Post 2

Among the Indian gurus in the text who were your three favorites and why?

My absolute favorite of the gurus was The Yogi Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952). Hearing of how his autobiography (Paramashansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi) has been known to transform the reader’s entire outlook on life captured my interest from the beginning of the text. Yogananda had a yearning since infancy to know the purpose and meaning of life and to realize God. Within his autobiography you can hear about the special gifts of the spirit Yogananda possessed. From his earliest memories of infancy he wrote, “Clear recollections came to me of a distant life in which I had been a yogi amid the Himalayan snows.” When he was eight years old he was healed simply by looking at a picture of the revered Kriya Yoga master Lahiri Mahasaya. Another incident was when Yoganands foresaw that a boil would appear on his arm the next morning. After scaring his little sister the next morning by proving his premonition his mother instructed him to never use the power of words for doing harm. The most controversial story surrounding his life rather is that of the alleged existence and meeting of Avatar Babaji. According to the autobiography Babaji supposedly has retained his physical form for centuries and is on the same spiritual level as Christ, Buddha and Krishna. During his meeting with Babaji and receiving his blessing as well as Sri Yukteswar’s Yogananda went to American in 1920 to spread the teachings of Kriya Yoga. In 1935 he called his system the “Self-Realization Fellowship” which was chartered under the laws of California as a nonsectarian and nonprofit corporation. He also founded two church centers in California, which are called the Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades and the Encinitas Colony near San Diego. Paramashansa Yogananda died on March 7, 1952, yet still demonstrated the truth of Kriya Yoga even after death. According to Harry T. Rowe, Mortuary Director of Forest Lawn Memorial Park, had stated in a certified letter that, “The absence of any visual signs of decay in the dead body of Pramhansa Yogananda offers the most extraordinary case in our experience.”

My next favorite of the gurus within this text was The Monk Acharya Sushil Kumar. I love that Sushil Kumar believes that all religions have some truth but that no religion has a monopoly on reality. This philosophy on religion intrigued me. Growing up I was taught that “our” religion was the “only correct truth”. I’ve grown up battling this thought not only with my head but also with my parents. To see that a renowned Jain monk such as Acharya Sushil Kumar felt the same way helped justify my quest to search the other philosophy’s of other religions. Kumar was a strong advocate for nuclear disarmament although his main focus is the source of all violent tendencies. “Wherever there is another, fear arises.” It is the emergence of the separate self-the “I”-ness, the egoic structure-which is at the heart of man’s cruelty,” Sushil Kumar stated. Kumar’s entire message was based upon the principle of ahimsa (non-violence). He founded the World Conference of Religions in 1957 in Delhi. Also he teaches what is known as Arhum yoga.

Another of my favorite gurus mentioned within this text would have to be The Mother Yogini Mataji. I had never heard of a woman finding another wife for her husband. However after she would not consummate her early aged marriage that’s exactly what she chose to do. After the second wife had died Mataji sought out another wife for her husband. That would be like me finding a girlfriend for my boyfriend because I did not want to french kiss at a young age. However Mataji is obviously at a much higher spiritual level than I. Mataji was appointed a guru by Baba Faqur Chand over a number of his woman disciples. Within the text Professor Diem writes of her encounter with “the mother”. I love the story of how she came into Mataji’s room and she was smoking a small Indian cigarette and was confronted with the Yogini’s humanity. They way it was described, how she put on no “airs” about her attainment and was down to earth was intriguing.


What is the message of Faqir Chand?

In short Baba Faqir Chand’s main message was, “To be spiritual necessitates that one become a true man (or woman) first” also what ignited his own Englightenment: “Depending upon no-thing, you must find your own mind.” Faqir Chand was an Indian sage who was known for his practice in Surat Shabd Yoga and unknowingly appeared to his devotees in their time of need. Rather it is the person themselves who is projecting their image of Faqir Chand onto the light.



Friefly describe surat shabd yoga.

In short srat shabd yoga is a consciously indused near-death experience where the consciousness departs from the body and has experiences in elevating degrees in higher regions of bliss. This is unlike other yogic practices in India such as kundalini where they work on breath control (pranayama) or a series of physical postures (asanas/mudras) as part of the practice. There is a three-fold method designed to still the mind and vacate the body: simran, dhyan, and bhajan. Simran is the repeating of a holy name or names and focuses on the eye center keeping thoughts from being scattered. Dhyan is contemplation within. Bhajan is listening to the celestial melody. This is the most important part of surat shabd yoga because it is the vehicle (your sort of spiritual car) that allows the meditator to travel to exalted planes of awareness.