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All nature is beautiful except when tormented by the hand
of man. "Who are you? ..."
To earn one's living is essential, it is imperative; but
it must be done by honest means.
"All the World's a Play"
One can reduce the weight of karma by becoming the conscious
co-worker of the Divine Plan, and this is the only way. "All
the World's a Play"
You'll find, the fewer wants we have, the happier we are.
So cut down your wants, cut down your desires."What
is True Living?"
We eat more than what is required generally. We eat too
much. We die of too much eating rather than of hunger. "What
is True Living?"
Always keep your tongue under control." This is one thing.
The wound given by a sword will be healed in a month or so, but the wound
given by the tongue is not healed. "What is True
Living?"
So it is infinitely better to practice than to preach.
First live, then say. "What is True Living?"
So actions speak louder than words; and thoughts are even
more potent. You are not to tell others that, "I am a flower; the flower
is very fragrant." Let the flower emit that fragrance, and let others say
that the flower is fragrant. Let your lives prove that you have something
higher. "What is True Living?"
Just think for a moment: if you received a notice to tell
you that you had to leave town tomorrow, how would you spend today? "Inn
of Madness"
So today, go away with the firm conviction that you are
all one. We are all brothers and sisters in God. We have got the same work
ahead, the same ideal, the same One Whom we worship. There is no high,
no low. "Masters Come to Fulfill"
Each and every man can make any place sacred, by simply
bowing his head in love and devotion, for all is holy where devotion kneels.
"Naam and Ramayna"
The worst of all the bad habits is to criticize others.
"Let Us Reform Ourselves"
Lead such a disciplined life that you depart from this
world with a contented smile on your face and people remember you. "He
Came to Make Us Satsangis"
The past and the future take away most of our time,
most of our time - these two sprites eating into our veins of life. So
forget the past, forget the future, live in the living present. "Your
Most Personal Work"
We believe there is satisfaction in outer things, but it is not so. True intoxication lies within us, for we are all-bliss.
What is good; do at once; what is evil, delay.
Share with others. So long as you have this body, always give. Don't be like that - taking. Give.
That you can do only if you simplify your lives, mind that. If you have too much to do and you cannot stand on your own legs, how can you help others? That is why I said in one of my circulars, "Simplify, simplify, and simplify."
And have kind words. If there is love, there are kind words - there is no harshness.
Don't try to make further karmas by grabbing, by receiving, by exacting from others. Those who are needy have their rights: give them. Those who are naked, help them. Where there is a good cause, give to it. This is the first thing for love.
First stand on your own legs by honest means. Then maintain your families and try to help others who are needy, hungry and naked; and do it for the Cause of God.
Share something: there is no taxation, no imposition - it may be one cent.
Forgive and forget, and go with a clean heart into the lap of God; that's the best thing.
Don't hear through the ears of others; don't see through the eyes of others.
If we realize that death is certain, then there will be a change in our life.
So there is hope, you see; we must do our best and then leave the rest to God.
If you realized that God resides in others, would you want to hurt them?
Procrastination is the thief of time.
The word "impossible" is found in the dictionary of fools.
We remember God only when we are hard pressed from every side. It is affliction and not affluence that turns us Godward. If one were not to forget God in prosperity, adversity would never come near him.
Remain air conditioned, not to be affected by the outside atmosphere, cold or heat, hurricanes or anything. Where is that?—that is in your own Self. So recede; you will feel it. Don't allow any waves coming from the outside to enter through the outgoing faculties. Shut yourself in the closet, as Christ said: the closet of your body.
Don't be led away by the daily doings. Life is a series of interruptions; a matter of give and take, reactions of the past.
Man is a three-fold entity, comprising body, mind and soul and it behooves one to be of service to his fellow beings in all of the three spheres.
Just as a smallest cog is indispensable in a vast mechanism and serves a useful purpose, similarly, all is beautiful and full of divine manifestation, serving a purpose under His Will.
Don't tell lies. If you do so, you deceive yourself first and then others; moreover, you have to tell many more lies to cover your one lie.
