Original subtitles

JAMES DONALD WALTERS: My full name at birth

was James Donald Walters,

but my parents used to call me Donny.

(PLAYING PIANO)

WALTERS: I was trying to find truth, but didn't want God

because the way I'd been taught about God

seemed totally meaningless to me.

But every pathway that I took to truth proved to be a dead-end.

And finally one night I said, "There's got to be a God,

"but if there's a God, what must he be?"

WALTERS: I wasn't born in America, I was born in Romania.

For 13 years, that was my home.

This, my first born, Lord, I give to Thee.

Guide his life according to Thy will.

(LAUGHS)

Isn't he beautiful?

Of course, babies are always beautiful to their parents...

But this one,

our first,

looks so serene, so thoughtful.

Let's name him James, for my step-father,

and Donald for my step-brother.

That's fine.

PRIEST: James Walter,

I baptize thee in the name of the Father

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

PRIEST: James Walter, may you be a light to the world

and to the glory of God. Amen.

What wonderful colors!

I wish you could see them too!

I'd like to, Donny, but I'm too big to fit under the table.

It's so nice being small. I hope I never grow up.

I can hide in all sorts of little places.

I don't want to grow up, Mother.

Grown-ups have to take everything so seriously.

To earn money, to make plans.

And look at Ghicolescu, our Ploiesti grocer,

he always looks so worried.

Life is to be enjoyed, Mother,

it's wonderful just to live!

Yes, it is.

Daddy, there really isn't a Santa Claus, is there?

I mean, think of all the chimneys in the world...

And besides that, think how many homes don't even have chimneys.

How could Santa Claus cover all those homes in just one night?

Well, son,

a lot of people do believe in Santa.

But you don't believe in him, right, Daddy?

I understand.

But well, it's more fun to believe in him,

so I think I'll believe in him anyway.

There are two kinds of truths, the ones we know are true,

and the ones we wish were true because we like them.

And then, I wonder if there isn't a third kind of truth,

something I can't put my finger on.

Well, son...

I'm a scientist.

I guess, maybe I'm a little caught up in the reality I see in front of my eyes.

But people should be happy too, Daddy.

Somehow, I think truth should also help us to be happy.

(CHILDREN CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(GATE CREAKS)

Come on, Donny!

What's the matter, Donny?

I don't know, I feel strange.

You're all burning up!

I'll call your mother at once, okay?

Donny, come on!

Oh, honey!

I must call the doctor.

Your son has colitis.

He must abstain completely from all dairy products.

Milk, cheese, butter.

No dairy products at all,

and only bland, soft cooked food.

And I also strongly recommend that you send him away to school,

in some place like Switzerland.

The climate there will be healing.

(CRICKETS CHIRPING)

I wonder if I'll ever learn to think as others do.

I keep asking, "Why?"

but nobody seems to care.

I keep trying to get things clear in my mind,

but people don't seem to think it matters.

Mother...

Sometimes I feel so alone!

We're all of us alone, dear, before God.

BOY: Look who it is. Not that kid again.

Get him.

Ow! (BOYS SNICKER AND LAUGH)

Oh, God!

Why did you do that?

What do you mean? He's English, I'm Italian,

is that not reason enough?

He's small, and you're big.

No, that's not reason enough.

(SCHOOL BELL RINGING) Lunch is starting.

WALTERS: I don't like what's happening in the world.

So many people

angry with one another,

and for what reason?

Hello, boys!

Mother, this is Gogu.

Hello, Gogu!

Do you like it?

You can keep it.

I'll help.

He lives in a slum, across Boulevard Busteni.

Just imagine, his family have to cover their windows with newspapers.

They can't even afford glass.

I'd like him to play with my toys,

and if he likes them, I'll give him a few.

Bienvenido, Gogu!

It's very nice, dear.

Thank you.

Pass it to me!

I got it!

Oh...

Give it back! Over here. Here you go! Here you go!

BOY 1: All right, got it, got it. Come on!

BOY 2: Yeah, I got it.

Oh, man!

WALTERS: Gogu...

You wanna come join us?

(SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)

So is that why you brought me here?

Let's go home.

(WALTERS CRYING)

Donny...

Oh, Mother!

My heart is broken.

I thought those boys were my friends,

Gogu especially.

How could they possibly treat me in that way?

Oh, dearest...

I feel your pain.

Come.

Sit down.

You must keep in mind that there is much unrest in Europe and in Romania.

To them, we are foreigners.

It isn't you who have drawn their anger.

It's the fact that you're American.

(PLAYING PIANO)

ADULT WALTERS: From the loneliness of my childhood,

I began to realize that I couldn't rely on others,

but needed to find my strength within myself.

My search led me to Charleston, South Carolina,

where I studied stagecraft.

