Regain your divine heritage

[Guest guest]

"Regain Your Divine Heritage" - Paramahansa Yogananda. (service readings volume 1 #10)

" Even true devotees think sometimes that God does not answer their prayers. He

does answer silently,through His laws; but until He is absolutely sure of the

devotee He will not answer openly. He will not talk to the devotee. The Lord of

the Universe is so humble that He does not speak,lest in so doing He influences

the devotee's use of free will to choose or reject Him. Once you know Him,there

is no doubt that you will love Him. You have to have faith. You have to know

that even as you pray He is listening to you. He cannot then turn a deaf ear to

your prayer.

 

Our relationship with God is not a cold impersonal one, like that between

employer and employee. We are His children. He has to listen to us. There is no

way that we can get away from the fact that we are His children. We are not

merely creatures created by Him; we are a part of Him. He made us princes, but

we have chosen to become slaves. He wants us to become princes once more, to

return to our Kingdom. But not one of us,having renounced His divine heritage,

will regain it without effort. We are made in His image, but we have somehow

forgotten that truth. We have succumbed to the delusion with the dagger of

wisdom.

 

You must cease to think you are a mortal being if you want to find happiness

that is lasting. Practise this truth in your daily life. it is a battle you

have to fight throughout this life and incarnations to come, so it is better to

start now ! Do not put it off, thinking that you will start meditationg

tomorrow. Tomorrow will never come.

 

Meditation must be practised everday. Start now ! Do not look to the future.

Begin this very moment to think of God. In tis thought you are a king. Why be a

prisoner of mortal moods and habits ? Is it not true that when you introspect

you see that you have done things you did not want to do ? To carry out one's

resolutions is a constant battle. it is good to resolve to do a thing and

follow through. You must develop a strong, silent , cool will. Never give up

your good resolutions.

 

Cultivate the will to think of God during activity. it is extremely important

that you make it a part of your daily life. Don't follow this rule a few days

only and then forget about it. Follow is as best you can everyday. Even if you

slip back into old habits, keep on trying. You will become spiritually strong

and healthy in due time.

 

God responds when we make the effort. Then you know that HE IS. He will no

longer be a myth. He will respond invisibly to your desires, playing

hide-and-seek with you. And after that He will come to you openly. Your past

mistakes do not matter. But to continue in those mistakes is the greatest sin

against yourself, for when you do wrong, it goes against your own happiness.

You have the power to hurt yourself or to do yourself good.

 

Therefore keep away the ants of ignorance that bite your flesh. If you do not

choose to be happy, no one can make you happy. Do not blame God for that ! And

if you choose to be happy, no one can make you unhappy.

If he had not given us freedom to use our own will , we could blame Hi, when we

are unhappy, but He did give us that freedom. It is we who make life what it

is.

You may ask why, if you have free choice, things do not turn out as you will

them to be ? It is because you have weakened your will, your consciousness of

divine powers within you. But if you salvage your will by practicing self-

control and meditation it becomes free, and as soon as your will is free you

are master of your fate. If day by day you are living a life against your

conscience you will never be free.

You must take time to do the things that are good for your own welfare. No one

stops you but yourself. You make yourself a prisoner of your own moods and bad

habits. That is why you must train your will to be more elastic. Keep your will

under control by doing the best things in life - thinking more of God,

meditationg more, practising self control and so on.

Life seems such a tangible reality and yet it is elusive. One by one we slip

away. Others will come and we shall go. But the body is only a garment. How

many times you have changed your clothing in this life, yet you would not say

that because of that you have changed. Similarly when you give up this bodily

dress at death you do not change.

You are just the same , an immortal soul soul, a child of God. Reincarnation

means merely a change of mortal dress. But your real self will never change.

You must concentrate on your real self , not on the body, which is nothing but

a cloak.

Worldly desires camouflage the longing of the soul to be reunited with

God-Bliss. But the desire of the soul for God is behind all other desires. Only

God can satisfy all the desires of this life and of past incarnations. I have

found it so.

Every little moment you spend with God will be spent to your best advantage and

whatever you achieve with the desire to please God in your heart will stand

unto eternity. God is freedom from all misery. God is the wealth and the health

you seek. God is the love that you seek.

So search for Him night and day. Nothing can match the experience you will have

if you do this. God is the goal you seek. You cannot live without Him. and all

the things you desire you will find in Him. "

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Aum Sai Ram ! Before I "came" to Swami i loved to read the words of

Yogananda-ji. Reading them again , to me , it's as if He is speaking about

Swami. He is the goal. He is here now. Let's put into practise what He teaches

as a true gift for His 'birthday'. Just wanted to share the paragraphs above.

Hope it inspires us to become better aspiring devotees of Swami.

Jai Sai Ram.