SCIENCE OF RELIGION
BY
1\li.A., Assocu.lte
FIFTII EDITION
PUBLISHED BY
1926
Copyright, 1924, by
SwAMI Y OGANANDA
MT.
WASHINGTON,
Los
ANGELES
U. S. A.
PUBLISHED IN U. S.
A.
FOR
fl1s piety, open-handed generoszly towards every worih-whzle move-
NOTE
1,he first edition of this book was published in India. The
second and suLscquent editions, revised and enlarged, have been
published 1n the U S A.
lVIy thanks are due to Swanu Dlurananda, M.A., Swami
Satyananda, B A , and SJ. Tulsinarayan Bose, for various forms
of help I have received fro1n then1.
SwAMI YoGANANDA.
CONTENTS
. vii-xv
PREFACE.
CHAPTER
~
I .
1-58
CHAPTER
59-89
II
III
. 90-107
PREFACE
Tl1is book is intended to give, in bare
outline, what we should understand by religion, in order to make it universally and pragmatically necessary. It also seeks to present
that aspect of the idea of the God-head
wl1ich has a direct bearing on the motives and
actions of every minute of our lives. It is
true that God is Infinite in His nature and
aspect, and it is also true that to prepare a
chart detailing, so far as is consistent with
reason, what God is like is only an evidence of
the limitations of the human mind in its
attempt to fathom God. Still it is equally
true that the human mind, in spite of all its
drawbacks, can not rest perfectly satisfied
with what is finite. It has a natural urge to
interpret what is human and fmite in the
light of wl1at is super-human and infinite,what it feels but can not express.. 'Yhat
V1l
VIII
PREFACE
PREFACE
IX
w-e
PREFACE
PREFACE
XI
XII
PREFACE
PREFACE
XIII
XIV
PREFACE
PREFACE
XV
BLiss: Gon
all of us to be religious.
Without necessity there is no action. Every
action of ours has an end of its own for which
we perform it. People of the world act variously to accomplish various ends. There is
a multiplicity of ends determining the actions
of men in the world.
But is tl1ere any con1mon a11d universal e11d
of all tl1e actions of all the people of tl1e
worldP Is there any common, highest 1tecessity
for all of us 'vhicl1 prompts us to all actio11S~
A little analysis of the n1otives and ends of
men's actions in the world sho"\vs that, though
your daily life by being calm, poised, concentrated, cl1aritable, sqtleezing happiness from
tl1e most tryi11g situations, tl1en ordinary
people of a prOl10tll1ced ortl1odox or 11arro'v
bent 'vill nod tl1eir heads and declare that,
though you are tryi11g to be good, still, fron1
the point of vie'v of real religion, or i11 the eyes
of God, you are "falli11g off," as you clid not
of late enter tl1e precinct of the holy places.
While of colirse tl1ere can not be any valid
excuse for permanently keeping a\vay from
the l1oly places, there can 11ot, on tl1e otl1er
hand, be any legitin1ate reason for one's being
considered more religious for atte11cli11g cl1urcl1,
while at tl1e same ti1ne neglecting to apply
in daily life the principles 'vl1ich the church
upholds, viz., those that make ultimately for
the attainme11t of permanent Bliss. Religion
is not dove-tailed 'vith tl1e pews of tl1e
church, nor is it bound up with the ceremo11ies
performed therein. If yotl have ar1 attitude
of reverence, if you live your daily life always
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
life.
It is also a great pity tl1at tl1ough the aim
of every ma11 in this world is necessarily religious, inasn1uch as l1e is working always to
remo,re \Yant a11d attain Eternal Bliss, yet dtle
to certain grave errors he has been misdirected
17
real 11ecessity in place of its apparent necessity~ The ailS"\ver is-society, and our inherent tende11cies in an indirect way. It is
the compa11y we keep that determines for us
the necessity \Ve feel for different things. To
do good to people is \Vhat has been tat1ght
from our cl1ildhood as necessary and edifyi11g,
a11d so we now believe it. Consider the influence of perso11s and circu1nstances. If yo11
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19
20
21
feels itself sorry for or delighted at a corresponding unhealthy and unpleasant or healthy
and pleasant state of the body and mind.
Because of this identification, the Spiritual
self is being continually disturbed by their
transitory states. To take even the figurative
sense of identification: a mother who is in deep
identification with her only child suffers and
feels intense pain merely by the very hearing
of her child's probable or real death, whereas
she may feel no such pain if she hears of the
death of a neighboring mother's child "\vith
whom she has not identified herself. Now we
can imagine tl1e consciousness when the identification is real and not figurative. Thus
22
23
24
25
"-hich the pleasure coi1sciousness is concerned. It is mi11d that creates "\vant and
fulfills it.
It is a great mistake to regard a certain
object as pleasurable in itself ancl to store tl1e
idea of it in the mind in tl1e l1ope of fulfilling
a "rant by its actual presence in the future.
If objects were pleasurable in tl1emsel\res,
then the same dress or food 'vould al,vays
please every one, V{l1icl1 is not the case. \Vl1at
is called pleasure is a creation of tl1e mind-it
is a deluding, ''excitation/' consciousn.ess, depending upon the satisfaction of the preceding state of
desire and upo1~ presen,t contrast consciousness.
The more a thi11g is thought to excite pleasurable consciousness and the n1ore tl1e 'vant of
it is harbored in tl1e mind, the more the pos-
26
27
28
ful.
29
''re
30
31
32
33
cured I feel pleasure. Tl1is pleasurable COllsciousness co11sists of a11 "excitation" or feeli11g,
and a contrast thougl1t-consciousness tl1at I am
no lo11ger feeling the pai11 of tl1e boil. No\v
tl1e ma11 wl1o l1as attained Bliss, tl1ougl1
l1aving had a boil on l1is leg, 'vill feel, \Vl1e11
cured, tl1at l1is state of tranquillity l1ad neitl1er
been disturbed, 'vhe11 tl1e boil \vas, nor
regained 'vhen it was cured. He feels tl1at l1e
passed tl1rOt1gl1 a pain-pleasure u11iverse witl1
wl1ich he really l1as no co1111ection or 'vl1ich can
neither disturb nor l1eighten tl1e tranqliil or
blissful state "\Vl1icl1 flo,vs on 'vitl1out ceasing.
Tl1is state of Bliss is free from botl1 inclinations and excitement involved i11 pleasure or
this pain.
Tl1ere is a positive a11d a 11egative aspect
in Bliss-consciousness. The negative aspect
is tl1e absence of pleasure-pain consciousness;
the positive one is the tra11scendental state of a
superior calm includi11g 'vitl1in itself tl1e
34
35
36
37
' re
38
Outward objects are only the occasionsthey are 11ot causes. They are mistakenly
thought to produce pleasure. Desire for delicacies by a poor person can be satisfied by an
ordinary sweetmeat, and this fulfillment will
give rise to pleast1re. But the desire for
clelicacies on tl1e part of a ricl1 person can
perhaps be satisfied only by the best of
Clrristmas cake, and tl1e fulfillme11t 'vill also
give tl1e san~e amount of pleasure. Then d9es
39
paln.
40
41
42
43
our life~
e./
...
44
pleasure and pain, petty love and l1ate, etc.had almost receded from your mind. Pure Bliss
a11d tranquillity had been 'velling lip i11 your
heart and you "\Yere enjoying an unruffled
calm-Bliss a11d contentment. Tl1ough this
kind of l1igher experience does not often come
to all, yet there can be no doubt of the fact
tl1at all men, some time or other, in prayer or
in mood of \vorship or meditatio11, perceive it
in a less marked degree, at least. Is this _not
a proof of tl1e existence of GodP lVhat other
45
rise to the Perfect Bei11g to \Yl1om ot.rr responsibility is due. Still, \Ye sllotild adn1it tl1at
these proofs are more or less tl1e products of
i11fere11Ce. ,,. . e ca11 11ot lla,~e full or clirect
kr1o\vledge of God tl1rougl1 tl1e li111ite(l po,vers
of tl1e i11tellect. I11tellect gi,-es 0111y a partial
a11d indirect ,-ie\Y of tl1i11gs. To ,~ie\Y a tl1i11g
ii1tellectually is 11ot to see it })y l)ei11g 011e \Yitl1
it: it is to vie\Y it b)~ hei11g apart fro111 it. But
Intuition, \Yl1icl1 \Ye sl1alllater explai11, is the
clirect grasp of truth. It is i11 tl1is Intuition
tl1at Bliss-coi1sciouSiless, or Gocl-consciotisIless, is realized.
There is rlol a shadow of doubt as to the
46
~17
48
49
50
Mahomet respectively as their Lord God,tlley are thougl1t to be only the standardbearers of God, the l1t1man incarnations of
divinity. "That if one thinks that way~
It is not tl1e physical body of Jesus, Krishna,
or Mal1omet that V\re are primarily interested
in, nor are "-e so much concer11ed witl1 the
historical place they occupy. Nor are they
immemorable to us because of their different
and interesting ways of preaching God. We
revere them because they knew and felt God.
It is tl1at fact that interests us in their
historical existence and i11 tl1eir manifold ways
of expressing the truth. They might or
might not he on tl1e same plane. Let the
hard-sl1elled theologians and difference-hunters in religion fight over that question eternally and vainly. But did they not belong to a
more or less close family of God~ Did they
not all realize God as Bliss and reveal real
blessedness as true godliness~ Is not that a
sufficient bond of unity among them,-let
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52
TI-lE
SCIE~CE
OF RELIGION
53
become anytl1ing-Personal, Impersonal, _,\Jlmerciful, Or11nipotei1t, etc., etc. \\t-l1at \Ye say
is that \Ve do not require to take note of these.
ll7halever coFiception u__,e have put forth e;cactly
suits our purposes, our hopes. our aspiration-S, arLd our perfeel ion.
Nor sl1ould \Ye tl1i11k tl1at tl1is C0!1Ception of
God ,,-ill make tiS clreaJ.1TY idealists, seyeri11g
our connectio11 "\Yitl1 tl1e cl11ties and responsibi~ties, joys and sorro\YS, of tl1is practical
"\Vorld. If Gocl is Bliss a11cl if \Ye seek Bliss to
kno\v Hin1, \Ye can not 11eglect tl1e duties and
responsilJilities of tl1e "\Yorlcl. Ir1 tl1e performance of tl1er11 \Ye ca11 still feel Bliss. for it is
beyo11d tl1em, a11d so tl1ey can 11ot affect it.
'Ve transcend tl1e joys ar1cl sorro\vs of tl1e
,,-orld in Bliss, but 'Ye do 11ot tra11scend tl1e
duties and respor1sibilities in tl1e se11se of
neglecti11g them. For in doing e,-erytl1ii1geatii1g, dri11ki11g~ seeing, l1eari11g~ feeli11g. sn1elling, tasting . sorro,Ying, feeling I)leasure, performing e\~ery llllllUte dUt) Of tl1e \YOrld-\Ye
7
54
THE
SCIE~CE
OF RELIGION
55
56
1,HE SCIENCE OF
RELIGIO~
57
58
CH_\PTER II
FouR
i11 ti~e
see::.1
60
THE
SCIE~CE
OF
RELIGIO~
61
62
63
64
self-conscious.
65
I11
t..
aJ
66
67
sole object the transcending of the body and seeirtg the truth.
011e of the defects of this rnethod is tl1at it is a
very slow process for tl1e Spiritt1al self to tl1us
realize itself. It may iil\~o},-e a good deal of
time. vVllile tile Spiritttal self begil1S to
apprel1encl self-consciousness b)T tl1is 111etl1od,
still it is al,vays e11gaged \Yitl1 a series of
passing mental tl1ougl1ts \vitl1 "\Vl1icl1 it has no
relatiort. Tra11quillit)~ of tl1e SJ)irit is sonlething beyond tl1ought or bodil-y se11sation,
though 'vl1en once attained it o,-erflo,vs
both.
II. DEv'"OTION.AL }lETHOD. Tl1is co11sists
in fixi11g the attention of the Spiritt1al self on
one object of tl1ougl1t, rather tl1a11 on different
68
69
O\ier
&I
70
71
Ill
72
IV.
St.
By
73
"'
t..
74
yv
75
otJ
76
it.
77
c_;
.__~
78
the influence of the supreme centre (braincells). Tl1e brain-cells discharge life current,
or electricity, through tl1ese cells, wl1ich i11
turn discl1arge electricity to tl1e different
efferent and afferent nerves whicl1 respectively carry motor impulse and se11sation of
toucl1, sight, etc. This electrical flow from the
79
80
greatly vitalized, and with tl1e coi1sequent increase i11 tl1eir \Vorking po\ver life is prolonged.
As
do not fear to go to sleep, lest for
tl1e time being tl1e Otlter organs remain i11ert,
so we ought not fear to practise death, i.e.,
give rest to the internal organs. Death will
tl1en be under our co11trol; for wl1en we think
this bodily hot1se is u11fit a11d broken, 've shall
be able to leave it of our own accord. "The
last e11emy tl1at sl1all })e destroyed is death.''
