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AtThyFeet
Registered User
(11/29/05 7:15 am)
Reply 		The Historic Figure of Dhirananda
Dear reader,
This text on Dhirananda is taken from a previous discussion, on “History of Mount Washington.” You will find quite lively answers there, pretty opposite in their nature. Viva our freedom of perception and opinion!

I place it here again, because I added things, and because this way it’s easier to find.

Joyfully,
AtThyFeet

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Though one usually doesn’t hear much about him, Dhirananda played a very important role in Yogananda’s life. Here is what I heard or read about him- of course there might be some misinformation, or misunderstanding on my part.

Dhirananda is usually one of the red flags for Yogananda devotees, if they know about him at all. I have noticed that it is easy to put people into neat boxes: “good, ” “bad,” “hero,” “villain,” “black,” “white.” But, if we look a bit more fairly, we see that life is not like that at all. People are much more complex than that. So Dhirananda was not “black,” nor “white,” but simply a struggling devotee, with his bright and less bright sides- like the rest of Yogananda’s disciples, and like all of us.

What happened back in India, in the early days?
The following events are taken from Swami Satyananda’s book, “Yogananda Sangha.”
Dhirananda (Basu Kumar Bagchi) was one of the closest boyhood friends of Yogananda. They were practically of the same age, met in college, and were classmates there. They became close friends, traveled together in India, visited saints, meditated, sang many devotional songs to God, and founded a school and a library. Dhirananda is described as dutiful, service-oriented, and highly knowledgeable.

Dhirananda’s family were all disciples of Bhaduri Mahasaya (the levitating saint). Dhirananda used to go to Bhaduri’s meetings too, but once he joined Mukunda, he stopped going there.

Satyananda was part of that inspired circle of friends. Throughout his book, he describes Yogananda as the leader of the group. Yogananda was called “Bara (top or elder) Swami;” Dhirananda was called “Meja (middle) Swami;” and Satyananda, being a few years younger, “Chota (younger) Swami.” Later, however, they called Yogananda “Guruji.”

Upon Yogananda’s advice, Dhirananda received initiation into Kriya Yoga from Shastri Mahasaya (Kebalananda), and progressed quickly.

Yogananda in 1911 gave Dhirananda his orange dress, initiated him into swami-hood, and gave him his monastic name, “Dhirananda.”

Yogananda traveled a lot, and thus Dhirananda spent more time at their school, becoming the head teacher, and the central figure there.

When Yogananda left India in 1920, he told Satyananda, again and again, to be ready to come to America. In 1922 he wrote from Boston that one of them, Satyananda or Dhirananda, should come to America. Satyananda replied, no, he did not wish to go. Yogananda was a little saddened at that. Yogananda wrote: “Dhirananda must come right away. Satyananda, take up the fortitude to direct the Ranchi school.”

As Satyananda writes, Guru Maharaj (Sri Yukteswar) “later said quietly and somberly that he felt that the beginning of an inauspicious future was connected with this journey that Dhirananda was taking.”

Yogananda and Dhirananda soon started working together in Boston. They printed books, pamphlets, and circulars (mission statements), under the name “Yogoda Shiksha Pranali.”

Then, in 1924, Yogananda started his cross-country lecture tour. In 1925 he inaugurated Mount Washington. Interestingly, in 1925, when Yogananda called Dhirananda to join him there, “Dhirananda had established himself quite well in Boston, in the area of teaching and mathematics, but at leader Yoganandaji’s wishes, he shut everything down, went to Mount Washington in Los Angeles, and took on the responsibility of that center.”

Sananda, in his book, “Mejda,” adds the fun story that back in India, Dhirananda was having troubles at home: he didn’t get the privacy he needed for his meditations. So Yogananda invited him to his home in Gurpar Road, saying, “We both travel the same path with heart and soul.” Yogananda kept Dhirananda’s presence in his attic room a secret, first. He lovingly shared his food with him. But of course Dhirananda’s presence became known to all, and he was accepted in the house as one of the family members.

