Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:53 am

Which flowers and fruits are dearest to the Divine?

Do puja (ritual worship) with flowers, japam (repetition) with rosaries, and so on, but only until you are prepared for higher endeavours.

You must offer the Divine, not the flowers that plants grow; that will reward the plant, not you!

The Divine wants you to offer the lotus that blooms in the Lake of your Heart, and the fruit that ripens on the tree of your earthly career.

You may ask, "Where can I find the Divine?" Well, He has given His address, in the Scriptures. He declares, “The Divine resides in the heart of all beings."

Now, after knowing that, how can you look down on any living being in contempt or how can you revel in hating him or indulge in the pastime of ridiculing?

Remember, every individual is charged with the Divine Presence, moved by Divine attributes. Love, honour, friendliness - that is what each one deserves from you. Give these freely, in full measure!

- Divine Discourse, Apr 16, 1964.

Offer your virtues as flowers Unto Him. Virtues that will spread beauty and fragrance.

Source: radiosai.org
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:55 am

One must have great feelings

In the modern world where there are so many problems, one is apt to lose great feeling.

I mean by that word feeling, not sentiment, not emotionalism, not mere excitement, but that quality of perception, the quality of hearing, listening, the quality of feeling, a bird singing on a tree, the movement of a leaf in the sun.

To feel things greatly, deeply, penetratingly, is very difficult for most of us because we have so many problems.

Whatever we seem to touch turns into a problem. And, apparently, there is no end to man’s problems, and he seems utterly incapable of resolving them because the more the problems exist, the less the feelings become.

I mean by “feeling” the appreciation of the curve of a branch, the squalor, the dirt on the road, to be sensitive to the sorrow of another, to be in a state of ecstasy when we see a sunset.

These are not sentiments, these are not mere emotions. Emotion and sentiment or entimentality turn to cruelty, they can be used by society; and when there is sentiment, sensation, then one becomes a slave to society. But one must have great feelings.

The feeling for beauty, the feeling for a word, the silence between two words, and the hearing of a sound clearly—all that generates feeling.

And one must have strong feelings, because it is only the feelings that make the mind highly sensitive.

The Book of Life, May 7, HarperSanFrancisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:05 am

What is the subtle purpose behind idol worship?

Our ancients enquired into the nature of Divinity through many paths but were not successful in recognising the reality.

Hence, they started worshipping Nature. Thereafter, the Bharatiyas took to idol-worship. Every creature that takes birth in this universe has a form.

Idols are inert in nature and do not possess the qualities of compassion, love, forbearance, etc. It is for this reason that some people are against idol-worship.

This is ignorance. Are you not worshipping the pictures of your parents and grandparents? Do these pictures have life in them? No.

Nor do they have the qualities of compassion, love, sacrifice, etc. Then what is the point in worshipping them? It is through these pictures that we are reminded of the virtues and ideals they stood for.

You use your forefinger to point to a specific object, say, a flower or a tumbler. Similarly idols are like pointers to Divinity.

Once you recognise Divinity, you don’t need the pointers. Such being the case, is it not foolish to object to idol worship?

- Divine Discourse, Mar 12, 2002.

To resurrect love and compassion, you must kill jealousy and selfishness, and purify your heart.

Source: radiosai.org
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:11 am

Transformation without motivation

How am I to transform? I see the truth—at least, I see something in it—that a change, a transformation, must begin at a level that the mind, as the conscious or the unconscious, cannot reach, because my consciousness as a whole is conditioned.

So, what am I to do? I hope I am making the problem clear. If I may put it differently; can my mind, the conscious as well as the unconscious, be free of society?—society being all the education, the culture, the norm, the values, the standards.

Because if it is not free, then whatever change it tries to bring about within that conditioned state is still limited, and therefore no change at all.

So, can I look without any motive? Can my mind exist without any incentive, without any motive to change or not to change? Because, any motive is the outcome of the reaction of a particular culture, is born out of a particular background.

So, can my mind be free from the given culture in which I have been brought up? This is really quite an important question. Because if the mind is not free from the culture in which it has been reared, nurtured, surely the individual can never be at peace, can never have freedom.

His gods and his myths, his symbols and all his endeavors are limited, for they are still within the field of the conditioned mind. Whatever efforts he makes, or does not make, within that limited field, are really futile in the deepest sense of that word.

There may be a better decoration of the prison, more light, more windows, better food, but it is still the prison of a particular culture.

The Book of Life, October 30, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:27 am

What should we do to perceive Divinity that is all pervasive?

Consciousness is present in the smallest to the biggest. From your point of view, an object may appear to be inert, but from the Vedic point of view, everything is Comsciousness.

It is foolish to overlook the existence of Consciousness. One may question, if it is all-pervasive, why is it not visible to the naked eye?

You are all well aware of the fact that there is butter in every drop of milk. Can you deny its existence merely because it is not visible to the naked eye?

