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
Q: You serve as an Ananda minister, and you sing Swami Kriyananda’s music with the choir and in a small ensemble. Has serving in these ways been a natural expression of who you are? Steven: When I came onto the spiritual path in 1991, I didn’t truly understand what it meant to serve. It was … Read more
When I visited Ananda Village for the first time in 1976, one of the first things I heard Swami Kriyananda say was something I wasn’t really prepared for. He said, “Faith is the most practical thing of all.” (Photo: Hriman in 2019) When I looked around Ananda Village, I saw a tiny community that had … Read more
When Nakula moved to Ananda Village in the early 1970s, he started a small dairy that he ran for many years. In the 1980s he moved to Washington, D.C., where he operated his own construction company. When he returned to the community he managed the Ananda Builders Guild, a construction company that was started in … Read more
Dharmadevi and her husband, Nayaswami Narayan, are the leaders of Ananda Sangha in Los Angeles. (Photo: 2020 – Dharmadevi and Narayan) At the end of her life, my earthly mother was given two weeks to live. She had just been diagnosed with stage four primary peritoneal cancer that had spread throughout her abdominal organs. I … Read more