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Finding the Joy Within You: Personal Counsel for God-Centered Living
Finding the Joy Within You is a compassionate and deeply encouraging book that speaks to all who long to know that God is real, that He is near to us at all times, and that we can live every day of our lives in intimate communion with Him. In this collection of talks, informal counsel, and personal reminiscences, Sri Daya Mata shares the guidance and inspiration she receieved as a close disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time and author of the widely acclaimed Autobiography of a Yogi. This anthology conveys the in-depth guidance she absorbed during her more than twenty years of day-to-day association with the great the practices and principles that lead to realization of the infinite love and joy that are hidden within every human being, just waiting to be discovered.
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First published December 1, 1990
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August 31, 2013
I very much enjoyed reading Sri Daya Mata's collection of talks about all manner of spiritual topics. So many good ideas jumped off the page that I featured many of her stories and comments on my blog. For example, I start the following blog post (http://bolstablog.wordpress.com/2011/...) with some personal commentary and follow it up with an excerpt from Daya Mata's book:
From my earliest memory, I was a people pleaser. I naively thought that if someone didn’t like me, they would realize the error of their ways once they got to know me better. Their misperception of me would then be corrected and all would be well.
Foolish, foolish me.
I’ve learned that if you are unfailingly kind, compassionate and generous of spirit, offer a genuine smile of goodwill to all, and treat others as honorably, respectfully and reverently as you would like to be treated yourself, there will always be a certain percentage of people who will think you are a lousy excuse for a human being.
Such is life.
I also learned that unreasonable people do not respond well to reason, and that attempting to respond to hostility with reason only escalates the hostility. In such a situation, the best thing to do is to silently bathe your antagonist in love. Doing so just may turn your adversary into an ally.
For all these reasons, the following excerpt from Finding the Joy Within You, a collection of talks given by Sri Daya Mata, the longtime president of Self-Realization Fellowship, resonated deeply with me.
One time, when I was feeling sad that I had disappointed him, I said, “Master, am I really so much worse than the other disciples that you must scold me so much?”
He said, “Not at all. I give you this kind of discipline because you must become like steel inside.” Oh! How those words ring in my ears: “You must be like steel inside.”
“But Master,” I said, “I don’t like hard, callous people.”
Guruji said, “Don’t misunderstand me. I did not say ‘hard.’ You must become like steel, bendable but unbreakable, so strong that nothing can hurt you.”
Then I understood that to be like steel is to not let life crush you; but to be gentle and compassionate, and a pillar of strength that others can lean on, if necessary. In other words, it was basically what he said to me another time: “So love God inwardly that nothing will ever be able to touch you outwardly.” If you take such a thought and meditate on it, what strength it gives you!
In the later years, he scolded me one day before a large group of disciples in the ashram. It didn’t faze me, because I had learned never to let my feelings interfere with truth. I said, “He is right; I have done that. I must correct myself.” That is the right way to take discipline.
When I had left the room, he sweetly turned to the other disciples and said, “You see how she behaves It’s been like that for years. No matter how I speak to her, she remains always calm and receptive inside. You all should learn from her.” When I was told this, many years later, tears filled my eyes. I said, “That was Guru’s blessing. I am eternally grateful for the strength and understanding he gave me.”
From my earliest memory, I was a people pleaser. I naively thought that if someone didn’t like me, they would realize the error of their ways once they got to know me better. Their misperception of me would then be corrected and all would be well.
Foolish, foolish me.
I’ve learned that if you are unfailingly kind, compassionate and generous of spirit, offer a genuine smile of goodwill to all, and treat others as honorably, respectfully and reverently as you would like to be treated yourself, there will always be a certain percentage of people who will think you are a lousy excuse for a human being.
Such is life.
I also learned that unreasonable people do not respond well to reason, and that attempting to respond to hostility with reason only escalates the hostility. In such a situation, the best thing to do is to silently bathe your antagonist in love. Doing so just may turn your adversary into an ally.
For all these reasons, the following excerpt from Finding the Joy Within You, a collection of talks given by Sri Daya Mata, the longtime president of Self-Realization Fellowship, resonated deeply with me.
One time, when I was feeling sad that I had disappointed him, I said, “Master, am I really so much worse than the other disciples that you must scold me so much?”
He said, “Not at all. I give you this kind of discipline because you must become like steel inside.” Oh! How those words ring in my ears: “You must be like steel inside.”
“But Master,” I said, “I don’t like hard, callous people.”
Guruji said, “Don’t misunderstand me. I did not say ‘hard.’ You must become like steel, bendable but unbreakable, so strong that nothing can hurt you.”
