If somebody praises us and if we have any humility we will feel totally like a fool.
Real compassion means to understand what the needs for body, mind and soul are.
In 1958, my father invested everything he had in a business venture and became the largest automobile dealership in Chicago for Ford’s new Edsel line. But Edsel sales plummeted and my father fell into bankruptcy. I watched him struggle; working long hours to protect us from poverty.
Trying to be happy in this world is the greatest illusion.
A tree will stand in the scorching sun to give shade to others. A tree will bear the freezing cold of the winter and give wood to create heat for all. A tree will silently even give up its life to give its body to build a house for others to stay comfortably. That is tolerance.
His eyes twinkled as he smiled. “Love everyone, serve everyone, and feed everyone. Serve like Hanuman without selfishness and greed. This is the key to realizing God.
Krishna tells Arjuna in the Gita that whether you win or lose is not important. What is important is that you perform your duty with the right attitude.
Whenever you possibly can, sustain the flow of the Holy Name. To repeat His Name is to be in His presence. If you associate with the Supreme Friend, He will reveal His true beauty to you.
Real self-confidence is not based on our achievements or our successes in this world but it is based on the fulfillment of who we are, what our purpose is, and what we represent to ourselves, to our families, and to the world around us. If a person has such self-confidence, then he can generate faith and confidence in others.
Just serve every creature in God’s creation with humility, respect, and love.” Or, “Just sing the names of Rama and everything else will be attained.
When one does not have wisdom, one behaves like a leaf of a ‘touch-me-not’ plant, which shrinks its leaves at the slightest touch of a drop of water. The drop of water is compared to calamities that come into our life. When one becomes like a ‘touch-me-not’ plant, one becomes sensitive to even small provocations. One starts whining at small things, shrinks when calamities come and blasts those who touch him.
One path may appear in different forms, but the Kingdom of God is the goal we all share. It is the men of small minds who create confusion.
Perhaps, I thought, the miracle of being an instrument of kindness is the most powerful of all.
The world oscillates endlessly between pleasure and pain,” she continued. “There can be no security, no stability here. These are to be found in God alone.
One path may appear in different forms, but the Kingdom of God is the goal we all share. It is the men of small minds who create confusion.” He released my hand and affectionately patted my head. “Do not be troubled my son. You are sincere. God will guide you.” His words touched my heart.
I have discovered that God’s love manifests in different ways to different people. There are saints in the various spiritual traditions who sacrifice their lives for the love of God and goodwill toward man.
We asked an old monk sitting beside us to explain. “Here, we contemplate the impermanence of the body and its attachments. This helps us to overcome the temptations of the flesh and seek refuge in the Kingdom of God.” We listened carefully. Deeper in the catacombs, a group of skeletons wearing monk robes pointed to a sign that read: “As you are now, we used to be. As we are now, you will be.
The cause of all suffering is when we forget our identity with god. That is called Maya, or illusion. God is everywhere. You need not search to find him. If you call him with sincerity, he will reveal himself to you. God sees within the heart not the externals. There must be no duplicity. You may wander through the jungles your whole life, but god is within your heart. When you meet him there, you will see that he is everywhere.
If we understand the underlying cause of what we think of as bad in someone, instead of being hateful, we will be compassionate. For is not every soul inherently good? A saintly person will hate the disease but love the diseased.
Mother Ganges teaches us that if we want to attain the sea of our aspiration, we must persevere in our goal and never be discouraged by the inevitable obstacles that come on our path. All impediments are like rocks in the river of life. We should flow around them and never give up. With the Lord’s help, there is always a way. As.
To grow may require that we be shaken right to our core.