Quotes from Swami - Sathya Sai
Baba Quotes - Bhagawan's Quotes - Avatar's sayings -
Sairam Quotes -Index
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Love as Thought is Truth.
Love as Action is Right Conduct.
Love as Understanding is Peace.
Love as Feeling is Non-violence.
Start the Day with Love;
Spend the Day with Love;
Fill the Day with Love;
End the Day with Love;
This is the way to God.
I have come to light the lamp of love in your hearts, to see that it
shines day by day with added luster.
Your heart must be transparent, like glass, with spiritual light
within illuminating the whole world.
I shall be with you, where ever you are, guarding you and guiding
you. March on, have no fear.
Duty is God; Work is worship. Even the tiniest work is a flower
placed at the Feet of God.
Cultivate a nearness with Me in the heart and it will be rewarded.
Then you too will acquire a fraction of that Supreme Love.
Duty without love is deplorable.
Duty with love is desirable.
Love without duty is Divine.
Peace can only be won the hard way, by eliminating violence and
greed from the hearts of individual.
The secret of happiness is not doing what one likes to do but in
liking what one has to do.
The end of wisdom is freedom.
The end of culture is perfection.
The end of knowledge is love.
The end of education is character.
First you must grapple with the fact that duty is God and start
doing your duty.
I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to confirm each
in his own faith - so that Christian becomes a better Christian, the
Muslim, a better Muslim, and the Hindu, a better Hindu.
Transmuting "man" into "God" and experiencing that Ananda or Bliss
is the one and only achievement for which life is to be devoted.
The minimum qualifications for Grace is surrender of ego.
The treasure that is precious is the quality of even mindedness in
all situations.
The joy of being the master of senses is far greater than being
their slave.
Your progress is reflected back as Grace, your decline is reflected
back as its absence. The mirror just reflects. It has no partiality
or prejudice.
Sathya is what I teach;
Dharma is the way I live;
Shanti is the mark of My personality;
Prema is my very Nature.
Peace is a shoreless ocean - it is the light that illuminates the
world.
Virtue is the sign of the educated person. This is what makes
education worthwhile.
God can be felt and experienced only in the deepest depths of
silence.
Education must remove hatred between the pilgrims on the various
roads to God. There is only one God, one Goal, one Law, one Truth,
one Religion and one Reason.
To help the helpless is the only way to please, follow and reach
Him.
Mind, word and act; all three must be filled with the belief that
all is His play; that is the genuine path.
You are in the Light, then the Light is in you, You are the Light.
Desire is storm, greed is whirlpool, pride is precipice, attachment
is avalanche, ego is volcano. Discard desire and you are liberated.
Devotion has to be unintermittent, uninterrupted, like the flow of
oil from one vessel to another.
Human society minus God is equal to a forest of brutes.
Bear all and do nothing;
Hear all and say nothing;
Give all and take nothing;
Serve all and be nothing.
Man minus immorality is Immortality.
God is for those who are not for themselves.
So long as the sugar is on the tongue, you feel the sweetness in
taste. Similarly, so long as the heart has love, peace and devotion,
you feel the bliss.
If you will not rise above the things of the world, they will rise
above you.
Praying is your task; what happens to the prayer is dependent on the
Grace of God.
Seek out your faults and others' merits. Seeking others' faults is
dire sin.
Your duty is to pray for the welfare of the world and to work for it
as far as it lies in your power.
Earning money cannot be the purpose of education. Acquiring good
qualities can be the only purpose of education.
True devotion must not get dispirited; nor elated or satisfied with
lesser gains; it must fight against failure, loss, calumny,
calamity, ridicule and against egoism and pride, impatience and
cowardice.
Follow the Master;
Face the devil;
Fight to the end;
Finish the goal.
If animal feelings are washed out, Divine feelings begin to overflow
instead.
A man who has no love in him is as barren as a cloud with no
moisture, a tree with no fruits or a cow yielding no milk; he is
ever far from God and can never earn His Grace.
Life is a bridge over the sea of changes. Do not build a house on
it.
In the innermost recess of your heart there is a reservoir of peace
where you must take refuge.
Employ yourself usefully. Be like a trustee, holding on trust, on
behalf of God, for the purpose which He likes and approves.
Hear good things, see good, do good, think good, then you get the
Grace of God, as all the evil tendencies will be uprooted.
All are expressions of the same God, as bulbs lit by the same
current through manifold colors and wattage.
Have faith in His Grace and lead a virtuous life, a life devoted to
the service of the weak; a life spent in the thought about the might
and glory of God.
The refinement of an individual is measured by the yard stick of
sense control.
Prayer must emanate from the heart, where God resides, and not from
the head where doctrines and doubts clash.
You have come from God, you are a spark of His Glory; you are a wave
of that Ocean of Bliss; you will get peace only when you again merge
in Him.
See God in every one you meet; see God in every thing you handle.
Live together, revere each other, let not the seeds of envy and hate
grow and choke the clear stream of Love.
Make your life a rose that speaks silently in the language of
fragrance.
Be in the world, but let not the world be in you.
Be like the lions in the spiritual field, rule over the forest of
the senses and roam fearlessly with full faith in victory.
The heart with compassion is the temple of God.
Start early, Drive slowly, Reach safely.
Watch your Words, Action, Thoughts, Character and Heart.
Education softens the heart. If the heart is hard, one cannot claim
to be educated.
Faith in ourselves and faith in God: this is the secret of
Greatness, for God is Love.
Good ideas, good conduct and adherence to Truth should result from
our education. Only those who acquire these qualities can be called
truly educated.
Devotion to the Divine will give you Bliss, Prosperity and Peace. It
cannot inflict pain, perturbation or personal anxiety. It fosters
love and brings all together as one band of brothers.
Every action of yours at the present time is bound to have a
reaction, resound and reflection in the future.
Reach the point where churches, temples, mosques do not matter,
where all roads end, from where all roads run.
Doing one's duty, however small, in an unattached manner gives rise
to the awakening of self awareness.
Bend the body, mend the senses and end the mind - this is the way to
Immortality.
Why fear when I am here? Put all your faith in Me. I shall guide you
and guard you.
Try within your means to satisfy the needs of the poor.
If you place complete faith in the Lord at all times, you will
receive His Grace. Grace takes away the pain of Karma. The Lord can
save man completely from Karma.
God has no preferences and prejudices; His is but reaction,
reflection and resound.
Where there is Faith, there is Love;
Where there is Love, there is Peace;
Where there is Peace, there is Truth;
Where there is Truth, there is God;
Where there is God, there is Bliss.
Life is Love, enjoy it;
Life is Challenge, meet it;
Life is a Song, sing it;
Life is a Dream, realize it;
Life is a Game, play it;
Life is a Goal. achieve it.
Ego lives by getting and forgetting;
Love lives by giving and forgiving;
Love is expansion; Self is contraction;
Self is lovelessness; Love is selflessness.
There is only one religion, the religion of Love;
There is only one language, the language of the Heart;
There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity;
There is only one law, the law of Karma;
There is only one God, He is Omnipresent.
Haste makes waste;
Waste makes worry;
So do not be in a hurry.
You are not one person, but three:
The one you think you are;
The one others think you are;
The one you really are.
Money comes and goes; morality comes and grows.
Nations are many, but Earth is one;
Beings are many, but Breath is one;
Stars are many, but Sky is one;
Oceans are many, but Water is one;
Religions are many, but God is one;
Jewels are many, but Gold is one;
Appearances are many, but Reality is One.
Come just one step forward, I shall take a hundred towards you. Shed
one tear, I shall wipe a hundred from your eyes.
The proof of rain is in the wetness of the ground; the proof of
devotion is in the peace the aspirant has attained.
Every experience is a lesson, every loss is a gain.
You should completely forget the help rendered by you to others and
the harm done to you by others.
If wealth is lost, nothing is lost.
If health is lost, something is lost.
If character is lost, all is lost.
The body has to be utilized for service to others. More bliss can be
got from serving others than from merely serving oneself.
You should consider every individual as God. This is true worship.
You are not doing service for others. You are doing it always for
yourselves, to the God in you, the God who is equally present in
others.
If it is good and will harm no one, go ahead. If it is not good, put
it aside. If not sure, do nothing until sure.
What is needed today is that we should lead a life of good quality.
The fostering of sterling character and good conduct is the need of
the world. Once we have greater numbers of such people of good
quality, the country and the world will become prosperous and
peaceful.
You must act ever in the consciousness of your divinity and
recognize in each being, a brother, a child of God. The whole world
is one family.
The only permanent change is slow, steady change.
God, if you think, God you are.
Dust if you think, dust you are.
As you think, so you become.
Think God, be God.
Those who seek to acquire steadiness of faith must first acquire the
strength to bear grief and pain, insult and injury. The succession
of joy and grief must help confirm the faith and make it immovable.
That alone can evidence true devotion.
Failures are stepping stones to success.
Individual spiritual practice is the negative pole and service is
the positive pole. The conjunction of both poles can alone bring
success. The mind carries the divine principle (the light of love)
and conveys it to all who contact it.
We can be successful leaders only if we are disciplined followers,
who do not issue commands to others but rather set an example of
service in our actions.
If you have the inclination to do good work, God will give you the
time to do good things.
Man falsely imagines "I am doing this", "I am planning this". It is
the supreme, all pervasive consciousness that motivates, unfolds the
skills and operates the intellect.
Let God work through you and there will be no more duty. Let God
shine forth. Let God show Himself. Live God, Eat God. Drink God.
Breath God. Realize the Truth and the other things will take care of
themselves.
Treat all as your own self. Do not have a double standard.
What you would desire others to do for you, you should do for
others. You should respect others as you want to be respected by
them.
Love all men without distinction, Know that mankind is a single
community.
Is the intention pure, selfless, born out of love? Is it based on
truth? Does it result in peace? If so, it is a right action.
True humanness consists of a continuous series of tiny acts executed
with absolute sincerity and largeness of heart.
The quality of one's feelings determines one's future.
Think before speaking.
Think before acting.
Then go ahead
If you feel good about it.
See good
Hear good
Speak good
Do good
Be good
If you strive to find your Self by using your mind, you will strive
and strive in vain, because the mind cannot give you the Truth. You
are that Self. All else is illusion of the mind's creation.
Every being in the universe has the potentiality of transcending the
senses. Even the little worm will one day transcend the senses and
reach God. No life will be a failure. There is no such thing as
failure in the universe.
More than listening to a hundred lectures or delivering them to
others, offering one act as genuine service attracts the Grace of
God.
