J. Donald Walters

J. Donald Walters (aka Swami Kriyananda) is a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, famed author of Autobiography of a Yogi. Walters lived for years in India, lecturing (he speaks nine languages) and singing (in a soothing baritone voice in native Bengali and Hindi) to many thousands. Walters began composing in 1964 and has produced over 300 choral and vocal works. In 1968, Walters founded the Ananda World Brotherhood Village, an intentional spiritual community near Nevada City, California. The organization has a publishing arm (Walters has written over 60 books, including Secrets of Life from Warner Books) as well as a music label, Crystal Clarity Light and Sound, which has released a number of his devotional albums for use in meditation. Do not expect overly complex albums from Walters; because his albums are used for meditation, Walters often uses the theme-and-variation style. Some of Walters' albums feature Indian instruments such as the sitar, tamboura, and tabla, but often, Walters taps the Western musical palette, such as on his collaboration with famed Celtic harpist Derek Bell on The Mystic Harp.