Satchidananda
(1914 - 2002)
If you are easeful and peaceful, you will be useful.
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Nothing is ever taken away from you without it being replaced by something better. So why worry about losing something? It just means that you are going to get something better. You'll be even happier.
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The mind will try to trick you. It doesn't let you enjoy peace always; it creates some sort of vacuum making you want to run after things. Don't ever get cheated by your own mind. It's a tough fight, but the greatest victory is the victory of your own mind.
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Don't expect others to appreciate you because some may and some may not. If you depend on the appreciation of others it means you don't know yourself.
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Ask yourself this question: Am I doing this to my capacity? If the answer is yes, that's enough. There will be no need to look for appreciation from others.
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Truth is one, paths are many. Stick to one path, but do not say to others that this is the only one. Recognize all others paths and respect them.
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You don't always need to be the one to teach someone a lesson. You can forgive and forget, and then don't place yourself in that situation again.
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If you expect your happiness to come from anything or anyone, you will always be disappointed.
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Happiness is like your shadow. When your back is to the sun, no matter how far you walk, yo will never catch it. If you turn around and face the sun, then your shadow is always behind you and as you walk it chases you. Happiness is already within you as your won true nature.
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When you truly understand that happiness is within, you will stop having expectations an the resulting disappointments.
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You can bind yourself and liberate yourself. It's all in your hands.
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If you put yourself in the hands of God, God will never send a bad day to you.
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The person who can control their thoughts has nothing to be afraid of.
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There is a proverb: A word is a bird, once it leaves its cage it can't be brought back. A word is based on your thinking. You have to think properly. Learn to be aware of your thoughts.
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Contentment is not in what you have. It's in how you feel about what you have. And that is the secret to making everything golden.
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All anger is caused by fear and then depression follows.
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Whatever you cannot control, leave to God. Whatever you can, take care of it. Beyond that, it's all up to God. The advantage to this way of thinking is that you will remain calm.
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To see your Self clearly, the mind should be clean. That is Yoga. Eliminate all the modifications or waves in the mind. Create a thoughtless, crystal clear mind and then, like a mirror, it will reflect your Self clearly.
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The person who can control their thoughts has nothing to be afraid of and where there is no fear there is no anger.
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Having a steady mind, a balanced mind is what you call purity of heart.
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Problems come to you to test you. God will never give any test that you cannot pass.
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If we want, we can be happy under all conditions. Life has its ups and downs, but we should learn how to have a balanced attitude amid these ups and downs. Then life will be more easeful and peaceful and you will become more useful.
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Humility is the greatest virtue of a wise person.
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The best way to punish someone who has hurt you is to return goodness for hurt. Make someone who has hurt you ashamed of their deed by returning good to that person.
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The purpose of religion is to educate us about our spiritual unity.
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The best prayer is: God, let me remember You always. Your hand is everywhere. You do everything for me. Without You, even the atom could not move.
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The way life teaches us lessons is like a mother washing a little child: If you struggle and try to avoid getting cleaned, soap will get into your eyes and the mother will just hold you tighter and continue to scrub.
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Worrying about future means you are missing the present.
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The main reason to fall sick is stress. A stressful mind is full of "I want this, I want that," unkind thoughts, selfish thoughts.
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When anything comes to you, first ask yourself, "Will I be maintaining my peace by getting this, or will my peace be disturbed?"
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God can manifest in any form, with any name. You can worship God anywhere.
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The best spiritual practice in this age is mantra repetition.
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With a good, clean heart, you will see everything as beautiful. That is Divine Vision.
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If you meditate regularly, you will have no complaints in life.
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Give up everything, then you get everything.
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Atra du patra nil, utra du veedu. Drop your wants and you are home (enlightened).
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The goal of Yoga? To keep the mind totally free from anything that would make it lose its balance.
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To see how close you are to God, make a list of everything you call "mine." The longer the list, the further you are.
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Nothing makes you miserable; you make yourself miserable. Lift yourself up!
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Minds are different. Accept it. The problem comes when you want them to think the way you want.
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When you don't want anything, everything will want you. The secret? You can't just say that; you have you REALLY mean it.
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In the worldly sense, we are different people, with distinct personalities. In the higher understanding we are all one.
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Play your part without becoming that part. That is how spiritual awareness develops. By realizing we have an ego, but we're not our egos.
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Without control of the tongue - in eating and talking - we can forget about spirituality.
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Swami Satchidananda