Then I understood that to be like steel is to not let life crush you; but to be gentle and compassionate, and a pillar of strength that others can lean on, if necessary. In other words, it was basically what he said to me another time: “So love God inwardly that nothing will ever be able to touch you outwardly.” If you take such a thought and meditate on it, what strength it gives you!
In the later years, he scolded me one day before a large group of disciples in the ashram. It didn’t faze me, because I had learned never to let my feelings interfere with truth. I said, “He is right; I have done that. I must correct myself.” That is the right way to take discipline.
When I had left the room, he sweetly turned to the other disciples and said, “You see how she behaves It’s been like that for years. No matter how I speak to her, she remains always calm and receptive inside. You all should learn from her.” When I was told this, many years later, tears filled my eyes. I said, “That was Guru’s blessing. I am eternally grateful for the strength and understanding he gave me.”
July 11, 2023
A SECOND BOOK OF TALKS GIVEN BY A DISCIPLE OF YOGANANDA
An introductory section of this 1990 book explains, “[This book] is the second anthology of talks by Sri Daya Mata, president and spiritual head of Self-Realization Fellowship… Since the mid-1950s monastics in the ashrams of Paramahansa Yogananda have been recording the talks given by Daya Mata during… gatherings of truth-seekers at which the leader speaks extemporaneously on inspirational subjects, in order to preserve her many personal stories about Paramahansa Yogananda and the wealth of spiritual counsel she had absorbed during her more than twenty years with him. The recordings were subsequently transcribed, and… the material was compiled into book form.”
She wrote in the Preface, “From 1931 to 1952, it was my privilege and duty to record stenographically Paramahansa Yogananda’s teachings for posterity: his public lectures and classes, the Sunday and Thursday inspirational services he conducted at his Self-realization Fellowship International Headquarters and temples, and much of his informal spiritual counsel to disciples. The teachings … were compiled into the ‘Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons.’ Of the inspirational talks he gave… over a hundred have been published in two anthologies… The purpose of the present volume … is to convey the personal guidance and inspiration Paramahansaji gave to the close disciples who lived around him---those who received through day-to-day association with the great Master his in-depth spiritual training and discipline… The counsel in this book is a gathering of the fruits of those twenty years at the feet of my Guru. It is the guidance he gave to all in whom he found not merely an intellectual curiosity about spiritual truths, but a genuine longing to draw nearer to God by anchoring their lives in Him.”
She recounts in the opening talk, “Tomorrow the classes begin, and I am remembering … when I first took such classes from our revered guru… What a tremendous effect he had on my life! From my earliest years, I had an unceasing desire to find God in this lifetime. It was in my seventeenth year that I met Paramahansaji. My body was very ill at that time… One eye was swollen closed, and I had three bandages on my face… In those days, Master would give several lectures… After the last of the public lectures, he would invite the congregation to come forward, and would greet them individually… When I stood before him, he looked at my disfigured face and asked, ‘What is the matter with you?’ After my mother … explained my health problem, he said, ‘Come back tomorrow to the classes… but remain afterward.’ … After the meeting… he suddenly said to me, ‘Do you believe that God can heal you?’ … I replied, ‘I KNOW God can heal me.’ He touched me in blessing between the eyebrows… Then he said, ‘From this day forward, you are healed. Inside one week the bandages will no longer be necessary; your scars will be gone.’ And that is exactly what happened. Within one week the condition cleared, and has never returned.” (Pg. 3-4)
She observes, “Living around such a great soul as Paramahansa Yogananda for so many years, I saw countless manifestations of his wonderful spiritual example, which has inspired crowds of souls to want to walk in his footsteps… He had the power to heal… And he had the power to read the minds of others… Yet Guruji was in many ways childlike. I do not mean childish; there is a difference. He had all the simple, trusting, loving qualities that a child shows toward its beloved mother. That is the way he was with God.” (Pg. 10)
She notes, “If man thinks only in terms of his own sensuality, ruled by his emotions of hatred, jealousy, lust, and greed, the inevitable result is inharmony between individuals, turmoil within societies, conflicts among nations. Wars have never cured anything; instead, they snowball into greater holocausts---one confrontation breeding another. Only the by evolution of wiser, more loving human beings will the world become a truly better place.” (Pg. 28-29)