Dhirananda was certainly a great soul, and karmically very close and dear to Yogananda. In his first East/West magazine, in Nov/Dec.1925, when Yogananda announced that he had invited Dhirananda to be in charge of Mt. Washington, whenever he was not present, he also wrote:
“I am powerless to tell how greatly he has helped me in carrying on my educational work in India and Boston, or of the good which the world has derived from his ideal character and exalted spiritual life. He will bless Mount Washington with his presence there as the residential Swami.”

Not many of Yogananda’s known direct disciples actually met Dhirananda- they all joined Mt. Washington later, except Tara Mata (who joined Yogananda in 1924, even before Mount Washington was established), and Kamala, who came in Mt. Washington in 1926, and was actually invited there by Dhirananda.
Even Durga Mata came later, in Dec. 1929; she writes that in May 1928 “Dhirananda had left the fold of his Guru.” (A little mistake- she herself writes later that it happened in 1929)
All other disciples, then, tell their stories about Dhirananda by what they themselves have heard or read.

Masters, as Yogananda explained, live a dual existence: they have a very human side, which suffers and rejoices, and a divine one, deep inside, where they are completely free in God, in bliss, never forgetting that everything is just a great dream.
Yogananda, Durga writes, bore deep love for Dhirananda. When Dhirananda, “whom he loved so dearly,” left Mount Washington in 1929, after having lived there for 3.5 years as the resident teacher, Yogananda cried in pain: “My best friend has gone!” He was absolutely heartbroken. In a letter he once wrote: “I have given more to Dhirananda than to anyone else.” Yogananda was actually so distraught that he took off and went to Mexico, to forget his pain (also written in Durga’s book.) The disciples thought he might never return. Kamala writes that Yogananda was away much longer than planned. But “the Lord mended Master’s wounded heart.(Durga)”
That trip turned out to be quite fruitful- Yogananda met the Mexican president, lectured there, and wrote the chant: “Devotees may come, devotees may go, but I will be Thine always…” He also visited Xochimilco, which turned out to be one of the most beautiful spots on earth Yogananda had seen. In the AY he writes: “As entries in a scenic beauty contest, I offer for first prize either the gorgeous view of Xochimilco in Mexico, where mountains, skies, and poplars reflect themselves in myriad lanes of water amidst the playful fish, or the jewel-like lakes of Kashmir, …”

Yogananda’s heart found peace only when he met his friend of friends, Rajarsi Janakananda, in 1932. Durga: “He often said that the Lord brought him back (from Mexico), because the Lord had a boy hidden in Kansas City, in the form of Rajasi Janakananda, for him to love a million times more than he could love Dhirananda.” Yogananda wrote Rajarsi in a letter, Oct. 36: “All that I wished for Dhirananda, I only got such disappointment, but God has fulfilled many times in you.” The love and friendship between them was truly divine. It is deeply touching to read about it in Durga’s book. Yogananda wept tears of love for Rajarsi, sometimes hiding them with his hands, so as not to show them. And Rajarsi, the “little one,”, or “beloved Nr.1” knew where to respond: not on a personal level, but from soul to soul, in God.

When Dhirananda left Mount Washington, he opened his own meditation center in downtown LA. Daya Mata relates that he actually set up his own organization, which created a lot of confusion among the LA members. She tells that this was such a heartbreaking moment for Yogananda that he even considered leaving everything, going back to India. Dhirananda had been an enormous pillar for Yogananda: Daya Mata states that his departure actually required a rebuilding of his society. (Daya, telling the story, doesn’t mention Dhirananda’s name, but it is clear who that “monk from India” was.)

However, Dhirananda’s new organization never got off the ground. His magnetism wasn’t as great as he may have believed. He probably thought himself equal to Yogananda, but once he turned away from him, his sails were empty, so to speak, while Yogananda continued to fill the greatest halls in America, with thousands and thousands of people.

Did Dhirananda try to put himself up as the guru? I don’t know. At any rate, he ran his meditation center until 1933, and then abandoned it, together with his Swami title, and became a very respected and successful University professor in Michigan. Good for him…but it still seems a sad story. Of course, he also could have become a great artist, a great businessman, a great star, or whatever. But what does that mean for a devotee like him, except emptiness for the soul?

