Dear Friend, Voluntary League Appeal S u m m e r 2 0 1 8 We would like to share with you the joyous news that yet another milestone has been reached in the upcoming release of the enhanced and expanded edition of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons. Thanks to a tremendous outpouring of support from SRF members and friends like you, we have completed the installation of new state-of-the-art press and bindery equipment and made the related necessary infrastructure upgrades at the SRF Publications Center. With these improvements, we will be able to publish and disseminate the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda with heightened effectiveness for many years to come. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who in any way contributed to this vital project. You can read more about this accomplishment in our enclosed newsletter. Also, you will learn about plans for other important work at two of the landmark locations associated with Paramahansa Yogananda s life: preservation of the lake at the SRF Lake Shrine and a major improvement to India Hall (adjacent to the SRF Hollywood Temple). By contributing to the Voluntary League appeal you will help us complete these critical projects and also meet the many daily expenses that are a part of serving the worldwide family of SRF. We invite you to make a gift to Paramahansaji s spiritual work by returning the enclosed reply card or going online to donatesrf.org. In speaking of SRF s mission, Paramahansaji on one occasion said: For countless years to come this light shall travel over the earth not a message of belief but a system of techniques by which you can redeem yourself. Follow these teachings; practice the techniques. Every day you will feel you are advancing.this path of Self-Realization Fellowship is the way to know Truth yourself through step-by-step realization. For all you do to help this light reach souls in all parts of the world through your prayers, your sincere efforts to manifest the spiritual principles and practice the sacred meditation techniques taught by our Guru, and your material gifts we offer our abiding and deepest gratitude. In divine friendship, SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP Mother Center INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 3880 SAN RAFAEL AVENUE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90065-3219 TEL: (323) 225-2471 FAX: (323) 225-5088 www.yogananda-srf.org IN INDIA: YOGODA SATSANGA SOCIETY OF INDIA
Voluntary League Newsletter A 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 S U M M E R 2 0 1 8 (Above) Paramahansa Yogananda (second from left) on the banks of the lake at the Lake Shrine, feeding the fish, March 6, 1952 the day before his mahasamadhi. Preserving the Lake at the SRF Lake Shrine: The Centerpiece of a Spiritual Refuge At the dedication of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine on August 20, 1950, Paramahansa Yogananda said, This shrine has been created for all religions, that all may feel the unity of a common faith. Since then, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and of virtually every faith have made the SRF Lake Shrine a place of pilgrimage and spiritual rejuvenation. Over the past twenty years, thanks to the support of members and friends like you, many of the major landmarks at the Lake Shrine the Golden Lotus Archway, the Windmill Chapel, and Paramahansaji s houseboat have been beautifully restored and preserved, ensuring that visitors today and in decades to come can enjoy their pristine beauty and spiritual vibrations. In our ongoing efforts to maintain this sacred site, we would now like to ask for your support with another vital project in connection with the Lake Shrine: the reinforcement and stabilization of the banks of the lake. The banks have severely deteriorated because of (continued next page) (Above) Erosion is threatening the pathways that border the lake. (Right) The bank stabilization project will be carried out by SRF monks. Here, a monk is at work building a special work-barge that will be used in the project. Working from the barge is not only practical (as the banks of the lake are very steep and narrow in places) but will also enable the lake to stay open to visitors during the project.
8 India Hall at SRF Hollywood Temple: Providing Access to All decades of erosion, and in some areas the adjacent pathways are at risk of collapse (see photo previous page). Thankfully, the problem can be remedied with proven methods; and, with the help of a geologist and engineer, Self-Realization Fellowship has devised a plan to stabilize and reinforce the lakeshore. With your assistance, we hope to begin work later this year and complete the project in 2019. Thank you for helping us to preserve the centerpiece of Paramahansaji s beloved Lake Shrine for the enjoyment and inspiration of future generations. Speaking at the dedication of India Hall at the Self-Realization Fellowship Hollywood Temple in 1951, Paramahansa Yogananda said, Here the people of East and West can have a cultural exchange of intellectual and philosophical experiences. India Hall is now used for a wide variety of purposes that further this ideal, but providing greater accessibility to the building s lower level where the auditorium is located is needed. This part of the building can be reached only via a narrow stairway (see photo below), and, with your help, SRF would like to install a spacious elevator that provides easy access for all. Plans call for placing the elevator conveniently at the edge of the parking lot on the building s west side and designing it in such a way as to blend harmoniously with the surrounding buildings. (See image below) Excavating for an elevator also gives us an opportunity to allocate space for a much-needed storage room adjacent to the auditorium. Currently storage is off-site, requiring the use of a truck to regularly transport tables, chairs, and other items needed for events. Your support will help to upgrade this facility, cherished by our Guru, allowing greater access and usability for all. (Above) Paramahansa Yogananda at the dedication of India Hall, April 8, 1951. Seated next to him is Mr. Goodwin J. Knight, Lt. Governor of California (center), who participated in the ceremonies. (Below, left) Presently the lower level of India Hall can be accessed only via stairs. An elevator is greatly needed to increase access so that all may participate in special events held in the building s auditorium. (Below, right) Architect s rendering of the proposed entrance to new elevator (indicated by red arrow) adjacent to one of the existing buildings.
