World Brotherhood Colonies

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World Brotherhood Colonies are an idea for cooperative spiritual living promoted by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Hindu yogi and author of Autobiography of a Yogi. Beginning in 1932 (long before the intentional community movement of the late 1960's), and continuing to the end of his life in 1952, Yogananda urged young people in the U.S. to pool their resources, buy land, and build spiritual communities where they could live a life of "plain living and high thinking." Yogananda attempted to establish World Brotherhood Colonies at his retreat centers in Southern California.

In 1968, Swami Kriyananda, a disciple of Yogananda, started the first Ananda World Brotherhood Colony. There are now seven Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies, with approximately 1,000 resident members who practice Yogananda's Kriya Yoga meditation teachings.

Contents 1 Spiritual basis of Colonies 2 Especially for married people and families 3 Practical benefits 4 Yogananda's guidelines for establishing Colonies 5 Colonies in India 6 Yogananda's enthusiasm for Colonies near the end of his life 6.1 Beverly Hills, 1949 6.2 Lake Shrine Dedication, 1950 6.3 Autobiography of a Yogi, 1951 7 Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies 8 References 9 External Links

[edit] Spiritual basis of Colonies

Yogananda often emphasised the need for intentional communities "founded on a spiritual basis."^[1] His vision for Colonies included couples, families, and single people sharing a cooperative community life, with the common bond of daily meditation and selfless service. He felt that Colonies would have a far-reaching effect on modern society:

Man is a soul, not an institution; his inner reforms alone can lend permanence to outer ones. By stress on spiritual values, self-realization, a colony exemplifying world brotherhood is empowered to send inspiring vibrations far beyond its locale.^[1]

[edit] Especially for married people and families

A unique feature of Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies idea was that it offered married people and families a spiritual community life dedicated to meditation and service. Many traditional monastic communities offer most of the features of Yogananda's Colonies — simple living, selfless service, cooperation, and daily meditation. Indian ashrams also offer some of the same features. But both typically exclude children and couples as residents. Yogananda's disciple, Kamala Silva, recounts a conversation she had with Yogananda just four months before his death:^[2]

On one of the drives along the coast, Master (Yogananda) spoke to me about the value of SRF Colonies. He referred to the forming of groups within a city or a rural area in the manner of hermitage life, among members who do not desire to become renunciates, or cannot do so because of certain obligations. Such a life would enable each one to be in daily association with those who share the same spiritual goal.

He described such Colonies as made up of married couples and their families, as well as single people, who have the will to serve, and to live in harmony with one another. Master envisioned the idea as one in which all may work together in a self-supporting group wherein each one is dedicated to God.^[3]

[edit] Practical benefits

Yogananda also spoke of the practical benefits that come from cooperative living. Even though he was a yogi and a teacher of deep mystical truths, he frequently gave practical advice on more mundane subjects such as diet, exercise, business, education, and prosperity. As early as 1932, he urged his students to avoid buying cars and other luxuries on the 'installment plan', comparable to the modern credit card.^[4] Swami Kriyananda, another disciple of Yogananda, heard his Guru tell audiences that living in Colonies would help people be free of many of the ills that beset modern society:

Gather together, those of you who share high ideals, pool your resources. Buy land out in the country. A simple life will bring you inner freedom. Harmony with nature will bring you a happiness known to few city dwellers. In the company of other truth seekers it will be easier for you to meditate and think of God.

What is the need for all the luxuries people surround themselves with? Most of what they have they are paying for on the installment plan. Their debts are a source of unending worry to them. Even people whose luxuries have been paid for are not free; attachment makes them slaves. They consider themselves freer for their possessions, and don't see how their possessions in turn possess them!^[5]

[edit] Yogananda's guidelines for establishing Colonies

Yogananda wrote a detailed article in East-West magazine in April 1932, describing how Colonies could be formed. He encouraged groups of married and single people to pool their money to buy land where they could grow their own food, educate their children, and live a simple life dedicated to meditation.^{[6] [7]}

He also wrote, in an early correspondence course:

Let every man gather from five to ten thousand dollars, and, in groups of thirty, let them build self-sustaining, self-governing colonies, starting with California. Do not spend the principal of the money, except what is necessary to buy land and to start the colony. Put the money in a trust fund. Pay taxes with the interest. If taxes were abolished, people could live by exchange.... Time should not be wasted in producing luxuries.

Start now building colonies, and stop industrially selfish society from gambling with your destiny. Get away from the perpetual slavery of holding jobs to the last day of your life. Buy farms and settle down with harmonious friends. Work three hours a day and live in the luxury of literary wealth, and have time to constructively exchange Divine experiences and meditate.^[8]

In that article, he gave five guidelines for people living in World Brotherhood Colonies:

• Cut down luxuries.
• Think yourself a child of God.
• Think of all nationalities as your brothers.
• Seek prosperity for yourself and for others.
• Develop the creative thought of success every day after deep meditation.^[8]

[edit] Colonies in India

Richard Wright, Yogananda's secretary, traveled with him to India in 1935-6. Those travels are described in Autobiography of a Yogi. When they returned to America, Wright wrote an article for Inner Culture magazine, talking about Yogananda's enthusiasm for starting Colonies in India. Wright wrote that:

Swami Yogananda, through the inspiration of God and the Masters, is planning to create a model Yogoda World-City in Bengal, India, where he wants to combine really necessary industries and scientific training of Yoga. Here people of all races schooled in Yoga will be admitted. This city will be guided by the highest spiritual principles and the laws of universal brotherhood.^{[9] [10]}

