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Yogananda's Selfishness Guidelines |
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Confusing Selfishness GuidelinesThe goal of life is higher selfishness. [Yogananda]
To clarify things functions well for solid ones, especially if concepts previously used, are murky and inadequate. First Yogananda advocated "stepping up selfishness" in a fit way into "Be divinely selfish". Then he swerved from his original teachings and said "Be unselfish" and condemned selfishness (documentation below). He ought to have clarified his concepts and stopped talking against his former self. For what happened? Both the master and SRF dropped much of his early output as time went by, and SRF says his wisdom is flawless and they do not find fault with his guidelines - in a letter. Watch out for cult tricks: duping is one of many. - Tormod Kinnes Considerate Teachings or Plots?Capsules - Words of YoganandaVisions of India's Life-Giving Philosophy"Once I had a great controversy with a European who repeatedly and blindly affirmed that the goal of life was service, while I maintained that it was higher selfishness. I asked him again and again for his reasons in believing in "service", but instead of satisfying my discrimination, he kept on reiterating, "Service is the goal of life. It is blasphemous to doubt that." Finding him so dogmatic, I asked him, "Is service the goal of life because the Scriptures have declared it?" "Yes," he vehemently replied. "Do you believe everything literally in Scripture?" I questioned him. "Do you think Jonah was swallowed by a whale and came out alive after a few days? How do you account for it?" "No. I do not understand how he could do that" . . . In order to really know the truth contained in Scriptural stories, and in order to understand what is erroneous, or right, literal or metaphorical, in Scriptural writings, one must use his own reason, discrimination and power of intuitional verification developed thru meditation. Scriptures Not Always InfallibleService a Form of SelfishnessNo action is performed without reference to a direct or indirect thought of selfishness. Giving service is indispensable to receiving service. To serve others by financial, mental, or moral help is to find self-satisfaction. Besides, if any one knew beyond doubt that by service to others, his own soul would be lost, would he serve? If Jesus knew that by sacrificing his life on the altar of ignorance, He would displease God or lose His favor, would He have acted as he did? No, He knew that though he had to lose the body, He was gaining His Father's favor and His own Soul. Such immortal sons of God and all the martyrs and saints, make a good investment - they spend the little mortal body to gain immortal life. There is nothing worth-while gained without paying a price. Thus even the most self-sacrificing act of service to others can be shown to be done not without any thought of self. It is logical, therefore, to say that the higher selfishness, or the good of the Higher Self, is the motive of life instead of service to others without thought of self. Must be Given Because ReceivedThree Kinds - Evil, Good and Sacred SelfishnessGood selfishness should be followed by the business man, who, by sincere, honest, wholesome, constructive actions and labors, enables himself to look after his own and his family's needs. Such a business man is far superior to the business man who thinks and acts only for himself, thinking neither of the ones he serves or of those dependent on him for support. He is then acting against his own best selfish interests, for he will suffer in time. Many misers die, leaving their wealth to relatives who often squander it on wrong self-indulgences. Such selfishness helps neither the giver nor the receiver, in the end. To avoid the pitfalls of evil selfishness, one should first follow and establish himself in the good forms of selfishness, where one thinks of his family and those whom he serves, as part of himself. From that attainment, one can then advance to a practice of the sacred selfishness, (or unselfishness, as ordinary understanding would term it), where one sees all the universe as himself. Being Sacredly SelfishAct Without ExpectationWorking with good selfishness and sacred selfishness brings one in touch with God, resting on the altar of all-expanding goodness. One who realizes this, works conscientiously only to please the ever-directing God-peace within. Essence of the AboveYou find the capsules in the unabridged Yogananda article above. Errors of spelling have been corrected there.The goal of life is higher selfishness. [Yogananda] To really know the truth contained in Scriptural stories . . . to understand what is erroneous, or right, literal or metaphorical . . . one must use his own reason, discrimination and power of intuitional verification. [Yogananda] To know the truth of a doctrine, we must live it and find out if it works. [Yogananda] Service to others is secondary to, and born out . . . self-interest and self-preservation and selfishness. [Yogananda] Service to others is to be obeyed by all devotees who would, through others, expand the limits of their own self. [Yogananda] No action is performed without reference to a direct or indirect thought of selfishness. [Yogananda] Make a good investment . . . to gain immortal life. [Yogananda] The higher selfishness, or the good of the Higher Self, is the motive of life instead of service to others without thought of self. [Yogananda]
Distinguish between the three kinds of evil, good and sacred selfishness. The evil
kind is that which actuates a man to seek his own comfort by destroying the comforts of
others [but] is not conducive to any lasting good. True and good selfishness
is the kind which makes a man seek his own comfort, prosperity and happiness by also making
others more prosperous and happy . . .
