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Autobiography of a Yogi free Audiobook site from their Official publication site - Yogada Satsanga Society of India
Autobiography of a Yogi free Audiobook site from their Official publication site - Yogada Satsanga Society of India
To meditate for a short time with depth is better than to meditate for long hours with the mind running wild. In the beginning, therefore, don’t force yourself to sit for a long time. Strive for shorter, but deeper, meditations. Then gradually, as you become accustomed to going deep, lengthen the time you sit in meditation.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
- Paramahansa Yogananda
Happiness comes, not by helplessly wishing for it, but by dreaming, thinking, and living it in all circumstances. No matter what you are doing, keep the undercurrent of happiness, the secret river of joy, flowing beneath the sands of your thoughts and the rocky soils of hard trials.
Some people smile most of the time while they hide a sorrow-corroded heart. Such people slowly pine away beneath the shadows of meaningless smiles. There are other people who smile once in a while, yet have beneath the surface a million fountains of laughing peace.
Learn to be secretly happy within your heart in spite of all circumstances, and say to yourself, "Happiness is the greatest divine birthright-the buried treasure of my soul. I have found that I am secretly rich beyond the dream of kings."
#paramahamsa_yogananda
#spiritualitybooks
Some people smile most of the time while they hide a sorrow-corroded heart. Such people slowly pine away beneath the shadows of meaningless smiles. There are other people who smile once in a while, yet have beneath the surface a million fountains of laughing peace.
Learn to be secretly happy within your heart in spite of all circumstances, and say to yourself, "Happiness is the greatest divine birthright-the buried treasure of my soul. I have found that I am secretly rich beyond the dream of kings."
#paramahamsa_yogananda
#spiritualitybooks
BABAJI, THE DEATHLESS GURU OF LAHIRI MAHASAYA
He has retained his physical form for centuries, perhaps for millenniums.
The deathless Babaji is an avatara.
In the Hindu scriptures, AVATARA signifies the DESCENT OF DIVINITY INTO FLESH.
“Babaji’s spiritual state is beyond human comprehension,” Sri Yukteswar explained to me. “
The dwarfed vision of men cannot pierce to his transcendental star. One attempts in vain even to picture the avatar’s attainment. IT IS INCONCEIVABLE.
An avatar’s pure body, visible as a light image, is free from any debt to nature.
The casual gaze may see nothing extraordinary in an avatar’s form but it casts no shadow nor makes any footprint on the ground.
These are outward symbolic proofs of an inward lack of darkness and material bondage.
Such a God-man alone knows the Truth behind the relativities of life and death.
~ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI
by Paramahansa Yogananda
He has retained his physical form for centuries, perhaps for millenniums.
The deathless Babaji is an avatara.
In the Hindu scriptures, AVATARA signifies the DESCENT OF DIVINITY INTO FLESH.
“Babaji’s spiritual state is beyond human comprehension,” Sri Yukteswar explained to me. “
The dwarfed vision of men cannot pierce to his transcendental star. One attempts in vain even to picture the avatar’s attainment. IT IS INCONCEIVABLE.
An avatar’s pure body, visible as a light image, is free from any debt to nature.
The casual gaze may see nothing extraordinary in an avatar’s form but it casts no shadow nor makes any footprint on the ground.
These are outward symbolic proofs of an inward lack of darkness and material bondage.
Such a God-man alone knows the Truth behind the relativities of life and death.
~ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI
by Paramahansa Yogananda
Don’t waste time in seeking little things. Naturally it is easier to get other gifts from God than the supreme gift of Himself. But don’t be satisfied with anything less than the highest.
- Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, “How You Can Talk With God”Don’t waste time in seeking little things. Naturally it is easier to get other gifts from God than the supreme gift of Himself. But don’t be satisfied with anything less than the highest.
- Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, “How You Can Talk With God”
- Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, “How You Can Talk With God”Don’t waste time in seeking little things. Naturally it is easier to get other gifts from God than the supreme gift of Himself. But don’t be satisfied with anything less than the highest.
- Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, “How You Can Talk With God”
There is No Other Way:-
Kriya Yoga is practical as well as effective. Even in the first Kriya, you are able to experience the divine sound, light, and vibration and are practicing deep, long breathing. It is not. you breathing, so you need to feel that it is God who is inhaling and exhaling. When the advanced student does this, the power of God will gradually rise, from the lower to the upper centers, just as water is pulled up by a rope from the the bottom of a well. Although you are standing at the top , throwing the rope down into the well, it is not you, but the power of God who is pulling the rope. The advanced student will feel this.
After thrwoing seven times and magnetizing the spine in the first Kriya, the divine power will automatically come to the top. You should do Mahamudra correctly and slowly, and observe your transformation. If you do slowly, you will lose awareness of your body within three Bows. You have to feel that God is drawing breath, and that money center (Muladhar Chakra) is coming to God. Then God is pulling the rope and coming to the second center (Swadhishthan Chakra), and you are offering your family center to God. Once again, the power of God comes from the top to the Navel Center, and then to the Heart Center, rising like an elevator, as you offer each center to God.- from Shree Paramahansa Hariharanandaji's book "A Collection of Instructions on Kriya Yoga", page No.182
Kriya Yoga is practical as well as effective. Even in the first Kriya, you are able to experience the divine sound, light, and vibration and are practicing deep, long breathing. It is not. you breathing, so you need to feel that it is God who is inhaling and exhaling. When the advanced student does this, the power of God will gradually rise, from the lower to the upper centers, just as water is pulled up by a rope from the the bottom of a well. Although you are standing at the top , throwing the rope down into the well, it is not you, but the power of God who is pulling the rope. The advanced student will feel this.
After thrwoing seven times and magnetizing the spine in the first Kriya, the divine power will automatically come to the top. You should do Mahamudra correctly and slowly, and observe your transformation. If you do slowly, you will lose awareness of your body within three Bows. You have to feel that God is drawing breath, and that money center (Muladhar Chakra) is coming to God. Then God is pulling the rope and coming to the second center (Swadhishthan Chakra), and you are offering your family center to God. Once again, the power of God comes from the top to the Navel Center, and then to the Heart Center, rising like an elevator, as you offer each center to God.- from Shree Paramahansa Hariharanandaji's book "A Collection of Instructions on Kriya Yoga", page No.182
Five Keys of Prana Vidya
Paramahamsa Niranjanananda
There are five keys by which we can unlock the doors of our bio-plasmic body.
The first key is the awareness of the psychic breath The experience of the breath can be both gross and subtle. The gross experience is the physical process of inhalation and exhalation! we breathe in, we breathe out, we become aware of the breath in the nostrils, in the lungs, in the lower abdominal region, and in the chest. Manipulation of this gross manifestation of breath through willpower, through concentration and the practices of pranayama is one aspect of the breath.
The other aspect of the breath is psychic, the movement of inhalation and exhalation in the form of ujjayi pranayama. Awareness of the deep sound we make in ujjayi pranayama during inhalation and exhalation is awareness of the psychic breath. Awareness of the psychic breath is not an unnatural or unconscious process, but involves the practice of awareness, concentration and actual physiological contraction of the throat muscles. When you practise ujjayi breathing, which you perform with kechari mudra and nasikagra drishti, instead of watching the normal flow of the breath in the nostrils, you simply become aware of the breath passing in through the throat and the sound that it makes.
How can this awareness open up the door of your bio-plasmic body? It is very simple. When you observe the breath in the throat with total involvement of the senses then the mind relaxes. The activities of the brain slow down and new forms of experience shape themselves within the personality. When you practise ujjayi the actual physiological experience is a feeling of tranquillity, relaxation and one-pointedness. This is the gross experience of ujjayi pranayama.
Then there is the psychic experience. With the practice of ujjayi the prana begins to move. The first manifestation of maha-prana, the prana located in the chest, begins to move. As you practise this psychic breathing utilising prana moving within, in the form of a stream of light particles, you experience a sort of tickling or burning sensation in your throat, in the upper thoracic region, chest and lungs. That is the first physiological experience that you may have of pranic awakening. As the concentration becomes deep and intense you will experience it. In the practice of psychic breathing you try to actually change the flow of prana.
