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A letter from Kriyananda
What
Ananda offers
Teachers in our tradition
The Teachings
Suggestions
for first-timers
Suggested reading
About Ananda & SRF
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Ananda is one of many paths that lead to Self-realization (enlightenment, self-discovery, etc.) We acknowledge all paths and saints and sages of all religions. We are guided along our path by the teachings and examples of Paramhansa Yogananda and his disciple Swami Kriyananda. We invite you to join us for as short or as long a journey as you wish. View video of the Sangha (RealPlayer required).
Dear Friends,
One of the sweetest aspects of life at Ananda Sangha is the opportunity it gives for sharing with others the joy of a meaningful existence. Ananda, a Sanskrit word, means, “Divine Bliss” and Sangha is a Sanskrit that means “fellowship.” The teaching at Ananda emphasizes direct inner experience of God, and not abstract concepts about Him. We emphasize truths that vibrate at the heart of every great religion. For the essential message of all of them is the same: that every soul must seek inward upliftment and Self-realization.
The teaching at Ananda is a harmonious blend of Western and Eastern spiritual disciplines, placing special emphasis on the ancient, but truly scientific, teachings of yoga from India. Ananda's teachings are those of Paramhansa Yogananda. The basis of this teaching is universal. No matter what people's backgrounds, they receive life-changing benefits from coming here. They are of all ages, all religions, and all walks of life. Ananda is more than a physical location. It is a state of mind: the consciousness of inner joy. It is an awareness of the presence of God in every moment of one's life.
All who share our spiritual ideals belong, in fact, to our spiritual community even if they never come to Ananda. Most of those who do come find a special peace and joy from their experience here. The change they experience in themselves touches the lives also of their family members and friends.
Swami Kriyananda,
Ananda's founder
What Ananda offers
At Ananda you can learn how to:
- Meditate effectively, and integrate meditation into your daily life
- Integrate spirituality with your work and personal life, so it becomes a deep and real part of you—not just something you do once a week.
- Increase your level of energy and enthusiasm
- Heal yourself, and be less dependent on outer methods of healing, which seek rather to kill diseases than to increase your inner strength to overcome the
- Relax and strengthen your body and mind through Yogananda's energization exercises and the Ananda system of yoga posture
- Practice Kriya Yoga as taught by Yogananda.
- Focus your mind & energy as tools for self-transformation
- Develop intuition and use it to make important life decisions
- Harmonize your interaction with others
- Open your heart to God's love through inspiration and music
- Calm and clarify the mind
Spiritual Teachers in our Tradition
At Ananda you can learn and experience the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. Yogananda (1893-1952) was the first great Indian master of yoga whose mission it was to live and teach in the West. He stressed the unity of all religions, with a special emphasis on the teachings of India and what he called the “original teachings” of Christ. To help people commune directly with God, he re-introduced the ancient meditation technique of Kriya Yoga. His classic book, Autobiography of a Yogi, helped start and continues to sustain the current spiritual renaissance in the West. Yogananda's teachings and continuing spiritual presence are the foundation of Ananda. Yogananda's spiritual teacher (guru) and his line of gurus, including Jesus Christ, are a part of our path.
Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters) (1926- ), Ananda's founder, is a direct disciple (since 1948) of Paramhansa Yogananda. He is a prolific writer and composer, speaks nine languages, and travels the world lecturing and teaching. He has initiated thousands of people into Kriya Yoga. In The Path—One Man's Quest on the Only Path There Is, Kriyananda describes his own search for meaning, and his years of training with his guru, Paramhansa Yogananda. Visit a web site about Swami Kriyananda.
Audio/video talks by Kriyananda are available for your listening and viewing pleasure. These include Sunday Service talks, talks given on cable TV shows, and thirteen New Dawn Radio shows.
When not traveling, Kriyananda lives at Ananda Village in California or at Ananda Assisi in Italy. The guiding presence of this direct disciple gives Ananda its power and unique creative spirit. Kriyananda retired from the role of spiritual leader in 1998 to spend more time writing, composing, and lecturing. Long-time members Jyotish and Devi Novak serve in that position today. Ananda includes spiritual communities in America and Europe with hundreds of resident members.
Ananda's ministers at the Palo Alto Colony have many years of experience teaching and living these principles. They have been guided and trained by Ananda's founder, Swami Kriyananda. The ministers teach classes, minister to those in need, and perform religious services. Sunday Service talks may be viewed and listened to on-line.
The Teachings
Your religion is not the garb you wear outwardly, the thoughts and beliefs in which you enclose yourself. Your religion is the garment of light you weave around your heart.
—Paramhansa Yogananda
Direct Inner Experience
Religion must be kept simple: Divine Love and our need for direct, personal experience of that love.
