118-715: 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 work in India in 1917 and named it Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS). He moved to the West in 1920 and in 1925 established SRF's headquarters at Mount Washington, Los Angeles , California. Before his return visit to India in 1935, he legally incorporated SRF in
236-453: A 1,000-year-old Chinese sarcophagus holds a portion of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes. Yogananda established San Diego Temple in Bankers Hill, San Diego , on 5 September 1943, during World War II . The front walkway of the temple is lined with cypress trees planted by Yogananda. In 1945, Mrinilini Mata, then fourteen-year-old Merna Brown, first met Yogananda at this temple and a year later entered
354-557: A Yogi , he was eleven years old when his mother died, just before the marriage of his eldest brother Ananta; she left behind a sacred amulet for Mukunda, given to her by a holy man, who told her that Mukunda was to possess it for some years, after which it would vanish into the ether from which it came. Throughout his childhood, his father would fund train passes for his many sight-seeing trips to distant cities and pilgrimage spots, which he would often take with friends. In his youth he sought out many of India's Hindu sages and saints, including
472-502: A Yogi . Yogananda wrote that at that meeting, Mahavatar Babaji told Lahiri Mahasaya, "The Kriya Yoga that I am giving to the world through you in this nineteenth century, is a revival of the same science that Krishna gave millenniums ago to Arjuna; and was later known to Patanjali, and Christ, and to St. John, St. Paul, and other disciples." Yogananda also wrote in God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita that
590-572: A business partnership and that Yogananda owed him wages and royalties. The lawsuit was eventually settled, but some of Yogananda's students chose to instead follow Bagchi, who shed his monastic name and became a married academic. In the late 1920s, a disciple of Yogananda's named Adelaide Erskine served as his photographer. Her descendants would later accuse Yogananda of having an illicit affair with Adelaide and fathering one of her children, Ben Erskine, even though Ben admitted that she never told him who his father was. In 1995 Ben Erskine's daughter took it
708-464: A disciple and photographer of Yogananda's in the late 1920s. According to Erskine, his mother never told him who his father was but he assumed it was Yogananda because his skin was darker than his siblings. In 1995 Erskine's daughter, Peggy, took it a step further and gave SRF paternity claims along with financial demands. The attorneys for SRF initiated DNA testing with hair samples and then a second round of testing using blood samples which concluded there
826-538: A draft of their expansion project for its headquarters atop Mt. Washington, Los Angeles, CA. According to the Los Angeles Times, the permit allowed, over a 30-year period, the construction of a "museum, additional office space, classrooms, counseling facilities, underground parking and more living quarters for cloistered monks and nuns…" and a site to reinter Yogananda's remains, which would have been removed from Forest Lawn Memorial-Park. This plan caused disagreement in
944-482: A fragile dawn of prenatal memories. Dramatic time! Past, present, and future are its cycling scenes. This was not the first sun to find me at these holy feet!" He would go on to train under Sri Yukteswar as his disciple for the next ten years (1910–1920) at his hermitages in Serampore and Puri . Later on Sri Yukteswar informed Mukunda that he had been sent to him by the great guru of their lineage, Mahavatar Babaji , for
1062-528: A guru, Mahavatar Babaji , circa 1861 in the Himalayas. Kriya Yoga was brought to international awareness by Paramahansa Yogananda 's book Autobiography of a Yogi and through Yogananda's introductions of the practice to the West from 1920. According to Yogananda, "Kriya is an ancient science. Lahiri Mahasaya received it from his great guru, Babaji, who rediscovered and clarified the technique after it had been lost in
1180-631: A high-astral planet, and expounded truths in deep detail regarding: the astral realm , astral planets and the afterlife; the lifestyles, abilities and varying levels of freedoms of astral beings; the workings of karma; man's various superphysical bodies and how he works through them, and other metaphysical topics. Yogananda and his two western students left India via ocean liner from Mumbai; staying for several weeks in England, they conducted several yoga classes in London and visited historical sites, before leaving for
1298-506: A home-study course called the SRF Lessons , compiled from Yogananda's teachings. In keeping with Upanishadic tradition , recipients of SRF's lessons pledge not to share the contents with others. In SRF, receiving the kriya yoga technique is seen as diksha (initiation) by the guru , Yogananda, and it involves an initiation rite conducted by an authorized representative. SRF sends disciples printed kriya yoga lessons even if they cannot attend
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#17328510974221416-492: A nonprofit religious organization. According to author Lola Williamson in her book, Transcendent in America: Hindu-inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion , "He (Yogananda) made it clear that his teachings were to be shared through Self-Realization Fellowship and not through rogue organizations that taught in his name." Yogananda's autobiography contains a list of aims and ideals for SRF, and
1534-593: A second time about the Kriya Yoga pranayama technique when he wrote: "Liberation can be attained by that pranayama which is accomplished by disjoining the course of inspiration and expiration" (YS 2.49). The lineage of Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF)/ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), founded by Paramahansa Yogananda includes Bhagavan Krishna , Jesus Christ , Mahavatar Babaji , Lahiri Mahasaya , Sri Yukteswar Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda . According to SRF, Yogananda stated, before his passing, that it
1652-571: A special world purpose of yoga dissemination. After passing his Intermediate Examination in Arts from the Scottish Church College, Calcutta , in 1915, he graduated with a degree similar to a current-day Bachelor of Arts or B.A. (at the time referred to as an A.B.) from Serampore College , the college having two entities, one as a constituent college of the Senate of Serampore College (University) and
