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ArticlesInspiration is a key to well-being |
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Practical Spirituality from a Western Swami A City of Light in Silicon Valley New Home for East-West Bookstore; Ananda Community helps turn Mtn. View area into 'book mecca'
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Practical Spirituality from a Western Swami - reprinted from Body Mind Spirit, February - March 1995, by Katherine S. Diehl Elegant desserts piled high on a table, glazed, frosted, fruits and chocolate-bedecked, caught the Swami’s eye. Reaching over with ease, he flipped a curl of chocolate on to his fingers. He popped the chocolate into his mouth and we continued the interview in his suite. It was a simple, playful act, but most memorable. I had gazed at those desserts for long moments, awaiting Swami Sri Kriyananda’s arrival. I imagined eating them, had almost longed for them. Then I ate a tiny salad. My host, who in his dark business suit and neatly cropped gray hair looked more like his given name, J. Donald Walters, put it all into perspective, almost like a Zen master, when with a flip of his fingers, he celebrated the reality of chocolate. As author of 40 books, lecturer, composer, playwright, philosopher, guru and ashram-founder, Kriyananda-Donald Walters gets a lot of respect. He was a disciple of the well known guru Paramhansa Yogananda, most famous for his Autobiography of a Yogi. Donald Walters hopped a bus 46 years ago after reading that book, and stayed with Yogananda for three and a half years, until the master’s death. Eventually he left Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship and founded the Ananda World Brotherhood Village near Nevada City, California. It is considered one of the most flourishing of spiritual communities. His new book, Secrets of Life, is a collection of sayings on a range of topics, including happiness inner peace, leadership, winning people to your ideas, self-acceptance, and emotional healing. It sounds like a simplistic book. It is not. For instance, a paragraph in a chapter on prosperity: “Diversify not only your financial investments, as monetary counselors advise, but more importantly your investments of energy. Cultivate ever-fresh ideas, fresh interests, fresh relationships-fresh reasons, above all, for enjoying life.” Like a bite of chocolate. Or speaking with J. Donald Walters: What is your theory of spirituality? Is there a divinity within all of us? Describe your spiritual evolution, please. So how have you refined yours?? Why what? How did you ask the question “Why?” Did you find any answers? How does cultivating good qualities help in finding God? A City of Light in Silicon Valley - reprinted from Well-Being Journal 1990, by Kathleen Lawson Imagine a place where people live to find joy and inspiration and where they want to share their inspiration with others; a place where getting ahead in life is understood in terms of inner, self-development...expanded understanding and awareness. J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda) It’s been fashionable to split from ties that bind to live separately, independently and autonomously. By turning away from established modes of living, we’ve met challenges and set trends. We’ve found ourselves, lost ourselves, and searched for other selves. In embracing self-sufficiency, we’ve often discovered isolation and loneliness. And now many of us who once set out to be one in ourselves are exploring ways to live with others in sustaining peace, harmony and joy. In a quiet neighborhood surrounded by fast-paced glitz and glamour, a group of earnest and determined people have formed a community of fellowship which may become a model of concordant lifestyle for this decade. From the heart of Silicon Valley, the Ananda Community is emerging as a model of “right living” for others to follow. It may seem unlikely to find a group of people-dedicated to living quietly in spiritual harmony-blossoming in an area that reverberates from high technology. It looks, however, like a natural match. In fact, the pioneering residents of Ananda Community, located on five acres which border Mountain View and Palo Alto, are surprised to see how fast spiritual values and a sense of well-being can take root amid the uproar of urban life. Ananda Community is a close-knit group of people. “It’s a community of like-minded people who have chosen to live together, to share friendship, and a common spiritual direction,” said David Praver, community co-director. It is not a separatist collective that rejects technological advances. Its uniqueness stems from the intention of its members to come together in a mutually focused fellowship while retaining privacy of the home and remaining fully integrated within society. Most of the residents have met each other through Ananda Church of Self-Realization in Palo Alto. The average age of community members is 40, but people from their early 20’s to mid-60’s have chosen to settle in the community as well. Church and Community Co-Director Asha Praver said it was obvious how lonely people felt living scattered around the valley. Ananda Community was the practical way they could live close together, setup their own projects, and centralize social activities as an extension of their church. According to Asha, the values and needs they’re seeking aren’t much different from those of anyone