Finding the Joy Within You: Personal Counsel for God-Centered Living [Hardcover]

Sri Daya Mata (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1990

Finding the Joy Within You is a compassionate and deeply encouraging book that speaks to all who long to know that God is real, that He is near to us at all times, and that we can live every day of our lives in intimate communion with Him. In this collection of talks, informal counsel, and personal reminiscences, Sri Daya Mata shares the guidance and inspiration she receieved as a close disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time and author of the widely acclaimed Autobiography of a Yogi.

This anthology conveys the in-depth guidance she absorbed during her more than twenty years of day-to-day association with the great teacher: the practices and principles that lead to realization of the infinite love and joy that are hidden within every human being, just waiting to be discovered.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sri Daya Mata, one of Paramahansa Yogananda's earliest and closest disciples, was the president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India from 1955 until her passing in 2010. Born Faye Wright on January 31, 1914, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Daya Mata met Paramahansa Yogananda at the age of seventeen when she attended a lecture series he was giving in her hometown. Upon hearing him speak, she inwardly thought: "This man loves God as I have always longed to love Him. He knows God. Him I shall follow." Not long afterward, she entered his ashram in Los Angeles as a nun of the Self-Realization Order. During more than two decades of day-to-day association with Sri Yogananda, Daya Mata served as his confidential secretary; and over the years he entrusted her with increasing spiritual and administrative responsibilities. From the beginning he singled her out for a special role, and he encouraged other disciples to pattern their lives after her example. As Paramahansa Yogananda's spiritual successor, Sri Daya Mata guided his society for more than fifty years, faithfully carrying out his wishes and ideals for the dissemination of his teachings worldwide and for the establishment of Self-Realization Fellowship temples, centers, and retreats. She made several global speaking tours, including extended visits to India. Under her leadership, the pioneering spiritual work of Paramahansa Yogananda flourished, both in his native land and around the world. Two anthologies of her lectures and informal talks have been published, Only Love: Living the Spiritual Life in a Changing World, and Finding the Joy Within You: Personal Counsel for God-Centered Living. Many of her talks are also available on CD and DVD. A true mother of compassion as her name signified, Sri Daya Mata inspired truth-seekers of all faiths and from all walks of life.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Self-Realization Fellowship; New edition edition (December 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876122888
• ISBN-13: 978-0876122884
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,180,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sri Daya Mata is the foremost living disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda. A true "Mother of Compassion," as her name signifies, she has inspired those of all faiths and from all walks of life with the wisdom and great love of God conveyed through her talks, writings, and recordings. Referring to her first volume of spiritual counsel, "Only Love," the former Ambassador of India to the United States, N. A. Palkhivala, wrote: "Sri Daya Mata personifies love and compassion and the other timeless values of Indian culture...Her speeches are not dry academic dissertations on abstract theological principles, but intensely personal hymns testifying to her ecastatic vision of the Creator."

Born Faye Wright on January 31, 1914 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Daya Mata met Paramahansa Yogananda at the age of seventeen when she attended a lecture series he was giving in her hometown. Upon hearing him speak, she inwardly thought: "This man loves God as I have always longed to love Him. He knows God. Him I shall follow." Not long afterward, she entered his ashram in Los Angeles as a nun of the Self-Realization Order. During more than two decades of day-to-day association with Yogananda, Daya Mata served as his confidential secretary; and over the years he entrusted her with increasing spiritual and administrative responsibilities. From the beginning it was evident that he had singled her out for a special role. He later told her that he had given to her the same intense spiritual discipline that his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, had given to him - a significant remark, since she was to inherit the spiritual and organizational mantle that Sri Yukteswar had bestowed on him.

