Man has the independence and free will to live in the house of life with its three windows open or closed. When man closes the windows of life, he shuts out the three divine rays and finds himself living in the darkness of physical disease, mental disquietude, or abysmal soul-ignorance.

Learning to direct the energy of the heart is probably our most important challenge spiritually. If we want to awaken to our true state of unity with the Divine, we must learn to control our feelings and to channel them in a positive direction.

I had been attending yoga classes for about two years when three men in dark suits appeared one day and arrested our teacher. Everyone knew that someone from the class had betrayed him by reporting him to the KGB. Later we learned that our teacher had been arrested for distributing the yoga literature he had translated.

Vaastu is the science of bringing Spirit into physical manifestation in the form of a building. A building designed and constructed according to Vaastu principles becomes “alive” with prana or life force. The building functions much like a radio that can only receive and transmit beneficial energies, and cosmic energy bathes the entire building.

Always be wise in your seeking. The emotional excitement of finding new ways must always be balanced against the truth that “loyalty is the first law of God.” Eclecticism indicates a lack of serious purpose.

The ultimate culprit that holds us back spiritually is the non-use of Paramhansa Yogananda’s techniques. The failure to use the spiritual tools given by the Guru puts us out of attunement with him.

I came to realize that the God I believed in was a Jewish God, and that my entire self-identity was wrapped around that concept. Each step of the way was like shedding a layer of myself.

Scientific knowledge is at the point where we now understand that many physical properties of the universe had to be exactly right for human life to exist. Today there are so many examples of these unique “life-friendly properties” that science can no longer dismiss all of them as mere chance or coincidence.

The Infinite is inconceivable, but the finite gives us a starting point. Can the intelligence reflected in Nature come out of nothing? Is it not reasonable to suppose that somewhere there is some sort of “factory” that produces intelligence?

The more energy and will power you put into changing a particular karma, the sooner that karma will dissipate and the sooner the good karma you’re now creating will start to bear fruit.

My Guru guided me into medicine and he has been with me ever since. In my practice I ask for guidance all the time. As long as I remember to ask for help, it comes, and miracles happen.

There’s a considerable body of research showing that music can have healing effects for certain physical and mental disorders. In fact, music therapy is a widely recognized form of treatment for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, and weakened immunity.

Remember: the conscious evil force of Satan could not influence human minds if they did not allow it. It is therefore better to know all the lures of evil and the ways to combat them than to blindly deny their existence.

When we share, we are affirming our faith in God, and that we are a part of everyone. This is how we all need to live. Everything we do, we should do for Him. When we live that way, we find that whatever we give comes back to us a thousand-fold.

Tyagini Maitreyi, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, received the inner guidance to attempt to practice the presence of God moment by moment. After several weeks of her dedicated efforts, God, whom Maitreyi considers her higher Self, began to speak to her; she in turn recorded His words.

Because the authors included in their book studies of a wide range of different religions, they were able to show that the positive effects of religious beliefs and practices on the brain are not tied to any specific religion or belief system.

You must exercise your will in every undertaking, until it drops its mortal delusion of being human will and becomes one with all-powerful Divine Will.

Our own bad karma allows the entry of darkness and suffering into our lives, but with our will and determination we can overcome its power.

The drama began when my husband, Brian, phoned his longtime friend Andrew, whom he hadn’t heard from for awhile. Andrew sounded very strange on the phone, and Brian could tell something was wrong.

As devotees, we always need to keep in mind that God-realization is our highest priority. And God may want us to work with our health in a way that differs from our personal inclinations.

Through their misuse of feeling and reason, Adam and Eve came under the sway of duality or “maya” (“the knowledge of good and evil”) and lost their attunement with the Divine. Their “sin” was in choosing the outward sexual energy over the inner bliss to which God had invited them.

To learn to interiorize one’s awareness completely can take many years, but even small progress in breath control can mean a great deal. The corresponding improvement in mental control could help you stay calm amid severe trials, to heal others with peace and kindness, and to concentrate successfully on your work.

The study showed that Ananda Yoga helps people with a significant chronic disease to be more uplifted, to be less depressed, to be less at risk of falling, to be much less fatigued, and to be more socially active because they feel less noticeably disabled.

Suddenly, from somewhere behind him, a dagger was thrown that pierced the heart of the Buddha. David responded with shock, anguish, and a sense of betrayal.

Union with the Cosmic Beloved is the most enjoyable experience possible. It is dream after dream, joy after joy; a thousand million divine romances in one, ever thrilling your heart.

Most of the stress and pain associated with change is the result of wishing that things were other than they are. Learn to accept life and much of the anxiety associated with change will disappear.

One of the main challenges facing teens and young adults today is resisting the message that happiness can be found outside of oneself—in money, material possessions, fame, popularity, or other worldly achievements. There is so much suffering because of that idea.

Recent archeological finds, and other accumulating evidence from the past, seriously call into question the commonly held view of primitive, stone-age cavemen men roaming the world 10,000 years ago. Indeed, more and more evidence points to a far longer history of civilized man than is currently assumed, and to a picture of man in 10,000 B.C. far different from the caveman of popular conception.

Remember that your difficulties did not come to crush you, but to strengthen your determination to use your limitless divine powers to succeed. God wants you to conquer the difficult tests of life and to come back to His home of wisdom.

A great sense of relaxation comes as we realize that relationships are given to us primarily to help us learn and grow, especially in our ability to accept and to love. Relationships lived in this manner hold the promise of deep fulfillment.