WAVES OF GANGA
Sri Swami Sivananda
Published by
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
PO. SHIVANANDANAGAR-249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal, Himalayas, India
2006 [ Rs. 70/-Price]
First Edition: 1957
Second Edition: 2006
[2,000 Copies ]
The Divine Life Trust Society
ISBN 81-7052-177-7
ES 10
Published by Swami Vimalananda for
The Divine Life Society, Shivanandanagar, and printed by him
at the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy Press.
P.O. Shivanandanagar, Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal,
Himalayas, India
SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
Born on the 8th September, 1887, in the illustrious family of Sage Appayya Dikshitar and several other renowned saints and savants, Sri Swami Sivananda had a natural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice of Vedanta. Added to this was an inborn eagerness to serve all and an innate feeling of unity with all mankind.
His passion for service drew him to the medical career; and soon he gravitated to where he thought that his service was most needed. Malaya claimed him. He had earlier been editing a health journal and wrote extensively on health problems. He discovered that people needed right knowledge most of all; dissemination of that knowledge he espoused as his own mission.
It was divine dispensation and the blessing of God upon mankind that the doctor of body and mind renounced his career and took to a life of renunciation to qualify for ministering to the soul of man. He settled down at Rishikesh in 1924, practised intense austerities and shone as a great Yogi, saint, sage and Jivanmukta.
In 1932 Swami Sivananda started the Sivanandashram. In 1936 was born The Divine Life Society. In 1948 the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy was organised. Dissemination of spiritual knowledge and training of people in Yoga and Vedanta were their aim and object. In 1950 Swamiji undertook a lightning tour of India and Ceylon. In 1953 Swamiji convened a ‘World Parliament of Religions’. Swamiji is the author of over 300 volumes and has disciples all over the world, belonging to all nationalities, religions and creeds. To read Swamiji’s works is to drink at the Fountain of Wisdom Supreme. On 14th July, 1963 Swamiji entered Mahasamadhi.
INVOCATORY
1. Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah! Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah! Om Sri Sarasvatyai Namah! O Mother Ganga! O River of wisdom! O Jnana Ganga! Salutations and prostrations unto Thee. Bless me with devotion and wisdom.
2. Thou art Satchidananda! Thou art the nourisher of the entire universe. Thou art the Sakti of Lord Hari and Lord Siva.
3. Thou art the Supreme Purifier. You adore the head of Lord Siva. You are flowing from the sacred Feet of Lord Hari.
4. O, Thy beauty is indescribable. Thy wisdom is ineffable. Thy power is inexpressible. Glory unto Thee, O Mother Ganga.
5. Thou art the source of success, health and happiness, prosperity and bliss.
6. Thou art the Indweller. Thou art the Inner Ruler. Thou art Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati and Para Sakti. Thou art Para Brahman Itself.
7. I adore Thee. I wave lights before Thee in the evening. I worship Thee during Ganga Dassara and Ganga Saptami. Give me Darshan. Whenever I think of Thee, run to me Mother.
8. I am sitting in Thy lap in front of Himavan and writing these lessons on Yoga Wisdom. Bless me. Flow through my intellect and hands and inundate the world with words of wisdom.
9. "Waves of Ganga" contains many gems embedded in a matrix of varied materials.
10. In a changing world of various tastes and temperaments new approaches are needed to bring maxims of universal truth to the millions, maxims which are priceless teachings of ancient days in a condensed form.
11. "Waves of Ganga" contains the essence of wisdom of centuries. It has explained the goal of human life quite forcibly and lucidly.
12. You will find the secret manna and the philosopher's stone in the "Waves of Ganga". Take fast hold of the instructions.
13. O Ram! Receive my sayings. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom. I have led thee in the right path. Now practise, reflect, meditate on these sayings and attain wisdom, immortality and bliss eternal.
14. Whosoever would understand the words of Siva and fathom his wise sayings must so conduct his entire life that he may become Siva himself.
Contents
(i) Foundation of Spiritual Life
(iii) Dharma Leads to God-vision
(vii) Self-mastery Through Breath-control
(viii) Meditate on the Eternal
(viii) Way to Self-realisation
(iv) Holy Company Is Indispensable
(v) Spiritual Guru Must Guide You
(vii) Sannyasa-Its Significance and Glory
(i) Nature and Function of True Religion
(iii) Philosophy Bestows Wisdom
(iv) Different Philosophical Schools
(v) Supreme Philosophy of Advaita
(i) Self-knowledge Bestows Liberation
(vii) Discriminate and Do Sadhana
BRAHMAN OR THE ONE SUPREME REALITY
(iv) Nature of Brahman or Atman
(vii) Message of the Upanishads
(iv) The Reality Behind All Existence
(viii) Way Out of This Illusion
(iii) Understand the Secret of Karma
(iv) Transform Your Karma into Yoga
(v) Karma Yoga Draws Divine Grace.
(iii) How to Establish Lasting Peace?
(viii) Let Wisdom Rule Over Nations
(i) Bharatavarsha-The Eastern Light
(vi) Ideal of Divine Motherhood
(vi) Renunciation Brings Realisation
(ix) Roadway to Realisation and Bliss
(ii) Attain Bliss Through Divine Life
(v) Goodness Makes Life Sublime
Chapter One
GOD
(i) Your Goal and Ideal.
(ii) Nature of God.
(iii) God Exists.
(iv) God Indwells Everything.
(v) God Is to be Realised,
(vi) Mystery and Glory of God.
(i) Your Goal and Ideal
1. Your home is God; your goal is God; your friend is God; your centre is God and your ideal is God.
2. Turn back to God. You will realise everlasting Bliss.
3. In returning to God and resting in Him, you will be saved.
4. As the lamp cannot burn without oil, so also man cannot live without God.
5. God is here and now all the time. He is with you, within you, inspiring and lifting you up. Withdraw. Aspire. Meditate. Realise.
6. Without God, life is purposeless. Without God, virtue, Holiness and spiritual values are mere shells without content.
7. Nearer is God than the nose, closer than the jugular vein or eyes.
8. God is the promoter of our good and auspiciousness. He is the bestower of Bliss. He is the giver of happiness and well-being.
9. Divine love fills your body. God is the Light of life. Find Him through Japa, prayer, devotion and meditation.
10. Approach the one Power and Source of Power. Lord is the one Life and source of all life. He is the sole source of supply. He is the supreme supply-officer. He will give you anything you want.
11. All things flow from God and return to God.
(ii) Nature of God
12. God is Absolute, Infinite and Unchangeable.
13. God is absolute consciousness. He sees without eyes, speaks without tongue, hears without ears and thinks without mind.
14. God is ineffable, incomprehensible, immutable, simple.
15. God is changeless, and yet man offers prayers to change Him. God is incomprehensible, and yet man interprets Him.
16. God is the Time of Time. He is the Lord of Yama. He is Death unto Death itself.
17. God is free, immortal, perfect, pure, eternal, all-pervading, self-existent and self-luminous.
18. God is absolutely single homogeneous essence or Being in which there is no internal diversity.
19. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the friend of all creatures.
20. God is the essence of Love.
(iii) God Exists
21. Atheists want proofs for the existence of God. Can they give proof for the non-existence of God? No one has succeeded in showing proofs that God does not exist.
22. Even many educated men now say boldly that there is no God. Everything in this world goes on and revolves according to definite laws. Can law arise by itself? Can any law come out of nothing? Surely there must be an ultimate cause. That is God. That is Para Brahman or the Absolute.
23. God is self-existent Being. He is infinitely powerful, wise and good.
24. The world is an effect and so must have an efficient cause. A finite agent cannot create this universe on account of its variety, vastness or orderliness. The efficient cause must be an agent who possesses infinite knowledge and power. Such an omniscient and omnipotent Being is God.
25. The design, beauty, order and harmony in the world cannot be satisfactorily explained except by postulating a world-governing intelligence or God.
26. The moving force behind the atoms is not material, but a world-governing intelligence-God.
27. Just as there is an intelligent artist for an art, so also there must be an intelligent artist and designer for this world. This world is not a disordered heap of things thrown together by accident. It contains various beautiful patterns which are the results of intelligent design. This intelligent magnanimous Designer is God. Glory to this most wonderful Designer and Master Artist.
28. This universe is the handiwork of God. This world of ours and this world-play enacted thereon is a show, whose showman is the Almighty God.
29. God is the creator and ruler of this world. He is one without a second.
30. God is the supreme Creator, Master, Governor, Director, Benefactor and Patron.
31. God is the subtle Essence that underlies phenomenal existence. He is the source, substratum and ultimate goal of life.
32. The Reality of God is His Existence.
33. The existence of things is by the light of God.
34. If you exist, then God also exists. If the drop exists, then ocean of existence, knowledge bliss, Satchidananda also exists.
35. All saints, sages, Yogis and Bhaktas everywhere, at all times acknowledged and realised God.
36. A glance at any object around you reminds you of its Creator. Give up scepticism and become wise.
(iv) God Indwells Everything
37. God is the subtle essence underlying all things.
38. God is the salt of life.
39. The Lord is the source of life and bliss. He is All in all. He is indivisible, undefinable. He is the only reality. His Light pervades every being.
40. God creates the world and remains as its inner ruler. He also rises above the world.
41. God is never involved in Samsara or world-process.
42. God is the “Unmoved Mover”. He simply gazes at Prakriti and Prakriti moves and does everything.
43. He desires and wills but does not experience pleasure or pain.
44. God is not touched by evil. He is free from hate.
45. God joins in Himself contraries and contradictions.
46. God is immanent in the world. He is also transcendental. He is the inner ruler of the souls. He is their goal also.
47. God is both immanent and transcendent. He is in the world but also rises above it.
48. One God hidden in all things, pervades all things and is the Inner Ruler of all things. He lives in all things. He is the soul of all.
49. God is within you. He dwells in your heart. Within everyone is the Divine Spark.
50. Look above the beauty of the objects to the beauty of the cause which brought these beautiful objects into being.
51. Feel God. See God in the rising and setting sun.
52. See God in the little flowers. Talk to Him in the flowers and have silent communion with God. God’s secrets or laws will be revealed unto you.
53. God is the source and strength of life. He is the abode of bliss, peace and light.
54. Everything in this world is a manifestation of the Lord. All joys and suffering, are also the Lord’s own manifestations.
(v) God Is to Be Realised
55. God is not an object of conception or perception but He can be realised through intuition or aparoksha anubhuti.
56. To define God is to deny God; to define God is to confine or limit God; to define God is to defile God.
57. Divine Will is an eternal, unalterable law. Surrender your will at the feet of the Lord. You will know the Divine Will. Or identify yourself with God; then the Divine Will will be known.
58. Mysterious, ever eluding comprehension, ever receding further and further, subtle, inexpressible, invisible and yet all-pervading, knowable through intuition, devotion and purity: such is the Lord of the Universe.
59. It is by the power of God alone that all spiritual people do their spiritual activities in this world of pairs of opposites.
60. God is revealed through the laws of nature, and the splendour of human intellects.
(vi) Mystery and Glory of God
61. God has no purpose. He is not bound by any action, just as the sun is not affected by the activities of the people of this world.
62. God acts out of compassion for the individual souls. His sole purpose is to see that his creatures evolve spiritually.
63. God is the lover and the Beloved at the same time.
64. God’s love is beauty and His beauty is love.
65. Justice, love and goodness are expressions in the Divine Will.
66. Bhaga (in Bhagavan) signifies the six qualities of God (1) Jnana (wisdom), (2) Vairagya (dispassion), (3) Kirti (fame), (4) Sri (prosperity), wealth, divine Aisvarya, (5) Sakti or Bala (Omnipotence) and (6) Dharma(righteousness).
67. Prana, faith, sky, air, water, earth, senses, mind, food, strength, penance, Mantra, Karma and name are the fifteen Kalaas or rays according to Prasnopanishad.
68. God has hands and feet everywhere. He has eyes, heads, mouths and ears everywhere. He is immanent in the world, possessing the vast whole.
69. God breathed into man, the breath of life and man became a living soul.
70. Pleasure is due to virtuous actions and pain due to vicious actions. Virtue and vice constitute Adrishta (unseen potency). The various experiences of man are due to the Adrishta or Apurva. But Adrishta is a blind force. There must be an intelligent Director to guide this Adrishta. That intelligent Director is God.
71. God is the Verity of verities.
72. There is a moral and spiritual order through which is fulfilled the Will of the Lord in this world.
73. God has created not only the world but also time along with it.
74. God’s knowledge is eternal, complete and perfect.
75. 75. Who can know the Will of God? He who knows God alone can know His Will. God and His Will are one.
76. The Lord is the Supreme Healer. He is the Divine Indweller in all medicines-“Vaidyo Narayano Harih”.
77. God is the changeless perfection which is the essence of all religions.
78. Truth is God. God is Truth, Truth sets man free.
79. People worship God differently, but He is always one.
80. The oneness of God is acknowledged by all the schools of mysticism.
81. Even a devoted man disappoints you, but there is one who never disappoints you. He is God, the Indweller of your heart.
Chapter Two
WAY TO GOD
(i) Foundation of Spiritual Life.
(ii) Basis of Yoga.
(iii) Dharma Leads to God-vision.
(iv) Be Ethical.
(v) Glory of Truth.
(vi) Enemies of Yoga.
(vii) Conquest of Passion.
(viii) Goodness Leads to God.
(i) Foundation of Spiritual Life
1. Character is the sure foundation of spirituality.
2. Build your temple of character nobly. Build it well. God will dwell in this beautiful temple.
3. Character is a strange, complex mixture of honesty, integrity, justice, devotion to duty, magnanimity, nobility, self-restraint, courage, patience, humility, etc.
4. The ingredients of character are purity, non-violence, truthfulness, courage, humility, forbearance, serenity and simplicity.
5. The achievement of character calls for qualities of the highest order.
6. Satsanga, study of religious books, discipline, service of Guru is the fourfold key to character.
7. Discipline is necessary for the cultivation of good character.
8. The foundations of character are laid in one’s early days. The development of character is a life-long process. It demands patient and assiduous effort.
9. Character determines the motives and actions of men.
10. A good character is a priceless asset for a man.
(ii) Basis of Yoga
11. Good conduct and ethical perfection form the basis of Yoga. YCEE
12. The essence of genuine spiritual life is the cultivation and practice of ethical virtues. Dog
13. Ahimsa, Kshama, Daya, service, purity and worshipfulness are indeed the prime requisites for the practice of Yoga and meditation.
14. Cling to non-violence, even if the heavens fall on your head. It is this faith that will help you to conquer the world.
15. Live the good life. Be good. Do good. Moral development is the indispensable preliminary. All religions are at one here.
16. A life of right conduct is a necessary factor in the enquiry into and discovery of Atman or Brahman, the source and basis for this world, and mind.
17. It is only by living a life of purity, chastity, truth, non-violence and austerity, that one becomes fit enough to tread the path of spirituality.
18. The ultimate aim of the moral life is the uncovering of the last layer of ignorance and the discovery of the immortal, all-blissful Atman or soul.
19. Spiritual thoughts can only develop in beings who have already attained moral perfection.
20. Moral discipline forms the foundation of religious and philosophical life.
21. Bear in mind that the foundation of all Yoga and spirituality is perfect moral conduct and Sadachara.
(iii) Dharma Leads to God-vision
22. Righteousness is the gateway to God-vision.
23. Righteousness is a means of climbing the difficult steps of the spiritual path.
24. Dharma presupposes the knowledge of truth.
25. Divine Life is Dharma. A perfectly moral and ethical life is Dharma.
26. Dharma is that which leads to the bliss of Nirvana or the Immortal Being.
27. Dharma is the way in which you have to divert your life to the supreme spiritual end.bom ban soy lo
28. Dharma controls the pulse of the nation and of the world.
29. Dharma is what sustains a being in his evolution.ow
30. Dharma or righteousness is religion in the highest sense of the term.
31. Dharma is the eternal law on which the universe rests and by which the universe is governed.
32. Welfare of mankind ultimately rests upon the basis of Dharma or righteousness.
33. Righteousness is the highest wealth. It is the rule of life.
34. Dharma sarvam pratisthitam. In Dharma or righteousness everything is established or rooted.
35. The main feature of Dharma lies in refraining from doing unto others what one would not do unto oneself.
36. Compassion, liberality, truthfulness, purity, self-restraint, tolerance are the ingredients of Dharma or righteousness.
37. Tread the path of Dharma or righteousness. You will get happiness along with freedom. You can secure the real joy and glory of life.
(iv) Be Ethical
38. Ethics is the science of ideal in human conduct.
39. Ethics is a corrective to human misconduct.
40. The moral law which includes the cannons of truthfulness, love and continence should become the guiding factors in the expression of one’s thought, word and deed.
41. Improved morality of human beings can be obtained through the purification of selfish instincts and through the perfection of altruistic sentiments.
42. Refrain from all sinful actions. Strive after righteous conduct. Be pure in thought, word and deed. Meditate.
43. A vast majority of the people who teach Dharma betray a lack of the practical side of their precepts in daily life. Become practical. Practise before you preach. Example is better than precept.
44. Through ethical discipline the impulses of the senses are restrained and directed towards the Self.
45. Remove brutal qualities. Eradicate animalism. Cultivate head and heart.
46. Remove Kamsa or Ravana qualities. Cultivate Krishna or Rama qualities.
47. Virtue is knowledge. Virtue is excellence.
48. Knowledge is the ripe fruit of the fine flower of virtue.
49. Think well. Think correctly. This is the principle of morality.
50. All saints and all religions teach that man must abstain, from evil in thought, word and deed, do good in thought, word and deed and cultivate the virtues. Intimately bound up with this is the control of the senses.
51. The “Sermon on the Mount” of Jesus, the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the Yama-Niyama, Maitri, Karuna, Mudita of Patanjali, the five Mahavratas of the Jains, the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddha, all emphasise the same moral truths.
(v) Glory of Truth
52. Practice of truth is one of the foremost Sadhanas for the purpose of Self-realisation.
53. Truth is the supreme virtue. This is illustrated by the story of Satyakama.
54. Is there only one word, Pannalal asked Siva, which can be adopted as a life-long rule of conduct? Siva replied, Is not truthfulness that word?
55. Accept truth from the four quarters and publish it to the four quarters.ish lo abia leo ad to doel vred
56. True words may not be pleasant; pleasant words may not be true.
57. If a thing is true accept it however unpalatable it may be.
58. Truth bears repetition and needs it too. It has its fadeless freshness.
59. You run away from truth because you lack courage and are weak.
60. Truth is infinitely richer than that is reflected in all the religions of the world.
(vi) Enemies of Yoga
61. Despair is the greatest enemy in the path of progress. Be cheerful always.
62. There is no fire like anger, no disease like pride. There is no net like attachment, no enemy like passion.
63. Pride is a dreadful disease. It is real leprosy.
64. Where self-aggrandisement and vanity abide, there the descent of Divinity cannot , for these expressions of egotism are ever a bar to the unfoldment of the Divine Consciousness.
65. Wherever there is greed, there are selfishness, hatred, injustice, oppression and aggrandisement.
66. All falsehood, cruelty, impurity, greed, deception, is base, unworthy and to be rejected.
67. Do not talk much. That is weariness of speech.
68. Do not find fault in others. There is so much bad in the best of us; there is so much good in the worst of us.
69. There is so much good even in the worst man. There is so much bad even in the best man. Therefore do not find fault with anybody.
70. Abuse, falsehood, back-biting, gossip are the four bad acts of the tongue. Moms sving
71. A boaster and a liar are cousins. A drunkard and a gambler are step-brothers.
72. Fashion is a terrible curse. It thickens Deha-adhyasa and makes one forget Atman. It intensifies passion.
73. Fashion is the outcome of vanity. Give up fashion. Be simple in your dress and clothing.
74. Dress does not proclaim the man. Mere dress is not the sole criterion of man’s personality.
75. Envy, jealousy, lust, greed, egoism, hatred, and pride are very strong and deep-rooted. It demands intense and constant effort for their eradication. Knowledge of the Atman alone can effectively uproot them.
76. Corruption and nepotism are great evils in the body politic of a nation.
77. A selfish man is the only real heathen and heretic.
78. By being selfish you are but denying your own Self.
79. Selfishness divides and goes on dividing.
80. Renounce all forms of selfishness which is desire for self-gratification at the expense of others.
81. Feel everyone as your own. Then alone you will rise above selfishness and jealousy and become broadminded.
82. Free yourself from selfishness which is an obstacle to every good intention and which defiles every altruistic feeling and every noble endeavour.
83. Overcome the sense of separation from those around you.
84. Give up anticipation. Too much anticipation increases your troubles and disappointments.
85. Tension is the enemy of peace. Relax; by singing Lord’s Names or reciting His Names.
86. Be cheerful but be calm and serene. Give up excessive merriment.
87. Fear is a negative emotion. Daily give positive suggestion to yourself, ‘I am courageous’, just at the time of retiring to bed. Fear will vanish.
88. The sub-conscious mind is the seat of all fear. Strong positive thoughts of perfect fearlessness and courage will overcome all weakness rooted in the subconscious.
89. It is only from the idea or existence of a second that fear proceeds. Fear vanishes from a man who recognises his own true Self, because this recognition implies that beside his own true Self there is no other entity which might cause fear. This is the analysis of the emotion of fear.
90. Fear is inseparable both from fame and from disgrace. Obtain fame and you fear the loss of it. Lose it and you fear the disgrace.
91. Look fear in the face. It will cease to trouble you. It will take to its heels at once.
92. Freedom from desires alone can give you from fear. Freedom
93. Resting in the fearless Brahman confers fearlessness.
94. Fear disappears after Self-realisation.
(vii) Conquest of Passion
95. If anger and passion are both overcome man is very near to God.
96. Passions of body and mind govern man and kindle fires of desire, attachment, egoism and anger.
97. Lust and greed blind your eyes, distort your vision, taint you thoughts and harden your heart. Therefore slay this lust and greed ruthlessly.
98. Brahmacharya paves the way to immortality and eternal bliss.
99. Continence is the key to long life, health, happiness and self-realisation. Therefore practice continence.
100. From this moment you must give up meat and sexual life. Firmly resolve.
101. Brahmacharya is the search for Brahman or the Absolute in all study and activity. It is purity in thought, word and deed. It is freedom from sexual thoughts. It includes the restraint of all senses. Continence is only a narrow interpretation of the ideal of Brahmacharya.
102. Artificial modes of birth control are totally wrong. They are against Dharma.
103. Rational self-control through purity and high thinking is the proper method to adopt.
104. Help your wife to maintain her purity and self-control. Assist her in her Sadhana.
105. A temper of mind which gives uneasiness and produces disaffection is passion which ever agitates man.
106. Lust is the offspring of darkness nourished by the foster mother ignorance.
107. Lust is thy greatest enemy. Annihilate it through purity and meditation, on
108. Practice of Asanas cannot lead to a conquest of sex-impulse. Mind is the real seat of the sex-feeling.
109. Japa and prayer constitute the real method of controlling all passion.
110. The help of right Vichara and Viveka also should be taken.
(viii) Goodness Leads to God
111. Truth, mercy, humility, self-control, purity, devotion, courage, dispassion, discrimination, serenity and equilibrium are the doors to Moksha.
112. Contentment is the greatest virtue. It makes a man more rich than emperors. It brings every blessing and everlasting peace.
113. Bearing insult and injury is saintliness.
114. Justice, mercy, compassion, honesty, selfless service, sacrifice, self-restraint, are the ingredients or constituents or limbs of “Be good, do good” Yoga.
115. Self-control, charity, courage, A compassion, humility, non-violence, truthfulness, purity, serenity are the cardinal virtues.
116. Self-control means the control of the lower self by the higher Self for the realisation of the Self.
117. Five virtues that lead to Supreme Blessedness are truth, integrity, kindness, generosity and gentleness.
118. Humility is the arch-enemy of egoism. Therefore cultivate humility. Egoism will gradually perish.
119. True humility is a mighty spiritual force. It is born of the supreme realisation.
120. Courage, humility, purity, love, truthfulness are the real virtues of a man.
121. Vrata is a practice of some self-denial. It is a vow. There is a spirit of renunciation in the individual. It develops will power.
122. Obedience is better than reverence. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Obedience is ease. Obedience is the secret of discipline..
123. Kindness and love are the food which sustains the soul within each one.
124. “Is there one single virtue”, Pushpa asked Siva, “that will contribute to make the world better or happier?” Siva replied, “Is not unselfishness that virtue?”
125. Disinterested kindness is the highest virtue.o
126. Goodness leads to Godliness.
Chapter Three
DIVINE LOVE
(i) Glory of Love.
(ii) Love Leads to God.
(iii) Develop Cosmic Love.
(iv) Cultivate Devotion.
(v) The Best Sadhana.
(vi) Worship With Love.
(vii) Pray Daily.
(viii) Devotee’s Prayer.
(i) Glory of Love
1. Divine love is the sweet mystery of life. It is the greatest thing in the world.
2. Love is the greatest power on this earth. Love is vital to spiritual progress. Love all. Cherish love. Cultivate love. Pour it forth on all.
3. Love is the crown of life. Love is the greatest power. Love is the true joy of every heart. Therefore cultivate love. Live in love.
4. True love will ever reign supreme in this universe. This is the truth.
5. Man cannot live by bread alone but by love.
6. Love is the best nourishment for life. It is Vitamin of vitamins. It is the sum total of all vitamins.
7. Love is All, in all. Love is God. God is love. Love embraces everything. Love abides in the heart.
8. The greatest thing in the world is love.
9. Love is the illumination. Love has the power to make you wise. Love stimulates your intuition.
10. Live in love. Live to love; live as love.
(ii) Love Leads to God
11. The nearest approach to Truth or God is through love.
12. Faith, devotion, love are Immortal sisters.
13. Love of God arises in a heart that is desireless.
14. Love divine is the only solvent, the one great healer and forgiver. Love opens the door of intuition.
15. Love is the marriage of the individual souls with the Supreme Soul.
16. The first condition of union with God is a state of love. Divine love fills the heart and overflows to others.
17. Love God with all your heart and your neighbour as thyself. This is the secret of God-realisation.
18. Love, breaks down all barriers. Love is an open seasamum to an infinite realm of bliss immortal..!!
19. The learned talk of God but the poor live Him in their hearts.
20. Beyond logic, beyond intellect, beyond reason, is the feeling love and the embodiment of love, God. Argue not. Realise Him. Talk to Him in the language of heart.