One evening, I took a long walk out into the fading night.

I was 21 then.

I hadn't a newer belief in God.

But now I ask myself urgently,

"If there's a God, what must he be like?"

He just can't be some man-like judge,

waiting for us to stumble so he can clap us into hell.

He must be something great and inspiring

to have produced his vast universe,

to have produced us.

The thought that came next was,

"What is making me ask this question?"

Surely I'm asking because I'm conscious.

God himself, therefore, must be consciousness.

(TRAIN HORN BLARING)

What are your plans for the summer?

(SIGHS)

I'm not sure yet.

Well, I'm being sent over to Cairo, Egypt.

And I am going to join him

as soon as I get this house packed up.

Ooh...

Bob and Dick would be in college.

But I'm not sure where I'll be.

I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Maybe I'll find it in nature.

I plan on taking my bike upstate New York.

Some exercise would do you good.

(SIGHS IN RELIEF)

I have a book I borrowed from mother.

A short-word Bible.

Maybe there I'll find the answer I'm seeking.

Here are the excerpts from the Hindu religion...

(SIGHS) Whatever that is.

"For perfect bliss grows only in the bosom tranquilized,

"the spirit passionless, purged from offense,

"vowed to the infinite.

"He who thus vows his soul to the Supreme Soul, quitting sin,

"passes unhindered to the endless bliss of unity with Brahma."

(GASPS)

What marvelous teachings!

This...

This is what I've been looking for.

Don!

Mother!

Where have you been?

Bike riding.

I'm so worried about you, Don.

What will become of you?

You've left college. You've left the theater...

Have you any plans?

I'll see what God wants.

At last, I hear you use that word, "God."

Will you live just a little for him now?

I have no choice but to go to Egypt,

but I promise I'll pray to Him every day that He guides your footsteps.

I know I need help, Mother.

I have no idea where to get it.

Perhaps your prayers will help.

Dear...

Make sure you write every week.

I will.

(SHIP HORN BLARING)

Oh, I hate that sound.

I have to go.

I'll walk you.

I'd like to see your books on Hindu philosophy.

You'll find them over there.

Okay, thank you.

"The Cosmic Eye."

What an attractive face.

"The author lives in California."

How strange!

I've always known I was destined to go there.

And he seems somehow familiar to me.

I know he can help me find God. Oh, it's just too fantastic.

"Dedicated to the memory of Luther Burbank...

"An American saint."

But... How preposterous.

How could anyone become a saint

in this land of the almighty dollar?

This materialistic desert.

This isn't what I am looking for.

(SIGHS) An American saint, indeed!

Is there something in this book that I'm meant to read?

How can you know what the book is really like

if you won't even read it?

Don!

It's been years since Scarsdale High School!

It's great to see you again, how have you been?

Say, I've got this fantastic new job in advertising,

right here in New York City.

I'll be working in radio.

Oh, I have a great future ahead of me!

I got this girl now

and we're going to get married and have a big family

and get a big house somewhere nice, like Scarsdale.

Maybe you can come and visit me sometime. Uh...

Us. (LAUGHS)

WALTERS: What desolation!

I'd rather die than live that way.

This book has already become precious to me.

(CAR HORNS HONKING)

Don, are you okay?

Doug,

it was good to see you again.

I'm not sure where I'll be, but...

I wish you all the best.

WALTERS: The family was now living in Calcutta,

where Father had been permanently transferred...

Following the patriarchal Indian custom,

Ananda had brought his bride to live in our home,

now at 4 Gurpar Road.

There, in a small attic room,

I engaged in daily meditations

and prepared my mind for the divine search.

I find Yogananda is a monk.

I will be a monk.

WALTERS: I left from New York the next day

travelling by bus to Encinitas.

What joy I'll know when I find God! What love!

I was prepared to leave everything

for just a little peace of mind,

and now I know that God is the perfection

of everything I've ever longed for.

I'll be able to help others in the best way possible, yes!

God is the answer,

but also having a true guru will take me to that answer.

And I've found the fastest way to reach him.

Oh, thank you, God! Thank you!

(MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Okay, special on sourdough!

What'll it be? Ham and eggs?

We've got some great ham here today.

Thanks, but not the ham.

You see, I'm a vegetarian.

A what? (LAUGHS)

My God, how long have you been whatever this is?

Three days.

So when did the lightning hit you?

You see, what changed me,

was this book I'm carrying.

The author's a vegetarian,

and I've made my mind up to become like him.

That book made such a great impact on you?

Yeah.

Well... Must have been some read! (CHUCKLES)

Well, so what will it be?

Have you any fruit?

Yuck! Monkey food!

(SOFTLY) Thank you.

These won't put any hair on your chest.

