Crescenta Valley’s Very Own Indian Swami

For the last few weeks I’ve been relating a small sample of the thousands of thrilling stories of the Montrose Search and Rescue team. I’ll take a break from those tales, and return to them later.

Not many people know that La Crescenta had its very own Swami, Swami Paramananda. The name “Paramananda” is a mouthful, way too many syllables, but actually it’s phonetic. Try it out: Par-a-ma-nan-da. “Swami” is a term of respect in India, usually reserved for religious teachers. Swami Paramananda founded the Ananda Ashrama in La Crescenta in 1923, a monastery that still thrives today. It’s located in pristine acreage at the top of Pennsylvania Avenue where, from its Temple of the Universal Spirit, there is still taught a message of inner peace and paths to God.

“Ananda” is from Sanskrit (ancient language of Southeast Asia) meaning “bliss.” “Ashrama” is also from the Sanskrit, literally meaning “to toil.” More broadly, Ashrama means “a place where one strives towards a goal in a disciplined manner.” The Ananda Ashrama, founded by Swami Paramananda, has served that purpose for our community for nearly a century.

But here’s Paramananda’s story. He was born in what is today Bangladesh in 1883 to a prestigious family. His birth name was Suresh Chandra Guha-Thakurta. Suresh’s father was a very progressive man, particularly on issues of women’s rights, a philosophical legacy he passed to his son. But when Suresh was a teen, his father went blind. This was a turning point in Suresh’s life as he then spent his days reading to his father, often from religious tracts. Suresh was particularly struck by the teachings of an Indian saint, Sri Ramakrishna, and he made plans to visit the Ashram founded by Ramakrishna’s disciples. There he met his teacher, Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda is an incredibly huge figure in history as he was the man responsible for the revival of Hinduism as a major world religion, and is the one who introduced the practice of yoga to the world. Under Vivekananda’s tutelage, Suresh became a Swami, and took the name “Paramananda,” meaning “one who attained the bliss of the Supreme Being.”

In 1906 Swami Paramananda was sent to the U.S., basically as a missionary, to spread the teachings of his faith. He established a religious center in Boston and from there toured extensively teaching and lecturing. But always in the back of Paramananda’s mind was the concept of establishing a religious retreat close to nature, as the sages of ancient India had done before him.

In 1923, Paramananda and his disciple Sister Daya searched for a suitable property in California. Together they located the Fusenot Ranch, tucked in a beautiful canyon, high above the sagebrush of the Crescenta Valley. After purchasing the 140-acre property, Paramananda embarked on an ambitious building campaign, constructing buildings and lodgings for his growing religious community, and culminating in the completion of a large temple in 1928. Paramananda split his time between Boston and California, but he loved our mountains, enjoyed hiking and being outdoors. However, when Paramananda died in 1940, the Ananda Ashrama experienced a crisis.

Paramananda had throughout his life been a promoter of the equality of women, a man ahead of his time. In fact he went so far as to practice “affirmative action” within his Ashrama, filling the leadership roles with women disciples, which put him in direct opposition with his order back in India. He felt that women were the nurturers and builders of mankind, and he often referred to God as the “Great Mother.” When it came time to pass the reins to a successor, he stipulated that future leaders would be women. But when Paramananda died, the leadership in India responded with an ultimatum. Either accept a new male Swami, or separate from the order. After much soul searching, the women of the Ashrama followed Paramananda’s wishes and formed their own women’s order, which has effectively run both centers, Boston and La Crescenta, ever since.

The Ananda Ashrama is one of CV’s hidden gems, a little piece of heaven on earth. And we have CV’s very own Swami to thank for it.

  mike lawler