The Practical, 'Airplane Route' To God

The Practical, 'Airplane Route' To God

I had the opportunity to meet and live with a great master from India.

Many of you may have read the very famous Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda. I read it when I was a young man of 22 in New York City . I'd been seeking truth in all possible ways except the right one. I looked for it in science, the arts and political systems.You can't prove God

Always, I tried to avoid thinking of God, because I believed, as modern science teaches, that you can't prove God. So why think about Him? I tried to find fulfilment without Him, and, thank God, I failed.

It was in a mood of extreme desperation that I came upon Autobiography of a Yogi. That book so changed my life that I took the next bus from New York to Los Angeles, a journey of four days and nights, to meet him.

I had been a very arrogant young man. I never thought I'd say such words to anybody , but when I met Yogananda, the first words I said to him were, “I want to be your disciple.“

He must have seen how desperate I was, because that same day he gave me the vows of discipleship and accepted me in the monastery .

Ultimately , we all have to make peace with our Creator.We have to understand who we are, where we've come from, and what the purpose of life is.The goal of life for everyone is to seek God, whether they know it or not. We are all children of God: Most vicious criminal, the most brutal dictator. Great ambassador Yogananda was one of the greatest ambassadors of Indian culture that your country has ever sent to the world. The Sanatan Dharma of Hinduism, which he taught, is the religion of the universe. You might call your religion Christianity , Islam, or Buddhism, but all true religions have the same purpose to give you the understanding that the goal of life is to find who and what you are, as bliss. Yogananda came to show us that motivating all life from behind is the soul's desire for bliss.

When you travel the world, you see that people everywhere are seeking happiness, and it comes back to this same truth.

The same God that's in Yogananda or Jesus Christ or Krishna is in you. Underneath all that you've been seeking in life is that One, universal God.

Yogananda's message is the path of Kriya Yoga which he called “the air plane route to God“. He was the representative of a line of great gurus who, through Lahiri Mahasaya of Benares, brought this great message to all. He showed us how to bring Divine Reality into everything we do. This was, to a large extent, his mission to the world.

The highlight of my life was meeting and being with my Guru. It was like being in the presence of God.Behind everything he said or did was a message ­ to realise the bliss of our own being. He saw all of us as potential gods filled with divine bliss. What these great masters are, not only can you achieve, you must achieve. You are eternal, although you've lived in this world wandering in delusion. That search can go on forever, but there is something that never leaves you ­ the longing for the bliss of God. Someday you will awaken and know yourself as a child of the Infinite Lord. I bow to that Lord in all of you.

Om Namah Shivay