AS CHILDREN are like their parents, so disciples tend to resemble their gurus (spiritual instructors). For this reason, the members of Self-Realization Fellowship (Yogoda Sat-Sanga) are very fortunate in having the interest and direct teachings of some of the greatest Masters and Gurus of the world.

My own Master, Sri Yukteswarji, was one of the greatest wise men of India of his time, if not of all times before him. He had such acute intellectual perception as well as intuitive insight that he surpassed everyone in being able to detect interpolated errors in the great scriptures of the world.

I saw many Christlike miracles performed by my Master. Unlike charlatans who claim to have miraculous powers but possess none, Sri Yukteswarji was very conservative and avoided display in anything. His miracles came forth most mysteriously and yet very tangibly whenever there arose a situation which human methods could not meet. He had a miraculous power of healing. He was one of the greatest astrologers of his time, but also possessed the intuitive power to know people’s destiny.

His greatest miracle was accomplished in his resurrection and reappearance to me. Two years ago, he appeared in a vision which I had in America, saying, "I have waited for you fifteen years now. Unless you come at once, I will give up my body." So, after fifteen years, I hurried to India where, after a few months, Guru Sri Yukteswarji kept his tryst with immortality. He passed on in Maha-Samadhi at Puri on March 9th, 1936. His life and amazing resurrection, and the life of his Master, Lahiri Marhasaya, are being written by me now.

Shama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya, the Guru-preceptor of Sri Yukteswarji, was better known as Lahiri Mahasaya. He was a super-man in the world, but not of the world. He was the Yogavatar of India, the incarnation of God who reclaimed that state by step-by-step methods of meditation, and who also showed others how, by following these methods of meditation, they could bring about a sure, scientific union (Yoga) with God. No prophet preceding him had accomplished, as he did, the simplification of the entire Yoga System of Patanjali (the greatest exponent of Yoga) and of Christna’s teachings in the Bhagavad Gita into a number of the most uncomplicated and greatest self-realization-producing techniques.

Yoga signifies scientific union with God and Avatar means God descended in flesh. In all souls God descends and manifests variously as potential incarnation of God. In the prophet, the descended God ascends and brings out the hidden divine potentiality, finding himself a perfect incarnation of God.

Lahiri Mahasaya was such a perfected, resurrected incarnation of God (as all true sons of God are). He was in the world, married, with the responsibility of three children; yet he was a Christ in every way. The entire religious world, all truth-seeking people lost in the jungles of theological and denominational beliefs, can find in Lahiri Mahasaya’s technique a method to bring definite, ever-increasing self-realization and to free them from theological stagnation.

Shama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya, by his exemplary life, created many Christs and gave the step-by-step methods of Self-Realization (the Ladder of Self-Realization) which enable all to climb to the high abode of complete freedom. Lahiri Mahasaya was a Christ in the jungle of material civilization. He could perform all the miracles of Jesus Christ.

Lahiri Mahasaya was the greatest married saint, like "King Janaka" of India, and like the Yogi Jesus Christ of miraculous powers, combined in one life. Lahiri Mahasaya’s techniques and life kindle the greatest hope and courage in the ordinary businessmen of the East and West, that they also may try to reclaim the lost kingdom of God, which is the birthright of all individual souls. His ceaseless God-contact and matter-transcending nature made him the inspiration of all renunciates.

The great Babaji was the Guru-preceptor of Lahiri Mahasaya. Very little is known about Babaji’s life. We hear that he is several hundred years old, and looks almost exactly like Lahiri Mahasaya, only much younger in appearance. We are told that once Babaji wanted to give up his body. One of his advanced disciples objected. Babaji reasoned, "What is the difference if I keep a dream body or not? I am alone evermore with or without a body." Then the great disciple of Babaji asked, "Honored Guru-preceptor, if it is the same with you to keep your body or dissolve it in the cosmic stream, why not keep it just for a change?" Babaji answered that he would do so, and vanished. That is why it is said he is never going to give up his physical body.

Swami Keshabananda of Brindabon, disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya, speaks of meeting Babaji in Badri Narayan Himalayas, India. Swami Keshabananda hinted a message from Babaji to me when I visited Keshabanandaji’s hermitage in Brindabon, India. Swami Keshabananda specially urged, "Yogananda, sometime you must see Badri Narayan Himalayas, for there I met Babaji."

Swami Keshabanandaji often travels by foot in the depths of the Himalayas. Once, while he was travelling in the Himalayan jungles, he met a tiger who became frozen with fear through Keshabanandaji’s magnetism.

Babaji is in constant communion with Christ. Together they throw out vibrations for the redemption of the world. It was Babaji who predicted, to my Master, Sri Yukteswarji, that I would go to America to spread the message of India’s sages. Sri Yukteswarji was asked by Babaji to write "The Holy Science" (which shows the union of the Scientific principles underlying Yoga and the Christian Bible) and send to America the unified message of Christianity and Yoga as Self-Realization through fellowship of all religions, or Yogoda Sat-Sanga. I was financed by Bhagavati Charan, my earthly father and disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya, to spread this gospel in America. Babaji also predicted that there were many "would-be saints in America," and one wonderful soul in this great country has already been honored with that title, St. Lynn.

I am also writing the life of the great Babaji as I heard the story from my own Master, Sri Yukteswarji. It was Babaji who first honored Sri Yukteswarji with the title of "Swami" (Master). He received his formal initiation in to the Swami Order from the Mohunt of Budh-Gaya.

Swami Yogananda introduced St. Lynn at the Yogoda Convocation Banquet on January 3rd in the following words:

"It is because of his great love of God that I have given him the title of ‘Saint’. In his life is fulfilled the prophecy of our Great Master, Babaji of India, who had prophesied that potential Saints, would-be Saints, were waiting in America to receive the teachings of Lahiri Mahasaya. In the valley of humbleness the ocean of God rains forever; on the mountain-top of egoism the raindrops of God’s love do not remain but slide down into the valley.

"I am so grateful for what St. Lynn has done for the Ranchi Self-Realization Headquarters. Through his and the students’ cooperation it has become a permanent institution affording quarters for eastern and western devotees. Ranchi Headquarters was my first spiritual child. Greater than all else which he has given is the gift of his love. It is his love and friendship, and the love and friendship of these wonderful souls here, that have brought me back to this country. I thought I might not return here again. All places are the same to me because they are filled with the almighty Spirit. When I close my eyes, I am with my Father. I don’t know where I am, whether in India or America. But the love of these friends brought me back here again. In friendship there is no compulsion. In all other human relationships there is compulsion, but friendship is the natural or spontaneous gift of the heart. St. Lynn and I live in the greatest joy and friendship that I could express. What I expected of him in spiritual development, he has more than fulfilled.

