Cooperating with the guru's thoughts makes the path easy.

If the disciple says,

"I can't do this,- it is too hard for me," he is held back.
MEQ 437
Don't lead an unnatural existence, restlessly seeking happiness from a world tha
t is powerless to bestow it. Life is too precious. Every day I pray to Him: "Tak
e everything away from me if it is Your desire. I am trying to do my best, Fathe
r, but know this for certain: above all I want to please You. I will try to plea
se others, too, but more than anything else I want to please you." When you pray
like that you may suffer many tests of desires. But as you go on fighting wrong
habits and tendencies, He begins gradually to come upon you, finally you will s
ee that like a great flood He has swept away all your undesirable traits.
--Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda (MEQ,p198)
When a problem thwarts you--when you find no solution and no one to help you--go
into meditation. Meditate until you find solution. It will come. I have tested
this hundreds of time, and I know the focusing power of attention never fails. I
t is the secret of success. Concentrate, and don't stop until your concentration
is perfect. Then go after what you want.
As a mortal being you are limited, but as a child of God you are unlimited. Conn
ect your concentration with God. Concentration is everything. First go within; l
earn to focus your mind and to feel the power of God. Then go after material suc
cess. If you want health, first go to God and connect yourself with the Life beh
ind all life; then apply laws of health. You will see that this is much more eff
ective than relying solely on doctors. Commune with God and then go after health
or money or seeking a partner in life.
To get response from God, you must meditate deeply. Each day's meditation must b
e deeper than the previous day's. Then you will find that as soon as your attent
ion becomes focused, it burns out all deficiency from your mind, and you feel th
e power of God come over you. That power can destroy all seeds of failure.
~Paramahansa Yogananda
(Journey To Self-Realization, Page No: 280-81)
The world is created on the principle of the one particle revolving around anoth
eran electron circling a protonproducing a creative force. Concentrated will power
revolving around an idea creates a powerful magnetic force.
"Delusion is destroyed by good company, by the company of saints, and by devotio
n to the messengers of God. Even the thought of saints will help you to remove d
elusion. It is not personal association so much as attunement of thought with th
e messenger of God that destroys delusion.
The true guru has no desire to place himself in the hearts of other, but rather
to awaken in their consciousness the consciousness of God. Master was like that
: he was one with us - never any show of his greatness. If anyone in the ashram
wanted recognition or a high seat of authority, Master would give him that posit
ion.
But I wanted the heart of Master, the divine consciousness he had within, and as
a result, he is forever here in my heart. That is the attunement you want with
the great ones."
Paramahansa Yogananda, JSR, Realizing God in Your Daily Life
"Real love is when you are constantly watching the progress of the soul. As soon
as you cater to someone's physical desires and bad habits you are not loving th
at soul anymore. You are just pleasing that person to avoid ill will. No matter
how unpleasant it is to tell a friend that he is wrong, if you say it with love
in your heart and stand firm on it, sometime that person will respect you if you
are right. If you are wrong, even then he will know that you did it with sincer
ity, out of love. Never agree with anyone who is wrong, not even those who are n
earest and dearest to you. To agree with wrongdoing is to bribe your soul in ord
er to be looked upon favorably by the wrongdoer, and that will come out later on
in some disastrous results. Do not fight, that is not the way to convince them.
The way to influence others is by your love. Say what you have to say once or t
wice and then disband it from your mind. Be humble and free from anger. Just say
, "Let us wait and see. Time will tell." Time brings out everything, and if ther
e is a sympathetic understanding between friends, there will be no "I was right
and you were wrong" attitude."
Paramahansa Yogananda, JSR, Be a Conqueror of Hearts
What I say is not merely words, but what I feel for all of you. It would be the
easiest thing to remain silent, or to go away and live under a tree with God alo
ne. ....But nothing you could do could cause me to feel anger toward you, becaus
e I have no desire of my own; my only desire is to please God and serve you all
for your own sake.
JSR
"Life, by its very nature, is capricious; its course is filled with unexpected t
wists and turns. Just when we feel content and secure, some unforeseen circumsta
nce takes us by surprise; or the constant friction of daily problems erodes our
good resolves. Duality with its unpredictable contrasts of health and sickness,
joy and sorrow, exacts its toll. But there is a way to maintain an unshakable in
ner tranquility. We cannot merely think ourselves into that state; we cannot ach
ieve it through the beauties of nature or music or art or other outer experience
s, no matter how they soothe us temporarily. It comes only through deep, devotio
n-filled meditation that takes us beyond the reaches of reason and emotion and s
ettles us in the calm center of our being"
-- Daya Mata --
It is the Will of God and Guru that we use willpower to overcome challenges
"It lies with you as to what you are going to be. Be proud that you are a child
of god. What have you to fear? No matter what comes, believe it is the Lord who
is sending that to you; and you must succeed in conquering those daily challenge
s. Therein lies your victory . Do His will; nothing can hurt you then. He loves
you everlastingly. Think that. Believe that. Know that. And suddenly one day you
will find you are immortally alive in God."
-- Paramahansa Yogananda --
Fight not, even for truth, if love is not in thy heart; hatred, cannot be conque
red by hatred; meanness cannot be overcome by meanness. If in the guise of defen
ding "truth," hatred, or vengefulness, or an inflated ego precipitates in thy he
art a desire to battle thy detractors, forsake the fight. First culture love, Lo
ve is thy strength and thy greatest ally. Its salve will heal the wounds inflict
ed by the hatred of thine enemies; and love is never defeated. Even death in the
attempt to conquer hatred is love's victory for the immortal soul.
