News Notes
This summer, thousands of yogis from around the world will gather for a week of divine inspiration and fellowship, based on the yoga teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, world teacher and author of the best-selling spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi.
The Self-Realization Fellowship World Convocation will be held on July 14 -20, 2024 — in person at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles for the first time since 2020 — and livestreamed free of charge, so that anyone can participate from anywhere around the globe. Last year over 22,000 participants from more than 130 countries attended Convocation online.
Widely regarded as the father of Yoga in the West, Paramahansa Yogananda established this annual tradition in 1950 to provide an opportunity for aspiring yogis to take a break from daily routines and immerse themselves in spiritual classes, devotional chanting, and collective meditation, while receiving practical guidance on how to successfully meet the challenges of daily living.
“I wish that, as seekers of Bliss, which all of us are, you would try to experience for yourselves that universal truth which is in all and may be felt by all,” says Yogananda. “This state is not an invention of anyone. It is already there; we have simply to discover it.”
Self-Realization Fellowship monks and nuns will also travel to cities across Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America to host Convocation activities; and many Self-Realization Fellowship meditation centers around the world will hold in-person Convocation viewing events.
Led by the monks and nuns of Self-Realization Fellowship, Convocation events for this year include: A meditation and a satsanga by Brother Chidananda, president of Self-Realization Fellowship (a satsanga is a talk based on questions from members and friends); Daily classes on the “How-to-Live” teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda; and Group meditations each morning and evening.
During the “How-to-Live” classes, Self-Realization Fellowship monks and nuns will offer talks on Paramahansa Yogananda’s Kriya Yoga teachings, giving his counsel on how to navigate life’s challenges as they share their own experiences of journeying on the spiritual path. Classes will focus on such topics as: finding joy in life, introspection for success, intuition, the love and wisdom that come from meditation, and more.
More information about the event, including registration, can be found at convocation.yogananda.org.
