Copyright © 2017 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved.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 AppealS u m m e r 2 0 1 7

Dear Friends,

We have some special news for you in connection with the enclosed Appeal for new equipment for the SRF Publications Center. It relates to a monumental project assigned personally by our guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, to our late beloved president, Sri Mrinalini Mata — a project that she worked on for decades, and to which she devoted a huge amount of her available time and energy to bring to final completion during the past few years.

The project is a comprehensive enhancement and expansion of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons. The revised Lessons were begun by Paramahansaji in the final years of his life, and he instructed Mrinalini Mata to complete them according to his instructions for publication and distribution to a worldwide membership. Current plans are for a 2018 release.

This inspiring project was introduced at our recent World Convocation in Los Angeles, and information from that presentation is available now on the SRF website.

The new edition of the Lessons will contain a wealth of new material from Paramahansaji’s writings and classes that was not available when the current Lessons were originally created in the 1930s — including clearer and more detailed instruction on the SRF meditation techniques and Kriya Yoga and many other subjects.

Combining all of the material authored by Paramahansaji for every earlier edition of the Lessons going back to the early 1920s — as well as previously unpublished material — this new edition will be the most comprehensive ever offered. It will include much additional support and inspiration for those who are following the SRF spiritual path and teachings.

“The Lessons will be your life’s work,” our Guru said to Mrinalini Mata when assigning the project to her long ago. (She spoke a little about this to the attendees at the SRF Convocation during one of her talks at the Bonaventure Hotel a few years ago.)

Though there are many details to be finalized and much preparatory work to be done on the new series, Mrinalini Mataji felt great joy knowing that this news would be shared with you during this Centennial year of Gurudeva’s organizational work. As most of you are aware, Guruji began in 1917 with the founding of his Yogoda Satsanga Society school in India; and that anniversary is being celebrated with many special events this year.

Indeed, the SRF/YSS Lessons were envisioned by our Guru as the primary vehicle for accomplishing the sacred mission he began 100 years ago, entrusted to him by Mahavatar Babaji and Swami Sri Yukteswar: the worldwide dissemination of India’s ancient Kriya Yoga science of spirituality for the upliftment of all humanity. The Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons are unique among Paramahansa Yogananda’s published works, in that they give his in-depth instruction in the actual techniques of the highest yoga science of God-realization.

Needless to say, the new edition of the Lessons will be a major milestone in the history of Paramahansa Yogananda’s worldwide work. In the coming months we will be sharing with you more information about the expanded edition of the Lessons — including the date when they will be available, once that can be definitely determined. At present, we anticipate that it will be in the coming year.

Please visit the SRF website for ongoing information about the progress of these plans. We look forward to sharing periodic updates with you as we reach specific milestones in the project, and extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the support of your prayers and for whatever financial support you can provide to ensure the successful publication of the new edition of the SRF Lessons.

May God and Guru bless you all.

In divine friendship,

Brother Vishwananda For the Self-Realization Fellowship Board of Directors

Voluntary League NewsletterVoluntary League NewsletterA 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 7

Spreading Paramahansa Yogananda’s Teachings Paramahansa Yogananda once said: “When I am gone, the teachings will be the guru.…Through

the teachings you will be in tune with me and with the great Gurus who sent me.”

This is an invitation to help spread these sacred teachings of Paramahansaji by supporting the purchase and installation of essential modern printing equipment at the SRF Publications Center.

Your contribution will help us to purchase new digital printing and bindery equipment that is vitally needed if we are to continue to meet the growing demand for Paramahansaji’s writings — in-cluding the publication of the new edition of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons (as mentioned in the enclosed letter from the SRF Board of Directors).

The Evolution of Self-Realization Fellowship’s Publications CenterLocated a short distance from the SRF

International Headquarters atop Mt. Wash-ington in Los Angeles, the SRF Publications Center is a busy hive of activity. Dozens of dedicated monks, employees, and volunteers serve together to publish and distribute the writings and recordings of Paramahansa Yogananda and his close disciples.

