Paramahansa Yogananda’s past lives

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Paramhansa Yogananda as William the Conqueror*
June 1, 2009
At Paramhansa Yogananda’s Mt. Washington headquarters, reincarnation was normal to our way of thinking. We took it quite in stride if ever Master [Paramhansa Yogananda] told us, as he sometimes did, about our own or someone else’s past lives.

Master revealed to us that he himself had been Krishna’s closest friend and disciple, Arjuna. (“Prince of devotees,” the Bhagavad Gita calls him.) We found it easy to believe that he had been that mighty warrior, for Master’s incredible will power, his innate gift for leadership, and his enormous physical strength (when he chose to exert it), all pointed to someone with the tendencies of a mighty, conquering hero.

Divine power is rooted in love
People who knew only of Paramhansa Yogananda’s extraordinary love and compassion, his sweetness, and his childlike simplicity were sometimes taken aback when they encountered his power. Few realize that power and divine love are opposite sides of the same coin.

Indeed, divine love is no gentle sentiment, but the greatest force in the universe. Such love could not exist without power. Great saints would never use their power to suppress or coerce others, but power is, nevertheless, inextricably a part of what it means to be a saint. It took extraordinary power, for example, for Jesus Christ, alone in a crowd, to drive the money-changers from their tradition-sanctioned places in the temple.

Worldly people fear this power in the saints, and, fearing it, persecute them. They don’t realize that a saint’s power is rooted in love, or that it threatens nothing but people’s delusions and ignorance-induced suffering.

Yogananda’s power was not only a product of his divine awareness; his human personality, too, reflected past incarnations as a warrior and conquering hero. In Calcutta, in his youth, he was approached more than once by people who wanted him to lead a revolution against the British. There was something in his very bearing that bespoke the intrepid warrior.

William: noble, generous, forgiving
He told us more than once that in a former life he had been William the Conqueror. Educated as I had been during my early years in the English educational system, I had always thought of William as one of history’s great villains. On learning that that supposed “villain” was my own Guru, I made it a point, needless to say, to study several biographies of William in order to get a broader picture of what he’d really been like.

I found that William the Conqueror was indeed, in every way, a great man. Morally, in an age of widespread profligacy, he was chaste and self-controlled. Spiritually he was deeply religious, and never (so I read) missed a day of mass in his life. He was noble, generous, and forgiving.

A divine commission
He lived, however, in an age when conquest could be accomplished only by a very strong will. He told us he had been given a divine commission, which I have since come to understand was to bring England out of the Scandinavian sphere and under the influence of Roman Christianity.

During his lifetime, William promoted the recovery of old monasteries and generally gave great support to the church, endorsing also the concept of chastity for the clergy. William and Archbishop Lanfranc, together, unified the church, and reorganized it from the ground up.

Quite as important in the context of those times, they connected the church administratively and liturgically with Rome. His closest friends were spiritual men like Archbishop Lanfranc (who in this life, Yogananda stated, was Swami Sri Yukteswar) and Saint Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury.

“The will of a single man”
William’s occasionally harsh behavior was forced on him by necessity, and never sprang from personal anger (though, consistent with my observation of Master himself on occasion, William’s demeanor sometimes appeared very fierce). I asked Master once (I was thinking of his lifetime as William): “Sir, is an avatar [a divine incarnation] always aware of his oneness with God’s omnipresence?” “He never loses his consciousness of inner freedom,” Master replied.

William’s life, when studied in this light, gains new luster and meaning. The British historian, E.A. Freeman, wrote in his biography, William the Conqueror: “[What we English are today] has largely come of the fact that there was a moment our national destiny might be said to hang on the will of a single man, and that was William [the Conqueror].”

Earlier, Freeman stated: “The Norman conquest has no exact parallel in history largely owing to the character and position of the man who wrought it. The history of England for the last eight hundred years has largely come of the personal character of [that] single man.”

William’s legacy: a united kingdom
England itself was by no means so Anglo-Saxon as relatively recent writers, including Sir Walter Scott, imagined. The north, according to recent DNA testing of old bones, was heavily Scandinavian, and the east came under what was called Danelaw, and must have been more Danish than Anglo-Saxon.

