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Date Posted: 06:59:33 05/05/03 Mon
Author: ketch - 12 Mar 2003
Subject: Leonard Angel’s investigation into the incorruptibility of Paramahansa Yogananda’s body.

Leonard Angel, now a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia first came across “Autobiography of a Yogi” as a young man of twenty. His reaction to it was probably a fairly common one.

“What to make of it? My twenty year old mind was boggled! At times I would conclude that it was all some kind of scam. But then I would read a poem written by Yogananda which breathed the air of purity, of light, had a quality of simplicity and inspiration, and it seemed utterly impossible that he would be a hypocrite, telling false tales of what he himself had seen and done and experienced. At other times I would dismiss the reports thinking that he had decided to sell his autobiography and his yoga system, he decided to spice it up with fabulous but not strictly true stories.”

Angel did not follow up his interest in yoga at this time, but turned instead to Zen Buddhism. After about twenty years however he decided to try to check on some of the miracles reported in “Autobiography of a Yogi.” Angel concluded that the only miraculous occurrence which would lend itself to investigation was the claimed immutability of P. Yogananda’s body after death.

Angel started by writing to the Los Angeles department of Vital Statistics to see if he could obtain a copy of Yogananda’s death certificate. The certificate was easy to obtain, and confirmed the details of P. Yogananda’s death as reported. However Angel also noticed something else:

”However, upon reviewing the death certificate more closely, I noticed an odd notation. Box #21 of the certificate contains the signature ‘Kennith I Johnson’, and the number 2641. Above it are the words ‘Signature of embalmer’. Signature of embalmer? Does this mean that the body was embalmed? And box #23 indicates that this certificate of death was received by the registrar by March 11 1952.”

Angel went on to obtain some more information, and a full copy of the letter written by Mr Harry T Rowe (which is in the booklet “Paramahansa Yogananda, In Memoriam”). He came to the conclusion that the only miracle being claimed was that the skin was preserved without the use of creams. To find out if embalming fluid alone could account for the preservation of the body Angel then contacted two funeral homes selected at random from the Yellow Pages, asking for their comments.

The first was Kearney Funeral Homes where he spoke with Ellen Kearney Crean.

”I told Ms Crean that I was researching the miracle claim associated with the death of Yogananda, read out the quoted claims, informed her that the body had been embalmed the day after Yogananda’s death, and asked her if the claims might be accounted for in the normal ways through the embalming procedure. Her response was immediate and unambiguous:’ I’m sure we’ve had bodies for two or three months with good preservation. This is not unusual. Creams are not necessary. The preservation of the body without cream all depends on the skill of the embalmer, the formula of the embalming fluid, the temperature at which the body is kept, and the medications given the person prior to death’. I asked Ms Crean concerning her credentials and experience. She was licenced through the Washington State Embalmer’s Licence, and is also a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner, and assured me that she had many years experience as an embalmer.

The second was Hamilton Mortuary Ltd, where Angel spoke with Ian Elliot, a qualified embalmer through the Saskatchewan Funeral Services Association, along with several other qualifications. His reply is below:

”Preservation for 20 days through embalming is not unusual. We can keep a body a month or a month and a half without interral. We use an embalming fluid with lanolin base which will have humectant which prevents dehydration, which is the major concern. Also a heavy glass lid as described by Mr Rowe as being present on the casket, would prevent a great amount of air circulation, and that in itself would prevent most desiccation, so that would account for it. In California at that time they would have had refrigeration units, I would expect, and the body could have been kept cold during the night at least. The letter of Mr Rowe is certainly misleading because of its failure to discuss the effects of the glass lid and makes no mention of the temperatures at which the body was being kept and so on. Also if the person had been using creams on his skin prior to his death, this might have helped. There is nothing unusual about a body being embalmed with fluids in use in 1952 without creams and being preserved for 20 days in good condition.”


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