The process of obtaining butter involves curdling the milk and then churning it. People are unable to perceive this Consciousness principle because of two defects:-
1. They overlook their innumerable mistakes and
2. Magnify the minutest mistake of others.

One can attain Divinity only when one stops this. It is a great sin to search for others’ faults. Instead, look for your own. Consider your smallest defect as a great blunder and try to rectify the same.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 12, 2002.

Every living being in this world is knowingly or unknowingly on a spiritual pilgrimage.

Source: radiosai.org
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:52 am

What is the goal of this journey of life and what should we do to stay on course?

Our journey is from the individual to the Universal, from "mine" to "oneness with the divine", from 'I' to 'we'.

The effulgent Sun can be seen only with its own light. Similarly only by the grace of the Divine can one obtain a vision of the Divine.

No skill, intellectual effort or scholarship, is required to experience the Divine.

Just as clouds may obscure the Sun, the clouds of egoism, attachment and hatred, prevent one from seeing the Divine.

Prayer and spiritual practices are the means by which these clouds are dispersed.

Sadhana (spiritual discipline) is the royal road to reach the Divine. The human make-up is a mixture of good and bad traits.

One in whom the good traits predominate, tends to see only the good in others. Those who have equal-mindedness see the good and bad qualities impartially. It is necessary therefore to cultivate good qualities.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 11, 1983.

When your heart is filled with good thoughts and feelings, all that comes out of the senses
- your speech, your vision, your action - will all be pure.

Source: radiosai.org
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:20 am

Seeing the whole

How do you look at a tree? Do you see the whole of the tree? If you don’t see it as a whole, you don’t see the tree at all.

You may pass it by and say, “There is a tree, how nice it is!” or say, “It is a mango tree,” or “I do not know what those trees are; they may be tamarind trees.”

But when you stand and look—I am talking actually, factually—you never see the totality of it; and if you don’t see the totality of the tree, you do not see the tree.

In the same way is awareness. If you don’t see the operations of your mind totally in that sense—as you see the tree—you are not aware.

The tree is made up of the roots, the trunk, the branches, the big ones and the little ones and the very delicate one that goes up there; and the leaf, the dead leaf, the withered leaf and the green leaf, the leaf that is eaten, the leaf that is ugly, the leaf that is dropping, the fruit, the flower—all that you see as a whole when you see the tree.

In the same way, in that state of seeing the operations of your mind, in that state of awareness, there is your sense of condemnation, approval, denial, struggle, futility, the despair, the hope, the frustration; awareness covers all that, not just one part.

So, are you aware of your mind in that very simple sense, as seeing a whole picture—not one corner of the picture and saying, “Who painted that picture?”

The Book of Life, June 17, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: radiosai.org
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:02 am

How to ensure that all our spiritual efforts like reading the scriptures, are of true use to us?

When we spend so much time and effort to understand the contents of our scriptures, should we not use all that knowledge to understand and experience the Divinity in us?

To merely read and then teach others, without putting them into practice in your life is a useless occupation – you are wasting your time and life as well!

What you really need is the grace of the Divine. In the present times, there is too much confusion. To overcome this, handle your mind very steadily and slowly, and bring it under your control. Never be in a hurry and use force to control the mind.

If a cow in our home wants to go out and eat the harvest in the field, how is it tamed and brought back? We try to find out the kind of food that it is after and feed it with something even better at home. Gradually, it gives up the tendency to go out of the house. Tame your mind similarly!

- Summer Showers in Brindavan 1973, Ch 27.

Command your mind, regulate your conduct, and keep your heart straight and clear, then you will win the grace of the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:30 am

Stories, of course, are made up of thoughts—those mental sound bites that intrude upon direct experience, and that we let go of in meditation.

The more we learn to let go of thoughts, the more we gain the ability to drop our negative stories.


—Sean Murphy, “Get Out Of Your Head”
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Re: Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

Postby winston » Wed Feb 13, 2019 12:57 pm

What is the secret recipe to maintain good physical and mental health throughout life?

Virtuous conduct also ensures mental peace, and that in turn saves you from many a physical and mental illness.

If you overstep the bounds, you will not progress.

Coming to the topic of physical illness, I must tell you that you must practice moderation in food, drink, sleep and exercise.

Good food taken in moderate quantities, at regular intervals — that is the prescription. Pure, wholesome food promotes self-control and intelligence more than passion-producing and impure food.

For spiritual aspirants, pure and wholesome food is very necessary. Subtle invisible thought-forms can pass from one person to another through food. Hence, you must be very careful about food, especially where you are proceeding, through the steep path of yoga.

Sleep too should be regulated and moderate; it is as important as work and food. Remember also that dress is primarily for protection against heat and cold, not for vain display even at the cost of health.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 10, 1961.

Try to conduct yourself in such a manner as not to injure others.

Source: radiosai.org
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