“It is arrogant to think that our small Earth is the only place inhabited by intelligent life. There are many worlds like this – some more evolved, and others in earlier stages of evolution. The orderly way in which the universe operates shows us that it is guided by some form of intelligence that permeates all created things.”
Extracted from the book written by Paramahansa Yogananda, “Journey to Self-Realization”
To believe is to see… and to know, it seems, things from the old days. A new paradigm before each of us. Questioning our thoughts and reshaping our consciences. Our lives turned upside down before the Infinity of Existence.
It seems that nothing will be the same when this knowledge and these contacts become widespread and reach our streets, our homes, our schools, our workplaces, and the intimacy of our daily lives.
Due to its unpredictable dimensions, it could be devastating to integrate it, especially for most earthlings who are unaware of it, distracted, or lacking in knowledge, or even complicitly complacent in what is considered correct or opportune to think.
But everything will end in a healthy coexistence between the earthlings and the others… the extraterrestrials. These, it seems, are very concerned about our egocentrism and our violent nature.
The following excerpt is taken from the book “Conversations with Yogananda: Stories, Sayings, and Wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda“. Written by Swami Kriyananda, who was a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, during conversations with the Master.
“The devotees sometimes asked the Master:
Do those souls who were born on Planet Earth continue to reincarnate here?
Yogananda replied:
“No, there are countless planets to go to.” And he added: “If they always returned to the same one, perhaps they would discover it too soon!”
Yogananda’s disciple – Swami Kriyananda – in an interview
Next, some stories are taken from the book “Conversations with Yogananda” written by Swami Kriyananda (and compiled by Swami Kriyananda) in which the master Paramahansa Yogananda spoke to him, according to him, about other planets, extraterrestrial beings, interplanetary reincarnation; or the “cosmic game” of God.
Some planets are so advanced that they don’t have physical bodies.
A devotee asked:
“Master, do all planets have beings with bodies like ours?”
Yogananda laughed and said:
“No! On some very high planets, beings are only light and energy. They don’t need houses, cars, or even food. They live in bodies of light. Earth is a cosmic kindergarten compared to those places.”
There are planets where people live for millions of years.
“On a planet called Hiranyaloka (also mentioned in the book written by Paramahansa Yogananda – Autobiography of a Yogi), beings live for hundreds of thousands or millions of years in a single, very subtle astral body. Only souls that still need more basic lessons come to Earth. It’s like a high school student who has to repeat the first year.”
Why are there so many humans on Earth now?
Yogananda explained the population boom:
“Many souls from other planets, who were already more advanced, asked to be born on Earth at this time because it is the moment of the planet’s greatest spiritual transition. They want to help and also receive the last difficult lessons before the collective ascension. It’s like immigrants coming to a country at war to finish the ‘course’ quickly.”
“I’ve lived on other planets.”
Once, in private, Paramahansa Yogananda said to Swami Kriyananda and other close disciples:
“In this life I am Indian, but in past lives I have been an inhabitant of other worlds. One of them had two suns. You would wake up to one pink sun and one blue sun. It was beautiful, but… very easy. You didn’t learn anything!”
Flying saucers are real.
A devotee asked about flying saucers, and Master Yogananda calmly replied:
“Of course they’re real. They come from other planets. In the future, people will travel to these planets as easily as they travel from Europe to America today. But don’t worry about that now—worry about finding God first!”
God hides Himself on other planets to force us to seek Him.
Someone asked why God created so many planets, and Master Yogananda replied:
“God is playing hide-and-seek with us. If there were only one planet, we would find Him very quickly. So He created millions of planets, millions of bodies, millions of desires—all to make us chase after Him for ages. When we finally find Him, the joy is infinitely greater.”
A saint who came from another planet.
Master Yogananda recounted that a very advanced disciple, living in the Ranchi ashram in India, had strangely large and bright eyes. One day, in deep meditation, the Master saw their origin:
“This soul came from a planet where all beings have eyes like this. There, the atmosphere is much thinner and brighter. He agreed to be born on Earth to help with the mission, but he misses the light of his world.”
Some of the following excerpts, in addition to the book “Conversations with Yogananda” written by Swami Kriyananda, were also taken from lectures recorded by Swami Kriyananda.
Thus, when asked if we are always reincarnated on Earth, Master Yogananda responds in even more detail:
There are many populated planets in the universe, and where we go depends on our level of spiritual development. Some planets are so elevated that the beings there do not need gross physical bodies like ours. On worlds like Hiranyaloka—the ‘Enlightened Astral Planet’—the inhabitants live in bodies of light and pure energy, without the need for food, houses, or vehicles. And In comparison, Earth is like a cosmic kindergarten.
Yogananda said that on some very high planets, beings are only light and energy, and do not need houses, cars, or even food, living in bodies of light.
This is also confirmed, according to Swami Kriyananda, in private conversations, where the master told him that:
“Advanced souls reincarnate in such places to work through remaining astral karma, without the burden of physical matter.”
“On a planet called Hiranyaloka (the ‘Astral Sun’ or illuminated sky), beings live for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years in a single subtle astral body.”
Yogananda explained to a disciple:
‘Only souls who need more arduous lessons come to Earth. It’s like a high school student who has to repeat the first year because of unresolved karma. In higher astral worlds like Hiranyaloka, time flows differently; a day there can be like ages on Earth. The inhabitants, who have attained nirbikalpa samadhi in earthly lives, are reborn in new astral bodies to purify the last residue of karma. There, there is no disease or forced old age—the astral body remains young and energized indefinitely, until final liberation.’
Swasmi Kriyananda notes that Yogananda, in private conversations, described it to him as ‘a paradise where spirit reigns without the illusions of matter, but still with subtle lessons for almost liberated souls’.
Based on a combination of the description of astral worlds from the book “Autobiography of a Yogi” and the podcast by Swami Kriyananda published by Ananda (a Kriya Yoga organization founded by Swami Kriyananda), it is emphasized that:
“No being enters Hiranyaloka without having transcended sabikalpa samadhi on Earth.”
Regarding the question to Yogananda: ‘Why has the Earth’s population exploded so much? If reincarnation is true, where do all these extra souls come from?’
Yogananda responded in more detail:
‘Many souls from other planets, who were already more spiritually advanced, asked to be born on Earth in this era because it is the time of the planet’s greatest spiritual transition—the dawn of Dwapara Yuga. They want to help in the collective upliftment and also receive the last difficult lessons before ascension. It’s like immigrants coming to a war-torn country to finish their “course” quickly and help others. Earth, being a mixed planet of light and darkness, attracts these “volunteer” souls now to accelerate global evolution. But beware: not all come prepared for the suffering here!’
He added, humorously:
‘God is filling the Earth with souls so that no one feels alone in their search for Him.'”
Regarding the revealed private conversation between other close disciples and Swami Kriyananda with Master Yogananda, Master Yogananda told them the following in more detail:
‘In this life I am Indian, but in past lives I have been an inhabitant of other worlds. One of them had two suns—one would wake up to a pink sun and another blue one, bathing everything in eternal light. It was beautiful, but… very easy. You didn’t learn anything! Souls there evolve slowly, without the “shock” of earthly duality. I chose to come here to help with the Kriya Yoga mission, but I feel the vastness of the cosmos as my home.’ He explained that avatars like him reincarnate on multiple planets to guide universal humanity, not just earthly humanity.”
Swami Kriyananda notes that Master Yogananda spoke to his disciples in the 1940s, before sightings became more frequent, laughing upon seeing newspaper articles about UFOs, and saying:
‘They think it’s science fiction; for God, it’s cosmic routine!'”
