Yukteswar was an educator, astronomer, a Jyotisha (Vedic astrologer), a yogi, and a scholar of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible. Yukteswar's teacher guru, who guided his spiritual development, was Lahiri Mahasaya. In 1894, Lahiri Mahasaya's guru, Mahavatar Babaji, asked Yogteswar to write a book on the underlying harmony between Christian and Hindu scriptures. Yukteswar's book 'The Holy Science' was thus written. Yukteswar took on many disciples. Most famously, he was the beloved guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, who brought Yoga to the West through moving to America, and through his book, Autobiography of a Yogi , which mentions Yukteswar extensively. Another of Yukteswar's disciples, Satyeswarananda Giri , also wrote yogic books at the encouragement of Yukteswar.

Chapter 1 : The Gospel

SUTRA 1

“Parambrahma (Spirit or God) is infinite, complete, without start or end. It is one, undividable Being.”

The Eternal Father, God, Swami Parambrahma, is the only Real Substance, Sat, and is all in all in the universe.

Why God is not Comprehensible

Man possesses eternal faith and believes intuitively in the existence of a Substance, of which the objects of sense – sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell, the component parts of this visible world – are but properties. As man identifies himself with his material body, composed of the aforesaid properties, he is able to comprehend by these imperfect organs these properties only, and not the Substance to which these properties belong. The Eternal Father, God, the only Substance in the universe, is therefore not comprehensible by man of this material world, unless he becomes divine by lifting his self above this creation of Darkness or Maya. See Hebrews 11:1 and John 8:28.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
“Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the son of man, then shall ye know that I am he.”

SUTRA 2

“In Parambrahma is the source of all knowing and love, the root of all power and joy.”

Prakriti or Nature of God

The Almighty Force, Sakti, or in other words the Eternal Joy, Ananda, which produced the world; and the Omniscient feeling, Chit, which makes this World conscious, demonstrate the Nature, Prakriti, of God the Father.

How God is Comprehended

As man is the likeness of God, directing his attention inward he can comprehend within him the said Force and Feeling, the sole properties of his Self – the Force Almighty as his will, Vasana, with enjoyment, Bhoga; and the Feeling Omniscient as his Consciousness, Chetana, that enjoys, Bhokta. See Genesis 1:27.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female Created he them.”

SUTRA 3

“Parambrahma emanates creation, inert Nature (Prakriti), to emerge. From Om (Pranava, the Word, the manifestation of the Omnipotent Force), come Kala, Time; Desa, Space; and Anu, the Atom (the vibratory structure of creation).”

The Word, Amen (Om), is the beginning of the Creation

The manifestation of Omnipotent Force (the Repulsion and its complementary expression, Omniscient Feeling or Love, the Attraction) is vibration, which appears as a peculiar sound: the Word, Amen, Om. In its different aspects Om presents the idea of change, which is Time, Kala, in the Ever-Unchangeable; and the idea of division, which is Space, Desa, in the Ever-Indivisible.

The Four Ideas: the Word, Time, Space, and the Atom

The ensuing effect is the idea of particles – the innumerable atoms, patra or anu. These four – the Word, Time, Space, and the Atom – are therefore one and the same, and substantially nothing but mere ideas.

This manifestation of the Word (becoming flesh, the external material) created this visible world. So the Word, Amen, Om, being the manifestation of the Eternal Nature of the Almighty Father or His Own Self, is inseparable from and nothing but God Himself, as the burning power is inseparable from and nothing but the fire itself. See Revelation 3:14; John 1:1,3,14.

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the Creation of God.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

SUTRA 4

“The fundament of creation is Anu or the Atoms. Together they are called Maya or the Lord’s veil of projection; each individual Anu is called Avidya, Ignorance.”

Atoms the throne of Spirit the Creator

These Atoms, which represent within and without the four ideas mentioned above, are the throne of Spirit, the Creator, which shining on them creates this universe. They are called en masse Maya, the Darkness, as they keep the Spiritual Light out of comprehension; and each of them separately is called Avidya, the Ignorance, as it makes man ignorant even of his own Self. Hence the aforesaid four ideas which give rise to ail those confusions are mentioned in the Bible as so many beasts. Man, so long as he identifies himself with his gross material body, holds a position far inferior to that of the primal fourfold Atom and necessarily fails to comprehend the same. But when he raises himself to the level thereof, he not only comprehends this Atom, both inside and outside, but also the whole creation, both unmanifested and manifested (i.e., “before and behind”). See Revelation 4:6.

