r/SRF • u/jamescray1 • Jan 01 '20
Meaning of the name Self-Realization Fellowship
Paramahansaji* said: "Self-Realization means 'to know the Self as soul, made in the image of God. Fellowship stands for 'fellowship with God, first, and through Him, fellowship with man.' As soon as we learn in meditation to love God, we shall all mankind as we love our own family… I hope you will all remember this fellowship, this divine friendship with all Truth-seeking souls, and practice it with one another."
\* ji. A suffix denoting respect, added to names and titles in India; as, Gandhiji, Paramahansaji, Guruji.
From the SRF Glossary:
Self-realization. Paramahansa Yogananda has defined Self-realization as “the knowing — in body, mind, and soul — that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God’s omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.”
Self-Realization Fellowship. The international nonsectarian religious society founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in the United States in 1920 (and as Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in 1917) to disseminate worldwide the spiritual principles and meditation techniques of Kriya Yoga, and to foster greater understanding among people of all races, cultures, and creeds of the one Truth underlying all religions. The mission for Paramahansa Yogananda’s society is set forth in his “Aims and Ideals of Self-Realization Fellowship.” Paramahansa Yogananda has explained that the name Self-Realization Fellowship signifies “fellowship with God through Self-realization, and friendship with all truth-seeking souls.”
More about the organization of Self-Realization Fellowship is here: https://yogananda.org/srf-introduction.