Self-­Realization­FellowshipV O L U N T A R Y L E A G U E ƒ NewsletterA R e p o r t o n O u r R e c e n t A c t i v i t i e s

F a l l 2 0 1 0

Paramahansa Yogananda placed great importance on instilling spiritual ideals in young people, and emphasized, “The principles of right behavior, and the whys of right conduct, should be taught in the home, in the schools, and in Sunday schools, to guide children’s lives from the very beginning.”

The letters we received from youngsters who attended the recent weeklong SRF’s Boys and Girls “How-to-Live” Youth Program in southern California’s panoramic San Bernardino Mountains (see photos) are a testament to the flour-ishing of our Guru’s ideals, and we wanted to share a few excerpts with you:

I wish to come to the Youth Program to become more in tune with God and be-cause my brother went to camp last year and said it was the best thing he’d ever done. I hope to have a similar experience and increase my spiritual awareness. — Boy age 11

I wish to go mainly to be closer to God and be enlightened by Him. The Youth Program seems delightful and

spiritual to me. I know if I try, which I will, I will be filled with God. — Girl age 12

Youth Program is always the best week of my year because I get to put aside everything. I just think about [God and Guru], turn off my phone and I am at peace. — Girl age 18

I really want to make this life count….by moving forward spiritually. The most important thing in my life is God, and developing a personal relationship with Him. My ultimate goal is to be one with Him, but every moment we share together counts. — Girl age 15

SRF Youth SeRviceS: inStilling the WiSdom oF PaRamahanSa Yogananda in the next geneRation oF devoteeS

More than 400 chil-dren and adults partici-pated in two separate one-week camp programs for girls and boys ages ten to sixteen this year, with at-tendees coming from all parts of the U.S., and from Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, and a num-ber of other countries. The week afforded the oppor-

tunity for the girls and boys to receive instruction and guidance in their practice of the meditation techniques and spiritual “how-to-live” principles of Paramahansa Yogananda. The program was balanced with hiking, canoe-ing, swimming, Hatha Yoga, crafts, and other activities — plus group con-versations and, above all, numerous opportunities to deepen their relation-ship with God and Guru.

One SRF nun who helps to guide SRF’s youth programs ob-served how invaluable these camps have become: “Children are growing up in a different world now than when I first started working with the Youth Program more than 20 years ago. They have access to more information, and at increasingly younger ages are under greater pressure to achieve in a world that is more complicated and complex and often confusing. Though they feel the pull of peer pressure, they realize the materialistic ways of the world will not give them the happiness or fulfillment they want. And so, those who come to the Youth Program are turn-ing more deeply to the SRF teachings.”

Funded by generous donations from members, this year Self-Realization Fellowship contributed more than $50,000 in scholarships for youngsters unable to afford the summer Youth Program. We believe that our Guru would never want a child turned away because of lack of financial means, and we have stayed true to this principle throughout the years.

While Boys’ and Girls’ How-to-Live Program is the spiritual highlight of the year for many young devotees, Youth Services remains busy throughout the year, providing training and sup-port for the nearly 600 Sunday School teachers and Teen Group leaders serving children and teens in SRF temples and centers around the world.

Working under the guidance of SRF monastics, a team of experienced and dedicated lay member volunteers mentor newer volunteers in the art of imparting our Guru’s teachings to youths in an age-appropriate manner. This is partially done through three annual seminars for Sunday School teachers and Teen Group leaders and periodic regional training workshops at SRF centers. Topics covered in previous workshops included: Helping Children Cultivate a Personal Relationship With God,

Motivating Teens to Meditate, and Classroom Management. Above all, great emphasis is placed upon conveying our

Guru’s “how-to-live” teachings and meditation techniques in their pristine purity, in the belief that this will powerfully aid these young people in the spiritual transformations their genera-tion must accomplish for the sake of our troubled world.

