Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Ananda Leadership, Succession & Membership: Male and Female

Many years ago Swami Kriyananda had the perspicacity to appoint couples as the leaders of the core Ananda communities. I don't have a global perspective on just how unusual this might be in today's world, but from my own experience I can't think of any other organizations that have such a structure (except "mom and pop" businesses). About the only explanation I recall Swami Kriyananda (SK) offering was the obvious one: citing the benefit of balancing male and female energies.

SK frequently praised and acknowledged the rising visibility and influence of women as both an antidote and a solution to the dangers of too strongly a masculine one. Warfare is no longer a viable response to conflict for reasons that I don't need to dwell upon.  Having a couple in a leadership position represented his recognition of the need for a feminine influence. Recently in a talk given by Swami Kriyananda's hand picked successor, Nayaswami Jyotish Novak (who, with his wife, Devi Novak, are Ananda's spiritual directors worldwide), Jyotish commented on how this leadership model is well suited to the need of our age.

Recently, a female student asked me, "Why are there mostly women in this class?" I was nonplussed because I don't really have a factual answer. There's no doubt in my mind (absent actual statistical facts), that the majority of students in Ananda classes and amongst our members are women. Nor is this unusual in "New Thought" organizations or in yoga and meditation organizations (or so I would assume).

My own experience over 39 years as a member of Ananda is overwhelmingly that women jump to accept and successfully carry out responsibilities 2:1 over men.  Men, and I include myself, will more likely do so if it's their idea and if they can run it. (Mind you, once in charge, most people, women included, take complete control: for better or less.) I add my experience to that expressed all too commonly by both men and women that women are more energetic, articulate, and perceptive. There are some skills and talents that men, by tradition, or women, by upbringing, excel. Whether due to nature or nurture is of no interest to my thoughts today. I am just saying that in group dynamics, especially perhaps in volunteer or nonprofit type organizations, women leap to the top naturally. More naturally cooperative and harmonious (or so it seems to me), women fit the need of today's culture.

But is this unilaterally positive? No, it isn't! Men and women, and now I wish to move towards the terms, male and female ENERGIES (which inhabit BOTH male and female "bodies"), are simply two sides of the same coin. One simply CANNOT debase the other without debasing him/her self. We need BOTH! Let me explain this in terms that our founder, Swami Kriyananda, did: both by direct experience (that changed his life, and mine, and that of thousands) and in principle.

From time to time, you see, he would comment on the differences in male and female leadership qualities and styles. He rued the fact that Paramhansa Yogananda's organization, Self-Realization Fellowship Inc (Los Angeles, CA) fell into the hands of an all (or mostly)-female Board of Directors not long after Yogananda's passing and continuing, more or less, to the present time. He described how in that organization men were treated as second-class citizens towards whom it was assumed any personal initiative was rooted in the "evil-ego" that men seemed endowed with since birth. Though the women leaders couldn't change the fact that their guru, Yogananda, appointed men to the positions as public teachers, the women were ever watchful and suspicious that if any of them excelled at teaching that it would inflate their ego and a schism was sure to follow. Hence when not teaching, the men were assigned to physical labor tasks such as landscaping or construction; their living quarters were second rate compared to the women. The decades-long leader of that organization was quoted as saying matter of factly, "Women are more spiritual than men."

In addition to jealously guarding their authority from every conceivable, real or imagined threat, the board of directors controlled and ruled upon every minute detail of ashram and organizational life. Little scope was given to anyone else. The unspoken view of public service was, "Let them come to us. We'll decide what we give them (in spiritual teachings), though few are as ready as we who have given our lives to this work." It took fifty years to edit and publish Yogananda's second greatest work (his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) when he, himself, in the last year of his life announced that it would be published that very same year! In instituting a twelve year lawsuit to "destroy" Ananda (as the judge viewed it), they considered Ananda an interloper who dared to "use" Yogananda's teachings for its own purposes! Admittedly, in the meantime, they developed their lands and properties to an exquisite level of beauty: something we and thousands, as visitors and pilgrims, enjoy to this day.

In SK's years there (the 1950's) as a monk, and indeed, even as one of the leaders (being for a time both Vice-President and a board member), but always being outnumbered by the older women leaders, he found that his expansive ideas and energies were consistently thwarted and worse, viewed with suspicion by them. Indeed, it was no small measure the key factor to his being summarily dismissed from that organization in 1961. We are grateful for that because although his greatest test, his labor gave birth to Ananda.

