11/06/2026
ASTRAL WORLD ~Part 17
Awake from Delusion of Matter
I am not giving you this lecture to make you mystical, or to stir in you a desire for the entertainment of phenomenal experiences and powers.
The point is to awaken you from the delusion that you are a limited mortal, helplessly subject to the whims of physical existence.
You live, move, breathe, act, because of your innate astral self and its powers flowing from God.
This true incarnate nature is what I want you to realize and utilize. Know your Self as connected with the Omnipotent Source of your being.
Imagine, affirm, will, meditate to realize your true Self as the soul cloaked in a wonderful astral form of light and power.
That thought alone, far from making you "otherworldly," energizes your life and accomplishments in the here and now.
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How to Be Calm & Happy
When I work, I concentrate on what needs to be done at that moment; I do it, then forget it until it needs my attention again. And if I can't do it, I don't let it distress me.
Some people with their little home and little job are all the time worrying and nervous. Any person who is nervous is in the physical world.
If you are calm and happy, you are in the astral world. Always work from the astral world; and as soon as the physical world starts to eat at your peace of mind, get away and retire into inner silence.
If you develop the ability to live in interior quietness, you can remain in the calm state even in the midst of noise and discord. That ability shows the astral influence upon you.
I can go to sleep at will, even if cannonballs were flying around me. That is why it is necessary to meditate and live more in the consciousness of the astral world.
In the physical world there are so many difficulties that come along. You will "go crazy" trying to cope with your problems unless you can draw strength and guidance from the astral heaven within you.
Just think when you were a child and had no worries! You were in heaven. But when you had to start out on your own, what troubles you had.
The way to fly away from your material troubles is to have recourse to that astral world. Money does not make happiness. Having reasonable financial resources no doubt helps, but your first necessity is to have God.
I could make myself "crazy" this minute thinking of all I have to do for this work. But there is a time for everything.
My time with God comes first. "I am ready to do everything for You, Lord, working day and night; but my happiness lies in my contact with You."
I remain in His astral kingdom. That is my home. I am living on the earth just as a servant lives and works in the house of his employer: I know my home is elsewhere.
(Next part will be the culmination on this extraordinary subject from the teachings of Gurudeva)
~Paramahansa Yogananda
SRF MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2010