else. Ananda Community is not a one-of-a-kind experiment. It is a branch of Ananda World Brotherhood Village located near Grass Valley. That community, founded 20 years ago, is widely recognized as one of the most successful intentional communities in the world. In addition to Palo Alto, Ananda also has urban teaching centers and smaller communities in Seattle, Sacramento, and Portland, and another rural community in Assisi, Italy. Ananda Communities take their inspiration from Cities of Light written by J. Donald Walters. The book puts into practical terms the ideas that are found in the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, an Indian Yogi who traveled and lectured throughout the United States in the 1920’s. In 1925 he established the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles. Yogananda came, he said, not to Indianize Americans, but to awaken the spirituality of the West through inner communion with God. Mr. Walters, also known as Swami Kriyananda, is a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and is the founder and spiritual director of Ananda World Brotherhood Village. Cities of Light is his expression of a new monastic order, a new style of religious life. In an Ananda Community, monastic life doesn’t mean giving up family, withdrawing from the world, or living in great austerity. On the contrary, it is expansive and creative. It emphasizes spiritual values, family and relationships, productivity in business, and communication. Although Ananda Communities serve Ananda Church members, residents are aware of the broad implications their communities have on our society. These communities are models for living and are meant to encourage other groups to form their own communities of spiritual purpose and friendship. A model community doesn’t just happen. It takes planning and hard work according to Asha and David Praver who explained how the new Palo Alto community got started. Asha and David are both ministers of Ananda Church of Self-Realization and have practiced the teachings of the Self-Realization for 20 years. They both lived at the Ananda World Brotherhood Village before relocating to the Ananda Church of Palo Alto in January 1987. With them they brought a vision of what was possible-a community of people dedicated to high ideals and a spirit of cooperation. From the time they first arrived, they thought of creating a community in the San Francisco Bay Area. The search for a suitable site began a year before it was found. After looking at many properties, the Ananda members found an old apartment complex on five acres of land on a quiet street in 1989. The complex was in need of repair and the landscape was worn out, but it met their basic criteria. The central complex is laid out in a horseshoe. There is a green lawn in the center with an adjacent small pool and community room. The layout gives the impression of a college campus. It encourages people to come out and get together. The apartments are simple. They have large windows that admit a lot of light, and reflect comfortable living for families with children, married couples, and single people. The buildings are being renovated to serve the needs of each household. The largest living space includes a large living area with an adjoining kitchen, and two upstairs bedrooms. Other variations include a one-bedroom apartment and a small studio arrangement. Some basic renovations are being done by the group as a whole. Beyond that, members may do additional renovation at their own expense. The complex has 72 units. All of them are currently occupied by Ananda Community members: 100 residents in all, including 12 children. Community members pay rent every month. They also contribute $S0 per adult each month to cover rent on common areas such as the chapel and community room. This money also goes to help support some of the resident staff, toward improving and beautifying the community areas, and for special projects such as building a meditation garden. The construction work inside and outside the buildings is shared among community members and has been guided by Ananda Builders Guild, a business privately owned by community members. The relationship between the Ananda Community and Ananda Church of Self-Realization recognizes a subtle distinction between public life and the need for privacy. Ananda Church serves the community at large by holding classes on general topics as well as specialized topics for people who wish to be initiated into the teachings of Self-Realization. Ananda Church is a formal expression of the principles being applied to daily life at Ananda Community. The community is where relationships between people are enriched through meditation, service, and social activities. One studio is set aside for worship and meditation. The chapel, where members attended hourly guided meditations between 5am and 8am daily, is simply decorated. David Praver explained that Self-Realization is a “positive practice of religion that blends mystical Christianity with the meditation tradition of the East.” Another project underway is what they call the “Ananda Diners Club.” Every weeknight, a vegetarian dinner is served in the community room. Community members who wish to join in pay a small amount per meal and also take a turn at cooking or cleaning two or three times a month. It provides the perfect opportunity for people to get together afterward, and it eases the burden of each