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Was reincarnation removed from the Bible? Yet another inaccurate footnote.
In Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda says: “The early Christian church accepted the doctrine of reincarnation, which was expounded by the Gnostics and by numerous church fathers, including Clement of Alexandria, the celebrated Origen (both 3rd Century), and St Jerome (5th Century). The doctrine was first declared a heresy in A.D. 553 by the…
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Another Inaccurate Footnote – “The Primacy of India”
In the Introduction to The Second Coming of Christ by Paramahansa Yogananda, on page xxix of the hardcover version, there is a footnote that says: “A wealth of evidence for the primacy of India’s spiritual culture in the ancient world is presented by George Feuerstein, Ph.D., Subhash Kak, Ph.D., and David Frawley, O.M.D., in In…
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Carl Sagan on Science and Spirituality
I recently read Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. In this book Sagan aims to explain the scientific method to laypeople and to encourage people to learn critical and skeptical thinking. (I confess to skipping some of the chapters devoted to debunking alien abduction claims, but overall I think…
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The “Dark Ages” or the “Middle Ages”?
SRF uses the phrase “Dark Ages”, referring to the period of time described by Swami Sri Yukteswar as falling in “Kali Yuga”, the less advanced period of his theory of the Yuga cycle. Since the Renaissance, it had become common to refer to the period of time from the fall of Rome to the beginning…
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History Chronoflow – Historical Events Influencing Paramahansa Yogananda
I’ve put together a chronoflow diagram showing world events and people who influenced Paramahansa Yogananda (directly and indirectly), as well as historical time periods in India, and some scientific discoveries. I’ve also included some modern scientific theories and discoveries that might influence how we might interpret Yogananda’s work looking back from our modern perspective. You…
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Hinduism’s stance on LGBTQ
The Hindu American Foundation has a detailed policy stance that includes historical and scriptural references to LGBTQ people.
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Misleading Footnote from Authors Known for Fraud
SRF cites book published by two co-authors who are well known for publishing fraudulent archeological claims.
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The Islamic Golden Age
Self-Realization Fellowship says that the “Dark Ages” or “Kali Yuga” was between 701 BCE and 1699 CE. How can it be that the Islamic Golden age would fall in this so called dark period of history?
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The Gupta Period: India’s Historical “Golden Age”
The period of India’s history that is most often referred to as “the Golden Age” is the Gupta Period, which was between the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. This is not what SRF is referring to when they talk about the Golden Age of India.
