Selected Jewels - Sandeha Nivarini

[Guest guest]

Bhaktha: Swami, tell me how

we should, generally, conduct ourselves. What are the qualities we should

possess? Which type of subject should we try to understand? To receive

the divine grace and attain Your holy presence, what acts should we perform?

Please tell me the more important of these, the essential things, the chosen

jewels.

Swami: Oh! It seem, Parvathi asked Iswara once, "It is difficult to

retain in memory the Sahasranama, the thousand names of God; it takes a

long time to learn them and repeat them; so, please tell me one single

name which is the essence of all the thousand". Similarly, you too

perhaps find it difficult to grasp all that I write and explain and so

you are also asking me to tell you about the most important, is it? But

you see, names have their essence, the subjects you ask about are different.

Though their objective and final result are one, the practices, the paths

of activity, cannot be one. They cannot all be summarised in one word!

Still, I am giving you now some selected jewels, maxims of conduct, that

are very important. Collect and treasure them well. Experience them well,

put them into practice and derive joy therefrom. Wear these jewels and

beautify yourself.

Bhaktha: Exactly what I wanted! How lucky

I am!

Swami: Then listen carefully, I shall tell you.

1. Prema,

love, should be considered as the very breath of life.

2. The

love that is manifest in all things equally, believe that the same Prema

is Paramathma.

3. The

one Paramathma is in every one, in the form of Prema.

4. More

than all other forms of Prema, man's first effort should be to fix

his love on the Lord.

5. Such

love directed towards God is Bhakthi; that is the fundamental test, the

acquisition of Bhakthi.

6. Those

who seek the bliss of the Atma should not run after the joys of sense objects.

7. Sathya,

truth, must be treated as life-giving as breathing itself.

8. Just

as a body that has no breath is useless and begins to rot and stink within

a few minutes, similarly, life without truth is useless and becomes the

stinking abode of strife and grief.

9. Believe

that there is nothing greater than truth, nothing more precious, nothing

sweeter and nothing more lasting.

10. Truth

is the all-protecting God. There is no mightier guardian than truth.

11. The

Lord who is Sathyaswarupa grants His Darsan to those of truthful speech

and loving heart.

12. Have

undiminished kindness towards all beings and also the spirit of self-sacrifice.

13. You

must also possess control of the senses, an unruffled character and non-attachment.

14. Be

always on the alert against the four sins, which the tongue is prone to

commit:

i. Speaking

falsehood

ii. Speaking

ill of others

iii. Backbiting

and

iv. Talking

too much.

It is best to attempt to control these

tendencies.

15. Try

to prevent the five sins that the body commits: Killing, adultery, theft,

drinking intoxicants and the eating of flesh. It is a great help for the

highest life if these also are kept as far away as possible.

16. One

must be always vigilant, without a moment's carelessness, against the eight

sins that the mind perpetrates: Kamam or craving; Krodham or anger; Lobham

or greed; Moham or attachment; impatience; hatred, egoism, pride. Man's

primary duty is to keep all these things at a safe distance from himself.

17. Man's

mind speeds fast, pursuing wrong actions. Without letting it hurry like

that, remember the name of the Lord at that time or attempt to do some

good deed or other. Those who do thus will certainly become fit for the

Lord's grace.

18. First

give up the evil tendency to feel envious at the prosperity of others and

the desire to harm them. Be happy that others are happy. Sympathise with

those who are in adversity and wish for their prosperity. That is the means

of cultivating love for God.

19. Patience

is all the strength than man needs.

20. Those

anxious to live in joy must always be doing good.

21. It

is easy to conquer anger through love, attachment through reasoning, falsehood

through truth, bad through good and greed through charity.

22. No

reply should be given to the words of the wicked. Be at a great distance

from them; that is for your good. Break off all relations with such people.

23. Seek

the company of good men, even at the sacrifice of your honour and life.

But be praying to God to bless you with the discrimination needed to distinguish

between the good men and the bad. You must also endeavour, with the intellect

given to you.

