Only Love: Living the Spiritual Life in a Changing World

About This Book

This volume began as a small booklet published in 1971 entitled Qualities of a Devotee. It contained several talks by Sri Daya Mata, Self-Realization Fellowship president (from 1955 until her passing in 2010), most of which were given in the 1960s. The present expanded anthology spans a twenty-year period, from 1955 to 1975, with selections ranging from major addresses in India and America to brief informal talks. Also included are some of Daya Mata’s candid responses to questions asked of her during satsangas (gatherings of truth-seekers at which the leader speaks extemporaneously on spiritual subjects). Many of the talks first appeared in print in the pages of Self-Realization (the magazine begun by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1925). Although most of them were directed either to members of the Self-Realization Fellowship monastic order or to students of Paramahansa Yoga­nanda’s teachings, people of all different faiths and walks of life found them to be a source of helpful and compassionate guidance. Thus, in 1976, Self-Realization Fellowship published this first anthology of Sri Daya Mata’s talks; a second volume, Finding the Joy Within You, was published in 1990.

Copyright © 1976, 2003 Self-Realization Fellowship

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SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP

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Los Angeles, California 90065-3219

The Self-Realization Fellowship name and emblem (shown above) appear on all SRF books, recordings, and other publications, as an assurance that a work originates with the society established by Paramahansa Yogananda and faithfully conveys his teachings.

Ebook edition, 2022.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-44633

ISBN: 978-0-87612-215-0 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-87612-787-2 (Kindle edition)

ISBN: 978-0-87612-788-9 (ePub edition)

To my revered Gurudeva

PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA

without whose blessings

this devotee would not have found

God’s love divine—the perfect, all-fulfilling

love of Him who is our one Father, Mother,

Friend, Beloved

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

Introduction

Why Should We Seek God?

How Can We Find God?

The Rewards of Meditation

God Is the Common Denominator of All Life

Man’s Expanding Horizons

The Experience of God Will Bring World Unity

Man's Proximity to the World Blinds Him

Don’t Wait Until Life Forces You to Seek God

Our Divine Destiny

Man’s Destiny Is to Know God

Qualities of a Devotee

Keeping the Mind on God Helps Solve Your Problems

Work at Changing Yourself

When Attitude Is Right It Becomes Christlike

Everyone Is a Little Bit Crazy

Grasp Truth With the Intellect; Absorb It Within the Soul

God Is Shyly Evasive

Our Basic Desires Are Native to the Soul

Understanding One Another

Without Communication, Misunderstanding Grows

How to Change Others

Who Is Responsible for Teenage Behavior?

The Divine Meaning Behind Human Relationships

Lessons We Can Learn From Others

Be Thou of Even Mind

Find Out What God Expects of You

Be Anchored in Him Who Is Changeless

The Importance of Loving God

Set Aside Time for God Alone

Spiritualizing Life

Plunge the Mind Into Meditation

Learn to Draw From a Higher Power

The Value of Balanced Living

Truth Is Simple

The View of the Wise Toward Life’s Experiences

Thoughts on Right Attitude

Thy Will Be Done

Be an Instrument of God

Spiritual Opportunity in the New Year

The Light of God Destroys Darkness

Reinforce Your Good Resolutions

Build Your Life on the Rock of Meditation

Practice the Presence of God

Just Remember to Do the Best You Can Every Day

My Prayer for You

The Secret of Forgiving

Seek Realization of the Soul, Repository of Love

A Time for Prayer, a Time for Surrender

Informal Conversation With God—The Most Natural Prayer

The Body Is Just a Cloak Over the Soul

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

The Magnetic Power of Affirmation

Thought—The Most Potent Force in the World

Man’s Need for God

God and Man Seek Unconditional Love

Hold Fast to God; He Can Help You

Pleasing God Should Be Our Motive in Life

How to Find Favor With God

God Is the Easiest to Know

If Miracles Are Your Goal, God Withholds Himself

The Insight That Lifts the Veils of Nature

The Requirements of a True Karma Yogi

We Are Completely Dependent on God

Never Harbor a Fear of God

Remind God of His Responsible Part in Our Difficulties

Secrets of Spiritual Progress

The Conflict Between Service and Meditation

Meditation Is Our Most Important Duty

A Change in Our Thinking Will Bring God Nearer

Perform Duties Willingly, Without Complaint

As Souls All Men Are Equal

The Only Good Is God

Is Meditation on God Compatible With Modern Life?

Combine Meditation With Right Activity

Meditation Alone Can Satisfy Your Spiritual Hunger

Be Sincere in Your Spiritual Goals

Positive, Right Thinking

Think of God Day and Night

Meaning of Responsibility

Constructive and Destructive Sensitivity

Meditation and Right Thinking

Your Real Mission in Life

The Only Way to Happiness

The Most Successful Man

Steps Toward Self-realization

Our Kingdom Is Not of This World

Heaven Lies Within

The Emptiness Only God Can Fill

Truth Drawn From Within Changes One’s Life

God Is With Us Always

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods

The Value of Silence

Yoga Teaches Man to Change Himself

An Experience With Divine Mother

Experiences With My Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda

God Can Be Known Only Through Personal Experience

All Devotion Offered to Guru Is Given to God

An Experience in Nirbikalpa Samadhi

Last Days With the Guru

Follow the Sadhana of the Guru

The Path of Devotion

Devotion Should Be for God Alone, Not to Impress Others

Bliss Is the Ultimate Goal of Man

A Blessing From Mahavatar Babaji

A Divine Confirmation From Babaji

A Prophetic Vision

My Nature Is Love

The Spirit of Truth

Truth Is Fully Understood Only When Experienced

The Right Way to Satisfy Desires

Do Avatars Have Karma?

A Master Can Be Fiery Without Anger

As Actors Play a Role, Avatars Take On Name and Form

Our Real Strength Comes From Self-surrender

Sooner or Later God Fulfills All Desires

Our Oneness in God

The Brotherhood of Man, the Fatherhood of God

Where Two or Three Are Gathered Together

The Only Answer to Life

Walk Inwardly With God

Learning to Behave

One Cannot Successfully Entertain Both Good and Evil

The Transforming Power of a Glimpse of God

In Self-Mastery Nothing Can Disturb or Shake Us

Obstacles Are Meant to Strengthen Us

The Greatest Force in the World

How to Know God

Self-Analysis, a Good Way to Judge Spiritual Progress

Meditation Transforms Our Life

Attachment to God Decreases Material Attachments

God Is Our Eternal Companion

Take Your Troubles to God

Want God With All Your Heart

The Spiritual Goals of Self-Realization Fellowship

An Anthology of Counsel

God Is the Greatest Treasure

God Is the Answer to Every Problem

The Psychological Battlefield of Good and Evil

Self-realization Is Found in Inner Silence

We Have No Time to Waste

Be on Fire for God

Divine Love Makes Each Soul Unique

Let God Help Carry Your Load

Rely on God Alone

Give God a Chance

Admonitions for Advancement on the Path

Divine Love Is the Motivation of Right Activity

The Delusion of Mortal Consciousness

The Privilege of Serving God

Goals for a New Year

We Are Bound Together by Love

The Divine Mother as Disciplinarian

Bringing Out the Best Within Us

The Power of Discrimination

Watch Your Own Thoughts and Actions

A Pattern for Spiritual Living

The Secret of a Happy Life

The Divine Romance With God

About the Author

Illustrations

Sri Daya Mata (frontispiece)

With Paramahansa Yogananda, Encinitas, 1939

Upon arrival at Ranchi, 1967

In meditation, during Ram Dhun, Ranchi, 1968

At a YSS school, Ranchi, 1972

Letter from Paramahansa Yogananda

Conducting satsanga, Dakshineswar, 1973

Making friends with a snake, Banaras, 1961

Conducting sannyas, Ranchi, 1968

Blessing an infant, India, 1961

Comforting an aged devotee, Calcutta, 1968

Feeding children, Dakshineswar, India, 1961

Celebrating Holi, Ranchi, March 1973

A child’s Holi observance before Mataji, Ranchi

In Palpara, West Bengal, 1973

With the Shankaracharya of Gowardhan Math, 1958

On beach at SRF ashram, Encinitas

Favorite picture of Paramahansa Yogananda

In samadhi, Ranchi, 1967

At the cave of Mahavatar Babaji, Himalayas, 1963

In meditation, Kriya Yoga ceremony, Los Angeles

At SRF Convocation, Los Angeles, 1975

Conducting satsanga in Paris, 1969

At Pahalgam, Kashmir, 1961

At international headquarters, Los Angeles, 1969

After a sannyas ceremony, Los Angeles, 1965

With Ananda Mata and Mrinalini Mata, Bombay

Preface

By Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan

Under-Secretary General for Inter-Agency Affairs and Coordination at the United Nations

I came across Autobiography of a Yogi in 1967. It was my first introduction to Paramahansa Yogananda and to the Self-Realization Fellowship movement. I have since followed closely the work of this society. I have had the privilege of meeting several times with Sri Daya Mataji, and with some of her dedicated colleagues. I have also had the opportunity to visit the Self-Realization Center in Encinitas, California, where Paramahansa Yogananda lived for many years.

As I said earlier, it was my privilege to meet Sri Daya Mataji; for anyone who has been in her presence cannot fail to be affected by the aura of spiritual peace and serenity that she radiates. Sri Daya Mataji was moved at a very young age to follow the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda; obviously, the divine spark of illumination emanating from her Guru had touched her even in youth. She became one of the first followers of Sri Yoganandaji during his lifetime, and is now his worthy spiritual successor¹ in carrying his message not only in this country and my own, but across the world.

This message of peace and inner tranquillity, and of an integrated human personality, is most relevant to our times. We live in an age of turmoil, and the pace of change is indeed frightening. Even in the most advanced nations many human beings feel insecurity at the individual level, while in the countries of the third world there is unimaginable poverty, want, and suffering. We need a new philosophy of interdependence and global solidarity to resolve these problems. This requires a very considerable change of attitude, not merely on the part of governments operating through an international organization such as the United Nations, which I have served for over nineteen years, but even more importantly at the level of the ordinary individual. We need, more than ever before, human beings who are integrated individuals, and Self-realization is a sure and simple way of achieving this integrated personality.

When the first moon astronauts saw the earth from the moon, they exclaimed that it was so beautiful. From that distance they saw the earth, not as countries or continents or regions inhabited by people of different races and colors, but as a whole. If we are not able to see the earth as a whole, it is because we are so earthbound in our thinking. This is a limitation we can easily overcome by the exercise of a little imagination, which will enable us to lift our sights over the narrow divisions that tend to separate us, and to follow the teachings of the great saints and sages who have urged us to practice love and compassion and tolerance.

The message of Sri Daya Mataji is therefore one of great importance and relevance in this age of doubt and skepticism. Her talks published in this book stand out as a beacon of hope and faith. They are a proclamation, not only of the oneness of the human race, but also of the oneness of man with God.

New York City

14 January 1976

1 Sri Mrinalini Mata, another of the Guru’s closest disciples, became Paramahansa Yogananda’s spiritual successor as president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India after the passing of Sri Daya Mata in 2010.

Introduction

To read or hear the words of Sri Daya Mata is to become acquainted with one who is in love. Overcoming exclusiveness at every level, hers is a love that reaches out and embraces all. It is a sublime expression of the soul’s yearning and of its joyous fulfillment in God. In this volume of informal talks, Mataji gives us a glimpse into the realm of expanded spiritual consciousness wherein the soul experiences the love divine.

Daya Mata was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. From her earliest years she felt deeply drawn to God. At the age of eight, when she first heard about India in school, she felt a mysterious inner awakening, and with it a conviction that India held the key to the fulfillment of her life. That day, when school was over, she ran home and exclaimed jubilantly to her mother, When I grow up I will never marry; I will go to India. Prophetic words from a child.

