Reveries

"Let every man gather from five to ten thousand dollars, and, in groups of thirty, let them build self-sustaining, self-governing colonies, starting with California." - Paramahansa Yogananda,

Yogananda also teaches he and his followers are "all a little bit crazy" without knowing it [Dr 270], and that ninety-nine percent of them may go wrong if he teaches the right things: "Tell a person, for his own good, to do a particular thing, and he will do exactly the opposite." [Ak 321].

Fig. 1. The Chinese Zodiac.

Is that so sure? I for one think he is wrong.

The well-known guru's autobiography shows he believed in astrology, and his own guru was an astrologer with enlarged interests.

Now take a look at figure 1 and consider the circle has 360 degrees, and let each sector of one degree represent one approach. For example, you may, for the fun of it, transform each Sabian token into some smooth "Yoganandic" tenet, and see what you get.

The first of degrees of Aries and Virgo

For the first degree of Aries, Elsie Wheeler has, "A woman just risen from the sea; a seal is embracing her." And by the way, she got that statement "out of the blue" it seems. Convert her satement into a something to do or not to do, as the monk Yogananda seemed likely to teach. What about, "When you have been swimming and get to the beach, make sure you don't let a seal embrace you." Opposite the first degree of Aries is the first degree of Libra. There the Sabian symbol teachings have, "In a collection of perfect specimens of many biological forms, a butterfly displays the beauty of its wings, its body impaled by a fine dart." If converted into a "response" by 99 % of the people, on Yogananda's word, it might be formed into something like this - and it is only an example: "When you have been swimming and get out of the water, collect some biological forms for later display.". Or just as well: Instead of taking a swim on a hot day, run around and catch butterflies to display." This could be what most people would do, on Yogananda's word? [Intimation].

I for one don't think so. There are other ways to put flesh on that particular bone of a Yogananda teaching too. But operating with 360 degrees, there are - say - 359 main ways of deviating from a Yogananda guideline. Only one degree is directly opposite, but a cluster of ten degrees may be within the orbit of opposite responses, as in horoscopy. If tentatively interpreted like that - with a leeway of about five degrees to each of side of the degree exactly opposite to the first degree of Aries, you have more to choose between and blend as you do "exactly the opposite". Some things depend on how we understand "exactly", too. Viewed in one way it could be one degree. Study horoscopy to see what leeways traditionally surround the aspects between planets and the like. But if you don't believe in Yogananda's teaching above - and why should you? - and don't act like a standardised fool, responses to the "Yogananda counsel for beach bathers" may be widely distributed among the 359 degrees, and just one of them is directly opposite, bluntly said. Moreover, sometimes ta creative mind comes up with other ways and means and solutions than former ones.

Finally, adding some well calculated "maybe's" may be fit now and then too.

More simplified: A strange example could suit a strange teaching, or what?

In the case of Sun Sign against Sun Sign

Now divide a circle into twelve sectors of 30 degrees each, and group them in a sequence with "totem animals" that signify something of the unfolding life that is probably linked with of the twelve sectors by human associations and the like. That is what the fronting symbol animals of the Western and Chinese horoscope are devised, methinks. Look at figure 1 and suppose the guru gives a Snaky counsel, which per definition would be something that accords with the Snake astrology sign (Virgo). Example, "Hiss like a snake (to scare away dangerous intruders)," is the essence of a story that Yogananda retells. Here is the version of Ramakrishna as retold [Link]. Chinese astrology has that "The Metal Snake is passionate and romantic, of a long and prosperous life."

What responses could be opposite it, that is, Piggy (of Pisces)? Why not this one: "Try to live and act like a pig, then, to follow Krishna's example?"

A story is told in Yogananda's SRF that Krishna once entered the body of a sow to be sucked heartily by his little piglets. Seeing is believing - and this good story is told by Yogananda's successor Daya Mata in her book "Only Love" [On]. Here is an earlier version as retold by Ramakrishna, from Ramakrishna, His Life and Sayings, p. 163: [More]

Chinese astrology tells of the Metal Pig: "Pig people are very deep friends and receive lots of hugs. They are gallant towards people, but have a quick temper - of serenity and riches."

