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History of the Atlanta
Center
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The
following is a brief history of SRF in
Atlanta
.
Ms.
Mary Lou Edwards, a native Atlantan,
met Paramahansa Yogananda in 1945 while on a trip to
California
, and spent several weeks with him in Encinitas and at
Mt.
Washington
. Yoganandaji
made a request of Ms. Edwards that she one day start a group in
Atlanta
. During
their many talks in 1945, he indicated that there would be a temple in
Atlanta
one day, and she would live to see it built.
Ms. Edwards started the first SRF
Meditation group in Atlanta in 1971. Three
members of Ms. Edward’s first group in
Atlanta
still attend the
Atlanta
Center
.
In
1972, Brother Anandamoy came to
Atlanta
and conducted a Kriya Yoga Initiation.
Ms. Edwards held group meetings at her home every Thursday evening in
northwest Atlanta until about 1975, when circumstances arose that resulted in
her having to drop the group.
During the next 15 years, various dedicated individuals have led the
group meeting in their homes primarily and also in bank community rooms a couple
of times per month.
The group remained relatively small (10 - 15 members) during this time
period.
Atlanta
being a large metropolitan area, in 1991
Mother
Center
gave permission to start an informal meditation group on the north side of
Atlanta
. From
1991 to 1995 this group grew from 6 members to over 40 members.
In April 1993,
Mother
Center
gave permission for the
North Atlanta
Meditation Circle to be formed.
At the 1995 Convocation, both groups merged together (about 60 members)
and all meetings were held at the Chapel the North Atlanta Meditation Circle)
established in Dunwoody (1994).
We
have been blessed to have had Brother Dharmananda to come for a 1992 spring
retreat at the Ignatius House, and later to come for the 1993 Centennial Tour. It was in a
conversation with Brother Dharmananda in 1993 that the “Temple 2000”
affirmation was coined in reference to a Yoganandaji’s work growing in
Atlanta
.
We
also have had a visit for the
Lake
Shrine
Project from Brother Achalananda.
In 1995, Brother Mitrananda conducted the first SRF Tour in
Atlanta
at the Marriott Century Center Hotel.
In 1996, Brother Naradananda conducted a retreat at the Ignatius House.
In 1997, Brother Anandamoy conducted an SRF Tour at the Marriott Hotel. In
1998, Devananda conducted a fall retreat at the
Calvin
Center
. In
the fall of 1999, Brother Santoshananda conducted an SRF Tour at the Marriott
Hotel.
In
2000, we built our new chapel and had the dedication services in November of
2000 that Brother Ishtananda and Sister Subrata conducted with Brahmachari Kirk
also attending.
Many
unusual circumstances and the appearance of just the right people came together
to make the
Atlanta
Center
possible (built in less than 9 months after the purchase of the property in
January of 2000, see
THE
BUILDING OF TEMPLE 2000
for
the account of how this happened).
The
Atlanta
Center
holds services just as an
SRF
Temple
does. There
are Sunday and Thursday services, extended meditation services, commemorative
services, a lessons study group, a kirtan group, Sunday school programs for two
age groups, a youth group for teenagers, monthly luncheons, quarterly socials,
and special events.
"Everything else can wait, but your search for God cannot
wait."
- Paramahansa Yogananda
For Site Information contact
grbundy@bellsouth.net
Date Last Modified:
January 13, 2008