21. Do not gauge Lord’s love and mercy by the material prosperity He may give to you:
22. Infinitely more valuable is the spiritual treasure He bestows upon His true devotees.
23. Love is the dew drop of divine grace.
24. Love for the world is not consistent with love for the Absolute.
(iii) Develop Cosmic Love
25. Cosmic Love is the threshold to the limitless domain of Brahmic Bliss.
26. Cosmic love is synonymous with supreme self-sacrifice or egolessness.
27. In all beings lives the one God the Supreme Being, the Eternal Lord. Therefore bow to all beings with reverence, faith and devotion.
28. Feel that another’s difficulty is your own difficulty. Relieve him of his difficulty. Then alone you will grow in cosmic love.
29. Love is an actual substance you can use with confidence. Love is a positive, concrete.thing.
30. Love vibrates in the form of service, charity, generosity and benevolence.
31. There is unity of life. Love of one’s self is true love of all life.
32. All patriotism, love of one’s nation, one’s own race, one’s own religion, are but kinds of limited love.
33. Human love is a stepping stone to divine or universal love.
34. Love all. Behold the one common consciousness that indwells all beings, that is immanent in all names and forms.
35. Spread the message of Divine Love, light and worship wherever you go.
36. Love knows no fear.
37. Love itself is the greatest power. It is the Divine force in this universe. The purer you make your heart, the greater will be the power of your love.
38. To love God is to have a kindly nature, compassion, humanity, tolerance, justice and goodness.
39. Love the Eternal in every being. Do not make distinctions.
40. He who loves becomes invincible. He is a mighty power on this earth. He is a veritable God.
(iv) Cultivate Devotion
41. My child, you have been extremely fortunate in getting this human birth. Have intense devotion to God and commune with Him.
42. Kindle the Light divine within your heart and maintain the flame of devotion through your constant remembrance of the Lord.
43. It is true devotion that counts. It does not matter what deity you worship.
44. The marks of devotion are love, faith, confidence, humility and service.
45. God accepts all forms of prayer and worship through which men express their love and devotion to God.
46. Bhakti or devotion is the natural affinity between the devotee and God just as the affinity between the seed and trunk of the Amkola tree.
47. As iron touched by the touchstone becomes at once gold, as the water of the roadway mixed with that of the Ganga becomes pure, even so the heart of the devotee greatly soiled though it be with great sins, becomes pure if attached with devotion to the Lord.
48. To remove the afflictions and sorrows of the devotees gives the greatest happiness to the Lord.
49. No evil can touch the devotee, whose devotion is sincere and whose faith is genuine.
50. Put your little seed of faith in your heart. Water it with love and devotion. Then the great tree of Bhava Samadhi will grow.
51. Be regular in your prayer, Japa and worship. Do not miss your prayer and Japa even for a single day.
52. Surrender to God is the way to salvation. Let the surrender be total, ungrudging and unconditional.
53. Bylikhan who was a contemporary of Chaitanya was devotee of Lord Krishna. Taj, the Muslim Mira was also a devotee of Lord Krishna. Krishnadas was a Muslim by birth. He was a devotee of Sri Krishna.
54. The Lord certainly takes care of His tried Bhakta.
55. The Lord is the dearest friend of the true devotee. The Bhakta is the beloved of Bhagavan.
56. Be firm in your determination. Be full of deep and unshakable faith. Be steadfast in purpose. Be a devotee. Be resolute and march God-realisation. On. You will surely attain
(v) The Best Sadhana
57. Japa is the best of all spiritual practices in this modern age. It is the easiest too.
58. Divine Name alone will give you all success and bestow the highest spiritual attainments.
59. The seeker after truth reaches the highest goal by doing Japa or recitation of Lord’s Name or Mantra alone.
60. Have faith in the saving grace of God and the power of Lord’s Name.
61. Repetition of the Lord’s Name is a sure medicine for the disease of birth and death.
62. Make the Divine Name the sheet-anchor and prop of your life.
63. If you take to the recitation of Divine Name all inauspiciousness will certainly vanish.
64. Om Tat Sat is the most excellent of Mantras.
65. One becomes a Siddha by Japa of this Mantra, Om Tat Sat.
66. By repetition of this Mantra, Om Tat Sat, one becomes the conqueror of Death.
67. Practice of Divine Names and sincere prayer to the Lord are the greatest purifiers of heart and the human nature.
68. That which one attained through meditation in Satya Yuga (the golden age), through sacrifice in the Treta Yuga (silver age) and through worship in the Dvapara Yuga (bronze) is attained in the Kali Yuga (iron age) by reciting the Names of the Lord.
69. After selecting a suitable Mantra stick to it. Frequent change of Mantra is not desirable.
70. All Mantras mean and signify the same thing, the supreme Truth, the one Eternal Infinite Almighty Being.
71. Ever remember the Lord. His Divine Name is the greatest treasure in this life. It has got indescribable of bestowing blessings upon all those who have faith. Power
72. Remembrance of the Lord is of Forgetfulness of the Lord is inauspicious. Auspicious.
73. Reciting Mantras and Names of God at bed time is a good practice.
74. Sing the Lord’s Names. Dance in ecstasy. Be regular in your Sadhana. Realise the Self in this very birth.
75. The chanting of hymns and psalms is an inspiring and soul elevating mode of spiritual exercise. It will give you blissful inner experience. It will raise your consciousness to spiritual heights.
(vi) Worship With Love
76. Worship God. Praise Him. Seek enlightenment. Realise Divine Bliss.
77. Worship for worship’s sake. Do not put any condition to God.
78. In worship, the sense of individuality is lost in contemplation of the object worshipped.
79. Even as the watering of the roots is the feeding of the trunk and the branches, the propitiation of the all-pervading Lord Hari is the gratification of all and of oneself too.
80. Prathama Pratima-puja, Japa-stotrani Madhyama, Uttama Manasa-pooja, Soham-pooja Uttamottama-Idol worship is the first, recitation of Mantras and chanting of hymns are the middling, mental worship is higher and the highest is the worship of the form “I am He”.
81. To gaze at the divine pictures even for some minutes daily is a great blessing. It will purify your mind.
82. You must gaze with devotion upon the divine pictures at bed time and immediately upon waking up from sleep.
83. Meditation is mental worship of the Lord; singing Lord’s Names or Kirtan is vocal worship; service of living beings with love and divine Bhava is physical worship.
84. If the worshipper of the Deity thinks that he is separate from the Deity he is a beast of the gods.
85. Firm faith in the Lord and devout worship of His lotus feet means perfect freedom from all fear.
86. When, O when, O man! Will you worship God with the flowers of sacrifice, equal vision, serenity, truthfulness, compassion and love?
(vii) Pray Daily
87. Prayer, worship, Mantras possess real power.
88. The believer gains through his faith. The non-believer does not obtain this gain.
89. Sincere prayer to the Lord will draw His grace and bestow upon you supreme blessedness.
90. Prayer is a form of communication of an individual with the Divine.
91. Prayer is an address, call, invitation, appeal, entreaty to the Lord.
92. Prayer is the uplifting of the Spirit of man to the highest spiritual level. It is the calling for aid from God.
93. Through prayer you tune yourself with the Lord and invoke His blessings. The Lord grants peace, strength and wisdom.
94. Prayer is an artless opening of the chamber of your heart for the descent of Divine Light.
95. There is a vital union between faith and prayer.
96. The power vain. Of faith is irresistible. It will not go in vain.
97. Faith is a great thing. It decides the extent to which revelation and illumination be given to man. Each one receives in accordance with the degree of his faith. Believe. Be firm in thy faith.
(viii) Devotee’s Prayer
98. O Adorable Lord, I care not for wealth, position and enjoyment here. Let me be endowed with love unshaken for Thy Lotus Feet.
99. O Lord! Thou art the Light of the world. Keep the Light within me always burning.
100. O Adorable Lord, come to me, O all-merciful Lord dwell in me. O Omnipotent Lord manifest Thyself in me.
101. O Lord! Protect us from troubles and sufferings; vain is the help of frail man who is himself, weak and bound.
102. Salutations be unto you O Lord Hari, O Best One. Be propitious. Save us from error. Protect us from all fears.
103. Come, O Bhagavan! O Lord Siva, O Thou before whom all Devas bow! I bow to Thee, who are armed with the Pinaka, Thee the Lord of all, O great Deva.
104. O adorable Lord of compassion and Love! I will be very busy during Sadhana Week. I may forget Thee; but do not Thou forget me.
105. Salutations to Thee manifesting Thyself in three forms-first as Creator, thereafter as the Protector and then as the Destroyer of the world.
106. Children afflicted by hunger and thirst ever remember their mother. I remember Thee, O Lord, when I am overwhelmed by danger.
107. O Lord! Salutations unto Thee. This is the proper time for making gifts. Thou art a great Giver and none else but Thee shall I approach for begging. Grant me unflinching devotion unto Thee, Light and Wisdom.
Chapter Four
MIND AND ITS SECRETS
(i) Mind Causes Everything.
(ii) Your Mind.
(iii) Law of Thought.
(iv) Culture of the Mind.
(v) Discipline Through Yoga.
(i) Mind Causes Everything
1. Mind alone is the whole world, the great pains, the old age, death and the great sin, earth, water, fire, air, ether, and the internal organ.
2. Mind binds a man. He who has controlled his mind is a veritable God on this earth.
3. You live in a world of thoughts. First is thought. Then there is the expression of that thought through the organ of speech.
4. Thought and language are intimately connected.
5. Loving thoughts uplift and encourage others. Unkind thoughts, thoughts of anger, bitterness and malice injure others.
6. If the mind which is the cause of all thoughts vanishes, the external objects will disappear.
7. Thoughts are things.
8. Sound, touch, form, taste and odour, the five sheaths. The waking, the dreaming and deep sleep states-all these are the products of mind.
9. Sankalpa, passion, anger, bondage, time-know them to be the result of the mind.
10. Mind is the King of the Indriyas or senses.
11. Thought is the root of all mental processes.
(ii) Your Mind
12. The true laboratory is the mind. Study of the mind is essential. Test the mind. Go beyond the mind. You will realise the Truth. You will discover the hidden Soul.
13. If only your mind is quietened, you will enjoy peace in your own home as well as in a forest.
14. For one whose mind is entirely fixed and purified, forest or house is alike.
15. Man has a mind but mind is not man. Mind is a good servant. It is an instrument. You will have to utilise it tactfully, and properly.
16. The prime requisite for happiness is control over the mind or the lower self.
17. Your thought is imprinted over your face.
18. Mind is a bridge that connects the human with the Divine.
19. Your body, your business, your home-they are only ideas within your mind.
20. Thought is a dynamic force. Good thought is the first perfection. Thought is real wealth.
21. Emotion is the driving force at the back of thought.
22. Will power is a master-key to all success.
23. Knowledge, thought, intellect, reason are one.
24. Appetite, impulse, instinct, desire are one.
25. Emotion, ambition, spirit, courage, are one.
26. The mind is master of body. Soul is master of the mind. Thou art in essence Immortal Soul above body and mind. Always remember this supreme fact. Live in the awareness of thy spiritual nature.
(iii) Law of Thought
27. As you think, so you become. As your thoughts so must be your life.
28. Improve your thinking. Better thoughts bring better actions.
29. Mere thinking of the objects of this world is pain.
30. Bondage is caused by the very act of thought.
31. Pure thought is a mightier force than electricity.
32. The mind which is attracted by objects of sense tends to bondage, while that which is not so attracted tends to emancipation.
33. Mind is a dacoit. Slay this mind dacoit. You will be happy and free for ever.
34. Manifest all your strength in task of conquering your mind. This is true manliness or Purushartha.
35. Self-denial is a means to the purification and refinement of mind.
36. Purify and still the mind. The layers of ignorance covering knowledge will not be removed without a calm mind.
37. The subtle part of food forms the mind. Mind is manufactured into mind out of food. The subtle part of food is transformed into mind.
38. Food does not mean merely what we eat, but what we gather through all our senses. Learn to see God everywhere. This is real food for the eye.
39. Purity of mind depends upon purity of food.
40. You can see better, hear better, taste better, think better when you entertain sublime, divine thoughts.
41. Look at an object through a green or red glass, the object appears green or red. Even so, the objects are coloured by the desires through the mirror-mind.
42. All mental states are transitory and produce pain and sorrow.
43. Have freedom of thought. Free yourself from the slavery of prejudice that blunts intellect and dulls thought.
44. Think of the Immortal Atman. This is the right method of direct, original thinking.
45. The Atman reveals Himself after the purification of the mind.
46. When the mind is serene without any want, without any motive, without any craving or desire or thought, without any compulsion, without hope, then the Supreme Atman shines. There is the experience of Bliss.
47. Live the way saints live. This is the only way to victory over mind and the lower self and until you have conquered mind, there can be no sure and permanent victory.
(iv) Culture of the Mind
48. Watch your thoughts. Control the thoughts. Be a witness of your thoughts. Rise above thoughts and dwell in that pure consciousness where there is no thought.
49. The subtle impressions, tendencies, desires and passions lying in the depths of the subconscious have a tremendous effect on your conscious life.
50. They should be purified, sublimated. They must be given a spiritual turn.
51. Hear what is auspicious. Behold what is auspicious. Talk what is auspicious. Think what is auspicious. Meditate what is auspicious. Understand what is auspicious. Know what is auspicious.
52. Fear, strong dislike, burried hatred, prejudice, intolerance, anger, lust disturb the action of the subconscious mind. Cultivate virtues. Purify and strengthen the sub-conscious mind.
53. Desire, greed, etc., enslave and obscure the mind which must be freed and restored to its pristine purity, to reflect Truth and practise meditation..
54. The lower impulses belong to the physical body and the mental plane.
55. When the mind does not function owing to the absence of Vasanas (mental impressions and subtle desires), then arises the state of Manonasa or annihilation of the mind.
(v) Discipline Through Yoga
56. For the attainment of the tranquility of mind, take recourse to Pranayama or the control of breath and Dhyana or meditation.
57. The restraint of the breath brings about peace of mind which is conducive to eternal bliss.
58. Pranayama quietens the bubbling mind.
59. When the breath or Prana is controlled, when the Vasanas are destroyed, the root and branch of the tree of mind perish, just as a tree dies as soon as its roots are cut through.
60. The fickle mind, though restrained, moves on to a cup of tea and from a cup of tea to a dish of potato.
61. Along with the mind there are the five doors, such as the eyes and the like, called the organs of perception.
62. The word ‘Manas’ (mind) literally means ‘measuring’. Mind measures wisdom and the pleasures of the senses.
63. If Abhyasa or spiritual practice is alone sufficient to control the mind, where is the necessity for Vairagya or dispassion. Both are necessary. Vairagya checks the current of the mind towards the worldly objects and Abhyasa takes the mind towards God.
64. Passions and emotions have the same objective reality as a pot or a pillar.
65. Sky means space. The mind can function only in a medium of space, time and causality.
66. The mind is the sacrifier. It is carried to Brahman during deep sleep.
67. The mind is transformed into a steady flame of knowledge after the continuance and long practice of virtue and meditation.
68. All the defects of the mind such as restlessness, attachment, anger, greed, lust, etc. Can be totally removed by worship, meditation and cultivation of virtues.
69. The easiest way to control the mind is by self-surrender to God and the Teacher.
Chapter Five
YOGA-THE DIVINE SCIENCE
(i) Yoga Really Means This.
(ii) Supreme Fruit of Yoga.
(iii) Develop Intuition.
(iv) The Mystic Life.
(v) The Royal Path.
(vi) Importance of Health.
(vii) Self-mastery Through Breath-control.
(viii) Some Aspects of Yoga.
(ix) Key to Perfection.
(i) Yoga Really Means This
1. Yoga is the science which teaches the most effective way of how to remove defects, weaknesses and attain the state of perfection, freedom and superconscious blessed state of union with the Absolute.
2. Yoga enables its students to acquire perfect control over the physical body and mind through the gradual process of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
3. Yoga shows you the marvellous method of rising from badness to goodness, from goodness to godliness, and then to Eternal Divine splendour.
4. Yoga is a search for Truth. It raises man to a spiritual eminence.
5. The process of self-education is called Yoga.
6. The Yogi observes the law of moderation. He treads the middle path. He does not torture his body.
7. A student of Yoga regulates eating and sleeping, walking and working.
8. Yoga is your unique heritage.
9. Proceed upon the path of Yoga gradually and steadily. Nothing can be achieved overnight. But steady practice will certainly bestow great blessings on the long run.
10. Yoga has unparalleled utility, a curative value not yet tapped by modern medical science.
11. The practise of Yoga is not opposed to any religion or any sacred Church. It is purely spiritual and universal. It does not contradict anyone’s sincere faith.
12. Yoga does not want a turning away from life. It demands spiritualisation of life.
13. Yoga brings about physical and spiritual development side by side.
14. Yoga finally enables the aspirant to attain blissful union with the Supreme Being.
15. When Yoga gets ripened it becomes the superconscious state or the Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
(ii) Supreme Fruit of Yoga
16. Samadhi is a state of perpetual Divine Presence, Divine Life, the Divine Peace. It is the supreme state of Bliss.
17. He who has burnt up the seeds of his Vasanas does not any more experience pain and sorrow. He experiences the eternal bliss of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
18. The state of Samadhi which is bordering on sleep is attained through the practice of Yoga.
19. Samadhi is a superconscious state of bliss in which the Yogi realises the identity of individual soul and Supreme Soul.
20. In Samadhi the veil of ignorance is suddenly lighted and the devotee merges in the overwhelming glory of one true divine effulgence. An ecstatic feeling of oneness with God arises.
21. In Samadhi the soul becomes loosened from its material prison, separated from individual consciousness and becomes absorbed in the Infinite Intelligence from which it emanated.
22. After attaining Samadhi, a man, though possessed of great spiritual powers, does not wish to change the conditions and circumstances in which he lives before attaining it.
23. In Samadhi the ordinary consciousness has flowered into superconsciousness. The stream of Samsara, the round of births and deaths has ceased to flow.
24. Silence is not sheer vacuity, annihilation or nothingness. Silence is Brahman. In silence the undivided soul is united with Brahman. Silence is superconsciousness or Samadhi.
25. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi the world of diversity and change is sublated.
26. In the Samadhi or the superconscious state one sees nothing outside. It is all Self only.
27. Immortality means the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.
28. Adhyatmic things, spiritual experiences and Samadhi cannot be expressed in words like other objects of study.
29. Samadhi or the Nirvikalpa state has to be attained through the extinction of all Vasanas or desires.
30. Silence the thoughts, silence the cravings, silence the desires and melt the mind in the silence sublime and attain Samadhi divine.
31. From the superconsciousness come inspiration, intuition, revelation, illumination, genius, etc.
(iii) Develop Intuition
32. Intuition is the only way of realising or knowing the Atman or the Self.
33. Remember that the five senses are not the only means of knowledge. Intuition bestows the supreme transcendental knowledge of the Self or Atman.
34. Intuition is knowledge of Reality itself. All beliefs about the nature of Reality other than those arrived at by intuition are misleading.
35. Intuition is integral experience.
36. The superconsciousness is the fount of inspiration and wisdom.
37. Highest wisdom is to trust the intuition and be guided by it.
38. Stop your thinking. Follow the intuition. It will lead you to the goal, Self-realisation.
(iv) The Mystic Life
39. Mysticism is not mystery-mongering and occultism. Mysticism is the direct experience of God. It is transcendental spiritual experience.
40. Mystic experiences are outside the realm of reason.
41. It is not possible to know the Knower, but you can realise the Knower (Atman) through Samadhi or intuition.
42. Inspiration, Revelation, Illumination, rapture, ecstasy, Mystic vision of Truth-these are the spiritual experiences of a Yogi.
43. Enter the Silence. Speak to the Lord. Listen to the Lord.
44. Climb the ladder of experience. Soar into the Divine. Experience the flash of wisdom-intuition. Have intimacy with God. Rest in Him peacefully.
(v) The Royal Path
45. Raja Yoga ranks topmost. The object is to realise the Immanence of Divine Presence, and secure freedom from the transmigratory phenomena of life and death series.
46. Discriminate between Prakriti and Purusha. Isolate the Purusha from matter and mind. This is the goal of Raja Yoga.
47. Perfect purity and goodness is the foundation of Yoga.
48. If you wish to enjoy eternal life, stick to Yama-Niyama (self-restraint and religious observance).
49. The discipline of Yoga consists of self-control, detachment and concentration.
50. As long as the senses are not under proper control, as long as they are not skillfully used, like perfect tools in the hands of a practised craftsman, so long a man will not enjoy the peace of the Eternal.
51. Assume the Padma pose or Sukha Asana or Siddha Asana or Svastika Asana. Close your eyes. Gradually abandon all contact, external as well as internal. Attain steadiness of mind by withdrawing it from its functions.
52. The object of Pratyahara is to arrest or deliberately inhibit senses-object contact, so that attention may be withdrawn from external objects and focussed on the inward Self or Atman.
(vi) Importance of Health
53. The health of the body is of great importance in one's endeavour to utilise one's power in the quest of Truth.
54. Man always talks much about good health, but he does little or nothing about it.
55. You must have a body that is fit, strong and healthy. Then alone you will have a mind that can work in full capacity.
56. Only by indolence and luxury man has filled himself with flatulence, catarrh, constipation and diarrhoea, etc. Is not this a disgrace?
57. Fast once in a fortnight. Accustom yourself to take
58. very light diet at night. Take milk and fruits. 58. Be cheerful, sweet, happy and smiling. You will be healthy and will radiate health and joy in every direction.
59. Good health and strength can easily be yours with a little positive thinking, careful regulation of personal habits, observance of Nature's laws and daily meditation upon your diseaseless, ever free and perfect spiritual Self or Atman.
60. Health is your birthright. The source of all health and healing is with thyself.
61. The power to overcome all conditions lies in you.
62. Daily when you go to bed and first thing on waking up, sit silent and persistently assert thy ever perfect spiritual nature.
63. Feel yourself to be an ocean of perfect health, strength, vigour and well-being. Allow your mind to dwell upon this thought continuously.
(vii) Self-mastery Through Breath-control
64. One of the teachings of Yoga is breath-control, Life and breath go hand in hand.
65. Control of breath is control of life itself.
66. The more one masters the secret of breath-control, the more he can dominate his physical self.
67. The practice of Pranayama for a month destroys sins; practice for six months generates desire for wisdom; practice for one year gives Self-realisation.
68. Proceed very gradually and step by step in the Pranayama practice. Haste and hurry is never commended in the path of Yoga.
69. Let not the Bhastrika Pranayama be over violent. An intelligent moderation will ensure adherence to safety limits.
70. The practice of Pranayama exercises do have an immediate good effect. You will find better concentration in all spiritual practices and study.
71. Use wise moderation in the period and ratio of Pranayama exercise.
72. When you practise Pranayama, proceed gradually and step by step. Take proper care about your diet.
73. Also practise some deep breathing exercise for a few minutes daily in the fresh air of early dawn.
74. Pranayama is Pranavamaya. Recite mentally Akara when you inhale, recite Ukara when you retain the breath and Makara when you exhale the breath.
75. Speech involves suspense of breath.
76. Voluntary action involves suspense of breath.
77. That Pranayama which produces perspiration is of the lowest type; that which produces tremor is of the middle type; that which produces levitation or rising of the body from the ground is of the highest type.
78. Standing erect, arms flowing open, chest wide, raise thyself gradually upon thy toes, inhaling continuously and deeply all the time. Fill thy chest with pure air. Then gradually exhale and slowly bring down your heels and your arms.
79. Correct breathing (Pranayama) adds to longevity and contributes to physical well-being.
80. You must practise Asanas, Pranayama, Mudras and Bandhas with an attitude of perfect confidence and boldness.
81. Just as water is in union with the milk, so also Prana is in union with the mind.
(viii) Some Aspects of Yoga
82. If you concentrate on the tip of the nose during Kumbhaka, you will control Prana.
83. If you concentrate on the navel during Kumbhaka all diseases are cured.
84. If you concentrate on the toe of the foot, you will get lightness of the body.
85. Kumbhaka destroys sins and greyness of the hair and helps to get conquest over the mind.
86. The mind of a worldly man with base desires and passions moves in the Muladhara and Swadhisthana Chakras or centres situated near the anus and the reproductive organ respectively.
87. If one’s mind becomes purified the mind rises to the Manipura Chakra or the centre in the navel and experiences some power and joy.
88. If the mind becomes more purified, it rises to the Anahata Chakra or centre in the heart, experiences bliss and visualises the effulgent form of the Ishta Devata or the tutelary deity.
89. When the mind gets highly purified, when meditation and devotion become intense and profound the mind rises to Visuddha Chakra or the centre in the throat, and experiences more and more powers and bliss. Even when the mind has reached this centre, there is a possibility for it to come down to the lower centres.
90. When the Yogi reaches the Ajna Chakra or the centre between the two eye-brows he attains Samadhi and realises the supreme Self or Brahman. There is a slight sense of separateness between the devotee and Brahman.
91. If he reaches the spiritual centres in the brain, the Sahasrara Chakra, the thousand-petalled lotus, the Yogi attains Nirvikalpa Samadhi or super conscious state. He becomes one with the non-dual Brahman. All sense of separateness dissolves. This is the highest plane of consciousness or supreme Asamprajnata Samadhi. Kundalini unites with Siva.
92. The Yogi may come down to the centre in the throat to give instructions to the students and do good to others (Lokasangraha).
93. Laya Yoga consists in an endeavour to absorb the mind in inner bliss.
94. Hatha Yoga is devoted to psycho-physical purification which will render body and mind fully equipped receiving set for interception of spiritual stimuli.
95. External purity and observance of the laws of hygiene are not to be neglected if the body is to be maintained as one’s friend and helper.
(ix) Key to Perfection
96. Prolonged meditation on the Absolute leads to Perfection.
97. One of your greatest needs in spiritual life is Meditation.
98. Meditate and listen to the voice of God. This will give you strength, power and peace.
99. Close your lips. Shut the doors of your senses. Meditate on Atman. You will enjoy peace and Bliss.
100. The more you grow in aspiration and meditation, the more you grow God-like for in meditation is the Light of the Lord.
101. Meditate and charge your battery by contact with God.
102. Dive deep into the chambers of your heart through profound and silent meditation and bring up the pearl of Truth.
103. Meditate and retire to your innermost centre. Abide now in perfect serenity and peace that passeth all understanding.
104. When you attempt to concentrate your attention on one object, the mind roams in different directions and becomes restless and unmanageable. This is Vikshepa.
