You would have observed a dancer making rapid movements with her hands and legs while dancing, but her attention is always focused on the rhythm. Likewise your mind should always be fixed on God while discharging your duties.

You might have heard the story of Rani Jhansi Lakshmibai. She had a small child. When she was left with no other choice but to go to the battlefield, she tied the child to her back, took a sword and waged a fierce battle with her enemies, riding on horseback. But all the while, what was uppermost in her mind was the well being of her child. Similarly, you must necessarily discharge your worldly duties, but at the same time your mind should always be focused on God. This is the meaning, of the maxim ‘Hands in the society head in the forest.’ You do not need to undertake any specific spiritual Sadhana. Whatever you do, do it as an offering to God. (SSS Vol.32 Part II, p. 159)

I am now giving you some selected jewels, maxims of conduct, that are very important. Collect and treasure them well. Experience them well, put them into practice and derive joy therefrom. Wear these jewels and beautify yourself.

1. Prema,Love, should be considered as the very breath of life.
2. The Love that is manifest in all things equally, believe that to be the same Prema is Paramatma.
3. The one Paramatma is in every one, in the form of Prema.
4. More than all other forms of Prema, man’s first effort should be to fix his love on the Lord.
5. Such Love directed towards God is Bhakti; that is the fundamental test, the acquisition of Bhakti.
6. Those who seek the Bliss of the Atma should not run after the joys of sense objects.
7. Satya, Truth, must be treated as life giving as breath itself.
8. Just as a body that has no breath is useless and begins to rot and stink within a few minutes; similarly, life without Truth is useless and becomes the stinking abode of strife and grief.
9. Believe that there is nothing greater than Truth, nothing more precious, nothing sweeter and nothing more lasting.
10. Truth is the all-protecting God. There is no mightier guardian than Truth.
11. The Lord who is Satya-swarupa grants His Darshan to those of truthful speech and loving heart.
12. Have undiminished kindness towards all beings and also the spirit of self sacrifice.
13. You must also possess control of the senses, an unruffled character and non-attachment.
14. Be always on the alert against the four sins which the tongue is prone to commit: (1) speaking falsehood (2) speaking ill of others (3) Back-biting and (4) talking too much. It is best to attempt to control these tendencies.
15. Try to prevent the five sins that the body commits; killing, adultery, theft, drinking intoxicants and eating flesh. It is of great help for the highest life if these also are kept as far away as possible.
16. One must always be vigilant, without a moment’s carelessness, against the eight sins that the mind perpetrates; kamam or craving; krodham or anger; lobham or greed; moham or attachment; impatience; hatred, egoism, pride. Man’s primary duty is to keep all these things at a safe distance from himself.
17. Man’s mind speeds fast, pursuing wrong actions. Without letting it hurry like that, remember the name of the Lord at that time; or attempt to do some good deed or other. Those who do thus will certainly become fit for the Lord’s Grace.
18. First give up the evil tendency to feel impatient at the prosperity of others and the desire to harm them. Be happy that others are happy. Sympathise with those who are in adversity and wish for their prosperity. That is the goal of cultivating the love for God.
19. Patience is all the strength that man needs.
20. Those anxious to live in joy must always be doing good.
21. It is easy to conquer anger through love, attachment through reasoning, falsehood through truth, bad through good and greed through charity.
22. No reply should be given to the words of the wicked. Be at a great distance from them; that is for your good. Break off all relations with such people.
23. Seek the company of good men, even at the sacrifice of your honour and life. But be praying to God to bless you with the discrimination needed to distinguish between the good men and the bad. You must also endeavour, with the intellect given to you.
24. Those who conquer states and earn fame in the world are hailed as heroes, no doubt, but those who have conquered the senses are heroes who must be acclaimed as the conquerors of the Universe.
25. Whatever acts, good or bad, which man may do, the fruits thereof follow him and will never stop pursuing him.
26. Greed yields only sorrow; contentment is best. There is no happiness greater than contentment.
27. The mischief mongering tendency should be plucked out by the roots and thrown off. If allowed to exist, it will undermine life itself.
28. Bear with fortitude both loss and grief; try and search for plans to achieve joy and gain.
29. Assume silence when you are invaded by anger or remember the name of the Lord. Do not try to remind yourself of things, which will inflame the anger more. That will do incalculable harm.
30. From this moment, avoid all bad habits. Do not delay or postpone. They do not contribute the least joy.
31. Try as far as possible within your means to satisfy the needs of the poor, who are really Daridranarayana. Share with them whatever food you have and make them happy at least that once.
32. Whatever you feel should not be done to you by others, avoid your doing such to others.
33. For faults and sins committed in ignorance, repent sincerely; try not to repeat the faults and sins again; pray to God to bless you with strength and the courage needed to stick to the right path.
34. Do not allow anything to come near you, which will destroy your eagerness and enthusiasm for God. Want of eagerness will cause decay of the strength of man.
35. Yield not to cowardice; do not give up ananda.
36. Do not swell up when people praise you; do not feel dejected when people blame you.
37. If among your friends any one hates another and starts a quarrel, do not attempt to inflame them more and make them hate each other more; try, on the other hand, with love and sympathy to restore their former friendship.
38. Instead of searching for others’ faults, search for your own faults yourself, uproot them, throw them off. It is enough if you search for and discover one fault of yours; that is better than discovering tens of hundreds of faults in others.
39. Even if you cannot or will not do any punya or good deed, do not conceive or carry out any papa, or bad deed. This is far preferable.
40. Whatever people may say about the faults that you know are not in you, do not feel for it; as for the faults that are in you, try to correct them yourself, even before others point them out to you.

