Forgive me if this seems disrespectful to Yogananda, but one can't help noticing that he died quite a young man and no SRFers that I am aware of have lifespans which deviated significantly from average. One wonders why he would teach such a thing when he either didn't practice it himself or he did practice it and it didn't work exactly as expected. Or maybe I am misconstruing his words to mean "never dying" when instead he is talking about some other aspect of the physical aging process. His exact words quoted here are cease to grow old. In any case, it is quite a claim for which there doesn't seem to be an overwhelming amount of evidence.
Again, please, forgive me for casting doubt on your guru's advice. I just...I mean what's the point of a forum if we can't discuss honestly?
I'll admit I never got the spiritual eye stuff. All I ever got from it was a headache. That doesn't mean it's not got some reality, of course.
dingdong, your objection is sensible.
In the case of masters, though, their lifespan is not something we can judge upon. When they are finished with their earthly mission, as Steve wrote, they are recalled elsewhere and must die of some cause, unless like Elijah they are spectacularly drawn to the elestial heights in a chariot of fire. That latter happens so rarely.
If you are speaking of disciples, then that is different. But, do we have a large enough sample, with a control from general population, by which we can draw our conclusions? Besides, we cannot take from granted that all SRF disciples follow a longevity-prone diet and lifestyle. Some of them may even be tired of this life and desire another opportunity elsewhere, like Steve was implying.
The longevity issue is probabilistic. Such strategies tend to decrease the cause of death, but there is karma ambushing beyond the corner. Rajasi Janakananda followed an extremely healthful diet and lifestyle but he died of brain cancer at 61. Was his lifestyle useless? No, since it might have saved him from a more premature death. Was his lifestyle good to enjoy health before his illness? Yes.
Present day scientifical studies on longevity are based upon many methods, including the study of yeasts, mice and rodents, monkeys and groups of humans. They also studied the diets in particular areas where centenarians abound (The Okinawans, the adventists in Palo Alto, the Sardinians in Italy, and more).
They are dissecting the issue, nutrition wise, exercise wise, treatment wise, attitude wise and behaviour wise.
The evidences are published and subject to criticism.
The Yogic methods of stopping cell degeneration and achieving limitless longevity are actually out of our reach. Very, very few are able to practice them effectively and successfully. If we are able to stop our heartbeat then we can spend time in a state of suspended state with no degeneration. That would lenghten one's lifespan.
Usually, practitioners of yoga are helath conscious, vegetarians or vegans, with a purpose in life and a tendency to mitigate stressful conditions, possibly they think twice before making something stupid like drinking booze before driving or texting while driving.
These are factors which will tend to increase longevity in probabilistic terms.
