Paramahansa Yogananda: Spiritual Leader and Self-Realization Movement
Paramahansa Yogananda, a prominent spiritual leader of the 20th century, founded the Self-Realization Fellowship in the United States. He aimed to teach scientific techniques for experiencing God directly and evolving human consciousness into God Consciousness. Yogananda's teachings emphasized harmony, unity, and the superiority of the mind over body, soul over mind. He strived to spread a spirit of brotherhood and overcome suffering and ignorance through wisdom and kindness.
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20THCENTURY SPIRITUAL LEADERS Part 2: Second part of the century
TODAYS LIST Paramahansa Yogananda and the Self-Realization movement Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the Hare Krishna movement Sun Yung Moon and the Unification Church L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology
PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA Born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in 1893, near Calcutta, India, to devout family Exceptional spiritual awareness as a child Met his guru, Swami Yukteswar Giri, at age 17 describes meeting as a rekindling of a relationship that had lasted many lifetimes Earned a Bachelor s degree at age 22 from college close to guru s ashram Took monastic vows at this time and given new name
PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA Yukteswar tells Yogananda that he had been sent to him by Mahavatar Babaji to bring Kriya Yoga to the west Mahavatar Babaji visits Yogananda right before he leaves for the United States Traveled to the US at age 27 (1920) and establishes Self-Realization Fellowship Sets up headquarters in Los Angeles in 1925; lived in this area until his death Thousands hear him speak and become followers prompting FBI to put him on watch list
SELF-REALIZATION AIMS To teach scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God To teach that the purpose of life is the evolution, through self-effort, of man s limited mortal consciousness into God Consciousness To reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna To point out the one divine highway to which all paths of true religious beliefs eventually lead
SELF-REALIZATION AIMS To liberate man from his threefold suffering: physical disease, mental inharmonies, and spiritual ignorance To spread a spirit of brotherhood among all peoples by teaching the eternal basis of their unity To demonstrate the superiority of mind over body, of soul over mind To overcome evil by good, sorrow by joy, cruelty by kindness, ignorance by wisdom
SELF-REALIZATION AIMS To unite science and religion through realization of the unity of their underlying principles To advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West, and the exchange of their finest distinctive features To serve mankind as one s larger Self To teach Kriya Yoga techniques
KRIYA YOGA Mentally directs life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers Medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses The energy in the spinal centers correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half minute of revolution of energy around each of the sensitive spinal cord centers of man effects subtle progress in his evolution The half-minute practices of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment. It brings God's love into operation in the devotee's life
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI Autobiography of a Yogi published in 1946 Designated as one of the 100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20thCentury Steve Jobs re-read the book every year; he first read it as a teen-ager George Harrison said he would be a terrible person without this book More than 500 Self-Realization temples around the world After Yogananda s death the Self-Realization Fellowship has been led by a succession of women
A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA AND THE HARE KRISHNA MOVEMENT Born Abhay Charan De in Calcutta, in 1896, into devout Hindu family Graduated from European led college in 1920 Refused diploma in support of Ghandi s independence movement Married at age 22 Wife was 11 at time Wife gave birth to first child at age 14 Age 26 met his spiritual master Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA AND THE HARE KRISHNA MOVEMENT Age 37 became an initiate of his master Age 48 wrote, edited, designed, published, and distributed his first book Given first title Bhaktivedanta in 1947, age 53; Second title in 1967 Still owned a pharmaceutical business at age 54 Vow of renunciation at age 63; devoted to full-time writing Founded ISKCON International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1966
