We live in a world in which the use of power to control others seems to rule supreme. Yet there are many kinds of power. The dictator’s ability to exert force over others may appear indomitable, but history shows us that such rulers rise and eventually fall like waves on the sea.

Then there’s the use of supernatural powers. Once someone said to Paramhansa Yogananda, “Your detractors are saying that you’ve lost your powers.” He replied, “I don’t know that I ever had any powers.” As a fully enlightened soul, he understood that any “powers” he manifested were God’s doing, not his. And he counseled people against focusing on such things. “The path to God,” he said, “is not a circus!”

High souls like Master have developed a third kind of power which is a true expression of spiritual greatness: inner power. This is the ability to live in complete attunement with God, so that one’s actions reflect, not one’s own desires and attachments, but only divine consciousness.

During our travels in India over the past two months, we’ve been launching the latest compilation of our blogs, Touch of Inner Power. Recently at the Ananda center in Pune, Jyotish and I spoke about different expressions of inner power and how they can uplift our life. Here are a few of the thoughts that we shared.

The power to accept whatever comes in life with equanimity and a positive attitude develops within us unshakable inner strength. Every test that we face with the resolve to remain unperturbed helps build within us the realization that we, too, can “stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.” Looking at the lives of spiritual heroes, you can see that they reached a point where no more testing was needed, and they stood firmly, unwaveringly in God.

The power to forgive others under all circumstances is a reflection of God’s unconditional love for all. Is this easy? Of course not, but this inner power frees our consciousness from the shadows that delusion casts on our minds. Forgiveness allows us to feel God’s light shining unobstructedly through us.

There’s an inspiring book, The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom, which tells the story of how she and her family hid Jewish families in Holland during World War II. Eventually they were arrested and put into a concentration camp themselves. Corrie and her family were devout Christians, and they never lost their faith in God. Unfortunately, she was the only member of her family to survive the privations of the camps.

After the war, Corrie began a ministry traveling throughout the world sharing the power of God’s love. After one such gathering in Germany, a man approached her; instantly she recognized him as one of the cruelest guards in the camp in which her family had died. He, however, did not remember her. Identifying himself as a former guard at that camp who’d since become a Christian, he said, “I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein,” his hand came out, “will you forgive me?”

Her initial reaction was one of revulsion, filling her with the desire to turn and run from him. She prayed to God for help. Willing herself to do what she knew she must, she thrust her hand woodenly into his. “And as I did,” she later wrote,

an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.

The power to help others, even at our own expense, enables us to break down the imaginary boundaries of ego and realize our oneness with all. Swami Kriyananda has an affirmation on “Sharing” from his book Affirmations for Self-Healing: “What I give to others I give not away, for in my larger reality it remains ever mine. I am happy in the happiness of all.” The inner power to think of others’ needs before one’s own is a big stepping stone towards dissolving the ego and attaining spiritual freedom.

And finally, the power to align our will with God’s will is a moment-by-moment choice that requires vigilance, awareness, and dedication. Swamiji told us that when he was uncertain about which course of action to take, he always asked himself, “What would Master do?”

The question is easy enough to ask. But having the inner strength to cast aside egoic desires and follow the higher guidance one receives in reply is another matter. The more we succeed in aligning our will with God, however, the more His consciousness and power flow through us and bring us inner joy and freedom.

There is a beautiful prayer on “Will Power” from Affirmations for Self-Healing: “O Infinite Power, I will use my will, but guide Thou my will in everything I do, that it reflect Thy will.”

We are all so much stronger than we realize. Let’s all strive to awaken our inner powers and realize our oneness with God.

With joy,

Nayaswami Devi

Listen to Devi as she first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (11:20):

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Inner vs. Outer Power