I know there is much confusion as to what the prophecies of the Messiah are and who fulfilled them and what not but I was wondering if you had any insight on the Messiah. Is the Messiah coming anytime soon? Could the Messiah have anything to do with Lahiri Mahasaya's Kriya Yoga?
—Cody, usa
Dear Friend, the subject of the coming of the “Messiah,” interpreted literally, is a concept related to the Jewish faith. As such, we, at Ananda, have no special insight insofar as those of the Jewish faith didn’t accept Jesus Christ as the messiah and, to my knowledge, no such person has appeared and been recognized by adherents to that faith. The prophecies you allude to are all presumably those of the Old Testament.
Paramhansa Yogananda did not specifically make the claim that Jesus Christ WAS the anticipated Messiah but his strong emphasis on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ would probably incline most of his students and disciples to conclude that he had. But he himself didn’t generally use that term and so avoided an unnecessary controversy.
In fact there is a better reason, too: Krishna and the rishis of India have long taught that in every age there descends an avatar (one who is fully liberated) to assist humankind in specific times and places to address their spiritual needs. Thus the concept of “Messiah” which implies a one-time “descent” is an unnecessary concept.
To many of Yogananda’s disciples, if not all, Yogananda himself was an avatar who came at the behest of Babaji and of Jesus Christ to bring kriya yoga back out into the world. In this sense, then, Yogananda, and the lineage who sent him (including Lahiri Mahasaya, therefore) might be described as “Messiah(s).”
The trouble with words like “Messiah” is they carry too much baggage and cause more confusion than clarity. It is easier to simply say that such great souls come to uplift mankind and are, as avatars, “saviors” — souls with great spiritual power.
I hope you will find this helpful.
Sincerely,
Nayaswami Hriman
