In 1920 Paramahansa Yogananda arrived in America as a delegate from India to attend the International Congress of Religious Liberals at the Unity House of Boston. From that momentous beginning, he traveled far and wide disseminating his teachings, lecturing to audiences of many thousands, and initiating people in Kriya Yoga, an ancient and advanced technique of meditation aimed at self-realization. After his arrival, he became known as the "20th century's first superstar guru," as later described by the Los Angeles Times.

Paramahansa Yogananda established two organizations: Self-Realization Fellowship, www.yogananda.org, in America; in India he established the Yogoda Satsanga Society, www.yssofindia.org. In the past 100 years, both have grown and encircled the globe. These organizations include monastic and lay members who maintain the publishing departments and temples and meditation centers around the world, as well as many educational and charitable works which were established by Yogananda and the organizations. Today any person around the globe can participate in online live meditations via the SRF website and SRF Online Meditation Center. On this website, and in the recently published book of additional testimonies (see below), are many stories of the benefits of the Lessons which are disseminated to students. The Lessons are astounding in the breadth and depth of the spiritual teachings as taught by Yogananda, and are succinct, powerful, and enlightening, and that is what students are after, enlightenment.

Yogananda taught, "Self-realization is the knowing in body, mind, and soul that you are now in possession of the kingdom of God; that you do not have to pray that it come to you; that God's omnipresence is your omnipresence; that you are just as much a part of Him now as you will ever be; and that all you need to do is improve your knowing."

Paramahansa Yogananda is known worldwide to the general public as the author of the unprecedented Autobiography of a Yogi, available on amazon.com or through yogananda.org, This important book has been translated into over 34 languages with sales in the millions. According to Book Authority (bookauthority.org) it is one of the top five, all-time, best-selling autobiographies ever published around the globe, and continues today as a worldwide bestseller.

Yogananda is an avatar and a Guru to millions of people worldwide. His message was timeless: enlighten yourself, actualize yourself, and become self-realized as a part of the God-Self behind and within creation.

Awakening to the Guru is a process and a journey of a lifetime, and of many lifetimes.

Yet, there does seem to come a time in that process when something magical happens, and that is when we see, recognize, and understand that we have this fascinating and enduring relationship with a spiritual teacher that is at once mystifying yet completely understood, and that at an inner level we experience the Guru as ourselves.

Finding the Guru in a teacher, as well as within ourselves, is the goal.

Editor,
Charmayne Samuelson
02-02-2020