Jesus the Yogi E-Book

Jayadev Jaerschky

• Herausgeber: Ananda Edizioni
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

In this book, Paramhansa Yogananda introduces us to  a different Jesus: a Jesus who lived in India, who was a yogi, who taught not only belief, but also the power of inner realization. Jesus, Yogananda affirmed, “was an Oriental, by birth, blood, and training”.   This Eastern vision of Christ opens a new door for the reader, allowing an enlightened understanding of his teachings and explaining his parables in a completely different light.

Leseprobe

TESTIMONIALS

“Yogananda’s free and profound presentation at the figure of Jesus is a valuable stimulus to rediscovering the contemplative dimension of Christianity. This book can help us to overcome the encrustations of our minds, to discover hidden elements in the Gospels to which we have never paid attention before, to create bridges and connections between the wisdom of the East and the treasures of the faith of the West, and, perhaps, to give new meaning to elements of the Christian path that have lost all meaning for us. It is a call to the churches and all religious institutions to return to their true and ultimate purpose: to accompany each individual believer on his or her journey of seeking the Kingdom of Heaven.”

~Father Axel Bayer, camaldolese benedictine monk

“Jayadev’s commentary on Christ combines the mysticism of the Sanatana Dharma with the modern Christian outlook about Christianity. It shows us that Christ was more an oriental than an occidental and his later biographers tried to reduce the hold of the Orient and moulded him into the modern western concept of what the Son of God should be. Jayadev shows that he was first and foremost a yogi before he was made into an avatar. I’m sure this book will be an eye-opener for most modern Christians and help them to regard their fellow pilgrims with a more compassionate gaze.”

~Vanamali Mataji, author and founder of the Vanamali Ashram, Rishikesh

“It is increasingly urgent, I would say almost imperative, to set out again in search of the real Jesus. In modern times, we have found ourselves heir to formulas, concepts, ways of seeing and thinking far removed from original Christianity, but which have become, over time, immovable bulwarks of “truth,” repetitive formulas and habitual rituals, in some cases originating only from as many beliefs. It is here that Jayadev Jaerschky’s important and inspired work is useful in that it appeals to the reader’s “intuitive” consciousness, asking questions, sowing seeds of enquiry and allowing individual reflections to spring forth on a higher and freer plane of consciousness in order to recognize the true historical Jesus and the authentic spiritual Christ. By reading this book, the desire to “take back” the true Jesus — friend, brother, divine man and spiritual teacher - arises spontaneously, making it difficult to be separated from him again.”

~Enzo Decaro, actor, author, spiritual seeker

Copyright © Yogananda Edizioni 2025

All rights reserved.

Dedication:

To my beloved teacher,Swami Kriyananda,a Christian and a yogi,who reverently visited the Holy Landand ancient sanctuaries in India;who met the visionary Vicka at Medjugorje,and the Dalai Lama;who composed bothChristian and Eastern spiritual music;who regularly taught from the Holy Bibleand the Bhagavad Gita,and wrote numerous books abouttheir parallelism and unity.And to Paramhansa Yogananda,who I consider to be the greatestmessenger of Christ in modern times.“The Second Coming of Christ,” he taught,occurs within your own soul.

Preface

IntroductionChristianity in the Eyes of a Yogi

Chapter 1Jesus Christ: the Sacred Flame of Original Christianity

Chapter 2An Apostle of Original Christianity: Paramhansa Yogananda

Chapter 3The Three Wise Men: Jesus in India and Kriya Yoga

Chapter 4Nicodemus: Original Christianity and Original Yoga

Chapter 5The Woman of Samaria: Learn to Touch the Eternal

Chapter 6Cleopas: Walk with the Formless Christ

Chapter 7Children Around Jesus: Toward the Kingdom of God

Chapter 8Lazarus: Develop the Highest Love

Chapter 9Bartimaeus: Learn the Spiritual Art of Healing

Chapter 10The Woman Caught in Adultery: Dealing with the Sexual Force

Chapter 11The Virgin Mary: Loving God as a Mother

Chapter 12The Apostles: Prepare for the “Second Coming of Christ”

