Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened onto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. —Matthew 7:7-8
Every true religion leads to God,” Paramahansa of Jesus, “but some paths take a longer time while others are shorter.” The same could certainly be said for the books that illuminate these paths.
Yogananda’s devotional work delving into the teaching of Christ is certainly thorough and ground-breaking, and in order to increase the accessibility of the teachings, brought forth inThe Second Coming of Christ, the Self-Realization Fellowship published an abridged, but no less profound, version in The Yoga of Jesus. The fact that the book is already in its second printing, only a few short months after its publication, is a testament to its message. While it could be viewed as a simpler version of The Second Coming, or as a companion book, it is a stand-alone work that offers a perspective honoring the life of teachings of Jesus Christ for yogis, and provides some explanation of how the teachings and philosophies of Yoga are not only compatible with Christian teachings, but may actually offer some guidance as to how people can emulate Christ and in fact become more Christ-like.
According to Yogananda, the wilderness of science is the journey through which an individual can discover the profound heaven that exists within the universe. Just as Jesus spoke in parables to provide concrete examples for what may otherwise seem like esoteric teachings, Yogananda also gives examples. One he uses as an analogy for the hidden teachings ?er seen an olive, it is hard to imagine the oil, until the fruit is cut open and squeezed. So it is with God who permeates everything, often unseen at first.
Yogananda interprets some of the seemingly obscure teaching in the Gospels through yogic semiotics. After all, he asserts, there is evidence that Jesus many of his formative years in Eastern temples (a statement with ?ertheless, passages such as that in John 3:1314, state “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up.” Yogananda explains this serpent that is lifted is the kundalini, the coiled energy that lies dormant at the base of the spine lifted through practice.
To accompany Yogananda’s teachings and examples, the publishers have added sidebars throughout the book offering explanations of subjects such as the Word (intelligent vibration), Yoga and the Book of Revelation and even the mystical Yoga practices of saints such as Teresa of Avila and Francis of Assisi. And, Yogananda insists, like the saints, and even Christ himself, we can all enter the kingdom of heaven through the practive of meditation. We can all be free.
By Felicia M. Tomasko (as a review)
