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From LWS to School Director: In Conversation with Aryavan McSweeney
- Living Wisdom
- Dec 12, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 16, 2025
We sat down with Aryavan McSweeney to talk about how Education for Life transformed his path—and how joy and meaning are reshaping education today.
Aryavan McSweeney attended Living Wisdom School from kindergarten through eighth grade. After college, he traveled with Swami Kriyananda, founder of the Education for Life, as his videographer—living and working in India, Italy, and Northern California. He later taught high school at the Living Wisdom School at Ananda Village, spent five years helping develop Education for Life schools in India, and now serves as Director of Living Wisdom School in Palo Alto and Vice President of Education for Life Worldwide.
Early Years at Living Wisdom
Q: You were in kindergarten when you entered Living Wisdom School. What do you remember about those early years?
Aryavan: I have very positive memories of Living Wisdom School—so much so that I’ve dedicated much of my adult life to sharing Education for Life.
Even as a young child, I remember feeling that school was joyful. I looked forward to coming every day. That may sound simple, but it shaped the whole way I relate to learning and to life. I can’t imagine a better foundation for what came later.
Transition to High School
Q: How was the transition to high school?
Aryavan: When I arrived at St. Francis, I discovered that I was much more outgoing and fearless than I’d realized. Living Wisdom had taught me how to connect with people of all kinds, so socially it was easy.
The academics, though, were less inspiring. The system felt rigid—lots of lectures, set syllabi, not much room for creativity. At Living Wisdom, each day had been new and alive. Our teachers could respond to who we were, not just what page we were on.
I did well in high school; I even became vice president of the student body. But the biggest difference I noticed was that at Living Wisdom, every student’s spirit mattered. In larger schools, the structure often mattered more than the individual.
Still, I’m grateful. The contrast helped me realize what makes Education for Life so unique—and why it’s needed everywhere.
College and the Search for Meaning
Q: What came next after Living Wisdom?
Aryavan: I studied film at Cal State Fullerton. College was a shock, honestly. The materialism and the pressure to chase status were everywhere. People were trying to fill an emptiness with achievement.
That contrast made me search for deeper meaning. My years at Living Wisdom had given me a quiet confidence that life could be joyful and expansive. When I didn’t see that reflected in the world around me, it stirred something in me to find it again.
Meeting Swami Kriyananda
Q: How did you first meet Swami Kriyananda?
Aryavan: Before graduation, I traveled to India and met Swami Kriyananda, the founder of the Living Wisdom Schools. He needed someone to film a new TV series—and the original videographer had just dropped out.
Suddenly, I was filming professional programs way above my experience level! I learned more during that project than I had in college. But more than that, I saw what it looks like when someone lives completely for a higher purpose.
That experience changed everything. Working so closely with Swami showed me how powerful it is when work becomes service—when you’re motivated by joy and meaning, not ego or ambition.
From Film-making to Teaching
Q: How did you transition from film to teaching?
Aryavan: Swami Kriyananda told me several times that I needed to be a teacher. He even told a few people I deeply respected, so I couldn’t exactly ignore it!
I knew I would teach someday, but I couldn’t imagine how it would happen. Then one day, I got a call from the director of our high school in Nevada City who said, “We need a teacher.” I could see the writing on the wall—and I very happily agreed.
I had two things going for me: I would be teaching subjects that I loved, and I had spent nine years in an EFL school as a student. I knew how it worked, and I believed in it.
After training for a year, I began teaching on my own, and of course I made lots of mistakes—which were valuable lessons. But there were also so many successes. I loved the challenges. I loved the kids. I loved that each day was completely new.
Teaching stretched me in countless ways and showed me that I could be improvisational, think on my feet, and form real connections with young people. They say the first three years are the hardest for a teacher, but I loved every minute of it.
Years in India
Q: You spent several years in India helping to develop Education for Life schools. What was that like?
Aryavan: It was one of the most meaningful periods of my life. Living and teaching in India, I saw firsthand how universal these principles are. Children everywhere respond to love, joy, and purpose—it transcends culture completely.
In Delhi, we worked with teachers who were used to rigid academic models. At first, they were cautious—worried their students wouldn’t perform well on standardized tests. But when they saw what happened after connecting personally with their students, everything changed.
They found that their students’ test scores went up, but more importantly, the children became happier, more focused, and more confident.
