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Kriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926 – April 21, 2013) was an American
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
religious leader,
yoga guru Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition, the modern ...
, meditation teacher, musician, and author. He was a direct disciple of
Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian and American Hindu monk, yoga, yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga school, Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self ...
and founder of the spiritual movement named "Ananda". He wrote numerous songs and dozens of books. According to the
LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...
, the main themes of his work were compassion and humility, but he was a controversial figure. Kriyananda and Ananda were sued for copyright issues, sexual harassment, and later, for alleged fraud and labor-law violations. Walters met Yogananda at the age of 22 and became his disciple. After the latter's death in 1952, he continued serving in the
Self-Realization Fellowship Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide religious organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian guru who authored '' Autobiography of a Yogi''. Before moving to the United States, Yogananda began his spiritual wo ...
(SRF) ashram. In 1955, Walters was given the vows of
sannyas ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprastha' ...
and was ordained as a Brother of the SRF Order, along with Sarolananda, Bimalananda and Bhaktananda, by then-SRF President
Daya Mata Daya Mata, born Rachel Faye Wright (January 31, 1914November 30, 2010), was the third president and religious leader of Self-Realization Fellowship/ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (SRF/YSS). SRF/YSS is the only spiritual organization founded b ...
and was given the name Kriyananda. In 1960, upon the death of M. W. Lewis, the SRF Board of Directors elected Kriyananda to the board of directors and eventually to the position of vice president. In 1962, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to expel him from SRF and requested his resignation. Kriyananda founded Ananda, a worldwide movement of religious and communal organizations based on Yogananda's
World Brotherhood Colonies World Brotherhood Colonies are communities based on an idea envisioned by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian-American yogi who authored '' Autobiography of a Yogi'' and founded Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India ...
ideal.


Biography


Early life

J. Donald Walters was born on May 19, 1926, in
Teleajen The Teleajen is a left tributary of the river Prahova in southern Romania. Its source is at elevation in the Ciucaș Mountains, north of Roșu Peak and the locality of Cheia. Upstream from its confluence with the Gropșoarele in Cheia, it is a ...
,
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, to American parents, Ray P. and Gertrude G. Walters. His father was an oil geologist with the Esso Corporation (since renamed
Exxon Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was form ...
in the United States), who was then assigned to the Romanian oilfields. Walters received an international education in Romania, Switzerland, England, and the United States. He attended
Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...
and
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, leaving the latter in his
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
year. He then moved to South Carolina to study stagecraft.Swami Kriyananda, ''The New Path - My Life with Paramhansa Yogananda''. (Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2009). . After moving to South Carolina, Walters read the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...
and later, Yogananda's ''
Autobiography of a Yogi ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' by Paramahansa Yogananda is a spiritual classic published in 1946. It recounts Yogananda's life, his search for his guru, and his teachings on Kriya Yoga. The book has introduced many to meditation and yoga and has ...
.'' According to Walters, he found the ''Autobiography'' in a New York City bookstore and it changed his life. He became a vegetarian, and in 1948 he traveled cross-country by bus to southern California to become one of Yogananda's disciples.


Service in Yogananda's organization

In 1948, upon arriving in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, Walters met Yogananda and took vows of discipleship and renunciation, according to Walters' autobiography. Walters soon attained a leadership position in Yogananda's organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), and served as a lecturer. On March 7, 1952, Paramahansa Yogananda was a speaker at a banquet for the visiting Indian Ambassador to the United States
Binay Ranjan Sen Binay Ranjan Sen, CIE, ICS (1 January 1898, Dibrugarh, India - 12 June 1993, Calcutta, India), was an Indian diplomat and Indian Civil Service officer. He served as Director General (1956–1967) of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization ...
and his wife at the
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in downtown Los Angeles. While giving his speech, Yogananda suddenly dropped to the floor and died. Walters was present in the hall. In 1953, the SRF published Walter's book, ''Stories of Mukunda''.See ''Autobiography of a Yogi'', (1955) 6th ed., p. 498 In 1955, Walters became the main minister at SRF's
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center. At this time, he took further vows of renunciation and the monastic name ''Kriyananda''. According to SRF's magazine, he was given his final vows of ''
sannyas ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprastha' ...
'' into the swami order of
Shankaracharya Shankaracharya (, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of te ...
by
Daya Mata Daya Mata, born Rachel Faye Wright (January 31, 1914November 30, 2010), was the third president and religious leader of Self-Realization Fellowship/ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (SRF/YSS). SRF/YSS is the only spiritual organization founded b ...
, SRF's president from 1955 until her death in 2010. Regarding this order, Yogananda stated in his ''Autobiography of a Yogi'':
Every swami belongs to the ancient monastic order which was organized in its present form by Shankara. Because it is a formal order, with an unbroken line of saintly representatives serving as active leaders, no man can give himself the title of swami. He rightfully receives it only from another swami; all monks thus trace their spiritual lineage to one common guru, Lord Shankara. By vows of
poverty, chastity, and obedience In Christianity, the three evangelical counsels, or counsels of perfection, are chastity, poverty (or perfect charity), and obedience. As stated by Jesus in the canonical gospels, they are counsels for those who desire to become "perfect" (, ). ...
to the spiritual teacher, many Catholic Christian monastic orders resemble the Order of Swamis.Yogananda, Paramhansa, ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' Nevada City, California:Crystal Clarity Publishers (1995
946 Year 946 ( CMXLVI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Otto I invades the West Frankish Kingdom with an expeditionary force, but his armies are not strong enough ...
Wikisource, Chapter 24
In 1960, upon the death of SRF Board member and Vice President M. W. Lewis, the SRF Board of Directors, who were direct disciples appointed to the board by Yogananda, elected Kriyananda as a member and vice president of the Board. He served in that capacity until dismissed in 1962.


