S-I « P.4 : YOGODA SAT-SANGA FORINIGH LY INSTRUCTIONS BY PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA 0=0=0-0-0-0 (To be Canfidentinily Reserved FOR MEMBER'S USE ONLY) EERLEEEEEBEEER EERE RE ERE REE EEMEEEE NE BEE EEEE EERE ELSES KEE LEE, , FRIENDSHIP Is friendship the wenving of the red strings Of two hearts? ™ Is it the blending of, two minds into a spacious er One-mind? * * Is it the spouting of love founts ‘together, A To strengthen the rush of love on drovghty Souls? & Is it the one rose grown 'twixt twin mind-branchlets © Of one compassionate stom? Is it the one thinking in two bodies? Friendship is noble, fruitful, holy = * *s When two separnte Sovls march in difference ‘ Yet in harmony, agreeing and disngrooing, Glowing, improving divorsely, “Wth-one common longing to rina polnee In true plenavre.. When ne'er the lover ‘seoks i =e Self-comfort nt the cost of the one beloved Then, in thot gordon of selflessness. Fragrant, friendship perfectly. flowers. 4 Ah, friéndship! + Flovertr heaven-born plant! : Nurtured art thou inthe soil of mensureless love,” Invthe secking’ of. Soul. progress together « . » By two who would smooth the way ench for the “other. And thou art watered by attention of affection And tender dews of inner and outer. sweetness , Of the inmost,. selfless heart's devotion, - Ah, friondship! Yhere thy Soul-born. flower falls - There on that sacred shrine of fmgrance - The Friend of all Friends craves to come And to romaint REE SEALE KE EE RE Bibl BELG EE BA ek Bb SERRE BEB AEG Bibs telebE. PRAYER 1 PRECEDE SHE PRAUCEPIUM STUDY 9 Divine Kother, tench mc to use the gift of Thy Tove in my heart to love all of Thy children, Father Davine, teach me to enter throvgh the portals of Family love, or through the love of my friends into the mnsion of wider scoinl love. Tench me,, thon, to pass through the doors of social love into the wider mansions for interna= tional love into the endless territory of Divine Love, in which I may Pereoive all animate. and inanimate objects as breathing and livim by ‘Thy Love, Teach me to love Thee more than anything else, for it is Thy Love with which I love everything. HOW 10 ATTRACT FRIENDS Friendship is God's love shining’ through the eyes of your loved ones, enlling you home to drink His neotar of all differences~and- selfishness-dissolving Unity. Friendship is GOD'S trumpet call, bid- ding the Soul destroy the partitions which arate it from 11 other Sovls and from Him. ‘True friendship unites two Souls so. ae that they reflect the Unity of Spirit and Its Divine qualities.> Tre friendship is broad and inclusive, Solfish attachment to @ d.nele individual, excluding all others, inhibits the development of Divine Friendship. Extend the boundaries of the glowing kingdom of your love, gradvally including within,them your family, your neighbours, yout commnity, your country, all countries, in short, all living sen+ tiont creatures. Be also a Gosmic friend, imbued with kindness and affection for all of God's Creation, scattering love everywhere. Such was the example set by Christ, Swami Shankara, and my Masters - Babaji, Lahiri Mohasaya, and Swami Sriyukteswarji, : Gonsider no one a stranger, Learn to feel that everybody is your kin, Family love is morely one of the first exercises in the Divine Teacher's course in Friendship, intended to prepare your heart for an all-inclusive love. Feel that the life blood of God is circula~ ting in the veins of all races, How does anyone dare to hate any human being of whatsoever race, when he knows that Goa lives and breathes in all? We are Americans, or Christians, or Hindus, or other natfonalitics, for just a fow years, but we are God's children for ever. ‘The Soul ' eannot be confined within man-made boundaries, Its nationality is Spirit; its country is Omfipresence. This does not mean that you must know and love all human beings ané creatures personally and individually. All you need do is to be ready at all times to spread the light of friendly service over all living creatures which you happen to contact, ‘his reovires constant mental effort and preparedness; in other words, unselfishness. The sun shines equally on dinmond and charconl, but one has developed qualities ~ which enable it to refloct the sunlight brilliantly, while the other absorbs all the sunlight, Emulate the diamond in your dealings with people. Brightly reflect the light of God's Loves f T have frionds, you mst manifest fricndliness. If you open the door to the magnoti¢ power of fricndship, a Sool or Souls of like vibrations will be attracted to you. ‘he more. friendly you become toward all, the greater will be tho number of your real friends, When perfect friondship exists either between two hearts or within a croup pf hearts in a Spiritual Organization, such fricndship perfects each individual, In the heart, purified by friendship, one beholds an open door of unity thraveh which one should invite other Souls to enter ~ those who love him as woll as those who love him not, Friendship should not be influenced by the relative positions of people. It may and should exist between lovers, employer and employ- ee, teacher and pupil, parents and children, and others, God's effort unite strife-tom humnity manifests itself within your heart as the friendship instinct. SERVICE TO FRIENDS Truc ‘friendship consists in being mutwlly useful, in offering your friends good cheer in distress, sympathy in sorrow, advice im trou- dle, ané material help in times of real need. Friendship consists in _ rejoicing in the good fortune of your friends and sympothizing with- thom in adversity, Friendship gladly foregoes scifish pleasures or self-interest for the sake of n friend's happiness, without consciovs- ness of loss or sacrifice, and without counting the cost, Human love « and friendship have their basis in service on the physical, mental, or business plane. ‘They are short-lived nnd conditional. Divine Love has had its foundation in service on the Spiritual and Intuitional planes and is unconéitional and everlasting. the erenter the mutual service, the deeper the friendship. ‘hy does Puddha or Jesus have such a wide following? Feeavse They, like the other gront Masters, were unequalled in Their service to humanity. Hence, to attract fricnds, you must possess the qualities of a real friend. Idfots may become frinnds, but their blind friendship may ond in a svaden blind hatred, - p your friend also by being a mental, aesthotic and spiri- tual inapiee tion him, Nev Be sarcnutic to a friend. Do not flatter him unloss it is to encourage him, Do not agree with him when he iswrong. Real fricndship cannot witness with indifferonce the false, harmful pleasures of a fricnd, This does not mean that you must quarrel, Svegest mentally, or if your advice is asked, give it gently and lovingly. Fools fight, Fricnds discuss their differences, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES The secret of Christ's and Pralhad's sttength lny in their love for all, even their enemies. Ir better to conquer by love the heart of a person who hates you than to vanquish such a one by other means. To the ordinary mn such a doctrine scams absurd. He wants to return ten slaps for the one he hos received and add twlee as many kicks for geod measure, hy should you love your onemy? In order that you may bring the healing rays of your love into his dark, hatrod- stricken heart, “hen it 1s so relonsed, it can behold itself as pure golden love. ‘hus will the flame of your love turn the partitions of hatred and misery which separate your Sovl from other Souls and a1 Souls from the vast sen of Infinite Love, Practice loving those who do not love you, Feel fo those who ao not feel for you. Be generous to those who are generous only to themselves. If you heap hatred upon your cnomy, neither he nor you are able to perceive the inherent bonuty of your Soul. Jealousy is self-love and the denth of fricndship. Avoid doing anything which brings harm to yourself or to another, If you are self-indulgent, or if you encourage a friend in his vices, you are an enemy disevised as a friend. By being true to yourself anda true friend to others, you gain the friendship of God. Once you make your love felt in the love of other people, it will expand until it becomes the one Love which flows throveh nl hearts. There are people who do not trust anyone, and who utterly doubt the possibility of over having truc ¢rionds. Some, in fact, actually boast that they get along without friends, If you fail to ,be fricndly, you disregard the Divine law of solf-cxpansion, by which ‘alone your Soul can grow into the Spirit. When necessary, if humility and apologics on your mrt bring out your enemy's good gualitios, by all means apologize. ‘the person who can do this will have attained o definite Spiritual development, far it takes character to be able to apologize graciously and sincere- ly. It is the consciousness of his own inferiority which mokes a man hide behind a display of pride. Do not, however, encourage a wrong- doer by being too humblo and apologetic. : You need not fawn on your enemy, Silently love him. Silently, . be of service to him whenever he is in need, for love is real only when it ts useful and expresses Itself througi action. Thus will you rend the veils of hatred and of narrow-mindedness which hide God fran your sight, Constant contact with the Infinite in meditation fills ‘ono with Divino Love, which along onables one to love one’s enemies. Always remember that you need the inspiratien of better com- pany t keep yourself wnstantly improving, and you shoulda share your goodness with people of inferior qualities who need your help. A Saint once said: "Your outward good company is of mramount import- ance, as it influences your will and reason which, by repetitions of thovght and action, form good hibits. FRIENDS OF PAST INCARNATIONS Make every effort to rediscover your friends of past inonrna- tions, whom you may recognize through familiar physical, mentnl, and Spiritval- qualities. Rising above considerations of mterinl or even Spiritual gain, perfect your friendship, begun in a preceding incar- nation, into Divine Friendship. There are people with whom you come in daily contact, yot with whom you do not fecl in sympathy. Learn to love them and adapt your self to them, ‘There are others who give you the instantaneousfeeling that you have. known then always, This indicates that thoy are your fricnds of previous incarnations. Do not neglect them, but strengthen the friendship existing between you. Be on the lookout for thom always, as your restless mind may fnil to recognize them, Often they are very near you, drawn by the friendship born in the dip distant past. ‘They wnstitute your shining collection of Soul jowols; ada to it constantly, In these bright Soul gnlaxies you will behold the One Grent Friend smiling at you radiantly ond clearly. It is God who comes to you in the guise of a noble, true Friend, to serve, inspire and guide you. Zach ind4v idual has his own standard of physical and mental becuty. What seems ugly to one may appear beautiful to another. Lock inz at a vast crowd, you like some faces instantaneously; others do rot attract you particularly. ‘the instant attraction of your mind to ihe likeable inner and outer fentures of nn individual is your first indication that you have found a friond of the prst. Your dear ones whom you loved before will be drawn townrd you by a pre-natal sense & friendship, Do not be deceived by physicnl beauty, Ask yourself wheth or not a face, the manner of walking, in short, everything about a Jerson, appeals to you, Sometimes overentine and Inck of exercise may distort the fentures of a friond, and thus he may escape your recogni- tion, Sometimes a beavtifvl woman may 0111 in love with an vely man, or a handsome man with a physically unattradive woman, duc to the lov- ing fricndship of a pnst incarnation, A fat, distorted body may har~ bor a real friend. ‘therefore, to be sure that your cyes ve not de- deived you regarding the physieal characteristics of your supposed former friend, ascertain whether you are mentally and Spiritually con- genial, Delve deeply into a person's mind and guard yourself against boing pregudiced by little peculiaritics, in order to find out whethor your tnstes and inclinations essentially agree, Seck your frionds of past incarnations in order that you my continve your fricndsi ip in this lire and perfect it into Divine Fricniship. One lifetine is not always avfficient to achieve such perfection. Ugliness of disposition and selfisiness drive away all frionds of former incarnations, whereas friendliness drawn them toward you. Therefore, be ready always to meet them half way. Never mind if one or two friends prove false and deceive you. . DIVINE FRIENDSHIP . ° Friendship is the universal Spiritual attraction which unites Souls in the bond of Divine love and may manifest itself cithor in two or in many, ‘he Spirit was One. By the law of duality it became two - positive and native, ‘then, by the Inw of infinity applied to the law of relativity, 4t became many. Wov the One in the many is endeavoring to unite the many and mke them One, This effort of the Spirit to unify mny Sovls into the One works throveh our emotions, intelligence, and intvition and finds expression through fricndship. “hen Divine Frigndship reigns supreme in the templo of your heart, your Sovl will merge with the vast Cosmic Sovl, leavine far behind the confinine bonds which separated it from o11 of God's anim te and in- animte Creation. When you behold, assembled all at once beneath the ennony of your perfected vnivorsn] friendshin, the Souls of the past, present, and future, the busy stars, the amocba, the whip-poorwill, the night- inenle, tho dumb stones, and the shining sea sands, then the frond ship thi of your heart will be quamched forever, Thon God's Cre tion will ring with the omancimting sone of oll di fferonce-diesoiving celestini friodship, Thm the Divine Friend will rejoice to see you come home after your evolutional wanderings an@ roamings through the ways of incarnations. ‘Then He and you will merge in the Bliss of ermal Friendship, jhe building of wisdom and Spiritual and intuitive understand— ing by mutvnl effort nlone ean bind two Souls by the laws of ever- lasting, universal Divine Love. When true friendship exists betweentwo Souls and they seok Spiritual love and God's love together, when their only wish is tobe of service to each other, their friendship produces the