Category Archives: Rural Community

Cities of Light Residential Study Program

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I recall, several years prior to finding Ananda, or even discovering the Autobiography of a Yogi, actively seeking a place where people lived “deliberately.” I had a sense that there had to be a way to live that brought meaning to the moments of life. I yearned for a place where decisions were based on more than convenience or habit. In the seeking for such a place, it became clear that this was not an easy prescription to fill. Certainly there were places where people did live deliberately, but in each case, the underlying set of values differed from what I hoped to find. I began to seek land in order to try to found such a place. Thank goodness I did not succeed, as I had no capacity to actually fulfill that lofty aspiration.

In the course of time, I did find the Autobiography of a Yogi and it changed the course of my life. I realized that, finally, I had found a teaching and understanding that I could pilot by. As I grew in my experiences of those teachings, I found that it was not satisfying enough to simply practice and participate part time. I yearned to be immersed in them throughout my days. I yearned to raise my child, work, play, serve, learn, sleep, worship – all without losing contact with the growing joy that the teachings were awakening. The desire to live deliberately had found a context. It was around that time that I found Ananda Village (the only Ananda then) and moved there.

It was one of the most remarkable choices of this life. Since that time (in 1985), I have lived in (and occasionally helped develop) one Ananda Community or another. It has reached the point where I cannot imagine a life that is not immersed in the God reminding attitudes and activities that are the center of Ananda life. I have discovered that Ananda is not a place, but a way of life. That said, Ananda does need places to express that way of life. I have also discovered that there are many aspects to successful community living that are not obvious or intuitive to someone raised outside of such a setting.

Some of the more subtle aspects include: the discovery that self-interest is far less satisfying than acting to help create blessings for others; that the best way to resolve interpersonal conflict is to meditate and pray together on a regular basis; that service brings with it a deep sense of joy; that creative cooperative living is a perpetual adventure that often yields results far beyond the initial hopes; that the world can reflect beauty, kindness, cooperation and friendship when people learn how to live together successfully; that people from different nations, cultures, races and religions are not so different when sharing a spiritualized life- that a sense of family can be found anywhere and everywhere.

It takes time to explore community living. Most of us are on guard, protective and careful in our relationships with each other and with life. Many of the circumstances and experiences of life warrant such guardedness. Yet, such guardedness carries with it a certain amount of stress and perpetual discomfort. We all seek  the opportunity to relax and open ourselves to life, to feel genuine friendship, to give and receive meaningful service, to feel beauty and kindness and creativity as part of daily life. Ananda community life provides for just such experiences.

Cities of Light is a book written by Swami Kriyananda about the underlying principles that make Ananda a living reality. Instead of diminishing over the 40+ years since Ananda was founded, these principles have proved themselves to be the foundation of one of the most satisfying patterns of life on the planet today. It is because of this that Ananda communities continue to grow, thrive and spread. The latest expansion of Ananda is in the Portland area. The Ananda Center at Laurelwood is a 55 acre campus just west of Portland that will house programs making available the experiences and insights that create the Community life at the center of all of Ananda. The first such program will be the “Cities of Light Residential Study Program.” This program will make it possible for individuals to live and experience the various universal aspects of cooperative spiritual living that have been so successful. Some of the experiences will be specific to Ananda as an expression of community living, yet many of the experiences and insights will be completely universal and applicable to life everywhere.

We are just now forming this new program and have around 20 individuals who will be pioneering the development of the course. We will share with you more details as they come into focus. If you have interest in this, feel free to write to Lewis van der Meulen, or Daiva and Gangamata Glazzard. We look forward to this great adventure.

Why Rural Spiritual Community?

