Good and Evil

“God is coaxing man with a limitless exhibition of good happenings to influence him for his own highest welfare. Satan is tempting man with deceptive contrivances that are pleasant-looking and promise happiness, but after a little evanescent pleasure give evil consequences instead.
Man stands in the middle between God and Satan, each ready to pull him in whichever direction he wishes to go. Satan is on the left side with his kingdom of misery cloaked in ostentation, and God is on the right side with His kingdom of happiness bathed in eternal light. It is up to man to signal to God or Satan as to which direction he wants to be pulled. Man is perfectly free to act, controlled neither by God nor Satan. Whenever he initiates good actions, or has a pure, ennobling though, that is the signal to God; and he is automatically pulled toward God, toward a paradise of Bliss hidden in the womb of eternal futurity. But as soon as man thinks or acts in accord with evil, he is automatically pulled toward Satan, toward entanglement in the realm of misery-making dualities.
When man succumbs to temptation, or is angry, or jealous, or selfish, or greedy, or revengeful, or restless, he has accepted Satan’s invitation to come to his side. When man is master of himself- moderate, calm, understanding, unselfish, forgiving, practicing meditation- he is inviting God to help him.”

~ Paramhansa Yogananda.

It is clear from the above quote that the choice is most definitely down to the individual. We have a level of free will and are able to make certain choices throughout our lives which shape our days.

Happy or sad, restless or calm, greedy or generous, it is a choice which must be made. It is all too easy to blame our outlook on life on external circumstances and surroundings but we are free to make the choices that are necessary to turn our lives around.

Begin today, right this second to turn the – into a + and reap the benefits that come with this choice. Whether you are religious or not, God and Satan can simply be taken as the principle of positive and negative in their greatest capacity. I know which one I choose and try to spend my days in good actions and ennobling thoughts which enrich my life no end.

If you look very closely, and spend a few minutes of careful introspection looking deep inside yourself you will find the answer that you are looking for. Good or Bad, its up to you!

Truth from East and West

“Truth, in and of itself , is the ultimate ‘religion.’ Though truth can be expressed in different ways by sectarian ‘isms,’ it can never be exhausted by them. It has infinite manifestations and ramifications, but one consummation: Enlightenment, Awakening, Gnosis. Experience of the sole reality.
The human stamp of sectarian affiliation is of little meaning. It is not the religious denomination in which ones name is registered, nor the culture or creed in which one was born, that gives salvation. The essence of truth goes beyond all outer form.
The great teachings and truths of all the ages is living and thriving in both East and West. The West has concentrated on perfecting the physical conditions of man, and the East on developing the spiritual potentials of man. Both East and West are one sided. Granted, the East is not practical enough; but the West is too practical to be spiritually practical! That is why I advocate a harmonious union of the two; they need each other. Without spiritual idealism, material practicality is the harbinger of selfishness, sin, competition, and wars. This is a lesson for the West to learn. And unless idealism is tempered with practicality, there is confusion and suffering and lack of natural progress. This is the lesson to be learned by the East.
The East can learn from the West, and the West can learn from the East. It is not strange that, perhaps due to God’s secret plan, since the East need material development, it was invaded by Western material civilisation? and since the West need spiritual balance, it had been silently and surely ‘invaded’ by Hindu philosophy, not to conquer lands but to conquer souls with the liberation of God-realization.
We are all children of God, from our inception unto eternity. Differences come from prejudices, and prejudice is the child of all ignorance. We should not proudly identify ourselves as Americans, British, Indians or Italians or any other nationality, for that is but an accident of birth. Above all else, we should be proud that we are children of God, made in His image. Is not that the message of the Christ?”

~Paramhansa Yogananda.

I am unable to add anything more. All is said in the above. What I will say is Yogananda has opened up a new world for me, one which I new was there but not fully aware of. I hope you enjoy. If you enjoy, please share with others who may also.

Vibrations

It has been some time now since I have posted, but reading the words of Yogananda have inspired me to share.

