Sai Baba Gita - The Characteristics of an Enlightened Being

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The Characteristics of an Enlightened Being

These qualities of a person endowed with spiritual wisdom are patience,

determination, purity of body and mind, selfless love, an everpresent awareness

and yearning for the indwelling divinity, and the six qualities which are known

as the spiritual treasures‹namely, control of the mind, control of the senses,

renunciation of selfish desires, endurance and indifference to all kinds of

opposites such as pain and pleasure, an unshakable faith in the sacred

teachings and contentment derived from a steady, unwavering mind. Let us

consider the first of these qualities: patience.

Patience or forbearance is one of the most important characteristics that every

person should practice and possess. Many kings have been destroyed because they

abandoned this quality of patience. Even great sages have lost all their

spiritual merit because they neglected this quality. Countless scholars have

come to ruin because they overlooked this invaluable characteristic. Patience

can be thought of as the most important shield and armor for facing the battle

of life. You quickly lose all your human qualities if you lose patience. As you

have already seen, the quality of patience is an extremely important sign of a

great person; without patience it would not be possible to become an

enlightened being.

A resolute nature, in other words, the quality of determination and being

endowed with a firm resolve, is the pre-condition for developing patience. Now,

a resolute nature should not be associated with stubborn foolishness. In matters

relating to the spirit, firmness and a resolute nature refer to a mind that is

free from delusion and unsteadiness.

Whatever obstacle is encountered, whatever troubles and problems arise, with a

resolute nature you will remain firmly committed to pursue the tasks which you

have undertaken until you achieve your final goal. If you do not have this

quality of determination, then patience will have no basis and cannot develop

in strength. Patience and determination are twins; one cannot exist without the

other. Without determination, patience cannot establish itself, and without

patience, determination will degenerate into arrogance.

Next, let us consider purity. Just as you undertake various actions to purify

your body, so also you must undertake various good actions to purify your mind.

Through these acts, you can remove the attachments and desires that have

polluted your mind with egoism. Only when these negative qualities are

eliminated will you be able to achieve self-control. Just as a tortoise is free

to loosen its limbs and come out of its shell, or to withdraw itself back into

its shell, in the same way, you should be able to control your senses and use

them when you need them. The Gita has affirmed that these are also very

important qualities of a wise person.

http://www.atmapress.com/saibabagita/saigita332.html

Sai Baba Gita, Compiled and edited by Al Drucker - Published by Atma Press -

http://www.atmapress.com - ISBN: 0963844903Online Edition:

http://www.atmapress.com/saibabagita/index.html

 

 

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