Happy birthday - Paramahansa ... Highest Swan

[Guest guest]

"Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my

eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts."

~ Paramahansa Yogananda (January 5, 1893 - March 7, 1952)

January 5th, 1893, birthday of Paramahansa Yoganandaji, my gurudeva.

"Breath in me the way to love you,That I may Faultlessly love you.Pour

me the wisdom-wineBy which I become intoxicated with You.Whisper in my

ears of silenceThe way to be with you always.Speak to my wandering

sensesAnd lead them back to Your sanctuary within."

~ Paramahansa Yogananda, "Breath in Me"

"Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of NightHas flung the Stone that puts

the Stars to Flight:And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught The

Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light."

GLOSSARYMorning: Dawn of awakening from delusive earthly existence.

Bowl of night: The darkness of ignorance, which imprisons the

immortal soul in mortal consciousness. Stone: Spiritual discipline.

Stars: The attractive twinkling of material desires. Hunter of the

East: Eastern wisdom, a mighty slayer of delusion. Sultan's turret:

The sovereign soul. Noose of light: Divine illumination of wisdom.

SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION The inner Silence sings: "Awake! Forsake the

sleep of ignorance, for the dawn of wisdom has come. Hurl the hard

stone of spiritual discipline that breaks the bowl of dark unknowing,

putting to flight the pale stars of mock-lustered material desires.

"Behold, the Eastern Wisdom, the Hunter and Destroyer of delusion,

has caught the proud minaret of the kingly soul in a noose of Light,

dispelling its imprisoning mortal darkness."PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Most people, though apparently awake, are really asleep in delusion.

Pursued by the compelling commands of their hounding habits, they

have not yet been awakened by wisdom to walk its pleasant pathways.

Where life is in danger for lack of watchfulness, it is not safe to

sleep. So it is unwise to slumber in the dark doorways of evil

habits, which invite the danger of possible death to wisdom and true

happiness. Destroy false pride. Awaken the soul and remain ever

wakeful, striving each day to be different and better in all ways.

Your soul was not meant to be a prisoner of passion, sleeping behind

bars of ignorance. Jerk yourself from sloth; race forward with

progressive activities, and catch success in the net of soul

creativity.

For in and out, above, about, below,'Tis nothing but a Magic

Shadow-showPlay'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun,Round which we

Phantom Figures come and go.

GLOSSARY: In and out, above, about, below: The three-dimensional

sphere of creation. 'Tis nothing: Matter is nothing but maya, cosmic

delusion. Magic shadow-show: The wonderful and artfully plotted

motion-pictures of life. Played in a box: Exhibited on the stage of

the universe. Candle is the sun: As a little candle reveals the

silhouette images of a shadow-show, so the spiritual "sun" of God's

light causes the appearance of all images. Phantom figures: Physical

forms of human beings are not the solid masses we perceive them to

be, but electromagnetic waves. SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATIONLife is as

illusory as a magic shadow-show, whose candlelight reveals

silhouettes enacting dramas. The "sun" of subtle electromagnetic

currents-the vibratory creative light of God-produces pictures of

living beings, who suddenly appear on the stage of earth, and

mysteriously vanish. This quatrain shows Omar's familiarity with the

Hindu concept of MayaPRACTICAL APPLICATION The sphere of creation

with its manifestations within and without, above, about, below, can

be duplicated by man in his dreams, which are mental movies, and are

dissolved by wakefulness. Life is a macro-cosmic mental movie-house

of dreams and illusions of Maya Let us not be idlers, labeling life

an empty dream without having any real understanding of the truth.

Since we have to eat, sleep, earn, and struggle, we should strive for

the best in everything for ourselves and for all. Let us banish

self-created nightmares of misery, brought on by selfish greed, sense

slavery, and wars, and make a beautiful dream—if dream we must—of

life's drama.

Wine of the Mystic, a new interpretation of Omar Khayyam's The

Rubaiyat by Paramahansa Yogananda.