“And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, Were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.”

SUTRA 5

“The Omniscient Love aspect of Parambrahma is Kutastha Chaitanya. The individual Self, being Its manifestation, is one with It.”

Kutastha Chaitanya, the Holy Ghost, Purushottama

The manifestation of Premabijam Chit (Attraction, the Omniscient Love) is Life, the Omnipresent Holy Spirit, and is called the Holy Ghost, Kutastha Chaiianya or Purushottama, which shines on the Darkness, Maya, to attract every portion of it toward Divinity. But the Darkness, Maya, or its individual parts,” Avidya the Ignorance, being repulsion itself, cannot receive or comprehend the Spiritual Light, but reflects it.

Abhasa Chaiianya or Purusha, the Sons of God

This Holy Ghost, being the manifestation of the Omniscient Nature of the Eternal Father, God, is no other substance than God Himself; and so these reflections of spiritual rays are called the Sons of God – Abhasa Chaiianya or Purusha, See John 1:4,5, 11.

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shine thin darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

SUTRA 6

“The Atom, under the influence of Chit (universal knowledge) forms the Chitta or the Consciousness of mind, which when spiritualized is called Buddhi, Intelligence. Its opposite is Manas, Mind, in which lives the self with Ahamkara, Ego, the idea of separate existence.”

Chitta, the Heart; Ahamkara, Ego, the Son of Man

This Atom, Avidya, the Ignorance, being under the influence of Universal Love, Chit, the Holy Spirit, becomes spiritualized, like iron filings in a magnetic aura, and possessed of consciousness, the power of feeling, when it is called Mahal, the Heart, Chitta; and being such, the idea of separate existence of self appears in it, which is called Ahamkara, Ego, the son of man.

Buddhi, the Intelligence; Manas, the Mind

Being thus magnetized, it has two poles, one of which attracts it toward the Real Substance, Sat, and the other repels it from the same. The former is called Sattwa or Buddhi, the Intelligence, which determines what is Truth; and the latter, being a particle of Repulsion, the Almighty Force spiritualized as aforesaid, produces the ideal world for enjoyment (ananda) and is called Anandatwa or Manas, the Mind.

SUTRAS 7-10

“Chitta, the spiritualized Atom, in which Ahamkara (the idea of separate existence of Self) appears, has five manifestations (aura electricities).

They (the five aura electricities) constitute the causal body of Purusha.

The five electricities, Pancha Tattwa, from their three attributes, Gunas – Sattwa (positive), Rajas (neutralizing), and Tamas (negative) – produce Jnanandriyas (organs of sense), Karmendriyas (organs of action), and Tanmatras (objects of sense).

These fifteen attributes plus Mind and Intelligence constitute the seventeen “fine limbs” of the subtle body, the Lingasarira.”

Pancha Tattwa, the Root-Causes of Creation, are the Causal Body

This spiritualized Atom, Chitta (the Heart), being the Repulsion manifested, produces five sorts of aura electricities from its five different parts: one from the middle, two from the two extremities, and the other two from the spaces intervening between the middle and each of the extremities. These five sorts of electricities, being attracted under the influence of Universal Love (the Holy Ghost) toward the Real Substance, Sat, produce a magnetic field which is called the body of Sattwa Buddhi, the Intelligence. These five electricities being the causes of all other creations are called Pancha Tattwa, the five Root-Causes, and are considered the causal body of Purusha, the Son of God.

Three Gunas, the Electric Attributes

The electricities, being evolved from the polarized Chitta, are also in a polarized state and are endowed with its three attributes or Gunas: Sattwa the positive, Tamos the negative, and Rajas the neutralizing.

Jnanendriyas, the Five Organs of the Senses

The positive attributes of the five electricities are Jnanendriyas, the organs of the senses – smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing – and being attracted under the influence of Manas, Mind, the opposite pole of this spiritualized Atom, constitute a body of the same.

