Swami Anand Krishna

Swami Anand Krishna also attended Forum Parliament of the World’s Religions as one of the speakers in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec 3-9 2009, by presenting "Addressing Religious Radicalism in Indonesia : Appreciating and Cultivating Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) and Pancasila (Indonesia’s Preambule)". He had been appointed as Ambassador of Parliament of the World’s Religion Council since September 2009.

His stand as Universalist, Anand has had many challenges from religion’s radicals while working in promoting interfaith harmony in Indonesia.

Anand had been a source on all major National Medias, several Regional Medias – both Print and Electronic. He had a weekly column in one of the Major Print Medias, and a monthly TV as well as Radio Shows - both in Bali Island. He also writes regularly for several other medias nationwide.

At the event, Anand Krishna presented his paper on Water of Life, Wisdom of the Ancient – In Pursuit of the Indigenous Wisdom of Sundaland and South America to Save Our Planet, a spiritual study of how important water for the life of man in this planet based on the local wisdom and culture. His paper had been published as a book with the same title in 2009.

In January 2018, a book written by Dr. Jonaedi Efendi, S.H.I., M.H. was published based on his dissertation presented openly to public in Auditorium of School of Law, Brawijaya University on July 6, 2013.

Then, after unsuccessful constantly being persecuted for his works and activities in promoting religious freedom and interfaith harmony in this country, in the early of 2010, a group of former students prosecuted Anand of sexual harassment. This was an old but effective ‘dirty’ trick used to assassin one’s character, lending the hands of mass media to the downfall of public figures. Strangely, this was confirmed by the accuser’s lawyer Agung Mattauch himself: "Harassment is just an entry point for a more serious problem, religious blasphemy".

Anand Krishna became one of speakers in Earth Dialogues on Water Planet (Dialogos da Terra no Planeta Aqua) hosted by Government of Minas Gerais and Green Cross International in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on 26 – 28 November 2008. The Dialogues adopted the " Minas Gerais Charter" prescribing targeted action plans to further sustainable development both in Brazil and globally.

After attending The 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference of United Nation " Climate Change : How It Impacts Us All" in September 2007, Anand Krisha was invited to present his paper on Sufi Solutions to World’s Problems in Conference about Sufi, held by National University of Singapore and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, on August 4 – 5, 2008

His consistently attentiveness and concern about the condition of spiritual soul, local wisdom and culture of Indonesian have been putting in practice by founding many humanitarian initiatives and spiritual establishments, particularly Anand Ashram Foundation (affiliated to United Nations Department of Public Information and Anand Krishna Centres since 15 December 2006) as Center for Wellbeing and Self-Empowerment since the year of 1991.

In 2000, his books were labelled heresy, and the publisher was forced to recall his book from bookstores’ shelves nationwide.

According to the research, study and examination of Professor Julia D Howell PhD, a doctorate in Anthropology and is now Professor of the Sociology of Religion in the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies at Western Sydney University, there was a strong allegation of using the mass media, both print and electronic, as sites for the contestation of religious pluralism in Indonesia since the restoration of effective democracy in 1998. This period can be seen as one of destabilization and dispute over divergent notions of religiosity as properly communalist or autonomous, with the scales tipping towards the communalist since the Indonesian Council of Ulama pronounced a series of fatwa against pluralism and liberalism in religion in 2005.

Anand Krishna earned his master's degree from a reputed university and was at the top of his career as Director and Shareholder of a Garment Factory in Indonesia, when, suddenly, he fell ill. Medical diagnosis showed that he was suffering an acute Leukemia in critical stage. His body was no longer responded to the medical treatment/therapy for Leukemia applied. Thus, in 1991, at 35, he faced certain death.

Born in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia as predicted by the Shuka Nadi is his Karma Bhoomi, on 1 September 1956, Anand had spent his early education in Lucknow, North India, where he met his first spiritual mentor, Sheikh Baba. A simple ice vendor, the saint was not known beyond the area he lived in, but played major role in the "making" of Anand Krishna who was already familiar with Sufi poetry and teachings of Shah Abdul Latief of Sindh, through his father, Tolaram.