The world today
needs
living examples
– not precepts and maxims!
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The tragedy of life lies in not knowing ourselves.
We are strangers to ourselves.
We are light, why must we live in darkness?
We are limitless, why limit ourselves?
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Vedant
teaches us
to live in the Spirit of the Lord,
forgetting the limitations of the flesh.
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Religion
is not a concept.
It is a way of life.
It is a personal relationship with God.
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Religion
without
its practical application in life
is blind.
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Assurances given by the Scriptures
can always be tested and experienced by practice.
Just as every scientific discovery needs to be proved, why not give
a chance to the Scriptures which promise to give us bliss?
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We should study the Scriptures
in the light of the Lord’s life and the lives of the prophets.
The premeditated truths of the Scriptures
will then become more meaningful for us to know and realise.
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The Scriptures reveal their truth entirely to the one
who truly wants to see himself in the light reflected by them.
Endurance, simplicity and fearlessness
are the trademarks of such a seeker.
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We should not use the Scriptures to justify ourselves.
We should beware of indulgence for personal gains,
or any other misuse of knowledge.
The Scriptures should not be interpreted to suit our life style.
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A true seeker
does not seek personal experience of the Scriptural ordinances.
He accepts them first,
and then learns to adopt them in his practical life.
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Our faith in and intellectual acceptance of the conclusions
reached in the Mandir, Church, Mosque
or any other place of worship,
must be accompanied by their practice in our daily life.
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If we believe
the world to be real,
we will be cheated
of all the bliss and joy of life.
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The universe with all its possessions
will inevitably be taken away from us one day.
Why not give it up today
and live in blissful freedom?
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We must become lawyers
of the Scriptures
and prove their tenets
with the support of our life.
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The personal body, mind and intellect unit
is as unreal as the rest of the universe
and thus of no consequences to the Self.
These are mere outer appendages.
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The aspirant, from the first moment,
believes God to be real –
all else is unreal,
including his own personality.
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Discrimination
between the Real and the unreal
leads to
the extinction of ignorance.
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All that seems Real today
will pass
into the unreal
as a dream.
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We all have an inevitable rendezvous with death
at the end of each life –
although the time and place are not known to us now.
Why be influenced by the unreal?
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All pain is caused by one’s mental attachment with the unreal.
Knowing this the aspirant begins to give up
all desires for the unreal and lives
in the world of objects with indifference.
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Beware O Sadhak!
Maya and ignorance create and manifest themselves
in such a fascinating and realistic manner,
that it becomes impossible even to realise their treachery.
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The one
who knows the world as unreal,
seeks no unreal benefits
of his actions.
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The spirit
is a temporary visitor on the earth,
with a mobile transport –
the body.
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One who identifies himself absolutely
with his own body
is an idol worshipper.
He has a heart of stone.
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We relinquish the privilege
to abide in the supra transcendental Divine Spirit,
in favour of the flesh –
mere leather which is only worth making shoes with!
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The world exists
only as long as the body exists.
We should realise this truth
and be free.
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The body
is merely a vehicle –
we should use it
and keep it in a good state of repair.
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The body sincerely serves us and silently obeys us –
but we are not its master.
It is ever giving us the silent message
that it will not be faithful forever.
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The body that arises from dust,
is nourished by dust and goes back to the dust.
It will eventually be food for vultures and ants.
Why be proud?
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When has this body
listened to us?
It keeps changing,
contrary to our wishes.
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The sadhak views the world
from the end rather than the beginning.
Knowing death to be the end,
he learns how to live.
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Death
is inherent in birth.
The body dies-
not the Self, the substratum, the Essence or the Spirit.
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Death is merely a temporary sleep –
a change of residence
from one body to another.
Why be afraid?
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We should not fear the loss of all our gains
with the incidence of death.
In our next life,
we will be blissfully unaware of them!
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What is death?
Dust returning to dust.
We close our eyes in one body
and open them in another!
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We should accept death
as the ultimate conclusion
of all our efforts.
Our life will become beautiful.
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How can we understand
the beauty of death
if we cannot understand
the miracle of birth?
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False identification
with the destructible
causes fear
of death.
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How easily we forget
our one and only
certain appointment –
the appointment with death.
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Let us practice,
strive and transcend
the idea
‘I am the body’.
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Life and death
are only of
the actions
and their fruit.
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Attachment
makes us a dwarf
It steals our intellectual
and emotional freedom.
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We should release ourselves
from our strong attachment
with our mind
and we will dwell in eternal joy
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Just as dream experiences are transitory and will pass away,
so also will our experiences while awake,
pass after a momentary life span.
Let us be unattached to both.
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For an aspirant of spirituality
attachment is like holding on to a crocodile
whilst crossing the ocean,
mistaking it for a log!
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So long as
there is attachment,
wisdom
can never dawn.
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Attachment
is the mother of
moha and ignorance.
It should be eradicated.
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Attachments
are obstacles
to Sadhana.
Love is an aid.
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All the properties attached to the name and form
through thoughts can be cleansed
by simply removing the name and form
as individual entities.
