Physically they did not cross paths.
But definitely, Spiritually the Masters were connected…
All Masters who come from highest spheres, seem to know each other's missions. They also can communicate telepathically beyond time and realms and know the past present and future.
One incident known is about a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.
This disciple (of Swami Yogananda) had met Swami Vivekananda, when he was very young. Swami Vivekananda had told him that his guru would come to America and he would give him a Silver cup..
40 years later…the disciple was given a Silver cup by Paramahansa Yogananda, as a Christmas present….the event foreseen by Swami Vivekananda 3 decades earlier…Vivekananda also seemed to know that Paramahansa Yogananda would be going to America later…the exact words Swamiji told Mr.Dickinson were…” YOUR MASTER WILL COME, HE WILL GIVE U A SILVER CUP, AND HE WILL POUR OUT MORE BLESSINGS THAN U CAN EVER HOLD”
Besides this incident…the two yogis followed different paths…Paramahansa Yogananda taught Kriya Yoga and Swami Vivekananda spoke about Vedanta and Bhakthi and Mantra Diksha was normally given in the Ramakrishna path…
God bless
PY focused on teaching Kriya yoga mainly. SV taught all 4 yogas. He focused on spreading Hindu philosophy in India and the west.
SV created interest in Hinduism in the west and PY went 23 years later and taught Kriya Yoga.
I have studied them both and there are no contradictory teachings between them.
Both belonged to the Dasanami sampradaya reorganized by Adi Shankaracharya. Both Advaitic lineages. SV was from Puri sampradaya and PY was from Giri sampradaya.
Their personalities were different we can say. SV was a manly figure. PY had a gentle nature, both quite opposite to their gurus.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was very gentle and Yukteswar Giri, the guru of PY had an imposing personality.
PY was more mystical while SV was quite rational in his teachings. SV was also a mystic within but outwardly he taught rational thinking.
Yukteswar Giri said that we are still in Dwapara Yuga, but SV said that Satya yuga has started with the birth of Ramakrishna. YG used to give a few astrological remedies to people sometimes. PY said that he did so only because he didn’t want to cure people directly gaining name and fame. SV taught that one should not focus on astrology and such things and to believe in the soul which is invincible.
PY was only 9 years old at the time of SV’s mahasamadhi. He grew up reading SV’s teachings.
Mahendranath Gupta who wrote the teachings of RK, gave the vision of Maa Kali to PY before he met his guru.
Based on my extensive life experience I fully believe that what Paramahansa wrote in his book is completely true.
The only “proof” that I can offer is this:
In addition to writing that book he started a religious/spiritual institute called, “Self Realization Fellowship” or SRF. One of the programs that they offer is a home meditation course which includes lessons sent to you every week. Initially the lessons are stories and parables similar to the things that he included in his book. Eventually it gets to a specific meditation technique that prepares you for more advanced techniques that come later.
Almost from the moment that I began to practice this technique I began to feel some inner changes. And then one late evening as I was practicing as it instructed my breath spontaneously stopped completely for about 15 minutes. Needless to say I was utterly amazed. I think at this point I will just go ahead and share with everyone a letter that I wrote to a friend describing that night.
Dear Beata,
I hope you don't mind but I would love to share something with you. Something incredibly amazing happened recently and I just gotta share it with someone. Truth be told, I can honestly say that I personally don't know another person in this whole world besides you Beata with whom I could even share something like this.
You remember I told you that I started the Self-Realization Fellowship lessons last year. From the beginning the lessons have basically talked about God, religion, about what and who we really are and our place in the universe. The main difference between SRF teachings and other spiritual philosophies is that SRF teaches to not just know God in an intellectual way but to know and experience Him personally through meditation. Up to about a month ago the only directions they gave in regard to a meditation technique was to sit either on the floor or on a chair keeping the spine erect. They said to try to quiet and clear the mind by focusing on a prayer, mantra or other single idea.
For me it has been going pretty well. Of course, on many occasions my mind was overwhelmed with thoughts and worries and I couldn't seem to relax or get focused. Other times I would feel such a deep quietness that I would get some very clear responses that I wasn't even expecting. Like the message that I got about your dad and you. Usually, more and more frequently, I feel a very discernible sense of peace and well-being.
A few weeks ago the topic of the lessons was about life force or divine/cosmic energy as it relates to the creation of the universe as well as the control of our body. Basically it suggests that when one can withdraw attention (life force) from the outer senses the body can be made to slow down tremendously and then that life force is directed down the spine which leads to a deeper and deeper meditative state. This is accomplished by controlling the breath.