Say, you're a cute kid.

How come you're alone?

Why isn't there a girl with you?

I have decided to become a monk.

What?

So you're cheating deserving womankind of a good man!

What's wrong with you, anyway?

Why are you so selfish?

Don't you think you'd better get back to your other customers?

WOMAN: Excuse me?

WALTERS: Is it selfish to seek a way out of my little self?

There's a whole universe out there

and people think only, "I, I, I".

"Me, me, me!", "mine, mine, mine!"

It's appalling.

Yogananda offers a way of bringing bliss to everyone,

through the technique of Kriya Yoga.

Is that going to be a problem for me?

I'm a normal human being.

But I want God!

Excuse me, hi,

would you have change for a dollar?

MAN: Call your wife?

Oh, no, my grandparents.

They live in town. Thank you.

Departure time!

I'll never forget this summer.

It's the best summer I've ever had!

We've loved having you here, Timmy,

but it's time for you to go home.

Oh, Grandma! I'll miss you so...

You're not the only one.

We've become very fond of you.

That you write to us, do you hear?

Maybe come back next summer.

Okay, I will.

Okay.

(TRAIN HORN BLARING)

All right, let's go.

Let us know how things are going.

Maybe next summer.

WALTERS: Families! They mean so much to us!

Yet,

if a child were to die and be reborn nextdoor,

would his former mother even recognize him?

There is true kinship only in God.

I love my grandparents, but I won't call them now.

I'm on a sacred pilgrimage.

I must avoid every possible distraction.

I must!

(WIND BLOWING IN DISTANCE)

(KNOCKS ON DOOR)

May I help you?

Is Paramahansa Yogananda in?

Oh, you must be here to check the water?

Oh, no. (LAUGHS)

Uh... Paramahansa Yogananda? Is he in?

No, I'm afraid he's away for the weekend.

Is there something I can do for you?

I wanted to see him.

He is lecturing at the Hollywood church.

You have a church there?

I want to join his work.

I want to live here.

Have you studied his printed lessons?

Lessons?

Uh... I didn't know there were lessons to be studied.

There is a full course of them.

I'm afraid you couldn't join until you'd completed the lot.

And, uh,

how long does that take?

Four years.

Four years...

How am I to get to the Hollywood church?

There it is! There it is!

Oh, hey, hey! Church man! It's $1.50.

Thank you. Keep the change.

Hi.

Hi. How may I help you?

Could I please speak with Paramahansa Yogananda?

Whom? Oh, I see.

I'm sorry, you can't see him today.

His appointments are fully booked.

Booked? Um, for how long?

The next two and a half months.

Uh...

But I came all the way from New York.

I read his book there.

Hmm... Well,

I'm sorry,

but you'll just have to wait.

Hi.

Are you a disciple?

Yes, I'm one of the monks at Mount Washington.

Are you hoping to join us?

Yes... Um...

But I'm told I must wait.

You see that young man sitting behind you?

Yeah.

That's Herbert. He's waiting too.

Has he been waiting long?

Oh, no, not long.

About three months.

WALTERS: Three months?

Could it be that I'm just not ready yet?

Though, I think if I were more ready I'd burst!

Still,

could this be a lesson for me, in humility?

I certainly need that.

Everything in my life has come to me so easily.

I must realize that everything comes only by God's will.

Pardon me...

Since you've come such a long way,

I'll ask the Master if he'll see you today.

His appointments are finished now.

(SIGHS NERVOUSLY)

The Master will see you now.

Now, please tell me,

how may I help you?

I want to be your disciple.

I should tell you that I'm seeing you

only because Divine Mother told me to.

I want you to know that.

I do only what

Divine Mother says.

Now then,

what brought you here?

I read your book in New York.

How did you like it?

It was wonderful.

That is because

it has my vibrations.

It's the most wonderful book I've ever read.

Are you drawn to any of the three main delusions?

Sex, wine,

and money?

Money and wine mean nothing to me.

But sex has been a problem.

I saw that the moment you entered.

But I am glad that you are truthful with me.

With your help, I hope to overcome the temptation.

You have no wish to get married?

None.

Marriage just wouldn't work for me.

It might be all right for some people,

but for me it would be a disaster.

I want to become a monk like you.

Marriage isn't as fine for anybody as people like to make out.

I knew a couple once,

of whom everybody said, "How harmonious they are".

But I could see behind the scenes.

When the couple was alone,

they would shout to each other angrily.

I said to them,

"Why do you put up that false front before others?

"Why not try to become what they think you are?"

I could tell you many stories of heartbreaks

that I have seen.

The desire for human love is really

only the soul's longing for oneness with God.

God.

Only God is the answer

to all men's yearning.

That is what I yearn for.

So, tell me,

what talents have you? What can you do?

