I started this blog as a way to heal myself from all of the guru mumbo-jumbo that messed me up after years of SRF membership. For personal reasons I wish to move on and sever my connection to this painful past. SRF has taken enough from me. My soul and spirit need to leave all SRF related material behind. Soon this blog will be set so only I have access to it. Eventually I may plan to return it to the web, but for now, I need to separate myself from this sad experience. I wish every one goodwill and God speed.
Peace and best wishes,
KD
The comment section is open again until the blog takes a nap....
If anyone would like to copy information from this blog and post it somewhere else, that would be ok with me.
Thursday
Sunday
Leslie and lesson 51
Is Self Realization Fellowship a cult blog has gotten many recent views concerning this post on the Manson family murderess, Leslie Van Houten. I think it is because of her recent parole hearings. This blog entry is about how searching for her "true guru" may have affected her thinking. This blog entry is not about the drugs, popular culture or any other analysis of her character which undoubtedly are factors in this sad story.
Manson family
SO WHAT?
You may wonder why this is relevant to SRF since many religions have had their share of crazy members.
DOESN'T EVERY RELIGION HAVE FREAKS?
yes.
Unfortunately every legitimate major world religion has various sects and cults founded by nuts.
From suicide bombers to the practice of Sati (widow burning), the nuts are out there.
Jim Jones claimed he was Jesus Christ. David Koresh claimed he was Jesus Christ. Charles Manson claimed he was Jesus Christ.
Jesus want to be
Yogananda claimed to be the chosen perfect god-like Avatar of this age and spokesman for Jesus Christ, getting information directly from him. Yogananda also claimed to be a Christ himself. He claimed he was all knowing and could heal colds and read minds.
Yogananda placed a picture of himself next to a picture of Jesus Christ on the altar to be worshipped by his followers. I do not know if he worshipped himself at this altar.
Seems they all want to get in on the Jesus action.
It is within this context that Leslie Van Houten went looking for her true Guru.
There is no indication that Yogananda was anything other than a non violent man. In fairness the manson family was heavily influenced by the Beatles, drugs and other popular culture icons.
The inquiry I am making here is not to compare a benign self aggrandizing guru to an evil one. I am just exploring how the search for a true living Guru -disciple relationship may have lead her to Manson.
So what did Yogananda teach that may have sent Leslie Van Houten looking for her "Real Guru'?
SHE WAS ONLY THERE FOR EIGHT PERFECT MONTHS
She left the order after only 8 months. What could she have learned in such a short time that would have left her confused brain open to Charles Manson? Well, ironically one of the last lessons she would have read was lesson 51: The Guru and Disciple.
SUPER SECRET BRAINWASHING
The SRF lessons are copyrighted and super super secret, so even members don't share information with each other about the contents. The SRF organization has been very forward with lawsuits in the past. For this reason I am going to have to summarize and paraphrase a bit and of course stay within the fair use laws.
The SRF lessons are arranged in an order that gives an array of Hindu philosophy, 1900's health observances and Religious quotes taken completely out of context. Periodically the spiritual aspirant is exposed to a new sensory deprivation or self hypnotic technique along with some regular mainstream yoga techniques. Interwoven in the fabric of these lessons are messages to make the reader susceptible to worshipping Yogananda and loyal to SRF. 'THE LESSONS' are considered holy and they are sent to your house every other week in sets of two. It is a gradual indoctrination over time.
This is a summary of Yogananda's
LESSON 51
Point one: ONLY through a guru-disciple relationship can your soul make it's way back to God as only the Guru "knows God" personally.
Point two: It is ok to try a variety of teachers in the beginning but when you find a TRUE Guru you must be loyal to him for all eternity through all incarnations and become one with the Guru.
Point three:Yogananda is himself a TRUE Guru and can "be the cause of their (SRF members) salvation", even after he is dead.
Point four: All true Gurus are alive even if they no longer have a body. Yogananda then claims to be omnipresent like God.
Point five: For this "perfect union" to occur the disciple must be completely receptive to the Guru who works in invisible and visible ways to transform the disciple. The "ever-living" immortal BABAJI will provide guidance as will all the SRF gurus.
Point six: In the beginning of our spiritual search we may have teachers but we have only ONE guru. If you study with a teacher you are only a student. If you study with your Guru (chosen for you by God) you are a disciple. You can not find your Guru unless God himself has brought you to him. The Guru is ordained by God and a "living embodiment of scriptural truth and an agent of salvation appointed by God".
