Rajarsi Janakananda
Rajarsi Janakananda (born May 5, 1892 as James Jesse Lynn , † February 20, 1955 ) was the most famous student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a prominent businessman in Kansas City, Missouri. He was a millionaire when he met Yogananda in 1932. In later years he donated his entire fortune, estimated to be six million dollars, to Yogananda's organization, the Self-Realization Fellowship, helping it achieve long-lasting success. Yogananda selected Janakananda to succeed the office of President of the Self-Realization Fellowship . Janakananda was president of this organization from 1952 to 1955.
Childhood and professional success
James Jesse Lynn was born to Jesse William Lynn, a farmer, and his wife Salethia Archibald Lynn, who lived near the town of Archibald in Louisiana, one of the southern states of the USA. He grew up in modest circumstances. His early childhood was shaped by working on the farm. Among other things, his duties include milking the cows, beating the butter and helping with the cotton harvest. He received his basic education in a small wooden schoolhouse. He left school at fourteen and began working for the Missouri Pacific Railroad . As a simple cleaning worker, he was paid $ 2 a month. He worked for several years in various positions with the railroad company until he quickly moved into the position of office manager for the division manager of Kansas City , Missouri. To complete his schooling, he attended night school in Kansas City. He also took courses in accounting and law. At 21, he began working in the finance department of Bell Telephone Company and was admitted to the Missouri Bar before completing his law degree. In 1913 he married Fred Josephine Prill. At the age of 24, he passed the finance exam with the highest score ever in Missouri. Soon after, he started working for the largest insurance company in the country, USEpperson. At the age of 30 he managed to take over this company with a risky loan. This step enabled him to have a successful career as a businessman. He invested large sums in orchards and railroad projects. He became a respected businessman in Kansas City.
Disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda
Despite his material success, Lynn was unhappy and had to admit that he was easily fluffed and nervous. In January 1932, his life changed when he attended classes given by Paramahansa Yogananda. He immediately felt changed by the presence of Yogananda:
On the second night of class, I realized that I was sitting up straight, my back straight, and absolutely numb. I looked down at my hands, which used to move with restlessness and which were now wonderfully calm ... I knew I had found the path that gave me satisfaction and inner peace and that I had found what I was looking for, namely a guru.
Lynn met Yogananda privately in Kansas City in 1932, following one of the lessons. A short time later, Lynn was initiated by Yogananda as his student. Because of possible criticism that a friendship with a Hindi teacher would generate, Lynn and Yogananda agreed not to make their connection known to the public.
For the next 20 years, Lynn frequently visited his yoga teacher at his main Los Angeles residence or at his Encinitas, California apartment. The two spent many hours together meditating and talking about spiritual issues.
Lynn said of his friendship with Yogananda:
One of the gifts I received through my friendship with Yogananda was relief from nervousness, tension and inner insecurity. I gained serenity, peace, joy and a feeling of security that one can only have when one has found the true security of the soul.
In his book Autobiography of a Yogi , Yogananda shows a photo of James J. Lynn on page 318 with the following explanation: After practicing kriya yoga daily for five years , Mr. Lynn received im in January 1937 on a secluded beach in Encinitas, California State of samadhi, the blissful vision of God: The infinite Lord as the glory within. Although he was diligent in performing his worldly duties, Mr. Lynn found time to meditate deeply on God each day. The successful businessman became an enlightened Kriya Yogi.
In 1951 Yogananda Lynn gave the religious name Rajarsi Janakananda. After Yogananda's death in March 1952, Janakananda became President of the Self-Realization Fellowship . Janakananda died on February 20, 1955 in Borrego Springs, California.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Durga Mata, Sri (1992). A Paramhansa Yogananda Trilogy of Divine Love . Copyright Joan Wight. ISBN 0-9635838-0-8 .
- ^ Self-Realization Fellowship (1996). Rajarsi Janakananda: A Great Western Yogi . Self-Realization Fellowship Publishers. ISBN 0-87612-019-2 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rajarsi Janakananda |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lynn, James Jesse |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American yogi |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 5, 1892 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 20, 1955 |