"I could not think of being unkind, even to a mortal enemy. It would

hurt me. I see so much unkindness in the world, and there is no

excuse for me to add to it. When you love God, and when you see God

in every soul, you cannot be mean. If someone behaves hurtfully

toward you, think of the best ways to behave lovingly toward him and

if he still refuses to be considerate, remain withdrawn for a time,

but let no demonstration of unkindness mar your behaviour. One of the

greatest victories over the little self is to be sure of your capacity

to be always thoughful and loving, to be secure in the knowledge that

no one can make you act differently. Practice this. The entire Roman

government could not have roused unkindness in Christ. Even for those

who crucified him, he prayed: "Father, forgive them; for they know not

what they do" (Luke 23:34)"

~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda was born on January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur,

India, and given the name of Mukunda Lal Ghosh.

~ Sri Yogananda in Ranchi, age 26 years

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/py-life/

"Friendship is the purest form of God’s love because it is born of the

heart’s free choice and is not imposed upon us by familial instinct.

Ideal friends never part; nothing can sever their fraternal

relationship. I have never lost a true friend. Even though two to

whom I gave sincere love became inimical, I am still a friend to

them. To be a true, unconditional friend, your love must be anchored

in God’s love. Your life with God is the inspiration behind true

divine friendship with all. True friends bring mutual progress to one

another.

"The guru-disciple relationship is the highest expression

of friendship, for it is based on unconditional divine love and

wisdom. It is the loftiest and most sacred of all relationships.

Christ and his disciples were all one in spirit, as are my Master

[swami Sri Yukteswar] and I and those who are in tune with me,

because of the common bond of God’s divine love. Drinking His love

together from the chalice of sincere hearts is the unifying sacrament

of this relationship.

In divine friendship there is ever-increasing respect;

each one thinks only of the highest welfare of each other. That is

the nature of the divine friendship between guru and disciple. One

who partakes of this relationship is on the way to wisdom and

freedom.

Whenever I speak to others, as in these services, one

form appears before me: my Guru. His influence is paramount in my

life. Even now, though he is no longer on this earth plane, he is

always with me."

~ Paramahansa Yogananda

~ Sri Yogananda, 1949

>From the Ocean of Abundance

"Just as all power lies in His will, so all spiritual and material

gifts flow from His boundless abundance. In order to receive His

gifts you must eradicate from your mind all thoughts of limitation

and poverty. Universal Mind is perfect and knows no lack; to reach

that never-failing supply you must maintain a consciousness of

abundance. Even when you do not know where the next dollar is coming

from, you should refuse to be apprehensive. When you do your part and

rely on God to do His, you will find that mysterious forces come to

your aid and that your constructive wishes soon materialize. This

confidence and consciousness of abundance are attained through

meditation."

~ Paramahansa Yogananda

"Conserve the vital energy, follow a balanced diet, and always smile

and be happy. He who finds joy within himself discovers that his body

is charged with electric current, life energy, not from food but from

God. If you feel that you can't smile, stand before a mirror and with

your fingers pull your mouth into a smile. It is that important!"

~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears TO-DAY of past Regrets and

future Fears—To-morrow?—Why, Tomorrow I may beMyself with Yesterday's

Sev'n Thousand Years

GLOSSARYBeloved: The soul; God's image in man. The cup that clears:

The blissful consciousness of the soul, which banishes all

unhappiness. Past regrets: Sorrow over evil actions already

performed, and their probable dire results. Future fears: Dread of

repeating evil deeds under the influence of the law of habit, and of

the evil that might impend from further misdeeds. Yesterday's sev'n

thousand years: The infinite past, which embraces the numberless

dead. SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION O my Soul! fill my consciousness with

ambrosia of bliss, flowing from the cask of ecstasy. Naught but that

divine communion can dispel the haunting memories of past errors and

the fear of future wrongs, with their yield of evil consequences. I

dare not wait to find the all-freeing Cosmic Beloved! Tomorrow I may

be with time's infinite yesterdays. Today I will intoxicate myself

with the love of the Beloved. Today I will make Him my own. PRACTICAL

APPLICATION We must fill this life that we love so dearly with the

nectar of perpetual soul-peace. Otherwise we can never be free from

the consciousness of long-past errors and the foreboding of future

misfortunes.Let us be happy now, today; then it matters not if we die

tomorrow and join the procession in the corridors of the past,

colonnaded with the countless years. For we shall carry with us

priceless soul-treasures of peace, faith, and happiness to light our

long journey toward the great Beloved.

