Life 32 (Jan 19 - May 19)

[winston]

All thought is distraction

A mind which is competitive, held in the conflict of becoming, thinking in terms of comparison, is not capable of discovering the real.

Thought-feeling which is intensely aware is in the process of constant self-discovery—which discovery, being true, is liberating and creative.

Such self-discovery brings about freedom from acquisitiveness and from the complex life of the intellect.

It is this complex life of the intellect that finds gratification in addictions: destructive curiosity, speculation, mere knowledge, capacity, gossip and so on; and these hindrances prevent simplicity of life.

An addiction, a specialization gives sharpness to the mind, a means of focusing thought, but it is not the flowering of thought-feeling into reality.

The freedom from distraction is more difficult as we do not fully understand the process of thinking-feeling which in itself has become the means of distraction.

Being ever incomplete, capable of speculative curiosity and formulation, it has the power to create its own hindrances, illusions, which prevent the awareness of the real. So it becomes its own distraction, its own enemy.

As the mind is capable of creating illusion, this power must be understood before it can be wholly free from its own self-created distractions. Mind must be utterly still, silent, for all thought becomes a distraction.

The Book of Life, September 2, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

What is the prerequisite to lead a life of goodness?

Be good, see good, hear good, talk good and do good. The basis for such discipline is to ‘think good’.

This entails controlling of the mind. Meditation on the Divine is one of the steps for achieving steadiness of mind.

Concentration is needed for every action such as even walking on the road, talking, reading, and so on.

You should concentrate with single minded devotion on the Divine. Performing work as worship is also tantamount to meditation. You must perform all actions as offering to the Divine.

Also, when you have the feeling that Divinity is within you, you will not think, see, hear, talk or do any evil. Having complete faith in the Divinity within is self-confidence.

This is the foundation on which the walls of self-satisfaction have to be raised and the roof of self-sacrifice laid, so that the mansion of Self-Realisation is complete.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 18, 1997.

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

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Compassion is not the word

Thought cannot, by any means whatsoever, cultivate compassion. I am not using that word compassion to mean the opposite, the antithesis of hate or violence.

But unless each one of us has a deep sense of compassion, we shall become more and more brutal, inhuman to each other. We shall have mechanical, computer-like minds which have merely been trained to perform certain functions; we shall go on seeking security, both physical and psychological, and we shall miss the extraordinary depth and beauty, the whole significance of life.

By compassion I do not mean a thing to be acquired. Compassion is not the word, which is merely of the past, but something which is of the active present; it is the verb and not the word, the name, or the noun.

There is a difference between the verb and the word. The verb is of the active present, whereas the word is always of the past and therefore static. You may give vitality or movement to the name, to the word, but it is not the same as the verb which is actively present...

Compassion is not sentiment; it is not this woolly sympathy or empathy. Compassion is not something which you can cultivate through thought, through discipline, control, suppression, nor by being kind, polite, gentle, and all the rest of it.

Compassion comes into being only when thought has come to an end at its very root.

The Book of Life, November 27, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

At times we regret not having enough time in a day in our busy schedule for our spiritual practices. Is that an acceptable excuse?

If you plead that you don’t have time for prayers, I say that it is but laziness that makes you argue so.

How can any lower task claim the time that is legitimately the purpose of your birth?

Rise everyday as if you are rising from death. Pray this way sitting on your bed, “Thus am I born. Make me speak soft, sweet words, make me behave calmly and comfortingly towards all; let me do deeds that shower happiness and form ideas in my mind that are beneficial to all. May this day be worthwhile at Thy service".

Remember that pledge throughout the day. When you retire at night, sit up and examine quickly all the experiences of the day; evaluate if you caused pain or displeasure to any one by any word or deed. Then pray, "I am now dying and falling in to Your lap. Pardon me for any lapse; take me under Your loving shelter."

- Divine Discourse, Jan 22, 1967.

Just as wholesome food gives health and strength to the body, prayer purifies the mind and strengthens the spirit.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Begin here

A religious man does not seek God. The religious man is concerned with the transformation of society which is himself.

The religious man is not the man that does innumerable rituals, follows traditions, lives in a dead, past culture, explaining endlessly the Gita or the Bible, endlessly chanting, or taking sannyasa—that is not a religious man; such a man is escaping from facts.

The religious man is concerned totally and completely with the understanding of society which is himself. He is not separate from society.

Bringing about in himself a complete, total mutation means complete cessation of greed, envy, ambition; and therefore he is not dependent on circumstances, though he is the result of circumstance—the food he eats, the books he reads, the cinemas he goes to, the religious dogmas, beliefs, rituals, and all that business.

