A00122 - Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi: Guru Godmen and Supernatural Phenomena
I am nearing page 200 of Autobiography of a Yogi and find myself increasingly irritated by the rather hearsay accounts set forth in the book about the extraordinary powers exhibited by the gurus who inspired Paramahansa Yogananda. Perhaps it is the forty years of legal experience coming to fore, but I am not buying this. As fate would have it, my other historical readings led me to the following wikipedia listing
The lifework of Basava Premanand further clouds my perception regarding the contents of Autobiography of a Yogi especially after reading about one of the guru godmen who was the subject of Premanand's ire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sathya_Sai_Baba
I suppose my continued reading of the book may be considered to be a waste of time. However, there are still two hundred pages to go. I will let you know my final assessment once the book is done.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
February 14, 2023
-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To:
Subject: Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi: The Levitating Saint - Saint Teresa of Avila
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To:
Subject: Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi: The Levitating Saint - Saint Teresa of Avila
I have read about 80 pages of Autobiography of a Yogi and, so far, I have not found it to be very enlightening on the spiritual practices utilized by a guru to attain enlightenment or to exhibit supernatural powers. However, last night, at the conclusion of the chapter entitled The Levitating Saint, Yogananda references two Christian saints who apparently were able to levitate. The saints he references are Saint Joseph of Cupertino and Saint Teresa of Avila. I recalled seeing Saint Teresa of Avila being depicted on one of the tapestries at The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels that I visited in August 2022 to pay my respects to the relics of Saint Bernadette.
Recalling that name, I decided to look Saint Teresa of Avila up on wikipedia.
It appears that Saint Teresa was indeed observed to levitate and that she actually wrote about the meditative process she used which brought her close to the divine. As Wikipedia notes:
Her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, The Interior Castle, and The Way of Perfection, are prominent works on Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practice. In her autobiography, written as a defense of her ecstatic mystical experiences, she discerns four stages in the ascent of the soul to God: mental prayer and meditation; the prayer of quiet; absorption-in-God; ecstatic consciousness.
As time is growing increasingly short, I suspect that I may be examining one of these texts within the coming year. Stay tuned.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To:
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To:
Sent: Fri, Jan 27, 2023 1:41 am
Subject: Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Realization_Fellowship_Encinitas_Retreat,_Hermitage,_and_Meditation_Gardens
Subject: Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
Last Friday, January 20, 2023, I visited the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas, California.
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The Self-Realization Fellowship Encinitas Retreat, Hermitage, and Meditation Gardens is a spiritual retreat, monastic ashram, and meditation gardens in Encinitas, California, United States created by Paramahansa Yogananda.[1][2] Its golden lotus towers rise above the white wall along Highway 101 near Swami's Seaside Park.[3]
History[edit]
After his return to the United States from India in 1936, Paramahansa Yogananda took up residence in the SRF hermitage in Encinitas which was a surprise[4][5] gift from his disciple Rajarsi Janakananda.[2][6] It was while staying in the hermitage that Yogananda wrote his work Autobiography of a Yogi, as well as other writings and created a permanent foundation for the spiritual and humanitarian work of the Self-Realization Fellowship/ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.[7][2][8]
The Golden Lotus Temple lost to cliff erosion in 1942.[9] According to Yogananda Site, it was written in the Inner Culture magazine that Yogananda announced, "The crucifixion of Golden Lotus Temple must be the cause for its resurrection and the birth of many other such temples." Two other temples were immediately "born" - the Hollywood Self-Realization Church of all Religions and the Self Realization Fellowship San Diego Temple.[10]
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I went to the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas because it sits on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At this stage of my life, I tend to cherish sunsets and I knew that the view from the Meditation Garden at the Self-Realization Fellowship provides a spectacular venue for watching the sun set.
While waiting for the sun to set, I began reading Autobiography of a Yogi, the book written by Paramahansa Yogananda that chronicles his life.