We should not aspire for acclaim and praise from those around us,
but do service only to secure the Grace of God and not for any other
reward from any one.
Bury bad thoughts under good ones. Then the bad ones will just fade
away and be forgotten.
Living is not enough; it has no value by itself. It is the motives,
the feelings, the thoughts, the attitudes that prompt the day to day
life that matters.
Secure spiritual bliss first and then try to convey it to those who
thirst. When the tank is dry, how can the taps give water?
Always try to put yourself in the position of the other and judge
your action against the background. Then you will not be wrong.
Honor all religions. Each is a pathway to God.
Make the mind, the voice and the actions agree in harmony. That is
the right way of life.
Impurity is a mere superimposition under which the real nature of
man has been hidden.
Where divinity is sought after, one ought always to behave in the
spirit of Love, devoid of the slightest trace of hate, envy and
anger. When one cultivates the inner look, one attains the
conviction of the basic equality of all.
What is heard has to be pondered over. What is pondered over has to
be put into practice. It is only when all three are accomplished
that the realization of Bliss can be attained.
The secret of perfect health lies in keeping the mind always
cheerful - never worried, never hurried, never borne down by any
fear, thought or anxiety.
The pure heart is the best mirror for the reflection of Truth. So
all these disciplines are for the purification of the heart. As soon
as it is pure, all truths flash upon it in a minute.
O Lord, take my love and let it flow in fullness of devotion to
Thee.
O Lord, take my hands and let them work incessantly for Thee.
O Lord, take my soul and let it be merged in oneness with Thee.
O Lord, take my mind and thoughts and let them be in tune with Thee.
O Lord, take my everything and let me be an instrument for thy work.
Religion is three-fourths character. Only those who preserve
character can be pronounced truly religious.
Desire destroys devotion, anger destroys wisdom, greed destroys work
- hence these bad qualities must be sacrificed. With good and sweet
words, keeping desires under check and control (for ultimate
removal), one should start on the path of sacrifice.
Man derives all the joy and peace that he needs from within himself
and not from sources outside himself. So the best spiritual
discipline is: strengthen the inward vision.
Anything that helps you maintain unruffled equanimity is right
action.
True love expands the self; attachment contracts it.
Moderation in temper is virtue.
Moderation in principle is a vice.
The harder the circumstances, the more trying the environment, the
stronger are those who come out of those circumstances.
That which happens physically on the outside in terms of actions is
not of major importance. What is important is that which comes from
inside.
This body is the residence of God. The food you take is the offering
you make to him. Your act of bathing is the ceremonial bathing of
Him who is in You. The ground you walk on is His domain. The joy you
gain is His gift. The grief you experience is His lesson. Remember
Him ever, in sun and rain, day and night, asleep and awake.
Offer service and receive love. This is the recipe for experiencing
Divinity. Our love should not be confined to our kith and kin. It
must extend beyond the family to society as a whole, then to the
nation at large and finally embrace the whole world.
Whatever books you may read, you cannot realize the Divine merely by
intellectual effort. One must put it into practice. That sense of
oneness can only be promoted by the practice of love and not by any
other means.
It is not what you have achieved that is important. It is the
broadness of heart that has motivated you to do work that counts.
Being broad minded with a selfless attitude, humility and obedience,
you should try to share the difficulties of others around you. It is
the purity of heart that is more important than the magnitude of the
work itself.
Our relationships are heart to heart relationships. Ours is a
business of love, not a business of money or materials.
For the progress of humanity, work alone is not adequate, but the
work should be associated with love, compassion, right conduct,
truthfulness and sympathy. Without the above qualities, selfless
service cannot be performed.
God will not ask you when and where you did service? He will ask,
with what motive did you do it? What was the intention that prompted
you? You may weigh the service and boast of its quantity. But God
seeks quality - the quality of heart, the purity of mind, the
holiness of motive.
Living with God is education
Living for God is Service
Living in God is Realization
Unity is Divinity. Purity is Enlightenment.
Reform the body, reconstruct the mind, regulate the way of living,
then, the country will become automatically strong and prosperous.
Before you speak, Think -Is it necessary?
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Will it hurt anyone?
Will it improve on the silence?
The first step in the Sadhana is the cleansing of the speech. Talk
sweet without anger. Do not boast of your scholarship or
attainments. be humble, eager to serve; conserve your speech.
Practice silence. That will save you from squabbles, frittering
thoughts and faction.
Spend a few minutes every morning and evening in the Silence of your
own shrine or home; spend them with the highest of all the Powers
that you know of. Be in His elevating and Inspiring company; worship
Him mentally; offer unto Him all the work you do; you will come out
of the silence nobler and more heroic than when you went in.
Forget the harm that anyone has done to you, and forget the good
that you have done to others.
There is only one royal road for the spiritual journey...Love
Be Silent yourself, that will induce Silence in others. Do not fall
into the habit of shouting, talking long and loud. Reduce contacts
to the minimum. Carry with you an atmosphere of quiet contemplation,
wherever you happen to be.
Learn the value of Silence, of Namasmarana, of Bhajan, of Japa, of
Dhyana, of single minded remembrance of the Lord, of the association
with spiritually kin. These will stand you in good stead, when
distress assails you.
The less you talk, the more will become your mental power. With the
increase in your mental capacity, there will be increase in your
power of discrimination too. Consequently, you will give up
"individual discrimination". Because of this, you will begin to
consider the good of the world at large rather than your own
individual welfare. You must cultivate such broad feelings from this
young age itself.
The voice of God can be heard in the region of your heart when the
tongue is stilled and the storm is tilled and the waves are calm.
There will be no temptations for others to shout when you talk to
them in whispers. Set the level of the tone yourself; as low as
possible, as high as necessary to reach the outermost boundary of
the circle you are addressing. Conserve sound, since it is the
treasure of the element akasa, an emanation from God Himself. Reason
can prevail only when arguments are advanced without the whipping up
of sound. Silence is the speech of the spiritual seeker. Soft sweet
speech is the expression of genuine love. Hate screeches, fear
squeals, conceit trumpets. But love sings lullabies. It soothes. It
applies balm. Practice the vocabulary of love; unlearn the language
of hate and contempt.
Silence is the only language of the realized. Practice moderation in
speech. That will help you in many ways. It will develop Prema, for
most misunderstandings and factions arise out of carelessly spoken
words. When the foot slips, the wound can be healed; but when the
tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will
fester for life. The tongue is liable to four big errors: uttering
falsehood, scandalizing, finding fault with others, and excessive
speech. All these have to be avoided if there is to be Santhi for
the individual as well as for society.
Good works never languish for want of funds; the Lord will come to
their rescue. Only it may take some time; do not lose heart... You
should not collect money in devious ways. Help should come from
pious hearts, from well earned money, from persons who know and
appreciate the purpose for which they give. That is why I oppose all
benefit shows, where you tempt people with a dance or a drama or a
film and collect money for your pet plan.
In all effort, if you trust in a Higher Power which is ready to come
to your help, work is made easy. This comes out of Bhakthi, reliance
on the Lord, the source of all Power. When you travel by train, you
have only to purchase the ticket, enter the proper train and take a
seat, leaving the rest to the engine. Why should you carry the bed
and trunk on your head? So too put your trust in the Lord and carry
on to the best of your ability.
You have been born because you did not pass in certain subjects;
there is some balance of experience which you must acquire to
complete the course. If you get convinced that your true nature is
the Atma, then you have finished the course and 'passed'.
You should see that no dirt settles upon the mind; that is to say,
you should move about in such company that dirt is avoided.
Falsehood, injustice, indiscipline, cruelty, hate -- these form the
dirt; Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prema -- these form the clean
elements. If you inhale the pure air of these latter, your mind will
be free from evil bacilli and you will be mentally sturdy and
physically strong.
The year becomes new, the day becomes holy, when you sanctify it by
spiritual discipline, not otherwise.
All life is one, my dear son, be alike to every one.
Do not crave for recognition and respect from others; crave rather
for winning grace from the Lord.
God is love, live in love.
The Lord will be watching with a thousand eyes the least activity of
man to discover any slight trace of selfless love sweetening it.
A sound mind ensures a sound body; a sound body ensures a sound
mind.
The body will shine if the character is fine; service of man and
worship of God will preserve its charm.
The peace that pervades the heart can never be shaken for any
reason; only peace of this kind is worthy of the name.
Love all beings; that is enough.
The grace of God is like insurance. It will help you in your time of
need without any limit.
The service of man is the only means by which you can serve God.
God is in you
God is in every word of yours,
Every deed and thought.
Speak, do and think as befits Him.
Do not seek to discover or discuss the evil in others, for the
attempt will tarnish your own minds.
Life is:
Loving
Listening
Lifting
Learning
Living
Thinking, discriminating and practice - all three constitute the
basic human characteristics.
Education should build character.
Its is Truth and Truth alone, that is one's real friend, relative.
Faith is like our life breath. It is impossible to live even for a
minute in this world without faith.
Resolve to carry on the quest of your own Reality.
Hatred sprouts;
Envy raises its hood.
Love sprouts;
Peace descends like dew.
Life is the car, your heart is the key, God is the chauffeur.
Expand yourselves; do not contract into your own tiny individuality.
Foster Love
Live in Love
Spread Love
Have the name and form of God as your companion, guide and guardian
throughout the toils of the waking hours.
When you retire for the night offer grateful homage to God for being
with you all day long.
The present is a product of the past, but it is also the seed for
the future.
Experience that is drawn through any of the senses has an effect on
one's health.
The mind sees separateness, Love sees unity.
Head in the forest; Hands in society
Today's man is pursuing unrestrained sense cravings. These pursuits
drag man's mind into the gutter.
A man's well-being depends upon his degree of contentment.
Every living being in this world is knowingly or unknowingly on a
spiritual pilgrimage.
Every one is the embodiment of God.
Character is the most precious gift of education.
Life is a challenge, meet it !
Life is a dream, realize it !
Life is a game, play it !
Life is Love, enjoy it !
You are all members of the same family, bound by the Religion of
Love.
True education is not for a mere living, but for a fuller and
meaningful life.
Devotion is not a uniform to be worn on certain days and then to be
put aside.
If the mind of man is not reformed and purified then all the plans
to reform the world will be futile.
What God gives is never exhausted.
What man gives never lasts.
Love must express itself as Service.
Man has to recognize the indebtedness to society and his duty
towards it.
W \ /Words
\ /
A \ / Action
\ /
T \ your/ Thoughts
/ \
C / \ Character
/ \
H / \ Heart
You must make the mind the servant of God, not the slave of the
senses.