It was William who united the constantly warring earldoms into one kingdom. His legacy, moreover, which bound every native to primary loyalty to his king, saved England the fate of medieval Europe, which saw constant baronial conflicts.

England’s government dates back to the conquest by William, who brought England to a level of security, stability, and legal organization that made it possible for it to survive the death of medieval society and continue on into the modern age. England is the oldest continuous government in the world, the second being the United States.

https://www.ananda.org/blog/yogananda-kriyananda-gita/

[guest587]

I find it a little comical that the writer of this post realized his Guru was also a ruthless man in a previous life. The personality of Putin and Donald Trump may mean they will one day be Spiritual Masters. Who knows? Every saint has a past.

I really enjoy reading this, not because the writer is attempting to defend William the Conqueror- but for the idea that a Master may be where they are because of the dramatic experiential wisdom they've accrued through multiple incarnations.

Some of Williams actions lead to cannibalism, and he had no problem killing the young or the old.

I asked this question in a separate thread... http://spiritualportal.net/index.php/topic,8850.0.html

But we can carry it on here if you'd like-

When we rise through duality, are God and the Devil One?

William I’s Harrying of the North of England over the winter of 1069/70 resulted in perhaps 150,000 deaths, reducing many victims to eating cats, dogs and even one another.

Since William’s own arrival in December, however, the suffering had increased dramatically. A few weeks earlier, he had divided his army up into small units and sent them out into the Yorkshire countryside with orders to burn and destroy everything that was capable of sustaining human life – the barns full of carefully harvested crops, the beasts still standing in the fields, and those that had already been slaughtered as food for the winter. Consequently, while the king feasted that Christmas, many others were beginning to starve and, in the months that followed, countless thousands would die as a result of famine.

This episode, known since the late 19th century as ‘the Harrying of the North’, was the most notorious of the Conqueror’s career. “Nowhere else,” said the 12th-century historian Orderic Vitalis, “had William shown such cruelty.”

It is sometimes objected that these 12th-century chroniclers are too late to be credible, and that more closely contemporary accounts are not as sensational or as judgmental. But there is enough earlier evidence to corroborate the claims of later writers. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a telegraphically terse source for this period, reports that William went to Yorkshire in 1069 and “ruined it completely”. William of Jumièges, who was possibly writing his Deeds of the Norman Dukes at the behest of the Conqueror himself, described how the king “massacred almost the whole population, from the very young to the old and grey”.

Marianus Scotus, writing in Germany in the 1070s, reported that famine in England had caused people to resort to cannabalism, substantiating the account of John of Worcester

https://www.historyextra.com/period/anglo-saxon/william-conqueror-war-criminal-story-harrying-north/

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Thanks Eric; I will be sure to read about it. I wondered if Kriyananda may have painted an overly rosy portrait of a conqueror back then. From what we know about Arjuna he seems more likely, to be a Master later. There are many things that we have yet to understand. Gods justice and the cruelty of for instance Ghengis Khan was so extreme as to be wondered at even how any God would allow it without being devoid of compassion. He at times conquered one village after another and it was said he used the villagers of the last place he was at and put them in front of his troops while driving them on. The next village’s soldiers were in disarray and confusion at the site of killing their own people. A similar tactic Putin has used in putting fellow conquered Ukrainians in the front lines while attacking Zelinski’s Ukraine. But I do believe anyone can and will eventually change.  Even the souls of Putin and Trump. But doubtful any time soon.

I do not understand many of the so called ‘karmic’ justices of history. Perhaps I have a lot of meditative years and experiences ahead of me. Because of the ability and presence of the age we live in, we do find that meditation gives us understanding.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I also wonder about the notions of consciousness you have recently provided. If indeed the third dimension is limited to a linear notion of time…..It may be that time does not even take place in our notion of how it should. In fact what happened during the time of for instance, William the Conqueror can not be seen in the same way that may be perceived by a person living a 5 D existence. In other words the century we are living in could be perceived as a different movie theater we are seeing than one with for instance Jesus living. But do they have to be connected in a linear fashion of time? Are there beings that can slip in and out of different time frames periods, that they do not see exhibiting the notion of linear time at all?

https://youtu.be/DmnLewOyuP4?si=dzURemP39gQc18AN

[mccoy]

The issue of William the Conqueror is a difficult one. Kryananda is known for mixing truths with lies (when they are to his advantage) and for his inclination toward self-aggrandizement. On the other hand, Durga Ma also hints at Yogananda being  WTC in a previous life. And Durga Ma is surely a reliable source.

