Index
The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita: Explained By Paramhansa Yogananda, As Remembered By His Disciple, Swami Kriyananda (Paramhansa Yogananda)
One final thought: When you give people a choice of product or service tiers, you do something subtle but powerful. You shift the internal question for the customer from, “Should I buy this?” to “Which one should I buy?”
it should be added that in this realm of appearances maya does have its own reality. Everything is a dream, but even dreams, as dreams, are real.”
Self-realization and the knowledge of God, are synonymous.
the truths propounded in the Gita are applicable at all levels of life: material, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Paramhansa Yogananda makes the point that every great scripture is multi-leveled, addressing the vast variety of human needs from a standpoint of divine wisdom.
there are several paths to God, according, not to people’s beliefs, but to each person’s own temperament. He delineates the right attitudes for the devotee, the various delusions that can prevent him from finding God, and the way to overcome them.
A true scripture, Paramhansa Yogananda stated, addresses human needs in their entirety.
three nadis, or subtle channels of life force, called
Is the spiritual eye, one may ask, merely symbolic? No, it is actually beheld, and is, in fact, a reflection of the light in the medulla, through which the energy moves down the spine in three nadis, or subtle channels of life force, called the sushumna, the vajra, and the chitra.
“Circumstances,” Paramhansa Yogananda commented, “are always neutral. They appear positive or negative according to the corresponding reactions of the heart.”
Every act, every thought, has its specific consequences.
This means we should not depend on our good habits alone to see us through psychological and spiritual tests. Habit born of past actions may give us good karma, but karma itself must be transcended in dedication to the truth.
when you succeed in converting enough mental citizens to the side of goodness, they will outnumber the unruly ones and will gradually win them over, resulting in your rapid spiritual progress.”
We must transform our faults into virtues.
Every human trait begins as a simple thought. There is nothing man can achieve or even conceive that, as an idea, is inaccessible to any other human being.
The part played by the guru is not to make his disciples over in his own image, but, by sharing his magnetism with them, to uplift their consciousness
How is one to know what course in life is right or wrong? The first rule is, “Do what works.” That is why the question, “What was the outcome?” is more important than, “What are they doing?” Only from the outcome of a course of action can it be known with any certainty whether the act was justified or not. The maxim, “The end justifies the means,” is true only as long as the end is visualized in theory, in advance. Once it has been actually reached, however, it will show whether the means to it were right or not. Wrong means to an imaginary good end will produce, at last, disharmony and failure.
“Judge your thoughts and actions by their effects—on yourself, first; then on others. Are they peace-inducing? Are they as universally beneficial as possible? Do they help to expand your understanding and sympathies? Have they brought greater harmony to your environment?—or have they produced disharmony? Do they inspire you and others? or have they brought less hope generally—even despair?”
One should not wish harm to anything, but one may be obliged to kill harmful creatures.
“Arjuna, nothing is ever lost. What you relinquish on the material plane you will rediscover a thousand times more wonderfully in God.”
sensations such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain are generated through the senses in (their) contact with the world. They are ideas only: transitory, each with its beginning and end. O Descendent of Bharata, bear with them patiently.
one who is calm and even-minded, never ruffled during pain and pleasure: he alone gains consciousness of his eternal existence.
Why lament that which cannot be avoided?
stoicism
One needs to know why it is necessary to seek truth, how best to go about it, and what one may expect (stated with as much intellectual clarity as possible, though emphasizing that direct experience alone conveys true understanding).
Renunciation of the world in thought as well as in deed is essential.
The mind itself is the battlefield. There is no other.
The true Self can be sustained only by spiritual states of consciousness, such as divine love, calmness, and bliss.
Whether they are greeted with pleasure or distaste depends entirely on one’s mental conditioning. The human mind, unlike the minds of lower animals, can train itself to like anything.
“as if smiling.” This phrase, Yogananda said, is important, because it indicates that God is no stern judge of human behavior, but is “on our side.” He wants us to advance spiritually, and forever forgives us if we err.
To be “even-minded and cheerful” under all circumstances is the first duty of the yogi.
even-mindedly toward his goal by performing ever calmly his karmically assigned duties. To be “even-minded and cheerful” under all circumstances is the first duty of the yogi. This
To be “even-minded and cheerful” under all circumstances is the first duty of the yogi. This obviously does not mean being cheerful about other people’s suffering! One must respect, and even empathize with, their pains—as Krishna did. As regards one’s own pains, however, the aspiring yogi must firmly banish all thought of ego-identification with both pleasure and pain. Pain may in fact be “happening,” but he must not think of it as his own. The more he can resist the oppositional states of Nature—maya’s dualities (dwaita)—
good practice for the devotee is deliberately to submit himself to extreme opposites: heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc. He should be careful not to test his powers too far beyond their proven ability so far. To do so would be fanaticism. Indeed, it might prove counter-productive: One could stand too long under a cold shower, and find himself hardly feeling warm again for months! One could even endanger his health. Along with the counsel to be even-minded and cheerful is an equally important one: Use common sense.
For even-mindedness, an important practice is to give up likes and dislikes.
Nothing belongs to you—not even your own ego! Firmly to hold this attitude is the way to inner freedom
Even the refusal to act is a kind of activity.
What is the ego? Imagine the moon reflected in many vessels of water. Each vessel contains the same reflection, yet the reflection seems, in each of them, to be individual.
The decision not to act is like restraining a horse by the reins: It takes an effort of will, and therefore implies an act of some kind.
spiritual progress consists not in actually achieving anything, but in simply removing the distortions that obscure the nature of reality.
Chapter Eleven
In this yoga there is only that one direction (with no polar opposite).
To the sincere spiritual aspirant, little could seem more like hell than to be stuck for all eternity in an ego, even if the body in which one lives is forever healthy, supple, youthful, and full of energy.
Heaven is usually offered as bait: a place where people spend eternity in a beautiful, idyllic environment of great natural beauty, surrounded by “angels.” To the sincere spiritual aspirant, little could seem more like hell than to be stuck for all eternity in an ego, even if the body in which one lives is forever healthy, supple, youthful, and full of energy.
