If Chip can do it so can you!
Wrong. While I had my body going in the direction I wanted, my heart was going the opposite way. The past four years of physicals had revealed my heart health (lipids, cholesterol) to be heading down a dark path. I was in the 200’s in my 20s; could that be right? Each year told the same story, and it was getting worse. While the 210 cholesterol count stayed the same, my LDL (bad cholesterol) was rising and my HDL (good cholesterol) was way below normal…half of what is recommended. I wasn’t completely surprised; both my dad and grandfather have high cholesterol. I assumed I was genetically destined to have high cholesterol too and that I was doing the best I could. My physician pushed harder each year to take the pharmaceutical approach, but I turned them down each time. I hate the idea of taking pills. I always told them the same thing about how I felt human body is amazing and already has all the tools needed to last a lifetime.
After 5 years of the same downward trend, my heart found a way to save itself. It found what it needed. No, it wasn’t Lipitor, but my loving wife Rachel. She took quick notice of what was going on and put her foot down. She wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life with me if that was only going to be for 20 years. There are just too many stories out there about the guy in great shape who drops dead from a heart attack one week after running a marathon. Rachel wasn’t going to let that happen, so she started researching alternative approaches for solving my problem.
By this time, we had been taking Intro to Ashtanga classes every Sunday at Maya Yoga. We’d heard a little about Wade and Kathleen being vegan, but in all honesty, we hadn’t thought much of it. Then fate stepped in. While traveling, Rachel read an article about Whole Food’s CEO transitioning from omnivore to organic to vegetarian to eventually vegan. In the interview, he
referenced the Engine 2 Diet and the impact his diet made on his health. Intrigued, Rachel started doing more research. She read The Engine 2 Diet, The China Study, and Crazy Sexy Diet. All pointed to the same thing: go whole food and plant-based and get healty now!
To convince me to try a plant-based diet, she decided to go with Engine 2, created by Rip Esselstyn. The book speaks directly to how a plant-based diet can lower cholesterol dramatically. Rip was a professional triathlete turned fireman who noticed the unhealthy eating habits of the firemen in his unit. Some had cholesterol levels in excess of 300. His approach consisted of a 4 week “weaning” of dairy, meat and excess oils. Week 1 was dairy free, week 2 eliminated meat, and week 3 cut oils, leaving week 4 completely free from animal products and oils. The approach worked for firemen in Texas with cholesterol levels of 300+, dropping into the 150s in 4 weeks.
I can remember the conversation…
“We’re going vegan aren’t we?!” I protested. “What about my Friday barbecue with the guys?”
“It’s only 4 weeks, Chip. You think you can make it?” Rachel said.
She knew exactly how to push my buttons. I am a challenge based person. All she needed to do was to set the goal and give me a little push. She was even going to do it with me and be my cheerleader along the way. Awesome! I could do 4 weeks, no sweat. I’ll be honest, I was skeptical to see what would happen, but I was definitely up for the challenge. I figured my cholesterol was genetic and if exercise, eating whole grains and taking fish oils couldn’t change it, what good would anything else do? Little did I know, the challenge would stick. Four weeks later, my cholesterol dropped for the first time in, well, as long as I had been keeping track. I went from 205 to 153. My LDL dropped dramatically and my HDL was on the rise. Amazing! Not only were my numbers turning around, but I was FEELING healthier.
Armed with concrete results, I convinced my boss to try this radical idea as well. His cholesterol was much higher than mine, and he was literally on the verge of picking up his first prescription of Lipitor. It took some coaching, but in 4 weeks he was able to drop from 268 to 173. His blood pressure was through the roof and is beginning to drop due to the cholesterol changes. Seeing his results further solidified my new belief that a plant based diet can truly transform your health.
Those four weeks have now stretched into seven months. While we have splurged once or twice, and have slowly added healthier oils, this experiment has turned into a commitment to a plant based lifestyle. This former once per week barbeque man now looks forward to his weekly lunch at Eden Alley with his wife. If I can make the transition, so can you.
This story has been reposted with permission. Thanks to Maya Yoga. You can find the original here.
Related: I Am Thankful I Found Yoga
"The Last Smile" Picture of Paramahamsa Yogananda an hour before his passing
“Just five years ago I had the great privilege of meeting Paramahamsa Yogananda for the first time. I had always been interested in truth and religion, although I had never accepted any church. My life was business, but my soul was sick and my body was decaying and my mind was disturbed. I was so nervous I couldn’t sit still.