Point seven: Once the relationship is established it can not be broken. Not even if the Guru admonishes you or for any other reason. If you do not immediately recognize that the guru is sent by God, it is because your memory of the relationship is buried in ignorance.
(side note: In SRF lay members generally take a formal vow of obedience and acceptance of the Guru about a year after starting the lessons. This involves a secret ceremony. After the vow is taken you are stuck with that Guru for all eternity no matter what. Leslie Van Houten apparently may have left just prior to taking this vow to search for her "chosen" guru.)
Point eight: SIGNS OF A GURU
The way to tell if a Guru is the real deal:
A) His eyes are still and unwinking
Underlined in the lessons are the words A REAL GURU IS SENT BY GOD. If after following a guru for some time the disciple spurns him then "he actually spurns the help sent by God"
Point eleven: Yogananda then goes into a description of how he formed this bond with his Guru Yukteswar (Yukteswar is currently the Savior Christ of the planet Hiranyaloka ). Yogananda describes how he made a pact with Yukteswar and after that he understood the importance of this Guru-disciple relationship. That he was not complete until he "attuned" himself with the "unconditional loyalty and devotion" to the Guru.
So then the Cadet Yogi goes onto lesson 52, which is a summary of lessons 27 through 52. It includes a question sheet for self study. The questions are arranged by lesson with questions for lesson 51 like "What are the signs of a Guru?"
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie
Manson family
SO WHAT?
You may wonder why this is relevant to SRF since many religions have had their share of crazy members.
DOESN'T EVERY RELIGION HAVE FREAKS?
yes.
Unfortunately every legitimate major world religion has various sects and cults founded by nuts.
From suicide bombers to the practice of Sati (widow burning), the nuts are out there.
Jim Jones claimed he was Jesus Christ. David Koresh claimed he was Jesus Christ. Charles Manson claimed he was Jesus Christ.
Jesus want to be
Yogananda claimed to be the chosen perfect god-like Avatar of this age and spokesman for Jesus Christ, getting information directly from him. Yogananda also claimed to be a Christ himself. He claimed he was all knowing and could heal colds and read minds.
Yogananda placed a picture of himself next to a picture of Jesus Christ on the altar to be worshipped by his followers. I do not know if he worshipped himself at this altar.
It is within this context that Leslie Van Houten went looking for her true Guru.
There is no indication that Yogananda was anything other than a non violent man. In fairness the manson family was heavily influenced by the Beatles, drugs and other popular culture icons.
The inquiry I am making here is not to compare a benign self aggrandizing guru to an evil one. I am just exploring how the search for a true living Guru -disciple relationship may have lead her to Manson.
So what did Yogananda teach that may have sent Leslie Van Houten looking for her "Real Guru'?
SHE WAS ONLY THERE FOR EIGHT PERFECT MONTHS
She left the order after only 8 months. What could she have learned in such a short time that would have left her confused brain open to Charles Manson? Well, ironically one of the last lessons she would have read was lesson 51: The Guru and Disciple.
SUPER SECRET BRAINWASHING
The SRF lessons are copyrighted and super super secret, so even members don't share information with each other about the contents. The SRF organization has been very forward with lawsuits in the past. For this reason I am going to have to summarize and paraphrase a bit and of course stay within the fair use laws.
The SRF lessons are arranged in an order that gives an array of Hindu philosophy, 1900's health observances and Religious quotes taken completely out of context. Periodically the spiritual aspirant is exposed to a new sensory deprivation or self hypnotic technique along with some regular mainstream yoga techniques. Interwoven in the fabric of these lessons are messages to make the reader susceptible to worshipping Yogananda and loyal to SRF. 'THE LESSONS' are considered holy and they are sent to your house every other week in sets of two. It is a gradual indoctrination over time.
This is a summary of Yogananda's
LESSON 51
Point one: ONLY through a guru-disciple relationship can your soul make it's way back to God as only the Guru "knows God" personally.
Point two: It is ok to try a variety of teachers in the beginning but when you find a TRUE Guru you must be loyal to him for all eternity through all incarnations and become one with the Guru.
Point three:Yogananda is himself a TRUE Guru and can "be the cause of their (SRF members) salvation", even after he is dead.
Point four: All true Gurus are alive even if they no longer have a body. Yogananda then claims to be omnipresent like God.
