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Lobo Registered User (12/9/02 6:07 pm) Reply	Dhirananda and Nerode We have read on this site much about the former Swami Dhirananda, later the married Mr. Bagchi. We have also read much about Brahmachari Nerode, also later the Mr. Nerode. But what I would like to discover is just who were their guru(s)? SRFLongAgo tell us that Dhirananda was on equal footing to Yogananda when summoned by the latter to America sometime in the mid to late 20's. I think I remember reading on this board that Dhirananda was a teacher at what I previously thought was Yogananda's school for boys at Ranchi. But SRFLongAgo has written that Dhirananda in actuality was in charge of the school from day one through his apparently wealthy parents' influence with the Maharaja of Kasimbazar? Also B. Nerode I thought was a disciple of Yogananda's, a teacher at Ranchi as well, summoned by the latter to America. But what we read is that Dhirananda never thought himself PY's disciple. If not, then who was D's guru? And if he wasn't allied to the same yogic lineage as Yogananda why then was he teaching at Ranchi and helping in America? I have the same question regarding B. Nerode. Who was his guru? And why was he here in America helping Yogananda if not serving the guru?
username Registered User (12/9/02 8:20 pm) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode maybe they just wanted to go on a trip and see the united states.
Lobo Registered User (12/9/02 9:43 pm) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode Ya think?
wholetruth Registered User (12/10/02 8:24 am) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode Lobo and username: A proper understanding of Dhirananda and Nerode will not come through ridicule and is the key that unlocks much mystery surrounding Yogananda and the early days of SRF. Edited by: wholetruth at: 12/10/02 11:56:09 am
chrisparis Registered User (12/10/02 8:50 am) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode Dhirananda was in charge of the Ranchi school and was, I believe, a disciple of Yukteswarji. Sri Nerode was from a yocic householder family. He originally learned yoga from his mother and uncle, if I recall the story correctly. SRFLongago has referred to the fact that in India, such a person would also have traveled to a number of teachers and added to the lore of his family tradition. So Sri Nerode had substantial knowledge of yoga from other sources than the kriya tradition. Lest you think this strange, don't forget that the Yogoda Board of Directors also included Hamid Bey, who had a tradition completely foreign to the kriya tradition. SRFlongago has way more background on all this than I do. I merely throw this out as a preliminary answer until he posts more extensive information. Edited by: chrisparis at: 12/11/02 6:35:29 am
srflongago Registered User (12/10/02 5:28 pm) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode Reply to Lobo: If you want to know about Dhirananda, buy his "Glimpses of Light" and "Philosophic Insight". If you want to know about Sri Nerode, buy his "Twins of Heaven" and "The Master In You." All are available from Amrita Foundation, PO Box 190978, Dallas, Texas 75219-0978; phone 214 522 email prisi@amrita.com. Here is biographical material from those volumes, plus personal observations. Dhirananda was born in Santipur, West Bengal, India, in 1895. He and Yogananda, born in 1893, were childhood friends, practiced Yoga together in the Ghosh (Yogananda's family name) meditation room. Dhirananda was practically a member of Yogananda's family. They were inseparable as children. Yogananda's father, a Lahiri disciple, was a minor functionary for a railroad, which gave him solid middle class status. Dhirananda's family was very upper class Brahmin, a rich industrialist family. Yogananda became a disciple of SriYukteswar, himself a disciple of Lahiri. Dhirananda became a disciple of Kebalananda, another disciple of Lahiri. Dhirananda's family connections allowed him, Yogananda, and Satyananda to approach the Maharajah of Kazimbazar asking him to found a school on new principles. This was the Bramacharya Vidyala. The school began in Dihika, moved shortly to Ranchi. (added) In the 1935 suit which Yogananda lost to Dhirananda, it was established that at Ranchi Dhirananda and Yogananda were teachers with Dhirananda having a higher salary because he had an MS (in psychology I think) from Calcutta, while Yogananda had only an AB. In 1922, two years after Yogananda had spoken at the International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston, he asked Dhirananda, then the head of the Ranchi school, to join him in the United States. From 1920 to 1924, Boston was headquarters of Yogananda's Sat Sanga (Fellowship with Truth). With the purchase of the Mt Washington land in 1925, Dhirananda became Director of the Mt Washington Educational Center as it was then called, and established and ran its programs. (added) He