“center everywhere, circumference nowhere,”
only Hinduism (and I say this as one who was, himself, raised in orthodox Christianity) formally teaches moksha, or liberation from the very ego, in union with the Omnipresent, Divine Consciousness. Jesus Christ taught it. Few however, if any, of his self-declared followers believe that when he spoke of heaven he was referring to that same state of moksha: complete liberation.
most religious teachers offer a compromise of lower spiritual truths, they betray their own religion. Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, “Jesus Christ was crucified once, but his teachings have been crucified every day, throughout Christendom, since that time.”
If only Hinduism declares this highest spiritual truth, surely it is because only Hinduism has not been confined in the “straitjacket” of a religious organization! It has grown naturally, rather, and has not been suffocated in the musty air of official decrees regarding what is, and what is not, the highest truth.
its attachment to the results of action. Those results, because of that attachment, must return to their source.
“Pray in this way: ‘I will reason, I will will, I will act, but guide Thou my reason, will, and activity to the right path in everything.’”
The way to this achievement is to remain ever calm in the Self, free from any thought of either acceptance or possession.
“Pride goes before a fall.”
Scripture itself is no substitute for self-effort.
well when the land all around is in flood.
the Vedas are of no more use than a well when the land all around is in flood.
To the knower of Brahman (the Supreme Spirit) the Vedas are of no more use than a well when the land all around is in flood.
wanting some sort of ego-payment for favors rendered. The Lord is no merchant
Those who seek lesser favors from God are asking for a teaspoon of soil when they might have the whole kingdom. The problem in people’s minds is, of course, that they think to possess.
To attain God-consciousness, it is necessary to release all attachment to thoughts of “I” and “mine.”
Some people—many hermits, for example—
Perfect evenness of mind and feeling is itself the definition of yoga.
Affirmations of calmness in the midst of stress often have the contrary effect of creating more tension! In any case, calmness can be affirmed effectively only with inner calmness. Such calmness can hardly be established without also stilling the thoughts in meditation.
“One can run nervously,” the Master replied, “or one can run calmly, but not to run when one needs to is to be lazy!”
Pranayama is a condition, not a technique.
withdrawal of the energy is the true meaning of pranayama: “yama (control) of the prana (energy).” Pranayama is a condition, not a technique. The practice of pranayama is to achieve energy control.
“Breathlessness is deathlessness.”
It is helpful, when trying to develop emotional detachment, to concentrate one’s energy in the spine,
There are two requirements, above all, for the attainment of wisdom. One, to withdraw the mind not only from sense objects, but from the senses themselves; and, two, to remain merged in the consciousness of God as the most desirable of all goals.
suffering diminishes when there is a decrease of self-interest. The discernment of this truth leads to the first faint stirrings of recollection that a reality exists that is more than the ego and the body. The fog of delusion begins to lift from the mind, and one no longer strikes out at the world in anger for not giving him what he wants. From acceptance of what is comes a gradual decrease of worldly attachment. From lessened attachment comes lessening interest in the objects of the senses, and an increase of longing for true wisdom—a longing which awakens devotion in the heart, love of truth, and intense aspiration to know true and everlasting bliss.
Mistakes on the path are always possible. The devotee should acknowledge them sincerely and openly (at least to himself), and then simply forsake them. He should avoid the further mistake of becoming upset with himself. He should keep his mind focused steadfastly on the polestar of his true goal: union with God.
Since the ego is a delusion, anything that tempts it to affirm its own separate reality is a delusion also. And so too, indeed, is any distress one may feel with oneself for having succumbed to delusion.
Whenever you feel pleasure, let it remind you of soul-bliss. Whenever you see beauty, take into yourself the joy you feel in it. Let every worldly happiness remind you of the much greater happiness of the Self. Some yogis recommend complete indifference to the world. What a dry outlook! Far better is it, my Guru taught, to enjoy with God the beauties and the pure delights of this world, by focusing on the inner joy you feel during experiences that uplift the heart’s feelings
Spiritual progress is achieved not by the tense effort demanded for material success, but rather by a process of upward relaxation.
In fact, the key to right meditation is relaxation—physically, emotionally, and mentally.
High truths cannot be learned: they can only be remembered in the Self.
doing harm to others never succeeded in bringing him happiness;
All who would unite their souls with God must follow that same path: yama and niyama (right action); asana (firmness of posture, and keeping the spine straight to enable the energy to flow freely through it); pranayama (control over the energy of the body); pratyahara (interiorization of the mind); dharana (one-pointed concentration); dhyana (absorption in deep meditation); and samadhi (oneness).
Actionlessness cannot be attained by mere inaction. One who forsakes work (in the name of divine aloofness from activity) cannot reach perfection.
My Guru explained that a liberated master, whatever his role on earth, never loses his inner awareness of freedom
Can they cease from breathing by merely not breathing? Can they refrain from thinking by merely not thinking? Can they achieve silence by merely not speaking? One wonders how any aspirant to wisdom can conceive such absurdities! All creation exists in a vibratory state. The very atoms are constantly in movement. Prakriti (Nature) forces man to be active. Anyone who tries to be inactive becomes merely lazy. Anyone who pretends to be disinvolved in the world around him is being merely hypocritical. In order to achieve the actionless state it is utterly necessary to act consciously—not merely driven by Nature, but deliberately and intelligently, like a surfer going with the waves of circumstance.
any show of religiosity is acceptable only according to the depth of inner sincerity involved.
The wish to impress indicates a desire for results, rather than true sincerity of feeling.
“The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.”
No activity engaged in merely to impress others (or even God) will, in the end, bear divine fruit. Spiritual progress is achieved above all by desiring it intensely, and not by inflicting violent discipline on the body.
Perform those actions which your duty dictates, for action is better than inaction. Without action, in-deed, even the act of maintaining life in the body would not be possible.
it is often best to undertake first those battles which one can be more confident of winning.
“One moment,” the saying goes, “in the company of a saint can be your raft over the ocean of delusion.”
Very few human beings are ready for the highest spiritual blessing: the help of a true guru.
The work before him of achieving infinity is colossal! If he has any wisdom at all, he must surely see that he needs all the help he can get!
Life must be continuously progressive. If it tries to remain stationary, it is already living death. There are devas, or angels, to whom we can appeal, or with whose energies we can work in cooperation. As with other human beings, we gain much more by giving to them than by trying to snatch our gain from them. Even in the ashrams of great gurus, those disciples receive the most spiritually who, by their appreciation, give energy and don’t try to draw God’s blessings self-centeredly to themselves.