person having to cook every night. Dinners are also a time when church members and friends of the community who are not residents can share in the community life. Other activities are planned on an on-going basis to help nonresident friends feel welcome and part of the community. JoAnn and David Steinmetz moved to Ananda Community in October 1989. They have been affiliated with Ananda for over a decade. David, an optical engineer, said, “Since we’ve been living in the community, we’ve had more ways to serve others, work with others, and participate in church activities.” JoAnn, who is completing her credential as a family and marriage counselor, said, “It’s just a lot of fun.” Ananda leadership is shared between spiritual and managerial concerns. All Ananda Church ministers live in the community. They work and participate in all activities just like other members. David Praver explained that the role of ministers in the community is to help make sure that decisions always first take into account the needs and welfare of individuals, not only what’s most expedient or least expensive. Leadership at Ananda Community does not have any predetermined structure. It grows from the mix of personalities. Ideally members take on responsibilities and participate in decisions so that authority is self-directed as much as possible. The community manager oversees the practical manners of running the complex- from finances to the recycling program. All funds are spent in accordance with community decisions. Only two resident ministers receive salaries to manage and maintain the apartments. Most residents work at regular jobs locally. They are encouraged to establish their own businesses, and two businesses are already associated with the community: East West Bookshop and Bookbuyers. The businesses contribute to the prosperity of Ananda Community on a monthly basis as do individual members. There is still room for people to join Ananda Community of Palo Alto. Although a potential resident does not need to be an initiated disciple of the teachings of Self-Realization, the resident must be a member of Ananda Church and show a commitment to monastic living as described in Cities of Light. As we face a shifting structure of world order, we have choices for our own style of living. The Ananda Community may be pointing the way to a workable alternative which can be adapted to meet the individual needs of many. For information about the Community you may contact Haridas Blake or Rick Bonin at (650) 941-9507. Back to Community Living.
Asha Praver, with her husband David, is a minister and co-director of the Ananda Church of God-Realization and the Ananda Community in Palo Alto (Spiritual Practices). I didn’t know I was looking for a spiritual life. I just knew that nothing seemed to interest or satisfy me for very long. My brief attempts to study philosophy left me more confused. I wanted to know about truth and the way to happiness. My professors were fascinated by mere opinion. Their goal was to catalogue other peoples ideas. I wanted to commit myself to something that would actually work. Then I found a book based on the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita. For the first time an author spoke simply and convincingly of what mattered to me: happiness comes when you forget yourself in the act of giving to others; your today is the result of yesterday, your tomorrow is determined by what you are doing now; cast out fear and love will take its place. For the next five years I read books, eventually focusing exclusively on the lives of sages and saints. I wanted to know not merely what people believed, but how they were able to live it. The contrast between my ideals and my way of life was painful to me. Yet I found no workable alternative. I became increasingly desperate. Then, in 1970, a door opened and I met Kriyananda. The first time I heard him speak the thought came quite spontaneously, “This man is a true teacher.” He spoke of his own guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, whose book, Autobiography of a Yogi, I had read years before. Quickly I found my copy, and whereas I hadn’t connected with Yogananda the first time through, now with the example of Kriyananda before me, I felt a disciple’s commitment to Yogananda’s ray. A short time later I went to Ananda Village, the community Kriyananda had founded near Grass Valley, California. As soon as I stood on the property-which was little more than barren land at that time-I felt inside, “This place is true.” I didn’t know what “this place” was, but it had an unmistakable integrity that deeply attracted me. Soon the overwhelming desire to learn from Kriyananda and the people he had trained, cast out all other considerations. I liquidated my few material possessions and threw my lot in with those founding members of this spiritual community called Ananda. From that point on I never doubted and I never looked back. The Ananda lifestyle is not outwardly radical. Changing consciousness changes everything else. Form then becomes less important. It was the grounded, practicality of Ananda spirituality that attracted me from the start and still effortlessly commands my enthusiasm and loyalty. After 16 years in the rural community Kriyananda asked my husband David and me to move to the Bay Area to develop our church and teaching center here. Since 1987, this has been our home. Now we have established an Ananda Community here