July 2025 Newsletter

Dear Friend,

It was through Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi that the world came to know of Mahavatar Babaji, a truly awe-inspiring spiritual figure.

Babaji is the great soul who revived in this modern age the ancient science of Kriya Yoga, and is the supreme guru in the lineage of enlightened masters behind the Self-Realization Fellowship work. He has lived in seclusion in the Himalayas for uncounted centuries, as is told in Autobiography of a Yogi.

Each year on July 25, SRF commemorates the day in 1920 when Babaji visited Paramahansaji in Kolkata, before his departure from India, and blessed him to introduce Kriya Yoga to the world.

“You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West,” Babaji said at that meeting. “Kriya Yoga, the scientific technique of God-realization, will ultimately spread in all lands, and aid in harmonizing the nations through man’s personal, transcendental perception of the Infinite Father.”

In this month’s newsletter, we invite you to learn more about the world-transforming influence of Mahavatar Babaji.

From the talks and writings of Paramahansa Yogananda:

Yoga is that science by which the soul gains mastery over the instruments of body and mind and uses them to attain Self-realization — the reawakened consciousness of its transcendent, immortal nature, one with Spirit. 

The Kriya Yoga technique, anciently taught by Krishna to Arjuna and referred to in the Bhagavad Gita, is the supreme spiritual science of yoga meditation. Secreted during the materialistic ages, this indestructible yoga was revived for modern man by Mahavatar Babaji. Babaji himself ordained me to spread this holy science of God-union through the Self-Realization Fellowship organization I founded at his behest and that of my guru. 

Babaji is ever in communion with Christ; together they send out vibrations of redemption and have planned the spiritual technique of salvation for this age. The work of these two fully illumined masters — one with a body, and one without a body — is to inspire the nations to forsake wars, race hatreds, religious sectarianism, and the boomerang evils of materialism. Babaji is well aware of the trend of modern times, especially of the influence and complexities of Western civilization, and realizes the necessity of spreading the self-liberations of yoga equally in the West and in the East. 

“Babaji, Yogi-Christ of Modern India”— Chapter 33 of Autobiography of a Yogi 

“No limiting facts about Babaji’s family or birthplace, dear to the annalist’s heart, have ever been discovered….He has adopted the simple name of Babaji (Revered Father)....”

On our website you can enjoy the chapter from Paramahansaji’s spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi that describes in depth the spiritual stature and special role of Mahavatar Babaji. Learn more about this great soul who works to uplift the world and has promised to continually help seekers on the Kriya Yoga path. 

“A Blessing From Mahavatar Babaji” by Sri Daya Mata

What is it like to be in Babaji’s presence? You can read the inspiring account by Sri Daya Mata, beloved third president of SRF/YSS, of her sacred pilgrimage to a Himalayan cave that has been sanctified by the physical presence of Mahavatar Babaji. 

“Love Is the Simplest Way to Know God” by Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda describes, in this new excerpt from the recently released anthology Solving the Mystery of Life, how the omnipresent Divine Beloved “hiding” behind everything in this world can be found through our heart’s love and devotional seeking.

Convocation Events With Brother Chidananda 

Were you able to participate in the events with SRF President Brother Chidananda during the 2025 SRF World Convocation? We invite you to watch them now, or view them again, to keep absorbing their encouragement:

• Three-Hour Meditation With Brother Chidananda
• “Paramahansa Yogananda’s Kriya Yoga Teachings” — An Evening With Brother Chidananda

You can also dive again into the joy and inspiration of most of the 2025 Convocation events on our YouTube channel, or register to access all the events (including meditation technique classes for SRF/YSS Lessons students) at convocation.yogananda.org. 

Supporting Convocation and SRF

If you were inspired by Convocation and would like to help ensure Paramahansa Yogananda’s teachings continue to reach as many hearts and homes as possible worldwide, please consider making a gift to SRF today.  

Your donation will help uplift lives with India’s science of yoga meditation and contribute towards meeting the many vital expenses of Paramahansaji’s spiritual organization.   

If you have already donated, we again sincerely thank you for supporting the 2025 Convocation and Paramahansaji’s ongoing mission.

Commemorations Honoring Mahavatar Babaji 

On July 24, 25, and 26, SRF monastics will conduct special online services (in multiple languages) to honor Mahavatar Babaji. 

New SRF Kirtan Chanting Recordings Now Available

Three new collections of kirtan (devotional chanting) are now available for purchase as MP3 downloads from the SRF Bookstore, and can be found alongside other music from SRF on popular streaming services.  

Photo Essay — Monastic Visits Worldwide This Spring 

We hope you enjoy this collection of photos from locations visited by SRF monks and nuns this spring, as they helped seekers around the world to understand the power of putting the “how-to-live” teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda into practice in daily life. 

Thank you for receiving the SRF Newsletter. May your life be blessed with ever-expanding love and inner perception of the Divine.

In divine friendship,  



Self-Realization Fellowship 

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