Our Spiritual Lineage
Our Guru, Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, was born on January 5, 1893 in Gorakhpur, United Provinces, in the erstwhile Britsh dominion of India. He is one of the first Yoga Gurus who made America his home and spread to the West, Kriya Yoga, to its many spiritually thirsty populace. He was instrumental in bridging the gap between Hindu scriptures and the Bible, which spoke of the same God Consciousness and how to connect with it.
The powerful Kriya Yoga was taught by Mahavatar Babaji (who is a reincarnation of Krishna) to Lahiri Mahasaya. Lahiri Mahasaya gave it to Swami Sri Yukteswar, who then gave the sacred technique to Paramhansa Yogananda. Some years later, at the age of 27, Paramhansa Yogananda set sail for the United States of America, to fulfil Babaji’s mission to him. His book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ is a beacon for those seeking God, everywhere. Paramhansa Yogananda left the earthly abode and attained mahasamadhi on March 7, 1952.
Swami Kriyananda
One of Sri Paramhansa Yogananda’s foremost disciples, Swami Kriyananda was the founder of the Ananda. He met his Guru when he was only 22 and since then has dedicated his entire life to the sharing of the teachings of Sanatan Dharma and Kriya Yoga, until his passing in 2013. Swami Kriyananda was a prolific writer with his work spanning more than 140 books. These books are revised and expanded commentaries and aspects of Yogananda’s teachings. Books such as the Essence of Bhagavad Gita, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Explained, and The New Path (his autobiography on his search for God and Guru) have been his noteworthy contribution in highlighting some of his Master’s most important work. He was a trained musician and composed over 400 songs (solos, instrumentals, choir, chants, etc). Through his music he channeled higher states of consciousness and helped innumerable listeners to attune themselves to those states.
Read More..
Ananda Sangha History
“Joy will come to anyone whose heart has learned to fly..”
Sri Paramhansa Yogananda said to Swami Kriyananda “ You have great work to do…” After Sri Paramhansa Yogananda’s mahasamadhi, Swami Kriyananda went on with his duties within the organization that Master had founded. In his 42nd year (1968) , Swami Kriyananda founded Ananda as he shared Master’s vision of establishing “world brotherhood colonies.” The aim of such communities would be to enable people (married or single) to live together and pursue their spiritual goals.
Swami Kriyananda established Ananda in California and Oregon in America, Assisi in Italy, and then was guided by his Guru, Sri Paramhansa Yogananda to come and set up Ananda in India. Gurgaon, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Dehradun,Delhi, Noida, Kolkata and now Mumbai – 9 centers which are the crucibles of Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings in India. Many initiatives – social and spiritual have been taken up by Ananda India to spread the message of self- realization through Kriya Yoga.
Read More..
Kriya Yoga
“Half a minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment…”
Kriya Yoga speeds up the process of human revolution. The practice impacts not just the physical body but also the astral body of human being. This is the very practice that Krishna gave to Arjuna during the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita promises that “Swalpamasya, dharmasya,trayate,mahato bhayat – even a little bit of the practice of this religion will save you from dire fears and colossal sufferings.”
The practice has been handed down from Guru to disciple. Swami Kiryananda was a direct disciple and a trained Kriya Acharya who was permitted to share the Kriya technique with disciples. He was also trained in yoga by Paramhansa Yogananda himself. At Ananda we share the same meditation techniques and yoga practise as Swami Kriyananda passed it down to Acharyas at Ananda.
Read More..
About Ananda Mumbai Center
Ananda Mumbai came into being in 2018. Even prior to 2018, Kriya Acharyas were travelling from Pune to hold classes at disciple homes to share Ananda’s message to seekers in Mumbai.
The current center at Khar holds meditation and Yoga classes. Activities <hyperlink> such as Children’s Art Classes and a small Ananda books store is run here. Having initiated over a 100 disciples onto the Kriya Yoga path, the center is constantly reverberating with peace and joy.
Visit our center at : Links Building, 621, Khar Pali Rd, Pali Village, Khar West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400052
Gallery
Welcome to Ananda Mumbai! <Some pictures of Ananda Mumbai center>
Visit the center to meet our Spiritual Directors Tyagi Narayani and Tyagi Shurjo.
Our Spiritual Directors at Mumbai
Tyagi Narayani and Tyagi Shurjo are the Spiritual Directors of Anand Mumbai. Initially, both were based out of Ananda, Pune and would make time to visit Mumbai to hold satsangs and meditation classes. In 2018, the with the center space available, Ananda found its home in Mumbai.
Tyagi Narayani
Born Ana Maria, in a small town of Spain, Narayani was introduced to the path when she was 20. After reading the book, Autobiography of a Yogi, her life changed forever, and thus began her journey towards self-realization.
Soon after, Narayani encountered a major health karma, in the form of cancer, which gave her greater courage and deepened her faith in the path. She had a miraculous healing through Swami Kriyananda’s music.
While visiting Ananda India in 2005, Swami Kriyananda invited her to move to India and join the work here. Without any doubt, she left her life in Spain and moved to India, not even knowing the language! But her faith was strong. Her dedication towards her Guru, Yogananda, was unconditional. She helped establish the first few years of Ananda Sangha India. She took her monastic vows and soon after, she was asked to become Swami Kriyananda’s personal assistance, taking care of him and traveling wherever he went. Over the years in India, Narayani has learnt English and is now a fluent speaker.
