"Swami Kriyananda is a man of wisdom and compassion in action, truly one of the leading lights in the spiritual world today."-Lama Surya Das, Dzogchen Center, author of Awakening The Buddha WithinSwami KriyanandaA prolific author, accomplished composer, playwright, and a world-renowned spiritual teacher, Swami Kriyananda refers to himself simply as "a humble disciple" of the great God-realized master, Paramhansa Yogananda. He met his guru at the age of twenty-two, and served him during the last four years of the Master's life. And done so till his passing.Kriyananda was born in Rumania of American parents, and educated in Europe, England, and the United States. Philosophically and artistically inclined from youth, he soon came to question life's meaning, and society's values. During a period of intense inward reflection, he discovered Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, and immediately traveled to California to meet the Master, who accepted him as a monastic disciple. Yogananda appointed him as the head of the monastery, authorized him to teach in his name and to give initiation into Kriya Yoga, and entrusted him with the missions of writing, and developing what he called "world-brotherhood colonies.

"Recognized as "the father of the spiritual communities movement" in the USA, Swami Kriyananda founded Ananda World Brotherhood Village in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of northern California in 1968. It has served as a model for seven communities founded subsequently in the USA, Europe, and India.In 2003 Swami Kriyananda, then in his seventy-eighth year, moved to India with a small international group of disciples to dedicate his remaining years to making his guru's teachings better known in that country. He established Ananda's third publishing company, all of which publish his one hundred-plus literary works and spread the teachings of Kriya Yoga throughout the world. His vision for the future in India: founding cooperative spiritual communities and centers; a temple of all religions dedicated to Paramhansa Yogananda; a retreat center; a school system; a monastery; as well as a university-level Yoga Institute of Living Wisdom.