Love gives and gives and gives and seeks no return. Therefore, love has nothing to lose and consequently, nothing to fear.
When you have nothing to do, do not let the mind wander after useless things.
But close your eyes, shut out the world, bring yourself in God's presence and offer to him brief prayers. That is the way of growing beautiful within!
Even as particles of dust cling to our clothes and we wash them with water and soap, even so there are particles of noise which cling to our hearts, to our minds and to our souls. They need to be cleansed every day in the waters of silence.
Silence is very much like a river – we need to go and take dips in the river of silence again and again and cleanse our hearts and our souls.
Do you respect those who can be of no help to you whatsoever? Then, indeed, are you a true pilgrim on the path – a pilgrim of peace.
Do not bear witness to it in deeds of daily living, to the teachings of the great prophets. It is life that is needed, not words. You may recite prayers, chant hymns and sing songs of praise; you may read from the scriptures and frequent places of worship but if you do not imbibe at least some of the wisdom, are you any better than a tape recorder?
You may write wonderful commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita or any other world scriptures, but if you do not reflect the wisdom of these scriptures in word and action, how are you any better than a desktop printer?
We all want peace: peace of mind, peace in the family and community, between countries, peace with our environment. There is scarcely anyone who does not yearn for peace. But how many of us are prepared to pay the price of peace, love? We need to love each other; have compassion and be prepared to sacrifice for one another and work for togetherness and peace.
People often ask me (Dada JP Vaswani) the reason behind my innate happiness and peaceful demeanor and always keep complementing me on the fact that I smile a lot, but I really do not think of it as a great bit deal.
I have never questioned anything that has happened in my life ever. In fact I have always accepted it as the will of some great cosmic plan that has been written for me. As a result of this I don’t end up arguing with my inner self, as most people tend to do. That is why I find my inner peace easily. And I think it is the easiest way to attain inner happiness.
Happiness does not depend on what happens to us but on how we react to what happens to us. Always choose to be happy.
God has made His plans for us: we must put our faith in His goodness and wisdom and pursue the path of truth and justice: then, indeed, man can become the master of his own destiny.
God has made His plans for us: we must put our faith in His goodness and wisdom and pursue the path of truth and justice: then, indeed, man can become the master of his own destiny.
Learn to be responsible for your thoughts, words and actions – therefore, think good thoughts; speak only what is true, pleasant and useful; act in conformity with the voice of your conscience.
Forgive and forget: revenge and retaliation are best left to Divine Justice. The impulse of vengeance can only lead to negative karma.
Refrain from causing pain to others: when we harm others, we are harming our own future! The consequences of our action will reflect upon us.
When we face whatever happens to us in a spirit of acceptance, we ward off very many negative feelings such as hatred, envy, malice and resentment. We rise above a sense of personal injustice and grow in the secure sense of Divine Universal Justice. In such a spirit and such a mood, despair and misery are kept out, and we are not overwhelmed by what happens to us.
When we face whatever happens to us in a spirit of acceptance, we ward off very many negative feelings such as hatred, envy, malice and resentment. We rise above a sense of personal injustice and grow in the secure sense of Divine Universal Justice. In such a spirit and such a mood, despair and misery are kept out, and we are not overwhelmed by what happens to us.
God has given us the freedom to choose, the freedom to act. But we are responsible for the outcome of our own choices and actions. Thus every choice we make, every act we perform becomes a cause that will produce an effect. When you set in motion negative forces, you will generate negative effects. Whether we choose good or evil, we will reap the result of our choice. Thus every day, every hour, every minute of our lives, we are creating the causes that will determine our fate and our future.
Disease or good health; success or failure; poverty or wealth; all these are the effects of causes we have created in our past. However, we can change the effect on our fate if we choose the right way through right action.
There are three ways of handling anger:
- By expression,
- By Suppression
- and By forgiveness.
The right way to overcome anger is by forgiveness.
There are three kinds of men in this world,
- one who is dense, through whom the light of love of God never shines through,
- The one how is translucent where the light shines through only from time to time and
- the third, who is transparent where love always shines through – be transparent.
Just as we take care to eat nutritious food, and do exercises like walking, swimming, jogging to keep the body fit and healthy, so, too, we need to nourish, strengthen and sustain the good health of the mind.
The prayers that come out of the very depth of our being are invariably always answered.
There is yet another reason why our prayers are not answered – some of them are so ridiculous, so absurd, that God in Hid Divine Wisdom, ignores them.
Our ancient scripture equates guests with God – Atithi Devo Bhava. Scholars of Sanskrit have commented on the significance of the term atithi – a + tithi, or one who arrives without prior notice of day or date; in other words, an unexpected guest. Even such visitors to our homes should be treated with love and respect. We may not be in a position to prepare and elaborate meal for them; but we should invite them to share our homely meals with courtesy and warmth. This indeed is the true spirit of hospitality.
Anticipating troubles leads to unnecessary worry. We are told that worry is derived from two different Anglo Saxon roots which mean, “harm” and “wolf.” True, worry is harmful and it bites and tears us even as a wolf mauls a lamb.
A little worry or anxiety can be helpful, for it keeps us on the alert, and prepares us for action. But excessive worry has the opposite effect – it paralyses the will and makes us unfit for action. It clouds our vision and distracts the thinking process.
