September 6: Effort

“All souls are equal. The only difference between you and me is that I made the effort. I showed God that I love Him, and He came to me. Love is the magnet from which God cannot escape.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_“Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda”_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/SoPY

The best way to remove your weaknesses is not to think about them; otherwise you will be overwhelmed. Bring the light in and you will feel that darkness never was. In that thought is one of the greatest inspirations of my life. If light is admitted into a cave where darkness has existed for thousands of years, darkness will vanish instantly. So will our faults and weaknesses vanish when we bring in the light of God. The darkness of ignorance can enter never more.

~ Paramahansa Yogananda “Journey to Self-Realization”

September 3: Effort

“Often we continue to suffer without making an effort to change; that is why we don't find lasting peace and contentment. If we would persevere we would certainly be able to conquer all difficulties. We must make the effort, that we may go from misery to happiness, from despondency to courage.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_“Man's Eternal Quest”_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/MEQ

August 30: Meditation

“The more sweetening you put in water, the sweeter it becomes. Likewise, the longer you meditate intensely, the greater will be your spiritual advancement.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_Yogoda Satsanga Lessons_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/Meditation

"LIFE IS FILLED WITH UNSEEN DIVINE PRESENCE "

Your cup of life within and without is filled with the Divine Presence, but because of the lack of attention you do not perceive God's immanence. When you are intune, as one tunes in radio, then you receive Spirit. It is as if you take a bottle of sea water, cork it and put it in the ocean; although the bottle floats in the waters, its contents do not mix with its oceanic surroundings. But open the bottle, and the water inside merges with the sea. we must remove the cork of ignorance before we can come in contact with Spirit.

~ Paramahansa Yogananda
“Journey to Self-Realization”

August 29: Meditation

“Do not lament if you see no lights or images in meditation. Go deep into the perception of Bliss; there you will find the actual presence of God. Seek not a part but the Whole.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_“Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda”_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/SoPY

August 27: Meditation

“Why should God surrender Himself easily to you? You who work so hard for money and so little for divine realization! The Hindu saints tell us that if we would give so short a time as 24 hours to continuous, uninterrupted prayer, the Lord would appear before us or make Himself known to us in some way. If we devote even one hour daily to deep meditation on Him, in time He will come to us.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_“Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda”_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/SoPY

August 26: Meditation

“The more you meditate, the more helpful you can be to others, and the more deeply you will be in tune with God. Selfish people remain spiritually hidebound, but the unselfish expand their consciousness. When you find your omnipresence in meditation, you will find God. If He is pleased with you, all nature will work in harmony with you. Learn to talk to Him with all your soul.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_Yogoda Satsanga Lessons_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/Lessons

August 24: Meditation

“First things must come first. When you awaken in the morning, meditate. If you don't, the whole world will crowd in to claim you, and you will forget God. At night, meditate before sleep claims you. I am so strongly established in the habit of meditation that even after I lie down to sleep at night, I find I am meditating. I can't sleep in the ordinary way. The habit of being with God comes first.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda
_“Man's Eternal Quest”_

Further Reading:
? yssi.org/Meditation

The attachment of human affection is such that losing our loved ones brings a severe longing in the heart, and often creates rebellious thoughts within. Though I was still a little boy, I knew deep in my consciousness, long before her death, that my mother was to go.

When she passed on, I cried and cried. I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find her. "Divine Mother," I prayed, "if You are here, You must answer me. Why did You make me love my mother so much, and then take her away? Was it to punish and torture me?"

The answer came when the Cosmic Mother said, "Who gave you mother, who gave you father? It was I who gave you your beautiful mother." When I realized it was because of God that I had such a wonderful mother, I thought, "God alone holds the key to this mystery of life," and I began to search deeply within and to pray. Divine Mother answered and told me why my mother was taken away: "It is I who have watched over thee, life after life, in the tenderness of many mothers! See in My gaze the two black eyes, the lost beautiful eyes, thou seekest!"

After I found Divine Mother, I also found my earthly mother again, in the astral world, and talked to her. Such communication is possible. You can convert yourself into a broadcasting instrument or a receiving set.

~ Paramahansa Yogananda
The Divine Romance