I need opinion about this guru...

[Gaura Priya]

Vishwananda Swami...

His website is Sri Swami Vishwananda - Mahavatar Babaji - Divine Mother | Bhakti Marga

I looked at their guru wearing Vaishnava tilaka... and then wearing a cross... and then his disciples donning neckbeads (tulasi kunthi-mala) and worshipping Kali... XD

That being said, what do you all feel about Paramahansa Yogananda? Is he preaching Hinduism? Or just another new-age Hindu personality group?

God bless!

[youtube]KLxJhsYkqbA[/youtube]
YouTube - Converted to Hinduism- Kali Darshan in Steffenshof, Germany 2010

 

[Madhuri]

I will comment about Yogananda because I am familiar with him.

I personally feel that he is a genuine teacher of Hindu philosophy. He took Vedic understandings and preached in a way that would attract Westerners and help us to understand.

My dad is really into Yogananda. He believes in Jesus' divinity because of Yogananda. I personally think that Yogananda put that much focus on Jesus so that Westerners would have something to relate to. That was a smart thing to do because for many people, Hinduism is too different and strange to even contemplate. By including ideas that Westerners were familiar with, Yogananda was able to teach essential aspects of Hindu philosophy.

 

[Gaura Priya]

Yeah... this man interesting because he has gotten his philosophy from a babaji that Paramahansa Yogananda met, which is why his name is mentioned in his biography. However, I just kind of feel mixed with their devotees mixing everything that is Hindu into one vat.

Perhaps I am a separatist, but it's hard for me to separate the cultural things. Perhaps this is a beginning trend for people in the West to accept Hindu Dharma, just as it has been done for Daoism and Buddhism.

But it's hard not to call them hippies when I am watching their videos and they suddenly begin holding hands and swaying back and forth... XD

 

[Madhuri]

But it's hard not to call them hippies when I am watching their videos and they suddenly begin holding hands and swaying back and forth... XD

Lol! Different people will always bring in their own cultural practices and ideas of how to be religious. I think the most important thing is understanding and following the tenets of the philosophy.

 

[Riverwolf]

I've been reading Yogananda's commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, and I'm really loving it. I'd have to call him a real Guru.

 

[Madhuri]

I've been reading Yogananda's commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, and I'm really loving it. I'd have to call him a real Guru.

I have that but haven't read it yet. I'm really looking forward to reading it!

 

[Riverwolf]

I have that but haven't read it yet. I'm really looking forward to reading it!

Just a heads up; it's VERY long: two volumes, the first volume being chapters 1 through 5, and volume 2 being 6 to 18.

The commentary on the first verse alone is 50 pages long, and the commentary on the third chapter begins on page 326.

So it's quite comprehensive.

 

[YmirGF]

Lol! Different people will always bring in their own cultural practices and ideas of how to be religious. I think the most important thing is understanding and following the tenets of the philosophy.

Yogananda and Babaji certainly transformed my thinking. I would call my introduction to them as being - pivotal.

 

[Kuvalya_Dharmasindhu]

Namaste,

It seems i'm not the only one with a taste for long commentaries! HAHAHA I just ordered a copy of Sri Ramanujacharyaji's Sri Bhashya... It was so expensive (probably because any book on our Ubhaya Vedanta philosophy is pretty obscure even to Western Hindus) but i'm psyched to memorize and comment on them myself...

Anyway, to get back to the topic at hand... I'm not a separatist but I think when Westerners start mixing things like various tilaka (that are markings socially tying you to a certain religious group), you start breaking down tradition and step away from the acharyas' teachings. I know of no acharya who teaches one should wear the Sricharanam while at the same time being an orthodox Saivite (not that that's necessarily the case). And i do love evolution of religious cultures--if i didn't i probably wouldn't be enthralled in the teachings of Ramanuja the way i am... However, there's a reason why some of the traditions exist to this day. It is up to us to fish through and decide personally what we want to choose to accept or reject, but one should understand and be able to clarify why they wear that specific tilaka, or practice/adhere to certain doctrines or religious traditions. If i can't wear my entire tilaka for whatever reason i still wear a single bindhu (because at least it signifies i'm tied into the Hindu community at large) which in itself is a mark of devotion to the Supreme Lord Narayana.

I truly believe that Yogananda was an enlightened teacher and he accomplished what Madhuri-ji was explaining in an earlier post. With reference to religion, he did the same thing as Vivekananda---utilized Christianity to teach Hinduism so that it wouldn't be outright rejected. At the same time, philosophically they are somewhat different... Vivekananda seems to have created a Neo-Vedanta more on par with the Advaita of Shankara, while Yogananda's philosophical teachings differed even more than Vivekananda with respect to Shankara's traditional Advaita Vedanta. Yogananda reminds me more of a qualified non-dualist (not exactly like Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita) solely with regard to de-emphasizing the necessity of determining whether the Nirguna or Saguna aspect was superior...

*Pranams*

 

[Vinayaka]

Has anyone else ever noticed how these swamis always totally avoid the H word. Its like they're totally ashamed to call themselves Hindu. Why?

 

[Madhuri]

Has anyone else ever noticed how these swamis always totally avoid the H word. Its like they're totally ashamed to call themselves Hindu. Why?

I don't know enough about that. I do know that Prabhupad said that ISKON is not Hinduism, but perhaps this is rooted in the fact that there is no such single religion called Hinduism.