105. Vikshepa is unsteadiness of mind. It is a great obstacle to meditation and the attainment of spiritual knowledge.
106. Fear, distress, worry, temptation and despair will assail you during meditation. Repeat Lord’s Name vigorously and sincerely. All will vanish.
107. Meditate amidst noise. Study amidst noise. Work amidst noise. Discipline. Again discipline. There will be no Vikshepa or tossing of the mind for you. You will have a strong, unperturbed mind.
108. If Sattva or purity increases, the body becomes light, the mind becomes cheerful. One attains greater balance of mind. His power of concentration increases. He enters into deep meditation.
109. If for a day you do not practise meditation, you will lose much. You will not be able to reach the original spiritual height the next day. Therefore be regular in your meditation. Miss not even a day your practice.
110. Enquire, who am I? Find the Seer, find the Knower. Meditate on Satchidananda Atman, the Inner Ruler, the Indweller.
111. Meditate on Brahman as resplendence.
112. Meditate on Atman as Immortality.
113. Meditate “I am immortal, fearless, unborn, all-pervading, Infinite, eternal Brahman or the Absolute.”
114. Meditate Brahman as support, greatness on wisdom, bliss and existence.
115. The light which never fails is the light of meditation. You experience Samadhi or the vision of Truth through the light of meditation.
116. Moksha or emancipation is very near to him who is perfect in meditation.
117. Connect your mind with the mind of God through meditation or Yoga. Your life will become divine. Your life will be transformed.
Chapter Six
THE SADHAKA’S LIFE (1)
(i) The Spiritual Path.
(ii) Live a New Life.
(iii) Brave All Trials.
(iv) Have Firm Faith.
(v) Do Practical Sadhana.
(vi) Annihilate Egoism.
(vii) Your Real Nature.
(viii) Meditate on the Eternal.
(ix) Enter the Silence.
(x) Look Within..
(xi) Purify and Realise.
(i) The Spiritual Path
1. Youth is the best and fitted period in man’s life to devote to spiritual aspiration and Sadhana.
2. The spiritual life is practical from beginning to end. The love for the ideal should be single-minded and whole-hearted.
3. The spiritual path is an unknown path which is as straight and narrow as a razor.
4. There is no other light but that of faith and divine grace to guide the aspirant, no sustenance but devotion.
5. The track ahead cannot be seen, going is uncertain and pitfalls await the unwary. The aspirant must travel in the dark. He must march courageously forward. He will reach a great illumination at the journey’s end.
6. The spiritual path demands complete mastery over the flesh.
7. Proceed gradually. Intensify the aspiration. Have keen thirst for realisation of the Supreme.
8. Keep alive thy aspiration undiminished and bright. Be thou firm in thy faith. Proceed gradually without wavering upon the spiritual path. July
9. Ever keep the great ideal of God-realisation before you. Proceed along the spiritual path with singleness of purpose. Empty the heart of all desires for earthly things.
10. The spiritual life is a life of child-like simplicity.
11. What is needed in spiritual life is a sincere aspiration for the life in the spirit, an earnest dedication to it and a whole-souled devotion and application to the realisation of the ideal.
12. Your heart must be solely and entirely centred upon God. Above all things in life, you should want God and God alone deeply, passionately and steadily. Be sincere to thy very core. This is the essential thing. Uo
13. Spiritual life is based upon the complete conquest of the lower nature. Upon this pedestal of perfect self-mastery and right conduct is the edifice of Godliness and divine life to be built.
14. May thy spiritual life and example inspire one and
(ii) Live a New Life
15. Do not regret for the past which has passed away. Start the spiritual life from today.
16. What does it matter what you have been? What really matters is what you are going to be from this moment.
17. The inward spiritual life should proceed side by side with the outer. The spirit of the former will sustain the latter.
18. The spiritual path is a path of inward ascent. You cannot guage exactly and accurately the degree of progress you are making, because Sadhana and Yoga is not a thing like a fever which can be reckoned with thermometer.
19. The gradual inward progress is mostly silent and unseen, like the quiet unfolding of a bud into flower in the hours of the night.
20. Therefore do not be dejected. Do not depress yourself with the idea that you are not progressing. O
21. The desire for a better and higher life is truly the surest sign of God’s grace.
22. It shows that an awakening has taken place in thee and a transformation will very soon follow.
23. It is the grace of the Lord that gives rise to a sincere Satsankalpa (good and true thought and pure resolve).
24. You can be transformed in the twinkling of an eye. One moment you may be groping in the darkness; the next moment you can attain illumination.
25. There is an ignition point of the soul. Man is transformed. His life is turned from its former worldly ways into a new divine life. He is awakened spirituality.
26. The serenity will deepen into unshakable peace amidst troubles and difficulties.
27. Then insight and intuition will dawn. You will attain wisdom, perfection and freedom.
28. 28. Radiate the spirit of Sadhana and spiritual life to all, whom you contact.
(iii) Brave All Trials
29. Trials, difficulties, troubles and sufferings, are necessary for your purification and strengthening your will and power of endurance. Face them bravely and come out triumphantly.
30. Press on, strive with all your will, only then is the grace of God bestowed. God helps those who help themselves.
31. If bad thoughts enter your mind, simply ignore them. Offer prayer to the Lord. Substitute .vine thoughts by studying sacred books.
32. The spiritual fire should be generated day after day.
33. Hold fast to the ideal. Keep the flame of aspiration ever bright.
34. Scorn the mundane delights and strife. Dedicate your life to God. Meditate. Scale the Spirit’s Steepest height and reach the peak of eternal wisdom and acme of bliss Divine.
35. Nothing is able to daunt firm and resolute aspirant or turn him from a course which he considers to be right or held to be his duty.
36. You must be brave and courageous. You must be a Dheera. You must pass with one breath over the mountain of difficulties.
37. Rogue Ratnakar became Valmiki Rishi. Saint Francis was wild in his younger days. He became a saint. When the animal propensities are annihilated, spiritual transformation sets in.
38. O Adhyatmic soldier! Uphold the flag of Dharma. Fight bravely in the battlefield of life. Unfold thy spiritual strength. March forward O hero! Realise the Atmic Consciousness.
39. The Atman cannot be attained by a life of weakness and error.
40. You have infinite strength within you. Be strong. Look within. Meditate. Tap the source.
41. Have an indomitable will backed by an abiding faith. You are bound to succeed in everything.
(iv) Have Firm Faith
42. Faith in the love and goodness of God will comfort you and will give you solace and peace.
43. Faith is necessary for the communication of mystic, divine knowledge.
44. Reason must be supplemented by faith in revelation, faith in the saving grace of the Lord, faith in the utterances of Saints and Sages, faith in one’s own Self. Blo
45. The Divinity within you is your real Guide and Teacher. 42 lin
46. Be unflickering in thy loyalty to the ideal. Bob
47. Through Sraddha (faith) and Sadhana (Yogic practices) your life will flower forth into a blossom of bliss.
48. Trust in the Lord with all thy heart. Acknowledge Him in all thy ways. He will direct thy spiritual path.
49. God helps the sincere aspirant at every step.
50. God will help you, bless you, inspire you and throw light upon the path. Never mind about external environments.
51. Create your own mental environments wherever you are.
(v) Do Practical Sadhana
52. To know a great deal is good. But to sincerely do and practise even a little is a thousand times better.
53. Take the essence of the knowledge you have derived and turn it into practical day to day living.
54. The “Moksha Gita” and the “First Lessons on Vedanta” show the shore beyond darkness and fear. Study them carefully and practice the truths contained in these books.
55. There is no end for doubts. Mind is ever a great doubting Thomas. Meditate. Know the ‘T’. All doubts will vanish in toto.
56. You will find God the quickest, if your longing and concentration are the greatest.
57. Study widely, enquire minutely, think carefully, and then practise earnestly.
58. It is not enough to think and know; we must also feel and experience.
59. First have zest in the spiritual practice. You will enjoy delight, bliss and peace after some time.
60. Through self-discipline, ethical living and meditation attain Perfection, Illumination and Freedom.
61. Pray. Meditate. Purify. Hear the Inner voice. Have wisdom, light, truth, and purity.
62. Be pure. Be still. Be calm. Be silent. Be serene. And enjoy the Bliss of the Eternal.
63. Purify. Meditate. Realise and build spiritual bridges across the ages and continents.
64. Be honest. Be sincere. Be truthful. Be pure. Be desireless. This is the first and most essential condition of spiritual illumination.
65. O aspirants bold! Be patient. Persevere. Persist. Be constantly vigilant. Be ceaselessly on the alert.
(vi) Annihilate Egoism
66. Annihilate the ego. Reach the goal here and now. Take the inner Essence and attain perfection.
67. Relax not the keen vigilance against your most subtle foes-egoism and desires.
68. Where can you see the Lord? Here, where “I” does not exist.
69. I found the Lord where I myself did not exist.
70. Where there is no sense of ‘I’ there is liberation. It is bondage to have the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’
71. Identify with the all-pervading soul or Atman. You will attain Immortality. This is the secret of eternal life.
72. With the growth and expansion of your inmost being, you attain greater perfection and fulfilment of your Self, and bliss is a result thereof.
73. Purge yourself from self-seeking and egoism. Escape from space-time limitations. Loose all separateness. Unite with Brahman or the Absolute.
74. Practice of the presence of God will cause the ego-veil to dissolve. Divine love will manifest and eternal bliss will flow in.
75. The Lord’s grace is ever upon sincere, selfless souls.
(vii) Your Real Nature
76. Do you know who you are? I shall tell you. Hear me. You are the Master of the body, senses and mind. You are the Master of your life. All power is within you. You have to know this and manifest it.
77. How can mind torment you? How can despair overcome you? Despair is a quality of the mind and mind is your servant.
78. You are All-Bliss, All-light, All-strength, All-knowledge. You are Divinity. Above and beyond both body and mind, Immortal, Satchidananda, Atman you are.
79. The important thing is to know clearly that you are not the slave to the mind and these senses.
80. You have got into the habit of thinking that their craving is your craving.
81. Now get out of this habit by constantly reminding yourself that you have nothing to do with the mischievous senses and mind.
82. You are not this perishable body. You are not this changing perishable mind. You are all-pervading Consciousness. You are eternal Seer. You are eternal Witness. Therefore, be free and blissful.
83. Intensify your spiritual life. Seek the light of Vedanta. Be a flame of the light of the Upanishads. Ever meditate “I am immortal, all-pervading Brahman.”
84. OM is the bow; the Soul is the arrow; Brahman is the mark of target.
85. When you realise the effulgent Supreme Being, you shake off all evil and attain the supreme stainless unity.
86. Atmanam Atmana Pasya’-see the self by the Self.
87. Devote yourself to the holy quest of Truth and the final assessment and discovery of the ultimate spiritual essence that is all-pervading and interpenetrating.
(viii) Meditate on the Eternal
88. To seekers of Truth, attainment of the knowledge of the ultimate Reality is the highest bliss.
89. It is meditation on Brahman which begets immediate knowledge or Aparokshanubhuti.
90. Sravana or hearing of Srutis can only bring about mediate knowledge or Paroksha Jnana.
91. The aspiring mystic experiences eternal Day and eternal Sunshine.
92. To the degree in which you succeed in drawing near to the fullest realisation of your glorious spiritual nature, to that degree will you be able to effectively help all truth seekers.
93. He whose senses are subdued attains knowledge of Atman. A mind equipped with serenity and intense yearning gains true knowledge.
94. When you behold all beings in the Self or Atman and the Atman in all beings you attain Self-realisation or Brahma Jnana.
95. Liberation is the realisation of complete identity with the Supreme Self.
96. When one finds his rest in That which is invisible, incorporeal, inexpressible and, unfathomable, then he has attained freedom, perfection and fearlessness.
(ix) Enter the Silence
97. Still your minds, listen, and enter the Silence.
98. In silence, one becomes aware of his soul-consciousness. Enter the silence and become identical with the Eternal.
99. Silence is a pre-requisite for the apprehension of the Reality. Enter the silence and realise the Reality.
100. Silence the tongue, silence the desires, silence the thoughts. You will now enjoy the bliss of the Eternal.
101. Love Silence. Live in Silence. Rest in Silence. Spend your life in Silence. Grow in Silence.
102. The truths of the Upanishads are revealed through the grace of God.
103. In the Silence there is God-realisation. Silence is the Peace that passes understanding, the Samadhi or superconscious state, the Nirvana which is the ultimate happiness.
(x) Look Within
104. You need not look for Divinity at a distance from you. You have it within your heart.
105. Look to the light within for your guidance. Light is the most perfect symbol of Truth.
106. Always meditate and practise this ideal of divine oneness.
107. Drive deep this consciousness within your heart.
108. Retreat ever within thy own Atman or Self. Abide in thy own Self and be restful for ever.
109. There is nothing that you cannot do. Cultivate your will power (Atmabala) through renunciation, meditation on Atman, your own innermost Self.
110. The glorious fruit of Self-realisation is beyond all comparison. The bliss of spiritual attainment is indescribable. Fix your mind upon that.
111. When one attains Self-realisation, all doubts vanish, all fears disappear, all Karmas perish, the knots of the heart are rent asunder, all his desires are fulfilled, all the worlds are gained.
(xi) Purify and Realise
112. Pray. Purify. Meditate. Have the mystic vision of Truth. Become ecstatic.
113. Without purity and unceasing effort or meditation, salvation cannot be obtained.
114. The human soul must submit itself to purification before it can become a fitting vessel for the descent of divine grace and Light.
115. Discipline yourself and grow strong, O Ram. Stand in unshaken. Rest in Atman or the Immortal blissful soul.
116. Perfection is not impossible of achievement. It is within the easy reach of human endeavour. This is amply and effectively evidenced in the Life of Sri Sankara or Dattatreya’s life.
117. All desires are fulfilled after Self-realisation.
118. If you lack wisdom ask God sincerely. He will give you. Go straight to the wisdom.
119. Physical health, intellectual understanding, moral integrity and spiritual wisdom lead to ultimate Perfection.
120. Know the goal. Take resolve. Judge the essence of things. Perceive divine wisdom. Attain perfection. Enter silence. Enter moveless peace.
121. The bliss of God-vision is simply wonderful. No self-denial is too great for the sake of attaining God-realisation.
122. Hold fast to that which ever endures.
123. You can have no petty cravings, because you are All-full and All-bliss.
124. Become a beaconlight of spirituality and divine wisdom. Be concentrated in the consciousness of your essential spiritual nature.
Chapter Seven
THE SADHAKA’S LIFE (2)
(i) Persevere in Sadhana.
(ii) Be Pure.
(iii) The Light Is Within.
(iv) Be Humble.
(v) See the Oneness.
(vi) Never Despair: Be Bold.
(vii) Light of Sadhana.
(viii) Way to Self-realisation.
(i) Persevere in Sadhana
1. Let the Sadhana be regular, continuous, unbroken and earnest.
2. Not only regularity, but also continuity in Sadhana and meditation is necessary if you want to attain Self-realisation quickly.
3. A spiritual stream once set going, does not dry up, unless the channel-bed is blocked, unless there is stagnation. Be vigilant eternally. Meditate regularly. Annihilate the under-current of Vasanas.
4. Patience, perseverance, courage, determination, discrimination and dispassion are needed to tread the spiritual path.
5. Put away thoughts, stimuli, perceptions, intentions, emotions, feelings, preoccupations and deliberations arising out of the senses and sense-objects. You will attain supreme Blessedness or the Peace of the Eternal.
6. Keep the flame of aspiration ever-kindled bright. Let purity, serenity, compassion, truth and oneness manifest in thy thoughts and actions.
7. Through penance, prayer and meditation the soul ascends on the Divine chariot to the realm of Infinite Bliss. God’s Halls of wisdom.
8. Regularity is of paramount importance in spiritual practice.
9. Spiritual aspirants must be arduous and efficient in performing their task.
10. Pray, pray without break and wail with faith. Have unshakable faith. Remember the two factors Vairagya and Abhyasa (dispassion and practice).
11. Prayer is the wing by which you fly to God. Meditation (Intuition) is the eye by which you see God.
12. Pray fervently unto the Lord for light and guidance. Meditate on the great truth within.
13. Strive ever to keep thyself close to the Divine Centre. Day by day draw nearer unto the Lord.
14. Strive inwardly to grow into the likeliness of the Divine Ideal.
15. Control the senses. Extinguish desire. Slay all Sankalpas or thoughts. Meditate and rest peacefully on the Atman, the supreme Self.
16. Attain purity of mind by austere actions. Detach from desire. Be unconcerned with the fruit of action. Attain wisdom. Realise Brahman and be free.
17. The seeker proves himself worthy of grace by his sincerity, earnestness and practical spiritual life.
18. By persistent and continuous practice, all defects will be gradually overcome. You will become perfect.
19. Weakness cannot overcome you, because weakness is weak, while you are strength.
20. The key to spiritual advance is Tapasya and regular meditation.
21. The holiday mood is good, but the holy mood of spiritual recharging is the best and the really blessed mood for aspirants.
22. Lay stress upon Sadhana more than all else.
23. Persistence, patience and perseverance in Yoga Sadhana and meditation are also needed if you wish to reach the spiritual goal speedily.
(ii) Be Pure
24. Knowledge of Atman or the Eternal cannot be attained without self-purification. Theoretical knowledge cannot bestow illumination or enlightenment.
25. Purity should pervade your entire being. An intense and steady aspiration must fill thy heart. Firm should be thy faith and great the dispassion.
26. Purity of the heart is the divine light. You can see the way to God with the help of this inner light.
27. After the purity of heart is established, all defects will disappear by themselves.
28. The initial basis or foundation of all higher spiritual experience is perfect desirelessness, dispassion and ethical perfection.
29. The whole of man’s thinking is interwoven with the senses. When that is purified, the Atman shines forth.
30. Vasanas are of two kinds viz., Subha (pure) and Asubha (impure). Transmute the impure Vasanas into pure Vasanas through effort or Purushartha.
31. Give up pure Vasanas also. Then alone you will attain emancipation.
32. Lust, anger, greed, hatred, jealousy etc., are impure vasanas. Japa, charity, meditation, selfless service, worship etc., are pure Vasanas.
33. Greed, lust, fear, jealousy and hatred do not leave you even when you go to the caves of the Himalayas. Practise Yama-Niyama seriously. Pray. Enquire. Discipline.
34. A philosopher need not be a man of ethical perfection or right conduct, but an aspirant should necessarily be pure in conduct and ethically perfect.
35. The purified soul drops all veils, reveals the divine image in itself and in the fire of love is married to God or the Beloved.
36. Discipline the mind. Purify the mind. Shut out worldly impressions. Contemplate. Realise the Self in an ecstatic vision of the Light. Anim
(iii) The Light Is Within
37. You need not go beyond yourself. You should enter into the depths of your own self.
38. The key to the nature of the ultimate Reality lies within your own Self.
39. The enquiry of ‘Who am I?’ is the master-key to all Perfection.
40. Divine knowledge is not received by extroverts. It is received by the aspirant who is an introvert and who is contemplative.
41. Truth is an inner revealing which you become conscious of through the practice of living the Good, through purity, devotion, aspiration, discrimination and ceaseless meditation.
42. When the mind becomes serene through self-control and detachment, the seeker realises through concentration what lies deep within oneself-Atman.
43. Introspect. Gaze within. Examine yourself everyday, every minute and take stock of your virtues and vices. Then alone you will grow in spirituality.
44. Commune with the Self or Atman in the inner chambers of thy heart with utmost regularity. Live in the Divine,
45. The manifestation of Divinity within you takes place as a result of absolute simplicity, holiness and the renunciation of all desire for worldly wealth and pride of learning.
46. Turn to the Light within. Walk in faith. Trust in God and His Law,
(iv) Be Humble
47. The quality of true humility is one of the indispensable fundamentals of spirituality.
48. Just as the empty cup can be filled up with milk, so also the heart that is empty of egoism and desires can be filled up with Divinity or eternal bliss.
49. Let the divine qualities of humility and simplicity be as guardian angles unto thee upon this path.
50. The spiritual awakening comes to the seeker, who is perfectly humble and meek.
51. Serenity and humility are the necessities of an aspirant or seeker.
(v) See the Oneness
52. Feel intensely that the whole universe is the manifestation of the Divine Essence.
53. An aspirant always looks at everything and every event from the spiritual point of view alone.
54. His standpoint is that of right knowledge based upon discrimination and constant enquiry.
55. Look at everything from spiritual point of view.
56. Ever strive to be rooted in perfected awareness of the Divine Presence.
57. Cults limit the thoughts of men and hence are barriers to spiritual progress.
58. Find out the truth. “As many religions, so many paths.”
59. When you are very thirsty, you do not get books about thirst of water, you do not attend lectures or take courses of study. You go where there is water and drink. Even so, a spiritually thirsty aspirant should ignore all theological controversies. He should take to meditation and realise God.
60. Kill separateness. Now you can enter into harmony and oneness with the entire universe. You possess the whole world and enjoy it.
61. Gita teaches synthetic Yoga. All the paths are necessary for an integral development of man’s personality.
62. You should try to become the great sage of wisdom, the master of Yoga, the centre of love and the expert doer of right activity with skill in action.
63. There are no water-tight compartments among the different Yogas. Karma, Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana do commingle with one another in the course of spiritual practice.
64. A man who resolutely sets his face against Raga-dvesha (like and dislike) becomes endowed with a spiritual vision.
65. Give up all false sense of separation and distinctness.
(vi) Never Despair: Be Bold
66. Cheerfully bear trials as expiation.
67. Disdain, faint-heartedness and moroseness should not find a place in any Sadhaka.
68. A truly sincere soul is never thwarted in his earnest aspiration. This is the experience of real seekers.
69. Never allow your senses to get mastery over you.
70. Think of God always and feel His Presence everywhere.
71. Freedom is for those who rise above time, who transcend the mind and the senses.
72. Tapas is austerity. Tapas is control of senses. Tapas is concentration and meditation. Tapas is Vichara or enquiry. Tapas is resting on one’s own Atman.
73. The wise aspirant wishes to live for any number of years, but is at the same time perfectly willing and ready to die even within the next moment.
74. The wise seeker wishes to live, because he recognises the body as the instrument for Yoga Sadhana and therefore wishes to do maximum Sadhana as long as possible.
75. He is ever ready to die, because he knows that this earthly existence is but momentary like a bubble on the surface of water and has absolutely no care for or attachment to the body, because he knows himself to be nameless, formless, glorious Satchidananda Atman.
76. Every bit of Sadhana done is surely recorded without fail in your hidden consciousness.
77. No Sadhana ever goes in vain. Every bit of it is credited immediately towards your evolution. This is the law.
78. Think not negative thoughts but calmly go on with the Sadhana. Be regularly at it.
79. Without missing a single day, proceed onward with your spiritual practices.
80. Little by little, the power accumulates and it will grow. Ultimately culminative force of all the continuous earnest Sadhana done perseveringly and patiently over a long period of life has inevitable grand consummation at the supreme moment when it bears fruit in the form of blissful realisation.
81. It is through meditation and prayer that you can draw this Divine Power.
82. Meditation and prayer in your personal life and dynamic goodness in your daily activities will take you towards perfection, here and hereafter.
83. Sraddha, Bhakti, Viveka, Vairagya are the real treasures. They are incomparable and peerless.
84. Even a little spiritual Sadhana reaches the Lord at once. Sincere Sadhana draws the grace of the Divine.
85. All strength and power are bestowed to the sincere seeker, who does regular Sadhana and who is pure, prayerful and truly humble.
(vii) Light on Sadhana
86. A man who works for the attainment of his own good, who is an extrovert does not realise the summum bonum in spite of his hankering after it.
87. An aspirant should be endowed with truth, integrity, kindness, generosity, gentleness, cheerfulness and seriousness of purpose. Then alone is he fit to attain Immortality and eternal bliss.
88. Practise self-restraint without asceticism.
89. Practise renunciation. Apply yourself diligently and seriously to spiritual practices. You will attain Moksha or the final emancipation.
90. Train observation, thought, memory and will. Meditate regularly. You will be in harmony with the Universe.
91. Experience and subtle contact with beings on the Fire-world is a very good indication of the inward spiritual progress. It indicates thy ascent into a higher state of purity.
92. Visions are indeed very good and encouraging signs. Pray to the Lord and express thy sincere heart’s gratitude for the Grace bestowed.
93. Most of the dreams are symbolic. The crossing of the river would denote overcoming obstacles in the path of Yoga.
94. No soul can grow without aspiration, renunciation, discrimination, dispassion and meditation.
95. By restraining the senses, by annihilating likes and dislikes, by extending compassion to all creatures, and by meditation, you can attain immortality.
96. Devotion, freedom from ignorance and desires, God’s Grace, wisdom, selflessness, service will make you equal to God.
97. Discrimination, dispassion and discipline are the three spiritual jewels.
98. Selfishness, pride and hypocrisy are the greatest obstacles in the spiritual path.
99. Divine wisdom is available to those alone who are courageous, patient, persevering, tenacious and steadfast, who are regular in meditation and whose eyes are fixed on the object at which he aims.
100. A harmonious and happy balance of Sadhana and Seva must be kept up by an aspirant.
101. When Brahma-Vidya is imparted to those who have a pure heart, who are learned in scriptures, who intensely aspire for Brahman, who have faith and devotion and who do their duties scrupulously, it becomes fruitful.
102. Atma-Vichara, enquiry of the Self, is the best and highest form of Sadhana.
103. Spiritual fire is churned out of the two sticks of the body and the Pranava.
104. In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
105. Even to visualise the Lord in meditation just once, to utter the Divine of the Lord with Bhava even a single time, has surely got a tremendous, transforming influence upon the soul.
106. The divine nature is Perfection. To be nearest to the divine nature is to be nearest perfection.
107. You are free here and now. Only you are not aware of it through ignorance or the force of Maya.
108. Santoyam Atma. This Atman is Peace. Realise this peace that passeth all understanding and be free for ever.
109. Peace is thy birthright. Peace is thy real, essential nature. Peace is Brahman. Peace and Brahman are one.
(viii) Way to Self-realisation
110. He who is vicious, who has not controlled his senses, who has no concentration of mind cannot attain Self-realisation.
111. He who has gained perfect control over his mind and senses through a sincere and rigorous discipline of Self-control alone can attain self-realisation.
