Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
page 66 of 654 (10%)
"Only the shallow man loses responsiveness to the woes of others'
lives, as he sinks into narrow suffering of his own." The SADHU'S
austere face was noticeably softened. "The one who practices a
scalpel self-dissection will know an expansion of universal pity.
Release is given him from the deafening demands of his ego. The
love of God flowers on such soil. The creature finally turns to
his Creator, if for no other reason than to ask in anguish: 'Why,
Lord, why?' By ignoble whips of pain, man is driven at last into
the Infinite Presence, whose beauty alone should lure him."

The sage and I were present in Calcutta's Kalighat Temple, whither
I had gone to view its famed magnificence. With a sweeping gesture,
my chance companion dismissed the ornate dignity.

"Bricks and mortar sing us no audible tune; the heart opens only
to the human chant of being."

We strolled to the inviting sunshine at the entrance, where throngs
of devotees were passing to and fro.

"You are young." The sage surveyed me thoughtfully. "India too is
young. The ancient RISHIS {FN5-3} laid down ineradicable patterns
of spiritual living. Their hoary dictums suffice for this day
and land. Not outmoded, not unsophisticated against the guiles
of materialism, the disciplinary precepts mold India still. By
millenniums-more than embarrassed scholars care to compute!-the
skeptic Time has validated Vedic worth. Take it for your heritage."

As I was reverently bidding farewell to the eloquent SADHU, he
revealed a clairvoyant perception:
DigitalOcean Referral Badge