The second key of Prana Vidya is psychic sound. According to the science of Nada yoga, sound manifests within us and we also experience sound outside, subtle and gross. There is no need to discuss the outside sounds, you are well aware of them. We will just have a brief look at the inner sound. There are practices of Nada yoga which involve the withdrawal of auditory perception so that we do not hear external noise. With the awareness completely withdrawn to the centre of the head, (at ajna chakra) we become aware of any sounds that may arise spontaneously from within.
The usual experiences of this sound are a siren, a whistle, the chirping of birds, bells, a waterfall or the sound of something rushing inside. They will begin in a very subtle way and gradually the intensity of the sound will increase. You will actually hear a piercing whistle even with the ears completely blocked, and if you try to hear the same thing outside you will hear nothing, but the whistle goes on inside the head. You will hear the chirping of birds even if there are no birds outside. That experience is inside you.
After you are able to bring all the auditory sounds to the surface, then a deep throbbing sound will take place as if you are in a deep cavern or cave with a tunnel. At the other end of the tunnel someone is playing music, drums, a flute or many other sounds, so you will feel the vibrations. They will begin on a very low key but the pitch will gradually increase, and after some time it will gradually begin to decrease. At the end you become aware of the nada. Nada is the inner sensation, the inner movement of physical atoms.
Although the practice sounds
Paramahamsa Niranjanananda
There are five keys by which we can unlock the doors of our bio-plasmic body.
The first key is the awareness of the psychic breath The experience of the breath can be both gross and subtle. The gross experience is the physical process of inhalation and exhalation! we breathe in, we breathe out, we become aware of the breath in the nostrils, in the lungs, in the lower abdominal region, and in the chest. Manipulation of this gross manifestation of breath through willpower, through concentration and the practices of pranayama is one aspect of the breath.
The other aspect of the breath is psychic, the movement of inhalation and exhalation in the form of ujjayi pranayama. Awareness of the deep sound we make in ujjayi pranayama during inhalation and exhalation is awareness of the psychic breath. Awareness of the psychic breath is not an unnatural or unconscious process, but involves the practice of awareness, concentration and actual physiological contraction of the throat muscles. When you practise ujjayi breathing, which you perform with kechari mudra and nasikagra drishti, instead of watching the normal flow of the breath in the nostrils, you simply become aware of the breath passing in through the throat and the sound that it makes.
How can this awareness open up the door of your bio-plasmic body? It is very simple. When you observe the breath in the throat with total involvement of the senses then the mind relaxes. The activities of the brain slow down and new forms of experience shape themselves within the personality. When you practise ujjayi the actual physiological experience is a feeling of tranquillity, relaxation and one-pointedness. This is the gross experience of ujjayi pranayama.
Then there is the psychic experience. With the practice of ujjayi the prana begins to move. The first manifestation of maha-prana, the prana located in the chest, begins to move. As you practise this psychic breathing utilising prana moving within, in the form of a stream of light particles, you experience a sort of tickling or burning sensation in your throat, in the upper thoracic region, chest and lungs. That is the first physiological experience that you may have of pranic awakening. As the concentration becomes deep and intense you will experience it. In the practice of psychic breathing you try to actually change the flow of prana.
The second key of Prana Vidya is psychic sound. According to the science of Nada yoga, sound manifests within us and we also experience sound outside, subtle and gross. There is no need to discuss the outside sounds, you are well aware of them. We will just have a brief look at the inner sound. There are practices of Nada yoga which involve the withdrawal of auditory perception so that we do not hear external noise. With the awareness completely withdrawn to the centre of the head, (at ajna chakra) we become aware of any sounds that may arise spontaneously from within.
The usual experiences of this sound are a siren, a whistle, the chirping of birds, bells, a waterfall or the sound of something rushing inside. They will begin in a very subtle way and gradually the intensity of the sound will increase. You will actually hear a piercing whistle even with the ears completely blocked, and if you try to hear the same thing outside you will hear nothing, but the whistle goes on inside the head. You will hear the chirping of birds even if there are no birds outside. That experience is inside you.
