World Brotherhood
Colonies
"This day marks the birth of a new era. My spoken
words are registered in the ether, in the Spirit of God,
and they shall move the West.... Self-Realization has come
to unite all religions.... We must go on — not only
those who are here, but thousands of youths must go North,
South, East and West to cover the earth with little colonies,
demonstrating that simplicity of living plus high thinking
lead to the greatest happiness!"
— Paramhansa Yogananda, from The New Path,
by Swami Kriyananda. The photo above was taken on the occasion
of this talk.
The establishment of world brotherhood communities was a long
time dream of Yogananda. He spoke enthusiastically up until
the very end of his life about this dream. In his Autobiography
of a Yogi he exclaimed, "An urgent need on this war-torn
earth is the founding, on a spiritual basis, of numerous
world-brotherhood colonies". (Note: These words were
edited out in the late 1950s.)
One of the aims and ideals of his organisation, while he
was alive, was "to spread a spirit of world brotherhood
among all peoples and to aid in the establishment, in many
countries, of self-sustaining world brotherhood colonies
for plain living and high thinking". He spoke of this
dream just a few months before his passing to a disciple,
Kamala Silva (see link to the passage from Kamala's book
below).
Ananda is the fulfillment of Yogananda's dream of establishing
world brotherhood colonies, where spiritual seekers could
gather together and practise "plain living and high
thinking". These colonies were envisioned by Yogananda
many years before the community movement began in America.
During his lifetime, Yogananda tried to fulfill his dream,
but the world at that time wasn't ready for such an unusual
approach to life.
Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Yogananda, was inspired
by Yogananda's ideal, and began the first colony outside
Nevada City, California in 1968. He named it Ananda, which
is the Sanskrit word for Divine Joy.
Since then, Ananda has grown into a worldwide network of
spiritual communities that includes thriving world brotherhood
colonies all over the world including our our first world
brotherhood community in India near the city of Pune.
For links to Ananda colonies and centers, see "World Brotherhood Colony Links & Resources" below. Each Ananda colony has between 60 and 300 residents,
including children. Residents practise Yogananda's techniques
of meditation and Kriya Yoga.
World Brotherhood Colony Links & Resources
A Place
Called Ananda: The Trial by Fire That Forged One of the
Most Successful Cooperative Communities in the World Today
Read the entire book online. The complete story of how Ananda
was founded, beginning with Kriyananda's training under
Yogananda.
Excerpt on
World Brotherhood Colonies from The Path, by
Swami Kriyananda.
Article on World
Brotherhood Colonies, by Paramhansa Yogananda
Autobiography
of a Yogi Chapter 48: In the first edition of Autobiography
of a Yogi, Yogananda speaks at length about world brotherhood
colonies. Read Chapter 48, from the online Autobiography
of a Yogi, to see what he says.
Yogananda on World
Brotherhood Colonies, from The Flawless Mirror,
by Kamala Silva.
Related
Autobiography
of a Yogi online edition
The New
Path online edition
Streaming Video
of Yogananda
Photo Album
of Yogananda
Articles by Yogananda