We have all been endowed with sufficient strength. God has blessed us with the means and resources to tackle our life each day. God does not dwell in the Heavens above, He is here in the heart within you. He gives you the strength to face the troubles that you may have to face on any given day.
Has someone offended you? Has someone insulted you? Remember, insults and
unjust criticism are like bad coins. You cannot avoid getting them, but you can always refuse to accept them.
The root cause of all sorrow is desire — desire for wealth, for pleasures of flesh and for power.
Life’s richest treasure is a loving heart that is at peace with all.
Prayer is our deepest source of power and perfection.
A wise way of praying is to tell the Lord, ‘God, grant me this wish, if it is for my good.’
God’s dispensation is simple. Each one of us has been given a field of life. We are free to sow whatever we want in this field, which is our karma-kshetra. Only one condition binds us; we must reap what we sow. We must eat the fruits of our own harvest.
The trouble is that man in his ignorance, commits errors and misdeeds. His wrong acts add up to his karma. His karma binds him to its consequences. What we must seek, therefore, is liberation from the bonds of karma.
We are all students in the school of life; experience is our teacher, and it offers us valuable lessons that we may evolve spiritually, and attain the liberation that we seek.
We have been given this life, that we may evolve, that we may rise ourselves to the heights of liberation.
God loves us deeply, and therefore, through the operation of the law of karma, he places us in such an environment where we may realize our spiritual strength and awake to the true knowledge of the Self. In our ignorance and immaturity, we may regard this as a form of punishment; but like the kind and caring teacher, God knows that these experiences are vital to our spiritual growth.
The problem with many of us is that we have completely identified ourselves with the body – the physical, material aspects of our existence. If I were to ask, “Who are you?” you would immediately point to your physical form. But we are not the bodies we wear. The body is only a garment we have worn in this present earth incarnation.
When I urge you not to identify yourself with the body, I am asking you to move away from the allure of the material world. The more we identify with body, the more we want, crave, possess; the more we get entangled in maya.
Identification with body leads to the illusion that power, pleasures and possessions of this world can make us happy.
But these material possessions only keep us in bondage – the bondage of ignorance.
Once you are freed from this illusion, you will realize the truth of the Self, and move towards God-realization.
In the simplest terms, spirituality is the aspiration, the genuine effort to know our true self.
Spirituality begins with the realization that we are not the bodies we wear, that this materialistic world we live in, cannot satisfy our deepest aspirations; that our unquenchable desire for wealth and power cannot really give us the joy and peace that we truly crave.
The problem with many of us is that we have completely identified ourselves with the body. But we are not the bodies we wear.
When I urge you not to identify yourself with the body, I am asking you to move away from the allures of materialistic world. The more we identify with the body, the more we want, the more we crave, the more we desire to possess, the more we get entangled in Maya.
Pleasure does not lead to happiness. Sooner or later, man realizes that there is no real, abiding joy in a life of pleasure.
Pleasure is transient, ephemeral and transitory. Pleasure is like a bubble that bursts. It is an illusion, and it is unsatisfying.
Happiness can be found only by withdrawing into oneself, avoiding the world, its trials and tribulations, and retiring into absolute solitude.
If you wish to have joy of life, keep away from all joy killers. One of them is hate. Let there be no feeling of hatred in your heart.
Hatred is a fire. So long as fire burns within you, you cannot have a joy of life.
In truth it is pleasure that enjoy us. For, while pleasure always remains young and vital, it is we who keep growing old and get consumed in the fire of pleasure.
No man has been matriculated to the art of life till he has been well tempted and overcome every temptation.
Even as dumbbells strengthen our physical muscles, even so temptations strengthen the muscles of the soul. They develop our hidden spiritual strength. Temptations unlock the hidden powers of the Spirit.
A person becomes holy, in the measure in which he overcomes temptations.
Temptation is the touchstone of the soul. Even as gold is tested on the touchstone of the soul. Even as gold is tested on the touchstone, even so man’s character, the loftiness of his soul is tested by the temptations he is able to overcome.
Always expect the best; because human life is intolerable without the spirit of optimism and hope. Therefore hope for the best; believe that the best will happen. But also bear in mind that God’s Plan for us might be different from the plan that we have proposed for ourselves. He knows what is best for us.
If we develop an obsession about death, we can achieve nothing in life. At any rate, God did not give us this precious human life to be spent just waiting for death.
The secret of facing the unexpected without losing your inner calm and balance lies in acceptance.
The only way we can maintain our inner peace and balance is to do our duty well.
Every unpleasant, unwanted experience brings with it a wealth of wisdom and strength. The person who knows this, is prepared to face the worst; he greets troubles with a smile. He is a true victor, and his way is a way of victory.
Dada J P Vaswani On Three different types of people
Can anyone of us say with absolute certainty: Nothing binds me. I am absolutely free? Each and every one of us is bound by the fetters of Karma. Our ancient scriptures tell us of three different types of people: Nityamutka, mukta and badha.
The nityamuktas are those blessed souls who are not subject to the law of karma. It effects can no longer touch them; for they have attained the Lotus Feet of the Lord; they are the ever-free, the eternally free, who are above and beyond the cycle of bird and re-birth, above and beyond karma.
The muktas are the liberated or emancipated souls; those who, through the grace of god or the grace of their guru, have succeeded in liberating themselves from the bondage of karma.
The third type, badhas, are bound souls like us who are still bound by the toils of their own karma. Many of us, alas, are still in a state of ignorance about our own condition.