When Daya Mata was fifteen, she was given a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, Song of the Lord. This scripture deeply moved her, for it revealed God’s compassionate love for and understanding of His children. He was seen to be approachable, knowable; and His children were called divine beings, who through self-effort could realize their spiritual birthright, oneness with Him. Daya Mata resolved that somehow, in some way, she would devote her life to seeking God. She went from one religious authority to another, yet always there remained in her heart an unsatisfied question: "But who loves God; who knows Him?" Sadly she realized that she lacked the one essential to her search: the guidance of someone who actually knew God.

It was in 1931, when she was seventeen, that Daya Mata first saw Paramahansa Yogananda.¹ He was addressing a large audience in Salt Lake City. Recalling her first impressions, she has said, How can I describe it to you? When I saw him standing there on the platform, I became absolutely transfixed. He was speaking of the spiritual potential of will power, and of love for God. He spoke as I had never heard anyone speak of God. I was enthralled. Instantly recognizing him as one who knew God and who could show me the way to Him, I resolved, ‘Him I shall follow.’

In a crowd of thousands it seemed unlikely that Daya Mata would have any opportunity to meet the Guru. But it is said that adversity is sometimes a blessing in disguise. Daya Mata had long suffered from a severe blood disorder. The illness, which doctors had been unable to cure, had finally forced her to leave school. However, she was faithfully attending Paramahansaji’s classes, and the bandages covering her swollen face had apparently attracted the attention of the great Guru. Toward the end of the classes he told the audience that within seven days no trace of her illness would remain. And so it was. But to Daya Mata, an even greater blessing than her remarkable healing was an opportunity to meet this man of God. She was extremely shy, and to this day wonders how she found the courage to speak her first words to him: I want so much to enter your ashram and devote my life to seeking God. The Guru looked at her penetratingly for a moment. And you will.

But it would require a miracle for that to come to pass, as family opposition was great. She was still a young girl, and her family—with the exception of her understanding mother—was firmly set against her leaving home to follow a religion wholly foreign to them. But one evening, Paramahansa Yogananda said in his lecture that if a devotee called deeply enough to God, with determination to receive a response, His response would be forthcoming. Daya Mata made her resolve; and that night after the family had retired, she went into the living room, where she could be alone. Tears flowed as she poured out her heart to God. After several hours, a profound peace came over her whole being, and she could cry no longer: she knew that God had heard her prayer. Within two weeks all doors were opened, and she was able to join the ashram of Paramahansa Yogananda in Los Angeles.

Time sped by quickly at the feet of her Guru. Although she was deeply happy, those early years of ashram training were not without struggle. Paramahansaji was lovingly but firmly engaged in the task of transforming the young chela² into an exemplary disciple. He later told Daya Mata that he gave to her in those years the same severe discipline that his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, had given to him—a significant remark, since she was to inherit the spiritual and organizational mantle Sri Yukteswar had bestowed on him.

With the passage of time, more and more responsibility was given to Daya Mata by the Guru. Several years before his mahasamadhi,³ Paramahansaji asked her to take administrative charge of the Mount Washington international headquarters. He then retired into seclusion and began to devote most of his time to writing. Daya Mata’s spiritual and administrative responsibilities became increasingly greater as the worldwide activities of the society grew.

The time came when the Guru told his disciple that he would soon leave his earthly body. Stunned, Daya Mata asked how the work could continue without him. Softly he answered, Remember this: When I have left this world, only love can take my place. Be so drunk with the love of God night and day that you won’t know anything but God; and give that love to all. These words became the guiding light of her life.

Paramahansaji entered mahasamadhi in Los Angeles on March 7, 1952. Three years later, succeeding the late, saintly Rajarsi Janakananda, Sri Daya Mata became the third president of her Gurudeva’s society. As the spiritual successor of Paramahansa Yogananda, and a true Mother of Compassion, as her name signifies, she saw to the faithful carrying out of his ideals and wishes concerning Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, the spiritual guidance of its members, and the training of the monastic disciples who reside in the various Self-Realization/Yogoda Satsanga ashrams.