After you are able to bring all the auditory sounds to the surface, then a deep throbbing sound will take place as if you are in a deep cavern or cave with a tunnel. At the other end of the tunnel someone is playing music, drums, a flute or many other sounds, so you will feel the vibrations. They will begin on a very low key but the pitch will gradually increase, and after some time it will gradually begin to decrease. At the end you become aware of the nada. Nada is the inner sensation, the inner movement of physical atoms.
Although the practice sounds
plicated you can have these experiences very quickly, in a few sessions, depending on the intensity of your concentration and awareness, and on your ability to remain awake. In order to withdraw the mind, we utilise the practice of bhramari pranayama, where we make the humming sound of a bee.
The third key is awareness of the psychic passage. There are two passages which we become aware of in the practice of Prana Vidya. The chakras are located along the spine and we experience their awakening along the spine, but we can also experience them along the front of the body. The frontal passage and the frontal experiences of chakra awakening take place in what we call the chakra kshetra, the trigger-point of the chakra. The location of the experience we have along the spine itself is known as the chakra sharira, the body of the chakras. Chakra sharira within the spine; chakra kshetram, in front of the body. When we begin to move the prana, awareness of these passages is very helpful.
According to the concept of Prana Vidya, energy is stored in mooladhara, revitalised or energised in manipura, distributed to the body from ajna and purified in vishuddhi. These are the four chakras that we use in the practice of Prana Vidya: awakening, generation and revitalisation in manipura, the navel centre; purification in vishuddhi, the throat centre; distribution from ajna, the eyebrow centre; storage at the end of the practice, at mooladhara in the perineum.
The awareness of the passage in the chakra kshetram is between the navel and the eyebrow centre. When we breathe in, the breath follows this passage up the front of the body from the navel to the throat. "When we breathe out, breath awareness continues to go up from the throat to the eyebrow centre, then again the awareness jumps back to manipura. This is one process of frontal passage awareness.
In the actual practice of Prana Vidya, the energy which is generated in manipura is brought to ajna with inhalation and distributed with exhalation. When we are becoming aware of the psychic passage, inhalation and exhalation both happen with the ascending awareness. We breathe in from the navel to the throat and out from the throat to ajna. We visualise the passage in the form of a transparent tube inside the body which stretches from the navel all the way up to ajna.
The second psychic passage is along the spine. Inhalation begins from mooladhara at the base of the spine, the tip of the coccyx bone, and follows the contour of the spinal cord. The visualisation of the psychic passage itself takes the form of a transparent tube. We inhale from mooladhara all the way up to ajna inside the head where the spinal cord enters the brain, the area of the midbrain. With exhalation we simply follow the breath along the frontal passage back to mooladhara. So, in the second passage there is only ascending awareness. There is only inhalation, while the exhalation is back down the front of the body and then again, there is awareness of the passage with inhalation up the back, and exhalation down the front of the body.
The fourth key is the psychic symbol and it involves the practice of concentration. The symbol can be anything on which you can fix your mind. It can be an abstract symbol, an image of scenery, something that you enjoy, something that agrees with you. It can even be a psychic abstract symbol in the form of a yantra or mandala. It can be the experience of seeing the sun, the moon, a flame, fire, a cloud, or anything. Of course, here we are dealing with psychic symbols, not just any symbol and psychic symbols are usually yantras.
If you look closely at the chakras you will find that they are composed of various symbols circles, triangles, squares, hexagons, pentagons, etc. These are the symbols which we use in Prana Vidya. Depending on your personality or astrological sign, a symbol is given to enable you to concentrate and go deeper into your own personality. This symbol is usually given by the Guru at the time of mantra diksha. If you have a symbol then you can concentrate on it.
The third key is awareness of the psychic passage. There are two passages which we become aware of in the practice of Prana Vidya. The chakras are located along the spine and we experience their awakening along the spine, but we can also experience them along the front of the body. The frontal passage and the frontal experiences of chakra awakening take place in what we call the chakra kshetra, the trigger-point of the chakra. The location of the experience we have along the spine itself is known as the chakra sharira, the body of the chakras. Chakra sharira within the spine; chakra kshetram, in front of the body. When we begin to move the prana, awareness of these passages is very helpful.