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“Imagine.” So starts the book Cities of Light, by Swami Kriyananda. “Imagine a city—a beautiful city, such as a City of Tomorrow ought to be. Imagine small residential areas within the city, each surrounded by beautiful parkland for its residents’ enjoyment…”

The question of the value of creating a rural Ananda Community has become acute over the last few months of looking for property near Portland where such a thing could be established. Ananda has created several wonderful urban communities that are remarkable and which serve a great many of the uplifting needs of people who seek a closer relationship with God in daily life. I have lived and participated in the forming of 2 of them. I have the greatest appreciation for their existence, and, simultaneously, I believe that there is a co-existing need for a rural expression of community.
Many folks who are initially intrigued over the idea of rural community find their interest waning when the prospects start to become real. (Swami Kriyananda noted from his own early experience before Ananda Village was started that people were very interested until they realized that he was serious.) This is not inappropriate.  And yet, there is a longing, almost universally felt, for a life that has a closer connection to the rhythms of nature, for a more wholly integrated daily life, for having all of life reflect our highest values.

Jaya Helin, a long-time Ananda member who was both central to the development of Ananda Village and also its manager for many years, mentioned to me in passing conversation that in many ways there was no good reason for creating a rural community. The taxes of the residents will go toward the infrastructure of the country, state, county and local towns. Then the residents still have to develop much of the same services for their own community out of what is left of the balance of their income. In addition, there are many things that are, perhaps not necessary, but quite convenient to have close at hand and are found in a city, that either need to be recreated or done without. Fair enough. So why explore the concept of rural community? Why go to all that hassle and inconvenience? Why bother?

The rest of Jaya’s thoughts from that conversation provide some insight. He noted that the only reason, in his mind at that time, was to be able to do things not possible in conventional cities. His first example was the Expanding Light, Ananda’s international guest facility that provides both retreat services and immersion into Yogananda’s teachings of a God-centered life. The Expanding Light is simply not possible in the midst of an urban area. The existence of the Expanding Light, actually provides an equally necessary role for the residents in support of their growth in their relationship to God – it keeps the focus of life on outreach, service to God through others, and it makes it all but impossible to become self-involved or closed off.

Agriculture is another reason – the ability to produce food that is grown organically and without the need for the environmentally damaging process of being shipped vast distances. Fresh air is another reason. The ability to live without the constant noise produced by tens of thousands of individuals in your immediate neighborhood. Peace and rhythms of nature, the ongoing company of others who share and support your own core values, a refuge for people in times of distress…the list stretches on to the horizon of the mind.

Though there are an enormous number of reasons for creating a rural spiritual community, the very effort to create and sustain a conscious, deliberate and uplifted environment requires a commitment of resources and heart. It requires ongoing choice. It requires cooperation and respect, vision and imagination. And it requires the willingness to be a pioneer.

Every reason that I can think of, however, produces an inner wealth that is impossible to purchase with the most vast outer wealth. Here is an interesting example of the kind of upside down benefits that accrue to those who offer their desires to God.

I grew up interested in having a large farm/rural property in which to get away. I also yearned to be able to travel, and in my imagination, saw myself having homes in countries around the world where I could land, have a base, and feel at home. As I grew into my adult life, it became apparent that such a dream was unlikely, and that if, in fact, such wealth were generated, I would be unlikely to have the time to take advantage of such things. I came to Ananda having realized that most of the dreams I held were unlikely to find fulfillment, and that the answer to true fulfillment might be in seeking God.

One day, about 15 years ago, I had just returned from a visit to Ananda Assisi. I was wandering across the Ananda Portland Community, and reflected on Ananda Village, where I had lived for many years. I realized suddenly that the dream had actually been fulfilled beyond the powers of my imagination. In each of these places, I was welcome at any time. I felt completely at home, treated as if everything there was mine. And, unimaginably, I did not have the responsibility of caring for or tending to them. I was the proud “owner” of a 900 acre estate in N. California with 300 plus individuals taking care of it every day. “My” European retreat had a staff of around 100 or so, and my Oregon home was cared for by another 65 folks. My responsibility to all of these riches was fulfilled through my love of God, my daily practice of Kriya Yoga, my local tithing, and my daily responsibilities to the life duties in front of me. Another surprising discovery was the fact that this simple daily offering made the same wealth available to all of the other hundreds of Ananda members. I was not only wealthy beyond measure, I was part of a vast movement that had created untold wealth for each participant.