The age we now live in is an upward-moving age (not Kali Yuga, as people generally believe
All things exist in a state of vibration. That is how the Supreme, ever-unmoving Spirit brought about the appearance of a reality separate from itself. As the blades of a fan, rotating rapidly, give the appearance of a solid circular disk, so Cosmic Vibration, in its infinite number of intensely rapid vibrations, gives the appearance of substance, variety, even of solidity. Thus we have, for example, the rocks, which to our senses appear very solid but which are now known to be only vibrations of energy, and which, even as material substance, are composed largely of space.
Without images, people’s devotion becomes dry.
feel that the energy which enables him to move and breathe is not his own, personally.
To gorge one’s food gluttonously is to feed not only the body but the ego.
Vibration is action, which is to say, karma.
AUM is properly written with three letters. The first letter signifies Brahma; the second one, Vishnu; and the third (properly pronounced as a slightly drawn-out hum), Shiva.
AUM samadhi. His next perception is of Kutastha Chaitanya, or Tat, the Christ consciousness behind the vibrations of his body—and the center of every vibration of the body, reflecting the motionless Spirit beyond creation. Gradually his consciousness expands with the Christ consciousness, or Tat, until he perceives it as infinite. It is after reaching that stage, my Guru explained to me, that one may be called a master.
Suffering comes primarily from the thought,
The more things change, the more they remain unchanged.”
What needs changing is no social system, but human consciousness. The best way to change society, surely, would be to create little societies that can inspire others to make the recommended changes, individually, in themselves, rather than forcing everyone to march in lock-step togetherness toward some general “good” that often ends in disaster. If an example works, others may be inspired by it, and may want to change. Without the desire to change, no one will ever do better at anything. The first responsibility the universe places on every person’s shoulders is this: “Change yourself.”
yet still I work on for the upliftment of others. There, where all uplifting work is done, am I.
Never should the wise condemn the ignorant for the ego-motivation they manifest. Instead, being themselves enlightened, they should seek only to inspire others in the direction of preferring to perform right, dutiful action.
as foolish people, out of attachment to ego, act in hope of rewards, so should the wise also (even if wisdom has lifted them out of any personal need to be active), act with dispassion and non-attachment, glad to be of service to others as their guides
“Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted.”
To drive a dark mood out of the mind, for example, try this simple method: Focus your energy and attention strongly at the point between the eyebrows. The magnetism you generate there will lift you out of the fogs of gloom to a higher, more spiritual atmosphere where peace, joy, and complete acceptance reign.
He should not, however, allow anything to disturb his inner peace. Even if he sees wrong in the world, and accepts it as a manifestation of maya, he can remain inwardly undisturbed by it, and can work impersonally to improve matters in this world.
“Work with what is, not with what you think should be.” All human suffering is due to the simple thought that things ought to be other than they are.
Don’t let others tell you what you, in their eyes, ought to be. On the other hand, never dismiss their advice arrogantly. Try at the same time, rather, to be always true to your own nature. You will never change yourself by suppression. Real change comes only by transcendence. If there is some quality in yourself that you don’t like, try to lift your awareness to a higher level.
Never let yourself become infatuated (infatuation is extreme attraction) with anything or anyone. Never let yourself hate anything or anyone. Develop an attitude, rather, of accepting the cosmic dream as it is, even when it becomes a nightmare!
“People are so skillful in their ignorance!”
Time must simply pass, as nature takes its course, and brings that person gradually to the point where, after repeated disappointments and the slight glimmering of hope for greater understanding, the inner person finally emerges in the full dignity of a refined human being.
Desire is the sinful destroyer of wisdom and of Self-realization.
The senses are declared to be superior to the body (since they convey perception); the mind is superior to the senses (both inner and outer, since it is the perceiver); the discriminating intellect is superior to the mind (since it understands what it perceives); and the Self is superior to the discriminating intellect (since it is both perception and understanding).
it is difficult for man to perceive that every state of consciousness already contains its opposite: that, in happiness, suffering is already present; and that (fortunately) suffering already contains at its center the seeds of joy.
God is Infinite Consciousness. Only Kali Yuga consciousness could have visualized Him as uniquely possessing a human form—as people believed the Earth was the center of everything, and still believed as late as the end of the nineteenth century that our sun was the center. Once every soul encased in an ego prison realizes itself as the Infinite, and no longer one little “sliver of glass” individually reflecting the cosmic light, it becomes the Infinite—God Himself. There is no difference, in essence, between Krishna, Jesus Christ, Buddha, or any other great master. There is no difference—again, in essence—between them and the rest of us, once we realize ourselves as the one God who, for a time, thought himself encased in these human egos. Everything is God. In God, all comparisons and relativities cease. The soul of Everyman was never born; nor did it ever die. In Vedantic truth there was always only one reality, one Spirit: the Supreme Lord.
A few only, out of compassion for mankind, preserve that little “desireless desire” which brings them back to earth as avatars for the salvation of many. No avatar, however, in ultimate Reality, can be greater than any other.
No avatar was ever created perfect. All of them were once like us, imperfect human beings who were finally washed clean in the realization of their own divinity.
God destroys evil-doers. God never destroys anyone! The only thing He destroys—the only thing He can destroy, since He cannot destroy Himself—is evil itself: never the evil-doer.
Satchidananda: ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss.
At the center of all movement, there is rest.
Though acting, I am without attachment; nor do I desire any particular outcome from (any) activity
Digging a ditch—mere physical labor, in other words—can be either good, bad, or self-stultifying depending on one’s attitude while working.
The more whole-heartedly one can immerse himself in the feeling as well as the meaning of the ritual he performs, the more he will absorb divine inspiration into himself, until his very life becomes a ritual of self-offering, or yagya, to God.
Watch yourself eating, walking, breathing, conversing, thinking. Stand mentally aside from your own body and mind. Become the silent observer of your own self. Gradually you will feel inwardly detached, and will accept that you are another reality altogether: the divine soul merely dreaming everything that happens to its individual-seeming consciousness.
incoming breath (prana) into the outgoing breath (apana),
The slow, careful, conscious circulation of energy around the spine constitutes the ancient science known (since the time of Lahiri Mahasaya in the nineteenth century) as Kriya Yoga.
