Jamuna Snitkin
The ways of life are wondrous and mysterious. In 1979 I was living in San Francisco going through the agonies of divorce and experiencing the joys of being a children’s librarian. It was at this time the Swami Kriyananda was looking to broaden Ananda’s spiritual work from Ananda Village — a rural spiritual community near Nevada City, CA — to the cities where more people could benefit from the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. “Swamiji” (Kriyananda) came to San Francisco (and other cities around the United States) to do seminars on “Superconscious Living.” The programs were well attended and quite popular.
In San Francisco, where Swami Kriyananda was well known, many who attended wanted to be more involved and there developed an interest in creating an urban ashram in the heart of the city. In time we found a large and well appointed home which had just previously redecorated as a designer showcase mansion. It was on the corner of Broadway and Fillmore, overlooking the San Francisco Bay looking towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
We moved in with twenty-five of us paying room and board to cover the $4,000.00 per month rent, plus food and utilities. We began the grand experiment with daily meditations and classes, and weekly Sunday Service which served not only the residents but those who responded to ads in the local papers.
Boutique in San Francisco House
In time it became obvious that some form of service business was needed so we could also work together. A group of residents began to meet to discuss the idea of starting a bookstore in the city. I was skeptical and stayed away from the discussions. But as the months rolled, by a thought came to my mind, “Might I be asked to give up something I loved to serve Ananda?” I pondered this question and prayed, “Divine Mother, what is my next step?
View from the dining room in San Francisco House
One day while overlooking the Pacific Ocean the answer came. “Your next step is right under your nose.” The message was clear but its meaning was not. A few weeks later the bookstore committee leaders came to me in the kitchen and said: “Would you run this bookstore we want to start in San Francisco?” I heard myself say, surprisingly, and without hesitation: “Yes!”
When Swami Kriyananda heard that I had said “Yes,” he called me to ask if I might come up to Ananda Village to speak with him. He had a different idea. He wanted to talk to me about running the bookshop Ananda had already purchased some seven months ago down the peninsula in Menlo Park. It was Ananda’s first East West Bookshop.
On top of this and in those same few weeks I had also said “Yes” to the marriage proposal from Vasudeva — the love of my life. I asked Swami if my fiancé might be a part of this conversation and of course he said “Yes!” So, we went together and thus began the greatest adventure of my life.
My husband joined the store with me six months later and we worked together at that great project for 13 years, from 1981 to 1994. It was truly an adventure in superconscious living. During those years and with Swamiji’s frequent visits and calls to the bookshop, he guided us every step of the way to help us apply the principles of spiritual success to the business of material success.
These were what I fondly call “the glory years” in bookstores, in metaphysical bookstores in particular and in the success of the up and coming Silicon Valley.