The predicament of the human race can be compared to a person sinking in quicksand while trying to lift himself out by pulling on his own hair. Only the substance and intensity of God’s love can elevate us up and out of the quagmire of egoic delusion. However, in order for this to happen we must recognize our need to be in relationship with God. God comes to us most clearly in the person of the Guru.
Speaking from personal experience, I can honestly say Yogananda has saved me from much karmic suffering; he is the polestar of my life. Of course, before Yogananda could help me I had to acknowledge my own poverty, my inability to transcend the shackles of my egoic mind. Though I am still very much a work in progress, I am increasingly living not for my own pseudo-wisdom, but from the pure wisdom that comes from the mouth of God through Yogananda, along with Jesus, the Blessed Mother, the gurus in our lineage, and Francis of Assisi. Every day, I must endeavor to open my heart to Yogananda, to nurture my relationship with him, to acknowledge my need for his help, and to be open to those impulses, forces, and substances that he offers to me from above. Meditate on Yogananda’s inspired words: “A true guru is ever-living, even when no longer residing in a physical body. Through his oneness with God’s omnipresence and omniscience, a true guru is always aware of the disciple and watches over him or her with constant love and protection.”
Every day,
I must open my heart
To my gurus,
Nurture my relationship
With them,
Admit that I need their help,
And remain open to receive it.
