The Second Coming of Christ - www.ezboard.com

>

SRF Walrus

Mt. Washington, Ca

Open discussions about SRF

SRF Walrus > SRF Publications Center > The Second Coming of Christ
	Next Topic >>

Author	Comment
KS Registered User (4/30/02 6:26 am) Reply	The Second Coming of Christ Where is "The Second Coming of Christ"? I have heard rumors of it for years and understand the writting was finished in the 1950s. Books and tapes of others have flowed off the presses, but this valuable book is still not published. Does anyone know what has happened to it?
LotusLeaf Registered User (4/30/02 12:45 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ I heard second hand (a friend who knows a nun at MW) that it is still being "edited." Several volumes are available from Amrita (214-522-7533), the organization that publishes Master's original writings, among others. I read the 1st 2 volumes in the mid-1980's and found them interesting, but a lot was over my head, as I was newer on the path then. I have recently re-read them and found them to be very interesting. The writing is not as "polished" as the SRF Gita, but then it hasn't been edited, supposedly. Where Amrita got the manuscript, I don't know, but I do know that Kamala worked with them on several projects, so perhaps she was a source. And they were printed in the old magazine, but I'm not sure if the entire material was in the magazines. What I wonder about is how Amrita can publish this without SRF interference. Since SRF never pubished it in a book, perhaps they lost the copyright? Or the magazines weren't copyrighted? And since Amrita pubishes those books under a copyright, how is SRF going to publish it, unless it is a totally different version? (Which would bring up the issue of SRF credibility!) If SRF ever does print their version, I'd like to compare it with Amrita's, just for fun.
AumBoy Registered User (4/30/02 8:43 pm) Reply ezSupporter	C. Richard Wright Didn't he keep a daily diary of his time with Master? I'm sure he wrote more than is indicated in the AY. Where is this? Were there more movies made of Yogananda and/or Sri Yukteswar that have not been released? Any more voice recordings to be released? (Maybe 4 or 5 years ago it was said that Mrinalini Ma was in Encinitas working on finishing the 2nd Coming and that she was halfway through at that point, about 700 pages. Don't know how long it took to get to that point so who knows when it'll be out. In God's time, I guess.)
chuckle chela Registered User (4/30/02 9:59 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ AumBoy, the things I've heard confirm what you say. A renunciate told a few of us last year that Daya Mata and Mrinalini Mata had spent time last year working on the Second Coming, that it was going to be significantly larger than the Gita commentaries--possibily three volumes--and that they were trying to put a lot of work into it so that it could be completed soon. I've been thinking about this recently. I can readily see that it will be a massive volume, and I suspect there will be literally hundreds of footnotes, some of them quite extensive. My guess is that a great deal of additional research will go into this publication, just as some extra research went into both the Rubaiyat and the Gita (but this time it will be a lot more research). First of all, the book will be controversial within many segments of the Christian community (and one monastic who once served as one of Daya Mata's "secretaries" (whatever that means) told me many years ago that Daya Mata had said that SRF would receive a lot of flak over the book when it came out). Then you've got matters such as the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls and subsequent research in Biblical archeology and the Biblical texts which bring new interpretations to many words and passages in both Testaments. My guess is that SRF will want to at least acknowledge these matters, and will probably also try to address them to some degree. That's a lot of ground to cover. I also suspect that the Second Coming will receive a significantly greater amount of attention from others such as book reviewers, religious scholars, and media columnists than the Gita commentaries have, not to mention various Christian churches and communities. Yogananda's interpretations are so fundamentally unique that they will be noticed, and they will receive plenty of comment. It will be interesting. And I think SRF will want to have all its ducks in a row when the book is released; that is, they'll want to be ready: free of outstanding issues (somewhat major issues such as Ananda lawsuits, problems within the monastic environment, possibly the "thorn" of the Walrus, etc.) that won't look good from a public relations viewpoint. They'll want the ministers to be well-versed and briefed in the contents, as they'll face much of the flak, if it is to come. Perhaps I'm overstating the case, but I do think it's going to be a fairly big event for SRF.
aVulcanThinker Registered User (5/1/02 7:43 am) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ I am not sure any of us will live to see this book published by SRF. They are too paranoid. One minister I know put it perfectly: *Quote:* We expend all our effort to protect the teachings, not to spread the teachings. The real issue is this: Master points out that Jesus was a man who achieved a high state of consciousness, not the sole Son of God. There are not many Christian churches that will be receptive to this message. It will be much, much harder for SRF to maintain its "mainstream" veneer should this book be published. (Most of that veneer is an illusion in the minds of the leadership, but that is another story.) There is no way to sidestep this issue, because it is absolutely central to Yogananda's message: we are all souls and each of us is potentially a Christ--all we have to do is improve our knowing. If the SRF leadership somehow twists that message to make this book more palatable to orthodox Christianity, then you will know they have sunk to the lowest depths of evil. What could be worse, than to in any way imply to people that they are less than one with God?