Simplified: "Tell people for their own good to be like snakes, and then many of them go on to be sucked!"

We have to maintain that something like this could happen "all the time" if understood quite figuratively. I won't enlarge on that here, however. The root question is whether 99 % do the opposite of what is told them for their own good. You think about it. The basic idea has been: Opposite to a Snake "thing" it is some Piggy "thing". Translated to Western astrology, he gives a Virgo counsel, and reaps a Pisces (opposite) reponse in 99 percent of the cases, he says. Here comes the alarming conundrums to chew on: If what he says is good for you, what happens will be bad! So is Yogananda out to help or make you fall by helpful advice and teachings that almost everyone decide not to follow if they hear the guru lecturing? You may not know it for sure, and may have to put a lot of thought and research into it to come up with some more suitable percentage. That is my basic idea at any rate. Must those who believe in Yogananda fall due to his (quack) "infallible guidelines" then? If so, some sing his praises as they wail for God Mom and fall - there is that danger, given those premises! But are his seemingly horrible wail-for-Mom guidelines aligned to Jesus sane and good in the first place?

Most people would think that what the guru tells on top of the page does not make sense. A top response is to see to what degree it fits . . .

Astrologically statements are grid-rooted, and may also be used both to prove and disprove a lot of things. That astrology can be used to seemingly prove and disprove the same thing, may well be a corollary to the Barnum Effect, a type of subjective validation in which a person finds personal meaning in statements that could apply to many people. People like to be flattered, that is, and if not, soak flattering descriptions of themselves out of rather thin material that could pertain to "manybody."

First example

His general, Snakish orator stand or subsumed counsel as taught by SRF: "Trust Yogananda's words big time". [Find it documented]

Piggish response, "Great, let us overlook normal life and get guru dependent." That seems to be one of the possible, basic attitudes behind becoming an SRF monastic. However, there may be no convent for those who heed other words by Yogananda, such as "No more blind believing [Ak 456]" and a lot other sayings. Some are interspersed on these pages of Yogananda talk.

Second example - on sowing confusion

Guru "Snakes": "No more blind believing [Ak 456] . . . The age of logic is here. You must look in the face of every experience with intelligent discrimination until you understand it . . . in this age of analysis, you must seek that understanding. [Dr 75]. Trust me."

Piggy responses: "I will trust Master, not believe him blindly - I will not believe and believe the age of logic is here, either, just as it says. I'm faith-confused, not guru-dependent."

Also, when the guru talks against himself, what to think? The drift of SRF appears to be toward great belief in the guru, not questioning and critque, even though he asks for that (with a few of his "mouths")

Third example - a wake up call

Guru "Snake": "Five hours of sleep each night is enough."

Piggy response in time: "I don't wake up for it. Alas. I need more sleep, no matter what he says. ZZZZZ."

The need for sleep is individual. Many need more nightly sleep than the short sleepers. How long we sleep at night increases with diseases and old age too. From 7 1/2 to 8 hours of nightly sleep may suit many. For shorter periods less sleep may do too, but sustained sleep deprivation is harmful. Heed the call of nature, but not that of a guru who wants you to forsake it, is the lesson. Stay solvent, as solvent as you can, is another lesson, or two.

Back to School

You may have seen Rodney Dangerfield in the movie "Back to School". He shows there are many alternatives to what is set up and expected commonly. It is the same with the guru's sayings; there are so many other responses than a straight opposition that are likely. There are eleven more signs of the Zodiac, and if no such "sign response" is more likely than the others, only one out of twelve will respond directly opposite to him. With 360 degrees to calculate with, you get a still more nuanced picture. Besides, some wind their way too.

