Date : 27 June – 11 July, 2019
Next June, we’ll lead a pilgrimage to Ananda in California. Almost 100 Ananda Sangha members from India have made this same pilgrimage.
Purpose: To show Ananda members in India the scope of what has been accomplished in the 50-year history of Ananda communities, both rural and urban; to demonstrate how to bring Yogananda’s teachings into daily life; and to give inspiration to future directions of Ananda’s work in India.
The trip is 14 days/nights: 9 nights at Ananda Village; 2 nights at Ananda Palo Alto, near San Francisco; and 3 nights in Los Angeles.
Participation will be by invitation only, limited to 14 pilgrims chosen among the most actively involved in Ananda Sangha’s work in India.
Ananda Village, founded by Swami Kriyananda 50 years ago in 1969, is the original Ananda community. It is home to 250 residents, most of whom have practiced Kriya Yoga for decades. The village is situated on 850 acres of beautiful meadow and forest in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in northern California. There are schools for children based on Yogananda’s principles. A year-round retreat offers classes and retreats in all aspects of spiritual life, including training for teachers of meditation and yoga asanas. Other activities include a publishing company; Ananda’s worldwide outreach through websites, Clarity magazine, healing prayer sangha, courses, and correspondence; a medical and dental clinic, and retail businesses.
Trip Description: Keshava and Daya Taylor, of Ananda Delhi, will guide the entire pilgrimage. At Ananda Village we will participate fully in a very special week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ananda Sangha and the dedication of the new Temple of Light. Led by Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi, spiritual directors of Ananda Sangha worldwide, the week will include discourses and presentations by acharyas and members of Ananda communities in America, Europe, and India; along with a variety of participatory events, music concerts, and dramatic presentations especially prepared for this celebration. We’ll also have daily group meditations; extensive tours of Ananda Village to learn how different parts of the community work; meetings with community leaders; opportunities to learn from and to work alongside community members; and meditation in various shrines. There are trails through the meadows and woods, and recreation opportunities.
A day trip will take us across the Sierra Nevada mountains to the blue waters of Lake Tahoe, 500 metres deep.
We’ll also experience Ananda urban communities in the cities of Palo Alto, in the heart of Silicon Valley; and Sacramento, the capital of California. We’ll visit the Palo Alto mandir, their school for children, and their large bookstore, and we’ll enjoy meals and spend 2 nights near their 100-resident community.
Los Angeles, 27-29 June: We’ll start the pilgrimage by flying into Los Angeles. We’ll spend 3 nights in a motel and visit the powerful places where Paramhansa Yogananda lived most of his life—now preserved as shrines. These include the oceanside retreat in Encinitas where he wrote Autobiography of a Yogi; Mount Washington, where he established the headquarters of Self-Realization Fellowship in 1925; the beautiful and blessed garden, Lake Shrine; and at Forest Lawn we’ll meditate at Yogananda’s tomb, containing his body which may still be incorrupt. From Los Angeles, we’ll drive most of a day through California’s Central Valley to Ananda Village.
Our time in Los Angeles will be focused on the shrines of Yogananda. If you’d like to also visit the tourist sights of Los Angeles, and theme parks like Disneyland or Universal Studios, you can plan to arrive earlier to do this on your own.
Proposed Itinerary:
27 June (Thurs): arrive in Los Angeles, dinner and opening satsang
28-29 June: two days in Los Angeles and Encinitas
30 June (Sunday): drive 8-9 hours to Ananda Village, arrive in time for dinner
1-8 July: based at Ananda Village. See description above.
9 July (Tuesday): drive to Palo Alto, stopping in Sacramento
10 July: Palo Alto community, teaching centre, bookstore, and rural farm
11 July (Thursday): fly out from San Francisco or San Jose
There is also the option to spend one extra night in Palo Alto on 11 July, and we can take you shopping or to other destinations that day.
Accommodations, meals, transportation: In Los Angeles and Palo Alto we’ll stay in shared hotel rooms with attached bath (or single for an additional cost). At Ananda Village we’ll stay at “Gaia House”. Gaia House is a well-planned, spacious six-bedroom house with beautiful views, gardens, very large dining/living room, kitchen, and laundry. For pilgrims this means two or three people sharing a room, and sharing bathrooms. At Ananda Village we won’t have the option of single rooms. We’ll hire two passenger vans for transportation. Most meals are at Ananda facilities. A few meals are in restaurants.
Flights from India: We can advise you in arranging your own flight, flying into Los Angeles, and out of San Francisco or San Jose. Upon arrival, we’ll meet your flight in Los Angeles if you arrive in the morning or early afternoon of 27 June. For departure, we’d take you to San Francisco or San Jose airport during the morning or day of 11 July. India-California flights start at around Rs. 70,000 round-trip for these dates, but can increase dramatically close to our departure, so booking early is best. You can also arrive on your own in the U.S. before the group, or remain longer in U.S. after the pilgrimage. Flights over the Atlantic may allow you to stop over on your own in other US cities.
Cost: Rs. 2,10,000 (two lakh, ten thousand) plus airfare. Pilgrimage begins in Los Angeles after lunch 27 June, ends at San Francisco or San Jose airport after breakfast 11 July.
Cost includes: shared accommodations; 3 meals/day for 7 days; breakfast and one other meal for 7 days. Also included: ground transportation, airport transfers at the arrival and departure times indicated above, admission to events and shrines.
Not included: additional meals, snacks & drinks (you can budget about Rs. 10,000 for these); personal expenses; or personal travel & airport transfers outside indicated times.
For those wishing a single room in Los Angeles and Palo Alto, we are still awaiting that exact additional cost. If you wish to share a room, and a roommate can’t be found, you’d have to pay single room cost.
Cost is an estimate, based on no significant change in exchange rate or petrol cost.
To Reserve Your Space: Fill out the online application. Once you are approved, you’d make your first payment.
Payment: A non-refundable first payment of Rs. 10,000 per person is needed to reserve your space. Your participation is confirmed only when we approve your application and receive payment. Receiving applications and payments as soon as possible will allow us to secure necessary accommodations and transportation. Balance of fee due by 1 March 2019. In case of cancellation, Rs. 10,000 of fee is non-refundable. Cancellation close to date of departure may incur additional costs.
Preparation for Pilgrimage: Weather? What to pack? What to wear? Luggage restrictions? We’ll help you through all these questions and more by e-mail, with letters on preparation and answers to any individual questions.
Passport: If you do not have a valid passport, apply for one soon. The process can take time, and you must have a passport before requesting a visa.
U.S. Visa: This is the deciding factor for some would-be travelers. A visa is not easy for some people to obtain, and you should start the process by January 2019. Pilgrims have had to miss this trip as they waited too long before applying for a passport or visa. We can advise you, and you will need the advice, so let us know if you need a visa.