As Paramahansa Yogananda's spiritual successor, Sri Daya Mata has guided his society for more than half a century, faithfully carrying out his wishes and ideals for the dissemination of his teachings worldwide and for the establishment of Self-Realzation Fellowship temples, centers, and retreats. In 1955, succeeding the late, saintly Rajarsi Janakananda, Sri Daya Mata became president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society - the first woman to head a worldwide spiritual organization. She has made several global speaking tours, including extended visits to India. Under her leadership, the pioneering spiritual work of Paramahansa Yogananda has flourished, both in his native land and around the world. Two other books by Daya Mata have been published: "Only Love: Living the Spiritual Life in a Changing World," and "Enter The Quiet Heart: Creating a Loving Relationship with God." Many of her talks are also available on audio CD, and DVD.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiration to all with her great wisdom and love, January 1, 2000

By 

"pageh" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding the Joy Within You: Personal Counsel for God-Centered Living (Paperback)

Daya Mata entered Paramahansa Yogananda's ashram in 1931 and is today his foremost living disciple. She inspires all with her great wisdom and love. She is president and spiritual head of the Self-Realization Fellowship. This remarkable book includes more than thirty chapters on her personal course for God-centered living. She convinces that we can know God and discover a hidden blessing in every adversity.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MODERN GUIDE TO SPIRITUALIZING YOUR LIFE, August 22, 1998

By 

Fred Parente (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding the Joy Within You: Personal Counsel for God-Centered Living (Paperback)

Daya Mata speaks with candid clarity about living a better and more rewarding life, much of it taken from her own unique experiences. This is an excellent spiritually motivating work which will answer many questions for the sincere novice and advanced devotee of any path.

A long time and loyal disciple of the great spiritual Master Paramahansa Yogananda, she expresses the Divine love of Self-Realization. The author has been the spiritual head of Self-Realization Fellowship and has succeded for over 40 years in maintaining the purity and spirit of Yogananda's tesching. She has also been an outstanding example of this divine path. Let her show you in her own words through this book.

Her straightforward communication never leaves one confused about how to live life with more joy and awareness of God's love. The elements of her pure and enlightened consciousness strengthens the readers spiritual determination.

This book has a universal appeal of non-sectarian approach.

Subjects Include: The divine Purpose of Life......The way to Peace. ..........Understanding the souls need for God. .............The world is Our Family.... ......God Communion: The thread uniting All Religions. ....Harmonizing Spirituality with Outer Achievements. ...............Free Yourself from Tension. .........Deepening Your Love for God. ...........Chanting as a form of Meditation........................ ..........Death: Mystery portal to a better Land ...............The Skilled Profession of child-rearing. ....Overcoming Character Liabilities. ......The Perfect Joy. .....Humility: Perpetual Quietness of Heart. ...........Paramahansa Yogananda-as I Knew Him. ..........Love Will Be a Saviour of the world. ...................Living a God-centered Life. ..........An Anthology of counsel..... AND MUCH MORE...

Also recommended: Only Love,..........Enter the Quiet Heart.......In the Sanctuary of the Soul......Only Love......Autobiography of a Yogi....The Journey to Self-realization. etc

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons from Living with a Light-Being ., December 14, 2002

By 

richardpinneau.com (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Finding the Joy Within You: Personal Counsel for God-Centered Living (Paperback)

This collection of Daya Mata's talks includes some of her most intimate experiences during the twenty years of yoga training she spent with Paramahansa Yogananda, including the instantaneous healing that she had upon first meeting him in 1931 and her NDE (clinical death) experience around 1951. Many of the chapters are transcripts of such intensely moving personal sharings that Sri Daya Mata only reluctantly shared with small groups of devotees on rare occasions when she received a clear inner sanction (most were previously available only on tape recordings).

The availability in book form of these intimate spiritual revelations is a memorable blessing to those who value the chance to dip back into the peak moments of a yogi-saint of untainted stature. Sri Daya Mata's own ego is illusive as she ever lets herself slide into the background, dedicating all action and credit to "God and Guru." In her interactions with her teacher we see in turn how he dedicated himself to "God and (his) Guru..." and so on ad inifinitum.

As one of Mataji's close associates put the challenge: although the average materialist thinks that it signifies a weak will to turn over one's will to Divine Guidance, in fact it takes EXTRAORDINARY will power to follow divine will when the ego is saying 'go this way' and the trivial momentary desires of the body are saying 'go that way.' In Sri Daya Mata's style and substance we see how the power, creativity and beauty of spirit shine through when the ego reaches that paradoxical pinnacle of spirituality: humility.