While this recipe is not an exact copy of the one the cooks use to make the dessert served during the Self-Realization Fellowship Convocation Pilgrimage to the SRF Meditation Garden in Encinitas CA, it is the closest I have been able to come up with that tastes like that dessert called Paesh.
Ingredients
8 oz soft paneer cubed
1/2 cup raw sugar (I use Florida Crystals)
8 oz whole milk ricotta
2 tsp rose water
2 oz slivered almonds
Instructions
Place paneer and sugar in food processor, mix until cheese if broken into small round pieces.
Move paneer/sugar mixture to sand mixer, add ricotta and rose water.
For years, I have experimented with cornbread, trying to find a recipe that was as good as my mother’s. Finally, I asked my sister if she had Mommy’s cornbread recipe. She did, and I tried it and discovered that was the taste I was after.
The recipe is better with white cornmeal, which has become difficult to find except in mixes that contain leavening and other unwanted ingredients.
I was lucky enough to find white cornmeal on Amazon under the brand Indian Head. The pack states that the product is “Old fashioned stone ground.” Interestingly, the white cornmeal cost $5.00 more than the yellow.
While I do think that white cornmeal makes for better flavor, I have determined that the real difference that has made my earlier cornbread unacceptable was using egg.
Except for my vegan version of cornbread, I had always added egg, and I now believe that the egg created a flavor that distorted the true taste of cornbread.
In the vegan version, I had used coconut milk and vegan sour cream, which likely distorted the cornbread flavor. It was a simple omission that has made all the difference in cornbread, the simple omission of egg from the recipe.
Now I plan to tweak my vegan version, by omitting the vegan sour cream and substitute almond milk for coconut milk. The tweak offered here can easily be made vegan by using vegan butter (I use Earth Balance) instead of dairy butter.
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
2 cups white cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup water
Instructions
Heat oven to 425°
Place 10 inch cast iron skillet with oil in oven
In large mixing bowl place remaining ingredients
Mix well
Remove skillet with hot oil from oven, and pour into mixture
Mix well
Return skillet to oven
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown
My Tweak of Mommy’s Recipe
Because buttermilk tends not to serve me well, I have tweaked Mommy’s recipe a bit.
Ingredients
1 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup white or yellow cornmeal (because white is hard to find nowadays)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 tbsp baking powder (without aluminum)
2 tsp salt (I use Redmond Real Salt™️)
1 cup almond milk (with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
3/4 cup water
Instructions
Heat oven to 450°
Place 10 inch cast iron skillet with butter/oil in oven
In large mixing bowl, place remaining ingredients
Mix well
Remove skillet with hot oil/butter from oven, and pour into mixture, mix well
According to Paramahansa Yogananda, the human is a soul who has a body. Identifying more strongly with the body than with the immortal soul cripples spiritual striving.
Humanity Classifies Itself
Humans classify themselves first by sex. When a newborn arrives, the first question is, boy or girl? Sex is the easiest classification, because only two categories exist, excluding the very rare occurrence of hermaphroditism and current fad of confusing sex with gender.
The newborn will later realize that he belongs to a category called “race.” Unless both parents are the result of many generations of the same “race,” the newborn may not resemble the race of either parent. Nevertheless, race is still a fairly reliable classification even though that category is becoming less acceptable scientifically.
Next comes nationality, an easy one: birth country. One is always his original nationality even though he is free to become virtually any hyphenated version. So humans classify themselves by sex, race, and nationality; in addition to those categories are religious, political, and socio-economic classifications.
Temporary vs Permanent Classification
Only the first three—sex, race, and nationality—are virtually unchangeable. However, the other three—religious, political, and socio-economic—are changeable, based on choice.
A new category has entered the field, one of sexual-orientation, for which there can be at least two choices: heterosexuality, homosexuality, and possibly bisexuality. (A problematic category because at least two sexual partners are required to complete that orientation—a situation that society does not accept. Bigamy is illegal. And though promiscuity is wide-spread, it is not an acceptable societal norm.)
And there is also a category called “transgendered,” which defeats the spiritual purpose of transcending sex identity, which is purpose of the original, natural change of sex upon rebirth on the physical plane.
No one would consider allowing pedophilia—despite supportive organizations such a NAMBLA—bestiality, masturbation, and celibacy as valid categories. Pedophilia and bestiality are against the law, while masturbation and celibacy are barely tolerated.
Behavior not Being
The obvious problem with the new category based on sexual-orientation is that it is based on behavior or activity, not being. At birth one can be classified using all the six categories, but one has to wait until at least puberty to classify as a hetero-, or homo-sexual. And still the classification will be based on an act not an essence.
Act of Sex Always a Choice
That choice plays the central rôle is what is always overlooked when discussing this issue. Any act of sex, with the exception of rape and peer-pressure, is always a choice. No one is ever required to engage in sexual experience. Of course, the sexual urge is strong, especially when abused and over-indulged, but still one can live an entire life without ever having engaged in sexual activity. The issue with rape is that that act has little to do with sex itself and more to do with power that the perpetrator has over the victim.
The other categories cannot be chosen this way. As a non-self-realized human being in the prenatal state, one cannot choose sex, race, nationality, etc. No matter how one lives or where, he will always be eligible for classification on sex, race, nationality, religion, politics, and socio-economics. But one never has to be classified as hetero- or homo-sexual.
Because the sex act is a voluntary one—excluding rape and peer-pressure/societal intimidation, the latter which is responsible for most people becoming sexually active before they are really inclined to—one cannot argue that sexual-orientation is part of anyone’s character; it is behavior, but not part of the essence, character, or personality, which is essentially a soul, a spiritual being, whose existence is not dependent upon any physical attributes.
Sexuality Misunderstood
A great chasm separates the reality and societal notions of sexuality. The misunderstanding is as great now as it was when homosexuality was universally considered a sin and punishable by law. It is doubtful that the wider society will ever equate homo- and hetero-sexuality. Celibacy is even less understood. A sex culture permeates society, wherein sex sells everything from shampoo to shoes.
Procreation vs Recreation
The true purpose of the sex act is primarily procreation and possibly in moderation, the expression of genuine love and affection between two committed partners—including homophile partners. The sex act is simply not amenable to recreation. Doing it because it feels good is not a moral attitude, because it tends to lead to moral turpitude.
If parents were consistently capable of teaching their offspring that the purpose of the sex act is procreation and genuine love within a stable, loving marriage, there would be less reliance on abortions, fewer sufferers of venereal disease, no supposed need for pornography, and much less waste of energy trying to lure a fellow human being into a recreational diversion.
Roughly in order of origin, the five major world religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each major religion has many branches or denominations that focus on certain aspects of the main religion. This article features a brief overview of each of the five major religions.