[One is to be] sacredly selfish . . . for his own great and ultimate
gain [On such a fellow:] His entire selfishness is sacred, for whenever he
thinks of himself, he thinks, not of the small body and mind of ordinary understanding, but
of the needs of all bodies and minds (within the range of his acquaintance or influence).
His "self" then becomes the Self of all . . . [Work] to please the ever-directing God-peace within. [Yogananda] NOTE. Divine selfishness does not imply you put others first and disregard your own concerns and interests. To the contrary, it suggests "concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself; seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others; arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others [from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary]". The guru's argument is to include others in the selfishness in an expanding scheme, and that is good, he says. Unselfishness, on the other hand, is "not selfish, generous" in the dictionary, and thus different. Do selfishness and unselfishness meet in Bliss and the guru? The Selfishness Cavalcade of Yogananda TeachingsIn Great Depression Times His Teachings ChangedNOTE. Here the guru's attitude to fit selfishness from the year before, seems to be forgotten, or dropped. Mhm. A Thematic SurveyIn the lecture "How to Burn out the Roots of Depression by Divine Methods", East West April, 1932, Sri Yogananda goes much into selfishness again. The lecture was published in depression times. Three years after the "selfishness is good" article he now talks down on selfishness and drops discerning between three forms of selfishness and how higher selfishness can lead to good things of life, and to realizing the Self (God) and so on. Moralising pettiness may be on the increase -Now you may wonder why many of Yogananda's teachings seem so inconsistent and mutually exclusive too. Below is what we have gathered: Without conscience and without heart the Rolls-Royces and Packards, containing their laughing, bejewelled, selfishness-petrified human beings, pass by these outwardly diffident, but inwardly poverty-singed unfortunates . . .
Misunderstanding of the universal laws of peaceful, prosperous living is responsible
for depressions, famines, plagues, industrial, social, and national man-made cataclysms and
wars. International misunderstandings breed in their wombs their Satanic offsprings of
selfishness, which is the real cause of all economic upheavals. NOTE. Now Yogananda goes a long way in contradicting his teachings for selfishness three years earlier. And he goes on and on. Less than twenty years later he had a Cadillac given to him, by the way. He found no fault with that and riding in it. Just observe the deep changes of the guru.Luxury, the desire to possess money by any method, the fear of the poor house, loss of material prestige in the eyes of the family or society, and selfishness, are the harbingers of crime, poverty, and lack of sympathy. If everybody would live and dress simply, then misery-breeding, luxurious living would be out of fashion, and people would strive to spend more time in spiritual development. How can we ever prevent man from chasing to the portals of the tomb the almighty dollar in the hope of becoming rich or happy? The remedy is to destroy selfishness; make plain living and high-thinking the standard of world civilization; penalize luxury; discourage the ownership of tax-heavy, unwieldy estates, big houses, servants, maids, costly cars and clothing. Boycott completely those who own piles of money and who coldly pass by their brother even when they see that he is scorched with poverty and dying of hunger. Make costly clothing an object of ridicule and then the equality and brotherhood of man will be established . . . One concern may become rich by slashing the prosperity of many other concerns with the sword of selfishness, but that very weapon may be wrested from him and used against him by another more powerful war-lord of industry . . . God's laws, which protect alike both His weak and His strong children . . . are prompted to work silently to disrupt these man-made selfish laws of industry . . . The ideal of business, to make money at all costs, must be changed. The ideal of business should be to give the best service, to supply the real needs of man, and not to encourage his habits of luxury, which destroy his body, mind, and soul . . . The sharing of profits between capital and labor, would make both the capitalists and the workers equally rich and happy. Security of food at all times; medical help when disabled; free transportation; and education would make people feel that they are all members of the same family, of one nation . . . The Satan of