The Key to God's Heart (13)

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SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE = RESULTS (Chapter 13) On

this path, nothing is given unless one earns it. Spiritual knowledge

and spiritual experience is the most difficult to attain. The

requirement is strict adherence to discipline. No discipline, no grace.

Grace is proportionate to discipline. Depending on how intent and

serious you are, and how intensely you yearn for His presence and His

company. Spiritual discipline equals results. It is essential in the

early stages unless one is fortunate enough to love God already, which

is also His grace. The results and the fruits depend entirely on Him.

Even if one knows what is required, the vast majority of persons are

not prepared to carry out the necessary disciplines to win the key to

God's heart. Or even to acquire any contact with God. In fact, in most

places and homes nowadays, atheism rules and is the norm.Discipline

is essential for the success of any endeavor, whatever it may be. The

discipline of concentration is indispensable for even routine things

like walking, talking, or reading. Spiritual progress depends on this

also. Life becomes worthy of living only when one has disciplined

habits and concentration of mind. They are the embankments that control

and direct the flood waters of emotions and actions. As you grow in

spirituality, as you grow in these disciplines, as you gain nearness to

Him, there are times when you may feel sad and depressed. At such

times, we usually cover up our spiritual hunger for His presence and

His attention with food or other diversions.On this spiritual path, do not think about what others are engaged in or

what your practices are and how difficult it appears to be for you

compared to other people. Each individual receives only what he puts

in, the result is proportional to the effort. It is your choice and up

to you. Besides, others may have worked hard in a previous life and now

it is easy for them or vice versa. You become His instrument and do not

concern yourself with others. The real success of life and living, the

only success is the instilling of love for God in the heart. The fact

that discipline equals results must be understood, accepted and

practiced and the goal reached and the Lord attained.The

greatest error on this path, a major problem and obstacle is the amount

of time spent with Him, or more to the point, the lack of time spent

with Him. Only the time you spend with Him will ensure that you make no

mistakes, because all other faults, mistakes, errors, problems and

obstacles arise from this lack of communication. When you take an

interest in television or err in diet by eating food cooked by others,

then you will find that annoyance will slowly return when you are

crossed. The ego will make an instant appearance demanding its right to

be heard and bowed down to. All this stems from your distance from the

Lord. Once there is this total oneness with the Lord and there is no

distance, when you live in the divine presence, whether there is a

response from Him or not, then all actions, all thoughts, are His. Then

there is no such things as an error. There is no such thing as an

insurmountable problem. His will prevails in all things and His will

will prevail in your favor, always. The grand design is to spend all

the time in His presence. Do not be distracted, concerned or worried

about the future, problems and situations that may arise because all

this will achieve nothing, accomplish nothing.To

know that you have been successful, you have to wait until God accepts

your love and devotion. Until such time as He returns your love in kind

and loves you fully as you love Him. In reality, He loves all His

creation but to win His special favor, His special love, to be His

favorite ,one needs to hear this from Him. It is not a question of your

proposal but the proposal needs to be accepted by Him.Your

behavior must be exemplary. Have no anger, malice, envy or pride

against anyone. Be full of humility. Have faith in human goodness. Each

one should be transformed. Be silent, talk less, talk softly when you

must speak. Do not, by the loudness of your voice, disturb others.

Encourage one another to march along the path of God. Who am I? Where

am I going? How do I get there? These are the questions that should

engross you.What is spiritual discipline and why do we need to practice it? It is the

conscious effort of certain practices with a particular purpose - an

aim with a specific end in view. It is carried out to win the Lord's

grace. Basically, it applies to three areas; the physical, mental and

the spiritual. The physical disciplines help in promoting and aiding

the mental disciplines and the mental disciplines assist the spiritual

to fructify - in other words, helps us to attain the fruit we desire.

What are physical disciplines? It is the avoidance of any harmful input

through the five senses, the eyes, ears, taste, touch and speech. Not

reading newspapers (they rarely contain good news), not being engrossed

in the media. Avoid listening to gossip, do not repeat slander or

scandal. Do not lie. Do your duty at home and in society. Do not take

part in anything that would be harmful to others. Save God given

resources. There are a host of items far too long to list here. Mental

disciplines relate to mind control; the avoidance of bad thoughts, the

mental evils of anger, jealousy, hatred, greed and desire. Try to

practice detachment, observe but do not become involved. Cultivate the

positive values of love, peace, caring, giving, and in particular,

tolerance. It is not always necessary that we must prove we are right.

Listen and forget. Spiritual disciplines are what we engage in to win

the Lord's grace. It could be chanting mantras, praying on a rosary,

meditation, remembering God, worship, devotion, loving God, immersing

oneself in the divine. This can all be compared to a heart and mind

cluttered with all sorts of things which you have indiscriminately

allowed in. It is full of mostly junk, useless obstacles over which you

constantly trip. How can we expect the Lord to come and live amongst

this mountain of useless information? Whenever we are expecting guests,

we tidy and clean our homes in preparation, isn't it? We do not like

anyone to say that our home is untidy. So now we wish to invite the

Lord. Our physical disciplines will stop anymore rubbish from entering

in. From now on, we will veto everything that enters in and check how

good it is for us. The mental process is of clearing out what we do not

need and cleaning and polishing the heart, making it worthy to be the

Lord's residence. The spiritual discipline is our way of building a

bridge to God and establishing a communication line with the divine so

that we can offer Him our beautiful heart as a home for Him to take up

residence in.During

this process, there is a need to be vigilant, to be aware of the why's

and where fore's. One needs to be careful about the literature one

reads, the programs one watches, the environment one frequents and the

activities one engages in because even the most innocent of by ways can

lead one astray. The aim is to cleanse and purify the heart, clean it

until it is sparkling like a golden nugget and then fill it to the brim

with all your love and offer it to Him. He is the diamond to be set in

our hearts of gold. No half hearted attempt will do. He is omnipresent

and omniscient and is fully aware of exactly how much effort each of us

is exerting. With this end in view, from this very moment, we must

spring clean and fill our hearts to over flowing with the nectar of

longing, yearning and love for the Lord. To succeed in this endeavor,

treat Him each day as your invisible companion. Wake God up each

morning, speak to Him as you walk to school or drive to work. Share

with Him your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Play with Him as you would

with your dearest friend. Give Him love throughout the day and finally

put Him to sleep before you retire each night. This is how to live with

the Lord everyday.To know whether you are succeeding, there

is a method of evaluation. It is a fun game that you can play with God.

He also enjoys it very much. Make a chart with God as the goal. Place,

at intervals, on the chart the list of things you will be practicing

and place your name at the bottom of the chart. Then start practicing

all the items you have decided upon sincerely, from your heart. Correct

each error, each twist of character, and then watch what happens. Since

we cannot judge our own progress, leave it to God to decide when you

have successfully overcome a trait. He will move you up the chart

either one step at a time or even 2-3 steps at a time depending on your

sincerity. Wait for His instructions through whatever medium of

communication He decides to use with you. When your offer Him a heart

filled to overflowing with love for Him, how can He ignore you? Only

love and purity can draw Him to you. Love and only love is the means,

the way and the end to winning the Lord's heart.The purpose is to win the Lord's love and grace through discipline, love

and unity. Though it may appear difficult, it is essential. The aim

must be high. If one aims for 100%, 85-95% may be attained. However, if

one aims for only 50%, then the result will naturally be below that. If

your love for God is overwhelming and beyond all bounds, God cannot

help but come to you and give whatever it is that you want. The

response is dictated by the level of love you have for God. His special

grace category is available to all. It means that nothing can come

between you and Him. No matter what your past, present or future, if

your love for God is great, then His grace is automatic.It

is a discipline for people of different races, backgrounds and beliefs

to live as one without friction. Now that the world is a multi cultural

global village, unity is of vital importance. You will note that there

can be no unity without love and discipline and so they are of equal

importance. If unity is absent, it follows that the other qualities are

lacking also. Do not be guided by what you see others do. As the saying

goes, 'One man's meat is another man's poison'. Meaning that the

behavior that is acceptable in one person, due to grace earned in a

past life, is not appropriate in another who does not possess the same.

It is good to meet and hold discussions to iron out problems and or

discuss successes. It will be found that answers will come naturally

through the participants themselves. Tolerance and learning to live

harmoniously with others; making allowances, forgiving and forgetting

are all part of this process.(From : THE KEY TO GOD'S HEART by R SAI) Visit : Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/ (for non-Sai members)

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