Everything the Lord has created is to try us, to bring out the buried soul immortality within us. That is the adventure of life, the one purpose of life. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

As for me, all I know is that I now nothing. - Socrates' words in Plato's Phaedrus.

I once knew an Indian saint, half of whose body, in his earlier years, had been covered with sores. His diabetic illness had been so acute that he had found it difficult to sit still at one time for more than fifteen minutes. But his spiritual aspiration had been undesirable. "Lord" he prayed, "wilt Thou come into my broken temple?" With ceaseless command of the will, the saint had gradually become able to sit in the lotus posture daily for eighteen hours, engrossed in the ecstatic trance. "And," he told me, "at the end of three years I found the Infinite Light blazing within me. Rejoicing in Its splendor, I forgot the body. Later I saw that it had become whole through the Divine Mercy."

(An extract from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda)

In Zen, we do not find the answers; we lose the question. - Zen Proverb.

After the conversations about Indian philosophy, some of the ideas of Quantum Physics that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense. - W. Heisenberg.

A saint once was set upon and badly beaten by a band of ruffians. His brother disciple later found him, lying unconscious by the road. They carried him back to their ashram and nursed him lovingly back to consciousness. One of them was pouring a little milk into his mouth when the saint started to open his eyes.

"Do you recognize who it is that is feeding you?" his brother enquired gently. 

"Yes," said the saint with a blissful smile. "The same One who beat me earlier!"

(An extract from The Art and Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda)

Men travel to gaze upon mountain heights and the waves of the sea, broad-flowing rivers, and the expanse of the ocean and the courses of the stars, and pass by themselves, the crowning wonder. - Saint Augustine.

People begin to lead that moment when they decide for themselves how to be. - Warren Bennis.

Just beneath the shadows of this life is God’s wondrous Light. The universe is a vast temple of His presence. When you meditate, you will find doors opening to Him everywhere. When you have communion with Him, not all the ravages of the world can take away that Joy and Peace. - Paramahansa Yogananda

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. - Max De Pree.

Great things are done when men and mountains meet. - William Blake.

Kabir was a great 16th-century saint whose large following included Hindus and Moslems. At the time of Kabir's death, the disciples quarreled over the manner of conducting funeral ceremonies. The exasperated master rose from his final sleep and gave his instructions. "Half of my remains should be buried with Moslem rites," he said. "Let the other half be removed with a Hindu sacrament." He then vanished. When the disciples removed the shroud that had covered his body, nothing was found but a beautiful array of flowers. Half of these were obediently buried in Maghar, by the Moslems, who revere his shrine to this day. The other half was cremated with Hindu ceremonies in Banaras. A temple, Kabir Cheura, was built on the site and attracts immense numbers of pilgrims.

In his youth, Kabir was approached by two disciples who wanted minute intellectual guidance along the mystic path. The master responded simply:

Path presupposes distance;

If He be near, no path needest thou at all.

Verily it maketh me smile

To hear of a fish in water athirst!

(An extract from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda)

Fall seven times, stand up eight. - Japanese Proverb.

The emancipation of our physical nature is in attaining health, of our social being in attaining goodness, and of our self in attaining love - Guru Rabindranath Tagore.

It should come as no surprise that the unhealthiness of our world today is in direct proportion to our inability to see it as a whole. - Peter M. Senge.

Every life is a profession of faith and exercises an inevitable and silent propaganda. - Amiel.

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at. - Thoreau.

However beautiful a song may be, it is just a tune to those who do not understand its meaning. - Milarepa.

A transcript shared by Nayaswami Jyotish Ji in one of his recent blogs. He says, "Last week a friend sent me a copy of a letter that Paramhansa Yogananda wrote to a devotee in India in 1951. It is filled with timeless advice and blessings. Imagine that Yogananda has written this to you."

For those who are on the spiritual path, being alone, keeping a distance from people, and becoming silent are not issues - these are opportunities. - S.

When the uninformed argue with the misinformed, there is no need to choose a side. - Carmine Savastano.

Our children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. - Neil Postman.

The task of leadership is not to put greatness in humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there. - John Buchan.

All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone. - Pascal.

Never let life beat you down. Beat life! If you have a strong will you can overcome all difficulties. Affirm, even during trials: “Danger and I were born together, and I am more dangerous than danger!” This is a truth you should always remember; apply it and you will see that it works. Don’t behave like a cringing mortal being. You are a child of God! - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Everything the Lord has created is to try us, to bring out the buried soul immortality within us. That is the adventure of life, the one purpose of life. And everyone’s adventure is different, unique. You should be prepared to deal with all problems of health, mind, and soul by commonsense methods and faith in God, knowing that in life or death your soul remains conquered. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

You must never lose courage.

Divine mother sent me to pilot you out of the clouds of your mind. Everybody's difficulty is different, and he or she has to win that test of karma and Divine mother.

Overcome all by constant inward calling on God and utmost devotion in words, thought, action, and obedience to Guru. Your troubles I do not mind. I will never give up on my job with you. It is better to conquer evil and no go on living it forever. Never for a moment identify yourself with momentary flashes of error. Have no fear, even when I am gone and no longer visible to your eyes. You will never be alone. I may not scold you then, but I shall ever be with you, and through Divine Mother guard you from all harm, and will constantly whisper to you guidance through your loving self.

So do not make life discouraged and tired, but be ever, but be ever interested in doing for Divine Mother, no matter if wars, sickness and death dance around you. That is the secret of victory over delusion and all troubles. Be cut to pieces, but never give up. Be a divine leech - suck at the blood of wisdom even though torn to bits. A smooth life is not a victorious one. And I will give you lots of good karma, so you will get through. I will not only ever forgive you, but ever lift you up no matter how many times you fall. Keep unceasingly trying to conquer that not only I invisibly help you, but visibly through many here. Divine Mother will help you win, through your own efforts and the blessings of the great Gurus. I am not building a mansion for you or giving you riches that will perish, but I am making an imperishable home with all riches for you in my Divine Mother's mansion.

Unceasing blessings,

Paramahansa Yogananda.