May the religion of matter-worship be converted into loving, direct worship of Thee. Since, without Thy power to love, we cannot truly love anything, may we love Thee first and above everything else.

May the heavenly kingdom of Bliss, where Thou dwellest, manifest itself with all its divine qualities on earth, and may all lands be freed from limitations, imperfections, and miseries. Let Thy kingdom within us manifest itself without.

Father, leave us not in the pit of temptations, into which we fell by the misuse of Thy gift of reason. When we become freer and stronger—should it be Thy wish to test us, to see whether we love Thee more than any temptation—then, Father, make Thyself more tempting than temptation! O Father, if it be Thy wish to test us, help us keep our will power strong enough to meet all Thy tests.

Give us our daily bread: food, health, and prosperity for the body; efficiency for the mind; and, above all, Thy wisdom and love for our souls. Teach us to deliver ourselves, with Thy help, from the meshes of ignorance which we have woven through our own carelessness.

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda. Available from Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

My imprisoned soul cried at last for freedom from the prison of confining flesh and solicitous maternal care. No more did I want to dwell within the fenced garden of the senses. Yes, I cried for freedom.

Then at last the cloud of silence within me, holding Thee remote, burst, and Thy mercy rained upon me, cleansing me with Thy grace. The rising waters of Thy Spirit broke the narrow boundaries of my soul, baptizing me in Thine expanding waters of infinity.

The power of Thy flood of cosmic consciousness broke the embankments of my senses, and every little bubble of my consciousness dissolved, to be baptized in the waters of Thine omnipresence.

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda. Available from Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

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When the time comes to depart, I will retire to wakeful sleep on the bosom of Thy infinite joy, a ripple ever dancing with billows of all joy. I am a bubble of joy, struggling to burst and unite with the ocean of joy.

I feel Thy joy in all things! Make me a lighthouse of joy also, guiding storm-tossed vessels of life to safety on the shores of Thy joy.

Let every vine of my activity bear large grape clusters of Thy joy! Let me drink the divine wine pressed from the grapes of all life’s little joys!

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda. Available from Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

For your listening enjoyment, Whispers from Eternity is also available in an audiobook format. To order click here

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Suddenly I beheld myself in rags. Seated on the hard stones of poverty I wept, and my teardrops fell on the unheeding, unrelenting stones of my present circumstances.

The world passed me by in mocking silence. I cried out for Thy help, and Thou didst wake me at last through the force of my desperation. I laughed to find myself at last neither rich nor poor, but safe forever in Thy arms.

Oh! Waken all anxious souls from their dreams of smiling opulence and crying poverty.

O Maker of dream-worlds, deliver me forever from the nightmares of disease and death!

Wake me to immortality! Wake me to unshaken calmness, that I may know the fierce terrors of mundane delusion to be only dreams.

From: Whispers from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

I smoothed the slopes of my mind with wise restraint, that the thirsty pores of temptation might absorb none of my strength.

I am Thy prodigal dewdrop, quivering in the hollows of life and death, waiting to slip down when it can to Thy shoreless sea. Though long truant, I, Thy tiny dewdrop, am homeward bound however long the journey take.

After this rhythmic dance of life, rising with birth, and sinking with the downbeat of death, I will refresh myself at last in Thy unmoving sea.

I do not want to lose myself. Thy tiny dewdrop craves only, by merging in Thee, to feel that I am one with all the other drops in Thy ocean.

I will be a rainbow-hued dewdrop, one with Thy omnipresence, and yet, in my omniscience, aware of my former dewdrop existence. I pray that all God-thirsty souls will come and drink from the Great Source of all our lives.

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

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The tragedies, comedies, and paradoxes of life; the dreams of birth and death; the changing scenes and places that surge round us: all these are nothing but movies, designed to engage us in the Cosmic Illusion.

O Divine Operator, with Thy cosmic vibratory light Thou dost show us ever-new thrills: a motion picture true to all our five senses, keeping us amused and entertained through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. O Magic Operator, Thy true-seeming spectacle beams daily onto the screens of our consciousness.

