Autobiography of a Yogi

• A Basic Intent
• The Underlying Profile

A Basic Intent

A recent yoga classic is presented with comments against fraudulent errors or demagoguery.

• A PICTURE-ALLIED SURVEY: On top of many chapters is a visual aid and attached mentions that could help to see things in enlarged perspectives; not a soap opera perspective, at any rate.
• NEW MINOR HEADLINES AND NUGGET LESSONS IN THE TEXT ITSELF: These have been included to highlight certain stories and draw attention to gentle upbringing standards that are generally good and realistic too. One may draw benefits through them.
• ADDED FOOTNOTES as needs be.
• SQUEEZING THE LEMON - OR TRAINING HINTS (schemed): it is not good enough just to get delighted - original yoga is hard work, and maybe you should refuse thinking that ushers you into becoming a submissive under-dog in a modern cult. Beware of it.
• WE FURNISH QUALIFICATIONS (CAVEATS): Carefully adapted mental reservations can help independence of thought, help against being taken or outsmarted, and could need a little bit of training. On top of the pages there is a link - try to remain politely reserved and train oneself in it for your own good and the good of your children.
• ADDED LINKS: There are some updating, added links here and there.
• ADDED BOOK REFERENCES: Literature references in the text may be put in square brackets.
• TEXT IN BRITISH ENGLISH: The spelling is in British English. The original was in American English.
• THE NEWLY DESIGNED TABLE OF CONTENT is formed to ease reference work and helps in finding out which chapters of the 11th edition of the work we are in, for we have many references to the 11th edition in the text on other pages.
• FOREIGN TERMS - We have omitted italics in many Sanskrit words and Indian ones so far; it could be remedied later. And we have added a yoga glossary that is accessible from the top of a page.
• FEW PHOTOS: Photos could be dropped.

The Underlying Profile of This Edition

There are candid

1. Yogananda claims he brings yoga as taught by Krishna and original Christianity as taught by Jesus. The present publishers of the book, SRF, keeps up these Aims and Ideals. Accordingly, it is all right to consider the Hindu guru's dominant teachings and influences in the light of the teachings of the Church and Bible, which we do. And just as you do not have to be ill to be a doctor, you do not have to be a Christian to see these syncretic guru teachings make very little sense. They seem to be fraud, but could be a result of massive errors of judgement.

2. The guru also advocates straight, scientific thinking. (See SRF's Aims and ideals).
          It stands out: Whereas funny incidents and stories from strange lands and afar can awaken deep interest, it is the ordinary living that furthers life onward most of the time. To base oneself of extraordinary happenings on the other hand, may lead to "missing the bus" in ordinary, all right living because of a lack of deep congruence with what ordinarily happens over and over, statistically speaking - and "life is moving through stages too. Do not miss any of the important id-linked stages of Erik H. Erikson. On the other hand, fervent belief contrary to sound, natural development of what we have got, can become quite a danger and make a misfit of a gullible person. Do not overestimate miracles and underestimate the greatest, ongoing miracle: daily living. Apart from the idea that each life is a miracle, each day, nature and thoughts and so on, - how often do "acute" miracles happen in a life? How often do they not, in the open?
          We suggest things that could be useful for ordinary living, which most persons regularly depend on anyway. Good standards of living should take such matters into account without beating about the bush. This attitude has been found rather lacking in previous SRF material we have read - all the SRF Lessons and SRF Service Readings, apart from available SRF publications (books, booklets, magazines) during a period.

3. Babaji Nagaraj who sent Yogananda to the West about or in 1920, appeared to want the kriya teachings attunable to Western scientists - at least they were not excluded. it is in the Autobiography's 36th chapter. [Click] Many scientists are trained to be quite pragmatic and sceptical. The guru accommodated much better to that in his early years, as judged from articles he published in his magazine. It was first called East West, then Inner Culture, and later named Self-Realization Magazine. Later books contain articles from his magazine. Some articles may have been reworked by SRF editors. Not a few of Yogananda's writings are.

4. The guru of Yogananda did not advocate belief, but rational inquiry. "Many teachers will tell you to believe; then they put out your eyes of reason and instruct you to follow only their logic. But I want you to keep your eyes of reason open; in addition, I will open in you ... wisdom." - Swami Sri Yukteswar.

5. A young Yoganananda advocates just the same, at least for himself. "I wanted never to be so dogmatic that I would stop using my reason and common sense." But later in life he took to religious-looking exhortions. We tell this to give a more complete picture. The talks of the guru appears to have drifted religion-wards. Even the kriya yoga methods the guru taught, were simplified, while the guru claimed they were twelve times better for the changes (!) So do not be satisfied just with surfaces and appearances, for they can be deceiving, and at least not give the full picture. [Click]

Adaptations

• Solid fencing: Much lore helps shielding against too shallow conformism, against being taken in and made use of; against too rash accommodations over one's head; against getting out of one's waters (including traditions and inherited religion), and so on;
• No-nonsense rational inquiry with thoughts and suggestions annexed to Hindu lives and likes. They may be confirmed, they may be found too extraordinary to base a living on, and so on;
• Health concerns: Knowledge of what seems to be much good for the id system that body and health depends on; and so on.

Many accommodations that ensue from taking Hindu gurus on their word, do not appear to work full well in all respects. And there are better things to do than making Hinduised followers: liberated men and women. "If you have said A, B follows". That's a profiling idea.
       it is worthwhile to get rational, as that could work well against getting tamed, if such help is given or found early. In our comments we don't want to proselyte marring ideas, we just go for wellness at large. Judicious study or inspection is the fit platform to draw wary conclusions (judgements) on top of. These ideas are found in the science entrerprise, and in words attributed to Jesus in gospels.
       Instead of accommodating Christianity to Hinduism, we advocate accommodations of what could be GOOD and work well in yoga and Asiatic wisdom, to us. That is the maturer approach. Yoga may have many benefits, and there are also dangers, including intrigues surrounding it.

Truth and the traveller

• The great question could be: How false are you?

Adjoined

Literature

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First Page

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   CLICK on 'Literature' for the references of about 2000 works.
    ANNOTATIONS: Code letters (acronyms and initial words) in square brackets in the text refer to works. Click on 'Literature' to see examples. Page references are put right after code letters. And the abbreviation cf. means "compare". [MORE].
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    REFER: Prefer the standard 'location address' on top of the page(s).
    PILOTING: The picture and the text links in the top left column are clickable. [MORE]
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    © 2000-2006, Tormod Kinnes. All rights reserved — Updated in spring 2006