Spiritual Diary - May

May 1

Present

In order to dismiss the worry concerning the unborn future, and the brooding concerning the dead past, you use the idea of "God's Will" to drop them.
When all this is dropped, what happens is present.
It is not present in the temporal sense, nor is it connected with time; it is not present in the sense that it is neither the past nor the future.
It is something totally different.
It is not a dimension at all, but the totality of it.
Strangely, even your body is geared only to act in the present.
If I hit you on the head with a stick, you will blink.
You cannot register that hit before it happens or after it happens.
You will only blink in response to the stick at the moment of impact.
The intelligence that knows that is the present.
And that intelligence will act only in the present, not a second earlier or later.

May 2

Will

When you do yoga asanas, watch this.
A certain movement of the body, a certain adjustment is possible only for the body to determine, and it determines it invariably at the particular moment.
Even as you look back, it's gone already, and is only memory.
That was able to live in the present.
That Intelligence is God and is Will.
So what is called "God's Will" is merely a suggestion that it is not my will.
I can definitely become aware of my wish, my desire, my likes and dislikes.
If I ensure that my actions do not spring from any of these, it is more than enough.
I really do not know what God's Will is, but I can ensure that my actions do not spring from my will.
I can ensure that I am not blinking because I want to blink.

May 3

Ahimsa

What is ahimsa?
It is not a political concept, nor a moral precept, nor a religious doctrine.
It is a positive quality, which is at once denied when positively defined.
Hence its negative definition, a-himsa or non-himsa.
Himsa covers not only aggression and violence, killing and injuring, but also fundamental violation of the dignity of all life.
Not doing this is ahimsa.
When we remember that its field of application covers not only all living beings but also oneself, it is not difficult to understand how complex the problem is.
Suddenly it is seen as the subtle middle path, the razor's edge.
It demands constant vigilance.
Ahimsa is not a set of do's and don'ts, it is the quality of a human being from which all trace of himsa has been banished. Such a being is divine, egoless, and unselfish.
Such a being is love.
What is the Guru?
Guru is the light that dispels the darkness.
He enables you to see if you are wide-awake, your eyes are open and you are constantly and vigilantly watching.
To one who is awake and vigilant, the whole of life can be the Guru.
The Guru imparts training in ahimsa only in the form of external imposition or training.
Firstly the disciple must see that himsa is all-destructive, see the need for constant vigilance.

May 4

Assassination

War is the most essential pastime of humanity!
We are all familiar with the phrase "defender of the faith".
In the Bible, "Thou must not kill," is re-defined as "Thou must not murder," because killing seems to be an inherent part of life.
An executioner, a butcher or even a doctor, are all able to kill.
All these grotesque sequels will occur, until I realize what it is to be completely free of harmfulness within me.
Is it possible to rid the mind of the least trace of harmfulness?
In which case no harm comes from me to others, nor do I punish this body, and therefore there is no martyr complex.
"Assassination" means nothing more than two Asses facing each other!
If you are wise, you will make it unnecessary for another to kill you.
You will remove the cause, instead of provoking another to kill you.
So, can I be totally free of the least trace of harmfulness in my mind?

May 5

Love

The word "love" is open to many misuses and abuses.
"We must all love our country and be prepared to sacrifice our lives."
Loving one's country and loving one's religion are all beautiful expressions, used by somebody who wants to get you killed. They say, "Go to war and fight for your country and be careful to shoot the other man first, because if you don't kill him, he will kill you."
Once you are on the battlefield, nobody considers why there should have been a battlefield at all, or why you should have gone to the battle.
There are sayings on tombstones, "There is nothing nobler than sacrificing your life for your brother!"
That is not love.
If you have love in your heart, you will change the whole situation.
It does not become necessary that I should sacrifice my life, or that you should sacrifice yours.

