Yogananda Podcast

By Chris, Lauren, Mike & PriyankReligion & Spirituality Spirituality

Yogananda Podcast episodes

June 13, 2022 Awake Minute 54: Pranam Ananda Mata, Sri Gyanamata and Durga Mata
“A picture tells a thousand words” does not apply for us in this minute, as there is far too much inspirational personage hastily included in this minute to do it justice. We explore the glorious lives and contributions of some of those souls shown in this minute including Ananda Mata, Sri Gyanamata and Durga Mata, and are lives are certainly richer after this devotional discussion.
0:00 Meet Juanito;
5:03 Summary of minute;
11:25 Important devotees from the minute;
14:15 Ananda Mata;
25:47 Sister Gyanamata;
58:46 Durga Mata;
1:02:37 How does a Monastic life apply to us?.
For more on Sri Daya Mata, please see minute 52.
For more on Rajarsi Janakanada, please see minute 30.
List of disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_direct_disciples_of_Yogananda#cite_note-Self-Realization_Fellowship_1952-8
1 hr 16 min
June 07, 2022 Awake Minute 53: Pranam Sri Daya Mata
Sri Daya Mata’s sweet line “He began to draw disciples... One of them was me” is perhaps the most understated elements of the entire script. Daya Mata deserves a more detailed look, and this podcast is the perfect excuse to offer this to the world! Paramahansa Yogananda looks to rebuild the Self Realisation Fellowship, after facing severe trials and tribulations. Seeing God in all beings, even his enemies, he takes renewed strength in his mission to bring Yoga to the West.
0:00 Preamble on Fasting;
3:24 Summary of minute;
5:44 Journalism and the price of truth;
14:44 Guruji images and Mother Centre;
17:42 Sri Daya Mata;
25:13 Her first meeting with Guruji;
34:48 Her family life;
38:22 Faye Wright becomes Daya Mata;
53:24 Mahavatar Babaji and the Dark Cloud.
1 hr 24 min
May 31, 2022 Awake Minute 52: Supporting your sadhana
This episode really is an ode to detail. Priyank and Pablo rejoin us to discuss soil for food, and soil for grace, both no doubt sanctified by God and Gurus in nuanced ways. We also discuss incense, signs and fasting. Paramahansa Yogananda ponders over the age-old question: "is it really worth it"? As usual we break this down into some detail with our main discussion topics, attachment in the jungle of civilisation.
1:49 Where was Priyank for the last 8 weeks?;
8:50 Summary of Minute;
10:50 Taking the dust off of one's Guru;
19:42 Incense and reining in the senses;
28:47 Brother Vishwananda's altar;
35:39 Being taken by the ear;
41:56 Images of Guruji;
44:10 Non-attachment is the easy part... really?;
56:44 Busy street scene, order in chaos.
1 hr 3 min
May 24, 2022 Awake Minute 51: Yogananda’s darkest hour
This minute discusses Paramahansa Yogananda's grief after discovering the news about Swami Dhirananda leaving the swami order. We* also discuss his visit to Mexico and meeting with the then President Dr. E. Portes Gil. The minute also shows Brother Vishwananda's pilgrimage to Babaji's cave (Dwarahat), which is unpacked and reflected upon with our friend Ben, from the London Centre.
0:00 Meet Ben;
13:00 Summary of minute;
14:10 Guruji grieves in Mexico;
22:22 Guruji wonders about his mission;
32:20 A meeting with the president of Mexico;
35:30 Pilgrimage to Babaji’s cave.
* Priyank is not present during this episode due to being away for an extended period (mentioned by Chris in the intro, see savesoil.org. Rest assured he will be back for the next episode!
54 min
May 16, 2022 Awake Minute 50: Basu Kumar Bagchi sues Guruji :(
This episode focusses on the legal battle between Basu Kumar Bagchi and Swami Yogananda, and the subsequent sorrow felt by Guruji at having lost a long-time disciple (Swami Dhirananda). Some say their relationship spans nine centuries! Paramahansa Yogananda would have had to deal with so much remote litigation during his time in India in 1935, it is a wonder how he managed. Guruji also goes to Mexico, to recover from this troubling time in his life, so well captured by the film but never mentioned in the Autobiography of a Yogi.
0:00 Minute Summary;
7:44 Why did Mr Bagchi sue Guruji?;
14:30 Newspaper coverage;
17:16 Guruji battles on;
26:44 Did Guruji already know how it would end?;
30:18 Melancholy in Mexico.
39 min
May 09, 2022 Awake Minute 49: Swami Dhirananda leaves Guruji
Swami Dhirananda decides to part ways with Swami Yogananda and Self-Realization Fellowship. What could the reasons have been? Why would people follow him and not stay with an avatar such as Paramahansa Yogananda? Where do all the fantastic little videos of Guruji come from, why do we not have all the footage available free online? All superb topics of conversation from this minute.
0:00 Summary of minute;
2:18 Why did Dhirananda leave?;
9:00 Why is this rare footage unavailable;
25:50 The immediate impact of Dhirananda leaving.
33 min
May 02, 2022 Awake Minute 48: Difficult times for Paramahansa Yogananda
The ramifications of the Swami Dhirananda ‘scandal’ had to be handled with poise, patience and pragmatism by Paramahansa Yogananda. There were legal, public relations and general management challenges for Guruji to navigate. They enabled a resilient SRF to develop into the strong organisation it is today. Anya joins us to discuss how Guruji fought the good fight and the legacy he left behind, so relevant for the troubled world today. We finish with a prayer for world peace and harmony.
0:00 Meet Anya;
6:00 SRF scene in Russia;
8:58 Summary of Minute;
10:48 Why give the controversy more screen time?;
15:33 Unorthodox views of the serpentine variety;
24:00 The Green Book movie;
32:32 Fighting the good fight;
50:22 Other scenes shown in the minute;
52:11 Final reflections on this minute;
58:37 Closing Prayer for a peace.
1 hr 2 min
April 25, 2022 Awake Minute 47: Yogoda Wedding Vows
This episode contains messages that are relevant in today's world as they were in 1931, woman’s rights and freedom to marry who you wish.
There is a beautiful, if elaborate, wedding ceremony conducted by Paramahansa Yogananda himself. Priyank discusses how this differed from the SRF vows he took during his own ceremony (conducted by an SRF monk). We also take a detailed look at the vows themselves, which are both pure and profound.
The couple getting married in this minute were Nirad Ranjan Chowdhury (aka Brahmacharee Sri Nerode) and Agnes Spencer. In the end they betrayed their Guru and the fallout history is discussed in detail in this minute.
0:56 Summary of minute;
2:52 Discrimination in law and culture;
8:36 Bowing to someone's feet;
12:18 Yogananda conducts a wedding ceremony;
15:36 SRF vows;
22:20 Extended wedding scene analysis;
32:19 Background on the the 'happy' couple;
37:44 Nerode breaks apart from Guruji.
The video of Guruji in this minute is perhaps the clearest video ever recorded, both for picture and audio, and reveals much of his great personality and management style.

