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Yogananda decreed there would be no other gurus added. The last four are held to be Hindus. You may come across variant spellings of their names, and other names used too. And curiously, Krishna was added to that
SRF list of gurus a decade or two after Yogananda's death in 1952. Are the six of them
strange bedfellows or not? And are they really bedfellows solely because Yogananda
tells so? - and contrary to Biblical evidence and sayings told ahead of time?
There are harsh, halfway hidden sides of the "shining, new coin (pledge)". If you
don't overstretch in any severe way you could save yourself harm and trouble. Otherwise the
effects of overstretching might last a lifetime, if not longer. Why promise more than you
have control over yourself? Isn't it stupid to promise things you don't know if you can keep
later? Promising far too much and being made to promise so are moral issues. But the
effects of breaking one's word can be felt tangibly and severely. [More]
The SRF kriya pledge (oath) serves to bind followers to gurus by formal means. Here
is another, dark side to being bound by your word, the oath (a pledge is a solemn oath).
Yogananda tells:
If you turn away from the emissary of God, He [decides] "Now you shall
have to wait long . . . Several incarnations [with extreme misery] at least must pass before he will have another such opportunity. [Source: SRF Magazine, spring 1974, p 6., emphasis added. The larger quotation is below.]
At the start of SRF the pledge did not contain any oath of loving six gurus. Yogananda dictated the following on 10 January 1921.
I promise and swear to act according to the following rules.
- . . .
- I will never reveal it to anyone without your permission.
- I will try my utmost to follow your general advice . . .
- . . .
- If I divulge without your permission extreme misery will overtake me according to natural laws.
- I will in every way help to spread this cause . . . I will help others to get this divine knowledge if I myself think I enjoy it . . . [SOURCE: Rosser, Brenda Lewis. Treasures Against Time, p 380]
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There could have been other versions of the pledge at that time. We are reminded of a Peanuts strip featuring the standing beagle Snoopy as he flexes his foreleg, looks at his paw and comments the motto of the "Elbow-Wrestlers' Fellowship": Might and power in the right hands by "How utterly well-chosen." [Back-translated]
Spreading the cause in every way is a too stiff demand, as there is no limit to it, and the guru is given all power - and bad ways are not excluded here . . . Why should a dentist's wife have to strip naked on the streets of Boston for the guru's cause? Because she had been made to swear "in every way". Stripping naked is absolutely not outside it . . . Ugh! Poor followers.
The said, extreme misery [stemming from not stripping naked in the city streets and so on] involves several incarnations, the later Yogananda divulges in a memorable quotation (below) - but at that time he had changed the oath to swear. Such incarnations may not be molesting, and all may not turn bad, but here is, in short, is what looks like or serves like the whip for the donkey. Several lives of "giant
sufferings", wasted opportunities etc. may suggest much of what constitutes that so-called
whip. The carrot is several divine-looking promises, especially the idea of
self-realization understood as great joy or bliss in the end. The saddle seems to be
hundreds of well-meaning guru goading, shoulds and shouldn'ts, do's and don'ts, and on top
of it some feel an overload. You should preserve your freedom.
- Bedfellows or better, you are likely to get outsmarted if you relinquish useful and savoury freedom degrees.
Question First, so as not to Get Outsmarted Later Question the legal validity
of the SRF kriya pledge first, before you submit
Outsmarted: denied human rights and some old Hindu rights too. Know your UN
sanctioned human rights. These articles from the UN charter of human rights will do at this
point:
- No one shall be held in [deep, ignoble] servitude . . . [Article 4, text in
square brackets is added for clarity.]
- Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this
right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom . . . [Article 18]
- No one may be compelled to belong to an association. [Article 20] [MORE]
The UN charter is made legally valid through a human rights law. Your country's back-up Law of the Charter is the legally valid thing in this, for example throughout the EU (European Union). You will have to check it yourself. [LINK]
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A somewhat embarrassing first-hand check may save you a future of being bound.
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SRF's kriya pledge could bind you to deep servitude if you commit to it - and if you don't
commit, there is not that bondage, and you should not swear that oath either. Even though
Yogananda's fellowship permits persons to leave, the guru says truly scary things about such a
prospect (below). SRF also thinks that a member that leaves eventually has to come back to
the guru, even after lifetimes. That is in their line of thinking. [MORE]
AUTHORITARIAN SUBMISSION. Look before you leap, says the proverb. It pays to be
circumspect. It could be the mistake of a lifetime to submit to six unknown gurus,
some of which teach strangely differently: gurus that very few would say band
together. Inspect well beforehand before submitting, for the troubles brought on by
inconsistent and confusing Yogananda teachings will not serve all persons well. Don't be
tricked into submission that is not necessary for good progress in yoga and otherwise
either. Consider your freedoms before you succumb to this and that and anyone. Have in mind
that some persons (devotees) appear to turn bossy and perhaps too dogmatic if devotionalism
and sulkiness takes over.