After I met Paramahamsaji and had been with him a little while, I became aware that I was sitting very still; I was motionless; I didn’t seem to be breathing. I wondered about it and looked up at Paramahamsaji. A deep white light appeared, seeming to fill the entire room. I became part of the wondrous light. Since that time I have been free from nervousness.
I found that I had discovered something real, something immensely valuable to me. I had had to be sure. Not until my experience of the healing light did I realize that I had found entrance into a spiritual realm previously unknown to me.
The beautiful thing in these teachings is that one doesn’t have to depend on blind beliefs. He experiences. He knows he knows, because he experiences. Ordinary man is conscious only of his thoughts and of the material world that he can smell, taste, touch, see and hear. But he is not conscious of his soul deep within him that makes it possible for him to think and to cognize the outer world through his senses. He doesn’t know anything about That which is behind the scenes, just behind the thoughts and senses. One should learn to realize the presence of this Life, the real Life; and attain the union of his own consciousness with that Life.”
Paramahamsa Yogananda had so far maintained a hectic schedule of nationwide and worldwide touring and lecturing. He now slowly began to withdraw from this and began to devote time to writing so that his message would carry to future generations. In 1946 the Autobiography Of A Yogi was published and immediately became a bestseller. It has since sold 4 Million copies and even today sales are quite strong. It has been published in 27 languages. The book is now widely considered as a modern spiritual classic.
In June of 1948 Paramahamsa Yogananda passed through a series of most awe-inspiring states of Samadhi that his disciples ever witnessed. Each of his disciples was summoned telepathically and he then sat in the chair. “I am not sure what is happening to me!” He said. He became very withdrawn as he usually became when he went into a state of Samadhi and said, “Divine Mother is calling me from within. I am not sure if She is going to take me from this body.” He then entered into a deep communion with the Divine Mother of the Universe. As she appeared before his inward vision, he pored out his heart into Her. He asked Her many questions and even laid out his grievances. She comforted him tenderly and answered his questions. His devotees could hear the conversation as it occurred in two voices. One was his voice and the other voice was that of the Divine Mother. His devotees were simply awestruck, as they had never witnessed anything of such magnitude. The vision started in the late evening and went on for the entire night. Many feared that his exit from the body was eminent. Later he confided that he had hoped that the beloved mother would take him. “It was all so perfect!” he said wistfully. (Here is one account of this incident.)
He was never the same again. It was as if he had entered a new deeper level and became increasingly withdrawn and stopped giving his regular speeches. His last few years were spent in intense effort in writing. He hardly slept at all and even his eating became sparse and erratic. He wrote voluminous commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of Jesus Christ in the four gospels. He also went through his earlier works and revised them. The Self Realization Fellowship Lessons that are even now available as a mail order course were also revised.
In early 1952 he began giving subtle hints that he was planning his final exit. Most of his devotees did not understand the significance of his words at that time. Only later they could understand what he had been trying to communicate. The newly appointed ambassador of a newly independent India arrived in the US and paid a visit to Paramahamsa Yogananda. A banquet was organized to welcome the ambassador on 7th March 1952 in the Biltimore Hotel in Los Angeles. After several dignitaries spoke, Paramahamsa Yogananda rose to give a brief speech. Very few in the audience realized that this were the final moments of Paramahamsa Yogananda on earth. In his final speech he referred to the importance of the work done by Mahatma Gandhi, in the aftermath of the just concluded World War II:
“I remember my meeting with Mahatma Gandhi. The great prophet brought a practical method for peace to the warring modern world. Gandhi, who for the first time applied Christ’s principles to politics and who won freedom for India, gave an example that should be followed by all nations to solve their troubles.”
It was Paramahamsa Yogananda’s dream to create a new culture that would take the best from the inter-mixing of the cultural streams of India and US. In the later part of his speech he said, “One morning I was passing by an empty field next to a store. That evening, as I passed the same way again, I saw a house standing the field. I inquired of a man if the house ad been there in the morning. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘they just put it up.’ When I think of such energy, I like to be an American. But when I hear of so many American millionaires who die prematurely after making a business success, then I like to a Hindu- to sit on the bank of the Ganges and concentrate on the factory of Mind from which spiritual skyscrapers can come, and to think of the great masters of India who are her perennial glory. Somewhere between the two great civilizations of efficient America and spiritual India lies the answer for model world civilization.”
