DISCIPLINE OF SPEECH

DISCIPLINE OF SPEECH

 

Tame your tongue - it is an unruly devil. Sacrifice, gift, austerity, the study of the sacred scriptures, truthfulness - all these will help you to develop virtuous conduct. Practise austerity of speech. Whatever you speak must be truthful and beneficent.

 

Do not utter anything that will give annoyance to anybody. A thoughtless man who has not controlled his organ of speech and who speaks at random, is entangled in the foolishness of his own words. Therefore be very careful when you speak.

 

Speak little. Think twice, think ten times before you speak. Weigh the words carefully, before they come out of your mouth. Speak only words which can do good to others. Always be polite and courteous. Never speak in a harsh tone, never hurt the feelings of others.

 

Do not talk much. Become a man of measured words. God has given you two ears and two eyes. But He only gave you one tongue, so that you may hear and see more than you speak. Lingual diarrhea is a terrible disease.

 

Words exist for the transmission of ideas. Words and ideas are inseparable; they are like fire and its heat, or like ice and its coldness. Be careful in the selection of your words. They can produce violent disturbance in the feelings of others. Speak only those words which give happiness and comfort to others.

 

Think more. Do much. Speak measured words. Let your tongue never utter an unkind word, or a harsh word. Let it never speak sharp criticism. An undisciplined tongue is a sword that cuts others' hearts. It produces a wound that will never heal, even in a lifetime.

 

Observe silence. You will have abundant energy. You will conserve your energy this way. You will enjoy peace of mind and good health. You will be able to turn out more work. Silence is soothing for brain and nerves.

 

Your goal is God. Your centre is God. Your ideal is God. Turn back to God and realise everlasting bliss. Resting on Him you will be saved. As the lamp cannot burn without oil, so too, you cannot live without God. God is within you all the time, inspiring you, lifting you up. Withdraw. Aspire. Meditate. Realise.

 

 

 

 

BE COURAGEOUS

BE COURAGEOUS

 

 

Man creates trouble and misery for himself.

Give up all sorts of fears.

Stand up like a lion.

Draw courage from within.

There are many people who are so timid that they will not move around at night. Even when they see a cat at night, a cockroach at floor, lizard on a wall, they tremble. What a shame.

 

 

They are embodiments of timidity. They are 'moustache ladies'. They tremble with fear when they are put to a little test. They perspire and quiver when there is any impending danger!

 

 

They are poor, miserable specimens. A dacoit can become a good Vedantin, if his energy is turned in a spiritual direction, because he is absolutely fearless and has no feeling "I am the body"; but not a timid man.

 

 

Fearlessness is the greatest qualification for a spiritual aspirant.

All fears are imaginary.

They have no real basis.

When you think seriously they will melt away like snow before the sun.

Think a tiger or a lion has come in front of you, and you will have to face it.

Think that you are placed in front of a machine gun, and that you will be blown up right now.

Draw courage now.

Think of the verses of the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. They deal with the immortality of the soul.

Again and again think of the divine verses of the Avadhut Gita. You will become courageous – though perhaps not all at once.

Gradually you will find that you are gaining courage.

 

 

Constantly think that you are the atman, the self.

You will gradually develop great courage.

Worry and fear are fearful forces within us.

They poison the sources of life; they destroy all harmony, vitality and vigour. Thoughts of cheerfulness, joy, and courage are healing and soothing.

Always be cheerful. Always laugh and smile.

 

 

Just as darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, so also fear cannot exist in the presence of self-denial or self-realisation or courage.

Exhibit undaunted spirit, intrepidity and manliness.

Make a strong resolve: "I will die or realise the self."

Give up the idea that you are the body.

Fearlessness is one important sign of a liberated being.

 

 

http://vasukimahal.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

AVOID HARMING YOURSELVES

AVOID HARMING YOURSELVES

 

 

“Never bore enmity or ill-will to anybody.” – Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XXIII.

 

 

A woman suffered from severe rheumatic pains in the knee joints. No treatment was of any avail. The pain became unbearable. She sought the blessings of a holy man to help her out of her utter misery.

 

“Do you hold a grudge against anyone?” he asked her gently.

 

For a split second, she hesitated: then she answered, “My mind is seething with resentment against my own sister who did not behave properly towards me.”

 

The holy man said to her, “Your pain will disappear only when you forgive her and make peace with her.”

 

The woman found it very difficult to do so. However, with a tremendous effort of will, she went to meet her estranged sister; she hugged the astonished sister and said to her, “Let bygones be bygones. Let us begin anew!”

 

To her amazement, she found that soon thereafter, the pains disappeared completely!

 

We hold resentment against someone, we may not harm that person – but surely, we will harm ourselves!

 

 

http://vasukimahal.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

I LOV YOU

I LOV YOU

 

Baba said, "If a man utters My name with love, I shall fulfill all his wishes” in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. III.

 

“I have heard you urge the people to keep on telling God, time and again, ‘I love you!’ ‘I love you!’ Don’t you think God would be tired of listening to the same words?” a young man asked to Swamiji.

 

Swamiji said to him, “How many times did you tell your girl friend to day that you loved her?”

 

“Many times.”

 

“And how many times did you tell her yesterday?”

 

“Very many times.”

 

“And the day before?”

 

“Times without number.”

 

“Does she not feel tired of listening to the same words, again and again?”

 

“No,” answered the young man. “She rejoices to hear those words, every time I tell her.”

 

“You have answered your own question,” Swamiji said to him quietly.

 

 

http://vasukimahal.blogspot.com

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 3 - Righteousness

FEBRUARY 3 - Righ teous ness

 

If you love me, you will obey what I command. . . . He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. — JOHN 14:15, 24

 

He’s a righ teous man!” I once commented about a pastor friend. Immediately the group I was with gave a funny look. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?” one of them laughed. They assumed I meant he was stiff and rigid, legalistic, and not at all spiritual. In other words, self-righteous. Nothing could have been further from the truth. My pastor friend has a buoyant, happy love for the Lord Jesus; because of this, his goal in life is to pursue righteousness.

 

God expects evidence of the love we profess to have for him. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” To pursue his righteousness is to live rightly. It is to obey his commands. Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind . . . honor your father and your mother . . . look out for the interests of others . . . love your enemies . . . rejoice always . . . do not lie . . . don’t grumble or complain. If our lives reflect no significant difference from our old ways, we should seriously ask, “Do I really know Jesus?”

 

We call Chris tians “spiritual” or “committed,” but we rarely speak of believers as “righ teous.” We’ve become influenced by our culture, which hates true righ teous ness. Why such an aversion to the biblical word righ teous ness? John 3:19 – 20 explains, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Seek first his kingdom and his righ teous ness — first means in order of priority. As you live right today, you will shine his light into the world’s darkness.

 

Lord of Righ teous ness, I take delight in obeying your commands. Today and always, I want to live differently than the world lives. May my life be an evidence of my faith.