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Ananda
Village
 From
his youth, Ananda's founder, Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)
had dreamed of creating small communities based on cooperation and
high ideals. When he became Yogananda's disciple in 1948, he discovered
that Yogananda, too, was committed to the concept of "World
Brotherhood Colonies." Kriyananda vowed to do his utmost to
make this dream a reality. In 1968 Kriyananda began the fulfillment
of Yogananda's vision with the establishment of Ananda Village,
located near Nevada City, California.
Yogananda taught
that what the world needs is a blend of the best qualities of the
East and West: the spiritual insight of the East and the practical
efficiency of the West. One without the other leads to a society
barren of  human
fulfillment, but a balance of the two can bring peace, harmony,
prosperity, and happiness. Yogananda often predicted that world
brotherhood colonies, based on the twin principles of "plain
living and high thinking," would be the social pattern for
the future.
Every Sunday
morning Ananda Village residents and guests meet for meditation, chanting, readings,
and a sermon by one of the Ananda ministers. You are invited to join us either online, or in real time and space. Click here for directions to Ananda Village Temple, and the schedule of Sunday Service topics.
Music is an
integral part of the Ananda experience. From choral music to
private chanting and listening, our music can be used as a way
to approach life that is uplifting, inspiring and spiritually
beneficial. Kriyananda has composed over 400 musical pieces,
and is author of more than 80 books. The books and music he has
written carry on Yogananda's tradition of offering practical
ways to bring spirituality into everyday life.
The Ananda community
is situated on 840 acres of meadows and forests amidst the foothills
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in northern California. Today, 250
people reside here, including adults and children of all ages.
The Expanding Light at Ananda |
At The Expanding
Light, Ananda's guest retreat, people from all walks of life can
learn various aspects of yoga and meditation. Yoga, the basis for
all our programs, is more than a system of physical postures-it
is a way of life. Yoga means "union" in Sanskrit, and
can be understood on many levels-from self-integration to union
of the soul with God or Spirit. Yoga offers techniques for bringing
peace and harmony into your attitudes, work, relationships, and
family life.
People from
around the world come here for personal retreats, training in yoga,
meditation, healthy living techniques, or gaining certification
from our popular Ananda Yoga Teacher Training or Meditation Teacher
Training courses. Guests stay in cabins, guest houses, or our deluxe
"Harmony House," with each room dedicated to a major spiritual
tradition. Families or small groups can stay in a home across the
meadow from the main retreat.
Yoga Postures at The Expanding Light |
As well as guest
quarters, the retreat includes numerous classrooms, a bookstore
and gift boutique, group dining facilities, small meditation shrines,
Lotus Lake, gardens, and walking trails.
Nearby is The
Center for Radiant Health, where guests can enjoy massage or alternative
healing treatments. For a more inward experience, The Meditation
Retreat is located in a remote, forested area six miles from Ananda
Village. Guests stay in simple cabins and can have vegetarian meals
delivered to their door, cook their own meals, or join others at
the retreat dining room.
The Meditation Retreat is also home to the Yoga Institute of Living Wisdom, so there are university students in residence there during school year.
There is a lovely temple on site that is reserved for meditation (6:30 to 8:30 am, and 4:30 to 6:30 pm), and used for classes and special programs at other times. For a schedule of programs held at the Meditation Retreat, other than private seclusion, click on the link above.
The Retreat offers an annual week-long family camp that offers ways to bring spirituality more deeply into family life. The upcoming dates for this program are July 22nd through 28th, 2007.
The Crystal Hermitage at Ananda |
Also ideal for
a private retreat is the Crystal Hermitage Guest House, which overlooks
the scenic Yuba River canyon and is a few steps away from the Crystal
Hermitage. This modern, two bedroom home has a small kitchen, a
deck, and meditation room. The Crystal Hermitage includes beautiful
gardens, fountains, a small chapel, residents' apartments, and the
Shrine of the Masters, a small museum and gift shop. The museum
houses holy relics from India and Ananda's lineage of yoga masters,
and is open to the public.The
Crystal Hermitage itself is a large domed building where many meditations,
events, and celebrations are held.
Ananda's Living
Wisdom Schools offer instruction for grades K-12, with a focus that
supports the unity of all religions. As well as traditional academics,
universal spiritual values such as respect, kindness, cooperation
and responsibility are a part of the curriculum. The student-teacher
ratio of 12-1 allows each teacher to connect at a deep level with
every student. Teachers work toward the steady growth and unfoldment
of each child, based on his or her own level of understanding and
maturity. Meditation is also taught, as are yogic principles like
self-discipline, concentration, service, and even-mindedness. Boarding
is available for older students, who may live and attend school
here in the community or at our European retreat in Assisi, Italy.
Children at Performing Arts Camp
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Ananda's Education for Life Foundation trains
educators and parents, and hosts the educational website, livingwisdom.org,
which lists private schools dedicated to Education for Life principles.
The foundation also trains teachers on how to teach yoga to children
and older students. For those over 18 who want to experience life
in a spiritual community, our Summer Internship Program offers a
dynamic work/study program for learning yoga and meditation while
participating in many service projects here at Ananda Village.
Reception Center at Ananda Village |
Within the community
are private as well as Ananda-owned businesses, which employ both
residents and neighbors. A few of the businesses include Master's
Market, a natural foods market with a deli and bakery; Ananda Design
& Construction; the Sharing Nature Foundation; and Master's
Flower Essences.
The Rajarsi
Park business complex includes management offices for both the community
and Ananda Sangha, which assists the worldwide network of Ananda
communities, centers, and meditation groups. This is also headquarters
for the Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry-with 600 members worldwide
who do healing prayers regularly for those in need. Ananda Sangha
members receive the quarterly Clarity magazine, which has offices
here.
Rajarsi Park
is also home to Crystal Clarity, Publishers, which produces books,
video tapes, CDs and cassettes by Paramhansa Yogananda, J. Donald
Walters, and others on topics related to yoga, meditation, and Self-realization
philosophy. For in-depth study, The Ananda Course in Self-Realization
is a home-study course that has helped thousands worldwide directly
experience spiritual realities. The course teaches beginning through
advanced meditation and yoga, healing techniques, Yogananda's "Energization
Exercises," elements of a vegetarian diet, yoga philosophy,
developing intuition and much more.
 After
completing this course, students are eligible to apply for Kriya
Yoga initiation, the highest meditation technique offered by Paramhansa
Yogananda. Yogananda said Kriya Yoga would hasten one's spiritual
evolution, calling it the "airplane route" to God. Residents
of Ananda Village are disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practice
the Kriya Yoga techniques he introduced to the West. Many of the
residents have been a part of Ananda for 20-30 years.
A residency
training program of several years prepares members for joining the
Ananda Monastic Order, which includes singles and married couples
who have taken vows of simple living and high thinking, and dedication
to living the teachings of Self-realization as taught by Ananda's
founder, J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda). Ananda includes residential
spiritual communities in Assisi, Italy; New Delhi, India, Palo Alto and Sacramento,
California; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. Ananda also
has a newly-developed retreat center in Rhode Island. Ananda retreat
centers and meditation groups are located throughout the world.
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