Yoga

Brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. – From the First Letter to the Church at Corinth

At the time this letter was written, there was great discussion among Followers of the Way about whether or not they ought to completely renounce life in the world, and spend every moment waiting in rapt anticipation. St. Paul’s counsel is that people should continue to go about their daily lives and activities (married life, mourning, rejoicing, commerce, etc.) but to do it all without attachment to any of it.

It seems to me that this is identical to Sri Krishna’s instruction to Arjuna. “Be not moved in success or failure, for union with God is evenness of mind.” The path of renunciation is not required. Instead, we are to continue to perform the duties of life, but remain unattached personally to the outcomes of our actions.

We should not pretend that our human lives and experiences are divorced from the material realm. The idea is to figure out how to live in the world, to be here now, in a way that is better – a way that expresses the values of heaven: compassion and kindness and patience and humility and joy – to feed each other, to be at peace, and to live with ease of heart.

“I want you to be free from anxieties.”

I recently watched AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda and it got me interested in his teachings. So many people on the spiritual path have mentioned his Autobiography of a Yogi as the prime inspiration for their journey, but I had never picked it up before. After watching the film, I downloaded the Kindle version and am now about halfway through.

Paramahansa Yogananda was the final guru in a lineage that began with the “Deathless Yogi” Mahavatar Babaji. Yogananda came to the United States in 1920 and toured extensively, lecturing and teaching yoga, which he often referred to as “the science of religion.” He also began to publish a series of lessons which were made available by mail, intended to help the reader begin with meditation along the path toward learning Kriya Yoga (the practice taught by his lineage).

The Self-Realization Fellowship is the organization that he established in the US to carry on his work. They still offer his lessons by mail. The content was updated after Yogananda left the body by his disciple Sri Mrinilini Mata, to whom he had entrusted the project. She considered it her life’s work, and the revised series was finally launched in 2019. It remains faithful to the original series, but offers some additional depth, incorporating some of Yogananda’s later writings and quotes.

The introduction to the series is available to read for free at this link.

Highest Achievements Through Self-Realization

I am just beginning to study and practice the meditation techniques taught by Yogananda. I don’t know yet whether or not I will adopt them as my principal practice. They are quite a bit more involved than the simple silent mantra meditation that I have been practicing. I am definitely interested in exploring them further, though, and will report back as I progress.

If you have had experience with Yogananda’s teachings or have practiced his methods, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Renunciation Versus Karma Yoga

An Introduction to Self-Realization