Be prepared to suffer any amount of pain. Have a set of maxims with you always to induce vairagya (dispassion). Treat sensual enjoyment as poison, as vomited food, as dung or urine. They cannot give you satisfaction. Preserve your vlrya (vital energy) carefully. Sleep always separately. Revere ladies as the mother divine. Root out the…
If you make mistakes it doesn’t matter. Make mistakes and learn. The best teachers are your own mistakes. You learn even faster by your mistakes. Once I was at a conference with the great modern scientist Buckminster Fuller. He stood up and said, “Friends, forget about all the ‘Do this. Don’t do that’ business. Commit…
We should learn to use everything for good. God never made anything bad in this world. God made a rose, and next to the rose God made a thorn. You should know to take the rose and not put your hand on the thorn. The thorn has its purpose also; if you take away all…
Life is always a challenge . . . always! Many times you will feel like giving up. Why shouldn’t you give up? Facing the challenge is difficult, giving up is easy. But where is the guarantee that you won’t face the same challenge somewhere else or even a bigger challenge? When you are facing a…
If you cannot control your ordinary, earthly,human nature, you are not going to realize the spirit. Control the tongue, control the eye, control the flesh, control the food. Why? Because we are rising above nature so that we will not be controlled by it. It should be under our control. Every discipline in life ultimately…
Just reflect for a while when you have failed in an attempt. Try to be more careful in the next attempt. Try to remove those factors that led you to fail previously. Fortify yourself now. Be careful and vigilant. Be active and nimble as the squirrel. Be quick and at the same time be capable…
The first and foremost reason not to have jealousy is that it affects the person himself or herself. If you are jealous, it affects you physically and mentally. It in no way helps you or anyone else. So at least for your own sake, it’s advisable not to have that. Every time you feel that…
Question: Often we willfully break the commandments of the scriptures. How can this be God’s Will? Answer: It is all God’s Will. It is God’s Will that you asked me this question, and it is God’s Will that is going to answer you. Ultimately, that is the truth. Nothing, nothing, nothing, happens without God’s Will.…
The circle of darkness and degeneracy has reached its climax. Come now, arise victorious and step up towards the zenith of perfection that awaits you. Live with a definite purpose – do not roam about aimlessly. Walk with a definite aim. Climb the hill of knowledge steadily and reach the summit of the temple of…
If you really want to overcome any feelings of negativity, think of the people who are not as fortunate as you. Many, many others are facing more and greater challenges. When you see that, you will feel that you are very lucky in what you have. Remember that ultimately there is one source, one power.…
There’s a beautiful saying in the Thirukkural: “We should never forget a good act that has been done to us.” At the same time, it talks about the act that we should forget. That is the one that is not so good, the one that might have hurt us. We should forget it immediately. We…
Difficulties come to test you and thereby to help you by strengthening your will, patience and power of endurance. Be bold. Be cheerful. Be calm, cool and collected at all times, even in the face of difficulties. There is no spiritual sadhana (practice) completely free from obstacles and difficulties. God sends consolation, encouragement at every…