Quotable Quotes from Swami - 3

[Guest guest]

Note: forwarded message attached.

 

 

 

______________________________\

____

Luggage? GPS? Comic books?

Check out fitting gifts for grads at Search

http://search./search?fr=oni_on_mail & p=graduation+gifts & cs=bz

 

 

 

Destroying pride man becomes endearing;

Destroying anger man gets rid of sorrow

Destroying desire man acquires peace;

Destroying greed man achieves happiness.

Bear in mind the three P's: Purity, Patience and

Perseverance. With these three, you are bound to acquire good health and bliss

Action with Love is Right Conduct.

Speak with Love and it becomes Truth.

Thinking with Love results in Peace.

Understanding with Love leads to non-violence

What is devotion? It is not merely offering several types of

worship or going on pilgrimage. Unalloyed and true love for love's sake alone

constitutes devotion. True devotion is the love flowing from a pure heart

unpolluted by selfish motives.

Humanness can be promoted only through spirituality and not

by any other means. Just as a seed can sprout only when it is planted in the

soil and watered, human values can grow only in a spiritual soil. If a man

wants to cultivate human values, he has to apply the manure of spirituality to

his heart, water it with love so that human values will grow

While taking food, you should not discuss dreadful incidents.

No room should be given to subjects which excite the mind. Silence should

prevail during eating. Even sound waves enter into us and affect our minds.

Hence people should avoid seeing television while taking food.

Spirituality does not mean leading a lonely ascetic life.

Spirituality means getting rid of attachment and hatred and looking upon the

whole humanity as one.

I know your name, your degrees, your profession, your status

and your history. I know your past, present and future. But you do not know me.

That is why sometimes in order to reveal who I am, I myself show my visiting

card, something which you call a miracle.

It is not enough to praise God. You have to love Him. You

have to become Love itself so that you can love the entire universe. When you

become embodiments of Love, you can love all.

To earn the Grace of the Divine, the easy way is surrendering

at the Feet of the Lord. There is so much power in the feet of the Lord which

you cannot understand. The feet form the basis for not only the physical frame

of the body, but also for spiritual and ethical purposes.

There is no greater penance than contentment for securing

happiness.

There is no worse disease than insatiable desire.

There is no greater virtue than compassion.

Peace is the highest spiritual discipline.

Hold all your property and wealth in trust for the Lord, who

gave them to you. Even you and your family, you must take as a sacred trust, as

persons given to you by the Lord to love, foster and guide. Thus you must

elevate your attachment into worship and make it an instrument of spiritual

progress.

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

sugar it selects only the sugar. It neglects the sand. See only the good in

others; pay no attention to the bad.

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

the Divine in the images one worships or the human beings one serves

The only hold that man has in this dreadful darkness is the

name of God. That is the raft which will take Him across this stormy sea

darkened by hate and fear, churned by anxiety and terror.

The affection between a mother and a child or between a

husband and wife is incidental to a certain temporary relationship and is not

real love at all. True Love has neither a beginning nor an end. It exists in

all three categories of time - past, present and future. That alone is true

Love which can fill man with enduring Bliss.

Discipline grows out of devotion. Devotion stems out of duty.

Observe the three D's - Discipline, Devotion and Duty. This is true

spirituality. In the performance of every duty there should be devotion. There

should be devotion and not diversion.

Fulfillment in life is not attained by physical health and

strength alone. Even when the stomach is full, the mind must get the

satisfaction. Hence, effort should be made to promote mental health also. Only

when both the mind and the body are hale and well, can one experience

happiness.

/ alone bestows the supreme good / alone is the destroyer of the cycle of existenceDevotion \ alone is the means of recognizing divinity \ alone is the means of liberation.

The following is the four

fold formula for all people.

1. Welcome

good company.

2. Eschew

all association with the evil minded.

3. Perform

meritorious acts ceaselessly.

4. Always

discriminate between the transient and the ever lasting

Truth is the mother

Wisdom is the father

Right conduct is the brother

Compassion is the friend

Peace is the spouse

Forgiveness is the son

These six alone are the real relations for every one.

It is easy to conquer anger through

love, attachment through reasoning, falsehood through truth, bad thoughts

through good and greed through charity.

Struggle to realize Atma to visualize God; even failure in

this struggle is nobler than the success in other worldly affairs.

A bar of iron sinks in water; but beat it into a hollow

vessel and it will float merrily and even carry some weight. So too, man's mind

sinks easily in the sea of senses; beat it hollow, hammering it with the Name

of the Lord. It will float, safely on a sea of troubles. Do not be like gramophone

records singing someone else's song, ignorant of the genuine thrill of music.