Good company is important, it helps to cultivate good qualities.
As close as you are to God, so close is God to you.
The synthesis of pure, calming food is breathing pure air, listening
to good sounds, looking at good sights, and touching pure objects.
We must control our desires.
Don't waste money
Don't waste time
Don't waste food
Don't waste energy
I - Want - Peace
"I" is ego.
"Want" is desire.
Remove ego and desire and you have peace.
The gift of food to the hungry is the noblest of all gifts.
When we sit for the meal, we feel light and effortless. When we are
done, we should rise with the same feeling of lightness and
effortlessness.
Love sees all as one Divine family.
Love...doesn't allow any room for pettiness or narrow outlook.
We should realize that man has not only a mind which conceives
thoughts, but also a heart which can put them into practice.
The teachers of tomorrow are the students of today.
Renunciation is the power of battling against evil forces and
holding the mind in check.
The heart of man, which is now allowed to lie fallow, has to be
plowed by spiritual exercises like repetition of God's name.
Teachers must be examples of Love and Truth.
Being example is the best form of Service.
Desire makes man forget his real nature and reduces him to be status
of a beast.
Let the different faiths exist, let them flourish and the glory of
God be sung in all the languages and in a variety of tunes.
Dedicate all your thoughts, words, and deeds to Him.
Man will realize his mission on earth when he knows himself as
Divine and reveres others as Divine.
God gave you the time, space, cause, material, idea, skill, chance,
and fortune. Why should you feel as if your are the doer?
If you give up and surrender to the lord, He will guide you and
guard you.
Ignorance is the most important cause of sorrow.
Once we surrender our mind to God completely, He will take care of
us in every way.
Learn to speak what you feel, and act what you speak.
Small minds select narrow roads; expand your mental vision and take
to the broad road of helpfulness, compassion and service.
Politics without principles,
Education without character,
Science without humanity, and
Commerce without morality
Are not only useless, but positively dangerous.
Try to conduct yourself in such a way as not to injure others.
A nation that has no bridle on its sensuality can never thrive or
survive.
God is all Names and all Forms
Have constructive thoughts; consoling words; compassionate acts.
The first thing you have to do, to impress upon your mind the
reality, is to recite the name of God and dwell on His Glory in the
mind.
Character is to be sought more than intellect.
The attitude today is the root on which the future grows.
If there is righteousness in the heart,
There will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
There will be harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home,
There will be order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
Friendship is the expression of unshakable Love. Love that is noble,
pure, free from desire or egoism.
Meditation is nothing else but rising above desires.
When you take one step towards God, God takes ten towards you.
Service should not be exhibitionistic, you must seek no reward, not
even gratitude or thanks from the recipient.
You cannot see Me, but I am the Light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, but I am the Sound you hear by.
You cannot know Me, but I am the Truth by which you live.
The food we consume should be tasty, sustaining and pleasant; It
should not be too hot or too salty; there must be a balance and an
equilibrium maintained.
Real happiness lies within you.
Detachment is sacrifice.
Example, not precept, is the best teaching aid.
Base all educational efforts on building up of the character of the
students, and then you can confidently think of raising on in the
super-structure of curricula.
The mother is the pillar of the home, of society, of the nation, and
so of humanity itself.
You are all separate beads strung together on that one thread, God.
Nourish your aged parents; revere them.
Your thoughts, words and deeds will shape others and theirs will
shape you.
Love of the country is the basis on which you can build love for
world community.
Always respect other's opinion and other's point of view.
Spirituality is an activity. It is an activity of the Divinity
within.
If you honor your mother, the Mother of the universe will guard you
against harm.
If you honor your father, the Father of all Beings will guard you.
Love expands; it does not limit itself to boundaries.
If you honor your parents, your children will honor you.
A language is as sweet as the tongues of the speakers.
The whole world is One Single Tree;
The different countries are it's branches;
It's root is God;
Human beings are the flowers;
Happiness is the fruit;
Self-realization is the sweet juice therein.
The beauty of life depends upon our good habits.
To reform: First weed out the evil thoughts and bad habits. Second
cultivate good habits.
When the road ends, and the goal is gained, the pilgrim finds that
he has travelled from himself to himself.
Do not preach; practice.
Man loves because he is Love.
He seeks Joy, for he is Joy.
He thirsts for God; for he is composed of
God and he cannot exist without Him.
By peace, western countries mean the interval between two wars. That
is no peace ! When man thinks, speaks, and does good - peace will
ensue.
Where there is Love, there God is evident.
God is the Life-breath of every soul.
One single act of service offered to God whom you visualize in
another is worth all the years of yearning for God.
Wealth has to be earned through Righteousness. Desire has to be for
Liberation.
Your duty is to serve, not search for faults.
There is no living being without the spark of love; even a mad man
loves something or somebody.
Make the home a seat of harmony.
The greatest fear man can have, is the fear of losing God's Love.
God is the mother and father of the world. Our parents are the
mother and father of this body.
God is one; there are not many Gods, one for each tribe among men.
Love is one; it transcends caste, color and creed, if it has to be
genuine.
Truth is one; there cannot be two. For, two can only be One,
occuring twice.
The goal is one; for all roads must lead to the One God.
God is to be recognized in all that exists, all that is charming,
suffering, blooming or drooping.
When heart speaks to heart, it is love that is transmitted.
A limit should be placed on the food that we take.
If you know the road and the goal, then you can discover whether you
are progressing or not
Make the fullest of your talents and march as long as you can, and
pitch the tent nearer the goal, when darkness falls.
Truth is the basis of Righteousness.
Be ever watchful to see that you strive to take in more and more of
God into you.
Implant in your Heart:
1. Do not forget God.
2. Do not put faith in the world you see around you.
3. Do not be afraid.
The wise are those who know the self.
Truth has no fear; Untruth shivers at every shadow.
Sensory pleasures are trinkets, trivialities.
God is the doer; You are but the instrument.
Cultivate that attitude of Oneness between men of all creeds, all
countries and all continents.
Not through wealth can Immortality be won; it can be won only
through renunciation.
Give up; do not grasp in clenched fists.
Release; do not bind and get bound.
Eat, when you are hungry - not before or after.
Do not waste a single moment, in idling or loose living.
Love of the country is the basis on which you can build love for the
world community.
If you safeguard Righteousness, it will , in its turn, safeguard us.
Do not get attached to worldly things and pursuits. Be in the world,
but do not let the world be in you.
Have no desire to place before God. Whatever He does with you,
however He treats you, is the gift that He likes best, to give you!
Work disinterestedly. Content to do one's duty as best as one can.
Aspire now
Adore now
Achieve now.
Blood has to circulate from head to foot;
Love has to circulate from high to low.
Campaign against the temptations of the senses;
Conquer inner foes;
Triumph over your ego.
Practice alone makes man perfect.
Have the Love of God filling and thrilling your heart; then, you
cannot hate anyone.
God is not to be spoken of as coming down or going up, since He is
everywhere.
The fulfillment of human life consists in the service that man
renders, without any thought of return, in an attitude of
selflessness.
Spiritual discipline grows only in a field fertilized by Love.
Be steady, have faith, and reach the Goal safe.
To rectify the world and put it on the proper path, we have to first
rectify ourselves and our conduct.
Teachers are reservoirs from which, through the process of
education, students draw the water of life.
Knowledge that is not put into practice is like food that is not
digested.
Man can realize his mission on the earth only when he knows himself
as Divine and when he reveres all others as Divine.
Real Peace of mind has no ups and downs; it cannot be partial in
adversity and whole in prosperity.
Instead of making the senses which are at best very poor guides and
informants his servants, man has made them his masters.
There may be differences among men, in physical strength, financial
status, intellectual acumen - but, all are equal in the eye of God.
Discipline trains you to put up with disappointments, every rose has
a thorn.
You say, "enjoy"; but it is when you "end joy", that you can really
enjoy.
The day when passion is accepted as a mark of womanhood, it will
mark the beginning of the end of femininity>
If you feel you are a hundred percent dependent on God, He will look
after you and save you from harm and injury.
Love with no expectation of return.
Activity must be dedicated to God, the Highest Good. Then, it will
provide health to body and mind.
God is omnipotent. All powerful
God is Omnipresent. Present everywhere.
God is Omniscient. All knowing.
God, first; the world next; myself last!
Live on your own earnings, your own resources.
Man seeks to change the foods available in nature to suit his
tastes, thereby putting an end to the very essence of life contained
in them.
Each man carries his own destiny in his own hands.
Dreams relating to God are real.
The easiest way to control sensuous desires is to practice
altruistic love.
Our good conduct is our true wealth.
If some people say there is no God, it only means that they are at
too great a distance to be aware of Him.
Men are born with a helpless lamenting cry; they should die with a
smile of happy joy.
Do not belittle any religion or give predominance to any religion.
Love knows no fear and so love needs no falsehood to support it.
Do not use poisonous words against anyone, for, words wound more
fatally than even arrows.
You must be a lotus unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the
sky, unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water
which sustains it!
Be loving, begin to perceive your inner voice and follow it.
The root is education and the fruit is virtue.
Of all the insanities that harass man, God-madness is the least
harmful, and the most beneficial.
You may be able to pay back any debt; but the debt you owe your
mother, you never can repay.
Love is the light that guides the feet of man in the wilderness.
Every experience that is drawn through any of the senses has an
effect on one's health.
Mine, not thine, this sense of greed is the root of all evil. This
distinction is applied even to God! -- my God, not yours! Your God,
not mine!
Discipline is the mark of intelligent living.
No one can judge another, for, when another is judged you are
yourself condemned.
Love seeks no reward; Love is its own reward.
One without power does not mean lack of physical or mental strength.
Speak soft and sweet; sympathise with suffering and loss and
ignorance: try your best to apply the salve of soothing words and
timely succor.
The Lord is but a witness; He is above all hate and anger, of
attachment derived from "mine" and "thine".
Nothing is to be used as itself, for itself.
"Seeing is believing: I will believe in God only if I see Him;" but
are all things seen or heard or touched or tasted, as real as they
seem?
Either the Government must have the capacity to educate and reform
the people or the people must have the capacity to educate the
Government.
Peace - It can come only from the Fountain of Peace within.
It is best to live with honor for just a day than with dishonor for
many decades; better a short lived celestial swan than a
century-lived crow.
Every sense is an outlet for the energy of man in a direction that
binds him to the objective world.
Spiritual progress is right living, good conduct, moral behaviour.
