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How to Order “Reflections of Christ” by Mark Mabry
"If there should rise suddenly within the skies,
Sunburst of a thousand suns,
Flooding earth with beams undeemed-of,
Then might be that Holy One's majesty
and Radiance dreamed of!"
~ Bhagavad Gita
Self-Realization Fellowship - Christmas from Around the World Slide Show
"PERSONENT HODIE" FROM PIAE CANCIONES"
CHRISTMAS BRASS TRIO
MARTIN GASKELL - ARRANGER
MARTIN GASKELL - ARRANGER
"O Come, Emmanuel - Christmas Version"
The Piano Guys
For Kusum and Viney Sahgal with deep appreciation
The Piano Guys
For Kusum and Viney Sahgal with deep appreciation
"LO, HOW A ROSE E'ER BLOOMING"
MAHALIA JACKSON
POSTED IN MEMORY OF MY LATE BROTHER
MICHAEL JAMES ROSSO
PROFESSIONAL BASS BLUES MUSICIAN
POSTED IN MEMORY OF MY LATE BROTHER
MICHAEL JAMES ROSSO
PROFESSIONAL BASS BLUES MUSICIAN
"Christ came at a critical time in history, when the world was sorely in need of spiritual hope and regeneration. His message was not intended to foster multifarious sects, each claiming him as their own. His was a universal message of unity, one of the grandest ever given.... Jesus assured the downtrodden, the white and the dark man, the Oriental and the Occidental, that they are all children of God; whoever is pure in heart, no matter what his race or color, can receive the Lord."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
"VANDANA TRAYEE: LORD GANESHA, SARASWATI, AND GURUDEVA"
MUSIC - PANDIT RAVI SHANKAR
CHOREOGRAPHY - PANDIT SATYA NARAYANA CHARKA
BRAHMANANDA
(HYMN TO BRAHMA, OR SPIRIT)
(English translation by Paramahansa Yogananda)
Full of bliss, giving joy transcendent,
Of higher knowledge the abode.
Dual no more, clear as the heavens,
Known to all as: "Thou art That".
He is pure, permanent, unmoving,
The everlasting Seer of all,
Far, far beyond qualities and thought,
Guru-Lord, I bow to Thee.
(Sanskrit)
Brahmanandam parama sukhadam,
Kabalam gyana moorteem;
Dandwa teetum, gagana sadrisham,
Tattwa mashyadi laksham.
Akam nityum bimala machalam,
Sarvada sakshi bhutum;
Bhawa teetum triguna rahitum,
Sadgurum twam namami.
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| SRI SRI MRINALINI MATA President Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India |
“To meditate and prepare your mind for the holy occasion of Christmas, that you may experience within yourself the birth of a new consciousness of universal brotherhood and love for all living creatures, is to really celebrate Christmas.”
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Christmas 2012
Blessings of the Christmas season, honoring the birth of the Lord Jesus in a finite baby form, in which was incarnate the Infinite Christ, God’s omnipresence in creation. I pray that you experience within your heart and soul the universal Christ-love, peace, and joy made manifest in Jesus. Celebrate Christmas with the inner spiritual awareness of the consciousness-expanding love and light of God — the unseen but unceasing help and succor that God has bestowed through His avatars down the ages. Keep your thoughts and feelings attuned with faith in that blessing to receive fully God’s gifts of spiritual upliftment offered to you with special love and grace during this holy season. The vibrations of peace and joy in your celebrations will lift the weight of daily cares and uncertainties, imparting in the still center of your being an intuitive assurance of the God-reflecting qualities and limitation-transcending potentials that Jesus assured us are our birthright. He showed us the way to that realization: Love God first and foremost “with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind”; and secondly, “love your neighbor as yourself” — live a life of worshipful meditation absorbed in God, and of activity permeated with compassion, service, and behavior guided by soul-qualities.
Our gurudeva, Paramahansa Yogananda, said of Jesus: “To human vision he is the little babe born in Bethlehem, and the savior who healed the sick and raised the dead. To divine vision he is the Christ-awareness in all space and in every atom. You should aspire to know that Christ within you.” Guruji began the custom of having a special meditation-day each year before Christmas. Celebrating “spiritual Christmas” through long and deep meditation, with devotion and soul-longing to realize the true meaning of the Christ within Lord Jesus, we glimpse the realm of Christ-peace that surpasses human understanding. We are suffused with the faith that we, too, can live in the consciousness in which Christ lived — fearlessly, joyously — not ruled by circumstances or the ego’s infatuation with delusive desires and attachments. To anchor our lives in selfless love and truth is to awaken awareness of our eternal connection with Spirit even while living in this world.
During this holy season may you receive abundant blessings as Christmas gifts of love from God, Christ, and the Gurus.
Ever in Their unceasing love and blessings,
Sri Mrinalini Mata
Copyright © 2012 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved.
MAGNUM MYSTERIUM - MORTEN LAURIDSEN
LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE
PAUL SALAMUNOVICH - CONDUCTOR
Christmas Message From Sri Mrinalini Mata
2011 | |||
Joyous Christmas greetings and goodwill of the holiday season from the ashrams of Paramahansa Yogananda! May your heart be filled with the celestial joy and peace felt by receptive souls at this auspicious time when so many around the world celebrate the birth of the beloved Lord Jesus. In the incarnation of Jesus the infinitude and magnificence of God’s universe-sustaining consciousness — Kutastha Chaitanya — was fully manifest; yet perhaps what touches us most personally is the way he lived and moved among the populace of his time in humility and boundless compassion for every soul. He looked upon all persons as God’s children, with the empathy and understanding of one who has shared our human experience and knows our struggles. In sending His God-realized souls to earth, God asks us to follow their example of living the heart-enlightening universal precepts, so that we too can realize in our souls and express in Christlike actions the all-loving, all-giving divine consciousness. Our gurudeva, Paramahansaji, emphasized that spiritually auspicious occasions are a call to our own soul’s awakening — a favorable opportunity for a new birth of the latent power of God’s universal love. That transforms our own lives and thereby blesses all those with whom we come in contact. “Arise from dreams of littleness,” Guruji urged us, “to the realization of the vastness within you.” To that end he invited us all to celebrate the real Christmas with a day set aside for soul-expanding devotional meditation on God and His universal Christ Consciousness omnipresent in every atom of being. Our consciousness sheds its selfish boundaries proportionately as we reach out in empathetic support of others, whether materially or by giving gifts of our time, attention, and caring. With every effort we make to hold kindness in our hearts even toward those with whom we have had difficulties, to harmonize and heal with the patience of understanding and the sweetness of forgiveness, we draw upon the all-embracing consciousness that we honor in Jesus during this holy season. Recognizing as he did the divine kinship of all humanity as souls, free of the constraints of social, national, and religious boundaries, is the ultimate answer to so many of the challenges of our times. In communion with God’s omnipresence in meditation, we experience in the deepest way the Heavenly Father that Jesus knew. The heart’s feeling bursts its boundaries and feels for all as its very own; you cannot bear to exclude anyone from that love. May that expanded consciousness be the divine gift you receive this Christmas, to carry with you into the new year. Gurudeva told us, “If everyone lived the ideals exemplified in the life of Jesus, having made those qualities a part of their own selves through meditation, a millennium of peace and brotherhood would come on earth.”