Those people whose soul is powerful achieve success in anything they undertake, because the soul gives strength to the mind, the senses, and the intellect. A very strong horse can pull even the most broken-down cart.
Making a big noise with empty words will benefit you nothing.
Man is what he thinks about all day long.
Spirituality is a living and practical subject.
Indifference, non-acceptance or disbelief will not be to our advantage when Nature enforces its Universal Ordinance--Death.
Each thought, each word and each deed has to be accounted and compensated for in Nature.
We should, therefore, try to see and to hear with our own eyes and ears rather than with the eyes and ears of others.
Propaganda, acting and posing, have taken the place of practical Spirituality, with the result that the deluded public is being repelled from sacred books and thought of God. Atheism, therefore, is on the increase.
The more the sheep bleats the more morsels fall from his mouth. Be thankful for what you have got.
Hold back your mind from pride, for pride only comes from ignorance. The man who does not know thinks that he is great, that he has done this or that great thing; the wise man knows that only God is great, that all good work is done by God alone.
Never allow yourself to feel sad or depressed. Depression is wrong, because it infects others and makes their life harder, which you have no right to do. Therefore if ever it comes to you, throw it off at once.
You must guard, too, against certain small desires which are common in daily life. Never wish to think, or to appear clever; have no desire to speak. It is well to speak little; better still to say nothing, unless you are quite sure that what you wish to say is quite true, kind, and helpful.
Another common desire which you must sternly repress is the wish to meddle in another man's business, directly or indirectly, privately or openly. If you see a case of cruelty to a child or an animal, it is your duty to interfere. If you are placed in charge of another in order to teach him, it may become your duty gently to tell him of his faults. Except for such cases, mind your own business and learn the value of silence.
Try to see what is worth doing; and remember that you must not judge by the size of one thing. A small thing which is directly useful in the Master's work is far better worth doing than a large thing which the world would call "good".
If you aspire for spiritual salvation, then do not lose a moment in seeking to reform yourselves. Man making is the most difficult part of spirituality and if you have perfected yourself in that field, then God realization is not difficult.
The body is your animal, the horse upon which you ride. Therefore, you must treat it well, and take good care of it; you must not overwork it, you must feed it properly on pure food and drink, and keep it strictly chaste always, even from the minutest speck of dirt. For without a perfectly clean and healthy body, you cannot do the arduous work of preparation, you cannot bear its ceaseless strain; but it must always be youwho control that body, not it that controls you.
Please develop the habit of putting your heart and soul in the work before you; be it worldly affairs or meditation. The habit of doing one thing at a time will help you to progress inwardly from day to day.
Work is worship. Be patient and earnest in the discharge of the duties entrusted to you. Such a routine will bless you all around with His grace.
One learns swimming in water, not on dry land.
There are sermons in stones and books in rivulets. We should live in fellowship with all creatures and with all life.
Try to live like a fragrant flower which blooms in a forest and fills the atmosphere with its rich fragrance.
My advice is from this day on to make love and self-surrender the cornerstones of your life. If you do this, you will find your life becoming daily a blessing.
By renouncing everything, one penetrates into the all-pervading spirit. His attachment to the environments is done away with and his bondage to matter is ended.
So you see, the whole thing hinges on this: if you are convinced you have to leave the body, all outer attractions leave you.
All are born of the light of God and the same light shines forth in all; and, as such, none of His creatures can be dubbed "evil".
This period is the most critical in the life of a sadhak. Until actual self-realization he is in a state of perpetual restlessness, tossing back and forth. He belongs wholly neither to the world nor to God. While in the eyes of worldly people he is a man of piety, yet in the heart of his heart he knows he is full of iniquities.
Rome was not built in a day...perfection does not come in one day. You need perseverance. Perseverance and chastity is the underlying principle.
If only we could learn to live together!
Simplicity is the very high way of life.
A child is always absorbed wholly in what it is doing... we should learn from the child...
Much of it is written in scriptures... it's a pity people don't read their own scriptures.
