Our Inspiration

 

Swami Kriyananda

 

This work is dedicated to our mentor Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters) who was a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. His mission in life was to make the teachings of the great master known to the world. He travelled and lectured worldwide on the subject of how to live yogic teachings in daily life. He established spiritual communities on three continents, composed some of the finest music and wrote more than 100 books on diverse subjects, highlighting the relevance of the higher Vedic teachings in all walks of life, whether they are businesses, schools, communities or families.

His work is the foundation of our offering to the world- Living Wisely. Following is a short collection of his quotes on some everyday titles which give us a flavour of the teachings we share at this forum. Living wisely is all about developing right attitudes in life and our offerings are a help in this direction. You may click on the title to uncover his quote on your topic of interest or need.

1. Acceptance
One of the most difficult lessons in life is to learn to accept things as they are. Instead of learning to come to grips with a thousand individual challenges, make the supreme effort to accept divine presence unconditionally in your heart. Accept all that comes in life as coming from His hands. He will give you what is best for you, if you live for Him alone.
11. Calmness
Calmness comes with determination to live ever happily in the present moment, relinquishing the past, and not worrying about the future, but placing our lives firmly in divine hands, and knowing that He is fully in command.
21. Courtesy
Be courteous equally to friends, foes, and strangers. Courtesy will win you respect and cooperation, and courtesy to friends will preserve that slight distance between you which keeps friendship ever fresh, alive, and interesting.
31. Encouragement
Encourage others in their efforts to improve themselves. But remember, they don’t owe it to you to be better than they are. That debt is one they owe only to themselves.
41. Gestures
Be graceful in your movements. Awkward or jerky gestures reflect, and also induce, disconnected thinking. But grace of movement will help bring a smooth flow to all your thinking.
51. Immortality
You are not your body. You are not your thoughts, or desires, or changing personality. Your body has a certain age, but you are ageless! Your body may tire or become unwell, but you yourself, the fatigueless soul, cannot tire, can never know disease! Feel that, through all outward changes, you, the immortal soul, remain the same.
61. Love
One finds love not by being loved, but by loving. The more we forget ourselves in giving to others, the better we can understand what love really is.
71. Patience
Be patient with people. Remember, it takes incarnations to emerge from the pit of delusion. Think how long it probably took you to reach your present level of understanding, and how long it often takes to rid oneself of even one major flaw.
81. Problems
Be restful in your heart. A quiet spirit will help you instantly to resolve problems that might otherwise require days, weeks, or even months of fretful pondering-and even then you wouldn’t be certain of the rightness of your decision.
91. Self-Definitions
Rid yourself of all self-definitions. They block your awareness of yourself as the ever perfect soul. Self-definitions are like heavy luggage: difficult to carry and obstructive to free movement. The sooner you shed them, the easier you will find, by your openness to soul guidance, to advance toward freedom.
101. Teaching
Think of yourself as a student of truth, and of life; never as anybody’s teacher. If your duty in life is, in fact, to teach others, consider what a privilege it is to share with them what you’ve learned from life. Never feel that anyone owes it to you to accept what you tell him.