9/20/83 Attitudes of a Disciple – “I want to make truth my guide, not opinion, I want to experience God .” “I want to get myself out of the way, and know what is!” In this powerful talk on discipleship, Swami Kriyananda gives us clear insight into what it means to be a disciple. Swamiji tells us that discipleship is really an attitude – an attitude of wanting to know the truth.
9/22/84 Secrets of Spiritual Healing – specific techniques and explanation of what true healing is. Whatever our physical or mental ailments may be, true healing is ultimately spiritual. High energy and strong willpower play a key role in healing ourselves and others. Secrets of Spiritual Healing is a profound and classic talk.
9/24/81 Gratitude : is a helpful quality for our spiritual growth if expressed with sincerity. Kriyananda discusses two qualities relating to gratitude: the tendency to take for granted and the tendency to appreciate. Knowing that we have to get out of the ego, people tend to repress or hold back on natural good-will gestures. They feel that natural expressions of approval or support could feed the ego instead of the soul, and be harmful to people and as a result. People who do this tend to beco...
11/1/04 Finding the Joy in Suffering – nothing in this world is real, it’s all made of energy, and when we realize this, suffering becomes a transitory experience. You can ask, if God is a loving God, why do I suffer? Suffering is part of the law of karma, cause and effect. We cannot escape this law, but you can accept things with the right attitudes. The world is a vibration of energy. That energy is made up of conscious thoughts of the Infinite consciousness. Think of life as being all of God....
9/21/85 The purpose of relationships is to help us learn how to give. There are many things for us to learn in relationships that move us closer to God. When you relate to others from your center, they in in turn, relate to you on a level from their own center. When you learn to communicate on the level of silence and respect, your relationship can grow. We come into this world and leave it alone. When in a close relationship, it is important to leave each other space. Have respect for that spac...
7/5/84 How to Attract Inspiration and Guidance – God can draw us into realms of higher and higher inspiration if we pray and act with magnetism and expect solutions. Kriyananda said, “The thing that works best of all, is to know that there’s an answer. If there is a problem, there’s got to be a solution.” Sometimes when we are seeking guidance we end up saying, “I can’t do it.” If we follow with, “but God can do it through me,” we will succeed. Share everything with God and ask for His will to b...
Circa 1967 Heaven Within – experience it right here, right now The only way we can understand the mass of confusion and conflicting doctrines and dogmas that abound in the world today, is to understand that what we are looking for is an existential, deep, personal experience of God, our higher self, and our own reality. It is unfortunate to make religion a matter of fighting, dissidents, and of violent disagreement. Where there is a sincere desire for truth, even though we see truth in different...
7/7/1984 Finding Your Spiritual Family – keeping the company of those who exemplify your ideals is key to spiritual progress. We have an innate longing for love, joy and wisdom. We expand our identity when we help others. As we gain a broader sense of who we really are, we release personal desires, likes and dislikes, and become receptive to whatever God gives us in life. You find out a lot about yourself, when you are with others – the mirror effect. You can change your consciousness in your re...
8/28/1985 Tools for Superconscious Living – look, listen and observe everything to find God’s presence. It takes strong magnetism to reach the state of superconsciousness. There are many kinds of magnetism. There are many types of manifestation that energy can assume. Every single thought that you have generates its own type of magnetism and attracts to itself the kind of thought that you have put out. A challenge in living superconsciously, is that you have to be able to bring the thoughts down...
1/5/86 The importance of energy on the spiritual path is key to spiritual progress. Kriyananda tells us that what binds us to this world and to our ego is the thought, “It’s mine.” If we want freedom in this lifetime, we must see God as the Doer, do everything for God and not our own ego, and understand that nothing and no one belongs to us.
2/1/2004 The True Spirit of Ahimsa – learn non-injury by respecting all, as made in the image of God. Kriyananda explains that ahimsa, or harmlessness, doesn’t mean being a doormat. It is right and important to defend yourself, your family and your country. The Bhagavad Gita is an allegory between the good and bad within each human being. Truth must win the battle. This is a reality. A Way of Awakening Aasta TV series from India – 365 twenty minute talk series Kriyananda reads a passage from his...
8/12/84 How to find your role in life is a step-by-step process in discovering the particular way God can express Himself through you. Kriyananda explains that our true role in life is that which will bring us closer to God and our true Self. It may not be oriented toward success in a career. Try to understand success by finding deeper spiritual realization within yourself. Sometimes by doing what you are good at, such as acting, can lead to egoism. It might not be the best way to grow spiritual...
8/4/1984 How to Benefit from Changes in Your Life – change in life is inevitable, learn to accept it and not resist. You can’t say there is anything in this world that is either good or bad. It’s how you take it. Kriyananda tells us how to learn lessons and draw meaning from the tragedies and painful changes that come to us in life. When we learn to accept what comes with an even-minded, inward consciousness; everything God gives us becomes a blessing....
8/14/1983 How to Deal with Temptation – temptation is that which pulls us down from our highest aspirations. There is no freedom if the mind is constantly drawn outward. Observe things from an inner center, and don’t react on impulse. Seeking fulfillment in this world is tempting because progress is based on what other people think. Spiritual progress is more subtle. Enjoy all the little and big things we do with God’s joy. Only be concerned with pleasing God. Practice the presence of God all th...
The Importance of Individual Effort – we need to do our part to put forth our own energy to grow spiritually. God responds when we make the effort to reach out to Him. Kriyananda makes clear that outer conditions do not determine whether or not we make spiritual progress. Many people think that when they have more time, they will meditate more, or that when this or that happens, then they will finally be able to seek God in earnest. Always keep a corner of your heart open for the Divine Mother. ...