1770-558: A step further and gave SRF paternity claims along with financial demands. In 2002, SRF hired a former San Diego prosecutor, G. Michael Still, to compare the DNA from Yogananda's three male relatives in India to Erskine's DNA. The lab work was done in two separate labs, one in Missouri and one in Louisiana. The results from both labs showed no biological connection between Yogananda and Erskine, settling
1888-472: A successful transcontinental speaking tour before settling in Los Angeles in 1925. For the next two and a half decades, he gained local fame and expanded his influence worldwide: he created a monastic order and trained disciples, went on teaching tours, bought properties for his organization in various California locales, and initiated thousands into Kriya Yoga. By 1952, SRF had over 100 centers in both India and
2006-762: A vision one day in 1920 while meditating at his Ranchi school: faces of a multitude of Americans passed before his mind's eye, intimating to him that he would soon go to America. After giving charge of the school over to its faculty (and eventually to his childhood friend Swami Satyananda ), he left for Calcutta. On the following day, he received an invitation from the American Unitarian Association to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening that year in Boston . Yogananda sought his guru's advice, and Sri Yukteswar advised him to go. According to Philip Goldberg, Yogananda shared
2124-560: Is 'Dedicated to the Memory of Luther Burbank, An American Saint'), famous Indian scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose and Nobel laureate in physics Sir C. V. Raman . One notable chapter of this book is "The Law of Miracles", where he gives scientific explanations for seemingly miraculous feats. He writes: "the word 'impossible' is becoming less prominent in man's vocabulary." The Autobiography has been an inspiration for many people including George Harrison , Ravi Shankar and Steve Jobs . In
2242-482: Is contained in chapter 1, chapter 2 verse 1-27, chapter 3 except verse 54, and chapter 4. The "eight limb yoga" is described in chapter 2 verse 28–55, and chapter 3 verse 3 and 54. According to Barbara Miller, Kriya yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras is the "active performance of yoga." It is part of the niyamas , "observances", the second limb of Patanjali's eight limbs. Yogananda stated that Patanjali wrote
2360-476: Is important that we remove from our mind all doubt that God will answer." The "science" of Kriya Yoga is the foundation of Yogananda's teachings. An ancient spiritual practice, Kriya Yoga is "union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite (kriya). The Sanskrit root of kriya is kri , to do, to act and react." Kriya Yoga was passed down through Yogananda's spiritual lineage: Mahavatar Babaji taught
2478-416: Is often made to explain the name Kriya Yoga , the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered the correct etymology by traditional commentators. A kriya may refer to any kind of practice in the context of yoga, and teachers of psychophysical practices often use the term. Philip Goldberg writes that, as a brand, Kriya Yoga generally refers to the lineage that Yogananda represented. He also cites
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#17328510974222596-553: Is really all about, one must know God." Echoing traditional Hindu teachings, he taught that the entire universe is God's cosmic motion picture, and that individuals are merely actors in the divine play who change roles through reincarnation . He taught that mankind's deep suffering is rooted in identifying too closely with one's current role, rather than with the movie's director, or God. He taught Kriya Yoga and other meditation practices to help people achieve that understanding, which he called Self-realization : Self-realization
2714-573: Is the goal of all deep yogis." The Sanskrit noun योग yoga is derived from the root yuj ( युज् ) "to attach, join, harness, yoke " ( yoga is a cognate of the English word "yoke" ). According to Timothy Miller, the term yoga may designate various spiritual practices in Hindu traditions, translating it as "union" or "discipline". In the context of the Yoga Sutras , to which reference
2832-427: Is the knowing – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God's omnipresence is our omnipresence; and that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing. In his book, How you can talk with God , he claims that anyone can talk with God, if
2950-611: Is the oldest SRF temple in the US. According to Phil Goldberg, Yogananda dedicated it to "the ideal of human brotherhood and the definite realization of God as the One Father of all mankind." Meghan Markle 's parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle Sr. were married by Brother Bhaktananda at Hollywood Temple on 23 December 1979. The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is located on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California . It
3068-637: The Autobiography influenced his life in a positive manner and also urged everyone to read it. As reported in Time on August 4, 1952, Harry T. Rowe, Mortuary Director of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, where Yogananda's body was received, embalmed and interred, wrote in a notarized letter The absence of any visual signs of decay in the dead body of Paramahansa Yogananda offers
3186-562: The Soham "Tiger" Swami , Gandha Baba, and Mahendranath Gupta , hoping to find an illumined teacher to guide him in his spiritual quest. After finishing high school, Mukunda formally left home and joined a Mahamandal Hermitage in Varanasi ; however, he soon became dissatisfied with its insistence on organizational work instead of meditation and God-perception. He began praying for guidance; in 1910, his seeking after various teachers mostly ended when, at
3304-595: The Trishikhi-Brahmana Upanishad ." The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2.1 defines three types of kriyā , namely tapas ("heat," ascetic practices), svadhyaya (study or recitation of the Vedas, or “contemplation, meditation, reflection of one's self”), and Isvara pranidhana (devotion or surrender to God). In the Kriya Yoga school, 'ritual action' involves breathing techniques ( pranayama ) revolving
3422-623: The "Father of Yoga in the West". He lived his last 32 years in the US. Yogananda was the among the first Indian teachers to settle in the US, and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House (by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927); his early acclaim led to him being dubbed "the 20th century's first superstar guru" by the Los Angeles Times . Arriving in Boston in 1920, he embarked on