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The easiest way to forget
one’s own name and form
is through the acceptance of
the words of the Sages.
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We must realise that our name and form
are meaningless and temporary bubbles.
A constant effort to realize
the true nature of the Self has to be made.
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We must be free from the limitations of our mind,
widen our horizons and become visionaries.
We must transcend the flesh
and abide in the Spirit.
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The aspirant
shuns sense objects as poison,
knowing them to be transitory,
perishable and pain-giving.
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We must never let our senses get the better of us,
nor indulge them.
If we give them only what is necessary,
they will aid our spiritual practice.
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Emotions are mental energy activated and translated
into action, motivated by selfish interest.
When this energy is diverted towards the Divine
and the Lord, it is devotion.
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Emotions are eternal beggars,
seeking alms of love from others.
It is the giver who finds happiness.
Emotional dependency can never give us unconditional joy.
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An emotionally mature person can realise the Self in all its simplicity.
Emotional discord caused by divergent desires,
impressions and values, cause unnecessary superimpositions
which result in ignorance.
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Desires are cancerous.
They lie dormant within us,
waiting for a favourable circumstance to re-emerge.
We should uproot them with the spade of detachment.
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Desires make a prisoner of the intellect and all that is beautiful.
Desires are an unflinching, indomitable army of the mind-stuff,
based on likes and dislikes,
with no idea of right and wrong.
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Ceaselessly and diligently
we must try to curb
our desires, likes and dislikes, opinions, criticism
and other unnecessary and futile activities.
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A gathering of desires disturb our Silence.
It is not the place or people who cause the disturbance.
If the mind is silent,
there is peace.
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Those who are slaves of their mind-stuff and desires
never know freedom.
Desirelessness is silence
and the extinction of thoughts.
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The fetters of the mind
can be broken
only by an attitude
of desirelessness.
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Desires
live in devotees of the ego.
If the ego goes,
they become redundant.
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The desireless
fulfil the desires of others
at their level
and in identification with them.
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The aspirant’s desire
is to be desireless.
This has to be
his urgent resolve.
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The true aspirant of spirituality
fixes his price at zero.
Only then
does he abide in peace.
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The pure are fearless.
They have no complexes to defend.
Those who react violently
show inferiority, ego and fear.
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Purity of heart
is attained through the constant practice
of selfless deeds
in identification with others’ problems.
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The aspirant with integrity
avoids personal praise
as if it were an insult –
an exposure of theft of the Lord’s good work or name.
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We should
give happiness
to all around us.
We will gain abiding peace.
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We should inculcate
the qualities we appreciate in others
and become what we would like others to be.
This is the way to happiness.
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Humility
in attitude and behavior
is an essential ingredient,
even for success.
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Sensitivity and ego
are the greatest hindrances on the spiritual path.
We must learn to be sensitive towards others –
their needs, thoughts and requirements.
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Whatever work is given to us,
we should do it to perfection
with an unwavering mind,
so that we can offer it to the Lord.
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By accepting events as they come –
without interpretation or reaction,
we will ever abide
in the silence of the Self.
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Wanting the world our way,
making endeavours to suit it to our own mental measurements,
and yet yearning for Self-Realisation
is a foolish man’s dream.
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We should always be humble,
but have no fear.
We must protect the ones who are afraid,
but let no one be afraid of us.
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We must never betray others’ confidences,
but let our own personality
be an open book
for others to read.
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Let’s pick up a sponge,
clean the slate of the mind
and drown our dislikes in the loving service of others.
Freedom lies in Silence of the mind.
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It is best
not to judge or form an opinion.
Silence
is better than speech.
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If we do not learn how to forgive and forget,
we will create
an impregnable prison
of torment and punishment for ourselves.
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We should not suppress our thoughts,
nor indulge them in any manner.
It is necessary to witness them ourselves
and they will die down automatically.
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Only seek to serve the world.
The moment
we seek service from others
we will lose sight of our spiritual goal.
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Let every word we speak
be calm, beautiful, full of love and compassion.
This will cleanse the impurities
embedded in the deep crevices of the mind.
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Our daily life
lived from moment to moment
is indicative
of our internal state.
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Non-indulgence
in criticism
is
an important practice.
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We must practice
being magnanimous,
kind and
considerate.
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Let us not become indulgent towards ourselves
and indifferent to others.
Lust, pride, greed are poison
for an aspirant of the spiritual path.
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Hell and heaven are both in this world.
What you sow in this life,
you will inevitably
reap in the next.
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We should never condemn,
nor reject the ignorant,
rather
help them towards the Light.
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We have to return to this world again.
Why not leave behind
happy people?
We may be reborn among them.
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Verbal brutality
is conceit
of the egoistic mind
in the garb of Truth.
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We should not let
Truth become our licence
for rudeness
to hurt and expose others unnecessarily.
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We should not judge or form opinions.
We should give a chance to the other to defend himself.
Otherwise, where are
forgiveness, charity and magnanimity?
