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srfwalrus
ezOP
(11/9/02 6:27 am)
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Lessons creation
How did the SRF lessons get written? I have seen various references to this on our site but the Walrusites might like the inside story with a healthy debate. Who wrote them, who did the edit work, why are they so ugly?

wholetruth
Registered User
(11/12/02 5:48 pm)
Reply 		Re: Lessons creation
Srflongago:

Do you know if Dhirananda or Nerode played any part in the writing of the Lessons?

Lobo
Registered User
(11/12/02 10:32 pm)
Reply 		Re: Lessons creation
Whole Truth,

On another board Anil Nerode wrote that the early Lessons, which are now available from Amrita, contained the writings and teachings of not only Yoganandaji but his father, and Dhirananda as well.

So with regards to the fact that SRF in the magazines and other publications claims that these earlier Lessons were not up to PY's standards, saying that he himself found them incomplete and poorly written was a way for them to say that SRF publishes only his Lesson's, minus the other teacher's. That's how I interpreted that statement anyway.

As other's have pointed out even SRF today recognizes the Lesson's as being poorly organizated and not teaching the techniques as well as they could. Apparently SRF has future plans (always when it comes to the writings sadly enough) to update them for a modern audience from their 1930's style.

crogman1
Registered User
(11/13/02 12:17 am)
Reply 		Re: Lessons creation
It is a very poorly kept secret that SRF finished newly formatted and organized lessons in several languages, including English, as long ago as the early 90's. Why they have never published them is a mystery as far as I have been able to find out. We do know that during a panic over some "lessons" published by others in Italy SRF did pull out and publish a few of the new Italian lessons, but just a few.

Their priority is not publishing an easy to understand and use set of lessons.

srflongago
Registered User
(11/13/02 4:12 am)
Reply 		Re: Lessons creation
Both Dhirananda and Nerode played a role in writing the early lessons.

Anil Nerode has a letter from Yogananda to Sri Nerode which is devoted to how Nerode should write about particular points about concepts like "superconsciousness" in the lessons. Nerode was a very fluid writer, and wrote an article for almost every issue of East-West while he was associated with Yogananda, as well as at least one joint long poem there.

Dhirananda's role in writing early work was authenticated in the 1935 Dhirananda suit against Yogananda for royalties owed under a promissory note, a suit which Dhirananda won.

Priscilla Walker has what is left of Dhirananda's papers.

Kamala (Mary Isobel Buchanan) spent a long time on preparatioon of the Praecepta lessons herself, while at Mt Washington.

I don't remember if others supplied more than editing.

It was a very cooperative venture of true fellowship originally. Yogananda personally read and approved every item himself. Later people changing the writings mean that they feel themselves superior to him. I see no reason to accept this.

Edited by: srflongago at: 11/13/02 4:09:03 pm
ranger20
Registered User
(10/13/03 9:57 am)
Reply 		Re: Lessons creation
I noticed that last week a set of 5 lessons marked "copyright 1924 Swami Yogananda' sold on eBay for $144. Seller indicated they came from a Pasadena estate sale.

Copies of several pages showed these as yellowing sheets, reproduced from typewritten pages. The Hong Sau page was available to inspect. It was only about a half page long. I do not think one could have gotten the technique from the brief description. I suspect these may have been notes sent to people who attended the classes PY was giving through the 20's.

Given that the content did not look superior to current lessons, I certainly felt what may have motivated the buyer - the hunger to get something of Master's teaching that is "original," ie, unedited.

username
Registered User
(10/13/03 1:59 pm)
Reply 		Re: Lessons creation
Did SRF buy it? (Can't let these things get into the wrong hands)

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