Paramahansa Yogananda Quotes

Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.

I make mistakes daily, letting generalizations creep into my thoughts and negatively affect my behavior. These mistakes have taught me that the first step to successfully choosing kindness is being more mindful about it, letting go of impatience and intolerance along the way.

To understand everything is to hate nothing.

We have not so good a right to hate any as our Friend.

We must take our friends as they are.

O Lord, help me not to despise or oppose what I do not understand.

Compromise and tolerance are magic words. It took me 40 years to become philosophical.

You become more tolerant when you become older. You're not interested in rapping people over the knuckles; you're interested in understanding them.

I don't judge my characters.

I accept there are people out there who don't like me. I don't like them.

I can't approach a character with judgment.

Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.

One should never condemn what one cannot understand.

A truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively or hurt you.

To date, my biggest lesson may be that judgment of others is never a good thing.

Do not be the judge of people; do not make assumptions about others. A person is destroyed by holding judgments about others.

And it is the Lord, it is Jesus, Who is my judge. Therefore I will try always to think leniently of others, that He may judge me leniently, or rather not at all, since He says: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.

The true gospel of Jesus Christ never led to bigotry. It never led to self-righteousn ess. It never led to arrogance. The true gospel of Jesus Christ leads to brotherhood, to friendship, to appreciation of others, to respect and kindness and love

You should not feel that your path is the only right path and that other paths are wrong. You mustn't bear malice toward others.

In the spiritual domain, criticism is love turned sour... If criticism becomes a habit, it will destroy the moral energy of the life and paralyze the spiritual force... Whenever you are in a critical temper, it is impossible to enter into communion with God. Criticism makes you hard and vindictive and cruel, and leaves you with the flattering unction that you are a superior person. It is impossible to develop the characteristics of a saint and maintain a critical attitude.

Being judgmental and condemning is not one of the gifts of the Spirit.

Tolerance is a sign of growth on the spiritual path

Grant people a lifetime of forgiveness before you even meet them.

As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.

I don't think I'd ever reject anyone.