December

01/12:

Man does not become fully human until he progresses on the spiritual path. Body, mind and spirit - these three together constitute the man. An animal is concerned primarily with looking after its bodily needs. Man is a superior being, since he has been bestowed with a mind. Cultivation of the spirit will elevate him to the Divine. The body, mind and spirit are intertwined and interdependent. Mind and body have to subserve the spirit in achieving awareness of the Divine.

02/12:
The world today is suffering from disorder and violence because people have lost Faith in the Self.  They are fostering attachment to the body and ignoring the spirit.  This is incorrect.   Whatever you do, deem it as God's work.  This can be applied to every ordinary act in daily life, whether it is sweeping the floor, cooking or cutting vegetables.  Every one of these acts can be turned into a spiritual exercise by the spirit in which you do it.  Install the Divine in your hearts and carry on your duties with devotion and dedication.

03/12 :
If you want to transform the world, to promote all-round prosperity in the country, pray that "All people should be happy."   For the prayer to become a reality, develop faith in the Self.  Never forget God.  All beings are manifestations of the Cosmic Divine.  The forms are different, but the spirit that animates them all is One, just like the current that illumines the bulbs of different colours and different wattage.  Cultivate this feeling of oneness and do not be critical of any faith or religion.  Dedicate your lives to the service of your fellow beings, thereby redeeming your lives.

04/12: 
The Sacred Sriptures declare that immortality can be experienced only through renunciation or sacrifice. This renunciation does not mean giving up hearth and home, kith and kin. It means giving up the transient and impermanent things of the world. This calls for discrimination between what is permanent and what is perishable, what is good and what is bad. Only then can man discover the divine principle within him.

05/12:
Righteousness dwells in your heart.  It is in your conduct, your thoughts, words and deeds.  When the impulses arising from the heart are expressed in words, that is Truth .  To put into action, such words arising out of purity, is Righteousness...Love in action is Righteousness.  Love in speech is Truth.  Love in thought is Peace.  Love in understanding is non-violence. Realize that God is in everyone and practice non-violence.

06/12:
You have to transform your life through service. You should give no room for arrogance or self-interest to the slightest extent in your service activities. Install in your heart the feeling that the service you render to anyone is service to God. Only then does service to man become service to God.

07/12 :
The old scriptures say that envy, greed, lust, anger are all source of diseases. One afflicted with these qualities may consume the most healthy food, but, it will not confer good health; he/she will suffer from various digestive and nervous troubles.  Therefore, one must cut dry the evil tendencies with the sharp sword of spiritual Wisdom.  One must pray to the Lord for His Grace, that will enable him/her to control and conquer the evil qualities.   With God's grace, one can be saved from contact with these evil qualities. 

08/12:
Despite aeons of evolution and considerable progress in scientific knowledge, man is not able to make significant progress towards the Divine because of absence of strenuous striving in the spiritual sphere. Without spiritual practice, reading religious books and listening to spiritual discourses have no value. Study of the Sacred Scriptures and reciting God's names may be good acts in themselves. But, if there is no love, which is the basis of all spiritual discipline, they are of no use. Love reinforces one's physical, mental and spiritual energies. Devotional acts without love are of no avail.

09/12 :
Do not make God modern to suit your fancy. He is neither ancient nor modern; His countenance never changes, nor His Glory. Present Him if you must in a modern manner, in a modern style, so that He might be understood today. If a child is reluctant to swallow a pill, insert it in a plantain and offer him the fruit; he will swallow both fruit and pill. But do not change the pill itself to suit the whims and fancies of the child's taste. Then the illness cannot be cured!

10/12 :
The most important element in man's existence is firm thought.  As are the thoughts, so is the speech.  As is the speech, so are the actions.  The harmony of these three will lead to the experience of Divinity.  Words come out of the heart.  They should be filled with compassion.  The heart is the abode of compassion.  It is the source of love.  Hence, whatever emanates from the heart should be filled with love.  That love should express itself in speech.  The flow of love in speech should find concrete expression in action.

