Question: Please explain the meaning of Jesus’ teaching, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Sri Gurudev: Poverty is not in things. You need food, shelter, a body. Poverty means giving up “mineness,” or calling things “mine,…
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…
Every religion has a band of anchorites who lead a life of seclusion and meditation. There are bhikkus in Buddhism, fakirs in Islam, sufistic fakirs in Sufism, fathers and brothers in Christianity. The glory of a religion will be absolutely lost if you remove the hermits or sanyasins or those who lead the life of…
On Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for providing us with all our needs. We should be thankful always; but if we forget, then at least this one day should be kept aside especially for that. All of the nicest things that we have come from God. God has provided us with everything. Even our bodies,…
There is a practice: sit comfortably in a quiet place, think of all the troubles you had in the material-oriented existence and the complicated life and the influence by the affluence. Think, contemplate well, and you will understand you were not happy for even a moment with that kind of life. The more you contemplate…
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…
Question: In the Ramayana and Mahabharata, it’s clear that there was killing. The Gita itself takes place on a battlefield. How is this explained and justified in terms of ahimsa? Answer: In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about non‑violence to Arjuna and says, “You should be a good yogi following non‑violence, so get up, go…
Work in your livelihood as Karma Yoga—selfless service. Do all work for the joy of doing it. Charge nothing for your labors; accept whatever you are paid. Choose work for someone or something that is worthwhile. Offer your work, your energy to God, the All, everyone. Tell the one who pays you to pay whatever…
If everything that comes from outside—money, friends, family, name, fame—were going to make you happy, there wouldn’t be any need for churches, synagogues, spiritual centers or religions. Nobody would need to read the Bible. Why? You would be happy with your money, you would be happy with your friends. Why would you need anything else?…
Even if you achieve the whole world by your selfishness, you are not going to be happy. You cannot be. Selfishness can never make you happy. Sometimes you may get what you want, but your own selfishness will spoil it. In a way, that is what we learn from all these disappointments in life. Every…
In India, during the summer, people drink a lot of coconut water. They just make a small opening in the coconut and drink the liquid that’s inside. There is also a nice, tasty jelly inside, the tender kernel before it hardens; but it takes a big machete to open the shell. Sometimes people don’t have…
How many wants do you have? How many things do you worry about? “I don’t have this.” “I didn’t get that.” “I don’t have a nice enough office.” “I didn’t get the car I wanted.” “I don’t have an air conditioner.” “I didn’t get what I wanted to eat.” There are all kinds of unnecessary…