Pearl 22

Man's vision which is turned outward towards the phenomenal universe should be turned inwards towards the indwelling spirit.  One should manifest the Divine consciousness inherent in him.  He should submit himself to that consciousness as a spiritual discipline.  This is called the conscious realization of the inner Divinity.  The first step is to develop awareness of the Divinity within.  The next step is to realize that the Divinity which is within oneself is equally present in all others also.  One must recognize that the veil that appears to separate him from others is born of delusion and every effort should be made to remove it.  Only then will it be possible to experience the oneness of all living being.

(Tfd, 13 Feb '04)

Pearl 21

Your country and your body are not different from each other.  Both are composed of the same five elements.  They are inseparably interrelated and totally interdependent.  They are like mirror images of each other.  Try to recognize this truth.  The youth of today are the leaders of the future.  If the future is to be prosperous, the modern youth should perform their duties with firm faith in God.  You are not separate from the country, but a part of it.  Have the firm conviction that this country belongs to you.  One who does not say with pride, this is my motherland, this is my mother tongue, this is my religion can be compared to a living corpse.  Every person, whichever country he may belong to, should have patriotism firmly ingrained in his heart.



(SSS Vol 33, Ch 1&2)

Pearl 20

Work is for the physical level, worship for the mental level and wisdom for the spiritual level.  Each one has to pass through these stages.  That is why I say "you are not one but three.  The one you think you are; the body or the physical person; the one that others think that you are - the mind or the mental person consisting of emotions, attitudes and beliefs and the one you really are - the Atma or spirit, the core of your personality.

(Tfd, 11 May '04)

Pearl 19

Man is the conscious incarnate.  Man is the highest object in creation.  Hence, he should not become a creature of instinct like animals.  Man should progress from the human to the Divine.  It is not the world that binds the man.  It has neither eyes to see nor the hands to grasp.  Man is a prisoner of his own thoughts and desires.  It is due to attachment to the ephemeral and perishable, man forgets his inherent Divinity and does not realize that everything in the universe had come from the Divine and cannot exist without the power of the Divine.

(Tfd, 20 Sept '04)

Pearl 18

As long as you worship the Lord with form, you use certain flowers such as roses, marigolds and jasmines, although the body that performs worship and the flowers which you use are all impermanent.  But, if you want to worship the formless God in your heart, then the flowers you use are different.  They are flowers of non-violence, of love and compassion, of charity and sacrifice.  To elevate yourself to the formless principle, you will have to cultivate these flowers of your heart and use them in your worship.  Then, you will experience the ineffable and permanent joy of the spirit.

(Tfd, 19 Sept '04)

Pearl 17

Once man is free from undue attachment to the body, he is liberated also from the dualities of joy and grief, good and bad, pleasure and pain, etc.  He is firmly established in equanimity, fortitude, undisturbed peace.  Then, man discovers that world is one in God; that all is joy, love and bliss.  He realizes that he himself is all this apparent worlds, that all the multifarious manifestations are the projections of the Divine will, which is his own reality.  This expansion of individuality is the highest goal of man.  It gives supreme Ananda (Bliss) an experience for which sages and saints spend years in prayer and penance.

(Tfd, 15 Dec '04)

Pearl 16

The Lord's grace is conferred on each devotee according to the level of spiritual consciousness.  The ocean is vast and boundless.  But the amount of water you can carry from it is determined by the size of the vessel you carry to its shore.  If the vessel is small, you cannot fill it beyond its capacity.  Likewise, if your heart is constricted, Divine grace will be equally limited.  Broaden your heart by getting rid of narrow differences and thus recognize the truth that the Divine dwells in every body.

(TFD 3 Dec '04)

Pearl 15

Men in their ignorance ask the question "if God is omnipresent and all pervasive, why is He not visible to us?  When the sun shines, clouds that are formed by the Sun's heat hide the rays of the Sun.  When the Sun is not visible because of the clouds, can you say that there is no Sun?  When a strong wind blows, the clouds are dispelled and the Sun is visible again.  Similarly, when the winds of love and faith blow, the clouds of doubt and egoism are scattered and God reveals HIMSELF.  Though God is omnipresent, man's lack of faith and his self conceit prevent him from seeing God.  To get rid of this doubting nature and egoism, certain spiritual disciplines have to be observed.

(TFD 24 Sep '04)

Pearl 14

Time passes by, like a stormy gale and man's life is melting away quickly like a block of ice in the Sun.  Everything around is undergoing change, but man's intellect and mind remain unchanged.  Obsessed with external objects, man's life is becoming more and more burdensome everyday and man is losing his peace of mind.  Anxiety, fear, suspicion are dominating him.  Only by getting rid of these burdens, man can hope to ascend spiritual heights.