Dhirananda married in 1934. He had a son and a daughter.

Naturally Dhirananda could not forget Yogananda. Did his envy grow, even then? Probably: in 1935, six years after leaving, he finally sued Yogananda, claiming former institutional partnership with him. He won, and collected $8,000. Congratulations!
He also, in the courts, declared that Yogananda was taking sexual advantage of his young female devotees.

Dhiranda rejected Yogananda ever since. Yogananda said he would never forsake him. One day he remarked, talking about Dhirananda: “No matter what he does, he will never find God except through this channel, ordained by God.”

Yes, Dhirananda (a Ph.D.) was much more of a scholar than Yogananda. Yogananda openly and cheerfully admitted that he has never been a great scholar at all. Dhirananda’s English was better too. But what does that say? In Sri Yukteswar’s words: “A university degree, in any case, is not remotely related to Vedic realization. Saints are not produced in batches every semester like accountants.”

The question is: Was Dhirananda happy after he left? He wasn’t, if his son is right: he was a sad man, and probably (says the son) because deep down, part of him always longed for the monastic life he left behind. (Plus his best friend in life and death!)

Several disciples seem to think that Dhirananda was the father of Mona, Tara Mata’s daughter. True: Dhirananda and Tara left Mount Washington about the same time. Dhirananda left in May 1929. Tara also left in 1929, since she was pregnant. Mona was born in October 2, 1929, meaning that she was conceived in the beginning of January 1929 (while Yogananda was in Boston, lecturing).
This, however, might be an untrue story about Dhirananda: First of all, Mona’s appearance didn’t show any sign of oriental influence (so one is told). Secondly, Dhirananda’s son, who is quite frank about his father’s “many flaws,” described immoral behavior as “antithetical to who he was.” Third, Tara left pregnant and married. It seems obvious that she married the father of her child Mona. Who that was is unknown.

To finish that part of Tara’s story: After returning from India, in 1936, as Durga Ma writes, Yogananda went to San Francisco to convince Tara Mata to come back to Mount Washington, to help him with his books. Yogananda held her in high esteem (she too is neither “black” nor “white,” as some people seem to believe). He arranged for her and Mona to live in a bungalow near Mount Washington. Durga, by the way, out of tact, never mentioned Mona in her book, nor that Tara had married.

Yogananda described Dhirananda as one of his two Judas’, the other one being Nerode. When Dhirananda left, as Daya Mata said, SRF (then still called Yogoda Satsanga) required rebuilding. Nerode (an Indian who met Yogananda in the early 20ies, became his student, and also met Dhirananda) was therefore invited to be in charge of Mount Washington, whenever Yogananda wasn’t present, which was frequently. But from the early 30ies Yogananda mostly withdrew from lecturing, and Nerode was the one who was sent out touring, to promote the work and the lessons. Nerode was a good teacher, intelligent, successful, and traveled almost continuously from 1932-1937. As Dhirananda, he wrote his own books, which SRF published. Nerode married an American lady in 1931 (there is a film of Yogananda celebrating that marriage), and they had one son.

In 1939 Nerode too left and sued Yogananda heavily- for $500.000 (which might be compared to $2 million today!), claiming partnership with Yogananda. But Yogananda had learned his lesson ten years earlier, with Dhirananda: he had Nerode (and maybe others) sign a paper back then, in 1929, which declared that he was working as a volunteer. That paper saved Yogananda. Nerode lost the case. Much worse, however , was that Nerode accused Yogananda’s morality even more than Dhirananda had. He accused Yogananda of pretty bad sexual misconduct, of having young girls at all hours in his room on the top floor, while he kept the older women on the floor below...

This was certainly no small thing: Nerode was well-respected teacher. Devotees (maybe still today, when they read these things) got shaken in their love and trust, in their discipleship to Yogananda.

