Q: You talk with many people who come fresh to Ananda. What’s your impression of how the music affects them? Asha: To answer your question I’ll go back a bit in time. In the late 1970s Swami Kriyananda asked me to go on the road and give talks about our teachings. So I began driving … Read more
From a talk to the Ananda singers and musicians in Assisi, Italy. An emperor in ancient China would tour his provinces once a year to see how they were faring. He never inquired about the honesty of the officials, nor did he try to find out how things were being run. He didn’t even ask … Read more
In talks that Swami Kriyananda gave in the last years of his life, he often warned us of severe economic hardships to come. How will we live, if the material foundations of our lives should be shaken or destroyed? I don’t have a single, comprehensive answer, but I pray that the following stories will inspire … Read more
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