{"id":99613,"date":"2023-04-14T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=99613"},"modified":"2023-04-20T09:38:13","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T13:38:13","slug":"yogananda-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/yogananda-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Yogananda&#8217;s Teachings:  From Spiritual Energy to Kriya Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Curious to learn about Paramahansa Yogananda&#8217;s teachings? What schools did he open? What is the Self-Realization Fellowship? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paramahansa Yogananda was a renowned yogi who founded schools that combined spiritual and practical education. Yogananda&#8217;s teachings, which explained the science of kriya yoga, aimed to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn about Yogananda&#8217;s teachings, including the schools he founded during his lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-legacy-of-yogananda-s-teachings\">The Legacy of Yogananda&#8217;s Teachings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Paramahansa Yogananda explains in his memoir, <em>Autobiography of a Yogi<\/em>, that once he had become an accomplished yogi, his mission in life was far from over. Yogananda&#8217;s teachings are part of his legacy, and he says that throughout his life, he\u2019d received visions of three different buildings. <strong>While studying with his mentor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sri-yukteswar-giri\/\">Sri Yukteswar Giri<\/a>, he came to understand that these were three schools he would found.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first third of his vision came true when he founded the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in 1917, near the city of Ranchi. However, it would be many years before the other two schools from his visions became reality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yogananda says that his schools combined spiritual and practical education, much like his own teaching with Yukteswar did. The school in Ranchi, for example, taught students academic subjects like math and literature, along with offering classes in agriculture, industrial job training, and business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) <a href=\"https:\/\/yssofindia.org\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">still exists today<\/a>, and it teaches kriya yoga to people of all backgrounds and religions. The YSS now has four separate ashrams and hundreds of smaller facilities throughout India and the surrounding countries. The organization also upholds Yogananda\u2019s belief that practical and religious teaching are both beneficial in seeking God. One of the YSS\u2019s goals is to <a href=\"https:\/\/yssofindia.org\/about\/aims-and-ideals#:~:text=To%20unite%20science%20and%20religion%20through%20realization%20of%20the%20unity%20of%20their%20underlying%20principles.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unite science and religion<\/a> by showing that they have the same fundamental principle: the search for truth.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when teaching yoga, Yogananda couched his lessons in practical terms\u2014he taught what he calls<strong> the science of kriya yoga, which explains yoga\u2019s seemingly impossible effects using biology and physics. <\/strong>For example, he taught that the human body functions much like a battery; certain yoga techniques connect you with God\u2019s infinite energy to recharge that battery, thereby explaining why some yogis don\u2019t seem to need sleep.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sri Yukteswar foretold that this well-rounded approach to teaching yoga would bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures\u2014people who would normally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-be-skeptical\/\">be skeptical<\/a> about spiritual practices would listen to a college-educated man explaining those practices and their benefits in scientific terms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Evaluating the Science Behind Ideas in Yoga<\/strong><br><br>Using scientific terms and principles to explain spiritual topics is a <a href=\"https:\/\/mentalhealthathome.org\/2020\/11\/17\/misuse-scientific-jargon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fairly common practice<\/a>, but nonscientists may use these terms differently from their formal scientific definitions. This is often referred to as <em>pseudoscience<\/em>: something that appears to be science but actually isn\u2019t.<br><br>For instance, when Yogananda says that the body stores and uses energy, in one sense, that\u2019s scientifically accurate: The body uses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/live-well\/healthy-weight\/managing-your-weight\/understanding-calories\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">energy that it extracts from food<\/a> and stores excess food as fat. However, Yogananda was actually talking about a different form of cosmic, spiritual energy that can\u2019t be observed or measured in any way.&nbsp;<br><br>Note that science requires data: <a href=\"https:\/\/fog.ccsf.edu\/~mmalacho\/ScientificMethod.html#:~:text=Qualities%20of%20good%20science%3A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Theories must be testable<\/a>, and the results of those tests must be repeatable. Therefore, because there\u2019s no way to test Yogananda\u2019s claims about spiritual energy and yogis\u2019 abilities to forgo sleep, those claims <a href=\"https:\/\/flexbooks.ck12.org\/cbook\/ck-12-college-human-biology-flexbook-2.0\/section\/1.8\/primary\/lesson\/pseudoscience-and-other-misuses-of-science-chumbio\/#:~:text=vague%2C%20exaggerated%2C%20or-,untestable%20claims%3A%C2%A0,-Many%20claims%20made\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">can\u2019t be described as truly backed by science<\/a>, regardless of whether he uses scientific language to describe them.