Sunday, March 26, 2023
Sunday, February 05, 2023
Scientists experiment in their laboratories with patient perseverance to find the truth. They don’t assert their theories unless they have positive proof. Likewise, India’s masters concentrated for years and years to solve the problem of how to live life properly. I am bringing to you the knowledge of mind and matter from the spiritual laboratories of India, as well as from my own experience. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
In ages past, the rishis and masters of India, secluded in their hermitages, unraveled the mysteries that hide the Omnipresent Spirit. Their research has given us the valuable techniques and methods that tune the body and mind to the Illimitable Source of life and intelligence residing in every human being. By concentrating within on the Infinite, you can receive this boundless power. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sunday, January 15, 2023
Monday, December 26, 2022
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Sunday, November 27, 2022
Don’t keep your mind engaged in too many activities. Analyze what you get from them, and see if they are really important. Don’t waste your time...I often say, “If you read for one hour, write in your spiritual diary for two hours; and if you write for two hours, think for three hours; and if you think for three hours, meditate all the time.” No matter where I go, I keep my mind continuously on my soul peace. You too should always point the needle of your attention toward the North Pole of spiritual joy. Then no one can ever disturb your equilibrium. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Meditation is the effort to realize and express that pure consciousness which is the reflection, or image, of God within you. Do away with the delusion of body consciousness, and the concomitant demands of body and mind for “unnecessary necessities.” Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Sunday, October 09, 2022
With the power of faith, march on, march on! By daily meditation, never forget Him. Every day new vistas and new revelations of His presence will come to you. Strength will come; for His power is there. Acknowledge it firmly; let it sink calmly into the depths of your being. When by the science of controlling the life energy [Kriya Yoga] you master the subtle forces through which He creates and sustains all things, you will share in His dominion over all creation. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Indispensable Man
By Saxon White Kessinger
Sometimes when you’re feeling important;
Sometimes when your ego’s in bloom
Sometimes when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room,
Sometimes when you feel that you're going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop and you’ll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.
Sunday, September 04, 2022
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Sunday, August 07, 2022
This path may not have been where you wanted to go or made you who you wanted to be. But, as painful and challenging as this transition can be, it can also be beautiful and rewarding in many ways. These changes, these challenges are not meant to break you, but to encourage you and help you grow. Amidst all the changes and this growth, you will find it was worth it all along. One day you will look back and remember this moment, the moment you decided to take the risk and change your life forever. - Anonymous.
Friday, July 29, 2022
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
The Saint and the Scorpion
By Nayaswami Devi
By Nayaswami Devi
There is a story about a saint who was peacefully meditating under a tree along the banks of the Ganges. At a certain point, he heard a rustling overhead and opened his eyes to see a large scorpion moving along a branch overhanging the river.
When the creature reached the end of the branch, it fell into the water below. Filled with compassion, the saint waded into the river to rescue it. Cupping his hands together, he lifted the drowning scorpion and placed him gently on the river’s bank. In return for his kindness, the scorpion stung him.
Unperturbed, the saint then returned to the peace of his meditation. Again he heard a rustling overhead, again the scorpion plunged into the water, and again the saint rescued him, only to be stung.
When this happened a third time, a passerby who had been observing the drama could no longer contain himself. Approaching the saint, he asked, “Sir, why do you continue to rescue the scorpion, when each time he stings you?”
“Well,” the saint replied, his eyes luminous with divine love, “you see, it is the nature of the scorpion to sting. He cannot help himself.”
“That may be so, reverend sir, but knowing this, why do you continue to rescue him?” the passerby asked.
“You see, my child, I too cannot help myself. It is my nature to help him.”
This story provides us with a valuable lesson on how to live. Each of us encounters “human scorpions” filled with venom and spite whose sting can cause us suffering. But whether insects or human beings, such creatures are driven by instinct or the compulsions of past karma, and have no choice but to sting whenever they feel threatened.
The saint, by choosing to attune his consciousness to God’s love, had the freedom to express that love under all circumstances. Like the saint, we, too, can choose to align our actions with divine love and peace, no matter what is happening around us.
At first, this choice requires an act of will, as the ego tries to protect itself. With repeated effort and determination, however, the choice becomes “second nature.” Unlike the scorpion driven by instinct, we find that the higher path, illumined by a constant flow of divine grace, opens clearly before us.
In a sense, all decisions in life then become very simple. As a great saint once said, “We have but one decision to make in life: whether to think of God or not.” All the rest are details.
Monday, July 04, 2022
Sunday, June 19, 2022
God is not partial. His spirit is as fully within you as it was in Jesus and the great Masters. Find it by making your mind more transparent, and more receptive. The more you meditate and remember that image of God, the more you will feel God’s harmony uniting all things. Meditation and holding on to God’s presence in that inner calmness all day long is what is necessary. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Meditation opens wide all the closed inner doors of your body, mind, and soul to admit the surge of God’s power. Your whole body and entire being changes when you practice meditation regularly. When you really contact God, all things become harmonious; all things melt into an ocean of peace. But you have to practice meditation earnestly, consistently, and continually, in order to have the full consciousness of that supreme force. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Sunday, May 01, 2022
Sunday, April 17, 2022
An affirmation to practice: “All spiritually successful persons, such as Jesus, Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar, Swami Shankara, and other masters are manifestations of our one Father, God. I am happy in the thought that my spiritual ambition to realize unity with God is one that has already been attained by all great masters.” - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Every day, in the beginning, my mind used to say, “You can’t know God. Only great ones like Krishna, Jesus, and Buddha could.” Then I would reason, “If God favored them, He is partial; but I know He is not — He does not favor anyone. Even they had to go through great trials. But they were divinely successful, so I too can realize God.” - Paramahansa Yogananda.
