Free week of guided meditations, divine friendship, and inspiration from the wisdom of Paramahansa Yogananda
Thousands of members and friends of Self-Realization Fellowship from around the world will gather both online and in person at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles from June 22 to 28 for the society’s annual World Convocation. The weeklong event is free and open to the public, offering an opportunity for participants to immerse themselves in the yoga meditation teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), author of Autobiography of a Yogi, and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship.
Practical insights for spiritual living
Led by monks and nuns of Self-Realization Fellowship, attendees can join a daily program of guided meditations and kirtan (devotional chanting), experience spiritual fellowship with like-minded truth seekers, and take part in tours of the meditation gardens and temples in southern California that Yogananda established during his lifetime.
Each evening features an inspirational talk on Yogananda’s “How-to-Live” teachings. Topics this year include:
- Making life a spiritual adventure
- The art of relaxation
- Recharging the body with cosmic energy
- The creative power of initiative
- Becoming ideal citizens of the world 
- The role of a guru in one’s spiritual search
- Creating an inner environment for spiritual progress
All are welcome to attend the event, and no previous meditation experience or faith practice is required. Yoga asks instead that the participant draw their own conclusions, based on direct experience.
A spiritual tradition since 1950
Yogananda established the annual Convocation in 1950 to provide aspiring yogis with an immersive experience in his yoga meditation teachings so that they might more deeply focus on what he considered the purpose of life: “…to bring out the buried soul immortality within us,” said Yogananda.
The benefits of meditation to health and wellbeing are now widely recognized, but Yogananda points out that meditation can do much more than help with stress — it can reveal one’s true, divine nature.
“As you meditate, watch the growth of happiness, the feeling of lightness, the sense of expansion in all space. As your silence intensifies and your joy grows in meditation, so will your recognition of Spirit grow within you,” said Yogananda.
Yogananda’s teachings on India’s ancient yoga science of meditation, the art of balanced living, and the underlying unity of all great religions continue to inspire millions of truth-seekers around the world.
For more information and to register for the 2025 Self-Realization Fellowship World Convocation, please visit Convocation.Yogananda.org.
Background information
Paramahansa Yogananda first arrived in America in 1920 from his native India, an invited delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston, where he delivered a speech on the science of religion, marking a pivotal point for yoga in the West. Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship that same year to disseminate his Kriya Yoga teachings, which have inspired many through the years to live with greater peace, joy, and purpose. Yogananda’s spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi continues to be recognized as one of the world’s most influential books.
Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is the international nonprofit spiritual organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda to introduce to people of all races, cultures, and creeds the ancient science and philosophy of yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Through its spiritual and humanitarian service, the society seeks to foster greater harmony and goodwill among the diverse peoples and nations of the world, and a deeper understanding of the underlying unity of all religions.
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Contact:
Blythe Fraser
Self-Realization Fellowship
323 225-2471 x2420
[email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.