Do all acts as offerings to God; do not classify some as `my work'
and some as `His work'.
The reasoning faculty must be employed to distinguish between the
limited and the unlimited, the Temporary and the Eternal.
Life is a mirage;
It comes from no visible rain;
It falls into no recognizable sea.
When the magnet does not attract the needle, the fault lies in the
dirt that covers up the needle.
Food should not be too salty, too hot, too bitter, too sweet, too
sour.
There should not be any trace of dislike or distrust on the score of
nationality, language, caste, economic status, scholarship, age or
sex.
The end of knowledge is love.
The end of education is character.
Each country is but a room in the mansion of God.
The very joy derived from service reacts on the body and makes you
free from disease.
The age period 16 - 30 is a crucial stage, when man achieves best
and struggles hardest to achieve.
Man is a spark of the Divine.
All things in creation are subject to the law of change and man too
is subject to this law.
Service is spiritual discipline, not a pastime of the rich and
well-placed.
Too much food results in dullness of mind.
God alone is the giver of life, the guardian of life, and the goal
of life.
All spiritual practice must be directed to the removal of the husk
and the revelation of the kernel.
The same current activates all.
Man is now able to soar into outer space and reach up to the moon;
but he is not moral enough to live at peace with his neighbor!
The food that one eats has to be pure, free from the subtle evils
radiated by the persons who collect the materials, who cook the
dishes, and who serve them.
Whatever is to our advantage will appear right to us; We do not
usually look upon a matter from the other fellow's standpoint.
However high a bird may soar, it has sooner or later to perch on a
tree top, to enjoy quiet.
The purpose of living is to achieve the `living in God'
When you feel you cannot do good, at least desist from doing evil.
Condemn the wrong and extol the right as soon as you notice either
in your children; that will settle them on the straight path.
Awake, Arise and Stop not until the goal is reached.
Limiting birth by artificial means is an absurdly wrong step. The
consequences of this act is irresponsible fatherhood or frustrated
motherhood.
The mind fixed in the awareness of the One is like a rock,
unaffected by doubt, stable, secure.
Instead of making the senses which are at best very poor guides and
informants his servants, man has made them his masters.
Jesus said:
First - He is a messenger of God.
Second - He is the son of God.
Third - He and His Father are one.
Women have equal chances and equal rights to attain Godhead
Let the wave of memory, the storm of desire, the fire of emotion
pass through without affecting your equanimity.
Silence is the speech of the spiritual seeker
All men are cells in the same divine organism, in the divine body.
That should be your faith, your fortune, your fort, your fullness.
Hate screeches
Fear squeals
Conceit trumpets
But love sings lullabies.
Food cooked in water should not be used the next day; it becomes
harmful.
No society can find its fulfillment, no social ideal can fructify,
without the blossoming of the spirit of man.
Patience is all the strength that man needs.
The earlier years of life are the most crucial, and so the mother
and the father have to share the responsibility for the upbringing.
Through the media of films, books, music and the behavior of elders,
young minds are excited and aroused into indulgences.
The God of death does not give notice of His arrival to take hold of
you. He is not like the photographer who says, "I am clicking, are
you ready?"
Whenever you get a little leisure, do not spend it in talking about
sundries, but utilize it in meditating on God or in doing service to
others.
Greed yields only sorrow; contentment is best.
Whatever acts a good or bad man may do, the fruits thereof follow
him and will never stop pursuing him.
It is not the standard of living that is important, but the manner
of living.
You must render service out of spontaneous urge from within, with a
heart filled with love.
A chance conglomeration of humans does not become a society.
A society has to be welded into a unit by the consciousness of
kinship in God.
Unity is divinity; Purity us enlightenment.
Reform the body, reconstruct the mind, regulate the way of living,
then, the country will become automatically strong and prosperous.
Forget the harm that anyone has done to you, and forget the good
that you have done to others.
There is only one royal road for the spiritual journey...Love.
If one student is bad, only that student is affected. But if one
teacher is bad, hundreds of students get spoiled.
Your thoughts play a vital role in shaping your life.
Religion is three-fourths character.
The present is a product of the past, but it is also the seed for
the future.
Open the gates of wisdom, tear the veil of ignorance, enter the
abode of Divine Bliss. Rest in peace forever.
Form a Satsang, where you meet and exchange truths and virtuos talk;
where you study holy books and discourses on the glory of God.
All work is God's. He inspires, He helps, He executes, He enjoys, He
is pleased, He reaps, He sowed.
Have faith in yourself. When you have no faith in the wave, how can
you get faith in the ocean?
Do not contemplate on death; it is just an incident in life;
contemplate on God, who is the master of all life.
You must welcome tests because it gives you confidence and it
ensures promotion.
So long as you say 'I am' there is bound to be fear, but once you
say and feel 'I am God' you get unconquerable strength.
By eating flesh one develops violent tendencies and animal diseases.
Do not get swelled up when people praise you and do not feel
dejected when people blame you.
Serve man until you see God in all men.
Knowledge without devotion to God produces hatred.
What is the unmistakable mark of a wise man? It is love, love for
all humanity.
Service springs out of love and it scatters love in profusion.
Soft sweet speech is the expression of genuine love.
Mankind can find happiness only in unity, not in diversity.
Philosophy that cannot be understood, scriptures that are not
practised - it is a waste of time to talk of them.
Anger is the harvest of the bewitching mind; it enslaves man and
fogs his understanding.
People are born for different tasks, but in order to survive every
one requires the same nourishment; inner peace.
Whatever the trouble, however great the sorrow, persist and win by
recollecting the Lord.
Those who have gone through pain and suffering can understand and
sympathise with those who are in pain
The basic Truth in all religions, irrespective of country or race is
one and the same.
Whenever and wherever you put yourself in touch with God, that is
the state of meditation.
The mind is a bundle of desires - remove the threads of attachment
one by one; at the end the 'cloth' disappears and the mind is clear
and pure.
Practice silence - for the voice of God can be heard in the region
of your heart only when the tongue is stilled and storm is stilled
and the waves are calm.
Practice the vocabulary of love - unlearn the language of hate and
contempt.
God is in you, around you, behind you, above you, beside you.
Of all the righteous acts, help rendered to those needing it, is the
most righteous.
Surrendering the fruit of action to the Lord is real sacrifice.
My birthday is the date when divinity blossoms in your heart.
God is neither distant nor distinct from you.
What is offered to God is totally free from all defects and
imperfections.
The joy that we cause in the heart of God is the only worthwhile
achievement.
The acid test by which an activity can be confirmed as holy or
sacred is to examine whether it promotes attachment or avoids
bondage.
Body is like a flashlight.
Eye is like the bulb
Mind is the battery cell
Intelligence is the switch
Only when the four work together do you get the light.
Any happiness that you can give to others will result in happiness
for yourself in the end. Man must realize that he cannot get
anything without sharing it with humanity around him. So, you must
believe that happiness of the people around you will lead to your
own happiness in due course.
Illnesses are caused more by malnutrition of the mind than of the
body. I will recommend the repetition of the Name of God. That is
Vitamin G. That is the medicine; regulated life and habits are 2/3
of the treatment, while the medicine is just 1/3 only.
It is only when you have both divine grace and human endeavor that
you can experience bliss, just as you can enjoy the breeze of a fan
only when you have both a fan and the electrical energy to operate
it.
Do not think that only those who worship a picture or image with
pompous paraphernalia are devotees. Whoever walks straight along the
moral path, whoever acts as he speaks and speaks as he has seen,
whoever melts at another's woe and exults at another's joy .... is a
devotee, perhaps a greater devotee.
This is bad; this is good - can such judgements be ever made about
anything in God's creation when all are manifestations of His will?.
Love is one without a second. When this love is directed towards the
world, it is called attachment (anuraga), and when directed towards
God, it is called prema (devotional love).
The play is His
The role is His gift
The lines are written by Him
He directs, He decides the dress and decoration,
The gesture and the tone,
The entrance and the exit.
You have to act well to receive His approbation
When the curtain falls
Earn by your efficiency and enthusiasm
The right to play higher and higher roles
That is the meaning and purpose of life
Living with God is the true education
Living for God is the true devotion
Living in God is the true spirituality.
A bubble of water is born out of water. It is made up of water. It
ultimately mixes with water and disappears. As in this analogy, man
is like a bubble and Narayana is like the source, "water". Man is
born out of Narayana, is made up of Him and ultimately merges with
Him.
A pure thought from a pure heart is better than a Manthra.
A zero will get its value only if it is placed after an integer. So
also a "Jeeva" will get some value only if it is placed in
conjunction with divinity.
Accomodate all forms of God in your heart. Do not exclude some and
welcome others. Accept all achievements and failures as proofs of
the grace of God.
Adoration, affection and attachment are the flowers. Devotion and
dedication are the fruits. When they ripen they fill themselves with
the sweet sustaining juice called wisdom.
Ambition to earn fame in the world, to gain some position of
authority over men, to lead a luxurious life can never ensure mental
peace.
An expansive mind is more laudable than an expert brain. One person
shedding love is more desirable than a hundred hard hearted
companions.
An iron box is essential to keep safe the precious stones. So too
the body is essential to keep safe the precious gifts of virtue,
love and discrimination.
Anger, ego, jealousy are the biggest diseases. Keep yourself aloof
from these three diseases.
Anger cannot be destroyed by anger and cruelty by cruelty. Anger can
be subdued only by forbearance and cruelty can be overcome only by
nonviolence.
Anger is like an intoxicant; it reduces man and degrades him to the
level of an animal.
As long as the sugar is on the tongue, you feel the sweetness in
taste. Similarly, so long as the heart has love, peace and devotion,
you feel bliss.
As the food, so the mind. As the mind, so the thought. As the
thought, so the act.
At all times, engage yourself in serving others. There is no greater
Sadhana than this.
Be a servant; a servant of God. Feel that you are an instrument in
His hand. Let Him shape you and use you as He knows best.
Be clear and content
Be moderate and wise
Be vigilant and steady.
Be earnest and sweet.
Be good, Do good, See good - this is the way to God.
Be guarded against the 'evil of the tongue', 'evil of the mind' and
'evil of the hand'.
Be like a star which never wavers from the crescent, but is fixed in
steady faith. Be like a lotus which is not affected by the water in
which it is born.
Be what you profess to be. Speak what you intend to do. Utter what
you have experienced. No more. No less.
Believe that God is one, though he is addressed and prayed to by
different groups of people in different names.
Believe that there is no morality higher than truth, there is no
prayer more fruitful than seva.
