|
 Last
year while in India for the celebrations of the birth centennial of Paramahansa
Yogananda, I was interviewed on the national television network, and one
question asked was, "Considering all the problems in the world today,
shouldn't we concentrate on solving them instead of talking about religion?"...
Of
course, it is necessary to address those troubling issues. But if you analyze
deeply enough, you come to the conclusion that the root cause of the world's
problems is that humanity has turned its back on God and the laws of God – which
include the laws of nature. Whether we are talking about social, political,
economic, or ecological problems – at the level of the individual, the family,
the nation, or the world – the only solution that will be lastingly effective
is for humanity to turn back to God, back to dharma, the eternal
laws of righteousness that uphold the universal structure and the very
existence of human beings. When there is harmony with the divine workings
of creation, problems will solve themselves. It is as simple as that – and
as difficult as that.
Consider
the spiritual confusion that characterizes our modern era....It is interesting,
because even today, in spite of all the scientific and technological advancements,
people in general still do not know what life is really all about. And
what is amazing is that they don't even ask. Most people are so caught
up in the external procedures and processes of life that it doesn't occur
to them to entertain such questions as "Why am I here?" And most
of those who do inquire arrive at a wrong answer....
That
is why the world is in such a mess today: People do not know what the purpose
of life is. As a result, their ambitions and behavior are guided by values
that are out of harmony with truth, and are therefore destructive to personal
and planetary well-being. The world will not change unless this situation
is turned around.
Essentially,
what we are seeking is God, whether or not we use that name....What we
crave at the deepest level of our being cannot be found in anything the
world can give us.
One
of the ancient scriptures of India says, in relation to this truth: "Know
it now or after a thousand incarnations." In other words, do you want
to go on seeking in the wrong place and continually be frustrated?...People
are frantically searching, but they cannot find what they are looking for;
and that leads to despair. And not just despair; tremendous resentment
and anger accrue in the process – a lot of anger, a lot of violence. Again,
it is because people are seeking in the wrong place and therefore not finding
true fulfillment....
So...where
do we find God? God, or Spirit, or the Infinite Consciousness (it doesn't
matter what word you want to use) is all-pervading, omnipresent. But as
long as we are looking for That outside of ourselves, we are using the
senses and the mortal mind, the faculties through which we cognize the
outer world. Great saints of all religions have affirmed this truth: the
senses and the human intellect cannot perceive God; these gross instruments
are far too limited. We have to go inside. There, through the intuition
of the soul, we find Him.
On
this point, the esoteric teachings of all the great religions agree: what
we seek is inside....Jesus Christ said, "The kingdom of God is within
you."...The same truth is in the Old Testament: "Be still and
know that I am God." But the Bible does not say how to do it. Lord
Krishna personally taught the highest techniques of yoga to his disciples,
yet those methods were not set forth in his discourse in the Bhagavad Gita....
How
to go within? That is what Paramahansa Yogananda has given to us: the definite
science of attaining direct, personal experience of God.
Yoga,
being the science of religion, focuses on the esoteric truth underlying
exoteric practices and beliefs....The deeper practice of religion consists
of going into the inner stillness, perceiving God manifested within - as
peace, light, Aum, joy, love, and so on – and then becoming one with
That. This is called "contemplation" in Christian terminology,
"meditation" in the terminology of the science of Yoga....
Paramahansa
Yogananda came with a special dispensation to make known to the world the
ancient techniques of Yoga from the higher ages. In addition to the highest
techniques of Kriya Yoga, he also taught several other techniques
that are preparatory and auxiliary to Kriya, and are in themselves
very effective methods of divine communion, including the Aum technique
of meditation and the Hong-Sau technique of concentration.
Meditation
is the foundation of the spiritual life. But there is another aspect also.
Obviously, we cannot meditate all the time; we have our work to do, our
outer role to play. This too is a part of spiritual discipline. Paramahansa
Yogananda said, "Our spiritual and material duties should work together
like two stallions, pulling the car of life harmoniously and uniformly
to one happy goal."...
Outer
works and their results in themselves can never give us complete satisfaction
and fulfillment. Let me give an example. I came to America to study under
Frank Lloyd Wright. He was considered the king of architecture at that
time, a man of great fame and genius. He knew he was a genius; yet he was
not happy. One day I was present when he expressed some of the deep inner
frustration he felt, and I saw that inwardly he was still unfulfilled.
Like so many, he was seeking happiness and fulfillment in the wrong place – in
his case, through fame and through his creative ability.
By
way of contrast, when I was in Italy I had seen the paintings of Fra Angelico,
a famous painter of the fifteenth century and a deeply spiritual man. It
is said that as he painted his portraits of Christ and the Madonna and
the saints, tears of devotion streamed down his face. He didn't paint in
order to have satisfaction through fame or through creativity. He found
that satisfaction through his inner communion with God. And his act of
painting was an offering to God.
There
is a story in Greek mythology of Theseus, a great king and hero of Athens,
who went down to the netherworld. The lord of the netherworld offered him
a chair. Theseus didn't realize it was the chair of forgetfulness, and
he sat down. Instantly he forgot everything – who he was, where he came from,
why he came down to the netherworld in the first place. He just sat there,
until Heracles came and got him out. That story is an allegory. It's about
man, and woman. We came down to this material plane, and we have forgotten
where we came from, we have forgotten what we are, and we have forgotten
why we are here....
Our
true essence is the soul: made in the image of God – immortal, indestructible,
ever-blissful Infinite Consciousness. As Paramahansa Yogananda often said,
if you have a lump of gold and you cover it with mud are you going to claim
it's no longer gold? Of course not; it is still gold...."We are like
gold in the mud," [he said]: "when the mud of ignorance is cleansed
away, the shining gold of the soul, made in God's image, is seen within."
That
is the purpose of religion – indeed, the purpose of life – to wash off the
mud of ignorance, so we can know who we really are. And it is the answer
to the problems we face in the world. Can you imagine what this world would
be like if it were filled with people who had found within themselves the
great love and joy and peace and wisdom of God?
The selections featured here are excerpted from
a talk given by Brother Anandamoy at the Parliament of the World's Religions,
Chicago, Illinois, September 1, 1993
Please note: Copyright © Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved. Except for your own personal use, or for brief quotations in reviews, no part of this page may be reproduced or transmitted without permission in writing from Self-Realization Fellowship.
|
Insight and Inspiration
