Solving the Mystery of Life ― new anthology by Paramahansa Yogananda
A new anthology of inspirational talks and essays by Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), one of the world’s most renowned spiritual teachers, is scheduled for release in June 2025. Titled Solving the Mystery of Life: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life, this latest anthology is the first major work by Yogananda published by Self-Realization Fellowship since the 2004 release of The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You — A revelatory commentary on the original teachings of Jesus.
For those familiar with Yogananda’s best-selling spiritual classic, Autobiography of Yogi, Solving the Mystery of Life is an opportunity to go deeper into the science and philosophy of yoga. In the book, Yogananda explains the spiritual laws by which yogis attain self-mastery, and provides step-by-step methods to attain true and lasting happiness.
“In deep meditation, you too will realize your Self as the transcendent soul,” said Yogananda.
As stated in the preface to the anthology, “Yogananda explains that to seek God within is to simultaneously come to the understanding that God is within everyone — all those we encounter in our daily life — friend and ‘enemy’ alike. And with that we realize what we can do to help build a better world, one based on the true source of our common humanity.”
This fourth anthology of talks and essays by Paramahansa Yogananda is a sequel to Man’s Eternal Quest (1975), The Divine Romance (1986), and Journey to Self-realization (1997). Most of the talks were given at the Self-Realization Fellowship temples Yogananda established and at the international headquarters of his society in Los Angeles, and later published by Self-Realization Fellowship in its magazine founded by Yogananda in 1925 (known since 1948 as Self-Realization). Readers will find in this fourth, 400-page anthology the intimate inspiration and practical wisdom for which Yogananda is widely known.
From one who has solved the mystery of life, Yogananda lays out the divine laws at work in the universe, reminds the reader that humans are immortal beings with infinite potential, and teaches that “Our paramount duty while on earth is to change our status from that of a mortal being to that of a divine being.” Yogananda covers a wide range of topics on the spiritual search including: harnessing the power of the mind; activating the will; cultivating divine qualities such as compassion, patience, and evenmindedness; detaching from material desires; and conquering restlessness, bad habits and moods, among many others.
Solving the Mystery of Life: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life will be available in hardcover, paperback, and electronic editions in June 2025, and is available for pre-order in April.
Excerpts from Solving the Mystery of Life
God made this schoolhouse of the world so that we would learn to evolve ourselves.
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As soon as you love all people with the intensity of the love that you have for your family, then you are expressing divine love. The whole purpose of loving is to develop that kind of love. Universal love is trying to vibrate through you, but attachment, limitations, and concentration on the senses hinder the free expression of that universal love.
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Light is what we are made of — not gross physical light, but the finer spiritualized light of prana, intelligent life energy. That light is the real essence of everything.
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Do you realize that every good thought you have for others will determine your future life, according to the law of karma?
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All spiritual truth has to be experienced within yourself in order to be real; otherwise it is merely intellectual knowledge. And if you would make the effort to have that realization, you would know that truth is more than belief or speculation. It must come as unshakable intuitive perception to every individual.
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Say you are angerless and you are. Say you are peaceful and you are. Your divine soul qualities are at your command. There is nothing to it.
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Thoughts are powerful vibratory creators. Whatever you think of intensely and continuously tends to come to pass in your life.
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If it were possible for me to remind you every day, every minute, about the importance of meditation, I would do so.
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In order to hold on to your inner happiness, never find fault with others; learn to blame and correct your own flaws. Be sincere with everyone, express kindness and love to each person. Love is the most powerful force that you can have. Love is dynamite. Humbleness is dynamite. Concentration is dynamite. These will destroy all obstacles and barriers to success. Meditation throws your concentration and the shells of your devotion against the walls of your indifference until you break through and contact that blissful Power within.
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No matter how you feel, whether you are happy or unhappy, remember, try to meditate. You will find the joy that is within you. Throughout the day, carry with you the peaceful aftereffects of meditation. Do not think of yourself as the body, but as the joyous consciousness and immortal life behind it.
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One-pointed fixity in interiorized, concentrated meditation is the first step to divine consciousness.
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Remember always that you are made of immortal sparks of divine light; every atom and cell of your body is glowing with that light.
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Success is not to be measured by how much material wealth is possessed, but whether you are able to create at will what you need. Think of that power; it comes from the superconscious mind, the infinite capacity of the soul. If you use that power to infuse your creative ability, you can overcome any difficulty that obstructs your path.
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No matter what you are doing, keep your concentration on the peace of meditation. That is the way of intimate contact with God. Ordinary souls live useful, active lives; but they do not know the art of living within themselves. They are living identified with matter, and therefore misery. The calm person is happy, for the cultivation of calmness and self-control is the only way to real happiness. Constantly be aware within. Make the inner effort of will continually, that you may always remain on the throne of calmness.
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The teachings of all great religions lead toward God; but their varied outer observances are bypaths that must eventually bring the seeker to the one inner highway of meditation. Withdrawing the consciousness from the body and finite world and merging it in the Divine is the only way to liberation in God. Jesus meditated. To the crowds he taught moral and spiritual truths — the necessary first steps toward God; but to his close disciples he taught the higher science of meditation for actual union with God.
Background Information
Paramahansa Yogananda first arrived in America in 1920 from his native India, an invited delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston, where he delivered a speech on the science of religion, marking a pivotal point for yoga in the West. Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship that same year to disseminate his Kriya Yoga teachings, which have inspired many through the years to cultivate their divine qualities and live with greater peace, joy, and purpose. Yogananda’s spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi continues to be recognized as one of the world’s most influential books.
Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is the international nonprofit spiritual organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda to introduce to people of all races, cultures, and creeds the ancient science and philosophy of yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Through its spiritual and humanitarian service, the society seeks to foster greater harmony and goodwill among the diverse peoples and nations of the world, and a deeper understanding of the underlying unity of all religions. Together with Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), the name by which Paramahansa Yogananda’s work is known in India, SRF/YSS has more than 800 meditation centers, temples and retreats throughout the world.
For more information about Paramahansa Yogananda and his society, Self-Realization Fellowship, please visit Yogananda.org.
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Contact:
Blythe Fraser
Self-Realization Fellowship
blythef@yogananda-srf.org
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