(1 Cor. 15, 26.)
We may describe tl1e 1)rocess thus: If the
main telephone office in a town is permanently connected by 'virC:s with differe11t parts
of the town, men telephoning from tl1ose
parts can always, even agai11st the will of the
authorities of the main telephone office, send
''Te
81
origi11al centres of cliscl1arge ancl is experie11cecl in the for111 of ligl1t. In this state tl1e
Spiritual self ca11 co11Sciously free ilself fro111
its bodily and n1e11tal clistur1Jances.
The
"
Spiritual self is, as it \Yere, l)eir1g disturbed~
ev-en against its '' isl1, b~- tl1e telepl1011e reports from t\YO classes of people-ge11tlen1en
(tl1ougl1ts) and lo'v class l)eople-(lJodil)'" sensations). In order to ])reak COI1I1ectioi1 ' ' itl1
then1 it l1as 011ly to clra\Y a\Yay tl1e electricity
flo\Yi11g tlrrougl1 tl1e telepl1one \vires to tl1e
central batte~- of its l1ouse b~~ tt1rning oft" tl1e
82
83
84
TI-IE
SCIE~CE
OF RELIGION
85
86
thi11g that biilcls us dow11 to our narrow individuality-the life-force that, instead of
being ttirned back and absorbed into the
expansive self-conscious force of the self, goes
outward, keeps our body and mind al,vays in
motion, and causes disturbances to the Spiritual self, in the shape of bodily se11sations and
passing thoughts. Because life-force moves
outward, sensations and thougl1ts disturb and
distort the calm image of ''Self''-consciousness.
This method teacl1es us to turn the life-force
inward. Hence it is direct and immediate. It
takes us straight to the consciousness of the
"Self"-Bliss-God. It does not require the
help of an i11termediary. It controls and
directs the course of the life-force by the
control and regulation of a known and
directly connected manifestation of the lifeforce itself. (It is not desirable nor is it
possible that this process be explained further
in this book.)
The other methods employ the help of the
87
88
THE SCIEl\CE OF
RELIGIO~
89
oF VIEW
91
92
1~HE
SCIENCE OF RELIGIOl\
93
94
95
96
THE
SCIE~CE
OF H.ELIGION
97
98
connected, limited by our powers of perception. The materials disturb rather than help
the thougl1t process, which also l1as a restless
continuity.
The frrst method, as we pointed out, is the
intellectual method. It busies itself with the
thought process in order to know Realitystate of Bliss and cahn realization. But it fails.
Bodily perceptions disturb, and the thought
process also, due to its worki11g on varied,
restless sense-impressions, forbids our remaining for long in a concentrated state, that we
may kno1v and feel tl1at cahn condition of
Bliss and have the consciousness of unity in
diversity. One merit of the Intellectual
method is that when we are absorbed in the
thought-world, to a certain extent we transcend bodily sensations. But this is always
temporary.
In the other two methods-Devotional and
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100
101
102
103
104
1~l1is
all"
Intuition is 'vhat all
i11
105
tion tl1at \Ve shall have to turn for the kl10\Yledge of God in His Blissful and other aspects.
Religion is truly a11 act of Intuition;
witl1out it the former degrades into tl1e observance of lifeless conventions a11d rites. It is
from tl1e point of ,~ie\v of Intuition tl1at every
fact of tl1e \Yorld fi11ds meaning in its totality.
Tl1e criterion of developme11t in tl1e Spiritual
'vorld is also I11tuition. Men of tl1e world \viii
see how far you are punctual, regular, and devoted in tl1e matter of observing tl1e codes and
canons of \vorldly-\vise morality and Religion,
but the seer of trutl1 \Yill mark l1o\v far )TOu
l1ave progressed in tl1e patl1 of realizationIntuition.
But there are many bars to this Religious
point of vie,v-to the realization of trutl1. These
are some of them: Disease, J\iental Incapacity, Doubt, Indolence, "\Vorldly-mindedness~
False Notion, l\1issing the Point and Instabil-
ity.
Tl1ese are either inherent or engendered and
106
THE SCIE:"\CE OF
RELIGIQ~.:
107
It is
never too late to mencl or seek. Search a11d
you "\vill find, "I~11ock, and it sl1all 1)e opened
unto vou."
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