OPPOSED TO FREEDOM. The outlook of this talk is that people - especially beginners -
need to be warned, and there is much to become aware of as a "yoga consumer" too: In the SRF
kriya tradition students by steps get tied and spiritually wed to "hidden and long gone"
gurus by an oath, and many become slavish - and some add to that. But in Hinduism in general
there are often changes of guru. The disciple is moved from one to another. It
happens lots of time, it is in the tradition, it can be fair, and is seldom thought to be
odious. In this respect, the teachings and first and foremost the kriya pledge of the
Self-Realization Fellowship Church tie you - as a submissive part - to one guru for your
future, which involves many lives (!). You should be well aware of that, and the strictness
of the terms of the pledge. [More here]
- Freedom through submission seems strange and may seldom work well enough.
Bound through life-times through the SRF pledge
"DON'T swear," said Jesus.
Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for
it is his footstool . . .[Matthew 5:34-35]
REALLY HARSH DEVOTIONALISM. But in order to learn kriya yoga through SRF (an
American organisation), you have to take an oath - it is solemn swearing in which you
promise to unconditionally love and be loyal and devoted to six gurus, one of them called
Jesus Christ -
Thus, your faith and good will and word is taxed as if you were the Almighty even
at the beginning of such a quest. And what if you should renege altogether through
judiciousness as time goes by? Here is "the harsh answer" to that:
"There is only one guru uniquely the devotee's own. But if you turn away from the
emissary of God, He silently asks: 'What is wrong with you, that you foolishly leave the one
I have sent to help you learn the divine science of the soul? Now you shall have to wait
long, and prove yourself, before I shall respond again.' He who cannot learn through the
wisdom and love of his God-ordained guru will not find God in this life. Several
incarnations at least must pass before he will have another such opportunity." - Paramahansa
Yogananda, SRF magazine, spring 1974, p 6. From a talk at Mother Centre, 8/17/39
Here the guru locks you in. But his claim of furthering "original Christianity"
is a hoax. Jesus taught differently than the gurus on some core issues, and Yogananda opposes his sayings too.
DISAPPOINTMENTS FOR MANY. It could be good to be forewarned. You should be well
informed before anyone "hooks" the "blue-eyed" you. Some do get disappointed in SRF,
including monastics. In 2000-2001 one third of them left the SRF organization - but they may
fear leaving the guru, for reasons as found in the quotation, which is scary, because of the
so-called "immense sufferings" of being born and of dying, and of being reborn and dying,
and the like.
And SRF is not Christian in a happy meaning of the word. SRF claims it brings "original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ". One should know that original Christianity made millions of followers whine and cry from persecutions, and that traditional Christianity is a later-comer where some rise to laugh too - not persecuted. "Wenn der Hund lacht, so weint der Hase (When the dog laughs, the hare cries)," is a German proverb. One should try to find out who are made to laugh in SRF, and who are made to cry. Its hovering
theology, customs, and practices are not supported by main gospel teachings and regulations
for followers of Jesus. [More]
And, further, "father Matheo", a professor of the Roman Catholic Church
decrees,
[Yogananda's] theology cannot be squared with Roman Catholic doctrine. He teaches
indifferentism.
He also seems to teach the Pelagian heresy of salvation by human effort alone.
He misunderstands and even implicitly denies the Christian doctrine of Incarnation. [Read on]
- That devotees disappoint, Yogananda learnt too, as
rendered by Kriyananda.
Suppose a Noble Way Out Exists
It can be hard to find a decent way out if the world is merely illusory -
SURRENDER TO CEREMONIALISTS OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES. To take leave of Yogananda
as a kriya-initiated disciple (kriyaban) is meant to be impossible, but wait, there is good
news in store too. Yogananda has stated many things, and on the depressive side to some is
that leaving him as a guru is wont to cause bad 'repercussions' for not only decades, but
several future lives (see the quotation just given). He also called those who left in his
days such as "quitters or traitors" in an old article of what is now called
Self-Realization Magazine. The yoga society he set up, SRF, writes in an insider's
letter:
". . . sooner or later, every Truth-seeker will unfailingly find his way back to his
God-given guru and, having learned to surrender himself to the guru's guidance, will make
swift progress toward the Divine Goal" [LINK]
- that is their faith, and they may not be all happy that this information has
leaked out. Note that Jesus seems to be missing in their scenario, for some obscure reason,
or none. The faith is encumbered with difficulties. For example, if you were ready for
Yogananda guidance when he was William the Conqueror (yes, he said he was), you would not be
given kriya, but maybe a scolding or far worse. Or suppose you were ready for guidance when
he was William Shakespeare (yes, he said he was), and all you got was a play to listen to.
