{"id":1959,"date":"2025-12-06T15:58:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T15:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=1959"},"modified":"2025-12-06T15:58:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T15:58:41","slug":"swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-giving-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-giving-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Giving Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This book was published before Swami Kriyananda’s passing in 2013, thus Nayaswami Asha writes in the present tense.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is the bill for filling my propane tank?\u201d Swamiji asked Seva. \u201cIt should have come by now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI already paid it,\u201d Seva said with a small triumphant smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have done that,\u201d Swamiji said sternly. \u201cI\u2019m not here to take from Ananda, I\u2019m here to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the propane goes to run the generator to power the typewriter so that you can write books that support Ananda,\u201d Seva replied emphatically. \u201cSince you won\u2019t accept royalties, at least we can pay for the fuel!\u201d It was obvious she was not going to give in.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll accept it this time,\u201d Swamiji said reluctantly. \u201cHowever, you must promise next time to bring the bill to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the early years of Ananda, when Seva managed most of Ananda\u2019s finances, I witnessed many such friendly tussles between her and Swamiji. She was determined to give him at least a modicum of financial support; he was equally determined not to accept it.<\/p>\n

When Swamiji needed money for personal expenses, or more often, for Ananda projects that couldn\u2019t be financed in any other way, he would go out and earn it, usually by setting up a lecture tour or a series of classes.<\/p>\n

After Swamiji became a disciple at the age of 22, he never again worked for any cause other than to spread Master\u2019s teachings. Even right after he was expelled from SRF at the age of 36 and found himself penniless and alone, everything he did to earn money also helped to spread Master\u2019s teachings.<\/p>\n

The principle, \u201cWhere there is dharma, there is victory,\u201d governs all aspects of Swamiji\u2019s life, including his personal finances. If he feels it is right for him to spend money in a certain way, he\u2019ll commit to it, even if he doesn\u2019t have the money and has no idea where it will come from.<\/p>\n

In 1979, he went on a lecture tour of Europe with barely enough money for expenses and nothing for his return fare. \u201cI wasn\u2019t concerned about how I would get home,\u201d Swamiji said later. \u201cI concentrated on serving God and left the matter to Him.\u201d He didn\u2019t even charge for his lectures. Still, all the money he needed easily came to him.<\/p>\n

Once for a community fundraising effort, Swamiji pledged $3000 to repair a section of Ananda road. \u201cI didn\u2019t have the money, but I knew no one else did either,\u201d Swamiji said later. \u201cThe work had to be done. \u2018You\u2019ll have to provide it,\u2019 I said to Divine Mother when I made the pledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few days later, a man Swamiji hadn\u2019t seen for years slipped an envelope under his door. Inside was a note: \u201cMy mother died recently and I wanted to give you something from her estate.\u201d He included a check for $3000.<\/p>\n

When he was a young monk, living on an allowance of $15 a month, Swamiji felt intuitively that he should have a nine-gem bangle. \u201cEven now, I\u2019m not quite sure how it happened, but somehow I got that bangle.\u201d Later he sold it to help pay for the land to start Ananda. A few years later, a woman insisted on buying him another bangle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first I was reluctant to accept it,\u201d Swamiji said. \u201cI thought there were better uses for the money. Then I realized it was Divine Mother giving it back to me, since I had given up the first one in service to Her.\u201d<\/p>\n

A wealthy and generous friend phoned Seva one day and told her he was going to give Swamiji $40,000 to use in any way he chose. It was enough to buy a new car, bring in electricity and a phone line to Swamiji\u2019s house, and build a much-needed recording studio there. The total cost for all of this was $41,000.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, the car had been purchased and the work was underway but the check still hadn\u2019t arrived. No one was concerned. The donor was a man of his word and had given generously before \u2013 although never such a large amount.<\/p>\n