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One projects
one’s internal negativity
to veil
one’s reality.
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We should treat the world as a manifestation of the Lord.
All beings will then become divine for us, whether good or bad
and we will even start forgetting ourselves
as a separate entity.
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Let us distribute our possessions among many.
The chances of our sharing their benefits
will be greater
when we return to the world again!
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We could break all negative habits
with opposite deeds, thoughts and attitudes.
They will not only change,
but will also be annihilated.
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The earnest aspirant seeks nothing for himself from the world.
He earns with two hands
but gives of his earnings
with a thousand hands.
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We must not be proud of wealth.
We should accept it
as the Lord’s Grace
and it will make us humble.
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Giving in the name of the Lord is an art.
The artist must fill his deeds with divine, humble hues,
so that the needy recipient
at least feels equal to the giver.
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It is better
to be deceived oneself,
than to
deceive others.
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To injure is to injure oneself,
for all are one.
We should never injure anyone
through thought, word or deed.
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Circumstances mould the ordinary mind.
Great minds
are unaffected
by situations or circumstances.
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We should
audit our own emotional accounts
before
condemning others.
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Often, one lays down norms and measures for others
by standards which one cannot uphold in one’s own life.
We should put ourselves in the other person’s shoes
before condemning him.
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The greater the man,
the less critical he is.
Condemnation
is merely a projection of ourselves on the other.
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We should treat the other
as ourselves.
This will
bring out the Divine in us.
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Goodness is either a habit or conditional.
If it is a habit,
it will be universally applicable.
Otherwise, it is merely a business asset!
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It should not make any difference to us
as to how many people have wronged us in our life.
What matters is,
how many people have we wronged?
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The moment we believe we know all,
we limit ourselves.
There is always so much more
to be known.
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Animals
live only for themselves.
A man
is one who lives for others.
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The mind is a friend
and the mind is a foe.
It is the cause of bondage
and can also take us to liberation.
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With the silence of the mind,
internal reactions begin to diminish.
With the change of attitude all impressions dissolve gradually.
Even the latencies start disappearing.
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The world
is created by mental activity.
When the mind is silenced
the world disappears.
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If we control the mind,
we will have peace wherever we are
– no matter what the situation
or circumstances.
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We must learn the art of ignoring the mind
– especially in adversity.
To still the mind
is the principal aim of all Sadhana.
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We must use the mind-stuff
for the cultivation of Divine qualities
and remove the egoistic superimpositions
caused by ignorance.
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The world is attractive and alluring – the mind its devotee,
the intellect subservient to the mind and senses,
and the Self fully superimposed.
Spirituality is inevitably doomed.
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The mind is a cunning enemy of the sadhak.
It twists the meanings of the Scriptures
and justifies itself
by quoting the highest tenets.
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Annihilating the mind-stuff
is removing ugliness to live in beauty
and removing the superimpositions
that dwarf our vision.
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Annihilating the mind-stuff means
freedom of the Self from pain,
hopelessness,
secrecy and worry.
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The tricks of the mind –
its veiling and projecting powers –
should be pierced and seen as mere superimpositions
over the Self.
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The mind is a rebel –
ever dissatisfied and grumbling.
We should show our determination and firmness in handling it.
It can become quite obedient!
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With a silent mind
one can identify with all.
One can remain ever active
though blissfully inactive.
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Thought and imagination are as real as the clouds in the sky.
Thus the mind, which is a collection of thoughts,
is a mere phantom.
We should be free of it.
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Actions must be performed as ordained in the Scriptures,
in the spirit of yoga –
for the purification of the mind and
to break the false sense of the importance of matter.
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We should be result oriented
but not let the outcome of actions
make us excessively
happy or unhappy.
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The performance of one’s duty
should be as natural as
the process of
breathing to live.
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The world is the Lord’s creation – the place of our Master.
We should not withdraw from it.
Let us give ourselves joyfully
in its service and we will always be content.
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We must serve
just for the love of service –
serve
and attain personal purity.
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We must trust in God
and serve Him
by serving his people –
all of humanity.
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Selfless actions cleanse one
of the ego and personal individuality
and take one towards
identification with others at a spiritual level.
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We must never hit
one who has already fallen,
but help him to stand
on his feet.
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The one, who serves selflessly,
becomes a living embodiment of service and love
and transcends
his own limited vision and desires.
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The knowledge that is born of selfless deeds
is the highest wisdom
for it arises out of a practice of ego-abnegation
and identification with all.
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Selfless,
disinterested actions
result in
transcendental living.
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Actions cannot give us
Self-Realisation.
They can merely
purify us.
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Endless actions and intense, purposeless activity
end up in the waste of a beautiful life.
Direct all energies towards purification of the mind-stuff
and ultimately to Self-Realisation and a state of infinite bliss.
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In Karma Yoga
wisdom
is
inherent.
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In order to gain bliss and infinite happiness, one’s actions
should not be based on likes and dislikes, enmities or jealousies or attachments;
they should be based on the Scriptures.
They will lead to blessedness.
