The following is an excerpt from “Training the Conscious and Subconscious Minds for Success,” a talk given by Paramahansa Yogananda in Encinitas, California, in 1940. The full talk was published in two parts in the July-September and October – December 2015 issues of Yogoda Satsanga magazine, and can be read in its entirety in the Yogoda Satsanga online library — an extensive wisdom resource available to subscribers of the magazine. In that fuller presentation on this empowering and encouraging topic, and in greatest depth in his Yogoda Satsanga Lessons, Paramahansaji discusses not only how ..read more

In July 1915, Paramahansa Yogananda was initiated into India’s ancient swami monastic order when he received the vows of sannyas (renunciation of the world) from his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, in Serampore, India. This event not only marked a turning point in the life of the twenty-two-year-old Mukunda Lal Ghosh — who at that moment became Swami Yogananda Giri — but presaged his influence on the awakening global spirituality of the 20th century and beyond, not least because of the monastic tradition he established as part of his lasting legacy. The ancient Swami Order to which Paramahansa Yo ..read more

In this talk with a period of meditation, SRF sannyasi Swami Anantananda Giri shares wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda on how we can overcome old habits that are not giving us real happiness and create new positive ones that will enhance our experience of life. Through the practice of yoga meditation, and understanding how unwanted but strong habits relate to unfilled cravings of the soul, we can learn to control where we direct our attention and change our habits to find material and spiritual success — moving from restlessness to peace, from desires to contentment, and from worldliness to ..read more

In this talk with a period of meditation, SRF sannyasi Swami Nakulananda Giri shares wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda on how we can find ultimate freedom from spiritual ignorance and the limitations of body and mind. We are all children of the Divine, but we have forgotten this truth and feel separated from that supreme Reality. When through the practice of meditation we begin to understand that we are not mere mortal beings, the prime object of our life becomes clear to us — to fully realize our true divine identity and oneness with God. This talk was recorded at the SRF Encinitas Temple i ..read more

Discourse in Hindi In a discourse titled “Peace and Prosperity through Kriya Yoga,” YSS sannyasi Swami Ishwarananda Giri draws our attention to the basic human aspiration for happiness in the form of peace, prosperity, and love — the overarching need of everyone today, and how it can be attained by practising meditation. Expounding on Yoganandaji’s How-to-Live wisdom teachings on this subject, Swami Ishwarananda shares how we can focus our attention from external sources of limited happiness to the real source of bliss inside us — the Infinite Spirit — that can be accessed through meditat ..read more

In this talk with a period of meditation, SRF sannyasi Swami Ishtananda Giri shares wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda on ways we can greatly change our state of happiness. Joy is actually the native state of the soul — our true nature — and when we are happy, we are attuning our consciousness to what we truly are. As we learn to quiet the mind through the practice of meditation and live more in the present moment rather than the past or future, we can perceive that joy and happiness that come from within, regardless of outer conditions. This talk was recorded at the SRF San Diego Temple in M ..read more

In this inspiring talk Sri Mrinalini Mata, sanghamata and fourth president of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship, shares memories of her first encounter with Paramahansa Yogananda in 1945 — an experience she describes as “stepping from a dream into Reality.” Mrinalini Mataji, one of the close disciples Paramahansaji personally chose to carry on his work after his passing, delves into the singular importance of a true guru on the spiritual path and offers a soul-stirring testimony of the joy that comes from keeping one’s inner gaze focused on the Light of Spirit. Thi ..read more

An introduction: Do you want to experience more vitality? We all do. To do so, we may make adjustments to what we eat, how much relaxation we get, or how we perform various activities and pursue our dreams with increased enthusiasm and determination. And we can see the benefit of these in our energy and outlook. But Paramahansa Yogananda’s teachings place the highest emphasis on how tremendously more full of life and energy our days would become if we consciously connected with the source of vitality hiding behind the scenes of the drama of life. “Whether man acknowledges God or not,” Sri Da ..read more

In his books and Lessons, Paramahansaji shows how each of us can learn to maintain tremendous vitality in our bodies and minds — through wise use of both external physical sources of energy (proper diet, right breathing, sufficient sunshine) as well as internal sources (the divine life forces and consciousness flowing from the soul and Spirit). He speaks of these principles in the following excerpts from “How to Work Without Fatigue,” a talk in the second volume of Collected Talks and Essays by Paramahansa Yogananda, The Divine Romance. Food is only a secondary source of energy supply. The ..read more

Sri Sri Daya Mata was the beloved sanghamata and president of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship from 1955 until her passing in 2010. Her bi-monthly letters were a cherished source of guidance and inspiration to YSS devotees for decades. Presented here is a letter that was originally shared in 2001, in which she lovingly reminds us of the true source of youthfulness and how we can joyfully radiate that in our lives. Dear Ones, The emphasis of people today is on prolonging youthfulness. But they focus on the externals of looking young and being able to act young. P ..read more