The Tamil translation of the book The Divine Romance, an anthology of Gurudeva’s talks, was released at a public function in Chennai on February 4, 2017, as part of the Centenary Celebrations of YSS. Noted film actor, producer, philanthropist, recipient of Padma Vibhushan Award, and a Yogoda devotee, Sri Rajinikanth, was the Chief Guest. The hall at Raghavendra Mandapam, Chennai, was packed to capacity, with nearly 1,500 people attending the function. Swamis Smaranananda, Suddhananda, Pavitrananda, and Brahmacharis Nishthananda and Niranjanananda from YSS participated in this function.
Sri Rajinikanth (second from left) with YSS Swamis and a devotee display the newly released Tamil translation of the book The Divine Romance.
During the function, Swami Suddhananda spoke about how Gurudeva Paramahansa Yoganandaji started YSS in 1917 as a “How-to-Live” school with just seven students in Dihika, a village in West Bengal, and that it has now grown to a worldwide organization with over two hundred meditation centres in India and many educational institutions from Primary to Post Graduate level.
Swami Smaranananda gave a talk on Expressing and Experiencing Divine Love in Daily Life. He explained that God is to be experienced and not necessarily seen, as Divine Love is present everywhere, all the time.
The Chief Guest, Sri Rajinikanth, while addressing the audience shared how he found his Guru, Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, when he read the book Autobiography of a Yogi in 1998. Ever since then he has seen the transformative power of Guruji’s teachings in his life. About the book, The Divine Romance, he said, “This book is the first book that I am releasing in my lifetime. While reviewing the book, I soon realized that every page, nay every line, is filled with gems of Paramahansa Yogananda’s love and wisdom.” His address was received with thunderous applause. Swami Suddhananda presented a framed picture of Yogeshwar Krishna to Sri Rajinikanth.
The event was widely covered by the press in print, TV, and online media channels. Nearly five hundred copies of The Divine Romance (Tamil) were sold shortly after the programme. As many as forty people expressed interest in Guruji’s teachings and signed up for the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons. We would like to thank all the devotees who, with full enthusiasm, rendered their seva in organizing this function and thus made it a success.
