The Poem “God! God! God!” by Paramhansa Yogananda

This past (August 2014) Spiritual Renewal Week (SRW), Nayaswami Jyotish encouraged us to memorize and repeat the poem, “God! God! God!” by Paramhansa Yogananda, put to lyrics by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple:

From the depths of slumber,
As I ascend the spiral stairways of wakefulness,
I will whisper:
God! God! God!

Thou art the food, and when I break my fast
Of nightly separation from Thee,
I will taste Thee, and mentally say:
God! God! God!

No matter where I go, the spotlight of my mind
Will ever keep turning on Thee;
And in the battle din of activity, my silent war-cry will be:
God! God! God!

When boisterous storms of trials shriek,
And when worries howl at me,
I will drown their noises, loudly chanting:
God! God! God!

When my mind weaves dreams
With threads of memories,
On that magic cloth will I emboss:
God! God! God!

Every night, in time of deepest sleep,
When my peace dreams and calls, Joy! Joy! Joy!
My joy comes singing evermore:
God! God! God!

In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,
Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,
My soul will constantly um, unheard by any:
God! God! God!

Listen to Swami Kriyananda singing the poem, “God! God! God!”

Jyotish said in a talk he gave that the poem could be used as a simple and powerful tool to keep the mind turned toward God, to help us live in joy.

Prior to this year’s SRW, Jyotish also made this recommendation at a previous SRW (2012). It was the SRW just prior to when I had to make my journey back to Santa Cruz for a new job outside the community.

I had recently been given a print-out of this poem during a pilgrimage to Mount Washington and the places of Paramhansa Yogananda in Los Angeles. I decided to memorize it, and taped it to the wall of my new cubicle when I arrived my first day, to be sure “the spotlight of my mind” was ever kept turning toward God and Guru.

I trained my mind to recite “God! God! God!” whenever I needed a boost, or felt my mind was wandering away from practicing the presence of God. I knew that being away from the spiritual support of Ananda, it was even more important to put out lots of energy to stay uplifted and peaceful during the day—especially “when boisterous storms of trials shriek[ed] and when worries howl[ed] at me.”

My co-workers joked that my desk was the Zen desk. “Go there when you need to get calm.”

With the practice of this poem, I was able to feel relief. Of course, being away from Ananda, my spiritual home, made some days harder than others. But I knew when the time was right, the circumstances that led to taking the job could shift, and I’d be able to return to the village or elsewhere when it was meant to be.

In divine timing, I did find myself home again at Ananda. And—during this past SRW—upon hearing the mention again of the poem, “God! God! God!” my joy came singing evermore!  Everything had come full circle. By God’s grace I was home.