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Primarily, I wish to concede my incapacitation to offer any thing materially or spiritually tangible. But like christ told the woman by the well in john 4 13-14 on quote;
“Everyone that drinks of this well water will remain thirsty but whoever drinks of the water i will give him, will never be thirsty again. The water i will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to everlasting life”
The above quote was from Christ. No living being is at the level of Christ, but the merciful God has made his grace our common heritage, provided we are ready to offer the required sacrifice to access it and as it is well known, gold is not found on the surface of the earth. He who truly wants gold must dig deep. No other way.
This message is aimed at assisting us to have peace of mind that seems elusive to mankind and the pursuit of it appears to be our main occupation. The truth of the matter is that we are generally restless because we have let go the hands of the lord. Worse still, nothing in the creation can and will ever give us lasting happiness.
This is because we are imperceptibly souls, and being originally pure souls that we are, our real self is of divinity and imperishable. Therefore nothing in this world can ever give our soul any lasting happiness, because everything the ordinary eyes can see is perishable, beneath and inferior to the soul.
The cosmic law is:our soul can never find any enduring happiness in anything beneath it. Thus; seeking a lasting happiness in a world of duality is equated to seeking of nectar in a cobra’s venom. It is an utter impossibility.
The ready question then is: how did we let go the hands of the lord?
The answer is not farfetched. It is simply for the fact that we have reduced the lord to a mere doctor that we only remember when we have health challenges. Perhaps we are deeming the lord as a lawyer that we only need when we have a case to answer, or a mechanic that is only relevant whenever our vehicle develops faults. The list is endless.
Being our common pedigree, the lord is the very core of our being that we must be in touch with every moment of our lives. Were it not so, the messiah wouldn’t have stressed on the importance of ceaseless prayers as he admonished in the parable of the ten virgins narrated in mark 13 vs35 thus:
“watch ye therefore for you can never tell
when the husband man will come calling”
In forgetfulness of this injunction, we are compared with a child that follows the parent to a fair. At the fair,the child holding the parent’s hands or having the parent in view is fascinated by the lightings, dollies, games, lolies , candies and other trappings the fair has to offer. He continually feels the fun it is getting is all coming from the fair.
Fine we will say. Now let us imagine if by happenstance, the child lets go the parent’s hands, obviously, the child will become miserable at once. All the trappings of the fair are still there, but they have now become insipid to the child, upon letting go the parent’s hands. So with the situation with mankind. We are generally restless because, we have let go the lord’s hands. No respite for any of us, until we get a grip of our father-lord once again.
The good news is that the way about this is not lacking in any religion, provided we search for the truth in all the religions and embrace their truths only, as it is taught by the messiah in john 8 vs 32 that:
“Only the truth shall set you free”
Searching for the truth is very vital and is an individual thing. We should try to avoid what jesus cautioned against in matthew 15 vs 14 as:
“a case of the blind leading the blind”
While we individuality search for the truth for the purpose of adopting the truth only, it is not out of place to in the interim place at our disposal some axioms about life, until we are able to individuality access the unchanging truth. This is our goal in the coarse material plane. No more no less.
God is real
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To start with and to assist us, it is of essence for our peace of mind that we accept there is a creator and the world is going on according to his grand design. In other words, God has not created this world and lost the control of it. We need to bring this into our consciousness constantly to avoid being agitated by happenings and events in and around the world.
More so, what keeps the world running is the inviolable karmic laws. We may not accept it, the truth is, we are here harvesting the fruits of the seeds we planted previously. As we are harvesting, we are planting the seeds of what we harvest in the morrow in a manner a farmer can not repudiate the fruits of the seeds he has planted.
If any one argues about this, just ask him to explain the seeming imbalance that pervades the world . That is, if we are all arriving unto the world for the very first time, can we claim to have a fair God, when some have descended into the world with all kinds of deprivations such as bad health,even blind and crippled, some unable to make ends meet, while some seem to have a midas touch.
From a limited perception, the world looks unfair but believe it, we have a perfect God. Everything is karmic. We have caused our today with the choices we made before. What is going to happen tomorrow is contingent upon the choices we are making this moment. It is therefore circumspect to choose rightly this moment for a better harvet tomorrow.
Introspect to gain right direction
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Therefore to mitigate karmic effects of the past and to harvest better fruits in the morrow, it is advisable that we must discriminate at every stage. The noble rule is to discriminate between what is right,what is wrong,what is possible, what is not, in a particular situation, when we are challenged or tempted, we must remind ourselves of what is the course of action suggested by the wise men, by the scriptures, and by our own good conscience.
How have great souls reacted in like situation? Introspection at every stage is necessary to clarify the vision and to gain the right direction. A mechanical life where one follows the natural call of the senses and emotions is only to walk straight into the karmic trap of the negative power. In effect, if we do not discriminate, we are scarcely better than the animals of the lower species, simply because we cover our nakedness.
