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Below are my answers to your questions.

## How do you religiously/spiritually identify?

I follow the teachings and practices of Self-Realization Fellowship, and attend Self-Realization Fellowship Sydney Centre 4+ times per week. While I am not Self-Realized yet, the goal that an SRF disciple strives to reach and follow on the path of spiritual discipline (sadhana), is permanent union with God: whose nature is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss. A deeply sincere disciple of a true Guru and faithful devotee of God strives to transcend narrow religous sectarianism, bigotry, and spiritual pride, by regular, deep meditation and spiritual living.

God also manifests gradually within through regular, deep meditation, with other qualities such as Cosmic Vibration, Cosmic Sound (the sound of Aum, the Amen), Light, Cosmic Intelligence, Wisdom, Devotion, Love, Peace, and Calmness. SRF disseminates kriya yoga, a practical scientific technique for experiencing direct, personal communion with God. Through the worldwide service and teachings of SRF [monastics](https://yogananda.org/monasticorder), members and friends, SRF seeks to awaken a greater understanding of the love and harmony that unites all people, when they realize their oneness with God.

Can you provide a brief description of what the objectives/goals are for this practice?

I touched on this above, however, for more details, you can see [https://yogananda.org/aims-and-ideals](https://yogananda.org/aims-and-ideals), which I have copy-pasted below:

>Aims and Ideals of Self-Realization Fellowship  
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>As set forth by Paramahansa Yogananda, FounderBrother Chidananda, President  
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>To disseminate among the nations a knowledge of definite scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God.  
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>📷  
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>To teach that the purpose of  life is the evolution, through self-effort, of man’s limited mortal  consciousness into God Consciousness; and to this end to establish  Self-Realization Fellowship temples for God-communion throughout the  world, and to encourage the establishment of individual temples of God  in the homes and in the hearts of men.  
>  
>📷  
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>To reveal the complete  harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus  Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that  these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all  true religions.  
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>📷  
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>To point out the one divine  highway to which all paths of true religious beliefs eventually lead:  the highway of daily, scientific, devotional meditation on God.  
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>📷  
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>To liberate man from his threefold suffering: physical disease, mental inharmonies, and spiritual ignorance.  
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>📷  
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>To encourage “plain living  and high thinking”; and to spread a spirit of brotherhood among all  peoples by teaching the eternal basis of their unity: kinship with God.  
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>📷  
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>To demonstrate the superiority of mind over body, of soul over mind.  
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>📷  
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>To overcome evil by good, sorrow by joy, cruelty by kindness, ignorance by wisdom.  
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>📷  
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>To unite science and religion through realization of the unity of their underlying principles.  
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>📷  
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>To advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West, and the exchange of their finest distinctive features.  
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>📷  
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>To serve mankind as one’s larger Self.

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Briefly describe how often and what the practice entails (structure of a ceremony).

There are multiple practices of SRF. At the core of the practices and the heart of the spiritual life, is regular, daily, deep meditation on God. For the beginner spiritual seeker, they are taught the SRF basic meditation techniques (mailed on a biweekly basis) of:- Hong-Sau (concentration, pranayama technique of life-force control and interiorization);- Energization Exercises (mastery of the life force in the body by conscious direction of the life force to physical body parts through a series of tensing and relaxing exercises and movements);- Aum Technique (listening, attuning with and concentration on the internal astral sounds of the body, emanating from the cerebrospinal centres (chakras) and principally concentrating on, when heard, the symphony of all of these sounds, which is the sound of Aum. By listening to this sound, which can be heard even with beginner yogis, the spiritual aspirant and yogi gradually learns to expand his consciousness to encompass this sound in all of the cosmos: every particle of creation in the physical, astral and causal planes. The devotee then attunes with the intelligence behind that Cosmic Sound, Vibration and Light, which is the Cosmic Intelligence, the Christ Consciousness within all creation, known as Tat in Vedic scriptures. Then beyond that, the advanced yogi attunes with the Cosmic Consciousness beyond all creation: God the Father, Sat.

After receiving 18 initial Self-Realization Fellowship [Lessons](https://yogananda.org/lessons) (over at least 18 fortnights, or 36 weeks, or however long it takes a person to get through these lessons at their own pace, a student is invited to be initiated into the Guru-disciple relationship, and receive initiation into Kriya Yoga. There are ceremonies conducted for these initiations, e.g. at the World Convocation annually in LA, or as a part of monastic visits targeted for the public. Those who have been initiated into kriya yoga are known as kriyabans, and accept the responsibilities of being personal disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda, and strive to embody and live by, to the best of their ability, the ideals and practices of SRF.