Consider it from their power of view: the power and magnetism of Paramhansa Yogananda. Those female disciples who served his ministry all those many years were understandably no match, in their role as successors, for Yogananda's dynamic energies. No doubt they were, in fact, somewhat exhausted by Yogananda's ceaseless projects and tireless campaigns. This is not a criticism but an explanation for why, after Yogananda's passing, they "closed  the gate" and turned the "place" into a museum. (Admittedly an exaggeration, here, but only somewhat; nonetheless, their devotion to him cannot be questioned.)

Jump forward to Ananda present day: Swami Kriyananda, tireless campaigner, lecturer, writer, and inspiration to thousands, is now gone. Working as we, the first generation, did during his lifetime to support his ministry, we are no match for Kriyananda's dynamic and creative will power and attunement to Yogananda.

Preservation of his works and memory is, in fact, an appropriate priority for us at this time. We have an obligation to preserve the traditions, music, customs, and policies established by our founder. The vast reservoir of music, books, lectures, and other writings left to us by him could keep us busy for a lifetime extracting and adapting their inspirational and practical value in our service to others.

Fortunately, we have a distinct advantage over the pattern that befell SRF because Swami Kriyananda trained and encouraged us to be creative and expansive. He appointed couples as the primary leaders of Ananda. Since his passing in 2013 there's been a veritable explosion of growth and creative endeavors throughout Ananda worldwide.

Nonetheless, it is a distinct possibility that the gender imbalance either simply reflects the new phase of preservation that follows Kriyananda's passing or will influence Ananda's directions towards consolidation and preservation of what has been established. Either way, it seems to me that it will be a long time before anyone has the energy and magnetism to make any substantive contributions or initiate new directions to Swamiji's legacy. This is not necessarily a problem; at least not yet.

A balance of energies is necessary even if minor fluctuations naturally occur. When Kriyananda would speak of the gender differences in terms of leadership he would say things like the male influence tends to be expansive and impersonal; the female, personal and nurturing. And, he would add: we need both. To use an outdated archetypal image: someone has to go out and hunt to support the home, and someone has to stay home to protect it and its offspring.

With our modern awareness and sensibilities we can now distinguish between the biology of a person and their "energy." "Male" and "female" in this discussion refers not to bodies but to the dominant direction of interest of a person's energy. At the same time, we are asking for trouble if we pretend that biology doesn't influence consciousness! (Consider the world of entertainment and advertising to see the emphasis placed upon gender distinctions and traits in attracting success and sales.)

In Ananda's current phase of consolidation and preservation, appropriate though it is, an invisible, magnetic shield silently says, "This is what Ananda is." Implied in this is the even less conscious thought: "don't think to change it." It is as though we could be saying: "Ananda has come of age and is maturing in our self-identity and confidence around who we are. We have arrived for we now possess the spiritual wealth of our founder: his attunement with Paramhansa Yogananda!"

In contradistinction to the statistics of the gender makeup of Ananda membership, it is worth noting that our rapidly changing culture surrounding gender awareness makes it possible for women to confidently and openly express male energies, and, for men to express feminine energies. (I am not referring to sexual orientation.) To some degree, this potentially undermines the observable statistical imbalance and may, in fact, suggest that there's very little imbalance. But I have no way to measure that and my own experience of people is that most of us are distinctly influenced by biology.

Nonetheless, since we have no equivalent "Swami Kriyananda" to embody the expansive public service energies that are part and parcel of our "work," we, left to our own tendencies, might too easily prefer to shepherd our existing flocks with the care and compassion such duties require (and thus, unaware of the consequences of our actions, perhaps "closing the gate" behind us to protect them).

During his lifetime and in the building of Ananda, Swami Kriyananda instinctively established a dynamic, yet fruitful, "tension" between caring for our "home" (the various residential communities and the needs of our members) and engaging in public service; between nurturing our membership and serving the public. His books tended, generally, to reach out to the broadest segment of the public with interesting and varied topics that could show the underlying message of unity and spirituality beneficial to all through meditation, philosophy, parenting, marriage and much more. By contrast, those to whom he appointed to lead the communities that he had established were given the role to tend and nurture the needs and spiritual welfare of individual members. Outreach, though important, was and generally still is limited to a local service area and directed towards students and members.

