How to attain our ultimate objective

How can we conquer our anger? Well, in order to be in complete control of our temperament, we must employ thoughtfulness, peace, concentration & forgiveness in our behavior. Worship & prayer also help us conquer our anger. And once we learn how to nip our fury, we shall easily be able to discard contempt, ego and envy from our lives. Whoever harms us can be treated with mercy and pity. We must treat oppression as a gift of God and shall try to consider sympathy and service as a means to attain and establish the intention of love and compassion all around. Being contented is one of the means of achieving salvation. Contentment can be attained through benevolence, shedding of greed and considering everyone as equal. We must also try to curtail our desires as this shall rescue us from dejection and disappointment. We must try to escape any sort of greed and attachment. Attachment and attraction are a kind of poison which are followed by sufferings and sadness. Happiness and sadness both go hand in hand. When a person gets attracted to something he unknowingly sows the poisonous seeds of sadness which gives birth to compassion, Compassion in turn is accompanied by desire of possession which leads to suffering and pain and destroys our entire being. Akhand Jyoti, February 1956, pg.-6

Death is not the END of life!

We discard our old clothes and wear new ones, in the same way we keep on repudiating our old body and adopt new ones. The change of clothes does not affect the body in any way, similarly a change in the body does not affect the soul(Atma). When someone dies it does not mean that he/she perishes, in fact the (soul) always remains alive. Let us not be scared of death because it is meaningless to cry for the physical body which is made up of perishable material. Even though the dead bodies can be preserved, still we must understand that our true relation is with our soul and not our body, as the soul remains lively even after death. Therefore, we should never weep and wail vainly for the transient body. Death is nothing but a link between two lives. Death transports various souls from one birth to another. If death takes away our beloved ones, we should not consider them as being snatched away from us. Rather, we should contemplate that they have only become invisible and their souls are still alive. Neither should we consider others as dead nor should we be scared of our own death, because death is only an intermission and not the end.

Set the course of your life when there is time left

In Mahabharat Epic comes a Parikshit Chapter. The wise emperor knew that his end is near & instead of blaming others he chose to use his time very carefully. He surrendered to the Ultimate after understanding dawned in him. We may think that all those who know their end is drawing near, will, like wise utilize their time in seeking to realize the proximity of God & change their course of life. However, such a yearning can arise in the mind, only as a consequence of a favorable attainment of spiritual-merit(Punya) acquired in many lives; it can not arise all of a sudden. Kamsa was the king of Mathura; when he knew that the allotted span of life is hastening to its

finish, he put his sister & brother in law in a dungeon, started his killing spree while terrorizing people around.

Let us consider the vast difference between these two attitudes. They are known as Devatwa and Asuratwa, divine and demonic traits. Only those who are equipped with divine virtues have the eagerness to do good acts, and have good thoughts, faith in God, compassion towards all beings, truth, non-violence, love and contrition for swerving from the straight path. To them alone, thoughts of God and urges to do good & sanctitying deeds will emerge during their last days. So we should never wait for the end days. Instead take the steering wheel of life right on the day the knowledge dawns upon us. Probably the great ship Titanic could have been saved if the captain could set his course much earlier to avoid all those icebergs.

How to reduce our financial strain?

It is very sad to observe that we have increased our personal expenses much beyond our needs and means. When we do not have sufficient money to fulfill our requirements we try to beg or borrow, but by doing this we unknowingly intend to steal the fruits of others labor. We also pledge our self esteem, character, pride and happiness to others in return of material wealth. By begging or borrowing we do nothing but exhibit our own weaknesses and destitution. Borrowing and spending for the purpose of worldly pleasures is equivalent to torturing and denting our own disposition and reputation. A noble person always prefers to remain deprived rather than beg or borrow. We must organize and manage our disposable income in such a way that we conveniently make our both ends meet. Money should be used to uplift and better our physical, mental, financial, social image and spiritual virtues. It should never be spent for selfish and needless enchantments. Extravaganza is nothing but a disease! Therefore, we must not feel inferior or sad about our limited resources and should try to spend it through careful budgeting, streamlining and prioritizing our needs. This way, we can be leading a controlled and organized life free of financial shortcomings.

No Success without SACRIFICE

Have we ever thought as to why always the Saints request us to sacrifice? Well, they do so because Sacrifice only is the most fruitful way to success. Through sacrifice we can weed away our own faults and bad intentions. All of us strive to attain knowledge but most of us tend to forget that we have to pay a price for it. Whatever little or more we have, we must share it, be it money, food, knowledge, faith, principles, trust, love, devotion, time, physical effort- in return we are sure to receive a million times back. Gautam Buddha forsake his royal throne, Mahatma Gandhi left his prestigious post of a barrister. But, they got much more than what they had relinquished. The renowned poet, Rabindranath Tagore has cited in one of his compositions, He spread his hands in front of me and begged for food. I had only one grain of food in my bag and I happily gave it to him.