left Yogananda in the spring of 1929. He never spoke to Yogananda again. Dhirananda set up his own Center. Remarkably, James Warnack, religious editior of the Los Angeles Times, remained a supporter of both Yogananda and Dhirananda, whose sermons he he arranged to have published on Thursdays in the Times. He gave up his Swami vows after three years and foreswore large Yoga organizations as inevitably flawed. He got a PhD in Electroencephalography at the University of Iowa and married. He spent the rest of his life as a Professor at the University of Michigan Medical school. He was a pioneer in his field and published 50-100 scientific papers. He passed in 1977. Sri Nerode, born in 1887, was the last in a long line of Yogis from the Sadhana Kutir Ashram (House of Spritual Wisdom) in Paraikora, a village in Chittangong near Calcutta. This family Ashram had a history going back hundreds of years, and was a famous center for the many itinerant Yogis of India. He was educated as a Yogi by his famous Yogi grandfather Govindra Chandra Roy and his uncle Prasanna Kumar Roy . His birthname was Nirad Ranjan Chowdhury. He matriculated at the University of Calcutta with a special diploma in Sanskrit and for a number of years became an itinerant yogi in the old tradition, picking up wisdom throughout India, Burma, and South China. He came to the United States to study at Harvard and Berkeley, but decided to join with Yogananda in 1926 to bring true Yoga to the West. (added) Yogananda announced in East-West 1926 that Brahmacharee Nerode (a name they determined together, a corruption of Nirad) was a young Indian who had joined with him and had not yet decided whether to become a Swami. In fact Nerode was an experienced Yogi from a householder tradition, never contemplated being a Swami. This would have been contrary to his family householder Yogi tradition. Nerode defined Brahmacharee as "an independent truth seeker". He was Director of the Detroit Center, wrote his first book of Yoga poems "On Wings of Bliss" there as a Yogoda Sat Sanga publication, lectured widely throughout the country as well. When Dhirananda left, he was called to be Director of the Mt Washington facility, which had become the Self Realization Fellowship. After his marriage, performed by Yogananda on the lawn at Mt Washington in January 1931. Three years later, as announced in east-west 1934, Yogananda assigned him the title Sri Nerode, his wife the title Srimata Nerode, his son the title Sri Anil. Yogananda sent him lecturing around the country, founding centers, 1931-1937. Nerode sent 10,000 students to Mt Washington ,according to Richard Wright in east-west 1938. He wrote lead articles for most issues of the early east west magazine and its successor until he left. In 1937-9 he and his family lived in the Mothercenter and he was pastor of the 17th street Church with Kamala as assistant pastor. He separated from SRF in 1939. James Warnack, again remarkably, remained a supporter of both Yogananda and Nerode, published many orf his sermons after he left Yogananda, and even arrranged that Nerode give the Easter Sermon at the Hollywood Bowl in 1940! After 1940 Sri Nerode never spoke of, or to, Yogananda again. He often made it clear that his Yoga lineage was entirely separate from the Lahiri lineage, but that he revered Lahiri as a great sage in the underlying Vedanta tradition, and taught according to his principles during his period with SRF. His later teaching was informed by the whole Vedanta tradition and by his vast experience with American students. He travelled continuously teaching Yoga from 1940 to 1950. In 1950 he settled in Hyde Park in Chicago and taught there until his death in 1983 at the age of 95. Many of his students still teach Yoga in the Midwest. The story of James Warnack remains to be told. He was probably the earliest editor of the Yogananda notes on the India trip that became AY, before they fell into the hands of Laurie Pratt and the others. Everyone trusted him, perhaps because he ALWAYS helped everyone. He was a true householder Yogi of great compassion and understanding. His writing can be found in the old religious columns of the Times, in east west and in his hard-to-find books. Edited by: srflongago at: 12/11/02 12:05:28 pm
wholetruth Registered User (12/11/02 8:18 pm) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode Srflongago: Although I have a hard time accepting Yogananda's characterization of Dhirananda and Nerode as "Judases," and want to view them as men of uncompromising integrity and idealism, I wonder about the purpose of their lawsuits against Yogananda. Would it not have been more spiritual and yogic for them to simply leave Yogananda's work (SRF) and go their own separate ways without resorting to lawsuits? Even though they may have felt that something was owed them, they knew that SRF was never a profitable venture and the resources weren't there. Dhirananda may have won, but he never made a dime, correct?
