Swami Kriyananda
Encyclopedia
Swami Kriyananda born J. Donald Walters (born May 19, 1926), is a direct disciple of the yogi Paramhansa Yogananda (1893 – 1952) and founder of Ananda, a worldwide movement of spiritual intentional communities
based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies
ideal. Paramhansa Yogananda made him a minister for Self-Realization Fellowship
(SRF), authorized him to teach Kriya Yoga
, and appointed him the first SRF head monk. Swami Kriyananda was elected Vice President of SRF in 1960 and member of the Board of Directors.
Kriyananda is the author of over 100 books and the composer of over 400 pieces of music. His books and music have sold over three million copies, and are published in 25 languages in 90 countries. He has lectured worldwide. In addition to English, he speaks Italian
, Romanian
, Greek
, French
, Spanish
, German
, Hindi
, Bengali
, and Indonesian
.
, on May 19, 1926, to American parents, Ray P. and Gertrude G. Walters. His father was an oil geologist with the Esso Corporation (since renamed Exxon
in the United States), who was then assigned to the Romanian oilfields. He received an international education in Romania, Switzerland, England, and the United States. He attended Haverford College
and Brown University
, leaving the latter with only a semester left before graduation to dedicate his life to searching for God.
In September 1948, in New York, Walters read Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, a book he says transformed his life. By September 12, Walters had already decided to leave his old life behind and had traveled cross-country by bus to southern California to become Yogananda's disciple. In Hollywood, California, Walters first met Yogananda at the Self-Realization Fellowship temple there and was quickly accepted as a disciple.
Young Donald Walters, 22 years old at this point, took up residence with other SRF monks at Mt. Washington, SRF's headquarters located on top of this mountain near downtown Los Angeles. A year later, Yogananda put Kriyananda in charge of the monks of the Self-Realization monastic order, asked him to write articles for the SRF magazine, had him lecture at various SRF centers, ordained him a minister, and appointed him to initiate students into Kriya Yoga. Kriyananda tells these stories in his autobiography, The New Path. In his nearly four years (1948–1952) with Yogananda, he took extensive notes of his many conversations with the Master, which he published in The Essence of Self-Realization and Conversations with Yogananda.
in downtown Los Angeles. While Yogananda was giving his speech, he suddenly dropped to the floor and was found to have died of a heart attack. Walters was present in the hall and this was a pivotal moment for the young monk.
In 1953, SRF published Kriyananda's (then still called Donald Walters) book Stories Of Mukunda, and in 1960 an LP album with him singing Yogananda's Cosmic Chants, called Music for Meditation. In 1955 he took the monastic name "Swami Kriyananda." He was made the Director of the Center Department, guiding meditation groups and SRF centers, and was made minister of one of Yogananda's main churches, the "Hollywood Church." He lectured for SRF in the US, as well as in Canada, Mexico, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and India. In 1958 he toured India with Daya Mata (the organization's president from 1955 until her death in 2010) and two others. In 1960 he was appointed Vice President of SRF and elected to the Board of Directors.
, Gary Snyder
, and Allen Ginsberg
. (The village was actually founded with the signing of the first purchase agreement of a larger parcel of land on 4 July 1969.) According to Kriyananda, these communities provide a supportive environment of “simple living and high thinking” where 1,000 full-time residents live, work, and worship together. The establishment of World Brotherhood Colonies
was one of Yogananda's central "Aims and Ideals" (published in his "Autobiography of a Yogi
" until 1958).
Kriyananda has established various retreat centers: The Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation Retreat and nearby Ananda Meditation Retreat, both located near Nevada City, California, U.S.A.; Ananda Associazione near Assisi, Italy; and Ananda Gurgaon, India.
There are currently (spring 2009) 125 Ananda Meditation groups in 19 countries, all of which were inspired in one way or another by Swami Kriyananda.
Swami Kriyananda has stated that at Yogananda's request he has devoted his life to teaching. Over the course of 60 years, he has lectured on four continents in five languages. He has given thousands of lectures and continues lecturing in Asia, Europe and America.
Kriyananda has met a number of well-known spiritual teachers: Sri Anandamayi Ma; Swami Sivananda
and his disciples Swami Chidananda and Swami Satchidananda
; Swami Muktananda
; Satya Sai Baba; Neem Karoli Baba
; the 14th Dalai Lama
; A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
; Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
; Vicka Ivankovic
, visionary of Medugorje
; and a number of others.
