http://SupremeMasterTV.com -- Ananda Village Founder Swami Kriyananda: Reminiscences of Yogananda - P1/2. Episode: 1760, Air Date: 10 July 2011.
So we're entering now the main part of Crystal Hermitage, and this is the Shrine of the Masters. And we're going to meet Mandala, who is the manager of the Shrine of the Masters.
Hi!
Nice to meet you!
Nice to meet you!
This is Shrine of the Masters at the Crystal Hermitage, and we are a gift shop in a little garden center. We have lots of people that come here for the Tulip Festival.
This is Yogananda, a poster from early on. This is his original "Autobiography of a Yogi" and some of his earliest lessons.
Welcome, blessed viewers, to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms. Today, we're visiting Ananda Village near Nevada City in Northern California, USA, a place to help people experience the Divine through meditation and spiritual living. Ananda Village is situated amidst the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, on 900 acres of beautiful meadows and forests. Two hundred fifty people of all ages and backgrounds reside here permanently, including adults and children.
This is Lahiri Mahasaya, and this pot is very special. We fill it with water. This was a water pot that belonged to him and he would fill it with water and then bless the disciples that would come to have fellowship with him. We fill that with water and then we take it down to the Crystal Hermitage to Swami's apartment, it stays on his altar. It gets blessed, and then we pour it into little bottles, and I'd like to give you some of those as well.
This is Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya's master, and here is some more of Yogananda's things. His family members, many of these are the family members that have offered all these little relics to us.
Ananda Village is part of Ananda Sangha, a worldwide movement founded in 1968 by a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda. The Sanskrit word ananda means "bliss." The Ananda Village community is based on the teachings of Yogananda, who showed how everyone can realize God in their daily lives as a tangible, loving reality.
At the age of 22, Swami Kriyananda, who at the time was known as J. Donald Walters, began the adventure of his lifetime: the search for joy in God. His guide was the great Indian Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda. Kriyananda became one of Yogananda's foremost disciples and his spiritual path eventually inspired thousands of other truth-seekers in all corners of the world. Swami Kriyananda has completely dedicated himself to two main goals in life, in his own words, "to find God, and to help others find Him."
A gifted writer and composer, Swami Kriyananda has written over 100 books and 400 pieces of music. He speaks 9 languages, and his books and music have sold over three million copies and are published in 25 languages. From April to May 2011, Swami Kriyananda held a weekly lecture series at Ananda Village and read from his latest book to be published soon. This book consists of treasured reminiscences of his teacher Paramhansa Yogananda.
Heavenly Father, Divine Mother, Divine Beloved God, Jesus Christ Babaji-Krishna, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar, Beloved Guru, Saints of all religions. We bow to all of you. We love you. We want to serve you. We want to be one with you. Om. Peace. Amen.
On the day of giving this lecture, Swami Kriyananda had to go to the dentist. Still having some difficulty speaking, he used this uncomfortable experience to elaborate on the deeper meaning of pain in life.
There are times when there is a certain sensation. I think I have learnt that the important thing is to not to define that sensation as "pain." It is just a sensation. And if you find the thought coming that "Well, it is pain," then accept it, because -- okay -- but it doesn't matter if it is painful. In other words, don't reject the pain.
One time, the pain was rather intense. But I told myself, "Well, this is only right here and right now. Reality is much bigger than this little tooth of mine." So, I lived in that reality and noticed that this reality here was bothering me but it didn't matter that much. I found that with that attitude, I can lie there while he [the dentist] is working and not even know what he is doing. I can work out points of philosophy that are a little difficult to figure out, or write music in my head.
Really, it's a very important lesson in life because all of us have experiences that are not easy. Some of us have what we choose to call "tragic experiences." We don't have to call them "tragic." Let's accept that this is what life is. Even when I see a movie and I see a painful thing, a recording from it, I try to put myself right in that position. And I say, "Well, what attitude would I need to be able to bear that pain, or bear that tragedy or bear that whatever it is?"
And I find that it's a very good practic