luxury, poverty, selfishness, and international misunderstandings, would then be banished. Equality, peace and brotherhood in the world are impossible as long as selfishness and luxury remain. Individual and social selfishness must be abandoned for the common good of nations, and national selfishness must be abandoned before members of nations can live happily without wars . . . Let us remember that it was extreme imperial selfishness, contrasts between luxury and poverty, brother treating brother as slave, tyranny of one brother over another, brother murdering brother, one brother living rich by making other brothers poor, all these it was which loosened the invisible dynamite of discontent that blew up the gun-guarded Empire of the Czars . . . However, no matter how prosperous Russia may seem today, I, personally, do not approve of the way she forced her new democracy . . The present democracy [Stalin's reign] was gained by the un-Christian, un-spiritual laws of wholesale murder and slaughter . . . Industrial life is destroying real human life, that introspective, meditative, restful, peaceful, calm life, and is plunging people in the mad war of selfishness and insatiable greed . . . After showing that selfishness should be forsaken by individuals, and nations, and all souls in the earth, I must now show how a practical Utopia can be created in this tax-ridden, complicated system of modern government . . .
Forsake luxury, selfishness, and greed for money, and lead lives of security free
from worries. More LoreBlind attachment of family property, and so on, leads to selfishness, quarrelsomeness, delusion of permanent possession, inharmony, worries, and the like. So-called blind patriotism produces commercial greed. - Yogananda ["The Second Coming of Christ," East West May, 1933] Let us all train the soldiers of our hearts - love, faith, kindness, and understanding, and declare a world war against selfishness, church bigotry, industrial and individual greed, unkindness, territorial aggression, race and class prejudice, armaments, international distrust, poverty, sickness, spiritual ignorance, and blind, excluding patriotism. Let us have the world policed by the guardian angel of true brotherhood, and let us have spiritual education of our hearts. - Yogananda, "Healing the Sick World", East West, June, 1933]
In order to bring all humanity into the mansion of union and universal happiness,
science, politics, social and individual ethics, international industries, and the science
of international laws of living, all universally useful moral and religious sciences, should
offer ideal standards of the international laws of hygiene, peace, prosperity, education,
moral codes, and applied psychological and spiritual laws, which would make each of the . .
. human inhabitants of this earth an all-round, perfect world citizen. - Yogananda,
"Realizing World Unity Through the Art of Living", East West, October, 1933.
(Yogananda's Speech Before the World Congress of Religions)]. Yogoda World-City PlannedSwami Yogananda, with the help of a few exalted souls, is going to make a supreme effort to do something practical in establishing such a city [and to teach universal brotherhood]" - All by Sri Yogananda's secretary, Richard Wright [in the magazine Inner Culture, March, 1937]. Selfishness Can Be Called Good AgainAvoid evil selfishness, which is the root of all troubles, whether individual or national . . . There will be more suffering before mankind realizes that national selfishness is just as evil as personal selfishness. We really do not own anything . . . The true Self is the manifestation of Spirit within. Anything that you do for the Self could be called "selfishness." Good selfishness consists of those actions by which the pure image of the Self within can be realized. Evil selfishness is that which you do for the ego, thus going against the true interest of the Self. - Paramhansa Yogananda Inner Culture, December 1939 - A source] If patriotic selfishness goes against international well-being, the former must be sacrificed. - Paramhansa Yogananda, Inner Culture, November 1939] Familiarity breeds contempt between those who are mutually useless, selfish, material-minded, and unproductive of inspiration or self-development. The greater the mutual service, the deeper the friendship [Source] Start now building colonies [by that he meant self-supporting communities], and stop industrially selfish society from gambling with your destiny. Get away from the perpetual slavery of holding jobs to the last day of your life. Buy farms and settle down with harmonious friends. Work three hours a day and live in the luxury of literary wealth, and have time to constructively exchange Divine experiences and meditate.