“Vibrations of other people can be received by an exchange of magnetism. One who comes near a holy person will be benefited; this is baptism by spiritual magnetism. The saints thoughts and magnetic aura cast out a vibratory glow that changes the consciousness and brain cells who come within range. All who visit or live on the same grounds where a master lives or has lived will automatically be transformed if they are in tune. If that attunement is deep enough, even from thousands of miles away a holy person’s uplifting vibrations can be received.
If one loves poetry and is much in the company of a poet of noble ideals, one will be baptised with wholesome elevated feelings and the appreciation of the goodness and beauty in everything. Such baptism by feeling makes one aesthetically imaginative and sympathetic.
If one associates long with persons of high morality and self-control, ones own life will feel positive reinforcement of moral consciousness and self-control.
If purposely and attentively one associates with successful creative minds, the consciousness will be baptised with a creative business sense.”

~Paramhansa Yogananda

This is of course a two way process. We receive vibrations from others and we also send vibrations from ourselves to them. We can be aware of this in extremes when someone is very anxious, or down, sometimes maybe overjoyed or peaceful. But in its medium range we cannot sense what is going on within their inner life.
Great men of all generations have set examples for us, benchmarks to aim for if one is aware and interested. How would it have been to experience these great ones presence.

There is an NLP technique called re-framing where the individual imagines them self at some point in the future having acquired certain virtues. This can be done today, right now. Just imagine vividly where you would like to get to. Be it in the spiritual world, the world of business, family, schooling. Imagine yourself where you are heading and continue to make daily efforts to reach these goals.

Material Profit

“Why be elated by material profit?” Father replied. “The one who pursues a goal of evenmindedness is neither jubilant with gain nor depressed by loss. He knows that man arrives penniless in this world, and departs without a single rupee.”

How many of us have as our main daily priority ‘evenmindedness’? It is a possibility.. To be neither depressed by the bad, nor jubilant with the good will have a profound effect on your day!

Two Kites

People will often say ‘I need to see it to believe it.’ I urge you to reverse this saying. Ultimately, what we believe is far more important than what we see. A perfect example is given here in another tale of the life of Paramhansa Yogananda.

Take from it what you will. But know that there are forces working at all times bringing into your life what your thoughts revolve around the most.

Our family moved to Lahore in the Pubjab. There I acquired a picture of the Divine Mother in the form of the Goddess Kali. It sanctified a small informal shrine on the balcony of our home. An unequivocal conviction came over me that fulfilment would crown any of my prayers uttered in that sacred spot. Standing there with Uma (Yoganandas sister) one day, I watched two kites flying over the roofs of the buildings on the opposite side of the very narrow lane.
“Why are you so quiet?” Uma pushed me playfully.
“I am just thinking how wonderful it is that Divine Mother gives me whatever I ask.”
“I suppose She would give you those two kites!” My sister laughed derisively.
“Why not?” I began silent prayers for their possession.
Matches are played in India with kites whose strings are covered with glue and ground glass. Each player attempts to sever the string of his opponent. A free kite sails over the roofs; there is great fun in catching it. Inasmuch as Uma and I were on the balcony, it seemed impossible that any loosed kite would come into our hands; its string would naturally dangle over the roofs.
The players across the lane Began their match. One string was cut; immediately the kite floated in my direction. It was stationary for a moment, through sudden abatement of breeze, which sufficed to firmly entangle the string with a cactus plant on top of the opposite house. A perfect loop was formed for my seizure. I handed the prize to Uma.
“It’s just an extraordinary accident, and not an answer to your prayer. If the other kite comes to you, then I shall believe.” Sisters dark eyes conveyed more amazement than her words.
I continued my prayers with a crescendo of intensity. A forcible tug by the other player resulted in the abrupt loss of his kite. It headed towards me, dancing in the wind. My helpful assistant, the cactus plant again secured the kite string on the necessary loop by which I could grasp it. I presented my second trophy to Uma.
“Indeed, Divine Mother listens to you! This is all too uncanny for me!” Sister bolted away like a frightened fawn.

