Paramahansa Yogananda came to the United States for the first time in 1920. His life and teachings are described in his book, Autobiography of A Yogi, published in 1946, the year I was born! It remains the classic foundation for yoga teachers, practitioners, and students around the world.

In Metaphysical Meditations (page 42) he writes:  "I am no longer the wave of consciousness thinking itself separate from the sea of cosmic consciousness. I am the ocean of Spirit that has become the wave of human life."

Ocean images are vivid and powerful. My son surfs and I am fascinated by the process of sitting on a board and silently waiting for the right wave to rise up and make itself known. This is living meditation. All awareness is focused on the rising and falling of the water, the pulse beat of the ocean. Each wave has its own personality and life force energy. Surfers wait and watch and read the waves, knowing the risks as well as the thrill of becoming a...