Chapter 13Peter: The Most Joyous Christmas Celebration

Chapter 14Joseph of Arimathea: Your Own Easter Resurrection

Epilogue

The Gift of Music in this Book

Photographs and Illustrations

This book is a bridge which, crossing the oceans of being, unites continents, knowledge, cultures and souls in the paths of self-realization. The Christ figure and his teaching can be better understood in the light of the millennia-old wisdom of the Indo-vedic traditions and the teachings of Yogananda. Jesus’ words acquire new depth and breadth, revealing unprecedented and fascinating meanings. The enlightened souls, the great masters, the sages of every tradition, who have passed through (and are passing through) this world, have described and transmitted the experience of realization, the nature of love and the bliss that comes from higher states of consciousness in the same way. Their faces have been illumined by the same light and grace. The essential core of pure consciousness is, regardless of culture, beliefs, faith and practices, always the same. This book, therefore, builds bridges between knowledge and traditions, drawing a path that can be traveled by all, traversing great knowledge and approaches to knowledge, uniting millennia-old yogic science with the teachings of Christ.

Throughout the millennia, the very great masters who have succeeded one another in the river of time have borne witness to the beauty, truth, righteousness, harmony, bliss and love that shines in the divine experience. These experiences are meant for human beings and represent our natural inheritance when we decide to walk decisively on an authentic path of self-realization. Jayadev carefully traces Yogananda’s commentaries on the teaching of Christ, and he does so with the love and wisdom of one who gives and dedicates his entire existence to living a path of knowledge in an integral way.

This is a precious book celebrating brotherhood among all spiritual seekers on the planet, taking us beyond appearances and forms, reminding us that we are all children of life. Many are the paths that lead to a single summit. For millennia, souls have climbed to the top by taking more or less impervious and seemingly different paths. But the mountain and the goal are one. Only one. And the panorama that can be admired from up there is rooted in the same experience: joy.

Have a good journey in the teachings of Christ, in the light of millennial-old Indo-vedic wisdom.

With Love and Brotherhood,

~ Daniel Lumera ~

Wellness science expert, international expert inthe practice of meditation, bestselling author

“Wisdom is not assimilated with the eyes [reading Scriptures], but with the atoms [through experience]. When your conviction of a truth is not merely in your brain but in your being, you may diffidently vouch for its meaning.”

~ Autobiography of a Yogi*~

Dear reader,

What happens when Christ is lovingly described by an enlightened yogi? What is the result when original Christianity is perceived through reverent oriental eyes?

A message emerges which easily resonates deep in your soul: “This is what I have always felt to be true.”

We have seen that this powerful message leaves a lasting mark on peoples’ lives. If you are a Christian, it may well intensify your faith. If you have left the Church, you may rediscover the faith you had as a child. If you come from another religious background, you may develop a profound respect for Christ. If you are an atheist, you may fall in love with Jesus and his universal message.

Why? Because you discover that original Christianity is more spiritual than religious, more individual than collective, more scientific than dogmatic, more modern than medieval, and more mystical than hierarchical. Its message is fresh, powerful, inspiring, practical, and liberating.

In fact, original Christianity shows you the way to perfect freedom, attained through your own inner knowledge. Jesus promises you lovingly: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”** The emphasis lies on the word “know”.

The loud trumpet call to return to the “original Christianity of Christ” comes from Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952), one of the greatest spiritual Masters of modern times. Coming from India to the West, he described Christianity as an enlightened expression of the one universal Truth.

Truth is one even though men call it by various names. How could there be two truths? Destroy all books, still the essential truths of life will be discovered again by great souls of all cultures, by those who truly know.

In that essential truth — in the deep underlying realities — Jesus, Krishna, and all great prophets of the ages meet. So why not concentrate on the basic harmony and oneness of Christianity, the ancient yoga teachings, and all authentic religions?

In short: the enlightened words of Jesus are in essence one with the revelations of the ancient Vedas (the main Indian scriptures), with the wisdom of the Jewish prophets, with Buddha’s noble teachings, and so forth. Truth is accessible only for non-dogmatic and universal minds.

