“Paramhansa Yogananda reveals God as ever-lasting, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss. Also saying, ‘God may be defined in countless ways: as Infinite Light, Power, Wisdom, and Bliss.’
A visitor: ‘Doesn’t it seem a bit trivial to define God as joy, and to equate man’s quest for Him with the search for happiness? Duty, surely, is more important than the desire for personal fulfillment. And God is such a grand concept that I can’t really imagine Him as a kind of exaltation of joy. I read somewhere once of the wonderful solemnity of a life lived in the presence of God. I confess I find this a much more satisfying concept.’
Paramhansa Yogananda replied: ‘Would you like to live in this wonderful solemnity for all eternity?’
‘Well, I can’t really imagine eternity,’ admitted the visitor. ‘But no, I suppose I’d expect something more.’
Yogananda: ‘You see? We must seek God with longing, with devotion. And how can we long for something that isn’t deeply meaningful to us?
‘People,’ he added, ‘hold God at a distance when they regard Him with too much awe. They go to church as a solemn duty, and wear long faces as if attending a funeral. The truth is, finding God is the funeral of all sorrows!’
‘Before our Heavenly Father we should be like little children. He likes that. He has enough awesome responsibilities in running this universe! He owns everything. He knows everything. He is all-powerful. The only thing lacking to Him is our love. That is what God wants from us: our love; our trust in Him; our joy in His infinite joy.’
‘He doesn’t need from us carefully contrived theological definitions. And He doesn’t want prayers that are chiseled to perfection lest they give offense to His imperial ears. He wants us to love Him in all simplicity, just like children.’ ”
The Essence Of Self-Realization – The Wisdom Of Paramhansa Yogananda, Recorded and Compiled by his disciple, Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters), pgs. 42 – 44.
