Paramahansa Yogananda was a great yogi and spiritual teacher who was instrumental in spreading the teachings of yoga throughout the west. His world-famous book, Autobiography of a Yogi, is considered one of the most important texts to yogis and spiritual seekers. It was translated into over 5o languages and is said to have, “sparked the spiritual revolution.”
He was the first great Indian guru to make the United States a permanent residence. Upon moving to the US in 1920, he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship in California.
It is most likely thanks to the lineage and far-reaching influence of Paramahansa Yogananda that you and I practice yoga. His teachings and influence were invaluable in bringing the ancient practice of yoga to the west and popularizing them.
Contents
- 1 Paramahansa Yogananda’s Journey to the Divine
- 2 The Transcendent Lineage of Paramahansa Yogananda
- 3 The Teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda
- 4 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes for Everyday Living
- 5 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Inner Peace
- 6 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Meditation
- 7 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Self-Realization
- 8 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on God and Spirituality
- 9 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Relationships
- 10 Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Happiness and Success
- 11 FAQs
Paramahansa Yogananda’s Journey to the Divine
Paramahansa Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh on January 5, 1893. As a very young boy, Paramahansa Yogananda was already a spiritual seeker. He prioritized his spiritual teachings and journey over his schooling. In fact, he got himself into a lot of trouble on his quest to find his guru!
Both of his parents were the disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya, a great guru who lived between 1828-1895. When Paramahansa Yogananda was just a baby, Lahiri Mahasaya prophesied that he would become a world-renowned yogi and “spiritual engine.”
The boy knew of this prophecy and felt it deep within his soul. His search for his guru finally led him to Swami Yukteswar Giri when he was still just a teenager. But he was eager to begin his training and discipleship. Finally, in 1915 he was initiated into the swami order of Kriya Yoga.
Later in 1935, he was bestowed the title Paramahansa by his guru, meaning “the supreme swan.” This title was in recognition to all the work he had already done to spread the sacred teachings of yoga far and wide.
The Transcendent Lineage of Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda was part of a mystic and sacred lineage of gurus and yogis. His guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, was the student of Lahiri Mahasaya. Lahiri Mahasaya was instrumental in the renaissance of Kriya Yoga in India.
Mahavatar Babaji was the original “father” of Kriya Yoga. He was born in 203 AD, it is said his spirit still resides in the mountains of the Himalayas. According to many yogis, he taught the first sun salutation thousands of years ago. He also appeared to Yogananda in a dream before Yogananda left for America. This dream confirmed for Yogananda that he was the chosen one to spread the practice to the west.
The Teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda
Continuing his divine lineage, the world-renowned spiritual teacher, Paramahansa Yogananda, instructed the masses on:
- meditation
- inner peace
- the unity of all world religions
- the liberation of the mind
- the science of Kriya Yoga
Paramahansa Yogananda is a direct descendant of the original lineage of Kriya Yoga. This ancient yoga science consists of advanced pranayama techniques and movement practice. The idea behind Kriya yoga is that it revitalizes the life force energy, or prana, in the brain, and moves that energy up and down the spine. This movement of energy elevates consciousness and facilitates a divine feeling of oneness with the universe.
Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship in California was established to spread the teachings and practice of Kriya Yoga to the world.
His presence and work in the US also challenged the divide most Americans held in their head between Christianity and Eastern religions. He worked to draw parallels between them and emphasized that all people, beliefs, and ideologies are part of the universal oneness. All of this when America barely knew what meditation was!
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes for Everyday Living
“Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“You have come to earth to entertain and to be entertained.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Persistence guarantees that results are inevitable.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Be afraid of nothing. Hating none, giving love to all, feeling the love of God, seeing His presence in everyone, and having but one desire – for His constant presence in the temple of your consciousness – that is the way to live in this world.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Every tomorrow is determined by every today.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Continual intellectual study results in vanity and the false satisfaction of an undigested knowledge.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Inner Peace
“Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you. The future will take care of itself……”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“If you permit your thoughts to dwell on evil you yourself will become ugly. Look only for the good in everything so you absorb the quality of beauty.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Stillness is the altar of spirit.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Having lots of money while not having inner peace is like dying of thirst while bathing in the ocean.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The body is literally manufactured and sustained by mind.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Retire to the center of your being, which is calmness.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Meditation
“You may control a mad elephant;
You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger;
Ride the lion and play with the cobra;
By alchemy you may learn your livelihood;
You may wander through the universe incognito;
Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful;
You may walk in water and live in fire;
But control of the mind is better and more difficult.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Read a little. Meditate more. Think of God all the time.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Before embarking on important undertakings sit quietly calm your senses and thoughts and meditate deeply. You will then be guided by the great creative power of Spirit. After that you should utilize all necessary material means to achieve your goal…”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Meditation is the effort to realize and express that pure consciousness which is the reflection, or image, of God within you.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“To meditate a short time with depth is better than to meditate for long hours with the mind running wild.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Meditate without attachment to the fruits of meditation.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Meditate more and more deeply, until calmness and joy become second nature to you.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Self-Realization
“You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God’s creative principle works in you.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“You do not have to struggle to reach God, but you do have to struggle to tear away the self-created veil that hides him from you”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Millions of people never analyze themselves. Mentally they are mechanical products of the factory of their environment, preoccupied with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, working and sleeping, and going here and there to be entertained. They don’t know what or why they are seeking, nor why they never realize complete happiness and lasting satisfaction. By evading self-analysis, people go on being robots, conditioned by their environment. True self-analysis is the greatest art of progress.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Self-realization is the knowing in all parts of body, mind, and soul that you are now in possession of the kingdom of God; that you do not have to pray that it come to you; that God’s omnipresence is your omnipresence; and that all that you need to do is improve your knowing.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The deeper the Self-realization of a man, the more he influences the whole universe by his subtle spiritual vibrations, and the less he himself is affected by the phenomenal flux.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on God and Spirituality
“The true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is the soul’s power of knowing God. To know what religion is really all about, one must know God.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“God is simple. Everything else is complex. Do not seek absolute values in the relative world of nature.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Ordinary love is selfish, darkly rooted in desires and satisfactions. Divine love is without condition, without boundary, without change. The flux of the human heart is gone forever at the transfixing touch of pure love.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“If you don’t invite God to be your summer Guest, He won’t come in the winter of your life.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping, Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving, My soul constantly hums, unheard by any; God, God, God!”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The entire universe is God’s cosmic motion picture, and that individuals are merely actors in the divine play who change roles through reincarnation; mankind’s deep suffering is rooted in identifying too closely with one’s current role, rather than with the movie’s director, or God.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Relationships
“Making others happy, through kindness of speech and sincerity of right advice, is a sign of true greatness. To hurt another soul by sarcastic words, looks, or suggestions, is despicable.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The wave is the same as the ocean, though it is not the whole ocean. So each wave of creation is a part of the eternal Ocean of Spirit. The Ocean can exist without the waves, but the waves cannot exist without the Ocean.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The happiness of one’s own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul; one must try to include, as necessary to one’s happiness, the happiness of others.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Brotherhood is an ideal better understood by example than precept!”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Many people excuse their own faults but judge other persons harshly. We should reverse this attitude by excusing others’ shortcomings and by harshly examining our own.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes on Happiness and Success
“It is not your passing thoughts or brilliant ideas so much as your plain everyday habits that control your life… Live simply. Don’t get caught in the machine of the world— it is too exacting. By the time you get what you are seeking your nerves are gone, the heart is damaged, and the bones are aching. Resolve to develop your spiritual powers more earnestly from now on. Learn the art of right living. If you have joy you have everything, so learn to be glad and contented… Have happiness now.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The power of unfulfilled desires is the root of all man’s slavery”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! This is the way of the wise…”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“So long as we believe in our heart of hearts that our capacity is limited and we grow anxious and unhappy, we are lacking in faith. One who truly trusts in God has no right to be anxious about anything.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“Seeds of past karma cannot germinate if they are roasted in the fires of divine wisdom.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
“To work with God’s happiness bubbling in the soul is to carry a portable paradise within you wherever you go.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
FAQs
What did Paramahansa Yogananda think the purpose of life is?
He thought that finding god was the purpose of life. Although he knew most people think finding happiness is the purpose of life. He would argue that god is bliss. So finding god is finding happiness.
What did Paramahansa Yogananda say about Jesus?
He thought that Jesus Christ was part of the divine plan for the evolution of the west. He thought that the west was meant to develop objectivity through logic and reason.
In which religion does yoga originate?
Yoga originates from ancient Indian practices and scriptures. Mainly Hinduism, but yogic teachings are also common to Buddhism and Jainism. Yogananda felt passionate that people of all different religions could practice and benefit from yoga.