Theos-Talk Archives (November 1998 Message tt00170)

In a message dated 11/12/98 9:27:55 AM Eastern Standard Time, Frank writes:

<<  I have before me
 GdeP's "Man in evolution," the one the genuine version printed 1941 in Point
 Loma during GdeP's lifetime, the other one the new edition by Pasadena of
 1977.  A quick comparison is shocking: The whole second chapter is canceled,
 also the Preface of GdeP and the following foreword by H.T. Edge (he was a
 personal pupil since HPB).  OTOH the Pasadena version has a foreword by Grace
 F. Knoche! One can only come to the conclusion that the new editors have
 more spiritual and intellectual knowledge than their teacher to whom they
 were pledged. >>

A similar situation occurred to the Self-Realization Fellowship
(SRF) after the passing of its Founder, Paramhansa
Yogananda.  Their was a brief presidency of a close devotee
followed by that of Daya Mata.  During her long reign, which
continues to this day, all kinds of revisions were made in
Yogananda's books.  Various editions of *The Autobiography
of a Yogi* are indicators of who's in and who's out.  In the first
folio edition, Swami Premananda's picture is in the book and
then deleted in later editions when he fell out of favor.  This has
happened to a number of people whose pictures have appeared
and disappeared between its pages.  The Praecepta lessons have
been altered from the original to the point where one wonders
if there are any of Yogananda's writings in them at all.  There have
also been unpublished manuscripts of Yoganandaji which
Daya Mata has been sitting for years.  You'd think they would
be ready to hatch by now!

If someone has something to say then that person should
write his or her own books and not tamper with someone
else's work.  Daya Mata seems to have done both.

There is an organization called the Amrita Foundation which
has taken upon itself the task to publish the original works of
Yogananda including his hitherto unpublished commentaries
on the New Testament. (Amrita is similar to what Point Loma
Publications is to the Pasadena TS).

Best Wishes,
Augoeides