Point five: For this "perfect union" to occur the disciple must be completely receptive to the Guru who works in invisible and visible ways to transform the disciple. The "ever-living" immortal BABAJI will provide guidance as will all the SRF gurus.
Point seven: Once the relationship is established it can not be broken. Not even if the Guru admonishes you or for any other reason. If you do not immediately recognize that the guru is sent by God, it is because your memory of the relationship is buried in ignorance.
(side note: In SRF lay members generally take a formal vow of obedience and acceptance of the Guru about a year after starting the lessons. This involves a secret ceremony. After the vow is taken you are stuck with that Guru for all eternity no matter what. Leslie Van Houten apparently may have left just prior to taking this vow to search for her "chosen" guru.)
Point eight: SIGNS OF A GURU
The way to tell if a Guru is the real deal:
A) His eyes are still and unwinking
B) His breath is quiet
C) His mind is focused
Point nine: Ordinary people who have studied Religious texts are not to be listened to because they do not KNOW God. Only a true Guru with cosmic consciousness is equipped with super pychophysical methods that lead to self realization.
Point ten: "OBEDIENCE TO THE GURU"
Tune your will in with the will of the Guru. Obey the Guru.
Point eleven: Yogananda then goes into a description of how he formed this bond with his Guru Yukteswar (Yukteswar is currently the Savior Christ of the planet Hiranyaloka ). Yogananda describes how he made a pact with Yukteswar and after that he understood the importance of this Guru-disciple relationship. That he was not complete until he "attuned" himself with the "unconditional loyalty and devotion" to the Guru.
So then the Cadet Yogi goes onto lesson 52, which is a summary of lessons 27 through 52. It includes a question sheet for self study. The questions are arranged by lesson with questions for lesson 51 like "What are the signs of a Guru?"
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie
Hiranyaloka
I recently updated the post on Boys will be boys, girls will be girls, Gurus will be Gurus.
This is part of what was revised to that post, however I think this part about Hironyaloka should have its own post, so it is reposted here and I added a few things....
HIRANYALOKA
Hiranyaloka is an Astral planet from the Autobiography of a Yogi. Chapter 43.
It is highly Spiritually advanced and peopled with millions of astral beings who have come from the earth, and also with myriads of fairies, mermaids, fishes, animals, goblins, gnomes, demigods and spirits, and possibly unicorns and Hobbits.
GOBLIN
Possibly One of Yukteswars Goblin disciples in the Astral world
Yukteswar is the Savior Yogi-Christ of the highly advanced spirits, Mermaids, goblins etc. on Hiranyaloka.
Savior-Yogi Christ of Hiranyaloka
They eat luminous raylike veggies.
Non-Luminous carrot of the Earthly variety
Flowers and fish can change themselves into Astral people (Perhaps the mermaids got stuck halfway through metamorphous).
Communication among the Astral beings, fairies and mermaids is completely by Astral telepathy and television. No need to talk or turn off the TV. This is a perfect afterlife for couch potatoes.
Spiritually advanced Merman in the Astral world
Communication among the Astral beings, fairies and mermaids is completely by Astral telepathy and television. No need to talk or turn off the TV. This is a perfect afterlife for couch potatoes.
1938 TV
There are also Astral planets where gloom drenched dark angels go at each other with mental rays and lifetron bombs and vibratory rays.
I think this part of the Astral world may be ruled by Xenu, dictator of the Galactic Confederacy
Or it may be the space Aliens known as the Lucerfarians that keep humans from moving above "level one"
I do not know if it is possible to get to Hiranyaloka by riding the Hale-Bopp comet with the Heavens Gate bunch or if we have to get on board the Kriya airplane.
You may be thinking;
'Yikes! I was hoping to go somewhere BETTER when I died! Now you tell me the best I can hope for is eating luminous ray salads with a Mermaid while dodging lifetron bombs? Whats up with that?
Well cheer up. Maybe after a few million lifetimes on Hironyaloka you will eventually be "liberated" and dissolve into the infinite.
Devotee worshiping at Yoganandas holy lotus feet
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie
Wednesday
Finally, An intelligent email from an SRF devottee!
This post was originally written over a decade ago. I had it saved on the blog as a draft. I am going to publish it now May 2021....It is a historic piece but I am trying to get the blog printed out for my kids and I wanted to add this...
THERE IS A GOD!
