Honouring his 125th birth anniversary, Finance Minister releases commemorative coin on Paramahansa Yogananda

News Bharati    30-Oct-2019
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New Delhi, October 30: Honouring the 125th birth anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released a special commemorative coin on him on Tuesday.


 

Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister said this moment is a big honor for her. She said that the Paramahansa Yogananda was great son of India, who became so recognised globally. His penetrating sharp eyes are full of divine force, she said. The importance lies in his universal message of bringing harmony among mankind and making it so acceptable globally even when communications modes were limited, she added. India feels very strongly about this great son of the Universe who brought in harmony to all our hearts & minds, the Finance Minister further added.

On the occasion, MoS for Finance & Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur, Secretary Ministry of Culture Arun Goel, Swami Vishwananda Giri, Swami Smaranananda Giri and other monks & devotees were also present.

 

Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India. A chief disciple of the Bengali yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West, to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality. His long-standing influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles, led him to be considered by yoga experts as the "Father of Yoga in the West."

Yogananda was the first major Indian teacher to settle in America, and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House (by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927). His early acclaim led to him being dubbed "the 20th century's first superstar guru," by the LA Times. Arriving in Boston in 1920, he embarked on a successful transcontinental speaking tour before settling in Los Angeles in 1925. For the next two and a half decades, he gained local fame as well as expanded his influence worldwide: he created a monastic order, went on teaching-tours, bought properties for his organization in various California locales, and initiated thousands into Kriya Yoga. By 1952, SRF had over 100 centres in both India and the US; today, they have groups in nearly every major American city. His "plain living and high thinking" principles attracted people from all backgrounds among his followers