All this does not diminish the greatness of Christ. Rather, it shows the eternal nature of Truth. Jesus incarnated on earth to give to the world a new expression of what, in India, has been called Sanatan Dharma, the “eternal religion”: timeless truths which are rooted in eternity.

The huge elephant of truth

The following story has been told in India since ancient times:

An elephant driver had six sons, all of them blind. One day he gave them the job of washing his elephant. When the brothers had completed the task, they began discussing what manner of animal was the elephant. The first unequivocally announced: “The elephant is a couple of large bones.” He’d been washing the tusks. The second remonstrated: “Nonsense! The elephant is like a thick rope.” He’d been washing the trunk. The third son answered categorically: “Fools! It is like a couple of fans.” He’d been washing the ears. The fourth son cried: “Ignorance! The elephant resembles four pillars.” He’d been washing the legs. “The fifth son who had been washing the sides became agitated: “Liars! The elephant is a wall that breathes.” The sixth was arrogant: “I am the only one who knows: the elephant is a little piece of string hanging down from the sky.” He’d been washing the tail.

A heated argument ensued. The father appeared and laughed, saying: “You are all right, but you are also all wrong! The elephant is everything you all describe, but is also much more: parts none of you have touched.”

Doesn’t this story perfectly describe all the fastidious religious disputes? Blind, unenlightened theologians fight, contradicting each other, because they are unable to really see. Those who can see perceive Truth and unity, agreeing with each other. As has often been said: “Truth is one, the paths to it are many.” Yogananda added: “Fools argue, wise men discuss.”

More than that: aren’t all of us like the six blind sons, capable of seeing only a little part of truth? And aren’t we often quite opinionated, convinced that we know? Far from it! Our task is to grow up, to heal our blindness, and to become like the seeing father, who perceives the enormous “elephant of Truth”.

Meet the oriental Christ

Original Christianity, as you will discover, has a pronounced Oriental aspect to it, more so than people usually realize. Jesus, Yogananda stated, “was an Oriental, by birth, blood, and training.”†

Yogananda too was oriental, but he never intended to “indianize” the West. Rather, he wanted to show people how to spiritualize their own culture, reminding Jews and Christians alike of their deep roots in ancient meditative practices. In short, he came to revitalize Christianity and to bring back its original spirit and techniques. Presently, we will introduce him a little more thoroughly.

The ancient message of original Christianity was the one of the early Church Fathers, such as Augustine of Hippo and Origen. It was a call to mysticism, to inwardly rise toward Spirit, to union with the eternal Christ. They walked in the footsteps of the apostle Paul, who wrote: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me,”†† revealing that “I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know someone in Christ who, fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows), was caught up to the third heaven.”‡

St. Paul’s words immediately raise several interesting spiritual questions:

◆Are there indeed several layers of heaven, which can be experienced, inside or outside the body, as this person did?

◆And if it is possible, as St. Paul indicates, to find ourselves outside the body, who are we in that state, when our physical frame is gone? What is our soul, which St. Augustine describes as the “rider” on the body?‡‡

◆And if there are three heavens, as St. Paul mentions, could there be seven of them, as the Hindu, Jewish, and Islamic Scriptures teach?§

◆If so, can these higher heavens too, like the third one, be reached by all of us, given that “someone” (an acquaintance of St. Paul) reached there?

◆Is God above all these heavens, as Psalm 8: i tells us? “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.”

◆Is the goal of original Christianity to attain that highest glory, which lies above all the layers of heaven?

◆Did Christianity hide such mystical messages behind the walls of Churches, the thicker walls of dogma, and the highest walls of ignorance?

Let’s immediately try to tune in to Yogananda’s wall-dissolving message!

WORDS of YOGANANDAto med to meditate upon carefully

“True Christianity must not be confounded with some of the forms that cloak it. True Christianity is neither Oriental nor Occidental, nor does it belong to Jesus and his saints alone. It is the property of every truth-seeking soul.

