A Commentary on the Gospels–by Paramhansa Yogananda

Death and Eternal Life

“And there were certain Greeks among them, that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying,

“The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit, He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant he: it any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: hut for this cause came I unto this hour.”–John 12: 20-27.

There it was that Jesus spoke again of the test which awaited him. “The time is coming when my body will be glorified into Spirit through resurrection, but first–well, remember what I declare unto you. Unless a grain of wheat is thrust into the ground and dies, it remains without multiplying itself, but if it is buried it will rise again as a plant, and bring forth many ears of wheat.” Jesus was warning them that if he did not sacrifice himself the divinity in him would not multiply and benefit others. He knew that if, like the grain of wheat, he sacrificed his body for truth, he would not only find eternal life for himself but would show the way to others through his example. He saw that selfish self-preservation is a mental hedge which prevents the soul from enlarging into Spirit.

“He who loves his physical life and thinks it to be permanent will lose sight of it in the oblivion of death,” Jesus continued. “But he who sacrifices the comforts of this physical life to find the eternal life ever-present behind matter will find his temporal life changed into eternal life.” And noting the devotion of his disciples, he added, “If any devotee desires to serve the Spirit which is within me, let him follow my Consciousness.” (Only by meditation can the devotee lead his consciousness from the physical plane, through the planes of the senses, through subconsciousness and superconsciousness to the plane where Christ Consciousness dwells.) “Any devotee who is in tune with me will be present in the plane of Christ Consciousness where I reside always, and he will be recognized by the Father--the Cosmic Consciousness which is present beyond all creation”. The Hindu Scriptures say that one who knows Brahma, or Spirit, becomes the Spirit. So also, Jesus offered assurance that all devotees who meditate and become one with his consciousness are perpetually enthroned in Christ Consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness.

Purpose of His Birth

Then his mind dwelt again upon the immediate future, and he confided, “Now my soul is troubled because the time of my great ordeal is nearing. But what shall I say? Shall I pray to the Father to save me from this dark hour? I might–yet for this hour was I born!” He knew that he had been incarnated to illustrate the victory of Spirit over body, of divine forgiveness over brutal human force, of compassion over cruelty, of the apparent meekness of divine power contrasted with the egotism of temporarily triumphant material power. He knew that the gentleness of his Father’s almighty power would be made manifest through his meek submission at the cross. And the Father’s loving and forgiving nature would manifest through his forgiveness of mankind–to be expressed during the crucifixion of his body. “Rather must I pray: ‘Heavenly Father, inspire my wishes, let Thy wish and divine vibrations be glorified through my ordeal.’”

“Then came there a voice from heaven. saying, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered. Others said, an Angel spake to him.

“Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw men unto me.”–John 12:28-32.

When Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify Thy name. Manifest the glory of Thy presence through the Cosmic Vibration present in ether,” immediately the disciples heard a divine vibration awakening from the silent ether, vibrating into significant sounds. But those around him were confused concerning the source and meaning of the sounds. Some heard the words and said an angel had spoken. Others heard only the rumble of thunder.

Then Jesus explained that it was the divine ethereal voice of God which they had heard, and that it had not manifested for his sake but in order to prove the truth of his testimony and life. He prophesied that according to the Cosmic law of karma (the “judgment” visited upon this world) the prince of the world (the Christ Consciousness which governs the material cosmos) manifested in his body would be ejected from bodily manifestation through crucifixion (cast out). He added that if, through the grace of God, his soul was lifted from the body and consciousness of the earth to the state of Christ Consciousness, word of his life and teachings would then attract the attention of all peoples for all times, and would be a beacon of wisdom and light to them from Cosmic Delusion and its miseries.

The last struggle between the divine nature of Jesus and his physical nature is indicated in his expression of uncertainty concerning final victory over the flesh. The words, “if I be lifted up,” are very significant. They distinctly prove that this climactic event in the life of Jesus, even though foretold by the prophets, could have been changed at this time if Jesus had misused his free will and succumbed to the temptations of flesh.

