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…
You might have the entire world at your feet, all the money, all the material things, all the friends, all the name, all the fame, all the crowns; but unless you have peace, you don’t have a worriless life. What is the use of having all these things around you? Shun them. Care more for…
An individual’s act is nothing but a part of a cosmic act. It’s not that you are acting. You are made to act. Somebody made you with a purpose. Know that somebody has made you, somebody is making you work and somebody is going to make you stop. You are free to remember that or…
Some people are over-credulous. This is bad, as they are easily cheated by others. You must fully understand man. You must know his nature, his qualities and his antecedents. You must know his behaviour. Test him on several occasions and only place your confidence in him when you are fully satisfied. He may be a…
Don’t think that you can do everything just by your own capacity alone. Know that there is a higher power, a grace, to help you; but you have to sincerely ask for it. Unless you ask, you won’t receive it. Just by asking, you are opening yourself to that power. It’s not that God is…
The more you think of yourself, the more karma comes to you—“What can I get?” “How much can I gain?” “What should I wear?” “What should I eat?” “What should I do?” “I! I! I!” We cannot avoid karma already accrued, but we can avoid the new ones by not doing anything for our sake.…
Everybody has a clean Self, the image of God. Each also is an expression of the same God. You can perceive that divine element pervading everywhere, functioning through every mind and body. When you do that, you’ll always recognize the Self that is common to everything and everybody. That means you go beyond the so-called…
Tame your tongue – it is an unruly devil. Sacrifice, gift, austerity, the study of sacred scriptures, truthfulness – all these will help you to develop virtuous conduct. Practise austerity of speech. Whatever you speak must be truthful and beneficial. Do not utter anything that will give annoyance to anybody. A thoughtless man who has…
Men of self-control become sinless and fearless. They acquire great results. Every sort of excitement is effortlessly controlled by self- control. The enemies of the self-controlled man are seen by him – they are lust, anger, desire – as if they dwell in a separate body. The self-controlled man becomes desirous of liberation. He quietly…
Pure reason urges a man to do what is the best. The asuric (lower) nature of man fights and struggles against the higher nature of the man. The impulses of a man who has not undergone the ethical disciplines, run counter to his reason. All advice, all rebuke and exhortation, all admonition found in the…
You should have a close personal relationship with God. That’s why sometimes it’s easier to have a personal representation of God than an abstract one. You can communicate better, you can look at the face, you can garland the image, you can feed the image. God is nameless, formless, abstract; you cannot simply go and…
Put yourself in the place of others. Learn this great secret. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. The doctrine of unity of the atman (the self), is the foundation of morality. No one tries to harm himself. How can one, who knows that each and every being is…