Jesus, the son of man, lifted himself to the state of being a Son of God. From human consciousness he grew into Cosmic- or Christ- consciousness.

When Jesus said that all those who received Him would become the sons of God§§, he meant that all those who could receive (i.e. increase their capacity to hold) the infinite ocean of Truth, could be sons of God.

There is no point in following the life of Jesus if he were the only Son of God and we could not be like him. He was not given to us to symbolize an unattainable goal, but came as a living inspiration of what we all may successfully seek and achieve.

If God created all men in His image, then He could not have made Jesus any different from the rest of us. We are all His children, created by the power of His being. He could not give to one more than He gives to all. He cannot be accused of partiality and still be divine.

Nor did God alone make Jesus the spiritual giant that he was, for if He creates prophets in a spiritual factory, then we might rightly think it is needless to struggle and would wait for Him to re-mold us and do our spiritual thinking for us. The gift of reason and choice, and the power to exercise free-will is peculiar to man and is sufficient to demonstrate to him that he must acquire his own spiritual growth by struggle and individual achievement. Jesus struggled, fasted, disciplined himself in every way. If he were born a Son of God, then he would not have required such training. We admire Jesus more, that, being human, he became divine.¶

Spiritual Truth is one; interpreted by Christians it is called Christianity; by Hindus, Hinduism, and so forth. Narrow-minded Christians and Hindus think true Christianity and Hinduism are church or temple worship, thus mistaking the form for the spirit. Truth has suffered measurement at the hands of all narrow and even all liberal interpretations. We must choose the ever-widening interpretations until we reach the goal where man-made interpretations no longer limit us.”¶¶

In essence, this is Yogananda’s message for all those who want to follow original Christianity:

“What Jesus achieved, all of us can achieve. He went into the ocean of Spirit and came back again, replete with the power of God to show that life is immortal. Within the body of Jesus existed the universal Christ-Spirit. He was both human and Divine, even as we are. But he overcame the flesh completely, even as we too can do…

Jesus was the ideal for us. He was not sent on earth to enact the drama of life and death, but He came to show us that what he could do, we too can do, provided we meditate like he did, provided we love as he did, provided we give our lives for all, as he did. To worship Jesus Christ without trying to be like him means nothing. He is adorable to us because our life can be patterned after his life.”*

Three blessings

In short: Jesus was cast in the rigid Western mold of institutionalism, but his teachings have always been rather Oriental, emphasizing practical spirituality designed to help us receive the pure light of grace. Are you ready for such a message, for such a life?

In Oriental fashion, then, before diving into original Christianity, let us elevate our spirit with three special ceremonial blessings.

1.Picture yourself standing in front of the door of a beautiful temple, which symbolizes this book: a luminous Priest of Light comes out to welcome you, lifting his hands to bless you. Lovingly he utters these words of the prophet Moses:

«“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace”**

2.Now, together with the Priest of Light, you cross the doors of this temple-book. Inside, he offers you a second blessing, singing to you the ancient Psalm of David. (Track 1)† Take the time to listen to it, feeling that he is singing it especially for you, to bless you with the ancient glory of Spirit.

3.For the third blessing, the Priest of Light guides you in a soul-affirmation, which leads you straight to the core of the oriental understanding of the Gospels:

«“I am immortal, and death, life, health, and sickness are but dreams.I am a child of God”††

Afterwards dwell on Jesus’ living example:

“I and my Father are one.”‡

Now you have fully entered through the doors of this book. Welcome!

* Ch. 12. All quotations from Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda’s major work, are taken, unless otherwise noted, from the original 1946 edition republished in 1993 by Crystal Clarity.

** John 8 : 32.

†East-West Magazine, March 1930.

†† Galatians 2:20. Many mystics have had that same experience. For example, Symeon the New Theologian wrote: “I move my hand and, wonderfully, my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of him” (Philokalia).

‡2 Cor. 12:1-2.

‡‡De moribus ecclesiae catholicae,1, 4, 6, PL 32, col. 1313.

§ Islam teaches that there are seven layers of both the Earth and the skies. Hadith literature describes how Muhammad was taken on a journey through all seven heavens. The Talmud, the “Bible” of Judaism, also teaches that there are seven Heavens, which it calls “Shamayim.” Hindu Scriptures similarly speak about seven loka, or swarga, or heavens. The Bible too points to more than one heaven, though it doesn’t specify the number seven. Genesis (I.I) for example states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

§§ John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”

¶ Yogananda refers to the past lives of Jesus, in which he struggled and was victorious. As we shall read later, in this life he was born free. Yet to set the example for all of us, he let himself be baptized, learned from Masters, studied the Scriptures, fasted, served, prayed, and overcame his struggles victoriously. This aspect is the one that Yogananda emphasizes.

¶¶East-West Magazine, Sept-Oct. 1926.

* Praecepta Lessons, Vol. 5.

** Numbers 6:24-26. All quotes from the Bible are from the King James Version.

† See www.anandaedizioni.it/xy: All tracks in this book can be found with this link. Many songs are from the oratorio “Christ Lives”, composed by Swami Kriyananda after a visit to the Holy Land. Often they are taken from the original 1984 version, since the male solos are sung by Swami Kriyananda himself. At the end of the book, you will find the complete list of musical recordings and their sources.

†† Paramhansa Yogananda, Inner Culture Magazine, October 1938.

‡ John 10:30.

“Jesus, by every act and word of his life, proved that he knew the truth of his being—his source in God. Wholly identified with the omnipresent Christ Consciousness, he could say with simple finality: “Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.”*

~ Autobiography of a Yogi ~

Music to create the right atmosphere

Original Christianity will ignite your life with the joy of Spirit. To intuit its highest expression, take a moment to listen to the song, In the Spirit, by Swami Kriyananda: “I was caught up in ecstasy. It was a day sanctified by God.

There He showed me the truths of heaven, truths which all, seeking Him, should know: how the soul, made to live in freedom, can reclaim its eternal right. How the night, born of our delusions, can be fired, blazing with His light!” (Track 2)

The sacred fire of Spirit

There is so much holiness and sacredness in original Christianity. The centuries are glowing with true experiences of grace and miracles, with the presence of saints, angels, and with devoted souls who received the eternal comfort their soul had been longing for.

At the center of this amazing grace stands Jesus Christ: a true son, or incarnation, of God (we shall see later what this means in the oriental view).

Life is like a constant storm, jolting us left and right, often mercilessly and unpredictably. By intimately approaching an incarnation of God, that storm suddenly abates, and we enter an area of exceptional calmness. In that presence, we feel safe, saved, and uplifted into an inner communion with the Higher Power. Can there be any greater experience? No, nothing can ever compare to it. Suddenly life makes sense, at last our heart is fulfilled, and finally we find what we have been seeking for eons.

Too few people know about that inner state simply because they weren’t taught how to enter into it. Are you a Christian who has been taught to believe, to go to Church, and to lead a good and loving life? Yet the inner communion with Spirit is what original Christianity is really about. It will completely transform your consciousness. If you keep going, you won’t even recognize yourself anymore after some years. Your natural divinity will emerge.

Tongues of fire

It is not a matter of rejecting the churches, but of shifting the emphasis from the institution to the individual, from form to spirituality, from superficiality to depth. As Yogananda says: “Churches in the Occident have done untold good by their efforts to remind people of their spiritual relationships and of God’s laws. But the churches have become formbound, lacking in the spirit of meditation and real God-communion which Jesus and his disciples so plainly manifested in their own lives.”**

As you shall see, original Christianity was lived in the first centuries after Christ, and you are invited to return to its roots: it is the path of entering into close contact with Christ, with God, on a daily, deep and joyful basis. Following this inner practice, your little life will gradually become expansive, touched by a higher Reality, and finally it will be enlightened by the divine fire.

In fact, tongues of fire fell upon Jesus’s disciples:

“And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”†

It was the fire of Spirit.

This true original Christianity still exists, beneath all the shortcomings of “churchianity” (a term coined by Yogananda). It hides like embers below the ashes of superficiality and is ready to burst into flame again. But it needs your help.

How can you ignite that same fire in yourself? First of all, you need to locate that precious ember, by understanding the glowing essence of what Jesus brought: your own deep experience, not belief, affiliation, or rituals.

Next you need to learn how to regularly blow on the ember through your personal daily practice. You will finally receive the baptism of fire to which John the Baptist referred:

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”††

To be baptized “by fire” means to receive the Holy Spirit. Its “fire” of cosmic life energy will, among other things, purify you, cauterizing all the effects of your present bad habits coming from past erroneous actions.

Gradually, a flame of divine happiness will rise in you, illuminating your temple of Spirit within. You will finally overcome an age-old darkness and spiritual blindness:

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”‡

Your training will be, in fact, to “comprehend” that light, step by step, and to make it shine brightly in your life, as the early Christians did.

Original Christianity can take you as high as you wish: even to the doors of paradise, right here, while you live on earth, while leading your normal life, following your daily duties.

The mysteries hidden from the masses

Jesus talked about the mustard seed, the ten virgins, the laborers in the vineyard, among numerous other parables. He explained his reason for using them:

“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”‡‡

In other words, Jesus offered the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” to his disciples, while presenting general teachings to the masses. Why? Not out of spiritual meanness, but because the mass consciousness of his time simply wasn’t ready for, or interested in, a deep mystical experience. He didn’t want to cast his “pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet.”§

He often said:

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.“§§

Those few who “had ears” would individually search the deeper teachings, separately from the crowds.

His example was followed by the Church, which consciously did not spread the mystical teachings, the deep mysteries, to the masses. St. Basil the Great, recognized as a Doctor of the Church, explains in On the Holy Spirit (chapter 27) that there is indeed a secret tradition of the apostles, which was consciously withheld from the majority of believers: “In the same manner the apostles and Fathers who laid down laws for the Church from the beginning thus guarded the awful dignity of the mysteries in secrecy and silence, for what is bruited abroad random among the common folk is no mystery at all. This is the reason for our tradition of unwritten precepts and practices, that the knowledge of our [deeper] dogmas may not become neglected and contemned by the multitude through familiarity.”

St. Basil himself was deeply absorbed in the inner mysteries. He wrote: “Utterly inexpressible and indescribable is Divine Beauty blazing like lightning; neither word can express nor ear receive it. If we name the brightness of dawn, or the clearness of moonlight, or the brilliance of sunshine, none of it is worthy to be compared with the glory of true Light, and is farther removed therefrom than the deepest night and the most terrible darkness from the clear light of midday.”¶

Such profound teachings, as we said, were reserved for only a few selected devotees. The masses, therefore, have always lived a relatively superficial Christian life, and were indoctrinated with Church-adherence, ecclesiastical hierarchy, and belief in official dogmas.

The situation became worse. In time, the Church became a worldly power and actively pitted itself against the Gnostics, whose intention it was to preserve the mystical element of Christ’s mission, as opposed to the Church’s institutionalism. The Gnostics were finally completely suppressed and almost altogether extinguished.¶¶

The light of our new era

Today, however, we have entered a new era. Institutionalism, or “churchianity”, is on the decline. The dogma, Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church there is no salvation), definitively has a medieval ring to it to most modern ears. Consciousness is awakening everywhere. Many Christians are ready for a deeper spiritual life. Is that your case, too?

It is not a coincidence that in our times texts like the Gospel of Thomas have reemerged.* In the beginning (Saying 3) it offers these mystical words:

“Jesus said, ‘If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.’”

Yes, the holy mass can be an uplifting experience for the faithful, just as all religious ceremonies. Devotion attracts grace. Singing and praying in a group can be powerful. The Eucharist too can be a blessing.

Yet these activities are like receiving a little candy instead of a royal cake. How much more glorious and intense, indeed, is the inner mass, in the inner Church, receiving the Eucharist directly from Christ. The Holy Communion then becomes Holy Inner Communion.