"In the new Yogoda Dream Hermitage, St. Lynn and I have been meditating day and night. I have a hard time even to get him to eat or sleep. He represents the best in American business principles as well as spiritual principles. He is the greatest fulfillment of my life. I have never known such unity and friendship, such divine communion. I am very happy because God has given me a thousand times more than what I had expected in another".

St. Lynn addressed the banquet audience as follows:

"Beloved Swamiji. May I ask that all of you stand to do honor to Swamiji. Raise your hands, please. Exhale your breath quickly. Concentrate on the palms of your hands. Concentrate at the point between the eyebrows; concentrate on your heart. Exhale again. Concentrate on your hands with reverence for the presence of Spirit of which your soul is a part. Feeling this with reverence, concentrate on your hands, on your forehead and on your heart. Exhale again. Realize that you are in the presence of the Omnipresent Spirit, that you are never separated from that except as you shut it out of your consciousness.

"Just five years ago I had the great privilege of meeting Swamiji for the first time. I had always been interested in life and religion, although I never accepted any church. My life was business but my soul was sick and my body was decaying and my mind was disturbed. I was so nervous I couldn’t sit still. After I had met Swamiji and had been with him a little while, I became aware that I was sitting still, I was motionless. I didn’t seem to be breathing. I wondered about it and looked up at Swamiji and became conscious of a very deep white light, seeming to fill the entire room. I became a part of that light and ever since, my nervousness disappeared. I found that I had discovered something real, something valuable to me. I had to be sure. Not until I experienced this did I realize that I was finding something which I had not known about before. The beautiful thing in this work is that one doesn’t have to depend on blind beliefs. He experiences. He knows he knows because he experiences. One who is not conscious of that is not living, because he is not conscious of his own life. He knows about everything, perhaps, in the material world, everything about him that he can smell, taste, touch, see or hear, but he is not conscious of that something of his own being which make it possible for him to cognize these things with his senses. He doesn’t know anything about that which is behind the scenes, just behind the thoughts. One must realize the presence of this Life, the real life and the union of his own soul with that Life.

"Religion can have but one purpose and that is realization of one’s own life as the omnipresent Life. That is the Heaven. And not until one is conscious of that does one have salvation. It never seemed to me at that time that we could be conscious any more than I had been, but having enjoyed the things of the world, I came to a point of distress because, as I said a moment ago, my soul was sick and my body was not well. Nothing seemed to satisfy. If you have ever had the opportunity to observe the rich who have had everything they want, you will find that they are most unhappy and dissatisfied. Wealth cannot bring joy. And after all we are seeking that one thing in life. In everything we do we are seeking happiness. Without that we are not satisfied.

"In this work one becomes alive again. He actually lives. He feels the life. He realizes his own life and experiences the union of soul with Spirit. And it is scientific. It is a combination of science and devotion. Understanding and developing life in devotion to God will bring you realization of your own divinity. And without that—in my own experience I am firmly of this opinion—there is no salvation.

"After listening to those who have talked this evening, one of the western world must feel somewhat ashamed that those who come here from far-off India can give an exposition of more wisdom that we ever thought of. America is rich in materiality. India is rich in Spirit. The combination of the two is good. But I think I should prefer India with her spirituality alone than American alone with her wealth.

"One who lives in the material world alone, in the consciousness of materiality, is attached to things of the material world. Attachment develops slavery. We become slaves to habits—possessions. It is not possessions that makes us slaves. It is the use that we make of the possessions. And one with attachment is never free. He has something that he is bound to lose. There is but one thing that is lasting and that is Spirit. Take the spirit out of anything and it doesn’t have any attraction at all. Life is Spirit. And in everything there is some degree of consciousness. Even in a dead body there remains some life for that body contains God’s life itself.

"Just two things stay with us when the body goes—life and consciousness. We can get rid of everything except our own consciousness. That is constantly with us. This work teaches one to develop a proper consciousness. A consciousness of self-realization of Spirit. It doesn’t ask anyone to accept anything as a matter of belief.

"A master is one who is an angel of God and in our beloved Swamiji we have one who is the very embodiment of love, unselfishness, possessed with Divine Joy. His contact goes back to the chain of Masters. To the western mind this may sound a little strange but it is a fact. The Masters are linked, one with another. They have contact with the Spirit and that Spirit is transmitted through their powers. What a blessing it has been for us that India, a country that many people think of as a land of snake-charmers, did send one to our shores who could bring us God consciousness that our souls might be revealed and bring us Divine Joy and Divine Happiness.

"Those who commune with Spirit experience a beauty, a sweetness that is not experienced in any other way.

"What a blessing it is to enjoy the company and environment of saints. Of all the things that have come to me in life, I treasure and value more than all else what Swamiji has given to me. I must admit I was prejudiced at first. Possibly not when I met Swamiji so much as when I was one of those who thought of all Hindus as snake-charmers. I want to tell everyone who lives in the consciousness of the material world that he cannot know what love and happiness are until he has experienced the Divine Consciousness."

Dr. M. W. Lewis, leader of the Boston Self-Realization Center, and one of Swamiji’s first students when he came to this country sixteen years ago, was one of the speakers at the Yogoda Convocation banquet. He said:

"I am very happy to be here with Swamiji, and to bring you all the greetings of Boston. Words cannot express my feeling. I shall have to let my heart speak in its own language. In wishing you all the happiest year in 1937, I think the greatest wish I can give you is that you will have deep spiritual realization and that you will find God in your meditation. Dive deeply in the ocean of Spirit and if you don’t find Him at the first dive, dive deeper. As Swamiji says, find fault with your diving. I might add a humble suggestion. When you dive take Swamiji’s hand. He knows where the pearls of wisdom are. He knows the Spirit. He can show you God".

Sri Nerode, former leader of the Mount Washington Center and lately leader of the Miami, Florida Center, spoke at The Yogoda Convocation Banquet as follows:

"Loving Swamiji, silent Sage, smiling Mr. Moss, brilliant fellow-workers, wonderful devotional workers of Mount Washington Center, my good old friends and the new ones, may I tell you all that since we leaders have been here we have been living in a fourth dimensional world. Many of you are craving for that stage of mental and spiritual growth. Ever since I came here from Miami, I have been continuously intoxicated with the Divine Love and inspiration and wisdom of our Master as well as our most wonderful friend and patron, St. Lynn.

"A month ago I went to meet Swamiji in Kansas City. I followed him to St. Louis and then to Denver and then returned home to Miami. My wife told me I had improved greatly. The intuition of women is correct. A fortnight ago, when Swamiji sent me a wire arranging for my trip here, my wife was very happy to urge me to go. I asked her why. She replied, ‘When you come back you will be so much better.’