Uh...

I wanted to be a writer.

A writer?

I wonder, sir,

I could be of some help to you in your own writings.

Beautiful as your book is,

I found in it a few split infinitives.

Did you?

(INHALES DEEPLY)

Hmm...

I'm accepting only those now

with good karma.

In fact,

I'm taking very few disciples.

You have good karma.

God tells me

to accept you.

I give you my unconditional love.

Will you give me yours?

Oh, yes.

With all my heart,

I give you my unconditional love.

I love you not for what you can give me,

but as your spiritual son and disciple.

Come,

kneel before me.

Now repeat these words after me.

I will live my life...

I will live my life...

Only for God.

Only for God.

I will do his will...

I will do his will...

In everything.

In everything.

Always. Always.

I give... I give.

...my unconditional love...

Unconditional love...

...and obedience... And obedience.

...to you... To you.

...my guru. My guru.

And will no longer live...

And will no longer live.

...for personal gratification.

For personal gratification.

Help me, Lord... Help me, Lord.

...in this... In this.

...my solemn vow. My solemn vow.

Om. Om.

Peace. Peace.

Amen. Amen.

Now you are part of our spiritual family.

And what truer family could there be?

Jesus Christ said

"Who is my father,

"my mother and brother,

"and sister,

"save him

"who loves God."

I got it.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

You all right? Okay. Yeah. (LAUGHS)

Welcome to Mount Washington, the home of our monastic family.

You'll be living here. I have the room next to yours.

(PANTS) It's beautiful!

WALTERS: Where do the men live?

NORMAN: In the basement, most of them.

This is it.

Don't mind the apartments, they aren't altogether fancy.

Our schoolboys from the Encinitas colony,

they did all the carpentry.

And Dr. Kennell, the minister of our San Diego church,

he invented the substance used for the floor.

(EXHALES)

I like the aristocratic air of those windows.

But don't overlook the floor.

Dr. Kennell boasted that the substance would outlast the Taj Mahal!

(LAUGHS)

Seems to fit the ancient dictum,

"Dust dictum art".

Oh, don't mind the bed either, it's a little hard.

(WALTERS SIGHS)

We can get you a quilt from the storage room in the main building basement.

Folded up, it should make an adequate mattress.

Step. WALTERS: (STRAINING) Carpet's caught there.

Got it? Yeah.

All right?

Yeah, thank you.

Okay.

You know, you can protect the closet from the dust on the floor

somewhat using that strip of monk's cloth.

Okay. Thank you.

Uh, where would you like the table?

Um...

Let it go over here. Sure.

Thank you. Got it?

Let's go over...

Perfect. Okay?

(COUGHING)

(COUGHING)

I think...

I think it's magnificent, everything!

(LAUGHING) Thank you.

Thank you.

(BOTH SIGH)

Let's go to dinner. Thank you.

(CONTINUES COUGHING)

(WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)

We have a new monk.

Welcome. WALTERS: Thank you.

You've already met Bernard. Yes.

Harvey Allen. Yes.

Clifford Fredricks, and Bill Brown.

Hello, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too.

NORMAN: This is Daniel Boone. Nice to meet you.

WALTERS: Nice to meet you.

I can't tell you how happy I am to be here.

Thank you.

Why do we have a picture of Jesus Christ on our alter?

Surely he is not in our line of gurus.

Do we include him just to

appease the Christian denominations? (LAUGHS)

Master has told us

that it was Jesus himself who appeared to Babaji

and asked him to send his teachings of self-realization to the West.

"My followers," Jesus asserted at that meeting,

"have lost sight of the art of inner communion.

"Hourly they do good works,

"but they have lost sight of the most important of my teachings,

"to seek the kingdom of God first."

When will we see Master again?

(PANTS)

He's gone south to our colony in Encinitas.

Next Sunday he speaks in San Diego.

But we expect him back for the service in Hollywood

the Sunday after next.

Okay.

Master wants me to teach you our energization exercises,

and the preliminary meditation technique.

Shall we go? Yes.

Feel the energy flowing into your body...

(INHALES SHARPLY)

(EXHALES)

(BOTH INHALING SHARPLY)

And relax...

Never go to sleep at night

until you feel you have established some contact with God.

Always remember,

this world is a snake pit.

Behind every rosebush of pleasure

there lurks a rattlesnake of suffering.

Money...

Money will not alleviate your sorrows.

The desire for money is one of life's greatest delusions.

And remember this,

delusion never keeps its promises.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Finding God

is the only purpose of life.

I urge all of you to read the Autobiography of a Yogi.

It will inspire you to live for God.

Many people are coming from far and near

after reading that book.

One young man read it recently in New York,

and left everything to...

Walter? Walter, please stand.