50 min
April 19, 2022 Awake Minute 46: Swami Dhirananda scandal
Markus joins us from Frankfurt to discuss the famous incident involving a bruised Swami Dhirananda and battling Swami Yogananda. We review the incident itself, the aftermath, misinformation in the printed press and why this became a mountain from a molehill.
0:00 Meet Marcus;
4:37 Summary of minute;
5:23 The incident and context;
24:20 Hypothesis on misunderstandings;
28:43 Damage limitation;
33:48 Newspaper reports and other scenes;
37:33 Why did Swami Dhirananda leave Guruji?.
46 min
April 12, 2022 Awake Minute 45: Indian Independence and American Civil Rights
Cosmic delusion would have been a difficult hurdle to overcome for Gandhi (in the Indian Independence) and equally so for Martin Luthar King Jr. (in the American Civil Rights movement). Although the latter had great admiration and took inspiration from the former, they both relied on Ahimsa, non-violence to achieve their glorious aims. We discuss all of this in the context of the Paramahansa Yogananda’s teaching and especially his famous commentary on Bhagavad Gita: God Talks with Arjuna.
0:00 Hatha Yoga Preamble;
8:24 Minute Summary;
11:25 Gandhi and the Indian Independence movement;
29:12 Martin Luthar King Jr.;
35:07 Ahimsa, vegetarianism and the path;
56:15 Guruji lecturing at Harvard on Gandhi and happiness;
01:07:51 Guruji at lunch.
There is also a sweet video of Guruji having lunch with some Indian dignitaries in LA in his last days before taking Mahasamadhi. We discuss Dr Lewis’s account as provided in the following link:
https://ocoy.org/yoganandas-last-days/
The video of Martin Luthar King Jr. can be found here:
https://youtu.be/vP4iY1TtS3s
1 hr 13 min

About Yogananda Podcast

From the publisher's feed

A podcast focussed on the teachings of our guru Paramahansa Yogananda, in a way that is intended for the general populace, following a structured but informal format and presented by devotees: Chris, Lauren, Mike & Priyank. NB: we are not experts & not everything mentioned is fact checked, but if you enjoyed the book/film, this unofficial podcast for you!