Sri Paramhansa Yogananda

Sri Paramhansa Yogananda Illumination

YOGIC SAGE


A Sage so kind, so gentle, shining with spiritual brilliance, who is like a Mother and Father combined in one Being, such a Great Sage was Sri Paramhansa Yogananda. He was an Indian Yogi and Guru who introduced millions of Westerners and Indians to the teachings of Meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a Yogi. One must have done a lot of good to come across the guidance of this Amazing Sage.

In 1920, Sri Yogananda went to the United States aboard the ship City of Sparta, as India’s delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston. That same year he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) to disseminate worldwide his teachings on India’s ancient practices and philosophy of Yoga and its tradition of meditation. For the next several years, 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.

The following year, Sri Yogananda established an international center for Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, California, which became the spiritual and administrative heart of his growing work. Subsequently, another large, inspiring international center – with a beautiful and exotic garden containing areas and benches specially designed for meditation – was also established in Encinitas, a city in San Diego County, California, USA. It will be hard for someone not to get into the peaceful atmosphere that permeates with the spiritual power of this enlightened Sage in this Self-Realization Fellowship at Encinitas.