24. Those

who conquer states and earn fame in the world are hailed as heroes, no

doubt; but those who have conquered the senses are heroes who must be acclaimed

as the conquerors of the universal.

25. Whatever

acts a good or bad man may do, the fruits thereof follow him and will never

stop pursuing him.

26. Greed

yields only sorrow; contentment is best. There is no happiness greater

than contentment.

27. The

mischief-mongering tendency should be plucked out by the roots and thrown

off. If allowed to exist, it will undermine life itself.

28. Bear

with fortitude both loss and grief; try and search for plans to achieve

joy and gain.

29. When

you are invaded by anger, practise silence or remember the name of the

Lord. Do not remind yourself of things which will inflame the anger more.

That will do incalculable harm.

30. From

this moment, avoid all bad habits. Do not delay or postpone. They do not

contribute the slightest joy.

31. Try

as far as possible within your means to satisfy the needs of the poor,

who are really Daridranarayana. Share with them whatever food you have

and make them happy at least that moment.

32. Whatever

you feel should not be done to you by others, avoid doing such things to

others.

33. For

faults and sins committed in ignorance, repent sincerely; try not to repeat

the faults and sins again; pray to God to bless you with the strength and

the courage needed to stick to the right path.

34. Do

not allow anything to come near you, which will destroy your eagerness

and enthusiasm for God. Want of eagerness will cause the decay of the strength

of man.

35. Yield

not to cowardice; do not give up Ananda.

36. Do

not get welled up when people praise you; do not feel dejected when people

blame you.

37. If

among your friends any one hates another and starts a quarrel, do not attempt

to inflame them more and make them hate each other more; try, on the other

hand, with love and sympathy to restore their former friendship.

38. Instead

of searching for others' faults, search for your own faults yourself; uproot

them, throw them off. It is enough if you search and discover one fault

of yours; that is better that discovering tens of hundreds of faults in

others.

39. Even

if you cannot or will not do any Punya or good deed, do not conceive or

carry out any Papa, or bad deed.

40. Whatever

people may say about the faults that you know are not in you, do not feel

for it; as for the faults that are in you, try to correct them yourself,

even before others point them out to you. Do not harbour anger or bitterness

against persons who point out your faults; do not retort, pointing out

the faults of those persons themselves, but show your gratitude to them.

Trying to discover their faults is a greater mistake on you part. It is

good for you to know your faults; it is no good your knowing others' faults.

41. Whenever

you get a little leisure, do not spend it in talking about all and sundry,

but utilise it in meditating on God or in doing service to others.

42. The

Lord is understood only by the Bhaktha; the Bhaktha is understood only

by the Lord. Others cannot understand them. So, do not discuss matters

relating to the Lord with those who have no Bhakthi. On account of such

discussion, your devotion will diminish.

43. If

anyone speaks to you on any subject, having understood it wrongly, do not

think of other wrong notions which will support that stand but grasp only

the good and the sweet, in what he says. True meaning is to be appreciated

as desirable, not wrong meaning or many meanings, which give no meaning

at all and cause only the hampering of Ananda.

44. If

you desire to cultivate one-pointedness, do not, when in a crowd or bazaar,

scatter your vision to the four corners and on everything, but see only

the road in front of you, just enough to avoid accidents to yourself. One-pointedness

will become firmer if one moves about without taking one's attention off

the road, avoiding dangers, and not casting eyes on others' forms.

45. Give

up all doubts regarding the Guru and God. If your worldly desires do not

get fulfilled, do not blame it on your devotion; there is no relationship

between such desires and devotion to God. These worldly desires have to

be given up some day or other; Bhakthi feelings have to be acquired some

day or other. Be firmly convinced of this.

46. If

your Dhyanam or Japam does not progress properly or if the desires you

have entertained do not come to fruition, do not get dispirited with God.

It will dispirit you even more and you will lose the peace, however small

or big, that you might have earned. During Dhyanam and Japam you should

not be dispirited, desperate or discouraged. When such feelings come, take

it that it is the fault of your Sadhana and endeavour to do them correctly.