When you teach to the individual—when you help each child experience small daily successes—their enthusiasm becomes unstoppable. They start to love learning. They don’t want to stop. That’s when real education begins.
The experience deepened my understanding of Education for Life and how to apply it creatively in different environments. It showed me how grateful and receptive people are for these simple truths, and how quickly love transforms a classroom.
Returning to Living Wisdom
Q: Let’s talk about your return to the U.S.—how did you transition back?
Aryavan: My father, who’s a founding board member of the school, asked me to come back. He taught middle school here for twenty years and now works as our office manager. So it’s technically his fault that I’m the director and can tell him what to do! (Laughs)
We knew that Helen Purcell, our founding director, would retire at the end of the 2024 school year, and the subject of my stepping in was already in the air.
If I hadn’t spent so much time “selling” Education for Life in India, I might not have been ready. But those years helped me understand the needs of teachers today, and how adaptable this philosophy really is.
My first week back in Palo Alto, we began rehearsals for our all-school theater production. Suddenly, I was directing seventy students, learning all their names, and figuring out how to work with them in the best way as the rehearsals became more complex. It was trial by fire—but joyful fire.
After the play, I shifted into admissions and began shadowing Helen. When parents would visit, I’d listen as she talked about the school. Then she started asking me to lead the discussions myself. Eventually, I found my voice in it—because I wasn’t trying to sell something. I was just describing what I knew to be true from my own life.
A Loving and Dynamic Classroom
Q: You’ve said that if we can create a school environment where the prevailing energy is loving, we’ve accomplished our most important goal. How does that work in practice?
Aryavan: That idea was the secret to our successes in India—and it’s true everywhere. When you get to know each child individually, you can adjust the curriculum to their level and needs. They feel understood. They feel seen.
And that connection motivates them in a way no reward system ever could.
People often worry that individualized learning will slow things down, but it’s actually the opposite. The time you invest in knowing a child saves time later, because the learning becomes so much more efficient and joyful.
You also eliminate most discipline problems, because children who are happy and engaged don’t want to act out.
This side of Education for Life is deliberately “messy.” It’s unpredictable, because it revolves around real people. But once you build those loving connections, the academics can be highly structured, disciplined, and purposeful. The process is human, and that’s what makes it work.
When learning becomes personal, school stops being something children endure. It becomes something they love.
Structure and Freedom
Q: Once you’ve gotten to know the individual children, does the learning still follow structure and discipline?
Aryavan: Absolutely. Children thrive when there’s order and clarity. They need to know what’s expected of them. You can’t just have unstructured time—it would be deeply unsettling.
They blossom when their days include both focus and flow: meaningful projects, moments of creativity, time for concentration, and time for connection. Structure provides the security that allows creativity to flourish.
The Joy of Teaching
Q: What keeps you inspired in your work as a school director?
Aryavan: Every day I see students who are confident, compassionate, and curious. Our teachers nurture each child’s unique strengths, help them take ownership of their learning, and remind them that success isn’t just about grades—it’s about character, courage, and kindness.
It’s very liberating to teach—and to lead—with respect for the child’s deeper nature. It’s about their soul nature, and that’s something we all want to weave into whatever we do.
When I see children loving school, I know we’re on the right track. Happy children learn better—it’s that simple.
A New Vision of Educational Efficiency
Q: You’ve said that love actually makes learning more efficient. Can you explain that?
Aryavan: When you remove resistance, everything flows faster. In most schools, there’s so much resistance—boredom, frustration, pressure.
At Living Wisdom, the “wire” of learning conducts energy freely because the students’ enthusiasm is engaged. They’re excited, open, connected. That makes learning move quickly and deeply.
It’s also why our teachers stay. The environment is light, joyful, and full of success stories. There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing a child light up with understanding.
The Vision Ahead
Q: What do you hope families take away from Education for Life?
Aryavan: The more we can share Education for Life, the better off our children will be.
Our founder’s book Education for Life makes a strong case against cynicism and atheism—two influences that have stripped meaning from education and left countless children disillusioned.
I deeply believe that Education for Life is the antidote. For more than fifty years, we’ve seen that children thrive when they learn that life is meaningful—and that joy is their natural birthright.
The real goal of education isn’t to create achievers—it’s to help children discover who they are, what gives them energy, and how to share their gifts with the world.
When education awakens joy, children grow into adults who bring light into everything they do. That’s what Education for Life really means.
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