[edit] Yogananda's enthusiasm for Colonies near the end of his life

Yogananda spoke frequently and passionately about Colonies during the last four years of his life, including a discussion with Kamala Silva just four months before his death (see above).^[3] He was so enthusiastic about the idea, that he once said, "I was thinking so much last night about world brotherhood colonies that my mind didn’t want to meditate. Then I chanted a little bit, and my mind came back to me."^[11] He even wrote a letter to Henry Ford, trying to elicit support for World Brotherhood Colonies.^[2] He felt so strongly about the idea, that he once declared, "The day will come when this colony idea will spread through the world like wildfire."^[5]

[edit] Beverly Hills, 1949

Swami Kriyananda wrote about a talk given by Yogananda that he says was the most stirring lecture he ever heard. The occasion was a garden party in Beverly Hills, in July 1949. This is Kriyananda's description of Yogananda's words on World Brotherhood Colonies:

"This day," he (Yogananda) thundered, punctuating every word, "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!"^[5]

[edit] Lake Shrine Dedication, 1950

On August 20, 1950, Yogananda dedicated the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine and Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Shrine at Pacific Palisades, California. He gave a stirring talk to over 1500 people gathered there for the event. Dignitaries included California's Lieutenant Governor Goodwin Knight, who later became Governor of California. Yogananda's talk appeared in the September 1950 issue of Self-Realization magazine. Much of his lecture revolved around what he called "the art of living", which included advice on how to find spiritual happiness, and how to achieve harmony between all people and religions. He spoke about World Brotherhood Colonies as an important part of the solution:

There must be world brotherhood if we are to be able to practice the true art of living, and in this connection I wish to emphasize four points.

...we must build colonies wherein we can take youths who are 100% willing and give them character education and the opportunity to find happiness, freedom, job, home, and church all in one place, and to produce food for their own use. We have started trial colonies at Encinitas and at Mt. Washington in Los Angeles, and we have some colonies in India too. Ours is not a church in the ordinary sense. We never ask anyone if he is Jew, Gentile, Mohammedan, or Catholic — willingness and good character are the criterion of acceptance....

The colony system is succeeding because it isn't simply church for an hour, but working together all the time for mutual good. We are not making empty members. All the ministers and many of the members have helped in the building of this SRF Lake Shrine. That is the secret. We must work for God and commune with Him. I believe that America is a wonderful country in which to try out brotherhood colonies, wherein makind can learn that the first principle of life is happiness.^[12]

[edit] Autobiography of a Yogi, 1951

In an extra chapter that Yogananda wrote for the third edition of Autobiography of a Yogi, published just months before his death in March 1952, he spoke of the establishment of a World Brotherhood Colony in Encinitas, California:

A Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) World Brotherhood Colony in Encinitas, envisioned in 1937 and firmly established by 1947, serves as a model for several smaller SRF colonies. The buildings on the thirty-acre tract in Encinitas include several hermitages, a gift shop, a cafe, and a hotel for the accommodation of SRF members and the public. The beautiful grounds contain a lotus pool and a large swimming pool. A series of white pillars facing the highway are adorned with golden lotuses.

Colony activities include the many-sided training of disciples in accordance with SRF ideals, and the development of an extensive agricultural project that provides fresh vegetables for the SRF residents at the Encinitas and Los Angeles centers.

"He hath made of one blood all nations of men." An urgent need on this war-torn earth is the founding, on a spiritual basis, of numerous world-brotherhood colonies. "World brotherhood" is a large term, but man must enlarge his sympathies, considering himself in the light of a world citizen. He who truly understands that "it is my America, my India, my Philippines, my Europe, my Africa" and so on, will never lack scope for a useful and happy life.^[13]

The Colonies that Yogananda referred to in his Lake Shrine talk and in his 1951 Autobiography stopped accepting married people as residents, and eventually were converted to monasteries for monks and nuns of the Self-Realization Order.^[5]

[edit] Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies

In 1968, Swami Kriyananda, a disciple of Yogananda, started the first Ananda community outside Nevada City, California, based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies principles.^{[14] [15]} As of 2007, Ananda Village has grown to 840 acres, with 250 residents. The community includes schools (kindergarten through high school), private and community owned businesses, gardens, a guest retreat and teaching center, a healing center, a museum and gift shop, publishing company, and more.^[16] Adult residents are all disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practice his Kriya Yoga meditation teachings. Residents include couples, families, and single people.

Since the founding of Ananda Village, Ananda has begun six more World Brotherhood Colonies. As of 2006, there were approximately 1,000 residents living in the Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies. They include rural and urban models of Yogananda's idea, and are located in: Palo Alto,^[17] Sacramento,^[18] and Nevada City,^[16]California, USA; Portland,^[19] Oregon, USA; Seattle,^[20] Washington, USA; Hopkinton, Rhode Island,^[21] USA; Assisi, Italy.^[22]

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

• How to Burn Out the Roots of Depression by Divine Methods Article by Paramhansa Yogananda from East-West Magazine, April 1932.
• Yogoda World City Planned Article by Richard Wright from Inner Culture magazine, March 1937.
• Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies
• Hope for a Better World: The Small Communities Solution by Swami Kriyananda, online book
• A Place Called Ananda, by Swami Kriyananda, online book