Posted February 15, 2014
by Jerry Alatalo
“Self-realization is the knowing – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God, that we do not have to pray that it comes to us, that we are not merely near it at times, but that God’s omnipresence is our omnipresence, and that we are just as much a part of him now as we will ever be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.”
– Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952)
In the last post it ended by stating that the 85 richest people on Earth need to become publically named, and that those 85 need to answer some very difficult and important questions. The questions had to do with specific content in the post, but then a video by a man who was a close associate of Paramhansa Yogananda came into view, offering more fundamental questions. First, Mr. Yogananda was responsible for bringing Eastern spirituality to the West during the years 1930-50, and wrote the largest selling spiritual autobiography in history: “The Autobiography Of A Yogi”.
Roy Eugene Davis spent time with Yogananda and has some interesting recollections of times and conversations between them. Mr. Davis was in his early 20’s when he first met Yogananda. He remembers Yogananda’s advice to him then, “Study some, meditate more, and always think of God”. After many years, with the passing of Paramhansa Yogananda a few weeks away, Mr. Davis recalls Yogananda’s last advice before transitioning to the infinite: “Don’t allow your mind to be disturbed by what others do or don’t do, don’t look back, don’t look to the right or to the left. But look straight ahead to the goal, and go all the way in this incarnation. You can do it”.
Mr. Yogananda passed in the year 1952, and this talk by Mr. Davis occurred in 2010 – 58 years later. In the talk he proposes and discusses 6 questions that people need to ask. These questions would be beneficial if asked of not only the 85 richest people, but they are essential spiritual material for every person to ponder.
What is God? The highest good, Source, Allah, Great Spirit, Creator, etc., who is omnipresent, all-powerful, unconditional love. Mr. Davis tells his audience that all concepts of God should be put aside; that men and women need to open themselves to see and discern God.
What is my true nature? One’s essence is pure consciousness. All people are individualized units of pure consciousness – God. This pure consciousness becomes manifested to various degrees depending on the person’s actions, discipline, and intent.
Why am I here? Mr. Davis says that souls are attracted to places in tune with their mental states and states of consciousness. So, this (Earth) is where human beings belong – for now. We are not here as any form of punishment: we are here to gracefully grow to emotional and spiritual maturity, as well as use knowledge and skills efficiently. He says that people have enough resources to accomplish what we need or want to do. He suggests living more easily is possible, although billions of people around the world are barely surviving – living impoverished, difficult lives.
What is my purpose or aim? Mr. Davis then states “..to be spiritually awake through the stages of spiritual growth, with the intention and aspiration to realize spiritual awareness in this incarnation/lifetime – with emphasis on this lifetime, not in the next incarnation or in the afterlife. He goes on to say that meditation and right living is the best preparation for departing the body at the time of death, that the highest possible level of consciousness – without the debris of erroneous opinion – that leads to knowing, not believing or speculation, will allow the best results.
How is this actualized? He speaks of the need to acquire accurate knowledge of metaphysical realities and then to apply that knowledge.
Am I doing all that I need to do for the completion or fulfillment of my purpose? Mr. Davis simplifies things somewhat by stating that “when we know what to do, we should do it”. He notes that a person is on the path when they no longer look at meditation as a kind of unpleasant chore, but look forward to daily meditative practice as optimistic, joyful, and an exploration into higher consciousness – not an escape or way of achieving a “buzz”.
His suggestion is not to meditate to gain some simple relaxation, but to meditate with focus on attaining the point of super-consciousness – and beyond.
Roy Eugene Davis was born in 1931 and is an American spiritual teacher, who began publishing “Truth Journal Magazine” in 1967 and has continuously been published for over 45 years. He has taught the Kriya Yoga tradition, which he learned from Paramhansa Yogananda, for over 60 years.
He began developing the ministry and retreat facilities of the “Center for Spiritual Awareness” in Lakefront, Georgia in 1972, and became elected its Chairman in 1976.
His books (first to last):
“Miracle Man of Japan”, “The Science of Kriya Yoga”, “Life Surrendered to God”, “An Easy Guide to Ayurveda”, “The Self-Revealed Knowledge that Liberates the Spirit”, “The Path of Light”, “Seven Lessons in Conscious Living”, “The Science of God-Realization”, “Satisfying Our Innate Desire to Know God”, “The Science of Self-Realization”, “Paramhansa Yogananda: As I Knew Him”, “Absolute Knowledge: That Liberates Consciousness”, “The Spiritual Basis of Real Prosperity”, “The Eternal Way”, “Mystic Reflections”, and “Self-Knowledge”.
Paramhansa Yogananda founded the “Self-Realization Fellowship” in 1920. He taught Kriya Yoga as a means to achieve that self-realization. Yogananda listed the aims and ideals for the Self-Realization Fellowship:
To disseminate among the nations knowledge of definite scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God
To teach that the purpose of life is the evolution, through self-effort, of man’s limited mortal consciousness in God-consciousness; and to this end to establish Self-Realization Fellowship temples for God-communion throughout the world, and to encourage the establishment of individual temples of God in the homes and hearts of men
To reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions
To point out the one divine highway to which all paths of true religious beliefs eventually lead; the highway of daily, scientific, devotional meditation on God
To liberate man from his threefold suffering: physical disease, mental inharmonies, and spiritual ignorance
To encourage “plain living and high thinking”, and to spread a spirit of brotherhood among all peoples by teaching the eternal basis of their unity: kinship with God
To demonstrate the superiority of mind over body, of soul over mind
To overcome evil by good, sorrow by joy, cruelty by kindness, ignorance by wisdom
To unite science and religion through realization of the unity of their underlying principles
To advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West, and the exchange of their finest distinctive features, and…
To serve mankind as one’s larger self
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(Thank you to Center for Spiritual Awareness @ YouTube)
THE ONENESS of HUMANITY 