Before I moved to Ananda, I worked for a fledgling sports magazine, Runner’s World, with its offices in Mountain View on the San Francisco Peninsula. I discovered Ananda and Swamiji in 1974 through his book Cooperative Communities – How to Start Them and Why, found while browsing in a bookstore in nearby Palo Alto. Ananda seemed the answer to a … Read More
The modern fad is to spend and spend and spend to the limits of our ability, and beyond. Several centuries ago, the great preacher and evangelist John Wesley (1703-1791) set a radically different example. Although Wesley was born in humble circumstances, he became so well known that his income eventually exceeded 1400 pounds per year—in today’s terms, the equivalent of … Read More
Blaise Pascal was an influential French scientist who lived in the 1600s. At age twelve, before he had received any formal training in geometry, Pascal independently discovered and demonstrated Euclid’s thirty-two propositions. It’s not surprising, then, that as an adult Pascal would complete important works on mathematics and experimental physics. He made important contributions to geometry and calculus, and helped develop … Read More
In the late 1990s, we had a lovely conversation with Catherine Kairavi, who for many years served as director of fundraising activities of Ananda Sangha worldwide. Q: Non‑profit businesses are proliferating nowadays, and donations may continue to provide an important part of the funding for cooperative communities in the future. Can you share your thoughts with us on fundraising for … Read More
The photo shows Swami Vivekananda (third from right) in Calcutta with his brother disciples (from left) Trigunatitananda, Sadananda (sitting on floor), Shivananda, Turiyananda, and Brahmananda. A monthly letter from Ananda Palo Alto, in which we share stories of personal growth and material success through tithing, charity, service, and expansion of the heart. Do you have a story you’d like to … Read More
Padre Pio decided to build a hospital in a desperately poor region of southern Italy.
I walked out of Master’s Market at Ananda Village on a summer day in 1978, wondering how I could make the money to buy a new camera. Digging in my jeans pocket, I found thirty-four cents – the extent of my net worth. We lived simple lives, free of electricity and indoor plumbing, just kerosene lanterns and outhouses. I worked … Read More
About 45 years ago, I spent two and a half years paralyzed from the chest down. The neurosurgeons tried unsuccessfully to remove a cyst that was compressing my spinal cord, and a year of physical therapy brought no improvement, but a second surgery succeeded, and I gradually recovered the use of my legs. I’ve had a wonderful life, so don’t … Read More
I was working at the publications building at Ananda Village one day in the summer of 1976, when Swami Kriyananda stopped by. He asked for my help with photographing some art for a project he was working on. I followed Swamiji and several members of the publications staff outdoors where the light was better for photography. Swamiji described the pink … Read More
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