The lessons then gave the first specific meditation exercise which is known as the "Hong-Sau" technique. It's pronounced Hong-Saw. Those two words are referred to as holy Sanskrit words which when said have a cosmic vibration which corresponds to the ingoing and outgoing breath. When starting a meditation, after a specific breathing exercise to relax, one then mentally says "Hong" on the inhale and "Saw" on the exhale.
The lessons then went into a lot more detail about just how much of a part our breath, or lack thereof, contributes to our ability to obtain a deep inner, meditative peace. Although it didn't say just how much one would be able to control ones breath it did mention advanced yogis who are able to completely stop their breath and other bodily functions.
Almost from the beginning I could feel how quickly I was able to relax my breathing with this technique. You were told not to force your breathing but to kind of mentally stand back and just let your body breath on it's own remembering to say "Hong" when you felt your body start to inhale and "Saw" when your body started to exhale. It also said to enjoy the peaceful breathlessness between each inflowing and outflowing of breath.
Week before last, on the 14th, things started as usual. I could feel my breathing slow down like the preceding meditations. Then I realized that the pauses between breaths were very noticeably longer than they had been before. Again, we were told not to consciously breath but to let our body breath on it's own. Of course, we are never suppose to hold our breath and if at any time we felt short of breath we can consciously take a breath. After this one particular exhale I noticed that the pause seemed to be extremely long. I thought I would try something different this time. I decided that when I felt my body about to take it's next inhale I would mentally tell myself to hold off for a bit. While I was waiting, my mind drifted to other thoughts. After awhile my mind came back to the thought of breathing and I realized I still hadn't taken a breath. I know this because I had done very well in conditioning my mind to say "Hong" whenever my body took a breath. Since I had been kind of day dreaming I wasn't exactly sure how long it had been since I told myself that I was going to hold off. Now I had my own undivided attention, if that makes sense. I figured it couldn't have been that long because it didn't feel like my body needed to breath. I just sat there waiting to see how long it would be before I finally took a breath. A long time seemed to pass and still nothing. I decided to time it and started mentally counting, one-one thousand, two-one thousand etc. and after 4 minutes I still felt absolutely no need whatsoever to take a breath.
Then I thought to myself that this can't really be happening, it's just not possible. At least for someone who is just starting out on the path anyway. I then figured that I must of been breathing very, very slightly and just hadn't realized it. I then directed my attention to my chest and lightly constricted my throat. Nope, I definitely wasn't breathing. You know that burning feeling you get in your chest when you try to stay under water for a long time or any time you hold your breath for that matter? I should have felt something to that affect by now as it had been close to at least 6 minutes already and I didn't feel any discomfort at all.
I thought to myself, "This Hong-Sau technique is amazing. It was only then that my attention shifted from thoughts of breathing to my other senses. My body felt like it was in a kind of force-field or under an intense electrical charge. I also felt this enormous rush of energy from above me flowing into my crown chakra. Once again, just to make sure I wasn't day-dreaming or imagining all this I wiggled my fingers and toes. I could feel that I was actually hyper aware of my senses. I was about to open my eyes but I decided not to as I thought it might stop everything.
You can't imagine what a feeling it is to know that you haven't taken a breath for so long and that you don't even have the feeling that your going to need one any time soon.
I wondered what I should do. What should I think about. Even though I didn't need to take a breath I can't say that I felt like I was in a deep meditative state.
I had the mind to ponder if I could send out some of this energy that was flowing into me. Since it was around midnight, one by one, I held a mental picture of everyone I knew in my mind and said a kind of hello wondering if they would hear/see me in their dreams. Okay, that might sound silly, but again, I didn't know what one is suppose to do in this situation. I also sent out healing energy to everyone who I could think of who might need it.
I sat there for a few more minutes not really thinking about anything but still just as sure that I wasn't breathing and hadn't taken a breath.
By now somewhere around 15 minutes had passed since I took my last breath. Since I had to get up in a few hours for my ambulance job I decided to call it a night and pick up where I left off the following day.
Can you guess what happened the next evening? Nothing! My breathing got to that very relaxed state as it had before only after the pauses between breaths my body always needed to take that next breath. Of course I tried to hold my breath and a couple of times it seemed like it was going to happen but in the end it didn't. Even the following nights I couldn't duplicate what happened that first night.
