Great Quotations of Spiritual Gurus (Collected by Akshey Jawa)

Quotes of Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda

You came to earth to accomplish a divine mission [to be reunited with God]. Realize how tremendously important that is! Do not allow the narrow ego to obstruct your attainment of an infinite goal.

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Everything else can wait, but your search for God cannot wait.

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Loves gives without expecting anything in return. I never think of anyone in terms of what he can do for me. And I never profess love to someone because he has done something for me. If I didn’t actually feel love, I wouldn’t pretend to give it; and since I feel it, I give it. I learned that sincerity from my master. There may be some who do not feel friendly toward me but I am a friend to all, including my enemies; for in my heart I have no enemies.

Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another. Be certain of your feeling before you say to anyone, “I love you”. Once you give your love, it must be forever. Not because you want to be near that person, but because you want perfection for that soul. To wish for perfection for the loved one, and to feel pure joy in thinking of that soul, is divine love; and that is the love of true friendship.

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He is the nearest of the near, the dearest of the dear. Love Him as a miser loves money, as an ardent man loves his sweetheart, as a drowning person loves breath. When you yearn for God with intensity, He will come to you.

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“The Searcher of Hearts wants only your sincere love. He is like a little child: someone may offer Him his whole wealth and He doesn’t want it; and another cries to Him, ‘O Lord, I love You!’ and into that devotee’s heart He comes running.”

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God understands you when everyone else misunderstands you. He is the lover who cherishes you always, no matter what your mistakes. Others give you their affection for a while and then forsake you, but He abandons you never.
In countless ways God is daily seeking your love. He does not punish you if you refuse Him, but you punish yourself. You find that “all things betray thee, who betrayest Me.

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Happiness depends to some extent upon external conditions, but chiefly upon mental attitudes. In order to be happy one should have good health, a well-balanced mind, a prosperous life, the right work, a thankful heart, and above all, wisdom or knowledge of God.

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A humble magnet call,
a whisper biza-brook,
a grassy alter small,
there i have my nook.

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In one of His aspects, a very touching aspect, the Lord may be said to be a beggar. He yearns for our attention. The Master of the Universe, at whose glance all stars, suns, moons, and planets quiver, is running after man and saying:“Won’t you give Me your affection? Don’t you love Me, the Giver, more than the things I have made for you? Won’t you seek Me?”

But man says: “I am too busy now; I have work to do. I can’t take time to look for You.”

And the Lord says: “I will wait.”

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Our dear ones promise to love us forever; yet when they sink into the Great Sleep, their earth memories forsaken, what value their vows? Who, without telling us in words, loves us everlastingly? Who remembers us when all others forget us? Who will still be with us when we must leave the friends of this world? God alone.

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How easy it is to pack the day with foolishness, how difficult to fill
it with worthwhile activities and thoughts! Yet God is not so much
interested in what we are doing as in where the mind is. Everyone has a
different difficulty, but God doesn’t listen to any excuses. He wants
the devotee’s mind to be engrossed in Him in spite of any troublesome
circumstances.

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You[A saint] can stand amidst crash of breaking worlds,
the riches of peace can not be taken away by all the robbers of circumstances and trials.

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He is the cleverest who finds God,
He is the cleverest who gives time to find God,
He is the cleverest who finds that supreme happiness within.

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From the depths of slumber,
As I ascend the spiral stairway of wakefulness,
I whisper:
God! God! God!
Thou art the food, and when I break my fast
Of nightly seperation from Thee,
I taste Thee, and mentally say:
God! God! God!
No matter where I go, the spotlight of my mind
Ever keeps turning on Thee,
And in the battle din of activity my silent war-cry is ever:
God! God! God!
When boisterous storms of trials shriek
And worries howl at me,
I drown their noises, loudly chanting:
God! God! God!
When my mind weaves dreams
With threads of memories,
On that magic cloth I do emboss:
God! God! God!
Every night, in time of deepest sleep,
My peace dreams and calls: Joy! Joy! Joy!
And my joy comes singing evermore:
God! God! God!
In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,
Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,
My soul constantly hums, unheard by any:
God! God! God!

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In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,
Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,
My soul constantly hums, unheard by any;
God, God, God!

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Fearlessness means faith in God: faith in his protection, His
justice, His wisdom, His mercy, His love, and His Omnipresence… To be
fit for Self-realization man must be fearless.

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“Remember this: When I am gone, only love can take my place.
Be absorbed night and day in the love of God, and give that love to all.”

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To those who think me near, I will be near.

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All the true friends you have made you will meet again in the home of Father, for real love is never lost.

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If you don’t give first place to God you don’t give any place to him.

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I weighed Thee & temptation and found Thee more tempting than temptation.

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Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as the gift from the heart of another. Be certain of your feeling before you say to anyone, “I love you.” Once you give your love, it must be forever. Not because you want to be near that person, but because you want perfection for that soul. To wish for perfection for the loved one, and to feel pure joy in thinking of that soul, is divine love; and that is the love of true friendship.

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“When you say NO to temptation, you must mean NO. Don’t give in. The spineless weakling all the time says YES. But great minds are full of NO’s.”

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Epics shall someday be written on the Indian satyagrahis who withstood hate with love, violence with nonviolence, who allowed themselves to be mercilessly slaughtered rather than retaliate. The result on certain historic occasions was that the armed opponents threw down their guns and fled, shamed, shaken to their depths by the sight of men who valued the life of another above their own.

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Live love yourself, and your goodness will inspire all your loved ones.

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Freedom means the power to act by soul guidance, not by the compulsions
of desires and habits. Obeying the ego leads to bondage; obeying the
soul brings liberation.

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The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the Spirit lies its
greatest joy. If, then you experience mental resistance during
meditation, remember that reluctance to meditate comes from the ego; it
doesn’t belong to the soul.

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Most people consider the course of events as natural and inevitable.
They little know what radical change are possible through prayer.

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If you can just once “break bread” with the Lord, break His silence, He will talk often with you. But in the beginning it is very difficult; it is not easy to become acquainted with God, because He wants to be sure that you really desire to know Him. He gives tests to see if the devotee wants Him or something else. He will not talk with you until you have convinced Him that no other desire is hiding in your heart. Why should He reveal Himself to you if your heart is filled only with longings for His gifts?

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The demand for the Lord’s reply should be strong; a half-believing prayer is not sufficient. If you make up your mind: “He is going to talk with me”; if you refuse to believe differently, regardless of how many years He has not answered you; if you go on trusting Him, one day He will respond.

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Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families and nations.

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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. Sarcasm draws out the
rebellious spirit and anger in the wrongdoer. Loving suggestions bring
out the repentence in him.

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The sun shines equally on diamond and charcoal, but the former has
developed qualities that enable it to reflect the sunlight brilliantly,
while the latter is unable to reflect the sunlight.

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Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them.
You will want to change them when you realize that each thought creates according to its own nature. Remember that the law works at all times and that you are always demonstrating according to the kind of thoughts you habitually entertain. Therefore, start now to think only those thoughts that will bring you health and happiness.

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Weaken a bad habit by avoiding everything that occasioned it or
stimulated it, without concentrating upon it in your zeal to avoid it.
Then divert your mind to some good habit and steadily cultivate it
until it becomes a dependable part of you.

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As God talked with Arjuna, so will He talk with you. As He lifted up
the spirit and consciousness of Arjuna, so will He uplift you. As he
granted Arjuna supreme spiritual vision, so will He confer
enlightenment on you.

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Remember that as a child of God you are endowed with greater strength than you will ever need to overcome all the trials that God may send you.

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The old orthodox way is to deny temptation, to suppress it. But you must learn to control temptation. It is not a sin to be tempted. Even though you are boiling with temptation, you are not evil; but if you yield to that temptation you are caught temporarily by the power of evil. You must erect about yourself protecting parapets of wisdom. There is no stronger force that you can employ against temptation than wisdom. Complete understanding will bring you to the point where nothing can tempt you to actions that promise pleasure but in the end will only hurt you.

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So long as you have not found God, it is best not to be interested in amusements. Seeking diversion means forgetting Him. First learn to love Him and know Him. Then it won’t matter what you do, for He will never leave your thoughts.

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God’s love is so all-embracing that no matter what wrongs we have done, He forgives us. If we love Him with all our hearts He wipes out our karma.