3540-524: The "inner fire rite," the internalized Vedic fire sacrifice . Yael Bentor further explains that in the Upanishads this internalized fire ritual is associated with the maintenance of life, through breathing and eating. Where the Brahmin maintains the world order by his sacrifices, for the yogi the breath becomes a perpetual ritual. The internalization of the fire is also associated with tapas , "heat," burning away
3658-454: The 2011 book Steve Jobs: A Biography the author writes that Jobs first read the Autobiography as a teenager. He re-read it in India and later while preparing for a trip, he downloaded it onto his iPad2 and then re-read it once a year ever since. Jon Anderson was inspired by Paramahansa Yogananda and his book Autobiography of a Yogi when he wrote Tales From Topographic Oceans India national cricket team captain, Virat Kohli said that
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3776-576: The 20th Century" by a panel of spiritual authors convened by Philip Zaleski and HarperCollins publishers. Autobiography of a Yogi is the most popular among Yogananda's books. According to Philip Goldberg, who wrote American Veda , "the Self-Realization Fellowship which represents Yogananda's Legacy, is justified in using the slogan, 'The Book that Changed the Lives of Millions.' It has sold more than four million copies and counting". In 2006,
3894-402: The 20th Century". Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs ordered 500 copies of the book, for each guest at his memorial to be given a copy. It was also one of Elvis Presley's favorite books, and one he gave out often. The book has been regularly reprinted and is known as "the book that changed the lives of millions". A documentary about his life commissioned by SRF, Awake: The Life of Yogananda ,
4012-523: The Dark Ages. Babaji renamed it, simply, Kriya Yoga." In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita , Yogananda further explains that Kriya Yoga is described in certain scriptures as Kabali- pranayama , considered to be the greatest of all techniques in controlling prana (life force) by distilling prana from the breath and thus recharging the body cells. In this way exhalations and inhalations become unnecessary;
4130-652: The FBI and the British authorities, who were concerned about the growing independence movement in India. A confidential file was kept on him from 1926 to 1937 due to concern over his religious and moral practices. Philip Goldberg's biography describes Yogananda as being up against a perfect storm of America's worst defects: media sensationalism , religious bigotry, ethnic stereotyping, paternalism, sexual anxiety, and brazen racism. In 1928, Yogananda received unfavorable publicity in Miami, and
4248-606: The Fellowship to maintain copyrights to his works. The court ordered Ananda to pay about $ 29,000 to SRF for its earnings from SRF's sound recordings, and a judge suggested that Ananda not remove Ananda from its name, to which it agreed. However, the court did not require Ananda to pay damages for using written works for educational or religious purposes. It also determined that the terms Paramahansa Yogananda and self-realization could not be trademarked. Ben Erskine accused Yogananda of having an illicit affair with his mother, Adelaide,
4366-521: The Gita, the Yoga Sutras, Tantra shastras and from conceptions on the Yugas." The Bhagavad Gita does not teach Kriya Yoga pranayama by name, but Yogananda claimed that the fundamental idea of the practice – control over the mind and the body's energy ( prana ) – is expressed therein. In his commentary on the Gita, God Talks with Arjuna , Yogananda asserts that Krishna reveals the "safe path" of Kriya Yoga to
4484-554: The Great Mausoleum (normally closed off to visitors but Yogananda's tomb is accessible) in Glendale, California . There are differing accounts of his death. The medical verdict was "acute coronary occlusion", i.e., a heart attack. According to other accounts, Self-Realization disciples claim that their teacher entered mahasamadhi (a yogi's conscious exit from the body). In 1917, Yogananda, in India, "began his life's work with
4602-604: The Gurus. They shall serve as my spiritual successor and representative in all spiritual and organizational matters.” According to the Kriya Yoga Institute, their lineage includes Mahavatar Babaji , Lahiri Mahasaya , Sri Yukteswar Giri , Shrimat Bhupendranath Sanyal Mahashaya, Paramahansa Yogananda , Satyananda Giri , and Hariharananda Giri . Hariharananda Giri was a disciple of Sri Yukteswar Giri and managed one of Yogananda's ashrams in India until 1959. He began visiting
4720-479: The International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston, he said that the Kriya Yoga of his lineage "consists of magnetizing the spinal column and the brain, which contain the seven main centers, with the result that the distributed life electricity is drawn back to the original centers", thus liberating the "spiritual Self" from physical and mental distractions. Yogananda used the word centers in place of
4838-448: The Kriya technique to Lahiri Mahasaya , who taught it to his disciple, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri , Yogananda's Guru. Yogananda gave a general description of Kriya Yoga in his Autobiography : "The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to
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4956-585: The Los Angeles Times, SRF wanted "to secure exclusive rights to Yogananda's teachings, name, likeness, voice and use of the term 'self-realization'." 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
5074-649: The Miami city manager and Chief Quigg "recognized the fact that the swami was a British subject and apparently an educated man, but unfortunately he was what is considered in this part of the country a coloured man." Given the South's cultural mores, he noted, "the swami was in great danger of suffering bodily harm from the populace." In 1929, Yogananda was sued by his long-time friend Basu Kumar Bagchi, who had been initiated as Swami Dhirananda by Yogananda in 1911 and had come to help Yogananda teach in America. Bagchi claimed that they had
5192-710: The Middle East; he undertook visits to other living Western saints like Therese Neumann , the Catholic Stigmatist of Konnersreuth , and places of spiritual significance: Assisi, Italy to honor St. Francis , the Athenian temples of Greece and prison cell of Socrates , the Holy Land of Palestine and the regions of the Ministry of Jesus , and Cairo, Egypt to view the ancient Pyramids. In August 1935, he arrived in India at