Last Sunday I decided to go to the SRF temple in Glendale (California) to talk to someone about my experience before the morning service. The ushers and the people in the book store suggested I wait until after the service was over and speak directly to the minister.
Like ministers do, afterward he stood by the exit to great those who wanted to thank him for the wonderful service. I waited at the end of the line and when it was my turn I first explained that I was taking the SRF lessons and was at the point of the "Hong-Sau" technique. I then asked him if he would mind explaining to me the exact purpose of that technique.
He explained that at this point in the lessons it is to simply help one to develop proper breathing which will then assist with the "Aum" technique which will come later. And from there the combined techniques will be used to assist with the Kriya Yoga technique which will be given when the student is ready.
I then explained the reason for my inquiry by sharing with him the story I just told you. I was barely finished when this huge smile spread across his face and he simply said, "God revealed Himself to you!"
I heard what he said but I wasn't exactly sure what he meant. I stood there for a few seconds not knowing what to say. I then said, "so it wasn't the "Hong-Sau" technique?" I mean, how do you know?"
He responded, "the "Hong-Sau" helped you relax but that's not what created your experience. Given how you explained your experience, which is identical to the experience of other devotee's, I can say with certainty that God heard the call of your heart and that's how he chose to respond to you personally.
When he told me that a shiver ran down my spine and, with a deep inner knowing, I realized that he was right and just how wonderful of an experience I had really had.
I asked him, "if it happens again what should I do? What should I think about?" He said to just keep my thoughts quiet and to hold a loving thought of God in my heart.
My faith and love for God is very great and I know that this is going to happen to/for me again soon!
Thanks for letting me share this with you Beata. With love and friendship for all eternity.
Kevin
That experience happened back in 2012. It is now September 2017 and my breath now stops completely anytime I sit down to meditate. I actually no longer even refer to it as meditation. Now that my connection to God/source is as natural as, well… breathing, I simply refer to it as “logging on”
Peace and infinite joy to us all!
I gave it some thought and decided that it would be appropriate for me to share a link to my YouTube video.
Yogananda and Vivekananda were not physically connected and taught in different times Vivekananda was older than Yogananda, and in fact, whe he travelled to the United States for the first time to the conference in Chicago in the same year Yogananda was born, 1893. Swami Vivekananda was the ice-breaker and introduced Americans to Eastern teachings and most specifically to Vedanta. When he died in 1902 Yogananda was only 9 years old.
Paramhansa Yoganand once mentioned Swami Vivekananda in his book, An Autobiography Of A Yogi, in 47th Chapter, When he again returns to West.
He mentions one of his disciples Mr. E.E. Dickinson, for whom Sri Yoganand G brought a silver glass from Calcutta(Capital of Bengal Province, India). Being awarded this gift from Yoganand G on Christmas of 1924, he gets filled with joy, and a bliss. But he does not discloses the earlier happenings of his childhood that lead to fultill his quest for a mentor, it was his drowning at the age of 5, to Yoganand.
Some days later Dickinson mentions about the gift of Silver glass and described it, as he was eagerly waiting for this gift for 43 years in a row.
When Dickinson was 5 years old, playing with the cousins and friends, his elder brother pushed him in a deep pond. As a result, he was drowning, he exerted his all efforts and pressure to dig out of the misery , but he couldn't.
Later an astonishing light flashed and shown him the way, a friend of his elder dragged the branch of a nearby tree, by holding which Dickinson made his way to get out of the pond.
After 12 years of this event when he was 17 years old, he went to Chicago, to listen World Religious Conference.
He witnessed the same intensity of light following a man who had earlier helped him in getting out from drowning, after the conference held and all the participants preached and boasted their own religions and beliefs. A firm and strong voice made the show applauding and he met the person and it was Swami Vivekananda who made a discourse on Oriental philosophy, the way of living and Vedanta Philosophy.
As Dickinson described the series of events to Swami Vivekananda, and urged him to be his mentor and guide. But Vivekananda refused and forecasted a series of events that'll lead him to meet his true Guru and mentor, told him that he'd be offered a silver glass from such a person. And he'd be Dickinson's Guru, not me.
And this was the way when Mr. Dickinson realised that this was the greatest moments of his quest for philosophical life and was awarded a mentor from the upheavens,
Where the master plays the strings that controls all the beings, animate or inanimate.
Radhe Radhe.
