Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...

in 1920 and legally incorporated as a non-profit religious organization in 1935, to serve as Yogananda's instrument for the preservation and worldwide dissemination of his writings and teachings, including

Kriya Yoga ''Kriyā'' (Sanskrit: क्रिया, 'action, deed, effort') is a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result. Kriya or Kriya Yoga may also refer to: * Kriya Yoga school The K ...

. Yogananda wrote in '' God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita'' that the science of Kriya Yoga was given to

Manu Manu may refer to: Geography * Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru ** Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Tem ...

, the original

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, and through him to

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hra ...

and other royal sages. Self-Realization Fellowship continues to disseminate Paramahansa Yogananda's teachings following his stated Aims and Ideals. SRF publishes Yogananda teachings of home-study lessons, writings including ''

Autobiography of a Yogi ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' is an autobiography of Paramahansa Yogananda (5 January 1893 – 7 March 1952) first published in 1946. Paramahansa Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, into a Bengali Hindu family. ...

'', lectures, and recorded talks; oversees temples, retreats, meditation centers, and monastic communities bearing the name Self-Realization Order. It also coordinates the Worldwide Prayer Circle,thebetterindia.com which it describes as a network of groups and individuals who pray for those in need of physical, mental, or spiritual aid, and who also pray for world peace and harmony. Before coming to the United States, Yogananda began his spiritual work in India in 1917 and named it

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS) is a non-profit, nonsectarian spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1917 and is a part of the Self-Realization Fellowship which was founded in 1920. The current president of t ...

(YSS). When he came to the United States in 1920, he founded Self-Realization Fellowship. The international headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship is in

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Leadership

Paramahansa Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) in 1920 and served as head until his death in March 1952. The first president and head of SRF/YSS after Yogananda was

Rajarsi Janakananda Rajarsi Janakananda, born James Jesse Lynn (May 5, 1892 – February 20, 1955) was the leading disciple of the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda and a prominent businessman in the Kansas City, Missouri area. A self-made millionaire when he met Yogan ...

, who was president until his death in February 1955.

Daya Mata Daya Mata (Sanskrit for ''Compassionate Mother''), born Rachel Faye Wright, (January 31, 1914November 30, 2010) was the third president and ''sanghamata'' (mother of the society) of the only organization that Paramahansa Yogananda created to diss ...

was the next head and president of Self Realization Fellowship/YSS from 1955 until her death on 30 November 2010. According to

Linda Johnsen Linda Johnsen (born 1954 in Chicago) is an author on yoga and other aspects of Hinduism. She earned a master's degree in Eastern Studies and did post-graduate work in Comparative Religions at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In additi ...

in ''Today's Woman in World Religions'', the new wave today is women, as many major Indian gurus have passed on their spiritual mantle to women, such as Yogananda to the American born Daya Mata and then to

Mrinalini Mata Mrinalini Mata (born Merna Loy Brown, May 8, 1931 - August 3, 2017) was the fourth President of Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. Biography She was born in Wichita, Kansas Wi ...

. In 2010, Mrinalini Mata became the next president of SRF/YSS, with an official announcement on 9 January 2011, holding this position until her death on 3 August 2017. She was "one of the close disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda personally chosen and trained by him to help guide his society after his passing." Mrinalini Mata had held the position of SRF/YSS vice-president from 1966 until she became president in 2011. On 30 August 2017,

Brother Chidananda Brother Chidananda (born Christopher Hartwell Bagley, 1953) is the fifth President of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. He was born in Annapolis, Maryland, USA. Biography Chidanand ...

was elected as the next and current president with a unanimous vote of the SRF Board of Directors.

