STORY OF THE MONTH
(Mar 2026)


The Great Samadhi of Paramahansa Yogananda

(As Narrated by Sri Mrinalini Mata)

"It was in 1948, late one afternoon. We were busy with our duties in the office and in the ashram at Mt. Washington, when Master called a few of us to come to his room.

We saw from his countenance that he was very much withdrawn in the consciousness of God. We entered very quietly, and he motioned to us to sit on the floor, so we sat down and began meditating.

Master was praying from the very core of his heart to Divine Mother. He was conversing intimately with Her, pouring out to Her all of the problems of the society that had yet to be resolved, all the burdens that building an organization had placed upon him.

He knew that he had not many years yet to reside in that physical form, and much still to accomplish. Then he moved into the adjacent room, and sat down in the large chair that was there. He asked that a mango be brought; he was going to share it with us.

As he started to prepare the mango, his whole consciousness was just sucked within by God. And then we were privileged to witness something that has perhaps happened very seldom in this world.

In this samadhi of Master’s, which lasted all night, until about eight o’clock the next morning, we saw Master conversing with God, with Divine Mother—and we heard Her using his voice to reply aloud.

We heard his words to Her in his familiar voice; and when She replied, the voice was slightly changed; there was a different quality, a distinctly different timbre, in Master’s voice.

As he told us, “During this samadhi, God is giving a very special blessing to you all, to share in my experience.”

Such a tremendous experience it was!

During one period of his great samadhi, Divine Mother was showing him the endless reaches of infinity.

He expressed that his consciousness was flying through the cosmos, expanding to the very ends of eternity, and we heard him say to Divine Mother, “Is this the end of Infinity?”

She answered, “Yes, this is the end, and only the beginning.”

Then he would traverse infinitely more distance in consciousness, and again he would say, “Is this the end?”

And again She would say, “Yes, and only the beginning.”

Divine Mother related many things during that period of samadhi about the future of the work.

Master told us that Her blessing and the blessings of Guru would always be with this special dispensation of YSS/SRF, always available for any soul who would come to drink of that divine nectar of God’s presence.

As Master began to come out of that infinite experience, back to this world, he said to us:
“From now on, inwardly I will always be in this consciousness; but no one will know, no one will see.” "

(Excerpts from the book, 'Manifesting Divine Consciousness in Daily Life', by Sri Mrinalini Mataji)
 
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Notes:

Sri Mrinalini Mata (Merna Brown) was the fourth president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. A direct disciple of the great Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, it was her lifelong sadhana to re-organize the guru's teachings into a more comprehensive present-day series of SRF/YSS lessons. 

Mrinalini Mataji joined the Guru's ashram in 1945, at the age of fifteen. When she graduated from high-school a couple of years later, her mother wanted to send her to college. But Paramahansaji advised her mother:

"That child has everything within her from past lives; let me bring it out. She doesn't need college; just let me train her; let me bring it out. She will learn from a greater book than they teach from in college.

Merna was sainted from her last life. She is a saint. She already has the knowledge she needs for what I want her to accomplish. The wisdom is there; but I will awaken it."

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