Yes, Walter, please stand.

Walter read the book in New York,

and left everything to come here.

Now he has become one of us.

I never wrote the lessons myself.

They were put together

from lectures that I had given, memories of them,

and from old magazine articles.

But I have never been satisfied with the results.

I would like to rewrite them from the beginning.

Dorothy!

"The three wise men...

(DOROTHY TYPING)

"...who came to the Christ child

"in Bethlehem."

What I teach, Jesus also taught.

Jesus appeared to Babaji in the Himalayas, and said,

"My followers are doing good work,

"but they've forgotten my teachings

"on how to commune with God."

You know,

I was sent to the West by God himself

to bring back original Christianity,

and the original yoga teachings of Lord Krishna.

WALTERS: Master never got to finish his lessons.

At his desert retreat, however, he taught me their essence.

I spent many months in this sacred place with him.

Years later, I wrote them anew.

I'm so happy you've made such progress, Herbert!

You're already taking charge of the church in Arizona.

It is all thanks to Master.

Herbert!

When you speak to the congregation in Phoenix

never feel that you are speaking.

Always remember that it is God who is speaking through you.

Thank you, sir.

You have a great work to do.

It is you I'm talking to, Walter.

WALTERS: From then on, Master often said those same words to me.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Master wants you to give the service tomorrow in San Diego.

Tomorrow?

(STAMMERS) But I've sent an announcement to the papers

saying that Master himself, after an absence of two months,

will be appearing there!

Well, he seems to have changed his mind

or something important has come up.

In any case, he wants you to speak in his stead.

But I'm only 22!

I've never spoken in public before!

He also wants you to give a Kriya initiation afterwards.

What?

(STUTTERS)

I've only attended one Kriya initiation so far, I mean...

My own?

Here's some money. Take the next bus.

Bernard?

Uh, Bernard?

From reports I have received,

everyone was especially pleased with your humility.

(STUTTERS)

Under the circumstances, Master,

it was difficult to express anything else.

Master has put me in charge of you all.

I just want you to know

that I will do anything any of you ask

as long as it doesn't go against our way of life,

and my own conscience.

Why should we follow you, Don? Who are you, anyway?

I'm sorry, Jerry. I'm no one.

I'm only obeying Master's instructions.

For instance,

he wants us to keep silent at the dining table.

From now on, I'm going to have to ask you

to obey his rule in the matter, not mine.

I...

I don't know why I hate you, Don.

I just... I just hate you.

I'm sorry, Jerry. I don't hate you.

I don't even understand what hatred is.

To me, you're my friend.

Walter...

You've been living too much in your mind.

You must learn to live more in your heart.

Get devotion.

Devotion is the most important thing on the path to God.

Thank you, Master.

I know what you've said is right.

I'll do my best.

Is the plaster ready?

I'm having the hardest time with it.

It must be old.

(SIGHS)

I have to keep adding water to it, it keeps setting.

YOGANANDA: Boys!

Come here! Come here!

(YOGANANDA LAUGHS)

I can see you are both enjoying yourselves, huh?

You are both looking like handsome karmajogis.

Come, let us go.

Bye-bye.

I think Master must have kept us here a good half hour.

I know.

I'll gonna have to take a sledgehammer to that plaster

to get it off the board. Yeah.

(PANTS)

WALTERS: Oh, my...

Norman.

It's soft.

(LAUGHS IN ASTONISHMENT)

What?

It's a miracle!

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Oh, my God. What?

It's a miracle!

You all must come again.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Guruji.

Sit down, Walter.

WALTERS: He's teaching me something, I know.

But I got it in.

Once I begin something, I should never quit until it's finished.

Now then, I have something to say to you, Walter.

When you are with materialistic people,

please do not talk about miracles.

You knew?

Yes.

I know every thought you think.

For example,

what did you say last week to that parishioner, Joe Bentley?

Hmm?

Well, I said I'd be speaking in church the next evening.

He said he'd be sure to be there.

I didn't like his insincerity. He'd have come, anyway.

Yes, but you told him to check people's pockets

for garbage as they come in.

Do not speak like that. It is not dignified!

I'm so sorry, sir. It won't happen again.

But, Master,

I am so grateful you keep such a close check on me.

Please, correct me anytime you find me wrong.

WALTERS: And that's how Master was.

I once heard of Master visiting a thrift store.

Stop the car.

(DOORBELL CHIMES)

(DOOR CLOSES)

(BLOWS WHISTLE)

(SOBBING)

Oh, sir!

I so badly needed just this sum of money today.

I was beginning to despair that it was near closing time.

This surely must be the grace of God.

Thank you.

WALTERS: Master's presence there at that moment

was surely the grace of God.

(CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)

(MEN GROAN) Oh.