There is some difference in teachings of both these gurus but essentially the aim is same : Help the world and achieve your own “Moksha” . I will elaborate on the difference one by one :
Swami Vivekananda : The emphasis in Vivekananda’s teachings is more on helping the poor and alleviating suffering in the world. He says that unless you help the world , you will not gain your salvation .
He said :
There is no time to deliver a long discourse on "Renunciation", but I shall very briefly characterise it as "the love of death". Worldly people love life. The Sannyasin is to love death. Are we to commit suicide then? Far from it. For suicides are not lovers of death, as it is often seen that when a man trying to commit suicide fails, he never attempts it for a second time. What is the love of death then? We must die, that is certain; let us die then for a good cause. Let all our actions — eating, drinking, and everything that we do — tend towards the sacrifice of our self. You nourish your body by eating. What good is there in doing that if you do not hold it as a sacrifice to the well-being of others? You nourish your minds by reading books. There is no good in doing that unless you hold it also as a sacrifice to the whole world. For the whole world is one; you are rated a very insignificant part of it, and therefore it is right for you that you should serve your millions of brothers rather than aggrandise this little self.
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत् सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् ।
सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ॥"With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere in the universe, That exists pervading all." (Gita, XIII. 13)
Thus you must die a gradual death. In such a death is heaven, all good is stored therein — and in its opposite is all that is diabolical and evil.
Also, since Swamiji spent a major portion of his life in understanding India and her problems , his teachings are filled with intense patriotism .
For e.g. , he said :
This is the ancient land where wisdom made its home before it went into any other country, the same India whose influx of spirituality is represented, as it were, on the material plane, by rolling rivers like oceans, where the eternal Himalayas, rising tier above tier with their snowcaps, look as it were into the very mysteries of heaven. Here is the same India whose soil has been trodden by the feet of the greatest sages that ever lived. Here first sprang up inquiries into the nature of man and into the internal world. Here first arose the doctrines of the immortality of the soul, the existence of a supervising God, an immanent God in nature and in man, and here the highest ideals of religion and philosophy have attained their culminating points. This is the land from whence, like the tidal waves, spirituality and philosophy have again and again rushed out and deluged the world, and this is the land from whence once more such tides must proceed in order to bring life and vigour into the decaying races of mankind. It is the same India which has withstood the shocks of centuries, of hundreds of foreign invasions of hundreds of upheavals of manners and customs. It is the same land which stands firmer than any rock in the world, with its undying vigour, indestructible life. Its life is of the same nature as the soul, without beginning and without end, immortal; and we are the children of such a country.
Source:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 3/Lectures from Colombo to Almora/The Future of India
Vivekananda’s philosophy is rooted in Advaita Vedanta.
Paramahansa Yogananda:
He was the first Hindu guru to spend a major part of his life in the West. From 1920 to 1952 (his death) , he remained in the United States , briefly interrupted by his visit to India in 1935–36.
The teachings of Yogananda focus on achieving “ Moksha” through a ancient yogic practice called Kriya Yoga . He also stresses on the importance of serving the poor and helping the world , but less than Vivekananda. His main teaching is that you should cultivate your own relationship with God and through him try to improve the world.
In his autobiography , he writes :
To allot God a secondary place in life was, to me, inconceivable. Though He is the sole Owner of the cosmos, silently showering us with gifts from life to life, one thing yet remains which He does not own, and which each human heart is empowered to withhold or bestow-man's love. The Creator, in taking infinite pains to shroud with mystery His presence in every atom of creation, could have had but one motive-a sensitive desire that men seek Him only through free will. With what velvet glove of every humility has He not covered the iron hand of omnipotence!
-Autobiography of a Yogi (Chapter 24)
Yogananda uses the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta to explain various aspects of life and universe but places foremost importance on Kriya Yoga to achieve self -realization.
He was also extremely patriotic and cared a lot for India , though he did not express his thoughts as much as Vivekananda. In fact , he died with a poem describing India on his lips.
Here is the description :
On 7 March 1952, he attended a dinner for the visiting Indian Ambassador to the US, Binay Ranjan Sen, and his wife at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles At the conclusion of the banquet, Yogananda spoke of India and America, their contributions to world peace and human progress, and their future cooperation expressing his hope for a "United World" that would combine the best qualities of "efficient America" and "spiritual India." According to an eyewitness – Daya Mata, a direct disciple of Yogananda, who was head of the Self-Realization Fellowship from 1955–2010— as Yogananda ended his speech, he read from his poem My India, concluding with the words "Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God—I am hallowed; my body touched that sod." "As he uttered these words, he lifted his eyes to the Kutastha center (the Ajna Chakra), and his body slumped to the floor." Followers say that he entered mahasamadhi.