I take it as Thy grace that I’ve been chosen to play both tragic and comic parts in Thy drama. I am happy to have acted all those parts, both of sorrow and of joy. Still, Father, give me now and then a few days of respite from my task! Let me retire to my closet of introspection, stand before my own thought-audiences, and behold with laughing heart all the tragedies and comedies I have enacted.

Teach me to look upon all that happens in my life with a pleased, interested attitude, that at the end of each episode, no matter how sad or difficult, I may exclaim: “Ah, that was a good show, full of thrills, suspense, and excitement! I am happy to have seen it, and I have learned much from it for my own benefit.”

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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I have stridden bravely through the strewn ashes of my past and future fears.

I am the Eternal NOW, having torn to shreds my enclosing cocoon of ignorance with the sharp knife of free will.

Now I am Thy soaring butterfly of eternity, flitting freely through immeasurable skies of time.

The beauty of my wings I spread out through Nature everywhere, to entertain all beings.

My wings are sprinkled with suns and stardust. Lo! I am beautiful!

May every silken thread that shrouded my past folly be severed forever.

See! They trail now behind me, only adding to my beauty as I wing my way to my own Self in Thee.

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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I beheld Thy bliss-face emerge from the dark shadows of my ignorance, where it had been hidden for long aeons by my indifference. And, seeing Thy smiling joy, I know that my own happiness mirrored Thy blessed image. My heart’s tiny capacity for love mirrored Thy infinite love. My little peace of mind mirrored Thy awe-inspiring, majestic calmness.

I will blame the fates no longer for any suffering that comes my way. Beloved Divine Mother, it was my self-made darkness that hid the glory of our mutual love. Now I see myself reflected in Thy bliss, and know that I, too, am perfect bliss. For my own mirror is clear, now; I behold Thy reflection in it, O Thou ever-sacred, omnipresent, perfect bliss!

I pour libations of my love at Thy feet of immortality! I pour out my heart to Thee from the overflowing chalice of my soul! I wash with the precious musk of my reverence Thy feet of ever-moving progress in everything.

From: Whispers from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

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Never will I let my mind dwell on anything that reminds me not of Thee! I will disdain the nightmare of ignorant behavior. I will court all dreams of noble achievement: those of love, kindness, and understanding, for they are Thy dreams.

Though I dream many dreams, wakefully I will ever think of Thee. In the sacred fire of constant remembrance, kept ever alight on my soul’s altar, I will ever behold Thy presence with the watchful eyes of devotional love.

Thy grace has shown me that the dualities of health and sickness, life and death, joy and sorrow are but passing fantasies. I am finished with those eternally self-canceling delusions!

I am persuaded at last that there is but one abiding reality: Thy eternal, ever-conscious, ever-new, ever-thrilling, infinite Bliss.

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Clarity Magazine articles can be printed in “text only” format, using your own computer.

Through the bursting vibration of cosmic sound and the surging of Thy holy name, I have removed the cork of ignorance which so long separated me from Thee, though we lived together so closely!

Now my body-consciousness will meet Thy all-surrounding, all-pervading consciousness. No longer will I walk heedlessly, in Thee, but never knowing and feeling Thee. Thine image within me shall meet Thine image everywhere.

By releasing the “I-ness” in me, I will know that I am Thou, and that Thou alone art the little egos of us all.

From Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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My lot is small, and my life’s season is short, yet now I would produce a mighty harvest. I will expand my kingdom of will power. To do so, I must conquer new states of consciousness, enlarge my achievements, and outgrow, in consciousness, every limiting horizon.

But, O Father Divine, there are billions of my hungry thought-families and their little ones to feed! And, for them, I need a big harvest during this short season of my earth-life.

The irrigating waters of my craving many times grew dry, while my soil of inner culture was left undeveloped. Now I will work all the harder, using the machinery of scientific technique in my search for Thee.

O Divine Sower, with Thine unseen hand throw Thy living seeds of inspiration into the cultivated furrows of my awakened resolution.

In this short, remaining season of my earthly life let me reap the largest harvest of all: Thy cosmic vision!

* Full title: “May I Reap the Greatest Harvest in the Short Season of this Earth Life,” from Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

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Whatever treasures have lain in the secrecy of my soul, I
bring eagerly to Thee.