Many who volunteer as Sunday School teachers have com-mented how their interaction with monastics and the act of serving children have transformed their own spiritual lives. One seminar participant shared these thoughts:

“When I first started to serve in Sunday School, one of the monastics commented, ‘Once you become a Sunday School teacher, it becomes part of your sadhana.’ I have always found this to be true. Planning Sunday School lessons is part of my regular study of the teachings, and praying for my students is part of my daily life. Through the guidance of the SRF monas-tics, understanding how principles such as unconditional love, friendship, and prayer apply to our Guru’s youngest disciples has helped me to become a better disciple. Above all, the chance to share these teachings with them has opened a channel for his blessings to flow to me.”

One new Youth Services project that has generated consid-erable excitement is the creation of a comprehensive and age-appropriate curriculum for all SRF Sunday Schools. The chal-lenge is no small one: distilling the vast body of wisdom that is our Guru’s teachings into lesson plans that speak to youngsters of all ages. We hope to complete the project by 2012.

As you can imagine, all these services — plus the scholarships for Youth Program — come at a considerable expense: about $225,000 in the year ahead. A portion of your contribution to this Voluntary League Appeal will go directly to supporting SRF’s programs for young people.

Paramahansaji said, “It lies in the hands of today’s adults to uplift children and bring them into a balanced life.” With your financial support today, we can continue to bring our Guru’s teachings into the lives of youngsters in ever greater ways.

SRF nun leading a satsanga with a group of teens and young adults

SRF monk leading Sunday School children in prayer

We invite you to view on our website two slideshow programs about the Boys’ and Girls’ How-to-Live Summer Youth Programs, which convey something of the spirit and divine joy pervading these events. These can be found at http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/centers.aspx?id=90

Reading Paramahansa Yogananda’s writings for the first time is a pivotal mo-ment in the life of many truth-seekers, for it is then that their search for God is ener-gized with the conviction that the Divine can definitely be known through personal experience.

Those of us fluent in English enjoy the blessing of being able to read our Guru’s words in our native tongue and in the lan-guage he wrote. All the poetry and power of his writings are here for us to appre-ciate, and his words remain a beacon of hope and inspiration.

Working to bring the transforming teachings of our Guru to his ever-growing world family is a team of more than 75 trans-lators — monks, nuns, lay-member em-ployees, and volunteers in various countries around the world. More than one hundred books and booklets, the SRF Engagement Calendar, and a variety of free literature have been translated into 14 languages. (In addition, numerous editions have been brought out by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in several Indian languages.)

This initiative has been made possible in part by generous offers from SRF lay mem-bers with professional translating skills, en-abling us to translate books at a mere frac-tion of what it would cost if we hired an agency. But even more important, they have an attunement with our Guru that would be difficult to find in even the best con-tracted professional translators — helping to ensure that our translations convey the true spirit of his teachings.

One such volunteer touchingly ex-pressed, “It has been such a divine gift to be immersed in Guruji’s beautiful vibra-tion through this work.”

Another volunteer who is working on the Chinese translation of Autobiography of a Yogi shared with us: “The truth is, life has been full of challenges and tests. I cannot imagine how I could have sur-vived if Master had not kept me busy

working with the Chinese team for the Autobiography in the past year. That drew me so close to him and the protection of the line of our Gurus. We feel so privi-leged doing the translation!”

Our eagerness to share the liberat-ing truths showered on this world by our Guru grows with the interest in his writings abroad, and we foresee a fi-nancial need of $175,000 in the year ahead to continue the translation of Paramahansaji’s writings into more lan-guages. In addition, there are increasing related costs in the areas of administra-tion, publication, and research in market-ing and distribution.

One reader from Italy expressed what many from other countries have also told us: “I wish to express my praise for those who through the years have translated into Italian the books of our Guru….I compliment them for their great spiritu-ality in interpreting and in understand-ing the various expressions of feelings, because in translating one risks losing something precious. I am sure that this did not happen with the SRF books in Italian, because the books are so charged with positivity that they seem to have been originally written in Italian!”

Your help is a vital part of our ef-forts to bring Paramahansaji’s Kriya Yoga

teachings to millions around the world. Visualizing sincere seekers reading our Guru’s words for the first time in their native language is something that should bring a smile to the face of every devotee!

SRF invites members with transla-tion skills who are interested in helping this effort to contact the Publications Translations Department at the Mother Center for additional information.

