Greg Dewey

It can be said of any serious devotee on this path that we’re born to find Master and live our lives as he taught. I came pretty close from the beginning. I was born in 1956 in a hospital two blocks away from the SRF Hollywood Temple. At the time, Swami Kriyananda was the main minister, but it took quite a few years for me to come full circle.

I tried almost everything life had to offer in the ‘70s. In 1976, seizing an opportunity to move to the Bay Area, I arrived with the intention of starting a new life with meaning and purpose. Always having believed in Jesus, I had tried reading the Bible, but found it difficult to follow. So I began praying desperately for something that would help me understand its message. A short while later I found Autobiography of a Yogi in a college bookstore. Not far into the book, I knew this was for me, that I was reading the truth. Right away I wanted to learn all I could about it, do everything he recommended, be a disciple, learn Kriya, do yoga, everything.

Of course, knowing what to do and being able to do it don’t always go together, and this was one of those times. I sent away for the SRF lessons and went looking for Yogananda’s other books. Walking into Shambala bookstore in Berkeley, past rows of conspicuous fluorescent displays of commercial bestsellers, I headed straight for the section on religion. The store had numerous books of Yogananda’s and I bought several, along with Kriyananda’s autobiography, The Path. But taking my books back home with me wasn’t enough to hold my will power. Deeply involved with friends that had other things on their minds, the phenomena of the "environment is stronger than will" set in fast.

Although always keeping the books on a shelf, no matter where I lived, another 12 years went by knowing I wanted to follow this path but not being able to do it on my own. No matter what else I was doing, I wondered, how much longer can I put this off; and when are you really going to get serious?

Then one day in 1988 at a library, I spotted a Palo Alto ad for Ananda. Recognizing Kriyananda’s name, I decided to check it out. I went to service that Sunday and took meditation classes in the weeks that followed. I began meditating in the evening, but since I had to be at work by 5 am, I found it hard to keep up. Master teaches us to meditate twice each day, so I took that quite literally and spun the issue around in my head. Should I quit my job? What would I do? And how was I going to change a home environment that didn’t support my sadhana? Living with a friend and two children who had no reference for spiritual practices, once again, my environment became stronger than my will.

Little by little, the seed thought that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do (practice energization, meditation and so on) weighed on me, day by day. I fell into a depression until I hit bottom. By October ‘91, my world was a hopeless, unpleasant place to wander. But somewhere deep inside, I knew where to go to fix it—Ananda, Palo Alto. I went back to Sunday service.

That particular Sunday there happened to be a discipleship initiation. In the instant that David Praver asked the disciples to come up front for initiation, something snapped in my brain. I knew I had to become a disciple. After the initiation that day, I sat through the Festival of Light, tears rolling down my cheeks. And I knew I would become a disciple, no matter what it took.

That next Tuesday, I went to the church which was then located at 299 California Avenue and spoke with one of the ministers, telling her I had to join the church right away. She told me about the community and I asked where it was. Going right over there, I asked the manager, "Can I move in now?" He said there were no openings, and my heart sank like a stone, but he promised to let me know when something became available. A week later, he phoned and I moved in December 1, 1991. The very minor fact that I had no job at that moment and not enough money to pay the rent didn’t seem to matter to me. A calmness came with my decision, and within two weeks of moving in I had a job.

From then on I have been an example of why Yogananda wanted to bring communities to the West. The community spirit has elevated me to where I could meditate twice a day, energize, and be with people who helped me keep at it. And becoming a disciple, I went on to take Kriya and realize a fifteen-year dream.

Life was beginning to be a joy. My work at a firm in Silicon Valley, in their shipping and receiving department, was going well. It was a quiet job, well out of the public way, and I liked it for just that reason. On my way to talk to David Praver one afternoon, I felt certain he would suggest that I work at BookBuyers. Never, I thought to myself—not out there in front of people all day. No way! I listened to him politely, waiting for my chance to tell him nicely that it wasn’t for me. But when David finished explaining the job, I blurted out, "OK, I’ll do it!" I couldn’t have been more surprised. It must have been that first meditation class I took where Swami recommends saying "YES" to life. After that, saying, "YES" got easier. Four months ago, I started at East-West Bookstore, right up at the front desk, of course.

Marriage has also expanded my perspective. Being with Kristy has taught me to be more aware of what others are thinking, feeling and needing.

We are both serving in different ways, so we don’t actually work physically together. But the gentle behind-the-scenes support, always there, is irreplaceable. It comes from having a common goal: God first. It frees us from making too many demands on each other and allows far more freedom than is traditional in our society. Often we don’t even sit together at events, but we are united in our higher purpose, and up there it’s easier to transcend divisive needs, wants and desires.

Our relationship is not so much about us, as about God and helping others find what they are longing for. And because Kristy and I built our marriage on a strong foundation of friendship, working together as disciples is very fulfilling. It took me a long while, but I’ve found my real home again in God, and Kristy is my closest ally in walking the path that leads back to Him.