Introduction: What Is the Purpose of Religion?
“If God after making the world puts Himself outside it, He is no longer God. If He separates Himself from the world or wants to separate Himself, He is not God. The world is not the world when it is separated from God. God must be in the world and the world in God.” —D. T. Suzuki
According to Paramahansa Yogananda [1], the purpose of all religions—as well as the purpose of life itself—is to reunite the individual soul with the Supreme Soul or God. The differences that seem to split religions from one another result from the use of different metaphors that portray concepts.
Also use of different names for the Supreme Deity causes confusion; for example, Allah, Divine Mother, Ultimate Reality, Supreme Intelligence, Emptiness, Absolute, and Over-Soul represent some of the terms used to name the Unnameable or the Ineffable [2].
A common misunderstanding of Hinduism emerges from the many Hindu names for God or the Supreme Soul. But instead of actually signifying different “gods,” the names merely signify different aspects of of the one God. Hinduism is monotheistic, just as Christianity and all other religions are.
All of the five major world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—have in common a basic faith, even though each religion describes the nature of their faith differently. They each have a prophet, or prophets, who interpret God’s ways, and scripture in which the interpretation resides.
Hinduism
Hinduism’s scripture is the Bhagavad-Gita, and major prophet is Krishna. However, Hinduism is probably the world’s oldest religion, [3] and, therefore, it also has other ancient scripture that was not written down for many centuries or perhaps millennia. These are called the Vedas.
In more recent history the important scripture that contains the explanation for existence and the guide back to God is the Bhagavad-Gita, whose central narrator is Bhagavan Krishna.
Buddhism
Buddhism’s scripture is the Dhammapada, and its major prophet is Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha [4]. Buddhism began around 500 B.C. in India, when the prince Gautama abandoned his young wife and child and took up the life of an ascetic. It is said that he positioned himself under a banyan tree and determined to remain there until he had attained enlightenment.
Buddhism is very similar to Hinduism in that they both focus on meditation to achieve “enlightenment,” which is called “nirvana” in Buddhism and “samadhi” in Hinduism. Also both religions describe the nature of God, or the Absolute, pantheistically.
Judaism
Judaism’s major prophets are the Old Testament prophets, especially Moses [5]; thus, its scripture is the Old Testament or Torah consisting of the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Because Judaism does not recognize the New Testament, it does not recognize the “old” testament as such, but simply as the Torah. The name “Judaism” originates from the fourth son of Jacob, who was the father of the tribe of “Judah.” The name “Judah” means gratitude in Hebrew.
It was the tribe of Judah that resided in Jerusalem during the reign of both David and Solomon. Later the Judaic kingdom included all of the southern tribes of Israel.
Thus, the religion of the Jews is called “Judaism.
Christianity
Christianity’s major prophet is Jesus Christ, whose major scripture is the Sermon on the Mount [6] which is part of the New Testament. Like most prophets, Christ appeared at a time of history when there was great turmoil and strife. Human kind had lost its knowledge of its divinity within the soul, and the Christ appeared to remind people that “the kingdom of God is with you.”
Islam
Islam’s prophet is Muhammad, and its scripture is the Quran (Koran). In addition to the Quran, the devout Muslim studies the Sunnah, which is an account of the prophet’s life and the activities and traditions he approved.
The prophet Muhammad was born April 20, 571, to a wealthy family of the tribe of Mecca. His father had died a few days before his son was born, and his mother died when he was six-years-old.
His grandfather, who was caring for the boy, then died when Muhammad turned nine, at which time he was cared for by an uncle. The world in which the young boy lived was a chaotic one, sometimes described a “barbaric.” It is said that Muhammad was a gentle boy, sensitive and compassionate in his dealings with others.
At the age of twenty-five he entered the caravan business owned by a wealthy widow, Khadija; their relationship grew from deep respect to admiration and love, and they married. Their union proved successful. Fifteen years later the man Muhammad transformed into the Prophet, but such a transformation did not happen overnight. According to Huston Smith [7],
There was a huge, barren rock on the outskirts of Mecca known as Mount Hira, torn by cleft and ravine, erupting unshadowed and flowerless from the desert sands. In this rock was a cave which Muhammad, in need of deep solitude, began to frequent. Peering into the mysteries of good and evil, unable to accept the crudeness, superstition, and fratricide that were accepted as normal, “this great fiery heart, seething, simmering like a great furnace of thoughts,” was reaching out for God.
Religious Distortion
All of the great religions have suffered distortion at the hands ignorant interpreters. In the name of Christianity large scale devastation was visited upon the world during in the Middle Ages during the Crusades [8], then later in the Spanish Inquisition [9] , and even in the colonial America during the Salem Witch Trials [10].
Hindu zealots have misappropriated and turned the Caste system into an oppressive ordering of society [11] that was not part of Hindu scripture. Many adherents to Buddhism in the West are attracted to that religion based on the misunderstanding that Buddhism is an atheistic religion.
Again, the misunderstanding results from failure to grasp the basic metaphors used to make sensible the Ineffable. And, of course, the extremist Islamists who distort the meaning of jihad [12] demonstrate the horror that can be fostered from erroneous understanding of the metaphor of scripture.
Much fantasy has grown out of the facts of religions, and much mayhem and destruction has been and continues to be carried out in the name of religion. But all of the great religions teach compassion and love, and even though certain misguided zealots try to conquer others immorally in so-called holy wars, they do not represent the vast majority of the devout who understand and practice their religions as they are meant to be practiced.
Sources
[1] Paramahansa Yogananda. The Science of Religion. Self-Realization Fellowship. 1953. Print. [2] Linda Sue Grimes. “Names for the Ineffable God.” Linda’s Literary Home. October 7, 2025.
[3] Joshua J. Mark. “Hinduism.” World History Encyclopedia. June 8, 2020.
According the renowned spiritual leader, Paramahansa Yogananda, when an individual develops an intense yearning for God, then God sends that individual tangible evidence of His love: “When you have convinced the Lord of your desire for Him, He will send someone — your guru — to teach you how to know Him.”
Also Yogananda has explained that when evil seems to be overcoming good in the world,
God sends a prophet (guru or spiritual leader) to help people turn back toward God. Muhammad, being a gentle, compassionate soul, developed his latent soul qualities and by intense meditation in the cave at Mount Mira touched God’s heart and God spoke to him, not only to satisfy the individual soul of Muhammad, but God also used Muhammad to inform those crude, superstitious, fratricidal brothers of a better way of life.
Unfortunately, just as Hindu zealots have misappropriated and turned the Caste system into an oppressive ordering of society, many Islamists have turned the teachings of Muhammad into the opposite of the prophet’s instructions for peace, and instead of leading to a “better way of life,” many ignorant followers of that faith have returned to “crude, superstitious, fratricidal” behavior.