Understanding

A noted chemist once crossed swords with Sri Yukteswar (Yoganandas Guru). The Visitor would not admit the existence of God, inasmuch as science has devised no means of detecting Him.
“So you have inexplicably failed to isolate the Supreme Power in your test tubes!” Masters gaze was stern. “I recommend an unheard-of experiment. Examine your thoughts unremittingly for twenty-four hours. Then wonder no longer at God’s absence.”
A celebrated pundit received a similar jolt. With ostentations zeal, the scholar shook the ashram rafters with scriptural lore. Resounding passages poured from the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, the bhasyas of Shankara.
“I am waiting to hear you.” Sri Yukteswars tone was inquiring, as though utter silence had reigned. The pundit was puzzled.
“Quotations there have been, in superabundance.” Masters words convulsed me with mirth, as I squatted in my corner, at a respectful distance from the visitor. “But what original commentary can you supply, from the uniqueness of your particular life? What holy text have you absorbed and made your own? Are you content to be a hollow victrola, mechanically repeating the words of other men?”
“I give up!” The scholar’s chagrin was comical. “I have no inner realisation.”
For the first time, perhaps, he understood that discerning placement of the comma does not atone for a spiritual coma.
“These bloodless pedants smell unduly of the lamp,” my guru remarked after the departure of the chastened one. “They prefer philosophy to be a gentle intellectual setting up exercise. Their elevated thoughts are carefully unrelated either to the crudity of outward action or to any scourging inner discipline!”
Master stressed on other occasions the futility of mere book learning.
“Do not confuse understanding with a larger vocabulary,” he remarked, “Sacred writings are beneficial in stimulating desire for inward realisation, if one stanza at a time is slowly assimilated. Continual intellectual study results in vanity and the false satisfaction on an undigested knowledge.”

pg. 130, Autobiography of a Yogi

Improbable Phenomena

A quote one could find, if they were looking in Yoganandas autobiography is as follows. It describes the advances in technology, and the phenomena which will become common place as the passage of time continues ever onwards. It urges us to open our eyes, hearts and minds in order to see things as they truly are:

“Very strange, very wonderful, seemingly very improbable phenomena may yet appear which, when once established, will not astonish us more than we are now astonished at all that science has taught us during the last century. It is assumed that the phenomena which we now accept without surprise, do not excite our astonishment because they are understood. But this is not the case. If they do not surprise us it is not because they are understood, it is because they are familiar; for if that which is not understood ought to surprise us, we should be surprised at everything- the fall of a stone thrown into the air, the acorn which becomes an oak, mercury which expands when it is heated, iron attracted by a magnet, phosphorus which burns when it is rubbed… The science of today is a light matter; the revolutions and evolutions which it will experience in a hundred thousand years will far exceed the most daring anticipations. The truths- those surprising, amazing, unforeseen truths- which our descendants will discover, are even now all around us, staring us in the eyes, so to speak, and yet we do not see them. But it is not enough to say that we do not see them; we do not wish to see them; for as soon as an unexpected and unfamiliar fact appears, we try to fit it into the framework of the commonplaces of acquired knowledge, and we are indignant that anyone should dare to experiment further.”

Charles Robert Richet, Nobel Prizeman in physiology

Do we wish to see these unforeseen truths? Or do we have blinkers on which keep us blinded to what is happening all around us?

How exciting are the times in which we are living? I am communicating with you with relative ease. Information is available in an instant, even quicker than that..

We must create a new framework of what exists and of what is possible. The power of the mind; great men who have existed and will come to exist; the stars and their effects on mankind; the positive benefits of faith, prayer and meditation to name but a few.

Yogananda helps us to see things clearer, if we choose to accept the challenge of course. Alternatively we can tighten our blinkers and continue to live in the dark. I know which I prefer. Now for you to choose…