This was to caution against gross oversimplifications. But there is more: His fellowship teaches his wisdom is faultless. It is not. However, the groundwork here says that if he tells something useful, almost everyone will do the opposite, and if what he told was good and helpful, their responsed would not be for their own good! Would such nasty consequences be the overwhelming results of Yogananda's "help", then? If so, it is a cause of alarm.

If you want to practice good kriya yoga and the like

To cut matters short, I suggest you are better off if you let Yogananda's teachings go and go for getting proficient. However,

1. If you want to learn kriya yoga and the hong-so method of meditation, there are others who teach it, and without binding you with chains for life-times "to assist you" either . . .
2. If you want to study his teachings, a large part of what went into the SRF Lessons, is published in a book series of talks, sermons, or lectures. [Link]
3. If you want to select only the useful parts of his outpourings, take heart: Some key principles for that practice are here. [Link]
4. If you want someone to lean on, hope to mature too.

Take heart. Get entertained enough as well.

A good vision?

Once a simple-looking Indian farmer of great imagination found a big peacock feather lying in the grass near a thicket. It had golden eyes all over it. The sight took his breath away. He fell into a reverie and saw that the feather was the upper part of a great god. His reverie became so intense that he gasped and chuckled to himself.

His neighbours from the same little village came up to him where he sat, and asked why he behaved that way.

"I have just had a majestic vision," he uttered. "Great God shed this wonderful peacock feather in the grass as a proof of his existence."

They all believed him, as "Man grapples with theories for the lack of true thriving," or maybe it was "A bad peace can be better than a good quarrel (American proverb)." At any rate, much that is called inspiration is too airy.

To add to the story, according to the older Mayan legend, Kulkulkan, the Plumed Serpent, was a bearded, white man who arrived in Central America in a boat from across the sea. He invented the interesting Mayan calendar.

Searching for evidence, what is the difference between Aztec Quetzalcoatl and Hare Krishna? To some it could be just a matter of plumage - quetzal or peacock. [The Experimental Quetzalquatl Gita]

Be that as it may. Manmatha Nath Dutt writes in his translation of the Vishnu Purana that "Krishna" in Hare Krishna means means dark-blue or brown, and Hari possibly means "He that takes men's hearts" [Vip 5n, 16n]. There are often several meanings of Sanskrit terms.

Great Krishna Devotion

Krishna is spoken of as a divine descent of god Vishnu, who is said to be a deceiving agent, and one of a Hindu triad: Brahma (God Creator), Deceptive Vishnu (Upholder), and Shiva (of Giant Destruction). But this is a convenient simplification only. For example, Vishnu, the "all-pervading", is thought to reside in all objects, endowing them with splendour. Vishnu is also conceived of as a hundred-hooded serpent, Sesha or Ananta [of Infinity]. Further, he is recognised in the Vishnu Purana as the Creator and Destroyer, without assigning the function of destruction to Shiva. [Vip 1n, 6, 10n]

Krishna, thought to be a descent (avatar) of Vishnu into human form, was said to breed better than most folks. He had 18 000 wives that he abducted. Yet his descendants were drowned. He came to see that was the best solution, the Mahabharata tells. And sects play out romantic ideas and objects to venerate.

Great devotion may go awry, as bhakti (love, devotion) fairly often leads to cults. Many sectarians want to turn others into believers. Believers can get cramped and lose common sense and former control. Then, if we go too far in shaving ourselves, little more than ears stand out - it is the hare and rabbit profile - but then again, making a fool of oneself is not absolutely necessary. Shun reductionism. Better take heed, say no to entering a cult, take heed and play safely. That is ordinary wisdom against maiming oneself in previousoly unforeseen ways.

Preserve Freedom. Good Homes Tend to Help It

Yogananda said: "The new generation will not give us a thought." [Ak 344]

But it did. So how dogmatically flawless is that saying? Do not be stupefied, do not get outsmarted. Learn to study facts instead. Two or three generations of Americans and others after Yogananda's passing in 1952 have given him some thought. His devotees assist that by publishing his lectures and books and so on - too. Is it strange? Are they a disloyal bunch or not, all of them, counteracting their guru's "faultless" words thus? I figure there are still stranger things of the fabled guru's making.