chuckle chela Registered User (5/3/02 9:22 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ I'm thinking that the book will be published in the not too distant future. I agree with you completely about Master's central message (that we are all children of God, all Christs), but I would be surprised if SRF modified that message. First of all, I've never seen them do that to Master's writings before (make such a fundamental change), although I stand to be corrected. Second, it would be very difficult to do, given that that idea is pivotal to so much of Master's teachings (not that it is his alone; others have taught the same thing in East and West): the entire focus of pranayam, indeed, the eightfold yoga path hinges on this concept. So if you try to change that central message about us all being Christs, you have to change so much else, and this would be very, very difficult. Third, the change would be so obvious to SRF members and others who are familiar with Yogananda's teachings that it would be spotted immediately; the result of this would be confusion at a minimum, and much worse would be likely. Fourth, there's much else in Master's interpretations that some Christians will find offensive (reincarnation, John the Baptist being Christ's guru, the concept of prana, Amen=Om, etc.); you'd have to change all of this if you'd want to avoid offending segments of the Christian community. Finally, although some in the Christian community will find Yogananda's interpretations blasphemous, terrible, wrong, and looney, others will welcome them enthusiastically. But there will be comment, debate, and discussion. But you may be right and they'll hold off publishing it for years. The minister's comment was telling. I think most of us have seen evidence of that. They have their reasons, I guess (paranoid ones perhaps), and it's sad to see such overly-protective attitudes.
aVulcanThinker Registered User (5/4/02 12:52 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ I agree that it is unlikely the message will be changed. That is why I believe it will be a long time before the book is published. I think there is a difference between a specific interpretation of the New Testament and the general teachings. This new book will directly challenge the authority of the mainstream churches. If Master's interpretations are correct, then their basic teaching is wrong. It will be impossible to ignore that basic conflict once this book is out.
username Registered User (5/4/02 3:45 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ SRF is Hinduism, it is not Christian. As the Christian cult boards say SRF tries to make Hinduism and Christian the same, and there are many, many basic differences. I think Yogananda was a Hindu. And he tried to explain Hinduism to Christians in a way that they could understand, but I am not aware that Yogananda ever studied the Bible or Christian thought. And yes, all paths can get you to God, but the view from route 10 is different then the view from route 40.
kokio Registered User (5/5/02 5:22 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming of Christ has been published, but not by SRF. The Amrita Foundation has published 3 volumes, and they are available at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in West Hollywood. (You can order from their website, which I believe is bodhitree.com.) You can also write Amrita, at P.O. Box 8080, Dallas, TX 75205. I assume the writings are from old East West Magazines with expired copyrights, so now in the public domain. Why wait for SRF to finish editing and revising, when you can read the original?
atthylotusfeet Registered User (2/20/04 9:40 am) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ Why are people so concerned about reading Master's "original" writings? Did he not revise AY 11 times himself? If the Master saw fit to revise his own work and leave work for his disciples to revise he must have had confidence that they could and would do it. Are we doubting Master's ability to guide beyond the grave? Does he not guide us when we listen? Just curious. Jai Guru!
bsjones Registered User (2/20/04 10:19 am) Reply ezSupporter	Re: The Second Coming of Christ Just as the early Christian church "corrupted" Christ's message in some ways, because we are all human as well as divine in this world of maya, I believe SRF "corrupts" Yogananda message in some ways. Because the people in charge of SRF are human. By the way, I like SRF and think they do some good things. But no way are they infallible.
ranger20 Registered User (2/20/04 1:55 pm) Reply	Re: The Second Coming of Christ Did he not revise AY 11 times himself? No he did not. In his preface to the third edition (1951) he stated that he was done with his revisions. In the SRF preface to the 7th edition (1956) the SRF editors state that they have completed all the edits he intended. By either account, nothing should have changed since then, not: - Airbrushing out the cross Master was wearing, with the caption calling it "one of his favorite religious symbols." - Not the disappearance of the picture of Master and Rajasi captioned "A great Hindu yogi and a great Christian Yogi." - Not the disappearance of "World Brotherhood Colonies" from the aims and ideals of Self-Realization Fellowship. And a lot more that is documented on this board. An even more dramatic example of why the editing matters can be seen in comparing the original "red" Whispers From Eternity, with the later "brown" version. Whispers is the single book that Master would not let anyone else edit. Sit down sometime and compare passages from the two. Check the sense of vitality, clarity and nuance between the two editions. Decide for yourself if you think the edits in the "brown" version were accurately received from beyond the grave. Edited by: ranger20 at: 2/20/04 1:56 pm

Add Reply

Email This To a Friend

Email This To a Friend
Topic Control Image

Topic Control Image

Click to receive email notification of replies

Click to stop receiving email notification of replies

jump to:

- SRF Walrus - SRF Publications Center -

Powered By ezboard� Ver. 7.32
Copyright �1999-2005 ezboard, Inc.