Source:wisdompills.com
"Paramahansa Yogananda" was a living Master. He was able to recall memories from the earliest moments
of infancy (and beyond), possessed incredible control over his mental and
physical processes and, at the time of death, left his body at will, otherwise
known as mahasamādhi. Paramahansa, which translates as “supreme swan” and is a
title in India meant to describe the highest spiritual attainment, differed
from ‘spiritual teachers’ in the same way that all true masters do – in that he
reincarnated already awakened with the sole purpose of being of service to
humankind. His mission? To bring yoga and meditation to the west.
Born in India in 1893, Yogananda had met his guru
(recognized, in silence, from a past life) by the age of 17 and had established
The Self Realization Fellowship in LA, California by the time he was 27. At the
time of this writing, the Fellowship has over 500 temples, retreats, ashrams,
centers, and meditation circles around the world. In 1946 he wrote the seminal Autobiography of a Yogi, which went on to become one of the top-selling
spiritual texts of the 20th century, and was a favourite of everyone from
George Harrison to Steve Jobs, the latter of whom actually had the text handed
out to all of the departing attendees of his memorial service. From the book:
“The society means to foster a spirit of greater understanding and goodwill
among the diverse people and nations of the global family and help those of all
cultures and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the
beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit, which mission it intends to
fulfill through worldwide service.”
Here, then, are 15 quotes from the kind and masterful soul
of Paramahansa Yogananda..
01. One
must never give up hope of becoming better. A person is old only when he
refuses to make the effort to change. That stagnant state is the only “old age”
I recognize.
02. You
should be able to succeed in any profession or do anything you put your mind
to.
03. You
may control a mad elephant; You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger;
Ride the lion and play with the cobra; By alchemy you may learn your
livelihood; You may wander through the universe incognito; Make vassals of the
gods; be ever youthful; You may walk in water and live in fire; But control of
the mind is better and more difficult.
04. If you
program yourself with theoretical knowledge, you will become a walking
Victrola, able to repeat lofty phrases and to be considered a learned being,
but your knowledge will be unsupported by your own realization or spiritual
attainment… Do not use your God-given reason to become more and more
mixed up in the labyrinth of matter and in the egoistic limitations of the
intellect; with the power of discrimination, study and apply truth until it
becomes your own intuitive realization. When you develop your intuition,
you will feel the presence of God and His omniscience within you. That is
called esoteric reason…
05. Untrained
warriors are soon killed on the battlefield; so also persons untrained in the
art of preserving their inner peace are quickly riddled by the bullets of worry
and restlessness in active life… The schools should educate young students in
this art, and in how to develop calmness and concentration. The American
home is breaking up because these things are not taught – neither at home nor
in the schools.
06. Watch
your consciousness. Develop the habit of self-examination, of watching and
analyzing your thoughts and behaviour. When there are tell-tale signs of bad
habits or inclinations, that is the time to discriminate and resist with will
power.
07. When
you transform your consciousness into divine consciousness so that you feel for
everyone else’s well-being as you feel for yourself, when all the world becomes
your greater self, you will become completely dissociated from the sufferings
of your little body. You will behold creation as a sort of dramatic experience
in which nothing can hurt you.
08. When
you truly want to be released from this earth dream, there is no power that can
stop you from attaining liberation. Never doubt it! Your salvation is not to be
achieved – it is already yours, because you are made in the image of God; but
you have to know this.
09. All
paths are paths to God, because, ultimately, there is no other place for the
soul to go. Everything has come out of God and must go back to Him.
10. The
rishis of ancient India, having penetrated to the Original Cause of Being,
declare that God is perfect, that he needs nothing, for all is contained within
Himself; and that this world is God’s Lila, or divine play. The Lord, it seems,
like a little child, loves to play, and his Lila is the endless variety of
ever-changing creation.
11. The
true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is
the soul’s power of knowing God. To know what religion is really all about, one
must know God.
12. Emotional
sensitivity is the cause of suffering. Do not be so sensitive.
13. Simple
living does not mean poverty or poverty consciousness.
14. One
should seek and associate with the highest diamond like mentalities. Take
time to find true friends. Good souls attract good souls. Live like gods,
and you will attract godly friends. Live like animals on the sensual
plane, and you will attract animalistic companions. Do not mix closely
with those who lower your ideals and create materialistic nervousness in you;
but at the same time do not exclude anyone from your love.
15. …each
life is a master novel written by God.