Paramahamsa Yogananda was proud that he was born as an Indian, and was proud to be welcoming the ambassador of free India. He concluded his speech with his poem “My India”. The last two lines of his poem were:
“Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God-
I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.”
He then rolled his eyes upwards, entered into a final Samadhi, slid to the ground with a beatific smile on his face, and passed away right in front of a stunned audience of more than 100 dignitaries.
On May 16th officers of Self Realization Fellowship received an extraordinary notarized letter from Harry T. Rowe, Mortuary Director who handled the embalming of Paramahamsa Yogananda. Here is the full letter:
The absence of any visual signs of decay in the dead body of Paramahamsa Yogananda offers the most extraordinary case in our experience. Had the muscle protein and blood stream of the deceased not been comparatively free of bacteria, deterioration of the body could have set in as early as six hours after life had departed. No physical disintegration was visible in Paramahamsa Yogananda’s body even twenty days after death.
The body was under daily observation at the Mortuary of the Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association from March 11, 1952, the day of the last public rites, until March 27, 1952, when the bronze casket was sealed by fire. During this period no indication of mold vas visible on Paramahamsa Yogananda’s skin, and no visible desiccation (drying up) took place in the bodily tissues. This state of perfect preservation of a body is, so far as we know from mortuary annals, an unparalleled one.
“Officials of Forest Lawn viewed the body of Paramahamsa Yogananda an hour after his death on March 7th 1952. The body was then taken to his home on Mount Washington in Los Angeles, where many friends gathered to gaze at his form.
For protection of the public health, embalming is desirable if a dead body is to be exposed for several days to public view. Embalming of the body of Paramahamsa Yogananda took place twenty-four hours after his demise. In normal room-temperature, the enzyme action of the intestines of deceased persons causes distention of the tissues in the abdominal region about six hours after death. Such distention did not occur at any time in the case of Paramahamsa Yogananda. When our Mortuary received his body for embalming, it presented no signs of physical deterioration and putrefactive odor – two very unusual absences when a death has occurred twenty-four hours earlier.
Paramahamsa Yogananda’s body was embalmed on the night of March 8th, with that quantity of fluid which is customarily used in any body of similar size. No unusual treatment was given.
In case of persons that are embalmed and exhibited to friends for a period of two or three weeks, it is necessary, to insure preventability, for the embalmer to apply, on the face and hands of the deceased, a creamy pore-sealing emulsion that temporarily prevents the outward appearance of mold. In Paramahamsa Yogananda’s case, however, no emulsions were used. They were superfluous, inasmuch as his tissue underwent no visible transformation.
After embalming on the night of March 8th, the body of Paramahamsa Yogananda was returned to the Self-Realization Fellowship headquarters on Mount Washington. At the final public rites there on the afternoon of March 11th, the glass sealer lid of the bronze coffin was fastened securely and was not again removed. His body was never touched again by human hands.
The body in the casket was taken about 10 p.m. on March 11th to our Mortuary for daily observation. The reason for this procedure was the hope of Self-Realization Fellowship officers that two disciples of Paramahamsa Yogananda’s from India might arrive in Los Angeles some time in March, when they could be brought to the Mortuary to view the body.
In any sealed casket, into which air cannot enter and from which air cannot escape, the internal moisture of the dead body, whether embalmed or un-embalmed, soon forms a white mold on the skin unless the protective cream, not used in this case, is used. The natural characteristic of muscle protein is to break down into amino acids and then into ptomaine acids. When ptomaine acids become active, deterioration of tissue is rapid. Paramahamsa Yogananda’s body was apparently devoid of any impurities by which muscle proteins could be resolved into ptomaine acids. His tissue remained intact.
At the time of receiving Paramahamsa Yogananda’s body, the Mortuary personnel at Forest Lawn expected to observe, through the glass lid of the casket, the usual progressive signs of bodily decay. Our astonishment increased as day followed day without bringing any visible changes in the body under observation. Paramahamsa Yogananda’s body was apparently in a phenomenal state of immutability.