In the evening I was astonished to see a grain of gold in my satchel. I wept badly and repented-Why didnt I donate my entire being, I would have become a King from a pauper. Akhand Jyoti March 1940 pg-9

Dont characterize yourself in the fire of jealousy

Friends! What is jealousy? Well, it is a poisonous potion which when drunk destroys the peace and happiness of a person. Anyone who sips this poison starts burning his own morals and principles. Jealousy is a sword which annihilates none but its own master.Jealousy is the outcome of our own mental weaknesses and an infectious mind which eventually makes ourselves ashamed in our own. It cannot be ascertained as to how much damage jealousy causes to others but it is definite that it degrades those the most who shelter it within themselves. Jealousy leads to the deterioration of our own health and inner peace. Therefore, what is needed is an honest analysis and identification of our own weaknesses and inhibitions and an earnest effort to overcome them. Also we must strengthen our own behavioral virtues in order to stop envying and start loving and succeeding.

Life is a battle Fight it bravely

Friends! It is rightly said that troubles and tribulations never come alone. They bring along their friends and relatives too! We desperately try to solve one affliction and immediately get entangled in another. We must try to understand that life is a battle and everyone has to take part in it, be it a coward or a courageous! Some might tremble while facing the enemies (troubles in our lives) and some bravely attack them. When we understand that these adversities we cannot avert, then, why should we not challenge and tackle them like brave soldiers? He who fights with these problems till the last drop of his blood, only emerges as a winner. The crux of life is that we must face and fight to overcome these enemies with utmost courage and enthusiasm. Since the evolution of mankind, we cannot count the number of people who died, but the number of people who led a magnificent life can easily be ascertained. These people came with a purpose in to this world and sacrificed their entire being for the accomplishment of that objective. They are always remembered as inspiration for the new generation. Hence, we must aspire to become like them.

Art must induce emotional refining

Art plays an important role in both the development as well as evolution of human emotions. Music (vocal & instrumental), dance, acting, painting, literature etc. all play a significant role in invoking an emotional response. This emotional inducing aspect is being exploited these days. Many people who are involved in any way with the various arts are exploiting art by inducing lustful feelings. As a result people are gradually moving further away from idealistic enthusiasm. The focus is more on external beauty and this is leading to a deterioration of human values, both physically as well as mentally. This is a brutal misuse of art. It is

denigrating the pure beauty, the reverence, and the idealism of Saraswati, the goddess of art.The power of art is immense. This power can fill our hearts with positive sentiments and it is fully capable of uplifting us to the highest level of consciousness. In the past, art was inspired by devotional sentiments. All the spheres of art such as sculpture, painting, recitation, prayers, dance, and literature had evolved from roots of religious devotion and reverence. This connection between art and spirituality was instrumental in increasing internal satisfaction, it helped in increasing contentment, and it helped in deepening our faith.

Thought transformation the power of thoughts

Thoughts have got immense power. However for most of us thoughts are only figments of ones imagination. Generally people consider thoughts as spare time entertainment, but the only reason for this is that they have never paid attention to the power of thoughts. In fact, this entire world is a creation of thoughts. Gross material objects of physical world are nothing but the creation of subtle power of thoughts. The scriptures describe this entire Universe as the Creators urge to manifest as many. Ekoh~m bahusyami. Even if we dont go that far, we can see the power of thoughts manifested all around us in the form of this evolved material world. All the material developments, arts, equipments, technological innovations, life-transforming literature are the result of the thoughts originated in the minds of their creators. First the possibility of such a creation arises in their thoughts, then contemplation and investigation on the same thought ultimately manifest as the creation. Thoughts have got immense power. However for most of us thoughts are only figments of ones imagination. Generally people consider thoughts as spare time entertainment, but the only reason for this is that they have never paid attention to the power of thoughts. In fact, this entire world is a creation of thoughts. Gross material objects of physical world are nothing but the creation of subtle power of thoughts. The scriptures describe this entire Universe as the Creators urge to manifest as many. Ekoh~m bahusyami. Even if we dont go that far, we can see the power of thoughts manifested all around us in the form of this evolved material world. All the material developments, arts, equipments, technological innovations, life-transforming literature are the result of the thoughts originated in the minds of their creators. First the possibility of such a creation arises in their thoughts, then contemplation and investigation on the same thought ultimately manifest as the creation.