Self-Realization Fellowship

Self-Realization Fellowship Bookstore

Self-Realization Fellowship is a "spiritual" outfit founded by Yogananda, one of the first yogis to bring yoga to America. he wrote a book An Autobiography of a Yogi, which is a very good read and one of the few books that gives an insight into yoga from the inside, so to speak. Another good book is Living with the Himalayan masters by Swami Rama, but that deserves a topic by itself, so I won't go in it.

Anyway, in case you are not familiar with this organization, it seems to operate like an ashram (as close as you can imagine an ashram in America, of course), they have monks and nuns, a few centers 3 of which are in Southern California. They even offer retreats for people who are interested to learn more but they are a bit expensive. We wanted to go twice but every time something would happen to prevent our going.

It seems like the organazition took over the town. They even have their own church that they call meditation chapel. Actually their whole idea is to explain that yoga is just like Christianity and they try to explain very complicated Hindu concepts by comparing them to Christian terminology.

They have wonderful bookstore where you can buy all the stuff: books by Yogananda and his followers, incense, essential oils (my favourite), even some Indian style clothe and musical instruments. They have actually expanded their bookstore recently as a way to earn more money.

Yesterday I had a chance to play one of the so-called tibetan singing bowls: these things are amazing, they produce such fine vibrations that fills the air around you and you can feel them in your body. It takes some practice to do it right though. A very nice helpful clerk showed us a few bowls and even demonstrated the difference between "new" and "antique" bowls. My recommendation: go for antique. They are more expensive but I think in the long run it's worth it.

Yogananda Garden

The best thing about Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas is their small but very charming garden. It is situated right on the cliff of the ocean and it is full of flowers and trees. They try to make it feel like real jungles.

So if you pass through Encinitas, stop by in this garden and in their bookstore. You won't be disappointed.