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Sri Sri Daya Mataji, 1978
"May the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of Christ
"May the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of Christ
Consciousness, descend on our consciousness
and give us realization of Infinity.
"May the Christ that is cradled everywhere - -
in space, in fragrant blossoms, in our hearts - -
manifest himself to us evermore."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Christmas 1961
Dear Ones,
Christmas Blessings to you!
The great love and joy of this holy season fills me and
takes my heart racing to the farthest reaches of eternity
to embrace the Lord Jesus. Join your heart's love with
mine in that infinity where time and space melt, where
we stand in his presence and pay him homage.
I pray that Christ flood our consciousness with the all-
illuming light of his wisdom, that we know he is with
us always - - a light unto the world dispelling all
shadows of ignorance.
What love flowed through the divine life of Jesus! As
we adore his spirit in omnipresence may we comprehend
his divinity. Beholding the infinite Christ cradled within
the bosom of our love, we may rejoice truly for his birth,
as again we celebrate the blessed Christmas season.
From India receive my greetings and love for the Christ
that lives within you all.
God, Christ, and Guru bless you,
Daya Mata, President
Self-Realization Fellowship
"SANCTUS" - "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY"
"2010 Christmas Message"
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| SRI SRI DAYA MATA |
|
Years ago, Paramahansa Yogananda gave the following “Prayer for Peace on Earth,” a guided meditation that all can use to help spread peace around the globe. In introducing this powerful invocation of God’s blessings, given by Paramahansaji more than 60 years ago, Sri Daya Mata wrote:
“I would ask the thousands of devotees today who participate in the Self-Realization Fellowship Worldwide Prayer Circle to join in the spirit of Paramahansaji’s timely words by praying daily for world peace and harmony among all peoples and all nations.”
~ Sri Daya Mata
Guided Meditation by Paramahansa Yogananda
“Heavenly Father, Mother, Friend, Beloved God! May Thy love shine forever on the sanctuary of my devotion, and may I be able to awaken Thy love in all hearts.”
Close your eyes and concentrate deeply at the center of divine consciousness between the eyebrows. Feel the infinite love of God within your heart. Let your heart emanate that love for all the world. Pray deeply that the clouds of war fade away. Let us with all our hearts pray to God that His heavenly forces of goodness and love, ever subtly vibrating in the ether, be not overpowered in the hearts and minds of men by Satan’s suggestions of discord and enmity. For the forces of evil are aggressive, while the forces of good are humble and unassuming.
“Heavenly Father, bless our brothers and sisters living under the dark clouds of war, that they may be relieved from the obsession of Satan’s ignorance and hatred; and may Thine unassuming power of unifying love and peace conquer the aggressive forces of evil. We send out our deepest love for all, that they may receive Thy light of brotherhood and understanding, and be thereby guided to stop destroying each other and creating vibrations of evil that bring the mass karma of depression, catastrophe, and destruction all over the world.”
Feel that your love is going forth like an invisible X-ray, coursing through space into the hearts of the dictators and prime ministers and heads of all nations, that they may bring peace and international prosperity on earth instead of destruction. Include in the powerful radiation of your love all peoples of the world. May our united healing rays of love be surcharged by the infinite love of our Father and bathe the entire earth, permeating the hearts of all leaders and citizens of the world, that they may be filled with the universal amity and harmony of Spirit—bringing peace on earth, goodwill toward all, under the Fatherhood of God.
“Heavenly Father, bless the nations of the earth, our own large family, that all may realize their eternal kinship as Thy children. Thou art our one spiritual Father, the Beloved of the Universe and the Beloved of our hearts. May the strong thoughts of love we broadcast today possess the brains of the dictators and generals, that they may be filled with Thy wisdom, and so desist from working toward the common ruin of humanity. Bless them all. Bless all citizens of the earth, that they may establish a cooperative unity among all souls, and live in a united world with Thy power and light of love guiding us to Thy kingdom.”
Aum. Peace. Amen.
SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP
2009 CHRISTMAS SLIDE SHOW
"an Arabic christmas carol"
“Meditation for Christmas Eve”
Excerpts from “Metaphysical Meditations
By Paramahansa Yogananda
”Lift your eyes and concentrate within. Behold the astral star of divine wisdom and let the wise thoughts in you follow that telescopic star to behold the Christ everywhere.
In that land of everlasting Christmas, of festive, omnipresent Christ Consciousness, you will find Jesus, Krishna, the saints of all religions, the great guru-preceptors waiting to give you a divine floral reception and everlasting happiness.
Prepare for the coming of baby Christ by decorating an inner Christmas tree. Around that sacred tree lay gifts of calmness, forgiveness, nobility, service, kindness, spiritual understanding, and devotion, each one wrapped in a golden covering of goodwill and bound with a silver cord of your pure sincerity.
May the Lord Jesus, on the Christmas morn of your spiritual awakening, unwrap the gorgeous presents of your heart offerings, sealed with tears of your joy and bound with cords of your eternal fidelity to Him.
He accepts only the gifts of sacred soul qualities. His acceptance will be His greatest gift to you; for it means that, in return, the gift He will bestow on you shall be nothing less than Himself. In giving Himself He shall make your heart big enough to hold Him. Your heart shall throb with Christ in everything.
Enjoy this festivity, the birth of Christ, in your mind and soul and in every living atom.
By daily meditation you will prepare the cradle of your consciousness to hold the infinite baby Christ. Every day will become a true Christmas of divine communion."
"THE MAGNIFICAT"
Claudio Monteverdi - Composer
"BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST"
Watercolor by Mala Ganguly
“Heavenly Christ, saturate our consciousness
with Thy consciousness.
Give us a new birth in Thee.”
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Church of The Nativity, Bethlehem
"He (Christ) was with me everywhere; and a very special communion I had in Bethlehem where he was born in the little babe body of Jesus. He touched me as I entered the ancient menagerie where Mary brought him into the world - in a humble little stable under an inn. This place is absolutely authentic. I know it from the Divine."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
"Second Coming of Christ, The Resurrection of Christ Within You"
Preface by Sri Daya Mata, Letter to Rajarsi Janakananda,Page XV
"FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN" - GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL
"Nun komm, der heiden heiland"
"(Veni, Redemptor gentium)"
MARTIN GASKELL - COMPOSER
Courtesy of Martin Gaskell, Composer
The Holy Science
(Extracts)
Sri Yukteswar Giri
(Guru of Sri Paramahansa Yogananda)
Chapter I
The Gospel
Sutra 3
“Parambrahma causes creation, inert Nature, (Prakriti), to emerge.
