April 21st marks the 11th anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s passing. He was the founder of the movement we call Ananda. What does it mean to be a part of a “movement”? Really what Swami Kriyananda was referring to is a movement in consciousness. It’s an ever evolving refinement of our focus on the subtler, higher realities of our existence and integrating that into daily life. As we start to achieve this shift in consciousness, our lives change into our most expansive, harmonious and joyful versions of our best selves. This in turn, affects all our interactions, and offers perhaps the most impactful way of supporting positive change in our world. It always starts with us. Not easy in a world that quickly defaults to negativity, contraction, and fear. Our practices of meditation and yoga help to anchor our consciousness in a higher reality, but as an outer expression, Swami Kriyananda suggested honing this simple perspective—one in which he lived by— see everyone through the lense of divine friendship.
“Try to develop a God’s eye view of things – to see others as divine sparks that are trying to merge back into the Infinite Fire, instead of leaping out of the fire as many sparks do. Then there will be no sense of judgment, but only an acceptance of them as they are, and of seeing them, with love, as they might be. Love them as a divine friend, and do what you can, even if only mentally, to help them to know who they really are: expressions, like yourself, of the Infinite Lord.”
As we commemorate the life of this saintly man and our beloved teacher, let us strive to offer above all else, our divine friendship to each other. Each sparks of the divine finding our way back to the Eternal Flame ever shining through any surrounding darkness.
In Divine Friendship,
Ananda in Texas