It was near the end of a long race. The spectators in the stadium rose to their feet as the two leaders entered, the Kenyan slightly ahead of the young man from the Netherlands. Mistakenly thinking that he had finished, the Kenyan stopped a few yards from the finish line. Instead of racing past him, the Dutchman stopped and shouted that there were still a few more steps to go. The Kenyan was still confused, so the Hollander pushed him across the finish line.
A reporter asked him why he had done that instead of running by and winning the race. The young man replied, “But he was ahead of me. Helping him win was the right thing to do.”
“Yes,” the reporter went on, “but by doing so, you lost the gold medal.”
The young man replied simply, “How could I have explained my medal to my mother?”
For many of us, Paramhansa Yogananda is our mother/father, God. If we’re about to do something questionable, it would be wise to ask, “How can I explain this to my Guru?” Swami Kriyananda suggested that we mentally review each day’s events before going to sleep, asking, “How did I do on the field of Kurukshetra (action) today? Which battles did I win? Which ones did I lose?”
Jesus Christ says in the Bible, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
If we practice this advice, the spiritual path loses all its complexity. It becomes simple: Love God, and expand your circle of love to include everyone. The saints of all religions have followed this path. If we do the same, we will be well on our way to becoming saints ourselves.
It begins by just doing what is right. We read a beautiful example of this just a few days ago.
Xavier Jones was a ninth grade student in St. Louis, about to graduate from middle school. Unable to find a ride to his graduation, he asked his brother and a friend to accompany him on the six-mile walk there. When the president of a local college heard the story, she offered the young man a full four-year scholarship to attend college when the time was right. Furthermore, a professional football player gave Jones a new high-end electric bicycle for his future commutes. Jones, you see, has sickle cell anemia, and he and his six siblings lost their mother a few years ago.
It is stories like these that restore our faith in the goodness of people. Examples of noble actions can go viral, spreading goodness and joy from person to person. If we are inspired by the examples mentioned above, then it is time to act in a like manner. Let each of us, clinging to dharma, do something today that can inspire others. Let us behave in such a way that it will be a pleasure to explain our actions to God and Guru before we lay our heads down for sleep tonight.
I’ll end by quoting the inscription by Yoganandaji in a first edition of Songs of the Soul that we keep in our meditation room. It reads, “There is one breath that enlivens all strange lands and strangers. Under one sky we live watched by One Father. With my blessings, Swami Yogananda.”
In divine friendship,
Nayaswami Jyotish
The next Touch of Light series book by Jyotish and Devi releases July 1, 2023: Touch of Divine Wisdom: Living the Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. You can pre-order now on CrystalClarity.com.
Listen to Jyotish as he reads the blog, then expands on it, often adding special behind-the-inspiration stories and answers to common spiritual questions. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:54):
22 Comments
Superb. Thanks and regards
Beautiful!
From now onwards, if ever I am about to do something not right, I will just ask myself this question:
“How can I explain this to my Guru?”
Who is the painting for the cover. Jyotish , I think
Yes, I painted it for a friend some years ago when she was going through a challenging time.
A wonderful way to start the day. Thank you so much for sharing these inspiring messages with us all. Have a lovely day and weekend.
Thanks for reminding us that at the end of the “day” we have to stand before our father – Guru! 🙏🙏
Thank you Jyotis, beautifully said and also for your painting!
It made me had this reflection: in the present circumstances we are not perfects , or let’s say we do not act as per our inner perfection yet, so on one hand we are in a purification process (may I say we pay for our past faults?) While on the other we keep failing every day (creating more debt?) Then the best (only?) we can do is look for having a positive balance (wow, I’m explaining it like an accountant;) but I’m an engineer) I hear a bounce inside that, smiling to me, says Do your best everyday, I am behind you pushing you in this race.
Please correct me!
In Master’s Love
So very special!
Thank you! and much love!
Corrector wrote …bounce, I wanted to write voice…
Yes this is the way how it works, I trye do live this way. In Joy, Gyandevi.
I love this so much. I’ve said my whole life, since childhood.. it doesn’t matter what other people say or think of me, only that when I lay my head on pillow at night, I can do so with clean, clear conscience. I then pray for forgiveness, since imperfection permeates. But, just ‘doing the right thing’ as Christ exemplified is always the goal. Reading this feeds my Soul, to stay strong in my beliefs, through strife. Thank you
Wow!!
Lovely. You two always make me cry. Thank you!
Thank you Jyotish. The clarity and love conveyed in these words are a tangible expression of Master and Swamiji’s eternal love and divine friendship. Thank you for being such a pure channel of light and wisdom, uplifting us all!
Thank you for the post and for sharing those beautiful examples of generosity…
Beautiful. Reading this makes me happy. I love that the young Dutch man acted so spontaneously to be fair. Innate goodness triumphs again.
I called to offer my gifts of Spirit, with no reply. https://www.facebook.com/readersandhealers
Beautiful message. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes they seem personally addressed. “Magically” at the perfect and precise time.
Thanks again.
Blessings,
Wow. so inspiring Ji, thank you for this beautiful soul stirring blog. What examples of nobility !!! I loved what you said in the audio message about how we can create a little bubble of higher age around us – to act nobly, do the right thing; have a standard of higher action which the Guru represents to guide us in our choices to behave and when we are trying to help others. Thank you dearest Jyotish Ji for these pearls of wisdom. (Congratulations and a big thank you to you both for your next book in the series – Touch of Wisdom. Looking forward to reading/cherishing it)
Respected Jyotish Ji,
Your comments and messages that you write in your blog are magnificent. It helps us to show the actual path that we should choose for our lifestyle. Most of us do lead our lifestyle according to our own way without knowing the objective of our life. The taste of spirituality can show and help us to learn the objective of our life. There is nothing like blessings of Almighty in our life and to feel it in our life is the taste of spirituality.
It is my belief that a man of spirituality can do the right thing in right time.
May Mahabatar Baba, Lahiri Mahasaya, Paramhansha Yoganandaji bless us all so that we can choose the right thing in right time.
Thank you very much.
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
This is awesome! So beautiful.. thanks for sharing this blog and the guidelines. A fitting title.
I save this one to re read it time and again as a reminder!
Joy,
Prem
Who is the guru? No externalisation, only the Self. No projection. Nothing.