Paramahansa Yogananda As I Knew Him

By Roy Eugene Davis

Strong energy movements occurred in my body within a few weeks after I met Master. Unexpected surges of life force would quickly ascend the spinal pathway, then subside. When I sat to meditate, the flows became more pronounced. If I were not relaxed when the process occurred, my body would sometimes be pulled upright. A brother disciple noticed these occasional movements and asked about them. When I described the sensations, he smiled, "It's because of your frequent contact with master and because you are in this environment," he explained. "It happened to me when I first came here, too."

When a receptive disciple has a personal relationship with a spiritually awake person, dormant forces are aroused within the disciple to the degree that one is receptive. This can occur spontaneously or the guru may intentionally transmit life force to the disciple. By experimenting, I discovered that when I was relaxed during meditation, the energy surges would flow freely without causing a physical reaction. Instead, a mild ecstasy was experienced....

Yoga literature provides information about a variety of states of consciousness which are accessible to one who is intent on discovering them. At the gaps between states of consciousness, and between thoughts that emerge and subside, it is possible to penetrate levels of consciousness that are more subtle...

After my initiation by Master in August, 1950, I received a special blessing from him. He began the initiation service by welcoming the resident disciples. As each person stood in front of him, he put his hand on their forehead. As he was blessing the people, I heard him say, "I am sending light into your body. I am giving you everything. It is up to you to receive it.

Immediately after the service, I helped some of my brother disciples remove the extra chairs. Master was sitting in a chair in front of the altar. Remembering his earlier comments about helping others see the inner light, I went to him and asked him to help me see it.

Putting his hands on my forehead, he told me to look into the spiritual eye. Two brilliant, white lights in a dark blue field immediately appeared. As I gazed steadily into the spiritual eye, the two white lights began to merge. Before they came together, I was distracted by the sound of chairs being stacked, and the lights dispersed.

Master said, "Let's wait a moment." When he again put his hands on my forehead, the two white lights again appeared. He said, "Now, look into the distance." At that moment, the lights merged. As he removed his hands from my head, he said, "What you saw was Spirit and Nature. From now on, you can see that anytime."

The light that can be seen when the mind is calm and attention is concentrated in the front and higher region of the brain is produced by the convergence of upward flowing currents of life force. The magnetic field that emanated from Master's hands, and his concentrated intention, had attracted my attention and life forces more strongly into the spiritual eye....