Not long after Swami's death, Ananda's worldwide leadership affirmed our commitment to outreach and public service. Recently this was reaffirmed and focused towards SK's successors: Jyotish and Devi Novak. But that's easier said than done because our generation of leaders does not have the public recognition or karmic role of SK. Not surprisingly, the resources committed to outreach lag behind the resources committed to what we are used to making as our priority: the maintenance and growth of the communities, and the training and support of our members. Perhaps this is as it needs to be for now. We can coast for a while on the lifelong public service of our founder. But just how long?

In all fairness (returning now to the gender identity of Ananda members), yoga and meditation probably does attract more women than men. Perhaps our statistics are in line with the reality everywhere at the present time. Nonetheless, the frequency and clarity with which Swami Kriyananda commented upon the need for male energy should be a warning to us. A true leader is compassionate and understanding and good with people. But we cannot expect all future leaders to express all aspects of the ideal leader, and certainly not in their younger years as they are learning and growing. A potential leader might prove, at first, to be a gadfly of new ideas (just as SK was long ago) or even critique. (Just as some of the brightest students in school are not those who are the teacher's pet.)

It is true, as he, himself wrote, that the devotee (male and female) must begin the spiritual search with qualities of humility, devotion and receptivity, but strength and will power, too, are essential to spiritual growth. Given the dynamics of cultural conditioning in modern times, and as Swami Kriyananda found himself a victim of, it is all too easy to assume that softer qualities are spiritual and outward flowing energies are egotistical. Easy, in part, because so often true: but not always!

For, in fact, the emergent form of spirituality rejects the historic tradition that expansiveness is born of ego. The time for rejecting the world in the name of spirituality is rapidly vanishing. The time for "bringing Spirit to "work" in the world" is gaining acceptance by virtue of the need in our times. Men and women of greater awareness express this instinctively. But the old habits cling and resist as well.

In the last two weeks or so, and taking place at the Ananda Community and Center near Assisi, Italy, was a gathering of younger members, many of whom have leadership potential for the future. Ananda IS making an effort to nurture and recognize leadership qualities. SK taught us that in group dynamics and organizational activities, leadership, while not better or more important than other roles, is, nonetheless, a necessary talent, role and skill. Given the positive changes in culture and consciousness away from hierarchy, leadership energies tend to be mistrusted even if the role remains essential to any successful venture. We must avoid that inviting view, born of an extreme affirmation of egalitarian principles. "All men are created equal" is a pleasing affirmation (applicable, truly, to our potential) but quite obviously is untrue in actual fact.

It is my hope and prayer, and expectation, that the present leadership of Ananda, wherever situated, will have the wisdom (and the remembrance of the example of our founder, Swami Kriyananda) to recognize and nurture leadership qualities in those men and women inspired to serve the public work of Yogananda in the world today and in the years to come.

In thoughtful recollection,

Nayaswami Hriman

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Ananda worldwide: What Next after the Passing of its founder, Swami Kriyananda?

Few organizations thrive after the passing of a creative and charismatic founder. In regard to leadership skills and looking ahead to the future, Swami Kriyananda was extraordinarily prescient. To his dying day (earlier this year at age 86), Swami Kriyananda ("SK") was writing books, music, lecturing, handling a voluminous correspondence, guiding movie productions (two), and counseling and guiding countless souls. He did this in spite of an aging body that should have given up the ghost long ago and which offered to him constant troubles and physical suffering. He took all of this in the stride of kindness, creativity, service and devotion to God and guru (Paramhansa Yogananda and his lineage).

Yet, for all of this, he had, decades ago, appointed leaders of various aspects of Ananda's growing and worldwide work. These leaders, then, were already in place and functioning independently but cooperatively both together and in attunement with his overall guidance and friendship.

For the immediate future, therefore, Ananda members and public need not expect anything radical or unusual. SK's spiritual successor, Jyotish (John) Novak, has been with SK for for over forty years and functioning as acting spiritual director for some years. He and his wife, Devi, are seamlessly making the transition to front and center of Ananda.

Nonetheless, SK was a spiritual and creative tornado. No vibrant organization can afford to remain static. Nor can Ananda rely passively upon his enormous legacy of writings, music, organizational wisdom, and spiritual depth for its momentum. Nor has SK trained us to do so!

So "Yes": changes can be expected. The largest hole in Ananda's work left by SK, in terms of public visibility, is, well, just that: public visibility. SK toured the world non-stop for decades; wrote books, non-stop, for decades; did radio and TV shows; spoke at major conferences, and on and on. As a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda (PY), he spoke with authority, conviction, and wisdom in being the foremost and most accessible public representative for PY's worldwide teachings.