Kriya Yoga, in order to be wholly effective, must be received not only intellectually (in written or spoken form), but vibrationally, in the form of initiation. A magnet is created either by electrical realignment of the molecules, or by close proximity to another magnet
Spiritual mistakes can be costlier, in terms of long-range suffering.
to take up Kriya Yoga signifies entering seriously onto the path to God. It is not a game, and should certainly be treated as a lifetime commitment.
Nevertheless, any yoga initiation, and especially into the ancient science of Kriya Yoga, should be looked upon as a very sacred step in one’s life.
Truly, widespread literacy has had one unfortunate effect: the dissemination, not only of knowledge, but of ignorance! True understanding comes not by intellectual reasoning, but by intuition. Inner, intuitive attunement with the consciousness of the guru is what most surely and directly brings spiritual awakening.
Ramanuja shouted the sacred mantra, “AUM namo Narayana!”
mahamantra (Haré Krishna, haré Krishna! Krishna, Krishna haré, haré! Haré Rama, haré Rama! Rama, Rama haré, haré!).
From whatever direction one approaches a mountaintop, as long as he continues moving upward he will eventually reach the peak. What is all-important is the direction of one’s climb.
Paramhansa Yogananda encouraged people to add to the prayers they offer regularly to God and guru (and, perhaps, to a line of gurus) these words of invocation: “saints of all religions.”
“God doesn’t mind your faults,” Yogananda used to say. “He only minds your indifference!”
Karma can be national, communal, family, individual: anything that proceeds from a coherent center of intention, which attracts consequences back to that center. Karma is personal. A national leader who does evil on his people’s behalf, however, will not have to bear the entire weight of that bad karma on his own “shoulders”: The whole nation must accept the responsibility. Good people in that country must bear it also, though their own good karma may offset for themselves, and perhaps for a wider circle of people, any evil that must befall the nation as karmic retribution.
purushakara and prarabdha. Purushakara karma is actions generated in this life under the influence, not of habit or desire, but of soul-guidance. Prarabdha karma, on the other hand, consists of present tendencies, and the results of past actions brought over from former lives.
karma, which are being held in abeyance
A powerful will can overcome, or can at least mitigate, virtually any misfortune that may await one. Bad karma can, for example, penetrate a weak aura, but be unable to penetrate a strong one.
True, divine love is always expansive: from the little self to infinity. Its only motive is Bliss alone.
free souls who live in this world often perform outward actions in order to set an example of right living for others. They do so because ordinary persons would find it all too easy, once they take up sannyas (the monastic path), to become mentally as well as physically inactive in the name of complete renunciation.
To deprecate anyone is to affirm one’s own ego.
please someone who may, in fact, be not at all enlightened is to shift the burden of responsibility to where it cannot ever belong: onto someone else’s shoulders.
Our responsibility before God is our own. As Krishna says in the Gita, It is better to fail doing one’s own duty than to succeed doing the duty of another. Whatever may truly be one’s own duty (and it is no easy task to discern what that duty is), one cannot accomplish it by simply handing that decision over to someone else.
The yogi sees the body not as his body, but only as something he uses. He understands that his mind is not his own: It, too, is something he works through. He perceives the intellect as separate from his true, inner perception. And he cognizes the senses as cooperating with him, but independently from him. As the carpenter uses his hammer to drive nails into a board, so the yogi uses his very ego. He knows it is not his self, except in the sense that he, the infinite Self, must keep that little unit of reality going.
the yogi who is completely true to himself will never impose his will on other human beings.
“city of nine gates” is, of course, a reference to the body with its two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, two organs of excretion, and mouth.
“The greatest ‘sin’ is to call yourself a sinner.”
“you must then act in such a way as not to commit that error again!”
“The best time for sowing the seeds of success,” Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, “is the season of failure!”
The yogi should live mentally beyond time and space.
Everyone who is not you is simply your own deeper Self, manifested differently, in a different form, and even at different times. A sense of the oneness of all life helps the meditating yogi to approach God without fear or tension: to relax completely in divine love. Whatever happens in your life, you are one with the great ocean of Truth.
True faith, it must be understood, is very different from blind belief.
only way of showing his knowledge is by doing it.
the physical act of breathing is intimately associated with—and is, indeed, caused by—the energy rising and descending in the spine through the ida and pingala nadis, or nerve channels. Ida begins on the left side; pingala, on the right. Breathing in the astral body takes place in these two nadis.
The ascending energy is called prana; the descending, apana.
Kriya Yoga helps one (as we discussed earlier in this book) to equalize the incoming and outgoing breaths, and to absorb one’s energy in the spine, where one feels the currents as a cool (rising) and a slightly warm (descending) current.
The true renunciate and the true yogi are those who perform dutiful actions without desiring their fruits,
The fact that a person lives an ordinary life and has a normal job may make ego-renunciation more difficult, but it does not make it less obligatory.
The key to correct participation in “samsara,” then, is to “play one’s part” consciously non-identified with the ego.
Those who follow the renunciate path find it easier to direct all their energies to God. That very path, however, imposes also the broader responsibility of helping others spiritually: One should not live for himself alone.
“Conditions are always neutral,” Yogananda said. “They only appear good or bad, joyful or sad, fortunate or unfortunate owing to the positive or negative attitudes [and expectations] of the mind.” The yogi must learn to gaze even-mindedly upon whatever happens to him.
When others treat you unkindly, unfairly, or even cruelly, make it a definite point never to react with emotion. Never strike back; never complain; never resist, out of ego-consciousness, either defensively or aggressively. Sometimes a wrong must be countered with a right, but even when duty calls you to such action, try always—as Krishna counseled Arjuna—to conduct yourself in such a way as to ensure that your own attitude is ever impersonal.
if they could spend some time—a week or two, or even longer—every year, and at least one day a week, in seclusion. Meditating for long hours, reading books that are spiritually uplifting, taking long walks “with God,” doing a little mental work such as writing in a spiritual diary: All these activities can provide a spiritually strengthening balance to constant outward activity.
Yogananda mentioned also, in passing, another, symbolic reason for the above advice Krishna gave. The earth-grown grass, the animal skin, and the silken cloth symbolize the lower three chakras, above which the yogi’s energy should rise.