Isn’t it amazing how low good devotees can sink, when maya blinds and squeezes them? Of course the easiest and most effective way to smear an opponent (in order to convince the judge that one is right) is a clamorous sexual scandal. It works wonders! That’s what Dhirananda and Nerode did with Yogananda.
SRF of course condemns their actions, and rightly so. Apart from being far away from truth, such behavior is simply too low for any devotee, and is truly disgusting.
But later, ironically, SRF placed itself on the same level of Dhirananda and Nerode: one of their lawyers used sexual scandal to hurt an opponent. He was successful and was (so the story goes) received with great cheer and delight at the following convocation. Again, congratulations!

Here is my understanding of the whole Dhirananda story:
Yes, Yogananda called Dhirananda a Judas. But did he ever reject him in his heart? Did Yogananda’s love end for him, his concern for him, his loyalty? No, his love is unconditional, and that’s the difference to most of us. When we say “Judas,” we easily reject, our love usually ends, we might get angry, or completely push that person out of our lives. (Most SRF members thus have never heard from their brother Dhirananda, at least not from SRF.) The Master, however, even though the disciple may indeed have acted like a Judas, never stops seeing him for who he is: an angel of God, whom he loves. Thus Yogananda sent Dhirananda a box of mangoes every year for Christmas, as a gesture of his unconditional and undying friendship, but Dhirananda sent it back each time, unopened. The guru’s love is eternal, the disciple’s love is often fickle.

Amazingly, Yogananda had known for a long time what would happen with Dhirananda. Even as a boy he said to his closest friend Tulsi Bose: “One day Bagchi (Dhirananda) will betray me and marry a white woman.” Isn’t it amazing that Yogananda still let him in the door, and gave him all he could? He also related that Dhirananda had already betrayed him badly in another lifetime. But the Master’s love is divine, ongoing.

And so the drama will go on and on. Who knows what the next lifetime will bring? Again Yogananda, as a divine messenger, will bring light and love to the world, and again people will try to pull him down, will throw dirt at him, will betray him, will misunderstand him. The Master’s love and patience remain, fortunately. And thus, one by one, the disciples will find their final release in God.

The best thing for us, it seems, is to try to learn from Dhirananda, so that we ourselves don’t stumble and suffer more than necessary. Oh Lord, help us to watch this stupid ego!

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dontknownothinbouthistory
Registered User
(11/30/05 11:02 pm)
Reply 		Re: The Historic Figure of Dhirananda
You write not knowing the events or the players

At thy feet you write the spin.

You know it, too, deep down under the denial, under the fairyland, under the pretentions of the "faithful" who haven't seen the early Science of Religion books with both names, one being Dhira's, on the cover as writers

How many other things? The authorship of Science of Religion is a grain on the sand of the white-washed sands of the Beach of your Public Relations Summerland.

Walrus readers have gone elsewhere.... truth disperses darkness faster than your eye can blink.

Dhira was at least PY's equal, he had Indian gurus of his own and was not PY's disciple.

Above readers have read, "So Dhirananda was not “black,” nor “white,” but simply a struggling devotee,....."

To describe this in polite society, it is baloney, being false.

Again:
Dhira was at least PY's equal, he had Indian gurus of his own and was not PY's disciple.

From the beginning they were partners

Before they partnered up, by the way, Dhira taught at Ranchi, and his education was of a higher calibre than PY's.

You did not know Dhira or his family, or his Gurus at thy feet, or you would not refer to him as a devotee of PY, and a struggling one at that.

As to myself and a philosophy I learn from, found on page 191-192 in Communion with God by Neale Donald Walsch, who wrote among other things Conversations with God 1, 2 and 3.

And a disclaimer, I converse widely with people, write and read. Though I have read a bit of Neale Donald Walsch, I do not know a lot about him.

Here's the quote I find from the above mentioned pages that some of us find as a touchstone:

"You can know a Master by the way he or she teaches you to get in touch with God, by the way he or she shows you how to meet with the Creator.

If they shout at you, scream at you, exhort, and entice you to find God outside of yourself---in their truth, in their book, in their way, in their place---then watch out. Take your "watch out," and remember that this time it's an illusion."