I bring Thee all the honey from the hive of my heart. All
that was ever mine is now Thine alone.

The sunlight of this world, shining upon my eager hopes
and brief, fickle fulfillments, burned me repeatedly with
dissatisfaction.

Now I will quench my thirst forever in Thy radiant waters!

The taper of my aspiration toward happiness will burst
aflame with Thy coming into a conflagration of bliss.

In Thy vast, enchanting sea of light I will swim joyfully
forever.

Teach me to drown in Thee and live, rather than live in a
mirage-paradise of earthliness and die.

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda,
Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Each human being is but
one Flame, separate-seeming
from all others, and also from
Thy Universal Source of Power.

Thou dost appear many,
finite, limited, small or large,
but ever divided, shooting
up as separate entities through
the pores of living organisms.
But Thou alone art that one,
eternal flame. All things other
are but Thy multifarious appearances.

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.

Sadly, Thy warning sermons pass unheard by souls deafened with the static of sense pleasures.

O Divine Broadcaster, tune our souls, long distracted by the static of our indifference. “Fine tune” us with the delicate touch of soul-perception. Grant us the privilege of hearing Thy magic melodies in the ecstasy of divine awakening!

From Whispers from Eternity, edited by Swami Kriyananda.

Likewise, enable me to wash all souls with love,
and to behold even the darkest souls as Thy children,
as my very own—as my sleeping brothers.

Through the kindly strength of tolerance, instead
of the weak brutality of force, let me lead all stumbling
and stubborn ones unto Thee.

Thou art eagerly waiting to reveal Thyself whenever
the world wants to emerge from the sea of
wrong-doing.

Thy silence before an error-steeped world proves
Thy patience and ever-ready forgiveness.

Likewise, soften me with such patience that I shall
ever wait and stand ready to help all truth-forsaken
souls when they wish to awake.

Guide Thou my understanding and powers,
so that I may turn evil, dark minds into sparkling
wisdom rays.

Excerpted from: “Demanding Forgiveness,”
Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

Teach us to feel that no duty is more important than our duty to Thee, since no duty is possible without Thee.

And teach us to love Thee above everything, as we cannot live or love anything or anybody without Thy life, Thy love.

From Whispers From Eternity, 1958 edition.

As I float on the crest of the waves of pleasure and pain,
or shrink down into the depths of indifference, still I am looking
for thy shoreless shore.

With every stroke of my powerful prayer I am moving nearer to Thee.

I shall never give up, for I know that Thou lookest for my coming.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

My hands were made to serve Thee willingly, to remain folded in adoration, waiting for Thy coming; and, when Thou comest, to bathe Thy feet with my tears.

My voice was made to sing Thy glory.

My feet were made to seek Thy temples everywhere.

My eyes were made a chalice to hold Thy burning love and the wisdom falling from Thy nature’s hands.

My ears were made to catch the music of Thy footsteps echoing through the halls of space, and to hear Thy divine melodies flowing through all heart-tracts of devotion.

My lips were made to breathe forth Thy praises and Thine intoxicating inspirations.

My love was made to throw incandescent search-light flames to find Thee hidden in the forest of my desires.

My heart was made to respond to Thy call alone.

My soul was made to be the channel through which Thy love might flow uninterruptedly into all thirsty souls.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

Divine Mother, open wide the bud of my devotion and release Thy fragrance, that it may spread from my soul to the souls of others, ever-whispering of Thee.

I pray that I may behold my love in others, and in the light of that greater love, may I behold Thine unveiled face of peace.

May I behold myself in others, and may I ever perceive Thee enthroned in our united hearts.

In the heart of my whispers, I feel the stir of Thy whispers. In the light of my burning love for Thee, I behold Thy sacred face of silence at last.

O Divine Mother, unite our hearts as one heart, that on the sacred altar of united hearts, we may find Thine Omnipresence enthroned forever.

Whispers from Eternity 1949 edition (excerpts)

I pray only that my love for Thee never fade through my own negligence.

May my love for Thee forever burn on the altar of my memory.

Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

Thou light of my life—thou camest
to spread wisdom’s glow
over the path of my soul.