5310-840: The SRF Encinitas Retreat, Encinitas, California in 1957. Elvis Presley often visited SRF in the late 1960s. According to Louis Sahagun of the LA Times, Brother Paramananda , "who left a promising acting career to devote his life to the fellowship", claimed Elvis had once said to him: "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." In 1990, SRF filed suit against James Donald Walters (aka Kriyananda ) and his organization, Ananda Church of Self-Realization, regarding Ananda's use of Self-Realization in their name and their use of specific writings, photographs and recordings of Paramahansa Yogananda. According to Louis Sahagún of
5428-592: The SRF Order who take their final renunciant vows are members of the Swami Order , which traces its spiritual lineage back to Adi Shankara . Yogananda first introduced his teachings to the West during an international congress of religious leaders held in Boston, MA in 1920 while giving a talk called The Science of Religion . Yogananda believed that his methods were testable . Yogananda's dissemination of his teachings continues through SRF, which he incorporated in 1935 as
5546-598: The SRF hermitage in Encinitas, California , which was a surprise gift from his disciple Rajarsi Janakananda. It was while at this hermitage that Yogananda wrote Autobiography of a Yogi and other writings, creating a permanent foundation for the humanitarian and spiritual work of SRF/YSS. This property includes an ashram . On 30 August 1942, Yogananda opened the SRF Hollywood Temple on Sunset Blvd., Hollywood , California. It
5664-544: The SRF retreat in Encinitas. The SRF organization strictly honored its members' privacy, which Harrison appreciated. According to Straight Arrow Press, in the United States the "proceeds from the January 14, 2002, reissue of George Harrison's 1970 song My Sweet Lord will go to the Self-Realization Fellowship". His funeral was held at SRF's Lake Shrine. Ravi Shankar had met Yogananda in the 1930s and gave his first U.S. concert at
5782-637: The US in October 1936. In late 1936, Yogananda's ship arrived in New York harbor, passing the Statue of Liberty ; he and his companions then drove in his Ford car across the continental US back to his Mount Washington, California , headquarters. Rejoined with his American disciples, he continued to lecture, write, and establish centers in southern California. He took up residence at the SRF hermitage in Encinitas, California , which
5900-553: The US in mid-1936. According to his autobiography, in June 1936, after having a vision of Krishna , he had a supernatural encounter with the resurrected form of his guru, Sri Yukteswar, while in a room at the Regent Hotel in Mumbai. During the experience, in which Yogananda physically grasped and held onto his guru's solid form, Sri Yukteswar explained that he now served as a spiritual guide on
6018-403: The United States aboard the ship "The City of Sparta" on a two-month voyage that landed near Boston by late September. He spoke at the International Congress in early October and was well received; later that year he founded Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) to disseminate worldwide his teachings on India's ancient practices and philosophy of Yoga and its tradition of meditation. Yogananda spent
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#17328510974226136-624: The United States, designating it as the only organization to carry on his work – to care for and disseminate his teachings. Yogananda's teachings include meditation techniques intended to promote awareness of God and one's soul . SRF conveys these techniques through a home-study course, and they publish Yogananda's books and lectures. SRF also coordinates the Worldwide Prayer Circle, who pray for world peace and those in need. Paramahansa Yogananda founded SRF in 1920 and served as head until his death on 7 March 1952. In 1925, he established
6254-404: The United States. As of 2012 , they had groups in nearly every major American city. His "plain living and high thinking" principles attracted people from all backgrounds among his followers. He published his Autobiography of a Yogi in 1946 to critical and commercial acclaim. It has sold over four million copies, with Harper San Francisco listing it as one of the "100 best spiritual books of
6372-587: The United States. His discourses taught of the "unity of 'the original teachings of Jesus Christ and the original Yoga taught by Bhagavan Krishna .'" In 1920, he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship and in 1925 established in Los Angeles, California, US, the international headquarters for SRF. Yogananda wrote the Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You and God Talks With Arjuna – The Bhagavad Gita to explain his belief in
6490-470: The Worldwide Prayer Circle, a network of groups and individuals who pray for world peace and those in need. According to SRF's website, the daily life of an SRF renunciant includes meditation, prayer, service, spiritual study, introspection , exercise, and recreation . There are four stages of life in the SRF monastic order that represent a deepening commitment to the renunciant life: postulancy , novitiate , brahmacharya , and sannyas . Monks and nuns of
6608-587: The age of 17, he met his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri ; at that time his well-guarded amulet mysteriously vanished, having served its spiritual purpose. In his autobiography, he describes his first meeting with Sri Yukteswar as a rekindling of a relationship that had lasted for many lifetimes: "We entered a oneness of silence; words seemed the rankest superfluities. Eloquence flowed in soundless chant from heart of master to disciple. With an antenna of irrefragable insight I sensed that my guru knew God, and would lead me to Him. The obscuration of this life disappeared in
6726-437: The ancient rigid rules which govern the transmission of the yogic art from Guru to disciple." Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi mentions the practice of Kriya Yoga, but it doesn't provide details about how to practice specific techniques. Rizwan Virk writes that "The purpose of the book was to inspire readers to take up the yogic path by opening their minds to spiritual possibilities." In Yogananda's 6 October 1920 speech at
6844-508: The ashram in Encinitas. 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 closest disciples. There he completed his writings, including the revisions of his books, articles and lessons written previously. As of 1992, SRF had several hundred thousand members. It has enjoyed widespread influence through its publications, but it has struggled to preserve
6962-507: The banquet, Yogananda spoke of India and America, their contributions to world peace and human progress, and their future co-operation, expressing his hope for a "United World" that would combine the best qualities of "efficient America" and "spiritual India". According to his direct disciple and eventual head of the SRF Daya Mata , who was present at the banquet, as Yogananda ended his speech, he read from his poem My India , concluding with