In the early 1960s, one of Kriyananda's inter-religious projects near New Delhi, India, received personal support from India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
. He has also had personal contact with Indira Gandhi
; with India’s Vice President Dr. Radhakrishnan; and, in 2006, with India’s President, Dr. Abdul Kalam
.
In following his guru's guidance that his task would be "writing, editing, and lecturing", Kriyananda has written more than 100 books, each of which he has stated is intended to help individuals expand their awareness. These books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in 90 countries. By the application of Yogananda's teachings, they expand on such varied topics as marriage, education, leadership and success, spiritual communities, yoga, self-healing, art, architecture, astrology, and philosophy, as well as Yogananda's teachings on the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita
, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
, and other scriptures.
One of Kriyananda's books is The Path (revised as The New Path in 2009), which contains details of the three and a half years he spent as Yogananda's direct disciple in Los Angeles. In 2010, The New Path received the Eric Hoffer award, given with the statement, in part "... The author begins with a history of his own life, an outstanding, engrossing narrative rich in vivid detail. An American youth with an early, unrelenting desire to find truth in spiritual experience, he eventually discovers his attraction to Eastern yogic science. A growing fascination and ardor culminate in his becoming a dedicated, chosen disciple of Yogananda."
Kriyananda started Crystal Clarity Publishers and the East-West book shops in Sacramento and Mountain View, California, and Seattle, Washington.
Swami Kriyananda's plays include The Peace Treaty, and The Jewel in the Lotus. He wrote his first play at age 15 and worked and studied with the Dock Street Theater in Charleston, South Carolina, in his early 20s. Rome's famous Teatro Valle
(its oldest still-active theater, built in 1726), hosted “The Peace Treaty” in June 2009.
Kriyananda won poetry and essay contest prizes at Haverford College
and also studied under the poet W.H. Auden at Bryn Mawr College.
In 1973, Swami Kriyananda developed a system for educating children called Education for Life. Education for Life Schools state that they offer character development, strong academics, and development of moral strength. The school curriculum is ecumenical; students of all religious backgrounds may attend. There are schools in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and Palo Alto and Nevada City, California (all U.S.A.); in Italy near Assisi; and one was recently (2009) started in Gurgaon, India. Other schools are adopting the curriculum and ideals of Education for Life. Kriyananda's educational ideas also inspired the Ananda College, a yoga university as envisioned by Paramhansa Yogananda, located near Nevada City, California.
Swami Kriyananda created Ananda yoga
. Yogananda had asked him often to perform the asanas for visiting guests, in his presence. Ananda Yoga arose from this practice with the Master. It is designed to uplift consciousness, and to prepare the student for meditation. Its distinguishing features are the affirmations associated with postures.
Kriyananda has taken over 15,000 photographs, many of which he states endeavor to capture the consciousness of human beings behind the image. His photos have been used on inspirational posters, on album covers, for slideshows, in film productions, and in books.
Swami Kriyananda has created several paintings, which have been used on book covers and on posters.
He has also produced films, as follows:
SRF lost nearly every issue in court, including: their claim to own the trademark to the name "Paramhansa Yogananda"; their claim to sole publicity rights to "Paramhansa Yogananda"; their attempted trademark on the term "Self-realization", which the court ruled is a generic religious term used for hundreds of years; their claim that Ananda was trying to "pass itself off" as SRF; their claim that Yogananda's writings were "work for hire" done as an employee of SRF, and done as part of the SRF "corporate body", as opposed to Yogananda writing them himself; their claim to own copyrights on certain photos of Yogananda; their claim that Ananda violated SRF's copyrights to magazine articles written by Yogananda (the court ruled that Ananda's use of the articles was "fair use").
The only issue on which the court ruled in SRF's favor was their claim that Ananda violated SRF copyrights to sound recordings of Yogananda's voice. As a result of the lawsuit, Ananda began publishing the first edition of Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi.
The jury found the church (Ananda), and Kriyananda liable for "constructive fraud
", with a finding of "malice and fraudulent conduct". The church, Kriyananda and the Ananda minister were found liable for "intentional infliction of emotional distress" with a finding of "malice" and a finding of "despicable conduct" against the church. The church was found liable for "negligent supervision" of Kriyananda, with a finding of "malice and fraud" on the part of the church.
