Yogananda On The Coming World Crisis

Yogananda On The Coming World Crisis

A talk given by Paramahansa Yogananda on May 19, 1940, in Encinitas, California.

"The analysis I shall give today is based upon common sense and experience. Common sense is simply intuitional reaction to one's environment. If you would develop your intuitive common sense, you would find the answers to all of your problems.

This is not a political talk. My domain is spirituality; I shall always live and act within that realm, and in the domain of Spirit I shall die. I speak only from that level of consciousness. 

Sometime, after I am gone from this earth, you will realize all I have tried to do for you. If you follow the constructive advice I shall give today, you will one day be very grateful for it.

I had thought that through her good qualities America would escape the calamities of other nations. But a great crisis is going to come, a crisis such as never before has hit this country, because the emphasis now is on spending and on increasing taxation.

When the false prosperity collapses, what will you do? There will be millions unemployed. Most are now living in blissful oblivion, unaware of the impending emergency.

There is a world revolution going on. It will change the financial system. In the karmic firmament of America I see one beautiful sign: that no matter what the world goes through, she will be better off than most other countries. But America will experience widespread misery, suffering, and changes just the same.

You are used to the better things of life, and when you are obliged to live simply, you won't like it. It is not easy to be poor after being rich. You have no idea how this change is going to affect you through the years. Never before in the history of this land has there been so deep a contrast in living standards as will visit this country—the contrast between riches and poverty.

Adopt plain living and high thinking now.

How can you meet the world crisis that is coming? The best way is to adopt plain living and high thinking. Unless you make drastic changes in your living habits immediately, you will be rudely surprised; conditions will change in a way you cannot imagine now.

You still have food and clothing, even luxuries, that people in other nations do not. So it is best to accustom yourself now to simple living.

Choose a dwelling place that is adequate, but not larger than you really need, and if possible in an area where taxes and other living expenses are reasonable.

Make your own clothes; can your own food. Grow your own vegetable garden, and if feasible, keep a few chickens to produce eggs. Work the garden yourself, or you will lose money in paying wages to a gardener.

Keep life simple and enjoy what God has provided, without seeking false and expensive pleasures. There is much in God's hidden nature to fascinate the mind of man.

Use your free time to read worthwhile books, meditate, and enjoy an uncomplicated life. Isn't this better—simple living, fewer worries, and the time to seek God—than to have a huge house, two cars, and time payments and a mortgage you cannot meet?

Man has to go back to the land; it will come to pass eventually. If you think this isn't so, you will find you are mistaken. But regardless of where your home and work are, cut out luxuries, buy less expensive clothes, supply yourself with things you really need, grow your own food, and put money aside regularly for greater security.

Everyone thinks of ways to spend money, but few think how to conserve money. Don't be wasteful, because you are going to have to learn to do without.
Parents should set the example and train the whole family to save and to avoid waste. You can save only by exercising self-control. Heed this warning. Take the best advice I can give; follow it and you will be spared much grief.

Don't spend foolishly. If you waste money on luxuries you will not be spared. Pay cash for everything you buy, and if you don't have the cash, don't buy. Don't borrow; you will have a hard time paying on the principal because of the high interest.

You must learn to save in every way possible. Don't have a poverty consciousness, but exercise whatever discipline is necessary to save and also have the means to pay your bills. No one else is going to pay them for you.

God Is Your Greatest Security.

Whoever comes to me in the right spirit, with devotion for God, will never be the same again. God has shown me how to break the secret thoughts of delusion that bind men's souls. 

Most of all I emphasize that you should get busy seeking God through meditation.

God can be contacted at any moment, any day! It is possible to feel the inspiration of His presence anytime, in any place. So that whenever you think of Him, His inspiration will be there. In every lovely experience you will behold God. Just beneath the shadows of this life is His wondrous Light. The universe is a vast temple of His presence.
When you meditate, you will find doors opening to Him everywhere. When you have communion with Him, not all the ravages of the world can take away that Joy and Peace."