KRIYA

Paramahansa Yogananda - The Cosmic Mother
Is God to be thought of only as a vast impersonal Spirit, without form or sex? Or can the Creator be appealed to in some form, which is more familiar to the human mind? If so, shall we say, “Father” or “Mother”? God is both.
There is one portion of Being that is hidden---space beyond the universe, where nothing exists but pure wisdom. That is the Father aspect of God. And all nature is the Mother aspect, because therein we find beauty, gentleness, tenderness and kindness. The flowers, the birds, the beauties of the trees and rivers, all speak to the Mother aspect of God--- the creative, artistic instinct of God. We smile when we think of the Mother, with her diamonds of stars and the Milky Way, Her flowery perfumes, Her laughter of flowing waters, and all Her beauties, seen in creation. When we look at the fruitful land, at all the growing things, at the love of all creatures for their young, we feel tenderness rise within us; we can see and feel the motherly instinct of God. And if Nature’s ways seem cruel and inexplicable at times (in India the Mother, in such moods, is known as Kali) why so do the mother’s methods of protection and discipline seem to the young child.
As you sit in a dim and quiet forest, or stand against blue sky on a mountaintop, or walk on white sand by the sparkling ocean, you cannot help but feel a tenderness within you. That is your reaction to the Mother aspect of God. But if you close your eyes and visualize vast space you will be enthralled by infinity, and you will sense the vibration of pure wisdom---naught else but wisdom. That is the Father aspect of God, the limitless sphere where there is no creation, no stars nor planets, but only the formless power of wisdom. That is the Father. Therefore, God is both a father and a mother.