YOGODA SAT-SANGA FORINIGHTLY INSTRUCTIONS BY PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA ae (To Be Confident ially Reserved For MEMBER'S USE ONLY) BRRE EERE BAER EEL RAL LE BEL EE EME EAE CEB babe BBE” MY DEVOTION © Thou Mother of all conseious things, Be Thou consciously receptive to my prayers, Through Thee I lmow all that T know; And Thou knowest a11 I kmow, So Thou knowost my prayers. And knowing and feeling Thee constantly thus, I know Thou art I, I am Thou, My little wavelets has vanished in Thee, T know Thou alone existed; And Thou alone dost exist now and over will, Thov art impersonal, invisible, Unseen, formless, anmniprosent, But forever I want to worship Thee As both personal and impersonal; By my devotion - I beheld Thee Sometimes as Krishna, Sometimes as Christ, Personal, visible and impris med In the little space Hidden within the temple of my love, 0 Invisible, just as Thou didst freeze Thy unseen Infinititude into the sea of cosmic finitude, Bo do Thov appear unto me - Visible and living - That I may serve Thee. I want to see Thee as the ocean of life With and without the ripples Qf finite creation, 9 creator of all things, t want to worship Thee both as personal And impermnal, SBM BB BBB BEEBE BB BEBE BLUE ESE. BE ELE SS LEI EEE EEL EEE EE OR REEEE, "Teach me, Thou, to conquer myself by myself, Bl ss mo, that my aisorimination may be the charioteer of the steeds of my five senses, holding properly, the reins of my mind. Let my Soul, in the little chariot of the body, on the wheels of discipline, drive triumphently over the speod-way of many carth-lives, until on the Jast lap of the last rnce, it shall fina itself safe in the limit- less Royal Chariot of the King of Kings PLAIN LIVING AND GO! ING Do you realize how you spend your life, very fow of us mow how mich we can put in our life if we use it properly, wisely, and economically, First, let us cconomize our time - lifetime ebb away before we wake up, and that is why we do not realize the valuo of the immortal time which God has given us, ‘Too much time is spent in rushing, in racing, in getting nowhere. Vory few of us stop, think, think at o11 - they just ont, sleep, and aia.tian a aS aap shal It 18 imortant to differentiate between your needs and your wants, Your needs aro few, whilo your wants can be limitless, In order to find freedom and Bliss, minister only to your needs, Stop creating limitless wants and pursuing the will-o'-the-wisp of false happiness, ‘The more you depend vpon conditions outside yourself for happiness, the less happy you will be, Fostering the desire for luxuries 1s the surest way to in- crease misery, Don't be the slave of things or possessions. Boil down even your needs. Spend your time in the search of lasting hap- piness or Bliss, The unchangeable, immortal Sov) is hidden behind the sereen of your consciousness, on which are painted dark pictures of disease, failure, death, and so forth. Lift the veil of illusive change, and be established in your rtal nature. Enthrone your fickle consciousness on the changelessness and calmness within you, es the throne of God; thon let your Soul manifest Bliss night and day. Happiness can be had by the exereise of self-control, by cule tivating habits of plain living and hich thinking, ana by spending less money, even though carning more, Make an effort to carn more so that you can be means of helping others to help thanselvos, for - one of the unwritten laws decrees that he who helps others to abund~ ance and happiness alwnys will be helped in return by them, and he will become more and moro prosperous and happy himself, This is a dew of happinoss which cannot be broken, I% is better to live simply ond frugally and grow rich in Reality, True Desire) essness The Soul's nature 1s Bliss, a lasting inner state of ever- new, evor-chonging joy, which ctornally entertains without changing the one entertained even when passing throvgh the trials of physical suffering or death, Desirolessness is not a nogation. It is rather the attainment of the self-control you need in order to regain your eternal heritage of all-fvlfillmont lying within your Sovl, First, Cae the Sovl the opportunity to manifest this state, do your duty your body and mind and theworld, You need not give up your am bitious and become nogative; on the contrary, let the everlasting doy, which is your real nature, help