The Guru

When one has found his guru there should be
unconditional devotion to him, because he is the vehicle
of God. The guru’s sole purpose is to bring the disciple
to Self-realization; the love a guru receives from a
devotee is given by the guru to God.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Sayings of Yogananda”

It is because God wants you that I am here with
you, calling you to come Home, where my Beloved
is, where Christ and Krishna, and Babaji, Lahiri
Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswarji, and the other saints are.
“Come,” the Lord is saying, “they are all rejoicing in
Me. No worldly joys–the taste of food, the beauty of
flowers, the passing pleasure of earthly love–can
compare with the divine joys of My home.”
There is only one Reality. It is He. Forget every-
thing else.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Sayings of Paramahansa
Yogananda”

O my Guru! If all the gods are wroth, and yet
thou art satisfied with me, I am safe in the fortress
of thy pleasure. And if all the gods protect me by the
parapets of their blessings, and yet I receive not thy
benediction, I am an orphan, left to pine spiritually
in the ruins of thy displeasure.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Whispers from Eternity

Devotee: How can I obtain Guru’s Grace?

Ramana Maharishi: Grace is the Self. That also is not to be acquired; you only need to know that it exists.
The sun is brightness only. It does not see darkness. Yet you speak of darkness fleeing on the sun’s approach.
So also the devotee’s ignorance, like the phantom of darkness, vanishes at the look of the Guru. You are
surrounded by sunlight; yet if you want to see the sun, you must turn in its direction and look at it. So also Grace is found by the proper approach you make, though it is here and now.

Obedience to the guru is necessary for attunement
with his wisdom. It is not slavery to follow the wishes
of a God-realized guru, because his wish gives
independence and freedom. A true guru is the servant
of God, carrying out His plan for your liberation.
Realize this, and you will always obey, until you find
perfect freedom in Spirit.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Self-Realization Magazine”

Patience
Do not look for a spiritual flower every day. Sow
the seed, water it with prayer and right endeavor.
When it sprouts, take care of the plant, pulling out the
weeds of doubt, indecision, and indifference that may
spring up around it. Some morning you will suddenly
behold your long-awaited spiritual flower of Realization.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, in a “Para-gram”

No known comparison exists in the three worlds for a true guru. If the philosopher’s stone be assumed as truly such, it can only turn iron into gold, not into another philosopher’s stone. The venerated teacher, on the other hand, creates equality with himself in the disciple, who takes refuge at his feet. The guru is therefore peerless, nay transcendental.”
– Adi Shankaracharya

Patience
Your are your own enemy and you don’t know it.
You don’t learn to sit quietly. You don’t learn to give
time to God. And you are impatient and expect to attain
heaven all at once. You cannot get it by reading books
or by listening to sermons or by doing charitable works.
You can get it only by giving your time to Him in deep
meditation.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Man’s Eternal Quest”

Patience
Let us forget the sorrows of the past and make up
our minds not to dwell on them in the New Year.
With determination and unflinching will, let us renew
our lives, our good habits, and our successes. If the
last year has been hopelessly bad, the New Year must
be hopefully good.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Self-Realization Magazine”

The Guru
In the beginning of one’s spiritual search, it is
wise to compare various spiritual paths and teachers.
But when you find the real guru destined for you,
the one whose teachings can lead you to the Divine
Goal, then restless searching should cease. A spiritually
thirsty person should not go on indefinitely seeking
new wells; rather he should go to the best well and
drink daily of it’s living waters.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, SRF Lessons

When tilling the ground for the cultivation of crops,
one needs patience to destroy all useless weeds and
to wait, even though the ground then appears barren,
until the hidden good seeds sprout into plants. It
requires still more patience to clear the field of
consciousness that is overgrown with weeds of useless
attachments to sense pleasures, which are very difficult
to uproot. Yet when the field of consciousness is
cleared, and sown with seeds of good qualities, plants
of noble activities sprout forth, yielding abundantly
the fruits of real happiness. Above all, have patience
to seek communion with God through deep meditation
and to become acquainted with your indestructible
soul, hidden within your perishable earthly body.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, in a “Para-gram”

O Christ, take possession of my heart and mind!
Be thou reborn in me as love for all men. May thy
consciousness which is in every atom manifest in me
as unconditional loyalty to Guru and the Great Ones,
and to thee, O Blessed Jesus, and to the Supreme who
is the Father of all.
–Paramhansa Yogananda, “Self-Realization Magazine”

Those who renounce life truly, in fact, enjoy life better than those
who do not, because the true sanyasis are not troubled by the fear
of loss or the possibility of gain. They accept their lot, what
comes to them without struggle and seeking and remain indifferent to what does not come to them or what has departed from them.
–Isha Upanishad (Translation and Commentary by Jayaram V)