—Swami Kriyananda
The purpose of life is to find God. This is the simple truth upon which the Ananda Sangha of Self-Realization is based.
Many churches emphasize dogma and belief. Yogananda spoke instead of the need for direct experience of God. Meditation, he said, is the missing ingredient in most religious practices. He used the word church, not only for its obvious outer meaning, but also as Jesus used it, to refer to the inner temple of divine consciousness. Ananda Sangha (joyful fellowship) is based on the practice of meditation, especially Kriya Yoga, an ancient technique that was re-introduced to the West through Yogananda and his line of gurus. “I wasn't sent to the West by Christ and the great masters of India to dogmatize you with a new theology,” Yogananda said. “[I was sent] to teach you the science of Kriya Yoga, that people might learn how to commune with God directly.”
Unity of All Religions
Part of Yogananda's mission was to demonstrate the underlying unity between the teachings of India as expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, and the original teachings of Jesus as presented in the Bible. Yogananda showed that all religions are rooted in the same essential truth. “Self-realization has come,” Yogananda said, “to unite all religions.” He didn't mean to unite them under a new denominational banner. His words have profound inner meaning: the individual quest for Self-realization is the unity behind all religions. In defining what a church of Self-realization should be, Yogananda said, “Instead of peddling untested dogmas and urging people to 'Believe — believe!', the churches should convert their premises into Universities of Living, where experiments are conducted in how to find the true fulfillment in life all people seek.”Instead of gathering in God's name theoretically, people need to come together with the firm purpose of invoking His living presence in the Temple of Meditation.“ Although Ananda is dedicated to a particular ray of the divine, the nature of that ray is to see God in all. Ananda is a sanctuary for all truth seekers, a place for everyone to come to experience God.
A Way of Life
Worship is only one aspect of Ananda Sangha in Palo Alto. Yogananda taught a practical balance between outward and inward activity. “One must be actively calm and calmly active,” he said. “When along with meditation you offer your work to God, then meditation helps your work and work helps your meditation.” To strengthen the devotee in his efforts to realize God, Yogananda encouraged people of like mind to join together in what he called “world-brotherhood colonies,” demonstrating by their example “that simplicity of living plus high thinking lead to the greatest happiness.” He said these colonies would be the “social pattern of the future.”
In 1989, the Ananda Palo Alto Community was founded, inspired by Yogananda's ideals. A 72-unit apartment complex, on 5 acres of land, right on the Mountain View-Palo Alto border, was converted from its conventional use into an intentional spiritual community. This community now includes more than 100 adults and 20 children. Not everyone in the Sangha chooses to live in the community, but it is available as an option for members, and allows people to live and meditate together in an environment supportive of spiritual practices. Ananda also operates several businesses in the area, including East West Bookshop, one of the best known metaphysical bookstores in the country. Living Wisdom School provides an education for life for children, pre-school through eighth grade, as well as a popular summer theater arts program.
The Light Is Expanding
Ananda is not a static organization, but a dynamic, growing, ever-changing opportunity for individual attunement and expression. Everything that is now Ananda Palo Alto has been brought forth by the grace of God and the dedicated efforts of the people you will meet when you visit. Although Ananda has been a presence on the Peninsula since 1980, the community, school, and the beautiful mission-style church building on El Camino Real in Palo Alto are relatively recent developments.
An International Movement
The headquarters and main community, Ananda World Brotherhood Village, is located near Nevada City, California. It was founded in 1968, with a handful of people and 72 acres of land. Now it is home to some 300 adults and more than 100 children, sharing 900 acres. It is from there that a worldwide network of meditation groups and individual devotees are guided and inspired. There are homes, schools, businesses, and a year-round retreat called The Expanding Light. The Ananda Institute of Alternative Living is a small 4-year spiritual college with a holistic Education for Life approach to higher education. Ananda sanctuaries and communities are established in Palo Alto (California), Seattle (Washington), Portland (Oregon), Sacramento (California), Hopkinton (Rhode Island), and Assisi (Italy). An ashram as been established in New Delhi, India. Meditation centers and groups meet regularly not only in North America, but also in many European countries, including Russia and Croatia, and in Australia, Japan, India, and Africa.
Suggestions for First-Timers
If you're wondering where to begin, here are a few favorites to recommend:
•Meditation I is ideal for beginners, taking you step by step through sitting comfortably, calming the mind, and learning how to access your own inner peace and strength. A four-week series begins the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm. Cost: $50.
•Every Friday evening, people get together for a few hours of chanting, interspersed with short periods of meditation. Chanting is usually in English, and you'll have the words so you can sing along. Most chants involve repetition of a simple phrase, to help deepen devotion and feeling in the heart. It's a lively, fun evening, and you'll feel welcome and involved from your very first time. 7:30 pm, free..
