The letters of Sri Daya Mata — who served as the beloved third president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India from 1955 until her passing in 2010 — have been a favorite feature for many readers of Self-Realization magazine for decades. Presented here is a letter that was published in the Fall 2010 issue of the magazine, in which she lovingly reminds us of the true source of youthfulness and how we can joyfully radiate that in our lives.
Dear Ones,
The emphasis of people today is on prolonging youthfulness. But they focus on the externals of looking young and being able to act young. Paramahansa Yogananda demonstrated in his life that youth is an uplifting state of consciousness that feeds the vitality of life and the power to achieve.
He lived in the realm where divine thoughts are the Reality, and taught us to cultivate those thoughts that cause our bodies and minds to manifest the Truth of what we are: “You, the soul, are eternally young. Impress that thought on your consciousness: ‘I am the soul, a reflection of ever-youthful Spirit. I am vibrant with youth, with ambition, with power to succeed.’”
The most vibrantly “alive” persons are those who have brought God into their daily existence.
Physical means of youthfulness, insofar as they are based on God’s laws of health, are valuable, though inevitably temporary. True youthfulness is much more than maintaining bodily well-being. It is a vitality of mind and spirit that radiates from within — a joy born of feeling our deep inner connection with God’s eternal power and bliss.
I love to see in devotees that soul quality of youthful enthusiasm which expresses as a positive attitude of making the best of life’s experiences and refusing to be hampered by limitations of the body.
Whether we are a teenager or a “senior citizen,” when we constantly refresh our interest in developing the potentials of our mind and abilities, when the heart is always ready to give and to serve, when we hold to faith in God no matter what our circumstances, we are truly imbibing the inner “fountain of youth.”
When people asked his age, Paramahansaji would joyously reply: “I have no age; my age is one — infinite.” Do not attach too much significance to your outer form; it is but one of countless bodily garments you have donned in many earthly sojourns.
Every now and then throughout the day, and especially when the mind is concentrated within in meditation, remind yourself that you are a soul endowed with God’s eternal life, graced with His everlasting youthfulness and beauty. As Paramahansaji said: “Feel your oneness with the Father....Feel His glory registering His Infinite Immortality in your body, mind, and soul.”
God love you,
Daya Mata
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