“Everything one does reflects one’s philosophy of life. Buildings, too, ought to be expressions of a conscious philosophy. The more uplifting the philosophy, the more attention should be given to the forms that express it. . .
“I remembered how often Yogananda quoted the suggestion made to him by an architect:
“Immortalize your teachings in architecture.”
The Master agreed with him. A spiritual teaching ought to be clothed in a form that expresses the consciousness it seeks to inspire.”
— Swami Kriyananda, A Place Called Ananda
Concept drawing of an earth kutir
In his book Space, Light, and Harmony, Swami Kriyananda described some of the design features that will be incorporated into the Hermitage buildings. These include rounded corners inside rooms instead of sharp ninety-degree angles; large windows connecting the resident monks to the gardens and forest outside; high ceilings that are dome-shaped or rounded rather than flat ceilings; and more.
A life lived in harmony with nature is integral to Ananda’s rural communities and Guru Kripa Forest Hermitage. The Hermitage will not be a farm with tractors and industrial scale food production. Instead, it will be a place full of trees — both fruit and native varieties — and small garden plots throughout the land. Natural earth buildings are an important part of that harmony.
Meet Our Development Team.
“It is interesting in this context to contrast Western architecture, particularly that of the Twentieth Century, with the traditional architecture of India; the one, emphatic in its straight lines and strong angles; the other, almost feminine in its gentle, sweeping curves. The Indian suggests a national consciousness that, over countless centuries, has become smoothed and rounded like the pebbles on a river bed, adapting easily to the universe and to life’s vicissitudes. The Western suggests modern man’s determination to conquer nature, to bend her laws to his will.”
— Swami Kriyananda
“A home I’d once visited in Arizona, patterned after the homes of certain Amerindians, had had its corners rounded off on the inside. The room walls were conventionally straight, but I found, to my surprise, that there was a certain feeling of peace in those rooms that seemed to result from those rounded corners, rather than from the furnishings or from the consciousness of the people living there.
“I learned later that the Sioux Indians believe that roundedness in a building helps one to feel in tune with the earth and the universe. Square corners, according to them, capture evil spirits. I suppose that’s a way of saying that corners reduce the sense of harmony in a home. “
— Swami Kriyananda, in Space, Light, Harmony