"Since I met Swamiji many years ago, little by little I have tried to gather light from his great flame. Many times Swamiji has said, ‘One moon is greater in its light than all the stars’. We have two of them. One is Swamiji and the other is our beloved Saint.

"I have had many sorrows in my life. But by the loving waters of Swamiji’s spirit, he has washed them away. I am blessed that I came here. I came for two things, for his inspiration and for the love of God. Because, when we go out to preach, what can we preach unless we preach more God and more love? Just as the river needs to be nourished by the waters of the hill-top, so we need that water of wisdom and love and God from the hill-top of our Master of realization".

Brahmachari Jotin, leader of the Self-Realization Center in Washington, D. C., for the past nine years, was one of the speakers at the Yogoda banquet. Swami Yoganandaji introduced Jotin as one of the students trained in Ranchi at Swamiji’s Yogoda Sat-Sanga school there. Swamiji also spoke highly of Jotin’s early work in organizing the alumni of Ranchi and keeping alive the spirit of the ex-students, as well as his very meritorious work in this country.

Brahmachari Jotin concluded a very eloquent and stirring address with these words:

"In India it is a custom that after the education of the disciple is finished, he is to go on a pilgrimage. The Master of one such disciple said to him, ‘Now, my son, your education is completed; you must now go on a pilgrimage.’ The disciple stood up, circled around the Master three times and then fell at the Master’s feet, saying, ‘Master, I have just finished visiting all the holy places on earth. Where the Master is sitting, there is God. That is the holiest of all places. Where else shall I go on my pilgrimage?’ This visit to Mount Washington has been to me a pilgrimage. If I had traveled all over the world and had not visited this temple and headquarters, I would consider my journey had all been in vain. Being here at my Master’s holy feet, I have visited all the holy places on earth."

WHY do world suffering and world misery arise?

When people all over the earth are happy and prosperous they are in tune with God, and the entire vibrations of the earth in relation with the planets are harmonious. But as soon as one nation starts fighting with another or the selfish industrial gourmands try to devour all prosperity for themselves it brings depression. And when depression starts in one place it starts everywhere due to the vibrations which travel through the ether from one place to another. The last world war created wrong vibrations in Europe first and it then spread all over the earth and where there was no war, influenza appeared. The agonies of the people who died in the world war created the epidemic of Spanish influenza which immediately followed the world war and killed 20 million people while the war itself killed about 10 millions only.

In the present Spanish Civil War, the death struggles of thousands of men, women and children are floating in the ether causing floods in America, storms in England and Portugal, and earth-quakes in India. And so the peoples of the world instead of creating more wars and getting into wars, should try their utmost to use peaceful means and non-cooperation, blockades, to stop war.

The murder of thousands of Ethiopians (who didn’t want war) and the vibrations of injustice done to them, has upset the equilibrium of the world. For no one can get away with disturbing one part of the world and preventing the disturbance from moving through the ether waves to other parts of the world. If people in one part of the house are disturbed, then the entire household is bound to be disturbed. After the Ethiopian conquest, the dread of war left as an aftermath of the world war, vanished. And many nations are again enthused for wars of aggression. The Ethiopian war was a war of aggression. The war in Spain is a war of aggression. According to the League of Nations a war of aggression in untenable. But since the world ignored the divine mandate and divine rule of outlawing wars of aggression (which came as a great lesson from the world war), the world is again headed toward the self-created, Satan-influenced possibility of a greater world war and greater destruction.

The depression is caused by the sins of the last war and if another world war is started there will be very little for the population of the world to eat. So it is better that the nations of Europe do everything to avert any wars.

Another thing, the greatest evil of patriotism is when it doesn’t mind its own business—when it is used, instead of to keep the prosperity and happiness of the nation intact, to get into international complications and destroy the very thing for which patriotism stands. Those patriots who think that by having international patriotism they would lose national advantages are foolish, for the international good includes the national good and partial national good should be sacrificed for international good. But if the national good acts against the interest of international good it will defeat its own purpose. National selfishness, disregarding the international well-being, will bring national as well as international disaster.

Ye nations of the world. Beware! Use your patriotism to protect your own country and don’t get mixed up with any other nation. All nations should get together to non-cooperate in every way with those nations that want to start wars of aggression. Nations of the earth should get together to destroy nature-created calamities due to disease, floods, poverty, sickness and earth-quakes, etc. Man should not add to the natural calamities by creating avoidable self-created calamities of poverty, lack, suffering, and death due to wars. It is evident that self-created calamities and wrong vibrations of war and industrial selfishness bring about natural calamities. The state of Texas in America could produce enough wheat and corn to supply the whole world; why is there any starvation in the world today? Because of man’s political and industrial selfishness which is against the divine law of cooperation mutual service and sharing God-given prosperity properly among the nations of the world. If people follow the laws laid down by Christ, "Love thy neighbor" and "Give all ye have," then there will be no poverty-suffering on earth today. The politicians are blinded by their patriotism, selfishness and love of fame and, disregarding the divine law laid down by God and great saints, they are bringing an avalanche of miseries upon the nations of the earth. Follow the dictums of saints who are the true children of God and not the dictums of Satan. We wish every true child of God of every nation would non-cooperate with Satan and war, and work in every way to establish constructive, international peace and prosperity and spiritual happiness in their own nation and in all nations. Let us eradicate all wrong misery-producing scenes of false patriotism and establish in every world-citizen the true international patriotism of brother hood, peace, mutual good will and consideration of mutual mental, hygienic, industrial, social, scientific, philosophical, moral and spiritual progress and happiness.

Swami Yoganandaji brought the Yogoda Convocation banquet speeches to a conclusion with the following words:

"I cannot express in words my appreciation for all the kind things that you have said to me tonight. I am deeply grateful for your devotion and strength of spirit and the words which came from your heart. I pray that you all bless me that I may always be worthy to serve you all. I am proud to be with you all, and I am always happy to be reminded of my great duty to you all and my own brothers and sisters of the world.

"What has been spoken here of me is not of me but of Him that is within me. All I know is that you all are the images of Christ. When you watch the wave, you don’t see the ocean, but when you watch the ocean, you see that it is the ocean that becomes the waves. It is the same ocean beneath all waves. I see that ocean of Spirit beneath the waves of the lives of you all. I bow to you all.

"I am not worthy of all the wonderful things which you have said. Little as I am, I can only say it is the manifestation of the blessings of God which makes me so loving in your eyes. My life on earth has not been in vain. May God bless you for your words and may I be more and more worthy of what you said.

"I am overwhelmed by the many inspirations of this occasion wherein we have felt this divine joy, this divine understanding, this divine communion, wherein we have forgotten all limitations and differences. I pray that such communion through understanding and beautiful festivities and kindness reign all over the earth, that on the altar of unity, the kingdom and vastness of God may be expressed. By the pickaxe of such occasions, the rocks and useless crusts of our souls are broken—the Divine Spring gushes forth and brings to us new purity, new joy, new love.

"We have begun the New Year with a new consciousness. Everyday let us weed out all wrong habits and supplant them with good habits. May we all realize the joy of such occasions and receive such experiences that the darkness of ignorance may be forever dispelled with the beacon light of joy. I am blessed to behold His inspiration in all of you. I am blessed to behold Him on this occasion. I am boundlessly blessed to have heard Him speaking through the lips of these divine souls. It was God who speaks to me His appreciation. You are all gods if you only knew it. Behind the wave of your consciousness is the sea of God’s presence. You must look within. Don’t look at the little wave of the body with its weaknesses but look beneath, close your eyes and you see only the vast omnipresence before you, everywhere you look. You are in the center of that vast sphere and as you lift your consciousness from the body and all its experiences you will find it is filled with the great joy and bliss that lights the stars and gives power to the winds and storms. God is the fountain of all our joys and of all the manifestations in nature.

"God has not to be earned. ‘Seek ye the kingdom of God first and all these things shall be added unto you. Nor be ye of doubtful mind.’ Awaken yourself from the gloom of ignorance. You have closed your eyes. Awake, open your eyes and you shall behold the glory of God—the vast vista of God’s light spreading over all things. I am telling you to be Divine Realists and you will find the answer to all questions in God. Meditation is the only way. Beliefs, reading books, cannot give you realization. It is only by meditating in the right way that you can have that great realization and joy. If you follow this you shall know that God is not a God who can be moved by blind prayer, flattery, but He can be moved by law and devotion and the love of your heart. With the following of the meditation technique you must surrender yourself to God. You must claim your Divine Birthright. Your constant prayer, your boundless determination, your constant desire for God shall make Him break his tremendous vow of silence and He shall answer you. Above all, in the temple of silence He shall give you the gift of Himself that shall last beyond the portals of the tomb.

"When you see a motion picture of a performance on the stage, if you know the play beforehand it will not be so interesting. It is good that you don’t understand this life because God is playing a movie drama in your life. It wouldn’t be interesting if we knew what was going to happen before it happened. Don’t be interested in the end. But always pray to God, ‘Teach me to play in this drama of life, weak or strong, sick or well, high or low, rich or poor, with an immortal attitude, that I may at the end of this drama know the moral of it all.’

"Do not waste your time. You are God’s greatest creation. Greater than all other creations. We are blessed that we can think. God says, ‘I gave you will, I gave you freedom and free choice. Perchance you will forsake all things and love Me who gave those gifts to you.’ I at last found all the silver streamlets of my desire leading to that Great Ocean of Consciousness. Many of you swam down that ocean but stopped by the shore. If you keep on following the good in life you shall flow down the river of desire into the ocean of God’s consciousness. All these realities which stand before you will be unreal. Today we are and tomorrow we are not, but we must remember our utmost duty to that great Power which is behind all our lives. In acting this drama of our lives we must remember our highest duty to Him. If you want to understand this life we must remember the fine work He is doing in the flowers, the flame of His mind that is burning in our thoughts, the thoughts that are pouring from our souls, and the worlds upon worlds that are spread out over the great vastness of the Cosmos. How vast is that God and yet we feel Him in our consciousness. Our lives are the reflection of that Spirit. No life can exist without the ocean of life behind it, so we must realize that great ocean of life throbbing behind our lives.

"It is the living example of souls that can give you the consciousness of God. Once long ago when I had developed two organizations I wanted to go away to the Himalayas but Master said, ‘You cannot get there what you will get in meditation.’ But I didn’t listen. I went away. One day I came back to my Master and I thought he would be very much displeased with me but instead, when he saw me, he said, ‘Let us see what we have to eat.’ And I asked, ‘Are you not angry with me, sir?’ And he said, ‘Why should I be angry with you? I never use anybody for my own purposes. You have come back and I have that same love for you, and you went away and that was your pleasure and I had that same love for you then.’ Then I knew the meaning of unconditional Divine Love and that he was a God on earth to give that Love to devotees. One day after I had returned and was meditating deeply, Master called me and I didn’t want to go. He called me again and I said, ‘I am meditating.’ Then he said, ‘I know how you are meditating. Come.’ And I went and as I looked at his eyes I saw he was looking at me with great divine compassion. And suddenly he touched my chest. I had heard of transmission of the divine perception but I realized it then. Everything melted. All was light—my breath went and I was rooted to the ground. I felt I was free, I was Spirit. I had a thousand eyes. I could see everything through the front and back of my head for miles around me. I could see through buildings, I could see even the sap flowing through the roots of trees and I could see through walls and everything. I tested myself to see if it was real and I saw that it was, for I could see all things around me with the eyes open or closed. Such a joy, for which I had hungered for years, Master gave me by that single touch. There was a tremendous joy of divine communion—no words can describe the joy and happiness that came to me. (I never appreciated my master’s greatness. I was so sure of him. I didn’t realize that he would work so many things in my life.) God has no eyes. But He sees through the pores of space—the same way I saw all things independently of the eyes. Everything happened to me. And after half an hour of enjoying this great bliss and wonderful visions Master touched me again and said, ‘Mountains couldn’t give to you what God could give.’ Master was the embodiment of God on earth to me. And he said, ‘Come, let us go for a walk now.’ He made me sweep the floor before we went to walk. What a contrast! And he and I walked by the banks of the Ganges in silence. He would be indifferent whenever I wanted to express my gratitude for the Spiritual vision he gave me. That was my great Master.

"My master is free like the radio vibrations which travel all around and this freedom of his presence is ever haunting me. He was never so real as he is now. Now and then I see him standing near. Everything that he said has come true. It was he that first said, ‘I shall go away when you come back to India’ and I shall never forget. So many years he had waited for me, and so many years I had been here, but he never recalled me until two years ago. Then I wrote to St. Lynn, ‘My Master is calling me. He won’t wait for me I must go.’ St. Lynn was very spiritually understanding and intuitive and he co-operated with me to send me to India. I went there and the Master fulfilled His tryst with Immortality. He went away, as I told you in the afternoon lecture, and then to my greatest surprise, he came back resurrected as I told you. It is not imagination, my friends. In these wonderful days of radio and so on, God has wonderful demonstrations if you will tune yourself to see these great manifestations of God. It is worthwhile to try. You must put heart and soul in meditation. If you give a couple of hours morning and evening to meditation you shall find that great God who is beneath all things.