God is one Being, but God has many aspects; thus God has many names. All religious scriptures point to God as the only Creator. As the ineffable Spirit, God remains only the essence of Bliss, but as Creation, He is able to function through various bodies and powers for differing motives.
The Many Names of God, the Ineffable
The term “ineffable” applies to anything that is indescribable, something that is so beyond human concepts that there are actually no words that can do it justice. The term God is such a concept. If humankind wanted to proscribe all terms hitherto naming God, it would do well to employ only the term the “Ineffable.”
Despite the fact that there are things, beings, even events that humanity finds ineffable, the confluence of the human mind and heart seeks to name and describe those entities anyway. But the naming and describing must always come with the caveat that anything said naming and describing are mere approximations.
For example, on the purely material, physical plane, the taste of an orange remains ineffable. One may say the orange tastes sweet, but so do apples, cookies, and ethylene glycol—none of which tastes like an orange. The only way to know the taste of an orange is to taste it—no description will ever reveal that actual taste.
The same situation exists facing the issue of knowing who or what God is. Humanity from time immemorial has described God, given God names and descriptions, but to know God is like to know the taste of an orange—it has to be experienced for oneself.
That is where the practice of religion enters: the purpose of religion is to assist the individual in discovering the method for knowing God. Because most human knowledge is acquired through the five senses, one would think that knowing God would also be acquired the same way.
But that does not work, because the senses can detect only phenomena on the physical, material level of being. The five senses cannot detect noumena which exists on a different plane of existence.
As the Absolute Spirit, God is an ineffable concept because the term God includes everything in creation and also everything that exists outside of creation. God is both creation and the originator of creation. This fact means that there is no way to understand such a being with the limited human mind.
Thus, the concept of God has come to be thought of in many manifestations or aspects, such as God as Father, God as Son, as God as Holy Spirit, which will be immediately recognized as the Trinity of Christianity, the religion of the West. And the “Holy Spirit” aspect is the only aspect of God within creation. Paramahansa Yogananda explains the nature of the trinity [1]:
When Spirit manifests creation, It becomes the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Ghost, or Sat, Tat, Aum. The Father (Sat) is God as the Creator existing beyond creation (Cosmic Consciousness).
The Son (Tat) is God’s omnipresent intelligence existing in creation (Christ Consciousness or KutasthaChaitanya). The Holy Ghost (Aum) is the vibratory power of God that objectifies and becomes creation.
Many cycles of cosmic creation and dissolution have come and gone in Eternity. At the time of cosmic dissolution, the Trinity and all other relativities of creation resolve into the Absolute Spirit.
The principal religion of the East is Hinduism, which is often mistakenly thought to be a polytheistic religion. The term “polytheism” signifies a misleading concept. There could never be two or more ultimate creators [2]:
Spirit, being the only existing Substance, had naught but Itself with which to create.
Spirit and Its universal creation could not be essentially different, for two ever-existing Infinite Forces would consequently each be absolute, which is by definition an impossibility. An orderly creation requires the duality of Creator and created.
That mistake of assuming Hinduism to be polytheistic arises because in Hinduism, especially as interpreted through yogic philosophy, God is expressed through many aspects.
Some of those aspects include such terms as Father, Mother, Friend, Love, Light, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sat-Chit-Ananda, Kali, Prakriti, Sat-Tat-Aum, and many others. Dr. David Frawley’s explanation [3] includes the lowercase use of the term “god” which actually refers only to an aspect of the Supreme God, as the context will reveal:
Spirit, being the only existing Substance, had naught but Itself with which to create.
Spirit and Its universal creation could not be essentially different, for two ever-existing Infinite Forces would consequently each be absolute, which is by definition an impossibility. An orderly creation requires the duality of Creator and created.
If Hinduism is deemed a polytheistic religion because of the many names for aspects of the one God, then Christianity could also be considered a polytheistic religion because it also possesses a trinity. In addition to the trinity, the Judeo-Christian Bible also puts on display many other names for God such as Jehovah, Yahweh, Lawgiver, Creator, Judge, and Providence—all obvious aspects of the One Supreme Absolute or God.
The fact remains that both Hinduism and Christianity, along with Judaism and Islam, are monotheistic religions. The Christian Trinity portrays the three functions of God, and Hinduism offers the same functional trinity in Sat-Tat-Aum. Hinduism also includes other manifestations or aspects of God such as Krishna [4], who in many ways parallels Jesus the Christ and Kali [5], who parallels the Virgin Mary.
Scientific religionists and dedicated spiritual seekers have determined that there is only one God—and all religions profess this fact—but there are many aspects of that one God. And those aspects have been given specific labels for the purpose of discussion. One cannot discuss everything at once; thus, to aid in that the ability to discuss spirituality and religion, various aspects of the one God have been isolated and specified with different names.
Aspect Names Similar to Nicknames
A human being may have several nicknames. I am Linda Sue Grimes, born Linda Sue Richardson, but I am also Sissy, Grammy, Nubbies—those are three of my nicknames: I am Sissy to my sister; Grammy to my grandchildren; Nubbies to the husband.
There are not five of me just because I have five names. There is one of me, but I have various aspects to different people; thus, each of them thinks of me in terms of a specific aspect to which they have each given a specific name. It is a similar situation for naming God through His many aspects.
However, even more pressing because in theory, one could discuss the person “Linda Sue Grimes” without breaking the concept of her into various aspects because Linda Sue Grimes as a human being is not ineffable. A discussion of the ineffable God remains impossible without those names of aspects.
God Remains Ineffable
Still, God remains ineffable despite the various aspects assigned to the concept. The spiritually striving devotee on the path to God unity is not attempting to merely understand God, which would be a mental function.
The spiritual aspirant is working to unite with God, more specifically to contact his own soul which is the spark or expression of God. Contacting the soul means quieting both the physical body and the mind in order for the soul become ascendant in one’s consciousness.
Avatars such a Paramahansa Yogananda instruct devotees that they are not the body, not the mind, but the soul. In fact, the human being is a soul that possesses and body and mind, not the other way around. The soul has become a blurred concept as it is replaced with the ego, which strongly identifies with physical body and the mind.
It is only through the soul that the human being can contact God. The body cannot contact God because it is just bunch of chemicals; the mind cannot contact God because it gets its information through the unreliable senses.
The senses are in contact with the ever-changing maya delusion of the created cosmos. Thus, only the soul as a spark of God can contact God. The only way the soul can contact God is to quiet the body and mind. After the body and mind become quieted and capable of remaining perfectly still, the soul can manifest to the consciousness of the individual human being.
Why Did God Create the Cosmic Delusion?
