Ananda Worldwide

11/06/2026

Many years ago, the British cycling team was a nonentity in international competition. Then a new coach told the team, “I want you to improve everything by one percent.” They started with the bikes: gears, chain, wheels, and tires. Then they moved on to diet, sleep, and free time. Before long, they were winning races and had become an international sensation.

We can follow their example. Devi and I, for instance, finally made a long-intended change: going to bed earlier so that we can rise earlier. The benefit is double. We waste less time in the evenings, and we have a longer, deeper sadhana in the morning. It’s a small adjustment, and once we were committed, it wasn’t hard to keep.

Success on the spiritual path is built from thousands of small steps: little insights and good decisions. Gradually we free ourselves from the entanglements that bind us to the wheel of delusion. Through sadhana and, especially, Kriya, we clear our astral spine of the tendencies that block the flow of prana. In time, our nervous system becomes ready for the tremendous inflow of life force that brings Self-realization.

In joy,

Nayaswami Jyotish

*Keep reading, PICK ONE SMALL THING or share your thoughts with us here in the COMMENTS (we read every one!): https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/pick-one-small-thing/

*Subscribe to our weekly TOUCH OF LIGHT letters straight to your email: https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/subscribe/

*Subscribe to our podcast and behind-the-scenes blog commentary on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: https://www.ananda.org/video/series/a-touch-of-light-podcast/

11/05/2026

🕉️Click the link below to read an article on God's Divine Play. 🙏
https://vist.ly/5rje9

11/04/2026

“If I had no desires,” asked a congregation member, “wouldn’t I lose all motivation, and become a sort of automaton?”

Many people imagine so. They think they’d have no further interest in life. But that isn’t what happens at all. Rather, you would find life to be infinitely more interesting. Consider the negative aspect of desire. It keeps you forever fearful. ‘What if this happens?’ you think; or, ‘What if that doesn’t happen?’ You live in a state of anxiety for the future, or of regret for the past. Non-attachment, on the other hand, helps you to live perpetually in a state of inner freedom and happiness. When you can be happy in the present, then you have God. Desirelessness doesn’t rob you of motivation. Far from it! The more you live in God, the deeper the joy you experience in serving Him.

Non-attachment does not mean neglect of our material duties. It means performance of our material duties with the sole desire to please God and serve His children without a sense of personal gain. When we perform an act, when we eat or earn with the sole purpose of being the full beneficiary of our actions, we limit our consciousness, and thus we do not expand.

--From the book “How to Face Life’s Changes” by Paramhansa Yogananda

“If I had no desires,” asked a congregation member, “wouldn’t I lose all motivation, and become a sort of automaton?”

Many people imagine so. They think they’d have no further interest in life. But that isn’t what happens at all. Rather, you would find life to be infinitely more interesting. Consider the negative aspect of desire. It keeps you forever fearful. ‘What if this happens?’ you think; or, ‘What if that doesn’t happen?’ You live in a state of anxiety for the future, or of regret for the past. Non-attachment, on the other hand, helps you to live perpetually in a state of inner freedom and happiness. When you can be happy in the present, then you have God. Desirelessness doesn’t rob you of motivation. Far from it! The more you live in God, the deeper the joy you experience in serving Him.

Non-attachment does not mean neglect of our material duties. It means performance of our material duties with the sole desire to please God and serve His children without a sense of personal gain. When we perform an act, when we eat or earn with the sole purpose of being the full beneficiary of our actions, we limit our consciousness, and thus we do not expand.

From the book “How to Face Life’s Changes” by Paramhansa Yogananda

11/02/2026

Nitai Deranja shares how Swami Kriyananda’s vision inspired the creation of "Education for Life", a revolutionary approach to education that nurtures children’s inner growth, intuition, kindness, cooperation, and self-awareness. Rather than focusing solely on academic achievement, "Education for Life" helps children discover their true potential, expand their consciousness, and find lasting happiness by learning through experience. This inspiring vision offers a path toward transforming both education and society.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/AoxwlBkM_J0

In 2026, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s birth—honoring his life of discipleship and the living legacy of Paramhansa Yogananda, which continues to uplift hearts and transform lives.

The Centennial was the largest celebration in Ananda’s history. Devotees, friends, and seekers from around the world gathered to honor Swami Kriyananda’s centennial and the continuing power of Yogananda’s teachings as expressed through Swami’s example of joy, dedication, and divine friendship.

Nitai Deranja shares how Swami Kriyananda’s vision inspired the cre...

11/01/2026

Insomnia is one of the miseries of the modern age. This might, indeed, be called the Age of Anxiety. People who fail to get the rest they need at night often resort to heavy doses of coffee and other stimulants to remain awake during the day. They sleep badly the following night as a result of these stimulants, and so by degrees enter a life-cycle that leaves them chronically out of tune with life (or energy) – like an eight-cylinder motor functioning on only one cylinder.