Renunciation is not negation of life. It is not some morose and
lifeless experience. We should not renounce life because of despair
or depression arising out of our fears, frustration or personal
failures. True renunciation arises out of intense longing for the
divine, out of a state of mind in which attachment with the Divine
alone makes sense and out of a sense of freedom and fearlessness
that stem from unflinching faith in God and His supreme will.
–Isha Upanishad (Translation and Commentary by Jayaram V)

Life has to be enjoyed, but without seeking, without coveting, and
without struggling to get things done or get things for oneself. It
is the renunciation of seeking and of desiring things which
constitute the central feature of a life of true renunciation.
–Isha Upanishad (Translation and Commentary by Jayaram V)

You will receive everything you need when you stop asking for what you do not need
Nisargidatt Maharaj

Coax Christ today with your songs and the devotion
of your heart, and then coax him with your deepening
Self-realization. With all the intensity of your zeal and
inner perception, merge your consciousness in the
happiness within. Forget time. When you feel joy
spreading within you, realize that Christ is hearing
your song. You are not identified with Christ if your
concentration is merely on the words. But if your joy
is singing within, Christ is listening to you.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Self-Realization Magazine”

Patience

The truth is, that which you want is with you all
the time, closer than hands or feet. Any moment it
may lift you above the world and personal depression.
Wait patiently for Him.
–Sri Gyanamata, “God Alone: The Life and Letters of a
Saint”

Choose which habits you are going to destroy
in the New Year. Make up your mind about them
and stick to your decision. Resolve to give more time
to God: to meditate regularly every day, and on one
night each week to meditate for several hours, so that
you can feel your spiritual progress in God. Resolve
that you are going to practice Kriya Yoga regularly
and that you are going to control your appetites and
emotions. Be a master!
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Man’s Eternal Quest”

If I don’t see you, remember I am working for
you in some other place. My seeing you all the time
will not necessarily help you. You will receive more
by meditating deeply and regularly. I am not here
only to help you in this life, but in the beyond also.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, Lecture

There is a vast difference between imagination
and Self-realization. Through your imagination you
may have subconscious dreams and visions of Christ
every day. But such experiences do not mean that you
are truly in touch with him. The real visitation of Jesus
is the communion with Christ Consciousness. If you
are in tune with that Christ, your whole life will change.
–Paramhansa Yogananda, “Self-Realization Magazine

May the Christmas spirit you feel not end with
today; rather may it be with you every night as you
meditate. Then in the silence of your own mind, as
you drive away all restless thoughts, Christ
Consciousness will come. If we all follow the spirit
of Jesus we shall surely experience every day his
presence within us.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Man’s Eternal Quest”

Read one letter, Alif, the only one,
The rest you can all forget.
Let thy spirit have a cleansing
No other study for you next.

Shah Abdul Latif

In the lives of saints and mystics of the East, the claim to have derived knowledge directly from God, without scholastic training or education, is a recurrent tale. It is said that as a boy Shah Latif was sent to learn the alphabet from Akhund Nur Mahomcd Bhatti, but he refused to proceed after the first letter, Ali], to the next letter (Bai), saying that there was nothing beyond’ Alif, the One or Unity: He was then withdrawn from the school and never got any further scholastic training. This story is to be taken with a grain of salt. Long afterwards, Shah said in the above verse that has become well known.

Silence

From the depths of silence the geyser of God’s bliss
shoots up unfailingly and flows over man’s being.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Sayings of Yogananda”

Absolute perfection is here and now, not in some future, near or far. The secret is in action – here and now. It is your behavior that blinds you to yourself. Disregard whatever you think yourself to be and act as if you were absolutely perfect – whatever your idea of perfection may be. All you need is courage
Nisargidatt Maharaj

“Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshiper of fire,
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
…Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair”.

~Rumi

“Go not far, Sassi! nor give up the quest,
Walk not with your feet, yet sit not quite content
All connection with joys of life snap,
Walk with your heart, that journey may soon end.”
………Bhitai [Sur Sasui]

Christmas

To bring divine awareness into our human consciousness
we must outgrow the limited conventional concept of Christ.
To me Christmas is a thought of spiritual grandeur –
a realisation that our minds are an altar of Christ, the Universal
Intelligence in all creation. Jesus was born in a little crib, but
the Christ Spirit is omnipresent.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Self-Realization Magazine”

Silence

Be with people in silence; don’t spend precious time
and energy in idle talk. Eat in silence; work in silence.
God loves silence.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, SRF Lessons

Christmas

Lift your eyes and concentrate within. Behold the
astral star of divine wisdom and let the wise thoughts
in you follow that telescopic star to behold the Christ
everywhere.
In that land of everlasting Christmas, of festive,
omnipresent Christ Consciousness, you will find Jesus,
Krishna, the saints of all religions, the great guru-
preceptors waiting to give you a divine floral reception
of everlasting happiness.
–Paramhansa Yogananda, “Metaphysical Meditations”