Sing from your own experience the glory and grace of the Lord.

The easiest and most fruitful method of keeping yourself free

from dust and rust is Sathsang (good company). The company of the good and the

Godly will slowly and surely chasten and cleanse the persons prone to straying

away from straight path towards self realization.

The heart is the film and mind is the lens. Turn the lens

towards the world, the worldly picture will fall on the heart; turn it towards

God and it will transmit the picture of the divine.

The Lord is the sweetness, you are the sugar; He is fire, you

are fuel. He has no heart; every heart where He is installed is His. Cleanse

the heart by listening to spiritual discourses, seeking the company of the

righteous, simple and sincere and by cultivating goodness of character and

sweetness of disposition.

Expansion is the essence of love. When a lamp is lit, from

another, there are two where there was one. The first one did not stop emitting

light. You can light a million lamps from one; yet the first will not suffer at

all! Love too is like this. Share it with a million, it will still be as bright

as when it was alone.

Work (Karma), Wisdom (Jnana) and Worship (Bhakti) are the

three paths to God, but because of desire (Kama),

Karma is warped through Krodha (anger). Jnana is befogged and due to greed

(Lobha), Bhakthi is ruined but by developing Prema, man can conquer all these

weaknesses.

Make your lives simple. Execute the daily tasks in a spirit

of love and mutual cooperation. Be tolerant towards the errors and failings of

others. Look upon them with sympathy and equanimity. Be calm and without

agitations under all conditions. Then your sentiments will be tender and

unselfish. Envy, hatred and vindictiveness will not be able to gain entrance in

the stronghold of your mind. You will have peace and happiness.

What exactly is duty? Let me summarise it for you.

1. Tend

to your parents with love and reverence and gratitude.

2. Speak

the truth and act virtuously.

3. Whenever

you have time repeat the Name of the Lord with the form in your mind.

4. Never

indulge in talking ill of others or try to discover faults in others.

5. Do

not cause pain to others in any form

Forbearance is equivalent to truth itself. Forbearance is the

heart of righteousness. Forbearance is the very essence of the Veda.

Forbearance is non-violence in practice. Forbearance is contentment, it is

compassion. Truly it is everything in all the worlds. Only when you have

developed patience and forbearance will you be able to obtain the Lord.

Bad deeds never yield good,

Good deeds never yield bad.

Neem seeds never yield mangoes,

Mango seeds never yield neem

On your land, you can grow food as you like or you can be

idle and let it lie fallow. You owe yourself the cause of ruin or progress. The

tools are in your hands; you can learn the skills and break the shackles and

escape, but if you decide to spend life in slavery and bondage, who can save

you? Do not blame fate. The status in the present life is decided on your

actions in the previous life.

You must realize that the divine current that flows and

functions in every living being is the One Universal entity. When you desire to

enter the mansion

of God, you are

confronted by two closed doors - the desire to praise yourself and the desire

to defame others. The doors are bolted by envy and there is also the huge lock

of egoism preventing entry. So if you are earnest, you have to resort to the

key of prema (love) and open the lock; then remove the bolt and throw the doors

wide open. The education must train you in this difficult operation.

You are the Atma, which is entangled in the body, a wave of

Sathyam (Truth), Shivam (Goodness) and Sundaram (Beauty), playing on the ocean of Sathyam (Truth), Shivam (Goodness) and

Sundaram (Beauty), which is the Lord.

When the impulses arising from the heart are expressed in

words, that is Sathya. To put into action your words is Dharma. For all these

Love is primary. Love in action is righteousness. Love in speech is truth. Love

in thought is peace. Love in understanding is non-violence. When you realize

that God is in everyone, you will practice non-violence.

In order to light the Jyothi you need four things - a

container, oil, wick and a match stick (fire) to light it. Only by the light of

the Divine lamp inside can you blossom as a worthwhile person. The inner purity

is the wick in the container of the heart. Devotion is the oil and Divine Grace

is the fire with which the lamp of wisdom can be lit. The prime requisite for

achieving Divine Grace is to have harmony in thought, word and deed.

The spirit of sacrifice is the basic equipment of the sevak.

Without the inspiration of the sense of sacrifice, your seva will be hypocrisy,

a hollow ritual. Inscribe this on your heart. Inscribe it deep and clear. There

are four modes of writing, dependent on the material on which the text is

inscribed. The first is writing on water. It is washed out even while the

finger moves. The next is writing on sand. It is legible, until the wind blows

it into mere flatness. The third is inscription on rocks; it lasts for

centuries, but it too is corroded by claws of time. Have this inscribed in your

heart - the axiom that " serving others is meritorious, that harming others

or remaining unaffected and idle while others suffer, is sin. "

The grace of God cannot be won through the gymnastics of

reason, the contortions of Yoga or denials of asceticism. Love alone can win

it, Love that needs no requital, Love that knows no bargaining, Love that is

paid gladly as tribute to all living, Love that is unwavering. Love alone can

overcome obstacles, however many and mighty. There is no strength more

effective than Purity, no Bliss more satisfying than Love, no joy more

restoring than Bhakti, no triumph more praiseworthy than surrender.

It

is true that many have love for God. But they do not live up to the dictates of

the Divine. Those who follow the Divine injunctions in a formal manner, do not

act with love for God. It is only when there is a union of love and obedience

to God's dictates that one can attain peace of mind.

Prayer has to be united with practice. You should not pray

for one thing and practice another. Such prayer is only a means of deception.

The words you utter, the deeds you do, the prayers you make must be directed

along the same path.

When you have done your best and that is found not enough,

then call on ME. I am ever ready to reinforce your efforts with My Grace.

Selflessness, humility, simplicity and unostentatiousness are

qualities that underlie the human personality. Along with academic excellence,

a student should cultivate good qualities. Education enables you to score

marks, but you also need elevation of your personality. Such noble qualities

contribute to elevation. Education and elevation combine to develop the human

personality.

The sun's image can be seen in an ocean, a river, a lake, a

pond or a well. Everywhere the sun appears to be shining. Are there so many

different suns? No! The objects reflecting the image of the sun are varied and

different from one another. Likewise, names and forms may be different, but in

all beings, the same God, without being divided, shines as the indweller. Thus,

although bodies may appear with different names and forms, the Divine in them

is one.

Where there is attachment, there is hatred, which is a

reflection of fear. Fear is born out of attachment, the fear of losing what one

has. Attachment and fear breed hatred. These three vices lead man to stray from

the virtues of earnestness and faith (Shraddha and Vishvaasa). Hence,

attachment, hatred and fear have to be brought under control.

The heart is the film and the mind, the lens. Turn the lens

towards the world, the worldly picture will fall on the heart; turn it towards

God, and it will transmit the picture of the Divine.

Surrender implies that the 'individual will' should become

one with the 'Divine Will's. Obey the Divine Command implicitly without

questioning. That is the sign of true devotion. Whatever God does is for your

good.

You consider this habitation of yours as " your "

body. No, it is the temple

of God! God resides

therein. Keep it clean, fresh and fragrant through developing compassion and

love. Use the temple

of God only for holy

thoughts, words and deeds.

What is spirituality? It is the resolute pursuit of cosmic

consciousness. It aims at enabling man to manifest, in all its fullness, the

Divine Cosmic Consciousness (Chaitanya) that is present within and outside him.

It means getting rid of the animal nature in man. It means breaking down the

barriers between God and Nature and establishing their essential oneness.

If you wish to enjoy enduring happiness, you have to fill

your mind with pure thoughts and develop fine feelings in your heart. Through

good thoughts and good kindly actions, the heart gets pure and holy.

Come out of the well of ego and swim in the ocean of Universal Spirit

or Paramatma of which you are a part. Force your mind or persuade it gently and

caressingly to breathe the pure and more vital atmosphere of the eternal.

Remember God and His Glory, every second, every breath when you repeat one of

His names.

We need not do penance nor study the scriptures. What is it

that we must do in order to cross the ocean of life, attain Divinity, and find

fulfillment in life? We must serve our fellow man with a loving heart. Service

in itself is not anything great. We must serve and work with a loving heart.

Every small action we may be involved in should be full of Love.

Love must be manifested as service or seva. Seva must take

the form of food for the hungry, solace for the forlorn, consolation of the

sick and the suffering. Develop compassion. Live in Love. Be Good, Do Good, and

See Good. This is the way to God.

If you have no patience, your anger is fruitless. Such anger

is even harmful to you. That your anger, which arises from a lack of patience,

helps your unhappiness to grow. The ability to control this kind of anger will come

only when you can develop equanimity of mind.

If the mind is properly understood and disciplined and is

applied to get rid of wicked qualities based on selfishness, it will lead to a

purposeful and fruitful life. It is basically due to selfish thoughts that one

fails to achieve the goal of human life.

The foolish man who relies only on his mind will degrade

himself by becoming worse than a brute. While the wise person who follows the

guidance of his power of discrimination (intellect) will become the master of

his destiny.