On the late morning of March 26th, we observed a very slight, a barely noticeable, change- the appearance on the tip of the nose of a brown spot, about one-fourth inch in diameter. This small faint spot indicated that the process of desiccation (drying up) might finally be starting. No visible mold appeared, however.
The hands at all times remained normal in size, revealing no signs of shriveling or pinching at the fingertips- the place where desiccation is ordinarily seen every early. The lips, which were a slight smile, continuously retained their firmness. No odor of decay emanated from Paramahamsa Yogananda’s body at any time. Although the casket was closed by a heavy glass lid, it was not hermetically sealed. Any odor from the deceased, had it been present, would have been immediately detected by persons standing near the coffin. The volatile nature of odors renders it impossible to conceal their presence, except in rare circumstances that did not here obtain.
As word had been received that the two disciples from India would not be coming to America until 1953, the officers of Self-Realization Fellowship agreed, on March 27, 1952, that entombment of Paramahamsa’s casket should now take place. The inner glass lid was therefore sealed by fire to lower part of the casket; the massive bronze cover was then placed on top and secured with mastic sealer and bolts. The process of sealing by fire was accomplished on March 27th and 28th. The casket was removed on March 28, 1952, to a crypt in the Great Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, to remain there until such time as permanent enshrinement of the body can be arranged for by the Self-Realization Fellowship.
The physical appearance of Paramahamsa Yogananda on March 27th, just before the bronze cover of the casket was put into position, was the same as it had been on March 7th. He looked on March 27th as fresh and as unravaged by decay as he had looked on the night of his death. On March 27th there was no reason to day that his body had suffered any visible physical disintegration at all. For these reasons we state again that the case of Paramahamsa Yogananda is unique in our experience.
On May 11, 1952, during a telephone conversation between an officer of Forest Lawn and an officer of Self-Realization Fellowship, the whole amazing story was brought out for the first time. Previously the Fellowship officer had known the details, as he had not been in touch with Mortuary Director but only with the Administrative Department of Forest Lawn. In the interests of truth, we are glad to present this written account for publication in Self Realization Magazine.
This letter signifies an extraordinary end of an extraordinary life. A life that was dedicated to demonstrate and spread the idea of self-realization. The idea that one could achieve divine union through self-effort not dependent on theological belief or the arbitrary will of a Cosmic Dictator.
This concludes the five part series on the Life Of Paramahamsa Yogananda. Here are links to the earlier posts:
The Prophecy
Finding The Guru
Cosmic Consciousness
Journey West
A Guru Departs
References:
Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda In Memoriam, Self-Realization Fellowship
Rajarsi Janakananda,Self-Realization Fellowship
Mejda, Sananda Lal Ghosh
Paramahamsa Yogananda
Treating his master’s wish as his command, Swami Yogananda made immediate arrangements for his departure to India and soon set sail to India via Europe. The year was 1935 and accompanying him were Richard Wright (The brother of Daya Mata, the future president of Self Realization Fellowship) and an elderly lady Miss Ettie Bletsch.
The group arrived in London and soon departed for Germany to meet the Catholic mystic Therese Neumann of Konnersreuth. After some difficulty the group was able to locate her and as soon as Swami Yogananda met Therese they found an immediate connection. At the age of 20 she was paralyzed and blinded by a series of accidents. She then regained her sight and mobility miraculously by praying to St. Therese of Lisiuex, also known as “little flower”.
From 1923 onwards Therese did not eat anything. The only thing she had daily was one paper-thin coin-sized consecrated host. Swami Yogananda immediately understood that she got her energy from the sun via subtle channels. He mentions this in his Autobiography and also mentions that Therese was delighted to meet somebody who finally understood from where she got her energy. Later in his trip Swami Yogananda also met, in India, an elderly lady named Giri Bala. Just like Therese she had completely forgone food, proving that the case of Therese of Konnersreuth was not an isolated one.
Therese also had stigmata and Swami Yogananda witnessed her trance where the wounds of stigmata opened up and she started bleeding. Though she knew only the German language, she would mumble phrases in her trance that scholars identified as ancient Aramaic. She also spoke in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek in her trance. Swami Yogananda was able to enter into an yogic state and verify that she was indeed witnessing the scenes of the Passion of Christ.
Soon the group reached India and then went to Calcutta by train. The time then arrived for an epic meeting of Swami Yogananda and his guru the great Swami Sri Yukteswar. With tears in his eyes Swami Yogananda bowed before his guru and touched his feet. Soon the two men embraced. Both had tears in their eyes and were speechless with emotion for many minutes.