From Aum (Pranava, the Word, the manifestation of the Omnipotent Force),
come Kala, Time; Desa, Space; and Anu, the Atom (the vibratory structure of creation.)
The manifestation of Omnipotent Force (the Repulsion and its complementary expression, Omniscient Feeling or Love, the Attraction) is vibration which appears as a peculiar sound: the Word, Amen, Aum. in its different aspects Aum presents the idea of change, which is Time (Kala), in the Ever-Unchangeable; and the idea of division, which Space (Desa), in the Ever-Indivisible. The ensuing effect is the idea of particles — the innumerable atoms (patra or anu). These four — the Word, Time, Space, and the Atom — are, therefore one and the same, and substantially nothing but mere ideas.
The manifestation of the Word (becoming flesh, the external material) created this visible world. So the Word (Amen, Aum) being the manifestation of the Eternal Nature of the Almighty Father or His Own Self, is inseparable from and nothing but God Himself; as the burning power is inseparable from and nothing but the fire itself. See Revelations 3:14; John 1:1, 3, 14.
'These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of the creation of God.'
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....
all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made....
and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.'
Sutra 5
[The omniscient Love aspect of Parambrahma is Kutastha Chaitanya.
The individual Self, being Its manifestation, is one with It.]
The manifestation of Premabijam Chit (Attraction, the Omniscient Love) is Life, the Omnipresent Holy Spirit, and called the Holy Ghost (Kutastha Chaitanya or Purushottama), which shines on the Darkness (Maya) to attract every portion of it toward Divinity. But the Darkness Maya, or its individual parts, Avidya, the Ignorance, being repulsion itself, cannot receive or comprehend the Spiritual Light, but reflects it. This Holy Ghost, being the manifestation of the Omniscient Nature of the Eternal Father, God, is no other substance than God Himself; and so these reflections of spiritual rays are called Sons of God — Abhasa Chaitanya or Purusha. See John 1:4, 5, 11.
‘In him was life; and the life was the light of men.’
‘He came unto his own, and his own received him not.’”
‘And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.’
Sutras 15, 16
[Just as the objects seen in our dreams are found, when we awake, to be insubstantial,
so our waking perceptions are likewise unreal — a matter of inference only.]
Sutra 17
[What is needed is a Guru, a Savior,
who will awaken us to Bhakti (devotion) and to perceptions of Truth]
When man understands by his Aparokshajnana (true comprehension) the nothingness of the external world, he appreciaties the position of John the Baptist, the divine personage who witnessed Light and bore testimony of Christ, after his heart's love, the heavenly gift of Nature, had become developed.
Any advanced sincere seeker may be fortunate in having the Godlike company of some one of such personages, who may kindly stand to him as his Spiritual Preceptor, Sat-Guru, the Savior. Following affectionately the holy precepts of these divine personages, man becomes able to direct all his organs of sense inward to their common center — the sensorium, Trikuti or Sushumnadwara, the door of the interior world — where he comprehends the Voice, like a peculiar 'knocking' sound, [the Cosmic Vibration that is] the Word, Amen, Aum; and sees the God-sent luminous body of Radha, symbolized in the Bible as the Forerunner or John the Baptist. See Revelations 3:14, 20 and John 1:6, 8, 23.
'These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of the creation of God....
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock;
if any man hear my voice and open the door,
I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.'
'There was a man sent from God, whose name was John....
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light....
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make straight the way of the Lord.'
From the peculiar nature of this sound, issuing as it does like a stream from a higher unknown region and losing itself in the gross material creation, it is figuratively designated by various sects of people by the names of different rivers that they consider sacred; for example Ganga by the Hindus, Jamuna by the Vaishnavas (Worshippers of Vishnu, God as Preserver), and Jordan by the Christians (Matthew 3:3:17.)
Through his luminous body, man, believing in the existence of true Light – the Life of this universe — becomes baptized or absorbed in the holy stream of the sound. This baptism is, so to speak, the second birth of man and is called Bhakti Yoga,* without which man can never comprehend the real internal world, the kingdom of God. See John 1:9 and John 3:3.
'That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.'
'Verily, verily I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
In this state the son of man begins to repent and, turning back from the gross material creation, creeps toward his Divinity, the Eternal Substance, God. When the developments of Ignorance are stopped man gradually comprehends the true character of this creation of Darkness, Maya, as a mere play of ideas of the Supreme Nature on His own Self, the Real Substance. This true comprehension is called Aparokshajnana.
* Union with God through Love, the Attraction, which is constantly drawing man toward the kingdom of God. (Publisher's Note)
Sutra 18
“[Emancipation (Kaivalya) is obtained when one realizes the oneness of his Self
with the Universal Self, the Supreme Reality.]
When all the developments of Ignorance are withdrawn, the heart, being perfectly clear and purified, no longer merely reflects the Spiritual Light but actively manifests the same, and thus being consecrated and annointed, man becomes Sannyasi, free, or Christ the Savior. *See John 1:33.
‘Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.’
Through this Savior the son of man becomes again baptized or absorbed in the stream of Spiritual Light, and, rising above the creation of Darkness, Maya, enters into the spiriutal world and becomes unified with Abhasas Chaitanya or Purusha, the Son of God, as was the case with Lord Jesus of Nazareth. In this state man is saved forever and ever from the Bondage of Darkness, Maya. See John I: 12 and 3:5.
‘But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become Sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name.’
'Verifly, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’
When man thus entering into the spiritual world becomes a Son of God, he comprehends the universal Light — the Holy Ghost — as a perfect whole, and his Self as nothing but a mere idea resting on a fragment of Aum Light. Then he sacrifices himself to the Holy Ghost, the altar of God; that is, abandons the vain idea of his separate existence, and becomes one integral whole. Thus being one with the universal Holy Spirit of God the Father, he becomes unified with the Real Substance, God. This unification of Self with the Eternal Substance, God, is called Kaivalya. **See Revelations 3:21.
‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’
*That is, he becomes one with Christ Consciousness, the reflected consciousness of the Eternal Father God in creation, immanent in the Word or Aum, the Cosmic Vibration. Thus is he freed or saved from the darkness of Maya, the delusion of separateness from the Father. (Publisher’s Note)
**Literally, “isolation,” absolute independence or emancipation through oneness with God. (Publishers Note)
Chapter II
The Goal
Sutra 22
[All fulfillments of his nature attained,
man is not merely a reflector of divine light
but becomes actively united with Spirit.
