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  David James serves as manager of the Ananda community in Mountain View, California. Still active as a martial arts instructor at age 50, he recounts the events that led him to the path of Self-realization. Q: What was your childhood like? David: I was born on the south side of San Jose, California. It … Read more

  Chidambar and David James co-manage the Mountain View Ananda Community. (Photo: 2019 – Chidambar hard at work in the Ananda Community office in Mountain View, California.) Q: People come to Ananda for a variety of reasons. They come to Sunday service because they enjoy the music and fellowship, or they take a class series. … Read more

Until his passing at age 91 in 2022, Ron Cantoni, a retired mechanical engineer, operated the video camera at the Ananda Sangha church in Palo Alto, California. Q: How did you come to Ananda? Ron: When the new church opened on El Camino Real seventeen years ago, I just walked in the door. I had … Read more

Like so many others, I read Autobiography of a Yogi and it left a lasting impression. I found Ananda at a time when I needed to enhance my meditation practice. I believe the reason I was able to make an inward connection with the teachings is because I was able to experience them in a … Read more

Nayaswami Mary lived at Ananda Village for a number of years, where she had a jewelry business, traveling to crafts fairs on the West Coast to sell her wares. She says, “For me, business can be spiritual. It is very satisfying when one can use business as a way to give, share, and love – … Read more

Occupation: School teacher. Children: None Hobbies: Backpacking, singing, writing, horses Pets: None at the moment Favorite ways to spend time: Engaged in the above hobbies! And time with friends at the Sangha, of course! Anything else interesting about yourself: I hiked the John Muir Trail one summer years ago – 220 miles in 25 days! … Read more

Aryavan and Ishani live in India where they work with Education for Life International, bringing Paramhansa Yogananda’s educational ideals to life in the land of his birth. (Photo: 2014 – Aryavan and Ishani) Q: You started in kindergarten at Living Wisdom School. That was a long time ago. Do you remember your first years? Aryavan: … Read more

Shanti serves as a co-director of Ananda Sangha in Palo Alto, California. I think of myself as being two things in this world. First I’m a minister, and I’m also a physician. I’ve never been sure that they’re terribly different. But I was trained as a physician in internal medicine, and for many years at … Read more

Kristina is a long-time member of Ananda Sangha in Palo Alto, California, whose cheerful, loving presence can be felt at most Ananda events. Here, she tells how her service brings her inspiration. Chopping Fruit and Veggies I was fairly new to Ananda – I had taken a couple of meditation classes and I’d begun coming … Read more

Q: In Finding Happiness, the movie about Ananda, you described your work as manager of the original Ananda community, and your concern for stewarding the earth’s resources from a spiritual perspective. Can you talk about that, starting with your background? (Photo: 2005) Atman: I grew up on the East Coast and attended Princeton University where … Read more