Brother Chidananda

Brother Chidananda (born Christopher Hartwell Bagley, May 16, 1953) is the fifth president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (SRF/YSS). SRF/YSS is the only church founded by Chidananda's guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, to disseminate his teachings.

Early life Chidananda is the son of Admiral David H. Bagley, former commander-in-chief of US naval forces in Europe, and Charlotte Lee Bagley, née Hartwell. As a teenager, Chidananda began to take an interest in yoga and the meaning of life. During this time, he came across a copy of Yogananda's book Autobiography of a Yogi and began visiting SRF's ashram center in Encinitas, California. He became acquainted with some of the monks and nuns living there, including Brother Anandamoy, one of Yogananda's direct disciples, and he was inspired to join SRF's monastic order. On 30 August 2017, he was elected as the next president and spiritual leader of SRF/YSS in a unanimous vote by the SRF Board of Directors. He succeeded Mrinalini Mata, who died in early August 2017.

Chidananda is the first SRF president who was born after Yogananda's death, and the first male to lead the organization in over sixty years. Chidananda oversees the fellowship's monastic order, its humanitarian activities, and its more than 800 temples, meditation centers, and retreats around the world. He also oversees the fellowship's publications department and is the editor-in-chief of SRF Publications.