It is best (but more difficult because of visual distractions) to meditate with open eyes, the gaze (as we’ve seen) slightly upward, and the lower eyelids slightly raised. Thus, closed eyes are naturally associated with sleep; wide open eyes, with wakefulness; and slightly raised, finally, with the lower lids in a “half open and half closed” position, is associated with superconsciousness.
Those, in other words, who are unable to practice complete sexual abstinence are not debarred from the yoga path.
O Arjuna! Yoga is not for him who eats too much or who fasts too much, who sleeps too much or who sleeps too little. (6:17) One who is temperate in eating, recreation, working, sleeping, and wakefulness attains yoga, which destroys all suffering.
Moderation means doing everything you can to advance spiritually, without pushing yourself too far.
The inmates, under obligation to follow a routine too monotonously regular, tend to become dull-minded. With too many rules, moreover, they tend to become excessively rigid, and lose any hint of the spontaneous creativity that is so essential for spirits who seek self-expansion.
What really traps people in delusion is the thought, “I like this!”—or, “I dislike that!”
Patanjali gave his definition of yoga as, “Yogas chitta vritti nirodha: Yoga is the neutralization of the eddies (whirlpools, great and small) of feeling.”
The moon’s reflection on a lake is distorted by ripples in the water. Such are the ripples of feeling, which often grow and become waves of agitation, distorting the clarity of human perception. To calm the mind that it reflect the truth as it is, one must calm the waves of reaction in the heart.
a glass of water into which dirt particles have been stirred. One cannot command the water to become clear, but if one allows the glass to sit for awhile the impurities gradually settle to the bottom, or else rise to the surface of their own accord, to be skimmed off.
them in their suffering, need only apply
Yoga practice (yoga abhyasa) implies working both outwardly and inwardly, making repeated efforts to return to one’s calm center within. Dispassion (vairagya) means disengaging the mind (again, by repeated efforts) from all forms of sensory pleasure, subtle as well as gross.
Nishkam karma—action without desire for the fruits of action—should be his motto all the way to and beyond the door of death.
Act as you should for the present, and leave the results in God’s hands.
On should live more wholeheartedly right now, enjoying his yoga practices, thinking of this moment, not of the future, but simply loving God in the present and offering oneself up to the Lord without any expectation of reward. You should remind yourself, indeed, that there is no you to be rewarded! The chief reason people get discouraged is their expectation of specific results. Learn to expect nothing.
meditation advices these two pages
more important than chanting AUM is it to listen to AUM in the right ear in meditation. Closing the tragi of the ears with the thumbs (the elbows resting lightly on a crosspiece of wood), AUM is chanted mentally at the point between the eyebrows while the mind concentrates on the sounds appearing (as has been stated) in the right ear. One should concentrate on only one sound at a time.
“Habits,” Yogananda used to say, “can be changed in a day. They are simply the result of concentrated energy. Direct that energy in a new way, and the habit you want to overcome can be instantly dispelled.” The breath, when accompanied by strong mental affirmation, is the best medium for bringing into one’s nature the thoughts and qualities one wants, and for ridding oneself of those which one wants to dismiss. In this case, too, each exhaling breath can be a little death (of the discarded quality, anyway), and each inhalation can be a little rebirth into some new quality one desires to adopt.
“Hold up a piece of paper in your hand. Will it shake on its own? Never! To shake it, you yourself must do the shaking.” The mind is influenced by physical awareness, but its response, always, comes from the awareness itself. Carnal desires originate not in the body, even though they obviously are influenced by the body. The origin of temptation, however, is in the mind. Nothing inert can influence the mind without the mind’s willing cooperation, whether consciously or subconsciously.
disciplining the body is an indirect and incomplete way of freeing the mind from body-consciousness.
Krishna emphasizes faith not as blind belief, but as the certainty born of complete intuitive understanding and acceptance. He emphasizes love because, without devotional love, the seeker cannot (as Swami Sri Yukteswar put it) set one foot before the other on the path to God.
[The master] was reminding me to love God more than meditation. ‘Do not mistake the technique for the Goal.’”
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, the perceiving mind (manas), discernment (buddhi), and causative self-awareness (ahankara): such are the Eightfold divisions of My manifested nature (Prakriti).
“ether,” or space, which Paramhansa Yogananda declared to be a distinct vibration, separating the astral from the physical universe.
Nature (Prakriti) contains other “divisions”: mind (manas), which perceives all; intuitive intelligence (buddhi), which comprehends all; and the ego principle (ahankara) on a cosmic scale, which is the one Self in all outward manifestation.
Kutastha at the point between the eyebrows. This is still the ego, which even the enlightened man needs in order to keep his body functioning. The divine Self, as differentiated from the enlightened ego, has its center in the heart.
Kundalini passes upward in reverse order from that of its descent. First it passes through, and awakens, the energy in muladhara, the coccyx (or “earth”) center. Next, it awakens the energy in swadisthana, the sacral (or “water”) center. Third, it enters and awakens the energy in manipura, the lumbar (or “fire”) center. The fourth center it awakens is anahata, the dorsal or heart center (“air”); then bishuddha, the cervical (“ether”) center.
Divine Mother: Paraprakriti, the pure aspect of the Cosmic Vibration.
Such is My lower nature (Aparaprakriti). Understand now, O Mighty-armed (Arjuna)! that My other and higher nature (Paraprakriti) sustains the soul (jiva), which is individual consciousness, and sustains also the life-principle of the universe.
The astral world contains both angels (devas) and demons (asuras). They are attracted to their own kind among human beings.
“Thoughts,” Yogananda wrote in Autobiography of a Yogi, “are universally and not individually rooted.” Inspirations are not created: they must be invited.
God also, Yogananda said, weeps for mankind: for man’s follies and sufferings. He weeps also for human wickedness, for though it produces grief for its recipients, it produces even more grief, in time, for the wicked themselves. Yet the Lord allows His show to go on. He created it without any sense of personal involvement. The drama of every individual’s life must work its slow way, by however winding a road, to its eventual, indeed inevitable, conclusion: reabsorption in the bliss of Satchidananda
Time is an illusion. Once one awakens from it, it seems as though no time had passed at all!
