This past weekend we presented our second concert in our Ananda Concert Series, entitled An Evening with St. Francis, presenting the life of the great saint with narration and music written by Swami Kriyananda. The dome of the Crystal Hermitage was filled to capacity with close to 70 in the audience as we began our…

The last weekend of September, Swami Kriyananda, with a dozen Ananda India members traveled to Pune and Mumbai, where Swamiji gave major discourses in each city, speaking to a combined audience of 800. He also inspected 3 pieces of property that could possibly be purchased for the creation of an Ananda community in India. For…

Last night, at Ananda Village, we celebrated the blessings of Mahavatar Babaji in our lives. It was a stunningly beautiful evening at the Crystal Hermitage. The air was so still and except for a choir of crickets and our devotional chanting and prayers it was very quiet and profoundly peaceful. The evening was led by…

Being located in a rural area with lots of brush and trees, Ananda Village has always been in risk of being affected by wildfires. Add to this the hot and dry summers, it is almost impossible to have a year without any fire incident. Year 1976 (way before my time here) marked the worst fire…

On June 2nd, JT, Bob and I did our first century together in Calaveras County, organized by the Sacramento Wheelmen Bicycle Club. I had talked about this upcoming ride in my previous post, titled “Satsang On Bicycles”. Three of us have been preparing and training for this event for the several months preceding it. We…

Last week, Thursday, July 12, the statues of the Kriya Masters were blessed with a wonderful ceremony at Hansa Mandir where we hold Sunday services and daily morning meditations. Swami Kriyananda conducted the dedication ceremony for the statues at Hansa Mandir, Ananda’s community temple. He spoke simply and devotionally about how Divine Grace can be…

Last weekend we celebrated Swami Kriyananda’s 81st birthday at Ananda Village. He spoke for over three hours during several occasions, covering many topics. I am quoting a few of his words here, but I urge you to listen to his talks on the Ananda website. Swamiji shared a lifetime’s worth of spiritual insight from the…

We have just finished the first Ananda International Kriyaban Retreat here in Gurgaon, India – three days dedicated to deepening the practice of Kriya Yoga. The retreat culminated with an extraordinary talk by Swami Kriyananda on The Role of Kriya Yoga in the World. The entire three days was one continuous highlight of long and…

One of my favorite pastimes living in this rural community is to be able to go for bicycle rides that could easily be labeled as world-class. If you have visited Ananda Village you know what kind of natural beauty it is surrounded with. Sierra Foothills create some beautiful rolling hills and therefore beautiful (and hilly)…