Eating is not bad; eating is a blessing, a sacrament. What is digested will give you strength, if you eat with love that is good; what you just gulp down like anything, that will kill you.
He wants us to stand on our own legs. He shows us how to walk and guides us, but we must walk on our own legs.
And in case of sickness I tell you what to do. Just lie down, forget the world. Put in some time. That will be a blessing.
The journey will be easier if your horse (body) is healthy and strong. Body is the horse and we are the rider. A strong horse is a blessing.
You know what you know, just listen to what the other fellow has to say, you might learn something!
Do your best and leave the rest ... to God.
So simple living, simple diet and high thinking is what is wanted.
Wanted: Reformers ... not of others but of themselves.
Let you not be a reformer to whip others into goodness, but be a witness of the Great Love radiating all love in thought, word and deed. Be an example rather than give precepts to others. You are indulging in oceans of talks, but how many ounces of actions?
You know we are always seeing faults in others, wondering "Oh why did he do that?" etc. But we should watch ourselves like that.
Remember: GOD FIRST, WORLD NEXT.
If you knew you had to leave the world at the end of this day, how would you spend it? A certain Master advises, "spend each day thinking it is your last on earth." If this advice was rigidly followed, a person's life would be transformed.
Bhajan and simran are food for the soul--do not give food to the body without first giving food to the soul. Make it a point!
So whenever anybody hurts your feelings in word or deed, forgive. Forgiveness is the only sweet water that will wash away all dirt...Forgive and forget, this is the way to Spirituality.
Excessive eating and drinking, and frittering away the attention on worldly sights, sounds and sensations--all these are outer enjoyments which deny one the bliss of the inner enjoyments.
These three things will help you: to eat less, sleep less and have mercy, forgiveness and love.
Be good, do good, and be One.
Remain in your own religion, but do not rest until you
have been connected back to God. He Himself will then take you back to
Himself."Solve the Mystery of Life"
You are never alone. When He initiates you into this Mystery,
He resides with you once and for all - never leaves you until the end of
the world. No power of any might can take you away from His hands.
"On Independence"
Spirituality is not difficult - but to become a man is
difficult, this I would say. God is after finding a Man."Love
Beautifies Everything"
So far we have simply seen the Master in the physical
form but not met Him. We have seen Him, but not perceived Him. "How
to Develop Receptivity"
It does not matter that one may spend his whole life in
search of a true Master. This too goes to one's credit and is counted as
devotion."How to Develop Receptivity"
But remember that it is not in your power to gain His
glance of grace. Grace comes as a grace only and cannot be harnessed with
all your wits about you, nor can it be purchased."How
to Develop Receptivity"
If you have understood what I have been saying, then live
up to it all. Merely listening to the words will not be of real benefit.
Whatever food is digested will give strength."All
the World's a Play"
So, to obey the Guru's commands is the first and the last
lesson on the path of Spirituality.
"Joyfully I Surrender"
So, if we desire the Lord's pleasure, we should adopt
His attributes."Joyfully I Surrender"
How can the ego be killed? Shabd burns the ego
and attachment when the Gurumukh sees the Jyoti [Light] within.
"Joyfully I Surrender"
A true disciple's life is the remembrance of the Guru,
just as a baby's life is in the mother's milk. "Spirituality
The Only Answer"
Be sincerely grateful for the wealth that has been given--work
hard and increase it. "Spirituality The Only Answer"
I wish you would live up to what you are told to do, that's
all. These words are coming out of my heart. If you just abide by them,
you will progress wonderfully. "What is a True Satsangi?"
Philosophy deals with theory only, but mysticism deals
in contact with the Reality direct. "It is a Noble
Search"
Each one of you has been told to keep a spiritual
diary, but how many keep them correctly? Five percent at the most.
Those who keep the diary correctly are succeeding in meditation. "Are
You Even Half a Disciple?"
Life is short, but it came with a great blessing: it is
thy turn to meet God. "Are You Even Half a Disciple?"