The point: Judged from insider talk in the fellowship, Yogananda was far from always in a
kriya-giving role or mood, no matter what you might have been. This should not be overlooked
either in such a universe of ideas or figments of imagination.
- Now, progress in kriya is something imagined if the world is unreal (!). Few think of that, but Yogananda repreatedly says the world is unreal, like a dream and so on. He also says "You are already enlightened, but you don't know it". [Say, see index]
Messy slogan teachings over and over
THE GURU we look into did not seem to find fault with his own messy sermonising.
Below are a few examples; the coupled statements don't fit together like a key and its
keyhole, do they?
"We don't really know what is right or real ... we are often incorrect in our
judgements." - Paramahansa Yogananda. [Ak 414] – "We find his
guidelines infallible." - Self-Realization Fellowship.
"The universe is an illusion". - Paramahansa Yogananda –
The Bhagavad Gita says, though: "Those who are demoniac do not know
what is to be done . . . Neither . . . proper behaviour nor truth is found in them.
(16:7)
They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation . . .
(16:8)
Following such conclusions, the demoniac . . . engage in unbeneficial, horrible
works . . . (16:9)" [Emphasis added]
"Our best friends are those who criticise us the most ... who never condone our faults." - Paramahansa Yogananda – "We find his guidelines infallible." - Self-Realization Fellowship.
"When a true guru performs an action ... no marks remain. - Paramahansa Yogananda [Cf. [Say 14] – (His words remain -)
Hence, Krishna maintains in the Bhagavad Gita that the world is
real. The gospels do not teach the world is unreal either. But Yogananda (and Babaji) say the material world is unreal. It may not be reconciled. Have you ever considered how real they and their words and teachings are if the whole wide world is unreal?
- Learn to consider: How can unreal gurus demand unreal
pledges from unreal people?
- Do you think unreal gurus are big, big or
players?
Boss infallibility on top of that
THE SECT or cult is characterised by boss infallibility. Great damage may be done through
sugarcoated but unfit boss infallibility. The thing may victimise in the
long run, and is far from democratic in the way we know it. As for SRF, it may be
viewed as a cult.
[Non-Christian] Self-Realization Fellowship - Blends pagan Hinduism and the teachings of
Jesus. Founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. [Check A]
[The cult] Self-Realization Fellowship, Paramahansa Yogananda Los Angeles, CA: New Age,
Awaken the God within, Yoga, Meditation. Publishes the Self Realization Fellowship magazine.
[Check B]
This gives a chance to clarify main concepts used against cults or sects or to describe them - such purposes appear to blend in some cases:
- Christianity incorporates dozens of pagan elements from the times of the Roman Empire. Hence there is a need to make clear what sort of paganism we are talking about, and to be fair about all the pagan elements in Christianity also. [LINK]
- Sects and cults may or may not work better than the large society. It depends on what country you are in, among other things. Besides, there are differences among sects and among cults - and it has to be taken into account. Christianity started as a sect (or cult) of Judaism, and should not be so very much different now. [LINK]
- New Age is a stupid term that covers a multitude of elements; some of them are constituents of medicine, even. Others reflect deep philosophies, and so on. The term "New Age" is too variegated to say much of value unless it is nuanced. It can mean a social movement (waned), ways of life, and much else. [LINK]
- Sects and some cults do, however, deal in treating members as "underdogs and weaklings" in various set-up rigmaroles of conformity. Over-bossy slogans may be detected too.
- Many cult outputs tend toward bossy slogans.
The chance of being outright fooled
If I had a thousand mouths, I would speak through them all to convince you. - Yogananda, Ak 111]
Well, putting aside for now all questions of extreme tooth-brushing, a thousand times more tooth-aches, and corresponding dentist bills, the guru appears to talk with two mouths at any rate. With one of them he insists the ego must
go. With the other he appears to aim at developing the ego. - You can't have it in both
ways, presumably. Take care. [MORE]
Ancient Indian teachings tell that the real, hidden mission of Narada, who is
thought of as a guru prototype, is to fool and madden persons into perdition, and
also for no particular, good reasons at all but unfair and partial ones. Beware. [SUMMARISED STORY]
This is to say that all gurus are not very friendly . . . Not everyone that is
called a guru needs to be bad. It is held in the common Hindu tradition that most of those that are set up as gurudevas (divine friends and helpers) are fakes, not anything like true gurus. There is a tradition and personal reason for being firm and circumspect and question the guru before committing in any "dense" way.