Spiritually Serving a Worldwide Family Your loving assistance is what allows us to carry on the spiritual work begun by our blessed guru, Paramahansa Yogananda. In addition to supporting the projects described in this newsletter, your contribution to the Voluntary League Appeal will help SRF meet the many daily expenses that are a part of serving our Guru s worldwide family. Whether it be maintaining the SRF website, covering telecommunication costs, preserving the beautiful ashrams and shrines where our Guru lived as places of pilgrimage for the thousands who visit each year, or providing for the basic living expenses of the monks and nuns that have dedicated their lives to perpetuating the ideals and mission of Paramahansaji in all these instances, and countless others, your support plays a vital part. Our Guru once said: To give physical help to a neighbor is good, to give him mental and moral help so that he can help himself is better, and to give him God-consciousness and freedom from ignorance through spiritual upliftment is best. Together we can help many around the world to receive life s most valuable gifts through the guidance and blessings of our ever-living Guru and Paramgurus. Progress Report: New Press and Bindery Equipment Now in Place at the SRF Publications Center The year 2018 marks a milestone in the mission of Parama hansa Yogananda: Some 75 years after the great Guru acquired SRF s first printing press, we have completed a major upgrade to our printing technology and facility, ensuring we can meet the growing global demand for our Guru s teachings for years to come. And this historic accomplishment is, in great measure, due to your help. During the past year, SRF s members and friends around the world have responded overwhelmingly to our appeals, in which we requested assistance with this critical project, vital to the upcoming release of the new edition of the Self- Realization Fellowship Lessons. To all who have contributed we offer our heartfelt gratitude. Thanks to your support, we have purchased and installed all of the state-of-the-art press and bindery equipment and made all of the related necessary infrastructure improvements at the SRF Publications Center (located in Los Angeles close to SRF s International Headquarters). On July 3 Brother Chida nanda, president and spiritual head of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, presided at a special dedicatory event that celebrated this important accomplishment. He was accompanied by the other members of the SRF Board of Directors. (See photos right and next page for some highlights from this occasion) Those gathered for the dedication (continued next page) (Top) At the SRF Publications Center on July 3, Brother Chida nanda cuts ceremonial ribbon in front of the new digital color press. (Above) Then, he inaugurates the press by using a computer workstation to initiate the first printing job, which seconds later is collected from the press. (See photo top of next page)
From Our President: Our Boundless Gratitude Following are some of Brother Chidananda s remarks on July 3 at the SRF Publications Center, where he addressed an assemblage consisting of many of the staff monastics, lay members, and employees who serve together to bring Paramahansaji s teachings to the world: Please join me now in expressing our profound and boundless gratitude to all those thousands of dear members around the world who have contributed, in whatever way they could, to make this equipment possible...as we come together to christen, you might say, and inaugurate this new equipment, let us do so with a real sense of the significance of this day. I can t tell you what it means to our Guru: As I meditated in his shrine rooms before coming here, I could feel so much in my heart the joy that he is feeling the joy and the gratitude to see this fantastic milestone in the furtherance of his mission. So, I pray that all were given a demonstration of the new equipment, which includes a digital color press for color printing; a black-and-white printer for printing text for books; an automated assembly line that will cut, fold, collate, and assemble the printed sheets into various publications; a book binder for creating paperback books; and an automated envelope inserter for the Lessons and other mailings. Also, essential upgrades have been made to the space that houses the new machines, including enhancements to the electrical, cooling, and smoke-alarm systems; a vacuum system to remove paper trimmings; humidifiers to prevent static electricity buildup on the paper; and more. Our dedicated staff at the Publications Center has been diligently and enthusiastically learning how to use the new digital equipment to produce SRF s publications. They are now testing the printing quality and fine tuning the calibrations of the new machines, and we anticipate that we will soon be using the new equipment to print books and other items for our worldwide membership and the general public. And we are still hopeful that we can launch the new expanded edition of the Self- Realization Fellowship Lessons by the end of this year. For more coverage and a video of the dedicatory event with Brother Chida nanda on July 3, please visit: www.yogananda-srf.org/newprintingequipment (Left) Fresh copies of Autobiography of a Yogi emerge from the new trimmer. 8 of you, and all of Guruji s disciples around the world who helped make this day possible, feel some of that joy today. This is now, in many respects, really a brand-new Publications Center. When one thinks about the power of the life-transforming blessings that are going to be made possible by this equipment and by the devoted service and conscientious, willing attention to detail that all of you give from your hearts day after day, year after year combined with that infusion of divine blessings that we know is behind this great work how blessed one feels to be part of this sacred endeavor. SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP 3880 San Rafael Avenue Los Angeles, California 90065-3219 U.S.A. www.yogananda-srf.org Contributions in response to Self-Realization Fellowship s Summer 2018 Voluntary League Appeal are for the general support of SRF, which includes the purposes stated in this letter. As such, gifts shall be designated, and remain, unrestricted and can be utilized for purposes SRF determines. Donations received later than approximately twelve months after the mailing date will be credited to the most recent Voluntary League Appeal. Self-Realization Fellowship is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of California as a tax-exempt organization. Accordingly, donations are taxdeductible as permitted by law. Copyright 2018 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper c 10264_J5765