That is what the apostles and the first Christians practiced. They were taught that their body is a temple in which God resides. Those who didn’t understand these inner mysteries were deemed ignorant, as we can see in a few notable passages in the Bible:

What? know ye not that your body the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?**

«Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?†

Today we ask you the same question: “Don’t you know from the Gospels’ teaching that Christ lives within you? Have you not read that He shines in you?”

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.††

Read the above quotes carefully, and take them into your inner silence. There, with an open heart, feel their impact on you. Then answer the following three questions.

A moment of reflection

What do the words mean to me, that the true Light “lighteth every man”, including me?

How do such words make me feel about myself?

What impact do they have on the way I perceive the people around me?

Let's abolish “Churchianity”!

The new era we live in requires new ways, new approaches. Yogananda initiated a modern reform of Christianity, which doesn’t consist in creating a new organization or Church‡, but rather in an inner change, in all Christians, in all churches, as well as outside the churches. He writes:

“What is necessary now is not to create new denominations, but to follow and live the real teaching of Christ, improving the quality of church members by meditation and by the selection of God-known, God-contacting ministers.

All ‘churchianity’ can be abolished and real Christianity brought back to the churches if they are made places for daily meditation, including on Sundays. The atmosphere of meditation will change churches from nests of delusive, dividing ‘churchianity’ into the heaven of Christ Consciousness or ‘Christ-ianity’.

That is why Jesus endowed the disciples with divine power, so that they in turn could instill that power in the people and heal them from ignorance.

Jesus also taught them the art of developing dynamic will power and healing, by which they could heal the afflicted bodies of people who wanted to be spiritual but could not be so, due to their physical defects.”‡‡

Yogananda’s vision is simple, clear, and deep. The various Churches, he suggests, instead of underlining their name (Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, etc.) and superficial theological differences, should all teach practical methods for personal inner communion.

WORDS of YOGANANDAto meditate upon carefully

“All churches should be structures without sectarian names, if possible, and should open their doors to truth-seekers of all types, giving them a discipline in the art of God-contact.

The purpose of a shop is to sell things, but the purpose of a church is to give God-contact. And if it claims to give that, it truly must do so, or should cease to exist as a spiritual force.

Every spiritual teacher who has studied under another great teacher should pass his life more in meditation than in reading books. He should transmit his spirituality to real seekers, whom he meets through the will of God and through proper moral publicity, by regularly meditating with them whenever he can. He should form small groups, either in quiet places or in secluded, but centrally located places in a city.

If all the churches get together and follow the above method, they will bring about a real revival of Christ Consciousness in the heart of true seekers.

When true seekers and worthy ministers will deeply meditate together, then in the expanded cup of their consciousness the Christ Consciousness which was in Jesus will manifest in them and thus bring about the second coming of Christ.Ӥ

Yogananda’s mission is completely universal, offering scientific techniques to elevate souls of all religions toward the one eternal Truth, where all of them meet. He writes:

“Religions, or opinions and beliefs of men about religion, are many, but true religion, or real spiritual experience by any human being, whether Hindu, Christian, or member of any sect or school of thought, will be discovered, in the course of realizing God or Truth, to be one and the same. There is only one Truth; there cannot be two or more truths.

Religion mostly has been handled by dogmatists, self-chosen reformers, and self-elected members of God’s mystic counsel. Religion has been patented, trademarked and peddled by quack ‘spiritual doctors’ with unscientific but profuse advertisements of its efficacy.

‘Mine is the only one, the best,’ is the declaration of most cults. But there should be a standard for judging what is best, just as the standard of quality of goods determines which store is the best in town, even though all claim to be the best.

The good that religion has done through the ages, by reminding people of an ideal, either through religious values, or reasoning, can never be denied. Yet, unscientific religion has been the cause of the tyranny of the caste system, and so forth, in the East, and of the class system, Spanish inquisition, and the burning of heretics, in the West…

The reason that religion is not universal, either at school or at home, is because it is not scientific, because its principles have not been put to the acid test of universal experience. Religion must be taken out of the hands of bigoted clergies and put into the hands of unprejudiced scientists, who are trying to find the best method of living for developing a race of supermen, or Christ-souls.

