Renouncing the Ego (With Swami Kriyananda)

Swami Kriyananda reads and comments on his book "Conversations with Yogananda." TV series "A Way to Awakening" recorded in India. This talk centers on the spiritual purpose of suffering and the journey toward Self-realization. Swami Kriyananda opens with the idea of offering one's whole being to the divine, framing all hardship as part of a larger, ultimately joyful unfolding—those who reach enlightenment never regret the struggle that led them there. He uses the Bhagavad Gita's battlefield as a metaphor for the inner war between our higher and lower tendencies. He draws on the biblical story of the Israelites wandering the desert as a symbol of the soul's long search for the "Promised Land" of infinite consciousness, noting that the ego can walk us close to liberation but cannot itself enter it. He then shares anecdotes from his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, including an encounter with an ascetic who criticized Yogananda's practical approach to generosity, and Yogananda's exchange with Gandhi about nonviolence versus the necessity of defense. Stories about the saint Pranabananda's childhood renunciation and the sage Sukadeva learning true detachment from King Janaka illustrate that real renunciation is inner freedom from ego and attachment, not external poverty. He reflects on humility as the path to happiness. Find out more at https://www.ananda.org/ ABOUT PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA Paramhansa Yogananda, born in 1893, was the first yoga master of India to take up permanent residence in the West. Yogananda arrived in America in 1920, and proceeded to travel throughout the United States on what he called his “spiritual campaigns.” Hundreds of thousands filled the largest halls in major American cities to see the yoga master from India. Yogananda continued to lecture and write up to his passing in 1952. Paramhansa Yogananda’s initial impact on the western culture was truly impressive. But his lasting spiritual legacy has been even greater. His *Autobiography of a Yogi*, first published in 1946, helped launch a spiritual revolution in the West. [Read free at https://ananda.org/autobiography/.] The path of Kriya Yoga, which combines the practice of advanced yogic techniques with spirituality in daily life, can be learned at https://ananda.org/kriya-yoga/. Ananda is a worldwide movement to help individuals realize the joy of their own higher Self. Ananda is based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and was founded by his direct disciple Swami Kriyananda in 1968. Learn more at https://ananda.org. ___ HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH Subscribe to our YouTube channel:    / anandaworldwide   Follow on Instagram:   / anandaworldwide   Like on Facebook:   / ananda.org   If you have been touched in your own journey by Ananda and our videos please consider making a donation so that we, as a spiritual family, may all continue to reach and inspire souls everywhere: https://www.ananda.org/support/ Dive into Yogananda’s spiritual teachings with Ananda Online: https://www.ananda.org/online-classes/ Download the FREE Ananda Meditation app and watch guided meditations https://www.ananda.org/meditation/app/ Visit the beautiful Ananda Meditation Retreats in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada: https://meditationretreat.org/ Find an Ananda near you: https://www.ananda.org/find-ananda If you have been touched in your own journey by Ananda and our videos please consider making a donation so that we, as a spiritual family, may all continue to reach and inspire souls everywhere: https://www.ananda.org/support/ #yogananda #kriyananda #meditation #yoga #kriya #ananda #babaji #swami kriyananda #karma #chakras