The history of the Publications Center spans more than 75 years. Its beginnings took form in the small library adjoining the Main Hall in the International Headquarters Build-ing at the Mother Center. In the mid-1940s, Paramahansa Yogananda installed a small printing press and enthusiastically began pub-lishing some of the SRF literature there. The printing press ran for more than a decade in this small, humble setting where Sri Daya Mata, our late beloved president, and many other devotees worked. In the 1950s, it was moved to a newly constructed publications building adjacent to the International Headquarters Building where Brother Achalananda, cur-rent vice-president of Self-Realization Fel-lowship, and other monks did the typeset-ting and operated the printing press. In the 1970s, the printing and associated functions

were moved to a larger, offsite facility about five miles away. Finally, in 1990, when even more space was needed to meet the growing demands for our Guru’s teachings, a move was made to the current location at the bot-tom of Mt. Washington, only a few minutes’ drive from the Mother Center.

Today, the Publications Center remains the active hub of publishing and distribution for Self-Realization Fellowship books and recordings — a vital part of the dissemina-tion of our Guru’s sacred Kriya Yoga teach-ings. This includes thousands of copies of SRF books and our quarterly Self-Realization magazine — in total this includes more than 60 titles in English, over 300 books in more than 30 other languages (including many

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3(Top to bottom) 1. Typeset and printing equipment at Mother Center, 1940s. 2. First printing press operated in what is now the library on the main floor of the International Headquarters. 3. Moving the printing press from the International Head-quarters building to its new home, just 500 feet away. 4. Publishing continued in 1956 in a new facility at Mother Center. Brother Achalananda, current vice president of SRF, stands in the foreground.

foreign language editions of our Guru’s spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi), a growing number of ebooks, dozens of audio/video recordings of talks by Paramahansa Yogananda and his monastic disciples, introduc-tory literature to serve the needs of newcomers to Guruji’s teachings, and a wide variety of other inspirational items for members. The printing, collating, packaging, and distribution of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons, mailed each fortnight to thousands of members in more than 100 countries, are also handled here.

Acquiring New Press and Bindery Equipment for the Benefit of Truth-Seekers

The Heidelberg printing press that is the engine behind much of this activity has reached the end of its useful life. And for other parts of the print production line there are no lon-ger replacement parts being manufactured, so we are often left with no other choice but to hunt for difficult-to-find recondi-tioned equipment to keep publishing. With greater demands being placed on the printing press daily — especially since the worldwide success of the movie Awake: The Life of Yogananda, and with the additional anticipated workload of the expanded edition of the Lessons — it is vital that we replace the obsolete offset production equipment with modern digital technology. The new equipment would allow the SRF Publications Center to produce in an hour and a half what takes one day on the old press and bindery equipment, thus ensuring the continuous dis-semination of our Guru’s sacred teachings.

The Transforming Power of Paramahansa Yogananda’s Teachings

For countless individuals around the world, Parama-hansaji’s writings are beacons of light and truth. They are a source of hope and inspiration to people from all walks of life, and are found not only in the homes of SRF members and friends, but also in the workplace, schools, yoga studios, libraries, universities, and elsewhere. A student of Parama-hansa Yogananda recently wrote to the Mother Center about the benefits she is receiving from applying the Guru’s teachings in her life:

“I’m calmer, happier, and experiencing feelings of joy and intimacy with God that no other teaching has really pro-vided. I’ve really immersed myself in the SRF Lessons, books, recordings, DVDs and magazines the past two years. Thankfully there is a store and library at the [local] SRF center, which I’ve really taken advantage of….I have truly fallen in love with the teachings and now can’t imagine my life without them.”

Reading the words of Paramahansa Yogananda for the first time is a cherished memory etched in all our minds. The discovery of his sacred teachings has provided so many of us with a new meaning and understanding of the purpose of life, filling us with the joy of having found a true path back to God and a Guru who will walk with us every step of the way. By supporting our efforts to upgrade the printing equipment at the SRF Publications Center, you will be con-tributing to the gifting of a similar experience to devotees yet to come.

The current printing press (above) needs to be replaced after many years of useful service.

Publications Center in numbers:Books, English (incl. ebooks) 64 titles, 113 editionsBooks, translations (incl. ebooks) 52 titles, 325 editionsAudio publications 61 titlesVideo publications 24 titlesBooks, booklets Over 250,000 printed annuallyFree literature Over 500,000 items printed annuallyAlso created here: SRF Lessons in multiple languages, Self-Realization magazine, digital content, photos, etc.Current printing facility for disseminating Paramahansaji’s teachings

Tour of SRF’s Printing OperationsBelow you can see some of the steps involved in printing the SRF Lessons and creating the publications that you have at

home and the modern equipment required to meet the growing demands for Paramahansa Yogananda’s teachings.

