We can all pray, “Thy Will be done. It’s all Your Grace. It’s all for good.” We believe it; but when it comes to putting that belief into practice, we might fail because the mind is not yet clean. A prayer is heard if it is uttered even once with a clean mind. Even once.…
Question: When you went to Mount Kailash and reached the goal of the pilgrimage, the abode of Lord Siva, was there something to be experienced? What was it like? Answer: (Sri Swami Satchidananda sighs and leans back in his chair with his eyes closed. For a moment he is lost in reverie, with a radiant…
Peace is not just in the hands of a few individuals. Every one of us can do something. When there are more peaceful individuals, the world becomes more peaceful. So let it begin within oneself. In one sense, it’s almost impossible to make the whole world peaceful. The world is not created that way. It…
I celebrated this auspicious day, With great eclat and pomp, With illumination and joyful songs. My wish has been fulfilled. I have met my Beloved. How shall I find words, For the beauty of my Beloved? He is brilliant like millions of suns, He has enthroned himself in my heart. The lamp of love burns…
Your destiny is your own creation. It’s because you’re the master of your destiny, and you did it, that you can always undo it. When you have the capacity to do something, don’t you have the capacity to undo it? So trust in that capacity, and then go forward. Sincerity in seeking comes only when…
If you simply put your trust completely in that great force, all your burdens will be lifted. You will be led to perform your mission. You should know that you have been sent here for a purpose. It’s not that you decided one fine morning, “Let me go and take birth in America or on…
Worshiping God does not mean that God is in front of you and you worship God directly. Serving people is worshipping God; doing things for people is doing things for God. The great saint Thirumular said, “If you worship in the stationary temple, it only reaches God there; it won’t reach God in the walking…
Question: Do we have to accept whatever karma comes, or can we try to change it a little bit? Answer: If we know that we are instruments, and nothing is in our hands, then accepting and changing are not in our hands either. It’s very simple. If you are prompted to accept, then accept it.…
Don’t worry too much about dreams. If you have a dream about someone else—about his or her health, or whatever it is—it’s just a warning. It need not always come true. So you can just tell the person, “I feel that you should be a little more careful.” There’s nothing wrong in advising someone that…
Once a man was sailing in a small boat with a few other people. All of a sudden the boatman said, “The boat seems to be overloaded. The water is coming up higher and higher and we are about to capsize. If we want to stay afloat, we have to lighten the load in the…
I respect all saints and prophets of all religions. I respect all religions, all cults, all faiths and all creeds. I serve all, love all, mix with all and see the Lord in all. I stick to my promises. I serve the poor. This is my delight. I do mental prostrations to asses, dogs, trees,…
What is it that you are seeking as a spiritual seeker? Spirit. Then you should see everything in these terms: “Is it spirit or non-spirit? Is it God? Is it peaceful or peaceless? Is it permanent or changing?” Every minute you should discriminate, “Will this disturb my peace, or help me to retain it?” If…