112. Truth, penance, insight and aspiration and renunciation are necessary for Self-realisation.
113. Practice of truth, penance and Brahmacharya help the aspirant to attain Self-realisation.
114. Moral purity and clear intellect are the necessary prerequisites for Self-realisation.
115. You will surely attain God-realisation if you seek it with sincere yearning like Mira or Dhruva. The longing must spring in your heart with intense sincerity and earnestness.
116. Intense Sadhana and intense dynamic Seva with worship Bhava are the two methods of divine worship which take you directly to the Lord. They are powerful practices for Self-realisation.
117. Cessation from sin and introversion are needed for Self-realisation.
118. Right faith, right conduct and right knowledge will lead to the attainment of Self-realisation or Brahma-Jnana.
119. You can hope to regain the Self, your essential nature, through the path of self-discipline, enquiry, discrimination, renunciation and meditation.
120. He who abstains from injury, who regards all creatures impartially, who is devoted to truth, who is endowed with fortitude, dispassion, serenity and discrimination, who has his senses under restraint attains the supreme state of Self-realisation.
121. The conquest of cold and heat, as well as the craving for food and sleep, serenity under all circumstances, non-swaying of the mind from the high ideal set before it, control of the senses are the pre-requisites for attaining God-realisation.
122. Application, tenacity, perseverance, patience, serenity, dispassion, truthfulness-these are the aids for attaining God-realisation.
123. Dispassion or disgust for the world and humility are necessary for Self-realisation.
124. Self-realisation cannot be achieved by the weak, not the weak in the body, but the weak in spirit.
125. Mastery over the mind, self-restraint and meditation on the Reality are essential for Self-realisation.
126. Your approach to God-realisation must be made through self-conquest, compassion, simplicity, devotion and meditation.
127. Knowledge through purging the mind of egoism and enquiry will lead to Self-realisation.
128. Prayer takes you half way to God, fasting to the door of His Supreme Abode and charity procures you admission. Compassion prepares the mind for the descent of Divine Light.
129. Meditate on the divine attributes. Through constant meditation, single-minded devotion and prayerfulness, you will attain God-realisation.
130. Purity of food and body, one-pointedness, practice of the Presence of God, selfless service, lead to the quick attainment of God-realisation.
131. Live within the impregnable fortress of the company of the saints. Eat only when you are hungry. Sleep only when you become sleepy. Meditate regularly and ceaselessly. You will soon attain Self-realisation.
Chapter Eight
LIGHTS THAT GUIDE MANKIND
(i) The Illumined Sage.
(ii) The Radiant Saint.
(iii) Sufi, the Man of God.
(iv) Holy Company Is Indispensable.
(v) Spiritual Guru Must Guide You.
(vi) Guru and Disciple.
(vii) Sannyasa-Its Significance and Glory.
(i) The Illumined Sage
1. A sage is one who has fully realised his essential oneness with Brahman or the Absolute.
2. The illumined sage says: "O Death! Where is thy sting? O grave! Where is thy victory? I am Death unto Death".
3. A sage or Jivanmukta has pierced the veil of Maya by the sword of true knowledge of Atman. He is no more gripped by Avidya or deluded by Maya.
4. A sage to whom this eternal identity has become a certainty, knows something great in this world, but the world understands him not.
5. A sage is a precious fruit which it cost all the fore-going ages to form and ripen.
6. He who has no longings, cravings and desires, who is fearless, who is free from lust, hatred, pride and egoism, who is free from doubts through knowledge, who has broken all fetters is a liberated sage or a Jivanmukta.
7. The scientific man is not the whole man. A sage alone is the whole man. He is full of divine wisdom and inexhaustible spiritual wealth.
8. A Sage is a Rishi, a Muni, the all-enlightened one. He is Redeemer, the Saviour. "He is one of the many mansions in my Father's house."
9. A sage or Yogi does everything, does great things, through his oneness with God.
10. The sage has no cause for repentance. He goes beyond the reach of duals.
11. Sin does not touch a sage.
12. The wise sage grows neither great by good actions, nor small by evil actions.
13. When one is absolutely desireless, when all his senses are withdrawn, when his intellect is centred in the Inner Self, then he is a sage.
14. "I do not see, I do not hear, I do not act, I do not enjoy. The senses move among sense-objects. I am Akarta, I am Abhokta. I am Asanga. I am Sakshi." This is the feeling of a Sage.
15. The sage is free from imperfections and doubts. He is engaged in the good of all beings. The senses and the mind are under his perfect control. He attains absolute freedom both here and hereafter.
16. Simplicity, humility, purity, compassion. self-sacrifice, an active altruism, strict control of the mind and senses and supreme contentment adorn the life of a sage.
17. Balanced mind, equal vision, indifference to pairs of opposites, like censure and praise, these are the marks of a sage of Self-realisation.
18. In the Bible you find: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself'. In the Upanishads you find: "Yasmin sarvani bhutani atm.ivabhud vijanatah." A sage who has realised the Auman, sees the Atman in all human beings and therefore loves all as his own Self.
19. Time kills all but a sage is timeless. He lives in Eternity. Time dreads to approach him.
20. The sage adjusts his heart to the hearts of mankind.
21. A sage’s consciousness is cosmic. He has insight into Reality. The Truth within and behind all things is self-evident.
22. A sage goes beyond sorrow, sin, pain and death.
23. A sage conquers sorrow and sin through the power of knowledge, frees himself from the pairs of opposites and breaks the knots of his heart viz., Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire) and Karma (bonds of action).
(ii) The Radiant Saint
24. The essence of saintship is Divine Illumination, and Immediate vision and knowledge of things, unseen and unknown.
25. A saint is full of gentleness, grace, profound humility, compassion and meekness.
26. A true saint yields not to anger. He holds others’ sufferings to be his own. He radiates love and joy to all around.
27. The saint is an impenetrable rock.
28. The heart of a saint is more soft than butter. Butter melts under its own heat but the heart of a saint melts at the sight of suffering of others.
29. A Rishi is one who has intuitional wisdom of Atman, who is pure, who has knowledge of the past, present and future (Trikalajnana), and who is self-controlled.
30. When the Yogi realises the self-resplendent Atman, then he shakes off virtue and sin, becomes taintless and attains the supreme state of eternal bliss and poise.
31. There is no infatuation and grief for the man of God-realisation.
32. The blind man pierced the pearl; the fingerless put a thread into it; the neckless wore it and the tongueless praised it. A Yogi sees, hears, tastes, smells and feels his oneness in creation without the use of sensory organs.
33. The Seer, sees and yet does not see.
34. To the saint, sage and Yogi all things are friendly, sublime and sacred, all events good and evil profitable, all days holy and all men divine.
(iii) Sufi, the Man of God
35. A Sufi is he whose conduct towards God is sincere and towards whom God’s blessing is sincere.
36. One who devotes himself to the mystic life is a Sufi.
37. A Sufi is he whose heart is sincere (Safa) towards God.
38. A Sufi is one whose heart is pure (Safa) and whose acts are clean.
39. Sufism means being at ease with God.
(iv) Holy Company Is Indispensable
40. Satsanga or association with the saints is an armour and fortress to guard you against all temptations and unfavourable forces of the material world.
41. To be in the company of a saint is itself a great blessing.
42. The mission of the saints is to save those lost in ignorance of the path leading to God.
43. The words of a Saint go straight to the heart of the hearers and cling there.
44. The very presence of a sage or a saint illumines the heart.
45. A sage awakens the sleeping soul to its own divine glory and splendour.
46. It is only the liberated sage who can really help and correctly serve without any tinge of selfishness.
47. Saints do the great work of distillation. They raise the souls to purity, perfection, freedom and union with God.
48. The ink of a sage or Yogi is more precious than the blood of a martyr.
49. A saint or a sage is a Teacher. He is a Healer, harbinger or bringer of Light, love, peace, strength and solace to the weary and heavy-laden heart of humanity.
(v) Spiritual Guru Must Guide You
50. Just as you would go to a skilled musician to learn music, so you should go to a morally and spiritually perfect man to learn ethics, religion, Yoga and Brahma Vidya.
51. True and deep love for the spiritual Guru is the surest means of progressing towards God-consciousness.
52. The disciple must obey the Guru. If he does not obey he will achieve nothing in the spiritual path.
53. The Guru will help you to remove the final barriers of ignorance so that the Spirit can shine forth in all its glory.
54. The Guru must be wise and learned, kind, passionless, calm and withdrawn into God. He is to be treated as God.
55. The true Guru is like a central power-house. He electrifies his disciples.
56. The Guru is God Himself manifesting in a personal form to guide the aspirant. He is united with God. He inspires devotion in others. His presence purifies all.
57. He is a true Guru or spiritual Teacher who helps his disciples in the attainment of God-realisation.
(vi) Guru and disciple
58. The philosopher’s stone turns iron into gold only but cannot change it into its own nature, viz., a philosopher’s stone. But the Sadguru transforms into his own nature, his disciple. He is, therefore, peerless indeed.
59. Get yourself free from the earthy mire by taking shelter at the lotus feet of the preceptor and realise the Atman in your heart by controlling the senses and the mind.
60. The living Guru is in the hearts of those who have faith, devotion, sincerity and love.
61. Mantra Diksha is indeed a very rare and unique good fortune that comes to a man in his life.
62. Receive it with the utmost reverence and pure spiritual Bhava.
63. A God-realised Sadguru never dies in the ordinary sense. He is ever present as he has identified himself with the Immortal, Cosmic Being. Worship the Guru always.
64. What does it matter if the Guru cast off his physical body? To sincere disciples, he can appear whenever he wills.
65. A prince was kidnapped by a forester. He was mixing with the sons of the forester. He thought he was also a forester. The king found him out and said, “You are a prince.” He recognised his original status and rejoiced. So is man. The Guru points out, “You are Brahman. You are not a Jiva.” The Jiva comes back to his senses and realises his divine nature.
66. Ten people crossed a river and found one man was missing. The counter forgot to count himself. They were crying. A spectator said, “You are the tenth man.” All rejoiced. Even so people of this world are crying and are miserable. The Guru points out, “Tat Tvam Asi”. “You are the immortal soul. You are an ocean of bliss. You are not this perishable body.” Their eyes are opened. They meditate and realise their blissful Atman.
67. A lion’s cub was bleating like a lamb when it was in the company of sheep. A lion took it to the side of a well and asked it to see its image in the water. The lion said, “You are not a lamb. Do not bleat like a lamb. You are a lion. Roar like a lion.” The cub realised its original nature and roared like a lion and accompanied the lion. The Guru said, “O man! Do not bleat like a lamb. You are Brahman in essence. You are not a small Jiva.” The man realised his Brahmic nature and became a sage.
(vii) Sannyasa-Its Significance and Glory
68. Real Sannyasins alone can save the world. They are the torch-bearers of wisdom. Glory to such Sannyasins, veritable Gods on this earth.
69. A Sannyasin is one who has dedicated his life for attaining freedom not only for himself but for all.
70. Sannyasa is not escapism. Sannyasa is not life of selfishness. Sannyasa is abundant and full life. Where selfishness is, there Sannyasa cannot be.
71. The life of a Sannyasin is indeed a sublime life of purity, self-mastery and divine illumination.
72. True Sannyasa or renunciation is Yoga.
73. Sannyasa desirelessness. Is non-attachment. Sannyasa is
74. The giving up of Sankalpa or planning for the future is also Sannyasa.
75. The control of mind and the senses, the wise restraint and sublimation of anger, passion etc., are of prime importance for one who will qualify for the life of Sannyasa.
76. He who is disgusted with the world should take to the life of Sannyasa.
77. The Yogi of wisdom is a man of true Sannyasa or renunciation. He has renounced actions. He has transcended the three Gunas. He stands above nature. He acts not. He is one with Brahman or the Absolute.
Chapter Nine
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
(i) Nature and Function of True Religion.
(ii) Man's Life and Religion.
(iii) Philosophy Bestows Wisdom.
(iv) Different Philosophical Schools.
(v) Supreme Philosophy of Advaita.
(vi) Man.
(vii) Goal of Life.
(viii) Thoughts on Life.
(ix) Rambles in Philosophy.
(i) Nature and Function of True Religion
1. Every religion, every faith is a path to God.
2. Religion shows the way for God-realisation, immortality, eternal peace, bliss and wisdom.
3. Religion will free you from ignorance, illusion, fear, doubt, grief and delusion.
4. Religion transforms the animal man into a divine man.
5. All religions emanate from one Universal God.
6. Belief is the core of religion.
7. Unless one believes in a moral order in the universe, morality has no basis to stand upon.
8. Religion is a matter of faith, while science is capable of proof and verification.
9. A living faith in the Lord is the secret of the strength and dynamism of people who profess religion.
10. This living faith is the very essence of the spirit of true religion.
11. The essence of religion is Truth; the essence of Law is virtue.
12. True religion is love. Real religion unites all in fellowship.
13. Religion must be based on love and reasoned knowledge.
14. Christianity founds its ethics on the duty to love one's neighbour. But Hinduism offers the further idea that the neighbour is one's Self.
15. The noble teachings of all religions centre in the realisation of the spiritual Truth.
16. Religion merges into metaphysics, philosophy, mysticism and experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
(ii) Man's Life and Religion
17. Religion and life are one. Religion is life and life is religion.
18. To a Hindu, life and religion are one and the same. One cannot be separated from the other.
19. Real religion consists in the spiritual quest of man for union with God culminating in unitive experience.
20. Religion has to play a vital, progressive and dynamic role. The aim of religion is to raise humanity to a higher spiritual plane.
21. Man's life should be guided by Religion.
22. Religion must become an intense and positive part of your being.
23. Hinduism integrates philosophy and religion.
24. Religion is the primary impulse towards perfection, completeness, integral oneness and existence.
25. Religion always plays a tremendous part in human life.
26. Religious life must be the basis of all national life.
27. All the great religions of the world preach the gospel of peace.
28. The divinity of man and his close relations with the supreme Reality are acknowledged by almost all the religions of the world.
29. The broad-minded see the truth in different religions; the narrow-minded see only the differences.
30. Realise the brotherhood of religions. Sing the gospel of love. Worship the Truth. Become a unifier and reconciler of races and religions.
(iii) Philosophy Bestows Wisdom
31. Philosophy teaches wisdom. It shows the way to attain perfection, freedom, illumination and the supreme bliss.
32. The philosopher seeks to comprehend the universe as a whole.
33. Philosophy strives after a synthesis of the multifarious truths. It aims at a systematic, organic interrelation of the entire manifestation.
34. Thales, the father of Greek philosophy was keen in his search for the prima materia, for all things and found it in water; Anaximenes found it to be air; Diogenis of Apollonia found it to be soul, which was not only Force but also intelligence.
35. Philosophy begins when one learns to doubt his cherished beliefs and one’s dogmas.
36. Western conception of intuition and Absolute is different from the Eastern conception of the same.
37. The six schools of Indian philosophy should be regarded not as mutually conflicting philosophies, but as complementary stand points.
38. Philosophical problems are closely bound up with one another.
39. Eastern philosophy begins Philosophy ends. Where Western
(iv) Different Philosophical Schools
40. Pythagoras taught that numbers were the cause of things and called the invariable existences the All.
41. Anaximander of Niletus found the prima materia of all things to be the Infinite.
42. Xenophanes turned his eyes upwards at the immensity of heaven and declared that the one is God.
43. Xenophanes describes God as the self-existent, immovable, intelligent Infinite.
44. Plotinus maintains that the final destiny of the soul is merging in the Absolute.
45. “Nature is the origin of all things.” This is the view of Thales. “God pervades all objects.” This is the view of Heraclitus. “The human soul migrates through animal bodies.” This is the view of Pythagoras and Plato. “Animal food is objectionable.” This is the view of Empedocles and the Orphics.
46. The philosophy of Sphota upholds that the word (Vak and Sabda) is the principle underlying the evolution of the universe and everything it consists of.
47. The elan vital of Henri Bergson is the same as the Good of Plato, the Din-an-sich or the Transcendental Thing-in-itself of Emmanuel Kant, the will of Schopenhauer, the Substantia of Spinoza, the oversoul of Emerson, the Unknowable of Herbert Spencer, the Great mind of Sir James Jeans, the Father in Heaven of the Christians, the Allah of the Muslims, the Dharmakaya of the Buddhists, the Brahman, Siva, Vishnu or Sakti of the Hindus and the Tao of the Chinese.
48. The concepts of the Good, the True and the Beautiful given to the world by Plato are the concepts of Sivam, Satyam and Sundaram of Indian philosophy.
49. The true parallel for Upanishadic philosophy is found rather in the teachings of Plotinus, the Sufis and the Christian mystics like Eckhart than in the philosophy of Kant.
50. Even atheism has a place in the philosophical system. It exists to glorify theism. It exists to make theism strong and to remove superstitions in the theistic philosophy.
51. Darsana, the Sanskrit word for philosophy is derived from the root ‘drs’ which means ‘to see’. It is the seeing or realisation of Reality and its application in the daily life of man.
52. The Hindu philosophy is not a mere theorising about Reality, but has for its aim the attainment of release from bondage.
53. Self-control and Self-realisation is the message of Indian philosophy.
(v) Supreme Philosophy of Advaita
54. The Advaita Vedanta is the ultimate Darsana.
55. Advaita is the most satisfactory system of philosophy.
56. The fundamental doctrines of Advaita-Vedanta are the sole Reality of Brahman, identity of Jiva and Brahman and the phenomenality of the world.
57. The fundamental unity of Being is the essence of the Upanishadic philosophy. This is the true Revelation.
58. Tat Tvam Asi (Thou art That) is an ultimate definition of culture according to Indian philosophy.
59. Sankara’s Kevala Advaita is Absolute monism. Ramanuja’s Visishtadvaita is qualified monism. Gaudapada’s philosophy is absolute idealism.
60. Advaita is the religion of the head; Dvaita is the religion of the heart.
61. The philosophy which treats of non-dual Para Brahman is Absolutism.
62. Hedonism, Pragmatism etc., are play things before the non-dual Absolutism. They are glow worms before the mighty sun of Kevala Advaita of Sri Sankara.
(vi) Man
63. Man is a conglomeration of desire, will and action.
64. What is man? What can he become? What is mind? What is the best state? A study of these things is really profitable.
65. Man is essentially a spiritual being. He is divinity.
66. He is not a spiritual spark. He is the spiritual fire itself. He is Chaitanya or pure consciousness.
67. Man is not an isolated individual being. He is connected and inter-connected with every being that lives. His joys and sorrows depend on and affect numberless beings.
68. Man is a poor being physically. But his dignity consists of thought, discrimination, reasoning and enquiry.
69. Man is fundamentally the spirit or the Atman. He has a body and mind in order that these may help him realise that He is the Atman or the soul.
70. Man is born again and again and learns from his earthly lives how to attain perfection and becomes united with God.
71. Death does not end all. Man’s soul is immortal.
72. He who denies the soul and identifies it with the body slays his own soul. He finds the world all dark. He is without any light to guide his steps.
73. The body is the slough of the Soul.
74. The soul is the mover of the body-chariot.
75. When the body is destroyed the spirit continues living. You still have your thoughts, memory, will-power and subtle body.
76. Know that the body is the Temple of the radiant spirit or Self effulgent Atman or Soul within, which controls and moves all the faculties of the mind and the body.
77. Know that you are breathing the breath of the Spirit but not a physical breath.
78. Man is finite. He is conditioned by time and space and yet he yearns for the Absolute and thinks of the Infinite and Eternal.
79. The parts of man are centred in the Lord as spokes in the navel of a wheel.
80. The parts of a man to the Lord are as rivers to the ocean.
81. Eye sees, ear hears, nose smells but the person who experiences these sense-knowledge is one and the same. He is the synthesiser of sense-perception. He does not feel that the seer is different from the hearer.
82. The sense-organ-openings are the nine gates. The presiding deities are the gate keepers. The soul is the King.
83. The tenth-opening is the Brahma-Randhra at the crown of the head.
(vii) Goal of Life
84. Self-realisation is man’s final goal (Parama- Purushartha). This is Moksha or spiritual freedom.
85. After God-realisation there is sovereignty of man’s will.
86. Man becomes God. This is a miracle of miracles.
87. Man is living in spite of various inimical forces. This is a miracle of miracles.
88. Man can never rest until he rests in God.
89. He who sees the Atman or Brahman everywhere is a real Brahmin.
90. Mystic divine knowledge is more valuable than the Earth full of treasures.
(viii) Thoughts on Life
91. Matter is a mystery. Mind is a mystery. Time-space is a mystery. This world is a mystery. Life is a mystery. Brahman or Atman is a mystery of mysteries.
92. Philosophy and religion rest on the Eternal. Enquire into the nature of God, universe and man and their relationship.
93. Know it for certain that God alone is the sole reality; nothing else really exists.
94. Universe is the manifest play of the Lord.
95. Man is the link between God and the universe.
96. The fit subject for man to study is man.
97. The perfect study of mankind is man. Man is in essence the Atman or the Immortal Soul.
98. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is perfection, there is freedom.
99. He who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling alike in all beings, the Imperishable in things that perish, he sees indeed.
100. Man, bird, dog, worm, tree, all in essence or substance is a simple soul.
101. Perception of difference leads one from death to death.
102. Education begins the man, but meditation and realisation finish him.
103. Knowledge of God’s law, meditation on God, purification of the personal life, love of God will ultimately free the soul and unite it with God.
(ix) Rambles in Philosophy
104. According to some philosophers Will is superior to intellect or Reason.
105. Rationalism is not against prayer and faith.
106. Knowledge is incomplete without eschatological knowledge.
107. The moral aspect of man is the most fundamental thing about man.
108. Evil is not a separate entity. Good will be the final goal of evil.
109. The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher is time; the best book is the world; the best friend is God.
110. God, freedom, immortality are the three great objects of metaphysical enquiry.
111. All physical things have intimate connection with subtle, psychic forces. All psychic forces have intimate connection with spiritual laws. All spiritual laws emanate from and have their source in the cosmic Intelligence or the Supreme Being.
112. All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.
113. Secular culture cannot flourish long without a good moral and spiritual foundation.
114. What is pleasure to one is painful to the other. Again what is pleasure to one at a particular time is painful to the same individual at other times.
115. Liberation from political bondage is not real freedom. Real freedom is freedom from births and, deaths. Real freedom is Self-realisation.
116. Man makes history. Ideas make men.
117. The elements welcome the soul and give him the experiences of this world of sensual objects and eventually give him a send off when he attains perfection and freedom.
118. Just as the ocean is the centre of all waters, so also the eye is the centre of all forms, the ear of all sounds, the nose of all smells etc.
119. There is one sacred flame, the one Eternal Life in saints, angels, birds, beasts and sinners.
120. Sorrow is a key to happiness and failure is a key to success.
121. Rayi and Prana are the Aristotle’s Matter and Form.
122. In the world of thought and spirituality, majorities count for nothing. Sages and Yogis are few.
Chapter Ten
THE GREAT LIBERATION
(i) Self-knowledge Bestows Liberation.
(ii) The Supreme Science.
(iii) The Secret Doctrine.
(iv) The Cause of Bondage.
(v) Assert Thy Real Nature.
(vi) Light on Svaroopa.
(vii) Discriminate and Do Sadhana.
(viii) Voice of Vedanta.
(i) Self-knowledge Bestows Liberation
1. Brahma Jnana or the knowledge of the Self is the core of Hindu approach to spiritual life, the door to liberation, to freedom from bondage.
2. Atmana Vindate Veeryam, Vidyaya Vindate Amritam- through the Atman the aspirant obtains real spiritual strength and energy and through knowledge Immortality.
3. The moment ignorance is dispelled or duality is removed Moksha or emancipation is experienced without any opposition whatsoever.
4. Knowledge is a great weapon to destroy ignorance and to do good in this universe.
5. Knowledge of Brahman grows in the purified heart.
6. Moksha or emancipation is a ladder reaching from the heart of man to the heart of God or Brahman.
7. Moksha is freedom. Moksha is release from individuality.
8. As the light of the sun disperses darkness and reveals the beauty of the world, so does the light of wisdom dispense all ignorance, and reveal the Atman to the true Yogi.
9. The primary function of knowledge is to remove Ajnana or ignorance.
10. Liberation consists in the destruction of the heart's knots, Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire), Karma (action).
11. The smoke of ignorance must be driven out by gale of discrimination and Atma-Jnana or knowledge of the Self.
12. The way to emancipation lies through Brahma-Jnana or knowledge of Truth.
13. To be conscious of the Infinite "I" is to partake of Its absolute perfection.
14. Kaivalya means final merging in the ultimate.
15. Blessed are they who attain to wisdom, knowledge of the Atman, the True Self.
(ii) The Supreme Science
16. Brahma Vidya is the science of all sciences. It is the fundamental science. It is the basis of all sciences.
17. The secret of Brahma Vidya or the science of the Self is to reveal the real nature of Atman, that is all-pervading, that is like ghee in the milk, like oil in the seasmum seed, like fire in the wood.
18. Knowledge of the Eternal is illumination or Brahma Jnana.
19. Jnana is consciousness. The knower consciousness. He who knows this knows the Atman.
20. Realise the Atman or Self in all beings. There is only one Brahman without a second. The many do not really exist. This world is a mere appearance like the mirage.
21. Wisdom of the Self or Atman is a priceless pearl.
22. Without wisdom of the Self or Atma-Jnana all learning is useless.
(iii) The Secret Doctrine
23. What is the cause of misery? Birth.
24. What is the cause of Birth? Karma.
25. What is the cause of Karma? Dosha or human passion (Raga-dvesha) like and dislike. Man performs Karma (action) to attain pleasant objects and get rid of painful objects.
26. What then is the cause of Dosha or like and dislike? Recognition of awareness of duality, as opposed to unity or oneness of Brahman. Ahamkara is the cause of Raga-dvesha.
27. What is the cause of Ahamkara? Ignorance.
28. How to remove ignorance? By attaining wisdom of the Self or Brahma-Jnana.
29. When Brahma-Jnana has arisen there is no longer distinction of what should or should not be done.
30. There can be no end to sorrow, fear and death without the knowledge of Atman or the supreme Self.
31. So long as a man has no knowledge of Brahman, he does not attain final emancipation, even though he is in the constant practice of religious acts and a hundred austerities.
32. The ocean of grief and pain can be crossed only by the knowledge of Atman or the Supreme Self.
33. That man is released from the bonds of action who has attained knowledge of Brahman or the Absolute.
34. When the Truth or Brahman is revealed, duality does not exist (Jnate dvaitam na vidyate), woll
35. There is no true freedom without the knowledge of Atman or Brahman.
36. Removal of the veil of ignorance leads to the attainment of Self-realisation.
37. Man cannot attain emancipation unless he gets over the delusion, pierces through the veil of Maya and perceives the Reality behind the appearances.
