Brother Chidananda

Brother Chidananda has been a monk in Self-Realization Fellowship’s monastic community for more than 25 years. Born in Annapolis, Maryland, he was raised in northern Virginia (just outside of Washington, D.C.) and San Diego, California. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he majored in sociology with a specialization in the social study of religion. While at UCSD, he also did graduate-level field research in sociology and anthropology in central Africa and California on emerging religious movements.

Currently, Brother Chidananda—whose name means bliss of the infinite Divine Consciousness—serves as senior editor and assistant to the editor-in-chief of Self-Realization Fellowship publications. An ordained minister, he is also a member of the SRF International Publications Council, serving with SRF President Sri Daya Mata and SRF Vice President Mrinalini Mata. Over the past 15 years, he has assisted in the editing and publication of numerous books by Paramahansa Yogananda, including The Second Coming of Christ and God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita.