The Aurora Borealis by Paramahansa Yogananda

   TO THE AURORA BOREALIS By Paramahansa Yogananda    

This poem was written by Paramahansaji in 1927 while visiting Forest Lake, 

Minnesota about 20 miles north of Minneapolis. The poem is published in 

Songs of the Soul.

From the heart of the northern horizon,

A dim, palpitating fountain of flame

Spread flickeringly

Through the dark stray clouds and the Milky way,

And across the space o'erhead.

Softly glowing, liquid fleecy lights

Rose, quivered, and flooded the southern land.

Aurora lit the sky,

And played with shadows within the deeps of the limpid lake --

Fluttered scintillating, transparent lights

O'er the stars and the sky o'erhead;

And shone on the rippleless lake beneath--

Then floated like dream waves of light

In my mental sea.*

Stilled thoughts, like stars, would glimmer

Through dim mental clouds;

Wisdom's aurora-light would rise from medulla's horizon

And spread, tremblingly, lighting

The dark vapors of mind.

Thou matchless lone imitator of all these --

O Aurora!

Spreader of light and joy o'er cloudy hearts,

Reminder, thou, of bursting, glowing light within my forehead!

From the left and right extreme, invisible lamps

Threw sudden iridescent red or blue sky-kissing searchlights,

Sprouting ethereal mystic flames,

Which joyfully bounded and vanished in the Eternal Ray.

Ever-burning radium, thou, Aurora!

My inner fountain of strange colors

Flooded my mental sky,

Illumining the opaque darkness

Behind which the Light of all lights hides.

A vision it was, of ever-changing, rolling, molten light,

Coaxing the stars, trees, water, earth, and matter, all

To melt their grossness

And become the Cosmic Light.

Aurora, there is hope,

For I shall liquefy in my samadhi's fire

All grossness of my mortal being,

And all creation's dust.

Matter shall change to light;

Darkness will burst into atoms of leaping fire.

My little soul will breathe with the Eternal Breath --

With the birth of each breath, new solar systems will be born;

And as each breath of eternity escapes from me,

Many a universe will cease to breathe.

The feeling bounded by the body will fly free

To feel the universe.

No more shall I clasp but a little clod;

In my bosom I shall bear the burden

Of the twinkling atomic vapors of nebulae,

Shining stars, planets, and all living things.

For I am the Life,

And my body is the universe.

Smaller am I than all little things made --

I can hide behind a speck of electron --

And bigger am I than the sphere in which the cosmos breathes.

I am the Life that shattered its confines of littleness

To become the infinite bigness of all things.

I am the most subtle -- the subtlest of forces is gross enough to hide me --

Yet everything speaks of me.

I wake with the dawn,

I exercise my vital muscular rays in the sun;

I sleep in the night,

Or oft peep through the twinkling lights in the darkness.

I smile in the moon,

I heave in the ocean.

I paint and wipe away

The pictures on the canvas of the sky.

I make the dewdrop, and conjure the flowers with my invisible wand.

I whistle in the canaries and sing in the nightingales.

I melt and sigh in human breasts.

I whisper through conscience.

I roar in the thunder.

I work in the noisy wheels of factories.

And I play hide and seek with the sky, stars, clouds, and waters,

As the mystic light of the aurora.

You and I are Free Forever

You and I are Free Forever

A poem written by Master to Rajarsi Janakananda May 5 1949.

My Little One,

You and I are one.

In Mother Supreme

In Her Eternity's dream.

When this Earth melts in the cosmic death

And our bodies dissolve, as they must,

Still our souls as a blended starlet will shine

Forever, ever expanding in the Divine.

This life is not only a dream,

But a dream

That already has come and gone

In the Mind of the Divine One.

Thus, do I behold with Eternity's eyes of old

All our earthly business pressures

Scant successes, struggles, and nightmares

All already dissolved in Time's cosmic molten stream

Flowing from Her cosmic dream.

You and I though nigh,

Are no more here

In this cosmic motion picture.

Since you are gone

There is no worry,

Struggle none:

Only to calmly remember

We dreamt our dream and now are with Her, only Her.

Dreams are disturbing and hard to take,

But each dreamer should dream half-awake.

Nightmares and beautiful dreams

Are true awhile, but never as they seem

So good or bad, whatever be coming,

Remember you are dreaming, only dreaming.

This dream lies that we are here,

Prisoners of a clot of earth

Chained to life and death

While we are already free-everywhere

'Tis delusion that tells

Salvation and freedom are far away

'Tis wisdom that knows we dwell

In everlasting freedom now and always.

In wakefulness of samadhi's light

Forget all dreams of the cosmic night

You and I are free forever

Now, e'en now, in the Cosmic Mother.

Where we are

No scratch of worries can ever come near.

You and I forever are

Shining in Her Love's star.

Thine Ever-Changing Face

Thine Ever-Changing Face

Thine ever-changing face of ocean and sky

I beheld with great joy.

Sometimes calm, unruffled,

Thy ble Face silently suggests:

"I am the creator of all creation - be calm with Me."

Sometimes Thy face breaks into endless laughter

And ripples of light

Displaying silver muscles.

Sometimes Thy skiey oceanic Face

Storms and howls at me:

"I can destroy all creation."

Sometimes Thy boundless Face

Wears the gloom of Nemesis and the sad clouds

Sorrowing with the sorrows of the world.

Sometimes Thy sea-Face smiles; or, scorchingly aglow

With violet rays to burn the darkness of disease,

Thy sunny ocean-Face reveals paternal warmth and care.

Sometimes Thy pale blue sky-and-ocean Face

Wears the dark veil of night

Adorned with the beauty mark of the moon,

And eyes me with maternal love.

Sometimes Thy sky-ocean Face

Suddenly is dark with gloom

And saddened into oblivion of all things,

Meditating on Thy own Spirit alone, saying:

"So long I entertained thee

With My cosmic emotions

Of calmness, power, fear, joy, meditation,

Sun, moon and storm.

Now I hide my Face

Into the bosom of eternity

That thou mayest be able to behold My unseen Face

Sleeping in dreamless wakefulness

Behind the shroud of nothingness."

Yet How Elusive

Yet How Elusive

I looked for You

Ever since You breathed individuality

Into my soul dew

And separated me from You

Because I am the wave

Jerked out of Your sea

I've ever tried myself to reunite

With Your boundless bosom of freedom and light -

Though lashed

And by all other waves and by karma dashed -

Yet again and again

The storm of my own desires o'er the cosmic main

Would send me sailing alone, sad,

With colliding brother waves, cruel restive mad,

I am the wavelet life in great unrest

Swimming on Your cosmic sea-breast.

And yet how elusive You are

So near and so far.

My little life swam in loneliness and worries

Beneath the vistas of centuries,

Beneath countless lights of mily way , moons and suns,

Beneath the darkness of many desires undone,

Beneath the fogs of intricate incarnations

And 'neath clouds of doleful delusions.

Now at last I discovered

Just beneath my ignorance You lay covered,

'Twas I who ignored You -

Not You, not You -

When You were so near

Kept by my absent mind so far:

The ocean of life

Through all my strife

Supporting , ever-sustaining

Ever-pursuing, ever watchfully remaining

To protect me from harm

Just beneath the truant wavelet of my little life

Blessed with Your sheltering charm.

- Paramahansa Yogananda

God! God! God!

God! God! God!

From the depth of slumber,

As I ascend the spiral stairway of wakefulness,

I whisper

God, God, God!

Thou art the food and when I break my fast

Of nightly separation from Thee

I taste thee and mentally say

God, God, God!

No matter where I go, the spotlight of my mind

Ever keeps turning on Thee;

And in the battle din of activity my silent war cry

Is ever;

God, God, God!

When boisterous storms of trials shriek

And worries howl at me,

I drown their noises, loudly chanting

God, God, God!

When my mind weaves dreams

With threads of memories,

Then on that magic cloth I do emboss;

God, God, God!

Ever night, in time of deepest sleep,

My peace dreams and calls; Joy! Joy! Joy!

And my Joy comes singing evermore;

God, God, God!

In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,

Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,

My soul constantly hums, unheard by any;

God, God, God!

- Paramahansa Yogananda

Magic Sea

Magic Sea

You alone can make a sea

With eyes of blue, and measurelessly deep

With transparent heart --

'Tis you

All hidden with endless mystery.

With flying fish perching,

On Your silver hair of surf dancing,

Somber sea gulls resting

On Your rich watery tresses

As the sun bestows its kisses

And makes them shine,

O Goddess, blue Brine,

Intoxicating all votaries with Your wine,

Your ever blushing scenic face

Surging in all secret solace --

Who, who could make this blue-eyed maiden

But You alone, ah You?

Man may make a myriad things that be

A little while;

But You alone can make a MAGIC SEA.