{"id":2058,"date":"2026-04-25T16:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T16:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/?p=2058"},"modified":"2026-04-25T16:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T16:05:14","slug":"swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-time-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yoganandafortheworld.com\/story\/swami-kriyananda-as-we-have-known-him-time-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Swami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Time Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI felt I was in a certain box at Ananda and I\u2019d never be able to break out of it unless I left, at least for a time,\u201d Marcus* said, years later. \u201cMaybe it wasn\u2019t true, but that\u2019s how it looked to me at the time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A friend had some land and a few cabins on the coast and Marcus decided to move in with him. He proposed to Swamiji that they could start an Ananda community there.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you send <\/em>Marcus to start a new community?\u201d I asked Swamiji. It hardly seemed like the right time; we could barely keep up with what we were already doing. But I didn\u2019t think Marcus would leave without Swamiji\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpiritually, it would be better for Marcus to stay here,\u201d Swamiji said frankly. \u201cBut he feels oppressed at Ananda right now and wants the freedom to do things in his own way. If I oppose him, we could lose him completely and that would be tragic for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has decided to move to the coast, so let us consider him sent. Better for now just to be his friend and support whatever he feels to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several times a year after that Marcus would meet with Swamiji to talk about the community he was trying to start. Swamiji was full of ideas for how to make it a success. He even gave a weekend retreat there.<\/p>\n

But each time, before the discussion started, Swamiji would test the waters to see if Marcus would be receptive to a frank suggestion that he drop everything and come back to Ananda. Swamiji was subtle about it, though, and I don\u2019t think Marcus ever knew.<\/p>\n

Each time, when it was clear that Marcus was determined to continue in the direction he was going, there would be a small, almost inaudible sigh from Swamiji as he mentally shifted gears before throwing himself into a creative discussion of how to make the community a success.<\/p>\n

It went on like this for ten years.<\/p>\n

Marcus did good work, and many people were helped. But in the end the coastal community never did take hold. Confident now that he could define his life any way he chose and Swamiji would still support him, Marcus\u2019 rebellious mood waned. He began to long for the happiness he had known at Ananda.<\/p>\n

Finally, one day Marcus said to Swamiji, \u201cI want to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be wonderful,\u201d Swamiji replied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI felt I was in a certain box at Ananda and I\u2019d never be able to break out of it unless I left, at least for a time,\u201d Marcus* said, years later. \u201cMaybe it wasn\u2019t true, but that\u2019s how it looked to me at the time.\u201d A friend had some land and a few cabins … 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-2058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSwami Kriyananda \u2014 As We Have Known Him: Time Out - Swami Kriyananda: Lightbearer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda recognized that people need to grow at their own pace.\" \/>\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-time-out\/\" \/>\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: Time Out - 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