Yogananda Podcast

We welcome Durga, from India, who is responsible for the instagram account mahavatarbabajii, one of the largest social media channels ever created, dedicated to Paramhansa Yogananda’s lineage (36k followers at time of recording). 

This minute discusses Paramahansa Yogananda’s “radical” and scientific explanation for the technique of meditation and charging the body with cosmic energy. We also explore the many perceptions of God personally held by devotees around the world today, and how this is linked to the purpose of Self-Realization Fellowship and Yogoda Satsang Society of India. 

0:45 Meet Durga;

13:00 Minute Summary;

14:08 This is not dogma;

16:30 Energization and Ascension;

19:40 Guruji's eyes;

28:01 How would audiences perceive Guruji now?:

43:35 The Hospital Pass.

Hitendra Wadhwa’s appearances in Awake: The Life of Yogananda were simultaneously inspirational and graceful, no mean feat. With the much deliberated “How to Live” themes discussed in this podcast, Hitendra offers a unique (and it must be noted, world renowned) perspective on harmonising the inner spiritual striving with the outer material quest for success. We are delighted to offer you this insightful interview as part of our “special” podcast series.

1:00 Meet Hitendra Wadhwa;

8:16 The 1900s Bengal Renaissance spills into the West;

18:37 Helping entrepreneurs with spirituality;

27:46 Authenticity in Business;

34:34 Bringing up Yogananda in your classes;

39:24 Intercession with Brother Satyananda;

46:20 Spiritualising business ventures;

53:00 Finding inspiring spiritual figures;

59:50 Choosing the right values.

If you haven’t already seen the fantastic "Intersection” conducted by Hitendra Wadhwa with Brother Satyananda, a senior monk with Self-Realization Fellowship and minister-in-charge of SRF Lake Shrine, we encourage you to do so here:

https://youtu.be/mvCc4GJOcFM

Hitendra works to empower every individual, team and organization to realize their full potential and operate from their inner core. As a Columbia Business School professor, keynote speaker, and Mentora Institute founder, he brings a mathematician’s rigor to some of the most compelling and challenging questions about life and leadership in today’s transformative times. As the BBC World Service put it, “[Hitendra]’s lessons are about how to become a master of yourself before trying to be a master of the universe.”

Paramahansa Yogananda arrives for the Congress of Religious Liberals and delivers his landmark talk entitled “The Science of Religion”. He naturally attracted devotees (perhaps from previous lives) such as Dr and Mrs Lewis (pictured). We review other scenes and discussion topics including Sigmund Freud, the re-conceptualisation of divinity and the book of Revelations. A mixed bag, if ever there was one.

2:09 Sigmund Freud and the re-conceptualisation of God;

17:35 Universality of Gurujis teachings;

23:43 Congress of Religious Liberals;

27:50 Dr and Mrs Lewis and Sister Yogamata;

34:30 Yogananda lecturing, finding God in the spine;

41:33 Seven Churches, Chakras and the Gospel of Thomas;

52:15 Video of Guruji speaking on stage; of Revelations.

Nik and Niva join us for the lively Minute which discusses the world that Paramahansa Yogananda was stepping into when he first landed on the shores of Boston, America. We break our usual protocol of having a maximum of four people on the podcast, the guests shared a pod from conception to birth, and we did not feel it right to separate them now. They are our first Indian guests on the podcast, and would you believe it was recorded a month ago but the stars aligned (without our planning) to have it published precisely on Indian Independence Day!   

We hope you enjoy this episode that analyses Felix the Cat, Brahmachari Martin, the Einsteinian Revolution, American culture in the 1920s and the awareness of yoga in the west at that time. 

0:00 Meet Nik and Niva;

4:40 Summary of minute;

5:51 Hot Dogs and cold potatoes;

10:45 Mute video of Guruji and his attire;

14:52 Felix the Cat cartoon;

19:04 Brahmachari Martin and USA in 1920s;

26:55 Influence of Eastern Philosophy at the time;

36:52 Phil Goldberg, Science and Religion;

53:12 Intuition and Intuitive Knowledge;

1:05:25 Misdirection, Ganesh and Abstract Art;

1:14:30 Reflections and mental health. 

Young Adults Guitar Band play Light the Lamp of Thy Love: https://fb.watch/bxy_np6W1t/

In the Autobiography of a Yogi guruji mentions the many “Red-tape difficulties” miraculously removed concerning his passport, visa, passage and reasons for going to the West. As this was all that was only briefly mentioned in the book, we took the opportunity in this episode to discuss these in some detail. This episode also discusses Paramahansa Yogananda’s first meeting with Mahavatar Babaji and his long journey on the City of Sparta to America. 

After researching the material for this subject, we now have a new found respect for guruji and the divine laws he always operated in, especially when considering the intriguing and amusing immigration forms that are held on historical records. This episode is not to be missed!

0:37 Minute Summary;

1:25 Seeking the blessing from Sri Yukteswar;

9:33 Seeking the blessing from his Father;

13:03 How was Guruji enrolled to be the delegate for America?;

14:54 How did Guruji get aboard City of Sparta;

24:04 Seeking the blessing of Paramahansa Yogananda;

34:59 Guruji gets quite a send off;

38:30 All aboard, make sure your forms are filled correctly!;

44:45 You can, speak!;  

47:57 Sailing to happy Boston;  

54:44 The famous picture of Guruji, cleanly shaven, suited and booted in Western formal attire!;

59:48 The first video of Guruji.

