Rajarshi Janakananda (James J. Lynn) was one of the foremost disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda. Remarkably, he was also a self-made millionaire, and by today’s standards, he would have been a billionaire from his ownership of multiple corporations.
Rajarshi did not, however, inherit his wealth. It was quite the opposite. He came from a very humble background. As a child, he picked cotton and fruit from his father’s farm and sold them at the market, along with the butter he made from their cows’ milk. He had to stop studying at the age of nine because his father needed him to help support the family.
At 14, Rajarshi worked as a sweeper at a railway station for two dollars an hour. Despite the job’s perceived lack of dignity, he excelled at it. His sincerity and commitment to excellence made him a sought-after worker, even during tough job markets.
At age 16, Rajarshi resumed his high school studies and also began studying law and accounting. He became the youngest Certified Public Accountant to date. And he was admitted to the Bar even before passing the law exam. By the time he was 25, he owned the largest reciprocal fire insurance company in the world.
Rajarshi later, at the age of 40, met his guru (Paramhansa Yogananda) and embraced the spiritual path with the same dedication, dynamism, and excellence that built his business empire. Rajarshi (the spiritual name given him by the guru), soon attained the highest states of divine consciousness and became the spiritual successor of Yogananda’s work.
No matter what he was doing—sweeping the floor, managing a business empire, or soaring in the clear skies of God-consciousness, Rajarshi demonstrated one constant trait: Excellence.
Skillful Action as an Art: Yoga’s Universal Principle
In the Bhagavad Gita (2:50), Sri Krishna says to Arjuna:
One who is united to cosmic wisdom in this life goes beyond virtue and vice. Therefore, devote thy own self to the art of divine union or yoga. Yoga is the art of proper action.
Yogananda explains in his Gita commentaries that proper action alone is done with the consciousness of God.
Not everyone in the world is looking for God, but the Gita, being a true scripture, is universal and applies to all levels of life. A popular interpretation of the same passage is that yoga is the art of working skillfully. Even those not seeking God can strive to do their best in whatever they do. The lives of successful people, materially and spiritually, demonstrate this principle.
Striving for Excellence in Everything
Steve Jobs famously cared about the inside of his products as much as the outside, even if no one would ever see them. He explained, “When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.”
James Garfield, America’s 20th president, worked as a janitor to pay for his college tuition. He did the job conscientiously and without shame. His sincerity, hard work, and conscientiousness led him to become a professor at his college within a year, while still managing his studies. By age 26, he was the dean.
These are only a few examples that show the power of striving for excellence in everything we do. In that striving, we develop qualities like concentration, willpower, perseverance, and determination—all essential for the spiritual path.
Making Excellence a Habit
Whatever job you are in now, I am sure it has mundane elements. Life requires us to do many things that we are not always enthusiastic about—laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.. But, no matter the task placed before us, it behooves us to do it to the best of our ability. How you do anything is how you do everything.
Excellence, when consistently practiced, becomes a habit. I once listened to a talk by a successful army general who said that his secret to success was making the bed each morning. This simple act of excellence set the tone for his day and spilled over into all other aspects of his life. “If you can’t do the little things right, you won’t do the big things right,” he concluded.
Success often starts with the little things. It starts with what we are doing right here, right now. Are we focused? Are we giving our full attention? Are we doing it to the best of our ability?
Offering Your Best to God
As a young monk in his Guru’s ashram, Swami Kriyananda worked on a construction project. One of his brother disciples devoted extra time to a section that no one would see. When asked why, he replied, “God is going to see it.” What a beautiful thought!
Swami Kriyananda wrote an affirmation on work:
I will do my work thinking of Thee Lord. I offer to thee the very best that is in me.
God sees everything you do. The question is—are you offering Him the very best that is in you?
If we can say Yes to that question, moment by moment in everything we do, we will grow spiritually. When we are tempted to cut corners or lower our energy, let’s put out even more effort and energy. Yogananda said that no matter how many times you fail, try just once more. Excellence will come easily if we increase our energy a little more each time we are tempted to hold back.
One of life’s greatest delusions is that the less energy we put out, the happier we feel. The opposite is true. When we put out more energy, we are the most happy because we open ourselves to the flow of God’s energy within us.
I’ll end with a prayer from Swamiji’s Affirmations:
Beloved Lord, who so wonderfully created the high, snowy mountains; the bounding rivers; the colorful, fragrant flowers; the vast, heaving oceans; and the distant, glittering stars: Manifest, through me, Thy perfect joy. – Affirmations for Self-Healing
Do not wait to achieve excellence in your work. Choose excellence NOW. Do not wait to think of God. Think of Him NOW. Give your best to whatever you are doing NOW. Then you will find that He can manifest in you, His perfect JOY!
Tyagi Shivendra
Tyagi Shivendra is a Kriyaban and an Ananda meditation teacher, serving full-time at Ananda Delhi. He leads meditations, classes, kirtans, and other spiritual activities. Beyond the ashram, he works with corporations, schools, and universities to promote holistic well-being. A graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce, he has founded and supported ventures across education, retail, and technology. He blogs on various online platforms and is dedicated to sharing Yogananda’s teachings with all truth-seeking souls.
