On the 5th of March 1952 a great soul, Yogananda, left his mortal body and took samadhi. If you have not followed or read the Autobiography of a Yogi and Paramahansa Yogananda's life, the strangest thing happened to his body when he attained samadhi. For ten days his body did not decompose. He predicted this even before he left his body, and that if they wanted to test his spiritual power they could test it at that time. Therefore, today you can see this photograph of Paramahansa Yogananda and we at the Gayathri Peedam, from the time of inception, remember Paramahansa Yogananda's brithday, his samadhi day. And today we observe that samadhi day.
Just to put you in the picture, if you're really in tune this evening, you will have the experience of Paramahansa Yogananda. It is the most beautiful experience. Some years ago when Linda Smith was doing the aarthi for this photograph on this day, honey started to pour from the forehead of the picture. Some even tasted it to see if it was real. You will have that kind of experience if you are in tune today.
Many things about Paramahansa Yogananda are unique and sometimes I start to think about his lifetime and things I did as a kid, and realise I was not the only mischievous kid. He was too. He would say something and the next day it would happen. One incident that stands out is that he told his sister she would have a big lump on her palm and he would also, and the next day both of them did. One day some kids were flying a kite and he told his sister he would get the kite. The kite string snapped, the kite went into a tree and he reached out and grabbed it. Now Krishna also did strange things as a kid. He would pick up a whole driven cart with one hand. That alone indicated to people at that time that this was a divine child growing. But India generally has doubts about these things.
When Paramahansa Yogananda left India there were five people wishing him farewell: his brother, one disciple and some others. He went to America and took it by storm with Eastern culture. When he returned to india, there were 50 000 people waiting for him at the same harbour he had left with five people seeing him off. They had to have security. This is the impact he has had on the West and East.
So today we observe this mahasamadhi day. Mahasamadhi means 'one who has attained union with God'. Before that photograph of Paramahansa Yogananda was taken, Yogananda said to Dayamata and the photographer that it would be his last photograph and his last speech, and a few hours later he went into samadhi. As we sit here we don't even know if we're going to leave in the next few hours or weeks, but he knew. That is why he became known as such a spiritual individual.
If at any time you have the opportunity of going to India you should go to Ranchi in West Bengal and visit his Yogoda Satsanga. His presence is still felt there. If you have enough money and you go to America – it is a wasted trip if you don't go to Self Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles where Yogananda lived most of his western life, and where he experienced his samadhi. You should go there. He was beyond the state of paramahansa – a great individual.
Hari Om and God bless.