HARE KRISHNA MOVEMENT Began 500 years ago by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, considered by the movement to be an incarnation of Krishna Goal is to preach the way of Bhakti, or love of God The essential scripture for the movement is the 5000-year-old Bhagavad Gita Other names for the movement GaudiyaVaishnavism Chaitanya Vaishnavism Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya
HARE KRISHNA PRACTICES & BELIEFS Chanting of Radha and Krishna's holy names, such as "Hare", "Krishna" and "Rama Considers itself monotheistic, all gods incarnates of one supreme God, best named Krishna Inconceivable oneness and difference The soul is identical to God, but the quantity differs; i.e., God s soul is bigger This belief bridges Hindu monism (God and soul are one) and Hindu dualism (God and the soul are separate) Dualism evident in practice Krishna worshipped as a Supreme person
HARE KRISHNA PRACTICES & BELIEFS Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad are empowered representatives of God with essentially the same message as Krishna Hare Krishna (mantra) is chanted on a daily basis, sometimes for many hours each day Lacto vegetarian diet, abstaining from all types of animal flesh, including fish and eggs No drugs or caffiene
BHAKTIVEDANTA SPREADING THE WORD Came to New York in1965 to fulfill promise to guru of spreading the teachings to the world No sponsor in the US; was not met by anyone; had very limited funds By 1967 opened up centers in New York and San Francisco and attracted a very large following Traveled around the world over 14 times Many temples and farms established by ISKCON One farm in Juniata County
LEGACY OF A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA Over 60 volumes of translations classic Vedic scriptures Founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Won praise from top scholars for their depth and clarity Built temples all over the world Indian government issued a commemorative stamp in his honor of his 100 birthday Some believe his death at age 81 to be from poison A split in the organization after his death Lawsuit on the rights to books
SUN YUNG MOON & THE UNIFICATION CHURCH Born in (North) Korea (under Japanese rule) in 1920 Family converted to Christianity in 1923 Vision, age 16: Jesus asks him to complete his unfinished work Studied electrical engineering in Japan at age 21 Excommunicated in 1946 for preaching his beliefs
SUN YUNG MOON & THE UNIFICATION CHURCH Imprisoned by North Korea in 1947 for treason; served three years Escaped and fled to South Korea in 1950 Founded Unification Church in Seoul, South Korea in 1954 Officially named the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity Business - armaments, paint, machinery, and ginseng tea - flourished in early church and enabled him to spread his message
SUN YUNG MOON & THE UNIFICATION CHURCH Moved his operations to the upstate New York in 1973 Became a player in US politics; gave highly visible public speeches Recruited youth of the counter-culture, called Moonies Moonies sold candles and flowers to support the church Lived in communal situations; poor conditions Seen by many as a brain-washing cult; members kidnapped and deprogrammed
SUN YUNG MOON & THE UNIFICATION CHURCH In 1978, Congressional committee concluded the church wanted to establish and rule a worldwide government In 1981, the tax-exempt status for the church was revoked; reason citing the purpose was primarily political In 1982, Moon convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 18 months in prison Fellow prisoners have called him humble, hard-working, and joyful Followers have called trial religious persecution
SUN YUNG MOON & THE UNIFICATION CHURCH In 1992, Moon reveals that he is the return of Jesus, predicted by the Bible In 1994, Moon established the International Federation for World Peace In 1998, expose of Moon family written by former daughter-in-law In 2004, Moon tricked members of Congress into attended a ceremony in a Senate building in which Moon was crowned King of Peace Moon died in 2012; his wife (20 years younger) took over leadership; two sons split off and formed their own organizations Claims to have 3 million members worldwide; other sources say maybe one million or less
DIVINE PRINCIPLES: UNIFICATION CHURCH TEACHINGS Divine Principles: a book co-written by Moon and follower; published in 1966 One of the main purposes of the Unification Church is to unite all of the fragments of Christianity into a single body Celibacy before marriage. No tobacco or alcohol. Work long hours (for church) Must earn salvation through fasting, fund raising, recruitment The church becomes a member s whole life
