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Ducky M New User (3/17/04 6:46 am) Reply	SRF 2004 Convocation Hello. My name is Benito Franqui. I found out about this message board a few days ago. This board seems to confirm my suspicions that all has not been well at SRF for a long time. I'm an SRF ex-member who completed the mail-order course ( I didn't go as far as taking the Kriya yoga initiation ), and at one time used to attend services at their Fullerton temple fairly regularly. My daughter attended two of their retreats - one at Encinitas and the other somewhere in the Big Bear area. I'm still on their mailing list. Yesterday I got their announcement of the 2004 convocation. It's a grandiose seven-day-long affair at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Apparently they believe - or would like their followers to believe - that they are still a viable organization with an expanding future. I found the following passage in their announcement even more intriguing ( emphasis mine ) : *Quote:* We warmly invite you to join us this summer for our annual Convocation - and to celebrate with us a momentous and long-awaited occasion: the publication of The Second Coming of Christ, our Guru's divinely revealed interpretations of the teachings of Jesus. It fills us with great joy that the official worldwide release of this landmark work will be inaugurated . . . . . We will begin our Convocation with a very special event - the official release of The Second Coming of Christ , our Guru's long-awaited interpretation of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Through an overview of the main themes and practical application of this monumental book - and the deeply inspiring story of how Paramahansaji brought forth this truly groundbreaking revelation for the modern age... Do you also see what I'm seeing? Does the question which should immediately spring to mind for any thinking person upon reading the quoted text also occur to you? Your opinions on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Cordially Yours, Benito Edited by: Ducky M at: 3/17/04 7:03 am
ranger20 (3/17/04 8:52 am) Reply	Re: SRF 2004 Convocation Welcome Ducky Do you also see what I'm seeing? Does the question which should immediately spring to mind for any thinking person upon reading the quoted text also occur to you? As an (allegedly) thinking person, I have a lot of questions - which ones in particular came to your mind? Some of the content is probably reflected in the service readings, snatches of the lessons, and some of the older magazines which are available on the web. Additionally, in 2003 I heard a monk who had reviewed some of the mss. say there is a lot of focus on "what makes a good disciple." In the Gita, he said, Arjuna is considered a model disciple. But in the New Testament, we have Peter and the gang. I would expect a lot of content on "loyalty," "obedience," and other instutional virtues. It would be an interesting exercise to compare with the Amrita version. (BTW, I saw the 3 Amrita volumes on eBay recently - the auction may still be going on). But the key thing for me is that an increasingly important and rich part of my current spiritual life is working my way into the bible according to the experience, insights and guidance from Spirit that are available to me. I appreciate those portions of the lessons that discuss methods for contemplative reading of sacred texts, rather than prepared interpretations. What I initially came to SRF for, and what I regard as the valuable core of the guru's message, are methods of discovering things for myself. To paraphrase the cliche, don't give me a fish, teach me to fish.