11/12 :
Attachment presents never ending attraction towards objects. But it is very easy to renounce! Simply think: "Everything belongs to God. Nothing is mine!" This is the way to transcend attachment. You can say, "My home, my land, my wife, my child, my wealth, my car and so on, but bear in mind this: These are for use only, not for ownership. They are God's property. You must part with everything at death. So, gradually, decrease the idea of "mine." Experience the world with your power of discrimination. Use the world to engage in constructive actions, to walk the path of truth.

12/12:
What is it that men should acquire today? It is the broadening of the heart so that it may be filled with all-embracing love. Only then the sense of spiritual oneness of all mankind can be experienced. Out of that sense of unity will be born the love of God. This love will generate in the heart pure bliss that is boundless, indescribable and everlasting. For all forms of bliss, love is the source. A heart without love is like a barren land. Foster love in your hearts and redeem your lives. Whatever your scholarship or wealth, they are valueless without love. Without devotion all other accomplishments are of no avail for realizing God. Men aspire for liberation. True liberation means freedom from desires.

 13/12 :
Righteousness is the foundation for the welfare of humanity, it is the eternal truth. When the effulgence of Righteousness fails to illumine human relationships, mankind will become enveloped in the darkness of sorrow. Man must dedicate himself to Righteousness so that he may live in peace and the world may also enjoy peace. He cannot acquire lasting peace nor can he win the grace of God through any means other than by leading a right life.  

14/12 :
Even when you are engaged in your daily chores, you can convert them into worship of God. While you are sweeping the floor, you can deem it as clearing your heart of all impurities. All work should be done with a pure heart filled with devotion, just as cooking must be done in a clean vessel. Whatever good you may do without a genuine feeling of love is of no use. It is love in a pure heart that transforms work into worship.

15/12:
Like the wind that covers everything with dust, desires and attachments cloud the mind. They have to be kept away so that the splendour of the self might merge in the splendour of the Higher self, the God. The process of purifying the consciousness of man in the crucible of single-pointed thought, speech, feeling and activity directed towards God, will rid him of all blemishes and defects. When the inner consciousness has been rendered pure and unsullied, God will reside therein. Then man will experience the vision of God within him.

16/12 :
Welcome all the blows of fate, all the misfortunes and miseries, as gold welcomes the crucible, the hammer and the anvil, in order to get shaped into a jewel, or as the sugarcane welcomes the chopper, the crusher, the boiler, the pan, the sprayer and the dryer, so that its sweetness may be preserved and used as sugar by all.  Chosen devotees never demur when disasters fall thick upon them.  They will be happy and remember the Lord, and cling to Him.  The Lord too, rushes to the help the devotee faster than the devotee can get to Him.  If you take one step towards Him, He takes a hundred towards you.  He will be more than a mother, foster you from within you and save you.

17/12:
Each one should ask himself the question: spiritually realized persons were also persons like me; they were also embodied beings. When they could attain perfection, can I also not succeed if I follow their method? What profits me if I spend time in discovering the faults and weakness of others? Therefore the first spiritual endeavor is to search for the faults and weaknesses within yourself and strive to correct them and become perfect.

18/12 :
Anger and hatred can be used to ward off the evil that stalks the spiritual aspirant. Be angry at the things that hamper you. Hate the habits that brutalize you. Cultivate the supreme knowledge and visualize the Lord in all beings, things and activities. That will make your human birth worthwhile.

19/12:         
For establishing oneself in the contemplation of the omnipresent Lord, there are no limitations of time and place. There is nothing like a holy place or auspicious time for this. Wherever the mind revels in the contemplation of the Divine, that is the holy place. Whenever it does so, that is the auspicious moment.

20/12:
The education that does not confer modesty and wisdom is a sheer waste of precious time.  Whatever else you learn or do not learn, equip yourself with the strength that is necessary to be virtuous.  Resist the temptation and the lures of the objective world.  Wisdom is, not the cleverness that is given inordinate value today, but the capacity to see things in their proper proportion.  One must also have the attitude of reverence to the past, and also to the elders who are the repository of spiritual wisdom and experience that one must acquire. To make life sweeter, deny yourself of many desires and you will find that you have become tough enough to bear both good fortune and bad.