Since I tend to disregard what Kryananda wrote, I tend to believe that WTC did not remember at all his previous lives as an exalted Yogi and lived a life as a mere pawn of God, that is, he served some purpose in God's plot, a purpose he was unaware of, he just single-mindedly pursued what he had to do.

Also, re. Gengis Khan, he probably was not as cruel as the western historians depict him. Late in his life, he also adopted a Taoist master as his spiritual advisor. Of course he lived in the brutal times of kali yuga, when ruthlessness was the rule.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

The issue of William the Conqueror is a difficult one. Kryananda is known for mixing truths with lies
(when they are to his advantage) and for his inclination toward self-aggrandizement. On the other hand, Durga Ma also hints at Yogananda being  WTC in a previous life. And Durga Ma is surely a reliable source.

Since I tend to disregard what Kryananda wrote, I tend to believe that WTC did not remember at all his previous lives as an exalted Yogi and lived a life as a mere pawn of God, that is, he served some purpose in God's plot, a purpose he was unaware of, he just single-mindedly pursued what he had to do.

Also, re. Gengis Khan, he probably was not as cruel as the western historians depict him. Late in his life, he also adopted a Taoist master as his spiritual advisor. Of course he lived in the brutal times of kali yuga, when ruthlessness was the rule.

Thanks for your helpful response mccoy. If you read the Old Testament it is full of a very destructive and punishing God. So it would not surprise me if WTC was more conscious of his destiny at playing out his divine role as an instrument of God’s karmic justice in some of his so called ‘cruel’ actions that Eric mentioned earlier.

Sometimes I find it prudent to pray about a response to other people’s comments about Master or other important events before replying, so my response is not interpreted as a reaction but rather a response given from a space of thoughtful contemplative prayer. How does anyone know about his ( William the Conqueror) actions and what they were guided by? Let us not forget the ‘cruel’ act of Babaji when he branded a devotee to absolve him of some karma in which he was destined to die. It seems to me that there needs no ‘hell’ for the actions and behaviors of tyrants like Trump and Putin today. All you have to do is have them live out multiple lives during the Kali Yuga here on earth.

You and I do not need to agree on everything mccoy. When it comes to Kriyananda I just think that no one was so fortunate to be in the presence of an Avatar like Jesus or Yogananda without having a high degree of spiritual sainthood. And for some reason they have been put in a high degree of test by being in their physical presence here on earth with these avatars. I thought I’d mention that it was relayed to me that Judas was self realized in my life time by SRF monks. His guilt was very difficult to overcome as you might imagine.

I was fortunate to be in the physical presence of Durga Ma quite a few times in her bedroom at Mt. Washington with other devotees, where we meditated with her several times. I learned some important spiritual lessons being in her presence. That’s my experience, with her.

I find it a little comical that the writer of this post realized his Guru was also a ruthless man in a previous life. The personality of Putin and Donald Trump may mean they will one day be Spiritual Masters. Who knows? Every saint has a past.

[guest587]

Seekers of God are not drawn to William the Conqueror. One can argue President Trump and Putin are also reflective of the time we find ourselves in as far as the evolution of consciousness within our region of time/space is concerned. Yet we have real examples of people that seem to indicate a higher level of evolution in consciousness who are made incarnate even in the darkest of times. It implies we are not bound to group think but that each of us have an opportunity to raise our understanding. That's the noble, main quest of any spiritual seeker. We often contemplate what it would be like to rise out of duality, or voice in some creative manner that we are tired of incarnating here.

I maintain the attitude that Trump or Putin can come back and be great Masters. But it doesn't matter. We don't look at Yogananda and think- I want to be like William the Conqueror- a man who had no regard for killing women and children.

Similarly, Amma the Hugging Saint- another clear example of deep understanding and a Soul who seems to have risen above duality.

If I had to guess, I would say Yoganandna when he was alive- or Amma even now, do not spend time circulating news stories about political figures in their spiritual communities. I don't think Guru's who are here to be an example and help us break free from Maya are taking up arms and going into the war zone. None that we have yet presented here in the spiritual portal as noteworthy Masters. Even if you were to find an example, I don't feel personally inclined to go to war with others.