soulcircle (3/17/04 12:05 pm) Reply	Re: laughing---forked tongue in both cheeks Hi Guests, Ducky and All, We seem to hear Goddess laughing : ) Great post about the overstated release of a book by SRF who doesn't practice what they preach---few of us do--- some like you and me are humble enough to admit we are human---and don't practice what we preach ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SRF is lining up more sheep to fleece them ~~~~~~~~~~~ and line SRF's pockets some have conjectured that SRF has simplified chakras down to just one ```````````````````````````their purloined purse : ) LAUGHING SO soulcircle speaks with forked tongue i just ignore soulcircle haha
KS Registered User (3/17/04 9:34 pm) Reply	Re: SRF 2004 Convocation I didn’t get the announcement but wonder how often they mentioned SRF and how special they are. Their lack of humility is always so revealing! How about any mention of the great president? I see what you see, ducky. If the book is truly a wonderful text why bother to pump it up. They don’t understand the basics of spiritual life. Focus on MASTER, not some book SRF has edited. Focus on MASTER. Hello SRF? Are you even partially aware of your own insignificance? Keep in mind that the book is only long awaited because SRF failed to publish it. It was finished over 50 years ago but needed to be altered -- I mean edited -- to ensure that SRF gets its proper place in the universe. Thanks for sharing the announcement. Those people are a real hoot seen from a safe distance. P.S. You might be interested in this message: pub78.ezboard.com/fsrfwalrusfrm1.showMessage?topicID=26.topic
Ducky M New User (3/18/04 9:17 am) Reply	Re: SRF 2004 Convocation Thank you for your thoughtful reply, ranger. Yes - it's quite possible that, as you mentioned, this new work may be just a rehash of old stuff previously released via service readings, lessons, SRF magazines, and other books. But, if so, SRF has certainly given me a wrong impression. Judging from the abundance of superlatives which SRF has so freely lavished upon the new work, I would expect to find in it some radically new stuff - some earth-shaking revelations never before released! So, the question that pops into my mind is the following: if these revelations, allegedly from or via Paramahansaji himself, are so important - why has SRF waited more than 50 years to publish them? Is it that SRF has all of a sudden recently realized the importance of these revelations? Is it that those revelations were contained in a manuscript which has been lost all these years, and was only recently found? Is it that those revelations were recently delivered by Paramahansaji through some psychic channel ( automatic writing, clairvoyance, telepathy, or other - take your pick ) from the astral plane? You tell me. *Quote:* What I initially came to SRF for, and what I regard as the valuable core of the guru's message, are methods of discovering things for myself. To paraphrase the cliche, don't give me a fish, teach me to fish. Couldn't agree more. *Quote:* I didn’t get the announcement but wonder how often they mentioned SRF and how special they are. Their lack of humility is always so revealing! How about any mention of the great president? I received a slick color brochure in which pictures of Daya Mata, Uma Mata, brother Anandamoy, brother Viswananda, and sister Priya are identified by name ( no Achalananda! ) Convocation registration rates are: $200 for adults, $170 for students. Pilgrimages to Mother Center, Lake Shrine, and Hollywood Temple/Forest Lawn are $40 each, Encinitas $50. Edited by: Ducky M at: 3/18/04 9:23 am
ranger20 (3/18/04 9:51 am) Reply	Re: SRF 2004 Convocation I would expect to find in it some radically new* stuff* That's what I'm afraid of... So, the question that pops into my mind is the following: if these revelations, allegedly from or via Paramahansaji himself, are so important - why has SRF waited more than 50 years to publish them? I'm sure I do not know the answer to this or your other questions. An obvious answer is revenue. And bumping convo attendance again ( = revenue). I note especially, "allegedly from or via Paramahansaji himself." A year ago I picked up one of the newer "inspirational" booklets, "allegedly" by PY. This one was on Success. I tried reading it several times, and found that while it was momentarily inspirational, a half hour later I could not remember anything I had read. Then I noticed phrases like, "don't stay in the small cubicle of old thought patterns," and "change your mindset." Those are paraphrases, but when I saw the precise words "cubicle" and "mindset" it became quite clear that PY didn't write it. Some sentences might be his, though probably none without editing. I assume the Second Coming will be more grounded in his actual text, but it who knows how much. I received a slick color brochure in which pictures of Daya Mata, Uma Mata, brother Anandamoy, brother Viswananda, and sister Priya are identified by name ( no Achalananda! ) This is interesting. Several years ago I heard a devotee ask one of the Matas when the Second Coming would be out. She said "soon," and then reminded the devotee that "all you really need is the Autobiography and the lessons." I guess you're telling us that SRF neglected to add that particular footnote. Edited by: ranger20 at: 3/18/04 12:20 pm