38. In the stage of Mukti or liberation, Brahman shines forth in its unique glory and all the rest vanishes as illusory nothing
39. Moksha is nothing attainable as an extraneous end.
40. Moksha is the realisation of the non-dual, eternal Brahman. Moksha is Eternity. Moksha is release or freedom.
41. Moksha is not a new acquisition, but is the regaining of what is the eternal nature of the soul.
42. Mukti is essentially a state of Ananda (Bliss).
43. The illumined consciousness dispels the personal sense of self with its problems.
44. Dwelling upon Atman constantly, remembering It always and meditating upon It regularly everyday, this is the right and royal way to Infinite consciousness.
(iv) The Cause of Bondage
45. It is the wrong identification with your gross physical body that is the root-cause of all the severe limitations, defects, weaknesses and imperfections that bind down your consciousness.
46. To banish the illusion of body-consciousness and to attain and be established in radiant soul-consciousness is the major task of life to the true seeker.
47. If this is attained, all limitations end, and peace, power and plenty flow into your life.
48. In truth, all perfection, power and limitless abundance are essential part of your real nature.
49. Thou art neither body nor mind. Thou art ever free, ever full, all-blissful soul or Atman, infinite, imperishable and immortal.
50. The body idea limits the consciousness. Expansion of consciousness comes by asserting your universal spiritual nature.
51. Human consciousness is characterised by objectiveness. Spiritual consciousness is consciousness of Atman without any object.
52. ‘I’ness and ‘mineness’ constitute bondage.
53. Freedom from ‘I’ness and ‘mineness’ is Moksha or emancipation.
54. “You are I” and “I am you”. This is Vedanta. “You are you”, “I am I’. This is worldliness.
55. Who is this ‘I’ that has to be known, the Atman or Self that has to be revealed.
56. Eradicate the ego rooted in ignorance with the axe of wisdom.
(v) Assert Thy Real Nature
57. I am distinct from the five elements, senses, the body and the mind. I am pure consciousness. I am intelligent and Infinite. This is Vedantic Samadhi.
58. Practise Neti, Neti, not this, not this. Affirm, “I am Satchidananda Brahman”. This is Vedantic Samadhi.
59. Negate the five sheaths and identify with the all-pervading immutable Soul. This is Vedantic Samadhi.
60. I am distinct from the three Gunas. I am formless, attributeless Brahman. This is Vedantic Samadhi.
61. I am the witness of the three states, waking, dreaming and deep sleep. I am Absolute Conscious- ness-Bliss. This is Vedantic Samadhi.
62. Practise three kinds of Layachintana (Bhutalaya- chintana, Antahkaranalayachintana, Omkaralayachintana), Anvaya-vytireka, Adhyaropa-apavada, Bhaga-tyaga-lak- shana. Negate the names and forms. Take out the essence and rest in your own Svaroopa. This is Vedantic Samadhi.
63. I am neither body nor mind. I am Sakshi or silent witness. I am Kevala Siva or Brahman. This is Samadhi.
64. Merge the senses in the mind; merge the mind in the cosmic mind; merge the cosmic mind in Mula-Prakriti; merge the Mula-Prakriti in Brahman and identify yourself with Brahman. This is Samadhi.
65. Merge Visva in Virat and Virat in A; merge Tejasa in Hiranyagarbha and Hiranyagarbha in U; merge Prajna in Isvara and Isvara in M; identify yourself with the Supreme Self or Brahman. This is Samadhi.
66. The waves, foam and bubbles rise up from the ocean and yet dissolve in the ocean itself. Similarly this world arises from me and yet dissolves in me. There is neither world nor Maya apart from me. This is Samadhi.
67. Samadhi is dawn of Jnana or wisdom of Atman. This is Sakshatkara of Mahavakya Lakshya Svaroopa. This realisation of the identity of the Jiva and Brahman, the individual soul and the Infinite Soul.
68. To determine the nature of the Absolute, look to the inmost being of your own existence.
69. Look at the vast sky. It reminds you of the Infinite Brahman.
(vi) Light on Svaroopa
70. You can deny anything but you cannot deny your own Self. This Self is Atman or Immortal Soul.
71. Cast your glance backward from infancy to present age. Although your mind and body have undergone various changes, your own Self-identity has not undergone any change. You are what you were or had been from the moment you can recollect your conscious existence up to the time where you stand today.
72. You cannot jump on your shoulders. The fire can all objects, but it cannot see itself. Lime pickle can digest everything but it cannot digest itself. Even so the mind can know everything in this universe but it cannot know the Self. How can one know the knower? One can intuit the Atman.
73. Before release takes place, Vritti Jnana or Brahmakara Vritti arising from meditation on the great formula “Aham Brahmasmi” destroys Ajnana about Atman and the pure consciousness or Atman shines forth.
74. There is unity of life. There is unity of consciousness. Behold the underlying sameness and oneness of things.
75. The perception of non-duality dispels ignorance and its effects and helps one to attain freedom in this life itself.
(vii) Discriminate and Do Sadhana
76. Discrimination and dispassion are the two wings for the soul, wherewith to fly to the everlasting home of freedom and bliss.
77. Enquiry (Vichara) is the means by which you battle with your ignorance and discover your own Innermost Self or Imperishable Atman.
78. The light of discrimination dawns as a result of past meritorious deeds, study of scriptures, the grace of the Lord, the blessings of the Gurus and personal effort or enquiry into the Truth.
79. The immediate cause of realisation is Viveka or discrimination of the Real from the unreal.
80. Discretion is Viveka; discrimination is Viveka; distaste is Vairagya; calmness is Sama; self-control is Dama; withdrawal is Uparati; endurance is Titiksha; faith is Sraddha; poise is Mumukshutva. Samadhana; and yearning is
81. Right resolve is Subheccha; enquiry of ‘who am I?’ is Vicharana; refinement of the mind is Tanumanasi: harmonising or filling the mind with Sattva or purity is Sattvapathi; total withdrawal is Asansakti; fading of the world is Padarthabhavana; merging in the Absolute is Turiya.
82. Do not allow the mind to externalise. This is Sama. Serenity is Sama.
83. Self-realisation is impossible without cultivation of Sama (serenity) and Dama (self-restraint).
84. Check the external instruments of the sense-organs. This is Dama.
85. Do not think of the objects of the senses. This is Uparati. Satiety is Uparati. Renunciation of works is Uparati.
86. Constant practise to fix the mind on God is Samadhana.
87. Desire for Atman is desirelessness.
88. Aspiration is the longing for God-realisation. It is Mumukshutva or Jijnasa.
89. Tapas is the act of burning the ignorance through the direct knowledge of Brahman.
90. The greatest power of all is will power or Atmabala.
91. The Mantra “I am Brahman. Aham Brahma Asmi” gives spiritual wisdom, bliss and Immortality. There is not even a particle of doubt about this.
92. Man will not attain final emancipation even at the end of a hundred Kalpas so long as action, whether good or evil is not destroyed.
93. The state of Naishkarmya is Kaivalya or Moksha.
94. One becomes a Jivanmukta till the destruction of his Prarabdha. After the destruction of Prarabdha he obtains Videha-mukti or disembodied salvation.
(viii) Voice of Vedanta
95. He whose speech and mind are well brought under control attains completely and always all the fruits of Vedanta.
96. Being is better than doing.
97. Direct experience is the final proof of Reality.
98. Truth means ultimately the realisation of God.
99. Self-realisation is the realisation of one’s eternal nature.
100. Where one sees another, that is small and finite (Alpam). Where one sees no other, and knows no other that is great infinite and Bhuma.
101. For him who possesses the knowledge of Brahman, of what use are Japa, Yajna, Tapas, Yama, Niyama, Vratas and pilgrimage?
102. Life in Atman is a life of intense spiritual activity.
103. Brahman or the Absolute holds all within His Bliss. Seek thou union with Him.
104. God and I, we are one is knowledge or Jnana.
105. The Knower and the known are one.
106. He who is that Purusha, He I am (Sohamasmi).
107. This body is a tree. This world is a tree. I am the mover of this tree.
108. Remember that thou art ever pure, perfect Atman, beyond the body and the mind.
109. O ye groups of senses! Give up your foul play with me. I am the mighty Lord now, the Satchidananda Atman, the Witness of your actions.
110. When one realises the effulgent Supreme Being he shakes off all evil and attains the supreme stainless Unity
111. Live in the Atman or Spirit. To live in the Spirit is not to be idle but to be tremendously active.
112. Brahman or Atman is the home of Infinite Life. Wisdom and abundance.
Chapter Eleven
BRAHMAN OR THE ONE SUPREME REALITY
(i) Your Ultimate Goal.
(ii) Brahman Alone Exists.
(iii) Brahman Is Bliss.
(iv) Nature of Brahman or Atman.
(v) Vedanta's Message.
(vi) Knowledge Transcendental.
(vii) Message of the Upanishads.
(viii) Rambles in Vedanta.
(i) Your Ultimate Goal
123. Brahman is your ultimate goal. Brahman is the ultimate Reality. In Brahman alone you will find everlasting peace, and eternal bliss.
124. This universe is Maya. Brahman or Advaita is the Reality.
125. There is only one ultimate Reality-Self-existence, non-dual, eternal and uncaused.
126. From Brahman arises all and to Brahman returns all.
127. Brahman is secondless, changeless, immortal and fearless. He is Existence-Bliss-Consciousness Absolute. Realise Him and be free. This is the religion of the Upanishads.
128. From whom are we born, in whom do we live and have our being? That is Brahman or the Eternal.
129. All things are centred in Brahman or the Supreme Soul.
130. Brahman is the hidden refuge of all creatures of the world. He is the hidden bliss. He is hidden Light. He is the hidden Love.
131. Brahman or the Absolute is the Mind of your mind, the Prana of your Pranas, the Heart of your heart, the Breath of your breath, Life of your life, and Soul of your soul.
132. The Absolute is the origin of life and the end of all things.
(ii) Brahman Alone Exists
133. In the entire universe, there is the one Brahman without a second, nor is there anything outside or distinct from It.
134. Brahman is existence-knowledge-bliss. Brahman is non-dual, infinite, indivisible, eternal, one. It fills all the quarters.
135. Matter, life, mind, intellect and Bliss are forms of Brahman.
136. Brahman or the Absolute is one without a second. It is of the nature of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. It is the only Reality. It is the cause, both material and instrumental and substratum of diverse phenomenal manifestations.
137. Brahman and the real, Infinite "T" are identical.
138. Brahman alone is real. All else is unreal.
139. One life pulsates in all beings. One single principle underlies all science and philosophy, all knowledge and art, all literature and social ethics.
140. Plurality and diversity are appearances of a transient Nature. There exists Unity or Oneness always and at all times as the essential Reality.
141. In reality, there is no duality, no multiplicity here.
142. The underlying essence of things is subtle and unmanifest.
143. Reality is one only, not two or many.
144. Difference depends upon Unity: Unity does not depend upon difference; it exists by itself.
145. Earthen jars, etc., have no reality; they are only names and forms; Reality belongs to the earth alone.
146. Brahman or the Absolute fills this universe. He is alone, changeless and self-luminous.
(iii) Brahman Is Bliss
147. Brahman is Absolute Bliss. It is an embodiment of Bliss. It is not the enjoyer of bliss. It is the Jiva which runs to enjoy sensual pleasures.
148. Bliss is existence itself. Perfection is Bliss.
149. Ananda or Bliss implies fullness of being.
150. Bliss of Brahman is not derived through contact of subject and object. It is bliss without objectifications.
151. Brahman is the delight of life, the joy of mind, the fullness of peace the Immortal.
152. Brahman is not blissful but Bliss itself, not conscious but consciousness itself, not existent but existence itself.
153. That which is bliss is the same as Being which is Life Eternal.
154. Atman is the source of knowledge and unending bliss.
155. Absolute Existence which is Absolute Consciousness is also Absolute Bliss.
156. That which is great and full alone is Bliss. Brahman alone is Bliss. Brahman alone is Great and Full.
(iv) Nature of Brahman or Atman
157. The Atman is beyond the known and beyond Unknown.
158. Brahman or the Absolute is supra-relational and hence supra-rational.
159. Atman is unrelated, formless, nameless, timeless, spaceless, absolute one without a second, changeless.
160. Brahman is Kutastha Nitya (eternally quiescent). Therefore it cannot change.
161. Satchidananda Atman is non-dual, decayless and alone.
162. The formula Satchidananda condenses all that can be asserted about the nature of Brahman.
163. Satchidananda is the essential definition of Brahman or the Absolute.
164. True knowledge is Atman or Brahman. The intelligence of the mind is borrowed from the Atman.
165. The knowing subject is the essence of the being of the Self and hence, is not an object of knowledge.
166. This Brahman alone sees but is not seen, hears but is not heard, thinks but is not thought, understands but is not understood.
167. Brahman or the Absolute is originless, the Immortal, the beginningless, the very first one single, the taintless.
168. Brahman the Absolute is absolute pure or consciousness. He is self-luminous.
169. Brahman or the Absolute is a harmonious whole.
170. Brahman is Eternal, Immutable, without a beginning or end. It is beyond the senses, mind and speech and so It cannot be described in words.
171. Even the scriptures give but an indirect hint at It. The utmost that can be said of It is that It is Existence, Knowledge and Bliss absolute.
172. The best description of It is ‘Not this, not this’ that is rejecting from It everything which is limited by the senses and the mind and then what is left is Brahman.
173. Brahman is pure Consciousness and not that it has consciousness of this or that object, as there is nothing outside Brahman.
174. Brahman is pure, undifferentiated consciousness or more awareness, the supreme principle in which there is no differentiation of knowledge, knower and known.
175. The Atman alone is knowledge, Truth. The knowledge of plurality is ignorance, illusion. Realise the Atman and be free for ever.
176. Atman is beyond knowledge and ignorance.
177. One, indivisible and impartite Atman is at thefoundation of all things, great and small. He is the one Self, the One Life, the one God, in all men and women all over the world.
178. Brahman or the Absolute is consciousness without thought.
179. Atman is the seat of Absolute love, and love without an object of love.
(v) Vedanta's Message
180. Man should perfect his identity with Unity. This is Vedantist's oneness.
181. The Vedanta advocates only self-renunciation or renunciation of egoism, not world-renunciation.
182. Vedanta accepts all the religions of the world because Truth is one, only the paths differ, and the goal is the same.
183. Beloved Atman! Mind and body are petty instruments in thy hands. Thou art their Master.
184. The dweller in the body is Imperishable and Immortal. Nothing can touch Him.
185. This Atman is never born and never dies, smaller than the smallest atom, greater than the greatest space.
186. Everything in this world is ever-changing and ever dying but there is one underlying supreme immortal essence the spirit or Atman which is changeless and deathless, which holds all together.
187. The Atman grows neither great by good actions nor small by evil actions.
188. Grasp the Atman, you grasp all things; because all things abide in the Atman.
189. Atman is far off and near. It is far off to worldly persons and near to men of discrimination and dispassion.
190. The Atman is unspeakable and unthinkable.
191. Atman is beyond all laws of causation.
192. The Atman is sinless, without age, without death, without fear, without hunger or thirst.
193. The Atman is the ultimate Seer, Hearer and Thinker.
194. Nothing except Atman really exists. Atman is the only existence and essence.
195. Atman is dear to all. There is nothing dearer than the Atman. It is because the Atman is one that men become dear to one another.
196. Everything is dear for the sake of Atman.
197. Eternal knower is the Self, the Atman.
198. Atman is unborn, eternal and indestructible.
199. Vedanta is knowledge that has for its aim the solution of the mystery of all existence.
200. The relation of Vedanta with Sankhya and Yoga is very close.
201. Only Advaita is Vedanta and Vedanta is Advaita. Dvaita Vedanta is a contradiction in terms; Visishtadvaita is a misnomer.
202. The subtlety and profundity of the Vedantic thought and its consoling philosophy have deeply affected the metaphysical speculations of many great thinkers of the West.
203. Vedantic philosophy is extremely catholic. It respects individual differences and allows a variety of approaches to God.
204. Maya Vada is the pivot of Advaita Vedanta.
205. Vedanta is distinctly antagonistic to Nyaya.
206. The study of Vedanta is a key to understand the nature of the ultimate Reality.
207. Vedanta is the source of Eternal Bliss. Vedanta bestows absolute freedom and everlasting peace. Therefore practise Vedanta.
(vi) Knowledge Transcendental
208. What is that thing by knowing which, everything is known? It is Atman or Brahman.
209. The knowledge of everything through the knowledge of one thing means that everything is made up of that same thing.
210. Through what can one be conscious of Him by whom alone one is conscious of this everything? Through what can one know the knower?
211. Knowledge is not the attribute but the very stuff of Reality or Brahman. It is the essence of Existence.
212. Truth is in all things and constitutes their Being (Sat, Satta).
213. Metaphysically that which is eternal must be infinite.
214. The illumined sage realises the Atman or the Self as pure consciousness without thought and subject-object relationship.
215. Brahman sees not and knows not anything. It is knowledge itself. It is seeing and knowing itself.
216. There is nothing second to and distinct from It for It to see and know.
217. There is nothing superior to Brahman, nothing different from Him, nothing subtler or greater than He.
218. Brahman or the Supreme Reality not only pervades every visible form and invisible world, but also transcends them all. It is at once immanent and transcendent.
219. A lump of salt has no inside or outside and consists through and through entirely of the essence of savour, so is Truth, this Atman has no in and out and consists through and through entirely of the mass of consciousness or knowledge.
220. Brahman is absolute intelligence. His essential nature is self-luminosity.
221. Truth always remains the same. Truth is eternal and unchanging.
222. Brahman or the Absolute is the subject-objectless pure consciousness (Jnana Svaroopa).
223. Brahman is pure, absolute consciousness without thought, without subject-object.
224. 'Not this', 'Not this' is the most appropriate description of Brahman or the Absolute.
225. Brahman or the Absolute is Jnana or Vijnana. Brahman is absolute Consciousness. Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, Self-effulgent and Infinite.
226. All these terms bear an empirical significance which are altogether inadequate to describe the Absolute.
227. Even the definition of Brahman as Satchidananda is imperfect, though it expresses the Reality in the best way possible. It is more or less negative. It is a provisional definition.
228. Nirguna Brahman is essentially indescribable.
229. The Atman is always the subject of knowledge and never the object.
230. Brahman or the Absolute is eternal, uncreated, indestructible, subject neither to increase nor to decay.
231. Brahman or the Absolute has no attributes, but it is the sum total of all attributes and transcends all attributes.
232. Brahman is taintless, indivisible, pure. It is the Light of all lights.
(vii) Message of the Upanishads
233. Brahman alone is real; everything else is a modification and a name.
234. Brahman is devoid of diversity and heterogeneity.
235. Brahman is the one entity that is the substratum of the sentient and the non-sentient world.
236. Brahman is the irreducible substratum after the negation of all tangible objects.
237. Nirakara, Nirguna, Nirvisesha, Nishkriya, are the negative attributes of Brahman.
238. Atman is Experience, Being, Consciousness and Bliss.
239. The Atman is the highest object of desire and love.
240. Brahman or the Absolute is Being. It simply 'is'. It remains intact. It cannot change. It is beyond time and space. The causal category does not apply to it, because it is above relations.
241. Consciousness is always one and is ever secondless.
242. The essence of our being is consciousness. Hence the first principle of things, the Absolute is taken to be essentially Consciousness.
243. Atman or the Self is our highest value.
244. Atman is the Highest Category of existence.
245. Atman is subtler than the subtle and greater than the great.
246. Atman pervades everything. It is “T”. There is in it no mind, no intellect, no egoism, no Chitta.
247. Being that is free must be intelligent being. Only intelligent being can act freely. It alone can freely adopt a purpose and act in order to achieve that purpose.
248. All physical and mental powers are due to the power of Brahman.
249. Brahman or the Absolute is the one common source, substance and Goal ultimate of all beings of this universe.
250. Brahman or God sees without eyes, hears without ears, goes fast without feet, and grasps without hands.
251. Lying He (Brahman) goes everywhere, because He is Infinite, all-pervading.
252. Atman moves in a sitting posture.
253. A real thing or entity is that which has an existence in itself. That which depends for its existence on another, is not a real thing or entity.
254. Brahman is beyond all multiplicity and consequently, beyond all thought-forms.
255. Eternal Consciousness is the very nature and essence of Brahman.
256. How can Brahman be pure consciousness if there be nothing else besides it to be conscious of? Just as the sun shines, even if there is no object to shine upon, so also Brahman is consciousness without having an object of consciousness. It is non-objective consciousness.
257. There is all absolute Impersonal Reality which is the ground of all existence, and the goal of all endeavour. This is Para Brahman.
(viii) Rambles in Vedanta
258. The very conception of a perfect Being, implies existence.
259. A perfect Being must be free, immortal, and absolutely desireless.
260. Heart demands that the ultimate Reality must be a God of Love. Instinct requires that the Absolute must be permanent among impermanent things (Sat), self-luminous (Chit) and Bliss (Ananda).
261. The Atman is throughout nothing but intelligence, Intelligence is its essential nature, as the salt-taste is of the lump of salt.
262. The Divine Spirit is an integral part of the inmost Consciousness that infills the human beings.
263. The Atman or the supreme soul is compared to a bridge (Sethu) that connects worlds together.
264. There are no things which are wholly good, or wholly evil. Brahman alone is absolute good.
265. Self-consciousness is the ultimate category of existence.
266. There are no degrees, no stages, no shades in Being or Brahman.
267. Brahman is the Devourer of the Devourer.
268. Brahman is Beauty, Absolute, everlasting, which. Without diminution and without increase or any change, is imparted to the perishing beauties of all other things.
269. Brahman’s beauty is not to be imagined as a beautiful face or form or the beautiful wings of a parrot.
270. Beauty of Brahman does not depend upon colour, symmetry, curves and contours.
271. Brahman is not beautiful in the opinion of some and ugly in the opinion of others. It is not partly beautiful and partly ugly like the objects.
272. Brahman is not beautiful at one time or in one relation or in one place and deformed at other time in other relations and in other places.
273. When a man cries, you ask him, “Why do you cry?” When a man is blissful you do not ask him, “Why are you blissful?” This clearly proves that the essential nature of man is Bliss, Anandasvarupa.
274. No two faces are alike; no two leaves are alike; no two trees are alike; no two voices are alike; there is no fruit that is equal to mango. This itself clearly shows that there is only Advaita in truth.
275. The concept of a negative reality besides Brahman cannot be consistent with Advaitism in the strictest sense of the term.
276. Existence is a value which is always judged by a conscious being.
277. Existence is the substratum of all positive and negative entities.
278. ‘I am’ is a clue to the finding of Atman or the real Self. ‘I am’ is real because it is constant and changeless.
279. The Inner Self governs all external existence.
280. What is that which is changeless in the midst of changes? What is that which is immortal in the midst of mortal things? What is that which is Tajjalan? That is the changeless, immortal Brahman.
281. Just as there is a common thread behind the pearls in a necklace so also there is a common consciousness behind all these names and forms. That common consciousness is Para Brahman or the Absolute.
282. The ultimate Reality is the mind of mind, the eye of the eye and the ear of ear.
283. As everything in this world gets its worth in reference to the Brahman, Brahman is the object of ultimate value.
Chapter Twelve
THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE
(i) Maya or Divine Illusion..
(ii) Mystery of this Universe.
(iii) The Snare of Ignorance.
(iv) The Reality Behind All Existence.
(v) Jiva and Jagat (1).
(vi) Jiva and Jagat (2).
(vii) Evolution in a Nutshell.
(viii) Way Out of This Illusion.
(i) Maya or Divine Illusion
1. Maya is the mother of infinite riddles.
2. Maya envelopes Brahman and makes it appear otherwise than it is.
3. It splits the infinite Brahman which is without name and form and without quality into the finite centres of experience investing them with names and forms and qualities.
4. Maya is an appearance. It is a semblance. It is the illusory power of God.
5. Avyaktam, Avyakritam, Maya, Moola-Prakriti, Pradhan are synonymous terms.
6. Prakriti is Nature. Maya is creative Power. Avidya is ignorance.
7. Avidya is a psychological fact, Maya is a cosmological factor.
8. Avidya and Maya are beginningless, but both have an end.
9. That which truly is not but appears to be is Maya.
10. That which causes infatuation (Moha) is Maya.
11. ‘Ma’ means ‘to measure’. The immeasurable Brahman appears as if measured.
12. The root ‘Ma’ (Maya) also means ‘to build’ leading to the idea of illusion or appearance.
13. The doctrine of Maya is fundamental to Advaita Vedanta. Maya is a cosmological factor.
14. Maya is the pivotal principle of the Vedanta philosophy.
15. Maya exists as the cause of perception of the manifoldness of the universe but in truth it has no reality. It is also an appearance like the appearances which it causes.
16. It cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is the false cause of the seeming appearances.
17. One cannot Anirvachaneeya. Say what exactly it is. It is
18. The Svaroopa of Maya is “Ahamta and Mamata” “I-ness” and “mineness”.
19. The root-cause of imperfection and suffering is attachment, clinging to the “I” and the “Mine” (Ahamta and Mamata).
20. Maya is neither true nor false. It is truly false and falsely true.
21. Contrary qualities like Sat (being) and Asat (non-being) cannot simultaneously belong to the same thing. Therefore Maya or Avidya is Anirvachaneeya (inscrutable, indeterminate).
22. Maya is crookedness, falseness and illusion.
23. Maya explains the appearance of the manifold universe.
24. Maya is of two kinds viz., Avidya Maya and Vidya Maya. Avidya Maya takes you down the path of bondage and is characterised by lust, anger, greed, pride, hatred, etc
25. The Vidya Maya takes you on the path of liberation and is characterised by discrimination, dispassion and devotion.
(ii) Mystery of This Universe
26. The world is neither real nor unreal.
27. As the world is presented at one stage, it cannot be dismissed as wholly unreal, and as it is contradicted in a higher experience, it is not wholly real. It is Satasat Vilakshana.
28. ‘Up’ becomes down’ and ‘down’ becomes ‘up’. ‘Big’ becomes ‘small’ and ‘small’ becomes ‘big’. This itself shows that this world is relative and unreal.
29. The world is not illusory. It is quite real from the empirical stand-point. But it is sublated in the highest experience.