Swami Kriyananda was judged to have misrepresented himself as a monk and to have caused emotional trauma, and was ordered to pay $285,000 in compensatory damages, and another $1 million in punitive damages (the punitive damages were reduced to $400,000 on appeal). The jury also found that the Ananda minister had made "unwelcome sexual advances". The Ananda Church responded to the million-plus-dollar judgment by filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. That allowed Ananda to settle the lawsuit by paying $1.8 million dollars to Bertolucci and her attorneys. They presented, according to Kriyananda, “lies and complete distortions of the truth.” Ananda hired a private investigator who was caught rummaging in the trash of opposing counsel. The judge's sanctions of Ananda included disallowing the questioning of the women alleging sexual misconduct.
In March, 2004, Italian authorities raided the Ananda colony in Assisi, responding to allegations of a disgruntled former resident who accused Ananda Assisi of fraud, usury and labor law violations. Nine Ananda residents were detained for questioning. They also had a warrant for Kriyananda's detention, but Kriyananda was in India. A seven-year long investigation followed. In March 2009 the judge ruled that the case was "non luogo a procedere perché il fatto non sussiste" (not to be continued as the matter is without substance).
From 1996, Swami Kriyananda lived and taught for seven years at the Ananda Italy center, near Assisi
.
In 2003, he moved to India, where he began an Ananda center in Gurgaon
, near Delhi. For five years (until May 1, 2009) he appeared daily on Aastha TV
, a cable station that is broadcast throughout India, Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Since Kriyananda's 2003 move to India, Ananda teachers have been giving classes on meditation and Kriya Yoga in many major Indian cities. In 2009, at age 83, Kriyananda moved to Pune
, India, to start a new community.
In 2009 Swami Kriyananda established a new Swami
order. According to Kriyananda, in this new age (Dwapara Yuga) not all old patterns remain valid. Some reformation is necessary. Some of the features of the newly formed Swami order are: 1) Swamis can be single or married. 2) They can be freely creative, if the purpose is to serve others. 3) A new Swami is named not by one Swami (which has been the tradition), but by three. 4) A Swami of this new order is called "Nayaswami", with "naya" meaning "new".
Selected recognitions:
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies
World Brotherhood Colonies
World Brotherhood Colonies are an idea for cooperative spiritual living first promoted by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian yogi and author of Autobiography of a Yogi. Beginning in 1932 , and continuing to the end of his life in 1952, Yogananda urged young people to pool their resources, buy land,...
ideal. Paramhansa Yogananda made him a minister for Self-Realization Fellowship
Self-Realization Fellowship
Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 and based in Mount Washington in Los Angeles, California....
(SRF), authorized him to teach Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga finds mention in the ancient spiritual texts of Patanjali Yogasutras "Tapah svadhyayeshvara pranidhani kriyayogah" . It was later revived by Yogiraj Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri in the 19th century. Subsequently Paramhansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi reported the same for his...
, and appointed him the first SRF head monk. Swami Kriyananda was elected Vice President of SRF in 1960 and member of the Board of Directors.
Kriyananda is the author of over 100 books and the composer of over 400 pieces of music. His books and music have sold over three million copies, and are published in 25 languages in 90 countries. He has lectured worldwide. In addition to English, he speaks Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, and Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
.
Early life
Kriyananda (then Donald Walters) was born in Teleajen, RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, on May 19, 1926, to American parents, Ray P. and Gertrude G. Walters. His father was an oil geologist with the Esso Corporation (since renamed Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
in the United States), who was then assigned to the Romanian oilfields. He received an international education in Romania, Switzerland, England, and the United States. He attended Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, leaving the latter with only a semester left before graduation to dedicate his life to searching for God.
Time with Yogananda
Young Donald Walters, 22 years old at this point, took up residence with other SRF monks at Mt. Washington, SRF's headquarters located on top of this mountain near downtown Los Angeles. A year later, Yogananda put Kriyananda in charge of the monks of the Self-Realization monastic order, asked him to write articles for the SRF magazine, had him lecture at various SRF centers, ordained him a minister, and appointed him to initiate students into Kriya Yoga. Kriyananda tells these stories in his autobiography, The New Path. In his nearly four years (1948–1952) with Yogananda, he took extensive notes of his many conversations with the Master, which he published in The Essence of Self-Realization and Conversations with Yogananda.
