SWAMI ON CONTROLLING DESIRES AND ANGER

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SWAMI ON CONTROLLING DESIRES AND ANGER

If you want to reach the ultimate truth of your being and be immersed in the

bliss of your own divine principle, you need to develop complete control over

your desires. The moment any thought arises, you should inquire into the nature

of this thought. Ask yourself, "Is this thought desirable or is it harmful for

my spiritual progress?" Devotees should be extremely careful right from the

very beginning, to see to it that dark thoughts do not remain in their minds.

For most people, it is impossible to remain without any thoughts at all. But,

at least, when dark thoughts arise you can do something about it. Do not harbor

them. Give them no shelter.

Immediately transform any dark thoughts into sacred ones. In the same way, see

to it that you undertake only good actions, and take every opportunity to

transform these actions into worship by consecrating them to the Lord. By

transforming all thoughts into noble thoughts and all work into worship, you

will naturally progress on the sacred path. By controlling your thoughts in

this way, you will also be able to control any anger that might arise.

Quite a few people worry about anger, wondering what is the best way to control

it when it comes on and tries to overwhelm them. The easiest way to control

anger is this. The moment you become aware that anger is rising within you,

just laugh very loudly. Or go to the bathroom and have a cool bath. You can

also take a glass of cool water and relax in a cool place. The moment anger

comes it is most helpful to leave the place where you are and go somewhere

else. If with all these measures you still have not been able to control your

anger, then stand in front of a mirror and examine your face. After seeing your

appearance you will surely feel so much disgust that at once you will be able to

control your anger.

One other thing you can do whenever anger comes is to inquire into the cause of

this anger. Is it justified? Remember that if someone is going to be harmed in

the process of your anger, you will be committing a sin, and that cannot

possibly be good for you. To undertake all these methods will be quite

difficult, but it is enough to remember not to let your tongue go into action

immediately after you get angry and spill out a torrent of angry words. Take

some time to think things over. In a number of ways anger weakens a person who

is trying to undertake a spiritual practice. If you make some effort to control

anger when it arises, these efforts will act to strengthen your body and purify

your mind.

Source: http://askbaba.net/discourses/d1974/d19740600-16.html

SATHYA SAI BABA'S 46 MAXIMS

1.  Prema, Love, should be considered as the very breath of Life. 2.  The Love

that is manifest in all things equally believes that the same Prema is

Paramatma. 3.  The one Paramatma 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 Darshan 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: Speaking falsehood Speaking ill of others Back-biting and 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 Eating of fleshIt 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 PrideMan'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 impatient 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 goal

of cultivating the love for God. 19.  Patience is all the strength that 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

honor 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 endeavor,

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 Universe. 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.  Assume silence

when

you are invaded by anger or remember the Name of the Lord. Instead, do not try

to 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 least 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 once. 32.  Whatever you feel should not be done to you by others,

avoid your doing such 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 swelled 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 than 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. This is far preferable. 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 harbor anger or vengeance 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

your 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.  Only the Bhaktha understands the Lord; only the Lord

understands the Bhaktha. 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 do 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.

>From Sandeha Nivarini by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

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