In the fall of 1967 I received my first meditation training from the Detroit industrialist and well- known yoga instructor J. Oliver Black. I was 18 years old at the time and had just finished high school, and Mr. Black was 74. For the next two years I received extensive training from him. In June of 1969 my meditation training was exchanged for a different sort of discipline: I was drafted into the United States Marine Corps. However, that's another story. What follows now is a very brief description of this truly great man, a man who made a major contribution to the shape and direction of my life, and to the lives of countless others as well. Part One During his last years he maintained his mind/body disciplines and was in full charge of all his faculties. He never suffered from any debilitating illnesses; in fact, he was healthy and active until just a very few days before his passing. I was visiting Michigan on the occasion of his 96th birthday and was able to attend a party held by his students and friends. That birthday party held special significance, for he was to leave this world exactly one week later. Mr. Black made a rousing speech that day, and afterwards chatted informally with his many friends. I had a chance to have a private discussion with him at that time, so I have personal experience of his exceptional mental and physical health only days before the end. That end came on Saturday, September 16, just before midnight, while he was sitting up meditating. One of his close friends who was present was able to give me a detailed account of his final days and minutes. She explained that he was quite lucid and cheerful up until the end, and all through the last day he would periodically sit up on his bed to meditate. The last time he did so, after a few moments in the lotus posture, his body gently fell backward with eyes upturned and locked at the point between the eyebrows, legs still folded for meditation. His spirit was no longer there to keep the body upright. Sometime later a doctor pronounced him dead of heart failure. Not a bad way to close such a successful life, successful both in the spiritual as well as the earthly arena.
"J. Oliver Black was making a fortune as an automobile parts industrialist when he decided to give up financial power to search for personal strength. It happened after he met Indian yogi Paramhansa Yogananda, who is credited with bringing yoga to the Western world." The story in the News by staff writer Doug Bradford, which was published a day earlier, begins like this: "J. Oliver Black was a self-made man, a millionaire industrialist. Then, one day in the 1920s, he became Yogacharya Oliver, destined to found a retreat center for yoga practitioners in northern Michigan." Both of the articles are interesting in themselves and I would print them verbatim. However, they both contain several inaccuracies. The most glaring being that he did not receive the title “Yogacharya” in the1920s, but in August of 1951. Sri Yogananda gave it to him in a special ceremony of initiation. Yogacharya is an ancient spiritual title in the Indian sacred language Sanskrit. It can simply be translated as “yoga teacher,” but it actually carries much more significance and authority. It wasn't until near the end of Mr. Black's life that he began to encourage his students to refer to him by this title, although some of those who were near him at that time would affectionately call him simply 'Yogi.' Some years earlier, when I had the most direct contact with him, everyone referred to him as Mr. Black. Therefore I will continue to do so throughout this brief account. Even this short a time after Mr. Black's passing, much of the information of his early years is more a matter of stories and hearsay – one might even say legend – than accurate truth. During one of my final conversations with him, I asked him if he could give me a little clarity on some of these facts, so interesting to biographers; however, he had no particular interest in spending his time re-examining events that had happened so far in the past. Even the date of his first meeting with Yogananda is not certain; my best guess is it was around 1932. (Watch video of Mr. Black telling of that meeting.) To fully understand Mr. Black, a little background information on Paramhansa Yogananda himself would be useful. While Yogananda certainly wasn't the only person to bring yoga to America, he did make the largest contribution to that effort of any other person of his generation. A master of the yoga science from India who lived in the United States from 1920 until his passing in 1952, he is best known as the author of the perennial best-selling book Autobiography of a Yogi. Since the book's publication in 1946 it has never gone out of print, and it is currently available in a dozen different English-language formats as well as countless foreign editions. The Autobiography is considered a spiritual classic and is beloved by truth-seekers the world over. Much of Mr. Black's fame in yoga circles came because he was considered to be one of the most advanced of Yogananda's direct disciples and a powerful living link to that great master's teachings. In schools of yoga science much attention is given to the teachers one learns from. Of course, this is not only true in yoga, but in many other fields as well. I once conducted a radio interview with a young symphony conductor who had been a close student of the American maestro Leonard Bernstein. Even though this young man was clearly quite brilliant himself in the field of music, much of the interview was spent talking about his world-renowned mentor. Music and spirituality have much in common in that their highest and most sophisticated aspects can generally be best transmitted by gifted teachers to their most receptive and talented students. In yoga this intimate teacher/student exchange is referred to as the guru-disciple relationship. Yogananda is internationally accepted as one of the greatest exponents of yoga in the twentieth century, and Mr. Black was one of his most gifted students. There are some facts about Mr. Black's life that are more generally agreed upon. In 1917 he was 24 and working at a carriage works in Rockford, Illinois. At that time the enterprising young man decided to explore broader horizons. It