According to the concept of Prana Vidya, energy is stored in mooladhara, revitalised or energised in manipura, distributed to the body from ajna and purified in vishuddhi. These are the four chakras that we use in the practice of Prana Vidya: awakening, generation and revitalisation in manipura, the navel centre; purification in vishuddhi, the throat centre; distribution from ajna, the eyebrow centre; storage at the end of the practice, at mooladhara in the perineum.
The awareness of the passage in the chakra kshetram is between the navel and the eyebrow centre. When we breathe in, the breath follows this passage up the front of the body from the navel to the throat. "When we breathe out, breath awareness continues to go up from the throat to the eyebrow centre, then again the awareness jumps back to manipura. This is one process of frontal passage awareness.
In the actual practice of Prana Vidya, the energy which is generated in manipura is brought to ajna with inhalation and distributed with exhalation. When we are becoming aware of the psychic passage, inhalation and exhalation both happen with the ascending awareness. We breathe in from the navel to the throat and out from the throat to ajna. We visualise the passage in the form of a transparent tube inside the body which stretches from the navel all the way up to ajna.
The second psychic passage is along the spine. Inhalation begins from mooladhara at the base of the spine, the tip of the coccyx bone, and follows the contour of the spinal cord. The visualisation of the psychic passage itself takes the form of a transparent tube. We inhale from mooladhara all the way up to ajna inside the head where the spinal cord enters the brain, the area of the midbrain. With exhalation we simply follow the breath along the frontal passage back to mooladhara. So, in the second passage there is only ascending awareness. There is only inhalation, while the exhalation is back down the front of the body and then again, there is awareness of the passage with inhalation up the back, and exhalation down the front of the body.
The fourth key is the psychic symbol and it involves the practice of concentration. The symbol can be anything on which you can fix your mind. It can be an abstract symbol, an image of scenery, something that you enjoy, something that agrees with you. It can even be a psychic abstract symbol in the form of a yantra or mandala. It can be the experience of seeing the sun, the moon, a flame, fire, a cloud, or anything. Of course, here we are dealing with psychic symbols, not just any symbol and psychic symbols are usually yantras.
If you look closely at the chakras you will find that they are composed of various symbols circles, triangles, squares, hexagons, pentagons, etc. These are the symbols which we use in Prana Vidya. Depending on your personality or astrological sign, a symbol is given to enable you to concentrate and go deeper into your own personality. This symbol is usually given by the Guru at the time of mantra diksha. If you have a symbol then you can concentrate on it.
you do not have a symbol there are two symbols best suited for Prana Vidya. One is fire and the other is a downward flowing stream or column of light.
The fifth key is the awakening of the chakras. Now, believe me, you will find this quite hard, but with the practice of Prana Vidya the chakras are awakened quite quickly. Of course, you will have to make the effort, it will not just happen spontaneously. You will have to try through the practices of concentration, visualisation, willpower and having a purpose in your mind. All the chakras are centres of pranic energy and you are stimulating and controlling the prana. In order to do this you have to awaken the chakras.
The fifth key is the awakening of the chakras. Now, believe me, you will find this quite hard, but with the practice of Prana Vidya the chakras are awakened quite quickly. Of course, you will have to make the effort, it will not just happen spontaneously. You will have to try through the practices of concentration, visualisation, willpower and having a purpose in your mind. All the chakras are centres of pranic energy and you are stimulating and controlling the prana. In order to do this you have to awaken the chakras.
I know there is a law by which God directly supports that devotee who depends solely upon Him. If one lives the renunciant life sincerely, he will see how this law works. The true renunciant knows that everything comes from God, and that He is the sole support of life. A man may have plenty of food, but if his heart fails, food has no value for him. The power that supports your heartbeat certainly knows your lesser needs. If you live solely for God and have faith in His power, he will give you direct help.
Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
The Divine Romance.
Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
The Divine Romance.