After Yogananda's passing
On March 7, 1952, Paramhansa Yogananda was a speaker at a banquet given at the Biltmore HotelMillennium Biltmore Hotel
The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, originally named the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel of the Biltmore Hotels group, is a luxury hotel located on Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Upon its grand opening in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmore was the largest hotel west of Chicago, Illinois in...
in downtown Los Angeles. While Yogananda was giving his speech, he suddenly dropped to the floor and was found to have died of a heart attack. Walters was present in the hall and this was a pivotal moment for the young monk.
In 1953, SRF published Kriyananda's (then still called Donald Walters) book Stories Of Mukunda, and in 1960 an LP album with him singing Yogananda's Cosmic Chants, called Music for Meditation. In 1955 he took the monastic name "Swami Kriyananda." He was made the Director of the Center Department, guiding meditation groups and SRF centers, and was made minister of one of Yogananda's main churches, the "Hollywood Church." He lectured for SRF in the US, as well as in Canada, Mexico, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and India. In 1958 he toured India with Daya Mata (the organization's president from 1955 until her death in 2010) and two others. In 1960 he was appointed Vice President of SRF and elected to the Board of Directors.
Dismissal from SRF
Swami Kriyananda remained in India, serving SRF until 1962, when he was expelled from the organization for reasons he could never accept as valid: desire for personal power, ulterior motives in his service, and setting himself up as the new guru. SRF gave as a reason "specific actions of his–his basic pattern of behavior." After years of intense suffering, Kriyananda started serving again in California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yogananda had often told him, "You have a great work to do!" Kriyananda eventually pursued the task Yogananda imparted to him of "writing, editing, and lecturing," as well as fulfilling his ideal of creating "World Brotherhood Colonies".Organizational accomplishments
Kriyananda established Ananda Village as a World Brotherhood Colony in 1968 on 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land near Nevada City, California — his portion of a 160-acre (0.6 km2) parcel acquired with Richard BakerRichard Baker
Richard Baker may refer to:*Richard Baker , English chronicler*Richard Baker , BBC broadcaster*Richard Baker , British composer and conductor*Richard Baker Richard Baker may refer to:*Richard Baker (chronicler) (1568–1645), English chronicler*Richard Baker (broadcaster) (born 1925), BBC...
, Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
, and Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
. (The village was actually founded with the signing of the first purchase agreement of a larger parcel of land on 4 July 1969.) According to Kriyananda, these communities provide a supportive environment of “simple living and high thinking” where 1,000 full-time residents live, work, and worship together. The establishment of World Brotherhood Colonies
World Brotherhood Colonies
World Brotherhood Colonies are an idea for cooperative spiritual living first promoted by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian yogi and author of Autobiography of a Yogi. Beginning in 1932 , and continuing to the end of his life in 1952, Yogananda urged young people to pool their resources, buy land,...
was one of Yogananda's central "Aims and Ideals" (published in his "Autobiography of a Yogi
Autobiography of a Yogi
In 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda , published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi, which introduced many westerners to meditation and yoga...
" until 1958).
Kriyananda has established various retreat centers: The Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation Retreat and nearby Ananda Meditation Retreat, both located near Nevada City, California, U.S.A.; Ananda Associazione near Assisi, Italy; and Ananda Gurgaon, India.
There are currently (spring 2009) 125 Ananda Meditation groups in 19 countries, all of which were inspired in one way or another by Swami Kriyananda.
Kriyananda has met a number of well-known spiritual teachers: Sri Anandamayi Ma; Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
and his disciples Swami Chidananda and Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda , born as C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder, was an Indian religious teacher, spiritual master and yoga adept, who gained fame and following in the West during his time in New York. He was the author of many philosophical and spiritual books, including a popular illustrative book on Hatha...
; Swami Muktananda
Muktananda
Swami Muktananda is the monastic name of an Indian Hindu guru and disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. Swami Muktananda was the founder of Siddha Yoga...
; Satya Sai Baba; Neem Karoli Baba
Neem Karoli Baba
Shri Neem Karoli Baba or Shri Neeb Karori Baba , also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman...
; the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
; A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
; Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar usually known as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, born Ravi Shankar Ratnam, born 13 May 1956) is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation , which aims at relieving individual stress, societal problems and violence. It is an NGO with UNESCO consultative status...
