As Mother, as Father

Topic: Divine Love & Goodness

The Divine has loved me as mother, as father, and as friend, behind all friends. I searched for that one Friend behind all friends, that one lover whom I now see glimmering in all your faces. And that friend never fails me.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda, born Mukunda Lal Ghosh on January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur, India, is considered one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the 20th century. From a young age, he showed a deep interest in spirituality, seeking guidance from saints and sages in India. In 1915, after completing his education, he became a monk of the Swami order, taking the name Yogananda, meaning "bliss through divine union." His early work focused on teaching and promoting Kriya Yoga, an ancient meditation practice aimed at self-realization.

In 1920, Yogananda traveled to the United States and established the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) in Los Angeles. Through SRF, he shared the philosophy and practices of Kriya Yoga, bridging Eastern spirituality with Western culture. His Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1946, remains one of the most widely read spiritual texts, offering a personal account of his spiritual journey and inspiring readers across the globe.

Yogananda passed away on March 7, 1952, in Los Angeles, after a lifetime devoted to promoting unity among all religions and the transformative power of meditation. The organizations he founded, including SRF and the Yogoda Satsanga Society in India, continue to share his teachings today. His legacy endures through these institutions, and his message of spiritual unity and inner peace continues to inspire millions worldwide.

(1893-1952) Hinduism
The Divine Romance

Yogananda, Paramahansa. "The Divine Romance: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life." Self-Realization Fellowship, 2016].

Paramahansa Yogananda

Theme: Divine Father and Mother

About This Paramahansa Yogananda Quotation [Commentary]

Paramahansa Yogananda’s words, “The Divine has loved me as mother, as father, and as friend, behind all friends,” express his personal experience of divine love. Through the familiar relationships of mother, father, and friend, he recognizes the Divine as the source of love that nurtures, protects, guides, and accompanies us. Each relationship reveals a different expression of the same divine presence. By saying “The Divine has loved me,” Paramahansa Yogananda speaks of a love he has personally known and received. The words “behind all friends” deepen this understanding, revealing the Divine as the enduring source of love within our human relationships.

Paramahansa Yogananda continues, “I searched for that one Friend behind all friends, that one lover whom I now see glimmering in all your faces.” His words describe a spiritual search that leads to recognition. The “one Friend” he sought is the divine presence he now sees “glimmering in all your faces.” What began as a longing to find the Divine becomes an awareness of divine love within others. The words “that one lover” express the intimacy of this relationship, while “all your faces” extends that love beyond any single person. The Divine, known as mother, father, and friend, is revealed both within the soul and through the people we encounter and love.

Paramahansa Yogananda concludes with a simple affirmation of trust: “And that friend never fails me.” Human relationships, however loving, are subject to change, separation, and limitations. Yet the “one Friend behind all friends” remains constant. The Divine who has loved him “as mother, as father, and as friend” is the same presence he has searched for, recognized in others, and come to trust. His words invite us to recognize that the love of the Divine Father and Mother is not separate from our human relationships but is their deepest source—a love that remains even when human companionship changes, and a Friend who “never fails me.”

A Paramahansa Yogananda, Friendship—Grandest Relationship of Human Loves [Excerpt]

“The relationship that exists between friends is the grandest of human loves. Friendly love is pure, because it is without compulsion. One freely chooses to love his friends; he is not bound by instinct. The love that manifests in friendship can exist between man and woman, woman and woman, man and man… Such pure friendship has existed between saints and between others who truly love God. If you once know divine love, you will never part with it, for there is nothing else like it in the whole universe.”

—Yogananda, Paramahansa. “Friendship—Grandest Relationship of Human Loves.” Self-Realization Fellowship, www.yogananda.org/blog/friendship-grandest-relationship-of-human-loves. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Additional Yogananda Quotes

“The Divine has loved me as mother, as father, and as friend, behind all friends. I searched for that one Friend behind all friends, that one lover whom I now see glimmering in all your faces. And that friend never fails me.”

—Yogananda, Paramahansa. “The Divine Romance: Collected Talks and Essays on Realizing God in Daily Life.” Self-Realization Fellowship, 2016].

“The saviors of the world do not come to foster inimical doctrinal divisions; their teachings should not be used toward that end. It is something of a misnomer even to refer to the New Testament as the “Christian” Bible, for it does not belong exclusively to any one sect. Truth is meant for the blessing and upliftment of the entire human race. As the Christ Consciousness is universal, so does Jesus Christ belong to all…

It is an erroneous assumption of limited minds that great ones such as Jesus, Krishna, and other divine incarnations are gone from the earth when they are no longer visible to human sight. This is not so… Jesus Christ is very much alive and active today. In Spirit and occasionally taking on a flesh-and-blood form, he is working unseen by the masses for the regeneration of the world. With his all-embracing love, Jesus is not content merely to enjoy his blissful consciousness in Heaven. He is deeply concerned for mankind and wishes to give his followers the means to attain the divine freedom of entry into God’s Infinite Kingdom…”

—Yogananda [The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You, (2004)].

“These teachings have been sent to explain the truth as Jesus intended it to be known in the world—not to give a new Christianity, but to give the real Christ-teaching: how to become like Christ, how to resurrect the Eternal Christ within one’s Self…”

—Yogananda [The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You, (2004)].

As Mother, as Father

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