Those, finally, who seek perfection in wisdom, spurning all other “attractions,” offer themselves up wholly to God. Such devotees are, among all the virtuous, the most pleasing to
seek perfection in wisdom, spurning all other “attractions,” offer themselves up wholly to God.
Best it is, then, to pray to God for everything, always adding, “Fulfill this prayer, Lord, only if it is in keeping with Your will.”
even in prayer, he practices nishkam karma: non-attachment to the fruits.
time is not an essential factor in self-upliftment.
“Habits can be changed in a day. They are the result of mental concentration. If one has been concentrating one way, he can simply concentrate a new way.”
Never admit to yourself that you haven’t the power to overcome any defect. The more your mind resists a bad habit instead of embracing it gleefully, the more you will build up the inner strength eventually to overcome it.
Await your opportunities calmly and dispassionately.
The important thing is not to concern oneself with theological niceties (think how many religious pedants waste time and effort in that preoccupation!), but to offer one’s energy upward, past the ego to a higher source.
There is the story of a saint in India who lived long ago.
God is all of these, but is so much more besides that He cannot, in His true essence, be either named or imagined.
What Krishna means in this sloka is not that it is erroneous to worship God with name and form, but only that it is wrong to try to confine God in doing so.
What Krishna means in this sloka is not that it is erroneous to worship God with name and form, but only that it is wrong to try to confine God in doing so. God is everything—and He is nothing: that is to say, no specific thing. He is both in and beyond everything, and, in truth, is not even the “things” He has manifested, since they are but dreams, “real” only as dreams are real.
Egoic will, which we have called whimsical, is in fact imposed upon man by his own past karma. It is whimsical only in the sense that, though an act may seem deliberate, in fact man is normally guided by his own past actions, and by the tendencies he built up in consequence of them.
The will is free only when it is guided by superconscious inspiration. Even then, that inspiration must be filtered down through the mind’s prior conditioning: a poet, for example, will receive influence from the superconscious in the form of words, whereas a composer, under perhaps the same inspiration, will express it in melody, rhythm, and harmony.
The Bhagavad Gita, amazingly, never wastes a word.
He perceives God in all His eight aspects: Light, Sound, Peace, Calmness, Power, Wisdom, Love, and (above all) Bliss. (Peace and Calmness differ from one another only in that Peace is the soothing cessation of all agitation of feeling, whereas Calmness is dynamic, and is the silent, essential core of creativity, of impersonal love, and of divine wisdom.)
Jyoti Mudra, the purpose of which is not only to see but to pass his life force and consciousness through the spiritual eye into infinity.
always bear in mind the goal (God) even while traveling the path.
Never go to bed at night before experiencing at least some aspect of the divine presence within—peace, love, upliftment of consciousness, or joy.
one moon gives more light than all the stars. One Self-realized soul accomplishes more by his simple presence in this world than all the “stars” of busy (but mostly either inept or frustrated) world changers.
“Seize the day!” is an expression: this Day of Brahma; this yuga of Earth time; this season; this day; this very moment! Spiritual progress comes not with the passing of years, but with every moment of sincere effort. “The minutes,” Yogananda said, “are more important than the years.”
every step of the way is more rewarding, more joyful, and more utterly satisfying!
the raising of the Kundalini force must be accompanied by conscious purification of the heart’s feelings. The most important part of its awakening depends, indeed, on kindness, generosity, truthfulness, and all the basic virtues—recognized as such in every true religion.
yellow for muladhara; white for swadisthana; red for manipura; blue for anahata; smoke colored with little specks of light for bishuddha; and, in the spiritual eye (as has already been described), a ring of gold surrounding a field of deep blue-violet, with a silvery-white five-pointed star at the center.
It is tempting to compare the colors of these six chakras, along with the seventh in the so-called crown chakra at the top of the head, with the colors of the rainbow. The rainbow is certainly comparable with the seven chakras, especially with their gradual change in hue from materialistic red to spiritual violet (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). This comparison must be written off, however, as more poetical than literal.
one has to become aware of a limitation before he can transcend it.
Indifference is the greatest spiritual disease.
Images—swirling, haunting, dream-like—come and go, changeless forever yet forever changing.
We imagine that we, like little icebergs, are substantially different from Him,
“Who made God?” is another question commonly asked. Yogananda’s reply was, “You ask this question because you are living in the realm of causation. God, however, is the Supreme Cause. He is self-existent.” To assume that a thing has been caused is, necessarily, to accept that it will, in time, be “uncaused”—that is to say, destroyed. God is neither living nor non-living: He simply is—without a cause, without a reason, beyond all inference or disproof, beyond either acceptance or rejection. Wise are they who, contemplating Him, simply marvel in silence.
Hinduism itself was a name given only centuries later to the religion of India. The indigenous name, as we stated earlier, was Sanaatan Dharma: the “Eternal Religion.”
Even stagnation is a kind of movement, implying as it does a kind of inward deterioration.
Those who worship the gods go to them; those who worship their ancestors go to the abode of ancestors; those who worship the nature spirits go to them; but those who are My devotees come to Me.
The first snow that falls on the ground in wintertime does not immediately whiten the earth. Gradually the snowflakes cool the ground until it is cold enough to accept them. Whiteness then becomes visible, as if suddenly, everywhere.
“Start wherever you are now on the way to the Infinite. The smallest step you take will bring you closer,
Garuda (“lord of the skies”; in classical symbology, the vehicle of Vishnu).
No art is needed to feel inspiration, but to express that inspiration requires self-discipline and focused energy. These come only as a result of serious training and much effort. The true artist is never one who, feeling uplifted by what he sees, makes wild brush marks on his canvas that can have meaning for no one but himself
Perseverance in pursuing Self-knowledge, and (sincere) aspiration to (experience) it through meditation, is better than the possession of theoretical knowledge. Offering up to Me the fruits of action, moreover, is better than one-sided but restless meditation. Action, coupled with renunciation of the fruits of action, brings inner peace, which makes it possible to meditate deeply.
he gives energy, rather than waiting to receive it.
bodies: physical, astral, and causal, the first two of which are subject to birth and death—may be described even on the physical level as only ideas of the soul. All three bodies are unreal in eternity, and endure only as long as the idea of them is kept alive by desires. That idea is fueled in the astral and physical bodies by the concept of individuality. Ego-consciousness is, indeed, an “element” of the astral body.