Spirituality cannot be taught, but It is caught as an
infection from a God-infected soul."True Master and
His Mission"
I may not be able to see you or you may not be able to
see me physically, but the God-power, which is the true Master, now resides
with you and "shall never leave you till the end of the world." "What
is True Living?"
What is the use of having symbols outside unless you see
the real thing of which they are models? "Develop
All Around"
This is the Ashram. Body is the Ashram. He is waiting
for you There. You have not to call Him. He is waiting for you. "Develop
All Around"
You have love for me, and I appreciate it. Many do have
love, but they do not obey. Do not waste your precious opportunity in love
of this kind. I wish that you should benefit fully from the Priceless Jewel
you have been given, and your love should be in this alone: whatever is
told to you--obey. Do your meditation, for in meditation lies the true
thing which has permanent value. "No Love Without
Fear"
Those who have already received a small portion of this
wealth should work hard to increase it. Whatever it grows into will go
with you at the end, when all other things remain here; wealth, property,
even the body will be left behind."No Love Without
Fear"
You have great strength in you; you are the child of a
Lion "Inn of Madness"
If one withdraws from everything else and concentrates
in one place, great power with spring forth "Inn
of Madness"
What an unspeakable blessing! The time has come to realize
Him at last. It is thy turn to meet God. "Who is
High, Who is Low?"
The saddest part is that even after meeting the Guru,
we do not become obedient; this is why we remain empty. The Satguru can
be served only through devotion, faith, and receptivity."Is
Your Destiny Awakened?"
A disciple who does not see in his Master the Power-of-God
is not yet a true disciple. He is yet on probation and continues to be
so until he sees in him the glory of God; and this, in the true sense,
happens only when the Master reveals His radiant form within the disciple.
"Guru, Gurudev, Satguru"
And more than love is devotion. Devotion is more than love. Love burns the lover, and devotion burns the one he is devoted to.
Try to be ideal. Everyone should be ideal. "An example is better than precept." Saying things and not living up to them sets a bad example for others.
Such a man will command respect from everyone: a man who is chaste, who is not greedy, who has love for all, who has kind words imbued with humility. I think this is all I want of you. Adhere to this very thing, because man's life is meant for knowing God.
So be practical. If we try to reform ourselves, all the world over will be reformed. We reform others and don't reform ourselves: that's the reason why there is all this trouble.
As I explained many times, the son of man is not the Master. The son of man is the human pole at which God as the Master works.
If you turn your face to Him, He will be guiding you and speaking to you, by manifesting Himself and in other ways. If He does so once, twice, or four times, and you don't care, you lose your chance. But still He's there: whenever you turn your face to Him, He's there.
He is not far away from those who simply turn their faces to Him, I would say. Nothing should stand between Him and you, and there will be a direct connection.
Are these things in books? Books cannot explain everything.
To develop receptivity is the main thing. It can be had only by constant direction of our attention towards Him. We are not to leave the world. We are to live in the world; but while remaining in the world, the needle of our compass should always point to the north.
It (Ahimsa or non-violence) is an ennobling virtue that brings each one to par with his or her fellow beings, and ultimately leads to the principle of the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God. The cultivation of this virtue demands a broad development of toleration towards all, irrespective of their shortcomings and failures.
As loving advice I give you, from this moment let love be your constant companion and trust Him in all things.
All scriptures handed down the ages are conclusive that 'God is Spirit'—moreover 'God made man in His own image.' The image cannot be but spirit.
Masters have come in all ages to offer this Natural Science to man. Only those who are discontented with this world rush to them. Others to whom worldly attractions, pleasures and luxuries are dear, turn their backs.
I wish you all to be independent—independent of your body, independent of your outgoing faculties, independent of your mind, independent of your intellect. Dependence is a heinous crime.
Mind that you have not a soul, you are a soul—a drop of the Ocean of All-Consciousness—the Life Eternal. Regain your dignity. You are bound to mind and the outgoing faculties so much so that you are identified by the body and have forgotten your own self and the Overself
Now or never should be the motto.
There are no windfalls as a general rule. You have to work your way up. Every one reaching the top step has ascended the steps below.
