My SRF experience

My SRF experience

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Showing posts with label Durga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Durga. Show all posts

Sunday

Road Rage, landslides and Spills: Saints of SRF





Book Review: Part Four
A Paramahansa Yogananda Trilogy of Divine Love
by: Durga Mata


While staying at the Encinitas hermitage, Rajasi would occasionally like to go for a drive. Rajasi preferred Oldsmobiles.

His chauffeur in Kansas City kept Rajasi's car clean and in immaculate order at all times. "Rajasi expected the same from us and became rather impatient if the car was not just right." (page 113).

ROAD RAGE
He liked a good rate of speed, traffic permitting. He was rather impatient on the road with other drivers who would not move over if he wanted to pass. He would lean on the horn until they did." (page 112)

Highly Advanced Yogi Practicing Tantrum Yoga

LANDSLIDE

In 1937 The "Golden Lotus Temple" in Encinitas was built on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just 10 to 15 feet from the edge. Apparently even though Yogananda could see everything down to the tiniest atoms while in Samadhi, Divine Mother mischievously did not reveal to him the reality of groundwater and erosion.
Divine Mother sticking out her tongue

 In 1942 the temple slid down to the ocean. When it slid down the hill, the other Disciples ran down to tell Rajasi. Perhaps reasoning (correctly) that he couldn't push it back up the hill, he did not get upset and finished his swim before coming to take a look.
Karma or an act of God?

I don't know what the building permit process was back then.

Speaking of permits in 1981 in an "apparently misguided effort" (whose guidance?) SRF toppled the bluff while grading without a permit:

Workers suspended a bulldozer from a crane at the blufftop and ended up causing 3,500 square feet of bluff between J and K streets to topple under the weight of the heavy equipment, a San Diego Coast Regional Commission report stated.
The fellowship was fined $15,000, an unprecedented amount at the time, and ordered to plant vegetation on the bluff face. 

On the positive side the vegetation was a great success and a model project for the area, so Hip Hip Hooray!

UGLINESS
"Rajasi did not like Ugliness in any form. For instance if he dropped something and it spilled it's contents, he disgustingly walked out of the room as fast as he could so he would not have to see it."

I guess someone less Spiritually Advanced would then have to clean it up?

"Master would not allow us to talk in a negative vein to Rajasi; the conversation or reports or talking to Rajasi had to be on a  constructive basis. I can well understand the reason as Rajasi was not able to take negativeness of any type. If the slightest negative element entered into the reports, he thereafter would not have anything to do with the project or person" (page 113)

If he saw anyone "step out of Character" he would then shun the person. If the person was someone he HAD to deal with he would then give that person no favors or special attention. Durga says though, that he could be merciful and forgive most of the time.

"Rajasi was especially naive towards anyone on the spiritual path" he felt they must all be saints and angels. If he ever saw them make a "Faulty move" he was very "critical". Durga states that over time he became a little more forgiving and accepting of others. Yogananda said that was why Rajasi had been matched with an invalid wife. To help teach him tolerance. (page 114)

Durga says Rajasi was very childlike. He had loved his Mother dearly and responded well to mothering. "Motherly praises for his good deeds toward the organization and to Master would give him the incentive to continue to do more."


(to be continued)
Katie

Thursday

Durga, Rajasi and a Virus : Saints of SRF

Book Review: Part 2
A Paramahansa Yogananda Trilogy of Divine Love
Durga Mata
(continued from previous post:  Saints of SRF )

So  Divine Mother has removed all of Durga Matas family from her life and she is free to serve the Guru.

COLDS
In her story she says that Yogananda was always curing her of colds (which only should last a couple of days anyway) and that he was very interested in cold "cures". When I was in SRF we were told that Yogananda said we caught colds because we didn't want to perform our duties. According to Durga , when he caught colds they were someone else's Karma that he was taking on. In all of his discussions with Divine Mother, I wonder why she didn't just reveal to him the Truth about frequent hand washing and keeping your hands away from your face? 

On the subject of colds...
Here is a sweet story.
The first visit Mr. Lynn made to Mt. Washington he had a slight cold that got worse during his visit. While gargling he coughed and the projectile sputum hit the bathroom ceiling. 


"Do you know, Master would not let us wash it off! Sweet sentimental Guruji wanted to keep it there as a memento"
-Durga-




It seems like something more hygienic could have been saved from the visit as a memento like maybe a pillowcase or something...
So Anyway...

Durga Mata never seems to have enough clothing and is always cold. She wears long housecoats to keep her legs warm. Yogananda tells her that her clothing "looks funny". She lives and works in cold areas of the compound. She gets some hand me down clothing from Karla Schramm who was close to her and a fellow disciple and nun. Miss Schramme was Jane in the silent Tarzan movies.


When I first saw this I imagined Durga Mata dressed as Tarzan, which would look "funny" as Yogananda said, but alas it was her long housecoats that he was talking about.
Tarzan


Rajasi (The way Durga spells it in her book)

 Rajarsi Janakananda was Yoganadas top disciple and principle Money bag benefactor. He was a wealthy and successful businessman. 

According to Durga,

James Jesse Lynn was born on May 5, 1892 in Archabald, Louisiana. Little Jimmy was a sensitive child. In 1953, his sister told me "Jimmy was more like a little girl than a boy"....He stayed home with his mother rather than play with the boys....Little Jimmy wore dresses and long hair up to age six.
(Page 74 and 75)
He was a very industrious and hard working, which I have no doubt led to his financial success. 
In October 1913 he married Frieda Prill. According to Durga, he was in Law school at the time. They had no children and she was "mentally and physically unwell. Mr. Lynn's social position grew, but society did not accept Frieda into their circles". Mr. Lynn avoided social functions as she was embarrassing to him. She had violent fits of rage and apparently scared off his previous Hindu teacher, Dr. Gyani.  She took the SRF lessons with him for a while but eventually turned against Yogananda. By the descriptions in Durgas book it sounds like they were not a happy couple. Durga makes several comments in the book that imply Frieda was not well thought of at the Ashram. Yogananda even took the matter to Divine Mother, but unfortunately Divine Mother was "neutral" when it came to Frieda Lynn (Unlike poor Durga, who Divine Mother took to the mat for not giving up her room see 'Good cop, Bad cop' ).
Strange are the ways of Divine Mother. 

When Yogananda was giving lectures in Kansas city, Dr. Gyani told him about James Lynn and this made Yogananda's heart "leap with joy". Yogananda sent his secretary to Mr. Lynns office and a meeting was arranged. It was love at first sight! They were Guru and Disciple. Fearing that his association with the Guru would hurt his business associations, they agreed to keep their close relationship private.
Their great love for one another is apparent in these photos. I couldn't find any pictures of him walking hand in hand with any other of his Disciples.

Yogananda and Rajasi

I now pronounce you Yogi-Christ and Disciple. 

"Mr. Lynn began to refer to us here as his home and Kansas City as his residence" (page 92)

Christmas

"St. Lynn could not spend as many Christmases as he desired." His business was very busy at that time of the year and "the violent scenes Frieda enacted upon hearing of my leaving her at that time is very distressing"
Frieda was WAY over the line to expect her husband to spend Christmas with her. How Mr. Lynn must have suffered.

Yogananda wrote in response:
"The Christmas tree and everything seems so useless without your bright face divinely appreciative of all we do for you."
(Page 93)

St. Lynn would usually give Master a large sum of Money as a gift. (page 94).
In later years he would have Durga buy personal gifts for Yogananda to give along with the money.

(to be continued)

Peace and Best Wishes,

Katie