Sri Sri Daya Mata is the foremost living disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda. A true "Mother of Compassion," as her name signifies, she has inspired those of all faiths and from all walks of life with the wisdom and great love of God conveyed through her talks, writings, and recordings. Referring to her first volume of spiritual counsel, Only Love, the former Ambassador of India to the United States, N. A. Palkhivala, wrote: "Sri Daya Mata personifies love and compassion and the other timeless values of Indian culture….Her speeches are not dry academic dissertations on abstract theological principles, but intensely personal hymns testifying to her ecstatic vision of the Creator."

Daya Mataji entered Paramahansa Yogananda's ashram in Los Angeles in 1931. From the beginning it was evident that Paramahansaji had singled her out for a special role. He later told her that he had given to her the same intense spiritual discipline that his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, had given to him - a significant remark, since she was to inherit the spiritual and organizational mantle that Sri Yukteswar had bestowed on him.

Not long before his passing the guru informed her that he would soon leave his body. Stunned, Daya Mataji asked how his work could continue without him: "Master, usually when the leader goes, an organization no longer grows but begins to die out. How will we carry on without you? What will hold and inspire us when you are no longer in the flesh?" Quietly Paramahansaji answered: "When I am gone, only love can take my place. Be so drunk with the love of God that you will know nothing else but God; and give that love to all." These words became the guiding light of her life.

The great Guru's life came to a close in 1952. In 1955, succeeding the late, saintly Rajarsi Janakananda, Sri Daya Mata became president of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship. As spiritual successor to Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, she sees to the guidance of YSS/SRF members, the training of monastic disciples who reside in the Yogoda /Self-Realization ashrams, and the faithful carrying out of Paramahansa Yogananda's ideals and wishes for the dissemination of his teachings and the expansion of his spiritual and humanitarian work worldwide.