One who is true to himself will not deceive others for God is within him and the Guru is also within him. ... Before we can deceive others, we first deceive ourselves, and it means that we do not believe in His Omnipresence, otherwise we would not do these things.
To look at food and say that it is good will not satisfy a starving man. He must put forth his hand and eat So, to hear the Master's words is not enough; you must do what He says: attending to every word, taking in every hint. If a hint is not taken, if a word is missed, it is lost forever, for He does not speak again.
The path is strait and narrow and difficult, very difficult and exacting, but for one who is truly willing, every help is promised, and he can attain the goal in this very life; a goal that sets all other goals to shame; for beside it there are no goals at all, but empty baubles and toys, at best halfway houses.
Yet another point, you must give up all your feeling of possession; karma may take from you the things which you like best--even the people whom you love most. Even then, you must be cheerful--ready to part with anything and everything.
Take it as an exhortation, take it as a command, but from this day, this very moment, make love and self-surrender (and the two, as I have already said, are really one) the cornerstones of your life.
You may well ask why there is this insistent stress on complete self-surrender on the mystic path. The answer is simple: without this absolute surrender of the last vestiges of ego and selfhood and without such complete absorption in the object of one's love, one cannot attain that unwavering concentration of all one's faculties which is the prerequisite of all inner progress.
Discipleship truly consists in unswerving devotion and resignation to the Will and Pleasure of the Master. By complete resignation, all mental chattering is thrown overboard and then there are no more cravings or desires.
The seed that must grow into the life-giving tree must grow more slowly.
The road to perfection lies in walking rather than in talking.
The Divine grace is ever ready to pour itself into the vessel, but the vessel must first be ready.
I would rather have a handful of disciples, nay even one, who can sacrifice their ego on the spiritual altar and learn to live by love, than millions who understand not the value and meaning of these virtues.
I repeat that the path is not easy. You must crucify your ego and lay your selfhood at the altar of love for your Master.
Make your love for Him so complete that, beholding His Hand in everything, you rise above all feelings of enmity, rivalry and resentment. See Him present in all and remember that He is always with you, ready to assist whenever you turn your thoughts to Him.
What is it that prevents you from following the Master's instructions? It is your own mind, which you have not yet been able to coax away from the outer attachments of the world to the bliss that awaits it inside.
It is only with the wings of love and devotion that we can reach God and not by intellectual wrestling and flights of imagination.
It is not a matter of philosophy, you see, it's very simple ... common sense. Learned men make simple things so difficult.
So long as you are the doer you cannot help others. Perfect yourself first, then you can help others. Then He is doing it, not you.
God is not difficult to meet, but it is difficult to be a man. Man is in the make.
See, and then say.
You may do it today, or tomorrow, or next year, in ten years' time, or later on in life, or you can take millions of births to do it, but this very work will have to be done sooner or later. The learned and illiterate man alike must be able to control the attention.
It is no use crying and still continuing to take more poison.
GO JOLLY!
If you cease to hear from all outside, you begin
to hear inside - within you. That minstrel, our blessed God, is playing
music all the time. Unpaid for. No money required. He is always waiting
for you, to make you hear that music which is going on within you. "On
Independence"
Philosophy deals with theory, but mysticism deals with
contact with Reality, because philosophy works on the intellectual level,
whereas mysticism works on the level of the soul. "I
AM THINE, THOU ART NOT MINE"
...we should not ignore the kernel by sticking to the outer covering of the walnut.
The human body is the prototype of the universe and much more than that. In it there are millions of solar systems with their suns, moons and earths revolving in and out. The sweetest of the sweet Music is also going on in it, emanating from the true throne of the True King -- God.
You are fortunate you have the human body. What you can do here in a short time cannot be done in the other world—the higher planes—in ten times as long.
For the essential advantage in the field of spirituality is to be found not without but within. It lies not in the absence of outer opposition but in ones inner capacity for complete self-surrender and love; and outward obstacles may in fact act as tests and stimuli for the development of this capacity.
