Kriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926 – April 21, 2013) was an American Hindu religious leader, yoga guru, meditation teacher, musician, and author. He was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda 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. sexual harassment,

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.

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 ideal. Walters was present in the hall. In 1953, the SRF published Walter's book, Stories of Mukunda.

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. Regarding this order, Yogananda stated in his Autobiography of a Yogi:

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

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. Kriyananda felt that being dismissed from SRF was unjust.

Ananda established

Kriyananda established Ananda Village as a World Brotherhood Colony in 1968 on of land near Nevada City, California—his portion of a 160-acre (0.65 km<sup>2</sup>) parcel acquired with Richard Baker, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg.

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.

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.

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.

  • 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.

Walters was sued for sexual harassment and fraud for using his title swami, which implied he was celibate. He was also judged to have caused emotional trauma. 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. 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."

References

  • Ananda India