Rajarsi Janakananda | |
---|---|
President of Self-Realization Fellowship and Yogoda Satsanga Society of India | |
In office 1952–1955 | |
Preceded by | Paramahansa Yogananda |
Succeeded by | Daya Mata |
Personal | |
Born | James Jesse Lynn May 5, 1892 near Archibald, Louisiana |
Died | February 20, 1955 | (aged 62)
Religion | Self-Realization Fellowship |
Occupation | Business executive |
Signature | |
Organization | |
Order | Self-Realization Fellowship |
Philosophy | Kriya Yoga |
Senior posting | |
Guru | Paramahansa Yogananda |
Rajarsi Janakananda, born James Jesse Lynn (May 5, 1892 – February 20, 1955), was the closest disciple of the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda and a prominent businessman in the Kansas City, Missouri area. A self-made millionaire when he met Yogananda in 1932, he was the main financial contributor to Yogananda's religious organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), and he helped ensure its long-term success. SRF advocated for a balanced approach to life resulting from a cultural exchange between "spiritual" India and "industrial" America, and it presented Janakananda as the epitome of its ideals, a man who was both a businessman and a yogi. Janakananda succeeded Yogananda as its president from 1952 until 1955, when he died at the age of 62. He left an endowment of approximately three million dollars to the SRF movement, which reveres him as a saint.