AWAKE: THE LIFE OF YOGANANDA (LAST SHOWING!)

AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda is an unconventional biography about an Indian Swami who brought yoga and meditation to the West in the 1920s. This feature documentary explores the life and teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, who authored the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi, which has sold millions of copies worldwide and is a go-to book for seekers, philosophers and yoga enthusiasts today. It was the only book that Steve Jobs had on his iPad, and he arranged to give away 800 copies of it to the dignitaries who attended his memorial service. It was also a point of entry into Eastern mysticism for George Harrison, Russell Simmons and countless yogis. By personalizing his own quest for enlightenment and sharing his struggles along the path, Yogananda made ancient teachings accessible to a modern audience, attracting many followers and ultimately helping millions of seekers today to turn their attention inwards, bucking the temptations of the material world in pursuit of self-realization.

“Self-realization is the knowing — in body, mind, and soul — that we are one with the omnipresence of God…”

Yogananda founded the Self Realization Fellowship and for more than eighty-five years, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) 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.

SRF is a worldwide religious organization with international headquarters in Los Angeles. As expressed in the Aims and Ideals formulated by Paramahansa Yogananda, the society seeks to foster a spirit of greater understanding and goodwill among the diverse peoples and religions of our global family, and to help those of all cultures and nationalities to realize and express more fully in their lives the beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit.

Paramahansa Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920 to make available the universal teachings of Kriya Yoga, a sacred spiritual science originating millenniums ago in India. These nonsectarian teachings embody a complete philosophy and way of life for achieving all-round success and well-being, as well as methods of meditation for achieving life’s ultimate goal — union of the soul with Spirit (God).

The teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda are made available, today as during his lifetime, through the printed Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons. This comprehensive home-study series — studied by many thousands of people all over the world — gives instruction in all the meditation techniques of the Kriya Yoga science, as well as in the many other aspects of balanced spiritual living taught by Yogananda.

Today, Self-Realization Fellowship has grown to include more than 500 temples and centers around the world and has members in over 175 countries. In India and surrounding countries, Paramahansa Yogananda’s work is known as Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), which has more than 100 centers, retreats, and ashrams.

“Yogananda’s story is a fascinating one. And although the documentary will likely attract a discrete group, it has the potential for broader appeal.” -Stephanie Merry  WASHINGTON POST

“Fittingly enlightening, “Awake: The Life of Yogananda” is a vivid, elegantly assembled portrait of the savvy guru with the cherubic face and penetrating gaze who brought meditation to the West.” -Michael Rechtsaffen LOS ANGELES TIMES

“A film that works both for followers and for those interested in knowing what yoga is truly about. Hint: It’s not about six-pack abs.” -David Lewis SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE