Kriyananda

Kriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926 – April 21, 2013) was an American Hindu religious leader, yoga guru,<ref name="JonesRyan1" /><ref name="BS 2013">Template:Cite news</ref> meditation teacher, musician, and author. He was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda<ref name="JonesRyan1" /> and founder of the spiritual movement named "Ananda".<ref name="JonesRyan1">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="JonesRyan2">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> He wrote numerous songs and dozens of books. According to the LA Times, the main themes of his work were compassion and humility, but he was a controversial figure.<ref name=":7" /> Kriyananda and Ananda were sued for copyright issues,<ref name=jury>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":7">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":8">Template:Cite journal</ref> sexual harassment,<ref name=":6" /><ref name="Vicky Anning" /> and later, for alleged fraud and labor-law violations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 (SRF) ashram. In 1955, Walters was given the vows of sannyas and was ordained as a Brother of the SRF Order, along with Sarolananda, Bimalananda and Bhaktananda, by then-SRF President Daya Mata and was given the name Kriyananda.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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.<ref name="path" /><ref name="Beverley">Template:Cite book</ref>

Kriyananda founded Ananda, a worldwide movement of religious and communal organizations based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies ideal.<ref name="JonesRyan2" />

Biography

Early life

J. Donald Walters was born on May 19, 1926, in Teleajen, Romania, to American parents, Ray P. and Gertrude G. Walters. His father was an oil geologist with the Esso Corporation (since renamed Exxon 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 and Brown University, leaving the latter in his senior year. He then moved to South Carolina to study stagecraft.<ref name="path">Swami Kriyananda, The New Path - My Life with Paramhansa Yogananda. (Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2009). Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name="JonesRyan1" />

After moving to South Carolina, Walters read the Bhagavad Gita and later, Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi.<ref name="JonesRyan1" /> According to Walters, he found the Autobiography in a New York City bookstore and it changed his life.<ref name="path" /> He became a vegetarian, and in 1948 he traveled cross-country by bus to southern California to become one of Yogananda's disciples.<ref name="JonesRyan1" /><ref name="path" />

Service in Yogananda's organization

In 1948, upon arriving in Los Angeles, California, Walters met Yogananda and took vows of discipleship and renunciation, according to Walters' autobiography.<ref name="path" /> Walters soon attained a leadership position in Yogananda's organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), and served as a lecturer.<ref name="JonesRyan1" />

On March 7, 1952, Paramahansa Yogananda was a speaker at a banquet for the visiting Indian Ambassador to the United States Binay Ranjan Sen and his wife at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. While giving his speech, Yogananda suddenly dropped to the floor and died.<ref name="titleGurus Exit - TIME">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Walters was present in the hall.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> In 1953, the SRF published Walter's book, Stories of Mukunda.<ref>Walters, James Donald Erzieher Stories of Mukunda Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship (1953) Template:OCLC</ref><ref name=":4">See Autobiography of a Yogi, (1955) 6th ed., Template:OCLC p. 498</ref>

In 1955, Walters became the main minister at SRF's Hollywood center. At this time, he took further vows of renunciation and the monastic name Kriyananda.<ref name="JonesRyan1" /> According to SRF's magazine, he was given his final vows of sannyas into the swami order of Shankaracharya by Daya Mata, SRF's president from 1955 until her death in 2010.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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 to the spiritual teacher, many Catholic Christian monastic orders resemble the Order of Swamis.<ref name=ancient>Yogananda, Paramhansa, Autobiography of a Yogi Nevada City, California:Crystal Clarity Publishers (1995 [1946]) Template:ISBN Wikisource, Chapter 24</ref>

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.<ref name="JonesRyan1"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Dismissal

Kriyananda remained in India, serving SRF until 1962, when its board of directors voted unanimously to request his resignation.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> According to Phillip Goldberg, SRF won't say exactly why except that he was self-serving.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> Kriyananda felt that being dismissed from SRF was unjust.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref>

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, and Allen Ginsberg.<ref>Suiter, John. Poets on the Peaks (2002) Counterpoint. Template:ISBN; Template:ISBN (pbk) pg. 251</ref>

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.<ref name="JonesRyan2"/>

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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Primary source inline

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.<ref name=":7" /> He lectured in different countries throughout the world. In addition to English, he spoke Italian, Romanian, Greek, French, Spanish, German, Hindi, Bengali, and Indonesian and taught in several of these languages.<ref name="lifepositive">Kalra, Ajay, In the Name of My Guru, Life Positive, 1 April 2006</ref>

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.<ref name=":8" /> 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.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> The judge suggested that Ananda keep Ananda as part of the name of their church — Church of Self-Realization — and they agreed.<ref name=":8" />
• 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 to his works."<ref name="jury" /><ref name="Nelsons">Template:Cite book</ref>
• 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.<ref name="jury" />
• 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.<ref name=":8" />

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).<ref name="SF Weekly"/><ref name=":6">Template:Cite news</ref> Walters was sued for sexual harassment and fraud for using his title swami, which implied he was celibate.<ref name="Vicky Anning"/><ref name=":6"/> 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.<ref name="Vicky Anning">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="PAweekly">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="SF Weekly">Template:Cite news</ref> He was also judged to have caused emotional trauma.<ref name="PAweekly"/> 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.<ref name="Vicky Anning"/><ref name="SF Weekly"/> The jury also found that Levin had made unwelcomed sexual advances.<ref name="PAweekly"/>

Ananda Assisi vs Italian authorities

In March 2004, Italian authorities raided the Ananda colony in Assisi, responding to allegations of a former resident who accused Ananda Assisi of fraud, usury, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="JonesRyan1"/> In 1995, on his own, he resumed his monastic name and vows.<ref name="JonesRyan1"/>

In 2009, Kriyananda established the Nayaswami order.<ref name=Naya>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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."<ref name=Naya/>

On April 21, 2013, he died in his home in Assisi.<ref name="passes">Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website
• Ananda India