[0:01]The Wisdom of Yogananda.

[0:36]Talking with God is a definite fact. In India, I have been in the presence of saints while they were talking with the Heavenly Father. And all of you also may communicate with Him, not a one-sided conversation, but a real talk, wherein you speak to God, and He responds. Everyone can talk to the Lord, of course. But I am discussing today how we may persuade Him to reply to us.

[1:31]How you can talk with God by Paramahansa Yogananda, extracts from lectures by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1944.

[1:44]Why should we doubt? The scriptures of the world abound in descriptions of talks between God and man. One of the most beautiful of these incidents is recorded in 1 Kings, Chapter 3, verse 5-13 in the Bible. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give thee." And Solomon said, "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart." And God said unto him, "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment. Behold, I have done according to thy words, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor." David, too, held converse many times with the Lord, and discussed even mundane matters with Him. And David inquired of God, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? And wilt Thou deliver them into mine hand?" And the Lord said unto him, "Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand."

[3:34]God is moved only by love. The average man prays to God with his mind only, not with all the fervor of his heart. Such prayers are too weak to bring any response. We should speak to the Divine Spirit with confidence and with a feeling of closeness, as to a father or a mother. Our relationship with God should be one of unconditional love. More than in any other relationship, we may rightfully and naturally demand a reply from Spirit in its aspect as the Divine Mother. God is constrained to answer such an appeal, for the essence of a mother is love and forgiveness of her child, no matter how great a sinner he may be.

[4:41]The relationship between mother and child is the most beautiful form of human love that the Lord has given us. A definite conception of God, such as that of the Divine Mother, is necessary. Otherwise, one does not receive a clear response. And the demand for the Lord's reply should be strong. A half-believing prayer is not sufficient. If you make up your mind, "He is going to talk with me," if you refuse to believe differently, regardless of how many years He has not answered you, if you go on trusting Him, one day He will respond. I have written in Autobiography of a Yogi, about some of the numerous occasions on which I have talked with God. My first experience in hearing the Divine voice came when I was a little child, sitting on my bed one morning, I fell into a deep reverie. "What is behind the darkness of closed eyes?"

[6:07]This probing thought came powerfully into my mind. An immense flash of light at once manifested to my inner gaze. Divine shapes of saints, sitting in meditation in mountain caves, formed like miniature cinema pictures on the large screen of radiance within my forehead. "Who are you?" I spoke aloud. "We are the Himalayan yogis." The celestial response is difficult to describe. My heart was thrilled.

[6:47]The vision vanished, but the silvery beams expanded in ever-widening circles to infinity. I said, "What is this wondrous glow?" "I am Ishwara (the Lord). I am Light." The voice was as murmuring clouds. My mother and eldest sister Roma were nearby when I had this early experience. And they too heard the Divine voice. I received such happiness from God's response that I determined then and there to search for Him until I would become wholly one with Him.

[7:50]Most people think there is only darkness behind closed eyes. But as you develop spiritually and concentrate on the single eye in the forehead, you will find that your inner sight is opened. You will behold another world, one of many lights and great beauty. Visions of saints, such as those I saw of Himalayan yogis, will appear before you. If your concentration goes still deeper, you too will hear the voice of God.

[8:46]Again and again, the scriptures tell us of the Lord's promise that He will communicate with us. "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."

[9:09]"The Lord is with you, while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you."

[9:30]"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."

[9:53]If you can just once break bread with the Lord, break His silence, He will talk often with you. But in the beginning, it is very difficult. It is not easy to become acquainted with God because He wants to be sure that you really desire to know Him. He gives tests to see if the devotee wants Him or something else. He will not talk with you until you have convinced Him that no other desire is hiding in your heart.

[10:46]Man's love is his sole gift to God. The whole creation was designed as a test for man. By our conduct in this world, we disclose whether we want the Lord or His gifts. God will not tell you that you should desire Him above all else because He wants your love to be freely given, without prompting. That is the whole secret in the game of this universe. He who created us yearns for our love. He wants us to give it spontaneously, without His asking. Our love is the one thing God does not possess, unless we choose to bestow it. So, you see, even the Lord has something to attain: our love. And we shall never be happy until we give it. So long as we are wayward children, pygmies crawling on this ball of earth and crying for His gifts, while we ignore Him, the Giver, we fall into many pits of misery. As God is the essence of our own being, we cannot truly express ourselves until we learn to manifest His presence within us. This is the truth. It is because we are Divine, a part of Him, that we are unable to find lasting satisfaction in anything material. "Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me." Until you attain contentment in God, you will not win contentment from anything else.

[13:06]Is God personal or impersonal? A little discussion of this point will help you in your attempts to communicate with Him. Many people don't like to think of the Lord as personal. They feel that an anthropomorphic conception is limiting. They consider Him to be impersonal Spirit, all power, the intelligent force that is responsible for the universe. But if our Creator is impersonal, how is it that He has created human beings? We are personal. We have individuality. We think, feel, will. And God has given us not only the power to appreciate the thoughts and feelings of others, but to respond to them. The Lord is surely not devoid of the spirit of reciprocity that animates His own creatures. When we permit it, our Heavenly Father can and will establish a personal relationship with each one of us.

[14:26]Considering the impersonal aspect of God, we get the impression of a remote Being, one who merely receives the prayer thoughts we offer without responding to them. One who knows everything, yet maintains a heartless silence. But this is a philosophical error because God is everything, personal as well as impersonal. He created persons, human beings.

[14:58]Their Originator could not be wholly impersonal.

[15:42]It satisfies a deep need in our hearts to think that God may take a human form and come to us and talk with us.

[15:54]Why doesn't He do it for everyone? Many saints have heard the voice of God. Why can't you?

[16:10]"Thou, O Lord, art invisible, impersonal, unknown, and unknowable; yet I believe that by my devotion's frost, Thou canst be 'frozen' into a form."

[16:31]God can be persuaded to take a personal form by your intense devotion. You, like Saint Francis of Assisi and other great ones, may see the living Body of Christ if you pray deeply enough. Jesus was a personal manifestation of God. He who knows Brahma, God, is Brahma himself. Did not Christ say, "I and my Father are one."

[17:09]Swami Shankara also declared, "I am Spirit" and "Thou art That."

[17:21]We have the word of many great prophets that all men are made in the image of Divinity. I received much of my knowledge from God rather than from books. I seldom read.

[17:39]I tell you what I have perceived directly. That is why I speak with authority. The authority of my direct perception of truth. The opinion of the whole world may stand against it, but the authority of direct perception will always be accepted eventually.

[18:04]Finally, he will give you an answer. In a vision, you may see a face or some saintly being.

[18:20]Or you may hear a divine voice talking to you, and you will know that you are in communion with God.