Most of us wander throughout our lives in search of purpose and deeper meaning. Acquiring a holistic sense of ourselves and a feel for everything around us will help guide us to better understand our world and the truth that it speaks. Spirituality offers a path towards the light of knowledge, helping us unlock the many intricacies of life. Inspirational guide Asha Nayaswami has devoted her life to helping people find the path to happiness through yoga.
Asha Nayaswami is a world-renowned author and speaker. Like all seekers, she had to go through the life-changing process of figuring out the meaning behind life. It was a hard struggle. Then, on one fateful day, she would encounter Swami Kriyananda, a prominent disciple of the well-known yogi, and author of Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda. Kriyananda built a reputation for founding the spiritual communities movement known as Ananda.
During her quest for meaning, Asha learned that Swami Kriyananda planned to give a lecture at Stanford University in November 1969. Asha had already dropped out of Stanford at the time but decided to come back just to listen to his lecture. “As soon as he walked into the room, before he even spoke, I recognized him as the Polestar I was seeking. It came as an inner voice: ‘He has what I want!’ I later understood what he had was joy and freedom,” Asha fondly recalled.
The encounter would change the trajectory of Asha’s life forever. She quickly decided to relocate to Ananda’s isolated village amid the Sierra Nevada’s foothills. During her time at Ananda, Asha absorbed the teachings of Yogananda by watching the example of Swami Kriyananda, whom she referred to as Swamiji or “respected teacher.” Under Swamiji’s tutelage, Asha rose to a position of leadership within Ananda, eventually developing and leading an Ananda community in Palo Alto, California.
In 2012, just before Swami Kriyananda’s passing, he asked her to serve as a Global Ambassador for Ananda. He encouraged Asha to write his biography because of her understanding and commitment to Yogananda’s teachings and her strong relationship with her beloved mentor. Published in 2019, Lightbearer is a first-person narrative of over 40 years of close contact with Swami Kriyananda.
“During my many years with Swamiji I observed, recorded, practiced, and shared. This teaching, this way of life, the spiritual practice itself, communion with our own higher reality – this is the key to happiness and fulfillment everyone is seeking. So it would be unthinkable for me to do anything but devote my life to sharing with all who are interested. I’m not here to persuade or convert, however, only to share,” said Asha.
Nowadays, Asha Nayaswami is spreading her positive message to the world and using her massive platform to share her spiritual knowledge. She posts meaningful content on her YouTube channel and Instagram, and has garnered tons of positive praise for her transformative videos, which collectively have been viewed millions of times.
Asha Nayaswami also advocates for spiritual wellness on her podcast, Living Wisely Living Well. Each episode presents practical ways to holistically improve one’s life through timeless wisdom of yoga, based on Swami Kriyananda’s book by the same name.
