Yogananda's Past Life

Paramhansa Yogananda was a great master of yoga. He wrote

the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi.

Yogananda was a man of great spiritual power. Through his

talks and writings, he changed (and continues to change) many

thousands of lives. He showed all the signs of enlightenment--

of having achieved the highest state of Self-realization.

Many people familiar with Yogananda are unaware that he often

spoke of a past life of his, a famous past life. He said that in the

11th century he had been William the Conqueror--the great

Norman Duke and British King.

My wife and I traveled twice to Normandy to visit historic sites

related to William's life, and felt while meditating there, Yogananda's

transforming spiritual blessings.

This month I am e-publishing a book that will help others to

experience those same blessings.

It is titled: Walking with William of Normandy: A Paramhansa

Yogananda Pilgrimage Guide.

Walking with William contains many photos and maps, details of

where to go and what to see, and excerpts from my travel diary

written during my first trip to Normandy.

To celebrate this publishing event, I am sharing one of the experiences

I had in Normandy related to Yogananda's past life as The Conqueror.

The experience took place on a nondescript pathway along the River Dives,

in the seaside town of Dives-sur-Mer, near where William gathered his forces

just before his invasion of England.

I hope you will enjoy this story, and that it may inspire you, if you

find yourself in Paris, to make the two-hour train ride to Caen (and

beyond), and visit some of the sites sacred to the Conqueror.

As we walked along the Dives River, it wasn't long before that

same feeling we had sensed in Caen descended on us. Yogananda

was near.

Laura and I agreed to experience this site in silence and to

share our impressions later. It was curious because, even

though we were generally in the right area, neither of us knew

exactly where the ancient encampment was. Yet the feeling of

divine energy grew incredibly strong at one section of the

embankment right by the river: as if we were passing through an

invisible vibrational wall. The feeling sustained for a while, then

grew more faint the farther we walked. When in the midst of it, I

was sure I was standing on the same ground William's soldiers

had inhabited--where they had loaded up the ships for their

journey to England--the image depicted on the Bayeaux Tapestry.

It seemed odd because, even though this was basically

just an old military site, I felt as if I were standing in Jerusalem

or Benares. The inspiration was that strong.

We sat by the river to meditate.

Laura put her experience into words, "I felt joy and peace, and a

strong sense of divine reassurance."

It puzzled me why this ground should hold such a powerful divine

energy, and I tried to think it through, to reconstruct what

had happened.

Back in 1066, William called his military leaders and their

knights to sail their newly built ships to this spot, along with

anyone else he could induce to come: Flemish and French soldiers,

and mercenaries. According to the records, at one point William

had all the men, ships, horses, supplies, and portable castle

walls in place, but then the weather refused to cooperate. The

wind was blowing in the wrong direction, and it continued that

way for quite some time. Meanwhile the men sat here waiting.

Days and weeks passed by while they waited.

In the end, they remained in Dives for a month and a half.

William visited this site often during that period, but stayed

mostly at a castle in Bonneville, about ten miles east as the

seagulls fly. There, along with his barons, he fine-tuned his

invasion plans. But he must have been keenly aware of the

situation in the encampment.

Many of the Norman soldiers would have had mixed feelings.

This was a dangerous expedition, a great risk. They might all

drown in the channel, be killed in a foreign land, or come back

with nothing. Many of them had homes nearby that beckoned

them. Dives is located in the very heart of Normandy. While they

waited here, it would have been easy to brood on the foolhardyness

of the venture, and the wisdom, the common sense, even,

of returning to their wives and children, their hearths and homes.

And then there were the foreigners and mercenaries. Those

men were held by even feebler ties. It would have been difficult

to keep such a loose confederation focused on the goal. With

the lack of activity, it would have been natural for the men to

grumble and complain--and leave.

This long delay was one of the most delicate moments in the

history of the Norman invasion of England. The whole venture

hung by a thread. Over those weeks, William's army could

easily have dispersed by ones, twos, and small groups. In the

end, he might have been left with only a token force.

But William was more than just a great leader. He was a spiritual

master. He was Yogananda in a past life, and he knew what

to do.

William sent a powerful thought-form to Dives. To ensure that

everyone stayed put and remained in tune, and that the invasion

would go forth as planned, he cast his brilliant aura over the

encampment. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week,

he projected his energy, consciousness, purpose, and will to

that spot. And some nine hundred and thirty-five years later,

Laura and I felt that energy in Dives. William's spiritual power

had sustained through the centuries. It was more than tangible;

it was overwhelming.

Richard Salva is a minister, a 30-year past life expert, and author of the critically acclaimed Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh. For more information about Walking with William of Normandy, including how to order, go to CrystarPress.com/William.html CrystarPress.com/William.html