It was very clear that Sri Yukteswar was making arrangements for his final departure. He transferred all his property and ashrams to Swami Yogananda. One day he called Swami Yogananda into his presence and in a simple ceremony bestowed the title of “Paramahamsa” on him. From now on Swami Yogananda would be known as Paramahamsa Yogananda. This title is bestowed only to those who have reached the highest state of permanent bliss and communion with the Divine.
More important for Paramahamsa Yogananda was the short conversation that happened shortly before the ceremony.
“What is the question?” Asked Swami Sri Yukteswar.
“Guruji, I came to you as a high-school youth, now I am a grown man, even with a gray hair or two. Though you have showered me with silent affection from the first hour to this, do you realize that once only, on the day of first meeting, have you ever said, “I love you”?” Yogananda told his Guru, anxious to hear from his Guru’s mouth a direct affirmation of his love for him.
Swami Yukteswar was a stern disciplinarian, not easily given to emotional talk. He lowered his gaze and said, “Yogananda, must I bring out into the cold realms of speech the warm sentiments best guarded by the wordless heart?”
He then continued, “During my married life I often yearned for a son, to train in the yogic path. But when you came in my life, I was content; in you I have found my son.” Two clear teardrops stood in Sri Yukteswar’s eyes. He then said the words Yogananda was aching to hear, “Yogananda, I love you, always.”
This touching exchange recorded in Paramahamsa Yogananda’s Autobiography shows that the power of love does not leave even advanced sages untouched.
In spite of all clear signs that Sri Yukteswar was providing, Paramahamsa Yogananda could not bring himself to accept that these were the final few days on earth for his guru. He proceeded on to a fruitless journey to Allahabad to witness the kumbha mela a gathering of millions on the bank of Ganges. On his return he learnt that his guru was making final preparations to depart from his body, and that he should proceed immediately to Puri where his guru was. Even then he hesitated as he knew in his heart that if he would be beside his guru, that out of his infinite devotion and love for his guru, he would hinder rather than help him in his final task. He delayed his journey to his guru by a day, and that night as he sat in the train speeding towards Puri, he realized that his guru had just passed away by voluntarily giving up his life using a special Yogic technique.
On reaching his guru’s ashram he proceeded to the room where his master’s body was placed in a sitting lotus posture. He could not believe that the form of guru in front of him did not contain any life. His skin was still smooth and soft; and his face had an expression of quiet tranquility. “The Lion of Bengal is gone!” he remarked. He then knew that his task here in India was done. There was now nothing further remaining to be done in India except taking care of a few administrative and legal tasks. In a few months he would return back to the US never again to set foot on the land of his birth. The story continues: Extraordinary End
Related Posts:
The Prophecy
Finding The Guru
Cosmic Consciousness
Journey West
Paramahamsa Yogananda
Swami Yogananda decided to sit and meditate and hoped to get God’s blessings and assurances on the wisdom of undertaking this journey to the West. As hours passed in meditation, Swami Yogananda got no word from God. No indication that he was on the right track. As his desperation grew he began to meditate so deeply that he felt his head was about to split. Still there was no Divine Signal on the merit or demerit of undertaking this journey. Finally he heard a knock on his door. When he opened the door he was wonderstruck to see the great Yogi Babaji standing in front of him. “Our Heavenly Father has heard your prayer. He commands me to tell you: Follow the directions of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you will be protected.” Soon Swami Yogananda found himself on the City Of Sparta, the first passenger ship to go to America from India after the end of the First World War.
During the two-month voyage to America, fellow passengers soon learnt about Swami Yogananda and invited him to speak. However Swami Yogananda was so nervous about giving a lecture in English that in spite of several attempts he could not organize his thoughts or prepare a speech. Finally abandoning all efforts to be ready with a prepared speech he decided to speak extempore and showed up in front of his audience. Unfortunately he remained dumbstruck and no words came to his lips. For ten agonizing minutes he stood silent in front of his audience till finally some people in the audience began to laugh. Swami Yogananda began to pray to his Guru for help and he heard two words in his head in the voice of his Guru: “You Can!” This was enough to spur him on and he began speaking. He has no recollection of what he said that day but he spoke without stopping for 45 minutes and his speech was so inspiring that many in the audience invited him to speak at various locations in the US. Never again he would be nervous about speaking in front of an audience in English.