Dukh Mein Simran Sab Kare, Sukh Mein Kare Na Koye
Jo Sukh Mein Simran Kare, Tau Dukh Kahe Ko Hoye

[In anguish everyone prays to Him, in Comfort  none do
To one who to  prays even in happy times, how sorrow could ever touch
–Sant Kabir]

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.
–Zarathustra

Sayeen Itna Deejiye, Ja Mein Kutumb Samaye
Main Bhi Bhookha Na Rahun, Sadhu Na Bhookha Jaye

[Give so much, O Lord, sufficient to fulfill the needs of my Family
I too should not starve, nor the visiting mendicant go unfed]

Sant Kabir Das

Silence

     The habitual silence  of Sri Yukteswar was caused by his deep perceptions of the infinite.  No time remained for the interminable  “revelations” that occupy the days of teachers without Self-realization.  A saying from the 

Hindu scriptures is as follows:  

“In shallow men the fish of little thoughts cause much commotion.  In oceanic minds the whales of inspiration make hardly a ruffle.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, “Autobiography of a Yogi”

When I was, Hari (God) was not, now Hari is and I am no more: All darkness vanished, when I saw the Lamp within my heart. The effulgence of the Supreme Being is beyond the imagination: In effable is His beauty, to see it is the only `proof.’ Him whom I went out to seek, I found just where I was: He now has become myself whom before I called `Another.’

Sant Kabir Das

W h e re there is light, darkness is no more. Where there is Knowledge, ignorance is absent. And, as the folds, the veil and the valley of separation are all in the domain of ignorance, a Perf e c t Master—who is the “Sun” of all Knowledge—can, in the twinkling of an eye, impart God-realization to anyone he chooses.*God alone is real, and as we are permanently lodged in the Divine Beloved, we are all one.

Meher Baba 

God Speaks

If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall still be dimly aware of the present when the good things that I have been expecting come to pass. For I shall have formed a habit of looking behind and ahead, making it difficult for me to attend to the here and now. If, then , my awareness of the past and future makes me less aware of the present, I must begin to wonder whether I am actually living in the real world.

Ajahn Sumedho

Solitude

The spiritual path is like a razor’s edge. It is not
simple at all. Seclusion is the price of greatness and
God-realization. When I am alone I am with God.
That is the way you should be.
–Paramahansa Yogananda, in a talk to disciples

“Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.”

Pema Chödrön (When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Library))

Solitude

So long as you have not found God, it is best not
to be interested in amusements. Seeking diversion
means forgetting Him. First learn to love Him and
know Him. Then it won’t matter what you do, for
He will never leave your thoughts.
— Paramahansa Yogananda, “Sayings of Yogananda”

After we have placed ourselves entirely in God’s hands with complete confidence in Him, we must not fear any adversity; for if some misfortune should befall us, God will know how to turn it to our good through ways which we do not know now but will know some day.
– St. Vincent de Paul

Every minute is eternity because eternity can be experienced in that minute.
Every day and minute and hour is a window through which you may see eternity.
Life is brief, yet it is unending.
The soul is everlasting, but out of the short season of this life you should reap the most you can of immortality.
God First! God Last! God Always! God Alone!

It is simple. We are where we should be, doing what we should be doing. Otherwise we would be somewhere else, doing something else.

By Richard Stine

“You have to find out what meditation is. It is a most extraordinary thing to know what meditation is – not how to meditate, not the system, not the practice, but the content of meditation. To be in the meditative mood and to go into that meditation requires a very generous mind, a mind that has no border, a mind that is not caught in the process of time. A mind that has not committed itself to anything, to any activity, to any thought, to any dogma, to any family, to a name – it is only such a mind that can be generous; and it is only such a mind that can begin to understand the depth, the beauty and the extraordinary loveliness of meditation.”

J. Krishnamurthi
1959 8th Public Talk, New Delhi

Masjid Dha Day, Mandir Dha Day
Dha Day Jo Kujh Disda
Par Kissay Da Dil Na Dhawee(n)
Rub Dilaa(n) Wich Wasda

Tear down the Mosque, tear down the temple
Tear down every thing in sight
But don’t (tear down) break anyone’s heart
Because God lives there

Bulle Shah – sufi Poet from Pakistan

When you demand nothing of the world, nor of God, when you want nothing, seek nothing, expect nothing, then the supreme state will come to you uninvited and unexpected.
-By Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

In one of His aspects, a very touching aspect, the Lord may be said to be a beggar. He yearns for our attention. The Master of the Universe, at whose glance all stars, suns, moons, and planets quiver, is running after man and saying: “Won’t you give Me your affection? Don’t you love Me, the Giver, more than the things I have made for you? Won’t you seek Me?” But man says: “I am too busy now; I have work to do. I can’t take time to look for You.” And the Lord says: “I will wait.”
— – By Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda,