About Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)--Ananda Sangha of Portland

About Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)

Swami Kriyananda, also known by his birth name of J. Donald Walters, is a direct disciple of ParamhansaYogananda and the founder of Ananda. As a young man, Kriyananda spent 3½ years living closely with the great Indian master up to the end of Yogananda's life. In the years that followed he went on to become vice-president of Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), the organization Yogananda founded. After being removed from SRF in 1962, he began Ananda in 1968, recognized as the most successful spiritual community in the world.

(See the website www.swamikriyananda.org for complete biographical details.)

(Left) A young Swami Kriyananda serving Yogananda, March 1952.

Kriyananda's books and music have sold over 3 million copies worldwide and been translated into 24 languages. His over eighty published works seminally explore the application of the teachings of Self-realization to daily life. Topics include leadership, education, creativity, and moral values. His best-selling titles include Meditation for Starters, The Path: A Spiritual Autobiography (available online), Money Magnetism, The Essence of Self-Realization, Affirmations for Self-Healing, Education for Life, and his best-selling Secrets gift books. (For more information on his books, visit Crystal Clarity, Ananda's publishing arm. For excerpts from a number of books as well as original articles, see our Feature Articles

A composer since 1964, Swami Kriyananda has written over 400 pieces of original music including spiritual folk songs, an oratorio, instrumentals, and music inspired by seeing the Divine in cultures throughout the world.

His music is soothing, uplifting, and inspiring. Many of his new albums are instrumental works that contain brief affirmations or visualizations. Chuck Dilberto, of Awareness Magazine says, "Swami Kriyananda's words and music are full of his life and light. His sole intention is to heal, something we could all use during these chaotic times."

His recent albums include Secrets of Life, Mantra, Life is a Quest for Joy, and I, Omar. As a composer, Kriyananda is best known for the top-selling albums Mystic Harp and Mystic Harp 2, featuring the legendary harpist Derek Bell, of the 5-time Grammy Award-winning group The Chieftains.

In seeking to fulfill Yogananda's insight that the world needs examples of how to live together in harmony in a complex and diversified world, Kriyananda has founded intentional, spiritual communities in America and Europe which have grown and flourished, offering hope for a better world.

Swami Kriyananda is currently residing in Gurgaon, India (a suburb of New Delhi). For more news as well as streaming audio and video, visit Ananda's central website, www.ananda.org, as well as www.anandaindia.org.

Photography by Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)

Also see the biography of Swami Kriyananda at anandaindia.org and the article "Swami Kriyananda, Friend and Guide" at yoganandarediscovered.com.