Do not harbour anger or vengeance against persons who point out your faults; do not retort, pointing out the faults of those persons themselves, but show your gratitude to them. Trying to discover their faults is a greater mistake on your part. It is good for you to know your faults; it is no good your knowing others’ faults.

1. Whenever you get a little leisure, do not spend it in talking about all and sundry, but utilise it in meditating on God or in doing service to others.
2. The Lord is understood only by the Bhakta; the Bhakta is understood only by the Lord: Others cannot understand them. So, do not discuss matters relating to the Lord with those who have no Bhakti. On account of such discussion, your devotion will diminish.
3. If anyone speaks to you on any subject, having understood it wrongly, do not think of other wrong notions which will support that stand, but grasp only the good and the sweet in what he says. True meaning is to be appreciated as desirable, not wrong meaning or many meanings, which give no meaning at all and cause only the hampering of ananda.
4. If you desire to cultivate one-pointedness, do not when in a crowd or bazaar, scatter your vision to the four corners and on everything, but see only the road’ in front of you, just enough to avoid accidents to yourself. One-pointedness will become firmer if one moves about without taking one’s attention off the road, avoiding dangers, and not casting eyes on others’ forms.
5. Give up all doubts regarding the Guru and God. If your worldly desires do not get fulfilled, do not blame it on your devotion; there is no relationship between such desires and devotion to God. These worldly desires have to be given up some day or other; Bhakti feelings have to be acquired some day or other. Be firmly convinced of this.
6. If your Dhyanam or Japam does not progress properly, or if the desires you have entertained do not come to fruition, do not get dispirited with God. It will dispirit you even more and you will lose the peace, however small or big, that you might have earned. During Dhyanam and Japam you should not be dispirited, desperate or discouraged. When such feelings come, take it that it is the fault of your Sadhana and endeavour to do them correctly. It is only when in your daily conduct and in all actions you automatically behave and act in this manner and along these lines that you can attain the Divine principle very easily. Therefore, hold on to these maxims firmly. Chew and digest these spoken-sweets distributed on the Birthday Festival of your Swami and be happy. (San Vah, pp. 45-51)

1. Human society minus God is equal to a forest of brutes.
2. Seek out your faults and others’ merits. Seeking others’ faults is dire sin.
3. The aim of all religions is the attempt to kill the false I so that the real I, the Lord, will reign.
4. If animal feelings are washed out, Divine feelings begin to overflow instead.
5. You are in the Light the Light is in you; you are the Light.
6. You are the embodiment of God. Fill yourselves with the thought of your almightiness, your majesty and your glory.
7. Watch your words, actions, thoughts, character and heart.
8. Faith in ourselves and faith in God. This is the secret of greatness. For God is love.
9. Open the gates of wisdom, tear the veil of ignorance, enter the abode of Divine Bliss. Rest in peace forever.
10. The refinement of an individual is measured by the yardstick of sense control.
11. The heart with compassion is the temple of God. Start early, drive slowly, reach safely.
12. Make your life a rose that speaks silently in the language of fragrance.
13. Service without egoism pleases Swami The pure heart is the inner purpose of all disciplines. Trust is God.
14. The most desirable form of wealth is the Grace of God. He will guard you even as lids guard the eye. Do not doubt, this faith is Providence, is as the very breath of life.
15. Hear good things, see good, do good, think good, then you will get the Grace of God, as all the evil tendencies will be uprooted.
16. Your progress is reflected back as Grace. Your decline is reflected back as its absence. The mirror just reflects. It has no partiality or prejudice.
17. Love is God, God is Love, where there is Love, there God is certainly evident. Love more and more people love them more and more intensely.

Transform the love into service. Transform the service into worship. That is the highest Sadhana. (SA Vol.1)