Centuries of darkness dissolved before
the shafts of thy luminous help….

At that meeting, O my Guru, a spark
flew from thee, and the faggots of my
God-cravings, gathered through incarnations,
smoldered and blazed into bliss.

All my questions have been answered
through thy flaming, golden touch….

My Guru, thou voice of God, I found
thee in response to my soul-cries.

If all the gods are displeased, and yet
thou art pleased, I am safe in the fortress
of thy pleasure.

And if all the gods protect me by the
parapets of their blessings, and yet I
receive not thy benedictions, I am an
orphan, left to pine spiritually in the ruins
of thy displeasure.

O Guru, I bow to thee as the divine
door leading to the temple of salvation.

Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

To those of you who have asked me
To guide you to my Beloved’s presence:
I will warn you through my silently talking mind,
Or speak to you through a gentle significant glance,
Or whisper to you through my love,
Or loudly dissuade you when you stray away from Him.

When you are able no longer to talk to me,
Read my Whispers from Eternity
Eternally through that I will talk to you.
Unknown I will walk by your side
And guard you with invisible arms.

And yet when I am only a dream to you
I will come to remind you that you too are naught
But a dream of my Heavenly Beloved,
And when you know you are a dream, as I know now,
We all will be awake in Him.

From Inner Culture, March 1940. *(excerpts)

Bless me, that I may whirl around the
starry rim and blaze Thy name.
With the nebulae, I will spread
Thy holy name.
Bless me, that with the humming
atoms I may time my song with Thine.

From Whispers from Eternity,1949 edition.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1958 edition.

Their rustling murmur, floating
through the ether, calls the weary ones
to rest in the shade of my peace, which
comes from Thee.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

Hail, mother of religions, lotus, scenic beauty, and sages!
Thy wide doors are open,
Welcoming God’s true sons though all ages,
Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves and men dream God.
I am hallowed; my body touched that sod!

For the complete poem, see Whispers from Eternity, 1958 edition.

In Thy cosmic plays on the stage of centuries,
and in Thy myriad appearances, Thou hast
taken unto Thyself many names, but I know
Thou has one changeless name—
Perennial Joy.

I played with Thee many times. I sang Thy
songs. On Thine ocean-bosom of all life,
Thou didst nurture me as a tiny drop of life.

I remember Thy warm touches of centuries,
whenever I returned home to Thee after
the chill of separation. Again, in this day of time,
I play with Thee and I sing Thy songs.

From Whispers from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda, 1949 edition.

As the light shines steadily, undisturbed, on the street, whether crowded or empty, so may I hold my calmness and my strength steadily, while I move through the crowded or empty streets of life. Give me strength; and what I receive, teach me to share with others.

Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

There are several hundred prayers in Whispers—prayers for dealing with material needs, for overcoming trials, for transcending greed, to mention only a few.  Yet not one prayer says, “Give me a good job.” “Help me to find an apartment.”  Yogananda wrote Whispers for sincere seekers on the path of Self-realization, and he’s showing us how to pray with Self-realization as the goal.

The correct way to pray
To be effective, our prayer has to be that we get in tune with the Divine—that we have the courage, no matter what comes, to live in attunement with God’s will. Yogananda shows us over and over that “successful” prayers are those that uplift and expand our consciousness to an awareness of our oneness with the Divine.

Yogananda’s “Demand for Prosperity” is instructive. The prayer asks not for money or goods but for the understanding that “I am Thy child, and as such, have the right of possession over all things… Rescue my consciousness, shipwrecked on the tiny island of my body.”

Yogananda is showing us here that to meet the material demands of life, we must overcome any consciousness of “lack” or that “I am tiny and separate from God.” We don’t beg God to solve our problems for us; we pray for the consciousness that empowers us to attract what we need. A “begging” prayer actually limits the power of the soul to draw what it needs.

What pulls us down in life is not our circumstances, but our attitude toward those circumstances. Yogananda said that circumstances are always neutral; whether we see them as happy or sad depends entirely on our attitude. If we hold the right attitude, we can handle anything.

Without the right attitude, our consciousness is pulled down and we forget God. In Whispers, Yogananda shows us that, more than anything else, we need to pray for right attitude.