Temples, retreats, and other facilities

Self-Realization Fellowship has over 500 temples, retreats,

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

yogananda.org In the U.S., there are seven temples in California: Berkeley, Glendale, Hollywood, Fullerton, Encinitas, Pacific Palisades, and San Diego. In Arizona there is a temple in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. Retreat centers are located in Pacific Palisades, CA ( Lake Shrine), Encinitas, CA, Valley Center, CA (Hidden Valley Ashram, for men only), Greenfield, VA (Front Royal). In Europe, there is a retreat center in Bermersbach, Germany. There is also a retreat in Armação, Brazil. There are meditation centers and circles located in 54 countries. SRF also has a sister organization in India called

, founded by Yogananda in 1917, and headquartered in Dakshineswar (near Calcutta). YSS oversees 200 kendras, mandalis, retreats, and ashrams throughout India and Nepal, including meditation centers, 21 educational institutions, and a variety of charitable facilities. SRF ashram on the point at Swamis

Encinitas. After his return from India in 1936, Paramahansa Yogananda took up residence at the SRF hermitage in

Encinitas, California Encinitas ( Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad, and about south ...

which was a surprise gift from his disciple Rajarsi Janakananda. It was while at this hermitage that Yogananda wrote his famous ''

'' and other writings plus creating an "enduring foundation for the spiritual and humanitarian work of Self‑Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India." This property now includes an ashram and a retreat center. A main temple and an overflow temple are nearby on Second St. Hollywood. In 1942 Yogananda formally opened the SRF Hollywood Temple on Sunset Blvd.,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, California which is the oldest SRF temple in the US. Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex's parents,

Doria Ragland Doria Loyce Ragland (born September 2, 1956) is an American social worker, and former makeup artist and yoga instructor. She is the mother of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Early life Doria Ragland was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to nurse Jeanette ...

and

Thomas Markle Sr. Thomas Wayne Markle (born July 18, 1944) is an American retired television lighting director and director of photography. He received a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for work on the television program ''Made in Chicago'' in 1975 and was a co-r ...

were married by Brother Bhaktananda at

's Self-Realization Fellowship temple in Hollywood, California on 23 December 1979. SRF San Diego Cypress Trees

San Diego. Paramahansa Yogananda established an oasis of peace in San Diego on 5 September 1943, during the conflict of World War II. Located in San Diego's Bankers Hill neighborhood, the Self-Realization Fellowship San Diego Temple is just minutes from downtown. The thriving cypress trees lining the front walkway of the temple were planted by Yogananda himself. He dedicated the Temple as a Church of All Religions with the following prayer: Pacific Palisades. The

Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine lies a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California. It was founded and dedicated by Paramahansa Yogananda, on August 20, 1950, and is owned by the Self-Realiz ...

lies a few blocks from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

, on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed be ...

. It was dedicated by

Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...

, on 20 August 1950 The site has lush gardens, a large, natural spring-fed lake which is framed by natural hillsides, and is home to a variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

, including

swan Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Som ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

s, koi, water turtles, and lotus flowers. The entire property is a natural amphitheater. Many thousands of visitors come each year to enjoy the scenic beauty and serenity of this spiritual sanctuary. One noticeable landmark, visible from all parts of the grounds, is the huge golden lotus archway, painted white topped with enormous gold lotus blossoms. The archway frames the

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

World Peace Memorial, an outdoor shrine where an authentic 1,000-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus holds a portion of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi himself. Twentynine Palms. Yogananda spent most of the last four years of his life in seclusion at his desert ashram in Twentynine Palms, California with some of his inner circle of disciples. There he completed his legacy of writings, including the revisions of his books, articles and lessons written previously.

Self-Realization Fellowship Order

The Self-Realization Fellowship Order is the

monastic order Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important ro ...

associated with Self-Realization Fellowship.

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s and

Nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s of the Self-Realization Fellowship Order work in the

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

s of the Self-Realization Fellowship, and teach others about the Fellowship and about

: The SRF renunciant's daily schedule may vary depending on the particular ashram center and area of work to which he or she is assigned, but it always includes a balanced spiritual life: meditation and prayer, service, spiritual study and introspection, exercise and recreation, and time for solitude and silence. There are four stages of monastic life in the Self-Realization Fellowship monastic order, representing a gradual deepening commitment to the renunciant life and the monastic vows: postulancy,

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, brahmacarya, and

sannyas ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...

