runbei

Nayaswami Roma and her husband Haridas lived in the Ananda community in Mountain View, California, where Roma managed the community kitchen and Haridas was the community’s co-manager. This is excerpted from a Sunday service that Roma gave in April, 2005. (Photo: 2000s – Roma with Haridas and daughter Rose) In the last few days we’ve … Read more

We spoke with Dambara while he lived in the Ananda Community in Mountain View, California. Dambara now serves with Ananda in Oregon and also travels with Asha Nayaswami worldwide as a wandering minstrel, singing Swami Kriyananda’s music for her public talks and workshops. Q: You’ve been a long-time member of Ananda’s music ministry, singing Swami … Read more

A short and sweet Q&A with Amara in the early 2000s. Amara has since transitioned to devote more time to her art. She has a small studio in the Ananda Community of Mountain View, California. Her paintings are regularly exhibited in upscale galleries and shows in the greater Silicon Valley area. You can view her … Read more

  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