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Consciousness at the Center
Living Wisdom School is rooted in a radical idea: that consciousness—our awareness, our energy, our inner state—is the most essential factor in education. True learning begins not with information, but with the cultivation of self-understanding.
When education supports the unfolding of consciousness, it becomes a journey of transformation—one that prepares students not only for a career, but for life itself. From this center, everything else follows.
This vision found early expression through the life and work of Paramhansa Yogananda, whose pioneering school in India helped lay the foundation for what would later become Living Wisdom School.
Paramhansa Yogananda 1893-1952
Ranchi School for Boys - 1917 Ranchi, India
The First "How to Live" School
1917
Paramhansa Yogananda opens a school for boys in Ranchi, India, planting the seeds of an educational revolution—one that nurtures spiritual awareness alongside academic learning.
Rooted in a Higher Calling
Living Wisdom School began as a spiritual calling—rooted in the belief that education should awaken the whole human being. Inspired by the vision of Paramhansa Yogananda, and carried forward by his disciple Swami Kriyananda, Living Wisdom has grown from a single classroom into a global movement.
Paramhansa Yogananda opens a school for boys in Ranchi, India, planting the seeds of a new kind of education—one that nurtures spiritual awareness alongside academic learning.
Swami Kriyananda gave Yogananda’s ideals practical form through the Education for Life approach—a system of learning centered on the development of consciousness. Living Wisdom Schools are the living expression of this approach: places where education becomes a path of self-discovery, inner strength, and joyful service.
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Over time, the Education for Life community has expanded across continents and generations—but its heart remains the same: to help each child grow in wisdom, compassion, and courage, one conscious choice at a time.
Swami Kriyananda
Direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and founder of
the Education for Life approach.
1972
The first Living Wisdom School is founded at Ananda Village in Northern California, establishing the Education for Life approach.
1992
Living Wisdom School of Palo Alto is founded, bringing Education for Life to the heart of Silicon Valley.
2000s
Education for Life-inspired schools begin expanding internationally, with programs established in Italy, India, and Slovenia over the following years.
2017
Living Wisdom High School opens in Palo Alto to serve teenagers with a consciousness-centered approach to academic and personal growth.
True education can never be crammed and pumped from without;
rather it must aid in bringing spontaneously to the surface
the infinite hoards of wisdom within.
Paramhansa Yogananda
Founder of the First "How to Live" School