In the final analysis, it can be said that both gurus place emphasis on serving the world and , at the same time, achieving self -realization.
Sir /madam,
I am extremely happy that this question has raised in your consciousness. Reason: I started reading this book once and the more I read more I doubted.because for me it was like everything was served on his plate… like meeting with gurus, gurus appearing one after other infront of him etc…BUT THEN…
I stopped reading and went back to routine and after few days…one by one miracles started happening in my life. Covid took away my earning business. My boyfriend with whom I was since 10yrs dumped me ,cheated me. I was left all torned, ruined…and it took me to my true self , my journey inward connected me slowly to all spiritual people brought me out of deep depression .. as if everything was being served on my plate…
I AGAIN STARTED READING THE BOOK AGAIN and now it related like never before. Transformed me from within with many mysterious experiences as well.
This is no joke. It's all true. Very very true. Today I m learning the tattavabodha concepts. Bhagawad Gita. And astrological background of past karma… my spiritual journey is going awesome.
I don't wish that you have any of the bad patch as I had but KNOW IF THIS QUESTION HAS ARISEN THEN THERE MUST BE SOME ANSWER AS WELL.
ALL THE BEST.
Love and light
Tejaswini
I have studied many spiritual enlightened people life through their literature. I found Paramahansa Yogananda not only seen the God but he became one with This Infinte energy. When he was about to leave the body some one clicked pic before his departure one hour before if you that pic you wont believe this person is going to leave the body. So much noor was there and his eyes were glittering. And after leaving the body his body was fresh till it arrives India. there were no sign of decomposing. He was living miracle and proof of God presence in the form of human body. My soul says thanks to Yogananda for coming into my life.
Why do you have to leave Hinduism to follow Yogananda? Is there any inconsistency between them? I am a Christian and a follower of Yogananda. One of his his missions was to “To reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.”
Millions in world have found God through his authentic teachings and writings which is based on original teachings of masters like Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya and Shri Yukteshwer ji. He is perfect example of Gurus of Pre-independent India who taught ancient India techniques of meditation to Indians and seekers of other countries without crass commercialisation or MNCs in name of God we see at present. Notably, his entire life and works has been an open book i.e. in public domain for last 125 years. Autobiography of Yogi mentions true accounts in lives of all Masters including himself, which are verified from various sources I.e. books from other writers. Only true seekers can understand magnificence of a true master.
For the same reason Krishna is more famous than Rama.
The more chaotic the times, the more the prophet of those times is honored.
When Vivekananda was born, the sects of Hinduism used to fight with each other. As if that is not enough, we had muslims and christians converting Hindus, calling our religion backward. There were even other Hindu organizations which were apologetic and started their own sects of Hinduism. Some sects, perverting the idea of Krishna and Gopis fell into bad practises. The country was in so much poverty without any confidence.
Sri Ramakrishna attained god through all sects of Hinduism and through Christianity and Islam and showed that all paths lead to the same goal. He brought back the ideals of renunciation and brahmacharya.
Many bad rumours about Hindus and India were spread by missionaries and the British. Swami Vivekananda, by lecturing about Hinduism and India, cleared these misconceptions and brought a sense of pride to the Hindus who forgot their own glory. The world realized it has much to learn from Hindus. He also organized Ramakrishna Mission to provide education, medical help and relief work to brought India back to its feet.
Since a lot of work was there to be done and he had done it, he became more famous.
Yogananda Swami taught the method of Kriya yoga in India and in the west. It is an easy way to awaken the kundalini and chakras and attain enlightenment.
His mission was to provide a practical method to practise spirituality. Their organization’s main goal is to teach this method. Everything needed for the practise is prepared so well and offered to us easily ‘like a fruit in one’s palm.’
The groundwork was already done by Swami Vivekananda. The quarrels between sects have reduced. The west already knew about Yoga and Vedanta. So Yogananda Swami did not have to do all the work from the beginning. He focused on teaching the practical method of Kriya yoga to attain spirituality.
They were both spiritual giants well beyond our understanding. Their work was different and their times were different.
Paramahansa Yogananda was a Self Realised soul. All Such souls can directly communicate with God.