“To know something is, in fact, to differentiate three distinct things: the knower, the thing known, and the act of knowing.”
“I’m not what I do. I’m a young man with many interests, including that of visiting this saint—though I do so for reasons I don’t fully understand.”
am that something within that remains unchanged—that simply observes change.
I am that something within that remains unchanged—that simply observes change.
he, himself, was a point of inner perception from which he merely observed these changes, but didn’t define himself in terms of any of them.
I am that something within that remains unchanged—that simply observes change. Thus, he came to identify himself more and more with his soul.
Knowledge is the possession of a mere catalogue of facts: Wisdom is the understanding of how to use facts in the quest for enlightenment in the Self.
Whenever possible, he should seek seclusion—for one or two weeks a year, or for longer periods—to immerse himself in the thought of God. He should not dislike worldly company, since to dislike anything is to create a disturbance in his chitta, or feeling. He may not always find it convenient to avoid such society, but he should be conscious of, and accept as the right attitude for a devotee, an inner disinclination for it. Thus, if he must sometimes attend worldly gatherings, he should relate to people from a firm center of calmness within himself.
in this world of duality, all victories are transient, and are necessarily balanced by defeats (owing to the universal sway of duality). Individual seekers of truth must, one by one, dive beneath the agitation caused by the storm at the surface, and find peace in the depths. Liberation is achieved singly, not by group effort. Though groups can at least provide a supportive environment for the individual aspirant, the exercise of conscience must be done personally—and often solitarily: It is ever a matter between the individual and his Maker.
the one who experiences (but doesn’t react with feelings of either pleasure or pain),
some seekers follow the path of meditation, some that of knowledge, and some the path of selfless activity (service). Described here briefly are the three main approaches to God (which is to say, to Self-realization).
some seekers follow the path of meditation, some that of knowledge, and some the path of selfless activity (service).
A true guru’s teaching is, above all, by a transferral of consciousness. His main “job” is to uplift the disciple by his spiritual magnetism. The disciple’s role is to listen, not to argue.
“The spiritual path is twenty-five percent the disciple’s effort; twenty-five percent the guru’s effort on his behalf; and fifty percent the grace of God.” Because the guru is a channel for God Himself, it may even be said without error that God, both in and through the guru, accounts for seventy-five percent of the disciple’s spiritual journey.
Is it important to be physically near the guru? Not necessarily. Mental attunement is everything. My Guru told me that even one physical contact with the guru may suffice to seal that bond. There must, however—so he told me—be at least that one contact. It can occur through the mediation of an advanced disciple. Those, however, who think to form it only by mental acceptance on their part do not achieve the same results.
“In the midst of death, life persists.”
“Don’t think you can love God purely and entirely if you are able to treat even one human being unkindly. The one Lord is equally present in all. To mistreat or even to feel ill will toward any of His creatures is, at least to that extent, to separate yourself from God.”
Many spiritually inclined people feel fulfillment in the vicarious knowledge they get from reading and discussing spiritual truths. Intellectual knowledge, however, does not touch a person inwardly. It is not based on direct experience, but only on the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of others.
If one learns, by such action, to see and appreciate that others, too, have their needs, then even selfish activity can lead upward, toward a freer consciousness. But if one determinedly excludes the needs of others from one’s own struggle for self-fulfillment, his consciousness will shrink inward upon itself, and his energy will move downward in the spine into the lower chakras.
A seed cannot suddenly become a tree. Every human being needs to grow from that stage which he has reached so far. Instead of expecting overnight perfection on the spiritual path, one must work realistically with the tools he has to hand. The seed will grow if it is watered regularly. That watering process, for a devotee, is daily meditation and constant practice of the presence of God.
The veil cast by maya, however, is heavy. Even masters must make a conscious effort to cast off its last lingering traces in their consciousness. When death comes to you, therefore, make a serious effort to sever the cords of attachment that bind you to this life.
jivan muktas—freed, that is to say, while still living in the body—even if their freedom comes only at the moment of death.
The less you allow your ego to identify itself with any quality, the more you’ll be able to pick and choose the qualities you’d like to manifest, and will thus learn to act appropriately under all circumstances.
Otherwise, if you become satisfied with yourself, you’ll only fall—once more!—because you’ll have reaffirmed your ego.
have the faith required to follow him implicitly. True faith in the guru is not passive, nor is it an indication of ignorance. Disciples blessed with that faith soon emerge from the confines of ego into the spotless skies of divine consciousness.
a true guru makes every effort to ensure that his disciple’s obedience will be both deliberate (free-willed) and intelligent, and will not be a matter of blind or merely submissive acquiescence.
The soul, as has been explained before, is encased in three such bodies, the subtlest, or causal, being the innermost, the one enclosing that (the astral body) coming next, and the outermost sheath being the physical.
There cannot be consciousness without feeling. Indeed, feeling is consciousness. Spiritual progress depends on refining the receptivity of feeling. This is possible only when the intuition is calm and, therefore, pure.
Accept nothing that doesn’t appeal to your highest sense of what is right and true. Even then, be guided by the supportive opinions of the wise. When wise persons in general agree on the spiritual authenticity of a document, then only—so wisdom dictates—may the document be safely accepted as true scripture.
Once one has removed his ego’s natural impulse to wrest what it wants from life, he achieves his goals effortlessly, often with willing help from others.
Only when we face reality as it is can we begin to change it to what it should be.
action without personal desire for the fruits of action.
When others are agitated (and you might be, too), tell yourself, “Things will be normal again in a few hours, or days, or another week—or another month—or another year.”
When others are agitated (and you might be, too), tell yourself, “Things will be normal again in a few hours, or days, or another week—or another month—or another year.” However long the period, it will end.
accepting whatever is as, simply, what it is.
For much that passes for success in worldly eyes is not really even good karma, and may actually result in a person’s eventual spiritual downfall and long-range misery.
One is the fact that success comes as a result of focused concentration.
“As long as you make the effort, God will never let you down.”