"‘Out of many thousand one seeks Me and out of those few, only one know Me.’ ‘The last shall be first.’ It isn’t those that come first that shall find God, but those that shall last in the path that shall be blessed. They shall receive Him.

"I found God is more tempting than temptation. Side by side I compared Him with all material desires and I found Him more tempting than everything else. I am anchored in that Spirit. I can find my home in the auto or in America or anywhere. The joy of material things fades away, but the joy in God never fades away. It is eternal romance with the Spirit. It is joy indescribable. Although you find glimpses of the Divine, you must go deeper within and you will sit at the brink of eternity facing God. There, in the land beyond all our dreams, where the well of God is eternally springing, in the heart and soil of your soul, there you can go in the ark of silence. God is waiting. And you are dreaming about this dream. Turn your attention from this world into the vast kingdom of God which is within. I live in that kingdom. I am in this joyous sphere where stars and planets are floating in the vastness of my consciousness.

"‘O God, I see Thee painting Thy beauty on the canvas of the sky, on the canvas of nature and on the canvas of my consciousness. O how blessed I am! I, who am unworthy to utter Thy name.’

"I see Him with my eyes closed and I see Him with my eyes open. That eternal freedom you must find. You shall find if you make the effort. It is better to enter into life maimed than to live without God. Awaken yourself! Be anchored in the spirit of God and realization of the Infinite Being that flows like an ocean through all creation. It is worthwhile to make the effort to reap, in this short season of life, the rich harvest of God-realization. Joy will constantly flow. I feel this great ocean of life and I say, ‘O God, this little being Thou has blessed with that joy and I know now why Jesus bled for all. I know now why He gave up His life.’

"All must bring this body, mind and soul into discipline and pray with might and devotion to God, and if you follow meditation as we teach, you shall find one day, when you are least expecting it. He shall drop two hands to lift you up. It is not you who are seeking God, but God is seeking you more than you are seeking Him. But He has given you independence to cast Him aside if you wish. You must help your Father. Come back to your home and like the prodigal son returned home, He shall kill the fatted calf of wisdom, eternal bliss and Divine understanding for you and you shall find Him with you evermore.

"God, Guru, Masters, devotees, I bow to you all. I bow at the feet of all humanity, for all are the children of God."

On Thursday, February 25th Swami Yogananda will speak at the World Fellowship of Faiths Assembly to be held in the First Methodist Church, 8th and Hope Sts., Los Angeles, California, at 7:30 P.M. the subject will be "Ideals for a New World Order." Other speakers will be Rev. Samuel M. Ortegon of Mexico, Rev. Roy L. Smith, D. D., Prof. Ken Nakazawa of Japan, Rabbi Harry A. Merfeld and Mrs. Clarence Warren Gasque of London. Rev. Sheldon Shepard, D. D., will lead the prayer.

We welcome Mrs. Gasque for she has come all the way from London and New York to participate in this conference. She is a most eloquent speaker of great spiritual and liberal religious understanding. Swami Yogananda had the pleasure of being a guest of Mrs. Gasque’s in London a year go, and observed that she is doing a great work inspiring the aristocracy and masses of Great Britain and the world by her spiritual personality and example and her dynamic eloquence.

We specially urge all Los Angeles students and friends of Self-Realization to hear Mrs. Gasque’s inspirational message.

We congratulate Mr. Chas. Frederick Welder (organizer with Mr. K. N. Das Gupta of the World Fellowship of Faiths) and Dean Ernest Holmes of Los Angeles for their very successful organization of the World Fellowship meetings.

My fancy, in infancy,

Played with toys and rejoiced.

Youth drank dreams and laughed.

With the advance of age

I marched by many taverns

Of happiness and mundane mirth,

But as oft as I run deep

In the jungle of silence,

And drink of the spring of ever-new Peace,

I feel a Joy that no other

Earthly waters e’er can yield.

Athirst for mirth,

I ran down the tracts

Of many lives,

And I drank of many

Springs of peace,

But my lips ne’er touched

Such all-solacing nectar

As oozed out of the hidden fount

Of my heart,

Hidden in the thickets of Silence deep.

During his travels in India, Swami Yogananda went to Wardha as the guest of Mahatma Gandhi, who had already visited Swamiji’s Ranchi school and had expressed his admiration for the training given the boys there. The following is an Associated Press dispatch under date of August 27, 1936:

"Swami Yogananda of the Yogoda Sat-Sanga, Los Angeles, California, who is on a tour, arrived here yesterday and was received at the station by Messrs. Mahadev Desai, Babasaheb Deshmukh and Dr. Pingale, amongst others. He is coming here after 16 years’ stay in America. He is the guest of Mahatma Gandhi. The Swami arrived on the Mahatma’s silence day. He therefore conversed in writing. The Swami was impressed with the self-sacrifice of the Ashram inmates and the deep spirituality of the Mahatma. He was astonished to see the extreme humbleness of the Mahatma, who lunched with the Swami, giving him some of his food with a spoon from his plate.

"The Swami was asked to join the evening prayer and found the atmosphere intensely spiritual and was interested to see Miss Slade (Mira Bai) reciting Gita verses with a perfect Oriental pronunciation. At the end, beckoned by the Mahatma, the Swami chanted verses from the Hindu scriptures and gave a short talk about the East and the West . . . After prayer the Mahatma broke silence and talked on different subjects. The Mahatma showed interest in the extensive spiritual work fostered by the Swami in America. Swamiji is having a special discussion with the Mahatma on the origin of evil. The Swami is addressing a public meeting in the evening."

Sri Ranendra Kumar Das, leader of the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Self-Realization Fellowship Centers, spoke as follows at the Yogoda Convocation banquet:

"One man or woman raises a banner and thousands follow; little movements, started locally, may become world-wide. This statement has never been more true than in the case of the movement started by Swami Yogananda. A little movement started in India twenty years ago has spread all over the world today. Instead of having only a band of followers in India, today the Self-Realization (Yogoda Sat-Sanga) movement has thousands of followers in all parts of the world.

"Some may surmise that the appearance of Swami Yogananda on the arena of this earth is an accident of time but to me it has been divinely ordained. Divine Intelligence envisions the needs of each age and sends a worthy son to bring forth a new message to the world. When one casts a glance at the world-panorama today, a scene of inharmony, chaos and conflict is presented to the view. Enmity, greed and other evil forces are powerful. The precepts of Jesus Christ and the other great masters of the world appear to have sunk below the horizon of the world-mind. People everywhere are living unhappy, discontented and insecure lives. They are wandering in the jungles of life as forlorn, thirsty and hungry souls, crying for aid.

