I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how being part of a community changes a person, in both subtle and obvious ways. I’m in a good position to speak, because after taking a fairly wonderful and much-needed break from my previous life, I’ve been living at Ananda for three wonderful months… …first as part of Ananda College and Meditation Retreat … Read More
Learning to Sing Ananda’s Music
When I moved to Ananda Village in 1976, I was offered a job at “Pubble,” the department where Swami Kriyananda’s books were published. Not long after I arrived, Swamiji invited the staff to his home to discuss some projects. Swami’s house was on the other side of the ridge from the main part of the Village. I hiked over the … Read More
Day by Day
These are thoughts of daily life are from over a year ago — I’m just now sharing them! This is an experiment, and I’d be glad to know what you think of this format in the comments. February 3, The Joyful Arts Center Right now I’m standing in the auditorium of the Joyful Arts Center, a 60+ foot high work-in-progress … Read More
Back in Gurgaon
Sadhana Devi and I shifted last month to Gurgaon from Pune after being away since 2008. In our absence, the Ananda center/ ashram went through significant changes, making our return like coming back to a different place. Even Delhi seems to have changed for the better but my guess is that these transformations are more an outward projection of what … Read More
News of Swami Kriyananda
Brahmacharini Narayani has been travelling with Swami Kriyananda for the past several years through all our Ananda Communities. She has become one of his personal staff. Dear friends, Swami Kriyananda’s health has in general been doing very well, and his spirit is always soaring in divine joy. As you may know from having seen the pictures, we have been enjoying … Read More
Spiritual Laziness and Other Virtues
It’s early morning and you’re shuffling to your meditation seat. You’re feeling that peaceful anticipation that comes before a meditation. Still walking, you glance up and see your laptop on your desk. It seems to beckon to you. The thought arises, “You know, it would only take a few moments, a few keystrokes to check my emails, to see if … Read More
Two Steps Forward
Over the last 3 years ‘the watcher’ in me has quietly observed my spiritual advancement. It is becoming very clear that a pattern is forming when my usual slow, steady steps have leaped two at a time. One might well ask what coincided with these definite peaks in advancement. Simple…I visited Ananda communities! All who are sincerely seeking God want … Read More
Magnetism and Community
Dear Friends, Hello from Ananda Village, where 9,000 brilliantly colored tulips at the Crystal Hermitage gardens are dancing against a backdrop of mists playing on distant hillsides. The Village is increasingly becoming like the radiant astral world, not only because of its loveliness on the physical plane but, more importantly, because of the beauty of a community of high-minded souls. … Read More