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World Brotherhood Colonies are an idea for self-sustaining spiritual communities envisioned by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian yogi and author of ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. Yogananda envisioned that communities for “plain living and high thinking,” would develop as a natural culmination of the spread of his worldwide teachings. Yogananda established a World Brotherhood Colony at his Self-Realization Fellowship Encinitas center in Southern California and found that organizing spiritual communities for families along the lines he envisioned would take much more time than he then had available. Self-sustaining SRF communities for families will come into being in the future when the time is right.〔Yogananda, Paramahansa, ''Autobiography of a Yogi''. Third edition, 1951.〕 Yogananda abandoned his dream of founding a world-brotherhood colony in Encinitas and turned his mind to organizing the existing commununities along more strictly monastic lines.〔Kriyananda, Swami, ''The Path—One Man's Quest on the Only Path There Is''. Crystal Clarity Publishers ISBN 1-56589-733-1.〕 Paramahansa Yogananda envisioned the development of his spiritual communities beginning with individual home study of the SRF Lessons,〔Articles of Incorporation〕 and the establishment of small altars for the practice of his teachings of Kriya Yoga meditation in individual homes. Yogananda then envisioned groups of his disciples forming SRF centers for mutual support in meditation and study of his teachings. The centers would grow until temples would be established, served by SRF ministers of the Self-Realization Order. Eventually, overtime and when the time is right, SRF colonies would naturally form with single and married disciples coming together to form colonies where they would live, work and worship together full-time.〔 Separate from Yogananda's organization of SRF, on their own, three different direct disciples of Yogananda began three separate communities between 1968 - 1970. In 1968 Kriyananda started Ananda in Nevada City, California, which he referred to as a World Brotherhood Colony. In 1969 Norman Paulsen created the Sunburst Community in Santa Barbara, California. In 1970 J. Oliver Black, the leader of the SRF Detroit, Michigan center, began Clear Light Community in Northern Michigan. ==Spiritual basis of Colonies== Yogananda often emphasized the need for intentional communities "founded on a spiritual basis."〔Yogananda, Paramhansa, ''Autobiography of a Yogi''. First edition, 1946, reprinted by Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2005. ISBN 978-1-56589-212-5. p. 469〕 His vision for Colonies included couples, families, and single people sharing a cooperative community life, with the common bond of daily meditation and selfless service. He felt that Colonies would have a far-reaching effect on modern society: Man is a soul, not an institution; his inner reforms alone can lend permanence to outer ones. By stress on spiritual values, self-realization, a colony exemplifying world brotherhood is empowered to send inspiring vibrations far beyond its locale.〔 A unique feature of Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies idea was that it offered both single and married people and families a spiritually fulfilling community life. Many traditional monastic communities and ashrams offer most of the features of Yogananda's Colonies—simple living, selfless service, cooperation, and daily meditation. But both typically exclude children and couples as residents. Yogananda's disciple, Kamala Silva, recounts a conversation she had with Yogananda just four months before his death:〔Kriyananda, Swami, ''A Place Called Ananda''. Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2001. ISBN 978-1-56589-158-6.〕 On one of the drives along the coast, Master (Yogananda) spoke to me about the value of SRF Colonies. He referred to the forming of groups within a city or a rural area in the manner of hermitage life, among members who do not desire to become renunciants, or cannot do so because of certain obligations. Such a life would enable each one to be in daily association with those who share the same spiritual goal. He described such Colonies as made up of married couples and their families, as well as single people, who have the will to serve, and to live in harmony with one another. Master envisioned the idea as one in which all may work together in a self-supporting group wherein each one is dedicated to God.〔Silva, Kamala, ''The Flawless Mirror''. Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2003. ISBN 978-1-56589-054-1.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「World Brotherhood Colonies」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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