It is so thrilling to know that God--silent through the centuries–at the prayerful call of Jesus instantaneously broke His silence and, like a human father, assured the disciples that Jesus truly represented His divine majesty.

“This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must he lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”–John 12:33-36.

The above words need little explanation. Jesus again emphasized to his disciples that for only a little while would the Light of Christ Consciousness continue to manifest in his body. He advised all them to hasten along the path in the light of his divine presence, lest the darkness of delusion come upon them and prevent them from reaching the kingdom of Cosmic Consciousness. For souls who try to follow the spiritual path without the Light are often shrouded by the darkness of delusion and do not find their way to God. “With all your might be one with the Light in me,” he urged, “that you also may be children of divine wisdom and immortality as I am.” Thus he told them that all devotees who were in tune with him, and hence with God, would be Godlike.

Read more of Yogananda's commentary on the Gospels. Buy The Second Coming of Christ, by Paramhansa Yogananda, from Amazon.com.

A Commentary on the Dhammapada–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

The Ways of the Wise

Take it within

“He who drinks in the Dharma will live happily with a peaceful mind. A wise man always delights in the Dharma taught by the Aryas.” (Dhammapada 79)

Water is essential to life, possessing many aspects necessary to the maintenance of form and function. We can live a long time without food, but not without water. Dharma is equally necessary for the true life of the inmost consciousness. But both water and dharma are valueless if they are not internalized–and not drop by drop, but by continual, deep drinking. Buddha is explaining to us that we must drink up dharma as the thirsting man seizes water and drinks it with urgency and delight. Just as the most virulent poison will not harm us, or the best medicine will not cure us, if we do not swallow it, in the same way dharma will have no effect unless we make it part of our very being by taking it into our consciousness.

Looking, touching, applying, or even immersing ourselves in water is useless if we do not drink it. And talking about it is the most useless of all! It is the same with dharma. That is why Saint Paul spoke of “Christ IN you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) An external Christ is of no value whatsoever. That is why Jesus spoke of “eating” and “drinking” the “flesh” and “blood” of Christ–in other words, internalizing and absorbing Christ. It is the same with dharma.

Work on yourself; change yourself

“Irrigators channel water, fletchers shape arrows, and carpenters bend wood, but the wise discipline themselves.” (80)

Long ago I got an anthology of Buddhist texts, and among them was a life of Buddha. It opened with an account of a discussion taking place in a higher world regarding where Buddha should be born. Various heavenly beings had various recommendations, but finally a wise one said: “You do not understand: a Buddha can only be born in India.” They all agreed; and so it was. There are many reasons for that statement, and not the least is the Indian capacity to convey a tremendous amount of information in a very concise manner. And this verse is an example of that. It is a marvel. And if we follow it, we will ourselves become marvels.

Irrigators channel water. First, they find a source of water. Then they dig a channel to the place where water is needed. Finally, they remove the barrier between the water and the channel, and the water flows in and their work is done. It is hard work that demands perseverance and good engineering. Spirituality is not for lazies or dummies, excellent as Spirituality For Dummies may be. (Those who read it will no longer be dummies!)

Sri Ramakrishna speaks about it this way: “There happened to be drought in the country. All the peasants began digging channels to bring water. One of them was stubbornly determined. One day he vowed that he would go on digging a channel until it became connected with the river and water began to flow into it. He proceeded digging. The time came for his bath. The wife sent the daughter to him with oil. The daughter said, ‘Father, it is late already. Finish bathing quickly after rubbing the body with oil.’ He told her to go away for he still had work to do. It was past midday and the farmer still kept working. No thought at all of taking a bath. Then his wife came to the field and said, ‘Why haven’t you bathed as yet? The food is getting cold. You carry things too far. You may finish it tomorrow or even after taking your meal.’ Scolding, the farmer ran after her with spade in hand and said, ‘Have you no sense? There has not been any rain. There has been no farming at all. What will the children eat? You will all die of starvation. I have taken the vow that I will bring water to the field today and then worry about bath and food.’ Observing his mood the wife fled running. After a whole day’s bone-breaking labor the farmer connected the channel with the river. Then he sat down for a while and watched the water from the river flowing into the field with a pleasant gurgle. His mind was at peace and filled with joy.

