I imagine Ananda Village as the perfect land where people wake up doing mediation & yoga and perform their daily duties and roles, perhaps something more that makes it beautiful. I once attended an Ananda Programme when Swami Kriyananda was there and one of the person there referred Ananda Village as heaven and perfect land. Can we come to stay or visit Ananda village for few days to get the feel and insight? Where is that Village?
—Tanu, India
Dear Tanu,
I have lived at Ananda Village for close to 40 years and cannot imagine a better place on this earth for me to live. You are right that that most people who live here are very dedicated to their daily spiritual practices, especially the practices of Paramhansa Yogananda’s meditation techniques of Kriya Yoga.
It is very quiet, located in a beautiful, rural natural setting (hills, forests, and meadows) about 15 miles outside of the small town of Nevada City in Northern California. It is filled with lovely, friendly, and dedicated people who live together in small homes and serve the whole world as best as they can.
Having said all of these good things about Ananda Village, I must add that blessed by God and Gurus as it is and as much as I love living here, it is neither heaven on earth, nor could it ever be perfect, until each one of us perfect ourselves in God-realization. For no matter where people find themselves, people are simply people, and thus, there will always be problems, challenges, and dis-harmonies of various types. We, too, are all required to work out our past karma.
Nevertheless, a lot of meditation, excellent leadership, and dedicated devotees striving to live together in harmony and with unceasing serviceful attitudes does very much “oil the wheels” of daily life and makes everything in life a lot better. Certainly, you are welcome to visit us at any time for a few days or longer. Please see: www.anandavillage.org and www.expandinglight.org.
You are right! Visiting a place like Ananda Village, in person, really is the only way to see for yourself what it is really like and also to see if it could be a place you would want to live. I see you live in India and that is a long ways away from California. Therefore, you might want to begin by visiting our various centers in India. There are many of them! Please see: www.anandaindia.org.