That brilliant four-word sentence, written by author Ann Lamott, captures for me the wisdom and joy of good humor. Philosophy doesn’t get more profound than that.More than twenty years ago, when I was managing Ananda’s East West Bookshop in California, authors and presenters would often approach me, hoping to be added to our calendar of lectures and workshops. One of … Read More
We Are the Medium. Mind the Message.
The podcast, now a mainstay of app subscribers, has fast risen to widespread popularity as a medium of communication and of commentary on topics of interest. Anyone can start one, which is good for freedom of speech, although not necessarily for its content. Checks and balances not required. For the influence-seeker across the board, from expert to hack, the podcast … Read More
Happy 100th, Swamiji
Dear Swamiji, Happy 100th birthday today, May 19, 2026! On the one hand, it’s hard to believe you were born a century ago and spent your entire life, after meeting our great guru Paramahansa Yogananda in 1948 at age 22, in an endless, prolific stream of service, devotion, and creative projects in the name of God and our Gurus. Your … Read More
It’s Complicated
“Would that it were so simple…” is a line from a Coen Brothers movie that’s always stuck with me. In the scene, a refined British actor is trying to teach a rather simple-minded American actor to say this line with the gravitas and culture it demands, and the American is simply failing. In the end, his line is mercifully changed … Read More
Spirit and Nature Dancing Together
“Spirit and Nature dancing together, Victory to Spirit and victory to Nature, Radhe, Radhe, Radhe Govinda jai Radhe, Radhe, Radhe Govinda jai” I can think of no better place (outside the spine) to experience prana (life force) than in the spray of the ocean, nor a better place to hear the thunderous sound of aum than the waves ceaselessly crashing … Read More
It’s a Zero-Sum Game
Does it bother you that some folks appear to get away with appallingly selfish behavior, as if they’ve been issued a free pass? You know the ones, the egocentric and greedy who always seem to get what they want. Is life selectively unfair? We also see many examples of virtue apparently going unrewarded, sometimes even scorned, while the sins of … Read More
Everlasting Darshan
This week we honor Swami’s Moksha Day—the sacred anniversary when, thirteen years ago on April 21, he consciously left the body and attained spiritual freedom. Next month we celebrate his birthday, and this year marks the centennial of his birth—a hundred years of a life (and beyond life) dedicated to sharing the light of Paramhansa Yogananda and our line of … Read More
Nature Befriended
The arrival of spring is accompanied by many glories of the natural world, and the subtle supernatural world that lies just behind it. Everything in creation is Consciousness. Through the manifestation of cosmic energy, and finally the material world, that conscious Spirit remains the source code of creation. Every interaction with the world around us is an opportunity to commune … Read More
The Donkeys and the Apple Cart
In the 4th century AD, deep in the Egyptian desert, travel-weary clergymen ended a long and difficult search for the venerable desert saint, Anthony the Great. Back in Alexandria, a great religious controversy was stirring conflict and confusion among church and political leaders: was Jesus Christ merely a great human being, or the true Son of God? Those sent to … Read More
Inspiration, Spiritual Teachings
Thoughts of Easter in a Pharisee World
Lent is upon us, Good Friday ahead. You needn’t be a Christian to grasp the season’smeaning. Allegorically, it’s universal. We are called to prepare, that Easter may dawnagain. Easter recounts the miracle of Christ consciously returning to life from beyond the veil ofdeath. It’s hard to imagine what a stunning event that must have been. The underlyingmessage for us, however, … Read More
