Contemplating upon divine qualities, performing good deeds and chanting are all ways of destroying delusion through satsang.
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.
A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves!
The present moment is indeed a ‘present’ from the Divine… Life as it is happening now, learn to appreciate it, rejoice in it.
To uphold righteousness, so supreme an act did he perform; he gave his head, but did not utter a word of sorrow. For the sake of righteousness, he did this great heroic deed; he laid down his life but not the principles… Guru Tegh Bahadur broke his earthly vase on the head of the Emperor of Delhi – and went to the abode of God.
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.
He who knows his soul knows this truth: “I am beyond everything finite; I now see that the Spirit, alone in a space with its ever-new joy, has expressed itself as the vast body of nature…I am the wisdom and power that sustain all creation.”
Success should be measured by the yardstick of happiness; by your ability to remain in peaceful harmony with cosmic laws.
