“You have a great work to do.”
— Paramhansa Yogananda, to the young Swami Kriyananda
Swami Kriyananda met Paramhansa Yogananda in September, 1948, at the age of 22. For the remaining 65 years of his life, he worked tirelessly to bring the Master’s liberating message to the world. In more than 140 books and over 400 songs and other musical compositions, through countless talks, and above all by fulfilling the Guru’s dream of establishing “Word Brotherhood Colonies” where not only monastics but single people and families could live, work, and lead dedicated spiritual lives together, he showed how his Guru’s teachings offer answers for every challenge and dilemma that confront us in the modern world.
In this website, we present the glowing story of the “Great Work” that Yogananda repeatedly commissioned his young disciple to do. In his own words, and in the stories of those who helped create Ananda, we discover how Yogananda’s message has reached countless thousands across the globe through this expression of his divine ray.
Swami Kriyananda — Lightbearer:
The Life & Legacy of a Disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda
The profoundly inspiring story of Swami Kriyananda’s unswerving dedication to his great Master’s cause, as told by Nayaswami Asha. Its 680 pages are packed with insights for the spiritual seeker, offering answers to every spiritual dilemma: how to spiritualize our work and our relationships, secrets of successful leadership, the important role that the arts can play in the spread of new spiritual movements, how to bring spiritual principles into family life, child-raising and education, and much more.
Among Swami Kriyananda’s 140-plus books, this is the most personal. It tells the true, unvarnished story of his dismissal by Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), the organization founded by his Guru, and how in that great tragedy were hidden the seeds of a work that would bring Paramhansa Yogananda’s liberating message to millions.
Conversations With Ananda: How We Serve
In Conversations with Ananda, more than 70 pioneering members of the Ananda communities tell how, by their lives of dedicated service, they helped to transform Paramhansa Yogananda’s cherished dream of “World Brotherhood Colonies” into a living reality. Their stories are an eloquent testimonial to the blessings that attend a life dedicated to serving God’s work.
Swami Kriyananda Stories:
Encounters With a Direct Disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda
Paramhansa Yogananda repeatedly told his disciple Swami Kriyananda, “You have a great work to do.” And while there were aspects of his life that were of tremendous significance for the future of religion, Swamiji also served as a beacon of the light for many thousands of individual souls.
To these friends, Swami Kriyananda was a savior, a divine friend who offered the beams of divine help they particularly needed. And while no one could tell the aggregate saga of his help to so many, they each can testify to the brilliance of that light as it swept through their lives.
“Swami Kriyananda Stories offers many previously untold anecdotes that convey not merely the facts but the feeling of what it was like to be befriended by a great modern teacher who was one with God.” – Nayaswami Asha, author of Swami Kriyananda: LIGHTBEARER, and Swami Kriyananda: As We Have Known Him