Blessed Expressions

The Hindu monk Yogananda (1893–1952):

One night while I was engaged in silent prayer, my sitting room in the Encinitas hermitage became filled with an opalblue light. I beheld the radiant form of the blessed Lord Jesus. A young man, he seemed, of about twenty-five, with a sparse beard and moustache; his long black hair, parted in the middle, was haloed by a shimmering gold.

His eyes were eternally wondrous; as I gazed, they were infinitely changing. With each divine transition in their expression, I intuitively understood the wisdom conveyed. In his glorious gaze I felt the power that upholds the myriad worlds. A Holy Grail appeared at his mouth; it came down to my lips and then returned to Jesus. After a few moments he uttered beautiful words, so personal in their nature that I keep them in my heart. (Yogananda 1998, 413) [1]

Some explanations

1. SEMI-ICONGRAPHY: In the above illustration by the great artist and cartoonist Carl Barks (1901–2000) there is a halo, black hair "bristling with power" from the electrical eel that is held. The eel forms an upside-down large heart. The "wondrous eyes" may express "fervent". Maybe the blue contains opal too.

   The wisdom conveyed: "Be careful with electrical eels, or . . .," "To benefit from power, you must be up to handling the power," and even more! A "power-sensing" gaze is the centre of the illustration, and at his mouth is a mysterious Grail - it could be an astonished tongue - and so on. "Beautiful words" are also in the illustration, like FIZZZ.

   The picture is from one of about 500 Donald Duck episodes by Barks. Some might like to have similarities or reminders suggested - along with the outstanding quality of a Carl Barks drawing. [WP, "Carl Barks"]

2. GRAIL MATTERS: Scholars cannot say what the Holy Grail was or if it was anything in particular at all, but speculations are many. Some think the suspect grail was nothing, others that it represents blood. If so, the grail to Yogananda's lips could mean he was found worthy of "cannibalism of a sort": That might make your hair bristle.

   Further, in his autobiography, Yogananda tells in the semi-poem "Samadhi" that "salvation, lust, I swallowed, transmuted all / Into a vast ocean of blood".

   Also, the Yogananda biography by Sailendra Dasgupta tells how Yogananda had been more than a trifle bloodthirsty in a previous life as a "vicious and murdereous desert marauder" which made Yogananda himself shiver with horror from time to time at the thought of it [Dasgupta 2006, 112].

   Interestingly too (to some), in the same Yogananda biography, Dasgupta also reveals that Yogananda's favourite goddess was the Kali: associated with death and violence by many.

   It could be time to bring those sides to the guru to the fore a bit better.

Back to the guru and his "episode": This is in party what you are up against:

"A powerful mind, versed in the art of visualization, (conscious dreams), can in a vision or a dream see [such as Jesus], shake hands with him, weigh him on a scale, and behold him as tall and slight." - From Yogananda, "The Missing Link Between Consciousness and Matter", East West, June, 1932 Vol. 4—8]

Someone who at once understands eye expressions and feels the power that upholds the worlds - according to himself. "It takes one to know one," is a decent saying. How could Yogananda perceive what he said he perceived?

Yogananda uses many impressive words, like "fervently", "implored", "opal blue", "blessed Lord Jesus", "shimmering gold", "eternally wondrous eyes", "intuitively", "glorious gaze", "power that upholds the myriad worlds", "Holy Grail", "uttered beautiful words" "them in my heart". - However, Yogananda in America was out to impress and convince many Americans - also against sound gospel teachings that the teachings and kingdom of Jesus were only for (depraved) Jews, and not healthy Jews - and Gentiles were not allowed. (Matthew 15:24; 10:5-8; Vermes 2012)

Yogananda's editor-in-chief was the one who made up the "keep them in my heart". Yogananda did not write that, says his disciple Kriyananda his book Paramhansa Yogananda: A Biography with Personal Reflections and Reminiscences., where the the passage is:

I beheld a wonderful light, and Jesus Christ appeared above me. The Holy Grail passed from his lips to mine, and I heard his voice say, "The cup from which I drink, thou dost drink." (according to Kriyananda (2011, 286-87)

Look at the antiquated English: "Heard his voice say," means 'heard him say'. "Thou dost drink" means "Drink", but hardly as lustily as in the song "Trink, trink, Brüderlein trink" by Wilhelm Lindemann (1882–1941). Who knows?

