Namaste,
I am looking for a spiritual community to live in, and Ananda is at the top of my list of prospective communities. Are all residents at Ananda Village in Nevada City brahmacharis or sannyasis? i.e., have they taken vows of celibacy? Is this a requirement to live there, or do couples live there as well, cohabiting and raising children together? The issue of brahmacharya keeps arising for me, over and over again. Thank you. Namaste _/_
Geoff
—Geoff, Costa Rica
Dear Geoff,
The primary focus for residents at Ananda Village is that they are disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda and our line of gurus, and that they have taken (or are moving toward) initiation into Kriya Yoga. Ananda Village is the beginning, in a sense, of the fulfillment of Yogananda’s vision of World Brotherhood Colonies.
There are many couples as well as families with children living at Ananda Village. The emphasis for every resident is that of inner renunciation, regardless of one’s choice of outward relationships. This means living with the ideal that God is our goal but also that it is God who is the doer behind all that we do.
Just recently Nayaswami Kriyananda has established A Renunciate Order for the New Age which invites those devotees who want to take more formal vows of renunciation to do so.
This new order, the Nayaswami Order, is a new movement in renunciation.
In his book A Renunciate Order for the New Age Nayaswami Kriyananda describes a new model based on positive aspects of renunciation – rather than the traditional world-negating approach. It is intended for people from all walks of life, married or single, who are committed to finding God, and is open to people of every religious affiliation.
“Renunciation, as practiced in the past, no longer appeals to people in this age of greater freedom of thought and consciousness. It is more uplifting nowadays to concentrate on the positive aspects of renunciation.”
-Nayaswami Kriyananda
For more information about Ananda Village, including the membership process, please click here.
In divine friendship,
Nayaswami Pranaba