May 6

Yoga

In sleep there is not a trace of harmfulness in your consciousness, only complete peace.
What happened to that when you woke up?
Did somebody take it away from you?
When you were fast asleep, there was a consciousness, which was totally free of all harm.
When you got up from sleep, you didn't drop it somewhere, and no one took it away from you.
How do I find this peace while awake and function in its light?
That is yoga.
That is ahimsa.
It is there; I didn't throw it away, and no one took it away from me.
When I find it, it is then that I am at peace, both with myself and in my relation to everyone else.
Such a person may do something, which to a third party may seem aggressive.
But it is not.
That is why Krishna and Arjuna were able to talk philosophy on the battlefield.
Perhaps it is possible for one who is fully established in that state to even wage a war - perhaps.

May 7

Peace

Peace is not something which is theoretical.
It is there.
I had it when I was asleep, and by waking up I did not lose it.
It is still there; being in it consciously is ahimsa.
It can only be defined negatively because it is not a concept.
Only a concept can be thought of.
The truth can never be thought of.
Peace is truth.
What is thought of is not the truth; it is a thought.
So these great truths are defined negatively.
Who am I? What am I?
I cannot say, "This I am."
I can only say, "I am not this."
"I" is not a human being, "I" is not an Indian, and "I" is not a living thing.
When all these images, which have been built around the self, built by convention and culture, have been removed, you still cannot say that "I" is this.
If you do, you have created a nice little image or figure.
Ahimsa is constantly and watchfully removing all himsa from your mind and consciously ensuring there is no violence in relation to others or in relation to yourself.

May 8

Growth

Nothing that happens to me is a sure proof that I am progressing spiritually.
People who have visions etc. feel highly elated at the time, but then somehow they seem to be left in the lurch just when some strength or support is needed.
If suddenly I'm told I have cancer of the throat, everything seems to evaporate, and I'm left as miserable as ever.
It doesn't seem to measure up with spiritual progress.
Is it possible for me to have achieved some tremendous change and yet be aware of it?
Theoretically there is no reason why I should not, but in truth, spiritual growth is as subtle as the growth of the body.
I've been looking into the mirror every morning, and every morning my face is the same as the previous day.
But then some change has taken place.
If today's appearance is the same as yesterday's, and yesterday's as the day before, I should be exactly the same as I was fifteen years ago.
This is not true.
Yet I cannot pin-point it and say, "This morning my nose grew half an inch longer."
Any growth which is natural, and therefore valid, is imperceptible.
Most growth which we are aware of, conscious of, is better got rid of.
Real spiritual growth is almost unseen, although it is possible for someone else to point it out to you.

May 9

Predetermined

What is predetermined and what is not predetermined?
Where does my free will or choice enter into this?
Some things seem to be fixed and it is possible that the life span of the body is also fixed.
It is also possible that the cells of each individual body have a biological mechanism built in which responds to nature outside in a certain way.
From this it might also be possible to see that a future disease is already built into this body.
Right at the birth of this body, it is programmed into the cells that the hair will turn gray at the age of 52.
You can do nothing about it.
But something has not been programmed into the cells.
I can let the hair grow long or shave it every day.
Within that broad framework we have a bit of freedom to move around.
Life is not completely predetermined, and there is no absolute freedom of choice.
But when it comes to the direction life is to take, what do we know about it?
There seems to be a lot more elbow room here, so that one can never blame this predetermination for my viciousness or for my lack of spirituality.
Whether I face light or face darkness is left to me.

May 10

Choice

Whether I should be a wise man or a fool is not predetermined; it is not a predictable quality.
The weather can be predicted, but whether I am going to smile or cry tomorrow, whatever the weather, cannot be predicted.
My reaction or attitude cannot be predicted.
Whether I will turn towards light or turn towards darkness is not predictable.
The choice is there for me to be either a fool or a wise man.
That is all the choice; the rest is choiceless.
If I am a fool, I am choicelessly going in one direction; if I am a wise man, I am choicelessly going in the other direction. Beyond that there is no choice.
If I've chosen to be a fool, all my actions, thoughts and words will be foolish.
That choice is there each second.
Whether you have chosen to be wise or foolish will determine the next action.