Paramahansa Yogananda explains:
In order to give individuality and independence to Its thought images, Spirit had to employ a cosmic deception, a universal mental magic.
Spirit overspread and permeated Its creative desire with cosmic delusion, a grand magical measurer described in Hindu scriptures as maya (from the Sanskrit root ma, “to measure”).
Delusion divides, measures out, the Undefined Infinite into finite forms and forces. The working of cosmic delusion on these individualizations is called avidya, individual illusion or ignorance, which imparts a specious reality to their existence as separate from Spirit.
. . .
This Unmanifested Absolute cannot be described except that It was the Knower, the Knowing, and the Known existing as One.
In It the being, Its cosmic consciousness, and Its omnipotence, all were without differentiation: ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever newly joyous Spirit.
In this Ever-New Bliss, there was no space or time, no dual conception or law of relativity; everything that was, is, or is to be existed as One Undifferentiated Spirit.[6]
The question arises, however: why did God decide to manifest into various forms, if as one ineffable Spirit He is nothing but Bliss? The best answer to that question is what gurus (spiritual leaders) tell their chelas (spiritual aspirants): leave some questions to Eternity, meaning after you reach your goal of unity with God, all questions will be answered.
However, Paramahansa Yogananda has also answered that question by explaining that God created his lila or divine play simply in order to enjoy it. As unmanifested Spirit, God exists as bliss, but even though He is present in his Creation and likely enjoying it, He is also suffering it; thus arise various paths that lead god back to God, or the soul back to the Over-Soul.
Because that answer likely still heralds another “why?” One must return to the notion of leaving some answers to Eternity. One must take baby steps on the journey back to uniting with unmanifested Spirit. Just fitting the physical and mental bodies by yogic practice for the ability to accomplish that unity gives the devotee enough to think about and do.
Other Concepts and Labels for God
As names for God vary, so do personal concepts. For example, Jesus the Christ liked to think of God as the Father [7]; thus, many Western prayers begin with “Heavenly Father.”
The founder Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), Paramahansa Yogananda—”The Father of Yoga in the West”—was fond of assigning the mother-aspect to God and referring to God as Divine Mother. Thus, the opening of each SRF gathering begins with the following invocation:
Heavenly Father, Mother, (often lengthened to “Divine Mother”), Friend, Belovèd God, followed by the names of each guru associated with Self-Realization Fellowship.
All of these named references designate aspects of the same Entity—the Absolute Spirit or God.
My Use of the Term “God”
Because the term God can be alienating, especially triggering atheists and agnostics, I often refer to God in my commentaries by one of His possibly less disagreeable aspects. Therefore, I employ such terms as Ultimate Reality, Originator, Creator, Divine Reality, Divine Belovèd, Blessèd Creator, or simply just the Divine.
Likely, even the term Divine can be too mystically oriented for some postmodern, belligerent anti-spiritual, anti-religionists. Nevertheless, I do not completely eschew using the label God, despite negative reactions to and ignorance about the term, because the term does remain accurate and perfectly descriptive.
I do, however, continue to strive to render the context in which I use the term God as accurate and understandable as possible so that it may soften the blow for postmodern minds, being accosted by that term.
Sources
[1] Editors. Glossary: Trinity. Self-Realization Fellowship Official Web Site. Accessed March 5, 2023.
[2] Editors. “Law of Maya.” Paramahansa Yogananda: The Royal Path of Yoga. Accessed March 5, 2023.
Image: Open AI created inspired by the lines “Noise blossoms in the mind / Bursting into a riot of sound color”
Quotations
Paramahansa Yogananda: People interested in developing their memory should avoid the regular use of stimulants such as coffee, tea, and tobacco, which contain caffeine, theine, and nicotine, respectively.* Strictly avoid using strong stimulants such as liquor and drugs. Such substances intoxicate, drug, and deteriorate the intelligence and memory cells of the brain, preventing them from recording noble ideas and sense impressions in general. Memory cells that are constantly anesthetized by intoxicants lose their retentive power, and become lazy and inert. Intoxication obliterates the functions of the conscious mind by harmful chemicals, hence injures the cerebral memory-organ. When the brain is affected the memory is impaired. — SRF Lesson 51: “Yoga Methods for Developing Memory” (*Editor’s Note: Some modern research indicates that light to moderate use of caffeine improves short-term memory for brief periods. Yogis, however, assert that continuous use over a long period erodes rather than enhances the capacity of this divine faculty.)
Paramahansa Yogananda: In the natural course of evolution through reincarnation, souls are automatically reincarnated by cosmic law in a higher form or species in each incarnation. The soul is never reborn in the same animal species: a dog is never a dog again. — SRF Lesson 78: “Conscious Evolution”
Paramahansa Yogananda: There is nothing more powerful than will. Everything in this universe is produced by will. Physiological changes may even be made to occur in the body by will power. There is no time element involved; place a thought in the mind and hold it there, and think that the thing is done and your whole body and mind will respond to it. Nor does it take time to acquire or discard a habit if you exercise sufficient will power. It is all in your mind. —SRF Lesson S-4 P-79
Paramahansa Yogananda: Remember that when you are unhappy it is generally because you do not visualize strongly enough the great things that you definitely want to accomplish in life, nor do you employ steadfastly enough your will power, your creative ability, and your patience until your dreams are materialized. —SRF Lessons and Spiritual Diary, April 22 – Will Power, Creative Ability, & Patience
Paramahansa Yogananda: The Sanskrit word for ‘musician’ is bhagavathar, “he who sings the praises of God.” —Autobiography of a Yogi
Sri Yukteswar: Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now. —Autobiography of a Yogi
Sri Yukteswar: “How can sense slaves enjoy the world? Its subtle flavors escape them while they grovel in primal mud. All nice discriminations are lost to the man of elemental lusts.” —Autobiography of a Yogi
Sri Yukteswar: Sri Yukteswar’s interpretation of the Adam and Eve creation story in Genesis—from Autobiography of a Yogi, pages 169-171, Twelfth Edition, First quality paperback printing 1994:
Genesis is deeply symbolic, and cannot be grasped by a literal interpretation; its “tree of life” is the human body. The spinal cord is like an upturned tree, with man’s hair as its roots, and afferent and efferent nerves as branches. The tree of the nervous system bears many enjoyable fruits, or sensations of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. In these, man may rightfully indulge; but he was forbidden the experience of sex, the “apple” at the center of the body (“in the midst of the garden”). (my emphasis)
The “serpent” represents the coiled-up spinal energy that stimulates the sex nerves. “Adam” is reason, and “Eve” is feeling. When the emotion or Eve-consciousness in any human being is overpowered by the sex impulse, his reason or Adam also succumbs.
God created the human species by materializing the bodies of man and woman through the force of His will; He endowed the new species with the power to create children in a similar “immaculate” or divine manner. Because His manifestation in the individualized soul had hitherto been limited to animals, instinct-bound and lacking the potentialities of full reason, God made the first human bodies, symbolically called Adam and Eve. To these, for advantageous upward evolution, He transferred the souls or divine essence of two animals. In Adam or man, reason predominated; in Eve or woman, feeling was ascendant. Thus was expressed the duality or polarity that underlies the phenomenal worlds. Reason and feeling remain in the heaven of cooperative joy so long as the human mind is not tricked by the serpentine energy of animal propensities.
The human body was therefore not solely a result of evolution from beasts, but was produced through an act of special creation by God. The animal forms were too crude to express full divinity; man was uniquely given the potentially omniscient “thousand-petaled lotus” in the brain, as well as acutely awakened occult centers in the spine.
God, or the Divine Consciousness present within the first created pair, counseled them to enjoy all human sensibilities, with one exception: sex sensations. These were banned, lest humanity enmesh itself in the inferior animal method of propagation. (my emphasis) The warning not to revive subconsciously present bestial memories was unheeded. Resuming the way of brute procreation, Adam and Eve fell from the state of heavenly joy natural to the original perfect man. When “they knew they were naked,” their consciousness of immortality was lost, even as God had warned them; they had placed themselves under the physical law by which bodily birth must be followed by bodily death.
The knowledge of “good and evil,” promised Eve by the “serpent,” refers to the dualistic and oppositional experiences that mortals under maya must undergo. Falling into delusion through misuse of his feeling and reason, or Eve- and Adam-consciousness, man relinquishes his right to enter the heavenly garden of divine self-sufficiency. The personal responsibility of every human being is to restore his “parents” or dual nature to a unified harmony or Eden.
Alexander Pope: Hope springs eternal in the human breast. —An Essay on Man: “Epistle 1”
Alexander Pope: All are but parts of one stupendous whole, / Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. —An Essay on Man: “Epistle 1”
Alexander Pope: And, spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite, / One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right. —An Essay on Man: “Epistle 1”
Alexander Pope: Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; / The proper study of mankind is man. —An Essay on Man: “Epistle 2”
Alexander Pope: What Reason weaves, by Passion is undone. —An Essay on Man: “Epistle 2”
T. S. Eliot: Man is man because he can recognize supernatural realities, not because he can invent them.
Evan Sayet: “The modern liberal will invariably side with evil over good, wrong over right, and the behaviors that lead to failure over those that lead to success.”
—from the Paramahansa Yogananda’s Lessons S-2 P-27-30 Copyright 1956
The loving Lord of the Universe has always visited ardent devotees. Sometimes before doing so He sends messengers to find out those devotees who are worthy of darshan (a vision or sight of the Lord). In India they tell a story about the time God sent Narada back to earth. In the West, Narada might be described as an archangel.
He was a glorious being, freed from birth and death, and ever close to the Lord. During a former incarnation on earth he had been a great devotee of God and so it seemed that he should be easily able to discover others who were pursuing the Lord with will and ardor.
Narada the archangel now came to earth incognito, garbed as an ascetic. In mountains and valleys and jungles all over India he sought out the hermits and renunciants whose thoughts were centered on God and who performed all actions only for Him.
While ambling through a dark woodland one day, he spied a hoary anchorite practicing different kinds of postures and undergoing penances under the cool shade of huge umbrella-like tamarind tree. As if he were merely a leisurely wanderer, Narada approached and greeted the ascetic, inquiring curiously, “Who are you, and what are you doing?”
“My name is Bhadraka,” the hermit replies. “I am an old anchorite. I have been practicing rigorous physical discipline for eighty years.”
He added disconsolately, “without achieving any marked results.” Narada then introduced himself: ” I am a special messenger sent by the Lord of the Universe to seek out His true devotees.”
Realizing that at last his opportunity had come, the anchorite pompously assured Narada of his worthiness to be honored by the Lord. “Esteemed Emissary,” he said, “surely your eyes are now beholding the greatest devotee of the Lord on this earth. Think of it, for eighty years, rain or shine I have practiced every imaginable technique of torturous mental and physical self-discipline to attain knowledge and to find merit in the Lord’s eyes.”
Narada was impressed, “Even though I am from those higher planes where greater accomplishments are possible, I am very much touched by your persistence,” he assured the old man.
Bhadraka had been brooding on his grievances while talking to Narada, and instead of being comforted by Narada’s words, he spoke angrily. “Well then, since you are so close to the Lord, please find out why He has kept away from me for so long. When next you meet Him, do ask why He has not responded to my disciplinary exercise. Will you promise me that?”
Narada agreed to the old man’s request, and then resumed his search for earnest devotees of God. In one place he paused to watch a most amusing incident taking place at the roadside.
A very handsome and determined young man was trying to build a fence. Unfortunately he was dead drunk, and his senses kept deceiving him. He had dug a series of holes for fence posts, and was trying in vain to fit an unwieldy bamboo pole in one of the elusive holes. He would thump the pole on the ground all around, but he could not get it in the hole. Several times he fumbled forward and almost tripped himself.
At first Narada thought his spectacle was very funny. But the young man began to call upon the Lord to come and help him, and when this brought no results, he became angry and began to threaten God with curses and shouts: “You unfeeling, lazy God, what a fine friend You are! Come here now and help me fix my pole in this hole, or I’ll thrust the bamboo right through Your hard heart.”
Just then the young man’s wandering gaze fastened on Narada, standing shocked and agape at the drunken one’s temerity. His wrath diverted, the young man exclaimed, “You good-for-nothing idler, how dare you just to stand there, staring at me like that?” Taken aback, Narada said meekly: “Shall I help you to set your pole?”
“No,” growled the young man, I will accept no help but that of my Divine Friend, that sly Eluder who has been playing hide-and-seek with me, who is even now hiding behind the clouds, trying to evade working with me.”
“You drunken fool,” said Narada, “aren’t you afraid to curse the omnipresent Lord?”
“Oh no, He understands me better than you do,” was the instant reply. “And who are you anyway?” demanded the swaying your man, trying to keep his eye focused on the visitor.
Narada answered truthful: “I am a messenger from the all-powerful Lord, and I am searching out His true devotees on earth.”
“Oh!” the youn man exclaimed eagerly. “In that case I ask you to please put in a good word for me when you see the Divine Friend. Even though I behave badly now and then, and abuse the powers he gave me, please do remind Him about me. And ask Him why He has been delaying His visit to me, and when He is coming, for I have been waiting and waiting and always expecting Him.”
Narada felt sorry for the fellow, and so half reluctantly, he agreed to the man’s request, although he was privately thinking that his drunkard would have very little chance of meeting the Lord!
After Narada had traveled all over, and noted the names and accomplishments of many devotees, he suddenly felt so lonely for the Lord’s loving smile that he discarded his earthly form and rushed straight to the heavenly abode, as swiftly as thought could carry him. In an instant he was there before the Beloved One, surrounded by a warm glow of divine love.
“Welcome, dear Narada, ” said the Lord gently, and the light from His lotus eye melted the last vestige of earthly tension that clung to His messenger’s aura. “Tell Me abut your earthly excursions.” Narada gave a full report, ending with the descriptions of the two devotees who seemed to exemplify opposite ends of the scale of virtue—the pious old anchorite and the intoxicated young man with the pole.
“You know, Beloved Lord, sometimes I think you are too hard to please, and even cruel,” Narada said seriously. “Think how you treated that anchorite Bhadraka, who has been waiting for eighty years for you, under a tamarind tree. You know whom I mean!” The Lord thought for a moment an even sought a response from His all-recording heart, but He answered, “No, I don’t remember him.”
“Why how an that be possible?” Narada exclaimed. “That devoted man has been practicing all sorts of harsh disciplines these eighty years just to attract Your attention.” But the Lord only shrugged indifferently. “No matter what the anchorite has been practicing, he has not yet touched My heart. What next?”
“Well,” Narada began hesitantly, “by the roadside, I met—”
“Oh, yes,” the Divine One broke in, “you met a drunken young man.”
“Now how do You happen to remember him?” Narada asked complainingly. “Perhaps because the sacrilegious young fool was trying to pole You with a bamboo pole?”
The Lord laughed heartily, and seemed to be thinking about the impudent yung man for some time before he turned His attention to the sulky-faced Narada. “O My Narada,” He said lovingly, “don’t be angry and sarcastic with Me, for I shall prove to you which of these two men you have just told Me about is My true devotee.”
Having captured Narada’s interest in the experiment, the Lord continued: “This is really very simple. Go back to the earth again, and first report to the anchorite Bhadraka under the tamarind tree and say: ‘I have your message to the Lord of the Universe, but He is very busy now passing millions of elephants through the eye of a needle. When He gets through doing this, He will visit you.’ After you get the anchorite’s reaction to that, then go and tell that same thing to the drunken young man and watch his reaction. Then you will understand.”
Although Narada was baffled by the Lord’s instructions, he had long since learned unquestioning faith in the command of the Lord, so he thought himself back to earth and was at once standing under the tamarind tree, fact to face with the long-suffering anchorite.
The ancient one looked up at him expectantly, but after the strange message had been delivered, he flew into a rage and began to shout.
“Get out, you mocking messenger, and your lying Lord, and all the rest of your crazy crowd. Whoever heard of anyone passing elephants through the eye of a needle: What it means is that He’ll never come. Maybe there isn’t any Lord to come anyway.” He was now trembling with fury and brandishing a pilgrim’s staff. “I’ve wasted my life! This eighty years of discipline was nothing but folly! I’m through, do you hear? through trying to please a crazy non-existent God. Now I am sane again. For what little is left of life I am going to resume my long-neglected earthy pursuits.”
Narada was too horrified to say a word, so he just disappeared. But the second part of mission was not yet fulfilled; dubiously he came again to the roadside where he had met the noisy young man. The fellow was still there, and if possible more drunk than ever. The fence was not yet completed and he was laboring to bring the holes and bamboo poles together.
But no sooner had Narada appeared on the scene than the youth’s earthly intoxication seemed to leave him. In its place a premonition of great joy caused a divine intoxication which lighted his features as he came running and crying, “Hey there, Narada, what is my Friend’s reply to my message? What is His answer? When is He coming?”
When he heard the Lord’ strange message he was not at all disconcerted, he began to dance around and around with joy, half speaking, half chanting: “He, who can send worlds through the eye of a needle in an instant if He desires, has already finished passing those elephants though the eye of a needle. Now, any minute, He will be with me, and when He comes He shall touch me but once and I shall change. All my evil actions and bad habits will be drowned in my overwhelming love for Him.”
So the young man danced in heavenly ecstasy, as do many devotees in India when divine joy becomes too great for their bodies.
The feeble flesh cannot hold such immense bliss and—lest the very atoms fly apart and release their energy to the Divine Source which calls them—this bliss spills over into tears or into rhythmic movements of kirtana, into singing and dancing as an expression of this joy.
And now as the young man danced blissfully, Narada joined him, and soon they found the laughing, lotus-eyed Lord was dancing with them.
MORAL
If you ever feel smug about practicing the techniques, I hope you will think of this story and be jolted into seeing things again in their true perspective. Practice of technique is not enough. Intellectual attainments are no enough. Going to church regularly or performing good actions in a mechanical way because “it is the thing to do” will never bring Self-realization.
Students who resemble the anchorite may strive for years, only to turn aside from the path in a moment if reason tells them they have been misled. Like the anchorite who “knew” that elephants cannot pas through the eye of a needle, they try limit God’s powers and manifestations to conform to their own small comprehension.
But devotees who resemble the young man know that even if they have not been able to give up bad habits they can bring God closer and closer by constantly calling upon Him and expecting Him to be present at all times—to take part in their daily lives as well as to respond to them in their moments of prayer.
They know that all things are possible in God, and that most understanding lies beyond the intellect. When the devotee insistently demands the assistance and presence of God, lovingly visualizing Him and believing in His Omnipresence, then the Lord will reveal Himself in some form. With the dawning of the light of His revelation, the darkness of evil habits will automatically be banished to reveal the untainted soul.
Most important to remember: fear “. . . attracts the very thing you fear.”
Paramahansa Yogananda: “Whatever it is that you fear, take your mind away from it and leave it to God. Have faith in Him. Much suffering is due simply to worry. Why suffer now when the malady has not yet come? Since most of our ills come through fear, if you give up fear you will be free at once. The healing will be instant. Every night, before you sleep, affirm: “The Heavenly Father is with me; I am protected.” Mentally surround yourself with Spirit….You will feel His wonderful protection.”
Paramahansa Yogananda: “Trust in God and destroy fear, which paralyzes all efforts to succeed and attracts the very thing you fear.”
Status in Astral World: because of failure to attain goal
Losing Ron
Gaining weight: not losing to desired goal
Not being able to quit coffee
Accidents, diseases, old age losing ability to function and pain in general
Overcoming Fear of Pain for Each Source
Status in Astral World: because of failure to attain samadhi:
I don’t remember being born in this incarnation. So I don’t remember what it was like when I was last in the Astral World. Leave it to God and Guru: “Leave a few mysteries to explore in Eternity,” says Sri Yukteswar in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi
2. Losing Ron: One day at a time. With guidance from God and Guru. We are not given more than we can deal with. Guruji says: “You should be prepared to deal with all problems of health, mind, and soul by common sense methods and faith in God, knowing that in life or death your soul remains unconquered.” I am more likely to shuffle off first, but if I do not, I know I would do what I had to do . . . still . . . ?!
3. Gaining weight or not losing to desired goal: From SRF talk, Brother Anantananda: “Fear disrupts our natural inner harmony, causing physical, mental, and spiritual disturbances. But as we learn to live more in the calm interior silence of the soul, we discover an inner sanctuary where worries and fears cannot intrude — and where we are ever safe and secure in our oneness with the Divine.”
4. Not being able to quit coffee: Remember the little drunk devotee in the lesson “The Bad Man Who Was Preferred By God.”
5. Accidents, diseases, and pain in general: “Daily devotional contact with the Eternal Source of security and resilience is the way to train ourselves to a constant, lived affirmation of our souls’ power to ‘stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds’.” —A New Year’s Message From Brother Chidananda 2022
Whenever a stray fear pops up such as fear of losing physical and cognitive ability—just let it go just like the others, give it God and Guruji. They are in control, not me.
Most important to remember:
fear “. . . attracts the very thing you fear.”
And then there are regrets:
Biggest regret: that I have not been able to to influence my family to study and follow the spiritual teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I must not be a good enough example for them to follow or even wonder about.
Answer: I cannot control the karma of others. I must take care of my own soul. The others belong to God. God is guiding them as He sees fit. Again, let it go and leave it to God and Gurus.
The following six villanelles are inspired by the poem “Samadhi” by Paramahansa Yogananda.
1 The veil of Maya’s mortal confusion is now shed
The veil of Maya’s mortal confusion is now shed— The storm of delusion hushed, that once was mine. My soul has awakened from all suffering and dread.
Bewitching flesh temptation has now fled— Lust and longing, even death whither beneath the Vine. The veil of Maya’s mortal confusion is now shed.
The spool of the worldliness has lost its thread— Love becomes real and deep in Truth’s sacred shrine. My soul has awakened from all suffering and dread.
The road to hell before had often led To misery and blight before the Word did shine. The veil of Maya’s mortal confusion is now shed.
My soul now goes where the snake cannot lift his head Where light and faith rise together in Love Divine. My soul has awakened from all suffering and dread.
O Thou, Who art That! May Thy will be spread! I live in Thee, and now for nothing else I pine. The veil of Maya’s mortal confusion is now shed. My soul has awakened from all suffering and dread.
2 Without the Waves
“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10
In Memoriam: Bill CraigAugust 8, 1954 — February 6, 2025
Without the waves—I exist only as boundless sea. God’s boundless love has stemmed the tide. God’s bliss is mine—deep, wide, eternally free.
No more hemmed round in time, space, and memory, My soul will now and always in sacred Light abide. Without the waves—I exist only as boundless sea.
Satan’s veil is shed—my soul’s eye now can see Only holy Light no shadow can ever hide. God’s bliss is mine—deep, wide, eternally free.
My soul unborn of flesh, not changed through history— Like Christ I stand up to the trial that would divide. Without the waves—I exist only as boundless sea.
I listen only to angelic voices singing to me. Lesser music has vanished—noise has died. God’s bliss is mine—deep, wide, eternally free.
I take no thought for I live in celestial unity— From former failures no need to hide. Without the waves—I exist only as boundless sea. God’s bliss is mine—deep, wide, eternally free.
3 Myself and All
I consumed the stars and swallowed their flame— All planets bending to my will and trust, The cosmos flooding into my soul, my name.
Bursting violent wails of destruction came, Then glacial silence reigned in a silver swept gust— I consumed the stars and swallowed their flame.
Past and future pairs of opposites rose to claim Seeds of good and evil, life and death, love and lust— The cosmos flooding into my soul, my name.
Creation’s clay testified to every primitive shame; The heart of humanity beat fast, became robust. I consumed the stars and swallowed their flame.
No particle, no whispered essence could disclaim My soul transformed the storm by my spirit’s thrust— The cosmos flooding into my soul, my name.
Now all is one—no other voice to blame— My ego fire consumed, for burning be I must: I consumed the stars and swallowed their flame— The cosmos flooding into my soul, my name.
4 Wild, Burning Joy in Cerebration’s Glow
Wild, burning joy in cerebration’s glow Brims tearing eyes with Holy Light and never dies Swallows up my pain, my name, my all: I know.
Thou art I, Thou I am—blessèd unity on us bestow The blaze of bliss: Knower, Knowing, Known arise— Wild, burning joy in cerebration’s glow.
An infinite river of eternal bliss ever to flow, Fusing my peace with truth that never lies, Swallows up my pain, my name, my all: I know.
One blissful, peaceful joy, where living waters go No ego remains, no limiting, sorrowful cries— Wild, burning joy in cerebration’s glow.
Blissful soul the heart its oneness does show, One soothing flame soaring beyond the skies— Swallows up my pain, my name, my all: I know.
In sun-filled stillness, the heavenly bud can blow, Where all-pervading, ever-living peace can never die— Wild, burning joy in cerebration’s glow Swallows up my pain, my name, my all: I know.
5 No Lack of Consciousness but Wildly Aware
No lack of consciousness but wildly aware, Shed the mental boundaries of my physical frame, Where I, on the Cosmic Sea of stillness, dare.
The soul without ego drifts with no care, My design no longer hide-bound to a name— No lack of consciousness but wildly aware.
Space moves as an iceberg drifting there, Throughout my infinite, omniscient mind-flame, Where I, on the Cosmic Sea of stillness, dare.
A falling sparrow cannot flee my loving care; All worlds appearing and disappearing are the same— No lack of consciousness but wildly aware.
Through heartfelt prayer in meditation rare, By Guruji’s grace, my inner silence came— Where I, on the Cosmic Sea of stillness, dare.
Reality abides eternally inside His heavenly lair; I am now united with the Source which is my aim— No lack of consciousness but wildly aware, Where I, on the Cosmic Sea of stillness, dare.
6 Sea of Mirth
We come from Joy, and to Joy we must return. Four veils we shall lift: solid, liquid, air, and light. In divine Joy, all mortal boundaries burn.
The atoms’ secrets we shall try to learn, Earth, seas, and stars all wane into cosmic night. We come from Joy, and to Joy we must return.
In vaporous veils where nebulae do churn, Electrons, protons whirl in all-pervading might. In divine Joy, all mortal boundaries burn.
The cosmic drum strikes rhythms that concern, As massive forms abscond into telling fright— We come from Joy, and to Joy we must return.
I am but God’s little wave, and yet I begging yearn To possess an ocean-mind absorbing wrong and right. In divine Joy, all mortal boundaries burn.
Bubbling laughter, all boundaries I shall spurn As I meld with Sea of Mirth’s brilliant blaze of white. We come from Joy, and to Joy we again return. In divine Joy, all mortal boundaries burn.
Image: SRF Meditation Gardens in Encinitas CA – Photo by Ron W. G.
“Forget the Past”: A 10-Sonnet Sequence
Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now. —Swami Sri Yukteswar in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi
When one finds oneself harboring deep regrets for past behavior, thus stewing a pot of hot sorrow, regret, and remorse, Swami Sri Yukteswar’s words of truth about the human condition work like a soothing balm to calm to mind and cool the nerves.
1 Forget the past—its darkness rattled in shame
Forget the past—its darkness rattled in shame, Where myriad men have wavered, losing their way. The moves of minds, like cattle, are prone to stray, Not anchored to Truth, they lose their rightful name. In darkness through tales of time, no one can claim A clear path as night turns into day. But then the heart can choose a better way— Seeing Light, no daftness dare to cause blame. O venture forth! For present time is holy and clear, A door through which the saner world may rise. Each step with faith lightens the heft of fear, And heralds the soul to ever-brightening skies. Future bliss commences in present grace, As humankind with God all erring ways replace.
2 Forget the past, where shadows veil the soul
Forget the past, where shadows veil the soul, Where faded lives in shame and darkness dwell. Wavering human hearts are apt to fall, Drifting aimless till Divine Reality swells. The pressure of old flaws must not control, Grace redeems though mortal steps rebel. Future light is waiting, where hopes unroll, As each soul rises for in heaven to dwell. Now is the task: to pursue the holy flame, To labor with faith, to trust the Unseen Guide. Each striving creates a path to higher aim, Where peace, truth, and love in sacred light abide. So forsake all the ghosts of past blame, Allow your soul with the Father’s own will to reside.
3 Forget the past: the shadowy, departed days
Forget the past: the shadowy, departed days, Where legion lives hide obscured in silent shame. The efforts of humankind, unsettled as a flame That flickers, wavering inside a slate-gray haze. Hearts, untethered, waft on and on in unsure ways. Each life like a compass spinning, never fixed the same. Hope yet remains, calls hearts and minds to reclaim A stead-fast course, where loftier purpose stays. Only when the soul is fixed deep Within the sacred, ever-living Light Can human conduct rise above the changing sand. The future’s promise remains bright to keep, Born of striving made in spirit’s sight— A fresh beginning will allow the soul expand.
4 Forget the past: Leave all that lies behind
Forget the past: Leave all that lies behind, Shadows that cling, darkness understood, Vanished lives, a sad humankind— All lie veiled in ignominy, a dense brotherhood. Human steps on shifting sands take flight, And self-trust remains fragile, apt to fall, Until the soul rises to purer light, And harbors firm where grace embraces all. All all memory to remain and be, To remember from past somber wisdom lend, A clear reminder of our vanity, And that upward striving brings our blissful end. Then the future will create a brighter scene, If the heart and mind on spiritual effort lean.
5 Forget the past: disavow the shadows of yesteryears
Forget the past: disavow the shadows of yesteryears, Where shame infuses the deeds of mortal men, Gain for the soul that searches, with bitter tears, The road to grace where light will shine again. Unsure is the heart, a wavering reed, Until bound fast to heaven’s endless love; Yet hope does bloom where faith’s true seed Is sown with care, blessed by the stars above. The future’s promise arrives for those who strive, With soul toiling to mend what once was torn; Each step toward God renders fleeting joys revive, And colors the dawn where new dreams are born. So fling aside the dark, enfold the fight, For in seeking God, all wrongs turn right.
6 Forget the Past: let not ghosts of dusk to remain
Forget the Past: let not ghosts of dusk to remain, Do not let regret douse the morning flame; The storms of time have hollowed out joy and pain, Yet the soul still exists beyond all name. The past is only a dream and stars forget, Like a cloud liquefying in dawn’s tranquil breath; What holds us now are ropes of karma yet— But even such bindings unravel before death. Unmoored, we become tossed in shifting tides, But one strong cord connects to what is true; In stillness where the cosmic whisper hides The soul will rise in light when we break through. Hie inward now—the veil of maya becomes thin: The truth we seek always waits within.
7 Forget the past, steeped in shadowy shame
Forget the past, steeped in shadowy shame, Where vanished lives dark with error dwell. The vagabond human heart, untethered, apt to fail, Unsure, unguided as the winds that shift and swell. Yet in Divine Reality, an anchor steadies the soul, A steady guide through tempests of the will. No act of humankind endures, no human skill, Unless by grace its source divine truth fulfill. Peer ahead now—allow spirit’s zeal to ignite, For every seed of effort sown in faith shall bloom. The future’s hope, secured from earlier gloom, Will surely rise as love and righteousness unite. So travel on, O soul, the path to seek the eternal flame, And secure in the Heavenly Father the will to overcome.
8 Forget the past, where shadows veil the mind
Forget the past, where shadows veil the mind, Where faded lives and shames still haunt the soul. Let the chains of memory be completely left behind. Only in present time exists the goal. The heart adrift is half-hearted, not whole. Human deeds waver and are swept by tide. Only in Divine Reality does one know control— A reliable harbor where our hopes reside. If now, with genuine spirit, we confide In heavenly aims and search for the inward light, The future’s path will remain open, clear and wide, And every day grow brighter than the stars of night. So move forward, allowing the soul’s true course be steered: In today’s effort, all strife and darkness are cleared.
9 Forget the past: sadness and errors live there
Forget the past: sadness and errors live there Where folks too often amble blindly. Do not allow regret to dominate your thinking— Concentrate instead on the eternal Light of Truth. Human behavior, without God’s guidance, Is as unstable as a tumbleweed blown by the wind. Without the Divine Reality, we forget our way, Each decision pulls us further into confusion. But the eternal Now remains the moment to grow: Walk with purpose along the path to Blessèd Spirit. This very moment holds the seed of joy, If you choose to walk with Divine Mother now. Through the Grand Reality, your past becomes clear— And your future turns bright and filled with hope.
10 Forget the past: filled with shadows, shames, and scars
Forget the past: filled with shadows, shames, and scars It remains heavy, dark, dampening our lives. Unmoored hearts shift about aimless, lost in storms, Our conduct noise-tossed like the restless wind. The spent lives remind us that we fall, How fragile seems the thread that clasps us tight. But also, this moment keeps a different weight— A chance to enter ourselves into something vast. Let go of the burden of all reckless ways, And turn toward the One Who steadies and sustains. The future bends beneath a stalwart hand, As effort moves us to spirit deep within. Each breath leads the mind and heart toward light and hope, To a life reborn and anchored in the Divine Reality.
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