; Vicka Ivankovic
Vicka Ivankovic
Vicka Ivanković is one of six visionaries at Međugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina who claim to have seen the Blessed Virgin Mary on multiple occasions....
, visionary of Medugorje
Medugorje
Međugorje or Medjugorje is a town located in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Herzegovina region around 25 km southwest of Mostar and close to the border of Croatia. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of religious pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six...
; and a number of others.
In the early 1960s, one of Kriyananda's inter-religious projects near New Delhi, India, received personal support from India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
. He has also had personal contact with Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
; with India’s Vice President Dr. Radhakrishnan; and, in 2006, with India’s President, Dr. Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a renowned aerospace engineer, professor , and first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram , who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007...
.
In following his guru's guidance that his task would be "writing, editing, and lecturing", Kriyananda has written more than 100 books, each of which he has stated is intended to help individuals expand their awareness. These books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in 90 countries. By the application of Yogananda's teachings, they expand on such varied topics as marriage, education, leadership and success, spiritual communities, yoga, self-healing, art, architecture, astrology, and philosophy, as well as Yogananda's teachings on the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám , a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer...
, and other scriptures.
One of Kriyananda's books is The Path (revised as The New Path in 2009), which contains details of the three and a half years he spent as Yogananda's direct disciple in Los Angeles. In 2010, The New Path received the Eric Hoffer award, given with the statement, in part "... The author begins with a history of his own life, an outstanding, engrossing narrative rich in vivid detail. An American youth with an early, unrelenting desire to find truth in spiritual experience, he eventually discovers his attraction to Eastern yogic science. A growing fascination and ardor culminate in his becoming a dedicated, chosen disciple of Yogananda."
Kriyananda started Crystal Clarity Publishers and the East-West book shops in Sacramento and Mountain View, California, and Seattle, Washington.
Swami Kriyananda's plays include The Peace Treaty, and The Jewel in the Lotus. He wrote his first play at age 15 and worked and studied with the Dock Street Theater in Charleston, South Carolina, in his early 20s. Rome's famous Teatro Valle
Teatro Valle
The Teatro Valle is a theatre and former opera house in Rome, Italy.Commissioned by the Capranica family, the architect Tommaso Morelli designed the theatre which was built in 1726. It was inaugurated with the staging of the tragedy Matilde by Simon Falconio Pratoli...
(its oldest still-active theater, built in 1726), hosted “The Peace Treaty” in June 2009.
Kriyananda won poetry and essay contest prizes at Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and also studied under the poet W.H. Auden at Bryn Mawr College.
In 1973, Swami Kriyananda developed a system for educating children called Education for Life. Education for Life Schools state that they offer character development, strong academics, and development of moral strength. The school curriculum is ecumenical; students of all religious backgrounds may attend. There are schools in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and Palo Alto and Nevada City, California (all U.S.A.); in Italy near Assisi; and one was recently (2009) started in Gurgaon, India. Other schools are adopting the curriculum and ideals of Education for Life. Kriyananda's educational ideas also inspired the Ananda College, a yoga university as envisioned by Paramhansa Yogananda, located near Nevada City, California.
Swami Kriyananda created Ananda yoga
Ananda yoga
Ananda Yoga, or , Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness is a school of yoga advocated by Swami Kriyananda , a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda.Ananda Yoga's purpose is to prepare the student for meditation, and is based on Yogananda's Kriya Yoga teachings...
. Yogananda had asked him often to perform the asanas for visiting guests, in his presence. Ananda Yoga arose from this practice with the Master. It is designed to uplift consciousness, and to prepare the student for meditation. Its distinguishing features are the affirmations associated with postures.
Kriyananda has taken over 15,000 photographs, many of which he states endeavor to capture the consciousness of human beings behind the image. His photos have been used on inspirational posters, on album covers, for slideshows, in film productions, and in books.
Swami Kriyananda has created several paintings, which have been used on book covers and on posters.
He has also produced films, as follows:
- Saint Francis of AssisiFrancis of AssisiSaint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
(narration, music, photography) - Mediterranean Magic (narration, music, photography)
- The Land of Mystery (narration, music, photography)
- The Autobiography of a YogiAutobiography of a YogiIn 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda , published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi, which introduced many westerners to meditation and yoga...
