Do not neglect fire, illness, an enemy, a snake, and a sin on the grounds that it is small and insignificant. When they grow big, they are bound to inflict great harm. Therefore, hasten; do not hesitate.
Do not postpone this duty to yourself especially now when you have the chance of contacting Me. I do not find you offering Me the thing I look for; you always bring things, which are unworthy or impure. I feel very much when I find you so agitated and troubled when the cure is so near at hand. (Sens.SS, p. 47)
Only do not allow your faith to falter. Do not become a slave to others; no, not even to God. Test. Test, examine, experience and then, when you find God, demand as of right. But, before you get that right, you should appear for examination and pass.(SSS Vol.2, p. 85)
Have love towards all. Do not allow the weeds of pride and envy to hamper the harvest of peace. (SSS Vol.7, p. 392)
Krishna in the Gita declared against the worship of low Forces. Do not have low desires and seek low deities that cater to the fulfilment of these.Yearn for the highest wisdom, the highest bliss, the highest power, the Atma.Yearn for nothing less than the Highest; pray to the Sovereign Giver.(SSS Vol.7, pp. 292-293)
You should wear simple dress.Have a tender heart, and a sweet voice. Do not shout yourselves, while reprimanding others for speaking aloud.(SSS Vol.7, p. 426)
Do not grieve, nor, be the cause of grief. The very embodiment of ananda (God) is in you, as in others, as in all-else.(SSS Vol.7, p. 26)
Do not seek to find fault in others, give up Paradushana and Parahimsa, do not scandalise any one, do not feel envy or malice. Be always sweet in temperament, in talk. Fill your conversation with devotion and humility.(SSS Vol.5, p. 25)
Do not allow doubt to distract you; if you only install, in the altar of your heart, steady faith in My Divinity, you can win a vision of My reality.Instead, if you swing like the pendulum of a clock, one moment devotion, moment disbelief, you can never succeed in comprehending the Truth and win that bliss.(SSS Vol. 6, p. 173)
Do not hunger for comfort or riches; hunger for ananda. If you have faith and if you keep the name of Rama as a constant companion, you are in Vaikuntha or Kailasa or heaven, all the time. These are not distant regions that have to be reached by tortuous travel; they are springs of tranquillity that are in your own heart. You cannot have this chance the nearness of the greatest of all sources of joy in any other place. Here it is so near, so easy to attain, so full of grace. If you fall back, you will seldom get the chance again.(SSS Vol.4, p. 17)
Reform the body, reconstruct the mind; regulate the way of living, then the country will become automatically strong and prosperous. Do not wail that it is a mud if it contains nectar; it is far better than having a gold pot with poison in it.(SSS Vol.4, p. 57)
Limit your desires to your capacity and even among them, have only those that will grant lasting joy. Do not run after fashion and public approval and strain your resources, beyond repairs. Also, keep to your own dharma and the code of rules that regulate life or the stage you have reached. Do not place your needs first, your joy first. Consider the needs of others, the ananda of others, as even more important. Respect elders and cultivate cordiality between brothers and sisters, teachers and students, employers and employees etc.(SSS Vol.4, p. 71)
Let your love flow towards all; you have love, but, now, it is distributed selfishly and sparingly. Or at least, do not hate other people and talk ill of them or seek to calculate their faults. Do not feel sad or hurt when others are happy; try to share in their happiness and be happy yourself when those around you are.(SSS Vol.4, p. 156)
The procession to the cremation ground starts immediately on birth and the beating of the heart is the drum beat for the march towards that place. Some take a longer route, some reach there quickly, but all are on the way. Therefore Bhajan has to start in childhood and has to continue. It must be a constant companion of man, his solace and strength. Do not postpone it to old age for it is the essential food for the mind.(SSS Vol.1, p. 123)
When someone uses harsh words against you, do not allow your pride to persuade you to retaliate with harsh words of your own. When one of your fingers pricks your eye, you do not turn against it and retaliate, do you? The person who was harsh is as much you, as your own finger.(Sens.SS, p. 116)
You know the hand -
I know the hold.