Dismissal

Kriyananda remained in India, serving SRF until 1962, when its board of directors voted unanimously to request his resignation. According to Phillip Goldberg, SRF won't say exactly why except that he was self-serving. Kriyananda felt that being dismissed from SRF was unjust.


Ananda established

Kriyananda established Ananda Village as a World Brotherhood Colony in 1968 on 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land near Nevada City, California—his portion of a 160-acre (0.6 km2) parcel acquired with Richard Baker,
Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...
, and
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
. Kriyananda founded various retreat centers: The Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation Retreat and the nearby Ananda Meditation Retreat, both located near Nevada City, California; Ananda Associazione near Assisi, Italy; and Ananda
Gurgaon, India Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...
. On March 8, 1989, Kriyananda's World Brotherhood Choir from California sang at the Vatican during Pope John Paul II's public audience with 10,000 people in attendance. Even though he was controversial and contradictory, he wrote many songs and dozens of books unified by themes such as compassion and humility. One of his books was honored at the 2010 USA Book News Awards. He lectured in different countries throughout the world. In addition to English, he spoke
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
,
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, and
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and taught in several of these languages.Kalra, Ajay, ''In the Name of My Guru'', Life Positive, 1 April 2006


Legal cases


Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church of Self-Realization and James Walters litigation

In 1990, Self-Realization Fellowship filed suit against Ananda Church of Self-Realization and James Walters (Kriyananda), claiming trademark violation against using the term "Self-Realization" in their recent name change, and for exclusive rights on specific writings, photographs and recordings of Paramahansa Yogananda. The litigation ended with a jury judgement in 2002. The main outcomes of court findings and jury judgement were: * According to Carolyn Edy of the ''Yoga Journal'', the court determined that SRF did not have sole rights for the term ''Self-realization'' or to the name and likeness of Paramahansa Yogananda. The judge suggested that Ananda keep Ananda as part of the name of their church — Church of Self-Realization — and they agreed. * According to Doug Mattson of ''The Union'', "jurors ultimately agreed with Self-Realization Fellowship’s argument that Yogananda had repeatedly made his intentions clear before dying — he wanted the fellowship to maintain
copyrights A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
to his works." * According to the jurors, the defendants, Ananda and its founder J. Donald Walters had infringed upon copyrights of Yogananda's that had been passed on to SRF by Yogananda. They did this by reprinting certain articles and selling his recordings, all the while publishing them as their own. * The court said that since Ananda's usage of the works in question were used for educational and religious purposes, no damages needed to be paid. However, Ananda was ordered to pay damages in the amount of $29,000 to SRF for the sound recordings in question.


Anne-Marie Bertolucci v. J. Donald Walters & Ananda litigation

In 1994, Anne-Marie Bertolucci, a former resident of Ananda, with her attorney Ford Greene, filed suit against Ananda, Ananda minister Danny Levin, and J. Donald Walters (Kriyananda). Walters was sued for sexual harassment and fraud for using his title ''swami'', which implied he was celibate. In 1998 he was found guilty of appearing to be celibate by using the title of swami but all the while having sex with several women during 30 years of overseeing Ananda. He was also judged to have caused emotional trauma. At the end of the trial in 1998, the jury found Ananda, the church, was found liable for "negligent supervision" of Kriyananda, with a finding of "malice and fraud" on the part of the church. The jury also found that Levin had made unwelcomed sexual advances.


Ananda Assisi vs Italian authorities

In March 2004, Italian authorities raided the Ananda colony in Assisi, responding to
allegations In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions. Types of allegations Marital allegations There are also marital allegations: m ...
of a former resident who accused Ananda Assisi of fraud,
usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...
, and labor law violations. Nine residents were detained for questioning. They also had a warrant for Kriyananda's detention, but he was in India. A seven-year-long investigation followed. In March 2009, the judge ruled that the case was "non luogo a procedere perché il fatto non sussiste" (not to be continued as the matter is without substance).


Recent years

In 1983, Kriyananda let go of his monastic sannyas vows in the Shankaracharya order, which includes his vow to celibacy. He began using his birth name of James Donald Walters and married in 1985 but then divorced. In 1995, on his own, he resumed his monastic name and vows. In 2009, Kriyananda established the Nayaswami order. New Nayaswami initiates reestablish their commitment to 'seek God as the only purpose of their lives.' They wear royal blue clothing as a sign of their renunciate vows, sincere commitment, and personal protection from worldly influences. As written in ''The Times of India'', Kriyananda said: "The purpose of being a Nayaswami is positive; it's seeking a spiritual path instead of rejecting the world around you. Focus is on I am trying to reach joy, I'm trying to reach Samadhi." On April 21, 2013, he died in his home in Assisi.


References


External links

*
Ananda India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriyananda 1926 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Hindu religious leaders 21st-century Hindu religious leaders American Hindus American people convicted of fraud American religious leaders American spiritual teachers Devotees of Paramahansa Yogananda Hindu religious leaders convicted of crimes Kriya yogis People from Prahova County Sexual harassment