as well, to help people understand how joyful life can become if we put God first. New Home for East-West Bookstore; Ananda Community helps turn Mtn. View area into ‘book mecca’ - reprinted from San Francisco Chronicle Peninsula, October 20, 1995, by David A. Sylvester For those who remember the cramped shelves and rooms of East West Bookstore in Menlo Park, the new quarters at 924 Castro Street in Mountain View may come as a surprise. The shelves are open enough to allow books to face forward, the room is large enough for a reading area and a waterfall shaped from black rocks and topped by a statue of Buddha. “It’s finally manifesting the way we’ve always seen it,” said Norman Snitkin, the store’s co-manager. “We felt we weren’t serving people properly.” Over the past 15 years in Menlo Park, East-West Bookstore has evolved into something of an institution for New Age spiritual seekers. Operated by the Ananda Church, it has provided a meeting place for those interested in the realms beyond, whether that means UFOs, psychics or Christian saints. Last week, it moved into the 7,500 square foot store formerly occupied by Central Stationers. Within the week, sales have increased 25 percent, Snitkin said. “They have a real following,” said Barney Burke, assistant economic development manager for Mountain View, who helped find the space for East. West. “We’re just ecstatic to have them here.” The expansion of East West is only the most visible evidence of how the Ananda Community has flourished since 1980 in the Peninsula. It started as an offshoot of the Ananda Village in Nevada City, founded in 11969 by J. Donald Walters, a disciple of the Indian yoga teacher Paramhansa Yogananda. Walters, who took the monastic name of Sri Krlyananda, had learned Yogananda’s interpretation of Chrlstianity and his methods of self-discovery through meditation and yoga. Walters put the teachings into practice in his “World Brotherhood Villages,” where members could work and meditate together. In the 1970s, Walters had developed the habit of dropping by East-West to chat with the owner on his way to visit his parents in Atherton. When the owners decided to sell, she turned it over to Walter’s Ananda Community to operate. Snitkin said the members were not sure how to run a bookstore and asked Walters for advice. He said only: “Love your customers, Learn from them.” The staff members started their practice of meditating before the doors opened and then followed the customers’ suggestions about what to buy. In addition, they invited guest speakers to the bookstore and advertised classes taught at the group’s house in Atherton. “The bookstore gave us a reason to be here,” said Asha Praver, a co-director of the community. “The business itself was a good service.” The bookstore also attracted new members to Ananda. Nancy Kendall remembers dropping by East-West to pick up new books and attend lectures on spirituality. A former Presbyterian, she had grown tired of “Churchianity” and was soon attracted to the Ananda Church. “The thing that struck me most was that it was all so real,” Kendall remembered. “Everybody was there because they love God and want to grow and become better people.” Kendall, now 55, sold her hose in Millbrae and moved with her daughter into the community’s 72 unit apartment complex when it was purchased in1989. “It’s wonderful to live with your friends,” she said. “Everybody takes care of everyone else.” In the past six years, Ananda has become a thriving alternative community along the lines Walters envisioned. Some of its members work in its businesses, such as Book Buyers, a used book store on Castro Street directly across from East West, some at Builders’ Guild, a construction company, or at the elementary school in Palo Alto. Members live in the apartment complex and attend services at a former Roman Catholic church in Palo Alto that Ananda purchased last year for $2 million. “We’re all sharing in a love of God,” said Stephanie Rofinot, 31, who left a career as an electrical engineer to work at East-West. “I got along just fine in the corporate world, but I just didn’t feel satisfied.” Rofinot said that she had wanted to work as an engineer ever since high school, but that when she finally reached her goal, she looked at her managers and saw how restless and unhappy they were. Her goals changed, she said, after taking meditation classes at Ananda. She gave up more than half her salary and vacations in Hawaii to work behind the front desk at the bookstore. “We’ve created a job that allows us to work together,” she said. East-West joins three other bookstores on Castro Street, including the popular Printer’s Inc., creating what Snitkin calls “a book mecca.” The bookstores are not direct competitors, because Printer’s Inc. carries the most recent best sellers as well as a range of general books, whereas Book Buyers deals exclusively in used books and East West’s stock includes only metaphysical books. “You lose a little sale, but we gain in the whole magnetism of the area,” said Snitkin. After 15 years in the hands of Ananda, East-West is now doing about $1 million a year in business, Snitkin said. Yet its staff still meditates and prays for its customers every day before it opens. “We think of these books as doorways to the infinite,” said Snitkin. How to contact usFor classes/seminars/workshops call 650/323-3363 or send e-mail to |
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