was in those early years of the last century that the auto industry in Michigan was beginning to coalesce and take on the form that we know today. Mechanically minded folk from all over the nation were being drawn into this booming new industry. One could go so far as to say that what Florence, Italy was to the development of the Italian renaissance, Detroit was to the development of the culture of the automobile; and just as the cultural renaissance of Italy has had, and continues to have, enormous impact on the world at large, so too the culture of the automobile continues to have repercussions all over the world. The energetic and highly talented young Oliver Black felt irresistibly drawn into that world. He began his career by doing bits and pieces of work in early auto plants like Maxwell-Chalmers, Saxon, Studebaker, and Hupmobile. By 1920 he and his new wife Ethel were firmly established in Detroit. And they weren't the only ones; this was the era of Henry Ford's famous five-dollar day, and there were literally thousands and thousands of others being drawn into this growing city. Detroit was, and still is, something of a mecca for the innumerable small shops that manufacture parts for the auto industry. Like many of these small manufacturing plants that have come and gone over the years, the business that was to build Oliver Black's fortune and establish his reputation as a key player in the economic life of the Motor City was started on a very small scale: it began in his garage. The company was named Peninsular Metal Products and was started with an investment of $500. By the time Mr. Black retired from the business in 1952, it was a publicly traded concern valued at $35 million dollars a year. Even after retirement Mr. Black stayed on with the company on the board of directors. Eventually, however, he left that world that he knew and loved so well, and which he helped to build, to follow a higher calling. Most of his Detroit years were spent living with his family in a comfortable home at 18094 Parkside on Detroit's near-northwest side. He and Ethel had two children – a son Robert who was killed while a pilot in WW II, and a daughter Phyllis who Mr. Black also outlived. His wife Ethel died in 1970, and the last years of his life were spent at his retreat home “up north” near Gaylord, Michigan. Over the years Mr. Black was involved in various pursuits. Along with being one of the stalwarts of the prestigious Detroit Athletic Club, he operated a working farm, bred show dogs and horses, and at one time was the largest individual landowner in the state. He was an avid inventor and held patents on several items (among them a three-dimensional camera and a design for a vertical takeoff/landing airplane). He was greatly influenced by his friend Frank Lloyd Wright and designed several unique buildings, which were built on his properties. He also studied painting and drawing and created many innovations in furniture design, one of which resulted in a company manufacturing a unique design of his called the Clusterbed. This company went into business during the years of his so-called retirement. Throughout the years he also drilled for gas and oil on his various lands; in fact, on the occasion of his final birthday at 96 he was still seeking investors for further planned drilling. By 1971, however, he had sold off all of his other properties except for a beautiful, forested 800-acre parcel located near Gaylord, Michigan along the Pigeon River. The property was founded as a hunting-and-fishing club in the early part of the century, but by the time I met him in 1967, he had built a lovely summer home on the river. For the months of July and August he would leave behind the heat and humidity of Detroit for his sequestered, albeit posh, forest retreat. Among his many yoga students it was made known that we were welcome to join him in this idyllic setting. I have many fond memories of summer days spent with him sitting by the Pigeon River. The river had been dammed up to create an incredibly beautiful and serene lake. While we sat enchanted by that tranquil view, our souls would drink in the wisdom of the ages being spoken by this very unique Detroiter. Small groups of friends would gather there to bathe in his wise discourse. Just as the lovely Pigeon flowed steadily by, so too Mr. Black would share a steady stream of insight on Eastern and Western thought, and especially on the ancient science of life known as yoga. It was an unforgettable and life-changing time for me. The Pigeon River property was eventually incorporated as a full-time yoga retreat called Song of the Morning Ranch. It still functions today.
PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA once confided to a friend that of all his many thousands of students and disciples around the world, he considered Oliver Black to be his second most advanced. To those familiar with the degree of Yogananda's mastery of the ancient and infinitely remarkable spiritual science of yoga, this was very high praise indeed. Mr. James J. Lynn of Kansas City, another business and family man and Yogananda's spiritual successor, was mentioned as first in spiritual advancement. For many years Yogananda had been quietly encouraging Mr. Black to withdraw from the active pursuit of business and take on full-time the work of teaching and training yoga students and truth-seekers. By 1951 Mr. Black had conquered the worlds that he had set forth to conquer when he had left Rockford Illinois 35 years earlier; his material wealth was firmly established, and now the work of helping to reveal the light of Spirit in truth-seeking souls could begin in earnest. Therefore on May 11, 1951 his guru wrote to him, saying: "With your organizational power you can do something much greater, much more lasting, much easier, and much more secure than present-day business organizations in which one works to pay taxes, ruining his health and happiness. Detroit, being in the center of the United States, has a great opportunity to draw true seekers, both from the East and West. I would like nothing better than for you to establish a sub-headquarters there . . . Please make ministers like yourself. They will come: and we will help build a new world, even though it’s growth may be slow." more of that letter . . .