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Actions that take one away from ‘I’ consciousness
or personal personality establishment,
are actions that lead to
the Self.
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For a man living at the spiritual level,
gross destiny has no meaning.
Destiny gives him whatever is ordained,
but he himself is neither affected nor interested in his body-self or name.
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Only
the man of action
can truly believe
in destiny.
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Spiritual practice takes us from bondage to freedom,
from hatred to love,
from darkness to light,
from restlessness to peace.
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Motiveless actions
lead to purity,
knowledge
and wisdom.
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Only the ignorant relinquish actions.
The Realised One
ever performs deeds
having renounced their doership.
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Knowledge is imperative in order to know
what the Lord expects of us,
lest we fail Him
by not obeying Him implicitly.
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If our intellect suffers from a feeling of self importance
how can we pay heed to the Lord’s words?
If my ‘I’ is all-important,
where will ‘I’ place the Lord?
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Inquiry is a means of knowledge
we must hear, reflect, meditate, realise.
Once the unreal sheaths are removed
the residue is the Atma Self.
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Knowledge
is that which dissolves the ‘I’ to dust
and makes the phantom ego
disappear.
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All knowledge
without its practical application
is worse
than ignorance.
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Knowledge connotes freedom
from superimpositions and ignorance.
It provides the ability to live without pain, worry or delusion.
It grants freedom from fear.
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True knowledge
is a living experience
not just an accumulation of words,
thoughts, ideas or philosophies.
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Knowledge
annihilates attachment.
It acts as a detergent
and cleanser of ignorance and sin.
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The flow of divine qualities
are
a natural outcome of
Pure Knowledge.
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The more
the intellectual acumen,
the humbler
the person becomes.
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Without intellectual surrender,
there can be no intellect.
Once it is surrendered,
it becomes an unhindered flow of knowledge.
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The intellect is quite barren
unless it helps us to translate
the knowledge gained from the Scriptures
into our day to day practical life.
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Without knowledge of the Truth, actions are blind.
Without actions, knowledge is lame.
Actions have to become
the personification of knowledge.
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We must make constant efforts to know the Lord.
For this, regular study is essential.
Knowledge will make us feel ashamed of being so far away
from the Truth and yearning may arise.
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Hearing knowledge again and again is important to be able
to accept it and to be sufficiently enchanted
by the knowledge, so that we develop
a devotional attitude towards it.
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Knowledge demonstrates what we should be
not what we are.
In fact, knowledge is a natural negation
of what we are.
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The sap of one’s life
should be
the essence
of knowledge.
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If our intellect accepts a truth,
we should translate it into our life immediately.
A man who does not respect his own intellect
is no less than an animal.
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The intellect is a mirror
in which facts are reflected.
We should not let it be covered
by our likes, dislikes or emotions.
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Intellectual wisdom may help to conquer the material world,
but spiritual wisdom
helps to conquer our own mind
and attain the highest bliss.
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Intellect
combined with wisdom,
leads to co-operation
not dictation.
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True knowledge
demonstrates the method
of living in the Spirit
and transcending the flesh.
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Practical knowledge
leads to a steady intellect,
unruffled
by the play of qualities.
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We cannot claim to possess knowledge
if we do not perceive
the entire universe to be
a manifestation of the Lord.
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The personal intellect
can never be
a giver
of knowledge of the Self.
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Knowledge removes
the binding nature of actions
and results
in renunciation of attachments to them.
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We must become the master.
Our intellect must be our servant.
It has usurped our kingdom
and rules even our own body.
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If we must think,
let us think of the Lord,
prayers, the Scriptures, their connotations and the divine qualities.
Let beauty be the basic melody of our thoughts.
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If one does not allow the intellect to be veiled
and if one does not hide the Truth,
then only can one abide
in equanimity.
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One way to silence
is the removal of
the primal ignorance ‘I’
which is the root of all mischief.
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The desire for credit
makes a person lose his positive traits.
It strengthens the ego
and spurs negativity within us.
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If I am fettered with a belief in my own superiority;
if I cannot see the need of the other,
am I not hoodwinking myself
about my spiritual aspirations?
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How can even the Lord
erode our fortress of self-aggrandisation,
when it is built with the crushed stone of deceit
mixed with the cement of ego and the steel of ‘I’?
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The ego
thinks itself to be God
but in reality
it is a petty thief.
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The desire to be superior
makes us blind
and leaves no room for equanimity or sensitivity
to the feelings of others.
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The ego
is a killer – a destroyer.
We should annihilate it
before it destroys us.
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We should give up the intellect
which thrives with the sap of ego.
It merely makes us cunning and crooked
trying to satiate its greed through deluded means.
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Nobody can take away our freedom
except ourselves.
Freedom is the release of the Self
from the fetters of the superimposed ‘I’ or ego.
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The highest Yagya
is the offering of the intellectual ego into the fire of knowledge,
enmity into the fire of friendship
and actions into the fire of desirelessness.
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Ego
and individuality
rob a person
of his blissful existence.
