Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji is the 34th Pontiff of Sringeri Sharada Peetham. This is a collection of quotes and teachings of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji.
It is true that in the world of practical life you cannot do without wealth. But do not attach more importance to money than it deserves. Never forget that money is only a means of happiness and not happiness itself.
It is true that in the world of practical life you cannot do without wealth. But do not attach more importance to money than it deserves. Never forget that money is only a means of happiness and not happiness itself.
Happiness is a state of mind and does not depend on the quality or quantity of external possessions. A person may be the lord of all the three worlds and yet be unhappy. Another may be the poorest of beggars and yet be the happiest man in the world.
Wealth and happiness are not related to each other as cause and effect. An attempt to secure happiness by securing wealth is as futile as it is absurd.
All religious conflicts and quarrels arise because a devotee is unable to disassociate his conception of God from a particular name and form.
We have the ability to learn. Materials for knowledge are available to us. Teachers are available for teaching us. Yet man willingly prefers to live in darkness of ignorance. Within man exists an ocean of bliss. Yet he willingly prefers to live a life full of misery, pain and suffering. This is the tragedy of human life.
Cold water is beneficial to a thirsty man but positively harmful to one who has fever. Similarly, what is good for one may not be good for another. So each person must follow that path for which he is best suited.
Do not be disheartened by the spiritual darkness over-running the world. When the sun sets and the darkness of night envelops the land, we do not stop our work saying that the sun has set. Do we not light a lamp and get on with our normal activities with the aid of that lamp? If we feel that there is an urgency, do we not walk miles together during the darkest of nights guided by the flickering light of a torch?
Every moment of our life is very, very precious. Time passes very quickly. Do not waste even a single second of your life.
We have the ability to learn. Materials for knowledge are available to us. Teachers are available for teaching us. Yet man willingly prefers to live in darkness of ignorance. Within man exists an ocean of bliss. Yet he willingly prefers to live a life full of misery, pain and suffering. This is the tragedy of human life.
Seek to correct your bad habits. Regulate your life on pure, healthy lines, physical, mental and spiritual. Lead a pure and virtuous life. Only then can you experience true lasting peace and bliss.
Dharma is the cause of happiness. If today we do not have the mental peace and happiness of our ancestors, it is due to our gross neglect of dharma. When the practice of dharma declined, suffering began.
Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji Teachings on Fate
You are responsible for what you are today. You are responsible for your pain and suffering and misery. You cannot escape your responsibility by blaming fate; for fate is of your own making, or by blaming God, for he is but divine dispenser of fruits in accordance with the merits of your actions. You have none to blame but yourself for your present state of affairs.
By exercising your free will in the present, wipe out the past record and work for a better future. Whether for acquiring more happiness or for reducing misery, you have to exercise your free will in the present.
Fate is nothing but the sum total of the results of your past actions.
Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji on Nature of Happiness
The number of things in the world that awaken desire is infinite. If a man gets a particular thing, the mental unrest caused by the longing for that thing may cease; but it will be replaced by restlessness caused by desire for another object. This process will go on forever as there is no end to desire.
Similarly, the number of things that are undesirable is also infinite. If you get rid of a particular undesirable object, no doubt you get mental peace for the moment; but the next moment you will become restless because another thing will start troubling you. This process will go on indefinitely as the things which can give us trouble in the world are countless.
If, therefore, we seek to remove our mental unrest by trying to secure the things which the mind asks for or to get rid of all the things which disturb it, our search for peace will be an endless one and true everlasting peace and happiness will never be attained by us.
The Swamiji indirectly tries to suggest that our happiness should not depend on external objects.