There are also ceremonies of commemorative services for the [SRF lineage of gurus](https://yogananda.org/lineage-and-leadership), which consist of a reading, devotional chanting, and attendants may bow or prostrate themselves at "the feet" of a picture of the guru.

Weekly services at SRF temples, centres and meditation circles consist of Sunday services, which are readings from lectures given by Paramahansa Yogananda, delivered by either monastics or lay members and kriyabans.

Please see [https://yogananda.org/weekly-and-special-services](https://yogananda.org/weekly-and-special-services) for more details.

## What led you to pursue becoming a part of this group?

Before I answer that question directly, allow me to digress a bit about my earlier life before joining SRF.

## Early life

In my final year of high school, I studied very hard (and preceding that year I also studied conscientiously), and felt it to be quite wearing emotionally and mentally, particularly the exam period! I remember that as I walked sometimes, e.g. when walking beside a wall, I would close my eyes, and look to the Christ Centre, at the point between the eyebrows. I remember once when I was in primary school, perhaps when I was around 8 years old, I had a nightmare about crocodiles at night time, and I got out of bed, laid down on the floor, and looked up at a light in the ceiling, which roughly coincided with the direction of the gaze with the spiritual eye. I remember once I was in some building at night, and I think it was a spiritual building and organization, and felt some kind of upliftment and soul-awakening. However, this memory seems very vague now, and I don't remember much more than that.

I also did many boyish things, such as playing soccer, video games, and loved going on bushwalks with my family. We got a very energetic and playful medium-large newborn puppy (German shephard was the mother, father was a mongrel, probably a labrador cross border collie) when I was around 7, which I enjoyed taking her for runs around the neighbourhood, soccer pitch, and bush trails as a teenager. I was born in and grew up in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, living in Springwood, then Winmalee, and attending public schools there.

In my later years of high school, I attended a youth group at a local Baptist church. However, I was by far satisfied with the dogmatic beliefs there, such as

* Jesus is the only Son of God.
* We are all sinners and must believe in Jesus in order to go to heaven when we die, otherwise we will go to hell.
* There is only one life.

I remember questioning my youth group leader in a conversation that I had with him, e.g.: "If there is only one life, how then are some people born poor or die prematurely? Where is the justice in that?" His answer didn't satisfy me, although I don't recall exactly what he said, but it was rather vague. While I didn't ask him, it intuitively was discordant with me that Jesus is believed to be the only Son of God. What about all the other prophets who have brought much upliftment to the masses? Paramahansa Yogananda explains that Jesus' consciousness is one with God, while he lived in the flesh, and for Eternity. The consciousness of ordinary mortals is limited to the physical body, and the ego consciousness, with its affiliations with the body. "My body, my possessions, my family, my community, my nationality, my ethnicity, my occupation", etc. Through many previous lifetimes of spiritual effort in yogic meditation, practice of morality, and spiritual behaviour, Jesus' consciousness expanded from ego consciousness to Cosmic Consciousness, one with the Spirit in everything and beyond everything.

Master (Paramahansa Yogananda) also explains in great detail, and commenting with reference to biblical passages, in his two volume spiritual commentary on the gospels, *The Second Coming of Christ*, that these beliefs arose out of Churchianity, mistranslations, and misinterpretations. Early Christians, such as the Gnostics, believed in reincarnation. We too can gradually become like Jesus and other prophets, saints, sages and seers, through spiritual effort. If we haven't made the spiritual effort to unite our consciousness, with God, which is the highest state of consciousness, then it is not reasonable to expect to suddenly and spontaneously be united with God after we die!

## How I got involved with SRF

IIRC, my mum gave me a book on dreams for my birthday, or maybe as a present after my exams. On reading it, it said that before you go to sleep, you can ask for guidance about certain topics, and one of the topics listed was spirituality. Well, I was curious to know more about spirituality. So I did this. The response I got was very uplifting. I felt a wave of healing light and joy literally wash down my body from head to toe. I got up, went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, then began to pace around. IIRC, I couldn't sleep.

