Timeline

Every line carries its source.

Each line is one thing one source says, with its date, the source and the kind of evidence. Where sources disagree, each keeps its own line, and open questions stay open.

A sample: the Sacramento years, 1958 to 1967.

record from the time
his own account
a later writer

1958
In 1958 he was “shifted” to the Vedanta monastery in Sacramento.
Crater Lake interview, transcript · Answer on first telescope, end
his own account
About 1958
His first Sacramento telescope is a 5-inch reflector with a mirror cut from the bottom of a gallon jug.
Film press biography · paragraph 5, near the end
a later writer
Between 1958 and 1967
On clear evenings he would sneak out with his 12-inch f/7 on top of a station wagon and offer passersby a look.
Levy 1995 · The Man and His Philosophy, paragraph 8
a later writer
Between 1958 and 1967
He knew he was risking expulsion: either tell the kids to go to hell or risk being thrown out, and he would not tell them to go to hell.
Levy 1995 · The Man and His Philosophy, paragraph 8
his own account
Between 1958 and 1967
He put discarded wagon wheels on his telescopes to wheel them round the neighborhood near the monastery.
Club biography · paragraph 11
a later writer
Between 1958 and 1967
At Sacramento the Swami had them test drainage, dig out the soil two to four feet deep, and mix potting soil by the acre from crushed granite, redwood sawdust and rice hulls, with a rented concrete mixer.
Memoir 3 · paragraph 2
his own account
Between 1958 and 1967
The work took months; the little girl next door asked when they would finish, “miwion thirty?”
Memoir 3 · paragraph 2
his own account
June 1962
A photo caption in Brown’s biography of Swami Nitya-swarup-ananda shows the ‘Sacramento brothers (monastic inmates)’ in June 1962, John Dobson standing first on the left.
Brown 2001 · Centred in Truth (2001), photo section, about p. 192
a later writer
14 November 1964
The Vedanta Society holds formal dedication services for its Sacramento-area branch, with worship at the altar, special music and refreshments for members and guests.
Sacramento Union 1964-66 · SDU19641121.1.24 (Sacramento Daily Union, Saturday 21 November 1964, p. 24, church news), item ‘Vedanta Society Opens Branch’, sentence 3
record from the time
7 November 1965
At the anniversary service Swami Shraddhananda, minister of the church, lectures on ‘The Call of Vedanta’.
Sacramento Union 1964-66 · SDU19651106.1.17 (Sacramento Daily Union, 6 November 1965, p. 17), same item, sentence 2
record from the time
27 February 1966
A special service for the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna is held at the Church of Universal Philosophy and Religion, 1337 Mission Ave, Carmichael.
Sacramento Union 1964-66 · SDU19660226.1.12 (Sacramento Daily Union, Saturday 26 February 1966, p. 12, ‘News of Sacramento Churches’), item ‘Sri Ramakrishna Will Be Topic’, sentence 1
record from the time
1967
He is expelled from the monastery in 1967.
Crater Lake interview, edited · Answer 4, paragraph 3
his own account
1967
He says he left the monastery in 1967 because he was reported missing while weeding in front of the front wall.
Crater Lake interview, transcript · Answer on first telescope, end
his own account
1967
He insists that on the day he was thrown out, in 1967 after 23 years as a monk, he was just reading outside the compound walls.
Space.com 2000 · paragraph 22
his own account
1967
Dobson is asked to leave the monastery in spring 1967 after 23 years as a monk.
Film press biography · paragraph 9
a later writer