30. This universe is a mirror of God.
31. There is a Reality that underlies all manifestation. This is the soul of the world.
32. The world of sense cannot be logically derived or deduced from the Absolute.
33. Any doctrine which holds that the Absolute is not transformed into the world and is still the source of the world, cannot but subscribe to the Vivarta-Vada of Sri Sankara.
34. The world has no reality apart from the reality of Brahman.
35. Just as a poor lady invited by a rich relative, goes to the latter’s place with borrowed garments and ornaments on her person and poses there for a rich lady, so the world, with the reality of Brahman, appears to be real.
36. Brahman or the Atman is the ultimate Reality. This world is a mere appearance.
37. Diamond is only carbon; ghee is only milk. Even so this world is only God.
38. The universe is a thought in the mind of God.
39. The world is an overflow of God.
40. This world is in reality only a picture of the limitation formed by the mind, which man endeavours to change.
41. This world is a divine manifestation of the Supreme Lord, who also indwells us as the innermost core of our very lives.
42. The outer world is always the same. There was never a time when the world was otherwise than now.
43. The entire world is not a mere fortuitous concourse of blind atoms. There is purpose underlying the creation.
44. Prakriti is the great nature, force, the primeval energy and its process.
45. The Purusha is completely passive but through it is reflected the actions of the Prakriti and its essential three modes of energy, the Gunas.
46. The world is moving, flowing like the Ganga. Winter is followed by summer, day by night. But the Atman or the Self is beyond this restless continuous change.
(iii) The Snare of Ignorance
47. Avidya or nescience is the root of all miseries. It is only by destroying this nescience one attains immortality and eternal bliss.
48. Ajnana is the source of illusion. Ajnana is legitimate concept in philosophy.
49. Ignorance of one’s essential divine nature is the root cause of all evil, suffering and weaknesses.
50. Ajnana has for its characteristic, Bheda or difference and is the source of all misery and pain.
51. The perception of difference and diversity is the cause of fear, grief and bondage.
52. Illusory experience forces us to posit the category of Avidya or Nescience which serves as the source of false objects. In the absence of its admission, illusion will eternally remain an insoluble enigma.
53. If there be no Ajnana, there will be no possibility of illusion. Ajnana constitutes the substance of illusion. Brahman cannot be regarded as forming the substance of illusion, because Brahman is unchangeable.
54. Man’s basic problem is not fear but is ignorance, which makes him identify with the body.
55. The identification of the Self or Atman, which is unlimited, with objects such as the body which are limited, constitutes bondage.
56. The appearances delude man into thinking that they are real as they appear.
57. Ignorance makes the eternal appear as non-eternal, the Infinite appear as finite, all-blissful appear as miserable, the all-knowing appear as ignorance, the all-powerful appear as weak.
58. Ignorance is obstruction to knowledge. Remove ignorance and knowledge will shine by itself.
59. Man mistakes the appearance as the reality on account of his ignorance. The delusion brings in its train desire, dissatisfaction, pain and sorrow.
60. The fundamental error of all ages is the belief that the spiritual world and the material are separate.
61. Error is the cognition of the non-essential feature of an object as the essential feature of it.
62. Illusory experiences cannot be satisfactorily explained without the admission of Ajnana as the material source of the illusory object.
63. Ajnana cannot claim any parity with the positive Brahman. Ajnana is positive simply because it is not pure non-being like the barren woman’s son or the horn of a hare or the lotus in the sky.
64. The appearance of the world cannot be explained without the existence of the projecting power in Ajnana.
65. Ajnana or Avidya is not a real positive entity. It is a mere appearance.
66. Ajnana is not negation of knowledge. It is a positive entity. The positivity of Ajnana does not mean its absolute reality, because it is cancelled when knowledge of Brahman dawns.
67. Non-existence is the existence of the absence of existence.
68. Avidya or ignorance is the root of relativity. It has its basis in the Atman or the Self.
69. Ajnana is a legitimate concept in the Advaita philosophy.
70. Ajnana is one in the aggregate but many with reference to the individuals affected by it.
71. Advaitism does not recognise Ajnana as a real entity. It is a mere appearance.
72. Ajnana cannot be real, because it is destroyed by knowledge.
73. When final realisation comes, Avidya vanishes altogether with all its effects.
(iv) The Reality Behind All Existence
74. Brahman is the very root of the universe.
75. All life is one. All life come from the one universal Brahman or the Supreme Being.
76. The ultimate Cause for this world of objects, feelings and thoughts is the Brahman alone.
77. This world is Vivarta of Brahman and Parinama of Maya.
78. The world has no independent reality (Svatantra Satta).
79. The world is an expression of Brahman, the Absolute. It is not a vale of sorrow for the man of enquiry and reflection.
80. When you forget the substratum or basis of this world (Brahman or the Absolute Reality) this world is a sorrow, impermanent and unsubstantial or essenceless.
81. Kaali stands on the form of Lord Siva. This signifies that nature or the phenomenal world is rooted in Brahman or Siva, that matter has overpowered the spirit.
82. All things spring like sparks from the Supreme Soul.
83. The real nature of Brahman is concealed and the world projected by Ajnana.
84. Manifestation of spirit is matter.
85. The world is a Vivarta of Brahman and a reversal of the process will lead to the perception of the one Reality, which is behind the appearances.
86. Creation is divine Leela or sport. It is an effortless and purposeless projection.
87. The Lord dances in rapture and waves of form arise from His dance.
88. The world is an effect and so it is not real. The cause only is real.
89. The Supreme is revealed as Creatrix and Nourisher of the Universe.
90. Under the veil of each atom is hidden the Supreme Lord, the Infinite Beauty of beauties, the Self-effulgent Light of lights.
91. God is the magician and Prakriti is his magic power.
(v) Jiva and Jagat (1)
92. Every soul is a sun covered over with clouds of ignorance.
93. The shadow is the individual soul or Jiva. Light is Parama Atman or the Supreme Soul.
94. Real existence or Paramarthika Satta belongs to Nirguna Brahman only.
95. The world and the Jiva have phenomenal or Vyavaharika Satta or existence.
96. The individual soul is, in his ultimate nature, Brahman.
97. In salvation, the individual soul realises his own nature, that is his oneness with Brahman.
98. Sun is one but its reflections in the pots of water are countless. Even so, Brahman or God is one, but its reflections in the bodies (Jivas) are countless.
99. The Upanishads declare the identity of the Jiva with Brahman (Tat Tvam Asi). If the difference between the Jiva and Brahman be not illusory, this identity is not established.
100. The Supreme Soul lives apart from Prakriti, while the individual soul is caught in the meshes of her love.
101. The Upanishads teach absolute unity between the individual soul and Brahman, the Supreme Soul, in the state of liberation.
102. The absolute unity is not possible unless the difference is false.
103. Attempts at explanation of ‘Why’, ‘How’ of the universe, etc., are unprofitable and waste of time.
104. If a thing is non-existent both in the beginning and in the end, it is necessarily non-existent in the present.
105. What is eternal and changeless is real, that which changes and passes away is unreal and must be classed as appearance.
106. The Prakriti is made of red, white and dark colours.
107. Lohita (red) is Rajas, Sukla (white) is Sattva, and Krishna (black) is Tamas.
108. The heaviest and slowest mode of Prakriti is Tamas or inertia; the rapid, creative movement is Rajas; and the finest and lightest mode is Sattva.
109. Air is the source of all things according to some Western philosophers. It is the absorbent of all things. It is the carrier of sound in Mimamsa philosophy.
110. Akasa or ether is the carrier of sound. It is by Akasa that man calls, it is by Akasa that man hears, it is by Akasa that man is able to hear the echo of a sound.
111. Air is the absorbent in the macrocosm; Prana is the absorbent in the microcosm.
112. O mother Earth, father Wind, friend Light, relative Water, brother Sky! Salutations to you all. Thank you very much for your great help. I take leave of you all. I am now going to merge in Brahman, my essential Satchidananda Svaroopa.
113. The Atman did not create space or Akasa. From the Atman proceeded space. This is the theory of emanation.
114. Nature is a vast expanse of water contributed by five different streams (the five elements).
115. According to Sankhya, there is a real plurality of souls.
116. Sankhya believes that the stuff of which the world consisted was a reality, side by side with the Purushas.
117. Atman in conjunction with the mind and the senses is the cogniser (Pramata Chaitanya) and enjoyer.
118. The phenomenal world is known as Prameya Chaitanya or the object cognised.
119. That which knows is called Pramata, that which produces knowledge of an object is Pramana; and an object or thing knowable is called Prameya.
120. Ahankara or egoism connects the Spirit or Atman and the body. This is Chit-jada Granthi or knot between consciousness and insentient body.
(vi) Jiva and Jagat (2)
121. In the waking state mind functions with the help of senses; in dream mind alone functions without the senses.
122. The things experienced in dreams are only apparently real (Pratibhasika Satta).
123. Sleep occurs when the mind settles down on breath.
124. Sleep is caused by the absorption of the senses in the mind.
125. Sleep occurs when the soul rests in the space inside the heart.
126. In deep sleep the soul moves by the Hita Nadi to the Puritahnadi.
127. Remembrance is not possible without previous experience. Experience is never possible without consciousness. Therefore we have to conclude that the Self does exist in deep sleep as mere consciousness.
128. In sleep man is united with the Real or the Supreme Soul.
129. Turiya or the fourth state includes and transcends the other three states viz., waking, dreaming and deep sleep states. Turiya is Brahman or the Absolute.
130. Time and space are mental creations. However real they may seem to be, they are not ultimately real. Timeless, spaceless Brahman is the only Reality.
131. There is no space without time and there is no time without space. Space and time are interdependent.
132. Space and time have no independent status apart from Brahman or the Self, which is Awareness.
133. Space is the habitat of all things.
134. Space and time go together. They are unreal: On enquiry, where is time? Where is Space? They are mental creations. They have no independent status.
135. Conquest of Time is the main object of Yoga.
136. Be cool. Do not rush. Do not be hasty. Time is only the messenger-boy of Brahman or God. Time is the door to the Timeless Truth or Eternity. Time is the aeroplane through which man reaches his original abode of eternal Bliss.
(vii) Evolution in a Nutshell
137. Isvara is impersonal Hari and Hara are manifestations of Isvara.
138. Hiranyagarbha is the first born of God.
139. Mahat is intellect (Buddhi). The sum total of all intellect is Hiranyagarbha (cosmic Buddhi).
140. From Hiranyagarbha this gross Universe has been projected.
141. Fear, suffering and sorrow, and consequent entanglement in the cycle of Samsara, all will form a wrong perception of duality and plurality. Dvitiyaadvai bhayam bhavati.
142. Adhyasa means attributing the nature of one thing to another. Silver is superimposed on the mother-of-pearl. Snake is superimposed on the rope.
143. Ajnana lies at the root of Adhyasa which is the basis of life and experience.
144. Adhyasa is superimposition. It may be superimposition of an attribute of one thing or another (Sansargadhyasa).
145. Adhyasa may be identification of one thing with another, (Tadatmyadhyasa).
146. The negation or elimination (Apavada) of the superimposed attributes is the method of realising the Supreme Self or Atman.
147. Anirvachaniya Khyati is the Advaita theory of erroneous perception.
(viii) Way Out of This Illusion
148. Meditation on OM is the supreme way.
149. Meditation on OM removes the slough of sin.
150. Avidya can be negated by knowledge. Maya can be transcended by Self-realisation,
151. Know Brahman through faith, devotion, dispassion, discrimination, renunciation and meditation.
152. OM is the supreme source, the supreme substratum and support and the ultimate goal and destination of all beings.
153. It means All-bliss, All-light, Infinity and Eternal existence. It is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.
154. OM is the sound symbol of the Supreme Being.
155. OM is verily the Divine Universal sound. Chant OM. Sing OM with joy.
156. Chanting of OM is a wonderful way of effectively achieving concentration of mind. OM is not only the way, but also the ultimate goal to be realised.
157. Assert: I am pure spirit OM OM OM. I am pure Bliss OM OM OM. I am Immortal OM OM OM. I am Nameless, Formless OM OM OM. I am ocean of Peace and Bliss OM OM OM. I am Infinity OM OM OM. I am Light of lights OM OM OM.
158. OM and AUM are both one and the same. This is only a variation in spelling, which some people adopt.
159. OM slays egoism and destroys ignorance and generates wisdom of Atman.
160. Sound has infinite potencies. The original sound vibration is OM. There is a vibratory power in sound. Sound is Nada Brahman.
161. Om is the word of Power. It is the key to Self-realisation. Therefore do Japa of OM with Bhava and meaning.
162. All speech is interwoven on the symbol OM, in the same manner as the leaves of a tree are woven together on a stalk.
163. Certain sounds approach much closely in vibration to OM than countless others. The sound of the sea-shell (Sankha) is one such instance in point. The continuous boom of a water-fall or the flowing of a great river is also another instance.
164. The sun, the air, the fire and the Ganga verily sing OM.
165. The elixir of life or the Philosopher’s stone is OM.
166. Akara is Brahma, Ukara is Vishnu and Makara is Rudra.
167. OM is the representative of the various states of consciousness and the various aspects of the soul.
Chapter Thirteen
KARMA ITS MYSTERIOUS WORKING
(i) Mysterious Law of Karma.
(ii) Karma Leads to Rebirth.
(iii) Understand the Secret of Karma.
(iv) Transform Your Karma into Yoga.
(v) Karma Yoga Draws Divine Grace.
(vi) A Word to Karma Yogins.
(i) Mysterious Law of Karma
1. The workings of the law of Karma are mysterious and at times they totally baffle man.
2. The law of Karma is subtle and unfathomable.
3. The law is Himself and He is the Law.
4. The law of Karma or action and reaction has been the basis on which the Hindus have built up their culture.
5. The law of Karma is the proper explanation for the inequalities of the world, pleasure and pain, health and disease, wealth and poverty, and all the other dualities.
6. Fate is only the sum-total of the results of one's past actions. Fate is the resultant of the exercise of one's free-will in the past.
7. You are the architect of your own life. You are yourself the victim of bad luck and ill-fortune. What you sow, you reap.
8. The one great law is the law of cause and effect. This law works out as an endless chain.
9. The unfoldment of life is made up of succession of events, Events are made up of their causes and effects.
10. If a man acts wrongly and immorally, he is doing something unnatural and against his own best interests. He will have to pay a heavy price in the end.
11. All will have to fulfil the law of sowing and reaping. Sow a good thought, a good deed, you will reap a good harvest of peace and prosperity.
12. This body is a field, and man a farmer. The seeds he sows are virtue and vice. The harvest is according to the seed he has sown.
13. As a man is bound, be it by a gold or iron chain, so he is bound by his action, be it good or evil.
14. God never sends punishments. He never chooses one man for suffering and another for blessing. He is the Author of laws made for all men's blessing. The breaking of the laws brings pain and suffering. Never blame God. Become wise. Transgress not the law through your arrogance and egoism.
15. The actions that transgress scriptures tend to harm, while those that are according to the scriptures tend to Reality.
(ii) Karma Leads to Rebirth
16. The Law of Karma is the basis of the Hindus' theory of rebirth.
17. The theory of reincarnation must rest on the doctrine of Karma.
18. The self throws off the body and takes on a new one, according to its Karma.
19. The Pythagoreans believed in the doctrine of transmigration.
20. Plato took up the theory of reincarnation and worked out the details.
21. Man is born with a particular Svabhava or innate tendencies recorded in his Chitta on account of his experiences in his previous lives.
22. Every man brings with him a stock of innate cravings and capacities from previous birth. They constitute his psychical make up.
23. The quality of character determines the nature of rebirth.
(iii) Understand the Secret of Karma
24. Actions do not bind. It is only the erroneous idea “I am acting” that binds.
25. Any action that makes man go godward is a virtuous action and that which makes him go away from God is an evil action.
26. Life involves necessarily activity and work. Work involves necessarily some evil or other.
27. If you dedicate all your action to God you can escape from the contamination of evil.
28. Actions spring from Gunas. Actions and fruits are manifestations of nature.
29. There is no such thing as miracle. Everything that happens is the result of eternal, immutable laws. A Yogi knows this law but an ordinary man does not know it.
30. The doer of good comes not to grief. Fear not friend.
31. Serve. Sacrifice. Love. Be good. Do good. Let your life be a life of heroic deeds, of heroic achievements, of heroic aspirations, of heroic attainments. The secret is the spirit of service and sacrifice.
32. The greatest joy of living is in being able to serve the humanity, to serve the poor and the sick.
33. Never mind about difficulties and obstacles. Onward, ever onward, should be the motto of one who wishes to do good.
34. Work with joy, zeal and robust confidence.
35. Become a servant of the poor, a brother of the poor, a lover of the poor, a devotee of the poor, a worshipper of the poor.
36. Service is the gateway to God. The call of the new civilisation is service.
(iv) Transform Your Karma into Yoga
37. The round of domestic duties has to be transformed into a spiritual process. It should be part of your Sadhana. By spiritualisation of your essential attitude and your inward emotional relation to it, you can divinise the work.
38. The same framework of external physical attitude will continue, but the work idea in it will disappear and in its stead there will remain worship. Worship is transmuted into worship through all your spiritual approach of it and attitude towards it.
39. To a devotee and seeker, all acts become sacred. His entire life constitutes a continuous worship of the Divine Spirit, which he beholds in and through all external forms and which he knows to be the very inner essence in all things that exist.
40. Recognise and realise the worshipfulness of life’s activities through all aspects of thy being. By and by, all things will become propitious to you.
41. Offer your selfless work as an incense to the Lord. This is the right spirit in which you will have to do every work.
42. All good works are godly. To do great good requires the force of Divine power.
(v) Karma Yoga Draws Divine Grace.
43. Whatever little you do, do it with Bhava and loving attention. The work is really His.
44. Feel that God is ever with you and always work in the company of God.
45. Service of humanity must always come foremost in your daily life. 46. Take delight in serving the poor, sick people, the distressed and the suffering.
46. Make no distinction between high and low or Hindu and Mohammedan.
47. Comfort the poor, protect the weak, shelter the distressed and serve the sick.
48. Sincerity, devotion, and earnestness will make the divine work well established, though it is slow in the beginning. It is the steady progress that counts.
49. Service of parents purifies the heart and draws the blessings of God.
50. The earnest votary of the holy path of Karma Yoga is a centre wherein the Divine Sakti acts and works in a mysterious manner. In and through him, the Lord’s dynamic power manifests gloriously.
51. There is nothing small or great or not sacred in any type of work. All works are sacred.
52. Make your pilgrimages to the sick and the poor. Serve them. See God in them. Here is Benares. Here is Gaya. Here is Brindavan. Here is Ayodhya. Here is Mecca. Here is Jerusalem.
53. Love and serve the poor and the sick. Make this the motto of your prayer circle.
54. See God in all.
55. In serving the suffering, you worship God in a direct and dynamic manner.
(vi) A Word to Karma Yogins
56. Undivine forces have always been in the world. At no time have they even been absent.
57. You have to carry on your work in their midst.
58. Efforts themselves constitute the success. The fulfilment of it is the concern of the Divine Will.
59. True strength is in silent dynamic work. Waste not your strength in platform lectures, in shouts, in cries and clamour. Confound not work with noise.
60. Education is selfless service of humanity.
61. Work for the education, the fullest drawing out of the Divine that is dormant within the human being.
62. In this faith lies the hope of this victory in the task of drawing out and making manifest the God in man.
Chapter Fourteen
HUMAN CULTURE AND WORLD PEACE
(i) The Problem of Peace.
(ii) Basis of Peace.
(iii) How to Establish Lasting Peace?
(iv) Become Godly.
(v) Role of Vedanta.
(vi) The Cause of Suffering.
(vii) The Remedy.
(viii) Let Wisdom Rule Over Nations.
(ix) Be Wise, O Man!
(i) The Problem of Peace
1. The burning problem of the world of today which has been engaging the attention of all nations of the world is "Peace and how to attain it."
2. The methods of attaining peace that they have been adopting are faulty because they have not tried to dive deep into the heart of the matter.
3. The measures adopted by them have not borne desired fruit. There is still unrest.
4. The great message of peace, of love, of fellowship, of brotherhood is the piteous need of all the nations.
5. Unless the simplicity and the purity of heart of the little children comes to indwell the hardened, unregenerate nature of the modern man, the advent of the Divine Grace as peace, prosperity, universal well-being and concord are indeed far, far away.
6. A true unity of hearts is the real remedy for the disease of separatism, hatred and hostility that prevails in this world today.
7. There is only one enemy in the world. And that is the common enemy of all Mankind. Unrighteousness. It is Adharma,
8. All mankind must unite and wage war against this unrighteousness. That is the urgent need of the hour.
9. U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. have been vehemently opposing the idea of waging war against each other and pleading for international peace. At the same time they are preparing hydrogen bombs in countless numbers. This makes the problem still worse.
10. The way to world-peace is very simple. Let all practise "Be good, do good".
(ii) Basis of Peace
11. To build up your life upon universal love is to reap the rich harvest of real peace and bliss.
12. Love all. Build a better world; build a better race in the light of Divine Love.
13. Love alone can purify the present atmosphere of vicious and undivine nature.
14. Love alone can deluge the world with its sweetness and heal it of its harsh ills.
15. Love knows no fear. You can conquer the entire universe not by sword but by love.
16. Armies never conquered the heart of a nation. Love alone can conquer the heart of men.
17. Love moves things to union. It is, therefore, a uniting force. Hate sunders things. It is, therefore, a separating force.
18. The narrow-minded ask, "Is the man a stranger, or is He of our tribe?” But to those in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family.
19. The only safe and sure way to annihilate an enemy is to make him your dearest friend.
20. The one, universal life throbs in the heart of all. How can there be any room for hatred and selfishness?
21. Come! Friends, come! Light the lamp of love in your heart. Sing the song of OM. Make your heart garden of love and peace.
22. Build a world on the great principles of truth, virtue, love and purity.
23. Be faithful to the great ideals which you profess to yourself. Live up to those great ideals.
24. Have a fair play. Be just and virtuous. Have the spirit of brotherhood between man and man.
25. Become an apostle of truth, goodness, nonviolence, love and peace.
26. Draw inspiration from within. Discern the spiritual unity of mankind. This is the basis for world peace, international fellowship, goodwill and harmony.
(iii) How to Establish Lasting Peace?
27. The happiness of peoples depends partly on the unity of religious thought.
28. The union of the spiritual thought of the East and the West is the hope of the world of tomorrow.
29. Work for the establishment of permanent peace through a close cooperation between a world union of the various Governments of nations and a world union of different religions. Is essential for the world’s
30. Faith in the Atman well-being.
31. Cultivate mutual understanding. Fellow-feeling, hearty cooperation and broad and generous tolerance. This is a panacea, sovereign remedy, a sheet anchor, an unfailing recipe for world peace.
32. The sublime pattern of Godly life left by the saints and sages for mankind to imitate has come to be one of the greatest factors in the history of human beings from passion to purity, from cruelty to compassion, from low grossness to lofty divinity.
33. Discipline, loyalty, precision, truth, justice, brotherliness, help a long way to bring peace to the world.
34. Truth, purity, love, contentment, simplicity, selflessness, and devotion are the factors that ennoble man and conduce to his lasting happiness and well-being.
35. Take equal parts of cheerfulness and joy. Mix with a teaspoonful of love and affection. Add 10 grains of contentment. Season with smiles. Stir with a happy laughter and meditation and dispense to everyone. This is a wonderful recipe for happiness and peace.
(iv)Become Godly
36. The realisation of the wisdom by an attunement of the human with the Divine and the practical expression of this harmony is the true means of transforming the conditions of life here on earth.
37. The process of growing into this wisdom doubtless entails the carrying of a cross. But the glory and grandeur of the eternal reward makes even the greatest sacrifice appear very little.
38. Measure the progress of the world not by external changes but by inner transformation.
39. Walk towards the Light Divine. It is the way to immediate inner peace.
40. Where there is Godliness and purity, there you have real peace and the inner wealth of spiritual bliss.
41. Where Godliness is subordinated by undivine aspirations, there misery enters and poverty of the soul.
42. Be righteous. Pray and meditate. Be good. Do good and thus make your life richer and the world a better dwelling place.
43. In this age of atom bomb there is no hope of security in the material sense. Attain Self-realisation. Here is the way of security, harmony and eternal peace.
44. Man lives in perpetual fear now. There is no proper security for him. Self-realisation alone can give him perfect security and peace.
45. The time is now when all God-minded people should work in harmonious unison to spread the sublime message of universal love, good-will, brotherhood, sacrifice and service, spirituality and illumination.
(v) Role of Vedanta
46. Patriotism is not enough. Vedantism is necessary. Patriotism is limited. Vedantism is universal.
47. True Vedanta must be Vedanta of the heart.
48. True Vedanta must make you vibrantly conscious of the inner oneness, the unity of Spirit amongst all beings.
49. It is the Vedanta of cosmic love, unity and universal brotherhood that is the need of the world today.
50. The true Vedantin must feel intensely oneness and live this love in all his dealings with brother-man.
51. The real Vedantin vision sees through and perceives beyond the apparent differences of name and form, creed and faith, colour and nationality, etc.
52. Such Vedanta will help to usher in peace, secure the well-being and establish joy and brotherhood in this world.
53. A civilisation and culture that is not built in the Atman or the Spirit that pervades all is broken and bleeding.
(vi) The Cause of Suffering
54. There can be no removal of the human suffering without the removal of the causes of these sufferings.
55. You violate the most sacred of all laws-the brotherhood of man and therefore you suffer.
56. Brotherhood of man-this is what we have forgotten. So there is war, there is fighting, there is quarrel.
57. You all talk of love, devotion and brotherhood but everything you do is contrary to that.
58. You need not know your rights, but it is necessary for you to know your duties.
59. You are a dignified man with intellect. Walk like a man. Do not crawl like a worm. Do not become a leech and suckle the blood of others. Do not become a court vulture. Be truthful, honest and sincere.
60. Inequality and vanity are the basis of life in this relative plane.
61. Do not squander your wealth in increasing your pomp and worldly pleasures. Use it wisely and usefully.
62. No should possess unjust rights in one well-organised State. A
63. The world today is so much dominated by materialism that man hardly thinks even for a moment whether there is any such thing as immortal, all-blissful Soul in man.