After serving more than 55 years as the spiritual leader of Paramahansa Yogananda’s worldwide work, Sri Daya Mata peacefully passed away on November 30, 2010, at the age of 96. Her life’s accomplishments as a pioneering figure in the spread of India’s time-honored spiritual traditions were memorialized in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Times of India, and other major newspapers and magazines in the United States, India and elsewhere.

Though her life was given primarily to her Guru’s work and to devotees of the path of Self-Realization, she felt all seekers of God to be a part of her spiritual family, whatever their creed. A Catholic Sister of Charity, after meeting Daya Mata and hearing her speak on several occasions, remarked, For me, as a member of a religious order, Daya Mata is a shining example of what a life committed to the service of God and neighbor ought to be. She makes me think of that great forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist, who said of himself, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.’ In her presence there are no Catholics, Protestants, or Hindus, but only children of the one Father, God. And each one of them she receives graciously and has a place for them in her heart. I, a Catholic nun, have experienced so much her kindness and her interest and encouragement. I always felt that she treated me as one of her own. For me she will always be an ideal of what my life as a religious ought to be.…She radiates God.

Not the rule, but the spirit of the path to God is the effective, almost magical ingredient that transforms the life of the devotee. Scriptural truths and injunctions are merely words until they become a part of one’s thoughts and actions. They must be lived. Only Love illustrates the spirit of divine seeking. It lays the foundation for a life of attunement with God, who is the Source, Sustainer, and Essence of man’s life and being.

All spiritual seekers, whatever their outer role in life, will find that this book speaks to the soul. Though many of the talks in this collection were addressed primarily to the resident monastics of Self-Realization/Yogoda Satsanga ashrams, the truths expressed herein are universally applicable.

Daya Mata’s words, illumined by direct personal realization, show that seeking God is a joyous experience; finding Him is Joy Itself.

Self-Realization Fellowship

1 Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi, had been in the United States since 1920. At that time he had been invited as a delegate from India to the International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. During the intervening years, he had lectured throughout the country, and had established in Los Angeles an international headquarters for his work, Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.

2 Hindi word for disciple.

3 A God-realized soul’s conscious exit from the body at the time of physical death.

Why Should We Seek God?

Jyoti Mandram Hall, Bangalore, India, December 31, 1967

Why should we seek God? What is God? How can we find Him?

The first question can be answered very simply. We should seek God because we are made in His image,¹ and only His perfection and permanency can give us lasting happiness.

Man was given a mind and a body with five senses through which he perceives this finite world and identifies himself with it. But man is neither the body nor the mind; his nature is spirit, the immortal soul. As often as he tries to find permanent happiness through his sensory perceptions, so often his hopes, his enthusiasm, his desires, are shipwrecked on the rocks of deep frustration and disappointment. Everything in the material universe is essentially ephemeral and ever changing. That which is subject to change carries within it the seeds of disappointment. And so it is that our ship of worldly expectations sooner or later runs aground on the shoals of disillusionment. Therefore we should seek God, because He is the fountainhead of all wisdom, all love, all bliss, all contentment. God is the source of our being, the source of all life. And we are made in His image. When we will find Him, we will realize this truth.

If God is the goal of man, then what is He? Every scripture, and every great soul who has ever spoken of his experience of God, has declared certain qualities to be the nature of Spirit. Still we cannot say what God is. No man has ever been able to describe Him fully. There is a story that an image made of salt went down to the shore to measure the depths of the ocean. The moment it stepped into the water, it melted away. The image could not measure the depths, for it had become one with the sea. It is the same with man. His very being consists of those same qualities that are of Spirit. The moment his soul becomes identified with the Infinite Being, he becomes one with God, and can no longer describe what God is. But many saints have described what one experiences when he communes with Spirit.

All scriptures state that God is peace, love, wisdom, bliss. All agree that God is cosmic intelligence, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the Absolute. He is the great cosmic sound of Aum,² the Amen of the Christians. He is cosmic light. These are all attributes or qualities of the Infinite. And when the devotee deeply seeks