What Is
Ananda?
Ananda is dedicated to the belief, born of experience, that you can live in joy. We teach effective techniques for expanding your sense of self, such as meditation, Kriya Yoga, spiritual Hatha Yoga, and divine friendship.
More about Ananda
Stay in Touch
Receive uplifting articles, videos, news updates, and advice to enliven your spiritual life, including opportunities to support and connect with Ananda.
Our Inspiration
Paramhansa Yogananda has been called the father of yoga and meditation in the West. His Autobiography helped spark and inspire a spiritual revolution across the world. Among the over three-hundred (influential spiritual voices) I interviewed about their key spiritual influences, a high percentage named a book, and by far the book most often mentioned was Yogananda’s unique memoir.Phil Goldberg, American Veda
At the request of Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda dedicated his life to lecturing and writing, and has also produced hundreds of pieces of music, to help others to find joy within. More
With the passing of Swami Kriyananda in 2013, Nayaswami Jyotish was named by Kriyananda as his spiritual successor. Jyotishji met Swami Kriyananda in 1966, working closely with him and his wife, Devi (who came to Ananda in 1969), to build Ananda’s work around the world. Both Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi were named kriyacharyas by Swami Kriyananda, and disseminate the liberating and ancient Kriya Yoga technique of Paramhansa Yogananda’s lineage. More
Meditation & Kriya Yoga
Learn to Meditate
Meditation is a technique for personal growth that has been practiced for thousands of years around the world with repeatable results. There is no aspect of your life that cannot be improved by meditation, whether it be in business, relationships, or health. The highest purpose of meditation, however, is to discover your Highest Self.
We offer a free, five day email series for a basic overview of how to meditate, which includes posture, where and when to meditate, and a simple effective technique. It also includes a subscription to our monthly Daily Meditator newsletter and monthly Inner Light newsletter.
Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga is an ancient meditation technique of energy and breath control, or pranayama. It is also a comprehensive spiritual path, which includes additional meditation practices and guidance for living.
The Kriya technique is given through personal initiation by one of our Kriya Yoga teachers. Initiation requires preparation which includes the practice of other meditation techniques and study of Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings.
Learn More
Community
Let us join together in this wave of social transformation, and through our practice of meditation create a spirit of global unity that can lead to lasting peace.Nayaswami Devi
Connect Online
Ananda is very active online: Live events, satsangs, group guided meditations, and personal support through email and chat. Learn More
Visit in Person
Ananda has over 150 centers and meditation groups in over 45 countries which offer group meditations and classes. Learn More
Experience Community
Ananda has developed eight communities in the US, Europe, and India. Many offer internships where you can stay and experience community firsthand. Learn More
What’s New
Featured
Upcoming Events
The Yoga Teachings of Jesus
Discover the deep yogic truths hidden in the teachings of Jesus
This online, interactive course is designed to give you an inspiring and in-depth understanding of Paramhansa Yogananda’s stirring interpretation of Jesus’s teachings, through nine structured lessons — each addressing a particular facet of Jesus’ yogic teachings through written materials, audio and video recordings, and live video broadcasts.
Excerpt from the course:
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.’—Proverbs 8:34
Paramhansa Yogananda’s commentary:
Posts of my doors: the spiritual centers of the spine (chakras) through which the energy must be directed upward for enlightenment.
Heareth me: signifies listening to Aum, and also to the sounds that emanate from each of the chakras.
A humming, beelike, droning sound emanates, when stimulated, from the lowest (muladhara) chakra.
A flute sound emanates when the second (swadhisthan) chakra is stimulated.
The sound of plucked harp strings indicates that the third (manipur) chakra has been stimulated.
A deep gong bell sound is a sign that the inner heart (anahat) chakra has been stimulated.
A rushing sound, like the wind through tall pine trees, indicates that the energy is centered in the bishuddha chakra, opposite the throat.
And a symphony of all the sounds (the mighty Aum) comes when the energy is deeply centered in the agya chakra, at the medulla oblongata, or at the positive pole of that chakra in the spiritual eye.
Watching daily at my gates: signifies meditating on the chakras. In meditation, try chanting Aum mentally at each chakra (three times each is a good number), and endeavor to see the light emanating from each of them. Chanting Aum at the chakras stimulates the upward flow of energy – through them, toward the brain.
Special course-launch discount until Wednesday, January 29, 2020!
Tuition: $69.95 $49.95
Recent Posts and Videos
Listening to the Inner Sounds
Dear Ankesh, The technique you describe (Anhata Naad) is listening to Aum. Aum is the sound made by the vibration of God’s presence within us and all around us. It is the sound of God’s creative manifestation of the whole ... Read More
What Is the Soul’s Power after Death?
Dear Friend, So sorry to hear of your family’s loss. The ‘why’ behind death is hard to comprehend. This is not a laughable question that you have, at all, especially because you feel intuitively that this circumstance with your grandfather ... Read More
Must Kundalini Rise in Order for Me to Grow Spiritually?
Dear Arundeep, Rising consciousness and rising Kundalini go hand in hand: The higher states of consciousness — above all, nirbikalpa samadhi, which is the highest state — cannot be attained unless the Kundalini energy rises. As Swami Kriyananda noted in The Art and Science ... Read More
How to Keep Positive Influences for Our Children
Dear Friend, Many parents are deeply concerned, as you are, about the force of negativity on today’s children. You are not old-fashioned in your concern, and being proactive is great and the right thing to do! Having raised 4 children ... Read More
What Does My Dream Mean, About an Old Man Giving Me Spiritual Power?
Dear Ani, Dreams come as symbols. At times it’s just subconscious confusion, at times it comes with a message. Yours seem of the second category. The old man giving spiritual power might symbolize your innate wise consciousness which always has ... Read More
Do I Need My Spouse’s Permission to Take Initiation?
Dear Friend, So sorry to hear of your family difficulties in pursuing the spiritual path. Only you can determine if you should receive initiation against your husband’s insistence that you do not do so. In self-offering, after meditation, ask God ... Read More
Seeing a Scary Image in Meditation
Dear Swati, Our goal in meditation is to dive into Divine Presence. When entering this level of consciousness we experience stillness, peace, joy, calmness and other divine qualities. We are embraced in a positive, uplifting vibration that can be life-changing. ... Read More
Looking for Spiritual Community
Dear Thomas, You have made an important discovery that spiritual progress is helped greatly by being surrounded by like-minded people. Here at Ananda we live in a spiritual community dedicated to the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. Yogananda recommended that spiritually ... Read More
What Is the Use of Performing Mundane Tasks on the Path Toward Enlightenment?
Dear Carolyn, You are right: performing our duties and responsibilities and tasks “just to keep up social connections” doesn’t make any sense from a spiritual point of view. It only makes sense if you give it a spiritual purpose: these ... Read More
Eye Twitching During Meditation
Dear Heather, I think you might be lifting your gaze too high and causing muscle tension in the muscles around the eyes. Try this eye position technique: Hold your thumb upturned, extend your arm directly out in front of you ... Read More
Your support is a blessing for all
Ananda is a beacon of light, breaking through the darkness of this world with the universal teachings of Self-realization.
Thank you for being a part of this community of souls who support each other on our path to God.