"The Divine Father in answer to these soul-cries has sent forth Swami Yogananda as a divine messenger to supply the spiritual food and water for which the multitudes are clamoring, and to point out to his chaotic world the path to peace, joy and above all, the road to Self-Realization.

"The lives of divine sons are very interesting and enlightening, having great practical value to all who apprehend their greatness and wish to mould their own lives after an ideal pattern. Thousands are changing their lives to fruitful paths by placing in their mind’s eye the ideal life of Swami Yogananda as an example to be followed.

"Observing how the great ones solve the problems of life is instructive and inspiring. An incident in the life of Swami Yogananda which came to my personal attention and in which I found an uplifting message, I would like to narrate here. When I was in Pittsburgh there came a teacher into the city who criticized Swami Yogananda from the public platform. This lecturer was planning to leave soon for a trip to India and a farewell social gathering was held to which Swamiji was invited by one of the lecturer’s students. Swamiji was fully aware of the attitude of the teacher toward him but unlike ordinary men, Swamiji harbored no feelings of revenge or repugnance for the person who had abused him. Swamiji not only went to the social but spoke very highly of the teacher and gave him letters of introduction to his friends and associates in India so that he could derive help from them.

"Acts of this type—giving love to those who hate you—can only be performed by souls who are intoxicated with God-realization. Such incidents make a deep impression on the minds of those who witness them, and show them the practical application of the idealistic teachings and noble sentiments handed down by all true teachers. The greatness of a soul is judged by such acts. Swamiji has innumerable incidents of this inspiring nature in his life and consequently he is considered by his followers to be like the pole-star of this existence, shedding light which shows the path and guides the footsteps of the masses to the threshold of Self-Realization.

"Thus, by his example, like Jesus in days gone by, Swamiji teaches us never to think of revenge, never to criticize, never to bear any grudge or hatred against anyone, but instead to give love to all who try to hurt us. He tells the multitude not to live in delusive darkness any longer by clinging to age-old habits and mental inhibitions, not to stand like children on the seashore of life, playing with pebbles and building houses on sand, but to learn to cast nets on the ocean of Self-Realization—not to while away the precious moments of our lives in laziness and bondage to hurtful habits, but to awake, rise up and spend our time in realizing the truths of existence through concentration, meditation and contemplation.

"At this period of the world, much inharmony reigns due to intolerance in all fields—political, social, economic as well as religious. Here Swamiji has proved that he stands as a tower of tolerance. His actions, sayings and life all bespeak tolerance. I can emphasize this point by a little story from the Talmud. A great devotee of God, Mahmud, used to dispense hospitality to all who visited his desert home. It was his practice to converse with God every night. One day a venerable-looking gentleman about sixty years of age came to his door and asked for food and water. When he was about to eat, Mahmud asked him why he did not first give thanks to God. The traveler replied that he had never done so and had no intention of doing so now. The indignant Mahmud drove his guest away. That night when the devotee was holding his nightly meditation, God asked him why he had turned away the hungry guest. Mahmud replied that he could not tolerate him as he was ungrateful toward God. God said, ‘I have been tolerating him for sixty years and you could not tolerate him for one evening’.

"In similar ways, Swamiji shows his tolerance. As God tolerates everyone all the time, so Swamiji teaches this great lesson of tolerance. He says, ‘We are all sinners before God but if we have God’s love within us we are cleansed within and are saved.’ What a beautiful thought that is! It gives hope of redemption to everyone and rouses a new faith and a new life in all hearts.

"In many ways Swamiji emphasizes again and again on tolerance and more tolerance. But this tolerance is not the outcome of fear or weakness, or lack of will-power, but springs out of the great divine love and compassion lying within him. He has a will like steel, strong and unbending, and he is moved only by sincere, pure love of the devotee. Swamiji finds the panacea of all ills of life in this divine love. He is always swimming in the great ocean of love, always pouring forth this limitless love as the clouds pour forth showers in the rainy season. He is always trying to awaken this love within everyone, as God’s love acts like a magic wand which transforms all weeds into beautiful flowers that adorn our heart, mind, body and soul. Through this great love he consciously beholds God in everything, whether in nature or human beings. That is why he does not push away anyone from him, however ungrateful or sinful the person may appear. There lies his greatness. Like Jesus, he draws everyone, virtuous or vicious, good or bad, toward his own bosom and baptizes all with the fire of love, kindles within all the spark of love for God. It is this new consciousness which he inspires in all which will turn the animal instincts of man into divine instincts. The transformation will start with individuals first, gradually become national and then international, thus eliminating wars and hatred from the face of mother earth.

"It is this great love of God which has made Swamiji a man of self-sacrifice. He has dedicated all his earthly possessions to the furtherance of the teachings of India’s great saints and sages as given to him by his own Master. He has concentrated his life, happiness, self-interest to the creation of a better world through the technique of Self-Realization. He works day and night, often without rest, sleep, food or the comforts of life, continually devoting his energies to the spread of this new light for the world, free from any cravings for personal fame or glory.

"He, like all great messengers of God, is the personification of humility. For all his great and noble and world-famous works he takes no personal credit but gives all the glory to God and his Master. His devotion to his Master is unique among disciples in this day and age.

"There is only one parallel that can be given to the life of Swami Yogananda. As nineteen hundred years ago in the streets of Galilee Jesus used to walk, his long robe flowing, his benign countenance lightened with the consciousness and realization of God, his mouth uttering the divine message to bring the wayward souls back to God, so similarly Swamiji goes on unselfishly, pursuing the ideal of service to all the children of God.

"Night and day, night and day, he is striving in every possible way to enlighten people and to bestow on them the priceless technique of Self-Realization. Darkness is still on those who have not recognized his divine message yet; eternal joy and peace on those who have understood him."

Mrs. Alyce Gubler, joint leader with Mr. Merck of the Salt Lake City Center, had the following message for the assembled guests at the Yogoda Convocation banquet:

"On the joyful occasion of this great convocation I bring to you greetings and the well-wishing of our faithful and devoted students and friends of Salt Lake City. Following the expressions of gratitude of other leaders, I should like to take this opportunity to say that I am profoundly grateful to India, her saints, culture and environment, for producing a Master, and for her unselfishness in sharing that Master with us. To Swamiji I am grateful and forever indebted for his example and teaching.

"I was first attracted and impressed with the gentle kindliness and perfect unselfishness of this man of God, and if all else passed away there would still remain the first impression I received that here was the good life exemplified.