Paramahansa Yogananda, The Divine Romance
The main qualities of the ordinary mind are tamas and rajas (sloth and excitemen
t); hence it is full of egoistic desires and weaknesses. But the Jnani's mind is
shudda-sattva (pure harmony) and formless, functioning in the subtle vignanamay
akosha (the sheath of knowledge), through which he keeps contact with the world.
His desires are therefore also sattvic.
ramana
CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI
AS: The best tapas is to walk along the path that has been illumined by the Guru
. If you understand Bhagavan's teachings and practice them by always abiding in
the Self, you become one with Bhagavan. This is the real Guru bhakti.
In Vivekachudamani it is said, 'Of the crores of paths to realize
the Self, the best is bhakti. But Shankara then goes on to define bhakti by sayi
ng, The highest bhakti is steady devotion to the Self, always abiding in the Sel
f.
Q: Many people feel an urge to worship something which is apart from themselves.
They are not very attracted to the Self. Instead they want to worship an extern
al Guru or a God.
AS: Worshipping forms of the deity or of the Guru is a useful aid
for as long as one is not mature enough to know the formless
reality. These forms are just signals which point to the unmanifest reality.
If you want to point out a particular star to someone you might say, 'You see th
e tip of that leaf on the tree? The star is just to the
left of it.'
The leaf is only a signal which helps you to shift your attention
to what you really want to see. The form of the Guru is a similar signpost. He e
xists with a form as a perpetual reminder to us that our attention should always
be on the formless reality.
Q: I am following the path of devotion and surrender. I like to do
puja and other ritual acts because they help me to keep my attention on God. Is
it good to restrict our concept of God to a particular form?
AS: Pujas and different aspects of God are for those who want worldly things. As
God is present in all forms, the best puja is to worship Him in all forms. The
whole universe is a manifestation of
God. If you can love all beings in this universe equally you are
performing the highest and greatest puja.
Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p 292
Be proud that you are a child of God. What have you to fear? No matter what come
s, believe it is the Lord who is sending that to you; and you must succeed in co
nquering those daily challenges. Therein lies your victory. Do His will; nothing
can hurt you then. He loves you everlastingly. Think that. Believe that. Know t
hat. And suddenly one day you will find you are immortally alive in God.
Paramahansa Yogananda
No matter what difficulties confront you, remain anchored in God through the pra
ctice of deep meditation. Be untouched by outer circumstances. Remember Master's
prayer: "When boisterous storms of trials shriek and worries howl at me, I drow
n their noises, loudly chanting: 'God! God! God!'"
--Sri Daya Mataji (Finding the Joy Within You, p209)
The profound point Guruji is making is that It is the *Will of God* that we use
our will power to overcome challenges. How easy it is to forget and seek/desire
an easier life
If one
Ponders on objects of the sense, there springs
Attraction ; from attraction grows desire,
Desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds
Recklessness ; then the memory all betrayed
Lets noble purpose go, and saps the mind,
Till purpose, mind, and man are all undone.
But, if one deals with objects of the sense
Not loving and not hating, making them
Serve his free soul, which rests serenely lord,
Lo ! such a man comes to tranquillity ;
And out of that tranquillity shall rise
The end and healing of his earthly pains,
Since the will governed sets the soul at peace.
Master was the most loyal person I have ever, and have yet to meet. His first lo
yalty was to God, next to His Masters, their work, then to those who loyally ser
ved him and the work, directly or indirectly, and to those whom he called his fr
iends. He was loyal to the bone to his native India, his adopted country, Americ
a, and to places and things that served God's purpose. Master often used to tell
us, "If all the gods are pleased, but the Guru is displeased, his displeasure c
ounts, and if all the gods are displeased, but the Guru is pleased, his pleasure
shall be your raft to His Infinite shores." This too means unconditional loyalt
y. Master was the very personification of loyalty.
~ Sri Durga Mata,
"A Paramahansa Yogananda-Trilogy of Divine love"
In the primary state of meditation, the voice of Inner Silence lacks clarity; he
nce the advice of a spiritual guru is highly desirable. He gives the disciple a
sadhana, those guideposts and practices, learning from him the deep truths of so
ul development. It is easy to misinterpret the Inner Voice or to act against it,
but no such excuse exists-for not heeding the definite counsel and warnings of
a true guru.
..The advanced devotee who has a penitent, all-surrendering attitude toward God,
and who meditates deeply and persistently, will gradually, intuitively feel res
ponse from the Inner Silence.
...To the proud the highest spiritual realization does not accrue. Only in the v
alley of inner humbleness do the floods of divine mercy come and remain.
~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
God Talks with Arjuna,Ch 2 : 6
God takes the form of a Guru and appears to the devotee; teaches him the Truth;
purifies the mind by his teachings and contact; the mind gains strength, is able
to turn inward; with meditation it is purified yet further, and eventually rema
ins still without the least ripple. That stillness is the Self. The Guru is both
exterior and interior. From the exterior he gives a push to the mind to turn in
ward; from the interior he pulls the mind towards the Self and helps the mind to
achieve quietness. That is Grace.Hence there is no difference between God, Guru
and Self.
Ramana mahrishi
The master is within; meditation is meant to remove the ignorant idea that he is
only outside. If he is a stranger whom you await, he is bound to disappear also.
What is the use of a transient being like that? But so long as you think you ar
e separate or that you are the body, an external master is also necessary and he
will appear to have a body. When the wrong identification of oneself with the b
ody ceases, the master will be found to be none other than the Self.