Interviewer: You are a man of religion; but dont you think that religion has been a cause of division, bloodshed, and evil in the world? Paramahansa Yogananda: The existence of imitation gold does not decrease the value of pure gold. Similarly, spurious religion does not diminish the worth of true religion. Those who abuse the power of religion or who only pretend to follow religious practices for their own self-promotion become hypocrites and are sometimes the perpetrators of evil; they are the wrongdoers, not religion. Those who exemplify true religion or dharma, are a source of upliftment to the world; and they themselves become forever free from sorrow. True religion consists of those principles by which body, mind, and soul can be united to God. It is ultimately the only savior that can rescue man from all the evils of the earth. Interviewer: Is religion per se really necessary for the upliftment of man? When he joins a particular faith or order, does he not rather circumscribe himself and thus create barriers between himself and those of other creeds? Paramahansa Yogananda: Dogmatic religions are bypaths, sometimes blind alleys leading nowhere; but even so, a fairly good dogmatic religion can lead the sincere seeker to the highway of true religion, which in turn leads to God. That highway is yoga, the scientific process by which every soul reunites with Spirit. In the Bhagavad Gita, yoga is proclaimed greater than all other paths - greater than those of devotion, wisdom, and righteous action. Yoga is the science of how man descended from Spirit into flesh and became identified with the body and its senses and possessions; and how he can reascend to God. The experience, or realization, of truth that comes from yoga practice provides proof of the underlying unity of all religions found in the perception of their one common denominator - God. Interviewer: Should religion take the form of an organized entity, such as Buddhism or Christianity, or should it rather be one of individual intuitive faith? Paramahansa Yogananda: Organized religion is the hive; realization is the honey. Both are necessary. But it often happens that when organized religion concentrates on the outward tenants and ceremonial aspects it becomes a dogmatic empty hive. At the opposite extreme, some yogis in the Himalayas gather the honey of God-realization in their hearts without providing hives of organized religion through which others might share that divine nectar. That is selfish. If organized religion is backed by great savants, it does much good in the world. If it is promoted only by egotistical, bigoted, or commercial people, it does little good and often much harm to people in general. Interviewer: If faith be intuitive, why does one need a guru? Paramahansa Yoganada: God does not talk openly to novitiate spiritual seekers; their intuition is not yet developed, and so inner guidance is not infallible. God therefore guides through the instructions of a guru who communes with Him. The preceptor must have divine attunement or we have the blind leading the blind.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 07:10:49 +0000
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