Be careful how you move that tree!

Can't you feel it? It is alive!

I'm always amazed at Master's compassion

for every living thing.

God is in everything.

We should try to feel His presence

everywhere...

Not only in other people and animals,

but even in plants.

I guess that means we shouldn't kill anything.

But, Master, is it all right to kill harmful creatures,

such as rattlesnakes and black widow spiders?

In such cases it is right,

not for killing's sake,

but because human life is precious.

We should protect it from harmful creatures

who are lower in the evolutionary scale.

What about harmless insects, like flies?

They aren't a threat to human life, just a nuisance.

Nevertheless, in countries where they are allowed to proliferate,

they spread diseases.

Their presence should therefore be kept under control.

Harmlessness is an important principle,

but in the realm of relativity

no principle can be applied absolutely.

I...

I once asked Mahatma Gandhi

what he would do if a madman were to come to his village

and start shooting everyone in sight.

He replied,

"I would let him shoot me first."

I did not want to argue,

so I refrained from asking him the obvious next question.

"What if he killed you,

"then went on to kill everyone else?"

Obviously, it would be better to restrain

and, if necessary, kill one man

than to let hundreds be killed.

We have to be realistic.

That means we should also be practical in our idealism.

In this world, principles must be kept

within the bounds of common sense.

Was Gandhi a saint, Master?

He was very saintly.

Dorothy!

Please bring me that package of things I bought today.

Walter...

Thank you.

(TOY PISTOL FIRES)

(LAUGHS)

(CHUCKLES)

(GASPS)

(TOY PISTOL FIRES)

(LAUGHS)

How do you like that, Walter, huh?

It's fine, sir.

Oh, Walter, you are too serious.

"Suffer little children to come unto me,

"for of such is the kingdom of God."

Jesus Christ said that, yes.

You want to become more childish, Walter.

Not so serious, more childish, mmm?

Hey, Joe, be careful with that ladder.

Oh, I'll be fine.

Master! I'm ashamed for you to see our dining room in such a mess.

Oh, well, things might be worse!

(LAUGHS)

(SIGHS)

The most important thing for the disciple

is attunement with the guru's consciousness.

(CHUCKLES)

(SIGHS)

Walter...

As it says in the Bible,

"As many as received him,

"to them gave he power to become the sons of God."

The guru's role is,

through the disciples' attunement with him,

to bring them to God.

Some of you will fall.

Master!

Oh!

But it needn't be...

It needn't be, if you stay in tune.

But, Master,

isn't it important also for us to develop our own free will?

But your will is not free

so long as you follow what your ego tells you.

But it saddens me to see how little you have understood...

How little you have understood of the need for attunement.

It isn't... It isn't personal.

I am not the guru, God is your guru.

And there is so much, so much you all could...

You all could do, not only for yourselves and for God,

but for others.

Walter, why don't you grow a beard?

Do you think so, Master?

None of the other monks have beards.

(CHUCKLES)

Try it. It will give you character.

It will, uh, also make me a character!

Try it.

I'm glad you played the part of Jesus in the tableau.

(CHUCKLES)

You know, people wrote to me to tell me

how much you looked like him.

Master, I'd rather be like him

than look like him.

That will come.

YOGANANDA: Walter...

What keeps the Earth from shooting off into space?

It's the gravitational pull of the sun, sir.

Then what keeps it from being drawn into the sun?

That's the centrifugal force

which makes it

try to keep moving ever farther away.

WALTERS: I thought Master wanted a lesson in elementary astronomy.

Months later, I realized that he'd been speaking to me,

allegorically, of the soul's relationship to God,

the Bhagavad Gita is a short excerpt

from the Mahabharata,

one of the two great epics

written in ancient India.

The Mahabharata,

and therefore also the Bhagavad Gita,

were written by

Vedavyasa.

The Mahabharata is not a straight history.

It is a deep allegory

based on actual persons

and real events.

The battle of Kurukshetra actually took place.

The Pandava brothers,

and much of what happens in the story

took place also.

But Byasa fictionalized...

Fictionalized them to give the story

a much more deep and spiritual meaning.

The story concerns a war between the good,

upward-moving tendencies in every human being,

and the bad, downward-moving tendencies also.

That was Byasa's quality.

The names of most of the warriors in the story

are derived from Sanskrit words

that mean pride, jealousy, and other negative qualities.

And also kindness, generosity,

and other very positive qualities.

Yes, that was Byasa's genius.

(SIGHS)

Well, Walter, now I want you to stay at the monks' retreat

and simply edit.

Yes, Master.

I have three main books I want you to work on, the Bhagavad Gita,

which you will do later as it is not yet ready for editing.