Kriyananda also tells Yogananda used to tell about the vision and the words among disciples; he did not keep them in his heart only.

Further problems: Did Jesus take a cup with him when he ascended to heaven? If so all the grail-finders around have been mistaken. Most of the Grail-claimers have been mistaken anyway.

There is room for surreal artistry. And if you mean to be practical, go for good evidence before believing "supremist" tales. Such a rationality-helping approach is perfectly fit for spiritual persons, and advocated both in Buddhism and Hinduism, for example by Vivekananda who said, "Learn to see things in the proper light. First, believe in this world." "I have every respect and veneration for Lord Buddha," and "Vedanta has no quarrel with Buddhism."

Surreal

A Portuguese sculptor, upon his death bed, had a crucifix placed before his eyes by a confessor, who said, "Behold that God whom you have so much offended. Do you recollect him now?"

"Alas. Yes, Father," replied the dying man, "it was I who made him."

There are those who eat blood food for Christmas food, which includes black pudding, Brat, Wurst, and blood sausages, or hamburgers with blood proteins added . . . are they frivolous? Why do so many waste time on charades?

Against perverted justice, Buddha shows in the Apannaka Sutta what is beneficial and right in most ways. He sorts out four types of individuals: (1) One sort torments and tortures himself. (2) Another sort torments others, but not himself. (3) Another kind torments and tortures himself, and also others. (4) A fourth sort torments and tortures neither himself nor others. He lives in the here-and-now, sensitive to happiness, with an uplifted mind.

Do not let old demagogy mess up. In one place they teach this against Buddha's welcome teachings, in another place that, and opposed to it, and so on.

The pact was dispensed with

Jesus said that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24-26)" The image of the dead grain can be seen as a metaphor of Jesus' own death and burial. With seeds, corns and plants it is mostly different, but quite as Rudolf Steiner points out: The whole plant is seen through all of its phases - seed, sprout, maturing plant with flowers, fruits, and decay. To be more precise: A seed does not die, it sprouts when things work well. What is left rotting after a while, is the food for sprouting.

From this we learn in part that Jesus did not see the tall cycles of plant life. He was no eminent gardener either, for he decided to let evil choke good. Do not be like that [Mark 2:17; Matthew 9:12-13].

We do not have to trust and turn to the bad gardener if we manage and aim carefully for health and proficiency along such as the Noble Middle Way.

Christians are likened to sheep [John 21:15-17]. But "How much more worth is a man than a sheep!" says Jesus.

The main signs of belonging to God in the Old Pact - sticking to Sabbath rest and circumcision - along with slaughtering innocent animals and birds and allowing slavery and concubines - much of that was dispensed with for Christians. However, in Acts 15, such as blood pudding was pregnantly forbidden. Not everyone notes how eating blood food is put side by side with committing adultery in Acts 15.

Instead of falling victim to incoherent and feigning salvation bandits, just be helped by better teachings.

Follower pension - beware

In Acts, chapter 5, two old followers kept some of their money, presumably for a rainy day, were not upright about it, and dropped dead in front of Peter.

Today's followers of Jesus do too - the Holy Spirit and the apostles changed much rather quickly [cf. Matthew 5:17-20, Acts 15; 21,25].

We may judge some trees by their fruits, other trees by their foliage and other features, and still other trees by waiting and see too. Jesus was no good gardener. He spoke for putting 99% of a herd of sheep at risk, possibly, in order to search for missing one - but that is not the way to do it, in general. He should not allow a herd of pigs belonging to another, to be drowned either.

Samson, strong as an ox, went berserk and killed a lot of other people when the spirit of God came over him, says the Bible. Others took to dancing -

And can you be practical, really practical, if you are to take no thought for tomorrow? It you are not to plan ahead for the winter and much else?

Largely inconsistent teachings over and over and cheating teachings may eventually weaken and disappoint a person.

To fall victim of mumbo-jumbo or hearsay may not be a sign of relevant upbringing.

To associate with hypocrites can ruin the day. Hypocrites were condemned by Jesus; he accused and condemned religious people for some of the things he did himself. [Matthew 5;17-20].

Most Christians are hypocrites. They say they follow Jesus, though they do not qualify, and are not up to maiming themselves, embrace poverty, giving up their homes and let bullies take over. [More Jesus]