Professor Francis Clooney had few lines in the film, but in our opinion, delivered them so powerfully that they rank amongst the most moving dialogue in the entire script. We are exceptionally pleased to offer this interview, which allowed Professor Clooney an extended forum to speak about the influence of Paramahansa Yogananda’s commentary on the gospels: ‘The Second Coming of Christ’ in today’s interreligious world.

0:00 Meet Professor Clooney;

5:51 Involvement with the Awake film;

8:35 Influence of Christianity on Priyank and Chris;

10:32 The benefits of comparative religion;

17:52 “Because I am a believer, I can learn from all traditions where belief is important;  

21:34 The Second Coming of Christ;

28:00 The Yogic approach to understanding the Bible;

33:07 The evolving interpretations of the Bible;

38:29 Baptism of Jesus, The Dove of Light descending from Heaven;

42:54 Christians Practicing Yoga ;

51:10 Yogananda's unique contribution to theology;

57:11 Churchianity vs the original Christianity;

1:02:24 Jesus the Man or Jesus the Christ;

1:06:08 Supporting good mental health amongst students;

1:14:41 Closing Prayer.

Francis Clooney is an American Jesuit priest and scholar in the teachings of Hinduism. He is currently a professor at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has been a prolific writer on the topic, of particular interest to listeners will be ‘Hindu Wisdom for All God's Children’ and ‘Hindu God, Christian God’.

This episode focuses on happy years spent by Paramahansa Yogananda in his Ranchi school and the sudden, shocking inner vision of going to America.  We discuss more on the intricacies of school life, the academics, students and style of teaching. Daya Mata makes her first appearance in the film too, which may have been one of the reasons that we ended this episode in a prayer. 

0:00 Divine Gypsy;

1:47 Minute Summary;

2:22 Headhunting Swami Kebalananda;

7:53 Peaple in the photo from the minute;

11:19 Vision of America;

17:11 Guruji leaves Rachi immediately;

21:30 The means for his invite to America;

24:59 Sister Daya Mata;

43:18 Guruji says goodbye to his Ranchi family;

53:30 Feedback;  

56:45 Closing Prayer.

Varun Soni had many significant messages to offer in the film and provided them so effortlessly and concisely that they were easy to gloss over. We discuss them in detail and he reciprocates by providing his superb all-inclusive, healing, energy to our podcast in this very special interview. Two of the many different themes discussed how his family have been influenced by Paramahansa Yogananda and how the great guru’s teachings are relevant for peace and harmony between religions. The issue of mental health amongst the youth of today is also dissected, using the light of India’s timeless gift of Yoga to the world.

0:00 Meet Varun Soni

8:00 Religious conflicts in the world;

11:20 The inclusive approach of Yogananda;

15:51 Young people and religion;

23:14 Spiritual and mental healing;

26:10 Teaching spirituality at an early age;

29:27 Varun’s involvement in the Awake film;

31:52 The meaning of Yogananda in Varun’s life;

34:28 The reconceptualization of God;

36:42 Wording the message of spirituality;

42:45 Measuring data on well-being;

45:05 The structure of the Awake film;

47:50 Is the Awake film used in his classes?;

49:59 Attention spans and short form content;

51:59 Mindfulness classes;

55:10 The progress of inter-faith culture in America.

Dr. Varun Soni is the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California (USC) and the first Hindu to serve as the chief religious or spiritual leader of an American university. He is also Vice Provost of Campus Wellness and Crisis Intervention, Adjunct Professor of Religion, and University Fellow at the Annenberg Center on Public Diplomacy. Prior to USC, he spent four years teaching in the Law and Society Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

We are joined by Natalia from Colombia, we talk about young Paramahansa Yogananda founding a school in Ranchi, we see glimpses of Bro. Vishwananda and we discuss about the right education system for the Dvapura yuga. 

0:00 Meet Natalia;

10:47 Minute Summary;

11:58 Was Guruji scared of his vision?;

18:05 Establishing Ranchi School;

21:32 Brother Vishwananda;

26:18 Smriti Mandir;

29:12 What is the basis for an ideal school;

1:10:11 Benefits of Hatha Yoga;

1:17:04 Strawberries with Sandy Gray;

1:21:04 How-to-live principles;

1:29:40 Natalia reading Tagore's Where the Mind is Without Fear.

Philip Goldberg’s contribution the film was both unique and insightful, we hope you will enjoy this intriguing interview as much as we did. As a scholar and biographer of the great spiritual personalities in the West, Phil has produced beautiful chronicles that highlight the route-map taken by the unlikely but inevitable eastern spiritual renaissance in the Americas.  

00:00 Phil Goldberg Bio, don't accept things on faith;

05:24 Why write: The Life of Yogananda;

08:07 Treating miracles in the famous Autobiography with objectivity;

20:24 Why did you not follow Yogananda's path;

25:48 Telling Yogananda's story in a human way;

32:28 This body is a vehicle for awakening;

34:37 The influence of Eastern Philosophy on the West;

41:02 Jesus in India and Yogananda's love for him;

48:11 Uniting world religions;

54:42 Involvement with the Awake film;  

1:02:51 What else would you have liked to have seen in the film?;

1:11:15 What was the most influential aspect about Yogananda?;

1:15:18 Favourite chapter of the AoY;

1:17:00 How did your love for spirituality meet your love for writing?.

For more information see: https://philipgoldberg.com/