Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes- on Peace, Karma, Dharma, God, Guru, Yoga, Meditation

Paramahansa Yogananda

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Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian Yogi, Kriya yoga teacher settled in America. He is the author of Autobiography of a Yogi. His Quotes on topics- Maya, Karma, God, Liberation.

God

Everything else can wait, but your search for God cannot wait.
As long as you are making the effort, God will never let you down
He is the nearest of the near, the dearest of the dear. Love him as a miser loves money, as an ardent man loves his sweetheart, as a drowning person loves breath. When you yearn for God with intensity, he will come to you
You do not have to struggle to reach God, but you do have to struggle to tear away the self-created veil that hides God from you
Never forget that the Lord is the only reality. Your true happiness lies in your experience of God.
Our dear ones promise to love us forever; yet when they sink into the Great Sleep, their earth memories forsaken, what value their vows? Who, without telling us in words, loves us everlastingly? Who remembers us when all others forget us? Who will still be with us when we must leave the friends of this world? God alone.
I give thanks to the giver behind each gift, and to the one Giver behind all that I receive. My gratitude rises with devotion’s incense to the throne of Omnipresence.
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.
Focus your attention on God, and you shall have all the power you want, to use in any direction

Who Am I(Self)?

I am spark from the infinite. I am not flesh and bones, I’m light. I’m infinite, I’m speechless, I’m tireless, I’m beyond all matter and mind, I’m endless bliss
As a mortal being you are limited, but as a child of God you are unlimited

Love

If you want to be loved, start loving others who need your Love.
If you cant see your child's faults, there is something wrong with you love
Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families and nations

Yoga

The beauty and depth of Yoga lies in its bestowal of the invariable tranquillity.

Karma

Forget the past and trust more in God. Our fate is not predestined by him; nor is karma the sole factor, though our lives are influenced by our past actions and thoughts

Dharma

Evil has its power. If you side with it, It will hold you. When you take a misstep, return immediately to the ways of righteousness

Happiness

If you have made up your mind to be cheerful, nothing can make you unhappy
The happiness that people look for in this world does not endure. Divine Joy is eternal. Yearn for that which is lasting

Wisdom

Words are like bullets: when you spend their force in idle conversation, your supply of inner ammunition is wasted.
Consciousness is like a milk pail: when you fill it with the peace of meditation you ought to keep it that way. Joking is often false fun that drives holes in the sides of your bucket and allows all the milk of your peace to run out.

Self realization/ Liberation/ Moksha

Self realization is the knowing in all parts of the body, mind and soul that you are now in possession of the Kingdom of god; that you do not have to pray that it come to you; that God’s omnipresence is your omnipresence and that all that you need to do is improve your knowing

Desire/ tempation

Desires are the most unrelenting enemies of man; he cannot appease them. Have only one desire; to know God. Satisfying the sensory desires cannot satisfy you, because you are not the senses. They are only your servants, not yourself.
Temptation is a sugarcoated poison; it tastes delicious; but death is certain. The happiness that people look for in this world does not endure. Divine Joy is eternal. Yearn for that which is lasting, and be hardhearted about rejecting the impermanent pleasures of this life. You have to be that way. Don’t let this world rule you.

Solitude/ Silence

Seek solitude as much as possible. Do not spend your leisure time with other people for merely social purposes. God's love is hard to find in company.
Be alone within, Enjoy solitude; but when you want to mix with others, do so with all your love and friendship, so that those persons cannot forget you
You should sit in silence before deciding about any important matter
Silence is the altar of spirit

Death

Don’t depend on death to liberate you from your imperfections. You are exactly the same after death as you were before. Nothing changes, if you are a thief or a liar before the death, you don’t become an angel merely by dying. Whatever you have made of yourself thus far, so will you be hereafter. And when you reincarnate, you will bring the same nature with you. To change, you have to make the effort. This world is the place to do it

Mind

Quiet the outgoing mental restlessness and turn the mind within. Harmonize your thoughts and desires with the all-fulfilling realities you already possess in your soul. Then you will see the underlying harmony in your life and in all nature. If you harmonize your hopes and expectations with this inherit harmony. You will float through life on buoyant wings of peace.

Meditation

The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the spirit lies its greatest joy. If, then you experience mental resistance during meditation, remember that reluctance to meditate comes from the Ego, it doesn’t belong to the soul.
The way to freedom is through service to others. The way to happiness is through meditation and being in tune with God.
When you work for God and not self, it is just as good as meditation. Then work helps your meditation and meditation helps your work. You need the balance. With meditation only, you become lazy. With activity only, the mind becomes worldly and you forget God.

Intuition

The ultimate truths of heaven and the kingdom of God, the reality that lies beyond the cognitions of the rationalizing mind, can only be grasped by intuition awakening the intuitive knowing, the pure comprehension, of the soul.

More Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes

Seclusion is the price of greatness.
One’s values are profoundly changed when he is finally convinced that creation is only a vast motion picture and that not in it, but beyond it lies his own reality
Chanting is half the battle: Chanting awakens a devotional zeal necessary for deep meditation, Chanting helps in focusing the mind and feelings and when done with ever deepening concentration on the thought behind the words, brings the divine response