you to realize 111 noble ambi- tion, Enjoy noble experiences with the Joy of God. Perform renal duties with Divine Joy. You are immortals, endowed with eternal joy. Never farget this during your play with changeable mortnl life. ‘This world is but a stage on which you play your parts under the direction of the Divine Stage Manoger. Play them well, whethor thoy be tragic or comic, always remembering that your réol nature 1s eternal Bliss and nothing olse. ‘The one thing which will never lenve you, once you transcend all unstable mental states, is the joy of your Soul. WHAT IS GOD? The usval conception of God is that He is Superhuman, Infinige, Omnipresent, and Ommisciont, but in this reneral conception there ame mony variations. Whatever conception wo have of Gai, if it does not dnfluonee our daily conduct; if our everyday life does not find an inspiration from it, and if it is not found to be universally nece- ssary, then that conception is useless. If God is not wnedved in such a way that we cannot do without Him in the satisfaction of a want, in our dealings with people in carning monoy, in rending books, in passing an examination, in the doing of the most trifling or the highest duties, then it 1s plain that we have not folt any connec- tion between God and life, God may be infinite, Omnipresent, Om- niseient, Personal and Merciful, but these conceptions aro not suffi= cicntly compelling to make us try to know God. Wo have no imme- djate and practical use for thoee conceptions in our busy, rushing ves.‘eae? F ae We read about God in the various Soriptures. We hoar of His presence and praise in the sermons of religious men and Saints, We imagine Him behind the veils of beauty of Nature, We think about His ~existence through the logic within us, but all of these windows throvgh which we try to sce God are fitted with opaque glass of un~ cortain inference dram from untested, wnsorvtinized data, We cannot have full or direct knowl cdee of God through the limited powers of the intellect, which gives only a partial and ine direct view of things. To view a thing intelicetually is not to see 4t by being one with it, It is to view it by boing apart from it. Intuition is tho direct grasp to Truth. It is in this Intuition that Bliss Consciousness, or God Consciousness, is realized. God is Bliss, He is ever-existent, When we wish Eternnl Bliss, or God, wo also wish Eternal, Immortal, Unchangeable, Ever-Conscious Existence, It must be remonbercd that finding God does not imply com- plete noglect of the various physical and Spiritual battles of Life, m the other hand, the climbing Spiritual aspirant must learn to eonquer in order to make the Temple of Life free from the darkness of ignorance and tho weakness of discase, so that God's perfect Presence may be perceived. As house full of jowols cannot be secon in the dark, so the presence of God cannot be felt while the dark- ness of igorame, overpowering disease, or matal inharmony prevails, HOW 30 KNOW GOD To Imow Goa is to love him, Knowledge of Goa mst precede the ability to love Him, At least, we must have some little concep- tion of what He really 1s, We are told, "He is Love," but we only know human love; how thon can wo conceive of that wondrous love that makes 911 mankind freo. You know the taste of an orange, and you have only to think of oranges which you have tasted in the past in order to recall that taste clearly. Can you think of God with a similarly clear conception? ‘The answer is: "No." Wood, stone, animals - all things are but different manifost~ ations of God with varying rates of vibration. Our own feclings may be an oxpression of Goi, but they are not God. ‘The wave may be a manifestation of the Ocean, but the wave cannot be called the ocean, Is electricity God No, for we cannot switch Him on and off. He is over-burning 6: Pit. gg) cre: FUTE: psi TAO PPT MME His Votoe is Pranava cr OM”, ‘The Bible s: “Tho Word was God.” Wmt is the Word? Do you really Imow any Suprewe Eeing? Have you seen Him? Do you not believe about Him only what you have been told from carliest ghildhood? Some people say: “He is Ommiprosent.” Yet stnce alone is not God, In all of space we do not see any one Intelligence. When -you move through space, space does not talk to you. Space is the thing which you are in, Spnoe does not mean “intelligenca.