Self Realization Fellowship by Paramahansa Yogananda

Grew up in Encinitas, CA right near the Self Realization Fellowship in Swamis in Cardiff.
I ended up going there quite a few times, and talking with friends and reading up on Paramahansa Yogananda. My best friend is part of the Self Realization Fellowship.
I wanted to hear from YOU GUYS what you know and think. I think its really interesting to read and learn about... though I've heard things like its a cult and Yogananda slept with his followers. So...
What do you guys think?

 

If you weren't there, you'll never know.

Gossip will not not empower you spiritually. It should be avoided.

I have the highest respect for Yogananda. Whatever "sins" people wish to judge him by should remember the words of another great master.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Their master is long gone. If there is no spiritual heir, whatever organization grew up around the master will start to rot from the moment the master passes. It will become like a satellite that slowly falls to earth and burns up.

Just as it should.

It has no spiritual power of it's own to stay aloft.



x

 

Paramahansa Yogananda was probably the foremost pioneer of the movement to interconnect the seemingly disparate teachings of eastern and western religion and thought. This fact in and of itself makes him worthy of further investigation. If you haven't already read his most famous book, Autobiography of a Yogi, then I'd highly recommend it. It's no doubt one of the most powerful, insightful and spiritually eclectic accounts of a spiritual journey ever written.

As far as the authenticity of the Self Realization Fellowship goes, I have my doubts. Following Yogananda's death in 1952, there was a fragmentation of his spiritual lineage, with multiple disciples claiming to be his rightful "spiritual heir". Another organization that recognizes Yogananda as a master in their spiritual lineage is the Kriya Yoga Institute, which may also be worth checking out. Both strike me as being somewhat rigid and orthodox, but I also have little doubt that one could do much worse in terms of associations with spiritual organizations.

Travis

 

is the Self Realization fellowship Christian, Budhist, Hindu, or something else all together?

 

Well, like I said, Yogananda was notorious for "universalizing" teachings that had previously been confined to one particular religion or spiritual tradition. The Self Realization Fellowship is reflective of this wholistic vision (or at least it was when he initially founded it) so I suppose that would make it something else all together.

Travis

 

Because yoga has it's roots in Hinduism and the Vedas, it will reflect that in the message. The path of Yogananda himself was one of master and disciple in this tradition.

There are those like myself who embrace no religion, but the yogic principles themselves still apply. When you strip them of the religious symbolism, the simplicity is jaw dropping to the mind that witnesses it.

There isn't anything to argue against.

Yogananda was much like a spiritual Einstein. He was looking for a unifying force that ties all of creation together.

I think Yogananda was ahead of Einstein in this respect.



x

 

^ I couldn't have said it better myself. I also feel like a lot of times "Religion" itself, or rather, the people who represent it, can be skewed or corrupt. But its people like Paramahansa Yogananda who can see past all the hype and bs, and find the heart.

 

I dont have anything to say other than that Yogananda is the medium by which I was shown God's love on many occasions.

 

As to Self-Realization, the question that arises is:


realize whom?

 

Your true identity.

You're much more than a person sitting there reading these words. You had an awareness before incarnating here. One that was omniscience

When you begin to realize that the human part of you is ONLY a part of you, then you are on your way to returning to your normal state of full awareness. The limitations of the old life are made plain. Life will begin anew. With more refined perceptions.

One eventually enters the "kingdom", which gives you full access to the godhead, the collective mind. God realization occurs at this level. Still in a physical body, and all that goes with that, but with an awareness that can travel freely thoughout creation. It's no longer chained to the mind and it's 5 analog senses.

The line between you, and everything else, fades away, leaving only a singular awareness.


x

 

Fair enough. Thank you xenon.

Which brings up the next question.

If I already had a true identity and this awareness before, how did I lose them?

 

Hello, allow me to add input , if you would I'm sure Xexon could answer you much more eloquently but I'll try to help a little too.

I believe the true being is lost when we assume that the transient, constantly changing world around us defines us. When we say 'I am the body' and when we allow outside influence to mould who we are,and create personality. Ask any regular person to define themselves with 5 things and they will likely say something along the lines of this example;

I am 19 years of age
I am a college student
I am an artist
I am a big fan of (whatever)
I am married

This creates personality, and in essence is assuming the role of a non existent character in a dream. To base 'I' on things which contstantly change (and are of man made conception) is to be constantly lost in a dream state. Age changes, occupation changes, likes/dislike change, therefore none of them are truly 'I'.

'I' is consciousness, the world around us, and both of them working together to create what we perceive as reality. We all share this, it is us, oneness, "I" is the universe and the observing of itself. Assuming the role of the false individual self creates boundaries and walls, separation, between all of us. Separation leads to greed, desire for personal gain, hatred, discrimination, all forms of negativity, despair and suffering stem from it.

I'm sure Xexon could explain better, and please disregard anything I say if it doesn't resonate within you ( your truth lies within you.)

 

Thanks for your reply.

But it still begs the question:

If originally, I already knew I had a true identity, how did I end up assuming things?

 

What happens when you put on a Halloween mask?

You vision is limited. And your indentity altered. But you haven't changed.

Taking on a human form means limiting what you are in favor of a role playing game. Although we live together in society, we are each actors with a mask on. Since everyone wakes up in a human body, nobody here has ever seen their true self.

But once you wake up while still in the body, the awareness of the true self eclipes the awareness of the human self. You still play the actor's role with the people you interact with, but you are no longer buried in the part.

Your identity is restored. But you haven't changed.

Eventhough an actor may love the part they've played for years, they take the mask off after work now. They don't live in it like other people do.


x

 

Thanks for your response.

Agreed.

However, which brings up another question:

How did I end up wanting to put on a Halloween mask?

Or, in other words, if originally, I already had my true identiy how did I end up wanting a false identity.

 

This is an excellent question, and is perhaps something best answered by those who have psychic attunements and can speak of our existence prior to incarnation in our current corporeal forms. I can personally only answer the question from a conceptual (as opposed to experiential) perspective based purely on what I've read by people who claim to be authorities on the matter. The basic idea, as I understand it, is that we originally existed in a state of unbounded awareness and love. In our curiousity about other less universalized states of consciousness, however, we chose to assume physiological forms that allowed consiousness to be experienced in a fragmented state. In our experimentation, however, we severed our connection with the universal consciousness that sustains all life. To continue with Xexon's metaphor, we started playing roles in a cosmic drama, but in our immersion in those roles, we forgot that we had the option to "exit stage left" and return to our actual existences.

But what's more important than understanding why we exist in our current condition is discovering how to transcend it. Generally, one loses interest in dwelling on explanations of our origins when they realize that suffering can be overcome through the willingness to pierce the veil of illusion that obscures our awareness from the reality of our existence.

Travis

 

For the experience.

The only way to do this is to hide a little awareness away from yourself, so you can discover things anew.

Didn't you ever play with army men or action figures? You give them life through your imagination. Eventhough you know it ain't real, you get enjoyment out of it anyway.




x

 

how do you go about accomplishing this?

 

Repeat after me.

"I will feel all things as if they were a part of me."

Realization occurs when you do.


x

 

I respectfully disagree.

Realization occurs when one feels all things because they are a part of them.

It's not pretend.

It's the real deal.

Travis