8/11/85 Following Your Highest Dharma – duty which leads you to a realization of your highest self. Dharma means being guided by what is right, not necessarily by what you want. Dharma must be understood at the outset to be not a burden, but an opportunity. Only, when we pull back from our desires, and make choices by what is right, do we find what we truly want – inner peace and joy.
Fortitude in Seeking God takes great strength, perseverance and devotion. Kriyananda reminds us how very rare and precious it is even to want to find God. It takes great strength also, to be a disciple. This talk is one in a series of 365 programs recorded for Aasta TV in India – A Way of Awakening. The 20 minute talks are based on readings from Kriyananda’s book Conversations with Yogananda.
11/01/04 Gr eat Blessings of Life – God is your only reality. Deep meditation brings intuition. You will become more aware of subtle realities. You can’t go to heaven with a body, because that realm has a more subtle vibration. When you transition from this world to the astral world you take your conscious with you. There is no break from the physical world to the astral world, it can be a smoothe transition. A Way of Awakening: Aasta TV series from India – 365 twenty minute talk series Kriyanan...
Energy and Willpower Spiritual Renewal Week 1975 Thursday Class Energy and willpower – learn to direct your energy Energy is the link between the mind and body Use energy to overcome dullness and preoccupation with likes and dislikes Practice willingness and enthusiasm for success in everything Energization exercises are a way to learn to direct your energy in powerful ways The world out there seems stronger than we are, until we can build-up our own inner strength and power Kriyananda encourage...
Right Attitude: Basis for the Spiritual Life – 1/10/1985 One of the leading and most helpful attitudes to develop, is listening and being open to learning. It’s a common delusion to think that whatever attitudes we hold define who we are and therefore say, why should we change? People can justify having wrong attitudes by saying that ‘this is who I am.’ This is not who you are. It’s an energy pattern you are putting out right now. We are on the spiritual path to go beyond self-limiting attitudes...
Giving and Receiving – give and receive graciously with love Kriyananda discusses the importance of giving in such a way as to invite reciprocity. He explains that it is just as necessary to learn to receive graciously as it is to give graciously. It completes a circle when we leave an opening for others to give back to us. The most important thing is to give God your heart. When Kriyananda was asked ‘how do you know what God wants you to do, he replied, ‘God doesn’t really care. All He wants is...
Attitudes have a great deal to do with overcoming negative emotions. We can choose what attitudes to support. You must reject that which is going to hurt you, before you can completely embrace that which will help you. Rejection in this case does not mean with an attitude of judgement. The more you try to tune into people and listen closely to what they are saying, the more you begin to feel actually what they have experienced, rather than feeling just general empathy for them. Learn to hold you...
Keys to Overcoming Delusion include staying positive and recognizing when you are in delusion. Helpful attitudes and higher consciousness can free you from ego and outer attachments. This is a world of duality. Try not to be affected by polar opposites such as likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow.
Circumstances Reflect inner Attitudes – Kriyananda speaks on the importance of right attitude and of having complete faith that God will take care of us. The clearer our hearts are, and the more sincere our love for Him, the more He will respond. Try to accept “what is.” You can be happy in yourself no matter what happens. This talk is from A Way of Awakening Aasta TV series from India – 365 twenty minute talks Kriyananda reads a passage from his book Conversations with Yogananda and gives comme...
Learning to Trust God – Give Him a chance! If you give Him a chance you will find that He is there, and that He will take care of you. We spend a good part of our lives looking for fulfillment in this and that. We must seek all fulfillment in God. In order to trust God, we ourselves must become worthy of His trust in us. If we are willing to do whatever’s necessary to find God, then He will be there when we need Him.
Joyful Surrender is related to the goal of our existence: to realize ourselves as the Atman, the eternal spirit. Kriyananda describes the principle of yagya which means sacrifice. Sacrafice is essential if we want to succeed in our spiritual endeavors. If we want to be truly free, it is important to surrender all that we are to God. There are two ways to approach God described in the the ancient teachings of India: impersonal and personal. The personal approach, with a human representation of th...
How to Please God – do everything for God and with God. Throughout all our tests we need to love God. The only reason for human life is to love God. When we act from will and ego involvement, the results are never truly fulfilling no matter what we accomplish. When we work only to please God we experience God’s sweetness and everything falls into place. Kriyananda talks about the incorporation project at Ananda Village in the early days, and the clarity of the lesson. God can never misunderstand...
Attunement to the Guru – God is the guru and discipleship is not to a person, it is to life! We will be given all the tests in life that will help us grow spiritually, and the tools and grace to meet those challenges. Attunement is the key to spiritual success. Look at life in a positive way. Everything that comes can be an opportunity to learn. Yogananda said, “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” We’ve got to learn to say yes to life. People don’t find that easy. They find so...
8/5/1978 Creativity & Initiative is a means of bringing creative energy up the spine and using it to develop spiritually. This talk is a thorough and very intriguing discussion of creativity. Kriyananda begins by explaining the caste system and how that relates to our ability to achieve different levels of consciousness. We progress through those levels of understanding as we evolve spiritually. He talks about the being “humbly respectful” of what other people have done. We can learn from wh...
11/23/1978 Devotion vs. Emotion – give your pure love to God without emotion. There is only one thing God does not have – our love. The definition of yoga is the neutralization of the waves of feeling. We need to develop devotion and love for God and at the same time to dissolve our feelings of likes and dislikes. In fundamentalist religion there is devotion, but it also has an element of emotion in it.
