Great Throughts Treasury

"All weaknesses are just fabrications of mind. If I am not happy with myself, how can you make me happy? It takes time to see that my unhappiness stems from myself and not from you. We love to blame others as the source of our unhappiness because that is how we feel good about ourselves. But when we go deeper, we realize that no one in the whole world can make us happy or unhappy. It depends on our own integrity."

"Any simple act is very, very great if you do it with love and oneness... The greatest art of life is to feel happy by making someone else happy and thereby realize the mystical thread of life. Be fearless, be disciplined, be meditative, and be self-less. That will make you happy and playful."

"Fear arises in two forms. Either you fear losing what you have, or you fear not getting what you want."

"Appreciate yourself for what you are, because whatever you have is not yours."

"Fear makes you selfish."

"Fear is attachment to security... Guilt and fear arise from a conviction you have accepted about yourself."

"The core of attunement is to do what you want to do and like to do; to do your best; and at the same time to celebrate yourself for doing your best. Your best could be doing the dishes."

"Freedom is spiritual. Divinity is the expression of integrity... Mind cannot find fun anywhere but God."

"Our philosophy determines the quality of our life.... how many times you go through those ups and downs you maintain your Divine changelessness."

"Serenity is a reality of every moment."

"Self-pity deprives us of the beauty of the past; fear deprives us of the beauty of the future; and jealousy deprives us of the beauty of the moment."

"You sow the seeds of your destiny through the way you think, the way you plan, the way you fantasize, the way you deal with fellow beings."

"Different religions are only signposts. In all religions the basic tenets are joy and compassion."

"If your life is not one-pointed, you cannot feel happy, fearless and powerful. You will always feel a little insecure, a little weak, a little distracted."

"Liberation is freedom from confusion."

"Our hope lies in the conviction that we are living and dying for love. The beauty is in the journey itself, the journey of love."

"Since every soul is looking for happiness and since happiness is really nowhere except in Divine Essence, every soul has to realize ultimately that it has been distracted. Then every soul has to retrace its steps so it can reach that Source of happiness which is both divine and universal."

"You know you are you, not because of your body, thoughts and feelings which are constantly changing, but because of the Divine Essence within you, which is changeless."

"East can learn from West how to be dynamic and active, while West can learn from East how to be content and serene."

"Giving up can be done mentally and intellectually at all times and in all conditions. In this, there is no question of today or tomorrow, or one or two days a week. You just consider the body, the mind and the intellect as belonging to the Param-Atman [Supreme Self], and as offering all these to Param-Atman. This is what giving up means."

"If you begin to be what you are, you will realize everything, but to begin to be what you are, you must come out of what you are not."

"Knowledge is not bound to any land or place. No place is favored. Knowledge is everywhere, all over. If certain types of people are prepared at a place, they will receive it. Preparation of mind is the only key to where this knowledge will descend. If people at a particular place take to the ordinary way of life, they will get ordinary knowledge. IF at a certain place people are preparing themselves for higher knowledge, certainly it will be available. No place is particular for knowledge. Anywhere, anytime, anybody who is looking for this knowledge must get it, because the Absolute is not for a single race, color, creed or nation."

"Knowledge is unlimited and available at all times. It manifests itself according to the needs of the time. It is only available when the need arises. The stream of love and truth is one, but man catches it in two different ways, by heart or by mind. By heart he means his love, by mind he means his knowledge. But in fact the stream of love and truth is always the same. It is always present in the world but people will only take as much as their destiny offers, or as they need."

"You are not those thoughts which are turning, turning in your mind, you are not those changing feelings; you are not the different decisions you make and the different wills you have; you are not that separate ego."

"Well then, what are you? You will find when you have come out of what you are not, that the ripple on the water is whispering to you 'I am That', the birds in the trees are singing to you 'I am That', the moon and the stars are shining beacons to you 'I am That'."

"You are in everything in the world and everything in the world is reflected in you, and at the same time you are That- everything."

"Advaita is an idea, a piece of knowledge."

"If there were no beauty in the observer then he would not find beauty outside. The mere fact that beauty is seen proves that there is beauty already present in the state of being the observer."

"If you begin to be what you are, you will realize everything, but to begin to be what you are, you must come out of what you are not. You are not those thoughts which are turning, turning in your mind, you are not those changing feelings; you are not the different decisions you make and the different wills you have; you are not that separate ego. Well then, what are you? You will find when you have come out of what you are not, that the ripple on the water is whispering to you 'I am That', the birds in the trees are singing to you 'I am That', the moon and the stars are shining beacons to you 'I am That'. You are in everything in the world and everything in the world is reflected in you, and at the same time you are That- everything."

"It is not my desire which has to be carried out. The desire, which has to be helped, is that which arises in people looking for the truth, wishing to acquire the divine life, and to make efforts in that direction; and so far as I can, I will always be ready. My door is always open to anyone, known or unknown, eastern or western, irrespective of his upbringing or culture, because in fact we all come from the same stock. As long as that desire and the decision are strong, permanent and stable, the help will always be available."

"Knowledge is not bound to any land or place. No places favorite. Knowledge is everywhere, all over. If certain types of people are prepared at a place, they will receive it. Preparation of mind is the only key to wear this knowledge will descend. If people at a particular place take to the ordinary way of life, they will get ordinary knowledge. If at a certain place people are comparing themselves for higher knowledge, certainly it will be available. No place is particular for knowledge. Anywhere, anytime, anybody who was looking for this knowledge must get it, because the Absolute is not for a single race, color, creed or nation."

"Knowledge is unlimited and available at all times. It manifests itself according to the needs of the time. It is only available when the need arises. The stream of love and truth is one, but man catches it in two ways, by heart or by mind. By heart he means his love, by mind he means is knowledge. But in fact the stream of love and truth is always the same. It is always present in the world but people only take as much as their destiny offers, or as they need."

"Love is wonderful, because anyone with love in his heart wants to see everyone in bliss, everyone healthy and everyone availing freedom. This is the state of a man who considers the world as his family. Such are the wise men, the great souls."

"Meditation is what makes any individual steady, peaceful and capable, because he finds his way to the Self, which is limitless, and holds all the treasury which the world is aware of."

"Who is Everywhere in Everything, always Shining Everywhere and in Everything, In and Out."