- Being circumspect is seldom for free, but being taken in and meddled with can be worse.
Hailing out of place, and Jesus plot-incorporated
THE GURU that you have to tie in with he as God's channel and you as one of his
"brides", perhaps, if you get caught in his net, hails his own guru as an incarnation of
wisdom. Recently published evidence shows it is hailing out of place, for his guru did make
blunders and often taught wrong. That is far from showing unerring spiritual
insight. Yogananda boasts too much, also by overdoing things. Formalised, excessive praise
of one's guru and divinity-allied assertions out of place, tend to reflect a problem. Just
manage to "inspect the legs of the peacock", that is, check the lay of the land before you
trust widely and to your long-term harm. Don't let guru boasting become your problem. [LINK]
You pledge to honour Hare Krishna too. The Upanishad evidence that Krishna was a
real person, is meagre, just a couple of lines that are found in three separate works. But
the long epic poem Mahabharata contains information about him and a capital he
built, and very recent excavations have found the now underwater site as described in parts
of the old poem, and its recent dating conforms with Mahabharata information about Dwarka, long suspected to be a legend only. By such tokens Krishna is thought to have existed; the odds (chances) can be good, even, so we do not discredit Krishna as someone that has been solely invented any more.
But many popular stories of him have been fabricated, in that Vedic, old tales were reused and modified with Krishna as the protagonist (hero, main character) instead of the thunder-god Indra, for example. This is pointed out in The Cultural History of India, Vol 1 [Xm]. The Indian Puranas (books) do contain stories that are shuffled or
retold in similar ways [LINK] [cf. [Clh].
Jesus is given adaptive credit, but the full impact of what he set up, according to
the gospels, is withheld or toned down or pushed away so that Hindu teachings don't
flounder. For example, he never advocates more than one master - himself, that is . . . In
SRF you find many of the regular features of Christianity. Maybe the table is set for great
cheating against gospel words, then.
- A problem with those who call their living or passed-away gurus unerring, infallible and the like, is that these followers play all-knowing thereby, and often by whim.
Through regulated top-dog wilfulness, Christianity much at stake
YOU MAY say that handed over Christianity is placed in a strange position for the sake of
guru hailing and wilful adaptations that seem very much out of place. If you enter as a
Christian, you will find yourself in a church where hailing and worship of some avatars is a
common lot, and maybe hailing of Divine Mother as the Father, and so on. The one of assumed
supreme responsibility for followers in SRF is Babaji, a "Yogi-Christ", according to
Yogananda. Yes, we bring evidence of such teachings on other pages. Don't be like victims of
insincere salesmen that persuade rather than inform like a report in a consumer magazine. Be
aware and alerted to what is really found in SRF, and don't be satisfied with facades and
what is for show, then. Take a good look beforehand, and find out how Christian it seems to
your minister, if you can. For vital sacraments in Christianity are dispensed with. What is
missing or changed into a Hindu gift, is Holy Communion, and you may meet no tongue-talkers
- and there is no apostolic succession from the ranks of Jesus.
Big words of Jesus in the New Testament may be twisted to suit Hindu proselytising.
[Debating it]
- Many unprincipled guru followers are satisfied with
transgressing against historical Christianity for the sake of present
hypocrisy.
The problems of verbiage and unclear teachings
DISAPPOINTMENTS IN STORE FOR BLIND BELIEVERS. It can be hard to apply Yogananda's early
words of non-violence once you learn that he sent followers to fight in World War II, for
example. There are some very striking examples of drifting teachings and radically changed
teachings from Yogananda, and when SRF holds his guidelines are infallible and so on, the
tables are set for frustrations that may seem without end if you miss the historical
development or retrogression of the gurus main teachings. He got caught in situational
utterances that SRF hail as infallible, contrary to evidence. That is a quite serious
offence. One should not overlook or ignore that some of the guru's teachings are situational.
It is similar with some words by Jesus: Once he said his mission was reserved for Jews only.
We know how that mission failed, and how the "project" of Jesus and his Father
changed.
To recap: According to SRF's Kriya Pledge you belong to six avatars - Krishna, Jesus
Christ, Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya (or Baba), Sri Yukteswar and Paramahansa Yogananda - with
the last of the line as your own personal Godman and means of salvation, roughly said.
That's part of the thinking that goes into it. You pledge unconditional loyalty and devotion
to them too. Making innocents promise unconditional devotion and loyalty to six gurus (four of them in a
dynasty) could go against the law, and not just be morally offensive in the light of UN Human
Rights and the like. You need to find and stick to a balance between the freedom to choose a big, fat swindle as your favourite
religion and that of catering to good enough personal freedoms. SRF and epecially Yogananda
maims a couple of human rights through the kriya pledge. Is it decent?