He set up his own church in Calfornia and said his teachings are in harmony with the original Christianity of Jesus. Granted that they are not, and that only fools believe it, you will be outsmarted if you believe it, succumbing to great claims and glorious promises that abound "above the waters", so to speak. To some who want to get out of there, there are functional threats too, first and foremost that of colossal sufferings for many lives to those who leave Yogananda after learning his kriya yoga.

You can do worse than being properly informed about the cult before it makes you its bay horse - whatever.

And speaking of cults, even though Jesus let thistles choke the good seeds as his farming method, you do not have to get outsmarted by thistle-sowers in the field of your life. Try bio-organic, decent and sustainable enough farming and gardening and its fruits instead. Handle your life with care, thus, and be liberated to bear fruit as a result of be careful about which teachings go into your ears, and not disregarding what experts think.

Blind Belief is Opposed to Research

"No more blind believing," said Yogananda [Ak 456].

You do not have to believe at all to practice yoga. Rational and proficient enquiry is good in yoga too. Shankara vouches for it, and Buddha teaches how to proceed too. He offers great help for staying on the safe side, and backs up the idea of "seeing is believing".

Skilled uncertainty helps higher mental faculties, as shown in science. Research is based on it scepticism and how to handle the uncertainties under study. Enjoy good tales at leisure as well, to get inklings on how not to be outsmarted. Up to half of the folktales contain lessons to that end. "Be careful," many of them suggest, for brutish fools and might has to be reckoned with in a life. A few fable lessons illustrate this: "A villain, try as he may to act the honest man, should not get away with fooling men of sense without shame . . . [Cf. Fo 99]." Wise men learn by experience and are hardly ever deceived by false pretences of an enemy [Cf. Fo 98]."

What is more, good tales can be read by nearly anyone. Some of them contain useful bottom lines, others do not.

Meanings

An all right life functions on top of meanings. They are kind of paradigmatic, that is, supportive generalisations to heed and at times steer by as well. Here are some, and in part with a figurative tinge:

• Hindu stories may help. The gurus may be wise. Not all gurus are deceivers or robbers. Still, in Hinduism it is often said that nine out of ten that pose as gurus, are not the real thing or as they should be. I think we should heed that and consider the risks first, before getting too involved.
• Fine humans do as they say.
• Accepted vice may yet be dangerous.
• Most often we find that in real life people link up to another and accommodate due to strong drives coupled with for example cringing attitudes. Risk little to profit better than the outsmarted.
• Plenty of notorious guys have transgressed the inner sense of law (Skr. rita, inherent order - righteousness, right).
• The man who refrains from guessing a lot, may get time for rewarding outlets.
• If you get intrigued by something and someone, try to get worthy evidence first.
• Higher than well composed tales of art is art itself. Higher than art is the good artist.
• Well structured and regulated actions count. In this process, one also learn to reject duping ones. It is good to know: The burden of proof rests on those who assert.
• Preserve your assets and valuable contacts.
• Thunder and lightning can work better than becoming dysfunctional.
• For humans, few things on earth are as ominous as meeting man-catchers if you are credulous. Let them not ignore the basics of presenting sound evidence for various far-out claims.
• The more we put our trust in miracles and rare occurrences, the more disappointments we risk, is the bet.
• A key term in Taoism is wu wei. It means influencing without doing anything, at least not in the open. Actions are commonly thought to count more than words
• Hold fast to the Tao of old to manage the affairs of the now, teaches Tao Te Ching in its ch 14.
• Outer resources tend to determine the social esteem one is allotted, far and wide.
• Personal awareness can be trained.
• Interpreting activity abounds in a human life. It applies to people, dreams, poems, texts, sayings, and cartoons alike. Art generally allows itself to be interpreted.
• Some childhood tales are warning tales. Like the tale "Little Red Riding Hood" they teach little ones not to trust friendly-looking strangers, as they may be up to something nasty. In seven French version the wolf was a werewolf - man. [Nov 61]
• Drugs, including some prescribed ones, harm lots of guys seriously.
• Study winners a lot in their contexts (which allows them), pertinent overviews .
• The glass-eye cannot see.
• Advance beyond the frozen rigmarole and its crew.
• It is best to take into account that some stories are formed by indoctrinating agents, even deceivers, to pat heritage attitudes vented as social norms and prejudice.
• Some old and younger texts contain useful lessons. Sigmund Freud found some in ancient Greek tales.
• Fables have favoured thinkers, lawyers, storytellers and audiences for thousands of years already.
• Modern science would suffer for lack of taxonomic (grouping, ordering) means. Close enough classifications (a bit tentative groupings) of interesting material can help too, in general.
• Try to consider what is at stake. When you ask "Who, what, where, why, how, when?" to come to grips with a thing, add "Who benefits?" and "What is most likely at stake somehow?" too.
• You have to be extremely ignorant or hard or hateful to lead many persons astray away from God in the name of Christ.
• When you read Yogananda's glorious descriptions of angelic gurus and the like, try to consider that "The best . . . of old had fine natures, mysterious, too deep, they could not be understood. [Tao Te Ching, ch 15], and perhaps only arbitrarily described. Calm down.
• Tale-tellers also get heard and believed, not only matter-of-fact people.
• Instead of falling for a claim, welcome many counter-hypotheses. This is part of scientific handling.
• Being unduly impressed or admiration-captured, can turn dangerous.
• Salient points may be formed to go into a winning routine.
• Let no one rob your heart by what they say or set in motion.
• Fit measures reach levels and thresholds that count far and wide.

