NPL - day 23
A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.
Socrates was born in Athens, Greece. One day he was given poison as some people did not like his teachings. The next day, in the afternoon. one of his disciples went and met all the people with a lamp in his hand and asked each of them, " Who are you?" Some replies, doctor, engineer, businessman etc.
The disciple said, "Socrates was always in sorrow as he could not find a single human being. Today I am also going around and even I could not find a single human being as everyone I met said they are doctors or engineers, not one single person said that he was a Human being!"
In life, Being holy is compared to a Purse and our nature is like a pocket. The whole world might be attracted towards our holiness but within ourselves, if we do not have respect for self, it is like an empty or torn pocket. Our life is incomplete even if one of them is absent.
There are four conditions in life:
1. Flower with Fragrance, Prayer with Love:
Love is like a beautiful flower which we may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.
There is a difference between Praying to God (प्रार्थना) and Asking or Begging God for something. Praying and Begging to God are both asking God for something but Praying to God to give us all the things that he has sacrificed, like bungalow, car, wealth, power etc is asking for all the things we desire. Praying to God to give us what he has attained is praying in the true sense. God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. We see God everyday, we just don't recognize Him. What is the goal of our life? What do we wish - Beg or Pray?
We should have the feeling of Oneness(अपनापन). Only then can we have the feeling of love with God and the feeling that "God is Mine".
For eg, A man built his bungalow. In the bungalow, he built one room for God. He told everyone whom he met that," The whole bungalow is mine and in that one room is for God" . One day his house was on fire. The whole house was burnt except God's room. He then started complaining to God and asked why God did not save his bungalow along with the room. He kept complaining, finally God appeared in front of him and said, " In the whole bungalow, I saved my room. If you had told everyone that the whole bungalow was mine, I would have saved the entire house."
Have we ever realized that we can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are we just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things we could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things – things which would be evidence to God that we are totally surrendered to Him.
Like the belongings (school bag, uniform etc) of a 5 year old school boy is his Parents property, but when a book falls from his bag, he says, " It is mine". The same way, disciples belong to their Gurudev, child belongs to their parents,.The wealth we have, we say is ours but never say it is God's. Why?
In life, our entry is made in the spiritual life only when we have love. A prayer without love has no fruits but we should not stop praying. Someday our prayers will be filled with love for God and then we will conquer the whole world.
2. Sweets with Sugar, Post with Humbleness:
Just like we don't like sweets without sugar, Power without humbleness if of no use. The first element of greatness is fundamental humbleness; the second is freedom from self; the third is intrepid courage, which, taken in its widest interpretation, generally goes with truth; and the fourth - the power to love.
To lift a bucket filled with water, we have to bend. Likewise, when power comes to us, we have to be filled with Humbleness.
For eg. A banyan tree bends down to give us shade, but a coconut tree grows so tall and never bends down to give shade. So to become truly great, one has to stand with people not above them.
We call a man happy if he has all luxuries in life, but we don't call a man who spends time in the temple for God as Happy. Why?
If even an ordinary man is able to come to us without fear, we can know that we have power with humbleness in us. If a son has to see his father's mood to talk to him then the father has failed in life. We all get our power and position in life, but do we have abilities in us to fulfill our duties? We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.
3. River with Water, Wealth with Generosity:
Make a pond filled with water and birds will come. Without water, a river is still called river but is of no value. Do we know of any river that has water but still never refuses to give water? Likewise, a wealthy man should have generosity in him. Kindness and generosity is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Generosity is freely sharing what you have with others. It is willing to offer money, help or time when it is needed. To be generous means giving something that is valuable to us without expectation of reward or return. The world is still surviving because of some generous people.
For eg. Sixty years back, a man named, Manaklal Chunilal Seth was famous for his generosity. He used to sit everyday from 5 pm to 6 pm and announced that any needy person can come to him during that time and their needs will be taken care of. So one day Gurudev's father and four others went to ask donation for their Trust. As they reached, the manager asked, " How much do you require?" Gurudev's father replied that he wanted Rs 500/- The manager was surprised that he wanted only Rs 500! The manager then said, " If it is a matter of only Rs 500/-, I will myself give as I have the permission to give. If you want more than Rs 1000/- you can meet my Seth" . A thirsty man would go to a river filled with water and similarly a needy person will go to a rich man for help.
For eg, A girl was about to get married. Her father asked about her choice and what type of family she wants. The girl replied that where she gets married and goes, she just wants a temple near by so that she can worship God everyday. She also wanted the Saints to come to her house for food (गोचरी). Such should be our generosity!
"With the river of wealth, we need the water of generosity".
4. Eyes with Vision, Mind with Wisdom:
Where there is no vision, the people perish."The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision." Likewise, mind with wisdom is necessary. Even donkeys, buffaloes, dogs have Mind, but do they have wisdom or sense? Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge; and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
In our busy lives, we have forgotten to enjoy nature - the blooming flowers, the lakes, the trees, the sunset, the sunrise, the rivers and sea's. We have no interest in Nature. Advanced technology has take it all away from us. Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them!
A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.
Socrates was born in Athens, Greece. One day he was given poison as some people did not like his teachings. The next day, in the afternoon. one of his disciples went and met all the people with a lamp in his hand and asked each of them, " Who are you?" Some replies, doctor, engineer, businessman etc.
The disciple said, "Socrates was always in sorrow as he could not find a single human being. Today I am also going around and even I could not find a single human being as everyone I met said they are doctors or engineers, not one single person said that he was a Human being!"
In life, Being holy is compared to a Purse and our nature is like a pocket. The whole world might be attracted towards our holiness but within ourselves, if we do not have respect for self, it is like an empty or torn pocket. Our life is incomplete even if one of them is absent.
There are four conditions in life:
1. Flower with Fragrance, Prayer with Love:
As fragrance abides in the flower,
As reflection is within the mirror,
So does your Lord abide within you,
Why search for him without?
Just like a beautiful flower is filled with its fragrance, our prayers have to be filled with love. Would we like a flower that is beautiful but has no fragrance in it? We always pray to God in our good or bad times. But does our prayers have a feeling of love for God. If heart is there, love has to exist. How will God accept our prayers that has no love in it? Does our prayers contain Love or Desire?
Love is like a beautiful flower which we may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.
There is a difference between Praying to God (प्रार्थना) and Asking or Begging God for something. Praying and Begging to God are both asking God for something but Praying to God to give us all the things that he has sacrificed, like bungalow, car, wealth, power etc is asking for all the things we desire. Praying to God to give us what he has attained is praying in the true sense. God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. We see God everyday, we just don't recognize Him. What is the goal of our life? What do we wish - Beg or Pray?
We should have the feeling of Oneness(अपनापन). Only then can we have the feeling of love with God and the feeling that "God is Mine".
For eg, A man built his bungalow. In the bungalow, he built one room for God. He told everyone whom he met that," The whole bungalow is mine and in that one room is for God" . One day his house was on fire. The whole house was burnt except God's room. He then started complaining to God and asked why God did not save his bungalow along with the room. He kept complaining, finally God appeared in front of him and said, " In the whole bungalow, I saved my room. If you had told everyone that the whole bungalow was mine, I would have saved the entire house."
Have we ever realized that we can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are we just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things we could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things – things which would be evidence to God that we are totally surrendered to Him.
Like the belongings (school bag, uniform etc) of a 5 year old school boy is his Parents property, but when a book falls from his bag, he says, " It is mine". The same way, disciples belong to their Gurudev, child belongs to their parents,.The wealth we have, we say is ours but never say it is God's. Why?
In life, our entry is made in the spiritual life only when we have love. A prayer without love has no fruits but we should not stop praying. Someday our prayers will be filled with love for God and then we will conquer the whole world.
2. Sweets with Sugar, Post with Humbleness:
To lift a bucket filled with water, we have to bend. Likewise, when power comes to us, we have to be filled with Humbleness.
For eg. A banyan tree bends down to give us shade, but a coconut tree grows so tall and never bends down to give shade. So to become truly great, one has to stand with people not above them.
We call a man happy if he has all luxuries in life, but we don't call a man who spends time in the temple for God as Happy. Why?
If even an ordinary man is able to come to us without fear, we can know that we have power with humbleness in us. If a son has to see his father's mood to talk to him then the father has failed in life. We all get our power and position in life, but do we have abilities in us to fulfill our duties? We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.
3. River with Water, Wealth with Generosity:
Make a pond filled with water and birds will come. Without water, a river is still called river but is of no value. Do we know of any river that has water but still never refuses to give water? Likewise, a wealthy man should have generosity in him. Kindness and generosity is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Generosity is freely sharing what you have with others. It is willing to offer money, help or time when it is needed. To be generous means giving something that is valuable to us without expectation of reward or return. The world is still surviving because of some generous people.
For eg. Sixty years back, a man named, Manaklal Chunilal Seth was famous for his generosity. He used to sit everyday from 5 pm to 6 pm and announced that any needy person can come to him during that time and their needs will be taken care of. So one day Gurudev's father and four others went to ask donation for their Trust. As they reached, the manager asked, " How much do you require?" Gurudev's father replied that he wanted Rs 500/- The manager was surprised that he wanted only Rs 500! The manager then said, " If it is a matter of only Rs 500/-, I will myself give as I have the permission to give. If you want more than Rs 1000/- you can meet my Seth" . A thirsty man would go to a river filled with water and similarly a needy person will go to a rich man for help.
For eg, A girl was about to get married. Her father asked about her choice and what type of family she wants. The girl replied that where she gets married and goes, she just wants a temple near by so that she can worship God everyday. She also wanted the Saints to come to her house for food (गोचरी). Such should be our generosity!
"With the river of wealth, we need the water of generosity".
4. Eyes with Vision, Mind with Wisdom:
Where there is no vision, the people perish."The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision." Likewise, mind with wisdom is necessary. Even donkeys, buffaloes, dogs have Mind, but do they have wisdom or sense? Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge; and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
In our busy lives, we have forgotten to enjoy nature - the blooming flowers, the lakes, the trees, the sunset, the sunrise, the rivers and sea's. We have no interest in Nature. Advanced technology has take it all away from us. Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them!
No comments:
Post a Comment