I got an intelligent comment from an SRF devotee!
Here it is:
Katie,
There are about 12 unaccounted for years during Jesus life. Jesus very well could have studied in the far East and returned home with new teachings...
Also The books of the bible have had more human intervention than any religious texts in history. To assume that the current versions are all correct is asinine at best. Some of the gospels themselves where written decades after the fact...I don't know about you but my memory is not so great about things form 10 years ago.
I have to agree with Yogananda that Yoga provides a real spiritual practice where-by one can directly experience God over a period of time. Contrast this with the Christian view that only by faith in Jesus as the only Son of God can man be saved...mind you Jesus himself actually said "Ye are all the sons of God".
I don't know it just seems like the pot calling the kettle black for Christians to look at other religions as inferior when Christians can't provide any more proof than anyone else on this planet.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
--Ghandi
MY REPLY
Dear anonymous letter writer,
Hi,
I liked your email so much I decided to make an entry in my blog featuring your post. Your post was WAY more intelligent then 99% of the posts I get from SRF members. I like that. Since you only spent 14 minutes on my blog, you may have missed some of my other posts, where I have addressed many of the matters involving your observations and opinions. I see you found my blog by googling "Aum sound in right ear", so I suspect you are an SRF member. If so then I also know that every morning and evening you are sitting in a chair in a dark room with your thumbs in your ears humming aum internally over and over trying to hear the cosmic vibration of the Holy Ghost in your right ear. In front of you are six Guru pictures. I know this because I have been there done that.
http://srfcultmystory.blogspot.com/2010/02/six-gurus-of-srf.html
There are at least 12 years of everyones life that is "unaccounted for" in the sense that no one wrote about it. Jesus may have gone to India or he may have joined a traveling circus for all anyone knows.
Jesus in Kashmir and the God alien connection
In all likelihood he apprenticed with his father in the family business. Carpentry and skilled trades took longer to learn back when holes had to be drilled by hand and wood had to be planed and fashioned without power tools. None of the authors of the Gospels were eye witnesses to his birth yet they wrote about it. Why didn't they write about his 12 "missing years"? Well, I certainly don't know, but my guess is that during that time nothing happened worth writing about. It seems like a trip to India to meet with the three wise men (former incarnations of Yukteswar, Babaji and Lahiri) would have been noteworthy. Since the entire philosophic foundations of the teachings of Jesus were learned on this India trip it does seem odd that none of his 12 chosen disciples thought it was noteworthy enough to write about. We may never know....
I do not currently belong to a religion. I do think the purpose of Religion is to give us comfort. If sticking your thumbs in your ears and listening for a hum in your right ear gives you comfort, go for it. If believing that faith in Jesus is comforting to Christians, go for it. Either way you are " All Sons of God". The truth is no one knows, so just go with the thing you like.
You are correct, NO one can prove anything.
I don't know that Christians look at other religions as inferior any more than others religions view Christians as inferior. My impression of Christians is that they believe their ideas to be correct. My impression of Muslims and Hindus and SRF is that they believe their ideas to be correct. They all seem to think their beliefs are the RIGHT beliefs. That may be the only universal truth there is about religion. They all THINK they have it right but none of them KNOW anymore than anyone else. The one thing I have noticed though, is that while Hindus and yogis are eager to hitch their cart up to the Jesus, Christians seem content with what they have and don't feel the need to add the 800 year old Babaji into their teachings.
I agree with the Ghandi. Be the change you want to see in the world. The change I personally want to SEE is NOT a bunch of people sitting around with their thumbs in their ears, but your vision of a perfect world may be different from mine.
Peace and Best Wishes.
Katie
PS
You may find this information concerning Gandhi's ashes interesting:
http://srfcultmystory.blogspot.com/2010/01/wheres-waldoluther-gandhiji-adolph-and.html
I got an intelligent comment from an SRF devotee!
Here it is:
Katie,
There are about 12 unaccounted for years during Jesus life. Jesus very well could have studied in the far East and returned home with new teachings...
Also The books of the bible have had more human intervention than any religious texts in history. To assume that the current versions are all correct is asinine at best. Some of the gospels themselves where written decades after the fact...I don't know about you but my memory is not so great about things form 10 years ago.
I have to agree with Yogananda that Yoga provides a real spiritual practice where-by one can directly experience God over a period of time. Contrast this with the Christian view that only by faith in Jesus as the only Son of God can man be saved...mind you Jesus himself actually said "Ye are all the sons of God".