. Monks and nuns of the Self-Realization Fellowship Order who take their final renunciant vows are members of the Swami Order, which traces its spiritual lineage back to

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

. Paramahansa Yogananda established the SRF monastic order in the early 1930s.

Reception

According to Straight Arrow Press, in the United States the "proceeds from the January 14, 2002, reissue of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

's 1970 song ''

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was the ...

'' will go to the Self-Realization Fellowship, a California organization that promotes the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. Yogananda, who established the fellowship in 1920 to spread his philosophy of yoga and meditation, is best known for his ''Autobiography of a Yogi''. He was frequently cited by Harrison as an important spiritual influence."

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

had met the Self-Realization Fellowship founder Yogananda in the 1930s and gave his first U.S. concert at the SRF Encinitas Retreat, Encinitas, California in 1957. On visits to Los Angeles, George Harrison would spend time at the SRF retreat in Encinitas, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which was only three miles from Ravi Shankar's home. The SRF organization strictly honored its members' privacy which Harrison appreciated.

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

often visited the Self-Realization Fellowship in the late 1960s, commenting to Brother Paramananda, a monk who had left an acting career to devote his life to the fellowship, "Man, you made the right choice. People don't know my life or that I sometimes cry myself to sleep because I don't know God." Elliot Miller of

Christian Research Institute The Christian Research Institute (CRI) is an evangelical Christian apologetics ministry. It was established in October 1960 in the state of New Jersey by Walter Martin (1928–1989). In 1974, Martin relocated the ministry to San Juan Capistrano, ...

(CRI), which is run by Protestant Evangelical Christians, believes that SRF promotes a kind of New Age Hinduism in Christian garb. Philip Goldberg, author of the book ''American Veda'', wrote that hundreds of thousands of seekers have taken to Yogananda's teachings because they have improved their lives. SRF filed suit against James Donald Walters (aka

Kriyananda Kriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926 – April 21, 2013) was an American Hindu religious leader, yoga guru, musician, and an author. He was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, and founder of the spiritual movement nam ...

) and Walter's (then called) Church of Self-Realization regarding Ananda changing its name to Church of Self-Realization and on issues regarding specific writings, photographs and recordings of Paramahansa Yogananda. The litigation lasted for around twelve years (1990–2002) and in 2002 the final jury trial was held in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California. Jurors ultimately agreed with Self-Realization Fellowship's argument that Yogananda had repeatedly made his intentions clear before dying – he wanted the Fellowship to maintain copyrights to his works.

''Awake: The Life of Yogananda'' documentary

In 2014 Counterpoint Films presented the film '' Awake: The Life of Yogananda'', an unconventional biography about Paramahansa Yogananda. It was filmed for over three years with the participation of 30 countries around the world. The documentary examines the world of yoga, modern and ancient, east and west and explores why millions today have turned their attention inwards, bucking the limitations of the material world in pursuit of self-realization. "Using a seamless mix of re-creations and fascinating true footage, this very even-tempered documentary takes its audience all the way through a saint's life, from his first sensations in the womb to that moment in 1952 when, having recited a poem to a large crowd at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, he exited his body just like that... In between those events he changed the Western world." The film was shown in theaters in the U.S. in 2014–15, in India in 2016 and is available on DVD, on Netflix and as digital rental.bookstore.yogananda-srf.org Self-Realization Fellowship owns the copyrights of this film.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Hindu new religious movements International Hindu organizations New religious movements Yoga organizations Paramahansa Yogananda Religious buildings and structures in Los Angeles Mount Washington, Los Angeles Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles Religious organizations established in 1920 1920 establishments in California