This state is Kaivalya, oneness.]
In this state, all the necessities having been attained and ultimate aim effected, the heart becomes perfectly purified and, instead of merely reflecting the spiritual light, actively manifests the same. Man, being thus consecrated or anointed by the Holy Spirit becomes Christ, the anointed Savior. Entering the kingdom of Spiritual Light, he becomes the Son of God.
In this state man comprehends his Self as a fragment of the Universal Holy Spirit, and, abandoning the vain idea of his separate existence, unities himself with the Eternal Spirit; that is, becomes one and the same with God the Father. This unification of Self with God is Kaivalya, which is the Ultimate Object of all created beings. See John 14:11.
‘Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.’
Chapter III
The Procedure
[Yajna, sacrifice, means penance (Tapas), deep study (Swadhyaya),
and the practice of meditation on Aum (Brahmanidhana).
Penance is patience or evenmindedness in all conditions
(equanimity amidst the essential dualities of Maya;
cold and heat, pain and pleasure, etc.).
Swadhyaya consists of reading or hearing spiritual truth,
pondering it, and forming a definite conception of it.
(Meditation on) Pranava, the divine sound of Aum,
is the only way to Brahman (Spirit), salvation.]
Sutra 19-22
[Smriti, true conception, leads to knowledge of all creation.
Samadhi, true concentration, enables one to abandon individuality for universality.
Hence arises Samyama ("restraint" or overcoming the egoistic self),
by which one experiences the Aum vibration that reveals God.
Thus, the soul (is baptized) in Bhakti Yoga (devotion).
This is the state of Divinity.]
Man, when expert in the above-mentioned practices, becomes able to conceive or feel all things of this creation by his heart. This true conception is called Smriti.
Fixing attention firmly on any object thus conceived, when man becomes as much identified with it as if he were devoid of his individual nature, he attains the state of Samadhi, or true concentration. When man directs all his organs of sense toward their common center, the sensorium or Sushumnadwara, the door of the internal world, he perceives his God-sent luminous body or Radha or John the Baptist, and hears the peculiar 'knocking' sound, Pranava Sabda, the Word of God. See John 1:6, 7:23.
'There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
'The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe.'
Thus perceiving, man naturally believes in the existence of the true Spiritual Light and withdrawing his self from the outer world, concentrates himself on the sensorium. This concentration of the self is Samyama.
By this Samyama or concentration of self on the sensorium, man becomes baptized or absorbed in the holy stream of the Divine sound. This baptism is called Bhakti Yoga. In this state man repents; that is, turning from this gross material creation of Darkness Maya, he climbs back toward his Divinity, the Eternal Father, whence he had fallen, and passing through the sensorium, the door, enters into an internal sphere, Bhuvarloka. This entrance into the internal world is the second birth of man. In this state man becomes Devata, a divine being.
Sutra 23
There are five states of the human heart:
dark, propelled, steady, devoted, and clean.
By these different states of the heart
man is classified and his evolutionary status determined.
Sutra 24
[In the dark state of the heart, man harbors misconceptions (about everything).
This state is a result of Avidya, Ignorance,
and produces a Sudra (a man of he lowest caste).
He can grasp only ideas of the physical world.
This state of mind is prevalent in Kali Yoga, the Dark Age of a cycle.]
In the dark state of the heart man misconceives; he thinks that this gross material portion of the creation is the only real substance in existence, and that there is nothing besides. However, this is contrary to the truth, as has been explained before, and is nothing but the effect of Ignorance, Avidya. In this state man is called Sudra, or belonging to the servant class, because his natural duty then is to serve the higher class people in order to secure their company and thereby prepare his heart to attain a higher stage. This state of man is called Kali; and whenever in any solar system man generally remains in this state and is ordinarily deprived of the power of advancing beyond the same, the whole of that system is said to be in Kali Yuga, the dark cycle.
Sutra 25, 26
[Passing beyond the first stage in Brahma's plan,
a man strives for enlightenment
and enters the natural Kshatriya (warrior) caste.
He is propelled (by evolutionary forces) to struggle (for truth).
He seeks a guru and appreciates his divine counsel.
Thus, a Kshatriya becomes fit to dwell in the worlds of higher understanding.
When man becomes a little enlightened he compares his experiences relating to the material creation, gathered in his wakeful state, with his experiences in dream, and understanding the latter to be merely ideas, begins to entertain doubts as to the substantial existence of the former. His heart then becomes propelled to learn the real nature of the universe and, struggling to clear his doubts, seeks for evidence to determine what is truth. In this state man is call Kshatriya, or one of the military class; and to struggle in this manner aforesaid becomes his natural duty, by whose performance he may get an insight into the nature of creation and attain the real knowledge of it. This Kshatriya state of man is called Sandhisthala, the place between higher and lower. In this state men, becoming anxious for real knowledge, need help of one another; hence mutual love, the principal necessity for gaining salvation, appears in the heart.
Motivated by the energetic tendency of this love, man affectionately keeps company with those who destroy troubles, clear doubts, and afford peace to him, and hence avoids whatever produces the contrary result; he also studies scientifically the scriptures of divine personages. In this way man becomes able to appreciate what true faith is, and understands the real position of the divine personages when he is fortunate in securing the Godlike company of some one of them who will kindly stand to him as his Spiritual Preceptor, Sat-Guru, or Savior. Following affectionately the holy precepts, he learns to concentrate his mind, directing his organs of sense to their common center or sensorium, Sushumnadwara, the door of the internal sphere. There he perceives the luminous body of John the Baptist, or Radha, and hears the holy Sound (Amen, Aum) like a stream or river; and being absorbed or baptized in it, begins to move back toward his Divinity, the Eternal Father, through the different Lokas or spheres of the creation.
Sutra 27
[The worlds or Lokas of creation are seven:
Bhu, Bhuvar, Swar, Mahar, Jana, Tapo, and Satya. '
This earth and the "earthy stage" of man's consciousness, are called Bhuloka).
"In the way toward Divinity there are seven spheres of creation, designated as Swargas or Lokas by the Oriental sages, as described in Chapter I:13. These are Bhuloka, the sphere of gross matters; Bhuvarloka, the sphere of fine matters or electric attributes; Swarloka, the sphere of magnetic poles and auras or electricities; Maharloka, the sphere of magnets, the atoms; Janaloka, the sphere of Spiritual Reflections, the Sons of God; the Tapoloka, the sphere of the Holy Ghost, the Universal Spirit, and Satyaloka, the sphere of God, the Eternal Substance, Sat. Of these severn planes, the first three (Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, and Swarloka) comprise the material creation, the kingdom of Darkness, Maya; and the last three (Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Sayaloka) comprise the spiritual creation, the kingdom of Light. Maharloka or the sphere of Atom, being in the midst, is said to be the "door" communicating Between these two — and is called Dasamadwara, the tenth door, or Brahmarandhra, the way to Divinity.
