The Self-Realization Fellowship was founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda.
He was requested by Mahavatar Babaji to spread the technique of Kriya Yoga,
the scientific technique for the attainment of Self-Realization, in the West. Having been
trained by his guru Swami Sri Yukteshwar as a young boy for this divine mission he was
well suited to be a successful teacher and guide for the western culture. He was invited by
the International Congress of Religious Liberals to serve as the delegate from India when
they convened in Boston in 1920 delivering an address on ” The Science of Religion”.
Unlike most other religious approaches Self-Realization Fellowship emphasizes
the practice of a particular scientific technique which, when practiced, automatically
draws the practitioner toward the inner experience of a personal relationship with God.
By 1925 the Self -Realization Fellowship had established a headquarters in Los Angeles
on Mount Washington Estates. Yogananda traveled and lectured through out the
United States and initiated thousands of followers in the practice of Kriya Yoga.
Legally affiliated with Self-Realization Fellowship is the Yogoda Satsanga Society
of India, headquartered in Dakshineswar, which was founded by Yogananda in 1917.
One of the unique features of the Fellowship are the lessons which give detailed
instruction in the Self-Realization Fellowship energization, concentration and
meditation techniques which lay the preliminary practice for the more advanced
instruction in Kriya Yoga.
After Yogananda’s passing (mahasamadhi) in 1952 Rajarsi Janakananda,
born James Jesse Lynn, served as president of the organization. He was an american
businessman and self-made millionaire who became a close disciple of Yogananda.
He served as President of SRF until his passing in 1955.
Sri Daya Mata, born Faye Wright, has been president of the Self-Realization Fellowship
and Yogoda Satsanga Society since 1955 until her passing on November 30th, 2010.
The Kriya Yoga technique is based on the science of the breath. All living creatures must
perform pran-kriya or the action of breathing. So the flow of the breath is intimately
connected to the life force itself without which no other bodily functions are possible.
By focusing our attention on the flow of the breath and ultimately it’s control we
can consciously connect to the life force itself. Since this is something that anyone and
everyone can do, it has a universal appeal.
Paramahansa Yogananda, along with other prominent figures from India, have had a
profound influence on western culture as well as on religious and educational activities.
Even the Beatles were drawn to the eastern philosophy and religion. According to
a Harris Poll study in 2004, 7.5 percent of adults in the United States, or approximately
16.5 million people, practice yoga. Since Yogananda personally lived in the United States
and taught his students and followers for over 30 years and his work
has been carried on by his very qualified monastic disciples it is no wonder that the
influence of the Self-Realization Fellowship has been profound in the west as well as
around the world.
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