Finally the check came. When Seva took it out of the envelope, at first she thought there was something wrong with her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a small mistake,\u201d she said to Swamiji. \u201cJust a matter of one zero.\u201d The check was for four<\/em> thousand dollars, not forty<\/em> thousand. Somehow Seva had misunderstood.<\/p>\n

Swamiji laughed when he heard the news. \u201cWe are committed to a line of action,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t stop now. I guess Divine Mother wants me to go out and earn the money.\u201d And he did.<\/p>\n

Even before he was on the path, Swamiji had this same curious mixture of confidence and detachment from money. \u201cWhen I was 16 years old,\u201d Swamiji said, \u201cmy father wanted to buy me a tuxedo to wear to the opera and to dinner parties when I grew older. I knew that would never be my lifestyle. \u2018Don\u2019t waste your money,\u2019 I told him. \u2018I\u2019ll never earn enough money even to pay income tax.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was in college, Swamiji said, \u201cI had an allowance of $3 a month, which wasn\u2019t much even then. Somehow, though, on that little bit, I was able to treat all my friends to milkshakes. There always seemed to be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Swamiji has earned or raised millions of dollars. He has kept nothing for himself; all of it has gone to build Ananda. His father was never able to understand Swamiji\u2019s attitude toward money. Once in exasperation he exclaimed to Swamiji, \u201cYou simply must stop giving all your money away!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Although Swamiji doesn\u2019t like to be in debt, he will borrow money when needed, especially to launch a project or finish one when costs exceed the estimate.<\/p>\n

In the summer of 1976, shortly after a forest fire devastated much of Ananda Village, Swamiji found out that the foundation of his own house was dangerously weak. At any moment, the whole dome might go careening down the hill.<\/p>\n

In order not to take energy away from rebuilding the community, Swamiji arranged for an outside contractor to work on his house. The original estimate proved ridiculously low and $30,000 more was needed. The work had to be done, so Swamiji borrowed the money from a friend and paid it back in a matter of months, just as he had promised.<\/p>\n

He is so conscientious in financial matters, he jokingly suggested that the epithet on his tombstone could be, \u201cHe paid his debts.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1981, Swamiji was visiting friends in Hawaii. The conversation turned to Ananda and Swamiji\u2019s relationship to the community. His friends were astonished to hear how much money Swamiji had earned and given to Ananda and how little was given to him in return.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the founder and spiritual director, and you don\u2019t even take a salary?\u201d his friend said. \u201cYou are treating the members of Ananda like children. They will never mature as devotees unless they also give back to you. It is not fair to them<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swamiji had always been adamant about not taking a salary, and his friend was prepared to argue the point at length. That proved unnecessary, however, for Swamiji saw the wisdom of what he was saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are right,\u201d Swamiji said simply.<\/p>\n

When the community leaders heard that Swamiji was willing now to accept a salary, they began to pay him $2500 a month.<\/p>\n

Later, Swamiji said, \u201cWhen I was in college, I took singing lessons. My teacher charged me $5 a week. \u2018It is not that I need the money,\u2019 she said to me, \u2018but you need to pay it.\u2019 It is the same in this case. It is not that I need the money, but the community has reached the point now where it needs to pay it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, whenever larger sums were needed to help Ananda, Swamiji would earn them by teaching outside of the community. For the many classes and services he gave within Ananda, he never accepted payment. Finally, when Swamiji started making plans for yet another lecture tour, David, the Retreat manager, said to him, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you teach here and let me pay you whatever you would earn by going out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could you afford it?\u201d Swamiji said, \u201cThe Retreat budget is so tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that time, the Retreat was paying well-known teachers from outside Ananda to come and give weekend retreats. \u201cDon\u2019t you think it is ridiculous to pay others when we\u2019d much rather have you than anyone else? The only reason we didn\u2019t schedule you is that you were busy writing. If you are available to teach now, teach here.\u201d David said. \u201cThe money doesn\u2019t all have to come out of the Retreat budget. I think community members would be happy to donate for the classes you give, if it means you\u2019ll stay here and teach more for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI founded Ananda to give to others, not to take for myself,\u201d Swamiji said, the same answer he\u2019d given Seva years before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is only right that we give back to you,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d Swamiji replied thoughtfully. \u201cFor that reason I accept.\u201d Then he added, \u201cIt mustn\u2019t, however, be a requirement that people pay. I don\u2019t want anyone to be turned away for lack of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once it was settled, Swamiji admitted that he hadn\u2019t really felt inwardly that it was right for him to go away from Ananda, even for a lecture tour, but he was willing because it seemed like the only alternative. He was grateful to Divine Mother for arranging it in a different way.<\/p>\n

