Yogoda Satsanga Sakha Math, Paramahansa Yogananda Path
Ranchi 834 001
Phone: +91 (651) 6655 555
Website Link: https://ranchi.yssashram.org/
For the last hundred years, Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS) has been dedicated to carrying on the spiritual and humanitarian work of its founder, Paramahansa Yogananda, widely revered as the father of Yoga in the West.
It was here, in Ranchi, in 1917, that Paramahansa Yogananda began his life’s work with the founding of an ashram and a “How-to-Live” school for boys, and to make available the universal teachings of Kriya Yoga.
We invite you to visit our ashram centres, and retreats, where the natural beauty and peaceful atmosphere offer refreshment to mind and spirit. You are welcome also to attend the lecture services and meditations at our ashram centres. Monks of the Society are available for spiritual counsel and to provide guidance in the study and practice of the Yogoda Satsanga teachings.
The living quarters of great Guru during the early years is preserved as a shrine. The room is open to all for private meditation throughout the day. Inside the room are the hand and foot impressions of the Guru brought from the SRF International Headquarter, Los Angeles, California. An exhibit of some of Guruji’s personal belongings including the rose flower from his Mahasamadhi is on display outside Guruji’s room.
In his letter to Rajarsi Janakananda, Guruji wrote, “I have sprinkled the invisible nectar of my spiritual attainment mostly at Mt. Washington [International Headquarters of Self Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, California] and Ranchi….”
Paramahansa Yogananda
The Litchi Vedi is one of the sacred places associated with our divine Gurudeva in the Ranchi Ashram. It was under the shady canopy of this large litchi tree that great Guru frequently held outdoor classes and satsangas for the boys who attended the school founded by him. Because the spot is so closely associated with Paramahansa Yoganandaji, for many decades the tree with a large picture of Paramahansaji enshrined underneath its boughs has been a favourite place of pilgrimage and meditation for YSS/SRF members.
Recently, scientists have discovered a remarkable physical fact about this spiritually beloved tree: It has been scientifically recognised as a unique variety never before documented by horticulturists and officially named after Paramahansa Yogananda. The name is now listed as Litchi Cultivar Yogananda Selection.
In his Autobiography, Paramahansaji writes: “America! Surely these people are Americans!” This was my thought as a panorama of Western faces passed before my inward view. Immersed in meditation, I was sitting behind some dusty boxes in the storeroom of the Ranchi school….The vision continued; a vast multitude, gazing at me intently, swept actorlike across the stage of consciousness.
On this very sacred spot stands the Smriti Mandir, a tall octagonal all marble temple with decorative lace wall on all the sides and a large lotus dome, a memorial to the world wide mission that took its first step there.
The retreat is open year round (except during Sharad Sangam) for YSS members and friends who wish to come for a period of spiritual renewal. Special monastics lead retreats are conducted from time to time throughout the year on the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. Although these retreats are structured for those who are familiar with the teachings, anyone interested is welcome to enquire at the reception.
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