The Guru himself explains that, the Human mind is like a radio, it can send and receive different frequcies of signals.
Very high frequencies are constantly pouring in the ether, from different higher beings. For example, the thoughts of Krishna and Buddha are still roaming in the ether, and any Man can tune himself to it from anywhere in the universe.
For the higher mind, Space and Time are non existent. Only Energy/ Vibration exists. And vibrantion can be understood and translated into human words…(just like a TV captures invisible signals and converts them into visible images and words!)
Similarly, Paramahansa Yogananda could with his extremely rarified, powerful Chittha/Consciousness, connect and receive all Highest levels of messages. He himself explains that all great souls who have attained realization, can tune into God and send and receive messages…One must know that God, is the HIGHEST form of energy/vibration etc…from him every thing has emanated…and a soul whose Conscious Mind can communicate with this HIGHEST power is the most powerful being on earth() . Christ and Krishna, Babaji and Buddha all have such powerful Consciousness.
Ordinary Man is like a 2 watt bulb, his mind is full of static of sense pleasure and distraction…He is hence incapable of making his mind/ Chittha/ Consciousness work like a sending and receiving instrument….
Through Yoga and intense Sadhana, the mind/ Consciousness can be honed to become highly pure and commune with great beings and God's vibration as well…
God bless🙏
Sri Ramkrishna was Swami Vivekananda’s spiritual master.
How can a disciple be superior to his/her master? If we add all the contributions made by the first 16 direct disciples of Sri Ramkrishna including Swami Vivekananda, it won’t be equal to even half of Sri Ramkrishna’s contribution. All these Saints would have been nothing without Sri Ramkrishna’s guidance. Narendranath Dutta was a monotheist who believed neither in idol worshiping nor in Polytheism. It was Sri Ramkrishna…with whose grace, Naren could see Sanatan Dharma from a different perspective and believe in the existence of God. If it wouldn’t have been for Sri Ramkrishna thakur, a common, young, inquisitive boy of the 19th century could not have become Swami Vivekananda.
Similarly, Sri Ramkrishna had trained Rakhal, Sharat, Jogin. Niranjan, Taraknath, Harinath, Kali, Latu, Gopal etc and showed them the path of enlightenment. Just like a potter molds clay and shapes it into several beautiful round pots, similarly Sri Ramkrishna had molded his disciples with his love and compassion and shaped them into wonderful saints who went around the world carrying his message of Peace, religious harmony, brotherhood and service to mankind.
Look, you need to make a difference between accusation and truth...Jesus was accused as an enemy of the state and crucified. But was that a truth. Many times, it has been seen, specially in the west, that Indian spiritual teachers had them villified by insecure Christian clergy and laymen. Malicious propaganda was spread against them, they were horribly persecuted . However, they stood the test of time, and like the sun needing no lantern light to reveal itself, came out self-effulgent. The same has been the story of Swamiji Vivekananda(I cant speak of most rev Yoganandaji, since I have not re
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Dear Concerned,
Miracles do happen. But miracles can not be planned. I have been a witness to many miracles but in all the cases the concerned person never knew it was going to happen with him/her.
Let me tell you an incident which happened some 30 years back. There was a person, lets call him Mr. X. Mr. X was one of the top guys in U.P. Police. He had 5 children and was around 50 years of age at that time. He was not keeping well for sometime and then one fine day he died.
When he died, his wife couldn't take it and became almost insane with the shock of his death. She started screaming that how
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I have read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda twice. I don’t know for sure if it’s 100% genuine or exaggerated; I wasn’t there for any of the events described, nor do I know anyone who was. I’m pretty far removed, and have never researched Yogananda in depth, as I personally follow a different Guru. I have heard my Guru speak positively about Yogananda, not explicitly confirming that he was a true Master, but certainly complimenting and respecting him for his contributions to Yoga and modern Dharmik spirituality in general.
Based on my own experiences and understanding, I think it’s quite possible for all of the claims in Autobiography of a Yogi to be genuine. I don’t recall anything in it raising a red flag for me, such that I thought No way, that couldn’t have happened. I think it all could have - and not even at a stretch for the vast majority of it. But did it all actually happen? I don’t know, maybe. It is definitely inspiring and wholesome, a beautiful and wonderful record of encounters with many saints and sages, and contains a lot of genuine Yoga teachings.