srflongago Registered User (12/12/02 2:58 am) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode I cannot answer for them. This is quite unlike the situation where a disciple leaves when he or she is disappointed. In the early days all three helped to establish for the West a valuable program for attaining self-realization. They had all worked very hard to help establish the organization. The two who left believed themselves to be full partners. Each previously admired Yogananda without reserve. Each was sorely dissapointed when they finally realized Yogananda's flaws. Each wanted to continue the mission without Yogananda. Each felt that they deserved the assets they had been responsible for bringing in to use for continuing the mission. Yogananda had every reason to feel his position was threatened, every reason to denigrate each as soon as they left in order to protect his reputation with his disciples. It is my view that there are no perfect human beings. We should concentrate on the contributions they all made to help us find roads to enlightenment, and not concentrate on flaws which are an inevitable part of the human condition.
wholetruth Registered User (12/12/02 5:44 am) Reply	Re: Dhirananda and Nerode Thanks, srflongago. As always, you make perfect sense to me. I know some (make that ALL within SRF!) will argue Yogananda's flawlessness until they are blue in the face, but it just doesn't add up. Your attitude is the healthiest--accept and benefit from what was good; forget the rest.
caliyogi Registered User (12/12/02 2:23 pm) Reply	Books For Sale UPDATED 12/13/02 - Hi, someone has already agreed to purchase these books from me. btw, the original writings by Yogananda which are available from Amrita are great!! See what SRF is hiding... ---- Original Message ----- Hi, I don't know if a post like this is not allowed in this board, but I bought the books mentioned above from Amrita last year and I am trying to reduce my number of books I own. If anyone is interested in them I will give you a good deal, they are quite expensive (like $20+ each). The ones I have: Philosophic Insight by Swami Dhirananda Glimpes of Light by Swami Dhirananda The Master In You by Sri Nerode Twins of Heaven by Sri Nerode They are all in excellent condition, and Twins of Heaven is still sealed [they come sealed from Amrita]. btw, I have sold a lot on ebay, check out my feedback, my ebay user id is dlb8686. I turned on private messages but never used them, you can email me at caliyogi@yahoo.com. Once again, I hope this is OK I posted it. Thanks. Edited by: caliyogi at: 12/13/02 6:52:01 pm
psychdev Registered User (12/12/02 4:16 pm) Reply	Re: Books For Sale srflongago: Fascinating early history. I knew nothing of the lawsuits by these two individuals. Have they been discussed elsewhere on the board? One small quibble and a question: Although I think I know what you mean that PY's father was "minor functionary", I don't think that does justice to his position. His position was equivalent to an executive vice-president of the Bengal Railroad, per the AY and people I've talked with in India. He also helped organize the Calcutta Urban Bank, and (per the AY) received a check in the 1920s or 30s for past due wages of something like $60,000--an absolutely staggering sum by Indian standards and gargantuan even by U.S. standards (probably the equivalent of $1,000,000+ today, given annual inflation of 3%). Even if the $60,000 in the AY is 1950-dollars, it's still staggering--on the order of $600,000. Also, if you've ever seen PY childhood home on Gurpar Lane, it's huge, even by American standards (four or five floors, multiple rooms around a central stairway). Finally, recall that D's family actually lived on the same block (as I recall) as PY. I had the opportunity to meet PY's nephew, Ramakrishna Ghosh, and to talk with various individuals in Dakshineswar, and they described PY's family as "very wealthy". Perhaps you are right that D's social connections allowed him access to the Maharaja (e.g., Brahmin caste), but it would be a stretch IMO to call PY's father's position a "minor functionary". The other question I had: How do you know that D. and N. "never spoke with PY again"? Is this in their books? I'm not doubting you--I'm just quite interested in the whole history and where you got the information. thanks.
