Laurie Virginia Pratt was born on August 16, 1900 in San Francisco. Her life story is intertwined with that of the Indian yogi Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi”. In 1924, when she first met Yogananda, his welcoming words were “You have come”. She joined his organization, SRF, taking the monastic title of Tara Mata.
Tara came from a prominent intellectual family related to Orson Pratt, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Mitt Romney, all of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons) . Tara’s father was himself a Berkeley Professor. She too was educated there. Tara was a great astrologer following in Sri Yukteswar's footsteps, despite Yogananda's disapproval.
In Tara, Yogananda found a disciple who was both in tune with him and also a strong editor. She notably edited his Autobiography and Sri Yukteswar’s “The Holy Science”, much as her grandfather had edited for Joseph Smith Jr. In her own right, she wrote “Astrological World Cycles” and “A Forerunner of a New Race”, the latter recounting her own spiritual experiences.
In 1929, while handling SRF's New York operations, she became pregnant and had a daughter, Mona Pratt, who lived for many years near Mount Washington (she is also since deceased). Following the passing of Yogananda and his appointed successor, Saint Lynn, Tara, along with a coterie of LDS converts, including Daya Mata, Ananda Mata and Mrinalini Mata, ran SRF.
She was also close to the psychic Edgar Cayce, almost joining his ARE organization while Yogananda was in India in 1935. Under her married name of Carmody, Tara figures in Cayce's published correspondence and her “life readings” are still on file.
In 1962, Tara was instrumental in having Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters), then Vice President of SRF, head of the monastics and the sole male board member, expelled. Kriyananda remembers her as eccentric and opinionated but nevertheless a great devotee. She died in Los Angeles, January 18, 1971, two years after a massive stroke. Yogananda said of her:
"It is not necessary for her to meditate in this life. By editing my writings, and because she came here a highly realized soul, she does not require this. I have already set her place for her in heaven."
Today, SRF and Ananda are the most well known North American Organizations disseminating the teachings of Yogananda and his Kriya Yoga technique . Tara directly helped in the formation of the first and indirectly inspired the creation of the second. The conflict between the two lead to much of Yogananda’s work being in the public domain, beyond the reach of any one organization.
A list of more Kriya Yoga organizations around the world can be found here.
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