(Somber)
You are fortunate that you remained a friend on the sidelines. Early in the 1970s in Laguna Beach, some very dangerous and deadly stuff went down between Krishnas and others who got into drugs smuggling. This is described by Nuri Muster in her book, Betrayal of the Spirit.
ISKON
It was more than a cult. It acquired vast wealth.
when a leader becomes old, frail, has vast wealth and power but must relay on an entourage, he or she risks becoming a prisoner of that same entourage.
Younger males, especially, become ruthless and competative when the long time alpha male begins to falter.
Texts were altered in another influential guru led group. Over in a thread discussing Yognananda and Self Realization Fellowship, Tormed describes and analyses how Yogananda's text
Autobiography of a Yogi-initially a text that fostered seeking/craving and submissiveness, was altered after his death by the SRF.
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Information about SRF's quiet concealment of Yogananda's actual beliefs concerning 'ordinary people' is described here
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And on a splendid website, there is an abundance of material demontrating how important it is to examine just how consistent a guru was during his lifetime and to compare first editions of key texts and whether and what kinds of changes the guru's successors made to those same texts.
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The many editions of Yogananda's autobiography are reported to have sold over a million copies, translated into more than 19 languages.
As for footnotes, I have incorporated almost all from the 1946 edition. Later SRF editions have substantial additions to the footnotes, and more pictures and captions. I have compared with both the 1971 and 1981 editions.
❖ Later editions seem to have been "tampered with" somewhat by SRF by additions and changes. An example: "Never admit that you live by the power of food and not by the power of God!" in the first edition became "Never believe that you live . . ." in the 12th edition [Ha 88]. Others have studied these changes and additions. There are many others.
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Chapter heading is--Twarting a Healthy Ego is Not Good.
Again, z, you are fortunate that you stayed on the sidelines, had good friendships. To see what you may have escaped, get and read Nori Muster's book,
Betrayal of the Spirit.Quote
Good and staunch rationalism is much due to normal egohood development. Egohood is to be developed in stages and along very many alleys of man. It allows for rational handling, rational coping, and much life goes down the drains for lack of it. The effects of stunting normal and sane egohood are not health-promoting, and may foster creeps and devoted-looking ones.
Accordingly, it is likely to be better to defend sane egohood development against massive demands on obedience, "god-servile humility" that serves tyranny, and worse. You had better bulwark against insane leader attacks against sane egohood development. In totalitarian, over-authoritarian environments like severe cults they find it fit to molest sound ego development in obedient followers. Forewarned is forearmed. In cultish settings such attacks serve submission or obedience.
You may find lots of guru concepts, like "sacred, holy, and great" not quite ideal anyhow - whereas being skilful, updated and thrifty balancing is top help towards enlightenment if things go well.
It is far better to clarify one's concepts than to switch to and fro between the self- contraditions that seem persuasive or "impressive with the ladies" at the moment. After all, Yogananda talks against himself all too often. It backfires too.
Take home lesson is that this person established that there was plenty of unhealthy material in Yogananda's original teaching, long before SRF began to re-edit the stuff after Y died.
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