About Ananda
Sangha
Ananda Sangha—"fellowship of divine joy"—is
a worldwide group of individuals who share the search for
higher consciousness and the ideal of service to others
by following the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. These
teachings emphasize "Self-realisation" as direct
inner experience of God. Non-sectarian, they are based on
India 's timeless universal truths and offer practical solutions
to the challenges of modern life.
Ananda was founded in the USA nearly 40 years ago to support
people in search of spiritual growth. Across 16 countries
on 6 continents, Ananda Sangha provides classes, events,
satsangs, study materials, and other resources around the
world, through a network of individual devotees, communities,
teaching centres, and meditation groups.
The Ananda Joy Logo (seen above in the Ananda Sangha India
web logo), represents the soul's aspiration upward toward
God and outward to embrace all beings in its quest for enlightenment.
The downward curve shows the corresponding descent of divine
grace.
Ananda Sangha India
Every Indian is familiar with the basic truths of Paramhansa
Yogananda's teaching. Still, his message of Self-realisation
and Kriya Yoga is a new expression of these truths. It is
a spiritual revolution for India just as in the West.
"There are so many receptive souls in India",
Swami Kriyananda has said, "that in time the work here
will dwarf everything else Ananda is doing."
With a small international group of Ananda devotees, he
moved to India in 2003, his 78th year, that he might dedicate
his remaining life to make his guru's teachings better known
in the land of his birth.
Soon Swami Kriyananda began a nightly TV show, A Way to
Awakening (AASTHA), reaching millions in India as well as
many nearby southeastern Asian countries and the USA. Ananda
Sangha Publications was set up to print and distribute many
of Yogananda's and Kriyananda's writings and musical recordings.
Swami Kriyananda's 1st publication in India was a correspondence
course, Success
and Happiness Through Yoga Principles, on applying dharmic
principles to India's rising economic opportunities. It
is now also available for group study and corporate seminars,
and in both print and audio format. In turn came several
more books, including what is often considered his crowning
achievement, The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita.
Having long encouraged Ananda communities to develop economic
means of support in areas compatible with spiritual focus,
Kriyananda inspired several such enterprises in India. The
first was a boutique, Kalyana Kalpataru—The
Wishing Tree—in Gurgaon's Metropolitan Mall, carrying
spiritual books, music, gifts, and yoga and meditation aids.
Other Ananda entrepreneurial activities in India have followed:
Harmony at Work,
applying Material Success Through Yoga Principles to work
relationships.
Yogananda's Spirit-in-Nature
Essences, a line of 20 flower essences promoting well-being
and health.
Ananda Solar Technologies,
developing low-cost energy alternatives.
Anjali Khadi Clothing,
Pvt. Ltd., which creates yoga apparel and fashionwear for
Western export. Honouring Mahatma Gandhi's principles of
simplicity and ethics, they are made with khadi cloth spun
and woven by hand in Indian villages—organically grown,
naturally dyed cotton fabrics as well as "ahimsa silks"
produced without killing silkworms.
The main work of Ananda Sangha India, however, is the same
as in other countries: presenting the teachings of Self-realisation
through classes and satsangs. These are held weekly in Delhi,
Gurgaon, and Noida. Several times a year, introductory weekend
seminars on meditation and Kriya Yoga are offered in other
parts of India, including to date Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune. In some cities, small groups
gather for meditation and satsang. Advanced students in
all localities can prepare for Kriya Yoga initiation, given
regularly.
Ananda Sangha India's Future Vision
In addition to founding world
brotherhood cooperative communities in India, Swami
Kriyananda has determined to build a universal temple of
Self-Realisation dedicated to Paramhansa Yogananda. He also
envisions opening schools and a university-level institute
specializing in training teachers in the Education for Life
methods so well proven in Ananda's "Living Wisdom"
schools in the USA; a hospice for the elderly; and an orphanage
for the young. Monasteries for men and for women are being
established.
Swamiji invites all who are inspired by these goals and
ideals to join in any aspect of this divine service to Yogananda.
The Way of Ananda
Sanghis
We invite you to become one of the founding members of
Ananda Sangha India. Ananda Sanghis dedicate their lives
to living the ideals expressed in this brochure. Read the
online brochure, and if you feel inspired, fill out the
membership form and send it to us.
"A Life Dream Fulfilled?"
by Swami Kriyananda
"More than forty years ago, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
then Prime Minister of India, gave his personal blessing
on a project I had presented to him. It was to develop a
piece of land in the green belt area near Birla Mandir.
That he gave this venture his blessing was nothing short
of a miracle. Many hundreds of others had tried to get land
there, and all of them had been refused...."
Ananda Sangha Centres
and Groups in India
Please visit us at Ananda whereever you may be in India.
World Brotherhood
Colonies
Ananda fulfills the dream of Paramhansa Yogananda: to establish
"world brotherhood colonies". These are communities
where people can practice "plain living and high thinking",
based on the spiritual principles that Yogananda taught.
Learn more about Yogananda's dream, and Ananda's fulfillment
of that dream.
Related
Paramhansa Yogananda
Swami Kriyananda
Ananda World Brotherhood
Communities
Ananda Businesses in India
Ananda Worldwide
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