® When my Master asked me, "What is God?", T said: "God is Spirit." When he asked: "hen, what is Spirit?" I answered: "Spirit 4s Infinite Intelligence.” "Yes," he said, "but Infinite Intelli .gonee 1s God, so you sce you are talking and reasoning in circles, that that way you will nover got anywhere." Substiwting different names for God does not explain Hin. : Segoe Patonjali In the same way, whon you are nsked what water is, you say: "It 4s H20 or aqua, or pani, or jal", and try to explain 4s. If you really know what God is, then you can explain F factorily to a now inquirer, But wien you try God without kmowing Him, you only t fore, What 4s God? ‘hat was one gure of, until I found that I could not max zptona tion, But from my Master's oxplnnaticn I really Teemiea nent Hod, end found Him for myself. God has been a reality to me ever since. ae fesetae , -Page Four- 0. CON TROLLING GENCE . There are two things in-this universe: First, Foroo and second, Inte}ligence controlling that Forde. You cannot mention any one thing that docs not have intelligence. ‘The human body is simply a oambination of 16 oloments, and nothing more, With intciligence added, it becomes a live and thinking Being. Now I ask you, can dntelligenee came out of nothing, is it not reasonable to suppose ~ that somewhere there is sone sort of factory that produces that in= telligonco? Wo humans are are only ong of tho many products of that faotory of Cosmic Entolligonce, GOD IS THAT INVISIBLE FACTORY OF INTELLIGENCE from which stars, plancts, and all manifcst things aro born, erented and harmonised,’ Why do ail the seasons come on timo? Why do we have hunger in the body and food outside to satisfy that hunger? “If there were no Cosmic Intelligence, may be we would have hunger but no food, But throvghout the universe, inspite of the many mischiovous pranks of Nature, there alymys seems to be a rhythm, and this ryythm and all things are products of the one factory of the one all-running Intelligence, But when we speak thus, still we do not explain what that Intelligence is. Here is the explanation: Gop _IS THE SUPREME INTELLIGENGE THAT GOVERNS EVERY TIING Some people do not renlizo that there is a difference betwoon Fores and Intelligenos, Electricity isa force, but unless wo put it into o lomp, it does not give a light that can be used. Intelligence puts it into the lamp. 11 the forces of Nature cannot satisfactorily work by themsolves without the guidance of Intelligenca, Tho cosnio Factory of Intelligence works in a cd-ordinated way. Steam has power to make things move and fire converts woter into steam. These are only _- ‘two of Nature's forces, but thoy, of themselves, in: thoir unharnessed natural state, do not accomplish anything purposefully useful, but when harnessed to Intelligence, and directed rightly, they can be made to be of erent service to mankind, The carth and the whole of the universe seemingly has been routined so that human life is made possi- ble. ‘thts Coanic routine, "The rhythm of the spheres,” is the product of Intelligence, Tha surest sign that God exists is the increasing hoart-bunst- ing Joy (Nil"j%) folt in Meditation, When your mind 1s free fron pro- judioo, when narrow-mindedness vanishes, when you unreservedly sympa- thise with everybody, when you hear the Voice of God in the chorus of churches, tabernacies, temples and mosques, when you realize thot life is a joyous battle of duty, and at the same time a pnssing dream, and above all, when you becom2 inereasingly intoxicated with the Joy of Méditation, and in makixg others happy by giving them God-peace, thon you will know that God is with you always and you are in Him, weeTHE APOLOGUE HIB KAN Wi _WOULIN'T BE ING. Long ago, there lived a fow saints in a retreat at the o skirts of a jungle valley. Hero they ate feosh vrulis i and drank with the oup of their hond, the living wator of ling mountain springs, Here blow the zophys of censcless peace ai their diamond-eyes glittered with celestial smiles. Joy eecrneel fn their bosoms, giving perpctual solace. And yet, one day, one of the saints thought he had too much of Spiritual happiness and wanted a little taste of Kingly happin He wanted to bo a King fora day, With this desire scorchir heart, he set out in quest of regal happiness, and left the “se: peaceful nook of the hermitage. On the way he felt and thought: "Heavenly Father, I am Thy ohild, surely Thou wouldst