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Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893 – March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India, and who lived his last 32 years in America.[2] A chief disciple of the Bengali yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West, to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality.[3] His long-standing influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles, led him to be considered by yoga experts as the "Father of Yoga in the West."[4][5][6]
Yogananda was the first major Indian teacher to settle in America, and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House (by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927);[7] his early acclaim led to him being dubbed "the 20th century's first superstar guru" by the Los Angeles Times.[8] Arriving in Boston in 1920, he embarked on a successful transcontinental speaking tour before settling in Los Angeles in 1925. For the next two and a half decades, he gained local fame as well as expanded his influence worldwide: he created a monastic order and trained disciples, went on teaching-tours, bought properties for his organization in various California locales, and initiated thousands into Kriya Yoga.[5] By 1952, SRF had over 100 centers in both India and the US; today, they have groups in nearly every major American city.[8] His "plain living and high thinking" principles attracted people from all backgrounds among his followers.[5]
He published his book, Autobiography of a Yogi, in 1946, to critical and commercial acclaim; since its first publishing, it has sold over four million copies, with Harper San Francisco listing it as one of the "100 best spiritual books of the 20th Century".[9][8][10] Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs had ordered 500 copies of the book for his own memorial, for each guest to be given a copy.[11] The book has been regularly reprinted and is known as "the book that changed the lives of millions."[12][13] A documentary about his life commissioned by the SRF, Awake: The Life of Yogananda, was released in 2014.[14] He remains a leading figure in Western spirituality to this day; a biographer of Yogananda, Phillip Goldberg, considers him "the best known and most beloved of all Indian spiritual teachers who have come to the West".[15]
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As I began reading the first chapter of Autobiography of a Yogi, I wondered what was the basis for its acclaim. After all, this book is supposed to be one of the "100 best spiritual books of the 20th century" but I was not particularly impressed by the first chapter. And yet, this is what is written in Wikipedia about the book.
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Autobiography of a Yogi has introduced meditation and yoga to many Westerners since its publication.[24] The book has many famous advocates, particularly in the business and entertainment communities.
One of the most famous advocates of the book was Steve Jobs, the co-founder, and formerly Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. Jobs "first read Autobiography of a Yogi as a teenager, then re-read [the book] ... once a year ever since."[25] Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, told his story of attending Steve Jobs' memorial service, where the attendees were handed a small brown box on their way out. "This is going to be good," he thought. "I knew that this was a decision he made, and whatever it was, it was the last thing he wanted us all to think about." The box contained a copy of the book.[26]
George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles, received his first copy of Autobiography of a Yogi from Ravi Shankar in 1966 and, according to Shankar, "that was where his (George Harrison's) interest in Vedic culture and Indian-ness began."[27] Gary Wright, who wrote the song Dream Weaver, wrote: "In 1972, my friend George Harrison invited me to accompany him on a trip to India. A few days before we left, he gave me a copy of the book Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Needless to say the book inspired me deeply, and I became totally fascinated with Indian culture and philosophy. My trip was an experience I will never forget."[28]
Elvis Presley was introduced to Autobiography of a Yogi in 1965 by his hair dresser-turned-guru, Larry Geller.[29] Elvis continued to study the book throughout the 1970s. He left a copy of the book behind in a Nashville hotel room on 21 January 1977. Later on this book was auctioned off with a letter of authenticity[30]
The actress Mariel Hemingway says that she was introduced to the Autobiography of a Yogi by Peter Evans, a direct disciple of Yogananda. She was "mesmerized by the Autobiography of a Yogi and loved the whole great Hindu tradition of spiritual seeking ..."[31]
The actor Dennis Weaver gave a copy of the book to Linda Evans, saying that it had changed his life. Evans says that, "Because of Dennis, I took the first step in what would become a life long spiritual journey."[32]
Andrew Weil, director of the program in Integrative Medicine at University of Arizona, wrote the book Eating Well for Optimum Health. He mentioned reading the Autobiography of a Yogi, which he said, "awakened in me an interest in yoga and Indian religious philosophies." He continued, "It is filled with wondrous tales from an exotic land, none more amazing than that of Giri Bala, 'a woman yogi who never eats.'"[33]
The work has also attracted less favourable comments. Srinivas Aravamudan has described its contents as "miracle-infested territory" whose "single most memorable feature ... is a repetitive insistence on collocating the miraculous and the quotidian. ... The autobiography is an eclectic directory of sorts that might be dubbed a hitchhiker's guide to the paranormal galaxy". Aravamudan notes the "aggressive marketing" of the Yogoda Satsang and Self-Realization Fellowship, that Yogananda himself "worked the mass media" and used a technique described as "Guru English". He notes that Yogananda was the collator of the testimonials that purport to validate the miracles described, which appear at a rate of around one per page.[34]
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Given all this, I feel that I need to make a commitment. Accordingly, Autobiography of a Yogi, is my Book of the Month for February 2023. You are welcome to join me if you so desire.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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