Asha Praver, whose spiritual first name means "hope" in Sanskrit, arrived at the original Ananda community shortly after it was started in the late 1960s. She soon started working as a secretary and, in later years, became one of Ananda's most eloquent and inspiring ministers and teachers. Asha's earthy humor, sympathetic understanding, loyalty, and tireless service have won her high respect among those who know her, whether they're following a spiritual path or not.
Background
In 1971, at the age of 24, Asha Praver joined the then
fledging Ananda Community near Grass Valley,
California. Now, 32 years later, she and her husband
David have helped found and direct the largest urban
cooperative living venture in the country. Asha has
dedicated her life to the quest for Self-realization
through the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and the
practice of Kriya Yoga.
Random Quotes
Sometimes people embrace the idea of "loving unconditionally"
simply because they're weak, and they're afraid of dealing with
the truth as it is. Or they're simply afraid. So they don't really
love unconditionally; they're simply accepting things as they are
because they don't know how to go about influencing the situation.
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Money represents, among many other things, freedom and security
for people. In the spiritual world, it can be a very complex
issue. On the one hand, you find a few true renunciates who are
genuinely beyond the material sphere. But then you find people
who are afraid to put out the energy to make money, and who try to
"renounce" what they don't even yet possess.
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Humor is spiritual because laughing shows the ability to detach
from life, to realize that life is just like "froth on a wave."
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The test then becomes, "Do I trust my own experience?" Sometimes
deep seated fears and memories of past disillusionments have to be
faced and resolved before the question can be answered. It’s not
always easy. That’s why Divine Mother sends us a test like this.
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Ours is a path of Self-realization. We don’t have the safety net
of a powerful organization or a dogmatic theology to protect us
from hard questions. We’ll share with you the confidence we have
in our experience, but ultimately each one of you has to decide
for yourself what is true.
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On marriage: The first marriage has to be a marriage to Truth. Better to be
lonely and living according to the truth than to be living with
someone who will take you away from it; you have to come to terms
with this or you will be trying to fit the truth to what you want
it to be . . . The purpose for marriage is for self-knowledge
and self-growth; and if that purpose is fulfilled, then the
relationship will be fulfilled . . . Your wedding is an agreement
to make a marriage; marriage is not a solution; it's the beginning
of a challenge, a process. The process is to create not one person
out of 2 people, but 2 people out of 2 people . . . If you decide
to be unhappy, no one in this world can make you happy, and vice
versa. It's a personal decision. If you feel unhappy in a marriage,
it's not your spouse's fault; you have to take total responsibility
for your own state of mind . . . A marriage contract is only a
social agreement until we make it sacred by the consciousness we
put into it.
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