CULT 008 SELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP Self Realization Fellowship was founded by Swami Para

CULT 008
      SELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP
Self  Realization Fellowship was founded 
by  Swami Paramahansa Yogananda and  was 
brought    to    America    in     l920. 
International headquarters for SRF is in 
Los Angeles on Mt. Washington.
Yogananda was a Hindu Yogi and mystic of 
the   early   twentieth   century.    He 
emphasized  that  union wit God  is  the 
chief end of man.   By submitting to the 
necessary Hindu training,  he earned the 
title   of  "Swami",   and  through  his 
teachings  gained  a  following  in  the 
United States,  where he as aided by the 
enthusiastic  support of  horticulturist 
Luther  Burbank.    His  followers   are 
convinced that he as a Prem-Avatar; that 
is,  an  incarnation of the love of God. 
Yogananda was a devout,  well  educated, 
personable man,  who was acquainted with 
many  dignitaries  in his native  India, 
including Mahatma Gandi. 
The  basic tenets of SRF are  summarized 
as  follows:   l)  They hold  pantheism, 
(the belief that ultimately,  God is the 
only reality:   everything is a part  of 
God,  and  all  things find  their  true 
identity   in   God)    as   a   primary 
supposition in their view of things.  2) 
They  teach that the basic ills of man's 
spirit,  soul,  and body may be overcome 
by   becoming  one  with   the   "cosmic 
consciousness";  i.e., by realizing that 
one's  true  self  is  not  his  finite, 
temporal ego,  but that one eternal Self 
that exists within each of us.  3)  They 
believe  that  this goal may be  reached 
through   disciplined   observance    of 
certain   practices.     These   include 
physical yoga (hatha and kriya), with an 
emphasis    on   breathing   exercises, 
meditation  (preferably upon God  rather 
than a word or object),  living a  good, 
moral   life  and  abstaining  from  all 
vices,  restricting one's diet to health 
foods,  and reading holy writings,  such 
as   the  BIBLE,   the   BHAGAVAD   GITA 
(Hinduism's  most  popular  Scriptures), 
and Yogananda's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI. 
4)   They  emphasize  the unity  of  all 
religions,  teaching  that Hinduism  and 
Christianity,  as  they were  originally 
taught,  are  in  perfect  harmony.   5) 
They laud Jesus as a great prophet,  and 
quote  the Bible  profusely.   6)   They 
consider  mystical experiences important 
as a means of realizing one's union with 
God.   Yoganda's  life was replete  with 
supernatural    signs   and    miracles, 
according  to  his  autobiography.   The 
faithful  are encouraged that when  they 
reach  a  certain  point  of   spiritual 
growth  they too will experience contact 
with   the  spiritual  world   in   such 
manifestations as trances, or visions of 
departed  masters.   7)  They also  hold 
the    classical   Hindu   doctrine   of 
reincarnation.
Although SRF's attempts to promote unity 
between Hinduism and Christianity appear 
commendable,  such  a goal can  only  be 
realized   by   subtly   glossing   over 
significant,  irreconcilable differences 
between  the two.   The end result finds 
Hinduism  unscathed by the  transaction, 
while  Christianity becomes stripped  of 
its    essential   and    distinguishing 
characteristics.    The  characters  and 
terminology    of    Christianity    are 
retained, but their historic meaning and 
significance are traded for the esoteric 
pantheism  of  Hindu  theology.    Let's 
examine   some   of  the   reasons   why 
Christianity,  in its original form, can 
not be harmonized with Hinduism,  or any 
other religion.
The  God of the Bible is  distinctly  an 
infinite,  personal Being, whose essence 
is Spirit (2 Chronicles 6:18.   Jeremiah 
10:10.  Exodus 3:14,15.  John 4:24.)  He 
created  the world out of  nothing,  not 
out of Himself (Genesis 1:1.  The Hebrew 
word  for  "create"  is  "bara",   which 
indicates   something   coming  out   of 
nothing).  Thus the universe essentially 
is not God, although His infinite Spirit 
is  present  in all parts  of  it.   God 
created  man as an entity distinct  from 
Himself,  to  exist into eternity  as  a 
finite  reflection  of  His  own  image; 
spiritual,  personal, and moral (Genesis 
1:26,27,  Psalms 94:9,  Numbers 23:19, 1 
Corinthians 2:11,  1 Peter 1:16.).   His 
purpose  for creating man was so that He 
and  man  might experience  a  personal, 
intimate  fellowship  for  all  eternity 
(John 17:3,  1 Cor.  1:9,  1 John  1:3). 
The  Christian goal of union with God is 
not  to  lose  one's  identity   through 
absorption  into the Divine  Self.   Man 
does  not need to be freed from his  own 
personal,  finite identity; it is a gift 
from God, created in His image.  For the 
Christian,  to  be united with God is to 
enter into a unity of will and  devotion 
with  that  distinct Person who  is  the 
Absolute.  Earthly marriage speaks to us 
of this union in that two persons become 
intimately  united without losing  their 
individual      identities.        Self 
realization  then is realizing one's own 
dignified identity as a being created in 
God's own image, and going on from there 
by faith in Christ to become a child  of 
God  (Jn.  1:12),  in order to find  our 
ultimate fulfillment;  eternal fellowship 
with God.   It is not realizing that our 
true  Self is God,  for such thinking is 
the  very thing that has always led  man 
away  from the true God (Genesis  3:4,5, 
Isaiah 47:8-10, Ezekiel 28:2).
