifts are only symbols of sharing love, friendship and gratitude – and of being aware of a reality greater than that of normal consciousness.
A Cosmic Vision of Unity
Excerpts from Superconsciousness — How to Benefit from Emerging Spiritual Trends by Swami Kriyananda, Edited by Devi Novak
I want to talk about one of the great events of this century—the coming of a soul whose special mission was to show the world a vision of divine unity.
For information and reservations:
info@ananda.it Tel: +39 0742-81.36.20 Fax: +39 0742-81.35.36
Ananda is located in the tranquil hills of Umbria, Italy on “Strada Statale 444” between Assisi and Gualdo Tadino. It is the largest retreat center in Europe for Yogananda’s teachings.
Ananda Associazione • Via Montecchio, 61 • I-06025 Nocera Umbra (PG) • ITALY