Thought on the Right and Left Hand Paths

Thoughts on the left and right paths

I just finished reading Paramahansa Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi”, and was struck by the great difference between the philosophy and feeling of his thoughts and religion as compared to Carlos Castaneda’s books about Don Juan and the Warrior way of knowledge. I haven’t read any of Carlos’ books for a couple of years, but I retain enough info to make these comparisons.
When I was doing my Master’s thesis on the visual Arts and Healing, I was struck by something said about light. I also was struck by what a Rabbi guest speaker at our church had said about light, spirituality and knowledge. Paramahans’a whole book was about the idea of light – as substance, as idea, as transportation, etc. his gurus were literally made out of light, and could assemble anything from light energy, including a golden palace.
Paramahansa’s book is all about sacrifice, giving of yourself to humanity to raise humanity to a higher level, etc. Some saints (bodhisattvas in Buddhism) come back to Earth to minister to its peoples, despite the fact they didn’t have to come back- they had completed their round of earthly reincarnations. This was their supreme gift to humanity.
With the exception of some herbal healers (which were obviously rather low on the Castenada totem pole), most sorcerors were out for themselves, and not for humanity. Indeed, they held contempt for those who didn’t follow the warrior’s path. Their paths were difficult and dangerous, yes, but they stemmed from a fear of death, rather than an embracing of life, like the yogi. Don Juan and his band of sorcerers did everything within their power to escape this reality and enter a new one, which existed under a massive dome in some dimension, by avoiding the Eagle, due to the many acts they did to basically erase their humanity, so the Eagle wouldn’t devour their essence at the moment of death. In contrast, the yogis predicted their deaths, met it calmly, and upon their resurrection, calmly explained to Paramahansa how there was nothing to fear and everything to gain by leaving the mortal by.
Don Juan and other sorcerers used and manipulated others, utilized fear as a learning tactic, and labored mightily to gain strange, extraordinary powers to aid them towards their ultimate goal of avoiding death. The yogis concentrated on meditation and Kriya Yoga only, gaining extraordinary powers merely as an after effect of their meditation. They utilized only love, and never used others.
Don Juan used dangerous entheogens to force Carlos’ perception of other realities and possibilities, the yogis only counciled meditation and time. The sorcerers modified their bodies through witchcraft and sorcery, the yogis like Babaji were granted youthful bodies and extreme long life through the dispensation of the Heavenly Father.
Don Juan dealt with dangerous and scary entities – the nonorganic beings, or allies, which acted as kind of familiars to bring forth certain sorceries to fruition. Some were fickle or unreliable, all were dangerous. Angels and angelic yogis were all Paramahansa dealt with.
The overall tone of Carlos’ work, despite his brilliant and entrancing writing, is one of fear, danger and darkness, lack of concern for anyone other than those in the “coven”, and contempt for humanity. The overall tone of Paramahansa’s work is of light, love, transformation and salvation.
I’ve always loved Casteneda’s work, because his writing really is exceptional, and there’s such a strange, almost sci-fi ambience about it. Once upon a time, I was naïve enough to think that what he was writing about was true. I no longer think that. But I probably will reread his stuff someday.
Carlos’ ending was rather sad and un-warrior-like. He died of liver cancer, instead of leaving like Don Juan supposedly did, in full consciousness and of his own will (despite what his followers said.) His adopted daughter, Patricia? I think, (whom he had an affair with) was found as a skeleton in an abandoned car out in the Nevada desert. He was a bigamist, married to two of his “witches” at the same time, according to trashed marriage certificates found in his garbage. No one ever heard from or saw his “witches” after his death – the general concensus is they committed mass suicide together.
Contrast this with Paramahansa. He said his time on earth was up. At a meeting he said the way to go, the easiest way to die, was from a heart attack. He read a poetic passage, and at the end, he slumped to the floor, dead of a heart attack. The Los Angeles coroner said his body lay in state 22 days with no corruption, no odor, the skin still soft and supple, no drying or mummification – a true miracle.
If you want enlightenment – read “Autobiography of a Yogi”. If you want a dark twisting path in the Left Hand work, full of lies and madness and death – read Castaneda.