7080-441: The book The Divine Romance Traditional Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh ; January 5, 1893 – March 7, 1952) was an Indian-American Hindu monk , yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India – the only one he created to disseminate his teachings. A chief disciple of
7198-420: The breath and heart by rendering their purifying actions unnecessary. The yogi thus attains conscious life-force control. Yogananda also stated that Krishna was referring to Kriya Yoga pranayama when "Krishna ... relates that it was he, in a former incarnation, who communicated the indestructible yoga to an ancient illuminato, Vivasvat, who gave it to Manu, the great legislator. He, in turn, instructed Ikshwaku,
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#17328510974227316-483: The case of Paramahansa Yogananda is unique in our experience." Rowe wrote that Yogananda's body was embalmed approximately twenty-four hours after his death. On March 26 a barely noticeable desiccation on his nose was seen and on March 27 Rowe noted that Yogananda's body looked fresh and unravaged by decay as it did on the day of his death. Yogananda's remains are interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
7434-520: The cells are recharged by the reinforced bodily life-force and the cosmic life; the physical cells therefore neither change nor decay. Jaerschky elucidates that kabali (Bengali) is synonymous with kaivalya (kevali, kevala), "isolation," the isolation of purusha (consciousness, spirit) from prakriti (nature or matter, including the human mind and emotions), or the unification with God. According to Jaerschky, kevali-pranayama leads to kevala kumbhaka , "the natural state of breathlessness, which
7552-517: The claim. According to Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times, G. Michael Still said "the results would prevent Erskine from claiming standing in court to seek any inheritance, copyright assets or the disinterment of the guru's body." In 1935, he returned to India via ocean liner , along with two of his Western students, to visit his guru, Sri Yukteswar Giri, and to help establish his Yogoda Satsanga work in India. While enroute, his ship detoured in Europe and
7670-446: The confidentiality of the lessons from its home-study course – similar lessons have been shared by unaffiliated sources. SRF has responded by including in its publications a copyright statement and a certification that SRF is the society founded by Yogananda to convey his teachings. George Harrison frequently cited SRF's founder, Yogananda, as an important spiritual influence. On visits to Los Angeles, George Harrison would spend time at
7788-457: The defilements, and with pranayama , the control of the breath. These concepts were combined in the yoga of the subtle body . Yogananda writes: Kriya Yoga is the real "fire rite" oft extolled in the Gita. The yogi casts his human longings into a monotheistic bonfire consecrated to the unparalleled God. This is indeed the true yogic fire ceremony, in which all past and present desires are fuel consumed by love divine. The Ultimate Flame receives
7906-422: The devotee's life." Yogananda wrote in Autobiography of a Yogi that the "actual technique should be learned from an authorized Kriyaban (Kriya Yogi) of Self-Realization Fellowship /Yogoda Satsanga Society of India." In 1946, Yogananda published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi . It has since been translated into 45 languages. In 1999, it was designated one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of
8024-419: The disciple Arjuna in the Gita. Specifically, Yogananda claims that verses IV:29 and V:27–28 about breath control and meditation describe the essential concepts of Kriya Yoga. According to Yogananda's commentary, Krishna describes Kriya Yoga thusly: By the concentrated practice of Kriya Yoga pranayama—offering the inhaling breath into the exhaling breath (prana into apana) and offering the exhaling breath into
8142-622: The father of India’s solar warrior dynasty." According to Yogananda, "Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali, foremost exponent of yoga, who wrote: 'Kriya Yoga consists of body discipline, mental control, and meditating on Aum.'—Yoga Sutras II:1." The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2.1 actually uses the term kriya yoga when describing a "yoga of action (kriyayoga)," defining three types of kriya (action): The yoga of action (kriyayoga) is: asceticism ( tapas ), recitation ( svadhyaya ), and devotion (pranidhana) to Ishvara (the lord). According to George Feuerstein, this kriya yoga
8260-399: The first of these is to disseminate "scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God". Another is "to advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West". SRF teaches methods of concentration and meditation, including a technique called kriya yoga , for the purpose of attaining what Yogananda called Self-realization . Yogananda used this term to signify
8378-435: The following account in his Autobiography of a Yogi . While in deep prayer in his room, he received a surprise visit from Mahavatar Babaji , the foremost guru of his lineage, who told him directly that he was the one chosen to spread Kriya Yoga to the West. Reassured and uplifted, Yogananda soon afterwards accepted the offer to go to Boston. This account became a standard feature of his lectures. In August 1920, he left for
8496-571: The following definition found in Yogananda's autobiography. According to Yogananda, The Sanskrit root of KRIYA is KRI, to do, to act and react; the same root is found in the word KARMA , the natural principle of cause and effect. KRIYA YOGA is thus "union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite." According to Jones and Ryan, kriya Yoga may be literally translated as "yoga of ritual action," noting that it "is contrasted with jnana (learning) yoga and equated with karma (action) yoga in
8614-477: The founding of a 'how-to-live' school for boys, where modern educational methods were combined with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals." In 1920 "he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston. His address to the Congress, on 'The Science of Religion,' was enthusiastically received." For the next several years he lectured and taught across
8732-444: The four sons, of Bhagabati Charan Ghosh, the vice president of Bengal-Nagpur Railway , and Gyanprabha Devi. According to his younger brother Sananda, Mukunda's awareness and experience of the spiritual were far beyond the ordinary even from his earliest years. The nature of his father's job caused the family to move several times during Mukunda's childhood, including to Lahore , Bareilly , and Kolkata . According to Autobiography of