May 11

Choicelessly

Only the physical, grosser side of us seems to be predetermined; the spirit seems to be free.
Where there is a borderline between the spiritual and the psycho-physical, the psycho-physical is predetermined and the spirit is free.
They seem to mingle and overlap somewhere.
Once the spirit is awakened, it choicelessly pursues the light, but while the spirit is asleep or dormant, it choicelessly pushes the psycho-physical organism in the other direction.
Yet the spirit in itself is free.
Once such a choice has been made, the "I" has no further choice.
If the "I" has turned towards the light at one stage, then the spirit of wisdom makes the choice; the light makes the choice.
Once that has happened, life goes on choicelessly in the chosen direction.
Yet the choice need not be made at one historic moment, and having made the choice, one might still turn again and choose the darkness.
That possibility is also there, just as the possibility for the fool to turn towards the light is there all the time.

May 12

Wisdom

Eternal damnation does not seem to make sense, but eternal redemption is not impossible to conceive of, since it is redemption from the ego.
When the body is abandoned and the ego has dissolved, then there seems to be a point of no return.
If a lump of salt is thrown into water or a bucket of water is tipped into the sea, it cannot be returned.
So there is no end but only the means.
And while I am walking the path, I must see that the light is not out there, but in me.
Light and wisdom are not there as goals, but are in me as the path or means to the goal.
This wisdom is the understanding of life, the understanding of the self, and it is this wisdom which acts for us when we have turned towards the light.

Misery is not so hard to bear as the desire to push it away!
When a motorcar stops for lack of fuel, the man in it is not affected much - but the man who wants to push it feels its weight.
When you try to push misery away, you feel its weight all the more!
Leave it alone and let it pass.

May 13

Opportunities

Most of us miss thousands of opportunities of relieving the poverty and the suffering of our brethren.
We think that thereby we are assuring our own happiness and prosperity, without realizing that we are inviting the opposites.
Exploitation nurtures bitterness in the heart of the oppressed; it leads to a social explosion which spreads unhappiness all round.
Hoarded wealth is a curse.
Yet, man will accumulate wealth and strive his utmost to obtain more.
Our scriptures insist that we should produce more food and more wealth.
Yet we are unable to resist the temptation to regard that "earned" (often by exploitation) wealth as our own, and to look with suspicion upon anyone who asks for a share of it.
We are certainly not going to take it away with us when we leave this world.
So why make others and ourselves miserable by hoarding it?
Let us put ourselves in the other man's position, sincerely and truly.
What would we expect? Compassion?
Be compassionate.
Turn accursed wealth into a great blessing by sharing it with all.

May 14

Paradise

It is surprising how many of us live in a paradise, where we consider that others are fools!
We blame others to hide our own blame, often from our own inner vision.
We find those faults in others which overflow in us.
We justify our own sins on the extremely simple plea: "But then all are doing so."
The inner craving, desire, lust for pleasure, profit and power, is so intense that it robs us of our time, faculty and power to search within and find the roots of our own foolishness.
If we cease to be wicked, the world will cease to be wicked, too.
Rather: in this wonderful spiritual adventure, there is no question of even "we" - it is all the time "I".
We cannot touch and transform the hearts of even our dearest ones.
Each one has to do it for himself or herself.
Through meditation, self-analysis, self-searching and self-realization.
The moment this is achieved, we find the world once again reflecting our wisdom, our goodness which we find in all.
This self-same world blooms into a paradise.
We see even in the wickedness of other people, their own inner soul-struggle to find the light, the truth, God.
May you all be established in that light, in that truth, in God!

May 15

Obedience

At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says very plainly to Arjuna, "I have told you what I think is right. Go away and think it over. Sleep on it and then do what you want. You are free."
This is also the lesson of the beginning of Genesis.
God gave every human being freedom, and respecting this freedom, even He does not interfere.
Often this creates a paradoxical situation (paradoxical in its literal sense of being beyond teaching).
Adam and Eve were free to obey or disobey.
And then they were told to eat what they liked, but not to eat the apple.
Obedience meant refraining from eating the forbidden fruit.
But one can never be sure if such obedience is based on fear, or voluntary submission to the order because one wants to obey.
Most of us take problems for granted.
Life is problems.
Without problems there is no life.
Having come into this problematical existence, I am trying to untie the knots.
However, as with a ball of tangled wool or wire, when you think you have undone one knot, you find that you have several more on your hands.
You have in fact made it a little worse.
This continues until you get fed up and throw it all out.
Although we may not notice it, this is what happens to most of us in our lives.

May 16

Chit

We are not aware that there is a condition of peace-of-mind, an existence that is unconditioned.
We only know our conditioning.
We are caught in this trap of, "I am this and I am that," and every time we want to get out of it, we walk into another trap.
This is so because we have no idea whatsoever that a state beyond all this exists.
We do not appreciate all the miracles in daily life - we are too busy looking for miracle-makers with extraordinary powers.
It would take years of deep meditation to come face to face with this intelligence which stops your hair growing longer than ordained.
This same intelligence protects and sustains the body, without fooling itself that the body is immortal.
The defense system is so perfect that the intelligence resists all attempts to destroy the body, yet it knows that this body, composed of material substances, cannot be maintained forever.
The same intelligence that looks after what we call life, puts an end to it when the time comes.
If I had a hat, I would take it off to this remarkable intelligence.
That is what we refer to as Chit.

May 17

Opinions

When you are not in the state of yoga, then the state of your mind, the thoughts and feelings that prevail in your mind, determine the world around you.
Take for example, me, the Swami.
I do not exist here as a being totally independent of the sum of all your thoughts.
What is this "me" sitting here?
The answer depends entirely upon how you view me.
When all these viewpoints, opinions and descriptions are dropped, then what I am, I am.
It is when you become like little children, as Christ enjoined, that you can get an idea of this.
Stand in front of a little baby not more than six weeks old, and watch how it looks straight at you with wide-open eyes, as if enquiring, "What is this?"
When you move, the baby's eyes move too.
It is certain that such a baby does not see a Swami.
It does not even know what a Swami is.
It sees neither a Swami nor a Hindu, nor a Brahmin, nor even a brown face.
If you wish to learn to meditate, the only person to teach you is a baby less than six weeks old.
When you look into its eyes, you will know what meditation means.
There it is in all its absolute purity, gazing at you without projecting a single thought of what you are.

May 18

Life

Life is full of unhappiness.
Yet we regard some of those experiences as happiness, to make life more tolerable.
Similarly I have to label some relations as stable; otherwise life seems to have no sense at all.
In reality, there may be no sense, but against my terrible feeling of insecurity, I classify some people as friends, and some experiences as pleasure or bliss.
This helps me carry on.
Such is life, and so it goes on and on.
Somehow, one does not know why, one tends to cling to this physical, mortal existence.
Though calling it mortal, we still want to believe that it is immortal.
A saintly man in India said that the greatest wonder in the world is the fact that, day in and day out, people die, but those whose time has not yet come believe that they will not have to go.
Such is the nature of existence here.
All these identifications, thoughts and feelings, pleasures and pains, likings and dislikings are mental modifications.
"I" is the central wave. I see another wave, "It is beautiful, and I like it."
But another, "It is painful, I do not want it."
There after, the whole life is only mental modification.
The mind goes on modifying itself, playing like a kaleidoscope, which the limited personality claims to enjoy.

