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.

Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, is honored throughout India and has come to be one of the most universally recognized images of Hinduism, a symbol of cultural identity and a force for unity in a land of disparities.

People often talk of relaxation, but few know how to achieve it. Complete mental relaxation is voluntary withdrawal of consciousness and energy from the entire body and identification with one’s true nature in Spirit.

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.

There is no question that seclusion, as Yogananda says, “is the price of greatness.” Greatness of spirit comes only with an increasingly closer walk with God—with feeling God’s presence within and all around you at all times.

Taking an attitude of positive expectation into every meditation is very important because the truth is: God could come to us at any time. We don’t know how much or how little karma we have left.

I shall feel Thy energy
Flowing through my hands in activity
Lest I lose Thee
I shall find Thee in activity.

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.

The repetition of this mantra will begin to drive out all other thoughts and desires, until your consciousness begins to rotate around that single phrase, “God, God, God.”

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.

Once again I was “burning the candle at both ends,” but now I was asking the Divine to flow through me instead of trying to do everything by the power of my own will. I was acting as a channel for God’s will, not my own.

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.

What is it to “concentrate a new way”? It means focusing your mind in a new direction, and putting a lot of energy behind your re-focused mind. But there’s another important aspect, one that I learned through experience.

The most powerful effect that I noticed was that writing about the day’s tests and lessons cleared my mental state. I found myself going into meditation with a clear mind, free of the restlessness that is born of unresolved experiences.

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.

Through the proper use of will power, anyone can overcome restlessness and achieve major progress in meditation.

ParamahnsaYogananda called this Nine-Day Cleansing Diet “a method for rejuvenating the body cells and awakening the latent powers of the mind and the inner forces of the soul.”

We tend to think, “Gosh, there’s so much in life that’s unpredictable.” But we know of many devotees who have been in life-threatening situations and have felt only calmness.

Today many people are fearful for the future. How can we stay open and expansive in this time of uncertainty and turmoil? How do we remember that God is always supporting and guiding us?

My son’s illness was a dramatic example of how adversity can remind us to call on God. I’ve come to see how valuable the difficult times are, and how we can embrace adversity as an impetus to remember to practice God’s presence.

Master seldom praised me for my labor. But he sometimes praised me for my devotion. He was more anxious that develop and perfect ourselves in this quality rather than tremendous outward labor, but in forgetfulness of God.

Often, during meditation, nearby odors such as car exhaust, cooking, cigarette smoke, or even upholstery can be distracting to the mind, and may awaken mental associations that have nothing in common with the mood of inner upliftment.

When I was five-years-old, I was in my backyard and looking intently upward into a thick fog when all of a sudden, bursting through a gap in the fog, came a flock of pearl-white snow geese. Seeing the snow geese thrilled me deeply, and ever since I’ve wanted to immerse myself in nature.

Feeling is a response that’s awakened in us as we focus our awareness on something: a person, an event, a circumstance. It’s a way of gaining understanding, and it’s very different from the way the intellect understands. Feeling understands via relationship and, in its higher expressions, from the inside; it is centered in the heart.

There is much more to be “seen” than what our physical eyes can perceive. Visible light, which includes all the colors of the rainbow, occupies only a very small section of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The kinds of questions we ask God determine the kind of answers we receive. If we have a clear idea of the experience we’re seeking, we’ll have a greater chance of having that experience.

Bill knows that to meet the challenges of Parkinson’s, he needs to raise his physical, mental, and spiritual energy. He believes that miracles do happen and that a recovery from Parkinson’s is a very real possibility. He says, “The key is not to lose hope.”

There are many theories as to why we dream, but rarely does any scholar or scientist dare give a definitive opinion. Paramhansa Yogananda, however, did dare to say: “I know exactly why and how we dream.”

In order to look for “the best,” you must make comparisons, judging one thing superior and all others inferior. People who say, “Only my religion is the best,” create dreadful divisions in the world.