My commentaries on the Gospels

and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,

a great Sufi poem which was deliberately disguised as a love poem

to protect it from the hands of religious fanatics,

but which God... God himself revealed to me

as a deeply spiritual work...

Yes, start with The Rubaiyat.

Thank you, Master.

Oh, my!

What depth!

But it puzzles me why Master says, of this stanza,

that it means such and so,

and in the very next paragraph he say sit also means so and such.

Can't he make up his mind?

WALTERS: This became the supreme test of my life.

I began to doubt my own guru's wisdom.

I knew he was my guru, I knew he was great,

but I reached the point where if he'd said "It's sunny in San Diego,"

an insidious voice within my head would have replied

"I'll bet it's raining."

Satan was testing me.

Sometimes I'd simply collapse on my bed in despair.

I had no desire to return to the world,

but this nagging demon of doubt caused me unceasing agony.

For four entire months I suffered intensely from doubt.

Still, I worked, and I think I did good work.

(SIGHS)

Work like lightning, there is not a moment to lose.

But do not change a word.

How is it possible to edit and not change a word?

It just can't be done!

WALTERS: All I felt I could do legitimately

was change unnecessarily capitalized words

in the old magazine to lower case,

and to erase a lot of unnecessary commas.

Other monks got to come out,

and to go over to Master's retreat.

But I was left alone.

It's so wonderful to see Master writing.

I've always liked his sense of humor.

Today he said to us, smiling

"Your teeth are like stars, they come out at night!"

(BOTH LAUGH)

What misery.

Donald...

Master has finished with his dictation.

He wants you to come over tomorrow

and help him with his commentaries.

I, uh...

A new scripture has been born.

I did not write this work.

I asked Vedavyasa to write it through me.

Millions... Millions will find God through this book.

Take it home, Walter.

Go through it.

Then we will discuss it

and you can give me any ideas you have.

Oh, Master,

this is the most wonderful thing I've ever read my life.

Now,

let's get to work.

WALTERS: But I was still not his main editor,

that person's name was Laurie Pratt.

She lived separately.

One day while I was there she came over to Master's.

My, that certainly was a lot of work

you did on The Rubaiyat!

Not that it did any good.

She shouldn't have said that.

And you did such good work!

All those capitals,

they would have made us a laughingstock.

But she was right, Master.

You are defending her?

Never mind.

We will do good work now.

I understand, sir, what you meant by "don't change a word".

You meant, "don't change a thought."

Very good, Walter!

Too many of my editors in the past have changed

my thoughts to their own idea

of what I ought to have written.

One editor, every time I complained at a change she'd made,

waited a few days, then sent me pages, single spaced,

explaining how wrong I was,

and what a wrong position I had taken.

Virginia claims credit for putting the lessons together,

but it was really she.

She did all the work.

And she has such deep devotion!

Sometimes she sends letters to the editor of the Los Angeles Times.

And when they pay her $15 or whatever small amount,

she always gives the money to me.

She is a wonderful soul.

She will get there in this life.

Your work in this life Walter, will be editing, lecturing, and writing.

Writing...

But, Master, haven't you already said

everything in your own writings

that could possibly be said?

Don't say that! Much more is needed!

Apart from my foremost disciple, Saint Lynn,

every man has disappointed me.

And, Walter, you must not disappoint me!

There have been good men,

but they have all sought their own enlightenment.

There is very much more that God wants me

to bring to the world...

You must understand that, Walter, please...

You have done good work, Walter.

It is enough, Master, just to be with you.

Just a bulge of the ocean!

I killed Yogananda many lifetimes ago.

No one dwells in this temple now

but God.

A life of renunciation is not for everybody.

It needs a lot of

sincere dedication, meditation.

Sir, my parents are coming for a visit next week.

They've been living in Egypt. My father...

You have no father!

I'm sorry. I meant my earthly father.

He has been very worried about the path I've chosen.

I don't think this will be an easy meeting.

(CHUCKLES)

One thing I know that he won't like is this beard!

Over the past months, it has become very shaggy.

Now it is quite a bush. (CHUCKLES)

Louise?

Louise, bring me a scissor and comb.

(LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

There.

That is how you should keep it.

If I were to get opinions

from a few doctors about these teachings

about the energizing the body by willpower,

would you accept their verdict?

Dad...

Doctors aren't omniscient.

We are just pray you'll find what you're looking for.

I have.

(LAUGHS)

Now, I would like to ask my special guest to speak a few words to you.

As you all know, this event

is to benefit his work in America.

Great Master, Paramhansa Yogananda,

would you please address a few words to our guests?

(ALL APPLAUDING)

This day marks the birth of a new era.

My spoken words are registered in the ether,

in the Spirit of God.

And they shall move the West!

Self-realization has come to unite all religions.