This offers hope to every seeking heart, for there would be no incentive in following the example of Jesus if we could not be like him. Jesus was not sent to us to symbolize an unattainable goal. He came as a living inspiration, demonstrating what we all may successfully seek and achieve. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
There is a difference in meaning between Jesus and Christ. Jesus is the name of a little human body in which the vast Christ Consciousness was born. Although the Christ Consciousness manifested in the body of Jesus, it cannot be limited to one human form. It would be a metaphysical error to say that the omnipresent Christ Consciousness is circumscribed by the body of anyone human being. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
When we open our inner eyes of soul wisdom, we behold the omnipresent Light of God. Within this Light is the consciousness of Christ, the “Son” or pure reflection of God present everywhere in the universe. This Christ Consciousness, the Infinite Christ, is God's intelligence and love knocking on the closed eyelids of our souls, urging us that all we have to do is look to this Light within and we shall see all ignorance and diversities vanish. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Monday, March 28, 2022
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Monday, March 07, 2022
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Sunday, February 13, 2022
True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; it is to be lived. Yoga doesn't care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied. - Aadil Palkhivala.
Sunday, February 06, 2022
God is playing hide-and-seek through human hearts so that ultimately you will understand that it is His love you are seeking in your human loves. If you omit God from your human loves, love fades away. But by bringing God into your daily life, ordinary human love changes into divine love, manifested from the image of God within you. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sunday, January 30, 2022
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Solitude is in the mind of man. One might be in the thick of the world and maintain the serenity of mind; such a one is in solitude. Another may stay in a forest, but still, be unable to control his mind. He cannot be said to be in solitude. Solitude is a function of the mind. A man attached to desire cannot get solitude wherever he may be; a detached man is always in solitude. - Ramana Maharishi.
Sunday, January 09, 2022
Sunday, January 02, 2022
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Saints of all religions have attained God-realization through the simple concept of the Cosmic Beloved. Because the Absolute is nirguna, ‘without qualities,’ and acintya, ‘inconceivable,’ human thought and yearning have ever personalized It as the Universal Mother. A combination of personal theism and the philosophy of the Absolute is an ancient achievement of Hindu thought, expounded in the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita. This “reconciliation of opposites” satisfies heart and head; bhakti (devotion) and jnana (wisdom) are essentially one. Prapatti, “taking refuge” in God, and sharanagati, “flinging oneself on the Divine Compassion,” are really paths of the highest knowledge. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
The divine purpose of creation, so far as man’s reason can grasp it, is expounded in the Vedas. The rishis taught that each human being has been created by God as a soul that will uniquely manifest some special attribute of the Infinite before resuming its Absolute Identity. All men, endowed thus with a facet of Divine Individuality, are equally dear to God. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
One should forgive under any injury. It hath been said that the continuation of the species is due to man's being forgiving. Forgiveness is holiness; by forgiveness the universe is held together. Forgiveness is the might of the mighty; forgiveness is sacrifice; forgiveness is quiet of the mind. Forgiveness and gentleness are the qualities of the self-possessed. They represent eternal virtue. - The Mahabharata.
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Sunday, October 10, 2021
You are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self. Don't turn away from possible futures before you are certain you don't have anything to learn from them. You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past. - Richard Bach.
No matter what your faith is, what your belief is, Kriya Yoga is the scientific highway to the Infinite - for you will ascend the path from which your spirit descended into the flesh and became locked in the body. That is the purpose of Kriya Yoga. Kriya means action, and yoga means unity. Kriya Yoga means that action which brings unity of the descended soul with the Spirit from which we descended. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Wednesday, October 06, 2021
Sunday, October 03, 2021
Monday, September 20, 2021
Monday, September 06, 2021
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
My Paramguru Lahiri Mahasaya carried all the burdens and responsibilities of family life, yet never ceased to commune with the omnipresent Spirit. This great Yogavatar, who introduced Kriya Yoga in India and taught it to all receptive seekers, said that the requisites for spiritual liberation are association with a Christlike soul or meditation on him, fellowship with other spiritual aspirants, and the faithful practice of meditation. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Monday, July 19, 2021
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Pointing to the heart, the Master used to say, "He who has God here, has Him also there [pointing to the external world]. He who does not find God within himself will never find Him outside of himself. But he who sees Him in the temple of his own Soul, sees Him also in the temple of the universe." - Sri Ramakrishna.
Wednesday, July 07, 2021
Sunday, July 04, 2021
Prayer for a Disciple
By Sri Aurobindo
Mother, be with me, now and always. Envelope me with your presence. Raise and purify me with your touch. Inhabit me with your living image. Transform all dullness and darkness into bright and perfect faith. Transform all restlessness and agitation into inviolable calm and peace. Transform all attachment into a deep and stainless purity. Mother, liberate and change me, perfect your child.
By Sri Aurobindo
Mother, be with me, now and always. Envelope me with your presence. Raise and purify me with your touch. Inhabit me with your living image. Transform all dullness and darkness into bright and perfect faith. Transform all restlessness and agitation into inviolable calm and peace. Transform all attachment into a deep and stainless purity. Mother, liberate and change me, perfect your child.
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