Here Comes the Yogiman 123
and said, “Why are you so disappointed?! Are you offended so much?!”
Swamiji retold this statement to the writer [Dasgupta] later... . After this
vision, Swamiji postponed his travel to America for the time being and
returned with his assistants to Calcutta. It is true however that on New
Year’s Day— January 1, 1937, during the first public speech after he went
back to America, Yoganandaji described the above- mentioned event as the
resurrection of Sriyuktesvarji. A professional in the psychological sciences
may say that the vision was a reflection of Swamiji’s own pained state of
mind.^65It is curious that Dasgupta, who has no qualms with attributing superpow-
ers to anyone— including Yogananda— in his accounts, would conclude that
Yogananda’s vision of Sri Yukteswar had been nothing but a product of grief and
imagination. Whatever the nature and content of this “revelation,” however, his
guru’s passing had an undeniable effect on Yogananda. He became more intro-
verted, immersing himself in organizational tasks, though any notions of working
in collaboration with his brother’s fitness center gradually faded away and eventu-
ally disappeared entirely.
Yogananda left India in 1936, never to return again. Despite more difficult
times to come with Chowdhury’s departure in 1939, Yogananda’s American
operation was prospering. By 1937 the SRF owned seventeen acres of land and
was gearing up to begin a $400,000 building and improvement project, which
included the building of a grand Golden Lotus Temple near Encinitas. The tem-
ple was erected on a hilltop overlooking the ocean, easily to be seen by motorists
traveling on the Pacific Coast Highway. Unfortunately, the temple’s picturesque
location resulted in a majority of the construction sliding into the ocean in 1942.
Perfection remained elusive.
Apotheosis and a Small Brown Spot
After Chowdhury’s exit and the subsequent lawsuit, which lasted well into 1941,
Yogananda’s life appeared to take on a quieter tone. He never took on another
close associate, though devoted disciples continued to flock to Mt. Washington,
especially after the publication of Yogananda’s magnum opus. The Autobiography
was released in 1946, marking the only significantly publicized event of this final
decade of the Swami’s life.
Yogananda took his final samādhi on March 7, 1952. He died of an appar-
ent heart attack while speaking at a dinner honoring Indian Ambassador Binay
R. Sen at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Yogananda was nearing the end