Before I get any further in this story, I want to add a little information about what I believe. I believe in God. I can feel Gods presence in my life. I feel connected to a Universal God. I sing to God. I pray to God. I feel peace in prayer and meditation. I do not belong to a church or religion.
When I was in SRF they told me I would lose my connection to God if I left SRF. If I abandoned the Guru, God would abandon me. It didn't happen. My meditations are the same now as they were then except now I have stopped obsessing about asana and technique. The party line is that the Guru is a "gift" from God. To abandon the guru and his teachings were like throwing a gift back in Gods face.
Unbelievably, I bought this.
Scare tactics are a very effective way to keep bliss zombies loyal.
In SRF they think Yogananda is a Christ or Avatar. You can only come to God by way of a "God Realized" Guru. This is a good way to keep butts in the seats. It is my experience that we are all tied to God naturally, we do not need to go through another person to be with God.
There are lots of celebrity names dropped in SRF circles. What do Elvis, Dennis Weaver, James Arnes, George Harrison and Robin Williams have in common? SRF. These people get the red carpet treatment at SRF but they can't keep the organization going all by themselves. Multi million dollar properties and publishing companies don't run themselves. They need elves.
There are lots of celebrity names dropped in SRF circles. What do Elvis, Dennis Weaver, James Arnes, George Harrison and Robin Williams have in common? SRF. These people get the red carpet treatment at SRF but they can't keep the organization going all by themselves. Multi million dollar properties and publishing companies don't run themselves. They need elves.
Yoga and Eastern philosophy are great! Meditation is great!...But there is no wondrous meditation technique that is the airplane ride to the divine. In reality there are hundreds if not thousands of meditation techniques. Even the Kriya of Lahiri is available from a multitude of vendors. Some techniques work better for some people than others. Find something you like to do that fits comfortably into your life.
Contrary to what SRF told us, Yogananda was NOT a special ambassador from God to America, the Johnny Appleseed of Kriya yoga. He was a yoga teacher. A minister of Eastern philosophy. Period. Nothing wrong with that. A teacher is a fine thing to be, but he was JUST a person. You don't need to crawl on your belly in front of his picture.
Now when I was in SRF, people were actually afraid to have children. Afraid to enjoy their extended families. In the time I was there I saw endless domestic dysfunction. When everyone was together, people were afraid to let their warts show. Afraid to be themselves for fear they wouldn't be viewed as "Spiritual" or "advanced". Everyone HAD to be "advanced". Life was viewed not as a beautiful gift but as a thing to overcome. I personally find this very oppressive and restrictive.
So this is what I want to say right now:
Life is gift. Every minute is a wonderful gift. It is meant to be enjoyed.
Love, live, enjoy. Drench yourself in life.
I don't know what happens when we die. I don't know if we reincarnate or go to valhalla with Oden. Maybe we ride unicorns on Hiranyloka with the fairies and gnomes or sit quietly in our graves waiting for the tribulation. Maybe we become ghosts and sneak around scaring the pudding out of little kids. I don't know and neither does anyone else, including "Avatars" like Yoganada. I do think our best evidence comes from the people who come back to life after clinical death. They have been closer than the rest of us and they say it was pretty good, so I'm going with that, mostly because I like it. It gives me comfort. That is the purpose of religion and spiritual beliefs. To give us comfort. Go with the thing that gives YOU comfort.
Peace and best wishes,
KD
