Love is the Key
by J.
Donald Walters
 "This
heart's natural love is the principal thing to attain a holy
life... It is impossible for man to advance a step [towards
salvation] without it." said Swami Sri Yukteswar, in The
Holy Science.
The present
society affords little encouragement for the development of
that all-surrendering love of which the saints have ever
spoken. "Mawkish sentimentalism" has been the common
judgment on deep feeling of any kind. An unfeeling heart has
even been admired by many, as evidence of a "scientific
outlook".
The truth is
that without love no one can penetrate deeply into the heart
of things. For while emotions can cloud the mind, calm pure
love clarifies it, and makes possible the subtlest intuitions.
One of the
traits that impressed me about Yogananda most deeply was his
quality of universal respect. It was a respect born of the
deepest concern for others' welfare. Any stranger was, I'm
convinced, as dear to him as his own disciples were.
A young monk
from India told me of an example he had seen of the
universality of Yogananda's love.
Yogananda
had invited him out for a drive one afternoon. They were on
their way home, near sundown. "Stop the car!"
Yogananda cried suddenly.
They parked
by the curb. He got out and walked back several doors to a
small, rather shoddy-looking variety shop. There, to the
monk's astonishment, he selected a number of items, none of
them useful. "What on earth can he want with all that
junk?" my friend marveled.
At the front
counter the owner, an elderly woman, added up the price.
When Yogananda paid it, she burst into tears.
"I very
badly needed just this sum of money today!" she cried.
"It's near closing time, and I'd almost given up hope
of getting it. Bless you, Sir. God Himself must have sent
you to me in my hour of need!"
His quiet
smile alone betrayed his knowledge of her difficulty. He
offered no word of explanation. The purchases, as my friend
had suspected, served no practical purpose thereafter.
Yogananda wore
his wisdom without the slightest affectation, like a
comfortable old jacket that one has been wearing for years. I
had always supposed that deep truths must be spoken
portentously, in measured cadences, almost in the style of
Emerson's essays. But Yogananda lectured in a manner so
totally natural that I was quite taken aback.
Was this the
way to convince people of the importance of divine truths? He
made no attempt to impress us with the depth of his insights.
Frequently, rather, he sent us into gales of merriment. Only
gradually did I observe that his flashes of humor invariably
preceded some very sound spiritual advice.
"Never
say that you are a sinner," he went on to tell us.
"You are a child of God! Gold, though covered over with
mud for centuries, remains gold. Even so, the pure gold of the
soul, though covered for eons of time with the mud of
delusion, remains forever pure 'gold'. To call yourself a
sinner is to identify yourself with your sins, instead of
trying to overcome them. To call yourself a sinner is the
greatest sin before God!"
There was a
man who, for years, out of intense jealousy, slandered him.
One day, less than a week before the end of Yogananda's life,
the two of them met at a formal gathering.
"Remember," Yogananda said, gazing into the man's
eyes with deep forgiveness, "I will always love
you!" I saw the man later, gazing at him with deep love
and admiration.
Yogananda's
counsel to people, born as it was of that love, was always
particular to their needs. Seeing me one day on the grounds,
he advised me, "Do not get excited or impatient, Walter.
Go with slow speed." Only one who knew my private
thoughts in meditation could have perceived the galloping zeal
with which I'd entered the spiritual path. It was not an
attitude that I displayed outwardly.
He was my
friend; ever quietly and firmly on my side, anxious only to
help me toward the highest understanding, even when I erred.
Moreover, he was exactly the same to all, no matter what they
did, nor how they treated him.
Once he needed
to scold one of the ministers. "But please, Sir,"
the minister pleaded, "you will forgive me, won't
you?" "Well," Yogananda replied in
astonishment, "what else can I do?'
 Excerpted
from The
Path
by J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda).
Reprinted
with permission of the publisher, Crystal Clarity Publishers,
14618 Tyler Foote Road, Nevada City, CA 95959
(1-800-424-1055).
http://www.crystalclarity.com.
Info/Order
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About The
Author
J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda) has
written more than forty-five books on education, relationships, the
arts, business, and meditation. For information about books and tapes,
please write or call Crystal Clarity Publishers, 14618 Tyler Foote Road,
Nevada City, CA 95959 (1-800-424-1055.
http://www.crystalclarity.com.
To visit the website of Ananda, founded by J. Donald Walters, visit
www.ananda.org.
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