It is interesting to note that each Ananda Community is different. Each one reflects the personalities and traits of its members and of the particular environment in which it grew. Yet, each Ananda Community is surprisingly the same. In each one, you feel as if you were surrounded by your best friends. You feel the gentle love of God permeating the conversation, the activities, the business of daily life. Each one is filled with the divine joy and love brought to earth by our line of Masters and made real so completely through the life of Swami Kriyananda. Without the living example and guidance, no amount of imagining would have been enough.

The principle of an integrated life is lost to us today. Yet, Yogananda repeatedly encouraged people to live where they could work and worship, serve and learn, play and grow in one place. Though there is undoubted inconvenience in creating and sustaining a rural spiritual community, there is greater inconvenience in spending vast amounts of our lives in cars, racing from place to place. There is inconvenience in listening to the noise of city life all the day around. There is implied inconvenience in participating in a world environment that continues to degrade from the common patterns of life that have been established in the world. And there is the inconvenience of living daily in environments that deliberately exclude God. And that is perhaps, in my mind at least, the greatest reason for creating a rural spiritual community.

Reflecting on Ananda Portland, 12-2010

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The following letter was written in December, 2010 to the then current residents of the Ananda Community of Portland. The letter was written in direct response to a question which will become evident in a bit. The letter then evolved into a reflection on Ananda Portland, its current make up, and why these elements exist.

Yogananda came to this world to completely resurrect the foundations of culture. He came to bring God back to the center of daily life – not as a dogma or platitude, but as a realizable reality. Yogananda gave the yoga teachings and practices that allow individuals to have personal contact with God, and further taught – especially through his disciple Swami Kriyananda – how to build a life that constantly draws from and refers back to that ongoing contact with God, inside. This blog is not as short as I would have liked, but did not find a way to abbreviate it without missing central ideas. If you follow the full length of this writing, you may find a deeper insight into how Ananda Portland is an expression of that fundamental purpose. I applaud your patience and persistence…

The encouragement to develop rural communities has been present since Paramhansa Yogananda was alive, and he spoke frequently and compellingly about them as the way of life for the future. Ananda, through Swami Kriyananda, has been the expression of that vision for life.

Swami Kriyananda has encouraged the rural aspect of communities for as long as I have known him. Ananda’s growth into the urban centers around the US has not been intended to neglect that message, but has served as a way of creating spiritual communities where people can easily see and experience the benefits of cooperative living when deliberate spiritual values are held as the foundation of daily life. The only problem is that the urban model is limited in scope and function. Rural communities are, by design, able to incorporate aspects of life that urban living simply cannot accommodate easily – the most obvious examples are agriculture and retreat. It seems timely for Ananda Portland to address the concept of rural community as a part of its makeup. The following is a reflection on how Ananda Portland has developed and why.

Whenever there is change or expansion, it introduces questions of how that change affects existing circumstances. Current members of Ananda Portland, both the Sangha and the Community have asked the question of how the development of a rural Ananda Community would affect the current aspects of Ananda Portland. This was a response to some of those questions, but on reflection, it grew into a larger statement that seemed like might be of interest to a broader group. So, here you are.

Blessings,
Daiva

Dear Friends who live in Ananda Community of Portland,

When we sent out the invitation to visit the potential property for a rural Ananda Community we received the following question:

“Will the new rural community be in addition to our current community or would it be a move to the new community with a closing of this one?”

The short answer is that there is no intent to close the current Community. In fact, there is no intention to close or substantially change any part of Ananda’s services in Portland, including the existing Community, Temple, Living Wisdom School, or meditation groups in the area. Everything seems to be healthy and providing spiritual growth for those involved – which is the reason for their existence. The goal is not to replace, but to provide opportunities that do not currently exist. However, it does seem like an ideal time to reflect on Ananda’s purpose, why we have the existing services, and why we are talking about rural community as one of the directions for Ananda Portland’s growth.