DIVINE PRINCIPLES: UNIFICATION CHURCH TEACHINGS Reject the Trinity; Jesus divine, but not God The Holy Spirit is not a person; it represents God s feminine side Adam and Eve Spiritual fall when Eve had sex with Satan Physical fall when Eve and Adam had pre-marital sex Jesus s resurrection made spiritual salvation possible, but his death prevented physical salvation The Third Adam s perfect marriage will make physical salvation possible
DIVINE PRINCIPLES: UNIFICATION CHURCH TEACHINGS Everything in nature comes in pairs Jesus was supposed to marry the perfect feminine to complete the perfect pair Moon s purpose is to finish that job; third Adam Moon s family was touted as pure and perfect Joining followers into perfect marriages a big part of the church Mass marriages thousands; couples only meet short time (or not at all) before service
UNIFICATION CHURCH PERSONA NY Times said the church was a combination of : Pentecostal Christianity, Eastern mysticism, Anti-Communism, Pop psychology, Metaphysics Owns United Press International Doesn t believe in baptism and communion Does believe in clairvoyance, automatic handwriting, and mediumistic trances. Moon participated in s ances
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY Born in 1911 in Nebraska. Early years in Montana in middle class family. Father joined military when he was six. They moved around the country and world. Traveled throughout far east in his teens. Poor student. Studied engineering per father. Dropped out. Started successful writing career in his 20s (1930s). Pulp fiction magazines Best known for science fiction. First book in 1937. Movie scripts soon after.
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY Wrote the book Excalibur in 1938, after near-death experience while under drug (nitrous oxide?) for dental procedure; everything is survival Served in the Naval Reserve and Navy during WWII Command of two ships both times relieved of command as unfit Dropped depth charges on imaginary Japanese subs? Attacked Mexican islands Ended military career in long stay in hospital for ulcer? In 1945, Collaborated with Jack Parsons, occultist and member of Ordo Templi Orientis Created sex magic ritual called BabalonWorking
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY In 1950, published Dianetics the seminal work for Scientology Uses auditors (therapists?) that guide individuals (patients?) through past traumatic events to remove engrams left by these events Purported to lead to more rational approach to living Largely consistent with prevailing, popular approach in psychology Methodology used in Dianetics was submitted by Hubbard s physician brother-in-law to JAMA and AJP but was rejected Six months on NY Times best-seller list; best-selling non-Christian religious book of the 20thcentury
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY In 1951 Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation formed; Hubbard on lecture circuit Reincarnation introduced into the practice; thetans immortal beings, analogous to the soul Electrodermal activity meter (e-meter) introduced as aid to auditor NJ Board of Medical Examiners charged Hubbard with practicing medicine w/o license In 1952 Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation filed for bankruptcy Scientology formed, became a religion in the next year
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY Making $250,000 per year by 1959 Moved to estate in Sussex, England in 1959 By the end of the 60s he moved on board his yacht to avoid controversies and legal woes Controversies and legal woes the rest of his life too many to know where to start - AMA, APA, BBB, DOJ, FDA, IRS and those are only those in the US
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY Operations on Sea Org fleet during late 60s and early 70s, eventually banned in ports Fleet conditions were terrible at times Became very vindictive against people leaving the cult Scientology beliefs still being developed throughout the period Wall of Fire 75 planet Confederacy, 75 million years ago Xenu, Galactic Confederacy leader shipped billions of people to Earth, blew them up with H-bombs Traumatized spirits stuck together at implant stations
L. RON HUBBARD AND SCIENTOLOGY Went into hiding to avoid prison and fines Wrote more Sci-Fi Battlefield Earth and other best sellers Still exercised control of his church Directed the Guardian Office to find and destroy anything that put him or Scientology in a bad light Died in California, living in luxury RV on 160 acre ranch
L. RON HUBBARD LEGACY Hubbard in Guinness records as Most published author of all times, 1,084 works Most translated book The Way to Happiness 70 languages In a ruling in favor of a biographer being sued by Scientology, Judge Paul G. Breckenridge said of Hubbard He was a pathological liar Writings reflect egoism, greed, avarice, lust for power, and vindictiveness He was charismatic and highly capable of motivating, organizing, controlling, and manipulating