Add "Perhaps" Yourself and also Think Figuratively for Fit Adjustments

It is fair to add mental reservations to great-looking claims, in order to be better off against indoctrination. Much indoctrination is religious.

Putting the Devil into Hell

In the Decameron, day 3, tale 10, by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75) there is a longwinded tale that revolves around "Putting the "devil" into hell".

Rustico, a monk, instructed Alibech, a beautiful, naïve young woman, about the differences between their anatomy. He possessed a devil, and she a hell; and they took great pleasure in putting the devil into hell where he belonged. [Agha, (AT 1425)]

Hans-Jörg Uther summarises it thus:

An innocent young woman asks how she should serve God, and is told that she should avoid earthly pleasures. She goes into the wilderness where she finds a hermit and asks him what she must do to lead a pious life.

The hermit tells her about God's greatest enemy, the devil, whom people who love God must send back down to hell. He tells her his penis is the devil, and that instead of a devil she has a hell. Thus she is seduced into helping him send the devil into hell, believing that this will serve God. [Ti 2, p. 217]

The number 1425 allotted to the Decameron tales is an AT number, and in this case also its ATU number. The headline reflects the plot. The briefing above is the backbone or main deep current of the tale, so to speak.

Steps Up from Some Underworld

• A "Get Tao" study is a way to look into how many things may work and operate, and also a route that may be tailored or tried out by someone who feels so drawn from inside.
• The "Get Tao" design can also be put to use to study tentatively how some facets of living went wrong, and retrace many steps as you monitor yourself as formally as informally as suits you. Maybe we learn through it, and are thereby able to guard against being run down in similar ways later. This comes very close to the tenet "Learn history's lessons, gentlemen, unless they repeat themselves in a lot of varied ways." It also comes close to the purpose of ongoing feedback and its concomitant monitoring.
• "Get Tao" essays are structured tables of a kind. Some may make comparisons easier. And you can start from scratch, even, if aided by good hunches and a solid portion of luck.
• The best use is for monitoring solid, cogent, not careless climbs upwards. The best climbs presuppose that you get skilled through substantial effort. That is for you to get into. Good schooling is for that. Good luck.

Do we really have to be told things "for our good" by Paramahansa Yogananda and not marry?