flame of Spirit. Throveh perfected Divino Friendship, me seeking Spiritual perfection, you will find the One Groat riond. No man wie fails to inspire confidence in other hearts, and who is unable to extend tho kingdom of his love and friendlinoss into other Sovl territories, ean hope to spread his consc iousnessover Cos- mic Comeiovsness. If you cannot conquer human hearts, you cannot conquer the Cosmic Heart, All this my seem very complicated, but wha you touch the Infinite, your difficulties will malt away, Divine Love will come to you. Benitiful intuitive exmricnees of universal friend ses will play like fountains in your mind. Keep in mind this prayer: "Heavenly father! Let those that our own come unto us, and finding thom my we find fricndship with all, and thus find thee." ‘HE MAN VHO REFUSED HEAVIN Long, long ago there lived, in India, a holy mn who spent his days on the peaceful banks of the holy river Ganges. (This river is considered holy by the people of India because mny Saints neaitate under the shady banyan trees on its bankd). Years passed in deep contemplation, but the Spiritual aspir- ant found that, althovgh he was surrounded by a celestial environment of beautiful scenery and good people, good books, and devotional tem plo services, yet his mind constantly dwelt on mentally harming and robbing people, As often as he tried to meditate on God, the holy man found that in the inner cimmber of his mind mny undesirable thovents enterat constantly torturing him with the misery of temptation, No matter how he tried te ward off these uninvited thovehts, the more they made forceful inronds into his peace. 2 At lnst he vowed: "I will not stop praying until I find de- finite release from these disturbing thovehts which stab my peace during meditation. One hour passed, two hours passed, and still the bandits of rowtle ssness kept picreing the holy man's meditation. Finally, at the ond of three hours, the disturbing thoughts suddenly vanished from his tample of meditation, and in their stead he beheld a beautiful vision ofa Saint standine life-like before him, This beautiful Snint not only appeared tobe livin but spoke with celestial softness: “Son, inn former life you were a bad mon, but before you died you resolved to be good, That is why you were porn in this life with a holy resolution to be gooa and Also with bad thoughts which you incurred in your past life. It is a shome that. amidst the holy surroundings of the Ganges, good friends, and rogular meditation, you have been living in the inferno of inward restless~ ness." ‘the Saint wont on after a gentle pause: “According to the de- oree of your past actions of your previous life and because you have not made a greater offort to live pencefully in your present Spiritual surround ings, it is metaphysically ordained that unless you work very hard at moditation now, at denth you will have to choose between liv= ing in Heaven with ten fools, or living in Hades with one wise mon. Which of the two do you prefe The Spiritunl aspirant replied: “I prefer to live in BRudes with one wise man, for I know from my own experience that th. te would mnke a Hades of Heaven. Whereas, I believe that if 7 ith one real wise man, even in the styeinn darkness of Hadco, wld help me to moke Heaven of it.” 80, if you have a henvenly home but are constantly fightingS-I « P.4 “Page Six- with the mambers of your family and friends, you are living ina self-created Hades, On the other hand, no matter what inharmonious surroundings you may have, if you moiitate or sit in silence for a few minutes every day and live in harmony, you will always live in Heaven and will carry your own portable paradise within your breast wherever you 0. HEALTH CULTURE DIETARY LAWS To have faith in God's henling power throvgh the mind, and obey aictary laws, is better than just to have faith in God and mind and disregard dietary laws, Every day, for beneficial results, eat green-lenfed vegetables, including a carrot with mrt of its stem, and drink a glass of orange juice (including pulp) with a tablespoonful of finely ground nuts, Mix good salad dress- ings made of thorovghly ground nuts, cream, a few drops of lemon juice, ovange juice, and honey, with all salads, A little curry sauce with boiled vegetables, once in a while, is a good salivary stimulant. BEALL EALBED FORTNIGHTLY INSPIRATION Many clouds do race to hide Thee ~~ Of friends and wealth and fam -- - And yet throwh mist of tears I see Appear Thy Golden Name. Each tine my father, mother, fricnds Do loudly claim they did me tend, I wmko from sleep to sweetly hear That Thou alone aidst help me here. EQRINIGHTLY AEFFIRNATION “I will try to please everyone by kind considerate actions, a11 the time trying to remove the enuse of misunderstanding knowingly or unknowingly offered by me." FRIENDSHIP! MEDITATION! GODLINESS!