he who is free from hatred toward All Creatures is friendly and kind to all is devoid of the consciousness of eyess and possessiveness is even minded in suffering and joy forgiving ever contented a regular yoga practitioner constantly trying by yoga to know the self and to unite with Spirit possessed a firm determination with mind and discrimination surrendered to me he is my devotee dear to me qualities of the devotee endearing to God extracts from lectures by paramahansa Yogananda these manyfold qualities epitomized in a yogi and dear him to God to please the Lord and attain
him the yogi is steadfast in regular and intensive practice of the science of God Union Kaa yoga by the self-restraint interiorization of yoga he dissolves his Restless physical ego with its sense of I me and mine in the perception of his true [Music] self when in ecstasy he determinedly keeps his mind and discrimination surrender to the pure intuitive perception of spirit in the vibrationless sphere he is able even in the human state to feel the omnipresence of the Lord the yogi who perceives The Same Spirit pervading all creation cannot entertain hatred for any creature instead
he is friendly and compassionate to all he recognizes God even in the guise of an enemy possessing the even- minded blessedness of spirit a yogi is unruffled by material sufferings and Pleasures finding the joy of the Divine he has ever contended under all conditions of physical existence he attends to his meager bodily Necessities but is wholly detached from any sense of my body or my possessions he considers himself to be serving God in his own body and in the bodies of all who cross his path many can understand the advice of the Bhagavad Gita about
indifference to pain but not about indifference to pleasure does this scripture advise the yogi to be a sphinx an unfeeling Stone unresponsive to all of life's Pleasures no it does not give such meaningless counsel but just as a millionaire is not excited to receive the gift of a dollar so the possessor of immeasurable alls satisfying Divine wealth does not feel elated by the poultry offerings of the senses anyone who runs after sense Joys proves that he has not tasted Divine Bliss verse 15 a person who does not disturb the world and who cannot be disturbed
by the world who is free from exhaustion jealousy apprehension and worry he too is dear to me that man is pleasing to God who trusting in Him is tranquil unaffected by outer events and able to manifest his attainment of divine Unity by feeling a affection for all as individual expressions of the Lord such a lovable Yogi perceiving God as Bliss never indulges in sense excitements frivolous Pleasures selfish jealousies mundane fears or material worries a worldly man constantly agitating himself and others by inharmonious vibrations cannot feel in the temple of creation the presence of blessed Spirit
virtue is often subtle and unassuming a quiet influence and support that gives life stability and a sense of pleasant well-being whose Source goes unnoticed and as such is taken for granted in startling contrast evil is usually so Brash and its consequences so obnoxious or painful that it defies any attempt to ignore it thus did Shakespeare wearily note the evil that men do lives after them the good is of ented with their bones if we envisage a world filled with the virtues and devoid of the Demonic qualities enumerated in the Gita we we have the creation
the loving God intended for his incarnate children he who is free from worldly expectations who is pure in body and mind who is Ever ready to work who remains unconcerned with the unafflicted by circumstances who has forsaken all ego initiated desirous undertakings he is my devotee dear to [Music] me a yogi who has reached the absolute goal has no need to perform activities or to start any undertaking with human motives rooted in egoism his happiness does not depend on the well-being of the physical body or on some Pleasures or on the acquirement of material objects
he has found Supreme Bliss such a man is ever ready to perform spiritual or physical actions to help himself and others thus serving The God Who is present in all even in serving self in eating walking thinking feeling willing the yogi performs these activities only to keep his body and mind fit to perform God's will he serves others not to obtain gratitude or advantages from them but to please the Lord within their body temples a yogi who keeps his soul United with spirit is call an udasin who is placed beyond the reach of the vibratory
sense perceptions therefore Troubles of body and mind cannot disturb him no no dependence on or initiating desire for material things invades his state of Eternal [Music] contentment he who feels neither rejoicing nor loathing toward the Glad nor the sad aspects of phenomenal life who is free free from grief and Cravings who has banished the relative consciousness of Good and Evil and who is intently devout he is dear to me the yogi who does not identify himself with the relativities of the cosmic dream dramas but whoever beholds the omnipresent beam of divinity that created them is
beloved by the Lord a true devotee is ardently devout in all aspects of his life his mental equilibrium is not affected by good fortune or Calamity he is not overpowered by grief under any circumstances he feels no anger at non-fulfillment of desires and he is free from material longings and has thus risen above the D ity of Good and Evil he who is tranquil before friend and foe alike and in encountering adoration and insults and during the experiences of warmth and chill and of pleasure and suffering who has relinquished attachment regarding blame and praise in
the same light who is quiet and easily contented not attached to Domesticity and of a calm disposition and devotional that person is dear to me when a yoi knows this world to be a dream motion picture of God without objective reality he beholds the manifestations of a friendly hero and a cruel villain or the experiences of honor and dishonor of heat and colds of pain and pleasure or insults and adulation or of any other dualistic presentation of the screen of his daily life to be entertaining but meaningless everchanging Shadows of delusion such a calm Yogi
tranquil in speech body and mind ever drinking the nectar of all pervading Bliss is indeed very dear to God he forsakes the degrading attributes depicted in the evil dream pictures of Life cultivating instead the Divine attributes depicted in the salutary dream scenarios he thus earns his credential to become free laudably passing the examinations of mortal existence the yogi does not seek fame or recognition for his temporary role in this drama of incarnations he knows that to strive for recognition from God Alone is the only true wisdom a famous man after death is not aware of
his renown for him there is no value in statues erected in his honor or in having his name engraved on crumbling Stones outraged by time and weather but the names of liberated souls are written in the heart of God forever recognized by his Immortal angels in this the soul will rejoice everlastingly [Music] devotee's attitude toward Fame and Ill [Music] fame fame in itself is not wrong a fragrant flower advertises itself so also does a person offering Superior Services in time become known but to Crave Fame at all costs is dangerous rif with potential to produce
Untold suffering an unqualified person with an inordinate craving for personal honor is quite apt to receive dishonor as Pride goeth before a fall name and fame are distinctions that come but rarely in the dream pictures of life through one's good karma and through the grace and decree of God they should not be sought as goals in themselves anyone who serves selflessly seeking not to aize himself but to glorify God receives all the honor he deserves either in this life or in a future existence Fame and Ill Fame are both tests of God ordinary Mortals lose
their psychological equilibrium when caught up in the emotions of these ego rousers greedy for more Fame and angry at ill Fame they become ever more deeply entangled in delusive misconceptions and misgivings when Fame comes as God's recognition of good qualities the yogi does not let it go to his head it inspires him continuously to be better in the eyes of God his Guru and his own conscience not just in the eyes of the public if ill Fame and unexpected persecutions from inevitable critics come to an innocent Yogi he remains secure in his natural humility and
without bitterness he tries if possible to remove the misunderstandings of others and the cause of misjudgment many good persons and Saints and martyrs have been persecuted and maligned and afterward exonerated and even deified God sees to it that credit is bestowed where credit is due in a chapter on peace in the mahabarata it is stated that the dieses call him a Brahmin who is content with any scrap of clothing with any food and with any shelter Christ to counseled man take no thought for your life what ye shall eat neither for the body what ye
shall put on neither be ye of doubtful mind for all these things do the nations of the world seek after and your father knoweth that ye have need of these things but rather seek ye the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you a true Yogi is not willfully negligent of the duty to his body he does not Court suicide by slow starvation nor invite pneumonia by wandering homeless sleeping on the snow however a great Yogi immersed in God has a natural aloofness towards such mundane concerns as food and home which
so occupied the worldly man attached to physical comforts these stanzas extol the holy medicant of every age such as the Himalayan yogis and great Saints such as SRI chaitanya and Francis of aisi the words commend as dear to God the god intoxicated Yogi whatever his mode of Life who is Ever content somehow maintaining himself living on chance gifts or meager earnings just enough to keep Body and Soul together such a yogi is not like the lazy worldly man for the Yogi's dependence on the Divine Bounty is secure in his Oneness with God he experiences a
Divine Bliss and consequently does not seek the poultry Comforts of the flesh engrossed in transcendental devotion he loves friends and foes alike seeing his beloved Lord present in them all but those who adoringly pursue this undying religion Dharma as heret for declared saturated with devotion supremely engrossed in me such devotees are extremely dear to me dearest to God Inseparable from him are those yogis who with total devoted concentration keep their souls United to the all Sheltering undenying Spirit Beyond creation the immutable absolute devoid of all delusive Imaging while worshipfully engaged in living and manifesting the
Eternal immortalizing principles of God Union such yogis remain as one with him embraced in his bosom of transcendent Bliss om sat in thead of the Holy Bhagavad Gita the discourse of Lord Krishna to Arjuna which is the scripture of yoga and the science of God realization this is the 12th chapter called bakti yoga Union through devotion excerpts from the book God talks with Arjuna by paramahansa Yogananda