It would be fruitless to imagine anyone simply taking up where SK left off. SK wisely decentralized the work of Ananda and both by his example and his instructions empowered Ananda's leaders and membership to work BOTH cooperatively together AND creatively independently in our spiritual service.

What will be needed is for representatives of Ananda to emphasize the need to "get out front" in public view. Some have, will and are writing books and articles. But until now, most, with rare exception, were needed to remain in their respective teaching centers training members and guiding the local community. A younger generation is on its way "up" and the leadership group has both the opportunity and the need to be more available publicly outside the comfortable enclosure of our teaching centers and communities. What form that takes will be as individual as the individuals themselves.

Leadership, too, is, and has been changing. While SK naturally assumed the role of founder and leader, he actually trained us to see each other and relate to one another as friends and devotees first. Whatever particular positions we might hold for a time are simply roles but positions of leadership make no assumption regarding spiritual realization. For several decades, most Ananda communities have been led by married couples. But I see this evolving towards more team management in various departments and business. At the Ananda Farm here in the Seattle area, we have four "legal" managers but a seven-person management team. Same is true for our East West Bookshop.

I also see that the vocabulary of the message of Ananda will need to step-up to the tone of universality that SK embodied so well both in person and in his writings. This language was PY's language, as well. Most Ananda centers have focused on training of members and disciples. This is essential, of course, but easier to focus on while SK spread the universal message of Self-realization through Kriya Yoga around the world. Kriya and Self-realization are for everyone, regardless of spiritual affiliation or belief. Oneness in Spirit applies to all facets of daily life in the form of cooperation, harmony, respect, high energy and creativity.

Ananda is, and was already in process of (at the time of SK's passing in April), a great explosion of growth. Many members feel that SK's passing not only freed him from the confines of an aging body, but in some tangible but subtle way, freed his soul force to ripple outward and propel his "children" in new and expansive directions.

Without SK's presence and leadership, it seems to me natural that the various Ananda centers will look to its center (Ananda Village, Nevada City, CA) not just for leadership and guidance but as "home." This has always been the case but has been, in no small measure, eclipsed by the living presence and guidance of its founder, SK. With him gone, eyes and hearts turn naturally to "the Village." Already important work is taking place to allow overseas members to obtain special visa permits to come and study and apprentice in how to run centers and communities.

Several weeks ago the first annual Spiritual Renewal Week since SK's passing found members just as enthusiastic and just as present in numbers as ever before, even without SK being there in the body. Many could feel that the baton of spiritual leadership had passed not just to one, or two, but to an entire generation of members trained by SK. An online worldwide leadership course, begun in Fall 2012, is already uniting members of every age, generation and country. Online courses and webinars from Ananda Village come out almost weekly. The original Meditation Retreat has come back "online" offering seclusions, in addition to the vibrant and dynamic retreat programs at the Expanding Light (public) retreat facility "down the road." Members worldwide are uniting behind the project of building a simple but beautiful "Moksha Mandir" for interring SK's body at his beloved home (at Ananda Village), the Crystal Hermitage. A future Temple of Light will be built there with the support of members, students, and friends from around the world.

I also see a stepped-up exchange of staff, interns, and visitors between the Ananda centers. Pilgrimages to Italy, U.S.A., and India (and other places) continue to grow in momentum. Members are becoming, it seems to me, more fluid and willing to move to other Ananda Communities as the need or inspiration arises. This started especially with the Laurelwood campus, west of Portland, but is spreading, as Palo Alto, CA and here in Seattle have purchased properties for farming and mini-community/ashrams and have opportunities for helping hands.

Lastly, I foresee that the music of Ananda, a direct legacy of SK, will mature and begin to find acceptance in the world around us. I believe it was uniquely SK's life path that during his lifetime, though well known in some respects, he was, relative to the depth of his spirituality and genius, too often passed over. The "Finding Happiness" movie, a documentary story of Ananda will spread the message of Ananda's work and music far and wide. So too a second movie, still in production, on SK's life: The Answer.

PY said to SK that "you have a great work to do." This work is now in the hands of SK's children and I sincerely believe that we will carry on, yes in our way, but in his spirit.

Blessings to you from Ananda, not a place, but a state of soul.......

Sw Hrimananda