‘The teaching is made up of the basic truths underlying all religions and philosophies which constitute the rules for moral and harmonious living and is the only foundation on which spiritual unfoldment can be built. In addition, Swamiji’s teachings embrace a priceless technique which is the tool placed in our hands to expedite our progress toward realization of the purpose of man’s sojourn in this school of life. So to those who have not had the teaching, I would say, ‘Try it and you will know of its efficacy’. To you here I would say, ‘Let us be devoted to its practice and as a result, experience in our lives the peace and perfect joy of Swamiji’s Bliss-God’. For myself I pray for wisdom to know the best for those concerned and the highest good to do, and for strength to live it unfalteringly. I thank my all-loving Father, God, for bringing me to the feet of my beloved Guru to learn how to cultivate or to realize the inner Self".

So do Thou my Lord

Thou and I nev-er a-part

Wave of the sea dis-solve in the sea

I am the bub - - - ble,

Make me the sea.

Seva Devi, former leader of the Salt Lake City Self-Realization Fellowship Center, and now a conducting teacher at the Second Temple of Self-Realization in Los Angeles, spoke at the Yogoda banquet as follows:

"Dear Master, St. Lynn and fellow teachers, fellow students, first of all I want to say how I have enjoyed this wonderful day, the glorious words of our dear Master this afternoon, and the grand testimonials that have been given him tonight. I was glad to hear the little story that Brahmachari Jotin told us, that we don’t have to go away to some sacred shrine for enlightenment. It put me in mind of the words of one of Jesus’ disciples who said, ‘To whom shall I go? Thou has the words of eternal life’. This is what I say to our Master.

"There are just one or two points I would like to bring out. First of all, I have learned to contact the silence, to get calm. If my mind could become calm, then anyone in the world can calm his mind. I have the great joy to say that my mind becomes tranquil now since I have studied with Swamiji. I know something of what it means now to drink from the waters of eternal life. I have learned that the eternal fountain of which Jesus spoke is really a fact".

Sri Khagen had the following message for Self-Realization students:

"My dear friends, Swamiji and St, Lynn, I am very glad to be here with you tonight. I thank Swamiji from the bottom of my heart for his loving invitation, and for allowing me to participate in this beautiful festivity.

"As a son, Christ knew God his Father. The love of a husband may be carnal and jealous, the love of a friend may be deceitful; only the love of a father is pure and unselfish. The father does for his son what he would do for no one else; his son in his own creation. So Swamiji, as our spiritual father, is always ever mindful, ever ready, to fulfill the needs of his children. To him, all are alike, he is equally lavishing his blessing and kindness upon us.

"Friends, this is my second visit to Mount Washington in the last ten years. My first visit was very brief and I saw little of this place. We see things only as we wish to see them, and keep our eyes closed against that which we don’t want to see. It is our mental attitude that makes us see things in different lights. During my first visit, I failed to notice the beauties of the hills and the surroundings here. My mind was full of gross and material things, and instead of seeing God at every nook and bend of this mighty Mount Washington, I saw nothing uplifting. But my dear friends, there are changes in everything, from an atom to a human being. Constant change is the characteristic of nature. According to the Sankhya philosophy, the universe is created at the union of Spirit and matter. The whole idea of the world is to give the experience to Spirit. The Spirit is caught in the net of matter and goes through a succession of changes and at the end of the journey, Spirit frees itself from the bondage of matter. Then emancipation takes place.

"Freedom is the keynote of our life, not pleasure and happiness though they come in the end. We will have to go through different changes. Sooner or later, when true knowledge dawns upon us, we find everything is pure and holy, the manifestation of God upon earth.

"I climbed up and down the hills many times during my first trip here, but this is the first time I had the experience, as I stood at the foot of Mount Washington and looked up, of beholding, not a massive structure of bricks and stones, neither its artistic value, but something more than that. It is the God that resides in this beautiful temple, calling everyone: "O poor one, O disillusioned one, O wearied one, come to me and lay your burden here, you will find eternal peace and happiness.’ This was the first time I began to realize that behind these everlasting phenomena of the universe, there must be something real, something tangible, which is identical with the essence of a man. We must find that Reality, we must find that unlimited freedom. When we find that, then there will be everlasting pace and happiness."

Mr. Richard Wright, secretary-disciple and companion to Swamiji on the recent trip to India, was called upon to say a few words regarding his impressions of that land. He spoke as follows:

"There are many aspects of India that one could analyze but to me the most outstanding impression that one carries away from India is the great love the people have for a Supreme Power. You will find that in ordinary conversation, even with young people, no matter if they are just children in school, the thought dwells on God, on the philosophy that has been handed down by the great Rishis (savants). And coming from the West one cannot help but be lifted up. Fortunately I was taken freely into the Indian life, for few westerners have had that opportunity.You cannot realize the great friendship that these young Indian boys can express.

"It would be of some interest perhaps to tell you of the wonderful meditations we had on Saturday evenings with the ex-students of Ranchi. On these particular Saturday nights friends and devotees used to gather from all over Calcutta, sit cross-legged at Swamiji’s feet (the harmonium in front of him)—many young men and old men drinking in every word he uttered, and really diving in with his chanting. This spirit didn’t last only one hour but everyone was sitting with rapt attention chanting and meditating all night long and not just a few hours. I am deeply indebted to Swamiji for the privilege of having been taken into such an atmosphere."

The newspapers and illustrated weeklies in London and India devoted a great deal of space to Swami Yogananda’s presence in their lands. Mr. Wright, who accompanied Swamiji, came back loaded with newspaper clippings about Swamiji’s work and lectures in various places.

The Sunday Graphic of London (September 27, 1936) had the following feature article by its columnist, Gordon Webb:

"In a quiet room, high above the clamour of London’s traffic, a famous Indian mystic, one of the master-minds of Yoga, gave me a remarkable demonstration of his powers. He was the Swami Yogananda, who now plans to organize a Yoga center in Britain. In yesterday’s demonstration the Yogi proved that he can (1) Stop his heart beating for a brief period; (2) Stop his pulse at will, or lower his blood pressure; (3) Control his sense of touch, or eliminate it entirely; (4) Switch off the energy from any part of his body.

"Dark-eyed, youthful-looking, the Swami told the history of his study and mastery of Yoga, the mysterious power of the East which he is now adapting to the varying conditions of the western world. ‘I studied Yoga in my childhood days,’ he said, ‘but it was not until I was profoundly moved by the death of my mother when I was a young man that I brought my powers to their full pitch. Here in the western world you are burning up all your energies. You do not find real happiness. You die young. We in the East have learned much from you, but in this matter of leading a balanced life, you have much to learn from us. By concentration and relaxation I can do with two hours’ sleep out of the 24. There is no reason why anyone who will give an hour and a half every day to deep concentration cannot do the same. When the heart is quieted consciously every other part of the body is rested with incomparably more benefit than in a deep sleep. It is this rest which prolongs life.’