Ananda is not, primarily, an organization but a movement. That movement is toward expansion in awareness, sympathetic understanding, and ultimately in the increasing experience of God as our one Reality. All that Ananda is and does is intended to support that process for the individuals involved. When any activity or service ceases to provide for that expansion, it has no further purpose and should dissolve into forms that are more effective.

The Temple and Teaching Center provides a site for regular Satsang (fellowship with other Truth-seekers), a place to remember what will bring us genuine fulfillment in life, and a place to study and grow in understanding and inspiration. It is also a place for the refinement in attunement for staff, ministry, volunteers and all those who participate in its myriad activities.

Living Wisdom School provides an opportunity for children and families to grow in the experience that the principles underlying Ananda do in fact lead to more fulfilling lives. It also provides a place for the staff and administrators to develop their capacity as channels for that understanding to express through them.

The existing Community provides an environment for exploring the truths underlying Ananda’s teachings. In sharing life, combined with aspiration toward the heights of what is possible, we develop a synergy together and begin to grow more quickly than would be possible in an environment that does not support our aspirations. It should be noted that the Community does not exist for its own sake, or because it creates a nice environment in which to live (though it unquestionably does). It exists to support, and make possible, the efforts of the residents towards Self-realization. The thought of cozying in and making a nice home for ourselves (Yogananda’s comment of, “Us four and no more.”) without outreach and service to the greater community is contrary to everything that Ananda stands for. It is incumbent upon all of us residents of the Community to see ourselves as stewards for Self-realization, our Community as a place where we grow in our understanding and where we share with others what we find.

The existing Community has specific attributes that are both blessings and obstructions. The Community is mostly fixed in its form – because we are situated in a wetlands, there are very strict limitations on our ability to change the structures and their functions. We are limited in acreage – and thus in the kind of pursuits that can evolve here – large-scale farming, for example, is impossible. Commercial enterprise, on site, is also very limited, as is industry. While many of these things are available in the larger Portland area, the ability to develop a property where all aspects of life can co-exist without much travel is simply not possible here. In addition, there are activities, including retreat, etc. that do not lend themselves to this property.

During different phases in life, and different karmas that people come with, the existing Community serves wonderfully. Some families are inclined more toward an urban involvement for their children. Some folks have time consuming urban careers that make urban living convenient, at the least. Sometimes age makes a strong argument for an environment that has public services nearby, and so on.

However, there are myriad aspects of Ananda life that this Community cannot address, some of which are noted above. The adventure of developing a way of life, the ability to have commercial ventures, industrial ventures, and various living conditions (single-family housing, dorm living, group housing…) large-scale farming, retreat, seclusion, etc are all severely limited by the conditions of the existing Community. All of these are part of the divine vision of life held by Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda, and expressed in Ananda Village. Yogananda (and Kriyananda) spoke long about the value of developing community life in the country where harmony with the earth could be part of daily experience.

In addition, the world does seem to be teetering on the edge of a melt-down. While this is, in itself, not enough of a compulsion to explore rural community and the possibility of increasing self-sustainability, it is enough of a motivator to support looking that direction now. (It is also timely that all the other aspects of Ananda Portland have been essentially updated over the last few years, and do not need much maintenance energy at this time.)

We have the blessings and encouragement of Swami Kriyananda and Ananda Worldwide in this exploration. We have a growing interest among the Sangha members and friends of Ananda. And we have found a property that looks promising. Regardless of what happens, Gangamata and I remain committed to the ongoing well-being of all aspects of Ananda’s work here in Portland, and will work to maintain a high level of attunement within all the different aspects.

We encourage each of you to feel for whether this is something that is relevant to your own life. For many, the answer will be no. If that is the case, we ask your prayers in support of this expansion. If it is something you feel drawn to, let us know and we will keep you engaged in this exciting process. And in all cases, may we all grow in our receptivity and attunement to God’s will in our lives.

Joy, daiva and gangamata