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We must dissolve
the usurper ‘I’
through devotional enquiry
at the feet of the Lord, Self and Guru.
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The ego identifies itself with the body
and becomes the doer.
If this attachment is broken,
the aspirant is free.
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The ‘I’ lives on the reflected glory of the Self
and thrives on the mind.
It cannot afford to come in the light of knowledge
or else it will be exposed.
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The sanyasi
ever wears the shroud of knowledge,
through which his ego
cannot emerge into the world.
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A new birth
takes place in us
when we replace our ‘I’ self
with the Divine essence within us.
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We must disassociate
the ego from the Self,
removing the erroneous identification of the Self
with the ego and the body.
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A state of egolessness
is a state of eternal happiness
undiminished by desires
and unaffected by circumstances.
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In Kalyug,
Shiv always lives
under the feet of Kali.
Ego treads on Humility.
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Self control will yield
tranquility of mind.
All conflicts with others will cease
because there is no clash of desires.
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Self control is not self torture,
nor is it the endurance of meaningless pain.
It merely makes our intellect
the master of our complexes, mind and the irresistible objects of the senses.
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Free indulgences and unconsidered desires
are saboteurs of self control
and enemies of spiritual advancement.
Self control is the second nature of the wise.
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Self control is not self torture.
It is lack of excitability,
leading to tranquility,
endurance and fortitude.
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Self control is the cardinal prerequisite of all Sadhana.
It leads to command over one’s mind-stuff and senses.
It is the basic pivot
of all spiritual endeavour.
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Self control
is the quintessence of Sadhana.
It results in the cleansing of the mind
and an indomitable internal calm.
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Self control
is the seed of the intellect.
It generates clear thinking and reasoning,
enabling concentration in great depth.
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Self control
is one of the most important
factors of Sadhana
and spiritual aspiration.
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We should practice
divine, humane
and spiritual qualities
all the time.
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Truth and humility go together.
Truth and non-injury are synonymous.
The one who lives in the Truth
is ever silent and protective.
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Divine qualities are born of the wedlock
between the Lord and one’s intellect.
Divine qualities
are unaffected by adversity.
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We
should be conscious
of the Divine in us.
It will never fail us.
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We must learn to give with both hands.
We are born with the Divine Power
of the Lord Himself,
why must we be beggars?
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We are made
in the image
of the Divine.
We should discover ourselves.
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A pure, virtuous heart
is the beginning of divinity
and ultimately
of salvation.
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Virtue
is a benediction
and a sign of beauty for the beholder.
It adorns the one who wears it.
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Virtue
is a prayer
that is dear
to the Lord.
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Virtue results
in ethical and moral perfection.
It generates a perfect attitude
towards all people.
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The virtuous are fearless, serene, calm and contented.
They are always involved in the well being of all
and never use virtue
for the sake of personal establishment.
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Virtue is purity of the mind-stuff
which embellishes the possessor
and is a divine gift of those who serve the people
in the Spirit of the Lord.
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All divine qualities
emerge as a consequence
of love for the Lord
in the form of His human family.
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Love has no reservations.
We should turn on the tap of our tank of divine love
and we will discover a mine of precious qualities within ourselves,
which will flow to the world.
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Love is action.
It is the art of establishing the other
and performing all actions
for that purpose.
|
Love
does not tire.
Incessant service and ‘giving’
is its nature.
|
We should love our Self.
We will then definitely love the other.
Friendship and compassion will flow from us
and our ego will be washed away.
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To love
is to be like the Beloved,
to realise
the Divine essence.
|
Love
is simplicity.
Love
is humility in practice.
|
Love
opens the gates
of knowledge, joy, truth
and transcendental living.
|
Love
is a silent benediction
and beatitude
of the Lord’s Grace.
|
Love
is a basic attitude of renunciation
which culminates
in sanyas.
|
Love makes us forget ourselves.
It is therefore
the greatest teacher of non-duality
and the principles of Advaita.
|
If we do not hear the Truth,
how will we know it?
The chance of shravan- listening to the Truth,
comes after many lives of good and meritorious deeds.
|
A total disregard of pleasure and pleasurable objects
is impossible without accepting them
as unreal, damaging and impediments
in the way of realization of the Truth.
|
Doubt
is a very poisonous impediment
in the aspirant’s search
for Truth.
|
Faith is essential
not only when one has to understand or accept the tenets of the Scriptures,
but also to be able to live in a manner
which is beyond one’s mental and intellectual understanding.
|
There is more strength in the thread of the necklace
than in its beads.
The thread in the garland of spirituality
is that of faith.
|
Only profound faith
can enable us to live in the Spirit
and to eliminate or modify
our emotions, intellectual beliefs, attachments impressions etc.
|
Intense faith and yearning
will certainly take us to our spiritual goal
no matter what the impediments
that come in our path.
|
Faith in a personal God
makes a sadhak impersonal
towards himself,
the ego-self.
|
Adherence to Dharma
will make one’s day to day life
more fulfilling
and blissful.
|
The strong pillars on which Dharma rests
are the reality of the fruits of actions and of rebirth.