(TFD 3 Feb '04)

Pearl 13

Spiritual life does not mean leaving home and living in a solitary place.  True spiritual life means looking upon the whole mankind as one family, realizing the unity in diversity and leading a life of selflessness and love.  Do not labour to amass wealth, but instead engage yourself in selfless service to earn credit in the bank of God.

(TFD 1 Feb '04)

Pearl 12

Delusion causes evil feelings to arise in your heart and mind.  One may be evil minded but with the blessings of elders and in the company of noble souls, one can easily get rid of evil tendencies and develop virtues.  People undertake virtuous spiritual practices to attain Divinity.  Thyaja Durjana Samsargam; Bhaja Sadhu Samagamam; Kuru Punyam Ahoratram; Smaran Nityam Anithyatham (shed bad company, seek good company; perform righteous deeds always; and discriminate between the permanent and ephemeral).

(Divine Discourse, 9 Oct '02)

Pearl 11

Man is in search of God and is enquiring into the nature of Divinity.  When God is within, where is the need to search for HIM?  Firstly, man should endeavor to understand his true nature, which is Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham (Truth, Wisdom and Infinite).  God has gifted man with Vedas and other scriptures to open his eyes to the truth that he is essentially Divine.  In this world, every man in endowed with truth, righteousness and love.  Man is the embodiment of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss).  These attributes are verily Divine.

(SSS Vol 35, Ch 23)

Pearl 10

What for man is born in this world?  Is it merely to roam around and indulge in pleasures of this world?  Understand that worldly pleasures are not permanent.  All that happens to you in future will be in accordance with your conduct today.  Everything is reaction, reflection and resound.  The good deeds that you perform today will yield good results in the times to come.  If you do bad deeds today, you cannot expect to be rewarded with good results in future.  The results of your past deeds will always keep haunting you.

(SSS Vol 35, Ch 9)

Pearl 9

More effulgent than the Sun, whiter and purer than snow, subtler than ether in space, the Paramatma dwells in all, permeating the entire cosmos and shining in every atom.  You are in the Brahman (God), that Brahman is in you.  There is no truth greater than this.

(TFD 11 Feb '04)

Pearl 8

The progress of the universe is interlinked with the progress of man.  Any amount of development in scientific, economic, social spheres will not be of much use without mental transformation.  How can we bring about this transformation?  It is by keeping in check one's passions and emotions.  Since mental tension is more detrimental to man's health, one should learn the art of controlling his passions and emotions, which can cause stresses and strains.  Man should make an earnest endeavor to lead a severe and pure life.  He should realize the truth that troubles and turmoil are temporary like passing clouds.  There is no scope for agitations to rise if one realizes this truth.  One who realizes this truth will not allow his mind to be swayed by the passions of anger, cruelty, etc.

(SSS Vol 27, Ch 3)

Pearl 7

When obstacles come in your way, face them with courage.  They harden you and make you tough.  Suffering and misery are inescapable acts of cosmic drama.  God does not decree these calamities, but man invites them by way of retribution for his evil deeds.  This is the corrective punishment meted out by nature, which induces man to give up the wrong path.  All this is part of the grand synthesis in which negatives serve to glorify the positives.  Thus death glorifies immortality; ignorance glorifies wisdom; misery glorifies bliss; night glorifies dawn.

(TFD June '03)

Pearl 6

Many pray to God all over the world.  They pray for the realization of worldly desires of one kind or the other.  This is not the right kind of prayer.  You should pray to God for HIS grace and love.  That love is everlasting.  God is Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss).  So pray to HIM to confer that bliss on you.  God's bliss is everything, whereas worldly pleasures are transient.  Only he is a true devotee, who prays for God's love and bliss.

(TFD, 29/12/03)

Pearl 5

If you wish to understand your true nature, you must do three things - bend your body, mend the senses and end the mind.  To bend the body means to cultivate humility and carry out your duties sincerely.  Mending the senses call for examining how the senses behave, whether they are tending to go astray and correcting them and restraining them when necessary.  Change and evolution are natural to mind, but the presence of unchanging Divinity should be experienced within.

(TFD, 22/12/03)

Pearl 4

The chief duty of man is investigation into the truth.  Truth can be won only through dedication and devotion and they are dependent on grace of God, which is showered on hearts saturated with love.  Truth is more fundamental than the action.  Every atom and every star manifests the truth to those who have eyes of wisdom.  What is special nature of man?  If he too lives and dies as an animal, how can his supremacy be justified?  His supremacy lies in the capacity to become aware of Truth.

(TFD 18/12/03)

Pearl 3

The proof of true devotion is in peace of mind that the aspirant has been able to attain; the peace that makes him unruffled by loss and dishonor; the peace that is not disturbed by anger, hatred, jealousy, conceit and lower passions; peace which makes him tranquil, unconcerned and unattached under all circumstances and with all human natures.  Know that you are the embodiment of peace.  Whoever had determination, discrimination, steadfastness and enthusiasm to reach the goal, will reach it.

(SS April '06)