Today I forgive all those who have ever offended me. I give my love to all thirsty hearts both to those who love me and to those who do not love me.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
- Paramahansa Yogananda
There are many friends whom we have known in past lives, but those friendships have not yet been perfected.
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It is true that you cannot find friendship everywhere. Some person you see everyday and never know, and others you feel you have known always. You should learn to recognize that inner cue. Wherever you are, always keep your eyes open, and if feel divinely attracted to someone, you should develop friendship with that person because he has been your friend in some life before. There are many friends whom we have known in past lives, but those friendship not yet been perfected. It is better to start building on a foundation that has already been laid than to dig for a foundation on the sands of temperory acquaintance.
Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
Man's Eternal Quest. P.156
[The divine art of making friends ]
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It is true that you cannot find friendship everywhere. Some person you see everyday and never know, and others you feel you have known always. You should learn to recognize that inner cue. Wherever you are, always keep your eyes open, and if feel divinely attracted to someone, you should develop friendship with that person because he has been your friend in some life before. There are many friends whom we have known in past lives, but those friendship not yet been perfected. It is better to start building on a foundation that has already been laid than to dig for a foundation on the sands of temperory acquaintance.
Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
Man's Eternal Quest. P.156
[The divine art of making friends ]
No matter how delusion tries to pull you away, the master who has experienced God knows your trouble and will help you to steady yourself on the path again. That is what the guru does for you if you are in tune with him.
Even though you and the guru may be thousands of miles apart, his help will reach out to you. I feel Master with me all the time, even though he is no longer incarnate on this earth plane. To have the guidance and grace of guru with you—that is the easiest way to move along on the spiritual path.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Journey To Self Realization
Even though you and the guru may be thousands of miles apart, his help will reach out to you. I feel Master with me all the time, even though he is no longer incarnate on this earth plane. To have the guidance and grace of guru with you—that is the easiest way to move along on the spiritual path.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Journey To Self Realization
The best anaesthesia against pain is your mental power... I have seen, at times when this body got hurt and felt severe pain, that if I put my mind at the Christ [Kutastha] centre— that is, if I identify myself more with God and less with the body—there is no pain at all. So when pain comes, concentrate at the Christ centre. Be mentally apart from pain, develop more strength of mind. Be tough within. When you are feeling pain, inwardly say to yourself, "It doesn't hurt me." When a hurt comes, recognize it as something to be cared for, but don't suffer over it. The more you concentrate on the power of the mind, the more your body consciousness drops away.
Worrying or feeling sorry for yourself won't ease your pain, but rather increase it. For instance, someone wrongs you; you dwell on it, and your friends talk about it and sympathize with you. The more you think of it, the more you magnify the hurt—and your suffering. When someone wrongs you, it is far better to love him spiritually, give him your blessing, and forget it.
God is conscious of our suffering. Certainly He feels our aches and pains. Do you think it makes Him happy to see you suffering? No. He is affected when you are in trouble. So He is not as happy as you think. When God dwells in His absolute state beyond all creation, He knows He is the happiest being there is. But as soon as He feels the desires and sorrows and troubles of His children, He is not so happy. You can sympathize with somebody else's sufferings without actually feeling the same sensation; but if you become completely identified with that person, you will feel his pain as your own. The idea is, God knows what is going on in His creation, but still He is free from the delusion of identification with it. So even though God feels your suffering, and mentally suffers for you, His suffering isn't the same as your delusion, because He is not identified with this universe of dualities in the same way you are. He wants you to become like Him. That is, you should live in this body, but not be affected by it. Then you will see that you are free from karma.
Paramahansa Yogananda
The Divine Romance
Worrying or feeling sorry for yourself won't ease your pain, but rather increase it. For instance, someone wrongs you; you dwell on it, and your friends talk about it and sympathize with you. The more you think of it, the more you magnify the hurt—and your suffering. When someone wrongs you, it is far better to love him spiritually, give him your blessing, and forget it.
