Magnetism is the power by which you draw things to you: the right husband or wife, the right business, the right friends, and so on. Magnetism of every kind originates in the Infinite Spirit.
A bundle of magnets
Each human being is a medium through which God's magnetism flows. All parts of the body that come in pairs--eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc.--form magnets of greater or lesser power.
Soul magnetism is expressed through the eyes, weakly or strongly, depending on one's spiritual development. Some highly developed people are able to spiritualize or heal others solely by the magnetism of their eyes.
First develop spiritual magnetism
Unless your magnetism is right, you will draw the wrong people or things. Fear, for example, creates a malignant magnetism by which a person attracts the very object of his fear. The magnetism of humility, on the other hand, attracts the all-protecting presence of friends, saints, and God.
If you use all your magnetism to gain material things, sooner or later you will be disillusioned. But if you first develop spiritual magnetism, it will guide you in the proper ways to supply your material needs.
Strong and weak magnetism
Everyone possesses the power of magnetism, but very few people are truly magnetic. Negative qualities such as material desire, passivity, revenge, hatred, and feelings of inferiority obstruct that magnetic power.
If you are absent-minded, thinking one thing while doing something else, your energy is divided and you have little magnetism. Doing everything with will power and one-pointed concentration greatly strengthens your magnetism.
If you are a slave to any of the senses, you are losing magnetism. If you have control over them, you are developing magnetism. Emotionalism is very de-magnetizing, whereas even-mindedness in the face of all difficulties leads to magnetic living.
In order to have magnetism, it is necessary to keep the body free from poisons that obstruct the flow of energy. Only with inner cleanliness can all of your energy be displayed through your eyes, face and body.
We exchange magnetism with our associates
We must be careful with whom we associate because we are continually exchanging magnetism with people through our thoughts, shaking hands, and our eyes.
We become like the people we mingle with, not through their conversation, but through the silent magnetic vibration that goes out of their bodies. The stronger person gives his vibration to the weaker.
For example, if a reformer of weak character endeavors to influence a confirmed evildoer, it is quite likely that the reformer will draw evil qualities. Only in a very limited way will the evildoer draw good qualities.(See Developing the Right Kind of Magnetism, below)
The right kind of magnetism
"The right kind of magnetic power has expanding, uplifting, spiritual qualities. Some people are so magnetic that they vibrate kindness and you love them immediately. This is the sort of magnetic power we should try to develop."
"Try always to be dressed in the magnetic qualities of calmness, fair-mindedness, firmness, wisdom, and understanding. Wherever you go, scatter kindness; let your eyes and heart be charged with God. That is what Jesus meant when He said: "Be ye fishers of men."
One can develop spiritual magnetism through will power, regular meditation, and thinking of God and saintly people. By visualizing and meditating on saintly people, one attracts their spiritual magnetism.
Use your time to develop spiritual magnetism to attract the Imperishable. When you have developed the power to attract the highest, you can easily attract all lesser things.
Developing the Right Kind of Magnetism
* One strongly good individual plus one weak evil individual--the good magnetism will be predominant.
* A strong spiritual power plus a strong business success results in both a strong spiritual magnetism and a strong business magnetism.
* A strong failure plus a strong success can result in either a strong failure magnetism or a strong success magnetism.
* A person of great calmness plus a person with a slightly angry disposition--the magnetism of calmness will be predominant.
* A strong intellectual power plus a weak intellect--the strong intellectual power will be predominant.
"Paramahansa Yogananda was the first yoga master of India to take up permanent residence in the West. Yogananda arrived in America in 1920, and traveled throughout the United States on what he called his ‘spiritual campaigns’. His enthusiastic audiences filled the largest halls in America. Hundreds of thousands came to see the yogi from India. Yogananda continued to lecture and write up to his passing in 1952.
Yogananda's initial impact was truly impressive. But his lasting impact has been even greater. Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, first published in 1946, helped launch a spiritual revolution in the West. His message was nonsectarian and universal. Yogananda’s teacher sent him to the West with the admonition, “The West is high in material attainments, but lacking in spiritual understanding. It is God’s will that you play a role in teaching mankind the value of balancing the material with an inner, spiritual life."