The Path to Salvation lies in the direct touch with the Inner Power rather than to get entangled with outward things.
The mind for ages is accustomed to staying outside and it takes some time for it to develop another habit, that of going within to stay there for long periods.
Life's Trials and tribulations
Suffering is the best teacher. It awakens in us a yearning
for crossing the limitation of the flesh so that we may attain a state
where there is perfect serenity. "True Master and
His Mission"
The karmas in life have to be paid; so why not pay them
cheerfully? All our relationships and environments have been written by
the Lord's pen, and He has joined both individuals and circumstances through
the prarabdha karmas. It behooves us to live through them with the best
attitude."No Love Without Fear"
Remember that you are of but little use to the Master until your evil karma is worked out, and you are free. By offering yourself to Him, you have asked that your karmas may be hurried, and so now in one or two lives you work through what otherwise might have been spread over a hundred.
You must bear your karmas cheerfully. You should not complain of what suffering comes to you, because it shows that the Lords of Karma think you worth helping. However hard it is, be thankful that it is no worse.
The Master teaches that it does not matter in the least what happens to a man from the outside: sorrows, troubles, sickness, losses--all these must be borne by each and must not be allowed to affect the calmness of his mind. They are the result of past actions, so when they come you must bear them cheerfully, remembering that all evil is transitory, and that you are enjoined to remain always joyous and serene. They belong to your previous lives, not to this; you cannot alter them, so it is useless to trouble about them.
It is the essence of right understanding to be contented with whatever comes as it is invariably flavored with Divine mercy and is for our spiritual benefit.
Ups and downs do come. Even the darkest cloud has a silver lining. We must always look to the bright side of things. Many good and necessary lessons are derived from adversities. These are indeed helpful.
When the Lord wants to make a great poem of a man's life, he sends him or her to the school of privations, worries and difficulties, and all the time He keeps extending His protective Hand over him or her to pass through unscathed.
Jesus never promised the peace and comfort with which the world is familiar. It was the Cross He offered. We have to suffer to reshape ourselves, to destroy the old and forge the new.
Gratitude is a tonic for the heart.
Whenever you feel lonely or lost, remember sweetly the Master and invoke His help and if it is a time that you can sit in meditation, do so with love and devotion.
Prayer and gratitude grant inner peace and harmony to withstand the hazards of physical life, which is a passing phase of the soul in its long journey back to the True Home of the Father.
Prayer has in it a great dynamic force. It strengthens and prepares a person to face and fight the battle of life fearlessly and successfully. It is in fact the only panacea for all types of ills.
One who permits himself or herself to be disturbed by what others say and do, is without question one who is still controlled by the ego and has yet to conquer the self, and learn the rudiments of Spirituality.
Silence, seclusion and solitude are the best and most helpful factors. The basic principles of a highly serene life is to accept the Divine Dispensation with cheer as it is chiefly based on the reactions of our own actions and is invariably flavored with mercy for our eventual betterment.
Regular, faithful and accurate meditations coupled with self-introspection not only ensure steady progress but go a long way for meeting with the challenges of life which at times grow severe.
Put in one ounce of Love in all your affairs, even the
mundane affairs; you'll have your happiness.
"Love Beautifies Everything"
Love does not want any taking. It is always giving; sacrificing
for others. Serve and sacrifice for others; only if we love, you see. "Love
Beautifies Everything"
Love and all things shall be added into you. It is love
that makes you all-attention. It is love that gives you a place in the
heart of the Beloved. It is by His love that we live."How
to Develop Receptivity"
What, then, is God is the next question. He is an Ocean
of Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss. All these three are His attributes.
Our soul, being a spark of the Divine Fire, is endowed with the similar
qualities. Love is the cementing force between the two. "How
to Develop Receptivity"
It is very clear and simple: if you love God, you become
what God is. "Celebrate a True Birthday"
Love cannot be expressed in words. ... Yes--you can see
from the Light which dances in the loving eyes--by radiation--I send you
my hearty love, you see. "Masters Come to Fulfill"
Love knows service and sacrifice.
Love beautifies everything.