I don't know it just seems like the pot calling the kettle black for Christians to look at other religions as inferior when Christians can't provide any more proof than anyone else on this planet.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
--Ghandi
MY REPLY
Dear anonymous letter writer,
Hi,
I liked your email so much I decided to make an entry in my blog featuring your post. Your post was WAY more intelligent then 99% of the posts I get from SRF members. I like that. Since you only spent 14 minutes on my blog, you may have missed some of my other posts, where I have addressed many of the matters involving your observations and opinions. I see you found my blog by googling "Aum sound in right ear", so I suspect you are an SRF member. If so then I also know that every morning and evening you are sitting in a chair in a dark room with your thumbs in your ears humming aum internally over and over trying to hear the cosmic vibration of the Holy Ghost in your right ear. In front of you are six Guru pictures. I know this because I have been there done that.
http://srfcultmystory.blogspot.com/2010/02/six-gurus-of-srf.html
There are at least 12 years of everyones life that is "unaccounted for" in the sense that no one wrote about it. Jesus may have gone to India or he may have joined a traveling circus for all anyone knows.
Jesus in Kashmir and the God alien connection
In all likelihood he apprenticed with his father in the family business. Carpentry and skilled trades took longer to learn back when holes had to be drilled by hand and wood had to be planed and fashioned without power tools. None of the authors of the Gospels were eye witnesses to his birth yet they wrote about it. Why didn't they write about his 12 "missing years"? Well, I certainly don't know, but my guess is that during that time nothing happened worth writing about. It seems like a trip to India to meet with the three wise men (former incarnations of Yukteswar, Babaji and Lahiri) would have been noteworthy. Since the entire philosophic foundations of the teachings of Jesus were learned on this India trip it does seem odd that none of his 12 chosen disciples thought it was noteworthy enough to write about. We may never know....
I do not currently belong to a religion. I do think the purpose of Religion is to give us comfort. If sticking your thumbs in your ears and listening for a hum in your right ear gives you comfort, go for it. If believing that faith in Jesus is comforting to Christians, go for it. Either way you are " All Sons of God". The truth is no one knows, so just go with the thing you like.
You are correct, NO one can prove anything.
I don't know that Christians look at other religions as inferior any more than others religions view Christians as inferior. My impression of Christians is that they believe their ideas to be correct. My impression of Muslims and Hindus and SRF is that they believe their ideas to be correct. They all seem to think their beliefs are the RIGHT beliefs. That may be the only universal truth there is about religion. They all THINK they have it right but none of them KNOW anymore than anyone else. The one thing I have noticed though, is that while Hindus and yogis are eager to hitch their cart up to the Jesus, Christians seem content with what they have and don't feel the need to add the 800 year old Babaji into their teachings.
I agree with the Ghandi. Be the change you want to see in the world. The change I personally want to SEE is NOT a bunch of people sitting around with their thumbs in their ears, but your vision of a perfect world may be different from mine.
Peace and Best Wishes.
Katie
PS
You may find this information concerning Gandhi's ashes interesting:
http://srfcultmystory.blogspot.com/2010/01/wheres-waldoluther-gandhiji-adolph-and.html
Monday
The single, simple eye and what Tom had to say.
I recently received an email with the following link and a "Well, what do you have to say about this smartypants?" message.
http://ompage.net/Text/singleeye.htm
I didn't want to publish the email because it was rather abusive, however I do think the question itself deserves an answer, so here it is.
First of all I looked up the passage in question, which was found here:
Treasures in Heaven
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206&version=NIV
"To modern day translators, the single eye makes no sense unless you are a yogi and practice meditation."
http://ompage.net/Text/singleeye.htm
To the contrary, it makes perfect sense to modern day translators who are not Yogi's and do not meditate. It only makes sense to 'Yogis' as a reference to a "Spiritual eye" because they have taken it out of context.
The Spiritual eye depicted in images of Hindu Gods is a third eye, not a single eye. A single eye would be a cyclops.
There is no reference to anything like this in the Vedas or Gita that I can find. The only ancient Spiritual text that this appears in is the Christian Bible. So it makes sense to try to understand it within the context that it is written.
It DOES mean single or simple ("good") and it IS a figurative expression. So everyone agrees on these points.
http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/573.htm
In common Greek usage it means "simple". The text of Mathew was written in Koine Greek, the common language. It was written for the common people, in the language of the people, not formal.