Yogananda’s constant tone of effusive praise and respect for all the many great yogis he met, rather than downplaying them in comparison to himself or his own Guru, speaks well of his authenticity and humility. The clear and consistent message of the book is not Come take me as The Authority, give me money and do as I say, I’m the best, and only my lineage is authentic. It’s India is full of yogis far greater than me. My Master was just one of many, the best fit for me, but not necessarily better than all the others. Do yoga, it’s great. Here are my experiences. The former would be sure proof of a charlatan; the latter is exactly what I would expect of a genuine yogi. He even extended this great respect to some Catholics and other people who disagreed with some of his own views, and quite possibly may not have endorsed people following him.
I would unreservedly recommend this book to anyone interested in spirituality.
No, and here’s the origin of that rumor:
Yogananda visited Los Angeles in 1928.
Here was an actual yogi, with turban and orange robes!
Clearly, he had to be investigated by the D.A.
It would be an understatement to say Yogananda lived under a microscope from 1920–1951.
Basically, his whole career.
Anyway, the Los Angeles D.A. investigated Yogananda’s activities.
They didn’t find anything, but they did have one concern:
He gave a lecture on sexual relationships.
Since his position on sex (ha, ha) was so chaste it would embarrass a Puritan, the lecture was beyond reproach.
(He used to talk married couples out of having sex!)
But the D.A. was fit to be tied by the topic, as they were prone to thinking all eastern traditions are demonic cults.
So, they contented themselves with investigating whether girls were present.
Some were. Hence the rumor.
But wait, there’s more!
What was meant by girls was women under 45.
When I explain this, everything about it will annoy you.
At the time, all women except white-haired dowagers were called “girls.”
What “underage” meant, in this context, was women who weren’t middle-aged.
Despite the successes of the suffrage movement, many young women didn’t have the financial or social freedom to travel and do what they wished.
Their husbands and fathers could forbid them from attending Yogananda’s lectures.
Many did, out of jealousy and xenophobic anxiety.
Some formidable older women extended the hand of friendship to Yogananda and gave younger women the opportunity to attend his lectures.
Hence, the D.A.’s investigation into “girls” being at a “sex lecture” - which only suggested they not have sex, by the way.
Come to think of it, I can see why their husbands didn’t want them there.
Kidding!
The point is:
Yogananda’s every move was scrutinized, often officially, in an era when “inappropriate behavior” was talking to a female, unsupervised.
So much for that rumor.
Decades later, there was a bizarre claim by a gold digger (literally, a gold miner) that Yogananda was his father.
This was easily disproved by testing Yogananda’s nearest living relatives when accurate DNA testing became available.
Brother/Sister, whether those things are true or not, those are certainly not the things the answer to which you will get here or somewhere else on the internet.
But to help you, I will just give you an example based on my personal experience (understanding).
Think about a creature other than human beings. Lets say, you think about an ant.
What does the life of an ant revolves around? I don’t know much about ants but it may be about food, about building their home, about fighting with their enemies, saving their children, about making children, about communicating with other ants and what not.
Now, think about life of a human being, in general. It has cars, aeroplanes, medical science, computer, internet, corporations, governments, so many languages and what not.
Now, assume that you can talk to an ant and you tell it that hey, there is a big world of science over here apart from your little house in the muds.
What do you think? Will an ant believe you? No, everything you tell, it will be a miracle for the ant.
See, this is just an example. You can choose men of 10th Century than an ‘ant’ to understand this, if you can go in past. Will they understand about humans going to the moon? Everything will be just a miracle for them too. Again, an example.
See, I just want to give you situations where yes somethings are miracles for someone and for others those are actual reality.
Sometimes, I just wonder -
May be we all are just ‘ants’ in someone’s miraculous world and we really don’t know what the truth is.
I am totally surprised and also a bit pained that such a question arises. The closest that anyone flummoxed me was when a lady asked me if all that the Yogi wrote was true. My humble answer , obviously , did not answer her incredulity. I could only feel a mild pity that such attitude and ignorance exist in the lady , who I respect.
So is the case now friend. Even Jesus could not convince a majority of people . I won't volunteer for crucifixion, though .
My latent spirituality was awakened after I read the ‘ Autography’ . I am blessed, that I did. I have not become a religious zealot . Actually, I do not know about religions much. I do know that a force controls the universe and that - we call God.
Not everyone is blessed with happiness in this life. But life is assured till the last breath.
A way has been illuminated by this book for all seekers of truth. I leave it at that.