“Arjuna, know this for a certainty: My devotee is never lost.” One further thought remains, both to stiffen one’s resolution and to brighten one’s hope: Once the desire for God awakens in the heart, that desire must be fulfilled. It is already his guarantee of salvation
The very fact that desires can lead to anger should be a sufficient indication that the desires themselves are manifestations of bondage, not of freedom.
fight dispassionately, without attachment to the results. This is the secret of true ahimsa, non-violence (harmlessness). Sometimes one must destroy in order to honor his higher duty. He need not, however, wish destruction on anything or anyone.
the effect of prayer depends not on any prayer-formula, however valid in itself, but on the attitude of the person praying.
Each one’s faith depends upon his nature. As a man is, so is his faith. As his faith is, so is the man.
We are, in other words, what we believe.
the vibrations of what one eats. For this reason also, it is important that food be prepared in an uplifted frame of mind, and not under the influence of such harmful emotions as anger, grief, deep worry, or depression.
Because the food one eats has an effect on mental clarity and upliftment, it plays an important role not only in one’s bodily health but also in one’s spiritual life.
This threefold austerity (of body, speech, and mind) is sattwic in nature; it is practiced by persevering seekers (blessed with) deep devotion, who desire not the fruits of their actions.
My Guru used to say that to give food or money to someone in need is good; to give him a job is better; and to help him to become qualified to get a good job is best of all.
On a mental plane, to give good advice inappropriately, to someone who is not likely to benefit from it, would be a mistake also. Give counsel charily, when it is clearly wanted and requested, and never impose it on anybody: This is sattwic counseling.
Sat stands for eternal and absolute truth: the Supreme Spirit, above and beyond all vibration.
on continued effort until there is no sense of doing, doer, and done because one is merged in the Infinite
Krishna means also that one should abandon as early as possible the absurd tendency of the doubting mind
The wise understand renunciation to be the relinquishing of any action performed with (personal) desire. They also declare that it is not action itself which should be abandoned, but only that action which desires the fruits of action.
Tantra is an approach to God that teaches one to be strong in himself in the very teeth of temptation. It is a “back staircase” to God, and spiritually very dangerous.
The activity involved in yagya (sacrifice), philanthropic works, and the austerities (listed in 17:14–16) ought certainly to be engaged in, and should not be abandoned, for, when performed with wisdom, (they) purify the heart. (18:6) Even these (self-uplifting) activities, however, ought to be performed without attachment (either) to them or to their fruits.
One who gives up a duty because he finds it difficult, or because he fears it will cause him pain, relinquishes that action with rajasic consciousness (motivated by desire and attachment).
(A true disciple of a true guru will never pit one of those against the other.)
One who is wise in his renunciation is ever calm in himself, and is never doubtful. He has no aversion to unpleasant actions, nor is he attached to pleasant ones.
who thinks of his ego as the sole doer of everything accomplished by him shows no understanding at all.
There is no such thing as death, but only transition.
In divine consciousness, knowing, knower, and known are one and the same. The person is, in fact, the thing known: he is not only the knower. Thus, for example, learning, for him, is no longer difficult, since he already is that knowledge! He is also the act of knowing, which means that, in learning, he doesn’t really absorb anything new.
Sattwic action is motivated by superconscious inspiration. It is performed without attachment, without likes or dislikes, and without desire for any fruits accruing from
Sattwic courage, on the other hand, is based on perfect knowledge, and on acceptance of the possible consequences.
Krishna has said there may, occasionally, be a right motivation for fear: when the action one contemplates might put one in karmic error.
body and senses controlled by pranayama.
“When we lift up one hand to God, He reaches two down to help us.”
Even saints manifest tamoguna (tamas), although, relatively speaking, to a very mild degree. They manifest it in the fact that they sleep, or take rest. Even tamasic or very evil people, moreover, show the sattwic quality to a mild degree when they do anything good for anyone.
sense control (by the practice of pranayama),
mind control (concentration), sense control (by the practice of pranayama), self-restraint, purity, forgiveness, integrity, wisdom, meditation to attain Self-realization, and faith in a higher truth.
The duty of a Vaishya is to include the benefit of others in his own activities. Thus, he will become more sensitive to the needs of others, and will develop, in time, the nature of a Kshatriya.
A true Kshatriya stands up for what he believes, but his rectitude will be appropriate.
“If a duty conflicts with a higher duty, it ceases to be a duty.” In other words, if there are several things one can do well, he should concentrate on that activity which will most expand his sympathies and uplift his consciousness.
Every human being must follow his own star. The higher one rises toward inner freedom, the more imperative becomes this advice.
one should not abandon the work dictated by his own nature, even though (the work) contain some imperfection, for all undertakings (even the best) are marred by blemishes, even as a flame is (obscured) by smoke.
That person comes closest to attaining perfection who keeps his intellect non-attached to everything outside the Self, who reigns in victory over the Self, and from whom (all) desires have fled.
To know one’s Self is to know God! To know one’s Self is to know everything!
abiding in a solitary place, eating lightly, controlling the body, speech, and mind; absorbing oneself in divine yoga meditation; dispassionate
creating a “place of seclusion” in one’s own home. Set aside one room, or even a screened-off portion of your bedroom, where the only activity allowed is meditation. Superconscious vibrations will develop there, and will effectively “screen out” the surrounding, worldly atmosphere.
“Now then, do as you feel.”
The cosmic drama needs suspense, excitement, at times terror, and at other times thrilling beauty. Man needs to feel that the ending to it all is highly uncertain, and may, for him, prove disastrous. Only thus will his interest throughout keep him “on the edge of his seat.” Every soul’s journey is unique. It is filled with uncertainties, with sorrow mingled with joy, with hope mingled with despair, with triumph mingled with crushing defeat, with dark doubt as to whether life has any meaning at all followed by the discovery of human love, of success, of history-making knowledge, of undreamed-of power, of joyful laughter followed by heart-wrenching tears. If man could know, through this long journey, that God’s love was always with him—deeply, eternally, unconditionally—he might well preen himself on that “good fortune,” grow cocky, and never learn the attitudes absolutely necessary for entering into, and becoming one with, that love.
Never share these truths with one who is without self-control or devotion, nor with one who won’t share with others in a spirit of service, nor give them to one who is indifferent to them, or who finds fault with Me.
never try to impose even good ideas on anyone, even if you are sure of those truths in yourself. People need to ask, first. They must seek understanding. To try to force even wisdom on them would be an offense against their eternal birthright of free will.