She states, “Religious prejudice should not exist in the hearts of those who follow in the footsteps of Paramahansa Yogananda, but loyalty must. Respect all religions, but be loyal to your own. Having recognized that the universal Truth is expressed in different ways and in varying degrees in all religions, find the path that suits you, and do not waver from it. Honor all, but be true to your own way. That was Gurudev’s ideal; and it should be the ideal of all who follow him.” (Pg. 53)
She recalls, “In the last years of Master’s life he said to me, ‘Now you have to become a karma yogi.’ … In Guruji’s words: ‘The path of Karma Yoga is the path of uniting the soul with God through selfless activity… When you are doing things for yourself… your consciousness is united with your limited ego. But when you act for God, you are identified with Him. Perfection may be attained through Karma Yoga only if one dedicates all the fruits of his actions to God.” (Pg. 72)
Of Euthanasia/Right to Die, she recalls, “Paramahansa Yogananda taught us that it is not the role of Self-Realization Fellowship to debate these complex social issues, because a categorical answer cannot be given to this type of question---it very much depends on the particular circumstances. In the ultimate sense, God is the only one who has the right to take our lives… On the other hand, I am certain Master felt that it is not right to prolong life artificially if there is no hope of survival and the body is being sustained only by means of equipment. So this is something that must be determined in each individual case by those who have the legal responsibility to make that decision.” (Pg. 135)
She states, “The message of Jesus Christ is as important and vitally applicable today as it was twenty centuries ago. Christmas should remind us of this timeless message and inspire us anew with the recollection of his blessed life.” (Pg. 159)
She explains, “I have been asked if Guruji would then disapprove of those who do not want to go to war. No; he came on earth to increase understanding, not to condemn. He understood the feelings of those who become ‘conscientious objectors’ and serve their countries in other capacities. During the Second World War Guruji often spoke of the millions who were killed. He explained that souls who are thrust out of the body suddenly, as when death occurs on the battlefield or in aerial bombing, return much sooner to earth than those who have been able to live out that incarnation. He said that many of these souls would return with such revulsion toward war that they would in future refuse to fight.” (Pg. 188-189)
She reports, “As I look back over the years of discipline, guidance, and training that our guru… gave to those of us who came in his contact, I see how it so wisely led us toward mental and emotional maturity. One of the basic problems of mankind is immaturity. We have wars because we behave like spoiled, thoughtless children… We fight, we quarrel. If someone has a ‘toy,’ we want it… everyone grows up in years, but very few grow up mentally and emotionally. Who can we say really reached maturity? A Jesus Christ, a Buddha, a … Paramahansa Yogananda—any great saint. It is what we all ought to strive for.” (Pg. 222)
She observes, “If we who have been left to carry on in his stead did not realize and experience this, we would be helpless to serve his work. It is because we feel his blessings and guidance, because we know he is as near today as when he was with us in fleshly form, that we have the strength, determination, enthusiasm, devotion, and conviction to do our part in spreading the message of Self-Realization Fellowship.” (Pg. 268)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying Yogananda, Daya Mata, or the Self-Realization Fellowship.
An introductory section of this 1990 book explains, “[This book] is the second anthology of talks by Sri Daya Mata, president and spiritual head of Self-Realization Fellowship… Since the mid-1950s monastics in the ashrams of Paramahansa Yogananda have been recording the talks given by Daya Mata during… gatherings of truth-seekers at which the leader speaks extemporaneously on inspirational subjects, in order to preserve her many personal stories about Paramahansa Yogananda and the wealth of spiritual counsel she had absorbed during her more than twenty years with him. The recordings were subsequently transcribed, and… the material was compiled into book form.”
She wrote in the Preface, “From 1931 to 1952, it was my privilege and duty to record stenographically Paramahansa Yogananda’s teachings for posterity: his public lectures and classes, the Sunday and Thursday inspirational services he conducted at his Self-realization Fellowship International Headquarters and temples, and much of his informal spiritual counsel to disciples. The teachings … were compiled into the ‘Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons.’ Of the inspirational talks he gave… over a hundred have been published in two anthologies… The purpose of the present volume … is to convey the personal guidance and inspiration Paramahansaji gave to the close disciples who lived around him---those who received through day-to-day association with the great Master his in-depth spiritual training and discipline… The counsel in this book is a gathering of the fruits of those twenty years at the feet of my Guru. It is the guidance he gave to all in whom he found not merely an intellectual curiosity about spiritual truths, but a genuine longing to draw nearer to God by anchoring their lives in Him.”