8850-715: The fourth Kriya are known as higher Kriyas, Thokar Kriya being one of them. According to Yogananda, the elusive Mahavatar Babaji introduced the concept of Kriya Yoga pranayama as essentially identical to the Raja Yoga of Patanjali and the concept of Yoga as described in the Bhagavad Gita . According to Yogananda, Kriya Yoga was well known in ancient India , but was eventually lost, due to "priestly secrecy and man’s indifference". A direct disciple of Sri Yukteswar Giri , Sailendra Dasgupta (d. 1984) has written that, "Kriya entails several acts that have evidently been adapted from
8968-448: The harmony and oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to present that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions. Yogananda wrote down his Aims and Ideals for Self-Realization Fellowship /Yogoda Satsanga Society : In his published work, The Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons , Yogananda gives "his in-depth instruction in
9086-488: The inhaling breath (apana into prana)—the yogi neutralizes these two life currents and their resulting mutations of decay and growth, the causative agents of breath and heart action and concomitant body consciousness. By recharging the blood and cells with life energy that has been distilled from breath and reinforced with the pure spiritualized life force in the spine and brain, the Kriya Yogi stops bodily decay, thereby quieting
9204-429: The international headquarters for SRF/YSS at Mount Washington in Los Angeles, California. The three-story building had originally been opened in 1909 as a hotel. SRF now calls it Mother Center . After Yogananda's death, SRF preserved his bedroom in the building as a shrine. The first president and head of SRF/YSS after Yogananda was Rajarsi Janakananda , who was president until his death on 20 February 1955. Daya Mata
9322-428: The life energy ( prana ) "upward and downward, around the six spinal centers" and upwards to the crown-chakra. Tanya Lynne Brittain further explains that while "Kriya yoga is 'usually understood to mean 'yoga as practice' or “practical yoga,' [...][it is] also associated with the vocabulary of initiation and sacrifice." The kriya yoga pranayama practices are a form of kundalini -practice, which culminate in kriya ,
9440-497: The life force to withdraw into the spine: Kriya Yoga is a simple, psycho-physiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen. The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers. By stopping the accumulation of venous blood, the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues; the advanced yogi transmutes his cells into pure energy. Elijah, Jesus, Kabir and other prophets were past masters in
9558-441: The local hillside community. The Los Angeles Times reported that "Supporters say that the church is a good neighbor and that its expansion would not harm the community's character. Opponents say the expansion project would be too big for a hilltop area of only 8,000 residents. As emotions have risen, some neighbors have even stopped talking to one another." SRF withdrew the plan when it realized it did not have widespread support from
9676-504: The local residents. According to the Los Angeles Times , church spokesman Brother Brahmananda said "We hope that this is a catalyst to promote greater harmony within the community." Paramahansa Yogananda "You are walking on the earth as in a dream. Our world is a dream within a dream; you must realize that to find God is the only goal, the only purpose, for which you are here. For Him alone you exist. Him you must find." – from
9794-561: The monastic title of Paramahansa , meaning "supreme swan" and indicating the highest spiritual attainment. This title formally superseded his previous title of "swami". In March 1936, upon Yogananda's return to Calcutta after visiting Brindaban, Sri Yukteswar died (or, in the yogic tradition, attained mahasamadhi ) at his hermitage in Puri . After conducting his guru's funeral rites, Yogananda continued to teach, conduct interviews, and meet with friends for several months, before planning to return to
9912-411: The mortuary director, added: "The absence of any visual signs of decay … offers the most extraordinary case in our experience.... This state of perfect preservation of a body is, so far as we know from mortuary annals, an unparalleled one.... Yogananda's body was apparently in a phenomenal state of immutability.... No odor of decay emanated from his body at any time.... For these reasons we state again that
10030-470: The most extraordinary case in our experience... No physical disintegration was visible in his body even twenty days after death... No indication of mold was visible on his skin, and no visible drying up took place in the bodily tissues. This state of perfect preservation of a body is, so far as we know from mortuary annals, an unparalleled one... No odour of decay emanated from his body at any time... On another note, according to Catherine Wessinger, "the body
10148-427: The new president of the Self-Realization Fellowship, "performed a sacred ritual releasing the body to God." According to the book Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mysteries and Miracles That Change Lives , for three weeks after his death Yogananda's body "showed no signs of physical deterioration and 'his unchanged face shone with the divine luster of incorruptibility.'" A notarized letter from Harry T. Rowe,
10266-548: The next four years in Boston; in the interim, he lectured and taught on the East Coast and in 1924 embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Thousands came to his lectures. During this time he attracted a number of celebrity followers, including soprano Amelita Galli-Curci , tenor Vladimir Rosing and Clara Clemens Gabrilowitsch , the daughter of Mark Twain . In 1925, he established an international center for Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, California, which became
10384-648: The other as an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta . This allowed him to spend time at Yukteswar's ashram in Serampore. In July 1915, several weeks after graduating from college, he took formal vows into the monastic Swami order; Sri Yukteswar allowed him to choose his own name: Swami Yogananda Giri. In 1917, Yogananda founded a school for boys in Dihika , West Bengal that combined modern educational techniques with yoga training and spiritual ideals. A year later,
10502-411: The person keeps persevering in the request to speak with God with devotion. He also claimed that God had spoken to him many times, apart from making miracles happen in his life. In the book, he claims that, "We may in a vision see a face of some divine/saintly being, or we may hear a Divine voice talking to us, and will know it is God. When our heart-call is intense, and we do not give up, God will come. It
