Yogoda Satsanga - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS) is a non-profit religious organisation founded by Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda , born Mukunda Lal Ghosh , was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a...

in 1917. Its headquarters, Yogoda Satsanga Math, is situated Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, with a branch math at Ranchi

Ranchi

-Climate:Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. However, due to its position and the forests around the city, it is known for its pleasant climate. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar...

, Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

and many branch centres. In addition to meditation centres throughout India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, there are twenty-three educational institutions, from primary through college level. Yogoda, a word coined by Paramahansa Yogananda, is derived from Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

, union, harmony, equilibrium; and da, "that which imparts". "Satsanga" is composed of Sat, truth and Sanga, fellowship. For the west, Paramahansaji translated the Indian name as Self-Realization Fellowship

Self-Realization Fellowship

Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 and based in Mount Washington in Los Angeles, California....

(SRF). It preaches the unity of Jesus and Krishna and that they are the same.

Paramahansa Yogananda has blessed his devotees in India with four ashram

Ashram

Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....

s – in Ranchi, Kolkata, Noida, and Dwarahat

Dwarahat

Dwarahat is a town and a nagar panchayat in Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India.-Geography:Dwarahat is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,510 metres .-Demographics:...

Founder

Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda , born Mukunda Lal Ghosh , was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a...

is the founder of Yogoda Satsanga Society. Abroad, it is known as Self Realization Fellowship.

Year & place of founding

1917, Ranchi

Ranchi

, Jharkhand

Jharkhand

, India

India

(Paramahansa Yogananda actually started a small ashram in Dihika, West Bengal, (near Asansol) in 1917 prior to moving to Ranchi, where he established and developed his first major ashram in India. The original site where Paramahansa Yogananda started his fledgling Dihika ashram, has been purchased by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India and is being maintained by them as a heritage site of the organization.)

Aims & ideals

To disseminate among the nations a knowledge of definite scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God.
To teach that the purpose of life is the evolution, through self-effort of man's limited mortal consciousness into God Consciousness; and to this end to establish Yogoda Satsanga temples for God-communion throughout the world, and to encourage the establishment of individual temples of God in the homes and in the hearts of men.
To reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna and original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.
To point out the one divine highway to which all paths of true religious beliefs eventually lead: the highway of daily, scientific, devotional meditation on God.
To liberate man from his threefold suffering: physical disease, mental inharmonies, and spiritual ignorance.
To encourage "plain living and high thinking"; and to spread a spirit of brotherhood among all peoples by teaching the eternal basis of their unity: kinship with God.
To demonstrate the superiority of mind over body, of soul over mind.
To overcome evil by good, sorrow by joy, cruelty by kindness, ignorance by wisdom.
To unite science and religion through realization of the unity of their underlying principles.
To advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West, and the exchange of their finest distinctive features.
To serve mankind as one's larger Self.

Spiritual disciplines generally advocated

Kriya Yoga

Kriya Yoga finds mention in the ancient spiritual texts of Patanjali Yogasutras "Tapah svadhyayeshvara pranidhani kriyayogah" . It was later revived by Yogiraj Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri in the 19th century. Subsequently Paramhansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi reported the same for his...

: A form of pranayama

Pranayama

Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...

life-force control and meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

technique

Administrative set-up

Indian headquarters at Ranchi,Jharkhand.
International headquarters is in Los Angeles, USA

Provision for joining

House-holder followers who practice Kriya Yoga.
For becoming monastic member one should be single, in sound physical and mental health, free of family and other obligations, have studied the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for at least one year, and between the ages of 18 and 35.

Religion & spirituality

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India has meditation centres in over 180 cities throughout India.

Major publications

Autobiography of a Yogi : Paramahamsa Yogananda
God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita – A New Translation and Commentary – Parmahamsa Yogananda http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/c37/God-Talks-With-ArjunaThe-Bhagavad-Gita-p54.html
The Second Coming of Christ – The Resurrection of the Christ Within You – A revelatory commentary on the teachings of Jesus – Paramahamsa Yoganandahttp://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/The-Second-Coming-of-Christ-p357.html
Man’s Eternal Quest – Paramahamsa Yogananda
The Divine Romance – Paramahamsa Yogananda
Journey to Self-realization – Paramahamsa Yogananda
Whispers from Eternity – Paramahamsa Yogananda
Only Love – Sri Sri Daya Mata
Finding the Joy Within You – Sri Sri Daya Mata

External links

http://yssofindia.org Yogoda Satsanga Society of India official website
Self-Realisation Fellowship Homepage
Yogoda Satsanga Society Ranchi
On Yogoda Satsanga Society of India

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