guide me to the place where I ¢an enjoy Kingly happiness fora day.” Thinking this as he walked some dintance” from the hermitage, hie eyes fell upon a stately, palatiel mansion, iS \ufying,S-I * P.11 -Page Six~ When tho King and the Saint met, the Saint began to laugh ouder than over, as if unable to hol? his morriment within the oup of his heart, ‘The King repeatedly asked tho Saint under threat of death the ronson for his laughter while being beaten. When throats failed, the King used entreaty, and, boing ariven mni ty curiousity, offered his throne to the beggar if only he would explain his lavahter while being beaten. At lest, seeing the King humbled, the beaten beggar Saint ropl replied: “Look, I was thmshoed by God for craving the delusive en= Joyment of Kingly material comfort fora day, but my laughter in ereased because I got off casy:" I thovght: "If I merit so much beating for just one day of being King, think how many more beatings are coming to you for indulging in Kinely material happiness for cars? T was beaten for forgetting God for just one day, and think ow Much beating you yet must have for fometting Him every day - a2 the time, No, thank you, I would not be King, for I have over-fresh happiness in God, which oes not end with the lashings of worries.” SKIN BEAUTY tho face of the average individual (particularly) one whose consciousness has not yet boon awakened to Sel f= Ronlizntion) 1p a camplete reflection of all the physionl and cmotion al upheavals that transpire within, ‘The remainder of the body-skin, we know, does not register the degres of wear and tear that fs tak= ing place, nt least not to the unpractised eye. Beauty is never pictured with ugly skin, blotches, unsightly enlarged pores, wrinkles, and so forth, ‘the latter condition at once suggests uncleanliness, and we must remember that the Spirits demand a cleansed, radiant vehiole with which to demonstrate at its highest capacity, In poetry, painting, and song, reference is often made by the artist of the Skin-Benutiful. There is, unquestionably an fmortant tie between the Inner an4 Outer Man enclosed within the boundaries of the skin, the medium through which "Our Light So Shines} pion ines as it were, the finishing touch of the Creator of the f finished Man, the end, termination; a case wherein is contained all et 1s the YOU, to have and to hold and to care for until the final deliverance to succecding realms along the Fath, DOs Give your skin a daily air bath, as well as a sim bath, Apply lemon juice as a bleach to discolorations, then add a @rop of olive o11, Fresh ovcumber juice is also a splendid food for this purpose, Baily friction baths with a rough towel. Work up a good perspiration by some sort of exercise. Also, an occasional sweat bath 1s recommended, An excellent astringent can be made at home tims: Beat eae white until stiff; cover face and nockwith it and leave it on for four or five minutes. Wash off with cool water, After a few appli+ cations, notice effect upon former flabby skin tissue. (Not meant for vegetarians)s-I 1 | * Pll Page Five- "ah, I see the Heavenly Father has mde my dream come truco", he exolaimed, and began hurrying towmrd the mnsion, He passed by the gates and wmen't stopped by ony of the guards he welked all over the enone panied ket ee and he met - poe 0 tonrfi Aol {= PERE LARUE TEAR EON oF ene ha ace ane’ found stnmne hoe dels otous food invitingly awaiting at the table but not a trace of wait- @ servants. Encouraged by all this strange array of edible food, he thought within himself: “Methinks, the Lord is good to me and has fatorialized this palace and wonderful food fit for me. It is just as I wanted. My dreams have come true." Being sentimentally canvineed, he proceeded to enjoy the preliminaries of being a God-sent King fora day. He took his bath in the royal bathroom, dressed, and sat down for dinner, At this time the servants of the palace, wha had been out gambling among themselves, rushed in, in great excitement and - shouted: "Who are you, cating the food of our King who is out hunt= ing and is expected to arrive any minute?" ‘The Saint, still thinking that it was test of the Lord, and thinking himself to be a cosmopo~ iitan friond, replica, in a oalm, loving tome: "I oma friond of tho ercat ee I have come here at His command to enjoy royal happiness for a day. The servents, taking Saint