Actions performed with the conviction of this reality,
will naturally be righteous.
|
Self control, self-restraint and ego abnegation are Dharma.
We should always place duty before self
and let the Shastras decide
the code of right conduct for us.
|
Yagya is the highest
and most infallible killer
of the weeds of fear, pain,
unhappiness and distress.
|
Steadfast thought
and a one-pointed concentration in the Reality
will remove
the illusory sheath of ignorance.
|
Concentration is limited and inhibited by attachment.
Pure concentration occurs when the mind is focused on one subject
to the exclusion of all else.
This is a necessary precursor to meditation.
|
We must practice concentrating on the Truth
that the Lord abides in all
in every being, situation and object.
Then acceptance of the world will become easy.
|
We should inculcate an attitude of forbearance.
Ever meditating
on the Pure Self, God, Guru or Brahm
we will be unaffected by pleasure or pain.
|
Meditation
results in the highest and purest form of intellect
if backed by
practical application.
|
We should constantly meditate
on the unchangeable, limitless, pure Self
which is devoid of
superimpositions.
|
Meditation
should be as constant
as the flow of oil
– without gaps and hindrances.
|
There is a silent witness within us
who is watching all the phases of our life.
We should identify ourselves
with that witness.
|
The Witness Self is silence itself
– awareness itself.
It is the ever unaffected self-effulgent Essence.
We should discover it.
|
We have to abide
in that Witness Self
by transcending our identification
with our body, mind and intellect unit.
|
If we identify ourselves
with that Witness Self,
life and its transitory phenomena
would seem like superimpositions.
|
The Witness Self
is peace, tranquility and bliss itself.
The mind and mind-stuff are visitors
who make too much noise and shatter the peace.
|
Absolute knowledge
flows through the Witness Self.
Yet it is not a Know-er.
It is Knowledge Itself.
|
We should live
like a non-participating witness,
even whilst our body, mind and intellect unit
performs various jobs.
|
We have to transcend
the weak flesh
and learn
to live in the Spirit.
|
We have to transcend
consciousness
and live
in awareness.
|
We must seek
the cause of pain
and make all endeavours
to transcend it.
|
We must practice the art of transcending
and being unaffected
by our own personal qualities
or those of others.
|
We should pray every morning.
Prayer will give us unparalleled poise
and a capacity to discern between the good and the bad,
the real and the unreal.
|
Prayer
helps to make a garland
of divine deeds
for the Lord.
|
Prayer is the greatest healer.
It is a transcendental, spiritual communion with the Lord
which takes the one who prays
towards detachment from the universe.
|
Prayer and worship
are essential
so long as the ‘I’ or even a speck of the ego
remains.
|
We must transcend all other thoughts
but the thought of Him.
Our life will become
a prayer.
|
Prayers
reveal the Lord.
To serve Him according to His will
is a prayer.
|
Truth is not an obsession
with the one to whom every verse of the Scriptures
is a mantra to be practised.
Truth is his prayer.
|
Prayer is a direct road to humility.
Devotion with intellectual integrity
teaches us absolute surrender
to the object of our worship.
|
True prayer
is a loving dedication of oneself,
without any reservations,
at the Lord’s feet.
|
Prayer becomes truly meaningful
for those who live
in the presence of the Lord
always.
|
True devotion, or bhakti,
is a free flow of love
without seeking any return.
It is not binding on the beloved.
|
Devotion
begins
with personal
personality abnegation.
|
Pure devotion
is an infallible remedy for all mental aberrations,
latent tendencies and
for the removal of the ‘I’ idea.
|
One-pointed devotion to God
leads us towards desirelessness
and automatically makes us
transcend the unreal.
|
Devotion is the easiest and most beautiful path
which passes through all the stages of Samadhi naturally
and ends in Kaivalya
where all is One.
|
In the perfection of devotion,
only One remains.
One forgets one’s personal personality
in the service of the Lord.
|
The devotee’s mind is his greatest asset.
It just does not go anywhere.
It remains immersed in His Master
ever seeking Him and silently singing His praise.
|
The devotee is completely occupied in his devotion.
He has no time to indulge in any personal desires
or think of anything other than
his Master’s smallest wish.
|
Every breath that a devotee inhales or exhales
is fragrant
with the Lord’s Name.
That is his pranayam.
|
The amalgamation of
devotion, actions and knowledge
is the easiest and surest
way to salvation.
|
Intense devotion, a one-pointed pursuit
and the grace of the Guru, God or Scriptures,
destroy the egoistic tendencies
that lead the aspirant astray.
|
An attitude of devotional inquiry
and acceptance of the Scriptures without question
will change our attitude
towards the universe.
|
The devotee seeks
only as much knowledge as is essential
to aid him in the service of his Lord.
There is no other consideration.
|
A true devotee does not need any control or practice.
He has surrendered himself
at the altar of his Lord
and thus reaches the silence of the Self.
|
Deep, unconditional surrender
is of paramount importance
if we want our prayers
to be fulfilled.
|
Surrender is an act of the heart
which transcends reasoning.
