Yogananda Fighting Nervousness
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Yogananda Fighting Nervousness
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| Later he bought a hotel for his headquarters, and many Americans thought he was a millionaire. [See all] |
Most of the following statements are from the text "Super-Method Of Overcoming Nervousness" from 1932.
Slapstick Lesson
Realize that all power to think "We are incompatible and tire of each other and even
the size of limes" comes from God and may cause nervousness.
A Survey of Yogananda's Teachings
The hints below are gathered from Yogananda's article "Super-Method Of Overcoming Nervousness", published in the magazine East West in November, 1932. The text from here and till the summary consists of Yogananda quotations. Apart from headings, nothing is added, but their order is rearranged. Our sifted Yogananda selections appear in the scheme you can find out more of here, if you will: [LINK].
On tiring of each other and the size of limes
IN THE body factory, the brain is the main dynamo which sends energy through a
complicated system of special conductors, or nerves, to the different organs and members,
which in turn act as the machines to produce vision, touch, hearing, taste, smell, movement,
metabolism, circulation, breathing, and thought. You are the manager of your own body
factory.A soothing drink made of fresh limes . . . : To one glass of water, add the juice of one-quarter of a fresh lime and about a tablespoonful of sugar. Stir thoroughly, and add a little crushed ice. It is difficult to give exact measurements because of the difference in the size of limes, but it should not taste at all like the ordinary limeade, bought at soda fountains. This is far too strong. This drink should be blended so that the sweetness and sourness are equal, and you cannot distinguish which you are tasting. Ground rock candy is even better than sugar, but do not use honey. If properly blended, every nerve will feel calm. Sip two or three glasses. If you have too much lime or too much sugar, it will not produce the result. The blending must be equal.
Lack of the necessities for normal and happy living, such as proper exercise, fresh air, sunshine, right food, agreeable work, and a purpose in life, aggravate, if they do not actually cause, a condition of nervousness . . . too great a stimulation upsets the functioning of the nervous system. ¤
People tire of each other unless they have the Divine attitude in which the soul is constantly filled with the joy of God.
If you are nervous, you cannot meditate deeply and thus acquire peace and wisdom.
Realize that all power to think "we
are incompatible" come from God
REFORM yourself. That is where your greatest problem lies.[Yet:] It is difficult for married people who are incompatible to have to live in the same house. Either one or both are likely to develop nervousness.
People attend churches . . . They find only empty words.
Realize that all power to think, to speak, and to act, comes from God, and that He is with you now, guiding and inspiring you. ¤
The particular disturbance of equilibrium which we call nervousness, may be caused by great and continuous excitement.
Let God flow through you till you are dead
FEAR AND worry are very closely connected . . . a calm analysis of the cause will
usually remove worry.A real holy man acts as a raft to carry you through suffering.
Sometimes the power of God comes like an ocean, and surges through your Being in great boundless waves, sweeping away all obstacles. ¤
Let God flow through you, and you will have all the power you need. ¤¤
There is nothing to fear, because as long as you are not dead you are alive, and when you are dead, it is over . . .
In Short
- On tiring of each other and the size of limes and soda fountain plots, if any;
- Realize that all power to think "we are incompatible" comes from God.
- Next, let God flow through you till you die.
Remember to get tired of massing "victim of non-essential and immoderate goadings".
Bursting out, "Lovely toast!"
AT THE Savoy in London, Cesar Ritz was maitre d'hotel and Escoffier was chef. Dame
Nellie Melba, celebrated prima donna, was staying there and was strenuously dieting, living
largely on toast. By the way, her off-stage name was Helen Porter Mitchell.It chanced one day, while the master was preoccupied, that an underling prepared the woman's toast. It was bungled and was served to her in a thin dried-up state resembling parchment. Ritz beheld with horror his celebrated guest crunching this aborted toast, and hastened over to apologise. Before he could say a word Madame Melba burst out joyfully,
"Cesar, how clever of Escoffier. I have never eaten such lovely toast."
Melba toast note
Melba toast is a very thinly sliced crisp toast that was part of the Melbourne-born opera singer Dame Melba's diet during the year 1897 when she was very ill. There are different versions of how the toast came into being.Home-made melba toast is nicest served while still a little warm.
The Conclusion
You have to take care what you fill your mind with, and interpret it reasonably. Yogananda teaches: "No food gives strength, no change of air invigorates". [Ak 103] If you see the fragment in a wider context, it makes good sense. He says, actually, that "Ordinarily, life force is continually reinforced by mind power and food," but when it diminishes we give up [Ibid]. Likewise, once we study Yogananda's changed and conflicting teachings in the light of his adaptations to his American audience - his fame-givers - we could get alerted to reasons why his teachings drifted and changed in time. An enlarged perspective tends to carry such boons with it, including the boon of not being ensnared by many of his herding words either.We should not give up in trying to understand the guru. As he says, "The greatest blessing would be to develop international understanding by which we may realize this truth . . . If we can learn to understand others . . . we begin to express the perfect image of God within us . . . [Dr 351]."
That concludes this second collection of Yogananda focused essays.
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Literature
Ak: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Man's Eternal Quest. Los Angeles: SRF, 1975.
Ap: Mieder, Wolfgang (main ed.), Stewart A. Kingsbury, and Kelsie E. Harder: A Dictionary of American Proverbs. (Paperback) New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Ay: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 1st ed. New York: Philosophical Library, 1946. Online. [oaks.nvg.org/pv6bk12.html]
Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007.
Ha: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 12th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), 1981.
Pa: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 11th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), 1971.
Say: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Sayings of Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958.
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