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Yogananda Fulfilling His Destiny<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>By this time, Yogananda explains, he fully understood the destiny that Lahiri Mahasaya had foretold for him: He would bring yoga to the West, teaching and guiding thousands of people. So, after the Congress of Religious Liberals ended, Yogananda stayed in the US, and California became his home for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Although Yogananda officially made his home in California, he spent the next 10 years <a href=\"https:\/\/yssofindia.org\/paramahansa-yogananda\/a-pioneer-of-yoga-in-the-west\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">traveling all over the US<\/a> to share his teachings and presentations about yoga. In fact, he spoke at many of the largest auditoriums in the country during this time, and these venues were frequently filled to capacity.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1925, Yogananda founded the headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship\u2014a global branch of the YSS\u2014in Los Angeles, California. The headquarters was the second of the three buildings he\u2019d seen in his visions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In the mid-1930s, Yogananda reduced his traveling and teaching to focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/yssofindia.org\/paramahansa-yogananda\/spiritual-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">growing and guiding<\/a> the YSS and the Self-Realization Fellowship. Yogananda compiled his teachings into <a href=\"https:\/\/yssofindia.org\/yss-lessons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a series of lessons<\/a> that people could continue to study after his death, and he developed a <a href=\"https:\/\/yssofindia.org\/programmes\/retreats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">retreat program<\/a> that the Fellowship still uses. Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/yogananda.org\/self-realization-fellowship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Self-Realization Fellowship consists of more than 500 temples, ashrams, and schools<\/a> all over the world.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yogananda notes that he visited his home country of India in 1935. While he was there, Yukteswar granted him the title Paramahansa\u2014the highest honor a yogi can earn\u2014to commemorate his spiritual achievements.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: <em>Paramahansa <\/em>translates to \u201csupreme swan\u201d and indicates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yogapedia.com\/definition\/5475\/paramahansa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">someone who\u2019s achieved enlightenment<\/a>. The title comes from a myth about a swan that was able to drink only the milk from a solution of milk and water. Just as that swan could separate the milk from the water, a Paramahansa can separate the real (God) from the illusory (maya).)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yogananda traveled back to America in 1937. He says that upon returning, he found that <strong>his students had founded an ashram for the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas, California,<\/strong> near the coast. What his students had intended as a pleasant surprise was, in fact, the fulfillment of the final part of Yogananda\u2019s vision: an ashram by the sea, the third building he\u2019d foreseen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The Encinitas ashram is much more than just a religious retreat: It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thehorticult.com\/gardening-with-gurus-the-self-realization-fellowship\/#:~:text=Adjacent%20to%20the%20gardens%20is%20the%20hermitage%2C%20where%20you%20can%20attend%20workshops%2C%20services%20and%20retreats%3B\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a tourist attraction<\/a>, a concert venue, and a nature reserve as well. Yogananda spent much of the remainder of his life at this ashram; in fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.encinitasadvocate.com\/lifestyle\/story\/2022-10-16\/in-encinitas-natures-beauty-feeds-the-soul-at-self-realization-fellowship-meditation-gardens#:~:text=He%20wrote%20his%20most%20famous%20work%2C%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Autobiography%20of%20a%20Yogi%2C%E2%80%9D%20at%20the%20hermitage.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">it\u2019s where he wrote<\/a> <em>Autobiography of a Yogi<\/em>.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Curious to learn about Paramahansa Yogananda&#8217;s teachings? What schools did he open? What is the Self-Realization Fellowship? Paramahansa Yogananda was a renowned yogi who founded schools that combined spiritual and practical education. Yogananda&#8217;s teachings, which explained the science of kriya yoga, aimed to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures. Read on to learn about Yogananda&#8217;s teachings, including the schools he founded during his lifetime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":33614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,33,6],"tags":[990],"class_list":["post-99613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-people","category-spiritual","tag-autobiography-of-a-yogi","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yogananda&#039;s Teachings: From Spiritual Energy to Kriya Yoga - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Curious to know about Paramahansa Yogananda&#039;s teachings? 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