Patanjali\u2019s Yoga Sutras\u2014<\/em>the ancient \u2018handbook\u2019 for yoga practice\u2014describes the yama<\/em>, or spiritual practice, called \u201cnon-avarice.\u201d (The yamas<\/em> are all written in the negative\u2014non-violence <\/em>being the best-known example.)<\/p>\n

Non-avarice is more than just non-attachment to money. \u201cWhat the spiritual seeker must renounce,\u201d Swamiji explains, \u201cis the desire for anything that he does not acquire by merit. The implication is that if he does merit it, he needn\u2019t fear that he won\u2019t attract it. Even if he must work hard to attract it, he should remain relaxed as to the outcome, leaving the results wholly in God\u2019s hands. This is a prescription for peace of mind even during intense activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

For thirteen years, Swamiji accepted this income from Ananda.\u00a0 Then, in 1994, the Bertolucci lawsuit was filed against him. Among other things, it accused Swamiji of using Ananda for his own financial gain.<\/p>\n

When his parents died in 1983, Ananda\u2019s work in Europe was just getting underway. Swamiji wanted to be able to spend time there without being a burden on the devotees. Most of the inheritance he received from his parents, Swamiji used to build Crystal Hermitage as a spiritual center for the community. Ten thousand dollars, however, he put into a Swiss bank account \u2013 not a numbered account, but one with his name on it. He never made another deposit. Swamiji used the money for his personal expenses in Europe, including buying a pair of Swiss-made hearing aids. A few years later, long before the Bertolucci lawsuit was filed, the account was down to $3,000 and Swamiji closed it.<\/p>\n

Bertolucci\u2019s attorney, however, claimed that this long-defunct \u201cSwiss bank account\u201d proved that Swamiji was skimming money from Ananda and hiding it in Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people assume I must be getting rich off of Ananda,\u201d Swamiji said. \u201cIt is how they themselves would act in my position. In fact, many people would think I was a fool not to take money from the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court ruled in Swamiji\u2019s favor. Still, he felt tainted by the whole process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was right for the community to give me a salary,\u201d he said in 1998, after the lawsuit was over, \u201cbut I\u2019ve never felt right about taking it. From now on, I won\u2019t accept anything from Ananda. Divine Mother can support me or not support me, by whatever means and to whatever extent She chooses.\u201d<\/p>\n

His salary was largely symbolic anyway, more for our sake than for his. Swamiji\u2019s life and his service to Master have always been sustained by Divine Mother through spontaneous giving from friends and devotees around the world. It is not surprising that those to whom Swamiji has given so much would be inspired to give back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality of non-avarice, developed to perfection,\u201d Swamiji explains, \u201cgenerates a subtle magnetism that enables a person to attract things to himself effortlessly. He is never anxious then, that his needs, whatever they may be, won\u2019t be supplied. They will<\/em> be, infallibly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This book was published before Swami Kriyananda’s passing in 2013, thus Nayaswami Asha writes in the present tense. \u201cWhere is the bill for filling my propane tank?\u201d Swamiji asked Seva. \u201cIt should have come by now.\u201d \u201cI already paid it,\u201d Seva said with a small triumphant smile. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have done that,\u201d Swamiji … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Giving Back - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda set an example of "non-avarice" as prescribed by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-giving-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Giving Back - 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