The war is with ourselves.

And there's a marital contract we took coming here- to this school house. That is the relationship between Ego and Soul. Suffering is okay, suffering is natural. There is a harmonious nature between the two, but most people do not ever stop to contemplate this relationship- and when they do, they only think the marriage means being at odds ends with each other... Ego VS Soul. But we have examples like Anandamayi Ma, who was made as personality incarnate and yet- exuded pure Spirit/Soul that seekers of all religious paths can acknowledge.

I think there are blinders for seekers- all of which are again, natural. Just because we are apt to fall does not mean we give up. We just recognize that falling is natural and allows us knowledge to move forward in a more appropriate manner.

Some of those blinders are-

Righteousness and Anger.

These two things often prevent us from seeing ourselves. We rarely take responsibility for our own actions when these two things are present. We are plugged into the ME VS THEM mindset. And often so focused on the other, we are emotionally reactive. 


I wrote this in a hurry... I have more to add and contemplate later... This is a rough draft. But it fees like a channeled inspiration. Didn't want to forget!

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Ha ha Love ya Eric,

We have a great example of Masters and saints who led us to war and rebellion… a few examples here;

#1 Krishna
#2 Moses
#3 Joan of Arc
#4 David
#5 Gandhi - in this his case peaceful rebellion
#6 Lincoln (perhaps not a Master but definitely had saintly qualities, abolishing slavery by having more people killed in all the wars U.S. has ever fought!)
#7 Washington ( A man of psychic visions and brought us freedom from tyranny )
#8 St. Ignatius of Loyola
#9 St. Sebastian

Seekers of God are not drawn to William the Conqueror. One can argue President Trump and Putin are also reflective of the time we find ourselves in as far as the evolution of consciousness within our region of time/space is concerned. Yet we have real examples of people that seem to indicate a higher level of evolution in consciousness who are made incarnate even in the darkest of times. It implies we are not bound to group think but that each of us has an opportunity to rise above. That's the noble, main quest of any spiritual seeker. We often contemplate what it would be like to rise out of duality, or voice in some creative manner that we are tired of incarnating here.

I maintain the attitude that Trump or Putin can come back and be great Masters. But it doesn't matter. We don't look at Yogananda and think- I want to be like William the Conqueror- a man who had no regard for killing women and children.

Similarly, Amma the Hugging Saint- another clear example of deep understanding and a Soul who seems to have risen above duality.

The Killing of Women and Children in the Old Testament
Paul E. Brown
Title: The Killing of Women and Children in the Old Testament
Category: Theology
Subject: Killing Women and Children
Often the question is raised--sometimes by skeptics, but sometimes by sincere believers--as to why God on certain occasions in the Old Testament allowed the killing of women and children by his chosen people, the Israelites.

Examples of passages that cause people to raise those questions are the following: In Deuteronomy 3:6 Moses is recounting for the Israelites the events that had occurred during their journeying toward the promised land: “And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.”

In Joshua 10:40 we read: “So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded.”

Reading such passages, people sometimes ask: “How could it possibly be right for God to approve the killing of innocent women and children?”--and in the two cases referenced above, as well in others that could be cited, clearly God did approve of that killing; indeed, he commanded it. The further question is raised, “Does not God thereby contradict his own command given in Exodus 20:13, “Thou shalt not kill” (KJV)?

First of all, a clearer and more accurate translation of Exodus 20:13 is, “Thou shalt not murder” (NIV). Murder refers to unjustified killing. Some killing is justified--such as soldiers doing their duty in war, the government executing murderers, and a person killing to defend his family or himself from a would-be assassin. So, Exodus 20:13 does not rule out all killing--only killing that is unjustified.

But there still remains the question, “How could the killing of innocent women and children ever be justified?--and how could God command such a thing?”

The first thing to be remembered is the truth of Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God is the Creator and Sovereign of the universe, which means--among other things--that he is the Sovereign of life and death. It is his prerogative to determine who lives and who dies.

“But,” the question persists, “how could God justify killing innocent women and children?”