If they quietly invite you to find God inside of you, if they tell you that you do not need their truth, their book, their way, or their place---then you have found a Master, if only because you have been led to the Master deep inside you."

dontknownothinbouthistory
Registered User
(12/5/05 4:27 am)
Reply 		A question of information
A point of information:

In opening this thread you say: "This is about Mount Washington’s history. I hope it will be interesting for you! May inevitable mistakes be forgiven."

Are you willing to correct the mistakes?

" Naturally Dhirananda could not forget Yogananda. Did his envy grow, even then? Probably: in 1935, six years after leaving, he finally sued Yogananda, claiming former institutional partnership with him. He won, and collected $8,000. Congratulations!
He also, in the courts, declared that Yogananda was taking sexual advantage of his young female devotees. "

Please show us one word in the case where Dhira mentioned PY's philandering.

Another question of information: the full amount was never collected.

Maybe, historically speaking......what is true in your story/myth will more clearly shine forth if you see your composition as a first draft, requiring more work.

Otherwise it is misleading at its best. A spin that as people (in the thread, the history of mount washington) have posted, they enjoy, all the while being misinformed.

Edited by: dontknownothinbouthistory at: 12/5/05 4:28 am
True Enuf
Registered User
(12/5/05 4:52 pm)
Reply 		Re: A question of information
Dhirananda was the ghost writer of the Science of Religion, receiving credit on the title page and acknowledged first, along with Satyananda and Tulsi Bose on the acknowledgement page. A quick look at the writing styles of Yogananda and Dhirananda reveals very distinct differences.

Dhira’s Philosophic Insight (1925) is dedicated to SY, to quote exactly from the dedication page:

“Inscribed to
Swami Yogananda Giriji
My College-Friend, Teacher and Guiding Inspiration in Life
With Deep Love and Faith”

In the 1926 Yogoda booklet, it lists Yogananda first with various accomplishments etc…Founder of Mt Washington Center, Various Schools in India, Centers in US, Author of this and that (including Science of Religion) and a lot more – about 15 lines worth. Then Dhira is listed. In the booklet, the history of Yogoda is recounted, mentioning “…Swami sent for his co-worker in India, who took charge of the Boston Center, while Swami Yogananda spread the Yogoda message in…” and “Swami Dhirananda was called from Boston to become the residential swami of the LA Center and continues in charge of the numerous and varied activities there….”

These are written and cannot be disputed. Swami Satyananda’s biography of Yogananda (from the yoganiketan website) indicates that Yogananda was the primary force behind the Sadhu Saba and subsequent movements and offers the background of how the Science of Religion came about, showing that it was indeed Yogananda's ideas put into form by Dhira. You can read all about Basu Kumar Bagchi in the biography. They were dear friends.

The shame is that Yogananda’s English proficiency wasn’t better at the time, because Dhira’s style is ponderous, pedantic and reads like a boring lump of lead, despite the fact he was unquestionably better educated than Yogananda.

Furthermore, to now add to the anecdotal mix, I’ve heard from what I consider a credible source who personally knew the various figures of that time that Dhirananda was persuaded by various Yogoda students in LA to start his own thing, since Yogananda was always on the road (as it was his mission to popularize the idea of meditation etc…), and Dhira was the constant visible figure in LA., Dhira succumbed to these blandishments. Yogananda lamented that he never should’ve left Dhira alone there for so long. Now since I cannot disclose the identity of this person, anyone reading this has every right to dismiss it as unprovable, third-hand hearsay. But as for the rest, well, there it is.

dontknownothinbouthistory
Registered User
(12/6/05 8:12 pm)
Reply 		Kill the messenger / Burn the books
When PY was confronted living in N.Y with Tara Mata, many South Asians, including Babaji regretted letting the spread of kriya be soiled by PY's absence from Los Angeles and his presence in woman's beds.

So natural to project the the failures on to another, so that in 2005 we read things like the above, that Dhira was left too long, alone in L.A.

