Brother Chidananda

Brother Chidananda (born Christopher Hartwell Bagley, 1953) is the fifth President of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. He was born in Annapolis, Maryland, USA.[1][2][3]

Brother Chidananda
TitlePresident
Personal
Born
Christopher H. Bagley

(1953-05-16)May 16, 1953
Annapolis, Maryland, USA
ReligionHinduism
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of California, San Diego, California
OrderSelf-Realization Fellowship Order
Founder ofParamahansa Yogananda, Founder of Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India
PhilosophyKriya Yoga
Religious career
GuruParamahansa Yogananda
Websiteyogananda.org

Biography

Chidananda is the son of Admiral David H. Bagley, former commander-in-chief of U.S. naval forces in Europe, and Charlotte Lee Bagley, née Hartwell.[4] His first contact with the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda was in the early 1970s in Encinitas, California – where SRF has a retreat and ashram center – when he was a student of sociology and philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. He graduated from the university in 1975. Months later, he came across a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi. Chidananda applied and entered the monks’ postulant ashram of SRF in Encinitas in 1977. He completed his postulant training in 1979 and was transferred to the SRF Headquarters at Mt. Washington and was assigned to editorial work in the Publications Department.[5] He was appointed a member of the SRF and YSS Boards of Directors in 2009.[6] His monastic name Chidananda means bliss (ananda) through the infinite Divine Consciousness (chit).[7]

On 30 August 2017, he was elected as the next president[8] and spiritual head of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in a unanimous vote by the SRF Board of Directors. He succeeded Sri Mrinalini Mata, who died in early August 2017. Chidananda oversees the society’s monastic order, the 800 temples, meditation centers, and retreats around the world. He also oversees the fellowship's publications department, humanitarian activities and is the editor-in-chief of SRF Publications.[9][2][3]

References
  1. "Brother Chidananda Elected President and Spiritual Head of SRF/YSS". yoganada.org. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. "Brother Chidananda is New Spiritual Leader Of SRF". India Journal. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. indiandownunder.com.au: "Swami Chidananda Succeeds Sri Mrinalini Mata As Spiritual Leader of Paramahansa Yogananda's Society". Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  4. "ADM. DAVID BAGLEY DIES". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. abc.net.au: "Christ Consciousness Here and Now with Brother Chidananda". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 31 May 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  6. awaketheyoganandamovie.com: "Interviewees in Order of Appearance". 1 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. Crumm, David (2 September 2008). "Conversation with an Eastern Voice, now part of America's spiritual culture". Read The Spirit.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  8. "Self-Realization Fellowship Church". opencorporates, The Open Database Of The Corporate World. 2 February 2022.
  9. yogananda-srf.org: "SRF Announces New President". 1 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
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