The human body is sacred – the veritable tabernacle of the divine spirit which inhabits it. It is a solemn duty of mankind to develop, protect and preserve it from pollution, unnecessary wastage and weakness.
The sincere devotee loves God deeply whether he is non-active and silently meditating on God, or in the midst of a whirl of outer activities.
Fasting in the monastic community is considered an ascetic practice, a “dhutanga” practice. Dhutanga means “to shake up” or “invigoration”. The Buddha, as is well known, emphasized moderation, the Middle Way that avoids extremes, in all things. Fasting is an additional method that one can take up, with supervision, for a time.
Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them. You will want to change them when you realise that each thought creates according to its own nature. Therefore, start now to think only those thoughts that will bring you health and happiness.
When you chant the Name, it actually moves through your whole being - purifying you, bestowing grace, and making you sacred…Chanting breaks down the barriers between you and your own heart.
There are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart.
A yogi who perceives his real Self as separate from his active senses and their objects never becomes attached to anything. He is aware of the dream nature of the universe and watches it without being entangled in its complex but ephemeral nature.
Flood your mind with love. Look into the eyes of the other and embrace the person with whom you have quarrelled. Words are not necessary. Both will have their eyes flooded, and the joy of tears will wash away all quarrels.
Human beings protect the purity of manmade temples. Similarly, looking after the sanctity of this human body, a temple created by God, should become a spiritual endeavour that is of utmost importance.
The ornament of the night is the moon, that of the day is the sun. The ornament of the devotee is devotion, that of devotion knowledge. The ornament of knowledge is meditation, and that of meditation is renunciation. The ornament of renunciation, says Tulsi, is pure, unalloyed peace.