This  brings us to the question  of  how 
one reaches this union with God.   SRF's 
approach will only lead one into contact 
with  fallen spirits posing as  God,  or 
departed masters:  it can never lead one 
into  contact with the true  God.   This 
failure  is  due to an ignorance of  the 
true   nature   and   cause   of   man's 
separation   from  God.    Man  is   not 
separated   from  God  because   he   is 
ignorant  of  his  true  union,  as  SRF 
affirms.   Man  is  separated  from  God 
because  he  is guilty of  breaking  the 
moral  laws which God established in the 
universe  for the good of His  creation. 
This disobedience originated with  Adam, 
and  has  spread throughout  the  entire 
human race (Romans 5:12).   According to 
the   Bible,   even   the  most   moral, 
disciplined   man  is  still  a   sinner 
(Romans  3:23),  and thus  incapable  of 
reaching  God  through his own  efforts, 
for  God will not overlook his  sin,  or 
its just penalty.  With man incapable of 
bridging the gap, it was up to God to do 
something  about  it,  which He  did  by 
sending His Son,  in the form of a  man, 
sinless,  to  pay man's penalty  through 
his  sacrificial death.   For those  who 
recognize that through their own efforts 
they can not please God, and are willing 
to accept that through Christ's finished 
work in the cross all that was necessary 
for  their salvation was done,  God,  in 
response to their faith,  will reinstate 
them into union with Himself.  This true 
form  of enlightenment brings  one  into 
awareness of a living,  loving, personal 
God who transcends the universe,  not an 
impersonal  cosmic consciousness who  is 
the universe.  Such experience as cosmic 
consciousness    is   counterfeit    and 
dangerous,   because   of  the   demonic 
element,  and even more,  because of the 
eternal loss such deception can lead one 
to.  
Hindus   would  be  better  off  totally 
rejecting  Christianity than  trying  to 
unify  it with Hinduism.   Jesus Himself 
made  it all too clear.  "JESUS SAID  TO 
HIM;   "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE 
LIFE;  NO  ONE COMES TO THE  FATHER  BUT 
THROUGH   ME."   (John  14:6).    "JESUS 
THEREFORE  SAID TO THEM  AGAIN,  "TRULY, 
TRULY,  I SAY TO YOU,  I AM THE DOOR  OF 
THE  SHEEP.   ALL WHO CAME BEFORE ME ARE 
THIEVES AND ROBBERS;  BUT THE SHEEP  DID 
NOT HEAR THEM.  I AM THE DOOR; IF ANYONE 
ENTERS  THROUGH ME,  HE SHALL BE  SAVED, 
AND  SHALL  GO  IN  AND  OUT,  AND  FIND 
PASTURE.  THE THIEF COMES ONLY TO STEAL, 
AND  KILL,  AND DESTROY;  I AM THE  GOOD 
SHEPHERD;  THE  GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS  DOWN 
HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP." (Jn.  10:7-11)> 
If   they  want  to  consider  Jesus   a 
prophet,  then to be consistent with the 
definition  of the term "prophet",  they 
must acknowledge that the words He spoke 
were the true words of God.   These  are 
only  two  of many passages in  the  New 
Testament     that    demonstrate    the 
exclusiveness of Christianity.
We  must  recognize  that   Christianity 
springs  directly from Judaism,  and  in 
the   Hebrew  Scriptures  one  truth  is 
continually hammered home:  "FOR ALL THE 
GODS OF THE PEOPLES ARE IDOLS, BUT YAHWEH 
MADE THE HEAVENS."  Psalms  96:5).   The 
personal  God  who,   for  the  ultimate 
benefit   of  the  entire  human   race, 
revealed  Himself in a unique way to the 
nation Israel,  is sharply distinguished 
from  the  gods of  the  other  nations, 
including  the gods that were and  still 
are worshipped in India.
Rather than teaching reincarnation,  the 
Bible tells us that is is appointed unto 
all  men to die once,  and afterwards to 
be judged (Hebrews 9:27).   It would  be 
easy and tempting for a member of SRF to 
simply  close his eyes to the  exclusive 
claims  of Jesus Christ.   Many seek  to 
appease   their  consciences  by  giving 
honor to Christ,  and yet they refuse to 
make  the  absolute surrender  to  Jesus 
alone   that  He  so   clearly   demands 
(Matthew   10:32-39).    Truly,   it  is 
acknowledged  everywhere,   even   among 
Hindus,  that  no  man  in  history  has 
deserved  more honor than Jesus  Christ. 
Yet,  if  one truly honors  Christ,  the 
wisdom  of giving serious  consideration 
to the things He said, in the context in 
which  He  spoke them,  should be  self- 
evident.   To  take  His  words  out  of 
context,  and attempt to conform them to 
a  foreign theology,  is to risk  facing 
the     above    mentioned     judgement 
unprepared.
Prepared  by  Elliot  Miller,   Research 
Consultant.
Copyright  l979  by  Christian  Research 
Institute, Inc.