May 19

Pain

When it comes to this mad clinging to life, to the desire to live, to enjoy, to have what we call pleasurable experiences, how does one overcome this?
Krishna expands this idea in the Gita.
The first need is to perceive immediately that all life is tainted by old age, sickness, and death.
This does not mean that one should not eat, nor marry, nor do this or that.
But when this immediate direct perception is there constantly, then one's consciousness will not be influenced by these experiences called pleasure and pain.
It will no longer run after pleasure, because it knows that it is temporary, not real.
Neither will it masochistically look for pain.
Pain is inherent in life; there is no need to search for some more.
When all desires re-enter oneself, return to the source, there is true dispassion - the total opposite of passion and craving.

May 20

Desire

Everyone is driven by various desires, and the resultant seeking acquires respectability when supported by beliefs.
What is desire? Can you locate it? Can you see what it is made of?
Our basic ignorance is obviously the cause and the cover for all our desires!
It is difficult to know what it is, and therefore we invent various beliefs as poor substitutes.
And the beliefs also supply a sort of know-how to look for it within ourselves.
But since the belief takes away the pain of not knowing what it is and the keenness to know what it is, its utility as an indicator is ignored too.
There is an immediate temptation to reject all doctrines and beliefs.
But then that leads to belief in the testimony of the senses, which can easily be reduced to one word - desire.
Belief comes in handy, to cover up the ugliness of doctrines and dogmas (which are but opinions), and the fear of losing the false sense of security that they provide; and belief dangerously "saves" us from the difficulty of discovering the truth about ourselves.
Use belief as a springboard, not as a coffin-lid!

May 21

Observation

With what shall I examine the ego-sense?
Once again you are trapped.
There must be another way and that is called direct observation.
Again it is possible that in this direct observation one uses the mind to study the mind; it is possible for the observing intelligence to identify a thought arising.
One thought arises.
When I have slapped down that thought, I realize that that which slaps the thought down is also mental conditioning.
Another thought jumps up and says that, according to Kena Upanishad, truth cannot be intellectualized.
This is a piece of memory!
Though it pretends to be aware of the truth, it is nothing but memory.
The observing intelligence, if it is alert, can recognize that I have considered this to be right because of prejudice; it can recognize that this is pure and simple memory; a revival of some memory.
Or, it is possible to consider that mind cannot study mind, that it is a hopeless task.
This is called giving up, which is equated with sleep, a kind of spiritual sleep.
It's too hard and so I give up, I live in accordance with God's Will and imagine everything will come right.

May 22

Divine Qualities

Integrity and sincerity are not technical skills that can be acquired; they are spiritual qualities that manifest themselves when the covering veils are removed.
Neither wholeness nor sincerity can be fashioned by human effort - it is human effort that veils them!
The man who tries to be sincere is insincere, no matter how sincere his efforts may be!
One who is sincere, does not have to try - and this applies to integrity too.
The self, the ego, veils the wholeness that remains forever untouched in the heart of all beings.
The self is the flaw, which the self itself endeavors to mask, by inventing what appear to be clever systems and marvelous organizations.
These latter are twice removed from the truth, which is beyond the self.
One may or may not believe in God or what has come to be called religion.
But it is clear that, as long as the self rules life, there can be no peace, happiness, welfare, wholeness or sincerity.
Simplicity, goodness, integrity, sincerity and other divine qualities are gifts of God - they cannot be acquired.
They manifest when one surrenders the self in loving devotion to the divine.

May 23

Pure Awareness

The quest for self-discovery is unending.
When the identity has been found, the individuality has been lost.
Realization is knowledge without a knower and an object, the known without subject and object.
Knowledge alone remains, the knowledge of identity.
In yoga there is no belief.
Where knowledge takes over there is no belief.
It is because we have gone along the path of faith, belief that we have messed up our lives.
If I know I am a human being, and if I know you are a human being, then there is total identity, total oneness.
Nothing in the world will disturb this knowledge.
According to yoga, knowledge is something that is born when the individuality dissolves in the quest.
This whole thing is pure awareness - it is called meditation.
Yoga, life, must enable us to unfold everything, physical and mental.
To do this I have to be intensely alert, aware of everything in me - body, mind and intellect - so that these merge, eventually, into total awareness.

