stripping the gurus - Brahma Kumaris Info

296 STRIPPING THE GURUS
caught on Earth and is never released into the ‘afterlife.’” Or, alternatively,
to remove any of the ashes of the deceased is regarded
as similar to taking a limb from a live individual (Strelley, 1987).
Be that as it may, Supertramp’s Roger Hodgson once wrote a
song—“Babaji,” from 1977’s Even in the Quietest Moments album—
inspired by Yogananda’s teachings. In that case, the lyrics were
motivated by the Himalayan guru upon whose behest kriya yoga
was given to the world, through Yogananda for one. Hodgson further
spent time at the northern California “Ananda” ashram of one
of Yogananda’s direct disciples—J. Donald Walters, a.k.a. Kriyananda.
His sister Caroline has resided in the same community. Indeed,
Roger met his future wife, Karuna, when the latter was living
in a teepee in that very ashram.
George Harrison, although not himself a disciple of Yogananda,
was interviewed for SRF’s “Lake Shrine” video, quoting there
from Sri Yukteswar’s (1977) book, The Holy Science. (Ravi Shankar
was featured in the same film. Shankar introduced George to
Yogananda’s writings in 1966.) At Harrison’s prompting, images of
four of the SRF line of gurus—Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar
and Yogananda—were included on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s
album cover collage. (Jesus was omitted so as to not further
aggravate public religious feelings still raw from Lennon’s “the
Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ” observation.) References
to Yogananda in Harrison’s solo work include the songs
“Dear One,” “Life Itself” and “Fish on the Sand.” Harrison’s family
further donated the U.S. proceeds from the re-release, in early
2002, of his “My Sweet Lord” single, to SRF.
Madonna—yes, that Madonna, again—has likewise spoken
positively of Yogananda’s Autobiography. Pamela Anderson (2005)
herself has swooned top-heavily over Paramahansa’s (1986) Divine
Romance. And the brilliant comedian/actor Robin Williams—a
friend of both George Harrison and Christopher Reeve, having
roomed at Juilliard with the latter—actually subscribed to at least
part of the SRF Lessons series. That, at least, according to a former-Deadhead
monk whom I met during my own otherwiseunpleasant
stay in the SRF ashrams, which will be detailed later
on.
Gary “Dream Weaver” Wright—another friend of Harrison’s—
has also been rumored to be an SRF member.
The King of Rock and Roll, too, found inspiration in the kriya
yoga path: