Quotable Quotes from Swami - 2

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A bubble of water is born out of water. It is made up of

water. It ultimately mixes with water and disappears. As in this analogy, man

is like a bubble and Narayana is like the source, " water " . Man is

born out of Narayana, is made up of Him and ultimately merges with Him.

A pure thought from a pure heart is better than a Manthra.

A zero will get its value only if it is placed after an

integer. So also a " Jeeva " will get some value only if it is placed

in conjunction with divinity.

Accomodate all forms of God in your heart. Do not exclude

some and welcome others. Accept all achievements and failures as proofs of the

grace of God.

Adoration, affection and attachment are the flowers. Devotion

and dedication are the fruits. When they ripen they fill themselves with the

sweet sustaining juice called wisdom.

Ambition to earn fame in the world, to gain some position of

authority over men, to lead a luxurious life can never ensure mental peace.

An expansive mind is more laudable than an expert brain. One

person shedding love is more desirable than a hundred hard hearted companions.

An iron box is essential to keep safe the precious stones. So

too the body is essential to keep safe the precious gifts of virtue, love and

discrimination.

Anger, ego, jealousy are the biggest diseases. Keep yourself

aloof from these three diseases.

Anger cannot be destroyed by anger and cruelty by cruelty.

Anger can be subdued only by forbearance and cruelty can be overcome only by

nonviolence.

Anger is like an intoxicant; it reduces man and degrades him

to the level of an animal.

As long as the sugar is on the tongue, you feel the sweetness

in taste. Similarly, so long as the heart has love, peace and devotion, you

feel bliss.

As the food, so the mind. As the mind, so the thought. As the

thought, so the act.

At all times, engage yourself in serving others. There is no

greater Sadhana than this.

Be a servant; a servant of God. Feel that you are an

instrument in His hand. Let Him shape you and use you as He knows best.

Be clear and content

Be moderate and wise

Be vigilant and steady.

Be earnest and sweet.

Be good, Do good, See good - this is the way to God.

Be guarded against the 'evil of the tongue', 'evil of the

mind' and 'evil of the hand'.

Be like a star which never wavers from the crescent, but is

fixed in steady faith. Be like a lotus which is not affected by the water in

which it is born.

Be what you profess to be. Speak what you intend to do. Utter

what you have experienced. No more. No less.

Believe that God is one, though he is addressed and prayed to

by different groups of people in different names.

Believe that there is no morality higher than truth, there is

no prayer more fruitful than seva.

Believe that there is nothing greater than truth; nothing

sweeter, nothing more precious and nothing more lasting.

Bend before the lowly, the humbly, the Godly, the good. Do

not bend before the proud; the promoters of hate and greed.

Bhajan cleanses and purifies the atmosphere by its vital

vibrations. It inspires, instructs, it calls and comforts.

Bhakti (devotion) is as essential for experiencing Atmic

Bliss as blood is essential for the body.

Be like the ant. When the ant gets a mixture of sand and

sugar, it selects only sugar; it neglects sand. See only good in others. Pay no

attention to the bad.

Body is a house given to you for rent. Live there so long as

He wills, thanking him and paying Him the rent of faith and devotion.

By chanting the name of the Lord sanctify your time. By

singing His glory, sanctify your life. Always continously develop a pure heart

for the welfare of the world.

Calamity, danger, death cannot be avoided for all time. They

are inevitable factors of life and you have to learn to live bravely with them.

 

Chanting the name of the Lord must be considered as the

highest form of Sadhana. You can travel anywhere in the light of this name. In

this age of Kali Yuga, the easiest way to reach the Lord, is this chanting of

the Lord's name. There is nothing more sacred than this name.

Character is the most precious gift of education. Without

character, wealth, education and social status are of no avail.

Close your eyes to the faults of others, but keep them open

to discover your own.

Consider the entire society as your home, only then you will

realize genuine unity with all.

Constant dwelling with the name of the Lord gives that

unshakeable peace unaffected by the ups and downs of life.

Command the mind, regulate your conduct, keep your heart

straight and clear, then you will get the grace of God.

Concentration is a conscious activity and meditation is a

super conscious experience.

Contentment is the most precious treasure. Contentment alone

can lead man to the goal of life, the attainment of divinity.

Cows may be of different breeds or colors or sizes, but milk

they yield is the same, the world over. So too, all religions, what ever their

origin or extent of influence, are means to teach man this process.

Creation is divine; imitation is human.

Dedicate all your physical possession and mental skills and

intellectual attainments to the service of the Lord.

Desire is storm, greed is whirl-pool, pride is precipice,

attachment is avalanche and ego is volcano. Discard these and you will be

liberated.

Dedicate your hands to the service of mankind, never deviate

from that attitude.

Dedication ensures success; purifies inner vision, gives

lasting joy.

Desires, disappointments and despair cause diseases. Filling

the mind with the thought of God is the curative drug.

Develop the quality of love that asks for no return, develop

divine knowledge and develop the inner vision.

Devotion is the sustenance of the heart, just as food is the

sustenance for the body; devotion to duty is the highest form of worship to God.

 

Devotion is not a uniform to be worn on certain days when you

gather for worship and then to be laid aside when the service is over.

Devotion to God does not mean merely offering worship in a

shrine or taking part in Bhajan or Sankirtan. One must recognize the form of

Divine in the images one worships or human being one serves.

Devotion truly means worshipping the Lord, not caring for the

fruits of one's actions.

Discipline is the mark of intelligent living; it is more

essential for success in spiritual effort.

Dive and declare the depth, eat and judge the taste.

Divine bliss cannot be gained by accumulation of impediments

like cars and houses, land and gold, stocks and stores.

Divine is not manufactured by any company nor available in

any shop. It is not something that can be earned from outside, it has to sprout

and grow from within and treasured within.

Divine is the inner core of all beings, near and far, big or

small. Expand your consciousness to its utmost limits.

Do and dedicate,

Work and worship,

Plan and protect,

But do not worry about the fruit,

That is the secret of spiritual success.

Do good deeds, you get good in return. Do bad deeds, you reap

bad results; do not blame God, thank yourself, blame yourself.

Doing one's duty, however small, in an unattached manner

gives rise to the awakening of self awareness.

Do not be affected when the results you anticipate are not

produced; do not anticipate at all, but leave it to God.

Do not depend on others to serve your needs, become your own

servant before proceeding to serve others.

Do not get puffed up when you succeed. Do not get punctured

when you fail.

Do not give room for differences based on language, religion,

caste or nationality. Develop the feeling that all are children of God. You may

worship God in any form of your choice, but always bear in mind that God is

one. Cultivate love and promote unity and harmony among all.

Do not give up wordly duties, but do them with the Name of

God on your lips inviting the Grace of God on your heads.

Do not lay claim to long life but to divine life; do not pine

for more years on earth, but for more virtues in the heart.

Each has has his particular duty, task, role as an

individual; do that duty, carry on that task. Play that role as best as you

can; that is how one can fulfill himself.

Earning money cannot be the purpose of education; acquiring

good qualities can be the only purpose of education.

Education does not mean only giving meaning to the words.

Whatever is learnt in schools and colleges has to be practised and has to be

used for the welfare of the society. That is true education.

Education is a wasteful process unless knowledge is

transformed into wisdom and wisdom is expressed in character.

Education is to be valued not as a means of earning one's

livelihood, but as the essential requisite for a happy, peaceful and

progressive life.

Education must ultimately mean:

" E " for Enlightment

" D " for Duty and Devotion

" U " for Understanding

" C " for Character

" A " for Action

" T " for Thanking

" I " for Integrity

" O " for Oneness

" N " for Nobility

Education should be divorced from job hunting. Its primary

purpose should be to enable the educated to lead an honorable and meaningful

life in society.

Education without character, politics without principles and

commerce without morality are not only useless, but positively dangerous.

Ego lives by getting and forgetting. Love lives by giving and

forgiving.

Engage always in good deeds, beneficial activities, speak the

truth, do not inflict pain by word or deed or even thought. That is the highest

gain which you can earn in this life.

Every action of yours at the present time is bound to have a

reaction, resound and reflection in the future.

Every human being is has a body which is like a chariot and

has a charioteer, which is the Atma. This is universally true and this is the

basis of the unity and diversity of in all mankind.

Every human being has four birthdays: the first is when he

emerges from his mother's womb; the second is when he begins his spiritual

study to lead him from darkness to light; third is when he has gained wisdom

for achieving self realization; the fourth and last is when he realizes his

true identity and merges with Brahman.

Every passing minute is a precious gift from God which you

have to use for the best and most lasting benefit.

Every rise will be followed by a fall, every elation will be

followed by depression.

Feel that you are a hundred percent dependent on God, He will

look after you and save you from harm and injury.

Feel that your family, your house, your fields, your cars are

all the Lord's property and that you are only the trustee.

Feel the presence of God when silence reigns; in the

excitement and confusion, you cannot hear His 'Foot Fall'.

For the disease of 'Bhavaroga' (birth death cycle), Bhagavan

is the medicine; for the disease of desire, Jnana is the prescription; for the

disease of doubt, the most effective remedy is paropakara (service); for the

major infection of asanthi (anxiety), the course of treatment is Bhajan.

Friendship should not be based on consideration of fear and

favor, sacred friendship is that which enables one to help others at all times

and in all circumstances.

Get the doctor who would assure 'hereafter you will not fall

ill' and not the doctor who gives some relief to the present attacks.

'Gift' is a meritorious act, if it is rendered to the needy

at the time of need, in a manner that fulfills the need, it must be made

without pride and publicity.

Give up in order to gain; restrain in order to receive;

become blind in order to see more clearly.

Giving is gaining. Gaining is grieving.

Giving up one's evil thoughts constitutes sacrifice and yoga

- leaving one's wife, giving up one's material possessions and repairing to the

forest will be of no avail.

Goal of human life is not just eating, drinking, sleeping,

tasting a little joy and grief and finally dying like any bird or beast; the

goal is the realization of the eternal absolute.

God acts as creator, protector and destroyer. You must show

your gratitude to God by your actions, not your words.

God can be addressed by any name that tastes sweet to your

tongue or pictured in any form that appeals to your sense of wonder and awe.

God cannot be won by tricks or through short cuts, He can be

won only by the hard way of struggle, detachment and tough discipline.

God does not appreciate external pomps and exhibitionistic

behaviour. God does not take revenge if you do not recognize Him or revere Him.

 

God does not calculate the cost of all which you surrender at

His feet; He examines the spirit in which it is surrendered.

God does not draw you near or keep you far; God does not deny

anyone, it is only you who deny God.

God does not live in structures of stone or brick, He lives

in soft hearts, warm with sympathy and fragrant with universal love.

God grants you what you need and desire; there is no reason

to ask, no reason to grumble.

God has given you the heart to use in life, return it to Him

as clean and as pure.

God has no desire to bless nor anger to induce Him to punish.

You get blessed and punished as a result of your own feelings and acts.

God has no preference and prejudices. He is but reaction and

resound.

God has not made any one wholly bad or wholly good; your

likes and dislikes are inducing you to label them such.

God is all mercy, adore Him so long as you have breath, so

long as you are conscious.

God is all names and all forms, He cannot be identified with

one name and one form; the whole universe is inhabited by God.

God is always ready to give you all that you want but you do

not seem to know what is good for you and what you really want, so it is better

and easier to surrender yourself completely to God and simply ask for His Grace.

 

God is nameless, but He responds when His name, in any one of

the many, is taken by the seeker.

God is not attracted by your appearance, He will look at the

cleanliness of the inner self.

God is not involved in either rewards or punishment. He only

reflects, resounds and reacts; He is the eternal unaffected witness.

God is not somewhere away from you, someone distinct from

you, He is in you, before you, behind you.

God is the sugar that can make the tasteless drink of life

into a sweet potion.

God sees your devotion and not power; God cares for your

quality and not your caste; God looks at your heart and not at your wealth.

God will respond only when you call Him from the depth of

feeling. He will be deaf even if you call him a million times automatically and

artificially with the tongue and not with the heart.

Grace of God is equal on all, but it leaks through the holes

of anger, ego, lust, greed and desires. Fill the holes with trust, kindness,

love, patience and gratefulness.

Hands are given to us so that we may perform good acts and

offer the flower of service to the Lord.

Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.

However you are, you are mine. I will never give you up.

Wherever you are, you are near me. You cannot go beyond my reach.

I do not need your garlands and fruits, they are not

genuinely yours, give me something that is yours, something which is clean and

fragrant with the perfume of virtue and innocence and washed in the tears of

repentance.

I do not reveal or refuse, it is for you to discover and

decide.

I do not take anything from anyone except their love and

devotion.

I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to

confirm each in his own faith, so that the Christian becomes a better

Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim and the Hindu a better Hindu.

If God is a flower, you should feel yourself a bee that sucks

its honey, if he is tree, be a creeper that clings to it, if he is the sky, be

a tiny star that twinkles in it. Above all, be conscious of the truth that you

and He are bound by supreme love.

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty

in the character.

If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

If thought and activities of the mind are sound, healthy,

non-violent, filled with love and morally harmonious, then peace is near at

hand.

In all the deeds that you perform, in all the individuals

that you meet and in all the thoughts that you entertain, you must see the

divine and act accordingly.

In an office if you work full time, you get full pay; if you

work part time, you get half pay. In the same manner, if you give only part of

your mind and ask for full return of the grace of God, it is asking for full

pay for half work.

In order to gain the benefit that education can confer, it

must be directed towards the cleansing of the inner instruments of thought and

feeling. It has to promote and protect the pleasure of spiritual learning.

In the garden of your heart, plant and foster the rose of

divinity, the jasmine of purity and humility, the champak of generosity.

In the medicine chest of every member of our Seva Dal, one

must keep in readiness tablets of discrimination, drops of self control, the

powers of faith, devotion and patience. Only then one can be freed of the

illness of ignorance.

In the path of Bhakthi there are no hurdles young, high or

low, man or women, all are equally entitled to tread it.

In the Sathya there is no mithya, but in the mithya (jagath)

you have to search for Sathya and experience it. You can do it, if you rid your

mind of all modifications and modulations. Let it be transformed from its

present complex confusion into some thing like the sky, which does not bear any

mark, though millions of birds fly through it and thousands of planes move

across it. Be unaffected, untouched, unattached. That is the Sadhana which will

reveal the reality.

Influence of divinity is such that while you are

contemplating it all trace of envy and greed will disappear from the mind.

Install the Lord in your heart and offer Him the fruits of

your actions and the flowers of your inner thoughts and feelings. That is the

worship I like most, the devotion I appreciate most.

Instead of indulging in vain prattle, glorify God and walk in

His path and pray to Him. Spend the allotted span of years in the contemplation

and the adoration of the Almighty, not in servile praise of the feeble, the

futile and the weak. Life is an opportunity afforded to each, not to eat and

drink, but to achieve something nobler and grandeur, to master oneself and

merge in the reality.

It is an act of merit to be of service to others, it is a sin

to harm others.

Its is more sacred and sanctifying to fill our hearts with

love than to fill our hearts with all kinds of books on spiritual matters.

It is of no use if you simply utter the name of the God and

if you do not follow the good things, it is just like uttering the name of

penicillin when you are running a high temperature.

It is only by means of purity of mind, can you come close to

the Lord.

Just as sugar cane does not yield sugar juice unless it is

crushed, as sandal wood does not give the fragrant paste unless it is rubbed on

the stone, so the goodness of people does not come out unless they go through

difficulties.

Karma Yoga is the earthern lamp, Bhakthi Yoga is the oil in

it, Raja Yoga is the wick, Jnana Yoga is the light.

Karma cleanses the mind if it is done as a dedicatory act,

the consequence being left to the will of the Lord. Repentance saves even

sinners from perdition. No ceremony of expiation is as effective as sincere

repentance.

Keep away from impure listening, impure acts, impure words,

impure thoughts.

Keep the name of the Lord always radiant on your tongue and

mind, that will keep the antics of the mind under control.

Knowing the way is not enough. The path must be traversed to

reach the destination. That journey is service to society.

Knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful,

knowledge without character is a powerful evil. Knowledge without action is

useless; action without knowledge is foolishness.

Learn to adopt, adjust and accomodate. Learn to give, not to

take, learn to serve, not to rule.

Less luggage, more comfort is a slogan for a journey of life;

reduce desires, loosen attachment, you will win freedom.

Let the name of the Lord come from the core of your heart. It

should not come merely from the lips. It should be chanted with love and faith.

 

Let your boat be on the waters, but do not allow the waters

to enter the boat. Be in the world, but not of it. That is the secret of a

truly happy life.

Life can be peaceful only when you can control excitement of

your body and mind, life is undoubtedly incomplete without thought about God.

Life is a journey from " I " to " WE " .

Life is enveloped in the bitter skin of lust, anger, greed,

attachment and jealousy; remove the skin and throw it away so that the

sweetness can be tasted.

Love in thought is truth.

Love in action is right conduct.

Love in understanding is peace.

Love in feeling is non-violence.

Love lives by giving and forgiving; self lives by getting and

forgetting.

Love saturates all activities with joy and peace.

Love ennobles the least and the lowest.

Love yourself for the God that it embodies.

Love others for the God that is enshrined in them.

Love the Lord's creation as much as the Lord Himself. Then

the tree of life will yield the sweet fruit of Madhura Bhakthi.

Measure the height you have reached with the yard stick of

virtue, serenity, fortitude and equanimity.

Mind, word and act, all three must be filled with the belief

that all is His play, that is the genuine path.

Name of the God is the rifle which guards you against the

beasts of prey in the jungle of life. Name of God is the most effective tonic,

it will keep off all illness.

Not by wealth or progeny, neither by reading or listening but

only by sacrifice can you get the vision of the divine. Sacrifice of ego is the

highest sadhana.

Objective possessions and subjective passions are handicaps

in the race of realization.

Offer God real flower grown in the garden of your heart;

fragrant, beautiful and delighting.

Offering all the deeds of man at the feet of the Lord is the

real yajna. Every action performed by man must be considered as an offering to

the Lord and as the Lord's work itself.

Only in fear of sin can you experience peace and nonviolence.

Only in love of God can you foster truth and love. In social morality you can

experience righteousness.

Only through renunciation can immortality (oneness with God)

be attained.

Peace of mind cannot be gained by wealth or fame or skill. It

can be achieved only through sacrifice.

Peace or distraction, calm or anxiety, it is the product of

one's thoughts and deeds.

Prayer alone makes life happy, harmonious and worth living in

this universe. Prayer brings man and God together and with every sigh nearer

and nearer.

Prayer is the yearning one experiences to awaken the divinity

latent in the heart. Prayer is not pronouncing of words.

Prayer reveals the real secret of life, prayer will succeed

when thoughts are pure.

Properties are not proper ties.

Pursuit of material pleasures will be like nectar at first,

but like poison at the end.

Religions are many, but the road is the same. Flowers are

many, but worship is the same, professions are many but living is the same.

Remember that God is not someone else, but one's own inner

self.

Remember that if there is anything sweeter than all sweet

things, more auspicious than all auspicious things, holier than all holy

objects, verily it is the name of the Lord.

Remember there is no morality higher than truth. There is no

prayer more fruitful than seva.

Remove from the garden of your heart, the thorny bushes of

greed, anger, jealousy and selfishness.

Reverence for all life in thought, word and deed is

nonviolence.

Sadhana leads to Truth

Satkarma leads to Dharma

Bhakti leads to Peace

Upasana leads to Love.

Science is below the mind, spirituality is beyond the mind.

Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is

blind.

Service is the ship by which one can cross the ocean of

samsara (life)

Service to man is the highest form of worship. Do not offend

or harm anyone.

Seva (service) taken up as Sadhana (discipline) teaches

Sahana (patience).

So long as man is not able to push away the clouds of

selfishness, he cannot look at the sun of wisdom.

Success or failure is your own making. You decide your

destiny. The Lord has no share in deciding it.

Suffering entitles you more to the Grace of the Lord. When

suffering comes in waves, one behind the other, be glad that the shore is near,

bear them bravely. Like cowards, do not throw the blame on some outside power

or develop dislike for the Lord.

The bird with you - the wings with me.

The foot with you - the way with me.

The eye with you - the form with me.

The thing with you - the dream with me.

The world with you - so we are bound.

So we begin - and so we end.

You in me - and I in you.

The day when we understand that every thing belongs to God,

that will be the dawn of knowledge.

The essence of all the Puranas and Vedas is " Do good to

others and keep away from doing harm to others " .

The good hearted man who professes no religion is the truly

religious man.

There is nothing in the universe higher than God; different

from God; distinct from God.

Those who walk with God always reach their destination.

Through reading you gather information but through service

you get transformation.

Truth is the sustaining factor behind all, it is the very core

and essence of divine life.

Unless God's Grace and human effort come together the result

cannot be achieved.

Use the body as a boat to cross the ocean of life with

devotion and detachment.

Water flows from a higher level to the lower. God's Grace too

flows down to those who are bent with humility.

We do no get what we desire, we get what we deserve.

Wealth that you hoard is not yours, wealth that you have

given is really yours.

Yesterday has deceived you and gone, tomorrow is a doubtful

visitor. Today is a fast friend, hold fast to it.

You cannot always oblige but you can be obliging.

You cannot claim to be educated or grown up unless you have

mastered the science of self control and destroyed the root cause of delusion.

You must give up the luggage of your desires and wishes and

thus make life less burdensome.

You must surrender your judgement to the Lord, then Lord will

assume full responsibility.

You need offer only two things to God - pure love and

selfless service.

Your life can be peaceful only when you can control your

excitement of the body and mind.

Your virtue is your shield, your vice

is the weapon that inflicts wounds on you.

 

Continued