India Is the Guru of the World

At the young age of seventy-seven, Swami Kriyananda moved to India and initiated Ananda’s outreach efforts there. Not identifying with his age or body, he radiated like a fountain of everlasting joy, pouring out tremendous energy and blessings through satsangs, lectures, television appearances, and more. Everything he did was in loving service to his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda.

Around 2006, Swamiji was giving a lecture to a full hall of about a thousand Indians in Chennai. I’ll never forget one powerful statement he made:

“India is the guru of the world.”

After a pause, the audience erupted in applause, responding to the truth behind Swamiji’s words. This was not national pride, but rather a deep resonance with the gratitude Swamiji expressed for India’s eternal light. In ancient times, she was known as Bharata—the land of light. As Paramhansa Yogananda said in his poem, “My India”:

Her defending soldiers are her saints and rishis

Who routed ignorance with calm wisdom,

Universal understanding,

And ever-clear perception of the truth.

Having just returned from a pilgrimage to India, I am beginning to glimpse the tiny tip of the iceberg of the truth in Swami’s divine observation.

What is a guru? That reminds me of a funny story Nayaswami Jyotish once shared. Years ago, a community member’s mother visited her son at Ananda Village. She brought along a friend, both of whom were new to Ananda and the spiritual path. The friend asked, “What is a guru?” The mother replied, “Oh, the guru is the dispenser of darkness.”

This is NOT why India is the guru of the world! No, she dispenses light and routs ignorance with the ray of Self-realization.

During our pilgrimage, one man in our group was struggling with intense shoulder pain, likely from a pinched nerve. Before the trip, the pain had kept him from going deeper in meditation. When we visited the Samadhi shrine of Ananda Moyi Ma in Haridwar, he sat to meditate, and the divine vibrations of that sacred place drew him into the spiritual eye. The pain vanished as he sat motionless for almost an hour. He did not want to leave those sacred vibrations.

India, through her saints, has the power to uplift us beyond the bonds of body consciousness.

While in Rishikesh, we met another saintly woman, Vanamali Devi. She radiated universal understanding and joy through her very presence. I felt blessed simply to be near her. One person in our group remarked, “You seem so youthful and energetic.” Vanamali Devi, who is eighty-seven, replied calmly, “That’s because I’m not identified with the body, mind, or intellect.” She echoed the eternal truth from Yogananda’s translation of Swami Shankaracharya’s chant, “No Birth, No Death”:

Mind nor intellect, nor ego, feeling,

Sky nor earth nor metals am I,

I am He, I am He, Blessed Spirit, I am He.

India reminds us that we are something more. Her saints not only declare this sacred truth, but through the science of yoga offer a practical way for us to realize it for ourselves within ourselves. I love India!

A perfect example is the science of Kriya Yoga. We visited Babaji’s cave in Ranikhet, and while meditating there, it became a little clearer how incredibly blessed we are by the great masters through this divine science.

We have the opportunity to become free in this lifetime. Yogananda said our goal is to become a jivan mukta, “freed while living.” He meant that we should seek nirbikalpa samadhi—to be free of ego through ecstatic union with God—and hold that high state of consciousness even amid the challenges of daily life.

As Swami Kriyananda would often remind us, “The great Masters come to show us not how great they are, but how great we are in our divine potential.” We might think, “Who, me?” And Swami would say, “Yes, you!”

During one morning meditation, Dharmadevi felt inspired to chant “Cloud Colored Christ.” Later that day, she told me, “It’s strange, I feel closer to Christ here in India.” As we meditated in the Himalayan foothills near Babaji’s cave, I understood what she meant. It felt like Christ, Babaji, and the great Himalayan yogis were sending out “rays of redemption” (as Yogananda said), embracing and blessing all mankind.

A friend of mine, a Kriya yogi born in India, once shared a story that beautifully captures India’s spirit of embracing all life. If you travel in India, you’ll often be warned about monkeys in various cities. For example, at the Taj Mahal in Agra, signs caution you not to wear glasses because monkeys may take them and demand food in exchange.

Years ago, my friend was on a solitary pilgrimage north of Rishikesh, beyond Vashishta’s Gufa (cave). He was walking along a dirt road beside the Ganges, surrounded by forest. Hungry, he remembered he had purchased some chocolate chip cookies. As soon as he pulled them out, two langur monkeys jumped down in front of him. They clearly wanted cookies!



Instead of driving them away, he sat down and invited them to join him, which they did. He calmly opened the bag, gave one cookie to each monkey, and took one for himself. They all ate peacefully together. He repeated this until the cookies were gone. Then the monkeys left contentedly. Such is the beauty of the Indian spirit!

I witnessed another divine reminder of this spirit. During a long bus ride from Haridwar to Babaji’s cave, we traveled along a busy four-lane highway, a swirl of cars, motorcycles, and cows all moving together in seeming chaos. As I gazed out the window, I saw a serene, grayish-white cow lying calmly down. The only abnormal thing is that she happened to be in the middle of the highway, between two streams of traffic! The cow embodied an affirmation from Ananda Yoga, “At the center of life’s storms I stand serene.” Or in the case of the cow, “I lie serene.” That image has stayed with me ever since.

India is the guru of the world. She teaches us not only to find God within but to bow to that sacred Self in all.

Namaste,

Nayaswami Narayan



P.S. Here is a poem I wrote inspired by that cow:

Chewing the Cud of Cosmic Consciousness

Where on earth
can you find a cow lying down
resting with indescribable contentment
in the middle of a busy highway?

She is Paramhansa!
In the world, but not of it.

Her tail switch
switches from side to side
of the highway divide
with trucks roaring
blaring horns in beeping time.

Yet she remains timeless,
eternal in Her center.
Traffic, noise, and time
Swirl around Her…
Her calmness only deepens
disturbed not from her lick—
chewing the cud of cosmic consciousness!

Where on earth can you find this cow?
Go to your inner India
Bharata—land of light, love, and laughter
where you too can find your rest
even amidst the traffic of this world
with all its craziness.

Chew the cud with your cow.
Rest with Her
on the lap of this land’s immortal dust.
Now switch your tale from time to timelessness.

Where on earth can you find this cow?
The center median,
where all in bliss bow.