Believe that there is nothing greater than truth; nothing sweeter,
nothing more precious and nothing more lasting.
Bend before the lowly, the humbly, the Godly, the good. Do not bend
before the proud; the promoters of hate and greed.
Bhajan cleanses and purifies the atmosphere by its vital vibrations.
It inspires, instructs, it calls and comforts.
Bhakti (devotion) is as essential for experiencing Atmic Bliss as
blood is essential for the body.
Be like the ant. When the ant gets a mixture of sand and sugar, it
selects only sugar; it neglects sand. See only good in others. Pay
no attention to the bad.
Body is a house given to you for rent. Live there so long as He
wills, thanking him and paying Him the rent of faith and devotion.
By chanting the name of the Lord sanctify your time. By singing His
glory, sanctify your life. Always continously develop a pure heart
for the welfare of the world.
Calamity, danger, death cannot be avoided for all time. They are
inevitable factors of life and you have to learn to live bravely
with them.
Chanting the name of the Lord must be considered as the highest form
of Sadhana. You can travel anywhere in the light of this name. In
this age of Kali Yuga, the easiest way to reach the Lord, is this
chanting of the Lord's name. There is nothing more sacred than this
name.
Character is the most precious gift of education. Without character,
wealth, education and social status are of no avail.
Close your eyes to the faults of others, but keep them open to
discover your own.
Consider the entire society as your home, only then you will realize
genuine unity with all.
Constant dwelling with the name of the Lord gives that unshakeable
peace unaffected by the ups and downs of life.
Command the mind, regulate your conduct, keep your heart straight
and clear, then you will get the grace of God.
Concentration is a conscious activity and meditation is a super
conscious experience.
Contentment is the most precious treasure. Contentment alone can
lead man to the goal of life, the attainment of divinity.
Cows may be of different breeds or colors or sizes, but milk they
yield is the same, the world over. So too, all religions, what ever
their origin or extent of influence, are means to teach man this
process.
Creation is divine; imitation is human.
Dedicate all your physical possession and mental skills and
intellectual attainments to the service of the Lord.
Desire is storm, greed is whirl-pool, pride is precipice, attachment
is avalanche and ego is volcano. Discard these and you will be
liberated.
Dedicate your hands to the service of mankind, never deviate from
that attitude.
Dedication ensures success; purifies inner vision, gives lasting joy.
Desires, disappointments and despair cause diseases. Filling the
mind with the thought of God is the curative drug.
Develop the quality of love that asks for no return, develop divine
knowledge and develop the inner vision.
Devotion is the sustenance of the heart, just as food is the
sustenance for the body; devotion to duty is the highest form of
worship to God.
Devotion is not a uniform to be worn on certain days when you gather
for worship and then to be laid aside when the service is over.
Devotion to God does not mean merely offering worship in a shrine or
taking part in Bhajan or Sankirtan. One must recognize the form of
Divine in the images one worships or human being one serves.
Devotion truly means worshipping the Lord, not caring for the fruits
of one's actions.
Discipline is the mark of intelligent living; it is more essential
for success in spiritual effort.
Dive and declare the depth, eat and judge the taste.
Divine bliss cannot be gained by accumulation of impediments like
cars and houses, land and gold, stocks and stores.
Divine is not manufactured by any company nor available in any shop.
It is not something that can be earned from outside, it has to
sprout and grow from within and treasured within.
Divine is the inner core of all beings, near and far, big or small.
Expand your consciousness to its utmost limits.
Do and dedicate,
Work and worship,
Plan and protect,
But do not worry about the fruit,
That is the secret of spiritual success.
Do good deeds, you get good in return. Do bad deeds, you reap bad
results; do not blame God, thank yourself, blame yourself.
Doing one's duty, however small, in an unattached manner gives rise
to the awakening of self awareness.
Do not be affected when the results you anticipate are not produced;
do not anticipate at all, but leave it to God.
Do not depend on others to serve your needs, become your own servant
before proceeding to serve others.
Do not get puffed up when you succeed. Do not get punctured when you
fail.
Do not give room for differences based on language, religion, caste
or nationality. Develop the feeling that all are children of God.
You may worship God in any form of your choice, but always bear in
mind that God is one. Cultivate love and promote unity and harmony
among all.
Do not give up wordly duties, but do them with the Name of God on
your lips inviting the Grace of God on your heads.
Do not lay claim to long life but to divine life; do not pine for
more years on earth, but for more virtues in the heart.
Each has has his particular duty, task, role as an individual; do
that duty, carry on that task. Play that role as best as you can;
that is how one can fulfill himself.
Earning money cannot be the purpose of education; acquiring good
qualities can be the only purpose of education.
Education does not mean only giving meaning to the words. Whatever
is learnt in schools and colleges has to be practised and has to be
used for the welfare of the society. That is true education.
Education is a wasteful process unless knowledge is transformed into
wisdom and wisdom is expressed in character.
Education is to be valued not as a means of earning one's livelihood,
but as the essential requisite for a happy, peaceful and progressive
life.
Education must ultimately mean:
"E" for Enlightment
"D" for Duty and Devotion
"U" for Understanding
"C" for Character
"A" for Action
"T" for Thanking
"I" for Integrity
"O" for Oneness
"N" for Nobility
Education should be divorced from job hunting. Its primary purpose
should be to enable the educated to lead an honorable and meaningful
life in society.
Education without character, politics without principles and
commerce without morality are not only useless, but positively
dangerous.
Ego lives by getting and forgetting. Love lives by giving and
forgiving.
Engage always in good deeds, beneficial activities, speak the truth,
do not inflict pain by word or deed or even thought. That is the
highest gain which you can earn in this life.
Every action of yours at the present time is bound to have a
reaction, resound and reflection in the future.
Every human being is has a body which is like a chariot and has a
charioteer, which is the Atma. This is universally true and this is
the basis of the unity and diversity of in all mankind.
Every human being has four birthdays: the first is when he emerges
from his mother's womb; the second is when he begins his spiritual
study to lead him from darkness to light; third is when he has
gained wisdom for achieving self realization; the fourth and last is
when he realizes his true identity and merges with Brahman.
Every passing minute is a precious gift from God which you have to
use for the best and most lasting benefit.
Every rise will be followed by a fall, every elation will be
followed by depression.
Feel that you are a hundred percent dependent on God, He will look
after you and save you from harm and injury.
Feel that your family, your house, your fields, your cars are all
the Lord's property and that you are only the trustee.
Feel the presence of God when silence reigns; in the excitement and
confusion, you cannot hear His 'Foot Fall'.
For the disease of 'Bhavaroga' (birth death cycle), Bhagavan is the
medicine; for the disease of desire, Jnana is the prescription; for
the disease of doubt, the most effective remedy is paropakara
(service); for the major infection of asanthi (anxiety), the course
of treatment is Bhajan.
Friendship should not be based on consideration of fear and favor,
sacred friendship is that which enables one to help others at all
times and in all circumstances.
Get the doctor who would assure 'hereafter you will not fall ill'
and not the doctor who gives some relief to the present attacks.
'Gift' is a meritorious act, if it is rendered to the needy at the
time of need, in a manner that fulfills the need, it must be made
without pride and publicity.
Give up in order to gain; restrain in order to receive; become blind
in order to see more clearly.
Giving is gaining. Gaining is grieving.
Giving up one's evil thoughts constitutes sacrifice and yoga -
leaving one's wife, giving up one's material possessions and
repairing to the forest will be of no avail.
Goal of human life is not just eating, drinking, sleeping, tasting a
little joy and grief and finally dying like any bird or beast; the
goal is the realization of the eternal absolute.
God acts as creator, protector and destroyer. You must show your
gratitude to God by your actions, not your words.
God can be addressed by any name that tastes sweet to your tongue or
pictured in any form that appeals to your sense of wonder and awe.
God cannot be won by tricks or through short cuts, He can be won
only by the hard way of struggle, detachment and tough discipline.
God does not appreciate external pomps and exhibitionistic behaviour.
God does not take revenge if you do not recognize Him or revere Him.
God does not calculate the cost of all which you surrender at His
feet; He examines the spirit in which it is surrendered.
God does not draw you near or keep you far; God does not deny anyone,
it is only you who deny God.
God does not live in structures of stone or brick, He lives in soft
hearts, warm with sympathy and fragrant with universal love.
God grants you what you need and desire; there is no reason to ask,
no reason to grumble.
God has given you the heart to use in life, return it to Him as
clean and as pure.
God has no desire to bless nor anger to induce Him to punish. You
get blessed and punished as a result of your own feelings and acts.
God has no preference and prejudices. He is but reaction and resound.
God has not made any one wholly bad or wholly good; your likes and
dislikes are inducing you to label them such.
God is all mercy, adore Him so long as you have breath, so long as
you are conscious.
God is all names and all forms, He cannot be identified with one
name and one form; the whole universe is inhabited by God.
God is always ready to give you all that you want but you do not
seem to know what is good for you and what you really want, so it is
better and easier to surrender yourself completely to God and simply
ask for His Grace.
God is nameless, but He responds when His name, in any one of the
many, is taken by the seeker.
God is not attracted by your appearance, He will look at the
cleanliness of the inner self.
God is not involved in either rewards or punishment. He only
reflects, resounds and reacts; He is the eternal unaffected witness.
God is not somewhere away from you, someone distinct from you, He is
in you, before you, behind you.
God is the sugar that can make the tasteless drink of life into a
sweet potion.
God sees your devotion and not power; God cares for your quality and
not your caste; God looks at your heart and not at your wealth.
God will respond only when you call Him from the depth of feeling.
He will be deaf even if you call him a million times automatically
and artificially with the tongue and not with the heart.
Grace of God is equal on all, but it leaks through the holes of
anger, ego, lust, greed and desires. Fill the holes with trust,
kindness, love, patience and gratefulness.
Hands are given to us so that we may perform good acts and offer the
flower of service to the Lord.
Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.
However you are, you are mine. I will never give you up. Wherever
you are, you are near me. You cannot go beyond my reach.
I do not need your garlands and fruits, they are not genuinely yours,
give me something that is yours, something which is clean and
fragrant with the perfume of virtue and innocence and washed in the
tears of repentance.
I do not reveal or refuse, it is for you to discover and decide.
I do not take anything from anyone except their love and devotion.
I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to confirm each
in his own faith, so that the Christian becomes a better Christian,
the Muslim a better Muslim and the Hindu a better Hindu.