(narration, music, photography) - Christ Lives! (narration, music, photography)
- Different Worlds (narration, music, photography)
Volunteer work
- 1948–present: As a renunciate, Swami Kriyananda dedicated his life to service to others. Copyrights to his books and music have been placed in a trust. Royalties are directed toward the work of sharing Yogananda’s teachings with the public. For many years now, he has received no salary or stipend, and depends on donations for all his needs, including food, housing, and medical care.
- 1997: After the massive earthquakes that damaged large areas around AssisiAssisi- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, including the Basilica of St. Francis, Swami Kriyananda raised funds to help rebuild homes in the area, in a campaign called “Hope and Homes for Italy”. He encouraged the use of wood instead of stone building materials, to minimize future earthquake fatalities.
Self-Realization Fellowship litigation
Self-Realization Fellowship spent twelve years (1990–2002) and millions of dollars suing Kriyananda and Ananda over various copyright and trademark issues. SRF, among other charges, claimed exclusive and sole right (trademark and service mark) to the name "Paramhansa Yogananda" and all images of Yogananda, and the term "Self-Realization". Many Hindu, yoga, and meditation groups filed papers supporting Ananda.SRF lost nearly every issue in court, including: their claim to own the trademark to the name "Paramhansa Yogananda"; their claim to sole publicity rights to "Paramhansa Yogananda"; their attempted trademark on the term "Self-realization", which the court ruled is a generic religious term used for hundreds of years; their claim that Ananda was trying to "pass itself off" as SRF; their claim that Yogananda's writings were "work for hire" done as an employee of SRF, and done as part of the SRF "corporate body", as opposed to Yogananda writing them himself; their claim to own copyrights on certain photos of Yogananda; their claim that Ananda violated SRF's copyrights to magazine articles written by Yogananda (the court ruled that Ananda's use of the articles was "fair use").
The only issue on which the court ruled in SRF's favor was their claim that Ananda violated SRF copyrights to sound recordings of Yogananda's voice. As a result of the lawsuit, Ananda began publishing the first edition of Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi.
Ananda found liable for "malice and fraud"
In 1997–98, Anne-Marie Bertolucci, a former resident of Ananda filed suit against Ananda, Ananda minister Danny Levin, and Swami Kriyananda. In the course of the trial, eight women testified under oath that Kriyananda had used his power as the leader of Ananda to obtain sexual gratification from them when they were in their 20s. Kriyananda admitted sexual contacts with most of the women but with full consent but denied it constituted sexual abuse.The jury found the church (Ananda), and Kriyananda liable for "constructive fraud
Constructive fraud
Constructive fraud is a legal fiction used in the law to describe a situation where a person or entity gained an unfair advantage over another by deceitful, or unfair, methods. Intent does not need to be shown as in the case of actual fraud...
", with a finding of "malice and fraudulent conduct". The church, Kriyananda and the Ananda minister were found liable for "intentional infliction of emotional distress" with a finding of "malice" and a finding of "despicable conduct" against the church. The church was found liable for "negligent supervision" of Kriyananda, with a finding of "malice and fraud" on the part of the church.
Swami Kriyananda was judged to have misrepresented himself as a monk and to have caused emotional trauma, and was ordered to pay $285,000 in compensatory damages, and another $1 million in punitive damages (the punitive damages were reduced to $400,000 on appeal). The jury also found that the Ananda minister had made "unwelcome sexual advances". The Ananda Church responded to the million-plus-dollar judgment by filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. That allowed Ananda to settle the lawsuit by paying $1.8 million dollars to Bertolucci and her attorneys. They presented, according to Kriyananda, “lies and complete distortions of the truth.” Ananda hired a private investigator who was caught rummaging in the trash of opposing counsel. The judge's sanctions of Ananda included disallowing the questioning of the women alleging sexual misconduct.
In March, 2004, Italian authorities raided the Ananda colony in Assisi, responding to allegations of a disgruntled former resident who accused Ananda Assisi of fraud, usury and labor law violations. Nine Ananda residents were detained for questioning. They also had a warrant for Kriyananda's detention, but Kriyananda was in India. A seven-year long investigation followed. In March 2009 the judge ruled that the case was "non luogo a procedere perché il fatto non sussiste" (not to be continued as the matter is without substance).