10620-493: The police chief, Leslie Quigg, prohibited Yogananda from holding any further events. Quiggs said it was not due to a personal grudge against the Swami but rather in the interest of public order and Yogananda's own safety. Quigg had received veiled threats against Yogananda. According to Phil Goldberg: It turns out that Miami officials had summoned the British vice consulate to advise them on the matter ... One consulate officer said that
10738-621: The port of Mumbai ; due to his fame in America, many photographers and journalists came to meet him during his short stay at the Taj Mahal Hotel . Upon taking a train eastward and reaching the Howrah Station near Kolkata , he was received by a huge crowd and a ceremonious procession led by his brother Bishnu Charan Ghosh and the Maharaja of Kasimbazar . Visiting Serampore, he had an emotional reunion with his guru, Sri Yukteswar – this meeting
10856-526: The position of SRF/YSS vice-president from 1966 until she became president in 2011. On 30 August 2017, Brother Chidananda was elected as the next and current president with a unanimous vote of the SRF Board of Directors. SRF is run by members of its monastic order, established by Yogananda in the early 1930s. SRF's monks and nuns coordinate the organization's retreats, youth programs, temple services, and publishing and translation efforts. They also coordinate
10974-416: The practice of the highest yoga science of God-realization. That ancient science is embodied in the specific principles and meditation techniques of Kriya Yoga ." Yogananda taught his students the need for direct experience of truth, as opposed to blind belief. He said that "The true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is the soul's power of knowing God. To know what religion
11092-558: The publisher, Self-Realization Fellowship, honored the 60th anniversary of Autobiography of a Yogi "with a series of projects designed to promote the legacy of the man thousands of disciples still refer to as 'master'." Autobiography of a Yogi describes Yogananda's spiritual search for enlightenment, in addition to encounters with notable spiritual figures such as Therese Neumann , Anandamayi Ma , Vishuddhananda Paramahansa, Mohandas Gandhi , Nobel laureate in literature Rabindranath Tagore , noted plant scientist Luther Burbank (the book
11210-475: The realization of one's true Self or soul . SRF presents Eastern and Western religious teachings as essentially one and the same by including passages from both the Bhagavad Gita and the New Testament in their services. SRF also publishes Yogananda's works, which include his home-study lessons, autobiography, lectures, and recorded talks. SRF funded the 2014 documentary Awake: The Life of Yogananda , which
11328-787: The rite. Self-Realization Fellowship has over 600 temples and meditation centers located in 62 countries. Of the temples, there are eight in the United States – seven in California and one in Arizona : SRF also runs retreat centers: SRF has a sister organization in India called Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), founded by Yogananda in 1917 and headquartered in Dakshineswar (near Calcutta). YSS oversees 200 kendras , mandalis , retreats, and ashrams throughout India and Nepal, along with more than 20 educational and medical facilities. After his return from India in 1936, Yogananda took up residence at
11446-400: The sacrifice of all human madness, and man is pure of dross. The origins of the present-day forms of Kriya Yoga can be traced back to Lahiri Mahasaya , who said he received initiation into the yoga techniques from an immortal Himalayan yogi called Mahavatar Babaji . The story of Lahiri Mahasaya receiving initiation into Kriya Yoga by Mahavatar Babaji in 1861 is recounted in Autobiography of
11564-483: The school relocated to Ranchi . One of the school's first group of pupils was his youngest brother, Bishnu Charan Ghosh , who learned yoga asanas there and in turn taught asanas to Bikram Choudhury . This school would later become the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, the Indian branch of Yogananda's American organization, Self-Realization Fellowship. In his autobiography, Yogananda writes that he received
11682-465: The science of Kriya Yoga was given to Manu , the original Adam , and through him to Janaka and other royal sages. Through Lahiri Mahasaya, Kriya Yoga soon spread throughout India. Lahiri Mahasaya's disciples included his two sons (Dukouri Lahiri and Tinkouri Lahiri ), Sri Yukteswar Giri , Panchanan Bhattacharya , Swami Pranabananda, Swami Kebalananda, Keshavananda Brahmachari , Bhupendranath Sanyal (Sanyal Mahasaya), and many others. Kriya Yoga
11800-435: The spiritual and administrative heart of his growing work. Yogananda was the first Hindu teacher of yoga to spend a major portion of his life in America. He lived in the United States from 1920 to 1952, interrupted by an extended trip abroad in 1935–1936, and through his disciples he developed various temples and meditation centers around the world. Yogananda was put on a government watch list and kept under surveillance by
11918-407: The symbolic Cosmic Man. One half-minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment. The practice of Kriya Yoga involves specific breathing patterns. Yogananda claims that the process of performing Kriya Yoga leads to a certain purification of the blood which frees up
12036-399: The term chakras . Philip Goldberg writes that Yogananda described Kriya Yoga in essentially the same way in Autobiography of a Yogi . Yogananda wrote: The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac,
12154-490: The twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half-minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment". Mrinalini Mata , a former president of SRF/YSS, said, "Kriya Yoga is so effective, so complete, because it brings God's love – the universal power through which God draws all souls back to reunion with Him – into operation in
12272-465: The use of Kriya or a similar technique, by which they caused their bodies to materialize and dematerialize at will. Satyananda Giri writes that "Kriya sadhana may be thought of as the sadhana of the 'practice of being in Atman ' " . There are many higher kriyas in the kriya yoga tradition. According to the Autobiography of a Yogi , Lahiri Mahasaya divided Kriya Yoga into four parts. The second, third and
12390-468: The words "Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God—I am hallowed; my body touched that sod." Daya Mata stated that "as he uttered these words, he lifted his eyes to the Kutastha center, and his body slumped to the floor." His funeral service, with hundreds attending, was held at the SRF headquarters atop Mt. Washington in Los Angeles. Rajarsi Janakananda , who Yogananda chose to succeed him as