I asked my friend Tom to translate this Bible passage from Greek for me. In this passage Jesus is giving a lecture (to a large audience) on how to keep a proper attitude toward money. If you were to go with Yogananda's interpretation (Did Yogananda speak Koine Greek?) then in the middle of talking about money, Jesus suddenly makes a statement about the spiritual eye (having learned about it from Babaji while on a super secret trek to India) and then goes right back to talking about money again. According to Tom the meaning is to have an eye for the simple things, good things, healthy things. So as to not lay up your Treasure on Earth but in Heaven. In this discourse Jesus is apparently quoting Ben Sirach from the Apocrypha (not the Gita or Vedas).
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/30-sirach-nets.pdf
Laying up Treasures to the most high was another figurative phrase commonly used by the Jewish people of this time. So the "single eye' and 'Treasures in Heaven' were catch phrases. Sound bites. Kind of like "a stitch in time saves nine". Jesus gives no additional explanation because no additional explanation would have been necessary. Everyone knew what he was talking about. He was talking about charity and simplicity.
The eye as a lamp is paralleled in Luke and Matthew to mean generosity and simplicity. A Jewish man at the time of Jesus would have translated Proverbs 10:2 as "The treasures of the wicked are of no benefit, but the righteousness (tsedakah) rescues from death". Tsedakah meant alm giving. Charity.
Using your resources not for luxury (like mansions and swanky cars) but for helping others in need....
Ok, well, so much for Yogananda's analysis.
(Thanks for the help Tom.)
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie (AKA 'Smartypants')
http://ompage.net/Text/singleeye.htm
I didn't want to publish the email because it was rather abusive, however I do think the question itself deserves an answer, so here it is.
First of all I looked up the passage in question, which was found here:
Treasures in Heaven
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206&version=NIV
It is a discourse on the proper view of money and possessions.
Ok, so back to the analysis by Mr. Ompage and Yogananda....
http://ompage.net/Text/singleeye.htm
synophthalmia
Highly advanced yogi with "single eye"
To the contrary, it makes perfect sense to modern day translators who are not Yogi's and do not meditate. It only makes sense to 'Yogis' as a reference to a "Spiritual eye" because they have taken it out of context.
The Spiritual eye depicted in images of Hindu Gods is a third eye, not a single eye. A single eye would be a cyclops.
There is no reference to anything like this in the Vedas or Gita that I can find. The only ancient Spiritual text that this appears in is the Christian Bible. So it makes sense to try to understand it within the context that it is written.
It DOES mean single or simple ("good") and it IS a figurative expression. So everyone agrees on these points.
http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/573.htm
In common Greek usage it means "simple". The text of Mathew was written in Koine Greek, the common language. It was written for the common people, in the language of the people, not formal.
Here is a site that illustrates why taking a few translated words from a religious text out of context, leads to strange fundamental practices.
WHY WE SHOULD NOT TAKE A FEW TRANSLATED WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT
WHY WE SHOULD NOT TAKE A FEW TRANSLATED WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/30-sirach-nets.pdf
Laying up Treasures to the most high was another figurative phrase commonly used by the Jewish people of this time. So the "single eye' and 'Treasures in Heaven' were catch phrases. Sound bites. Kind of like "a stitch in time saves nine". Jesus gives no additional explanation because no additional explanation would have been necessary. Everyone knew what he was talking about. He was talking about charity and simplicity.
The eye as a lamp is paralleled in Luke and Matthew to mean generosity and simplicity. A Jewish man at the time of Jesus would have translated Proverbs 10:2 as "The treasures of the wicked are of no benefit, but the righteousness (tsedakah) rescues from death". Tsedakah meant alm giving. Charity.
Using your resources not for luxury (like mansions and swanky cars) but for helping others in need....
Ok, well, so much for Yogananda's analysis.
(Thanks for the help Tom.)
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie (AKA 'Smartypants')
Sunday
Me, Mother Teresa, Tiger Woods and The Halo
The Halo Effect
I was recently at a continuing education seminar and one of the speakers discussed the phenomena of 'Halo Effect'. I found an interesting article on the subject from Psychology today about Tiger Woods and the Halo effect.
The halo effect is the illusion of generalized grandeur. We are all tempted by its siren call: knowing that we wish for a world of heroes we are beckoned to imagine that our heroes are heroic over all horizons. There is no simple antidote to the seductive appeal of the halo effect. It's both easy and pleasurable to succumb to its illusions...
