Brother Chidananda (born Christopher Hartwell Bagley, 1953) is the fifth president of

Self-Realization Fellowship Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide religious organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian guru who authored '' Autobiography of a Yogi''. Before moving to the United States, Yogananda began his spiritual wo ...

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 to care for and disseminate hi ...

(SRF/YSS). SRF/YSS is the only church founded by Chidananda's

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

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

, to disseminate his teachings. Chidananda was born in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, US.

Early life

Chidananda is the son of Admiral David H. Bagley, former commander-in-chief of US naval forces in Europe, and Charlotte Lee Bagley, née Hartwell. As a teenager, Chidananda began to take an interest in

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

and the meaning of life. In the early 1970s, Chidananda studied sociology and philosophy at the University of California in San Diego, from which he graduated in 1975. During this time, he came across a copy of Yogananda's book ''

Autobiography of a Yogi ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' by Paramahansa Yogananda is a spiritual classic published in 1946. It recounts Yogananda's life, his search for his guru, and his teachings on Kriya Yoga. The book has introduced many to meditation and yoga and has ...

'' and began visiting SRF's ashram center in Encinitas, California. He became acquainted with some of the monks and nuns living there, including Brother Anandamoy, one of Yogananda's direct disciples, and he was inspired to join SRF's

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

order.

Monastic life and presidency

In 1977, Chidananda entered SRF's

postulant A postulant (from , "to ask") was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the period precedi ...

ashram in Encinitas for a period of initial training as a monk. He completed his training in 1979 and was transferred to SRF's headquarters at

Mt. Washington, Los Angeles Mount Washington is a historic neighborhood in the San Rafael Hills of Northeast Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1909, it includes the Southwest Museum, the world headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship, and Eldred Street, one of ...

. There, he was assigned to work as an editor in the Publications Department, under the supervision of editor-in-chief

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 (SRF/YSS), the only church founded by Paramahansa Yogananda to care for and dissemi ...

, who had been personally trained for the role by Yogananda. In 1997, Chidananda took ''

sannyas ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprastha' ...

'' vows (final vows of renunciation) and received his monastic name and the title of Brother (or ''

Swami Swami (; ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic who has chosen the Sannyasa, path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas ...

'', in India). His monastic name, ''Chidananda'', means "bliss (''ananda'') through the infinite Divine Consciousness (''chit'')". In 2009, Chidananda was appointed to the SRF and YSS Boards of Directors. On 30 August 2017, he was elected as the next president and spiritual leader of SRF/YSS in a unanimous vote by the SRF Board of Directors. He succeeded Mrinalini Mata, who died in early August 2017. When SRF announced his presidency, it also shared that its former presidents

Daya Mata Daya Mata, born Rachel Faye Wright (January 31, 1914November 30, 2010), was the third president and religious leader of Self-Realization Fellowship/ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (SRF/YSS). SRF/YSS is the only spiritual organization founded b ...

and Mrinalini Mata had privately planned for Chidananda to assume the role after their deaths. His first act as president was to announce a new edition of the fellowship's home-study course, the ''SRF Lessons''. Chidananda is the first SRF president who was born after Yogananda's death, and the first male to lead the organization in over sixty years. Chidananda oversees the fellowship's monastic order, its humanitarian activities, and its more than 800 temples, meditation centers, and retreats around the world. He also oversees the fellowship's publications department and is the editor-in-chief of SRF Publications.

References

External links

* Video playlist
Talks by Brother Chidananda
* SRF Blog
Brother Chidananda Interviewed by India's National Media
30/10/2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chidananda, Brother 1953 births American yogis Devotees of Paramahansa Yogananda Kriya yogis Living people People from Annapolis, Maryland