Meditations / Services
Meditation Guidelines
SRF meditations are periods of silence approximately 40 – 50 minutes long which start and end with chanting. To provide the optimum meditation experience for all, silence from all vocal sounds stillness of physical movement is requested.
Please review the SRF meditation guidelines. If it is necessary to leave the chapel, please do so only during chanting.
We ask that all devices are turned off or to silent mode (not vibrate) during all services.
A Beginner’s Meditation
Discover the peace and divine consciousness that meditation brings. Getting started . . .
Energization Exercises
The Three Hour and Six Hour Meditations begin with a series of exercises developed by Paramahansa Yogananda. The meditation leader will demonstrate each exercise. Participation in the exercises is optional.
The Energization Exercises are a method of exercise that directly awakens the all-healing life force for the maintenance of health and the direct healing of disease.
“The Energization Exercises, which are fully explained in the SRF Lessons, utilize a method I discovered in 1916 of drawing cosmic energy into the body and directing it, by conscious will, to recharge the various parts of the body.”
—Paramahansa Yogananda
Weekly Schedule
Two weekends a month, monks in the ashrams of the Self-Realization Fellowship Order travel to Walnut Creek to lead meditations and services
at Bay Area Temple. On ‘non-minister’ weekends, meditations and services are led by lay-disciples which alternate between readings from the
SRF teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and inspirational video presentations by SRF/YSS monastics.
Please see our Temple Calendar for up-to-date schedules.
Saturday
Three-Hour Meditations
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Energization Exercises (courtyard) – 10 am
Silent Meditation Periods (35 – 45 min)
Chanting (with Temple kirtan group – twice monthly)
(Check Temple calendar for dates)
Six-Hour Meditations
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
(Check Temple calendar for dates)
Sunday
Meditation
10:00 am — 10:45 am
The meditation begins and ends with a prayer and includes a brief period of devotional chanting. This meditation is open to adults and interested teens. Childcare is not provided during the meditation.
Introduction to Meditation/Guided Meditation | Minister Sundays | 10:00 – 10:45 am
All are welcome to join us in providing an opportunity for friends, family members, and acquaintances who may be interested to learn about yoga meditation as a way of finding peace and joy in our turbulent world.
Services: Lecture / Reading / Video
11:00 am — Noon
The Sunday Lecture Service on Minister Sundays provide a deeper understanding of Paramahansa Yogananda’s teachings and offer guidance on how to live a balanced spiritual life. These services alternate with lay-disciple led reading services and inspirational video presentations by SRF/YSS monastics.
Services begin and end with a prayer and include devotional chanting, periods of meditation, and readings from Paramahansa Yogananda’s writings. At the end of each service, the congregation practices the spiritual healing technique taught by Paramahansa Yogananda and prays for physical, mental, and spiritual healing of others, and for world peace and harmony.
Childcare is not provided. Parents with young children under three years old may listen to the service with their children in the Family Room/ Infants Room adjacent to Sunday School in the lower level of the Fellowship Hall. Please enter through the Sunday School main entrance.
Commemoration Services
The Bay Area Temple holds Commemoration Services to honor the Birthday and Mahasamadhi (passing) of each of the Self-Realization Fellowship Gurus.
During the service, attendees walk up to the altar and lay a flower (a symbol of devotion) and a monetary offering inside a sealed envelope (an expression of loyalty to the work of Self-Realization Fellowship) before an image of the Guru being honored. Periods of silent meditation and Kirtan are included in the service.
These services are open to SRF members, SRF students, and friends. Childcare is not provided. Please consult the Temple Calendar for dates and times.