Further, SRF's kriya pledge appears to overtax anyone's
control-in-advance-for-any-eventuality forces, by framing and binding your activity,
emotional life and will for a lifetime, without admitting any reneging (going back on your
overconfidently made promise or commitment).
Promising over your head may in time deplete your funds (widely understood), binding
the central core we call heart, its feelings and actions far into an unknown future through,
"A word is a word (a promise is to be kept)".
But when you promise to love unconditionally for ever, you seldom
or never know if that is within your power. And by the way, if you really
knew it in advance, maybe you would not have any need to be guided too. As for pledging love
for a life-time, there are divorce statistics that give solid evidence of how little
widespread keeping one's word is to some, maybe half of a population, to hint at
something.
To tie up inexperienced ones by severe pledges very many cannot survey the
implications of in time, can very well molest and endanger more than personal liberty rights
(which may have been thrown into the bargain). Such things may occur under the surface for
some time and spread into the unforeseen future and make life bad. Yes, there is a danger in
promising too much, making pledges to hard-hearted ones that don't even want to consider
reasonable objections to some guru-sown quasi things -
- Serious kriya pledge disappointments are only for those that have their own moral sense intact.
Regulated submission is part of the game
WHAT THEY call kriya-yoga requires initiation to work successfully, they insist.
The training may get rigorous, eventually. [Find Garland of Letters, 1-10 there to get an inkling of what
original kriya looked like]
You pledge unlimited devotion and loyalty to God, Jesus and the rest of
them.
In a church or flock there can be moral submission and after that life-style
submission, which may be hard to tackle and a detriment to inner growth. It is best to stay
out of a kriya pledge that binds hand and foot for no good enough reason.
The following serves to illustrate guru mentalities in SRF:
[Sri Yukteswar to Yogananda:] You ignore my wishes."
"No longer, guruji! Your wish shall be my law!"
[Sri Yukteswar again:] "That's better! Now I can assume responsibility for your
life."
"I willingly transfer the burden, master." [LINK]
Can guru responsibilities end when a follower is greatly enlightened, illumined?
[When he was eighty, Sri Yukteswar told Yogananda:] "My task on earth is now
finished; you must carry on." . . . My heart was palpitating in fear.
. . . Sri Yukteswar went on. "I leave everything in your hands. You'll be able to
successfully sail the boat of your life and that of the organisation to the divine
shores."
"You'll be able to successfully sail the boat of your life . . . to the divine
shores" - But what actually happened, according to Yogananda himself? One
night in a Mumbay hotel, Satan (with a catlike tail) leaped on his chest so that Yogananda could not breathe. There and then the long departed Sri
Yukteswar appeared and shooed the devil. This is all according to Yogananda in a talk that was published in the Self-Realization Magazine, Summer 1976, p. 8-9. [LINK].
Sri Yukteswar did not leave all (and not all of the devil either) in Yogananda's
hands. See?
There are many other interesting topics, such as "What is Sri Yukteswar really talking about by "You will be able to sail the boat of the organisation to the divine shore"? Could we have a counterpart to the fairly gruesome Markandeya Purana tale where King Harichandra and his people are taken up to heaven alive? [Ma 32-58]
- It may be better to remain yourself - if you can handle it - than to transfer great burdens onto others and expect them to assist you greatly too, on top of that. But who can tell?
Noble Warps Out
Yogananda and Babaji teach that the material world is unreal, and that also includes
your body and clothes. The appearances of gurus are not real either, or the serious-looking
SRF kriya pledge. It is not really utterable unless there is a world to utter it in - you
are free accordingly. Maybe free from the favours too, unless you "sit" well or plead your
case convincingly. Here is evidence fit for a court of law - and we do bring much more on
other pages:
The material universe is not real. [Paramahansa Yogananda, Ak 182]
There is no material universe; its warp and woof is . . . illusion. [Paramahansa
Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, ch. 30.]
Never believe that you live. [Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi.
[Ha 88]
The world is nothing more than a cosmic dream — This life is a dream. [Paramahansa
Yogananda Ak 237, 240]
When he [man] awakens in cosmic consciousness, he will effortlessly dematerialise
the illusions of the cosmic dream. [Paramahansa Yogananda, ch. 34]
Babaji observed. "The divine realm extends to the earthly, but the latter [is]
illusory". [In Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography ch. 34]
Remember, the problems of explaining these and other stubborn guru quotations and
what they mean to any believer, will be their problems. Don't let them bother you.