There was another miracle that had happened many years earlier that made the journey of Swami Yogananda to the West possible. Many years earlier Swami Yogananda’s father, Bhagabati Gosh, had retired from government service. Subsequently an English auditor came to India to audit the books. (These were still colonial days of the British Raj). What he discovered was that Bhagabati Gosh had not claimed his bonus, raise, and vacation that was due to him for the span of his entire service. In a move that was simply unprecedented and miraculous he awarded Bhagabati Gosh a sum of 125,000 Rupees in back pay. This was a huge some of money in those days and in terms of today’s dollars this was probably equivalent to half a million dollars! It was this money that financed Swami Yoganand’s journey and sustained him in the west. From 1920 to 1930 Bhagabati Gosh sent his son, Swami Yogananda, a sum of Rupees 400 every month. Probably equal to 2000 dollars in terms of today’s money. Swami Yogananda had many wealthy disciples in the West and many were prepared to write large checks. But most such wealthy donors sought to exercise control over him in return of the money and Swami Yogananda was not prepared to compromise on this and refused such donations. This is why the money that his father sent him and the money he collected from small donors and speaking fees was instrumental in allowing him to remain independent and remain free from any undue influence.
In the 1930s the great depression hit the US economy and money became increasingly harder to come by. However Swami Yogananda acquired a truly sincere devotee, James Lynn, who was also very rich. He was willing to give his money unconditionally. Soon James Lynn took on most of the burden of financing Swami Yogananda’s activities during the great depression and there was no need for the money to be sent from India by Swami Yogananda’s family. James Lynn later become a completely self-realized master himself and took over running the organization that Swami Yogananda had created after his passing.
In late 1936 Swami Yogananda collected his disciples on Christmas day and began handing out gifts to them. When Mr. E. E. Dickenson opened his present he was struck with emotion. The only words he could utter were, “The silver cup!” Later he approached Swami Yogananda to explain his emotional reaction. “For forty-three years I have been waiting for this silver cup! It is a long story, one that I have kept hidden within me,” Mr. Dickenson told Swami Yogananda. The beginning of the story happened when Mr. Dickenson was five year old and his older brother playfully pushed him into a small pool. Unable to swim he began to drown and it was then that he saw dazzling multicolored light fill all space. He saw a man appear in the light and gave him a reassuring smile. Just then he was able to surface and grab on to a branch of a tree that was lowered to help him. He was then pulled out and revived.
Twelve years later, at the age of seventeen he and his mom visited Chicago. The World Parliament of Religions was in session, and he and his mom were strolling down the main street. Suddenly he saw the same man he had seen in his vision while he was drowning. Before he could react the man entered the auditorium and disappeared in the crowd.
Mr. Dickenson pulled his mother along and they went to the auditorium only to find the man to be seated on the Podium. Later they learnt that this man was the great Swami Vivekananda and he was the featured speaker on that day. After his speech Mr. Dickenson rushed to meet him. He was greeted kindly, as though they were old friends. But being a young child and overcome by emotions Mr. Dickenson was unable to express himself. He was ready to accept Swami Vivekananda as his guru and follow him. But Swami Vivekananda read his thoughts and told him, “No my son, I am not your guru. Your guru will come later and he will give you a silver cup.” They soon parted company and Mr. Dickenson never saw Swami Vivekananda again.
In 1925 Mr. Dickenson had another vision that the following day he would meet his guru. The next day he attended a lecture and was enraptured by the speaker, Swami Yogananda. Since then he accepted him as his guru. But secretly he waited for the confirmation in the form of a silver cup that Swami Vivekananda had prophesized. For eleven years he had waited and finally that Christmas the prophecy was fulfilled. The two greatest yoga masters ever to have visited the West were linked together by Mr. Dickenson and the story of this remarkable silver cup.
Swami Vivekananda was perhaps the first realized master from India to visit the US. On the other hand Swami Yogananda was the first realized master from India who lived in the US for an extended period in the US and who passed away in the US. You can find the story of Swami Vivekananda here. The story of Swami Yogananda begins here. The story continues next week: The Guru Departs.
Related Posts:
The Prophecy
Finding The Guru
Cosmic Consciousness
