Ananda Village Retreat's Beautiful Flowers

(Monday April 21, 2014)

Today Cheryl, Katie, Bucky, Mel and I took a drive to the Ananda Village to see their beautiful Christal Hermitage Gardens terraced  high above the Middle Fork of the Yuba River. As always pictures are beautiful, but this experience is beyond that. The Ananda community is situated on 800 acres of meadows and forests amidst the foothills of the on the North San Juan ridge, off Tyler-Foote road not far from Nevada City. Today, 250 people reside here, including adults and children of all ages. The Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation is the spiritual side of Ananda Village that was founded in 1968 by Swami Kriyananda, one of Paramhansa Yogananda’s foremost disciples, to fulfill Yogananda’s vision of World Brotherhood Colonies; spiritual communities based on the twin principles of “plain living and high thinking.” The springtime at Ananda visit requires a donation of $ 5 each and those under twelve are admitted free. We experienced the beauty of more than 13,000 tulips in bloom. On weekends they have master gardeners  on hand, along with community members, to answer your questions and to share about the history of Ananda and Crystal Hermitage, but visitors like us are also welcome to visit the gardens on weekdays from 10am to 5pm. For more information call (530)478-7587, or watch Cheryl Noble's video.   Okay...Let's go see what's beyond the gate!

Time for a break and some fun. Okay, from the look on a couple of faces, snapshots can be boring. Especially if you're on a mischief restraining leash. Yeah...a dog's life can be tough.

The lovely chapel, built by Ananda residents, was inspired by the Porziuncola of Saint Francis in Santa Maria degli Angeli. The chapel offers an intimate and inspiring atmosphere for weddings, meditations, or worship services, and seats 50 people. It's surrounded by beautiful gardens with a carp-filled pond, a Buddha statue in an unusual pose often seen in Burma, and a statue of the Virgin Mother, Mary, adding their blessings to the sanctuary and gardens.

The Shrine of the Masters small museum and gift shop housing holy relics from India and Ananda's line of yoga masters.

Whew! We made it....Just kidding. Our visit was fantastic, and we hope you enjoyed it too. Now we'll head for home and on the way stop to admire the beautiful Yuba River.

I'd never consider jumping off the bridge, but know of some that did. Dum de dumb.

We'll just take some more photos, while Mel and Bucky opt out in the car.

Now you've gotta admit it was lotsa inspirational fun today.

Back