You could have far better things to do in "The Dream Nature of the World" [Ak 237 ff] for
"God . . . is running this universe for you" [Ak 206]. "God is managing the whole universe,
down to the most minute detail - and we are made in His image," asserts Yogananda, and "hard
work has never hurt anyone." [Ak 204] - Of course it has! So don't trust the guru's every
word; there are utterances that can be tested.
- Illusions brought about by Paramahansa Yogananda talk of the guru's cosmic dreaming, according to his basic tenet about the world.
Are You Ready for Krishna-Worship and Other SRF-Assisting, Regulated Parts of the
Bargain?
It is hardly wise to put long-range benefits at risk by being intrigued
IN the book Autobiography of a Yogi [Pa] the guru author
goes into apotheosis, god-making. "Life by life, each man progresses (at his own pace, be it
ever so erratic) toward the goal of his own apotheosis." [Ha 473] "Yoga,
through which divinity is found within, is doubtless the highest road". [Ha 136] "Through use of the Kriya key, persons who cannot bring themselves
to believe in the divinity of any man will behold at last the full divinity of their own
selves." [Ha 330] Means involve kriya-yoga and guru blessings.
Are you intrigued by these guru mentions? Fine. But see to it that you steer well so
as to derive benefit and filter out unwelcome plots and things in your life as you move
along. That is actually what this page talks for: "Forewarned is forearmed." There are many
other sides to the SRF rigmarole than plainly unwelcome ones, and more good to say of
Yogananda's teachings than what is on this page. But it is in the art of living to prepare
for the worst in order to limit severe damages or totally hinder them from happening. Those
who learn to do that well, could derive long-range benefit.
- Forewarned can bring long-range benefits and one's own family.
What is exactly in the SRF kriya pledge?
Maggie de Watt questions,
"What wrong is there to pledge unconditional love and devotion to God, all the gurus
of SRF, Hare Krishna and Jesus all together?
Her friend Uffe,
"Can you keep your promise? Do you have control over your future happenings,
emotional states and your fat? Can you keep your New Year's Eve promise of losing weight and
stop smoking? These things are very simple in comparison."
Maggie de Watt:
"As for Bhagavan Krishna, must I love him in as portrayed in many stories made up
about him in old times, that is, as an idolised production of several artists of old like a
freak throughout my life? How can I relate to him as he is or was, seeing that he claims "With a single fragment of myself I pervade and support this entire universe
(Bhagavad Gita 10:42)"? Wonder what is outside the universe. I'm curious to know whether there is space-and-time, whether
there is room for time and things and sizes - - beyond the universe I know. I suspect there is not, alas.
I have also become aware that SRF's regular altar worship started only many years
after the demise of Yogananda. It suggests that Yogananda hardly considered it momentous to
specify Krishna, for several reasons. Strange tidings surround this note." [LINK]
Uffe:
"Yes, I see - And who can tell what they (SRF) would impose on you next? I
would not. It hardly seems needed to me, I dare say. Anyway, regular Krishna-worship in SRF
temples was established by SRF only long after Yogananda's passing, and the reasons seem strangely out-of-the ordinary:" [LINK]
Paramhansa Yogananda did not put a picture of Krishna on the altar, nor did he mention Krishna separately when he prayed to the line of gurus. Instead he would say "Babaji-Krishna," since Krishna is a former incarnation of Babaji. [F1]
That's what they teach - gurus add themselves to hoary lore over and over, and past lives serve it. No proofs are given, though. It is quite similar to what is done to give kriya yoga a tradition or two: They teach that this and that passage describes kriya yoga, and very often such statements seem to come out of the blue. There are so many examples. Be alerted to the possibility of quack teachings."
Maggie:
"When you read that the SRF gurus dissolved themselves, how can you find them and
worship them as pledged?"
Uffe:
"It's a good question. Let them answer that. That's placing the burden where
it belongs, I think."
Maggie:
"What if I don't find myself in a God-Jesus-Krishna-gurus loving state at any time?
Haven't I broken my pledge then?"
Uffe:
"It is more likely than not, but after all not a few things depend in part on the
meanings you yourself put into them. Is there a need for rationalisations and seemingly good
decor for a member?"
Maggie:
"As I read the Bible, Jesus says no to serving many masters, and no to others than
himself - thus: "You have one Teacher, the Christ." [Matthew 23:10] Is he really into the
SRF?"
Uffe:
"Birds knows. But if Jesus now has learnt go against half a dozen statements of his
in the gospels, the Yogananda medley in the matter is not just a bait."
Maggie:
"Speaking of God, is the God Hare Krishna the Father of Jesus? What do you
think?"