Karmendriyas, the Five Organs of Action

The neutralizing attributes of the five electricities are Karmendriyas, the organs of action – excretion, generation, motion (feet), manual skill (hands), and speech. These organs, being the manifestation of the neutralizing energy of the spiritualized Atom, Chitta (the Heart), constitute an energetic body, called the body of energy, the life force or Prana.

Vishaya or Tanmatras, the Five Objects of the Senses

The negative attributes of the five electricities are the five Tanmatras or objects of the senses of smell, taste, sight, touch, and sound, which, being united with the organs of sense through the neutralizing power of the organs of action, satisfy the desires of the heart.

Lingasarira, the Fine Material Body

These fifteen attributes with two poles – Mind and Intelligence – of the spiritualized Atom constitute Lingasarira or Sukshmasarira, the fine material body of Purusha, the Son of God.

SUTRAS 11, 12

“The aforementioned five objects, which are the negative attributes of the five electricities, being combined produce the idea of gross matter in its five forms: Kshiti, solids; Ap, liquids; Tejas, fire; Marut, gaseous substances; and Akasa, ether.
These five forms of gross matter and the aforesaid fifteen attributes, together with Manas, Mind, sense consciousness; Buddhi, discriminative Intelligence; Chitta, the Heart or power of feeling; and Ahamkara, the Ego, constitute the twenty-four basic principles of creation.”

Gross Material Body

The aforesaid five objects, which are the negative attributes of the five electricities, being combined together produce the idea of gross matter which appears to us in five different varieties: Kshiti, the solid; Ap, the liquid; Tejas, the fiery; Marut, the gaseous; and Wyoma or Akasa, the ethereal. These constitute the outer covering called Sthulasarira, the gross material body of Purusha, the Son of God.

Twenty-Four Elders

These five gross matters and the aforesaid fifteen attributes together with Manas, the Mind; Buddhi, the Intelligence; Chitta, the Heart; and Ahamkara, the Ego, constitute the twenty-four principles or Elders, as mentioned in the Bible. See Revelation 4:4,

“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders.”

The aforesaid twenty-four principles, which completed the creation of Darkness, Maya, are nothing more than the development of Ignorance, Avidya; and as this Ignorance is composed only of ideas as mentioned above, creation has in reality no substantial existence, but is a mere play of ideas on the Eternal Substance, God the Father.

SUTRA 13

“This universe is differentiated into fourteen spheres, seven Swargas and seven Patalas.”

Seven Spheres or Swargas

This universe thus described, commencing from the Eternal Substance, God, down to the gross material creation, has been distinguished into seven different spheres, Swargas or Lokas.

7th Sphere, Satyaloka. The foremost of these is Satyaloka, the sphere of God – the only Real Substance, Sat, in the universe. No name can describe it, nor can anything in the creation of Darkness or Light designate it. This sphere is therefore called Anama, the Nameless.

6th Sphere, Tapoloka. The next in order is Tapoloka, the sphere of the Holy Spirit which is the Eternal Patience, as it remains forever undisturbed by any limited idea. Because it is not approachable even by the Sons of God as such, it is called Agama, the Inaccessible.

5th Sphere, Janaloka. Next is Janaloka, the sphere of spiritual reflection, the Sons of God, wherein the idea of separate existence of Self originates. As this sphere is above the comprehension of anyone in the creation of Darkness, Maya, it is called Alakshya, the Incomprehensible.

4th Sphere, Maharloka. Then comes Maharloka, the sphere of the Atom, the beginning of the creation of Darkness, Maya, upon which the Spirit is reflected. This, the connecting link, is the only way between the spiritual and the material creation and is called the Door, Dasamadwara.

3rd Sphere, Szuarloka. Around this Atom is Swarloka, the sphere of magnetic aura, the electricities. This sphere, being characterized by the absence of all the creation (even the organs and their objects, the fine material things), is called Mahasunya, the Great Vacuum.

2nd Sphere, Bhuvarloka. The next is Bhuvarloka, the sphere of electric attributes. As the gross matters of the creation are entirely absent from this sphere, and it is conspicuous by the presence of the fine matters only, it is called Sunya, the Vacuum Ordinary.

1st Sphere, Bhuloka. The last and lowest sphere is Bhuloka, the sphere of gross material creation, which is always visible to everyone.