Surrender is
the culmination of devotion.
|
Surrender
overcomes the painful loneliness
of individualism
and ends in joyful union.
|
Likes and dislikes
break the continuous string of transcendental thoughts and deeds of devotional surrender,
which otherwise would have formed a divine garland
to place at the Lord’s feet.
|
The true aspirant
is unmindful of all problems, negative situations or circumstances,
knowing them to be the Lord’s creation.
There is total surrender to His will.
|
Why not resolve to surrendering ourselves
to the Scriptures and the Lord
for five years to an absolute extent?
We will realise the Self.
|
Surrender
at the feet of the Lord, Guru, Scriptures or Self
makes the desires
ineffective.
|
The true Yoga of Sanyas
is to surrender and perform
all actions without exception
in the name of the Lord.
|
When one yearns for the Truth
to the exclusion of all else
with a one-pointed scrutiny,
Grace dawns.
|
The silent grace of God, Guru and Scriptures
and the grace of the ego
are very essential
for a devotional inquiry into the Self.
|
With the advent of Grace,
one is able to find a Self Realised Master,
who will teach one how to transcend the gunas or qualities, the body and one’s desires
so that the illusion of ‘I’ is removed forever.
|
With the advent of Grace,
the fetters of attachment are loosened,
the ignorant blind begin to see
and darkness is changed into light.
|
The perfection of Bhakti in practical form
can be seen and learnt
through the life
of a spiritual preceptor.
|
All Scriptures recommend
a Spiritual Master – the Living Goal.
He is required as an example,
one who lights the path and the aim.
|
The Guru is not a limit;
nor does he create
a bondage for the seeker.
He is the real Self of the sadhak.
|
Absolute faith on the part of the shishya
is essential
even though the knowledge given by the Spiritual Master
may seem contradictory.
|
The Guru could seem
like a perennial enemy of one’s worldly desires and aspirations.
Unless there is absolute faith,
the aspirant cannot learn anything from his Master.
|
The Guru is the practical path
to follow and practice.
We must behold and believe,
have faith in what we cannot see.
|
We must watch, hear and understand
the practical subtleties of the sayings of the Spiritual Master.
His words speak the theory,
but we must watch how He applies it in His practical, simple, day to day life.
|
We have to live spiritual values
if we wish to be able to be spiritual.
The Guru can show the way
but we have to do it.
|
The Guru will teach us to serve
He will cleanse us and make us pure.
Abidance with Him
will make even the impossible possible within us.
|
Let the Guru guide us.
We must obey unconditionally.
What is the maximum we will lose? Our illusions.
That is our gain.
|
The Realised Guru will be an ever active non-doer.
He ever abides in the Self. How can any actions be attributed to Him?
Yet, He is not an escapist.
He performs all actions in the interest of others.
|
The knowledge given by the Guru
is extremely logical and unique,
for it is born
of His own experience.
|
If we have absolute faith in the Guru,
the Scriptures or the prophets,
we will become living embodiments
of the objects of our faith.
|
We should be a toy
in the hands of the Supreme Master
a piece of clay to be molded by Him
a robot under the Master’s full and absolute control.
|
Absolute obedience
of the Master’s sayings
will give
liberation.
|
The Master, the Lord
must be more important in every aspect of one’s life
and must be obeyed at all times
for ego abnegation.
|
The service of the Master
is the only duty of the disciple.
The only wage sought
is an ever increasing devotion and adoration.
|
The Realised Master is an ocean of mercy.
He is the Protector and Refuge of all.
He is generous beyond all limits
and provides security to each aspirant at all levels.
|
The Guru gives spiritual birth to the disciple
and shows him the path to eternal life.
However,
He Himself rarely tastes divinity from others.
|
The aim of Sadhana
is to live in the Real instead of the unreal
– to search for and awaken to the Transcendental Bliss
which is our birthright.
|
It is only one in many millions who can realise the Truth.
Without intense Sadhana in the seen, tangible world,
one cannot attain purity of heart
which is necessary for this realisation.
|
We should be like the dumb and not criticize;
like the deaf and not hear criticism.
Sadhana alone
should constitute our life.
|
Before stepping on the first rung of Sadhana,
we must make sure how important our goal is to us.
How much of our personal self are we willing to surrender
for the sake of our cherished aim?
|
The desire for salvation, nirvana or mukti
must be of paramount importance.
If the desire is not there,
why will anyone seek and practice?
|
The more we advance on the spiritual path,
the more we are likely to fall,
for the temptations become more subtle and success becomes our slave.
Eternal vigilance is essential.
|
The joy we can find at the Lord’s feet
is unparalleled.
Sorrow and pleasure are not for the one
who immerses himself in That Divine Ocean.
|
If the Lord is the Master of this body
then we would let the Master
use the body
as He wills.
|
We should try to find out
who the Lord is and what He is.
We should read of Him and hear His words
with great intensity and concentration.
|
Small actions matter
much more than spectacular deeds.
