Dear Friends,
Padma and I are honored and humbled to travel to Italy a week before Thanksgiving to participate in the first initiation ceremony as nayaswamis in a new, worldwide order of swamis recently announced by Swami Kriyananda, founder of Ananda, and direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. During his life, Paramhansa Yogananda invited men and women from all walks of life, single, married, and with children into his ashrams. Of the gurus in the line of Self-realization masters of which he was the last, two had been, at some point in their lives, married with children. Of Yogananda’s own most advanced disciples, all had been married. Married or single is not the point, however, of the Nayaswami Order: ego transcendence as the means to God-realization is the emphasis, instead. Thus the new Order is open to all walks of life.
The great monasteries and nunneries of a bygone age are all but empty, compared to a hundred years ago, whether east or west. Those who left their vocation did not necessarily turn merely to a worldly life. Most continued their lives of service and devotion being now in the world but not of the world. Yet how many have struggled wondering if spiritually they had failed. How many lived misunderstood and judged by their peers or the society around them when in fact they were in tune with a new spiritual awakening, one that seeks to bring Spirit into the world, not to condemn the world.
The time has come and now is for those who have dedicated themselves completely to God — in service and meditation — to stand up and be visible for the inspiration and encouragement of all those seeking truth and inner freedom in God.
The Nayaswami Order is not limited either to members of Ananda worldwide nor even to disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda. Recognizing and honoring Paramhansa Yogananda as the patron saint, as it were, of this new expression of renunciation in the new age known as Dwapara (the second age, the age of energy awareness), all are welcome. There will be an application and approval process but no central ecclesiastical authority or disciplinary body beyond one’s conscience and one’s spiritual dedication which, to be accepted into the Order, must be recognizable in one’s life by one or more others already in the new Order.
The text of the new Order identifies fourteen aspects of renunciation that one should have manifested and be actively striving to perfect in one’s life. Some of these include an absence of material desires or attachments, an absence of anger, calm acceptance of what life brings, absence of self-justification, inner attitude and practice of divine mindfulness, absence of personal motive, even-mindedness amidst pleasure or pain or the critique of themselves by others, a sense of kinship with all life, daily practice of meditation, and love for God.
There are two levels: the tyaga stage of preliminary renunciation and the nayaswami stage of complete renunciation. Within the tyaga stage may be celibate monastics (brahmacharyis or brahmacharinis) or householders, tyagis (men) or tyaginis (women). For the latter it will be those whose children are grown and no longer a direct responsibility to their parent(s).
The creation of the Order includes an invitation to all existing swamis around the world to apply to be nayaswamis. This can help them identify more integrally with the way of life, attitudes, and precepts expressed in this new Order which is “Samadhi-affirming” rather than world-negating. The order has no intrinsic relationship to Ananda, to the existing religious orders of Ananda (Sevaka and Sadhaka Orders), nor implies any position in respect to Ananda. Nor does the Nayaswami Order override various levels of membership, religious orders, or positions of leadership in Ananda, local or worldwide.
Soon the text of the new Order, A New-Age Renunciate Order, will be available for all to read. You may call Ananda in Bothell or email us at contact@anandaseattle.org to receive your own copy formatted as a PDF.
This is an historic moment for all of Ananda and for other sincere seekers far beyond Ananda’s immediate influence. An example of renunciation in Dwapara Yuga (this new, modern era) is sorely needed that high-minded souls seeking Self-realization can be, whether by their example and consciousness, or by their outward service, instruments for divine guidance in a world so needing harmony and joy.
For the lifelong dedication of Nayaswami Kriyananda to the divine vision and mission of Paramhansa Yogananda and those great souls who sent him, we remain eternally grateful.
Blessings to you,
Nayaswamis Hriman and Padma
P.S. For those attending the Thanksgiving Banquet at Ananda Community, Padma and Hriman will share experiences of their participation in the first initiation and of their visit to Ananda in Italy. The following Sunday, the 29th, they will conduct the Sunday Service on the theme of the new Order.
This year’s Retreat to the Heart of Silence at Camp Brotherhood was a powerful opportunity for me to reconnect with the spiritual practice of retreat. When I was in high school at Seattle Prep, I went on several retreats to wilderness areas, surrounded by trees and the distant sound of waves washing upon ocean shores. In the tradition of Catholic Jesuit priests, we were encouraged to reflect deeply through conversation, writing, and time spent quietly contemplating and awakening our awareness in nature. We also had a lot of fun playing together and building relationships over shared meals, music, skits and deep learning. Looking back, many moments from these retreats are some of my fondest memories of adolescence.
Saturday and Sunday were full of opportunities to meditate, practice yoga postures, breathe the cool country air, and reflect. Many hours of meditation were balanced with two Saturday yoga asana classes lead by Murali that were keenly focused on helping us experience stillness in each pose. As morning turned to afternoon turned to night, I felt more and more aware of the subtle currents of energy gathering in my spine and flowing upwards to my spiritual eye. Instead of the static of idle chatter, my mind’s ear resounded with prayers, chants, affirmations, and the sound of OM. In the midst of all of the sadhana, I also took time to journal and witness the seasons turn throughout the verdant grounds of Camp Brotherhood.
