Paramahansa Yogananda on "Bringing More Divine Light Into the World"

An introduction:

At this time of year many people in different religions and cultures absorb themselves, with concentration and peace, in rituals and remembrances that emphasize the Divine Light that is an integral part of this world — and the power of that light to uplift and sustain us.

On this earth, that powerful presence is manifest more than in any other way in the incarnations of great souls, such as Christ and Krishna, who come to us as an embodiment of divine light and deepest inspiration — and have brought to us, in this age, methods of reaching the enlightenment they themselves attained.

After all, great ones come to remind us that we can and must become like them — for us to find the greatest happiness and for the world to spiritually evolve!

Sri Mrinalini Mata, fourth president of SRF/YSS, shared that Paramahansaji would say that as children of the Divine we, too, should endeavor to become “the messengers of light, spreading divine love and brotherhood around the world.” This, like all else, takes time and practice.

Among all of the various activities of the holiday season, we invite you to take a few moments to pause and reflect on what it means to truly connect with the divine light within and be one of the “messengers of light” the world needs.

From the talks and writings of Paramahansa Yogananda:

As moving pictures are sustained by a beam of light coming from the projection booth of a movie house, so are all of us sustained by the Cosmic Beam, the Divine Light pouring from the projection booth of Eternity.

Darkness may reign in a cave for thousands of years, but bring in the light, and the darkness vanishes as though it had never been….You can drive it away by opening your spiritual eye in deep meditation, filling your consciousness with its all-revealing divine light.

Each year at Christmastime there are stronger than usual vibrations of Christ-love and joy that emanate to earth from the heavenly realms. The ether becomes filled with the Infinite Light that shone on earth when Jesus was born. Those persons who are in tune through devotion and deep meditation feel in a wondrously tangible way the transforming vibrations of the omnipresent consciousness that was in Christ Jesus.

Darkness is the absence of light. Delusion is darkness; Reality is light. Your eyes of wisdom are closed, so you see only the darkness; and you are suffering in that delusion. Change your consciousness; open your eyes and you will see in the stars the sparkle of that Divine Light. In every atom of space you will see the twinkle of God’s light of laughter. Behind every thought you shall feel the ocean of His wisdom.

[Affirm:] “I know I am one with the light of Thy goodness. May I be a lighthouse for those who are tossed on the sea of sorrow.”

The ethereal power of God flows through me: through my speech, my brain, my cells, every wisp of my consciousness — every thought is a channel through which His divine light is passing. Open your hearts and realize that the Divine Light is also passing through you. As I perceive, may you perceive; as I behold, may you behold.

Awake! Open your eyes and you shall behold the glory of God — the vast vista of God’s light spreading over all things. I am telling you to be divine realists, and you will find the answer to all questions in God. Meditation is the only way.

On the SRF website you can read a blog post with more wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda on the deeper celebration of Christmas — attuning ourselves to the infinite light of God’s universal consciousness residing in every particle of creation and within each one of us.