If you are troubled with insomnia, try doing a few yoga postures before going to bed. Get the energy in your body flowing smoothly, instead of leaving it gathered and blocked in local knots of tension. (Physical tension activates related areas in the brain, making sleep difficult.)
Then lie in bed flat on your back. Inhale deeply; tense the whole body, equalizing the flow of energy throughout the body; throw the breath out and relax. Repeat this alternate tension and relaxation two or three times if you so desire.

Then watch the breath mentally for awhile, allowing its steady rhythm to soothe you, like the waves of an ocean stroking the shore on a calm day.

After some time, inhale deeply; then exhale slowly and completely, as if with a sigh, and feel that you are surrendering yourself to an infinity of peace. Hold the breath out as long as you can comfortably, and repeat mentally, “AUM, peace, peace, amen,” or, “AUM, shanti, shanti, shanti.” (Shanti is the Sanskrit word for peace.) Visualize an ocean of peace spreading out in all directions around you – or think of peace as gathering protectingly around you in great, soft clouds. Repeat this breathing process six to twelve times. If after that you are still awake, continue watching the breath, calmly, passively.

—From the book ‘The Art and Science of Raja Yoga’ by Swami Kriyananda

10/31/2026

Pre-order now before November 1, 2026 for a 20% discount!
https://www.crystalclarity.com/products/how-to-stop-the-boomerang-of-karma

Stop Throwing the Boomerang of Karma
Second in the “Seeds of Light” series—small, practical books filled with the luminous wisdom of the great spiritual master Paramhansa Yogananda.

In this insightful book, you will learn to navigate the law of cause and effect with clarity and purpose. By understanding how to move beyond mere reaction, you can cultivate a life defined by conscious choice rather than habitual patterns.

“All effects or seeds of our past actions (karma) can be destroyed by roasting them in the fire of meditation, concentration, the light of superconsciousness, and right actions, free from the selfish desire for the fruit of action.”

Yogananda helps you trade the cycle of past reactions for the freedom of superconsciousness. Discover practical tools and meditative practices to untangle yourself from past conditioning and embrace your true, radiant nature.

10/30/2026

...We are all moving toward this knowing: to know that we are one with the sea of joy itself. Let’s never give up until we’ve achieved it. It’s why we are here.

In joyful knowing,

Nayaswami Devi

Excerpt from A TOUCH OF LIGHT *Back to the Beginning* by Nayaswami Devi. Weekly blog shared by the Co-Spiritual Directors of Ananda Sangha Worldwide
https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/back-to-the-beginning/

Painting featured from *The Gates of Heaven* >> https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/jyotish-art/

>> View the full collection and more on prints, designs, and get information on custom orders: https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/jyotish-art/

10/30/2026

As Yoganandaji said in a beautiful meditation:

“No matter what causes it, whenever a little bubble of joy appears in your invisible sea of consciousness, take hold of it, and keep expanding it. Meditate on it and it will grow larger. Watch not the limitations of the little bubble of your joy, but keep expanding it until it grows bigger and bigger. Keep puffing at it with the breath of concentration from within, until it spreads all over the ocean of infinity in your consciousness. Keep puffing at the bubble of joy until it breaks its confining walls and becomes the sea of joy.”

My friend, this is the “knowing” we are all moving toward: to know that we are one with the sea of joy itself. Let’s never give up until we’ve achieved it. It’s why we are here.

In joyful knowing,

Nayaswami Devi

>> Keep reading, BACK TO THE BEGINNING or share your thoughts with us here in the COMMENTS (we read every one!): https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/back-to-the-beginning/

>> Subscribe to our weekly TOUCH OF LIGHT letters straight to your email: https://www.ananda.org/jyotish-and-devi/subscribe/

>> Subscribe to our podcast and behind-the-scenes blog commentary on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: https://www.ananda.org/video/series/a-touch-of-light-podcast/

10/29/2026

Yogis, saints, sages, and many religions confirm and embrace an expansive worldview. In yogic science, the force from which the universe came and the force that creates and guides life is understood to be Consciousness.⁠
⁠
The universe is created and governed by Cosmic Consciousness just as our own lives are run by individual consciousness. Swami Kriyananda was once asked Three Questions. One question was, ‘Who is God?’ This is how he responded:⁠
⁠
🕉️"He is not a person. He is neither He nor She, and He is both He and She. He is everything our souls ever craved: perfect bliss, immortality, complete consciousness – Satchidananda, as He is defined by those who are familiar with the concept of absolute perfection. There is nothing and no one apart from Him. All that we see around us is but a part of a cosmic dream. Who is God may be paired with another, equal question: Who are we? For in our deepest reality, what is left when we strip away all superficial definitions is that germ of consciousness within. There, as Jesus Christ implied, lies the secret of God’s reality."⁠
⁠
🔗Read more at an article linked below, "Why Consciousness Is the Ultimate Frontier of Human Evolution."
https://www.ananda.org/blog/why-consciousness-is-the-ultimate-frontier-of-human-evolution/