srflongago Registered User (12/12/02 6:20 pm) Reply	Re: Books For Sale I am always happy to be corrected on history. I stand corrected on the wealth of Yogananda's family at that time. "Minor functionary" is not a good description. My knowledge of both Dhirananda and Nerode's non-relation to Yogananda after their break is from them directly.
mangomoy Registered User (12/12/02 7:40 pm) Reply	Re: srflongago If you'd write a book on the true history of all these matters, you would be doing us all, and those down the generations after us, a great service. Based on what we've learned from you, it's clear that the self-reported version of SRF's history is contrived, misleading and unreliable. Few remain to straighten it out. Perhaps you will? -a fan
srflongago Registered User (12/13/02 4:00 am) Reply	Re: srflongago Writng a book is a great deal harder than answering fragmentary questions. I opt out on questions that come up for which the answer might be found by detailed and exhausting historical research, which I have been unwilling to undertake in more than a desultory manner I have been told repeatedly by ex-monastics that in the past SRF has not protected its archives. Much material has been thrown out to clear space, or has been taken permanently away from SRF by those with access. I believe that SRF leaders are almost as much in the dark about their history as you are. As evidence for this assertion, when SRF tried to accumulate records for the SRF-Ananda suit, using their unlimited legal budget, the lawyers had to subpeona the records of others to try to fill in the gaps. I don't think this was very successful. Concerning the two old lawsuits, a brief summary of some points occurred in the famous LANewtimes articles by Ron Russell a couple of years ago. That paper is now defunct, so this is probably no longer available on the web. I have copied what remains of the court records of both cases. When I have time, to satisfy your query, I will briefly summarize the cases on this board. There has been past discussion on the board, but it is fragmentary. Accounts by SRF advocates have not benn very forthright, as you may well imagine. Edited by: srflongago at: 12/13/02 5:16:54 am
psychdev Registered User (12/13/02 8:27 am) Reply	Re: srflongago srflongago: <<My knowledge of both Dhirananda and Nerode's non-relation to Yogananda after their break is from them directly. >> Any chance you could tell us more about these conversations, their feelings about PY, and why they did not talk with him. (Or, if I missed your earlier description, could you point me in the right direction?) Thanks.
wholetruth Registered User (12/13/02 8:43 am) Reply	Re: srflongago (This message was left blank) Edited by: wholetruth at: 12/14/02 8:20:49 am
srflongago Registered User (12/13/02 10:16 am) Reply	Re: srflongago Psychdev: I want you to know that you come across to me as a genuine truth seeker. That is all I care about. A little salt and pepper in the discussions is just fine. Edited by: srflongago at: 12/13/02 2:47:59 pm
History Buff 2002 Registered User (12/15/02 1:26 pm) Reply	To Srflongago As you wrote, it is certainly much more difficult to write a book than it is to respond to queries. But would you be interested in speaking or writing to someone who has undertaken a book? Certainly this would need to be done in strictest confidence, under whatever strictures or sanctions you would request. Life is much more enjoyable without hearing from an SRF lawyer trying to block a publication.
srflongago Registered User (12/15/02 1:43 pm) Reply	Re: To Srflongago I have reason to believe that SRF will try to use using the same tactics as used against Ananda to bankrupt with legal fees anyone who tries to publish a full account. In this country only rarely can the court costs be recovered from defending successfully against such suits. This is one of the defects of the US law system. Large corporations use it routinely to supress critics. Only newspapers have protection, and even that is limited. Anonymous contributors to books are not protected. That is certainly why no full account has been published. No one of the generation involved wants that much trouble. It is in SRF's interest to squander its disciples gifts for this purpose. It is not in anyone else's interest to spend a fortune to defend.
psychdev Registered User (12/15/02 11:44 pm) Reply	Re: To Srflongago srflongago: <<I want you to know that you come across to me as a genuine truth seeker. >> I appreciate this very much, can't think of a higher compliment.

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