Until you get the gift
don’t leave the grasp.
You prayed far something good
I overheard it.
Be praying, don’t stop
until you get the boon.
You asked for something
in your heart, I know it.
Don’t leave me until
I answer your need.
Whatever you like
I know them all.
But do not desert
before I plan.
At your persistence
I may yield at last.
In your despair
You may gain in the end.
Ask either this, or that,
but, never give me up!
To give up half way
is no devotion at all.
( SS May 87 , p. 132)
Above all, whatever your difficulties, whatever the ordeals you have to undergo, in any situation, do not give up God. God is one. Whether you are affluent or destitute, whether you are a scholar or an ignoramus, whatever troubles you may be faced with, whatever spiritual practices you may adopt, whether you are regarded as a sinner or saint, ‘Do not give up God and realise God is one’.(SS Aug 88 , p. 202)
Do not go after wealth and possessions, oh Man!
With good sense, control your desires
What you get is the result of your actions
With right means regulate your mind.
Chant the name of Hari and Govinda
Oh dull-witted man!
When Death knocks at the door
Kindred and scholarship will avail naught.
(SS Jul 88 , p. 177)
Do not seek to listen to vile and vicious stories, This tendency reveals a diseased mind. What is heard is imprinted like a carbon copy, through the ear, on the heart. One is injuring oneself through indulgence in this evil habit.(SSS Vol.11, p. 150)
Do not do anything which brings tears into the eyes of your parents. Honour them and obey them. Do not condemn them as old-fashioned; old is gold. They speak out of a longer experience of world and its tricks.
Do not expect God to satisfy your worldly or material emotions.
Do not feed the overfed, feed the hungry.(FDD, pp. D-16)
Do not lay claim to long life but to divine life; do not pine for more years on earth, but for more virtues in the heart.(FDD, pp. D-18)
Do not make God modern to suit your fancy; He is neither ancient nor modern; His countenance never changes, nor His glory.(FDD, pp. D-19)
God does not want anything from you, he never insists on you to do meditation or Yoga.He only wants you to fill your hearts with the principles of love and sacrifice. If you obey His commands with sincerity and devotion, He will take care of all your needs without your asking. The lives of Shabari and the bird Jatayu bear ample testimony to this truth.
‘O mind, do not ask for anything. Ask, and it shall be delayed. Do not ask, and it shall be granted soon. Did He not shower His grace on Shabari, who never asked? Did He not perform the last rites of Jatayu and grant him liberation, without his asking?’
So you do not need to ask God for anything. If you have purity of heart, He will Himself take care of you, just like a mother who attends to the needs of the child without its asking. Be like a child and the Divine Mother will take care of you. That is total surrender. Leave everything to the Will of the Mother. Do not ask for petty things lest you should lose Her proximity. The one who asks for food will be directed to the kitchen, but the mother will feed the child herself who cannot ask. Only those with ego and those immersed in worldly life ask. But the one, who surrenders himself to the Will of the Divine Mother like a child, will lead a peaceful life.(DD on 21.11.1999, p. 8)
Whatever the crisis, however deep the misery, do not allow your grip over the mind to get loose; tighten it further, fixing your eyes on higher Values. Do not allow the mind to stray away from the tabernacle of the heart. Make it bow before the Atma within.(LS, p. 100)
Do not brag about your learning,
Nor proclaim your affluence;
Don’t lose your head over your wealth,
Nor boast about your progeny;
Do not proclaim you are a donor,
Nor feel elated because your are Swami’s sevak;
Do not exult over your valour,
Or over your accomplishments;
When you win the approbation of a few
The Lotus – eyed Lord will bless you.
His feet are everywhere;
His eyes and Heads are everywhere;
With His ears in all directions,
Encompassing everything, stands the Lord.
(SSS Vol.24, p. 17)