64. Sex-consciousness has grown abnormal and overpowers in Society now. Spiritual culture is the need of the hour.
65. Dogmas stifle the true feelings of universalism and love that is in the heart of all beings.
66. If men could wage two savage wars in the course of 30 years to destroy each other, can we call man civilised?
(vii) The Remedy
67. The task of gradual, yet surely regenerating and transforming the nature of the masses has to be seriously undertaken in all earnestness and worked out in the educational and the home spheres particularly and wider social sphere generally.
68. Purify the mind. Control the passions. Control the senses through the power of the inner Spirit. Realise the Atman. This is real culture and civilisation.
69. Culture is not just art of literature or dancing or music or painting, as it prevails among the people. Culture is good behaviour. Culture is refined manners. Culture is ethical perfection. Culture is Divine Wisdom.
70. The fundamentals of true faith, true charity, genuine humility and a spiritual rebirth alone can usher in true bliss and brotherhood upon this earth.
71. O Man! Be born again and live anew. You will realise bliss immortal.
72. The basis of life should be cooperation and not competition.
73. Practise self-effacement and devotion to the public good.
74. O Man! Stand for universal freedom and highest good.
75. Life finds its truth and beauty in harmony.
76. The true message of the Gita, the lofty Sermon on the Mount, the Koran, the Analects and the like should be brought into the hearts of all men, to banish from therein the darkness of greed, hatred and materialism.
77. The theatres should not be sources of amusements and sense pleasures. They should carry to the masses the message of divine love, unity, service, sacrifice, devotion and wisdom.
78. There is no work more lofty and blessed than to be witness of the living Reality of the Divine and to strive to awaken man to the grand truth of His all-pervasive and immanent Presence Divine.
79. Build up your internal strength. Do not make atom bombs, but learn how to create atomic energy so that you may apply it, for the benefit of the country.
(viii) Let Wisdom Rule Over Nations
80. Democracy must be replaced by the rule of the wisest and the best.
81. Only a Sage-King like Janaka is fit to guide a nation.
82. No nation can become great unless it has first-class men.
83. Arm yourself with wisdom and work as the architect of a just and harmonious society. Struggle persistently to lead the world out of the chaos and misery in which it is caught today.
84. Without discipline there can be no leadership, and without leadership no collective pursuit of common aims.
85. Discipline must not destroy initiative. Discipline must not suppress the personality.
86. Discipline should aim at the cultivation of mental training, disciplined conduct and behaviour for the common good.
(ix) Be Wise, O Man!
87. This is an ever-changing world. Keep up with it. Make it an ever-improving world. Train and discipline people.
88. The whole world is but one country. The entire universe is but one family.
89. Today the sense of geographical distance has been eliminated.
90. No world problem stands alone in splendid isolation. All problems are interrelated and so, a basic remedy must be found to cover gradually the world’s case in all its facets.
91. We live in one world. We all share in one and the same problem.
92. Every man or woman, every village, every nation and country has a definite task allotted to them, has a predestined role to play in the whole set up of the world; has much to give to and also much to learn from their neighbours.
93. The whole world is not going to change for you. Change yourself first. Reform yourself first.
94. Any Government can do nothing without the cooperation of the people.
95. You must have spiritual freedom, freedom from passion, ignorance, freedom from birth and death. All other freedom is mere mockery.
96. The basic principle of democracy is the equal right of all to hold office and determine public policy.
97. The ideals of one world, one race, one humanity, one government and one language are very good. But it is not practicable. Even two brothers cannot be united. They fight and go to the courts. They have two or three kitchens in the same house.
98. Science too has its own values. Modern science has given man the amenities of a comfortable and time-saving life. But it has not given him lasting peace and happiness.
99. Steam engine, dynamo and aeroplane, have certainly increased our comforts and enjoyments, but unfortunately, also our powers of destruction.
100. The true happiness of man lies in harmonising his will with the Will of God. This will lead man to perfect and happy life in this world.
101. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power. Strive. Endeavour. Plod on. March forward.
102. The news of yesterday is the commonplace of today. The novelties of today become the commonplace of tomorrow.
103. Past and future have no meaning unrelated to the present.
104. Learn from the past to profit by the present and from the present to live better for the future.
Chapter Fifteen
IDEALS OF MANKIND
(i) Bharatavarsha-The Eastern Light.
(ii) Her Radiant Idealism.
(iii) An Effulgent Ray.
(iv) Ideals of Education.
(v) Listen, O Youth of India.
(vi) Ideal of Divine Motherhood.
(vii) Women in India.
(viii) Ideal for the West.
(i) Bharatavarsha-The Eastern Light
1. Light shall come again from the East, the land of Rishis, sages, Yoga and Saints.
2. India is the land of Sanatana Dharma. Her role is one of spiritual leadership of the world. T
3. India is the land of Dharma; her breath is Dharma; her life and light is Dharma; She moves and has her being in Dharma. Dharma protects India and she shall protect Dharma.
4. India is a garden rich with the fragrance of the flowers of tolerance, virtue, love, goodness, the fruits of spirituality and divine Realisation cultured out of the seeds of the recognition of universal brotherhood and of the oneness of Mankind.
5. There are more saints in India than in any other Country on earth.
6. India's greatest treasure is her ancient spiritual wisdom.
7. The culture of India is built round the central idea of Dharma or righteousness.
8. India stands for self-control, renunciation, aspiration and Self-realisation.
9. All Indian culture includes self-restraint, discrimi- nation, unselfishness, freedom from lust, greed, and malice; truthfulness, cosmic love, purity, devotion and enquiry.
10. The works of Yoga belong to the entire world. The teachings of India's ancient seers are indeed the most universal. They are also practical to the core.
11. The future destiny of India depends on her spiritual strength rather than upon her material wealth. Atman or the spirit is the rock-foundation of wisdom, prosperity, strength and peace.
12. Be ever a beacon-light of spiritual essence of Bharatavarsha's culture. Live the exemplary personal and social life of the ideal Hind.
(ii) Her Radiant Idealism
13. The Upanishads are the fountain-head of Indian philosophic thought. They are the culmination of the Vedic teaching.
14. The Upanishads are intuitional revelations.
15. Many Western thinkers like Emerson derived much of their inspiration from the ancient wisdom of India. Emerson carried in his pocket a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.
16. That which teaches the nature of Brahman is known as the Upanishads.
17. The Veda is divine in origin. The Rishis were only seers of the truths of the Mantras.
18. The Vedas have been breathed forth by God. They were not written by any man.
19. Vedas constitute our source of knowledge about truths beyond our sense-perception and mind.
20. Veda is independent authority. It needs no other support.
21. Veda is our authority for our knowledge of proper and improper actions.
22. The Vedas contain the highest truths revealed to man.
23. Veda is the source and support of the Upanishads.
24. There is immortality in the great work done by man which lives, works on and grows on for ever.
25. Rigveda is the oldest book of the human race.
26. The Vedas have two parts-the Samhita and the Brahmana. The first part deals mainly with Karmas or sacrifices and in the second part most of the statements concerning Brahma-Jnana or knowledge of the Self are found. The second part contains the majority of the Upanishads.
27. Upanishad is another name for Vedanta.
28. The Vedas and the Upanishadic truths are as true today as they were when they were taught in the forests of the Himalayas in days of yore.
29. The Upanishads the repository of the are quintessence of the Vedantic metaphysics.
30. Any reasoning that contradicts the Sruti is fallacy.
31. Scriptures reveal what leads to good and what leads to evil.
32. Upanishad means Brahmavidya.
33. Upanishad also signifies “Rahasya” or secret doctrine.
34. Upanishads are not at all metaphysical speculations but precious books which deal with revelation and Sadhana of the ancient Rishis of India.
35. In the whole world there is no study so beneficial, so elevating, so inspiring, so soul-stirring as that of the Upanishads.
36. The Upanishads are regarded as from God.
37. From the Upanishads spring various streams of thoughts which gradually become more and more systematised into the various systems of later Indian philosophy.
38. Sri Sankara and his rival commentators base their arguments on the Vedas.
39. Upanishads are pre-eminently books of Knowledge.
40. Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Meditate. Realise. Be good. Do good. Be kind. Be compassionate. Enquire “who am I?” Know the Self and be free. This is what the Gita preached and what was solemnly voiced forth in the ancient Upanishads.
41. Upanishads form the Bible of the Hindus.
42. Upanishad also means that knowledge which unmistakably leads to Brahman or destroys the world with its cause.
43. The attainment of perfection is the conscious integration of Being. This is the central theme of the Upanishads.
44. The message of Gita is Tyaga or renunciation; the message of Mahabharata is Dharma or righteousness; the message of the Upanishads is the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul.
45. Gita is a scripture of Karma, Bhakti and Jnana.
46. The using of Sanskrit letters as Mantra is a means of spiritual awakening. It is hard to understand the relation between an alphabet and spiritual practice.
47. Gita helps to spiritualise public life.
48. Every thoughtful commentary on Gita, Upanishads. Etc., helps some earnest aspirants towards Self-realisation.
49. Gita is a man-making, nature-making book. It is a book of spiritual salvation too.
50. Daily reading of some inspiring elevating spiritual book and scripture should be an invariable part of your daily programme.
(iii) An Effulgent Ray
51. The work of the Divine Life Society is to promote love, brotherhood and goodwill amongst all mankind and to inspire them to lead a life of perfection, righteousness, purity, goodness, divine aspiration and sublime idealism.
52. Worship of the Lord through the service of humanity is the ideal propagated by the Divine Life Society.
53. The aim of the Divine Life Society is to unite humanity and spread the sweet spirit of unity, harmony and peace in the world.
54. The Divine Life Society’s work is universal. It takes into account only the essential idea of spirituality, goodness and godliness.
55. The Divine Life Society is a battle station for the forces of Light and Spirituality. The Divine Lifers are the soldiers of the front lines.
56. The great practical value of the Divine Life Society consists in its revelation of the meaning and purpose of human existence and the way for attaining God-realisation of Perfection.
57. The Divine Life Society recognises the fundamental unity underlying apparently diverse faiths and creeds.
58. Ananda Kutir is a gold mine. It is a precious mine of diamonds and gems. Come and fill yourself to your heart’s content. Become rich in spiritual wealth. I am eagerly waiting for people to enrich themselves eternally from this inexhaustible treasure-house where Ananda Kutir is.
(iv) Ideals of Education
59. The ideal of education is man-making, character-making.
60. Education develops the intelligence and trains the emotion. It must build up character. Without character all else is of no avail.
61. No education which neglects certain important aspects of human life can be complete and worth its name.
62. Education must develop character, personality, initiative, courage, qualities of heart and ultimately lead to self-realisation.
63. Education must be based on a spiritual view of life and knowledge.
64. Education means teaching people to behave properly, to practice self-restraint, to serve humanity selflessly and to love God.
65. Character is destiny. Therefore build up your character.
66. You cannot have a great nation with of low character.
67. Real education is education of man as man. Lo sco
68. Education should train the intellect and the heart.
69. There must be integral development of head, heart and hand.
70. Education commences at the mother’s lap.
71. The greatest blessing a parent can bestow upon children is to reveal to them the true treasure of spiritual achievement that forms the central purpose of this human life.
72. Heart is the seat of love, tenderness, affection, piety. The intellect is the seat of analysis, reason and penetrative vision.
73. The education must be a man-making and character building education. It should aim at preparing them to be truthful, humble, pure, courageous, self-controlled, compassionate. It should instil in their hearts the spirit of service and love for all.
74. A well adjusted and balanced study of the essential human nature should constitute real education.
75. A university must be a home, a sanctuary of Light and Wisdom.
(v) Listen, O Youth of India
76. The youth of India alone can build a new India. They should build up their character. They should feel the responsibility. Then alone they can build a new India.
77. Students have forsaken true Indian culture. They are blindly imitating the West. They have forgotten our heritage of true civilisation.
78. How many students have real education, real insight into the true values of life?
79. Students should realise now that times have changed and that strikes and indiscipline affect the advancement of their nation.
80. The relation between the Professors and the students is very, very sacred.
81. Intelligence without character is a source of danger, both to the individual concerned and to his fellow-men.
82. Sri Sankara graduated himself not at some foreign academy or University but in the lore of Govinda Pada and his predecessors Vyasa, Vasishtha, Suka and Parasara.
83. Educate the students through love, affection,kindness, watching, warning, precept, praise and example.
84. The intellect is filled with devices and plans. It is the heart that can be filled with love, tranquility, affection and kindness.
85. Education has lost its value today. Students are running more after University degrees than after wisdom, and education of the soul.
86. Degrees like M.A. mean nothing. It is the wisdom that matters.
87. The different intellectual sciences which are taught in the Universities of today are a feeble apology for integral education which is necessary for the attainment of Perfection
88. Education is now becoming fragmentary. It is not integral, rich and full.
89. It is not the amount you read, but the amount you understand and assimilate that counts.
90. The education which does not give strength of character, which does not make one spiritual and pious and make one face the which does not make one face the ‘battle of life boldly is no education at all.
91. Many cram books and vomit in the examination Hall. When they come out of the Hall, they forget everything. This is not real education.
92. To educate is to develop character, will cand soul-force.
(vi) Ideal of Divine Motherhood
93. The worship of the Mother aspect of the Supreme is one of the significant phases of Hindu culture.
94. To call on God as Mother is a most characteristic feature of Hinduism.
95. Mother is the creative aspect of the Absolute. She is symbolised as Cosmic energy.
96. Energy and Spirit are inseparable. They are essentially one.
97. The five elements and their combination are the external manifestation of the Mother.
98. Intelligence, discrimination, psychic power and will are Her internal manifestations.
99. Durga or Mother Divine exists in all beings in the form of intelligence, mercy, beauty,
100. She is the consort of Lord Siva. She creates, sustains and destroys the universe.
101. The Upasana or worship of Devi or Universal Mother leads to the attainment of knowledge of the Self. The story of Kena Upanishad known as the ‘Yaksha Prasna’ supports this view. Uma taught the Truth to the Devas. Goddess Sakti sheds wisdom on Her devotees.
102. Approach Mother Durga with an open heart. Lay bare your heart to Her with frankness and humility. Be as simple as a child.
103. Kill ruthlessly egoism, cunningness, selfishness and crookedness. Make total, unreserved, ungrudging surrender to Her.
104. Sing Her praise. Repeat Her names. Worship Her with faith and unflinching devotion.
105. Do special Pooja on Navaratri days or Dussera. This is the most suitable occasion for doing intense Sadhana. These nine days are very sacred to Devi. Plunge yourself in Her worship.
106. As World-Mother, She is worshipped under various names such as Sakti, Kaali, Devi, Lakshmi, Mahamaya, Durga, Tripurasundari, Bhairavi, Bhuvanesvari, Tara, Adyakaali, Mahishasuramardini, Annapurna, Sarasvati, Durga Triputa, Ambika, Chandika, Jagadamba, Mahadevi, Sarvavisva Janani, Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, and so on.
107. Mother is the dearest and sweetest of all human relations. Hence it is proper to look upon God as Mother.
108. Mother’s grace is boundless. Her mercy is illimitable. Her glory is ineffable. Her splendour is indescribable. She gives you Bhukti or material prosperity and Mukti also (liberatión).
109. Dussera is the greatest Hindu festival adoring God as Mother. Hinduism is the only religion in the world which has emphasised much on the Motherhood of God. 200
110. Devi Mahatmya is Durga-Saptasati. It is popularly known as Chandi. It contains like Gita 700 Mantras.
111. The Navaratri worship is a period of worship to the universal Mother in Her different aspects and qualities as Durga (Power), Lakshmi (Wealth) and Sarasvati (Knowledge).
112. Humanity is Her visible form. Service of humanity is therefore, the worship of the Divine Mother.
113. In hating another, you are but hating the Mother.
114. Thought, emotion, will-power are all manifestations of Mother Ganga.
115. Feel that the Mother sees through your eyes, hears through your ears and works through your hands.
116. Shakti is the Primordial Energy.
117. Feel that the body, mind, Prana, intellect and all their functions are Her internal manifestations.
118. Devi’s inner nature is full of delicate charm and grace.
119. Devi is the embodiment of Sat-chit-ananda. She is verily the supreme resplendent in His glory. Devi says, “Satchidananda Rupohamm Brahmaivaham Spurat-prabham”
120. Devi is the source of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. She has both male and female forms,
121. Meditate on Mother. She will transform your entire life and bless you with the milk of divine wisdom, spiritual insight and Kaivalya.
(vii) Women in India
122. In India, woman is the symbol of Sakti, the creative power.
123. She is an inspiration to man. She is an embodiment of love, service, patience and endurance.
124. She cheers, comforts and serves man.
125. She helps the husband in a variety of ways and makes the home a heaven or Vaikuntha on earth.
126. A loyal wife is one whose sympathy feels pains and joys of her husband, who mourns and pines his and dies when he dies.
127. The loyal wife keeps up the attitude of worshipfulness towards her husband, who is equal to the Lord.
128. Woman serves and comforts man. She is man’s life companion and a religious partner. She attends to the needs of his body. She helps him wholeheartedly. She pours mother’s affection. She guides life’s action.
129. Woman is a constant education to man.
130. In childhood a girl should remain under the protection of her parents; in youth under the protection of her husband; after the demise of her husband, under the protection of her son in her old age.
131. 131. Wives are emotional vitamins which comfort their husbands when they return from their office after a day’s hard work.
132. Womanliness is not chiefly decorative. It should impart sweetness and perfection to life.
133. Family harmony which is necessary for the happiness of the Society depends upon women.
134. True womanliness is the saintliness of love.
135. For women there is no necessity to go on pilgrimage, to fast or to do other like acts; there is no need to perform any devotion except that which consists in the service of their husbands.
136. For a woman, her husband is the place of pilgrimage, the performance of penance, the giving of alms, the carrying out of vows. Therefore a woman should devote herself to the service of her husband whole-heartedly.
137. Religion and society can attain progress only when the women are saved, treated and protected well.
138. A wife is called ‘Jaya’ because the husband is born in the wife as son..
139. Regard your wife as Divine Mother Durga. Have no physical relationship.
(viii) Ideal for West
140. From hence start the living of the Christ-life in all its spiritual details of sublime purity, faith in divinity, mercy, compassion, love, selflessness, desirelessness, prayerfulness.
141. If man enters into a new life of spiritual aspiration, purity and devotion, then the Christ-spirit takes its birth within his heart. This is the real Christmas when the Divine element begins to express itself in the heart of the man. From then onward Light begins to shine where darkness was before. Ignorance gives place to the beginning of wisdom. Impurity is replaced by purity. Hatred ceases and love begins to blossom forth.
142. The advent of Christ-spirit takes place in the inwardness of man when there is total self-effacement and complete self-abnegation.
143. With the advent of this Christ-spirit within the heart of the seekers, all human desires come to an end and they are replaced by pure higher divine aspirations.
144. If the Christ-life is to be lived, first of all, the child-Christ has to be born in us. Then alone the real spiritual life commences for the aspirant.
145. The first manifestation of the Divine urge in the form of spiritual aspiration and the recognition of the spiritual ideal signifies the birth of the infant Jesus within the seeker’s being. To stili ute som
146. Your life becomes sublime like the life of Christ. You begin to live a life of complete faith and dependence on God. Idrow si
147. You always think of God, talk of Him and live for Him.
148. Helping others becomes a real joy to you. You become a living witness of the Divine. All your life’s activities flow towards God.
149. True humility and self-effacement are the beautiful harbingers, the dawn-lights as it were, that herald the break of the joyous new day, the advent of the new era of a life in spirit.
150. When they appear within you, then the holy Christmas takes place. There is new birth then. This is birth into a divine life.
151. In his innermost core, man is essentially divine. But upon this field of human personality two forces keep acting. They are the forces of good and evil, of light and darkness.
152. The Divine and the undivine both operate in the human consciousness of man.
153. Completely to overcome and eradicate the undivine elements and to fully manifest the supreme divine element in all its radiant light and glory is to be achieved only through the living of the Christ-life, in the utmost faithful detail. This is spiritual life. This is Sadhana. This is Yoga, This is the method of Self-realisation. This is the great path which leads us to Immortality, Supreme Bliss and Eternal Peace.
154. Spirituality overcomes materialism. You break from your slavery to the senses. You begin to live a new life, a divine life of purity, love, renunciation, humility, non-attachment and selflessness.
155. Hence start the life of earnest Yoga Sadhana, of self-restraint and simplicity, of unbroken serenity and peace, balance of mind, unflinching courage in the face of all oppositions and perfect dedication to the worship of God through the service of man. This is the spiritual implication within, of the Christmas that is celebrated without.
Chapter Sixteen
FLOW OF WISDOM
(i) Ripples Divine.
(ii) On the Tide.
(iii) Voice of the Waves.
(iv) Drift-wood.
(v) Waters of Wisdom.
(i) Ripples Divine
1. There are six key words which you all must remember, viz., serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise. These words really sum up the essence of all sacred scriptures of all religions.
2. It is good to know the laws of God or Nature, but this is not enough. You must learn to observe them also.
3. Use what you have, what you have will grow.
4. With every problem is born its solution. Therefore be not afraid when problems arise.
5. Problems give zest to living and thinking. Problems are your blessings. A problem is a challenge to adventure.
6. Nothing so educates a man as a shock or suffering and pain.
7. Accept failure as an inspiration to greater effort and march boldly with patience and perseverance. You will have tremendous success.
8. Learn patience, steadiness and endurance from the anvil.
9. Man is a creature who hopes. Hope has been man's aspiration. Hope keeps him working, striving, longing and praying.
10. The voice of Himalayas is the voice of the Indian Rishis. It will bring inspiration, joy, strength and peace to Countless persons.
11. In the solitude of the Himalayas there is something more dear and sublime than in the big streets of big cities.
12. Solitude ministers to the sublimity of the thoughts of God.
13. Light travels at more than 186,000 miles per second. The sun’s light takes about 8½ minutes to reach the earth, i.e., its distance is about 92 million miles. Light from the nearest star travels about 3 years to reach us. Light from the Pole-star takes over 30 years. O man, reflect upon the wonders of space and time. Strive to recognise and realise their Creator who is a greater wonder, a real wonder of wonders.
(ii) On the Tide
14. Religious parents are character-builders. They make religious children. Irreligious parents produce irreligious children.
15. As long as you live, long to learn. Be a student for ever.
16. Through music, man learns harmony and rhythm. He becomes graceful.
17. An emotional man lives on emotion and dies on emotion.
18. Control emotion by reason.
19. Have one aim and definite purpose. Have intense faith. Be firm, resolute and steady. You will have success in everything.
20. Have the courage to act according to your conviction.
21. It is quite easy to be cheerful and pleasant when life flows smoothly, but the man who smiles when everything goes dead wrong is worthy of being congratulated and admired.
22. Drink nothing without seeing it, sign nothing without reading it, speak nothing that is not beneficial to others, do nothing that is not useful to others.
(iii) Voice of the Waves
23. A Pundit churns the ocean of words. He is the word-spinner who spins the fascinating webs of words.
24. Of theory and practice, one without the other is useless and dangerous.
25. Little reading and much thinking, little speaking and much hearing, that is the way to be wise.
26. God has given you two ears, two eyes but one tongue to the end that you should hear and see more than you speak.
27. Speech is human, silence is Divine. Silence is Brahman. Silence is golden.
28. Do not reply at once. Be silent. Think and then give your answer.
29. For all contacts in this world, the right time has to come.
30. You are a descendent of the past and you are a parent of the future.
(iv) Drift-wood
31. Knowledge should join hand with devotion. Science should join hand with Yoga.
32. Vedanta without Bhakti is dry and pungent; Bhakti without Vedanta is incomplete and imperfect.
33. No one can recognise an Avatar. He comes veiled by His Yoga Maya, a mysterious Divine Power. A sage will be able to recognise him.
34. Internal sound is the result of the process of digestion and assimilation.
35. Where there is zeal, sincerity and abiding faith in God, all help and success is bound to come.
36. Means and ends are inseparable.
37. The rationalist leaves out the observation of actual facts. He reasons sense-experience. About the actual stuff of our
38. The empiricist relies entirely upon sense-experience for knowledge. He says that no amount of reasoning will give us information as to the nature of what exists.
39. Grasp the right thought at the right moment.
40. You should always reflect on the tendencies of the times, your social relationship, the conditions of the country in which you live, your financial position, the nature of your personality and the capacities you have.
41. The end is the consummation of the evolution of the means, and the means is an indication of the characteristics of the end.
42. Aspirant: “Swamiji! Is there any Asana or pose to make my long teeth short, to make my sixth finger disappear, to render my sister’s black skin white, to make my wife love me more?” Swamiji: “Asanas also have limitations. Become bodiless by attaining knowledge of Atman. All defects will vanish in toto.”
43. Every great thinker is distinguished from others by a familiar genius or uniqueness.
44. The worshippers of false knowledge enter into pitchy darkness after their death.
45. Whether one believes it or disbelieves it, a scientific fact of the supra-physical realm of subtle vibrations will remain to be a fact.
46. Truth does not cease to be truth if a whole world of human beings fail to understand it or accept it.
47. Purushartha is value. Dharma is the moral good or value; Moksha is the highest good or spiritual value. Artha is the economic good or value; Kama is the hedonistic good or psychological value.
48. Twelve is a spiritual number. It is a number implying sacrifice and self-dedication. It also points to atonement and enlightenment.
(v) Waters of Wisdom
49. Nine-tenths of any man’s life is plain, everyday drudgery.
50. In the middle of youth, hope and ambition and enjoyment Death overtakes man. Where does he go after death? Fear shakes him. He trembles.
51. Harmony produces happiness and discords pain. This, is a common experience.
52. The great enemy of man is lust; the great friend of man is truthfulness.
53. Your best friend is your commonsense. Use it properly.
54. One may smile and smile and yet may be the greatest scoundrel.
55. Goodness is knowledge; evil is gross ignorance.
56. The ignorant go to joyless regions after death.
57. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. Mistakes are the best teacher. Regret not. Be cautious. Be vigilant.
58. The heart of fools is in their mouth but the mouth of the wise is in their heart.
59. A rich man carries his God in his pocket; a poor man in his heart.
60. “Quot homines; tot sententiae”-There are as many opinions as there are men. Make your own choice.
61. Give every man thy ear but few thy voice.
62. Give to each that will be suitable to his temperament, capacity and way of thinking.
63. Be swift to hear; slow to speak, quick to perform and ready to serve.
64. Speak as little as possible but always give an attentive ear to the instructions of the wise.
Chapter Seventeen
LIFE AND ITS LOFTY PURPOSET
(i) Aim of Life.
(ii) Web of Maya.
(ii) O Man, Beware!
(iv) Awake, Arise.