In July, 1966, an article about Mr. Black written by Eileen Wood Jasnowski appeared in the Detroit Free Press Magazine. It was titled 'The Secrets of Yoga From Detroit's Mr. Black and India's Yogananda.' THERE IS A NEW KIND of man in the sphere of the snake charmers, the fakirs who walk over hot coals, and the mystics in loincloths. He is J. Oliver Black, the great American yogi. J. Oliver Black conducts Raja Yoga (meditation) services at the Detroit Institute of Arts every Sunday. The dapper Mr. Black seems as far removed from the sparsely clad Indian as can be imagined. He looks more like a prosperous midwestern executive, mainly because he is one. Black made his fortune in the automobile industry in the early '20s. The story as he tells it is vivid and vibrant, but one is inclined to disbelief. The star of such a drama would have to be in his mid-70s. "Of course," he admitted, "my wife and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last April and I've never felt better in my life. It was my guru Paramhansa Yogananda who helped me put it altogether; he set me straight. When I first met him 35 years ago I was afraid to get half a mile away from a drug store. I was a regular hypochondriac. Took pills for laxatives, aspirins for headaches, and probably would have taken tranquilizers if they'd had them. In those days the automobile business was a fast track, and without realizing it I was digging my own grave. Many of us hit paydirt, but they're all gone now, except for maybe two or three." J. Oliver Black looks like anything but 'the last leaf on the tree.' It is difficult to believe that this man of vitality is in his 70s. He looks, acts, stands, and walks like a man who has just celebrated his 50th birthday. "I was a victim of inner pressures too, like all of my colleagues. Besides running a successful company, I studied and taught a small philosophy class. We were trying to find an answer to man's existence. Everybody is, after his fashion. I was close to 40 when I met Yogananda at a private party. I instantly recognized him for the spiritual giant he was. Like many Americans I had been searching for the truth because I knew it was there. Yogananda taught where to find it. You might say he handed me a blueprint, and I've been following it ever since." What was so important about his meeting with Yogananda? "He changed the whole direction of my life. Haphazardly, I had studied the yoga exercises – hatha yoga – from Rishi Grehwhal in Santa Barbara, California. I had listened to all the wise men from the East who came through Detroit, for whenever they lectured I was in the audience. They said the same thing: 'Go within; learn to meditate.' But they never told me how. I'm an American and I was impatient for results. I wanted them right away. Yogananda taught me that important things aren't achieved overnight. His contribution to the West – Self-realization – means exactly what it says. Realize yourself. YOU HAVE TO DO the work: no preacher or priest or pundit can do it for you. Yogananda told me that you could try to describe sugar to a man, you could show him pictures of sugar, but he'd still never know what it was until he tasted it. It's the same with yoga. "A yogi wants everybody to take advantage of the same benefits he's had. Yoga isn't a religion, you know. It's a science, and this is the scientific age. The law of cause and effect applies here, just as clearly as when you mix yellow and blue, you'll get green. It's a fact. Now when you begin to stretch the nerve endings and your muscles, and you flex the spine, ankle, knee and hip joints, you're just naturally going to improve your health and feel better. Immediately." "The physical branch of yoga, hatha yoga, boils down to this: if you practice the exercises, you'll feel better. By stretching the nerves you lessen tension. Yoga is for everybody, not just a few rare individuals. It helps adolescents with posture, complexion, and growing problems; it definitely helps them overcome teen-age inferiority complexes. Older people get all the benefits of calisthenics without any of the drawbacks. Men and women in their 60s become so flexible that they have better posture and health than their children. We can all do these exercises if we're taught properly. Yoga is non-competitive, but challenging; the individual can play against par, you see, almost like a golf game, if you want to look at it that way. "If you just learn how to breathe correctly and nothing else, it's worth it. Doctors are pointing out what yogis knew 5000 years ago. Proper breathing prevents heart attacks, and can help you avoid ulcers, strokes, and other diseases. Back troubles that plague many men and women are caused mainly by their terrible postures. The spine is meant to be erect-and yoga teaches you how to work at this. Then you'll find a good percentage of your back troubles disappearing."
"Yoga will take weight off you, redistribute it, and build you up. It will improve your memory and sharpen your brainpower. You'll stop having colds every winter. Your hair will grow faster than it used to. Our teachers work on limbering your spine, ankles, knees. Mind and body work together; through concentration you'll learn balance control. The American businessperson has an enormous amount of concentration and vigor. Usually it's misdirected, but it is there." Do you do these exercises now – well, at your age, is it necessary for you? "Absolutely. I stand on my head every day, and always do a combination of at least six and seven exercises daily. I meditate in the lotus posture, and I find the shoulder stand as invigorating as a cocktail-without the stick. "And we need to learn to meditate, to be alone without being bored or afraid. The poet W.H. Auden called our age 'the age of anxiety.' It'll remain that until we learn to find that inner peace that we were originally steeped in. 'Study to be quiet' says St. Paul. 'Be still and know that I am God' says the Bible. And yogis throw you a challenge that will keep you busy the rest of your life: 'Learn to still your restless mind.'"
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1951 Letter from Yogananda to Mr. Black MORE ON YOGACHARYA OLIVER: Yogacharya.com This page was lasst updated on May 6, 2009 |