We are all on the same journey, a very long journey from confusion and delusion to enlightenment and joy.

Every soul—even those who are now God-realized—has walked the same path as us. The path is unique and specific to each of us; each will face circumstances, relationships, joys and sufferings dictated by our own karma. But, in what might be called the path through the various vibrations of illusion toward the perfect stillness of Realization, we all pass through the same divinely programmed stages of awakening.

In The Festival of Light, the liturgical ceremony celebrated every week in Ananda’s American and European centers, Swami Kriyananda includes the allegorical tale of a “fledgling bird.”

When Swamiji was writing The Festival, during a seclusion in 1986 in Assisi, Italy, he was following an intuitive flow of inspiration when the words suddenly came through, “A fledgling bird once flew out into the world.”

He admits that he was startled by the image. It was not something he had consciously chosen. But many years of experience following divine inspiration allowed him to continue without hesitation to see what the “fledgling bird” had to say.

The story that unfolded exactly describes the Map for Your Soul’s Journey. “That bird’s brief day,” it says in The Festival, “was like eons of our time.” The journey the bird traversed in a few hours takes countless incarnations for each one of us. Still, as The Festival describes, the map is the same for all who would journey from delusion to enlightenment.

This is what we will explore in this long weekend.

The Mission
"Ours was a holy mission. You charged us to learn great lessons from life: to be fruitful in the gifts you had given us, to expand and multiply them.”

The Revolt
“The young bird, in flight for the first time, gloried in its new-found strength. It began to think, ‘How foolish I would be to share my strength with anyone. What else is wisdom if not to keep what is mine for myself?’"

The Quest
"The little bird grew afraid. ‘How,’ it cried, ‘can I fly in this darkness?’ And the night whispered, ‘Fear not. For lo! peace awaits you in the unknown. Surrender to me, and your strength will be renewed.’”

The Redemption
“Lord, we offer up the little light that is in us into Thy blazing light of Infinity. Grant us the grace to know Thee. And make us ever-increasingly pure channels of Thy love to all.”

These poetic words are a doorway into a vast world of strength, understanding and joy. Together we will explore these four stages of enlightenment and find ways within ourselves — with the blessing and guidance of God and Gurus — to follow the map to our true home in Eternal Bliss.

“Joyfully lifting up our hearts in song, we pray that we,
who earnestly seek communion with Your Light,
receive it in our lives abundantly.”

Your teacher:

Asha Nayaswami studied for over forty years with Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. She has dedicated her life to bringing spiritual understanding to others through teaching, counseling, and writing. To that end, her lectures in the United States and around the world, letters to spiritual seekers, and her other writings are available on his website: ashajoy.com.