Sutra 28
[Entering Bhuvarloka ("air" or the "world of becoming")
man becomes a Dwija or "twice born."
He comprehends the second portion of material creation —
that of finer, subtler forces.
This state of mind is prevalent in Dwapara Yuga.]
When man, being baptized, begins to repent and move back toward the Eternal Father and, withdrawing his self from the gross material world, Bhuloka, enters into the world of fine matter, Bhuvarloka, he is said to belong to the Dwija or twice-born class. In this state he comprehends his internal electricities, the second fine material portion of the creation; and understands that the existence of the external is substantially nothing but mere coalescence or union of his fine internal objects of sense (the negative attributes of electricities) with his five organs of sense (the positive attributes) through his five organs of action (the neutralizing attributes of the same), caused by the operation of his mind and conscience (consciousness).
This state of man is Dwapara; and when this becomes the general state of human beings naturally in any solar system, the whole of that system is said to be in Dwarpara Yuga. In this Dwapara state the heart becomes steady.
If man continues in the baptized state, remaining immersed in the holy stream, he gradually comes to a pleasant state wherein his heart wholly abandons the ideas of the external world and becomes devoted to the internal one.
Sutra 29
[In Swarloka ("heaven")
man is fit to understand the mysteries of Chitta,
the magnetic third portion of material creation.
He becomes a Vipra (nearly perfect being).
This state of mind is prevalent in Treta Yuga.]
In this devoted state man, withdrawing his self from Bhuvarloka, the world of electric attributes, comes to Swarloka, the world of magnetic attributes, the electricities and poles; he then becomes able to comprehend Chitta, Heart, the magnetic third portion of creation. This Chitta, as explained in Chapter I, is the spiritualized Atom, Avidya or Ignorance, a part of Darkness, Maya. Man, comprehending this Chitta, becomes able to understand the whole of Darkness, Maya itself, of which Chitta is a part, as well as the entire creation. Man is then said to belong to the Vipra, or nearly perfect, class. This state of human beings is called Treta; when this becomes the general state of human beings naturally in any solar system, the whole of that system is said to be in Treta Yuga.
Sutra 30
[Through true repentance man reaches Maharloka (the "great world").
No longer subject to the influence of ignorance (Maya),
he attains a clean heart.
He enters the natural caste of the Brahmanas ("knowers of Brahma".
This state of mind is prevalent in Satya Yoga.]
Man continuing Godward further lifts up his self to Maharloka, the region of the magnet, the Atom; then all the developments of Ignorance being withdrawn, his heart comes to a clean state, void of all external ideas. Then man becomes able to comprehend the Spiritual Light, Brahma, the Real Substance in the universe, which is the last and everlasting spiritual portion in creation. in this stage man is called Brahmana or of the spiritual class. This stage of the human being is called Satya, and when this becomes the general state of man naturally in the solar system, the whole of that system is said to be in Satya Yuga.
Sutra 31, 32
[Not merely reflecting but manifesting Spiritual Light,
man rises to Janaloka, the Kingdom of God.]
Then he passes into Tapoloka, the sphere of Kutastha Chaitanya.
Abandoning the vain idea of his separate existence,
he enters Satyaloka, wherein he attains the state of final release
or Kaivalya, oneness with Spirit.]
In this way, when the heart becomes purified it no longer merely reflects but manifests Spiritual Light, the Son of God; and thus being consecrated or anointed by the Spirit it becomes Christ, the Savior. This is the only way through which man, being again baptized or absorbed in Spirit, can rise above the creation of Darkness and enter into Janaloka, the Kingdom of God; that is the creation of Light. In this state man is called Jivanmukta Sannyasi, like Lord Jesus of Nazareth. See John 3:5 and 14:6.
'Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'
'Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'
In this state man comprehends himself as nothing but a mere ephemeral idea resting on a fragment of the universal Holy Spirit of God, the Eternal Father, and understanding the real worship, he sacrifices his self there at this Holy Spirit, the altar of God; that is, abandoning the vain idea of his separate existence, he becomes "dead" or dissolved in the universal Holy Spirit; and thus reaches Tapoloka, the region of the Holy Ghost.
In this manner, being one and the same with the universal Holy Spirit of God, man becomes unified with the Eternal Father Himself, and so comes to Satyaloka, in which he comprehends that all this creation exists besides his own Self. This state of unification is called Kaivalya, the Sole Self. See Revelations 14:13 and John 16:28.
'Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.'
'I came forth from the Father; and am come into the world:
again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.'
Chapter IV
The Revelation
Sutra 1-3
[Adeptship is achieved by the purification of man's three bodies.
Purification comes through Nature, penance, and mantras.
Through Nature there is purification of dense matter (the physical body); through penance, purification of the fine matter (the subtle body); through mantras, purification of the mind.]
Adeptship is attainable by the purification of he body in all respects. Purification of the material body can be effected by things generated along with it by Nature; that of the electric body by patience in all circumstances; and that of the magnetic body (chitta, spiritualized Atom, Heart) by regulation of the breath, which is called mantra, the purifier of the mind. The process of how these purifications can be effected may be learnt at the feet of divine personages who witness Light and bear testimony of the Christ Consciousness.
Sutra 12
[Knowledge of evolution, life, and dissolution thus leads to complete emancipation from the bonds of Maya, delusion. Beholding the self in the Supreme Self, man gains eternal freedom.]
Thus man, being possessed of aiswaryas, the ascetic majesties aforesaid, fully comprehends the Eternal Spirit, the Father, the only Real Substance, as Unit, the Perfect Whole, and his Self as nothing but a mere idea resting on a fragment of the Spiritual Light thereof. Man, thus comprehending, abandons altogether the vain idea of the separate existence of his own Self and becomes unified with Him, the Eternal Spirit, God the Father. This unification with God is Kaivalaya, the ultimate goal of man, as explained in this treatise. See Rev. 3:21.
‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’
Conclusion
‘Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,
The men below and saints above;
For love is heaven and heaven is love.
The power of love has been beautifully described by the poet in the stanza quoted above. * It has been clearly demonstrated in the foregoing pages that “Love is God,” not merely as the noblest sentiment of a poet but as an apohorism of eternal truth. To whatever religious creed a man may belong and whatever may be his position in society, if he properly cultivates this ruling principle naturally implanted in his heart, he is sure to be on the right path, to save himself from wandering in this creation of Darkness, Maya.
