Life 41 (Oct 21 - Jan 22)

[winston]

What is the cause behind our elation and sorrow, love and hatred?

Someone is abusing you; as long as the abuse is outside the range of your sense organs, you are not affected by what is said. But if the abusive words reach your ears, you get excited and enraged.

What is the reason for this? As long as there was no contact between the external happenings and the sense organs, the individual was unruffled.

To take an opposite example: someone is praising you and expatiating on your great qualities. As long as the words of praise have not reached your ears, you derive no joy nor do you feel a sense of endearment.

But once you have heard the words of praise, you rejoice in them and develop a love for the speaker.

What is the reason for disliking one or loving another? It is the contact with the things in the external world.

The senses will be able to get on peacefully only when they have minimised their contacts with the world outside.

It is not so easy to control the sense organs. The easier path is to develop an attitude of equipoise.

- Divine Discourse, May 23, 1990.

In order to become recipients of the Divine’s grace, treat the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow, praise and blame with equal-mindedness.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Wisdom Is Right Here

Wisdom is not somewhere else. It’s not in someone else. It’s right here in our own bottomless heart.

— Aura Glaser, “Into the Demon’s Mouth”

[winston]

What is the second flower that the Divine loves, which we must offer at the Divine Lotus Feet?

The second flower is the flower of sense control.

All spiritual practices will prove futile if one lacks sense control.

Control of the senses is very essential for one and all. Lack of sense control is the main cause of all the unrest and agitation that you find in the world today.

How can one control the senses? First of all, one should exercise control over the tongue. You must control your tongue as it always craves a variety of delicacies.

You must ask this question, “O tongue, how many bags of rice, wheat and vegetables have you devoured! How many delicacies have you consumed! Fie on you if you are still not satisfied.”

A morsel of food is enough to sustain the body. You should eat for the sake of satisfying your hunger and sustaining the body. Do not give undue importance to taste!

- Divine Discourse, Aug 22, 2000.

The tongue has two functions: speaking and eating. Whoever is able to master
these two faculties, will be able to raise oneself to the level of the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Skillful Anger

Anger can be a powerful and necessary force for change. But to use it skillfully, we need methods to transform it.

This requires us to be centered and to create the change within ourselves, that will lead to wise action in the world.

— Tsultrim Allione, “Nasty Woman Meditation”

[winston]

What is the easiest way to live in peace?

Peace doesn’t mean inactivity, the mere inert life of eating and squatting.

You should not spend your time eating and sleeping, saying to yourself that the Divine will come to your help when the need arises. You must arise and work.

The Divine helps those who help themselves, and He will help no other.

Learn that the Divine alone is to be loved; learn also the technique of that process.

Do the work that has fallen to your lot sincerely and efficiently. Give up everything that is outside the service of the Divine.

Follow the footsteps of sages. Through the grace of the Divine, you can win the joy of peace, the thrill of fullness, and the bliss of immortality.

Work has to be undertaken, so that time does not hang heavily on you and is not a burden. Work is your mission.

Without it, you will get lost in the darkness of ignorance and be overwhelmed by dullness and sloth (tamas).

- Prasanthi Vahini, Ch 21.

Whatever be the destiny, it is essential to continue acting. Action (karma) has to be done, even to attain one’s destiny.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Facets of Awareness

Awareness is like a crystal or mirror, that reflects different colors and angles:

Forms, sounds and feelings, are different aspects of awareness and exist within awareness.

— Yongey Mingyur with Helen Tworkov, “Leaving Everything Behind”

[winston]

To offer the second flower ‘CONTROL OF THE SENSES’ that the Divine loves, what are a few tweaks we can bring in our daily living that will make us sweeter?

Tell your eyes to see the Divine instead of watching unsacred things on television or video.

Teach your ears to listen to stories of the Divine, instead of listening to vain gossip. “Oh ears, you are interested in listening to vain gossip and tales about others, but you pay the least attention when the wonderful stories of the Divine are narrated”.

Think for a while, how have you benefited from listening to unsacred things? In fact, you are polluting your heart in the process.

All that you see and hear, gets imprinted on your heart. Once your heart is polluted, your life will become meaningless.

The human heart is like a pen. The colour of words you write will be the same as the colour of the ink in the pen.

Likewise, when you fill your heart with love, all that you think, say and do will be suffused with love! The Divine expects you to fill your heart with love and lead a sacred life.

- Divine Discourse, Aug 22, 2000.

To transform evil thoughts and actions into good ones, it is necessary to infuse
love into all thoughts and actions.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Reality Is Beyond Fear

Reality is beyond hope and fear, doubt, and wrong views.

When we fear uncertainty, we are not in accord with reality.

— Renée Ford, “Trust in Times of Uncertainty”

[winston]

Compassion Means Showing Up

Sometimes suffering can be intense and have no easy resolution.

In those kinds of situations, compassion is bearing with the impulses to try to prematurely solve situations.

Compassion becomes our willingness to keep showing up: to listen deeply, bear witness, and be with suffering.

— Christina Feldman and Chris Cullen, “An Appropriate Response”

[winston]

Nonviolence & sense control are two flowers that are dear to the Divine. What are the other flowers that He deeply loves?

The third flower that is dear to the Divine, is the flower of compassion (daya) towards all living creatures.

The Scripture says, ‘Do not hate anybody.’ Live in amity with everyone but do not have too much connection with people.

The fourth flower is the flower of forbearance which is very special and significant. This flower of forbearance is very dear to the Divine.

He will be pleased with you and confer boons on you only when you offer Him the ‘flowers’ which are dear to Him.

No benefit accrues from offering the flowers, which fade away and decay. The flowers which are ever-blooming are nonviolence, sense control, compassion and forbearance!

- Divine Discourse, Aug 22, 2000.

When the mind is filled with good thoughts, such as truth, love, forbearance and compassion, one’s life is filled with peace and serenity.

Source: radiosai.org