Paramahansa Yogananda - Man’s Eternal Quest: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life – Volume 1

About This Book

Mans Eternal Quest is the first in a series of anthologies of Paramahansa Yoganandas collected talks. Published in 1975, it was followed by The Divine Romance and Journey to Self-realization. Included in these anthologies are lectures, informal classes, and inspirational writings, originally published by Self-Realization Fellowship in the magazine founded by Sri Yogananda in 1925 (known since 1948 as Self-Realization ). Most of the talks were given at the Self-Realization Fellowship temples he established and at the international headquarters of his society in Los Angeles. He spoke extemporaneously, using no notes or written text, regardless of his topic. That his words have been preserved for present and future generations is due primarily to the devoted efforts of one of his earliest and closest disciples, who served for many years as his confidential secretary and assisted him in carrying out his spiritual and humanitarian work. For more than two decades Sri Daya Mata (president of Self-Realization Fellowship from 1955 until her passing in 2010) recorded stenographically his public lectures and classes, the guidance he gave informally when meeting with small groups of disciples, and much of his personal counsel. Mans Eternal Quest provides readers with a generous selection of Paramahansa Yoganandas written and spoken words on a wide range of subjectsand offers as well a glimpse of the dynamic and loving personality of the great world teacher.

Copyright 1982 Self-Realization Fellowship
All rights in this digital edition of Mans Eternal Quest are reserved by Self-Realization Fellowship.

Note to the Reader

Subject only to any conditions established by the distributor from which you obtained this book, Self-Realization Fellowship welcomes you to download this edition onto any number of your own devices for your individual, non-commercial use; and to print excerpts for your own reference.

Kindly note, however, that upon acquiring this edition the reader agrees to abide by applicable national and international copyright laws; and to abstain from distributing, reproducing, or transmitting the contents to other individuals or entities, by any means (electronic, mechanical, or otherwise) without the publishers prior written consent. We appreciate your cooperation in respecting the authors work and in helping to preserve its integrity by upholding these principles.

Thank you for supporting our non-profit publishing endeavors in connection with the legacy of Paramahansa Yogananda.

Authorized by the International Publications Council of
SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP
3880 San Rafael Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90065-3219

The Self-Realization Fellowship name and emblem (shown above) appear on all SRF books, recordings, and other publications, as an assurance that a work originates with the society established by Paramahansa Yogananda and faithfully conveys his teachings.

Second edition. Ebook edition, 2017.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-17183
ISBN: 978-0-87612-233-4 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-87612-232-7 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-87612-777-3 (Kindle edition)
ISBN: 978-0-87612-778-0 (ePub edition)

Dedicated by Self-Realization Fellowship
to our beloved president,
SRI DAYA MATA
whose faithful devotion to recording the
words of her guru for posterity has
preserved for us and for the ages the
liberating wisdom and God-love
of Paramahansa Yogananda

The Spiritual Legacy of Paramahansa Yogananda

His Complete Writings, Lectures, and Informal Talks

Paramahansa Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920 to disseminate his teachings worldwide and to preserve their purity and integrity for generations to come. A prolific writer and lecturer from his earliest years in America, he created a renowned and voluminous body of works on the yoga science of meditation, the art of balanced living, and the underlying unity of all great religions. Today this unique and far-reaching spiritual legacy lives on, inspiring millions of truth-seekers all over the world.

In accord with the express wishes of the great master, Self-Realization Fellowship has continued the ongoing task of publishing and keeping permanently in print The Complete Works of Paramahansa Yogananda . These include not only the final editions of all the books he published during his lifetime, but also many new titlesworks that had remained unpublished at the time of his passing in 1952, or which had been serialized over the years in incomplete form in Self-Realization Fellowships magazine, as well as hundreds of profoundly inspiring lectures and informal talks recorded but not printed before his passing.

Paramahansa Yogananda personally chose and trained those close disciples who have headed the Self-Realization Fellowship Publications Council since his passing, and gave them specific guidelines for the preparation and publishing of his teachings. The members of the SRF Publications Council (monks and nuns who have taken lifelong vows of renunciation and selfless service) honor these guidelines as a sacred trust, in order that the universal message of this beloved world teacher will live on in its original power and authenticity.

The Self-Realization Fellowship emblem (shown above) was designated by Paramahansa Yogananda to identify the nonprofit society he founded as the authorized source of his teachings. The SRF name and emblem appear on all Self-Realization Fellowship publications and recordings, assuring the reader that a work originates with the organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda and conveys his teachings as he himself intended they be given.

Self-Realization Fellowship

Contents

Three Aspects of Nature

A Story About Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva

God, the Supreme Cause

Evidence of Order and Harmony Is Everywhere

Devotion and Right Activity Attract Gods Attention

Meditation Is the Highest Form of Activity

The Self Is Your Savior

Reason Gives Man the Power to Seek God

The Two Paths: Activity and Meditation

Skyfuls of Eternal Bliss Will Be Opened

The Blind Cannot Lead the Blind

Yoga Converts Theology to Practical Experience

The Soul Must Reascend to God

Secret of Happiness Is Consciousness of Gods Presence

Meditation Makes the Yogi

We Have Descended From the Infinite Into the Finite

Gods True Nature Known Only Through Intuition

Satan Created Ignorance, Cause of All Suffering

Meditation Lifts the Fog of Ignorance

Give God First Place in Your Heart

Awake From the Nightmare of Suffering

In Oneness With God Know That Life Is a Dream

Prayer Is a Demand of the Soul

In Will Power Lies the Germ of Success

Cauterize the Cants in Your Brain

Seek the Company of Those Who Strengthen Your Faith

Assure Your Ultimate Arrival in Heaven

Surcharge Your Will Power Through Concentration

Who Will Persist Until God Answers?

Your Greatest Necessity Is God

Follow the Rules of Prayer

God Is Waiting for Your Invitation

Creation Is Meant to Disillusion You