Love knows no burdens.
Love knows giving, not taking.
Whatever goes to develop your love for God, do it. Whatever goes to develop love for your own self, at the cost of the love for God, then leave it.
Mind your own business first. Charity begins at home. Develop love in yourself. Don't be wanting there. Then extend your love to everybody.
Of all of the qualifications love is the most important, for if it is strong enough in a man it forces him to acquire all the rest, and all the rest without it would not be sufficient.
Love begets love.
I have great love for all of you. Indeed, if you knew how much I loved you, you would dance for joy. You will become so intoxicated by His love that it will carry you straight into the arms of your Beloved within.
There is only one remedy for all such discord and that is Love. He who has not mastered its secret, can never hope to be received in the Court of the Lord. It is the beginning and the end of spirituality. He who understands Love in its true nature and who lives and moves by its light shall, surely as two added to two makes four, attain the Lord.
This connection with the God Power can only be made while
the soul is in the human form, and in no other species. "Solve
the Mystery of Life"
Have we ever thought of satisfying the hunger of the soul?
What a pity! We are served with the heavenly food but find no time to partake
of it."How to Develop Receptivity"
One's whole life can be changed with meditation and love
for the Guru. The Guru will then appear within."Joyfully
I Surrender"
If the soul is a conscious entity, then its food must
be something conscious; and the expression of the Lord, which is Light
and Sound, is the Bread and Water of life. "It is a
Noble Search"
You have to commune with the Holy Word. It will gradually
lead you back to your eternal home. "True Master
and His Mission"
Simran and Dhyan (meditation) flood the spirit with the waters of life. Spirit comes to its own, rises in its latent Godhood and like a tumultuous mountain stream rushes headlong toward the Ocean of Life which is its perennial source and merges therein, losing its separate identity.
The Simran of Naam or Word is an elixir of life and in fact a panacea (healing) for all ills, physical, mental, accidental or ordained. It is a food for the spirit and when the spirit is strong and healthy it will charge the body with vital currents of life and light, dispelling all darkness from head to foot. It is the bread of life spoken of by Christ when he declared you cannot live on bread alone. But you can live on the Name of God alone.
A cup turned upside down may for ages remain in the rain but not a drop will fall into it. But if it is turned aright, it will get filled up in one or two showers.
At present every soul has, on account of constant association with mind, acquired a tendency to flow downward and outward through the outgoing faculties. It is because of this that she cannot catch the Sound Current (the Elixir of Life) within.
The repetition of the holy names is given to the disciple at the time of Initiation as a guard against all dangers. It acts also as a password to all spiritual planes, gives strength and sustenance to the body and mind during trouble and afflictions, brings the soul nearer to the Master...
By putting in more time in meditation, you will be helping yourself. Master is only pleased to see his children growing up.
It is not your Karma that holds you back, nor is it responsible when you miss your meditation but rather the treacherous misleading of your mind, which can be subdued and controlled by careful planning and execution.
You can overcome sleep during meditations by developing the habit of looking intently into the middle of whatever you see within. Sleep or foreign stray thoughts interfere only when inner gaze is slackened.
If you do meditation inaccurately, you may sit for hundreds of years and it will do no good.
Thus the first and foremost prerequisite on the spiritual
path is to still the mind, to stop it from running outwards, and to develop
silence within. "How to Develop Receptivity"
So when can we realize God? When the soul forsakes the
companionship of the mind. "Celebrate a True Birthday"
With so many different thoughts entering your head, who
resides within and is in control at present? Your mind--which is making
you dance continuously to its tune."No Love Without
Fear"
Through reason we can come to the point of accepting that
God does exist; but having done that, why not realize Him? And, for that,
the intellect then must be stilled."Inn of Madness"
So, it means that the sole barrier between us and the
Lord is the mind. "Inn of Madness"
Through this friendship with the mind, the soul became
involved with the senses, and has ever since remained at that level. This
is how it got imprisoned in the worldly name and form, and the misery started
from there. "Naam and Ramayana"
If you have a very strong desire to realize God, then
put one foot on your mind, and the next step will be at God's door. "The
Thousand-Headed Serpent"
... If not, the mind will think of others and judge their actions; criticizing, etc. instead of the good actions of others, we take their bad actions to be our guiding factor. If you see the bad qualities of others, you will become those bad qualities. As you think, so you become.