Learning to express divine consciousness
Thus, if harsh words or cruel behavior threaten to pull us down, we pray for an attitude of Christ-like forgiveness—to be able to “behave like the orange which, though crushed and bitten, fails not to impart its sweetness.” Or if we are facing seemingly insurmountable trials, we ask God not to remove the trials, but to turn us into warriors—“burn away all the dross of weakness in me; bring out the steel of endurance, and harden me into the strength of calmness.”

In other words, we pray for the will power, the energy, or the devotion needed to live in attunement with our divine nature.

The need for focused energy
Yogananda’s guidance on how to use his prayer demands breaks down into ten distinct steps. (See sidebar below) He tells us first to select a prayer that has personal meaning for us. It’s important to pick something that we’re in tune with and don’t resist with part of our mind.

Then we need to calm ourselves so that we can relate to the prayer deeply. Most prayers don’t work because we’re not focused enough. One of the ways to calm and focus our minds is by using the prayer itself, repeating it slowly and concentrating deeply on each word.

The power of visualization
Once we’ve grasped the prayer’s meaning, then in meditation we visualize that meaning as clearly as we can, as if we were living through it. “Prayer at Noon,” for example, describes God’s energy as the sun shining down on us: “Thou are invisible yet Thine energy flows through the rays of sunshine….”

It’s one thing to understand intellectually that God’s power flows into us as continuously as the sun shines on earth. But it’s another to take that meaning so deeply into our hearts that there’s absolutely no doubt. To do that, we need to picture ourselves in various situations.

For example, we need to think of all the circumstances that we’re ever in and ask, “is there ever a time when God’s invisible rays are not coming into me?

If I’m in the grocery store, can God’s rays penetrate to me there? When I’m driving my car on the freeway and hit a traffic jam—are God’s invisible rays present then?”

If in meditation we visualize God’s energy as the sun shining down in a variety of situations, then one day when we see the sun shining down—suddenly, it’s God’s rays coming into us. The two images begin to merge.

Nearly all of the prayers in Whispers describe ordinary realities: walking down a crowded street when the sun is shining; seeing a honey bee gathering nectar; going to the movies; swimming in the sea. Over and over Yogananda is telling us that if we want to progress spiritually, we must learn to see God in everyday life. Before we can transcend this level of reality, we must first spiritualize it.

We have to become “hungry”
To understand the meaning of a prayer, we must also take that meaning so deeply into our hearts we awaken our longing for the Divine. The key is to repeatedly “saturate” the prayer with devotion.

In meditating on the sun’s rays coming into us, it’s helpful to try to feel those rays coming into our heart and to receive them with great gratitude. If we are truly grateful for the sun’s rays, it’s but a short step to feeling that it’s Divine Mother’s loving presence shining down on us through the sun.

If devotion remains a challenge, the solution is to find a prayer-demand that speaks to that need. As devotees, one of the most important attitudes we can hold is devotion. A relationship of deep love and intimacy with the Divine removes any sense of separation between our lives and God.

Don’t dig up the prayer plant
Yogananda says to “Imbue yourself with faith that your heart’s craving is being felt by God.” He tells us to feel that God is listening and then, afterwards, “Be fully convinced that he has listened.” One of the best ways to do this is to visualize one of the Masters sitting with you when you pray, or to feel that God is inside of you.

Don’t doubt. Don’t go digging up the prayer plant by saying, “Well, I wonder if it’s going to come true.” We must accept that we’ve done our best, and that it’s in His hands. This attitude requires discipline because we’re fighting against the inclination to believe ourselves small and separate from God.

Sometimes we have to accept the fact that, by not answering, God has answered our prayer. His answer is that we must go through the trial or other difficulty and learn our lessons through that experience. Ultimately, to pray correctly, we must learn to see everything as coming from God.

These prayers have the power to re-educate our subconscious minds on a profound level. The more continuously and deeply we use them, the sooner we break through the limiting power of words and the power of Spirit begins to flows into all areas of our lives.

Excerpted from a November-December 2002 class series. The complete 5-class series can be ordered by calling 650 323-3363, ext. 206, or e-mail inform@anandapaloalto.org. Asha Praver and her husband, David, are Acharyas for Ananda Palo Alto.