I went to my Mum's room, and asked her for guidance about spirituality. (Mum and Dad separated in that year, or a year or so before it, but lived in separate rooms for a few years before Dad left the house.) She gave me some basic techniques to practice with breath control, and tensing and relaxing, and a book called "[Where There is Light](http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/product/where-there-is-light/)", which is a book published by SRF, and "contains wisdom nuggets from Sri Yogananda’s teachings that inspire and illuminate" Mum studied the SRF Lessons around the time my younger sister was born, and occassionally attended SRF Sydney Centre and retreats.

My Dad is an active follower and member of [AMORC](https://www.amorc.org/). Largely due to this difference in affiliations of spiritual organizations, they never discussed openly about them, kept their practices of meditation behind closed doors within their rooms, and were secretive about their activities with the organization. In my experience from my interactions and discussions with Dad, AMORC doesn't place as much emphasis on the importance of meditation. They do have more ceremonies, and seem to value philosophical discourse and discussions a lot.

I was absolutely hooked on reading that book, and felt very uplifted on reading through it avidly. Shortly after reading Where There is Light, I think Mum invited me to SRF Sydney Centre. I went. A devotee encouraged me to sign up for the Lessons, so I did. After that, I moved down to Sydney to live on university campus at a college, while I studied renewable energy engineering. (I moved out from college after two years and lived in share housing.) Not too long after starting attending, I started serving, e.g. with cleaning, ushering, leading chanting, and reading.

## What opportunities are yours as a member of this group?

There are many opportunities! Above all, the greatest opportunity is that sincere, perseverant, soulful study and practice of SRF teachings will gradually lead one all the way back to God. One's life becomes not a walking *to* God, but a walking *with* God. To reach that exalted state does require discipline, which is intrinsically linked with discipleship. Jesus said "the harvest is plenty, but the labourers are few", and "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added onto you". Finding God, there is complete fulfillment, all desires of the heart are satisfied. In God, undreamed of possibilities exist, the potentials are endless!

On a more tangible level, opportunities include bringing God into one's life, one's home, and one's relations with others and with the world. By association with other spiritual seekers in group meditation and fellowship at SRF temples, centres, meditation circles, and groups, one's spiritual efforts are greatly strengthened. It is like putting a charcoal into a fire with other charcoals: they all burn brightly. But if you take a coal out of the fire it becomes dim, then ashen and dull.

What opportunities are not yours because you are a member of this group?

I honestly cannot think of any! Perhaps what some people may consider as opportunities, would not be taught or considered as opportunities for a disciple. For example, the "opportunities" to indulge in harmful sensory pleasures such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or taking illicit drugs, immoderation in sex, or craving for money, and overworking.

As a single young person, by my own choice and through the intuitive guidance that I have received through meditation, spiritual study and attunement with my guru, I have personally taken vows of celibacy, and do not intend or desire to engage in romantic relationships, marry, or form a family. Doing so frees my consciousness from the worldly ties that come with family and spousal responsibilities, and gives me more freedom to cultivate an ever deeper relationship with God.

By seeking God, I will make the whole world my family, by serving God in all, and realizing God as all.

## As a member of this group what types of oppression-based experiences have you had (if any)?

None that I am aware of, at least not from SRF monastics or lay members! Spiritual seekers are often scorned, ridiculed, and scoffed at by worldly people. Indeed, in my own experience, I taped a flyer on my laptop, and a couple of bookmarks with a quote from Yoganandaji, and information about SRF Sydney Centre,  with the intention of spreading awareness of SRF. Just a couple of days ago, while working from my laptop on software development with Holochain at a library, I actually had to chuckle at the way a young man reacted to seeing these posters!

A few months ago I had long hair and beard, and would frequently see people gawking at me, like I was a wild man!

For worldly people, the bright light from spirituality is all too much for them!
 
## Are  you aware of any historical cases of oppression this group has  encountered? If so has the knowledge of these cases influenced you and  your practice in anyway?

Paramahansa Yogananda faced many difficulties in founding and building his organization, which is detailed quite a bit in the independent documentary, [Awake](http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/product/awake-life-yogananda-dvd/).

## What privileges have you had as a member of this group?

The privilege to know God! The privilege to share spirituality with others. The privilege to help achieve the aims and ideals of SRF.

## What expectations/hopes do you have for the future of this group?

My expectations and hopes are fully in agreement with the aims and ideals of SRF!

Ushering in a new age of spiritual enlightenment, which the world is currently undergoing with dwapara yuga, but is still experience conflict due to relatively recently transitioning from kali yuga. The yugas are explained in detail in [The Holy Science](http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/product/the-holy-science/). 