At Ananda’s Pune ashram, she met her life-partner, Shurjo, who was also a brahmachari at the time. Their marriage was blessed by Swami Kriyananda himself. He said, “It will help the work.”
Narayani is deeply committed to the work of spreading Paramhansa Yogananda’s message of self-realization through Kriya Yoga.
Before Swami Kriyananda’s passing, he requested Narayani to write a book about her personal experiences with him. And so she authored the book, “My Heart Remembers Swami Kriyananda”
Tyagi Shurjo
Tyagi Shurjo took his monastic or brahmacharya vows at a young age of 21. At a time when most youngsters allow themselves the freedom to enjoy life – Shurjo committed his life to the goal of self-realization. He was one of the first among the group of monks to support the work at Ananda Sangha, Pune, in 2009.
He was born in Dehradun into a military family – and raised as an atheist. Growing up, he always questioned life’s true purpose, it’s real meaning. While studying at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Kolkata, he chanced upon the book, the Autobiography of a Yogi. Shurjo committed himself to the path, and the rest they say is history.
While at Pune, Shurjo dedicated himself to building an Ananda community and deepening his spiritual practice. He met his shakti, Narayani, there too, adding a new chapter in his spiritual journey. In 2012, Swami Kriyananda blessed their union happily. Both Shurjo and Narayani immersed themselves in service to Swami Kriyananda, as his assistants till his passing in 2013.
Having lived and served in Ananda ashrams in Pune, Delhi, Assisi (Italy), and Nevada City (California, US), Shurjo and Narayani have taken on the responsibility of being Spiritual Directors at Ananda Mumbai. Shurjo serves in joy to spread the message of Paramhansa Yogananda and Kriya Yoga, wherever he goes.
Since 2018, Narayani and Shurjo have been spreading the light of self-realization throughout Mumbai, helping and supporting Master’s work.
The Way Of Ananda Sanghis
By Swami Kriyananda
“May the Divine Light awaken and purify my heart, and bring enlightenment to all beings.”
1) We believe in a single, blissful, eternal consciousness, Satchidanandam, which pervades the entire universe, unifying it and all creatures in a bond of mutual service. This blissful consciousness is the underlying reality of all the existence; it precedes the very manifestation of the universe.
2) We believe that man’s highest duty is to realize himself as an expression of all-pervading Satchidanandam.
- We embrace the way to this Self-realization through inner silence, above all, of daily communion with the infinite Self.
- We embrace, for ourselves, the need to embody this realization in our own lives by daily performing at least one specific, conscious, personally selected act of service to our fellow beings.
- We embrace—again, for ourselves, since we seek not to impose our understanding on others—the need to honor all, whether friends or self-named foes, as manifestations of the eternal Satchidanandam, and to see them as our brothers and sisters in that Supreme Consciousness which is variously called God, Ishwara, Allah, or Jehovah. We recognize all names for that Supreme Being as designating our one, common Progenitor.
- We embrace the need to give back to our Supreme Source by offering up every ego-attachment and self-limiting identity in daily acts of service to others.
- We seek as our primary goal in life is the state of actual, conscious union with Satchidanandam.
- We aspire to make our own lives work of art, whether through music, through the visual arts, or through the simple deeds of our daily existence, with a view to expressing the bliss that is latent in our deeper selves.
- We seek to make our every thought and action a radiation outward from the center of our being, and not to allow ourselves to become superficial reflections of the thoughts and actions of others.
3) We seek never to convert anyone to our specific cause except, in love, to inspire all with the desire to reclaim the bliss of their own being.
4) We seek fellowship with others willing to join hands with us in this loving labor for universal upliftment. Thus, by our united efforts, our hope is to share inspiration with ever-increasing effectiveness.
5) We recognize that, whether or not others join us consciously in this labor, all human beings, each one individually, serve the Eternal Purpose, doing so by the simple act of seeking, whether ignorantly or wisely, the bliss of their own being. We condemn no one, therefore, for ideas he may hold that are different from our own, but embrace all as fellow seekers of Ultimate Bliss.
6)We recognize that the way of Ananda Sangha is primarily inward, not outward; that it leads one by the universal pathway of the spine to the high state of communion with God at that point in the forehead which lies between the eyebrows. We follow this path by the daily practice, after receiving it, of the non-sectarian science of Kriya Yoga, as it was named by its reviver in the nineteenth century, Yogavatar Lahiri Mahasaya of Varanasi. The aim of Kriya Yoga is to withdraw one’s energy and consciousness from the senses to the spine, and to lift the awareness to conscious union with the Supreme Reality: Satchidanandam. Those who practice this sacred science are known as Kriyabans. The Kriyabans of Ananda Sangha offer special respect, honor, and reverence to those who inspired the promulgation of Kriya Yoga in modern times: Jesus Christ, Mahavatar Babaji (who was, as he has informed his close disciples, Bhagavan Krishna in a former incarnation), Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, and Paramhansa Yogananda, ambassador of Kriya Yoga to the West and promoter of the underlying oneness of Hinduism, Christianity, and, consequently, of all the great religions of the world. Kriyabans revere the great saints of all religions, but give special reverence and obedience to the line of gurus on whose lives and teachings we pattern our own lives.