• Sunday morning inspirational services begin at 10:00 am, and combine music, prayer, meditation, and a sermon based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. The Bible and the Bhagavad Gita are the guiding scriptures. Free.
Suggested Reading
Books
Note: These books may be ordered from the East West Bookshop.
The Path: One Man's Quest on the Only Path There Is by J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda)
The fascinating story of J. Donald Walter's search for truth. Gradually he realized that lasting human happiness comes not from outer success, but from deepening spiritual awareness. Eventually his searching led him to become the disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. Most of the book describes his life and spiritual training as a close disciple of Yogananda. Filled with practical advice for anyone interested in the search for Self-realization, and an inspiring guide to walking the spiritual path no matter what tradition you may follow.
Autobiography of a Yogi, First Edition by Paramhansa Yogananda
In a most entertaining and absorbing way, Yogananda introduces the basic truths of Self-realization through the story of his own spiritual quest, his experiences with saints and sages of India, and his years of training with his guru, Sri Yukteswar.
The Essence of Self-Realization—The Wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda by Kriyananda
A compilation by Swami Kriyananda of his guru's words as he heard, remembered and recorded them. Its chapters cover all the essentials of spiritual life, including karma, reincarnation, grace, the need for a guru, meditation, prayer, and more.
How to Meditate by John Novak
A thorough, concise, step-by-step guide to the art and science of meditation. Complete with photos and illustrations, the book is an aid to calmness, increased vitality, clarity of mind, and ultimately, inner communion with God. You'll hear about techniques for relaxing body and mind; how to develop devotion and intuition; secrets of the spinal centers, chakras and energy exercises; and yoga philosophy from Patanjali's Eightfold Path.
Reflections on Living—30 Years in a Spiritual Community by Sara Cryer
Filled with inspiring stories about the search for enlightenment, this book takes the great wave of Eastern thought that has permeated our culture and puts it into practical, every day reality. A close-up look at life in the early days of creating America's first spiritual community dedicated to yoga and the search for the Divine. Long-time members of Ananda Village discuss monastic living; householders; children and education; relationships; and living one's life for God. With triumphs, disappointments, laughter, warmth, clarity and humility, these stories give the reader a glimpse of what it is like to create an environment dedicated to living the teachings of yoga and to finding God.
Testimonials
“You have given me a most precious gift—you taught me how to meditate! The gifts and blessings from meditation have made my cup of love and gratitude runneth over.”
—J.R.
“Words cannot truly express how welcome we felt at our first Sunday Service. Many people made an effort to speak with us or smile at us with such warmth and sincerity that we felt comfortable right away. Within a few weeks we knew we had found our spiritual family.”
—W.W.
“Gradually, the Ananda teachings are seeping into the crevices of my being. Like rain on hard ground, one or two showers does little more than shock one into the possibility of a more alive state. However, the steady stream of teachings permeates my parched and hardened ground and after two years I perceive a subtle shift—a little softer, a little more receptive. How grateful I am!!”
—F.A.
“For three years I had been searching intensely for a place of worship, a place where I could express and develop my spirit. Along the way I found some peace in a service here, a yoga class there, or a great spiritual book, and I thought these were God's answers to my seeking. Then I started coming to Ananda and more and more deeply I am realizing how, just as I've seen quoted, God has given my so much more than I ever would have prayed for. I am finding answers to questions I have asked for decades. Thank you for shining your lovelight like a lighthouse guiding me home.”
—S.M.
“Even with the eagle eye that I have for the shadow side of any community or organization, I lovingly admit that this is one that does practice what it preaches in its respect for individual spiritual freedom, and the diversity of paths to the One.”
—M.S.
“It always surprises me to experience the specialness of every contact I have with people and events connected with this path.”
—M.C.
Articles
Practical Spirituality from a Western Swami - reprinted by permission - from Body Mind Spirit, February - March 1995, by Katherine S. Diehl
Philosophical discussion with Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters) and the author.
A City of Light in Silicon Valley - reprinted from Well-Being Journal 1990, by Kathleen Lawson
All about community living in Mountain View.
On the Path - reprinted from Common Ground Autumn 1991
Learn how Asha Praver, co-director of Ananda, Palo Alto, discovered her spiritual path.
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
A brief history of East West Bookshop and its owner/operators.
The Power of Symbolism by Swami Kriyananda
An excerpt from Kriyananda's latest book, The Hindu Way of Awakening.
Live as the Masters Live from a Sunday Morning Worship talk by Asha Praver
An inspiring story of a creative act illustrating that “what we do today becomes what we will be doing tomorrow.”
About Ananda and SRF
About Ananda and Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF): Both Ananda and SRF promote Yogananda's teachings; each in their own way.
How to contact us
For classes/seminars/workshops call 650/323-3363 or send e-mail to
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