We should perform every small act in the Lord’s name.
Divinity must be lived in the smallest detail.
|
The only friend of the Realised Guru
is the Lord Himself,
but He is
the friend of all.
|
We should not just take the name of the Lord
we should know that He is around us
and practice living in His presence
always.
|
To build a personal relationship with one’s Lord,
we must be alone with Him,
without the interference
of too many memories or mental aberrations.
|
We should embrace the Lord
in all His totality
by surrendering ourselves to Him
in totality.
|
We should lay our problems and feelings before the Lord vocally
and know that He is hearing them.
He may not answer us right away but when we really believe in Him,
He will reveal Himself to us.
|
The Lord loves to come to us
but only when
we want Him completely
– to the exclusion of all else.
|
If we give ourselves
to the Lord
truthfully and absolutely,
He will take over.
|
The proof of the Lord’s love
is that He has given us His all silently.
The proof of our love for Him lies in surrendering ourselves
and returning His to Him.
|
All disciplines and methods of Sadhana
lose their significance if we love the Lord
without the restrictions of the body-self,
the ‘I’ or ‘mine’ idea.
|
Service of the Lord
is the easiest way
to forget the ‘I’
and be absorbed in Him.
|
If we strive
we will achieve Self-Realisation.
We should practice
remembering the name of the Lord always.
|
All is the Lord’s;
we are the Lord’s.
Therefore we are infinitesimal,
only the Lord remains.
|
If we repeat the Lord’s name,
we should make it meaningful
and give it our full attention,
devotion and reverence.
|
The Lord’s name, in fact,
is not ‘taken’.
It is a natural flow
from a devotional, loving heart.
|
The Lord is the sole refuge and the only goal.
He is to be obeyed implicitly.
His commands, His pleasure –
these are the devotee’s life.
|
If the Lord is our father
then His gospel is His will.
We, as dutiful children of our chosen father,
should be sincere executors of His will.
|
We should live
for the Lord
and let the Lord
live in us.
|
The inquiry into the Self
has to be persistent, judicious and convincing enough
for the mind to accept –
a one-pointed inquiry without a break.
|
The Self can be realised only after the annihilation of the mind.
As light and darkness cannot co-exist,
so also the Self and the mind
cannot abide together.
|
We have ignored our Self for too long.
If we truly loved our Self
we would make every endeavour to discover
our true identity and find joy.
|
Cut asunder the chain of illusion.
Realise the Self.
Maya and the Triad
will lose their significance.
|
Ignorance
is the veil
that hides
the reality of the Self.
|
The universe is as real or unreal as ripples of the mind-stuff
in the ocean of the substratum of Pure Consciousness.
When the Self emerges,
the importance of the universe dies.
|
The Self and actions
are incompatible.
The Self cannot be bound
by actions.
|
Upon experiencing
the Self
even the desire for joy
disappears.
|
Maya or illusion, alienates a human being from his Self
and entangles him with the non-self.
It is an illusion where the world seems to exist as separate
from the Supreme Creator.
|
Spiritual tranquility
is not dependent on any gross or emotional gain.
It is an integral part of
abidance in the Self.
|
Purity cannot abide in impurity;
a witness cannot be a participant.
Silence cannot be full of thoughts.
So also, it is necessary to shed the non-self in order to abide in the Self.
|
When an aspirant
has his feet in two boats
– the Self and the world,
he cannot succeed.
|
Actions
can be a proof of Realisation.
They can be a thermometer
of our internal state.
|
The Self-Realised One
is a divine gift to the world.
He is a living song – humility itself,
– the embodiment of divine qualities.
|
There can be no Realisation without actual identification with
the Atma, Brahm, God, who are One.
This is possible with an attitude of complete renunciation
whilst living a normal life in all its facets.
|
The Self-Realised One pleads and bleeds for others never for Himself.
He knows and has realised that the world is unreal.
Since He lives in the truth always,
He is the humblest of the humble.
|
The Realised Ones write the Scriptures
with their feet on this earth.
Their actions
bespeak the sacred tenets.
|
The life of the Realised One
is not only the light on the Scriptures,
His life
is the highest Scripture.
|
Samadhi
is an absolute stillness of the mind.
In that stillness
the Triad and duality do not exist.
|
In the state of Samadhi the mind stops functioning
– but the individual by no means becomes like a stone!
Pure awareness remains.
Perennial Knowledge flows.
|
In Samadhi
Silence meet Silence.
The flow that emerges upon this union
is Divine.
|
The ultimate Samadhi is being everything oneself
and finding oneself in everything.
A total union
of name, form and attribute.
|
Samadhi cannot be achieved
without ethical perfection.
The fruit of Samadhi
is the supreme, transcendental, spiritual, living Knowledge.
|
Love is action.
It is the art of establishing the other
and performing all actions
for that purpose.
|
Only those memories can give you joy,
which contain moments
when you give
joy to others.
|
Spirituality has to flow
towards the world
in the form of
selfless service.
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