 

[Gaura Priya]

[youtube]SO4xdgww6Zs[/youtube]
YouTube - Converting to Hinduism- Darshan in Poland

If you skip to 1:30, they're holding hands and swaying... XD It is a little cringeful for me, but I respect them.

So it seems that the guru of this Vishwananda Swami is Mahavatar Babaji... does anyone know about his lineage? It's great that we're expounding on Paramahansa Yogananda though...

Apparently, from what I remember in seeing this face, was that many of the Self-Realisation Fellowship believe that this yogi is still living, even after Paramahansa Yogananda's death, and that he is considered an incarnation of God (I believe Krishna?).

Personally, after reading a bit and seeing his devotees, I'm not exactly comfortable with it. But to each eir own.

 

[Gaura Priya]

I've been reading Yogananda's commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, and I'm really loving it. I'd have to call him a real Guru.

I've read his commentary, and it wasn't for me at the time... XD I actually returned it to the bookstore. It may have also been an additional commentary by one of his disciples? It spoke much about kriya-yoga, that's for sure.

 

[Gaura Priya]

I don't know enough about that. I do know that Prabhupad said that ISKON is not Hinduism, but perhaps this is rooted in the fact that there is no such single religion called Hinduism.

Srila Prabhupada did not use the word Hinduism, but specifically used the word "Vaishnava." So you'll notice many ISKCON members say "We're not Hindu; we're Vaishnavas."

I believe that there were several reasons for this: a) this was a conservative movement that he was trying to adapt for Westerners coming out of a strongly Christian period, b) He did not believe that Hinduism was a unified religion, but saw Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and Shaivism as completely different religions sharing one culture, c) 'Hinduism' as it stood in the West was about Advaita Vedanta, demigod worship, and the caste system, all which he vehemently opposed.

I'm not sure with other gurus though.

 

[Satsangi]

[youtube]SO4xdgww6Zs[/youtube]
Personally, after reading a bit and seeing his devotees, I'm not exactly comfortable with it. But to each eir own.

You have the answer to your question in the OP. There are various paths in Sanatana Dharma and there are two ways to go about it in general- (1) Surrender your mind to the Guru/God and go by His words (2) Explore on your own and if you have a real deep seated desire of Him, God will show you the way.

My opinion about Sri Paramhamsa Yogananda is that he "repackaged" the Yoga so that it fits a Westerner's mind. To spread Kriya Yoga in the west was the command of his Guru. But none "discovered" the Yoga; they just cut out their own system from what was traditionally given by Hiranyagarbha Rishi. Mahavatar Babaji was the Guru of this Yoga and the Kriya Yogis believe them to be an incarnation of the God and assuming bodies in different times as per His will.

Regards,

 

[Vinayaka]

Wow. I watched that video, and now I really don't know what to think. Certainly not my brand of Hinduism, if you can call it that. I wonder what these guys believe in regard to opposing concepts such as heaven/hell or reincarnation, vegetarianism, lifestyle, sexual purity, and more. I'd like to sit down with the 'swami' and ask him a few pointed questions, thats for sure.

 

[Atman]

Anyway, to get back to the topic at hand... I'm not a separatist but I think when Westerners start mixing things like various tilaka (that are markings socially tying you to a certain religious group), you start breaking down tradition and step away from the acharyas' teachings. I know of no acharya who teaches one should wear the Sricharanam while at the same time being an orthodox Saivite (not that that's necessarily the case). And i do love evolution of religious cultures--if i didn't i probably wouldn't be enthralled in the teachings of Ramanuja the way i am... However, there's a reason why some of the traditions exist to this day. It is up to us to fish through and decide personally what we want to choose to accept or reject, but one should understand and be able to clarify why they wear that specific tilaka, or practice/adhere to certain doctrines or religious traditions. If i can't wear my entire tilaka for whatever reason i still wear a single bindhu (because at least it signifies i'm tied into the Hindu community at large) which in itself is a mark of devotion to the Supreme Lord Narayana.

But this kind of thing has been done in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Shankara for over a thousand years now. Though one may be a Vaishnava who wears the Tilaka of Vishnu, he still worships deities like Shiva, Ganesha, Durga etc. In Bengal wearing a Vaishnava Tilak while worshipping Kali is particularly common, due to the connection Tantric Vaishnavism and Tantric Shaktism have with each other. Some Tantric traditions even regard Krishna and Radha as being avatars of Kali and Shiva respectively

Some information on the Tantric view of Krishna as Kali here- Shri Krishna as Kali



Kali as Sri Krishna (note the flute in her hand)

Jai Sri Krishna
Jai Kali Maa

 

[Riverwolf]

I've read his commentary, and it wasn't for me at the time... XD I actually returned it to the bookstore. It may have also been an additional commentary by one of his disciples? It spoke much about kriya-yoga, that's for sure.

When I first read it, I laughed at it. ^_^ But reading it now, I recognize the wisdom in it, even if the "science" is, frankly, a bit suspect.

 

[Gaura Priya]

Kali as Sri Krishna (note the flute in her hand)

Jai Sri Krishna
Jai Kali Maa

Beautiful picture, by the way!

It reminds me of Jagannatha in the form of Ganesha...

[youtube]V5FgKw3POCA[/youtube]
YouTube - "Jagannatha" - Jagannatha salsa

If you skip to 3:08, you can see it!

 

[Vinayaka]

just a link: you probably saw this one already Are you interested in the truth about Swami Vishwananda? « tellthetruthswamivishwananda