Dear Friends,
A very few of you have written negative comments on my book, Yogananda for the World. This letter is an attempt to answer all of you generically. Some of you will have made one point; others, another.
1. For those of you who have stated that you think I am writing in a spirit of revenge, please keep in mind that were my feelings vengeful, I had nearly fifty years to express them. I never did so, and never wanted to do so. I have never been angry with them, though they hurt me deeply. Please read the book carefully. I think if you do so you’ll see a clear answer to this and all of your other challenges.
2. For those who accused me of pettiness, I think my forbearance for all these years has been an indication of a very different attitude. Though they treated me very harshly, I have always tried to work WITH them, not against them.
3. For those who have accused me of any emotion in the matter, you have not only my disclaimer, in the book, of emotions; you have also the fact of my sincere effort for fifty years to work with them.
4. For those who have asked me why I wrote this book at all, I have to say that I wrote it feeling guided to do so by my Guru.
5. For those who have asked, “Why now?”, I have only this to say: I have been receiving an ever-increasing number of letters and reports saying that the writers have become so disillusioned with SRF that they have turned away from Master, too. It is to protect his name that I have written as I did. I want the world to respect and love my Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, as he deserves.
6. Those who wonder at my focus so particularly on Daya Mata need to understand something I have found infallibly true: The spirit of an organization always depends of the spirit of the leader. As I said, I have never seen an exception to this rule.
7. From Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi, co-spiritual directors of Ananda: “It is often said that no man is great in the eyes of his valet. But in Swami Kriyananda’s case, those who have known him the longest and worked with him the most closely are among those who hold him in the highest spiritual esteem. After 40 years of knowing him, we can personally attest to his deep respect for all. Neither have we known him to hold a grudge, or to seek vengeance even verbally on anyone.”
8. Master came to bring Self-realization to individuals everywhere. His mission was to bring the ancient techniques of yoga to each person, not merely to start an organization. There is always a conflict between the needs of an organization and the needs of the individual.
In divine friendship,
Nayaswami Kriyananda