Ducky M New User (3/19/04 7:20 pm) Reply	At the risk of beating on a dead horse... ... ( or a dead white elephant! ): Hello once again. Today I received the latest issue of the SRF Voluntary League Newsletter . *Quote:* One of the most eagerly awaited events in the history of Self-Realization Fellowship is the publication of Paramahansa Yogananda's revelatory interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. It is therefore with much rejoicing that we announce that The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You will be released in the fall of 2004. More than 1,600 pages in length, this two-volume masterwork of inspiration takes the reader on a profoundly enriching journey through the four Gospels. Verse by verse, Paramahansaji illumines the universal path to oneness with God taught by Jesus to his immediate disciples but obscured through centuries of misinterpretation: "how to become like Christ, how to resurrect the Eternal Christ within one's self." The text will be accompanied by more than 30 full-color and sepia reproductions of paintings and rare drawings, as well as a comprehensive glossary, index, and subject annotations. This monumental work may well have the greatest impact on the general public in the West of any book by our guru since Autobiography of a Yogi . Though some of his commentary was serialized in Self-Realization magazine more than fifty years ago, the work has never been available in its entirety until now. The story of how it came to fruition is a fascinating and inspiring one, and we look forward to sharing more of it with you in our next newsletter. . . . . As we go to press with this newsletter, our dedicated staff at the SRF Publications Center in Los Angeles is busily at work typesetting and proofreading The Second Coming of Christ. The book will be printed on our own presses at the 50,000-square foot building ( see photo below). The generous donations of our members enabled us to acquire this facility in the early 1990s - and your continuing support aids our ongoing program of publications that touch lives all over the world with our Guru's love and wisdom. . . . To mark the special occasion of the release of The Second Coming of Christ, we are making it possible to pre-order the book, at an introductory price of $48 ( a $10 savings off the regular cover price of $58 ), when purchasing it through our online catalog at www.yogananda-srf.org . This offer will be available on our website beginning May 1, 2004, and will continue through July 31, 2004. We plan to ship the pre-ordered books shortly after August 1. For an electronic copy of the complete newsletter, please write to benfranq@earthlink.net . Edited by: Ducky M at: 3/19/04 7:24 pm
seekerseeking Registered User (3/20/04 7:09 am) Reply	Re: At the risk of beating on a dead horse... SRF has posted the Voluntary League Newsletter online in pdf format here: www.yogananda.com/aboutsrf/vlappeal0403.pdf I haven't received the Convocation brochure or the Voluntary League Newsletter in the mail yet like others have. Do they send these out in separate mailings on different dates instead of all at once to everyone? Edited by: seekerseeking at: 3/20/04 8:06 am
Used Yogi New User (3/28/04 7:54 pm) Reply	SRF: :rolleyes Only Love? I just saw this board a few days ago after years away from SRF, and it is amazing. I recommend a different way to start the 2004 Convocation: handing out flyers to let everyone know about the layoffs, and asking for donations to a special fund to help those that SRF terminated without employment or a continuation of medical benefits. Can anyone in the Los Angeles area do this? I'm not in LA anymore. What would SRF do, tell people attending Convocation not to give money for their fellow devotees? Maybe if the brochure also mentioned the property purchases, spending millions initiating litigation, spending millions for People Soft "solutions" and getting rid of those who objected to this spending. The "don't abandon us" comment was unbelievable. I worked at the Publications Center years ago, and it took me a while to come to terms with everything after I left. The one book that helped me put it all in perspective was Melodie Beattie's Codependent No More. I highly recommend that anyone trying to get over SRF read that book. There's an interesting link that describes some topics from the book at When Helping Doesn't Help. Melodie Beattie defines a codependcy in this way: "We begin tolerating abnormal, unhealty, and inappropriate behaviors. Then we go one step further, we convince ourselves these behaviors are normal." Melodie Beattie herself had an epiphany when someone explained to her why codependents find themselves in such situations. The most valuable thing I got out of the book was understanding this key point. The reason was outlined as Karpman's Drama Triangle, which has three cycles: 1) Rescuer/Enabler (a rescuer is a person who takes care of other people's irresponsibilities, an enabler is a person who (usually unconsciously) facilitates the destructive behavior of a disfunctional person); 2) Persecutor (become resentful and angry at those we haev so generously helped); 3) Victim (feelings of hurt, sorrow, shame, self-pity. We've been used (again) and we're unappreciated (again)). I got some serious surprises when I went to work for SRF. The Human Resources