“Now there was another farmer who was also trying to bring water to his field. His wife went to him and said, ‘It is very late. Come now, there is no need for overdoing things so much.’ He dropped the spade without much protest and told his wife, ‘Let’s go, since you say so.’ That farmer did not ever succeed in bringing water to his field.”

So we have to know where the “water of life” is to be found, how to remove the barriers between it and us, and how to channel it into ourselves. This is what dharma really is, and its most important component is meditation.

Fletchers shape arrows. It is no easy thing to make an arrow. The wood must be strong, free from defect, and of the right density or weight. It must be shaped in such a way that it will move through the air at maximum speed. More important, it must be absolutely straight so it will fly unerringly to its target. Obviously this is a symbol of the mind itself.

The mind is a field of energy, and the quality of that energy is crucial for the sadhaka. Just as a machine can have gears of tempered steel or cheap shoddy plastic, in the same way, although everyone has a mind, the character of the mind substance, the manasic energy, varies greatly. Even intelligence counts for little if the mind itself is of inferior energy. As Yogananda pointed out, Handel took a sequence of notes and got the opening of the Hallelujah Chorus, while an American composer took the same notes and got Yes We Have No Bananas. As the Chandogya Upanishad explains: “Mind consists of food. That which is the subtle part of milk moves upward when the milk is churned and becomes butter. In the same manner, the subtle part of the food that is eaten moves upward and becomes mind. Thus, mind consists of food.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.5.4; 6.6.1,2,5) The type of thoughts habitual to a person also determines the rate of vibration of his mind. Obviously, the japa of Om produces the highest mental vibration. The mind must be strong and steady, yet at the same time it must be fluidic, responsive, and capable of mirroring correctly that which is presented to it. Without yoga this is simply impossible.

Carpenters bend wood. It is interesting that Buddha refers to the bending of wood. We usually think of carpenters cutting or planing wood, but wood is bent in the making of furniture, and even in the making of yokes for oxen and other animals that pull carts. (It is said that Saint Thomas the Apostle was especially skilled in this.) To bend wood it is necessary to soak it and soften the fibers to the right degree and then to ever so slowly bend it to the desired shape, affix it in that shape, and then let it dry. If everything was done right, it will permanently hold that configuration. It is the same with us. Great care and skill are needed for us to rework and reshape ourselves–particularly our minds so there will be a permanent change for the better.

As Buddha concludes: “The wise discipline themselves.”

Wise indifference

“As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not moved by praise or blame.” (81)

A rock is not shaken by wind because it is so substantial and firmly settled on the earth. In the same way, a person who possesses self-knowledge–and therefore knowledge as to what is not himself–is not moved by praise or blame, since neither mean anything–for the true Self is beyond anything that can be said about It.. Also, knowing that whatever occurs in the outer world is only a passing show, the wise take nothing seriously that is said or done in relation to them.

The way to peace

“The wise find peace on hearing the truth, like a deep, clear, undisturbed lake.” (82)

Already wise in their inmost consciousness, the wise need only hear the truth of dharma to instantly recognize it and to come to the end of their search for realities of life–and beyond. The mind of a truly dharmic person is deep, clear, and undisturbed by any phenomena arising either from within or without. We usually think about peace of mind, but there is also peace of will. That is, once a person has fixed his intention on the attainment of higher consciousness, and resolved to do all that is necessary to attain that precious thing, then nothing can shake him from that steadiness of will (sankalpa). Inwardly he will have peace, even if he is somewhat affected by fluctuations in his emotional or intellectual levels. Those who keep their mind’s eye steadfastly on the goal, like an archer aiming at the target, will know peace that is unshakable.

Read more of Swami Nirmalananda's Commentary on the Dhammapada.

New articles for this spring include several articles on the teachings of Gautama Buddha in the Commentary on the Dhammapada:

• The Wisdom of Renunciation
• Virtuous, Wise, and Righteous
• Crossing Over

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