A cleansed heart is the most appropriate altar. In that

fragrant bower the Lord will establish Himself. At that instant another

incident too will happen: the group of six vices that had infested the place

will quit without so much as a farewell. When these vices quit, the wicked

retinue of evil tendencies and vulgar attitudes, which thrive on them, will

also break camp and disappear, without even leaving their addresses! Then man

will shine in his pristine splendour of truth and love, and finally succeed in

merging with the Supreme.

There is nothing good or bad in creation. But, as long as

body consciousness exists, one has to experience both. For one who lacks

intelligence and wisdom, detachment becomes a burden. For one who lacks knowledge,

the body becomes a burden. For one who lacks love, the mind becomes a burden.

Man must control his senses to the extent possible.

Otherwise, he will suffer grief. Man must not commit the blunder of resigning

everything to his fate. With enquiries and determination, one can achieve

anything.

Each person is the master of his or her mind. He alone is a

true person who understands this reality - that the microcosm is in the

macrocosm and the macrocosm is in the microcosm.

When man realises his true form, he is liberated. When man

destroys all the desires in him, he is liberated - Moha Kshaya (destruction of

desires) is Moksha or liberation.

Just as one blows of the ash to see the latent fire, one must

blow away the ashes of bad qualities on the self with the air of Naamasmarana.

Just as one removes the moss on the water with the hands to reveal crystal

clear water, man must remove the moss of sensual pleasures with the hands of

good-acts. Naamasmarana is the best way prescribed for the Kali age to attain

liberation.

Darshan (Sight of the Lord), Sparshan (touching the feet) and

Sambhasan (talking with the Lord): Darshan gives you liberation from all sins;

Sparshan frees you from the effects of all your actions and Sambhasan destroys

all miseries. You heart can attain purity through Divine grace.

Sound is everywhere. Good sounds come from namasmarana

(remembering God's name), and benefit everyone. During bhajans, when singing,

sruti (pitch), tal (rhythm) and tabla all come together in harmony, beneficial

sounds result. The sruti box is the mind, the tablas are like the words and the

tal may be compared to action. When mind (thoughts), words and actions are all

in unison (triputi), We have Bliss.

We must serve our fellow man with a loving heart. Service in

itself is not anything great. We must serve and work with a loving heart. Every

small action we may be involved in should be full of Love.

God is in you, before you, behind you, beckoning, guiding,

guarding, warning, prompting the inner voice and even speaking with you. He is

there ready to respond to the call. Only you are not aware of the phenomenon.

Spirituality is not solitude, living alone. Spirituality is

having equal-mindedness toward everyone, living with all and helping all

(ekatama bhava). Mix in society but single- mindedly attach your mind and heart

only to God. Be aware of the unity that all is one, then only can one enter

into Divinity. Have relationship with Love and God, and attain oneness. Have

the feeling of oneness; do not think that you are different from others.

When you have all powers, but lack divine power, you will not

succeed. True power is divine power. When one has good company, his life will

be full of devotion.

It is not enough that we keep away from bad company; we

should join good company, give up bad qualities and develop good qualities.

People think that the merit is attained by giving things in

charity and helping others. But this is not the true meaning. The true meaning

of charity or paropkara comes from " para " meaning spirit;

" upa " meaning that which is in proximity to God, and " kara "

or work. Those deeds that take us near to God are paropakara.

We can be successful leaders only if we are disciplined

followers, who do not issue commands to others but rather set an example of

service in our actions.

Detachment is not running away to the forest. It is

sacrificing negative feelings, desires and delusions.

To live with the awareness that God exists in every one is

true sadhana and devotion. Everyone is God; respect everyone and give them joy

and bliss. That is real life, true devotion and true sadhana.

The best way to God is to love all and serve all. Not

worldly, material love, but divine love, which is changeless and eternal. Love

arises from the mind. Worldly love collapses, perishes and exhausts itself,

whereas Divine love is changeless, limitless, and constantly renews itself. God

is always with you, in you and around you so you don't need to search for him.

Where there is attachment, there is hatred, which is a

reflection of fear. Fear is born out of attachment, the fear of losing what one

has. Attachment and fear breed hatred. These three vices lead man to stray from

the virtues of earnestness and faith (Shraddha and Vishvaasa). Hence,

attachment, hatred and fear have to be brought under control.

Education should lead one to humility, which in turn equips

him with all the eligiblility. Eligibility provides him with necessary material

wealth, which enables him to do some charitable deeds. Charity makes him happy

both in this world and the higher one after this.

If you wish to lead a sacred life and have sacred

experiences, you must engage yourself in sacred actions. The good and evil in

the world can be changed only by the change in men's actions. Transformation of

society must start with transformation of individuals.