Ananda Sangha India, headquartered in Gurgaon, consists of many yoga & meditation centres as well as meditation groups spread throughout India. In 2003 Swami Kriyananda established Ananda Sangha India to reinvigorate the unsurpassed wisdom of his Guru’s legacy here in India. Centres dedicated to Ananda’s path of Self-realisation have been rapidly expanding throughout the country ever since and are currently in Gurgaon, Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore & Chennai. There is also a retreat centre in the countryside near Pune as well.
Ananda Sangha India is centered, first and foremost, in the practice of meditation. As it is written in the Bhagavad Gita, “Even a little practice of this inward religion will free one from dire fears and colossal sufferings.” Through a series of progressive classes, devotees are guided to initiation in the sacred art of Kriya meditation, which Yogananda called “the airplane route to God.” Ananda Sangha India welcomes truth-seekers of all backgrounds. In our quest to know God, two principles lie at the heart of our teachings, and especially at the heart of our spiritual communities and practices: (1) People are more important than things, and (2) “Yato dharma, tato jaya:” Where there is right action, there is victory.
Ananda India is dedicated to help spread the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda to all truth thirsty souls who have a sincere desire to be initiated into Kriya Yoga. Do take time to visit the Ananda India’s website to learn more about all that is offered through Ananda Sangha India.
Nayaswami Jaya, who lives in Pune, and Nayaswami Dhyana, who lives in Gurgaon, are co-spiritual directors and travel throughout India, sharing their experience and expertise as well as giving lectures, classes, and initiation into Kriya Yoga. Periodically they come to Ananda Chennai and it is always a joy to have them.
Meet Ananda India’s Spiritual Directors
Nayaswami Jaya, born in Los Angeles, became a student of Swami Kriyananda soon after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 1968. Upon learning of Swamiji’s interest in spiritual communities, ”Jayaji” joined him as a founding member of Ananda Village, now one of the most successful such communities in the world. There he served as Village planner, property manager, and resident acharya for many years with his wife Nayaswami Sadhana Devi. They shifted to New England in 2002 to guide Ananda’s work on the East Coast of the United States and, at Swami Kriyananda’s request, they shifted again to India in 2006, serving first in Gurgaon and then in Pune. Nayaswami Jaya has been authorized by Swami Kriyananda to give initiation into the advanced meditation technique of Kriya Yoga and he travels widely as an Ananda Kriyacharya, sharing the teachings and techniques of Paramhansa Yogananda with audiences throughout India, America and elsewhere.
Nayaswami Dhyana started to study the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda in 1978 and met Swami Kriyananda in 1980. She has shared the teachings of Yogananda in the US, Europe, Africa, Australia and India and helped in the founding of several of Ananda communities and centers.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California in Berkeley, California and worked in social service before moving to Ananda Village in California in 1980. One of her earlier jobs was Director of Big Sisters of America.
Nayaswami Dhyana is a Kriyacharya and was authorized by Swami Kriyananda to give initiation into the advanced meditation technique of Kriya Yoga. She teaches locally and travels around India offering training in meditation and Raja Yoga.