person was not a member of SRF (I later heard that devotees don't like to fire devotees, so they leave the dirty work up to someone else). I had to sign paperwork saying I wouldn't discuss how many members there were, or the number of lessons that were mailed out (maybe the number of SRF magazines mailed out too which would have been interesting, since they're required by law to make that public knowledge). I wondered why they would want those things to be secret but thought oh well, and signed the paperwork. I was also told that there was no unemployment or retirement, and up until a few years ago there wasn't any health insurance coverage either. I didn't care about that though, because I expected to enter an environment of mutual trust and love. I then found out how central information hording is, pieced out on a "need to know" basis (need2know, you took the name I wanted! just kidding). The whole environment fosters mistrust, suspicion. I also saw and heard about monastics being kicked out (not just Bro. Ar.). What happened to Bri. Russell by the way, was he forced out? I saw on here that he sued SRF after he left. Her book talks about how you can slowly lose self-esteem, not think anyone else will want you, think you can't support yourself somewhere else, etc., etc. I will say one thing for SRF though, they don't want anyone to join the monastic order without their eyes open. They encourage you to work as a gardener or in Mother Center or the Publications Center before you enter the ashram. Maybe that's why now they don't have any American postulants. Someone coming from another country probably has to direclty enter the ashram without seeing what it is really like beforehand. What is worse in life as a postulant versus life just working for SRF? Would be interesting to know how it gets worse. I also learned on this site or the Crystal Clarity site that this pointed to about SRF changing the way Paramhansa Yogananda spelled his name, going as far as forging a modified signature. Someone mentioned that SRF has a bunch of high paid consultants now, and they recommended outsourcing. Yes it might be hard to find cheaper labor than a bunch of devotees gladly working for minimum wage, as long as you keep the business in this country. Imagine how much they could save printing overseas though, and they already have. Consultants like that probably got SRF to define their core mission and work towards it. SRF has said their mission was to preserve Yogananda's work, not to publish it. If that's the case, then outsourcing would make a lot of sense to such consultants (even cold-hearted layoffs would make a lot of sense to them). If SRF is editing writings after Yogananda's death, claiming he wrote using words such as "cubicle" and even modifying his signature, what are they preserving? People have mentioned SRF losing their tax-exempt status. It sounds like SRF needs to gain back their credibility (which will take a lot of time). The first thing they need to do is open their books to the public. They're supposed to be a charitable non-profit organization, and they continually ask for donations. They need to let everyone know where the money went. Convocation would be a good time to let others know about SRF Walrus and the layoffs at the Publications Center and everything else. By the way, what happened at the San Diego Temple? There were shootings? I didn't hear about it.
KS Registered User (3/29/04 6:25 am) Reply	Re: SRF: :rolleyes Only Love? The San Diego Temple incident you asked for information about at the end of your thread is probably a story you heard about a member who murdered his wife then killed himself. Very tragic but it didn’t happen in or near the temple. SRF didn’t play a role. SRF didn’t help but it was not the cause from the story I heard. The idea to pass out information at their annual convocation is a good one but they are prepared for things like that and will even call the police on you. Remember that some of the ushers are armed off duty police so a group would not be able to do much. On the other hand this website is actually reaching more people than you realize. There have been over 900,000 visits already. All the monastics know about it and have to field questions on a regular basis. Some may say they don’t know about it, but they do. They have all been told NOT to look at it. They all also know the serious stories here are true. The best thing we can do for those still suffering inside SRF is to push SRF toward some increased level of transparency. What is its real budget? The numbers given the VL Appeal are silly. They probably have an annual budget of $40 million dollars, why did they pick out those three items to highlight? And who thinks they only spend $250,000 a year on computer stuff! Where is there integrity? Can we know the org structure? The real budgets? The real state of employment there? No, most employees are no longer SRF members as the VL Appeal implies. Especially if you count the contractors and outsourced jobs. Edited by: KS at: 3/29/04 6:26 am
didgeridootoo (3/30/04 6:29 am) Reply	Re: SRF: :rolleyes Only Love? Used Yogi, Interesting information that you presented. To think I used to wanted to work in the publications department. To think I ever had joined SRF in the first place. Karma.

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