(Photo caption: Asha, Rick, Barbara, Brooke, and Sarah relax outside the community dining room during the 2001 4th of July celebration. Members and guests can enjoy delicious vegetarian meals here on weekday nights.)

     Welcome to our home--a sanctuary of peace in busy Silicon Valley. Like many people today, we have been deeply interested in finding an alternative to the breakneck pace and widespread neglect of higher values in modern society. Here in the Ananda Community, we enjoy an environment of our own making, where our neighbors are our friends and our children are exposed to positive values, wholesome role models, and high ideals.

      The first Ananda community was started  near Nevada City, California in 1967 by Swami Kriyananda, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic,Autobiography of a Yogi. Six Ananda communities now are thriving in Nevada City, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Rhode Island, and Italy. (Photo caption: Ananda members circa 1969. Click photo for larger view.)

      Yogananda urged people of all faiths to consider the advantages of small intentional communities where they could be free to practice "simple living and high thinking." We have created this web site to share with you our experiences practicing those principles. Here, you'll find pictures of the community, stories of the members, and general information about community life. (Click photo for larger view.)

     Enjoy your visit! If you'd like to visit the community, please call the office to arrange for a tour: (650) 941-9507. The Ananda Community is located at 240 Monroe Drive in Mountain View. (Click here for directions.)

Filling A Spiritual Need:
     The Need for an Alternative. Paramhansa Yogananda predicted that "world-brotherhood communities" would "spread like wildfire" and become the sociological pattern for the future.
     The Experience of Community. A conversation with Ananda Community co-director Asha Praver on how living in a community helps people grow.
     Why Create Communities? Why bother? And can anyone start communities, even if they aren't following a spiritual path?

A Simple Idea That Works:
     Blissful in the City. The Ananda community in Mountain View is America's largest experiment in cohousing, and among the most successful.

A Sanctuary for Spiritual Practice:
     The Experience of Religion. Blind belief is the religion of the past. The religion of the future will emphasize methods that lead to direct, personal inner communion with God.

Daily Life in a Spiritual Community:
     A Place of Peace Amid Growing Things. A conversation with Barbara Fiesterman, volunteer gardener.
     A Mother Talks About Life in a Spiritual Community. Tina Madison, mother of three, moved to the Ananda Community at the very beginning.
     Ananda Community Members in Their Own Words. Personal experiences of spirit and community.

Resources:
     Learn More. Intentional communities and the spiritual path, streaming video of talks by Swami Kriyananda, books, online music, instruction in yoga, and much more.. 
     Directions. How to get to the Ananda community in Mountain View. For information about living in the community, visit our sister website.