122 Biography of a Yogiof wealthy potential sponsors, things took a poor turn. Sailendra Bejoy Dasgupta,
who served as Yogananda’s secretary for the duration of the trip, recounts:
Later, Bishnu Charan disappointedly said in a quiet tone of voice, “Mejda
[Yogananda] ruined everything. He wasn’t able to stop his heart from beat-
ing.” However, nothing about this was ever brought out. During this time,
the writer [Dasgupta] went one day to see Guru Maharaj [Sri Yukteswar]
in Serampore. Although that particular event was never mentioned any-
where, it was known that Bishtu- da [Ghosh] had organized events for
Swamiji [Yogananda] in many places, particularly in wealthy Marwari
circles. After listening to everything, Gurudev [Sri Yukteswar] remained
quiet for a while and then commented, “He [Yogananda] has a disease—
where a ghoul comes and sits on his back. First there was Basu- ghoul
[Dhirananda], and now Bishtu- ghoul [Ghosh] is sitting on his back.^64No joint venture between Yogananda and his brother ever materialized. Sri
Yukteswar’s attitude toward the prospect is generally reflective of the tension that
characterized their reunion. Upon hearing about Yogananda’s demonstrations
of mental power in other contexts, Sri Yukteswar denounced the whole matter
as “tricks” having nothing to do with spirituality. Dasgupta’s account even hints
that Yogananda’s “Paramahansa” title may have been bestowed upon him by Sri
Yukteswar as a sort of sarcastic joke, which Yogananda chose to interpret literally.
In any case, relations between the two appear to have been strained at best.
The end of Yogananda’s visit was marked by the death of Sri Yukteswar,
who left his body while Yogananda was absent, having gone to the Kumbha
Mela against his guru’s request. Later accounts by Yogananda, including the
entire chapter devoted to the event in his Autobiography, recount a vision of
Sri Yukteswar one week after his passing in which he returned to Yogananda
from the astral plane to disclose the secrets of the universe. A more immediate
account, retold by Dasgupta, confirms Yogananda’s vision but reveals a very dif-
ferent message:
It is certain that the pain of not being able to fulfill Gurudev’s last wishes
gnawed at Yoganandaji from within; this is evidenced by Swamiji’s desire
that, before he left for America, he would go to each of the village- centers
in Midnapore in which Gurudev had left his footprints... . The party
reached Bombay. Preparatory activities for the journey were being con-
ducted in the ship. Swamiji’s heart was heavy- laden. As he was going to
sleep at night in his hotel, suddenly, like a dream, he saw Sriyuktesvarji
physically appear in his room. Yoganandaji looked at Gurudev’s face