God is conscious of our suffering. Certainly He feels our aches and pains. Do you think it makes Him happy to see you suffering? No. He is affected when you are in trouble. So He is not as happy as you think. When God dwells in His absolute state beyond all creation, He knows He is the happiest being there is. But as soon as He feels the desires and sorrows and troubles of His children, He is not so happy. You can sympathize with somebody else's sufferings without actually feeling the same sensation; but if you become completely identified with that person, you will feel his pain as your own. The idea is, God knows what is going on in His creation, but still He is free from the delusion of identification with it. So even though God feels your suffering, and mentally suffers for you, His suffering isn't the same as your delusion, because He is not identified with this universe of dualities in the same way you are. He wants you to become like Him. That is, you should live in this body, but not be affected by it. Then you will see that you are free from karma.
Paramahansa Yogananda
The Divine Romance
Effort
You should increase the strength of your body and then increase the strength of your mind. The best way to increase mental power is to try to accomplish something worthwhile every day. Choose some worthy task or project that you have been told you could not do, and try to do it. Each day strive to accomplish something that you have always thought you could not accomplish.
~ Sri Paramahansa Yogananda,
Yogoda Satsanga Lessons
You should increase the strength of your body and then increase the strength of your mind. The best way to increase mental power is to try to accomplish something worthwhile every day. Choose some worthy task or project that you have been told you could not do, and try to do it. Each day strive to accomplish something that you have always thought you could not accomplish.
~ Sri Paramahansa Yogananda,
Yogoda Satsanga Lessons
Loving Discipline
Yogananda Lovingly Disciplined a Boy who smoked
Yoganandaji said:
I remember a boy in my school in India, he had been a problem child, and his parents brought him to me. We used to take only children under twelve, and he was much older. I had a heart-to-heart talk with him. I told him that there were no bars on the school doors, that he could walk out any time.
I said he could stay only if he were willing to be good. I reasoned with him: "You have made up your mind to smoke, and your parents do not want you to. You have succeeded in defeating your parents, but you have not succeeded in defeating your unhappiness.
You are the one who is the most miserable as a result of your misbehaviour."
My arrow struck home. He began to weep, saying, "They are always beating me."
I went on: "Think of what you have done to yourself. Come on, I will take you on condition that I will be your friend but not your detective. As long as you are willing to mend your mistakes, I will be your helper. But if you lie to me, I will do nothing for you. Lying destroys friendship." I added, "Any time you want to smoke, don't do it behind my back; rather, tell me, and I will get you the cigarettes."
One day he came to me and said, "I feel a terrible desire to smoke." I gave him money and told him to go and buy the cigarettes. He could not believe his eyes.
"Take back the money," he said.
I was pushing him to go, but he would not go. At last, after this tug-of-war, he said, "You will not believe me, but I do not want cigarettes anymore." He became a saintly person. I had roused the spiritual consciousness in him.
- Sri Paramahansa Yogananda
The Divine Romance
Yogananda Lovingly Disciplined a Boy who smoked
Yoganandaji said:
I remember a boy in my school in India, he had been a problem child, and his parents brought him to me. We used to take only children under twelve, and he was much older. I had a heart-to-heart talk with him. I told him that there were no bars on the school doors, that he could walk out any time.
I said he could stay only if he were willing to be good. I reasoned with him: "You have made up your mind to smoke, and your parents do not want you to. You have succeeded in defeating your parents, but you have not succeeded in defeating your unhappiness.
You are the one who is the most miserable as a result of your misbehaviour."
My arrow struck home. He began to weep, saying, "They are always beating me."
I went on: "Think of what you have done to yourself. Come on, I will take you on condition that I will be your friend but not your detective. As long as you are willing to mend your mistakes, I will be your helper. But if you lie to me, I will do nothing for you. Lying destroys friendship." I added, "Any time you want to smoke, don't do it behind my back; rather, tell me, and I will get you the cigarettes."
One day he came to me and said, "I feel a terrible desire to smoke." I gave him money and told him to go and buy the cigarettes. He could not believe his eyes.
"Take back the money," he said.
I was pushing him to go, but he would not go. At last, after this tug-of-war, he said, "You will not believe me, but I do not want cigarettes anymore." He became a saintly person. I had roused the spiritual consciousness in him.
- Sri Paramahansa Yogananda
The Divine Romance