If God is a flower, you should feel yourself a bee that sucks its
honey, if he is tree, be a creeper that clings to it, if he is the
sky, be a tiny star that twinkles in it. Above all, be conscious of
the truth that you and He are bound by supreme love.
If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the
character.
If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
If thought and activities of the mind are sound, healthy,
non-violent, filled with love and morally harmonious, then peace is
near at hand.
In all the deeds that you perform, in all the individuals that you
meet and in all the thoughts that you entertain, you must see the
divine and act accordingly.
In an office if you work full time, you get full pay; if you work
part time, you get half pay. In the same manner, if you give only
part of your mind and ask for full return of the grace of God, it is
asking for full pay for half work.
In order to gain the benefit that education can confer, it must be
directed towards the cleansing of the inner instruments of thought
and feeling. It has to promote and protect the pleasure of spiritual
learning.
In the garden of your heart, plant and foster the rose of divinity,
the jasmine of purity and humility, the champak of generosity.
In the medicine chest of every member of our Seva Dal, one must keep
in readiness tablets of discrimination, drops of self control, the
powers of faith, devotion and patience. Only then one can be freed
of the illness of ignorance.
In the path of Bhakthi there are no hurdles young, high or low, man
or women, all are equally entitled to tread it.
In the Sathya there is no mithya, but in the mithya (jagath) you
have to search for Sathya and experience it. You can do it, if you
rid your mind of all modifications and modulations. Let it be
transformed from its present complex confusion into some thing like
the sky, which does not bear any mark, though millions of birds fly
through it and thousands of planes move across it. Be unaffected,
untouched, unattached. That is the Sadhana which will reveal the
reality.
Influence of divinity is such that while you are contemplating it
all trace of envy and greed will disappear from the mind.
Install the Lord in your heart and offer Him the fruits of your
actions and the flowers of your inner thoughts and feelings. That is
the worship I like most, the devotion I appreciate most.
Instead of indulging in vain prattle, glorify God and walk in His
path and pray to Him. Spend the allotted span of years in the
contemplation and the adoration of the Almighty, not in servile
praise of the feeble, the futile and the weak. Life is an
opportunity afforded to each, not to eat and drink, but to achieve
something nobler and grandeur, to master oneself and merge in the
reality.
It is an act of merit to be of service to others, it is a sin to
harm others.
Its is more sacred and sanctifying to fill our hearts with love than
to fill our hearts with all kinds of books on spiritual matters.
It is of no use if you simply utter the name of the God and if you
do not follow the good things, it is just like uttering the name of
penicillin when you are running a high temperature.
It is only by means of purity of mind, can you come close to the
Lord.
Just as sugar cane does not yield sugar juice unless it is crushed,
as sandal wood does not give the fragrant paste unless it is rubbed
on the stone, so the goodness of people does not come out unless
they go through difficulties.
Karma Yoga is the earthern lamp, Bhakthi Yoga is the oil in it, Raja
Yoga is the wick, Jnana Yoga is the light.
Karma cleanses the mind if it is done as a dedicatory act, the
consequence being left to the will of the Lord. Repentance saves
even sinners from perdition. No ceremony of expiation is as
effective as sincere repentance.
Keep away from impure listening, impure acts, impure words, impure
thoughts.
Keep the name of the Lord always radiant on your tongue and mind,
that will keep the antics of the mind under control.
Knowing the way is not enough. The path must be traversed to reach
the destination. That journey is service to society.
Knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful, knowledge
without character is a powerful evil. Knowledge without action is
useless; action without knowledge is foolishness.
Learn to adopt, adjust and accomodate. Learn to give, not to take,
learn to serve, not to rule.
Less luggage, more comfort is a slogan for a journey of life; reduce
desires, loosen attachment, you will win freedom.
Let the name of the Lord come from the core of your heart. It should
not come merely from the lips. It should be chanted with love and
faith.
Let your boat be on the waters, but do not allow the waters to enter
the boat. Be in the world, but not of it. That is the secret of a
truly happy life.
Life can be peaceful only when you can control excitement of your
body and mind, life is undoubtedly incomplete without thought about
God.
Life is a journey from "I" to "WE".
Life is enveloped in the bitter skin of lust, anger, greed,
attachment and jealousy; remove the skin and throw it away so that
the sweetness can be tasted.
Love in thought is truth.
Love in action is right conduct.
Love in understanding is peace.
Love in feeling is non-violence.
Love lives by giving and forgiving; self lives by getting and
forgetting.
Love saturates all activities with joy and peace.
Love ennobles the least and the lowest.
Love yourself for the God that it embodies.
Love others for the God that is enshrined in them.
Love the Lord's creation as much as the Lord Himself. Then the tree
of life will yield the sweet fruit of Madhura Bhakthi.
Measure the height you have reached with the yard stick of virtue,
serenity, fortitude and equanimity.
Mind, word and act, all three must be filled with the belief that
all is His play, that is the genuine path.
Name of the God is the rifle which guards you against the beasts of
prey in the jungle of life. Name of God is the most effective tonic,
it will keep off all illness.
Not by wealth or progeny, neither by reading or listening but only
by sacrifice can you get the vision of the divine. Sacrifice of ego
is the highest sadhana.
Objective possessions and subjective passions are handicaps in the
race of realization.
Offer God real flower grown in the garden of your heart; fragrant,
beautiful and delighting.
Offering all the deeds of man at the feet of the Lord is the real
yajna. Every action performed by man must be considered as an
offering to the Lord and as the Lord's work itself.
Only in fear of sin can you experience peace and nonviolence. Only
in love of God can you foster truth and love. In social morality you
can experience righteousness.
Only through renunciation can immortality (oneness with God) be
attained.
Peace of mind cannot be gained by wealth or fame or skill. It can be
achieved only through sacrifice.
Peace or distraction, calm or anxiety, it is the product of one's
thoughts and deeds.
Prayer alone makes life happy, harmonious and worth living in this
universe. Prayer brings man and God together and with every sigh
nearer and nearer.
Prayer is the yearning one experiences to awaken the divinity latent
in the heart. Prayer is not pronouncing of words.
Prayer reveals the real secret of life, prayer will succeed when
thoughts are pure.
Properties are not proper ties.
Pursuit of material pleasures will be like nectar at first, but like
poison at the end.
Religions are many, but the road is the same. Flowers are many, but
worship is the same, professions are many but living is the same.
Remember that God is not someone else, but one's own inner self.
Remember that if there is anything sweeter than all sweet things,
more auspicious than all auspicious things, holier than all holy
objects, verily it is the name of the Lord.
Remember there is no morality higher than truth. There is no prayer
more fruitful than seva.
Remove from the garden of your heart, the thorny bushes of greed,
anger, jealousy and selfishness.
Reverence for all life in thought, word and deed is nonviolence.
Sadhana leads to Truth
Satkarma leads to Dharma
Bhakti leads to Peace
Upasana leads to Love.
Science is below the mind, spirituality is beyond the mind.
Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.
Service is the ship by which one can cross the ocean of samsara (life)
Service to man is the highest form of worship. Do not offend or harm
anyone.
Seva (service) taken up as Sadhana (discipline) teaches Sahana (patience).
So long as man is not able to push away the clouds of selfishness,
he cannot look at the sun of wisdom.
Success or failure is your own making. You decide your destiny. The
Lord has no share in deciding it.
Suffering entitles you more to the Grace of the Lord. When suffering
comes in waves, one behind the other, be glad that the shore is near,
bear them bravely. Like cowards, do not throw the blame on some
outside power or develop dislike for the Lord.
The bird with you - the wings with me.
The foot with you - the way with me.
The eye with you - the form with me.
The thing with you - the dream with me.
The world with you - so we are bound.
So we begin - and so we end.
You in me - and I in you.
The day when we understand that every thing belongs to God, that
will be the dawn of knowledge.
The essence of all the Puranas and Vedas is "Do good to others and
keep away from doing harm to others".
The good hearted man who professes no religion is the truly
religious man.
There is nothing in the universe higher than God; different from
God; distinct from God.
Those who walk with God always reach their destination.
Through reading you gather information but through service you get
transformation.
Truth is the sustaining factor behind all, it is the very core and
essence of divine life.
Unless God's Grace and human effort come together the result cannot
be achieved.
Use the body as a boat to cross the ocean of life with devotion and
detachment.
Water flows from a higher level to the lower. God's Grace too flows
down to those who are bent with humility.
We do no get what we desire, we get what we deserve.
Wealth that you hoard is not yours, wealth that you have given is
really yours.
Yesterday has deceived you and gone, tomorrow is a doubtful visitor.
Today is a fast friend, hold fast to it.
You cannot always oblige but you can be obliging.
You cannot claim to be educated or grown up unless you have mastered
the science of self control and destroyed the root cause of delusion.
You must give up the luggage of your desires and wishes and thus
make life less burdensome.
You must surrender your judgement to the Lord, then Lord will assume
full responsibility.
You need offer only two things to God - pure love and selfless
service.
Your life can be peaceful only when you can control your excitement
of the body and mind.
Your virtue is your shield, your vice is the weapon that inflicts
wounds on you.
Destroying pride man becomes endearing;
Destroying anger man gets rid of sorrow
Destroying desire man acquires peace;
Destroying greed man achieves happiness.
Bear in mind the three P's: Purity, Patience and Perseverance. With
these three, you are bound to acquire good health and bliss
Action with Love is Right Conduct.
Speak with Love and it becomes Truth.
Thinking with Love results in Peace.
Understanding with Love leads to non-violence
What is devotion? It is not merely offering several types of worship
or going on pilgrimage. Unalloyed and true love for love's sake
alone constitutes devotion. True devotion is the love flowing from a
pure heart unpolluted by selfish motives.
Humanness can be promoted only through spirituality and not by any
other means. Just as a seed can sprout only when it is planted in
the soil and watered, human values can grow only in a spiritual soil.
If a man wants to cultivate human values, he has to apply the manure
of spirituality to his heart, water it with love so that human
values will grow
While taking food, you should not discuss dreadful incidents. No
room should be given to subjects which excite the mind. Silence
should prevail during eating. Even sound waves enter into us and
affect our minds. Hence people should avoid seeing television while
taking food.
Spirituality does not mean leading a lonely ascetic life.
Spirituality means getting rid of attachment and hatred and looking
upon the whole humanity as one.
I know your name, your degrees, your profession, your status and
your history. I know your past, present and future. But you do not
know me. That is why sometimes in order to reveal who I am, I myself
show my visiting card, something which you call a miracle.
It is not enough to praise God. You have to love Him. You have to
become Love itself so that you can love the entire universe. When
you become embodiments of Love, you can love all.