While we may never in this life have a complete answer to that question, at least some light can be gained by bearing this in mind: we know for a fact--for Scripture reveals it--that certain nations and cities in which men, women, and children were exterminated were nations and cities that were horribly depraved and corrupt; they were like moral cancers in the body of humanity. Note what Moses said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 9:3-4:

Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee. Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.

Eric, with your beliefs, if you ever went had to go to war… consider being a medic. They certainly have been needed!!!

[guest587]

Can't say I've met those people you have listed or knew they were all considered masters. But I can say I've met saints and masters and none of them were going to fight physical wars. Also we've been introduced to people who represent Yogananda's mission and there are none that I've met slinging a gun to their persons or rallying behind one nation over another. Certainly none have harped on politics with emotional attachment as we do here. I stand by my contribution.

I'm glad you find my ruminations hilarious, I think God has a sense of humor too.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Eric consider the service of a medic. If ever required to fight.

[guest587]

Also, while you were sharing your ideas with God on murdering women and children
No one here is saying they want to be like William the Conqueror.
But everyone here finds inspiration from Yogananda.

A man in orange robes.

But let's look at who is alive today that we do find inspiration from.

Can you send me a photo of Amma the hugging saint in military attire firing upon her fellow man?

I share the same sentiment as your post which says we don't understand Gods ways. I think we can, but I think as long as we identify with Ego and nothing else- we can not glean insight into the larger picture. It is the same when I say righteousness is a spiritual blinder.

You have often written you wish to free yourself from incarnating here again, so I remind you of that desire.

Do we dictate good karma based on our beliefs and attitudes? If we don't understand Gods ways, it seems quite foolish to think we know better. Thinking we know better is very 3D and in part why we suffer.

It's only natural if you truly incarnated here to understand.

So happy suffering
May all beings be happy

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Also, while you were justifying your ideas with God on murdering women and children
No one here is saying they want to be like William the Conqueror.
But everyone here finds inspiration from Yogananda.

A man in orange robes.

But let's look at who is alive today that we do find inspiration from.

Can you send me a photo of Amma the hugging saint in military attire firing upon her fellow man?

The very reason you have a post saying we don't understand God's ways is the same reason I say righteousness is a spiritual blinder.

You have often written you wish to free yourself from incarnating here again, so I remind you of that desire.

Do we dictate good karma based on our beliefs and attitudes? If we don't understand God's ways, it seems quite foolish to think we know better. Thinking we know better is very 3D and in part why we suffer.

It's only natural if you truly incarnated here to understand.

So happy suffering
May all beings be happy

Do YOU know better? I’m just beginning to understand. I do not answer for William the Conqueror. Do you? If you take inspiration elsewhere… so be it. Everyone has a different life mission, I don’t pretend to know yours. Just exploring here Brother. Reading the signs together. As for you;  you are venturing an opinion, it is fine. Amma’s path is not that of a warrior. The person(s) she was devoted to were;  Krishna and Arjuna. Justifying is one thing exploring are own uncertainties is quite another.

[guest587]

Steve,

Notice the qualifier, "we"

This me vs you attitude is not a mindset I choose to operate from. It isn't easy.

Also... Swami V doesn't seem to be a solider... Gurunath too. People that are alive whom are spiritual magnets for others don't seem to be gungho soldiers.

So I maintain my speculation, without saying I know better. Just sharing a concept that is meant to liberate us from the dualistic thinking that keeps us at odds ends with one another and/or from sensing the reality of a greater intelligence from additional dimensions.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Steve,

Notice the qualifier, "we"

This me vs you attitude is not a mindset I choose to operate from. It isn't easy.

Also... Swami V doesn't seem to be a solider... Gurunath too. People that are alive whom are spiritual magnets for others don't seem to be gungho soldiers.

So I maintain my speculation, without saying I know better. Just sharing a concept that is meant to liberate us from the dualistic thinking that keeps us at odds ends with one another and/or from sensing the reality of a greater intelligence from additional dimensions.

Since you leave no reference here I know not, nor can I respond to your post. However I do find considerable inspiration from soldiers of the soul who have fought through history for righteous causes and doves of peace who left their fragrance behind, for us all to smell their divine fragrance.

[guest587]

Yes of course, there are many admirable generals and warriors.

These impressions you have could also be indicator of your own past lives, as you have often pondered.


Samskaras¿