Current equipment:

Proposed new equipment:

(Left to right) 5. Saddle-stitcher stitches the folded sheets into booklets. 6. Staging area for mailing the Lessons: A short supply of Lessons in seven languages is ready for mailing. 7. Labeler prints the addresses onto the envelopes. 8. Inserter puts the Lessons into envelopes. The Lessons are now ready to be mailed to devotees around the world.

Digital color press for the new Lessons, book covers, magazines, and all other color work

Automated assembly line

that will cut, fold, collate, assemble, and stitch together

the printed sheets into booklets, magazines,

Lessons, etc.

Book binder to create paper-back editions of the SRF publications

Automated inserter for Lessons and other mailings

Black and white printer to produce the text for the various books and booklets

(Left to right) 1. All SRF publications, such as Self-Realization magazine, are designed and typeset here. 2. The Heidelberg press. Quality control to make sure that the printing is satisfactory. 3. Guillotine-cutter cuts the sheets to prepare them for assembly into magazines. 4. Stahl-folder folds the sheets into books or booklets.1

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Contributions in response to Self-Realization Fellowship’s Summer 2017 Voluntary League Appeal are for SRF’s general support and can be utilized for SRF’s spiritual work as its Board of Directors may determine. 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 tax-deductible as permitted by law.

SELF-RE ALIZ ATION FELLOWSHIP • 3880 San R afael Avenue • Los Ang eles, California 90065-3219 U.S.A . • www.yog ananda-srf .org

Copyright © 2017 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved.Printed on recycled paper c 10264-J5268

Your Support Is NeededGuruji foresaw that millions would find God through these

teachings, and the new digital printing press and binding equip-ment will be a vital and necessary component to support our con-tinued goal of making the teachings of Parama hansa Yogananda available to the increasing number of God-thirsty souls around the globe, fulfilling the growing demand for many years to come.

Printing, binding, and assembling our books, magazine, pho-tos, and the current edition of the Lessons using our aged equip-ment is becoming increasingly problematic. We therefore plan to

replace the large worn-out offset press and bindery equipment before we begin printing the new edition of the Lessons — and we request your support in helping us raise a total of $4.5 mil-lion for purchasing and maintaining the necessary equipment.

There will be several important milestones during the implementation of this project — some of these milestones will overlap with each other:

1. Purchasing and installation of the new equipment. Once the necessary money has been raised and the order has been placed, it will take six to nine months for the equip-ment to be manufactured and then to be installed in the Publications Center.

2. Finalizing content and typesetting and proofreading of the new edition of the Lessons.

3. Developing a member-only website for audio, video, and written content that will supplement the Lessons.

4. Printing and distributing of the Lessons.

We will share updates with you on the progress of the project as we reach each of these vital milestones.

The Guru’s Teachings: A Fountainhead of WisdomDuring his years in India and throughout the West, Paramahansaji imparted his God-inspired wisdom to thousands of

truth-seekers. Although he is no longer in his physical body, SRF publications help to continue to spread Guruji’s universal spiritual wisdom to earnest seekers everywhere — his printed words are spiritually nourishing more souls than ever before.

Our late president, Sri Mrinalini Mataji, shared these inspiring words from her own experience — and a simple way to absorb the Guru’s wisdom from his writings:

Gurudeva used to say to us disciples in the ashram, “You must know my teachings backwards and forwards.” He repeats the same to each one of you….Don’t get bogged down and think that you have to intellectualize and be able to repeat all of the yoga philosophy and metaphorical symbology. Just read it, just read it! You will see that through his [published words] Guruji is speaking to you. There is so much wisdom there. Peruse those pages and you will see that somewhere along the way you will suddenly get it. Guruji will have got through to you, and you will say, “Oh, I never understood it so clearly before!”

Please know that we are deeply grateful for whatever you are able to contribute to this cause. A gift of any amount sincerely offered with love and devotion becomes in God’s hand an instrument of divine love and light and blessing to uplift other souls. The part you play individually through your

material support and prayers is vital, for it is through the cooperation of us all — householders and monastics alike — that this life-changing work of God and Gurus will continue throughout the world.

Official release of Guruji’s Second Coming of Christ 13 years ago