What an embarassment.....kill Dhira's rep....kill the messenger!

Run for the hills. Mexico

Tell All, I am grieved to be betrayed by Dhira.

Oh to be back in psychology 101 and hearing about projection for the first time.....

cussacat has written on another board:

"Now, a sad but very true story in closing. This illustrates the depth of programming (loyalty) to which the SRF monastics are subjected, and just how far they will go to keep up the big lie about Yogananda’s teachings. I have a friend who lives in India, and who had spent the last seventeen years in service to the YSS Ranchi ashram. One of this person’s most prized possessions was a large collection of the old East West magazines, and some of the other early publications. Local devotees found this out, and began to borrow them for study. One by one, they began noticing just the kind of thing we’ve been discussing here. They, along with my friend, began discussing these ideas among themselves, and in search for answers took these questions of obvious discrepancy to some of the monks….big mistake! One fine day, one of the monks expressed interest in “borrowing” the books to “do some research”.

Months passed, and when the monk was asked about the books, he “did not have the time just then”, but would look into it. More time passed, and every monastic approached had the same unconcerned attitude. Later, after many more monastic lies and excuses, one of the ashram workers came to my friend and tearfully confessed that the monks had made him burn them! End of story….draw your own conclusions. Cult? Youbetcha! Wake up, and smell the compost.

But in the meantime, have fun!"

Edited by: dontknownothinbouthistory at: 12/6/05 8:14 pm
Lobo
Registered User
(12/23/05 4:03 pm)
Reply 		Re: Kill the messenger / Burn the books
As just a devotee of PY's who admittedly possesses no inside information about any of these early events I think the following is an interesting story, whether it is true or not. It is from Kriyananda's book, Stories of Yogananda.

"Patterns repeat themselves in the lives of individuals, no less than in the history of nations. The Master told us that his oldest son in that life (William the Conqueror), Duke Robert, was Swami Dhirananda in this life. Dhirananda once again betrayed him, and for the same reasons as before: envy and jealously.

In Autobiography of a Yogi, there is an episode where Yogananda's guru, Sri Yukteswar, expressed displeasure with Yogananda to the Master's father. The book states, 'The only cause of Sri Yukteswar's displeasure at the time was that I had been trying, against his gentle hint, to convert a certain man to the spiritual path.' That 'certain man' was Swami Dhirananda."

moyma
Registered User
(3/15/06 10:03 pm)
Reply 		Re: The Historic Figure of Dhirananda
4 lifetimes is what I heard dhirananda has to pay for his betrayal...I read that somewhere......Dhirananda is a high soul .....and in the grand show , thats nothing.....

Paramadas
Registered User
(3/16/06 1:07 pm)
Reply 		Re: The Historic Figure of Dhirananda
I'm still not clear on how Dhirananda "betrayed" Yogananda. OK, so Dhira left Yogananda's ashram and started his own thing that didn't work out, but that sounds like poor judgment to me, not betrayal. To be betrayal, Dhira would have had to do something to destroy or seriously injure PY. Now Judas's act was certainly betrayal---it got JC killed. But nothing like that happened (as far as I know--please somebody correct me if I'm wrong) between Dhira and Yogananda. So, why is this considered betrayal???

moyma
Registered User
(3/16/06 8:21 pm)
Reply 		Re: The Historic Figure of Dhirananda
well now days sueing someone and accusing them of wrong sexual behavior is about as bad as it gets . judus must have been suprized that Jesus was killed cause he killed himself and it took him 2ooo years to find liberation....from what I read in durga's book and elsewhere dhirananda did a complete about face. "don't know nothing" is right about the history of dhirananda..........I think

Paramadas
Registered User
(3/16/06 9:09 pm)
Reply 		Re: The Historic Figure of Dhirananda
Ah yes, sueing and accusing, yup, I guess that's betrayal all right...unless of course Yogananda actually did come on to those women, in which case Dhira could be seen as doing a public service to expose PY. Strange that none of the women came forward to support the allegations. There was that one paternity suit, but it was disproven, fairly recently I think.

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