The Vision The Ananda Pavilion of Gratitude is a place that reflects our spiritual path of Self-realization and the understanding that Paramhansa Yogananda has given us about the transition from life with a physical body to life without one. This transition is part of “the soul’s long journey through time and space.” As a reflection of this understanding, the Pavilion … Read More
In the summer of 2017, I came across Steve Jobs, the authorized, self-titled biography by Walter Isaacson. Up until that time, I had never read a book that big. The size of the book was formidable but to my surprise, Jobs’ life and Isaacson’s writing were quite captivating. Not only did I read the entire book but I also later … Read More
Many of us have enjoyed dining at the Olive Garden, a restaurant chain that serves traditional Mediterranean cuisine, but how many of us in Ananda Village know that we have our very own olive garden? Go over to Rajarshi Park sometime where the Ananda Sangha headquarters are located. Look down the hill on the southern slope and you will see … Read More
This Tools for World Challenges talk collection was created during the 2020 COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda both spoke of world cataclysms. These talks offer many insights on how to get through the tests of life, no matter how severe! The leading guidance in these talks is to remain centered in yourself, meditate deeply, and stay close to God. Learn more & … Read More
What’s the difference between work and service? We should view whatever gainful employment we seek as a service, never merely as work. The mere thought of hard work, indeed, often drains a person’s energies, whereas joyful, willing service opens inner floodgates to a boundless supply of energy. -Swami Kriyananda Here are three keys to help you transform your attitude about … Read More
Christ Lives This Easter week I am reflecting on the life of Jesus Christ and the spiritual alliance he created with our line of gurus from India – Babaji-Krishna, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, and our Gurudeva Paramhansa Yogananda. It was their mission together to unite East and West and initiate the global movement and message of Self-realization for the … Read More
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
It is said that, of all the males of bovine breeds, the dairy bulls are the meanest, as a result of their prolonged separation from their mates. And, of all the dairy bulls, the Guernseys are considered the worst—horns and shoulders, one might say, above the others. At Ananda Village in the late 1970s, we kept a Guernsey bull for … Read More
Some might say relationships are a distraction on the path to God. There was a time when I thought this was true. Ram Gopal, the sleepless saint from Paramhansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi had a strong impact on my earlier opinions about this with his personal story: For twenty years I occupied a secret grotto, meditating eighteen hours a … Read More