The mind will not allow man to have knowledge of the soul. Its nature is to seek pleasure and its constant fluctuations are difficult to subdue. Attuning one's self with the internal Sound Current is the best way to calm the mind and practise concentration.
Control of the mind, therefore, is the first step to Spirituality. Victory over the mind is victory over the world.
To believe in a thing or fact without troubling to investigate it, does not in any way do credit to an intelligent man. On the contrary it reflects adversely on his ignorance or credulity. Any belief not based on personal experience and verification of the facts, has little value.
The astral mind wants you to be angry, to say sharp words, to feel jealous, to be greedy for money, to envy other people and their possessions, to yield yourself to depression. All these things it wants, and many more, not because it wishes to harm you, but because it likes violent vibrations and likes to change them constantly.
This is a vastly powerful optical illusion in the influence of which we are imprisoned. There is but one way of gaining release from this entangling situation, and that is what all the Masters have prescribed - to know oneself. We should not believe anything unless we see for ourselves.
Between God and spirit, there is no other obstacle but that of a veil of the mind. If this veil were to stop fluttering in the breeze of desires, as it does at present, the spirit can take in directly the Cosmic Energy from its very source.
Thoughts are more potent than deeds, you see. If you think evil of others that thought vibrates and the whole atmosphere is poisoned. Whatever you think of others that thought radiates... others will feel it.
Soul is of the same essence as that of God. Mind is of the same essence as that of the Negative power... Mind is controlling our bodies and all this world; just make friends with it, then it will leave you alone.
Birth after birth, the soul thrashes itself to pieces at the hands of the mind, and as long as the mind does not emancipate itself from the senses and the soul gain freedom from the mind and come to know itself in truth, it is impossible to know God.
The true temple of God is the body wherein the Light of
Truth is aflame. When He gives His darshan, He gives it in the form of
Light. "Joyfully I Surrender"
The value of Naam never can be estimated--always remember
this. "It is a Noble Search"
Naam has got the Nectar of the Lord which satisfies the
mind and renders the small enjoyments insipid. "Are
You Even Half a Disciple?"
If one wishes to reach the sun, one must ride on its rays,
and the ray of Naam or Word is in each being. "No
Love Without Fear"
Self Introspection / Self Awareness
Introspect yourself like a hard taskmaster: "What have
I done today?" In the beginning you won't find any shortcoming in yourself
because it has become a habit. "What is a True Satsangi?"
Keep a watch over your whole life--each action--day by
day, and through meditation increase your inner progress."It
is a Noble Search"
Analyze yourself and see your own shortcomings instead of seeing the shortcomings of others.
To cultivate chastity is an uphill task that requires a long-drawn struggle through life -- something very strenuous indeed.
Each and every action we make is seen by God - how could anyone sin if this was truly realized.
The diary helps to bring out many of the hidden underlying weaknesses to the surface so that one may begin to see them and try to remove them one by one, and with their removal, life becomes more pleasant and spiritual progress is accelerated.
Sometimes we think we are sufficient; we are not sufficient. Man learns and unlearns all through life.
Man is so constituted that he cannot for long remain at one level. He either progresses or slips back. You may judge for yourselves which way you are going by seeing how far your minds and senses are coming under your conscious control.
The more one aspires to weed out the imperfections by daily introspection, the more of serene bliss and grace come from above.
Keeping a daily record or diary is the best method to become conscious of one's shortcomings and errors. Eradicate and uproot them and plan future progress. Without such self-analysis and self-criticism, no real advancement is possible.
The diaries show how much time you put in and in how many places your heart is attached to outer things in one form or the other.
The truth of the matter is that we must become consciously aware of every thought that passes through the mind.
First thing in changing heart is the diary.