To earn the Grace of the Divine, the easy way is surrendering at the
Feet of the Lord. There is so much power in the feet of the Lord
which you cannot understand. The feet form the basis for not only
the physical frame of the body, but also for spiritual and ethical
purposes.
There is no greater penance than contentment for securing happiness.
There is no worse disease than insatiable desire.
There is no greater virtue than compassion.
Peace is the highest spiritual discipline.
Hold all your property and wealth in trust for the Lord, who gave
them to you. Even you and your family, you must take as a sacred
trust, as persons given to you by the Lord to love, foster and
guide. Thus you must elevate your attachment into worship and make
it an instrument of spiritual progress.
Be like the ant: When the ant gets a mixture of sand and sugar it
selects only the sugar. It neglects the sand. See only the good in
others; pay no attention to the bad.
Devotion to God does not mean merely offering worship in a shrine or
taking part in Bhajan or Sankirtan; one must recognize the form of
the Divine in the images one worships or the human beings one serves
The only hold that man has in this dreadful darkness is the name of
God. That is the raft which will take Him across this stormy sea
darkened by hate and fear, churned by anxiety and terror.
The affection between a mother and a child or between a husband and
wife is incidental to a certain temporary relationship and is not
real love at all. True Love has neither a beginning nor an end. It
exists in all three categories of time - past, present and future.
That alone is true Love which can fill man with enduring Bliss.
Discipline grows out of devotion. Devotion stems out of duty.
Observe the three D's - Discipline, Devotion and Duty. This is true
spirituality. In the performance of every duty there should be
devotion. There should be devotion and not diversion.
Fulfillment in life is not attained by physical health and strength
alone. Even when the stomach is full, the mind must get the
satisfaction. Hence, effort should be made to promote mental health
also. Only when both the mind and the body are hale and well, can
one experience happiness.
/ alone bestows the supreme good
/ alone is the destroyer of the cycle of existence
Devotion
\ alone is the means of recognizing divinity
\ alone is the means of liberation.
The following is the four fold formula for all people.
Welcome good company.
Eschew all association with the evil minded.
Perform meritorious acts ceaselessly.
Always discriminate between the transient and the ever lasting
Truth is the mother
Wisdom is the father
Right conduct is the brother
Compassion is the friend
Peace is the spouse
Forgiveness is the son
These six alone are the real relations for every one.
It is easy to conquer anger through love, attachment through
reasoning, falsehood through truth, bad thoughts through good and
greed through charity.
Struggle to realize Atma to visualize God; even failure in this
struggle is nobler than the success in other worldly affairs.
A bar of iron sinks in water; but beat it into a hollow vessel and
it will float merrily and even carry some weight. So too, man's mind
sinks easily in the sea of senses; beat it hollow, hammering it with
the Name of the Lord. It will float, safely on a sea of troubles. Do
not be like gramophone records singing someone else's song, ignorant
of the genuine thrill of music. Sing from your own experience the
glory and grace of the Lord.
The easiest and most fruitful method of keeping yourself free from
dust and rust is Sathsang (good company). The company of the good
and the Godly will slowly and surely chasten and cleanse the persons
prone to straying away from straight path towards self realization.
The heart is the film and mind is the lens. Turn the lens towards
the world, the worldly picture will fall on the heart; turn it
towards God and it will transmit the picture of the divine.
The Lord is the sweetness, you are the sugar; He is fire, you are
fuel. He has no heart; every heart where He is installed is His.
Cleanse the heart by listening to spiritual discourses, seeking the
company of the righteous, simple and sincere and by cultivating
goodness of character and sweetness of disposition.
Expansion is the essence of love. When a lamp is lit, from another,
there are two where there was one. The first one did not stop
emitting light. You can light a million lamps from one; yet the
first will not suffer at all! Love too is like this. Share it with a
million, it will still be as bright as when it was alone.
Work (Karma), Wisdom (Jnana) and Worship (Bhakti) are the three
paths to God, but because of desire (Kama), Karma is warped through
Krodha (anger). Jnana is befogged and due to greed (Lobha), Bhakthi
is ruined but by developing Prema, man can conquer all these
weaknesses.
Make your lives simple. Execute the daily tasks in a spirit of love
and mutual cooperation. Be tolerant towards the errors and failings
of others. Look upon them with sympathy and equanimity. Be calm and
without agitations under all conditions. Then your sentiments will
be tender and unselfish. Envy, hatred and vindictiveness will not be
able to gain entrance in the stronghold of your mind. You will have
peace and happiness.
What exactly is duty? Let me summarise it for you.
Tend to your parents with love and reverence and gratitude.
Speak the truth and act virtuously.
Whenever you have time repeat the Name of the Lord with the form in
your mind.
Never indulge in talking ill of others or try to discover faults in
others.
Do not cause pain to others in any form
Forbearance is equivalent to truth itself. Forbearance is the heart
of righteousness. Forbearance is the very essence of the Veda.
Forbearance is non-violence in practice. Forbearance is contentment,
it is compassion. Truly it is everything in all the worlds. Only
when you have developed patience and forbearance will you be able to
obtain the Lord.
Bad deeds never yield good, Good deeds never yield bad. Neem seeds
never yield mangoes, Mango seeds never yield neem
On your land, you can grow food as you like or you can be idle and
let it lie fallow. You owe yourself the cause of ruin or progress.
The tools are in your hands; you can learn the skills and break the
shackles and escape, but if you decide to spend life in slavery and
bondage, who can save you? Do not blame fate. The status in the
present life is decided on your actions in the previous life.
You must realize that the divine current that flows and functions in
every living being is the One Universal entity. When you desire to
enter the mansion of God, you are confronted by two closed doors -
the desire to praise yourself and the desire to defame others. The
doors are bolted by envy and there is also the huge lock of egoism
preventing entry. So if you are earnest, you have to resort to the
key of prema (love) and open the lock; then remove the bolt and
throw the doors wide open. The education must train you in this
difficult operation.
You are the Atma, which is entangled in the body, a wave of Sathyam
(Truth), Shivam (Goodness) and Sundaram (Beauty), playing on the
ocean of Sathyam (Truth), Shivam (Goodness) and Sundaram (Beauty),
which is the Lord.
When the impulses arising from the heart are expressed in words,
that is Sathya. To put into action your words is Dharma. For all
these Love is primary. Love in action is righteousness. Love in
speech is truth. Love in thought is peace. Love in understanding is
non-violence. When you realize that God is in everyone, you will
practice non-violence.
In order to light the Jyothi you need four things - a container, oil,
wick and a match stick (fire) to light it. Only by the light of the
Divine lamp inside can you blossom as a worthwhile person. The inner
purity is the wick in the container of the heart. Devotion is the
oil and Divine Grace is the fire with which the lamp of wisdom can
be lit. The prime requisite for achieving Divine Grace is to have
harmony in thought, word and deed.
The spirit of sacrifice is the basic equipment of the sevak. Without
the inspiration of the sense of sacrifice, your seva will be
hypocrisy, a hollow ritual. Inscribe this on your heart. Inscribe it
deep and clear. There are four modes of writing, dependent on the
material on which the text is inscribed. The first is writing on
water. It is washed out even while the finger moves. The next is
writing on sand. It is legible, until the wind blows it into mere
flatness. The third is inscription on rocks; it lasts for centuries,
but it too is corroded by claws of time. Have this inscribed in your
heart - the axiom that "serving others is meritorious, that harming
others or remaining unaffected and idle while others suffer, is
sin."
The grace of God cannot be won through the gymnastics of reason, the
contortions of Yoga or denials of asceticism. Love alone can win it,
Love that needs no requital, Love that knows no bargaining, Love
that is paid gladly as tribute to all living, Love that is
unwavering. Love alone can overcome obstacles, however many and
mighty. There is no strength more effective than Purity, no Bliss
more satisfying than Love, no joy more restoring than Bhakti, no
triumph more praiseworthy than surrender.
You must yourself reason out and discover what exactly will expand
your heart and what will breed disquiet, then hold fast to the
former and give up the latter. What is the cause of all the troubles
and discontent to which many are subjected nowadays? It is the
improper use they make of the senses.
In addition to physical Thapas (penance), one has to engage in Vocal
Thapas too. Avoid talking too much; desist from statements; do not
take delight in backbiting and in scandal mongering; never speak
harshly; speak soft and sweet; speak with the memory of Madhava ever
in the background of the mind.
The mind should be free from anxiety and worry, hate and fear, greed
and pride. It should be saturated with love for all beings. It has
to dwell in God. It has to be restrained from pursuing objective
pleasures. No lower thought should be allowed to creep in; all
thought must be directed towards proper Thapas (penance) of the mind
or manas.
In a hill station you wear a coat, a shirt, and a banyan (under
vest). The coat is the tamo guna; the shirt is the rajo guna, and
the banyan is the sattwa guna. If you want to see your chest (heart),
you have to remove all of them. You cannot recognize your own Self
while wearing a coat, shirt and banyan. Likewise, the three gunas
must be transcended.
Sathsang is a very important requisite for moral and spiritual
advancement. If you keep on in Sathsang continuously your hearts
will maintain purity. But, if you resort to it occasionally, then
like the less used utensil in the house, your hearts will get
tarnished. You must take all the trouble and have all the patience
needed to seek Sathsang and remain therein.
As trees do not eat their own fruit, rivers do not drink their own
water, cows do not drink their own milk, the body has not been given
to man to enjoy pleasures for himself. Every man should recognize
the fact that God has given the body to help others.
There is no happiness which is greater than santhosha (contentment).
Man develops many comforts for the pleasure of the human body and
thinks that this is happiness. You cannot find happiness without
Peace. If there is no santhosha, there cannot be Peace.
A mud pot is nothing but mud. Vessels made of gold would be gold and
nothing else. A wooden pot is made only of wood, nothing else.
Everyone has emerged from God, therefore all are Gods.
Peace and joy can be secured only by realizing that they are ones
own nature.
There is nothing bad in the creation of God. Change your attitude
and you will see good in everything. Even when you find yourself in
troubles say to yourself, "This is good for me." Treat praise and
blame with equanimity.
Ego is like an inflated football. When one is inflated with the air
of ego, both the good and bad qualities kick the body. The moment
ego is gone, the kicking stops and one attends to one's legitimate
duties with the feeling that one is only an instrument of the divine.
It is true that many have love for God. But they do not live up to
the dictates of the Divine. Those who follow the Divine injunctions
in a formal manner, do not act with love for God. It is only when
there is a union of love and obedience to God's dictates that one
can attain peace of mind.
