Alongside various sadhanas that Swamiji suggested can be practised to help us develop spiritually, he also gave a lot of advice about how to live a happy life. Here are some excerpts from satsangs that he gave over the years.
Swamiji talks about divine love
“The human mind is rather mysterious. It is a mixture of love, desire, anger, despondency, jealousy, devotion, lust, friendship, cunning and many other qualities. Depending on the circumstances, any one feeling may be more pronounced at a given moment. Human beings are overcome with confusion, distress and depression. Yet if love is given a prime place in life, they could save themselves from such misery. Through love people could safeguard themselves from negative feelings. Love should be pure and selfless. It should be based upon a humanitarian outlook. It should transcend all petty barriers such as nationality, language, religion and race. Love should be universal. We should understand that love is God. Let us pray to God with devotion to give us hearts wide enough to bestow love not only on our dear ones but also on the entire human race. Long live love! May the path of love flourish forever!”
Swamiji talks about how to deal with people’s negativity
“Other people are there to disturb us. When other people come and talk to you unnecessarily they always disturb your mood. They enjoy disturbing you. If someone comes to talk with you, you will be able to find out in a very short time what they want. If you can see that they are going to talk about an unnecessary subject then you should avoid them. If they are talking about doing seva, a spiritual subject or something useful like that then it is fine but if they are talking rubbish, avoid them. Many people have this bad habit. They want to disturb others and they enjoy disturbing others. There are many people like that. When they start talking you should realize that. You should think, “The disturbance party is approaching!” At the beginning the talk will be very beautiful and friendly, but then they start trying to disturb you so that you react. Such a person will try to make you feel crazy and then walk off. Then from far away they will check to see if they succeeded in making you upset or not. If you look annoyed then they will be very happy. There are many people like this worldwide. You must discern who to chat with.”
Swamiji talks about truth
“One may bathe, have a clean body and dress in clean clothes – yet only truth can clean the soul. One who is illumined by the everlasting light of truth has realized the spiritual goal. Thereafter, even if a person is surrounded by the day-to-day problems of worldly life he or she will not be affected by that same worldly life. Truth helps man to protect his soul, his real spirit, his true essence. Truth is whole and complete. It is primordial and transcends time and space. The power of truth, through its innate brilliance, is capable of wiping out the darkness that envelops the world.”
Swamiji talks about devotion
“Devotion is something very great. We can think of it as a pond, a river or even a well, but it is not like that. It is like a great ocean that is endless. Relax and don’t get tense. Try not to cry and become so emotional and feel angry. Try not to criticise others, don’t misunderstand others or speak about unnecessary things and gossip. When you do all these things, your devotion reduces. When devotion enters your heart you will start forgetting such things. Your thoughts will stop running here and there. Be flexible, simple and humble. Open your heart. Devotion will blossom.”
Swamiji talks about becoming mature
“If you want to become mature then you should never worry about what other people are doing. Instead, you should make sure that you behave correctly towards others. Respect everyone. Talk lovingly with others. Be humble and devoted. Come closer to me and closer to God. Don’t allow your mind to waver by paying attention to the silly lilas (lila is a Sanskrit word which means play) of other people.”
Swamiji talks about patience
“Giving time to things is the essence of patience. If the surface of water is disturbed, only time is needed for it to return to its former state of calmness. Likewise, it takes time to digest food or for a tree to grow. Natural processes take time. Taking time and keeping a level head has freed many from confusion. You can understand so much more if you are calm and collected. It does not matter if you are educated or a labourer, rich or poor. If you want peace of mind the essential ingredient is patience.”
Swamiji talks about joy
“Joy emanates from your inner heart. Once divine bliss overcomes you, it is something you cannot stop! It comes and envelops you completely. There is nothing in this world for which you should feel sorry. We are all going to die one day – why should you feel unhappy before your death? When you die, this life is finished, isn’t it? So, what is the purpose of living only in the intellect and being miserable? Live joyously before death comes. Everything that has a beginning must have an end. I am looking after you so that you can be joyous during the short period in between birth and death.”
Swamiji talks about desire
“Everyone born as a human being has desire. Every being created by God has desire. When desire overpowers someone it makes him dance to the tune of his feelings and emotions. Desires are caused by allowing the monkey mind to wander uncontrollably. It wants so many things. It wants a good name and a special position in life. Because of these aims, desires take control of you, causing you to always want to get more and more wealth, to be more well-known and other forms of ego-boosting. Considering all these desires, how can you discover what is actually genuine in yourself? Think carefully. Do you want to get more and more property? Why? Are you not secure with just a place to live in? Do you fear for your children’s future? Do you worry about what others think of your home? All this is maya, illusion. It will not help you on the spiritual path. You can’t take anything with you when you leave this earth except the grace that you have acquired during your lifetime. Control your thoughts with love. Don’t rush. Be steady. You cannot attain self-control overnight. It takes time. Lead your mind slowly and carefully onto the correct path. Ultimately, the surest way to control desire is to bring yourself closer and closer to the Divine. Then desire automatically and steadily falls away from you. There is no need to force yourself. Call for me and I will help you.”