~ Wine of the Mystic, a new interpretation of Omar Khayyam's The

Rubaiyat by Paramahansa Yogananda

"Master spoke caressingly, comfortingly. His calm gaze was

unfathomable. "Your heart's desire shall be fulfilled". I was

bewildered. He struck gently on my chest above the heart.

My body became immovably rooted. breath was drawn out of my lungs.

Soul and mind instantly lost their physical bondage and streamed out

like a fluid light from my every pore. The flesh was as though dead;

yet in my intense awareness I knew that never before had I been fully

alive. My sense of identity was no longer narrowly confined to a body

but embraced the circumambient atoms. People on distant streets

seemed to be moving gently over my own remote periphery. The roots of

plants and trees appeared through a dim transparency of the soil; I

discerned the inward flow of their sap.

The whole vicinity lay bare before me. My ordinary frontal vision was

now changed to a vast spherical sight, simultaneously all-perceptive.

Through the back of my head I saw men strolling far down Rai Ghat

Lane, and noticed also a white cow that was leisurely approaching.

When she reached the open ashram gate, I observed her as though with

my two physical eyes. After she had passed through the brick wall of

the courtyard, I saw her clearly still.

All objects within my panoramic gaze trembled and vibrated like quick

motion pictures. My body, Master's, the pillared courtyard, the

furniture and floor, the trees and sunshine, occasionally became

violently agitated, until all melted into a luminescent sea; even as

sugar crystals, thrown into a glass of water, dissolve after being

shaken. The unifying light alternated with materializations of forms,

the metamorphoses revealing the law of cause and effect in creation.

An oceanic joy broke upon calm endless shores of my soul.

The Spirit of God, I realized is exhaustless bliss; His body is

countless tissues of light. A swelling glory within me began to

envelop towns, continents, the earth, solar and stellar systems,

tenuous nebulae, and the floating universes. The entire cosmos,

gently luminous, like a city seen afar at night, glimmered within the

infinitude of my being.

The divine dispersion of rays poured from an Eternal Source, blazing

into galaxies, transfigured with ineffable auras. Again and again I

saw the creative beams condense into constellations, then resolve

into sheets of transparent flame. By rhythmic reversion, sextillion

worlds passed into diaphanous luster, then fire became firmament.

Blissful amrita, nectar of immortality, pulsated through me with a

quicksilver like fluidity. The creative voice of God I heard

resounding as Aum, the vibration of the Cosmic Motor.

Suddenly the breath returned to my lungs. With a disappointment almost

unbearable, I realized that my infinite immensity was lost. Once more

I was limited to the humiliating cage of a body, not easily

accommodative to the Spirit. Like a prodigal child I had run away

from my macrocosmic home and had imprisoned myself in a narrow

microcosm.

Later master explained "It is the Spirit of God that actively sustains

every form and force in the universe; yet He is transcendental and

aloof in the blissful uncreated void beyond the world of vibratory

phenomena.

Those who have attained Self-realization on earth live a similar

twofold existence. Conscientiously performing their work in the

world, they are yet immersed in an inward beautitude"

~ Paramahansa Yogananda, "Autobiography of a Yogi

~ Mazie at Grace's 2nd birthday, proferring baubles

All the Diamonds - Bruce Cockburn

All the diamonds in this worldThat mean anything to meAre conjured up

by wind and sunlightSparkling on the seaI ran aground in a harbour

townLost the taste for being freeThank God He sent some gull-chased

shipTo carry me to seaTwo thousand years and half a world awayDying

trees still grow greener when you praySilver scales flash bright and

fadeIn reeds along the shoreLike a pearl in sea of liquid jadeHis

ship comes shiningLike a crystal swan in a sky of sunsHis ship comes

shining.

~ Bruce Cockburn

LoveAlways,

Mazie