Sapta Patalas, Seven Churches

As God created man in His own image, so is the body of man like unto the image of this universe. The material body of man has also seven vital places within it called Patalas. Man, turning toward his Self and advancing in the right way, perceives the Spiritual Light in these places, which are described in the Bible as so many churches; the lights like star perceived therein are as so many angels. See 1:12,13,16,20.

“And being turned, I saw seven golden candle sticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the son of man.”
“And he had in his right hand seven stars...”
“The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks Which thou Sawest are the seven churches.”

14 Bhuvanas, the Stages of Creation

The abovementioned seven spheres or Swargas and the seven Patalas constitute the fourteen Bhuvanas, the fourteen distinguishable stages of the creation.

SUTRA 14

“Purusha is covered by five koshas or sheaths.”

5 Koshas or Sheaths

This Purusha, the Son of God is screened by five coverings called the koshas or sheaths.

Heart, the 1st Kosha. The first of these five is Heart, Chitta, the Atom, composed of four ideas as mentioned before, which feels or enjoys, and thus being the seat of bliss, ananda, is called Anondamaya Kosha.

Buddhi, the 2nd Kosha. The second is the magnetic-aura electricities, manifestations of Buddhi, the Intelligence that determines what is truth. Thus, being the seat of knowledge, jnana, it is called Jnanamaya Kosha.

Manas, the 3rd Kosha. The third is the body of Manas, the Mind, composed of the organs of senses, as mentioned above, and called the Manomaya Kosha.

Prana, the 4th Kosha. The fourth is the body of energy, life force or Prana, composed of the organs of action as described before, and thus called Pranamaya Kosha.

Gross matter, the 5th Kosha. The fifth and 1 last of these sheaths is the gross matter, the Atom’s outer coating, which, becoming Anna, nourishment, supports this visible world and thus is called the Annamaya Kosha.

Action of Love

The action of Repulsion, the manifestation of the Omnipotent Energy, being thus completed, the action of Attraction (the Omnipotent Love in the core of the heart) begins to be manifested. Under the influence of this Omniscient Love, the Attraction, the Atoms, being attracted toward one another, come nearer and nearer, taking ethereal, gaseous, fiery, liquid, and solid forms.

Inanimate Kingdom

Thus this visible world becomes adorned with suns, planets, and moons, which we call the “inanimate” kingdom of the creation.

Vegetable Kingdom

In this manner, when the action of Divine Love becomes well developed, the evolution of Avidya, Ignorance (the particle of Darkness, Maya, the Omnipotent Energy manifested), begins to be withdrawn. Annamaya Kosha, the Atom’s outer coating of gross matter being thus withdrawn, Pranamaya Kosha (the sheath composed of Karmendriyas, the organs of action) begins to operate. In this organic state the Atoms, embracing each other more closely to their heart, appear as the vegetable kingdom in the creation.

Animal Kingdom

When the Pranamaya Kosha becomes withdrawn, the Manomaya Kosha (the sheath composed of Jnanendriyas, the organs of sense) comes to light. The Atoms then perceive the nature of the external world and, attracting other Atoms of different nature, form bodies as necessary for enjoyment, and thus the animal kingdom appears in the creation.

Mankind

When Manomaya Kosha becomes withdrawn, Jnanamaya Kosha (the body of Intelligence composed of electricities) becomes perceptible. The Atom, acquiring the power of determining right and wrong, becomes man, the rational being in the Creation.

Devata or Angel

When man, cultivating the Divine Spirit or Omniscient Love within his heart, is able to withdraw this Jnanamaya Kosha, then the innermost sheath, Chitta, the Heart (composed of four ideas), becomes manifest. Man is then called Devata or Angel in the creation.

Free, Sannyasi

When the Heart or innermost sheath is also withdrawn, there is no longer anything to keep man in bondage to this creation of Darkness, Maya. He then becomes free, Sannyasi, the Son of God, and enters into the creation of Light.

SUTRAS 15, 16

“Just as the objects seen in our dreams are found, when we awake, to be insubstantial, so our waking perceptions are likewise unreal – a matter of inference only.”

Sleeping and Waking States

When man compares his ideas relating to gross matters conceived in the wakeful state with his conception of ideas in dream, the similarity existing between them naturally leads him to conclude that this external world also is not what it appears to be.