Prayer has to be united with practice. You should not pray for one
thing and practice another. Such prayer is only a means of deception.
The words you utter, the deeds you do, the prayers you make must be
directed along the same path.
When you have done your best and that is found not enough, then call
on ME. I am ever ready to reinforce your efforts with My Grace.
Selflessness, humility, simplicity and unostentatiousness are
qualities that underlie the human personality. Along with academic
excellence, a student should cultivate good qualities. Education
enables you to score marks, but you also need elevation of your
personality. Such noble qualities contribute to elevation. Education
and elevation combine to develop the human personality.
The sun's image can be seen in an ocean, a river, a lake, a pond or
a well. Everywhere the sun appears to be shining. Are there so many
different suns? No! The objects reflecting the image of the sun are
varied and different from one another. Likewise, names and forms may
be different, but in all beings, the same God, without being divided,
shines as the indweller. Thus, although bodies may appear with
different names and forms, the Divine in them is one.
Where there is attachment, there is hatred, which is a reflection of
fear. Fear is born out of attachment, the fear of losing what one
has. Attachment and fear breed hatred. These three vices lead man to
stray from the virtues of earnestness and faith (Shraddha and
Vishvaasa). Hence, attachment, hatred and fear have to be brought
under control.
The heart is the film and the mind, the lens. Turn the lens towards
the world, the worldly picture will fall on the heart; turn it
towards God, and it will transmit the picture of the Divine.
Surrender implies that the 'individual will' should become one with
the 'Divine Will's. Obey the Divine Command implicitly without
questioning. That is the sign of true devotion. Whatever God does is
for your good.
You consider this habitation of yours as "your" body. No, it is the
temple of God! God resides therein. Keep it clean, fresh and
fragrant through developing compassion and love. Use the temple of
God only for holy thoughts, words and deeds.
What is spirituality? It is the resolute pursuit of cosmic
consciousness. It aims at enabling man to manifest, in all its
fullness, the Divine Cosmic Consciousness (Chaitanya) that is
present within and outside him. It means getting rid of the animal
nature in man. It means breaking down the barriers between God and
Nature and establishing their essential oneness.
If you wish to enjoy enduring happiness, you have to fill your mind
with pure thoughts and develop fine feelings in your heart. Through
good thoughts and good kindly actions, the heart gets pure and holy.
Come out of the well of ego and swim in the ocean of Universal
Spirit or Paramatma of which you are a part. Force your mind or
persuade it gently and caressingly to breathe the pure and more
vital atmosphere of the eternal. Remember God and His Glory, every
second, every breath when you repeat one of His names.
We need not do penance nor study the scriptures. What is it that we
must do in order to cross the ocean of life, attain Divinity, and
find fulfillment in life? We must serve our fellow man with a loving
heart. Service in itself is not anything great. We must serve and
work with a loving heart. Every small action we may be involved in
should be full of Love.
Love must be manifested as service or seva. Seva must take the form
of food for the hungry, solace for the forlorn, consolation of the
sick and the suffering. Develop compassion. Live in Love. Be Good,
Do Good, and See Good. This is the way to God.
If you have no patience, your anger is fruitless. Such anger is even
harmful to you. That your anger, which arises from a lack of
patience, helps your unhappiness to grow. The ability to control
this kind of anger will come only when you can develop equanimity of
mind.
If the mind is properly understood and disciplined and is applied to
get rid of wicked qualities based on selfishness, it will lead to a
purposeful and fruitful life. It is basically due to selfish
thoughts that one fails to achieve the goal of human life.
The foolish man who relies only on his mind will degrade himself by
becoming worse than a brute. While the wise person who follows the
guidance of his power of discrimination (intellect) will become the
master of his destiny.
A cleansed heart is the most appropriate altar. In that fragrant
bower the Lord will establish Himself. At that instant another
incident too will happen: the group of six vices that had infested
the place will quit without so much as a farewell. When these vices
quit, the wicked retinue of evil tendencies and vulgar attitudes,
which thrive on them, will also break camp and disappear, without
even leaving their addresses! Then man will shine in his pristine
splendour of truth and love, and finally succeed in merging with the
Supreme.
There is nothing good or bad in creation. But, as long as body
consciousness exists, one has to experience both. For one who lacks
intelligence and wisdom, detachment becomes a burden. For one who
lacks knowledge, the body becomes a burden. For one who lacks love,
the mind becomes a burden.
Man must control his senses to the extent possible. Otherwise, he
will suffer grief. Man must not commit the blunder of resigning
everything to his fate. With enquiries and determination, one can
achieve anything.
Each person is the master of his or her mind. He alone is a true
person who understands this reality - that the microcosm is in the
macrocosm and the macrocosm is in the microcosm.
When man realises his true form, he is liberated. When man destroys
all the desires in him, he is liberated - Moha Kshaya (destruction
of desires) is Moksha or liberation.
Just as one blows of the ash to see the latent fire, one must blow
away the ashes of bad qualities on the self with the air of
Naamasmarana. Just as one removes the moss on the water with the
hands to reveal crystal clear water, man must remove the moss of
sensual pleasures with the hands of good-acts. Naamasmarana is the
best way prescribed for the Kali age to attain liberation.
Darshan (Sight of the Lord), Sparshan (touching the feet) and
Sambhasan (talking with the Lord): Darshan gives you liberation from
all sins; Sparshan frees you from the effects of all your actions
and Sambhasan destroys all miseries. You heart can attain purity
through Divine grace.
Sound is everywhere. Good sounds come from namasmarana (remembering
God's name), and benefit everyone. During bhajans, when singing,
sruti (pitch), tal (rhythm) and tabla all come together in harmony,
beneficial sounds result. The sruti box is the mind, the tablas are
like the words and the tal may be compared to action. When mind (thoughts),
words and actions are all in unison (triputi), We have Bliss.
We must serve our fellow man with a loving heart. Service in itself
is not anything great. We must serve and work with a loving heart.
Every small action we may be involved in should be full of Love.
God is in you, before you, behind you, beckoning, guiding, guarding,
warning, prompting the inner voice and even speaking with you. He is
there ready to respond to the call. Only you are not aware of the
phenomenon.
Spirituality is not solitude, living alone. Spirituality is having
equal-mindedness toward everyone, living with all and helping all (ekatama
bhava). Mix in society but single- mindedly attach your mind and
heart only to God. Be aware of the unity that all is one, then only
can one enter into Divinity. Have relationship with Love and God,
and attain oneness. Have the feeling of oneness; do not think that
you are different from others.
When you have all powers, but lack divine power, you will not
succeed. True power is divine power. When one has good company, his
life will be full of devotion.
It is not enough that we keep away from bad company; we should join
good company, give up bad qualities and develop good qualities.
People think that the merit is attained by giving things in charity
and helping others. But this is not the true meaning. The true
meaning of charity or paropkara comes from "para" meaning spirit; "upa"
meaning that which is in proximity to God, and "kara" or work. Those
deeds that take us near to God are paropakara.
We can be successful leaders only if we are disciplined followers,
who do not issue commands to others but rather set an example of
service in our actions.
Detachment is not running away to the forest. It is sacrificing
negative feelings, desires and delusions.
To live with the awareness that God exists in every one is true
sadhana and devotion. Everyone is God; respect everyone and give
them joy and bliss. That is real life, true devotion and true
sadhana.
The best way to God is to love all and serve all. Not worldly,
material love, but divine love, which is changeless and eternal.
Love arises from the mind. Worldly love collapses, perishes and
exhausts itself, whereas Divine love is changeless, limitless, and
constantly renews itself. God is always with you, in you and around
you so you don't need to search for him.
Where there is attachment, there is hatred, which is a reflection of
fear. Fear is born out of attachment, the fear of losing what one
has. Attachment and fear breed hatred. These three vices lead man to
stray from the virtues of earnestness and faith (Shraddha and
Vishvaasa). Hence, attachment, hatred and fear have to be brought
under control.
Education should lead one to humility, which in turn equips him with
all the eligiblility. Eligibility provides him with necessary
material wealth, which enables him to do some charitable deeds.
Charity makes him happy both in this world and the higher one after
this.
If you wish to lead a sacred life and have sacred experiences, you
must engage yourself in sacred actions. The good and evil in the
world can be changed only by the change in men's actions.
Transformation of society must start with transformation of
individuals.
Words of wisdom by Sri Sathya Sai
Baba
I have come to light the lamp of love in your
hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster.
I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith,
but to confirm each in his own faith - so that the Christian becomes
a better Christian, the Muslim, a better Muslim, and the Hindu, a
better Hindu.
There is only one religion, the religion of Love;
There is only one language, the language of the Heart;
There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity;
There is only one law, the law of Karma;
There is only one God, He is Omnipresent.
Start the Day with Love;
Spend the Day with Love;
Fill the Day with Love;
End the Day with Love;
This is the way to God.
Love in thought is Truth;
Love in action is Right Conduct;
Love in understanding is Peace;
Love in feeling is Non-Violence.
Honor all religions. Each is a pathway to God
You cannot see Me, but I am the Light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, but I am the Sound you hear by.
You cannot know Me, but I am the Truth by which you live.
The Lord will be watching with a thousand eyes the
least activity of man to discover any slight trace of selfless love
sweetening it.
Bear all and do nothing;
Hear all and say nothing;
Give all and take nothing;
Serve all and be nothing.
Make your life a rose that speaks silently in the
language of the heart.
Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.
Learn to give, not to take. Learn to serve, not to
rule.
The Grace of God is like insurance. It will help
you in your time of need without any limit.
Action with Love is Right Conduct.
Speak with Love and it becomes Truth.
Thinking with Love results in Peace.
Understanding with Love leads to non-violence.
Yesterday has deceived you and gone, tomorrow is a
doubtful visitor. Today is a fast friend, hold fast to it.
Wealth that you hoard is not yours, wealth that
you have given is really yours.
Your virtue is your shield, your vice is the
weapon that inflicts wounds on you.
If there is righteousness in the heart,
There will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
There will be harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home,
There will be order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
Children of Immortality! Remember that You are
created in My Image and Likeness. Perfect. Live up to this Image in
all planes. Live like Masters! Walk this Earth with Your Heads held
high, Your Spirits soaring, Your Hearts open to Love, and believe in
Yourself and GOD with You. Then all will go well. See Me everywhere,
talk to Me and Love Me who is in Each. Then from Each I will respond
and bring You into Glory.
- Baba
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