People are more important than things.

That statement lies at the heart of what we believe. East West Bookstore is not just a business. It is above all a resource for expansive ideas, a retreat from ordinary life, and a gathering place in support of community ideals and spiritual growth. Although we are known for the books, music and beautiful things we provide, it is the soul’s journey that we are here to nurture, uplift and serve.

In striving to fulfill this purpose, we are merely a humble reflection of those who have been our guides: Paramhansa Yogananda, the great Indian master who brought the teachings of Self-realization and Kriya yoga to the West, and his foremost direct disciple Swami Kriyananda, one of the leading spiritual teachers in the world today. Their contributions to the betterment of people everywhere, to the spread of truth, and to the promise of peace, love and our ultimate liberation, have simply been immeasurable.

It was Kriyananda who, in 1980, purchased a small but highly regarded bookshop in Menlo Park, an icon of the emerging New Age movement. Then, as now, it was named East West. Today, however, many times larger in size, the store resides in Mountain View in the famed Silicon Valley. It remains more than ever a mecca for seekers of universal wisdom and special gifts of inspiration and joy.

East West is officially an enterprise of Ananda, the organization founded by Kriyananda in 1968 to further his Guru’s mission of Self-realization for all people who aspire to a God-centered life. “You have a great work to do,” Yogananda told him, and for more than 60 years Swami Kriyananda has devoted himself with astonishing creative energy to a body of work that greatness can barely describe. Kriyananda is the author of 90 books, 400 pieces of music, and he is also the founder of a global family of cooperative spiritual communities, temples of worship, retreat centers, schools, and meditation groups.  

Locally there is Ananda Palo Alto, which not only operates East West Bookstore, but also includes a live-in community for individuals and families, a Living Wisdom School, regular Sunday services, and a weekly calendar of classes on meditation, yoga, the teachings of saints and masters, and all facets of the art of spiritual living. For more information, please visit www.ananda.org or www.anandapaloalto.org.