to be an august guest of the King Jot him finish the royal dinner and ushered him to sleep in the royal chamber. ‘They did not understand that the Saint referred to God as the Great King and not to thoir King who was out hunting, Two hours passed, ‘he herald of the King arrived with a mos» soge from his Highness, stating that he was detained and would arrivo atthe and-of three hours -and-wovid like to-have steaming hot food prepared, ‘The servants worryingly asked: "Didx't His Highness send a guest to enjoy his dinner and bea?" ‘The King's herald was frothing ot the mouth with rage when he found that this begear-saint without davitation had devoured the King's food and wis avdaciously snoring oa the royal bed. So, he urged the servants to run out and bring sticks and broomstioks with which to rout the beggar-Saint, The Saint was awakened from his dream of royal happiness by sticks and staves mercilessly falling upon him, but the more the ser= vants beat him and scolded him, the more he lavghed without cessa- tion, Tho servants became furious at his inoronsing laughter and flogged him to unconsciousness and threw him beyond the ralece gates. The unconscious Saint ws picked up by a brother Saint ana was taken back to the hermitage. ‘he brother foreod milk into the mouth of the unconscious Saint, and by way of testing his recovery of consciousness, asked: "Do you know who is feeding you milk?" Tie beaten Saint laughingly replied: "The samo God who beat me for trying to be a King for a day - that same God 1s feoding me milk," To brother/hermits were glad to see the.r chastised brother Saint's faith in God unchanged in prospority, as in the form of a repose in the king's bed, and in adversity, a5 in tho event of his punishment, This beated Saint wasn't like those who worship God during pw sperity and disbelieve in God during adversity, Meanwhile, the King of the palace returned to his mansion and demanded hot food and was very wrathfvl to learn of the beggar who had eaten his food and who had laughed whan he was being beaten, The whimsioal King took a fancy to tho strangeness of the story of the beggar Saint vho had laughed While being boated, and ordered h vants to find this beggar. The servants searched hizh a i til thoy, returning home in despair, galloped by the Sain and wore attracted by the loud lavehter of the bese dismounted,kidnapped the beggar Saint, and tock 1ry ei Meat 1 ' s«I * P.lL ~Poge Seven- DON'Ts It 1s often atvisenble to discontinue the use of dairy pw ducts if the skin is too oily, Fora period, at least. ' Don't drink oity water whilo the skin and kidneys are in- operative. Distilled water dissolves and flushes, and docs not add further to whatevor encumbrance of hard deposits already exists in the bloodstream, Don't take too frequent or prolonged tub-baths unless ox~ pressly for therapeutic purposes. While thoy do relax, they also have a tendency to dry up the skin, besides being |\demagnotizing, Best time to take hot baths is at night, urtless, course, in an emergency. , Never wonr rubber in clothing, as this interferes with oir- oulation. Nevor use the lard-base cold creams sold on the market, Prepare your own, Uso either almond o11, olive o41 and lomon, or the vogotables oils as a foundation, PRAECEP TUM INSPIRATION THINK OF GOD IN EVERY ACTION Learn to love God as the joy folt in meditation, Choose only Boca paths before you start the race to the goal of Realizntion, Then think-of Got as younstart™on the path of your m terial or Spiri= tual duty. Then think of God with each footfall of your advancing fost as you make your way carefully and joyously over the broadening road of fulfillment. ‘Then think of Him after you have travelled far on your life's path and finished your progressive action, Ask God to be with you, when you, by your own will, choose good action, Then think of God before you ent body-novrikfhing food; then think of Him while you are eating it, ‘Thon, waen you have finished eating, think of God, Change your oentra from material desires to a desire for God, Ask God to make your peace, silence, joy, and meditation His holy altars, where your Soul may meet ond commune with Him in the Holy of Holies. Let your prayer be: “Make my understandim the temple of Thy guidance.” PRAEBGEPTUM AEFI i > ATION "Teach me to open the only gate of meditation which leads to Thy Bleased Presence.” sauu"