It has been shown in the foregoing pages how love may be cultivated, how by its culture it attains development, and when developed, through this means only, how man may find his Spiritual Preceptor, through whose favor he again becomes baptized in the holy stream, and sacrifices his Self before the altar of God, becoming unified with the Eternal Father forever and ever. This little volume is therefore concluded with an earnest exhortation to the reader never to forget the great goal of life. In the words of the illumined sage, Shankaracharya:
‘Life is always unsafe and unstable, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. The company of a divine personage, even for a moment, can save and redeem us.’
*Stanza 2 from the third canto of The Lay of the Last Minstrel, by Sir Walter Scott.”
"AH, SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE"
JEANETTE MACDONALD AND NELSON EDDY
Excerpts from the Baghavad-Gita
"Manifold the renewals of my birth, Have been,
Arjuna! and of thy births, too!
But mine I know, and thine thou knowest not,
O Slayer of thy Foes! Albeit, I be
Unborn, undying, indestructible,
The Lord of all things living, nor the less
By Maya, by my magic, which I stamp
On floating Nature forms, the primal vast
I come, and go, and come. When Righteousness
Declines, O Bharata! When Wickedness
Is strong, I rise, from age to age, and take
Visible shape, and move a man with men,
Succoring the good, thrusting the evil back,
And setting Virtue on her seat again.
Who knows the truth touching my births on earth
And my divine work, when he quits the flesh
Puts on its load no more, falls nor more down
To earthly birth: to Me he comes, dear Prince!....
My Mahatmas, those of noble soul
Who tread the path celestial, worship Me the Source,
The Eternal, Source of Life Unendingly
They glorify Me; seek Me, keep their vows
Of reverence and love, with changeless faith
Adoring Me...Yea, and those too adore,
Who, offering sacrifice of wakened hearts,
Have sense of one pervading Spirit's stress,
One Force in every place, those manifold!
I am the Sacrifice! I am the Prayer!
I am the Funeral Cake set for the dead!
I am the healing herb! I am the ghee,
The Mantra, and the flame, and that which burns!
I am - of all this boundless Universe -
The Father, Mother, Ancestor, and Guard!
The end of Learning! That which purifies
By lustral water! I am Om! I am
Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Ved;
The Way, the Fosterer, The Lord, the Judge,
The Witness, the Abode, the Refuge House,
The Friend, the Fountain and the Sea of Life
Which sends and swallows up; Treasure of Worlds
And Treasure-Chamber! Seed and Seed Sower,
Whence endless harvests spring! Sun's heat is mine,
Heaven's rain is mine to grant or to withhold;
Death am I, and Immortal Life I am,
Arjuna! SAT and ASAT, Visible Life,
and Life Invisible!....
And whoso loveth Me, cometh to Me,
Whoso shall offer Me in faith and love
A leaf, a flower, a fruit, water poured forth,
That offering I accept, lovingly made
With pious will. Whate'er thou doest, Prince!
Eating or sacrificing, giving gifts,
Praying or fasting, let it all be done
For Me, as Mine. So shalt thou free thyself
From Karmabandh, the chain which holdeth men
To good and evil issue, so shalt come
Safe unto Me - when thou are quit of flesh -
by faith and abdication joined to Me!
I am alike for all! I know not hate,
I know not favour! What is made is mine!
But, them that worship Me with love, I love;
They are in Me, and I am in them!"
~ Lord Krishna to Prince Arjuna
"INDIAN LOVE CALL" JEANETTE MACDONALD AND NELSON EDDY
"INDIAN LOVE CALL" ROBERT SHAW CHORALE
INDIAN LOVE CALL
Words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Rudolf Friml
When I'm calling you, Will you answer, too?
That means I offer my love to you, to be your own;
If you refuse me, I will be blue and waiting all alone.
But if when you hear my love call ringing clear,
And I hear your answering echo, so dear,
Then I will know our love will come true;
You'll belong to me,
I'll belong to you.
Jesus Christ is a model for both East and West to follow.
God's stamp, as Son of God, is hidden in every soul....
Identify yourself with the all- inclusive Christ Consciousness,
with Universal Love,
by serving all both materially and spiritually.
Then, you will know who Jesus Christ was,
and you can say in your soul that we are all one band,
all sons of the One God!"
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
"CLOUD COLORED CHRIST"
PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA
“Where Is Jesus and What Is He Doing Now?”
Excerpts from the “Divine Romance” by Paramahansa Yogananda
Self-Realization Fellowship Temple, Hollywood, California
December 19, 1943
“Merry Christmas to all of you. I wish you the best Christmas ever; and I know that in your hearts you send me the same message of love. Let us specially concentrate on his love today.
There are two aspects of Christ: Christ the man; and Christ the Spirit in the man. Worshiping Christ in Spirit is much more important than observing his birth materially and socially. Christ must be born within us in Spirit. He must be born anew in our consciousness. That is the “Second Coming” of Christ. It is an injustice to Christ to celebrate his birth only with feasting and presents. That is all right; but the lack of deep, devoted communion with the spirit of Christ at Chistmastime is a serious omission in Christian practice. This is why once more I am reminding you to observe the spiritual Christmas on the 24th of December by meditating many hours that day. And then have your social Christmas on the 25th. I am very happy that this message – to honor Christ’s birth spiritually by long, deep meditation on him has been received and followed by so many Truth seekers around the world. And it will be received by milllions after I am gone.
Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.” The blessings of the presence of God and Christ are there for those who will make the effort to commune with Them in deep meditation. If you follow the meditation techniques as given by Self-Realization Fellowship, you will know more about Christ than the millions of churchgoers who worship him in sermons and rituals, but don’t take the time to meditate deeply on him. The Self-Realization Fellowship movement was sent to the world to awaken the real spirit of Christ within you.
Wherever you are, pledge yourself to celebrate first the spiritual Christmas, then the social holiday. These two you must always observe, for then you will see what a greater awakening will come. By striving to commune with God, Christ, and the Great Ones at Christmastime, you will prepare yourself for the way you are going to spend the new year that is shortly to come. It is a wonderful way to enter a new year. By greater spiritual effort, every day, you must redeem yourself by yourself. No one else can do it for you….”
How Liberated Masters Watch Over the World
"Perhaps you have wondered sometimes if great souls as Jesus are lost to the world. Not at all. See how busy God is: He is always in His own ecstasy, yet He is busy running this universe. And all the saints and masters who have left this earth are also busy elsewhere, just as every one of them had something to do when here. The first time Lahiri Mahasaya called Babaji to materialize himself, to satisfy some doubting friends, Babaji didn’t like it. ‘Do you call me for a trifle?’ He asked. ‘I am very busy.’* When a liberated master says that, he means he is busy with God, doing God’s will. The great ones are all active; it is the mission of some to try to strengthen the good in this world. And to the extent that they are able to do so, through receptive minds, the devil’s power weakens and God’s power becomes stronger.
