The Dakshineswar Ashram of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS) set up a bookstall at the International Kolkata Book Fair 2019 from January 31 to February 11, 2019. Over the twelve days, the stall drew more than 4000 visitors, many of whom sought information about the meditation techniques taught by YSS, and purchased YSS literature on display.

Many enrolled for New Lessons at the venue, few of whom also later attended the conducted spiritual retreat programme at YSS Dakshineswar Ashram (February 15 to 17, 2019).

The functioning of the bookstall was facilitated by dedicated volunteers and ashram staff.

On the first day, Brahmachari Achyutanandaji had inaugurated the stall with prayer, chanting and a brief period of meditation, followed by an inspirational talk wherein he encouraged devotees to take part in YSS activities.

On the show window, a picture of Gurudeva with Mahatma Gandhi evoked a lot of interest from the visitors.

Many among those who came to the stall were first-time visitors. Several of them were seen admiring the stall set-up which included an attractive LED photo of Guruji, standees, banners, posters and a television screen playing 'The Life of Paramahansa Yogananda: The Early Years in America' on DVD.

The overall impressions of visitors can be captured from following few comments as recorded in the Visitors' Book: "... have been searching for a book like ‘The Autobiography of a Yogi’ and now I feel fortunate to find it here," and "...a very positive vibe in the stall. All books are laid properly which helped in quick and proper selection. Nice staff for support."

YSS sannyasis and volunteers were available at the stall to answer queries regarding the organization and lesson subscription. The YSS stall was covered by five Hindi newspapers along with photographs. The bestsellers at the YSS stall in the fair were Autobiography of a Yogi (Bengali and English), Man's Eternal Quest (Bengali), God Talks with Arjuna (English and Hindi), and The Wine of the Mystic, among others. More than 306 copies of the Autobiography of a Yogi were bought by visitors at the fair reflecting the popularity of the spiritual classic authored by Gurudeva Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.

To view images from the book fair, click here.