SRF PublicationS tRanSlation dePaRtment: ShaRing the teachingS oF PaRamahanSaji With all nationS oF the WoRld

The past three years have seen numerous releases, including: Metaphysical Medi-tations, Scientific Healing Affirmations, The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga of Jesus, Sayings of Paramahansa Yoga-nanda, Enter the Quiet Heart, and Inner Peace in Portuguese; To Be Victorious in Life, Whispers from Eternity, The Yoga of Jesus, Only Love, and The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita in Spanish; The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita and The Yoga of Jesus in German; a new translation of Autobiog-raphy of a Yogi in Italian; Mejda in Greek; Where There Is Light in French; and The Guru-Disciple Relationship in Japanese.

Contributions in response to this appeal will be used to meet the general operating ex-penses of SRF and to further the projects described in this newsletter. Contributions may be used for other purposes in the event of one or more of the projects being modified or canceled. Donations received later than approximately 12 months after the mailing date will be credited to the most recent Voluntary League Appeal. Under federal law, Self-Re-alization Fellowship is deemed a public charity and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

Code and a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation under the California Revenue Taxation Code. Accordingly, contributions to Self-Realization Fellowship are deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law for income tax purposes. Deductible donations can be made through outright gifts in the form of cash, appreciated securities, mutual fund shares, real or personal property, and other types of assets, and deferred gifts in the form of charitable trusts. Bequests to Self-Realization Fellowship can be made through a will or trust and are eligible for a charitable estate tax deduction.

SELF-RE ALIZ ATION FELLOWSHIP • 3880 San R afael Avenue • Los Ang eles, California 90065-3219 U.S.A . • www.yog ananda-srf .org

Copyright © 2010 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved.Printed on recycled paper c 10264-J1707

Our president and sanghamata, Sri Daya Mata, once said: “Divine Love is the supreme wisdom, the ultimate reality of life. Down the ages, the great ones of all religions have urged us: love God, and love others as your own Self. How that love is needed today!…Finding God’s love within through meditation, we must radiate it without—as kindness, understanding, compassion, ser-viceful action. That is the heart of the spiritual dispensation sent through SRF /YSS.”

Your prayers, your divine friendship, your material support, and, above all, your daily efforts to live the ideals of divine love are gifts cherished by God and Guru. We offer you our heartfelt gratitude for following the spiritual dispensation brought by our Guru, and for all the ways you have helped to make it a reality in the lives of countless souls around the world.

Reaching out in the SPiRit oF divine love

In keeping with the spirit of our Guru, SRF strives to offer high-quality books at inexpensive prices. Creating books in-house is an effective way to accomplish this, and at our Publications Center we design and print in English and a number of other languages, as well as conduct re-search, advertising, and distribu-tion for our international efforts.

When he opened the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine 60 years ago this year, our far-seeing Guru knew that this beautiful sanctuary in its prominent lo-cation on Sunset Boulevard would serve

to introduce countless souls to the SRF teachings. To better welcome and serve those who come, we were able to com-plete a long-needed interior remodeling of the Visitors’ Center during this 60th anniversary year, thanks to generous sup-port of SRF members.

The work was planned and largely carried out by SRF monks, along with the help of employees in the Lake Shrine maintenance department. SRF devotee volunteers also contributed their time and expertise, enabling us to realize sig-nificant savings.

The main improvement is increased space—previously, only a few visitors at a time could be accommodated, and room to display our Guru’s teachings was inad-equate. A significant number of visitors

(including those using wheelchairs) can now easily peruse all SRF books, and access excerpts of audio-visual record-ings on two touch-screen computers. A larger, attractive information desk allows several volunteers to personally greet and assist visitors.

Since the remodeling, the requests for free literature and Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons applications have in-creased significantly, while sales of books and audio-visual recordings have more than doubled. This is ample testimony to the value of the new center, which serves as the first point of contact for the tens of thousands of devotees and newcom-ers who come each year to experience the tranquility and beauty of our Guru’s Lake Shrine.

an enhanced Welcome to the SRF lake ShRine