When he looks for further explanation, he finds that all his wakeful conceptions are substantially nothing but mere ideas caused by the union of five objects of sense (the negative attributes of the five internal electricities) with the five organs of sense (their positive attributes) through the medium of five organs of action (the neutralizing attributes of the electricities).

This union is effected by the operation of Mind (Manas) and conceived or grasped by the Intelligence (Buddhi). Thus it is clear that all conceptions which man forms in his wakeful state are mere inferential Parokshajnana – a matter of inference only.

SUTRA 17

“What is needed is a Guru, a Savior, who will awaken us to Bhakti (devotion) and to perceptions of Truth.”

When Man Finds his Sat-Guru or Savior

When man understands by his Aparokshajnana (true comprehension) the nothingness of the external world, he appreciates the position of John the Baptist, the divine personage who witnessed Light and bore testimony of Christ, after his heart’s love, the heavenly gift of Nature, had become developed.

Any advanced sincere seeker may be fortunate in having the Godlike company of some one of such personages, who may kindly stand to him as his Spiritual Preceptor, Sat-Guru, the Savior. Following affectionately the holy precepts of these divine personages, man becomes able to direct all his organs of sense inward to their common center – the sensorium, Trikuti or Sushumnadwara, the door of the interior world – where he comprehends the Voice, like a peculiar “knocking” sound, [the Cosmic Vibration that is] the Word, Amen, Om; and sees the God-sent luminous body of Radha, symbolized in the Bible as the Forerunner or John the Baptist. See Revelation 3:14,20 and John 1:6,8,23.

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true-witness, the beginning of the creation of God... Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.”
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John... He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light... He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord.”

Ganga, Jamuna, or Jordan, the Holy Streams

From the peculiar nature of this sound, issuing as it does like a stream from a higher unknown region and losing itself in the gross material creation, it is figuratively designated by various sects of people by the names of different rivers that they consider as sacred; for example, Ganga by the Hindus, Jamuna by the Vaishnavas, and Jordan by the Christians.

The 2nd Birth

Through his luminous body, man, believing in the existence of the true Light – the Life of this universe – becomes baptized or absorbed in the holy stream of the sound. The baptism is, so to speak, the second birth of man and is called Bhakti Yoga, without which man can never comprehend the real internal world, the kingdom of God. See John 1:9 and 3:3.

“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Aparokshajnana, the Real Comprehension

In this state the son of man begins to repent and, turning back from the gross material creation, Creeps toward his Divinity, the Eternal Substance, God. When the developments of ignorance are stopped, man gradually comprehends the true character of this creation of Darkness, Maya, as a mere play of ideas of the Supreme Nature on His own Self, the only Real Substance. This true comprehension is called Aparokshajnana.

SUTRA 18

“Emancipation (Kaivalya) is obtained when one realizes the oneness of his Self with the Universal Self, the Supreme Reality.”

Sannyasi or Christ the anointed Savior

When all the developments of Ignorance are withdrawn, the heart, being perfectly clear and purified, no longer merely reflects the Spiritual Light but actively manifests the same, and thus being consecrated and anointed, man becomes Sannyasi, free, or Christ the Savior. See John 1:33.

“Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”

Baptized in the Stream of Light

Through this Savior the son of man becomes again baptized or absorbed in the stream of Spiritual Light, and, rising above the creation of Darkness, Maya, enters into the spiritual world and becomes unified with Abhasa Chaitanya or Purusha, the Son of God, as was the case with Lord Jesus of Nazareth. In this state man is saved forever and ever from the bondage of Darkness, Maya. See John 1:12 and 3:5.

“But as many as received him t to them gave the power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Sacrifice of Self

When man thus entering into the spiritual world becomes a Son of God, he comprehends the universal Light – the Holy Ghost – as a perfect whole, and his Self as nothing but a mere idea resting on a fragment of the Om Light. Then he sacrifices himself to the Holy Ghost, the altar of God; that is, abandons the vain idea of his separate existence, and becomes one integral whole.

Kaivalya, the Unification

Thus, being one with the universal Holy Spirit of God the Father, he becomes unified With the Real Substance, God. This unification of Self with the Eternal Substance, God, is called Kaivalya. See Revelation 3:21.

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”