When a great saint is resurrected in Spirit, and yet takes a form in responding to sincere, receptive devotees, it means he has some part to play in the world’s destiny. I know that Christ, in flesh and blood, is in communion with Babaji in India. Together they are watching over the destiny of the world.† They tried very hard to avert this World War.* They and all other resurrected masters have a mission to perform. Who puts the powerful thoughts of peace in the minds of some souls? It is Christ and the great ones, for they are suffering very much in this war. They are not by any means happy with the state of this world. They are trying to establish peace and harmony on earth, and raise it to a higher spiritual level. But they can’t if man doesn’t let them….
* See Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter 34.
†“Babaji is ever in communion with Christ; together they send out vibrations of redemption and have planned the spiritual techniques of salvation for this age. The work of these two fully illumined masters – one with a body, and one without a body – is to inspire the nations to forsake wars, race hatreds, religious sectarianism, and the boomerang evils of materialism. Autobiography of a Yogi. Chapter 33.
* World War II
Christ Has Not Gone – He Is Watching You
"If you want to know Christ as he was on earth, and as he has appeared to saints through the ages, you must live his life. Whenever it is necessary, he does appear to his devotees. And if you are in tune with him and live in your daily life even a little part of what I am telling you, you shall know him. Christ has not gone. He has given his philosophy, and he is watching those souls who are practicing it. You must live the ideals of Christ, and know that he is watching you all the time.
Why don’t you see Christ or hear his voice? Because your physical eyes and ears are not attuned. You cannot see even television images or hear songs passing through the ether of this material world without the aid of television screens and radios. The static of spiritual restlessness keeps you from perceiving the still finer vibrations, which are highly delicate forces. That is why you do not see Christ and the great ones until you learn how to tune in to them.
Christ is right here; he can be seen if you look within your forehead at the point between the eyebrows: the center of Christ consciousness; the seat of the single or spiritual eye. If you want to see Christ, concentrate at this point of spiritual vision; look through the spiritual eye. If you want to receive his universal intelligence, you have to feel his consciousness in the spiritual eye.
After death, Jesus resurrected his body and allowed hundreds of people to see him. To the doubting Thomas he said, “It is I; touch me.” Why did he materialize his body? That others might behold him after resurrection and know that all who are in tune can behold him and that he is. St. Francis said, “I meet Christ every night in flesh and blood.” You too can behold him, if you can put yourself in tune, just as I have seen him many times.
There is a way to invite Christ. He doesn’t want praise. Nor can he be bribed by wealth, by any sermon, or by mock devotion. He will be drawn only to the altar of your love. If there is sufficient love and devotion in your heart, then, and only then, will he come to you. He may actually materialize in person.
Christlike Behavior
Is Difficult
but Rewarding
"So remember that Christ is all the time working for you. And his throne is in your spiritual eye. When you are in tune with him there at the center of Christ consciousness, you can feel his presence, and see him sleeping on the bed of stars, dancing on the billows of your feelings, resting on the altar of your devotion. In every good thought is a secret home of Christ. That is where he is. But he will not come out of hiding so long as you have Satan with you, so long as you don’t learn to love those who hate you and to live the other principles of Christ’s life.
When Christ came on earth, he was born in the Orient. It is said that when he reached the age of fifteen, his family sought to arrange a marriage for him, as was the custom; but he chose to leave home, and went to India and Tibet, where he passed fifteen years with the masters. I have told you this before. You will recall that there were three wise men from the East who came to visit Jesus at his birth. He returned their visit during those years for which the Bible gives no record of his activities. Then he returned to Jerusalem to preach his message. But how few people appreciated him! Only when he was gone did some realize what he was; and succeeding generations began to build churches in his honor. Still, how very few people through the centuries have really lived the life of Christ. That is why millions who think of themselves as Christians are not happy or spiritually satisfied.
It is easy enough to learn about Christ and his teachings, but to practice what he taught is not so easy. I say it not from pride, but because I know, I have lived the life of Christ in every way that it has been possible. So I can truthfully tell you that the life he taught is the only way to true happiness. Many people think that to live Christlike is too difficult. It is hard indeed. It is also very difficult to become famous or wealthy; and great is your anguish when you find you can’t fulfill your desire, even though you have made a great effort. But though you meet difficulty in trying to establish Christ-principles in your life, if you persevere, there is ultimate reward….
If You Would Come to Me, Live the Life of Christ
"Whoever would come to me must come only in that spirit of harmony and love. Those who are in tune with me, as some souls have been from the beginning, have never had a cross word with me. Mrs. R –- is one of these. Many have trod on her with unkind speech, but I have never seen her cold or angry. And never have I seen her without a smile. As a result, her seat is reserved in Heaven. That is the kind of example I live. And all those who come to me, I want them to live the life of Christ.
If I can save one soul out of a crowd, I have done something much more valuable than the “converting” of thousands of people. I am speaking to your souls. I know many of you who come here will be saved through the words I have spoken here. But you must practice these ideals in your life. You must live more by the Christ-principles, instead of just talking about them. He is like a fragrance, all-pervading. But it is only through receptive souls that he works. If you call to Christ with all your heart, and if you have learned the lesson that you must never fail to live in humility and love, and to meditate deeply upon God, Christ will come to you. You can see him in flesh and blood even as he has come to Babaji, St. Francis, and others who are in tune.
Dear ones, this has been my Christmas message to you, that you might know where Christ is today, and what he is doing, and how you may know him. Christ-love and harmony I send to you all this Christmas. Let no one rob you of your peace and love.
And remember to set aside a day before Christmas every year in observance of the spiritual birth of Christ. I know millions of people will follow this path when I am gone, because it is the true teaching of Christ."
WORDS TO SONGS SUNG AT THE SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP CHRISTMAS MEDITATIONS
"Paramahansaji asked meditating devotees
to trasmute the words of the following two songs,
originally written about human love,
into expressions of the soul's longing
for the Divine Love that all human beings are really seeking."
~ Self-Realization Fellowship
"INDIAN LOVE CALL"
JEANETTE MACDONALD and NELSON EDDY
"INDIAN LOVE CALL"
Robert Shaw Chorale
INDIAN LOVE CALL
Words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Rudolf Friml
When I'm calling you,
Will you answer, too?
That means I offer my love to you,
to be your own;
If you refuse me,
I will be blue
and waiting all alone.
But if when you hear my love call ringing clear,
And I hear your answering echo, so dear,
Then I will know our love will come true;
You'll belong to me,
I'll belong to you.
"AH, SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE"
TITO SCHIPA (ITALIAN)
AH! SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE
Words by Rida J. Young.
Music by Victor Herbert
Ah! sweet mystery of life,
at last I found thee!
Ah! I know at last the secret of it all --
All the longing, seeking, striving, waiting, yearning;
The burning hopes, the joys,
and idle tears that fall.