May 24

Bhakti

Bhakti is of the nature of immortality.
This declaration confirms that love is God, and God is love.
Love is identical with God.
Hence God's own nature is ascribed to God-love too.
Moreover in Bhakti, the object of love, namely God, is eternal, infinite and immortal.
This guarantees two things.
The love that is directed towards Him becomes immortal, and the lover that is thus linked to the immortal is also immortalized.
The person who is always facing the sun knows no shadow or darkness.
The person who is in love with God the eternal being, knows nothing but immortality, infinite bliss.
It is so sweet, because its joys are untarnished or undiminished by severance of our affections for our relations etc.
The same emotion, the very same affections, the very same love is sublimated, transmuted and transferred to the Lord.
The joy is intensified into bliss, and the pain that deluded attachment entails is cleverly avoided.
Bhakti is all sweetness.
It is enshrined in the heart of the devotee.
Does it need to be emphasized that he will be all sweetness too?
His words, thoughts and deeds will be characterized by sweetness.
Not an evil thought nor harsh word nor vicious, harmful action will emanate from him.
This is an unmistakable sign of a true bhakta.

May 25

Re-cognize

It is hard to define what yoga is in positive terms.
It has been described as union, harmony, integration, as God-realization, realization of truth.
But who is to say what God is, what truth is?
Can we recognize these?
Re-cognize means to "know again".
What we do not know already we cannot re-cognize.
Therefore, when we hear words like "God", "truth", we create mental images.
Yoga enables us to recognize the psychological, social, religious and national barriers, and recognize them for what they are.
If we recognize that an unhealthy life-style is endangering our life, then it will drop away.
If we recognize that the psychological barriers we erect within ourselves, with an external polished behavior for the public and an internal nature hidden even from ourselves, are a danger to our peace of mind and happiness, they will drop away.
In the same way too, we will know that the religious and national barriers that we have put up, in the false hope of ensuring our security and prosperity, do in fact promote their opposite.
Then these too will drop away from our consciousness.

May 26

Images

When you wish to gain knowledge of the world, you do so with the help of images formed by technology and science.
Without these you would not be able to live in the world.
But in human relationships, the image becomes dangerous.
One has to see this danger quite clearly.
When someone flatters you, gratifies your desires, pleases you, you love him, you regard him as a friend; that is your image of him.
When someone insults you or injures you, your image of yourself is hurt and therefore you hate him, you regard him as your enemy; that is your image of him.
It is this image building that brings about conflicts within you, between people and the world.
How can this be prevented?
When you consider this carefully, you find that it is thought that builds these images.
Thought has its function, in the realm of technology and science, but not in the sphere of human relationship.
For thought creates the image which creates the division between you and me.
This division is violence.
This is the cause of all the conflicts and violence, which exist in the world today.
Desires and feelings are thoughts too.
They create endless problems in our lives.

May 27

Procrastination

My Master, Swami Sivananda could never postpone anything.
Procrastination, the thief of time, could not steal even a moment from Him.
If you keep an account of the number of times you say: "I should have done this yesterday" or "I should have been more careful last year", then you will realize that, when you had the opportunity, you let it slip by, always saying: "I'll do it tomorrow" or next month or next year!
Here is some simple advice from the Master:
Spend half an hour alone with yourself soon after waking.
Use part of this time for contemplation, for prayer, and the rest of the time reflect on the purpose of your life and where your duty lies.
Do not allow the mind to say you cannot spare this time.
If you persist in this, you will find that the mind learns to enjoy this half hour.
Spend a few minutes alone before going to bed at night.
Now review the day, see how much of your precious life you wasted, how you "slipped" from the resolves made in the morning, and how you can correct this so that you once more regain self-control, self-confidence, and a purposeful direction in your life.
The only way to make the best of today, is to live in the present.