Many of Tiger's former devotees are now emotionally stunned and very disappointed in him. The enchantment and heroic lure of the halo effect was sufficiently powerful in this case that questions posed to his fans that might seem hyperbolic can be asked in earnest: Within which pantheon of gods did you actually have Tiger Woods located, rendering you distraught by the mere recognition that he is in some ways human? Upon what type of pedestal has Tiger Woods been standing in your mind's eye all these years, so that you now think he has taken a great fall? Within what type of Eden has he been roaming in the fantasia of your imagination, such that you now feel paradise has been lost? The halo effect does that to the human mind; it sets you up for the crash. His admirers loved him as a global personality; now they are not even sure he is a nice guy.
Here is The Article
GOOD VIBRATIONS
I have received a number of letters from people who say they have felt the aura or vibration of a saint or leader or celebrity or super star or Guru.
I know what they are saying because I have also felt these vibes and energy (when I expected to feel the vibes and energy).
Beatles fans feeling holy vibrations 1964
Pope fans feeling holy vibrations 2005
STAR STRUCK!
Some years ago I worked with the Missionaries of Charity as a volunteer (I am not nor have I ever been Catholic). At one point the leader, Mother Teresa, was scheduled to come to the hospice where we worked and we were all very excited to meet with her. Because I believed her to be a saint (and if I have ever met a saint, it was her) with an energy vibration, I tried to perceive the blessing of looking upon a saint. I told myself that I felt it, but all I really felt was a very deep awe of a very, very awesome woman. Someone who lead our efforts in the service of the poor. Someone who inspired us to look for the gift each person was. Someone who felt called by God and shared that calling with us.
Some years later, while doing other charitable work, I met several very well known movie stars. These people were absolutely, definitely not holy saints but for me the "vibration" was the same. It was at this point that I realized that the thing we feel when we brush elbows with 'saints' and 'movie stars' comes from within us, it doesn't project out of them.
THE GOOD BROTHER
When I was in SRF a certain minister (now deceased) was a great inspiration to many. He would have been a good minister in any religion. He was a great guy and demonstrated a great patience and kindness that we all admired. At one point a member of the church told me that this minister levitated and that he saw it. This rumor always went around but no one could ever identify the mystery person who saw the event. Intrigued I began talking more with this witness. Turns out the 'witness' had also seen UFOs, Babaji visions every night, 'Master' resurrected in visions telling him this and that and he also believed that a civilization lived on Mars. Ironically, he also had a brother who had seen bigfoot.
Ok. Well, I don't know, but I tend to think the person had a strong imagination. Meanwhile everyone was passing this levitating rumor around and embellishing on it to the point that it was a legend and everyone was "feeling the vibration". I want to add that the minister himself never claimed to levitate and never levitated or performed anything miraculous in front of the congregation, so I don't think he was the one who started the rumor going around.
CONVO MONGO
When we went to convocation every year we spent a week listening to well prepared speeches and sermons, meditating and working ourselves up for the final Spiritual grand extravaganza, an elderly lady of high position in the organization (you know who). When she was brought out at the end of the convocation to speak the anticipation was at it's highest peak. We were hyped up and ready to be blessed. It was like a silent rock concert. A couple of warm up bands and then the headliner. The last time I saw her she seemed confused and was batting at the mic like a cat, but we were hanging on her every word, in total awe of being in her presence.
( Just a side note; I get two holiday form letters each year that are supposedly written by this elderly woman. Judging by her actions and the talk she gave last time I saw her, I sincerely doubt she is lucid enough to actually be composing these letters....)
IS IT GOD SPEAKING TO ME?
I have been in communication with someone who was a member of a channeling cult in the 1980's. The way this was done is they would put on a big show, get the audience hyped up into a fervor and then the medium (or whatever they call them) would start channeling some ancient, highly advanced, all knowing being from another planet. I have watched the tapes and the acting wasn't even that good, but to a person who is THERE, believing and enthusiastic it can be very convincing.
The phenomena seems to be the same regardless of the source. Pope, Saint, Movie stars, Rock stars, resurrected Elvis sighting, Tiger Woods or channeled being from the planet Zircon. People are imagining they are picking up their Vibes.
The greater the glitter, hype and charisma the more we believe it.
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie
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