For 'tis love, and love alone,
the world is seeking;
And 'tis love, and love alone that can repay.
'Tis the answer, 'tis the end and all of living,
For it is love alone that rules for aye.
"AH, SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE"
Jan Pearce - Tenor
"LIEBESLEID"
"Divine Love Sorrows"
Adapted by Paramahansa Yogananda
FRITZ KREISLER - VIOLIN
DIVINE LOVE SORROWS
Words by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sing to the tune of Fritz Kreisler's "Liebesleid".
I have been roaming, forsaken by Thee,
Who hast seen me groping,
Hardly ever answering.
I shall be roaming, roaming,
Bursting all boundaries of heart;
Ever more moving toward Thee,
To Thy vast and throbbing heart.
Come Thou to me, O Lord!
Oh, come at last to me!
Centuries and centuries I have waited now for Thee.
Through endless incarnations
I called out Thy Name,
Searching by the streamlets
of all my silvery dreams.
I knew that Thou must come at last
to steal the flowers of my heart.
In sorrow-thrills I piped my love,
I sadly sang my song to Thee.
And yet, I knew my love would reach Thee,
Though many lives I had to wait.
On mountain crags of high devotion
I sadly sang my song,
my song, my song.
"I love you California" - Frankenstein
"I LOVE YOU INDIA"
ADAPTED BY PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA
I LOVE YOU INDIA
Words by Paramahansa Yogananda.
To be sung to A. F. Frankenstien's
"I Love You, California".
I love you, my India,
You're the sweetest land of all,
I love you in the winter, summer, spring,
and in the fall.
I love your fertile valleys,
Your dear Ganges I adore;
I love your Indian Ocean,
And I love her rugged shore.
Where the snow-crowned golden Himalayas
Keep their watch where the sages bloom,
It is there I would be
In the land of the free,
Every breeze bearing God's perfume.
It is there India gives of her rarest,
It is "home, sweet home," for all!
And I know when I die
In joy I will sigh
For my sunny, grand old India.
"BLUE DANUBE" - Johann Strauss II
THE BLUE DANUBE
When Paramahansa Yogananda requested that this beloved
Strauss waltz melody be played during Christmas meditation,
he would suggest that everyone hum softly to the music,
visualizing the astral land where countless angelic beings
gather to celebrate the birth of Christ. He would tell the
devotees to behold themselves dancing joyously, in the divine
consciousness, with the Great Ones; circling around a
glorious Christmas tree; or around the radiant cradle of the
infinite baby Christ.
"SITTING IN THE SILENCE"
by Paramahansa Yogananda
"ROAMIN' IN THE GLOAMIN'"
KENNETH MCKELLAR - TENOR
SITTING IN THE SILENCE
Words by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sing "Roamin' in the Gloamin'"
by Sir Harry Lauder.
Sitting in the silence
On the sunny banks of my mind;
Sitting in the silence
With the Christ by my side.
With the Krishna by my side.
When the thoughts have gone to rest,
That's the time I see Him best,
Oh, 'tis lovely sitting in the silence.
"BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC"
"LOVE IS MARCHING ON"
Adapted by Paramahansa Yogananda
MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR
ROBERT SHAW CHORALE
HIS LOVE IS MARCHING ON
Adaptation by Paramahansa Yogananda
from the original words of Julia Ward Howe
in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Music by William Steffe.
In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea;
As he died to make men holy,
Let us live to make men free;
As he died to make men holy,
Let us live to make men free;
His love is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His love is marching on.
"SCHLAFE, MEIN LIEBSTGER"
J.S. BACH'S CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
MARILYN HORNE , MEZZO-SOPRANO
"All mankind should open its heart to Jesus' great
message: '(God) hath made of one blood all nations
of men.' That is the Christ inspiration I love so
much. I want to make that message a living reality,
to give it practical application.... Train your heart to
feel the brotherhood of man - that is most important."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
"CHRISTMAS ORATORIO", BWV 248 - BACH
For Unto You Is Born a Saviour,
Which Is Christ the Lord
The angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women. Behold, thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call him, Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of the Father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall no end." And the angel said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of he Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." And Mary said, "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word. My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And Joseph went up from Galilee, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped in swaddling clothes, she laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. ~ Saint Luke to Theophilus
DEVI PRAYER - HYMN TO THE DIVINE MOTHER
MAGNIFICAT PRIMI TONI
TOMAS LUIS DE VICTORIA
"
Hymn of the cherubim" - P. I. Tchaikovsky
"AVE MARIA" - FRANZ SCHUBERT
Luciano Pavarotti
"ANGELUS"
DAUGHTERS OF MARY
"Ave maria"
harp and guitar
"AVE MARIA"
"AVE MARIA"
KAREN CARPENTER - ALTO
(posted for my sister, susie wolf)
BULGARIAN HYMN TO THE VIRGIN
MAGNIFICAT RV 611 (Venice Version)
ANTONIO VIVALDI
1 of 2
2 of 2
"ave maria"
sergei rachmaninov- Composer
schola cantorum
st. joseph seminary college
"REJOICE GREATLY, O DAUGHTER OF ZION"
GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL - COMPOSER
ELIZABETH SCHWARZKOPF - SOPRANO
"SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS MUSIC - HAIL MARY"
DIVINA LJUHAIL
"STILLE NACHT, HELLIGE NACHT"
Nana MOusKourI
"SANCTUS" - MESSE SOLENNELLE, GOUNOD
Jessye Norman, Soprano
"SILENT NIGHT" - Jessye Norman, Soprano
"O HOLY NIGHT" (English) - Daughters of Mary
"O HOLY NIGHT" (French) - Enrico Caruso, Tenor
"O HOLY NIGHT" - "O Helga Natt"
(Swedish)
Jussi Bjorling
"TOURO-LOURO-LOURO1" - NICOLAS SABOLY
Robert Shaw Chorale
"ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID'S CITY"
KING'S COLLEGE CHOIR, CAMBRIDGE
"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM"
"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM"
KING'S SINGERS
"O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL"
Robert Shaw Chorale
"WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS BY NIGHT"
Libera Boys Choir
"HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING"
Oxford College of New College
"ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH" - Robert Shaw Chorale
MOTET" - PUERI CONCINITE
Vienna Boys Choir
"GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO"
Antonio Vivaldi
Choir of Christ's Church, Oxford,
Academy of Ancient MusIC
"AVE MARIA" - FRANZ SCHUBERT
VIENNA BOYS CHOIR
"SERBIAN Orthodox ChristmasAS Music - RUSSIAN CHANT"
diviNA ljuHail
"WACHET AUF, RUFT UNS DIE STIMME"
"(SLEEPERS AWAKE)"
MARtin Gaskell - Composer
"AMEN"
Georg Frederick Handel - Composer
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