We must go on, not only those who are here,

but thousands of youths

must go north, south, east and west

demonstrating that simplicity of living

plus high thinking

lead to the greatest happiness.

World brotherhood colonies...

WALTERS: What marvelous inspiration!

I vow this day

that I will do everything in my power

to bring his dream to outward manifestation.

Remember this, Walter.

Living for God is martyrdom.

Everyone who ever finds Him

must go through many, many tests.

The metal of his very being must be purged of every impurity.

God...

God also tests through the guru.

You know, Walter, only one person in my life

has passed all my tests.

Saint Lynn.

Sister Gyanamata is very close.

I have, many times, searched her life

and found therein not a single sin, not even...

Not even of thought.

My most advanced disciples are, in order,

Saint Lynn,

Mr. Black, of Detroit,

and Sister Gyanamata.

But I'm worried most about Mr. Black of Detroit.

You know, I asked both him and Saint Lynn

to come here as often as possible.

Saint Lynn comes, comes regularly,

but Mr. Black...

He almost never comes.

Mr. Black thinks that he can get there on his own.

But he is slowly finding out

he is bogging down just a little.

I am... I'm trying to help him.

I visited Master in Encinitas last year.

It was raining cats and dogs.

A monk came to my room

and told me Master wanted me to go out with him for a drive.

I looked out the window

and saw it was still raining as heavily as ever.

But then I thought, he knows what he's doing.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

I looked around me in amazement.

The sky was completely blue!

The ground was dry!

The driveway was dry, the car was dry.

Master just looked at me with a quiet smile and said...

For you, Oliver.

How he was able to change God's dream

so suddenly and completely just baffles me.

(LAUGHS)

Master...

As I have said many times,

I have searched her life

and found therein not a single sin.

Not even in thought.

For 20 years, she suffered in great pain.

I saw her yesterday.

She said to me

"Please, let me go."

And I said

"Yes... Yes."

And then she left her body

and cried out

"What joy! Too much joy!

"Oh, too much joy!"

I saw her merge back into that watchful state

of Infinite Spirit.

Her soul is completely free now.

In God.

I feel that Master too is about to leave us soon.

Hot!

Walter, give me your arm.

I find it difficult to walk steadily.

I am in all bodies

but, still, I must remember

to keep this one body moving.

Master, who was that saint you saw in Encinitas?

Which saint?

It was on the bluff, overlooking the ocean.

But how can I know to which saint you refer?

So many have come to me.

Really?

Why be surprised, Walter?

Where God is, there His saints come.

My work is nearly finished.

My life is nearing its end.

Master...

Will you be as close to us after you've gone as you are now?

To those who think me near, I will be near.

You have pleased me very much, Walter.

I want you to know that.

What a relief it is to hear you say that, sir.

I'm so sorry for having doubted, sometimes.

(SIGHS)

It is your karmic burden, Walter.

In past lives, you were eaten up with doubts.

But you have always...

You have always had my love.

Always, Walter.

(EXHALES)

Rogers, you have clear sailing.

What about me?

What about me?

And you will all have clear sailing

if you stay in tune.

How people will change this work after I am gone?

I just wonder,

were I to return after 100 years,

whether I would even recognize the organization

I had established...

Well, at least the message will be there.

¶ Door of my heart

¶ Open wide I keep for Thee

¶ Door of my heart

¶ Open wide I keep for Thee

¶ Wilt Thou come wilt Thou come?

¶ Just for once come to me

¶ Wilt Thou come wilt Thou come?

¶ Just for once come to me

¶ Will my days fly away

¶ Without seeing Thee, my Lord?

¶ Will my days fly away

¶ Without seeing Thee, my Lord

¶ Night and day, night and day

¶ I look for Thee night and day

¶ Night and day, night and day

¶ I look for Thee night and day

¶ Door of my heart

¶ Open wide I keep for Thee

¶ Door of my heart

¶ Open wide I keep for Thee

¶ Wilt Thou come wilt Thou come?

¶ Just for once come to me

¶ Wilt Thou come wilt Thou come?

¶ Just for once come to me

¶ Will my days fly away

¶ Without seeing Thee, my Lord?

¶ Will my days fly away

¶ Without seeing Thee, my Lord?

¶ Night and day, night and day

¶ I look for Thee night and day

¶ Night and day, night and day

¶ I look for Thee night and day ¶

WALTERS: I dedicate my entire life to serving you, beloved Guru.

And to doing everything I can to bring your mission to mankind.

Who knows how many days of Brahma

we have wandered in delusion.

But the end, the only reality,

and we'll have to find it,

because there's no other reality...

We have to find God, because we have come from God.

¶ My Lord I will be Thine always

¶ My Lord I will be Thine always ¶

(INAUDIBLE)