Lessons from the Ten CommandmentsHow the Ten Commandments were put into it: Here is a small part of "The Ten Commandments: Eternal Rules of Happiness", given in Encinitas, California, March 6, 1938, and published in Man's Eternal Quest [Ak]. Points1As soon as man begins to worship possessions, name, fame - anything less than God - he finds unhappinessGod-realization should be the goal of living.2Symbol worship is all right for a few, but it has more bad than good results[And] to worship the cross [of Jesus] is to worship a graven image.NOTE. Later in life Yogananda loved to wear a cross that had a lotus flower in the middle. He is depicted wearing it in old SRF Magazines. 3When you say the name of God, you must be inwardly aware of what you are saying. Were it possible to look into others' minds when they are praying, you would see that a great many are thinking about almost anything but the Lord. They are taking the name of God in vain.4Out of a week of seven days, how few people devote even one to God.You must be calm to be successful.5Therefore honor Him in your parents.6The meaning is that one should not kill for killing's sake [and not in an emotional outburst either] But if your country is attacked and goes to war, you should fight to protect those whom God has given to you. You have a righteous obligation to defend your family and your country [If headed by an insane idiot, reconsider the latter part of that teaching. - TK]7The ideal of sexual union should be the creation of childrenThose who live solely on the physical plane, never thinking of love or the high purpose for which the sex sense was intended, are, in the spirit of this commandment, committing adultery. To be enslaved by sex is to lose health, self-control, and peace of mind -8"Thou shalt not steal." . . . Spiritual unselfishness is the way; then one automatically attracts abundance.Unless material selfishness is abandoned, there can be no happiness in the world.9One should not speak unpleasant facts unnecessarily. To tell a truth that would betray another person, and to no worthy purpose, is also wrong. One should not speak untruth to avoid speaking truth, but rather remain silent.10Learn to differentiate between "necessary necessities" and "unnecessary necessities."Interesting parallells to be looked up: Yogananda's counsel on not Killing the Ego, but the SonYOGANANDA tells:"Once when I was in Seattle, Washington, I went to a farmhouse to buy some cherries. Here I met an old man with rosy cheeks. He looked happy, but cried, "We are all sinners!" "I have a remedy for your misery," I said. The old man smiled. "If you can do anything for me - anything," he said, "I shall be grateful." I asked him in a low voice, "Have you a stove with a large oven?" With my hands I described the dimensions I wanted. He had. "Good," I said. "Heat it red-hot. Now, have you two friends whom you can trust never to betray your secrets to anyone, no matter what you do?" He had. "Good!" I interrupted him. "You'll need their help. Now, have you several yards of strong rope?" "Yes, I have," the old farmer replied with mounting suspicion. I then asked him casually. "Dear friend. Your son is quite a heavy sleeper, isn't he?" "Yes," came the sorrowful reply. "Excellent!" I cried. "Now then, tonight I want you to call your two friends over. Heat your oven as hot as possible. Keep your friends quiet until your son is sound asleep. Then slip quickly into his room, bind him securely, carry him downstairs and shove him into the oven!" The old man shouted, "Is that your remedy?" "Isn't that what your son deserves?" I asked. "A human father . . . punishing his own son by roasting him alive . . .""
Literature Ak: Yogananda, Pa.: Man's Eternal Quest. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1975. Ap: Mieder, Wolfgang (main editor), Stewart A. Kingsbury, and Kelsie E. Harder: A Dictionary of American Proverbs. (Paperback) New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Bpe: Allport, Gordon. Becoming: Basic Considerations for a Psychology of Personality. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955. Repr, 1966. Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006. Pa: Yogananda, Pa.: Autobiography of a Yogi. 11th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1971. ONLINE 1st edition Say: Yogananda, Pa.: Sayings of Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958. USER'S GUIDE to abbreviations, the site's bibliography, letter codes, dictionaries, site design and navigation, tips for searching the site and page referrals. [LINK] DISCLAIMER: [LINK] © 20022008, Tormod Kinnes. All rights reserved. [E-MAIL] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||