Hello. I have two questions:
1. Where might I find information on the "beattitudes"?
2. Where can I find a definitive list of the spiritual laws?
Thank you.
Blessings
Janice
—JANICE freebern, United States
Dear Janice,
Paramhansa Yogananda did comment upon the Beatitudes, and Swami Kriyananda, Ananda’s founder and Yogananda’s direct disciple, shared his commentary and interpretation in a booklet. This was once in print, and although I don’t see it on the Crystal Clarity publisher’s website, I did find it here.
As to a “definitive list of the spiritual laws” that’s a tall order, indeed!
We think of the Ten Commandments of the Bible, or the Yamas and Niyamas (do’s and don’ts) of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and any number of such listings from scriptures or scriptural interpetations down through the ages.
We think also of the Golden Rule, to “do unto others as we would have done unto us,” and the two great Biblical commandments: to love God and to love our neighbor as our own Self.
The precepts of Self-realization are beautifully summarized in the book, The Essence of Self-Realization.
All such precepts derive from the essential teaching that we are children of God. That which affirms our identification with the body, ego, and senses should be avoided in favor of seeking God as love, compassion, peace, and wisdom.
The underlying message of Self-realization is that we were created to achieve the permanent realization that we are but sparks of the Infinite Spirit. Non-violence, truth telling, desirelessness, contentment, cleanliness, self-control, service to others, compassion, self-giving, self-study, and seeking the company of saints and like-minded souls, together with prayer and meditation, constitute the path to God.
Blessings,
Nayaswami Hriman
