The Third SRF President
Daya Mata (Rachel Faye Wright, 1914-2010) is probably Yogananda’s best-known disciple, as she represented him for over half a century as the President of his organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF). Needless to say, she was one of his closest disciples. Her life of devotion, her advanced soul, and especially her love, has touched countless devotees.
It might be claimed that after Yogananda, nobody had a stronger impact on shaping SRF (and therefore his mission) into what it is today. Rajarsi Janakananda, Yogananda’s successor, was unable to make any lasting impact, as he fell seriously ill in Aug. 1952, merely five months after assuming his role as SRF President. Also Dr. Lewis, acting from 1952 as the Vice-President, had comparatively little influence.
Daya Mata was a monastic, through and through. Her main characteristics may be listed like this: love; unqualified devotion to God; unconditional dedication and loyalty to the Guru; maintaining the purity of his teachings; and strengthening the centralized power of Mt. Washington as the headquarters of SRF.