Uffe:
"All I want to say at this time is that many, many descriptions of God in such as
Christianity and Hinduism do not form a perfect match, and that is in part contrary to what
Yogananda decrees. You can see for yourself here: [LINK] And you're free to think as you will. But don't
let secret and snug hopes influence your thinking. For example, when Yogananda claims the
soul is immortal and Jesus maintains that it can be destroyed in hell with the body, it is
not a perfect match of tenets here either. Jack and Jill do have to consider these
things before maiming their integrity and freedom through half-slave pledges of any
sort."
- SRF leads some into worship of Kali as the Divine Mother.
From "aren't a sect" to "are a sect" and Paramahansa Yogananda's variegated
heritage
In the organization Yogananda set up, the emphasis and talk drifted from step-by-step methods for
the person on the way to Self-Realization - to devotional proselytising and more
rudimentary "pep talks" on "finding God". Devotionalism and churchism have got a hold in time, despite Yogananda words like ""Sectarianism is anathema to religion." [Paramahansa Yogananda in "The Essence of Self-Realization"]
Self-Realization Fellowship today has been called a cult - even a sect by the editor of
Self-Realization Magazine - more than the original concepts from the twenties and
further lead us in on.
You told Nehru we aren't a sect. I admit Master said we aren't one.
Well, we are a sect." - Self-Realization Fellowship's main editor Tara Mata as
rendered by James D. Walters in the new book A Place Called Ananda, ch. 14. [Link]
Tara Mata (Laurie Pratt) was the Fellowship's main editor for many
decades.
Yogoda [now: Self-Realization Fellowship] is not a new religion, nor a new cult, nor
a new interpretation; it aims to teach the practical methods, the exact technique of
widening the channel of human consciousness, so that Truth might flow in ceaselessly,
endlessly, without obstructions of dogma or unproved beliefs. Yogoda points out the path of
concentrating on the practical system and not only on the words and personality of Saints
and Prophets. Yogoda teaches the step-by-step progress to individual personal realization
and attainment of divinity. - Yogananda, in "Occidental Christianity and Yogoda",
1926.
These words are strangely counteracted by the churchism that Yogananda set up later (1935), and which disciples enforced throughout decades after his passing in 1952. Taming is likely to be one mark of a cult in the beginning.
- Better be alerted to what is really SRF than to wake up to it later in a tense, disillusioning process.
There are food "cranks" whose only interest revolves around "calories" and "vitamins" . . . when you meet them, until you wonder how they can be so blind to other and more interesting phases of life.
- Paramahansa Yogananda,
in East West, Volume 1-5 July 1926 - August 1926.
Succumbing or submitting to speculation can mar and ruin some. Proverbs do not welcome undue speculation either: "If ifs and
ans were pots and pans, there'd be no trade for tinkers (British)". Or as it is said in
courts of law: "Speculation . . . overruled!" It suggests you don't really have to
consider it. It is just the same with many articles of belief. Judge whether you like them
and really need them. In Buddhism and favourable yoga, teachings may be treated as working
hypotheses, that is, they allow for testing. That is better for the mental health too. [MORE]
SRF (The Fellowship) has been classified as a cult. Now, are the guru guidelines as
infallible as thought? We have found much and sound evidence against that notion. In fact,
recent evidence indicates that Self-Realization Fellowship itself in actual practice has
discontinued some guidelines in order to serve peculiar purposes. Yogananda-rallied
Aims and Ideals of the Fellowship have been changed and removed too. [MORE]
One of the Yogananda guidelines that SRF seems to have
dropped concerns self-serving communities:
We must go on - not only those who are here, but thousands of youths
must go North, South, East and West to cover the earth with little colonies [i.e.,
communities], demonstrating that simplicity of living plus high thinking lead to the
greatest happiness!
- Paramahansa Yogananda quoted in James D. Walters book The
Path [Tp]
Since Yogananda's passing, SRF has removed references to such colonies in the
Autobiography of a Yogi and Yogananda's Aims and Ideals. Yogananda had originally
written one of them to read, "To spread a spirit of world brotherhood among all peoples and
to aid in the establishment, in many countries, of self-sustaining world-brotherhood
colonies for plain living and high thinking." This sage aim was kept through many editions
of his Autobiography, till it was abandoned in the eight edition in 1959, long after his
passing in 1952. In that edition his preferred 'Paramhansa' - he wrote it - was changed into 'Paramahansa' through a bit of "mild after-death-forgery". Authenticity was downplayed and is still quite troublesome in SRF, as evidenced in heavily edited Yogananda words, and a retouched photo of Yukteswar, where authenticity was left out to accommodate the tastes of American women who
apparently did not think he looked well enough. Cheating has many forms and
variants and some border on arts, for exampe retouching and colouring old photos.