"The Swami has the appearance of a man in the early twenties. At home it is unusual for him to work less than 16 hours a day, addressing clubs, churches and societies, attending to his vast correspondence, interviewing his followers, and directing the headquarters of his fellowship in Los Angeles. In addition, he spends long hours in intense meditation. He makes no preparatory notes for his addresses, but speaks with complete spontaneity. He claims that he is himself living proof of his teaching that anyone who faithfully follows his doctrines can attain complete self-mastery and remain young even in old age."

The large newspapers of India, in Bombay, Calcutta, Madres, Bangalore and Delhi carried many articles, welcoming Swamiji home to India after his 16-year absence. Many carried headlines and devoted whole pages to swamiji’s work.

A long report of a lecture given by Swamiji appeared in The Daily Post, Bangalore, South India, on November 5, 1935, part of which read:

"At a large gathering of students, officials, ladies and gentlemen, Swami Yogananda was introduced by the president, Justice Shankar Narayan Rao, in a meeting held under the auspices of the Mysore University Union, last night, preceded by wonderful demonstrations of ‘Yogoda,’ the action of will in the muscles, by the Swami’s brother, Bishnu Charan, and his two students. The Swami gave an enlightening and stirring lecture before an enthusiastic and appreciative audience.

"During the course of the lecture, the Swami’s age was conjectured to range from 17 to 100 years, but when asked his age point-blank, he answered, ‘Do you want to know my age? I never tell my age. For I am ageless. You failed to designate the age of this residence or body of mine. I am the immortal Soul, and am therefore ageless.’

"The president, Justice Rao, expressed gratitude and said, ‘We are proud of one who has placed the banner of India and her spirituality in America, awakening souls from slumber.’ He also spoke of the lecture as being most inspiring and one to be long remembered. He concluded by paying his ‘humble obeisance to our illustrious guest, Swamiji Yogananda.’

"The president of the university Union, Mr. L. Rama Rao, said, ‘I want to express the hearty thanks of you all to our revered guest, Swami Yoganandaji. He has delivered one of the most marvelous, thrilling, remarkable and dynamic addresses ever heard in Bangalore. I wish to express thanks to His Highness the Yuvaraj of Mysore, on behalf of you all, for inviting the Swamiji to Mysore State."

While in Mysore, Swamiji also addressed a meeting held under the auspices of the Mysore Civic and Social Progress Association which The Daily Post of November 6, 1935 described as follows:

"Swamiji Yogananda gave a demonstration of the action of will power and magnetism, which he described as flowing from the cosmos through him and which he directed to the brain of those sensitive souls accurately in tune with him, arousing the energy in their bodies and concentrating it in the hand and locking their clasped hands as if shackled by ropes. Moreover, those with locked hands were unable to open them when ordered to do so by the audience, but immediately responded to the command of Swamiji, all except one man who was ailing from heart disease and stomach trouble.

"However, his hands instantly opened as Swamiji’s hand approached his and upon request, Swamiji gave a remarkable healing to this ailing man, by merely touching his heart and stomach, allowing the soothing vibrations of the Cosmic Energy to flow into the man’s body. The pain instantly vanished. In explanation Swamiji states that he merely served as a channel for the flow of the Cosmic Energy from God which has the power of healing. It is God who actually heals, and this capacity of directing God’s power lies dormant in all of us. It lies with each of us to learn how to arouse it and us it.

"In concluding the meeting, Sir Puttanna Chetty (donor of the Sir Puttanna Chetty Town Hall in which Swamiji spoke) said, ‘I am very happy to have heard your most enlightening lecture. I was deeply listening and especially enjoyed your unique explanations of Patanjali. You have packed this house and we already feel uplifted from your presence’.

"The audience was very enthusiastic and attentive and showed its courteous cooperation despite the crowded condition of Town Hall, the largest hall in Bangalore, for the hall was packed to overflowing with 3000 friends, some in window-sills, in aisles, doorways, on the stage and standing outside—a demonstration of the sincerity and earnestness with which the people are seeking to know God."

This same meeting was reported by a columnist in The Daily Post as follows:

"The third big event of the week is the appearance of Swami Yogananda of Los Angeles in Bangalore, giving darshan to many eager hearts . . . showing us the way to contact God through Pranayam, the mixing of God-Consciousness with life-control. The rare yogic feats done by his disciples (Bishnu Charan, Buddha Bose and Bijoy Kumar) have opened the eyes of many to the latent powers in man and how they can become patent.

"The atmosphere of Bangalore, with its electro-protonic cell batteries charged by that Sadhu-Sanyasin Swami Yogananda (a man of immense powers, the result of his conscious efforts at the unity of body, mind and soul) I am sure has taken during the last 3 days, a fresher hue than it used to have. The ladies and gentlemen, young and old, that filled every vacant space in Town Hall ought to give testimony to what I say. All those who heard his lectures, I can say are really great souls, according to a stanza in Tamil poetic lore—’It is good to see a good man, more to hear the pearl-drops of wisdom, much more to keep company with him’".

The Sunday Times of Madras, March 29, 1936, had the following comment on Swamiji’s lecture at Gokhale Hall:

"For over two and a half hours, the Swamiji held the audience spellbound by his oration. It was a consummate address . . . He is certainly the master orator who can sway mass meetings at will. No finished product of the best elocution school of America could excel him in that art. He began with a glorious tribute to India’s heritage of spiritual ideals, and stressed that India should never swerve from her ancient ideals . . . His lecture was enthralling, his ideals were impressive, and the way in which he propounded them were quite interesting. He talked of the Necessity of implicit faith in God, of the power of the right kind of prayer, of the amazing miracles that can be brought by will-power".

Among numerous meetings, Swamiji addressed the All-India Kshattriya Conference presided over by H. H. Maharajah of Jhalwar. In this lecture at Calcutta, Swami Yogananda stressed the fact that the true duty of a Kshattriya (the warrior or second highest caste in India) was to follow the instructions give by Lord Chrishna in the Bhagavad Gita, to his great Kshattriya disciple Arjuna, who was bidden to fight evil, bad habits and ignorance.

In London, Swamiji spoke at a meeting arranged by Dr. Kedar Nath Das Gupta, famous director of the World Fellowship of Faiths. Sir Francis Younghusband was the chairman on this occasion. His introduction of Swamiji was reported by the London correspondent of Amrita Bazar Patrika, in the following way:

"Sir Francis Younghusband paid a great tribute to India for producing saints and holy men. ‘Greatest gift which India has offered to the world’, he declared, ‘is her gift of spirituality and spiritual forces. Great saints of India have found their way to this country and we are grateful to Swami Yogananda for coming this evening and addressing us for the first time’."