Whether your time is good or bad, is in your hands

 

People who are willing to do seva, service, will have good times even in the bad times. When there are problems, such as famine or war, Red Cross people are fine as they are serving. The more relief they bring, the happier they feel. And people who are selfish and who just want to enjoy themselves will be miserable even in good times.

Often the organizers of a party do not enjoy the party because some little thing is missing, they forgot to invite somebody, somebody did not come, or some little thing went wrong. 

A wise one is happy even in bad times. And the ignorant one is unhappy even in good times. You make time good or bad. People usually blame bad time and just wait for good time.

Even if an astrologer says that you are in a hopeless time, you can still make it a good time! Like weather, time has its impact on you. Your satsang and sadhana are your shield, your protection. 

So realize that you are more than time and that you can change the time by your connection to the Divine.

When you get the worst of the lot, be grateful

 

Suppose the worst of the world is given to you; what would you do with it? You cannot complain if you get the worst. You can only complain if you do not get the worst. 

If the world is at its worst, then it can only get better and you are here to make it better. 

What happens when you have to do it all by yourself, when no one helps? Your options are to be frustrated and complain; to take credit that you did it by yourself and thank others for not helping so that you could take all the credit. To be grateful, pray deeply, and know that you got all the strength needed to do it alone.

Know that there is only one doer.

Belongingness changes your perspective

 

Whether you win or lose an argument with your Guru, your Master, you still laugh. 

Normally what happens to you when you lose an argument? You are sad and upset, hurt and angry. But when you lose or win an argument with me, you are still happy. Why? 

Because you have a total sense of belongingness; your love is more important than perfection, comfort and desires; you are able to put your Being before a happening; and you have confidence in the ultimate good. 

When there is a total sense of belongingness, real play happens. Winning or losing is irrelevant. Can you have this same attitude with everyone?

Appreciating the beauty of this creation

 

One who is not amazed by the magnificence of this creation – his eyes are not yet opened. Once your eyes are open, they close, and this is called meditation. 

Tell me, what in this creation is not a mystery? Birth is a mystery; death is a mystery. If both birth and death are mysteries, then life is certainly a greater mystery, isn’t it? Being completely immersed in the mystery of life and in this creation is samadhi. 

Your knowing or believing does not really matter to what Is. This creation is an unfathomable secret and its mysteries only deepen. Getting steeped in mystery is devotion. 

The “scene” is a mystery; the “seer” is a mystery. Deepening the mystery of creation is science. Deepening the mystery of the Self is spirituality. They are the two sides of the same coin. If neither science nor spirituality can create wonder and devotion in you, then you are in deep slumber.

Love (is an extension of) thy Self

 

When you love something, you have a sense of belongingness with it. You can only love something when it belongs to you. If it is not yours, you cannot love it. 

Love is the shadow of the Self. The bigger the Self, the bigger the shadow and the bigger the love. 

When love is cast over all of creation, then you are the Big Self. That is Lordship. When Lordship dawns in the Self, there is perennial celebration.

Learning the path to yourself

 

Become God to each other. Do not look for God somewhere in the sky, but see God in every pair of eyes, in the mountains, in water, in trees and in animals. How? Only when you see God in yourself will this happen. Only God can worship God. 

To recognize Divinity, there are three dimensions – time, space and mind. For seekers, it is necessary to honor time and space so they can experience sacredness in their minds. When you honor time and space, your mind becomes alert. But for the one who has transcended the mind, either sacredness has no meaning or all times, every place and every mood is sacred. 

Precious moments are few in life. Catch them and treasure them. Place, time and the mood of your mind are factors that influence celebration. Snatch every opportunity to celebrate. Then you will feel great and full. Then celebration infiltrates your mind in all moods and space, and celebration is inevitable. 

Celebration reminds you of the fullness of the moment. The moments spent in the company of knowledge – the master – are the most precious moments in your life. Treasure them. Treasuring them, you transcend the mind, time and space. That is true celebration.

Decoding the love-truth paradox

 

Why would someone tell a lie to their dear ones or to their beloved? This is a question often asked by lovers. Love cannot stand untruth; it causes relationships to fall apart. The answer lies in understanding the paradox of love and truth.

People tell lies just to save and maintain their love. Lies are a result of fear that the truth might damage the love between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, parents and children. 

In love you feel weak but truth brings strength. So why do people prefer love over truth, weakness over strength? No one wants to sacrifice love. Thus people are ready to give up the truth for their love. Love takes the luster out of truth. Sometimes truth can make love bitter; while in love, even lies can appear sweet, like Krishna’s lies to his mother, Yashoda. 

The truth that does not nourish love makes no sense and the love that cannot withstand the truth is not true love. When you are assured that your love is so strong that the truth can neither break it nor cause bitterness, then the truth prevails and love shines. 

With truth there are judgments, but true love is beyond judgments. Thus true love makes you weak and yet it is the greatest strength.

Complementary nature of faith and alertness

 

Faith and alertness appear to be completely opposite in nature. When you are alert, there is usually no faith and you feel restless and insecure. When you have faith, your mind is in a restful state and you feel secure, so you are not alert. 

There are three types of faith. Tamasic faith is caused by dullness. For example, when you do not want to take responsibility or action and you say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter, God will take care of all these things!” 

Rajasic faith is brought on by an intense compulsion of desires and ambition. The ambition keeps your faith alive. 

Satvic faith is innocent and is born out of fullness of consciousness.

Faith and alertness, though apparently opposite in nature, are actually complementary to each other. In the absence of faith there can be no growth and without alertness there can be no correct understanding. Faith can make you complacent while alertness makes you tense. If there is no faith, there is fear. And when there is no alertness, you cannot perceive or express properly, so a combination of both is essential. 

In jnana – state of wisdom – there is alertness without tension and faith without complacency. The purpose of education should be to remove the element of dullness from faith and the element of fear from alertness. This is a unique and rare combination. If you have faith and alertness at the same time, then you will become a true jnani – a wise one.

Is it possible to control daydreams?

 

Can one control daydreams? What is daydreaming? 

Daydreaming is simply when you have a desire, but you do not have the faith that you can achieve it. You can control daydreaming by having a strong goal and believing in it. 

Like the scientist who wanted to go to the moon and kept dreaming about it – for him it was the goal of his life but for others it was just a daydream. You either drop the idea that your dream will happen, or you believe it will. 

When you do not know yourself – your true potential – you have no faith or confidence in your dreams. Once you have faith and confidence in your dreams, they are no longer daydreams.

Have "faith" in "reason" - the two work hand-in-hand

 

Reason is constrained in the known, faith is moving in the unknown.

Reason is repetition, faith is exploration. 

Reason is routine, faith is adventure. 

Reason and faith are completely opposite, yet they are both integral parts of life.

Not having faith is itself misery; faith gives instant comfort. While reason keeps you sane and grounded, no miracle can happen without faith. Faith takes you beyond limitations. In faith you can transcend the laws of nature, but it needs to be pure.

Faith is beyond reason, yet you need to have faith in your own reasoning! Faith and reason cannot exist without each other. Every reason is based on some faith. Whenever reason or faith break down, confusion and chaos prevail – and this is often a step towards growth.

There are two types of faith - faith that is born out of fear, greed and insecurity, and faith born out of love like the faith between the mother and child or the master and disciple. While the faith that is born of love cannot be broken, the faith that comes out of fear and greed is shaky.

An atheist bases himself on reason, and a believer bases himself on faith. An atheist rationalizes to keep his eyes shut to reality. A believer uses God as an insurance policy he thinks makes him special. But in the eyes of God there is no “mine” and “others” – all are the same.

Death shakes them both! When someone close dies, the eyes of an atheist are opened, and a believer’s faith cracks. Only a Yogi – a wise one remains unshaken, for that person has transcended both reason and faith. You need to balance faith and reason.

Dispassion and enthusiasm - anything but opposites

 

What is enthusiasm? Enthusiasm means to be connected to God within. When you are with your source, you can only be enthusiastic and you cannot be anything but enthusiastic when your mind is totally in the present moment. 

Apathy is when you are away from the source of life. You should know that dispassion is not apathy; it is simply a broader perspective of reality. Dispassion is moving towards the source. Dispassion simply means the way back home. It is the journey towards the source, which is a reservoir of enthusiasm.

When dispassion and enthusiasm co-exist, that is the secret of perennial enthusiasm and profound dispassion. Though they appear to be opposite, they are actually complementary.

Sanyas means what? “I am nothing and I want nothing,” or “I am everything and I have everything.” It is being either colorless or multicolored.

Do not misuse knowledge

 

Do not use dispassion to push away the fire of longing for the Divine or for satsang. There is a little fire in you that propels you toward knowledge, sadhana, devotion and service but sometimes you use knowledge to put out that fire.

So-called dispassionate people are often morose and unenthusiastic. Often you will hear people say, “Oh, never mind, God is everywhere, Guruji is in my heart, I can do satsang anywhere. My seva is my sadhana, so there is no need to meditate. Anyway I am doing sadhana twenty-four hours a day. When God wills, He will call me to satsang and Advanced Courses again.” 

Such excuses should not be justified as dispassion. When you want to do some service, the mind says, “Oh, it is all maya anyway; everything is an illusion. It is all just happening. Things will happen when the time comes.” In this way knowledge gets misused and is quoted out of context to suit one’s convenience or laziness. 

When you use knowledge like this you miss a lot. This is when dispassion is detrimental. In the name of dispassion do not lose that spark of enthusiasm and interest. Keep alive the fire of longing for the Divine and for service to society.