21/12 :
Man must always proceed towards strength; he should not take to untruth, wickedness and crookedness, all of which denote the fundamental trait of cowardice. This cowardice is born out of accepting an inferior and false image of oneself. You believe that you are the husk, the outer covering. But, truly you are the kernel, the core. This false identification is the fundamental mistake. All spiritual effort must be directed towards the removal of the husk and the revelation of the kernel. So long as you say "I am so and so", there is bound to be fear, but once you say and feel "I am God", you get unconquerable strength.

22/12 :
Ignorance can be removed by acknowledging the universality of God and the merging of your individuality in the Universal. First practise the attitude of "I am yours" .  Let the wave in your heart discover and acknowledge that it belongs to the sea. This first step is not as easy as it seems. The wave takes a long time to recognize that it is the vast sea beneath which gives its existence. Its ego is so powerful that it will not permit it to be so humble, as to bend before the sea. But hold on to this thought like the kitten clings to its mother, moving plaintively for succor and sustenance, and all trace of ego will be removed. This step finally leads one to realize that there is no duality, all is one!

 23/12:
Love God with steadfast devotion and faith, have fear of sin and practise morality in society. If you want morality in society, you should develop love for God. If you love God, you will have fear of sin. Today people without fear of sin commit heinous acts. This contradicts the very nature of humans. The body is a house given to you on rent. The owner is God. Live there as long as He wills, thanking Him and paying Him the rent of faith and devotion.

24/12:         
Life is a long garland of blossoms, fair and faded, fragrant and futile. They are, so to say, the good and bad of life. Man recognizes only the blossoms, happy over some, unhappy over most; he does not see the string on which they are bound together, the everlasting and ever-fresh principle of divinity that holds all the short-lived flowers together. Just as sparrows during a storm fly towards a warm shelter, man too, must take shelter in the Divine principle to escape from the storms of life.

25/12:
One's life is meaningful only because he can use it to see God. The goal of life is the final merging in the sea, God.  You should not fill life with the world. That will make it a vanity fair, an insanity fair. Listen to all such things that will draw you towards the principle of Godhead; then, think it over in the silence, make it a part of your consciousness. This process of reflection makes you a human being. This is the test of life for every human being.

26/12:
Jesus was a Master, born with a purpose - His mission was to restore love, charity and compassion in the heart of everyone. He had no attachment to the self, nor paid any heed to joy or sorrow, loss or gain. He had a heart that responded to the call of anguish and he went about the land preaching the lesson of love. His life was dedicated for the upliftment of humanity...When Jesus proclaimed that he was the Messenger of God, he wanted to emphasise that every one is a messenger of God and has to speak, act and think like one.

27/12:
When boring is done to draw water from the bowels of the earth, the pipe has to be kept free of air so that the water will rise up. If the air enters, the water cannot rise up in the pipe. So too, be sure that attachment to worldly things does not mar your spiritual effort. Love will not rise up if sensual pleasure or personal pride invade the mind.

28/12 :
Those who wish to establish themselves in Divinity must seek solitude, practise meditation and repetition of God's name at specified times, acquire one-pointedness through these practices, and be always engaged in deeds for the welfare of all beings. They should always be engaged in performing work without any concern for the fruits thereof.

29/12:
The Divinity in everyone prompts them to stick to the truth and moral values. Some hear even its whisperings; others listen only when it protests loudly. There are others who are deaf to this prompting, and a few are determined not to hear. Some may ascend a plane, others may travel by car or board a bus.  Believe me, all have to be guided by it, sooner or later. All must reach their destination some day or other.  Do your part sincerely. You  only have to listen and obey to be saved.

30/12:
 The joy you seek and the Self-realization you aim at are both within you. They cannot be found in the external world. This condition is similar to that of a person who begs for food on the street even though there are sweets and delicacies in his own home. You imagine that the world and its objects confer happiness on you. This is an illusion created by your mind. It is only when you follow the discriminating intellect that you will be able to enjoy true peace and joy.

31/12:
The family life that you lead is a good training ground.  It is the Field of Spiritual Practice. When you are found fault with, do not fly into a rage. Examine your own conduct and discover the faults in yourself. Self-Examination is the first step to Self-Improvement and peace. Do not exaggerate the faults of others, but give them a wide margin and see them as small. Exaggerate yours - see them big and strive to remove them fast. Take all your faultfinders as your friends and well-wishers, for they give you warning signals in a timely manner.