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By
Swami Sivananda
To shed the animal in man and to sublimate the human in him into the divine,
to express this sublimation in his daily, hourly, life in thought, word
and deed - that is truly divine life.
To speak the truth at all costs, to speak sweetly with
love, to practise non-violence, celibacy, to behold the Lord in all forms
is Divine life.
To be ever in communion with the Lord by annihilating
mineness and egoism through faith, devotion and self-surrender is Divine
life.
If you want to be a devotee of the Lord, you must also
realize the evils of undivine life. This will surely save you, Repetition
of the Lord's Names will purify the mind. But along with these you must
also practise vichara, When the mind entertains unholy thoughts, remember
the consequences, viz. pain, disease and death. Also think of the advantages
of leading a pure life. Remember the lives of saints and draw inspiration
from them. Pray to God for more and more strength. Read Ramayana, Bhagavata
and the Gita. All that is beautiful, all that gives some pleasure, appears
so because of the beautiful, blissful God who is behind them all. Real
beauty, real joy can be had only in God who eternally lives in your own
heart.
Every attempt to cultivate divine virtues, selflessness,
straight-forwardness, courage, serenity, generosity, mercy and self-restraint,
this in reality is Divine life or life in God. Ever keep up a balanced
mind in success and failures, censures and praise, honour and dishonour,
gain and loss, heat and cold. Give up identification with the body, wife,
children and all kinds of property. Identify yourself with the all-pervading
immortal blissful Atman and rest peacefully in Brahman.
Of all creations of the Lord, man alone can comprehend
and love God and attain to liberation. Really, man's knowledge should
embrace the whole universe. There is nothing in the universe that man
cannot know. It is the love of knowledge for its own sake, not because
it brings us food not because it enables us to practise a profession but
love of truth for its own sake. That is the destiny and glory of man.
Man's life must not be confined to the limits of his
family: but should take in the entire village or town, nay, the whole
state, the whole country, the whole earth and the whole universe. His
love must embrace the entire universe. Therefore, when he loves knowledge
for its own sake and his love is universal and boundless, then the mighty
protector God is pleased because man attains the summit of his glory.
The true goal of life is to get back to the source from
which we came. Just as the river flow restlessly till they join the ocean,
the ultimate source from which they got their supply of water, just as
fire leaps and burns furiously till it merges in its own origin, so too,
we should be restless here till we obtain His grace and become one with
him.
All is God: God is all. This world is your best teacher or Guru. There
is a lesson in each and every experience. Learn it and try to become wise.
Every failure is a stepping stone of your faith in God. Every disease
is a Karmic purgation. Every unpleasant incident is test of your inner
spiritual strength.
If you have faith and absolute trust in the Lord the
source for everything, your only deliverer, the only Reality, the power
within you the powerful fountain of eternal Bliss and joy, you are indeed
most blessed. He will surely take his seat in your noble and pure heart.
Think of the beautiful lotus flower within your heart. Everything that
comes your way is an expression of his beautiful grace. God is your Divine
parent, friend, guide, goal and support. He is your all. Faith in the
Lord will lead you to Him.
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