He is responsible, and therefore the religious man must understand himself, who is the product of society which he himself has created. Therefore, to find reality he must begin here, not in a temple, not in an image—whether the image is graven by the hand or by the mind. Otherwise how can he find something totally new, a new state?

The Book of Life, December 8, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Are we truly devotees of the Divine?

The Divine has revealed to all mankind that He is pleased by the devotion offered by aspirants for grace. He declares: A truly devoted person is very dear to Me (Gita Ch 12, Verse 19).

Many may assert with the pride of achievement that they love Him. That takes them only half-way through in the journey. One will not gain much therefrom.

You must ask yourself, did the Divine respond that he or she is dear to Me? Only then you can claim to have achieved Divine Grace.

Divine Grace alone confers the most precious gift of His Love. How can one become 'dear' to Him?

The Scripture emphasises two qualifications: "Ever contented" and "with firm resolve".

The devotee has to be contented and cheerful always, without regard for the changing tides of fortune.

- Divine Discourse, Aug 2, 1986.

True devotion lies in accepting both pleasure and pain with equal-mindedness.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is it that modern education fails to train us in?

You say, ‘I have fallen ill, or I am in good health’, and so on. That is because you feel that the body is ‘you’; whereas you are really only the Inner Self, with the five sheaths superimposed on it.

This misunderstanding is the result of the education system prevalent now, which teaches that the bliss one derives from the senses, is all the bliss that one can get. It does not disclose to the invidual the eternal source of bliss that one has within oneself.

There is no training in the art of acquiring mental peace. No one is told the secret of attaining the state of equanimity amidst the confusion of modern civilisation.

Everyone is induced to float with the current that drags humanity down to fear, anxiety, and despair.

Life today is similar to the situation when the master of the house is restricted to a tasteless regimen while the members of the family revel in a banquet. The senses revel without limit, but the Inner Self is ignored.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 18, 1963.

Live in the constant thought and company of the Divine

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the secret recipe to win the Divine's grace and love?

Devotees must not be agitated by controversies promoted by people, who have no divine or intuitive experience.

You must all endeavor to be free from anxiety and fear, pride and envy.

All of you have four enemies intent on ruining you - anger, envy, hatred and the horde of desires.

You must regard both high and low as roles allotted to you in the Divine play. Always remember, whenever you insult, injure or reject anyone, you are, indeed inflicting them on the Loving Divine you adore.

You can not reap the harvest of grace or the bliss from the Divine, if you sow spiritual ardour on a heart full of the weeds of greed and hate.

The basic moral prescription for any devotee who aspires to be near and dear to the Divine is, ‘Worship The Divine and offer love to Him in every living being.’

- Divine Discourse, Oct 18, 1963.

Your vision will become sanctified only when you develop the feeling that all are the embodiments of the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Can I rely on my experience?

Most of us are satisfied with authority because it gives us a continuity, a certainty, a sense of being protected. But a man who would understand the implications of this deep psychological revolution must be free of authority, must he not?

He cannot look to any authority, whether of his own creation or imposed upon him by another. And is this possible?

Is it possible for me not to rely on the authority of my own experience? Even when I have rejected all the outward expressions of authority—books, teachers, priests, churches, beliefs — I still have the feeling that at least I can rely on my own judgment, on my own experiences, on my own analysis. But can I rely on my experience, on my judgment, on my analysis?

My experience is the result of my conditioning, just as yours is the result of your conditioning, is it not?

I may have been brought up as a Muslim or a Buddhist or a Hindu, and my experience will depend on my cultural, economic, social, and religious background, just as yours will. And can I rely on that?

Can I rely for guidance, for hope, for the vision which will give me faith in my own judgment, which again is the result of accumulated memories, experiences, the conditioning of the past meeting the present?...

Now, when I have put all these questions to myself and I am aware of this problem, I see there can only be one state in which reality, newness, can come into being, which brings about a revolution.

That state is when the mind is completely empty of the past, when there is no analyzer, no experience, no judgment, no authority of any kind.

The Book of Life, January 22, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

What is the great opportunity we have today and what should we do to leverage it?

In the Kali age (the era we are in now), the declaration is made that the Human is the Divine Himself!

The space in the pot and the space in the monastery are identical with the vast space in the sky; only the disges of the pot and monastery keep up the illusion of separateness.

The senses are the villains; they instill the delusion that you are the body. Curb them as the bull is curbed by the nose ring, the horse by the bit in the mouth, and the elephant by the goad.

First self, then help. Improve yourself, teach yourself, reconstruct yourself. Then proceed to solve the problems of others.

This reconstruction is quite easy, provided you inquire calmly into your own personality - “Am I the body or the senses or the mind or the intellect,” and so on.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 26, 1963.

The spiritual path is the path of detachment, of sense control, and of rigorous mind training.

Source: radiosai.org