She recounts in the opening talk, “Tomorrow the classes begin, and I am remembering … when I first took such classes from our revered guru… What a tremendous effect he had on my life! From my earliest years, I had an unceasing desire to find God in this lifetime. It was in my seventeenth year that I met Paramahansaji. My body was very ill at that time… One eye was swollen closed, and I had three bandages on my face… In those days, Master would give several lectures… After the last of the public lectures, he would invite the congregation to come forward, and would greet them individually… When I stood before him, he looked at my disfigured face and asked, ‘What is the matter with you?’ After my mother … explained my health problem, he said, ‘Come back tomorrow to the classes… but remain afterward.’ … After the meeting… he suddenly said to me, ‘Do you believe that God can heal you?’ … I replied, ‘I KNOW God can heal me.’ He touched me in blessing between the eyebrows… Then he said, ‘From this day forward, you are healed. Inside one week the bandages will no longer be necessary; your scars will be gone.’ And that is exactly what happened. Within one week the condition cleared, and has never returned.” (Pg. 3-4)
She observes, “Living around such a great soul as Paramahansa Yogananda for so many years, I saw countless manifestations of his wonderful spiritual example, which has inspired crowds of souls to want to walk in his footsteps… He had the power to heal… And he had the power to read the minds of others… Yet Guruji was in many ways childlike. I do not mean childish; there is a difference. He had all the simple, trusting, loving qualities that a child shows toward its beloved mother. That is the way he was with God.” (Pg. 10)
She notes, “If man thinks only in terms of his own sensuality, ruled by his emotions of hatred, jealousy, lust, and greed, the inevitable result is inharmony between individuals, turmoil within societies, conflicts among nations. Wars have never cured anything; instead, they snowball into greater holocausts---one confrontation breeding another. Only the by evolution of wiser, more loving human beings will the world become a truly better place.” (Pg. 28-29)
She states, “Religious prejudice should not exist in the hearts of those who follow in the footsteps of Paramahansa Yogananda, but loyalty must. Respect all religions, but be loyal to your own. Having recognized that the universal Truth is expressed in different ways and in varying degrees in all religions, find the path that suits you, and do not waver from it. Honor all, but be true to your own way. That was Gurudev’s ideal; and it should be the ideal of all who follow him.” (Pg. 53)
She recalls, “In the last years of Master’s life he said to me, ‘Now you have to become a karma yogi.’ … In Guruji’s words: ‘The path of Karma Yoga is the path of uniting the soul with God through selfless activity… When you are doing things for yourself… your consciousness is united with your limited ego. But when you act for God, you are identified with Him. Perfection may be attained through Karma Yoga only if one dedicates all the fruits of his actions to God.” (Pg. 72)
Of Euthanasia/Right to Die, she recalls, “Paramahansa Yogananda taught us that it is not the role of Self-Realization Fellowship to debate these complex social issues, because a categorical answer cannot be given to this type of question---it very much depends on the particular circumstances. In the ultimate sense, God is the only one who has the right to take our lives… On the other hand, I am certain Master felt that it is not right to prolong life artificially if there is no hope of survival and the body is being sustained only by means of equipment. So this is something that must be determined in each individual case by those who have the legal responsibility to make that decision.” (Pg. 135)
She states, “The message of Jesus Christ is as important and vitally applicable today as it was twenty centuries ago. Christmas should remind us of this timeless message and inspire us anew with the recollection of his blessed life.” (Pg. 159)
She explains, “I have been asked if Guruji would then disapprove of those who do not want to go to war. No; he came on earth to increase understanding, not to condemn. He understood the feelings of those who become ‘conscientious objectors’ and serve their countries in other capacities. During the Second World War Guruji often spoke of the millions who were killed. He explained that souls who are thrust out of the body suddenly, as when death occurs on the battlefield or in aerial bombing, return much sooner to earth than those who have been able to live out that incarnation. He said that many of these souls would return with such revulsion toward war that they would in future refuse to fight.” (Pg. 188-189)
She reports, “As I look back over the years of discipline, guidance, and training that our guru… gave to those of us who came in his contact, I see how it so wisely led us toward mental and emotional maturity. One of the basic problems of mankind is immaturity. We have wars because we behave like spoiled, thoughtless children… We fight, we quarrel. If someone has a ‘toy,’ we want it… everyone grows up in years, but very few grow up mentally and emotionally. Who can we say really reached maturity? A Jesus Christ, a Buddha, a … Paramahansa Yogananda—any great saint. It is what we all ought to strive for.” (Pg. 222)
She observes, “If we who have been left to carry on in his stead did not realize and experience this, we would be helpless to serve his work. It is because we feel his blessings and guidance, because we know he is as near today as when he was with us in fleshly form, that we have the strength, determination, enthusiasm, devotion, and conviction to do our part in spreading the message of Self-Realization Fellowship.” (Pg. 268)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying Yogananda, Daya Mata, or the Self-Realization Fellowship.
September 11, 2017
I savored this book and read it as slowly as possible. Daya Mata has such simple, loving advice for living a happier life. I will read this book again, and her earlier work, Only Love.
June 21, 2018
Excellent!
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