12508-497: The yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri , he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West. He immigrated to the US at the age of 27 to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality. His longstanding influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles , led him to be considered by yoga experts as
12626-444: Was "God's wish that he be the last in the SRF line of Gurus." Yogananda said that his writings, especially those compiled in SRF's home-study course (the SRF Lessons ), would facilitate the spiritual instruction of disciples after his death. When questioned about the succession of SRF/YSS leadership, Yogananda answered, “There will always be at the head of this organization men and women of realization. They are already known to God and
12744-443: Was a surprise gift from his advanced disciple Rajarsi Janakananda . It was at this hermitage that Yogananda wrote his famous Autobiography of a Yogi and other writings. At this time, he created an "enduring foundation for the spiritual and humanitarian work of Self‑Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India." In 1946, Yogananda took advantage of a change in immigration laws and applied for citizenship. His application
12862-600: Was approved in 1949, and he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. The last four years of his life were spent primarily in seclusion with some of his inner circle of disciples at his desert retreat in Twentynine Palms, California , to finish his writings and to finish revising books, articles and lessons written previously over the years. During this period he gave few interviews and public lectures. He told his close disciples, "I can do much more now to reach others with my pen." Yogananda began hinting to his disciples that it
12980-537: Was brought to international awareness by Paramahansa Yogananda , a disciple of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, with his book Autobiography of a Yogi and through Yogananda's introductions of the practice to the West from 1920. Kriya Yoga, as taught by Lahiri Mahasaya, is traditionally learned exclusively via the Guru-disciple relationship , and the initiation consists of a secret ceremony. He recounted that after his initiation into Kriya Yoga, "Babaji instructed me in
13098-464: Was co-directed by Paola Di Florio and Lisa Leeman. SRF initiates prepared students in a technique called kriya yoga that they say hastens the process of spiritual awakening. Through deep and regular practice, the technique is supposed to withdraw one's energy and attention from distracting thoughts, emotions, and stimuli, so that one may experience peace and attunement with God in the resulting stillness. SRF requires aspiring disciples to first undertake
13216-532: Was dedicated by Yogananda, on 20 August 1950, as a 10-acre spiritual center honoring the five major world religions. It is set in a hillside amphitheater with gardens and a spring-fed lake, and it is home to swans , ducks , koi , water turtles, lotus flowers, a Dutch windmill, and a golden lotus archway that is painted white and topped with gold lotus blossoms. The archway frames the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial, an outdoor shrine where
13334-475: Was embalmed but emulsion was not applied to the skin." Kriya Yoga school Kriya Yoga (Sanskrit: क्रिया योग) is a yoga system which consists of a number of levels of pranayama , mantra , and mudra , intended to rapidly accelerate spiritual development and engender a profound state of tranquility and God-communion. It is described by its practitioners as an ancient yoga system revived in modern times by Lahiri Mahasaya , who claimed to be initiated by
13452-548: Was no relationship. Erskine and his attorney, Shane Reed, rejected the results as biased because a monk in the order oversaw it. To settle the claims, SRF established an independent testing process. They hired a San Diego former criminal prosecutor, G. Michael Still, to compare the DNA from Yogananda's three male relatives in India to Erskine's DNA. The lab work was done in two separate labs, one in Missouri and one in Louisiana. The results from both labs were identical, showing no relationship between Yogananda and Erskine. SRF submitted
13570-1026: Was noted in detail by his Western student C. Richard Wright. During his stay in India, he saw his Ranchi boys' school become legally incorporated, and took a touring group to visit various locales: the Taj Mahal in Agra , the Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore , Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela of January 1936, and Brindaban to visit an exalted disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Keshabananda . He also met various people who caught his interest: Mahatma Gandhi , whom he initiated into Kriya Yoga; woman-saint Anandamoyi Ma ; Giri Bala, an elderly yogi woman who survived without eating; renowned physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman ; and several disciples of Sri Yukteswar's guru, Lahiri Mahasaya . While in India, Sri Yukteswar gave Yogananda
13688-504: Was released in 2014. He remains a leading figure in Western spirituality. A biographer of Yogananda, Phillip Goldberg, considers him "the best known and most beloved of all Indian spiritual teachers who have come to the West". Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur , Uttar Pradesh , India to a Hindu Bengali Kayastha family. He was the fourth of the eight children, and second of
13806-552: Was the next head and president of Self Realization Fellowship/YSS from 1955 until 30 November 2010, the end of her life. American yoga scholar Linda Johnsen wrote that Daya Mata was an example of a new wave of women who acquired leadership positions in Hindu spirituality. In 2010, Mrinalini Mata became the next president of SRF/YSS, with the official announcement being on 9 January 2011. She held this position until her passing on 3 August 2017. She had been chosen by Yogananda to oversee his publications after his death, and she had held
13924-465: Was time for him to leave the world. According to Phil Goldberg, one example was what Yogananda said to Daya Mata just before the dinner, "Do you realize that it is just a matter of hours and I will be gone from this earth?" On March 7, 1952, he attended a dinner for the visiting Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Binay Ranjan Sen , and his wife at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. At the conclusion of
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