When dogma is sifted out of religion, we can have a religion that will inspire us not only on Sunday mornings, but which will also be of supreme use in rejuvenating the body, strengthening the mind, and recharging the soul with unlimited wisdom and happiness.”§§

Become an original Christian

The goal Jesus offers is high: the experience of union with Spirit, found through daily practice and sincere inner dedication. Our call is to return to the original Christianity of Christ in the Bible and the original teachings of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Essentially, as we said, these two scriptures offer exactly the same message.

This book, then, is an invitation to you, if you are (or have been) a Christian, to become an “original Christian” and to live as the early disciples of Jesus did. No membership in any Church, organization, or religion is required. You may happily stay in your church, if it inspires you, or stay away from them all, if you prefer. The goal is to live a life of simplicity, of freedom, joy, and especially of daily inner communion. It can become a new lifestyle for you, step by step, in whatever situation you find yourself in.

For behind the Gospel, often read as dusty history, lives a radiant, singing, and fresh reality. Its message is liberating, powerful, and true: Christ is a way to paradise, and he lives in you.

This is the question you are being asked:

“… do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?¶

Are you ready to receive that promise and to make that sacred discovery?

This book covers only a tiny part of Jesus’ parables, miracles, healings, deeds, and teachings. It is rather an introductory text, focusing on his central message. For further study you may read The Promise of Immortality and Revelations of Christ by Swami Kriyananda, as well as The Yoga of Jesus published by Self-Realization Fellowship. If you want to dive deeper, we recommend the two huge volumes The Second Coming of Christ, again published by Self-Realization Fellowship.

An intuitive visualization

To tune into the luminous message of original Christianity, take some time now to practice this visualization.

Imagine Jesus standing in front of you, blessing you with his amazing glory, with his eternal love, with his universal power. He is not, as you intuitively understand, a man, a person. Instead, with your deeper gaze, you see the eternal Christ Consciousness shining through him, manifesting in him.

Feel his divine love flooding your heart, his cosmic wisdom permeating your mind, his eternal power filling your veins, his holy Spirit engulfing your soul.

Now imagine Jesus addressing you personally with these biblical words:

My prayer is not for them [the apostles] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be ONE, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”¶¶

May you be blessed to receive him, so that he can help you to “be ONE”, to experience that you are in the Father (Spirit), and that the Father is in you.

May the light of Christ, the Infinite Consciousness, shine upon you as you proceed on the path of original Christianity. This is its purpose:

Let the omniscient Christ Consciousness come to earth a second time and be born in you, even as it once manifested in the body of Jesus.*

MEDITATIONTECHNIQUE:“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”**

Receptivity as a way to Christ Consciousness

The above words of the Gospels are central to Yogananda’s vision of original Christianity. Let’s read them again, slowly and carefully: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”

He explains this essential teaching:

“As a small cup cannot hold an ocean within it, no matter how willing it may be to do so, likewise the cup of material human consciousness cannot grasp the universal Christ Consciousness, no matter how desirous it is. But when the student, by the Yogoda method of meditation and concentration†, enlarges the caliber of his consciousness to omniscience, he can hold the universal consciousness in all atoms (Christ Consciousness) within his own. This is what is meant by ‘received Him.’

Thus, according to Jesus, all souls who can actually find their souls one with Christ Consciousness, by intuitive Self-realization, can be called ‘Sons of God.’

All Oriental Scriptures, such as the Bhagavad Gita, i.e. the Hindu Bible, and the Christian Bible, have a three-fold meaning. In other words, the Scriptures deal with the three factors of human beings, namely, the material, the mental, and the spiritual. Hence, all true Scriptures have been so written that they serve to be beneficial to the body, mind, and soul of man.

True Scriptures are like the wells of divine waters, which can quench the three-fold material, mental, and spiritual thirsts of man. In addition, the Scriptures, in order to be worthwhile, should really help the business man, the mental man, and the spiritual man.

Although both the material and the psychological interpretations of the Scriptures are necessary, it should be remembered that the scriptural authors undertook with great pains to point out to man that the spiritual interpretations are of supreme importance to him.