In 1965, Conrad Rooks, a young American film director, came to Sri Lanka. Deeply moved by Swami Satchidananda's yoga wisdom, Mr. Rooks quickly became his ardent student. When he later returned to Paris, Mr. Rooks sent Sri Gurudev a round-trip ticket to Paris so that he could continue his study of Yoga wisdom. Sri Gurudev felt that Divine Providence had given him this unsolicited invitation and decided to go share his spiritual advice.

Everywhere he went people were moved by his humble demeanor, his yoga wisdom, his clear and concise yoga philosophy. When Mr. Rooks saw how much benefit Westerners were receiving from his spiritual advice, he suggested that Swami Swatchidananda return to Sri Lanka via the United States. Artist Peter Max, who had just met Swami Satchidananda in Paris, was delighted at the prospect of his coming to America and arranged for him to stay with his family for a two-day visit to New York City.

On the first day of his visit, Mr. Max invited a small group of his friends to meet Sri Gurudev. They, like so many other young Americans of the 1960s, were filled with yoga questions about the meaning of existence; they were searching for truth in a tumultuous world that seemed ridden with hypocrisy, injustice, and violence. In Swami Satchidananda they found someone with clear spiritual advice and deep understanding and who conveyed a sense of balanced peacefulness that they had never before experienced.

Responding to their ardent pleas, Swami Satchidananda extended his stay from two days to a few weeks. It became five months and then his students sought a more permanent residency for him. Soon, Peter Max's small apartment could not accommodate all of the throngs of young people wanting to meet Swami Satchidananda and hear his yoga wisdom, so his new American students rented a place where he could teach Yoga classes and give spiritual advice. Soon, the Integral Yoga Institute was founded and there are now more than 50 centers worldwide.