Related reading Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda. Available from Crystal Clarity Publishers. To order click here

Yogananda’s 10 steps for using prayer demands

1).  Select a demand according to
your need.

2).  Calm your mind.

3).  Meditate on the meaning of the
demand until it becomes a part
of you.

4).  Saturate the demand with
devotion and meditate upon it.

5).  Meditate more deeply, increase
your devotion, offer the demand
as your own heart’s outburst.

6).  Imbue yourself with faith that
your heart’s craving is being felt
by God.

7).  Feel that God is listening to the
silent words of your soul.

8).  Be thoroughly convinced that
He has listened to you.

9).  Go about your duties, seeking
not to know whether God will
grant your demand.

10).  Unceasingly meditate on God.

Thou sun of life, as Thou didst peep into the mortal cups of
mind, filled with molten liquid of vital sparks, Thou wert caught
within the golden smallness of human feelings.

In each fragile, oscillating mirror of flesh, I see the restless dance
of Thine omnipresent power. In the quivering lake of life, I behold
Thine almighty life.

Christlike, teach me by the command of concentration to stop
the storms of restless desires raging over the limpid lake of
my mind.

In the still lake of my soul, I love to behold Thine unruffled face
of stillness. Break the boundaries of the little wave of my life, that
Thy vastness may spread over me.

Make me feel that my heart is throbbing in Thy breast, and that
Thou art walking through my feet, breathing through my breath,
wielding my arms of activity, and weaving thoughts in my brain.

Thy sleeping sighs wake when my sighs cry. Through Thy play-
fulness, the bubbles of Thy visions of creation float in the chamber
of my delusive sleep.

It is Thy meteoric will which courses through the skies of my
will. Make me feel that it is Thou who hast become I. O, make me
Thyself, that I may behold the little bubble of me, floating in Thee!

Whispers from Eternity, by Paramhansa Yogananda, 1949 edition.

Battered by unkindness, bitten by carping criticism, or
hewed with hard words and cruel behavior, teach me yet to
pour the unceasing sweetness of my love.

Teach me to be like the soap-flakes which, when beaten and
rubbed, give out the cleansing foam.

Tried and hard-beaten by ingratitude, teach me, nevertheless,
to offer the snow-white mental driving foam of my
wisdom’s help.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

Adieu to the warm embrace of sunshine.
Farewell, cool soothing comforting breeze.
Goodbye, entertaining music of man.

I stayed long reveling with all of you, dancing
with my variously costumed thoughts, drinking
the wine of my feelings and my mundane will.
I have now forsaken the intoxications of delusion.

Goodbye, muscles, bones, and bodily motions.
Farewell, breath. I cast thee away from my
breast. Adieu, heart throbs, emotions, thoughts,
and memories. I am flying home in the plane of
silence. I go to feel my heart throb in Him.

I soar in the plane of consciousness above,
beneath, on the left, on the right, within and
without, everywhere, to find that in every nook
of my space-home I have always been in the
sacred presence of my Father.

From Metaphysical Meditations,
by Paramhansa Yogananda, 1932 edition.

In my little chamber of quietness,
I am always resting.
I never speak but with the voice of my silence.
Through my silence, eloquently converse with me.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

In the home of the materially rich and spiritually poor, I love to serve
this magic cocktail in vessels of my heart’s good will and sincerity.

I pray that they who drink this wine may become so intoxicated that
they will forget the pain of ignorance forevermore.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1949 edition.

Teach me to perform my duties
diligently and with my attention
riveted on Thee.
Teach me to love Thee
as the worldly man
loves possessions.
With the first love of true lovers,
teach me to love Thee.

Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, 1949 edition.

They will burn brighter when Thou appearest. Whether Thou comest or not, I will wait for Thee until my tears melt away all material grossness.

To please Thee my love-perfumed tears will wash Thy feet of silence. The altar of my soul will be kept empty until Thou comest.

I will talk not; I will ask naught of Thee. I will wait, realizing that Thou knowest the pangs of my heart while I wait for Thee.

From Whispers from Eternity, 1929.