May 28

Personality

I am convinced that a healthy mind in a healthy body enables the soul of man to radiate peace and harmony.
The distinction between body, mind and soul is, from one point of view, artificial.
The soul, when it wants to think, extends itself as mental substance, and when it wants to function in the physical universe "becomes" the body.
It is possible for the body to grow old without the soul undergoing senility, for the soul is birthless, deathless and ageless.
When the body naturally grows old, the soul, properly trained, might detach itself from the body, gradually, and enjoy its own power and bliss.
Unnatural functioning of the physical organism is bound to impinge on the mind and soul, hence evil habits are dangerous.
As you think you become.
Body and mind together affect your personality.
Yoga is designed to promote the healthy functioning of the body and mind.
When the brain is unclouded, the nerves are not in a state of tension, and the liver is healthy.
You discover that you are at one with your neighbor.
You are fearless, because you have come face to face with the imperishable you.
You are not arrogant.
You are extremely humble for you see that the lowliest person in the world is you in another form.

May 29

Hinduism

What was the origin of Hinduism?
Originally it was not called Hinduism - it had no need for a name, for it did not recognize another, nor did it antagonize another.
Hence we assert that it had its origin in God and his relation with his own creation.
Who was its founder?
God, Who incarnates Himself periodically in order to revive "its" spirit.
What is the textbook of Hinduism?
Nominally it is the Veda, which consists of metaphysical knowledge, but practically is the book of life itself.
What are its tenets?
They are covered by the word Dharma.
Dharma is a power, a force, a Shakti that bears, upholds, uplifts, preserves, sustains, protects and exalts.
It is God's own power, for He alone protects us and exalts us.
His power sustains and preserves the whole universe, including man.
His is the magnetic power that eventually draws the human soul to Himself in self-realization.
In the "insentient" sectors of creation this Dharma acts as the force of gravitation, as electromagnetic waves.
In sentient creatures this same force manifests as true unselfish love.
Hence it is a religion of love.
It needed, needs and will need no name.
It has to be experienced and expressed in wordless, eloquent action.

May 30

The Middle Path

Some magicians walk, work and drive blindfolded.
Some animals can see even in dense darkness, but some human beings are blind, although there is light and they have eyes.
Man stumbles from one blunder to an even greater one.
Every remedy he invents proves to be worse than the disease.
Only in the light of wisdom will he discern the middle path.
There was a time when man was illiterate, uncivilized, and used sign language and stone implements.
His world consisted only of immediate neighbors.
He was unable to commit wholesale genocide and fought only in self-defense.
Mankind has swung to the other extreme, and now we hate people we have not met, who are unaware of our existence, because they do not share our faith, beliefs or physical features.
Man has broken the shackles of slavery, but he has carried this "independence" so far that he is unable to live in peace.
He does not possess the light of wisdom or discrimination in which alone he shall have power (without desiring destruction), freedom, good neighborliness, learning with humility, and compassion, which are essential if man is to survive as a civilized and progessive force.
We need that light, and we pray to the Lord that He command once again "Let there be Light", and there shall be light.

May 31

Atman

God is Omnipresent.
God alone exists.
God pervades all that exists.
He is the very soul of existence.
Give up the idea that you are different from another.
Realize that, in and through these different forms, there is one supreme God.
Give up desire, anger and greed, for these prevent you from the realization of the one God.
This does not mean that you should shut yourself away in a room and think only of God, for God is Omnipresent.
Do your duty in the world, without attachment, without desire and greed.
These great truths should form part of our lives; otherwise we are worse than we were when we were ignorant of them.
A man who is ignorant may find the truth one day, but the man who thinks he knows everything is far from God.
We need both worldly and spiritual knowledge.
Worldly knowledge enables us to overcome the difficulties of this world.
Spiritual knowledge enables us to realize the self, God, Atman and thus become immortal.
Therefore, serve all, love all.
Study the scriptures and meditate upon them.
Be charitable and realize the Omnipresence of God.