The balanced and timely
Wisdom of Paramahansa Yogananda.
It is especially worthy to note that this modern yogi/prophet was keen enough to state that all scripture that we read may not all be the Absolute unadulderated word of anyones favorite God - while at the same time Yogananda honors all religious traditions and does a remarkable job of separating the "sugar from the sand" to show us the rich and valuable elements and their esoteric meanings that will surely bless and inspire the lives of all seekers and devotees.
See following quote>>>>>>
Scripture is not always absolute truth – Paramahansa Yogananda
“Religionists may argue, “my faith is better than yours.” They are like the blind men who fought about the description of the elephant they had been washing. One had been washing the trunk, so he said that the elephant was like a snake. One said that the elephant was like a pillar; he had been washing the leg. Another said the elephant was like a wall; he had been washing the massive sides. The man washing the tusks proclaimed confidently that the beast was no more than two pieces of bone. The man washing the tail was sure all were wrong, for the elephant was like a rope leading high up toward heaven! Then the driver said, “Friends, you are all right and you are all wrong.” Because each blind man had been washing a part of the elephant, they were all partly right; but they were also wrong because the part was not the whole.
Even on the authority of a scriptural text, one cannot judge what it teaches, for various are the meanings and consequent distortions drawn from holy writ, some of which defy the laws of both reason and wisdom.
Also, who can deny what errors might have come down through the centuries in the form of mistranslations or mistakes mane by scribes?
The bible and the Vedas may well be inspired texts that came from heaven, but the ultimate test of truth is one’s own realization, direct experience received through the medium of the soul’s omniscient intuition.”
Paramahansa Yogananda, from “The Second Coming of Christ; Resurrecting the Christ Within you.”
Page 379, © Self-Realization Publishers , 2004, LA USA,
Also see page 69 of the same book, where the master tells us that he did not write this biblical commentary in an attempt to prove the authenticity of the scriptures, but rather to show their correlation with many holy parts of vedic scriptures.
Paramahansa Yogananda was able to bring out the hidden and clearest truths from these sometimes distorted ancient writings. Few in the world have given greater meaning to the sacred.
It is from Yogananda's talks, life and writings that major shifts in the spiritual outlook of the world are now taking place, as well as in many other fields in which he dealt.