Thus, The SRF publishers have treated some Yogananda guidelines as fallible and dispensable, "at least for now" - Such things have happened to his own legacy in the fellowship he gave rise to, a fellowship directed by nuns he trained personally. And further, if Yogananda had changed his mind about self-serving communities at the end of his life, his former guidelines on the subject might not been worthy enough. It seems, however, that he changed neither his mind nor his autograph for the 8th edition seven years after his demise -
- It seems that SRF is quite capable of selecting Yogananda tenets and guidelines that suit the present leaders and following, while downplaying or removing others from sight, especially some of the old ones. We have many examples of it.
Don't Believe Everything Big Guys Tell
One should also be alerted to that Yogananda in the United States tried to start
some enterprises that did not succeed. It suggests that his public invitations to spend
money on some projects were what you may call "poor guidelines" - since more than one of his
plans did not materialise. A few examples:
Failed to come true: a publication deal in his mid-career.
Withered: A how-to-live-school for children on top of Mt. Washington in Los
Angeles.
An apparently "easy" comment: "Even though he claimed omnipotence on behalf of gurus
behind him, and talked loudly of his indomitable will to bring about his
needs, certain things he went for, did not come to pass anyhow." Actions speak louder
than words. It can be much useful to check along such veins. And when you tell of your
findings, devotees of the "guru family" may still send gross and vile and stubborn flame mail. Plain goodness of heart or decency hardly dominates the hundreds of mud-slinging letters I have seen -
- These tidings against the cherished "indomitable will" of Yogananda and other false glorifications of him for fame on his behalf, are found in the guru's own yoga magazine, called East West and Inner Culture before it was changed into Self-Realization (Magazine). Some of the oldest volumes are on-line today.
We don't like murky teachings, that's all
More evidence connected to the said guru infallibility pops up on page after page,
starting here: [LINK]
Our main reasons for using some figurative mentions to beginners and "old dogs" in
these matters is here: [LINK]
Many examples of circumlocutions are given here; you may find some of them
instructive: [LINK] As you can see if you click on that link, we have found it somewhat fit to compare duped individuals with farm animals. There is some truth in it, but let little monkeys do what little monkeys do best - Seeing God in one's
Self is hardly done by anyone, seeing God all around is not supposed to be a common
experience either, like perceiving divinity in masters. But all gurus are not odious, and
"honour and give credit to whom honour is due".
- The inner sides of man should not be overlooked, at any
rate. Conscience, an individual, mature moral, a growing sense of "I Am" (identity), and
much else reside in the depths (inside), not just your last meal -
Literature
Acom: Bruner, Jerome. Acts of Meaning (the Jerusalem-Harvard Lectures). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990.
Ak: Yogananda, Pa.: Man's Eternal Quest. SRF. Los Angeles, 1975.
Ay: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 1st ed. New York: Theosophical, 1946. Online. [oaks.nvg.org/pv6bk12.html]
Ha: Yogananda, Pa.: Autobiography of a Yogi. 12th ed. Self-Realization Fellowship
(SRF). Los Angeles, 1981.
Ma: Pargiter, Frederick Eden, tr. Markandeya Purana. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1904.
Pa: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 11th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization
Fellowship, 1971.
Puh: Deussen, Paul: The Philosophy of the Upanishads. Dover (Reprint of Clark's
1906-ed). New York, 1966.
Say: Yogananda, Pa.: Sayings of Yogananda. Self- Realization Fellowship. Los Angeles,
1958.
Tp: Walters, James Donald. The Path: Autobiography of a Western Yogi. Nevada City: Crystal
Clarity, 1977.
Xm: Radhakrishnan, S. ed: The Cultural Heritage of India, Vols 1- 5. Rev. ed. Ramakrishna
Institute. Calcutta, vol 1: 2nd ed 1958. vol 2: 2nd ed 1962. Vol 3: 2nd ed 1953. Vol 4: 2nd
ed 1956.
[F1] "SRF makes changes after Yogananda's passing". [http://www.yoganandarediscovered.com/jaitruth/changes.html]
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To be on the safe side, do not promise what you cannot deliver. It is reasonable not to promise something over your head, and which you cannot foresee alarming consequences of. Your feelings during one single day only, are they under your control at the break of day so that you can guarantee how you are going to feel? You may be free to promise you are going to love six unmet leaders for life-time after life-time onward - ignoring that they teach against one another - but can you keep your word? If you do not know whether you are going to love unconditionally forever, refrain from making such a fool and freak of yourself. The point is that future feelings - life after life - normally usually lie outside our control. In SRF's Kriya Pledge you promise to love others without condition for the rest of their lives, and yours, no matter what happens, no matter how you change, or they change. The cost may become formidable