(v) Your Glorious Goal.
(vi) Renunciation Brings Realisation.
(vii) Become Desireless.
(viii) Learn from Life.
(ix) Roadway to Realisation and Bliss.
(i) Aim of Life
1. God has sent you here for some high purpose. There is a purpose and plan in your life here.
2. Life is an unfoldment; the further you travel the more truth you can comprehend.
3. Life is a search after happiness.
4. Life provides you with material for expression and growth.
5. To live is to love; to live is to sacrifice; to live is to conquer the mind and attain God-realisation.
6. Life is not given to make money. Live a life of service and sacrifice. This is the purpose of life.
7. Make God the Pole Star of your life. Give up all personal desire and aspire for Him alone. Thou will be blessed with Bliss, peace, perfection and freedoin in this very life.
8. Make God the sole concern of your life. Behold the entire universe as the visible manifestation of the Lord.
9. If you live a life without God, you shall only meet with disaster and trouble.
10. All is vanity here. Love God. Be devoted to God. This is your only duty. Be dev
11. Human life is most precious. It is meant to strive for the attainment of Highest Perfection and infinite spiritual bliss.
12. The supreme purpose of life is Self-realisation and selfless service.
13. The highest aim of all endeavour is deliverance from the present condition of limited life and attaining Brahman, which is Bliss and Infinite.
14. To give up desire for fleeting objects and to set our entire aspiration upon attainment of the Divine is the great task of life.
15. In this task, the power of the Lord's Name and sincere prayer unto Him are the two main supports to the sincere seeker.
16. Reflect on the true sublime purpose of human life. Hold fast to the lofty spiritual ideal.
17. Aspire for God-realisation. This aspiration will grow into a strong determination to attain it.
18. The greatest good for man is Self-realisation.
(ii) Web of Maya
19. All things of the world are unreal or disappointing. Man's life is a cheat and a disappointment.
20. An object appears to be very, very attractive so long as you do not possess it. The moment you possess it, it loses all attraction. This is Maya. Objects are deceptive. illusory, and alluring,
21. Man's wants and desires are not satisfied. If a few newer wants and desires. This goes on without end. This is Maya
22. You cannot attain God when you are seeking comfort, luxury and wealth.
23. Comfort is an enemy of peace and life eternal. It is an illusion.
24. What is pleasant does not lead to the supreme good or Moksha.
25. Attachment is death. Attachment brings misery and bondage. But renunciation is the source of everlasting happiness. Therefore renounce egoism, cravings, kartrutva buddhi, bheda buddhi, deha atma buddhi, jagat satya buddhi.
26. A worldly man is a slave of his senses. He has no spiritual ideal in life. He is desire-ridden. Arrogance, avarice and sensuality characterise his personality. He lives a life of lust, anger, greed, deluded attachment, pride and jealousy.
27. A worldly man is a mere puppet in the hands of Maya.
28. The craving for pleasure is inherent in human nature.
29. There is a very big river inside. That is the river of craving. He who crosses this river is the greatest hero.
30. Pleasure of the eyes, pleasure of the ears, pleasure of the nose, pleasure of the palate seems to be the goal of human happiness. But pleasure is transitory. It ends in pain.
31. Ignorant men have for their materials of their happiness and recreation their dogs, horses, their pipes, guns, gambling, clubs, drinking, cards-playing, hunting, cocktail parties and pictures. What a lamentable state!
32. Man is not content with a simple life. He is ambitious, competitious and jealous.
33. He is soon tired of what he has and pines for what he has not. M
34. Today ball-room dancing, cinemas, races, crossword puzzles, smoking. Cocktail parties, are the essential features of modern civilised men.
35. A woman had the golden necklace on her neck only, but she searched for it here and there. She was very miserable. So is man who searches for his happiness outside in external objects when he has the ocean of eternal bliss within his heart.
36. Doctors are multiplying. Nursing Homes are multiplying. Drugs are multiplying. Cinema houses are multiplying. Are happy homes multiplying? Is happiness increasing too? No, certainly not.
37. The sense of superiority which the power of wealth confers on man is stupidly mean.
38. Sensual pleasures lead men to grief and ruin.
(iii) O Man, Beware!
39. Attachment binds a man to this world. Attachment is Maya’s offspring. Attachment is blinding. Attachment gives an imaginary attractiveness to the object of desire. Beware. Be cautious.
40. Sensual pleasure is unsteady like lightning. O deluded man! Set your heart quickly on Yoga, practise meditation and attain immortality and bliss eternal, now and here.
41. O man! Worldly joys are transitory. The pleasures of the world are trivial and short-lived. Pass onto everlasting bliss.
42. Luxury leads to disintegration and degeneration. Therefore shun luxury. Be simple.
43. O man! Wander no more. Become a picture of simplicity. Spend your money in the service of the poor. Pray. Meditate and enter the eternal Kingdom of Light and everlasting bliss. Rest here peacefully for ever.
44. You have neglected the highest of activities, the noblest of works, namely, the cultivation of inner, spiritual life and Yogic discipline.
45. You know right and yet you do wrong. Why? Because you are swayed by selfish desires.
46. If you are ignorant today, it is by your own choice. Approach the sages. Enquire and destroy ignorance through wisdom of Atman or the Self.
47. Time flies. So make the best use of it. Serve. Meditate. Realise.
48. This world is a passing shadow-play. Do not get caught in this dream of Samsara.
49. Raise yourself and awaken to the glorious reality of the Eternal Truth.
50. Atman alone is ultimately real. That is the ideal to attain. You have to set about it slowly, steadily with earnestness and resolution.
51. You have to proceed gradually keeping yourself alert and using your common-sense at every step.
(iv) Awake, Arise
52. Wake up! Reflect on the transcient nature of the worldly pleasures.
53. Time passes away swiftly and all too soon. Life ends here. Wake up and be up and doing in regular meditation, devotion and Yoga.
54. Tomorrow is not here. Yesterday with all its sad mistakes is far away. Therefore be busy with today. Act. Act in the living present vigorously, seriously, earnestly and sincerely.
55. Discriminate always. Introspect regularly. Overcome all desire for things of this earth.
56. Look on the world as a shadow.
57. Carefully and minutely analyse the nature of the world and grasp the transcience of all objects.
58. Happiness does not consist in luxury and extravagance. Simple living and high thinking and meditation bestow eternal happiness.
59. Not material pleasures but freedom from desires and cravings brings eternal happiness.
60. Whatever is an object of conception or perception is finite and hence liable to change.
61. You seek for eternal satisfaction in external, changing and perishable objects. You cannot find it there. Look within to discover it in your own Atman or Self.
62. The events of the world are all passing shadows. Be indifferent. Think of the noumenon or substratum, the Immortal Brahman.
63. Highest happiness arises by seeing God within oneself.
64. Turn away from the distracting names and forms of this external world-show and gradually concentrate thy mind more and more upon thy Indwelling Reality. This is the right path to real, everlasting peace, bliss and attainment.
65. You should have contempt for wealth, progeny and fame in the interest of spiritual realisation.
66. The glamour of power and pleasure is transitory and illusory. Brahman alone is eternal and real.
67. Renounce the false and the base if you want to attain the Truth or the Atman,
68. Turn away from all sense objects. Move towards God. Meditate. Merge into the Universal God.
69. Look within. Turn within. Gaze within. Cease to worry about the body and the demands it makes. Care for your soul. Meditate seriously, vigorously and whole-hear- tedly.
70. Turn inward the energy and interest which had for long been devoted to external pursuits and through this energy discover the soul, uncover the divine knowledge within, which has been covered or enveloped by ignorance.
71. As the time passes, pleasures cease to possess the same relish. Health and youth are transitory. Do meritorious deeds while this body does not perish. Seek the eternal bliss of the immortal soul.
72. Arise. Awake. Approach the sages and attain illumination now and here.
73. Enquire and discover the fountain of life, the causeless cause, the substratum and basis of this universe.
74. Cultivate the field of heart. Plough the field with the desire for God-realisation. Sow the seed of Divine Name. Allow the rivers of Jnana, Bhakti, Vairagya to flow on the field. Then reap the fruit of eternal bliss.
(v) Your Glorious Goal
75. The goal of all striving is the realisation of the one and the only Truth, the Eternal Atman, in one’s own heart.
76. The goal of life is freedom from birth and death, liberation from Karma, freedom from individuality.
77. Self-realisation is the goal of evolution and the end of all search.
78. Self-realisation is attained through self-discipline, renunciation and meditation.
79. To become one with the Infinite or the Absolute (Brahman) is the goal of life.
80. Freedom from birth and death is the goal of all life.
81. Your only duty is to realise your identity with God and play your earthly part well.
82. Live for Him who has brought you into this world to know Him.
83. Man’s real nature is divine. It is the aim of man’s life to unfold and manifest this God-head.
84. The self of man in essence is identical with Brahman or the Absolute.
85. The goal of life is the conscious realisation of this identity. This can be achieved while actively engaged in the duties of life.
86. He who has discrimination, dispassion, aspiration and purity reaches the goal from which he is born no more.
87. Moksha is the goal of life. Pain, sorrow, disease and death have no entry here. Bliss is the only experience.
88. Moksha (liberation) is regarded as the highest end of moral life.
89. Liberation is not the extinction of individual’s existence. It is the realisation of the Self as the free immortal Soul which is the same in all and in which all are one.
(vi) Renunciation Brings Realisation
90. In renunciation is the secret of wisdom. Therefore renounce desire and egoism.
91. Renunciation is the compass in the ship of life plying across the ocean of death.
92. Renunciation is the open-sesame to Moksha or liberation.
93. A man of true renunciation is the man of self-surrender.
94. A life of renunciation brings many inconveniences in the beginning, but at the end of a long journey one attains immortality and eternal bliss.)
95. Vairagya or dispassion greatly helps meditation.
96. Vairagya (dispassion), Udaseenata (indifference), Nirabhimanata are synonymous.
97. Vairagya or dispassion is a means to an end, but not an end in itself.
98. To want nothing is to resemble God. To want as little as possible is to make the nearest approach to God.
99. Discrimination reveals true value and leads a man toward the ideal of renunciation.
100. Do not identify the Self (Atman) with the not-Self ( body and mind). This is true renunciation.
101. “I am not the body. I am not the mind.” This is real renunciation.
102. You can easily renounce your wife, children, wealth, property, etc., but it is very, very difficult for you to renounce name and fame.
103. Know that Brahman is real, that this world is unreal and abandon the intellect that believes that this world is real. This is Tyaga or renunciation.
(vii) Become Desireless
104. To become desireless is to obtain the key to the life divine.
105. Eternal happiness is brought about by the utter cessation of craving and desires.
106. A man without desire obtains Brahman and becomes immortal.
107. Cultivate a distaste for worldly life and a taste for the spiritual life that is the gateway to liberation from the painful bondage of birth and death.
108. The eye is not a fetter to forms; the ear is not a fetter to sounds. The excited desire which arises in consequence of both is a fetter.
109. Rise above desire. You will attain eternal bliss.
110. You can attain Immortality when all your desires perish.
111. Rise above wants, desires, and cravings. You will attain supreme Peace of the Eternal.
112. Realisation of the Self involves the fulfilment of all desires.
113. Know thyself. You will attain everything. All your wants and desires will be gratified. to bad bund
114. The one God is hidden in all beings. He is the living Witness abiding in all hearts. The wise who seek and find Him in their own hearts, to them and none else is Eternal Bliss, everlasting Peace and perennial Joy.
(viii) Learn From Life
115. The world and its experiences are needed as stepping-stones and landmarks in God-realisation. your path to
116. Experience is the stuff life is made of. Accept experience and make the most of it. Court experience.
117. Even when a man loses everything he still has the most important things left-his knowledge and his experience.
118. Experience is your best teacher. Turn experience into spiritual power. Live wisely and well. Become a rock in a weary land.
119. Life is a song. Life is time. Life is a battle. Life is a spiritual commentary of Gita.
120. Life is not like a sponge to be squeezed but like a barrel to be filled. Fill it with goodness, purity, devotion, aspiration and wisdom.
121. Develop a high sense of discipline and a correct attitude towards life.
122. You are nectar’s son. Are you not ashamed of caring so much for the making of money and for reputation and for honour? Will you not think or care about wisdom, truth, perfection, freedom and emancipation?
123. The early stages of one’s life should be spent in the pursuit of knowledge, service of teacher, self-control and austerity.
124. This world is a strange mixture of tears and laughter.
125. You may live in the world and yet you can withdraw yourself from the crowd through self restraint and Pratyahara (abstraction). You can be self-sufficient in the wisdom of the Self.
126. Ever remember that the One Supreme Spirit pervades and indwells all names and forms in this world of passing phenomena.
127. Though you live in the world, be inwardly quite detached and set thy mind only on the Lord.
128. A devoted wife and fortunate children do contribute to your happiness, but what is your state when death deprives you of the one or the other or both.
129. He who has contentment is rich. He who knows himself is enlightened.
130. When the aspirant grows in his inner purification through rigorous Sadhana, he gains greater and greater understanding of the hollowness of this world of illusory objects.
131. With all thy multifarious outward activities in the course of your duty, ever keep up thy inner light of regular Sadhana, prayer, Japa, meditation, worship, Svadhyaya and the like
132. Waste not your time and energy in mere intellectual disputations as to who created the world, how it was created, why there is evil in this world? When did Karma begin? Why is there inequality in this world? Is not God partial? How can there be ignorance when God is all-knowledge? Why there is so much suffering, starvation, and unhappiness when God is all-compassion and love? Conquer Maya. You will know everything. Do not put the cart before the horse. Take them as they are and strive hard for Self-realisation. Blow
(ix) Roadway to Realisation and Bliss
133. Prayer, meditation, worship, Japa, Kirtans, selfless service is the road to inward peace and real success in this life.
134. Lead a life of holiness, perfect and pure. This is the way to attain Self-realisation.
135. Listen to Leelas of the Lord; recite the names of the Lord; lead a simple and righteous life, associate with the saints and sages; practise dispassion and renunciation; give up attachment to the body; meditate. This is the way to attain God-realisation.
136. Through service, charity, love, meditation and self-enquiry the supreme Goal can be reached by one and all.
137. It is only by a life of purity, singleness of aim and unselfishness you can attain God-realisation.
138. There is one Gate alone which opens up wisdom to know the Truth. That is purity or desirelessness.
139. Not to destroy or hurt life, not to lie, not to misuse other’s property, purity, reduction of personal needs, daily worship and charity are aids to God-realisation.
140. Not by power, titles, wealth or fame does man attain supreme peace, immortality and eternal satisfaction, but by dispassion, aspiration, discrimination, renunciation and meditation.
141. Renunciation, self-control, practice of detachment, prayer, meditation, Satsanga or the company of the sages-all will help you to attain Self-realisation.
142. Restrain ambitions; crush all selfish desires; be simple, be pure; hold fast to that (Brahman) which ever endures.
143. Cease from doing evil. Cultivate goodness. Purify your mind. Practise self-control and discipline of the body, senses and mind. Meditate. Realise.
144. Pray. Watch. Meditate and rise above the passing clouds which are covering the sun of your life.
145. Resolve to be good and do good, resolve to think and act correctly, resolve to meditate regularly; resolve to attain self-realisation.
146. There is no work more lifting and sublime than to be witness to the Living Reality of the Divine and to strive to awaken man to the grand Truth of His all-pervasive and immanent Presence Divine.
147. Within you is the infinite power of God. You have within you the power to succeed, the power to progress. Tap the source through introspection and meditation.
148. Without virtue, devotion and meditation one cannot attain God-realisation.
149. Constant Namasmarana and untiring selfless service to humanity with Atma-bhava will enable you to attain God-realisation.
150. Through service, devotion and meditation attain the Highest Realisation and be eternally free.
Chapter Eighteen
LEAD A DIVINE LIFE
(i) Have a Noble Ideal.
(ii) Attain Bliss through Divine Life.
(iii) Become Virtuous.
(iv) Love and Forgive.
(v) Goodness Makes Life Sublime. antob mon on El
(vi) Way to Happiness.
(vii) How to Live?
(viii) Secret of Success.
(i) Have a Noble Ideal
125. Have a high ideal in life. Gradually work to make yourself fit for the attainment.
126. Review the lessons of the past, the experiences gained. Repeat not the same old follies. Have a definite ideal and a wisely thought out plan for its fulfilment.
127. Ever live a life of perfect Dharma or righteousness, firm faith, selfless service, purity and devotion.
128. Draw strength through regular meditation and worship.
129. Resolve, "This day I will live more fully. I will speak Truth. I will observe Brahmacharya. I will be good and do good, I will control my anger. I will serve the sick and the poor."
130. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Learn to discriminate and keep the mind pure.
131. Determine only to see the good, as you bathe, exercise, breathe, dress, eat, write, read and work.
132. Live in accordance with the spiritual truth of life.
133. Follow the example of living Saints and sages, whose lives are verily embodiments of the Gita ideal.
134. Restrain the senses. Annihilate hatred, attachment and egoism. Be compassionate to all creatures. You will attain immortality.
(ii) Attain Bliss Through Divine Life
135. Attain blessedness and bliss through the divine life of constant spiritual Sadhana and unabated aspiration.
136. Abstain from injuring living beings. Be truthful. Abstain from appropriating the property of others. Observe Brahmacharya. Be liberal. Meditate. This is life divine.
137. There is a peculiar force in the words of those who lead the divine life.
138. Learned Pundits and Professors write excellent essays; but these writings lack force and true divine life.
139. Total harmlessness, purity, reduction of personal needs, daily worship, charity will make you divine.
140. Devotion, love, justice, fellow-feeling, mercy, discrimination, purity, meditation, self-reliance are the higher spiritual values of life.
141. At the present day the minds of most men and women all over the world are full of conflict and confusion about ideals. They are adrift without proper moorings. What is wanted is a clear grasp of the meaning and purpose of life and the leading of Life Divine.
142. The way of attainment and realisation lies in a sublime life of purity, truth, universal love, service, devotion, meditation and wisdom. This is divine life.
143. Walk no more in darkness. Pray. Meditate. Have the light of divine life.
144. Dissociate more and more from the old life. Live a life in Atman or the spirit. Lead the divine life of truth, purity, harmlessness, of service, devotion, meditation and God-consciousness.
145. Any way of life that ignores morality, religion, practical Sadhana, self-control is a blind alley.
146. “Disciplined living” must be the watchword of all. Discipline is the enemy of laziness, inertia and sloth.
147. Through sincerity, self-culture, regular Sadhana and devout prayer become an ideal man of God. Lead a glorious divine life of truth, purity, service, devotion and highest wisdom.
148. Wherever there is divine life, there are success, happiness, harmony, peace, strength and courage.
(iii) Become Virtuous
149. Lead a virtuous life and meditate; all else is noise.
150. Be humane. Be kind. Be compassionate to birds and animals. They are your dumb brothers and sisters. Be sympathetic.
151. Be a personification of Sattva Guna, Samata, Santi and Godliness.
152. Lead a life of truth, purity, self-control and simplicity.
153. Shine as the embodiment of Daivi Sampat.
154. Use your discrimination and Vichara Sakti every day. Live a life of simplicity, abstinence, truthfulness and purity.
155. If each one is true and loyal to the lofty spiritual tenets of his own faith and will lead a divine life of blameless virtue, unblemished purity, absolute truth, one-pointed faith and devotion, desirelessness, that man will surely attain salvation. To him dispassion and God will reveal Himself and bestow illumination.
156. Be thoughtful of others. Be considerate and kind.
157. Live up to your principles., Try. Try. Again try.
(iv) Love and Forgive
158. Be kind. Be tender-hearted. Be ready to forgive. Follow the example of saints.
159. Speak sweet words in return for abuses.
160. Treat all as your own. Make not distinction of big or small or high or low.
161. When a man insults you keep serene and become silent. Speak sweet words to him. Bool him
162. Be like a tree. The tree gives shade even to the man who cuts off its branches. Hoog il nidi bon reymill
163. Even if the wicked hurt and wound you, radiate love and joy towards them. Be like the jasmine that wafts sweet fragrance, though trampled.
164. Become no man’s enemy; become friend of that which is eternal and abides in your heart.
165. Friendship is the elixir of life. Friendship is a sheltering tree. Make friendship with your Immortal Friend, the Inner Ruler, the Indweller
166. Recognise the Unity based on a divinity present in all.
167. You can harvest joy by scattering it. You can have abundant wealth by distributing it. You can reap in happiness by radiating it. You can enjoy the Eternal Bliss by disseminating the knowledge.
168. See good in all. See God in every being.
(v) Goodness Makes Life Sublime
169. Love, seek and attain only what is good.
170. Goodness, mercy and benevolence should follow you all the days of your life. Then alone you will dwell in the Immortal abode of the Lord.
171. Endeavour to end and prevent evil and to produce and promote good.
172. Combine right understanding, discrimination and good conduct.
173. Cultivate thought free from lust, ill-will and cruelty.
174. Remember the good, forget the bad. Remember God, forget the body and the world.
175. Practice in your daily life the Good, live the Good, hear the Good, see the Good, know the Good and enter the spirit of the Good.
176. Think goodness, speak goodness and do goodness. Hunger and thirst after goodness. God is supreme Goodness.
177. Speak good. Be good. Do good. Ever wish the good of all. Your life will become radiant with the joy of inner realisation.
(vi) Way to Happiness
178. Happy is the man who has annihilated the demon of greed, who has understood the causes of things and who has conquered all fears.
179. Those who turn away from God will suffer seriously.
180. Sincere and warm love, observance of daily duties, ethical perfection, enquiry into Self will carry you into the poise and bliss of the Real Self.
181. A man of wisdom delights in meditation and understanding. He yearns not for possessions or victory, but for knowledge.
182. Permeate thy life with pure love for all beings. Establish it upon absolute truth.
183. Practise self-control. Be wise. Introspect. Have reverence for elders, teachers, saints and sages. You will enjoy supreme Peace.
184. Eradicate the sense of superiority. Do motiveless charity. Practice non-attachment to wealth and sensual objects.
185. Perform your duty well as a citizen. You will get real Swaraj. You will be happy.
186. Be righteous. Be courteous. Be modest. Be sincere. Be humane. Be benevolent. Be devoted. Be unselfish. Be pious. You will attain Supreme Blessedness.
(vii) How to Live?
63. Stick to the religion of the Sages. By loving all creatures as yourself you will easily cross this ocean of Samsara.
64. The company of saints and ceaseless memory of God will lead you to growing intimacy with the Lord.
65. Love, serve, worship and obey God. Revere all the saints. Purify the heart by ceaseless war on sin.
66. Develop harmoniously body, mind and soul.
67. The prescription for practical living is moderation, truthfulness, love, tolerance and selfless service.
68. Have right thought, right feeling and right intention.
69. Control the mind, control the senses, control anger. Be simple and humble. See all with equal vision.
70. Live in constant prayer and meditation and act in the living present-heart within and God overhead.
71. Truth, charity, forgiveness, good conduct, gentleness, austerity, mercy, humility, purity,-where these are seen, he is called a Brahmin.
72. Live untainted by the world, like the tongue in the mouth which eats butter and yet never becomes greasy.
73. Be detached, devoted and dedicated to God.
74. Behold Lord's handiwork in all things. Serve your creator. Attain wisdom, light, truth and purity.
75. Ring out superstition. Ring in wisdom. Ring out materialism. Ring in Advaitism.
76. You must admit your mistakes or faults. If you admit them, you are wiser today than you were yesterday.
77. He who does not enquire about the nature of the
1. Atman, who does not practise meditation on the Atman, is
2. Said to be as much as dead.oll halt/vo 78. Empty your heart filled with love at the feet of the Lord.
78. Control anger. Be obedient to the Guru. Avoid rashness and harshness. Be clean and pure in eating.
79. What is right lies within your own heart. Trust thyself.
80. Do not recognise any difference such as “This is my relation. This is a stranger. This is mine. This is another.”
81. Realise the oneness of Life and feel that the majesty of Nature is everywhere the same.
82. Remember the Lord every moment of your life. Feel His radiant presence within the chambers of your heart.
83. Uttering His Name constantly, act upon this world-stage with the pure Bhava of worship and dedication.
84. Know well that He alone is the sole Reality and this world is but a transitory manifestation of fleeting names and forms.
85. Be rooted in the divine life of Daivi Sampat and Divine awareness. Be practical.
(viii) Secret of Success
86. Attain the consciousness of God’s presence, you have the whole secret of success in every walk of life.
87. Observe. Be alert. Be wakeful. Be vigilant. Be delightfully diligent. You will have success in all undertakings and God-realisation.
88. Be bold. Be courageous. Be fearless. This quality is not attainable without religious consciousness. Have faith in God. Meditate on the fearless Atman or Brahman, thy innermost Self. You will become absolutely fearless.
89. Knowledge of the Self is the greatest treasure. Peace of mind is the rarest jewel. Truthfulness is the best friend. Ahimsa is the noblest of virtues.
90. He who beholds the Infinite in all things is God.
91. If you wish to attain God-realisation, you must set apart daily some time for silent prayer and meditation.
92. Observe celibacy. Do selfless service. Be unfailingly regular in your daily prayer, meditation, worship and Japa.
93. Make your first approach to God through prayer, through meditation, through Japa or recitation of His Name.
94. Pray for devotion to the Lord. Conquer death through Yoga and Jnana.
95. Fortify thyself by prayer and meditation at the start of each new day.
96. Faith in God, a righteous life of prayer and good deeds, justice to all and meditation are aids in attaining God-realisation.
About this book:
WAVES OF GANGA
THE WAVES OF GANGA rise in the ocean of Bhagavan Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj’s Infinite heart. Look at them with faith; they invite you to share the Bliss that dwells there. Respond to the Call; you will become one with the Ocean of Bliss. You will become Immortal and enjoy peren- nial peace and supreme bliss.
Swami Sivanandaji’s Religion of the Heart which he has significantly termed ‘Divine Life’ is not the cave-dwellers’ concern, for the monopoly of the monks. It is for all. In the plainest language Swamiji tells each one of us how to trans- form our daily life into Divine Life, and how, through regu- lar, fruitful, dynamic activities, every one can expand the heart to infinite dimensions.
WAVES OF GANGA contains the essence of the wisdom of centuries. It has explained the goal of human life quite forcibly and lucidly. Recieve these sayings. Practise, reflect and meditate on these sayings and attain wisdom, immortality and bliss eternal in this very birth.
A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION
ISBN 81-7052-177-7
ESIO
Rs. 70/-
