Swami Durgananda became a Canadian citizen this month after more than two decades of residency.
This year, about 160,000 people will become Canadian citizens — and probably only one of them will be a swami.
On Friday, May 4, Swami Durgananda became a citizen of Canada — almost 25 years after she first immigrated here from the United States. She joined about two dozen people at a small elementary school near Nelson, B.C., for a swearing-in ceremony.
Becoming officially Canadian was the end of a long road for Durgananda. She was accepted as a landed immigrant in 1983, five years after she first visited the Ashram and two years after moving here. But as she settled into Ashram life, getting Canadian citizenship remained a low priority — the Teachings were first in her mind.
Having Canadian citizenship means Swami Durgananda can now vote in Canadian elections, something she has been eager to do for a while.
“I feel very strongly about Canada,” she says, “and I think we have a responsibility if we’re living here to speak up.” Recent environmental and political strife has concerned her greatly. She writes regularly to politicians about her concerns. Although Swami Radha said that getting involved in politics was not the purpose of the Ashram, Swami Durgananda remembers that her Guru was always well informed about world affairs and supported a number of international organizations.
To qualify for citizenship, Durgananda spent several months studying and reviewing a 48-page book that describes Canadian history, geography and government. “I really studied that book,” she says. “I now know more about Canada than I do about the United States.”
By Niall McKenna
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