Recent years and recognitions
Kriyananda married in 1981, and publicly renounced his monastic vows on the occasion of his second marriage in 1985. He was later divorced. In 1995, he officially resumed his monastic vows and title.From 1996, Swami Kriyananda lived and taught for seven years at the Ananda Italy center, near Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
.
In 2003, he moved to India, where he began an Ananda center in Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
, near Delhi. For five years (until May 1, 2009) he appeared daily on Aastha TV
Aastha TV
Aastha TV is India’s No. 1 spiritual TV network, Established in 2000 it is owned by 'Aastha Broadcasting Network Ltd.', which is listed at Bombay Stock Exchange and has Santosh Kumar Jain and Prabhat Kumar Jain as its Directors...
, a cable station that is broadcast throughout India, Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Since Kriyananda's 2003 move to India, Ananda teachers have been giving classes on meditation and Kriya Yoga in many major Indian cities. In 2009, at age 83, Kriyananda moved to Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, India, to start a new community.
In 2009 Swami Kriyananda established a new Swami
Swami
A swami sometimes abbreviated "Sw." is an ascetic or yogi who has been initiated into the religious monastic order founded by Adi Sankara, or to a religious teacher.The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology as...
order. According to Kriyananda, in this new age (Dwapara Yuga) not all old patterns remain valid. Some reformation is necessary. Some of the features of the newly formed Swami order are: 1) Swamis can be single or married. 2) They can be freely creative, if the purpose is to serve others. 3) A new Swami is named not by one Swami (which has been the tradition), but by three. 4) A Swami of this new order is called "Nayaswami", with "naya" meaning "new".
Selected recognitions:
- In 1990: Adelaide RistoriAdelaide RistoriAdelaide Ristori was a distinguished Italian tragedienne, who was often referred to as the Marquise.-Biography:...
Award, Italy, for the Oratorio: “Christ Lives” - In 1991: First prize at the National Festival of World Peace in Italy for the Oratorio: “Christ Lives”
- In 1992: Nominated for the Templeton Progress in Religion PrizeTempleton PrizeThe Templeton Prize is an annual award presented by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical...
- In 1995: Lifetime Achievement Award, Unity in Yoga Conference, Snowmass, Colorado
- Recipient in 2004 of the International Award for Goodness by the “International Committee of Third Millennium” on nomination of Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, granddaughter of Mahatma GandhiMahatma GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. Previous recipients include the Dalai Lama. - In 2006, Swami Kriyananda was nominated and accepted as a Creative Member of the Club of BudapestClub of BudapestThe Club of Budapest is an international organization founded in 1993 by Ervin Laszlo to expand beyond the exclusively scientific purpose of The General Evolution Research Group to try to mobilize the full cultural resources of humanity to meet the challenges we face.-Club's mission:“The Club of...
, which counts as its members persons such as the 14th Dalai Lama14th Dalai LamaThe 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
, Mikhail GorbachevMikhail GorbachevMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, and Archbishop Desmond TutuDesmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
. - Invitation in April 2006 by India's President Dr. Abdul KalamAbdul KalamAvul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a renowned aerospace engineer, professor , and first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram , who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007...
into the Rashtrapati BhavanRashtrapati BhavanThe Rashtrapati Bhavan or The Official Residence of the Head of the State is the official residence of the President of India, located at Raisina hill in New Delhi, India. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India...
("President of the Country's Home"). - Recipient in Italy, in May 2007, in the prestigious Campidoglio, of the “Medaglia Giulio Cesare” (Julius Caesar Medal), a bronze medallion of limited coinage which symbolically represents “The Keys to the City of Rome.”
- In August, 2007, Swami Kriyananda was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National InterFaith Council at the Wadsworth Theater in Los Angeles.
- In June 2009, Rome, at the Teatro ValleTeatro ValleThe Teatro Valle is a theatre and former opera house in Rome, Italy.Commissioned by the Capranica family, the architect Tommaso Morelli designed the theatre which was built in 1726. It was inaugurated with the staging of the tragedy Matilde by Simon Falconio Pratoli...
, the Byakko Shinko Kai, an international organization dedicated to global peace, headquartered on Mount Fuji in Japan, presented the “Living Peace Pole” to Swami Kriyananda. Such poles have been presented as symbols of peace to various eminent world organizations, notably the United Nations and its various agencies, UNESCO, ASEAN, The Arab League, The African League, IAEA, The International Red Cross, The World Bank, and The Rotary Club.