Self-Realization Fellowship Blog

A Message for Janmashtami From the Ashrams of Paramahansa Yogananda

July 29, 2022

Remember Me always, and engage thyself in the battle of activity! Surrender to Me thy mind and thine understanding! Thus without doubt shalt thou come unto Me.

Paramahansa Yogananda, in God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita
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Janmashtami 2022

Dear Ones,

Each year on Janmashtami, we joyously celebrate the birth anniversary of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. In our meditations and devotional remembrances during this holy time, let us be especially receptive to his ever-living presence and infinite love. In oneness with the omnipresence of Spirit as a full incarnation of the Divine for the ages, he is eternally available to us and to the world — joyously willing to pour out to us the boundless grace and healing blessings that are so vitally needed today.

One of the many ways in which Lord Krishna lives on is through the holy Bhagavad Gita — and nowhere more tangibly than in the soul-awakening revelation of its wisdom by our own Paramahansa Yoganandaji. If we open the pages of this sacred discourse between Krishna and his disciple Arjuna, and read even a little after meditation and devotionally centering ourselves, we will experience a vibratory flow of consciousness-elevating truth that will bless and enrich our journey back to Spirit. Engaging meditatively with his presence in the scripture in this way, we can actually feel the divine power Sri Krishna embodied, uplifting and supporting us in daily life on our own battlefield of Kurukshetra — just as he uplifted and supported Arjuna — until we reach the sublime goal of our own soul’s liberation.

To maintain a living contact with God and the Divine Ones who guard and guide this world, of utmost importance is to sincerely and regularly dive deep in meditation, immersing the entire consciousness into Their loving presence. Then, in those sacred depths, free from every distraction, we can offer to God — in whatever form is dear to us — the supreme love, surrender, and devotion of our being. To that kind of sincere soul-call, the Infinite Lord unfailingly and personally responds.

With unwavering determination and love, may you follow the wisdom and meditation teachings of Sri Krishna, Lord of Yoga, and the other Great Ones, until the unique melody of your individual life merges in the eternal Song Celestial.

Jai Sri Krishna! Jai Guru!

Brother Chidananda

Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Sri Krishna, is an annual celebration of great spiritual joy. Its date is determined according to the Hindu lunar calendar; this year it falls on August 18.

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Rekha Modi

Beautiful and Uplifting! Constant reminder to raise our consciousness to our one Cosmic Beloved!

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