Becoming self-reliant
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The purpose of religion and indeed spirituality is to pay off our karmic debt not to add to it. On this we are to ever bear it in mind that another means of incurring karma is dependence on others even for basic needs. Dependence is karmic, it is pain, it is burdensome, while independence is bliss. Those who depend on others are at the whims of those they depend upon. Worse still,everything we collected we must repay here or within the continuum of hereafter, because nothing is free.
We are to shake off the lethargy of dependence on others. The lord has not created us to live on alms. In genesis 3 vs 19 i culled, by the sweat of thy brow you will eat. Were it not so, he would not have created us naked and with a better brain than that of the animals,for the purpose of fending for ourselves. Besides, everyone that renders us favours has a karmic credit against us now or in future.
Why should we be subservient to anyone? We should try as much as possible to be self-reliant. This we can achieve in so many ways. If we earnestly try, we will discover that there are many areas left in which we can excel and still maintain our self-pride. The truth of this matter is; the lord that created the billions if not trillions of mouths (which include mouths of the animals of the lower species) we have in the world had created also what will go into those mouths.
The irony according to the sages is that, people generally dont seek the food where the lord has placed it. We all want to copy the other. In this part of the world no one wants to do a menial job.yet, it is against the progressional rule to climb a tree from the top.
Discern and choose what is good not what is bad.
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We are to constantly discern between the worldly easy path and the way of the valiant . We will have to do this again and again, every time the mind tempts us to follow the lily-livered way of the world, to imitate others. This desire to imitate others is exceedingly powerful and over-powers even great men. We are thus asked to be ourselves and not the other person.to do this is to worry not about acquiring a car, especially, if we do not have the affordability.
What does it matter if all our friends or neighbours have, even a fleet?.
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We are to bother not about how to send our son to the states, simply because our neighbours or cousin have sent theirs to florida or oxford. Ask yourself so what? Equally,we are to remind ourselves constantly the true purpose of life is not in the acquisition of earthly things. The case of alexander the great should serve us a lesson. His last wish was that his hands should be made to dangle out of his coffin to show the world that with all his acquisitions, he was returning to the creator empty handed, the way he came.
Be wise as a serpent but be harmless as a dove.
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For our peace of mind, we are reminded to keep away from temptations of all sorts. We should not walk into places of temptations and then struggle to resist temptation. It will tax our will unnecessarily. Even if we succeed in resisting the temptation, it may leave a craving in the mind. Craving induces restlessness.
Minding our business
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Some of us try to interfere in the affairs of others with the feeling that they are wrong. But why should we be disturbed on that account? For our peace of mind, we should not criticize anybody or anything. God has not delegated to us the authority to sit in judgment over others. All men act the way they do because the spirit within them promotes them that way. We are all in this world as part of the evolution of our souls. It is a good rule to mind our business, so as to earn our peace of mind.
Mind your own business, is an excellent dictum to follow for the man who prices peace of mind above everything else. Nothing in this world requires our mind-boggling, there is a God that looks after everything. In fact, he looks after you and i as well. We should not forget this fact.
By all means, we should mind our business. We should not criticize anybody or anything. Criticism earns us heavy karma. Why? Because whatever happens, happens by the will of god. Why would we want to criticize the Supreme Being for whatever reason?
We are to remember always,nothing can happen without the concurrence of god. The fact that something has happened, no matter whether it is good or bad, from our point of view, is in itself proof positive that it has god’s approval. And if we criticize the happening, we are questioning the will of god, the wisdom of god, and the justice of god, we shouldn’t do that. We will do well to keep our peace.
Let us be humble
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God sees things by the whole, man sees things by parts. God sees happenings over the three periods of time. Man sees events only in the present, isolated from the past and the future. That is why man sees discord where God sees harmony. Man sees lack of logic, whereas God finds perfect logic.
Never take offence.
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We say others insult us without reason, injure us without cause. Even if that is true, it is not the insult that really matters but our reaction. We actually have little or no control over what is thrown at us, but how we react is up to us. If we react angrily, we have fallen victim to the person that insults us. Why not disappoint the person by not getting agitated.
We should maintain our equipoise in such situation. If we do, we will find out that calmness is a powerful weapon to overcome difficult situations. Therefore, shut your eyes to insults. Let others think what they like, say what they like. This is a world of ignorant people. Let us be wise instead.
We need to be humble in every situation.
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This will be possible if we give up the idea of inferiority and superiority and learn to see God in everybody and everything “God wills its so, so be it” we are to say this to ourselves and keep quiet in the face of insults. Be unruffled, if we put up with insults, we will grow in humility and purity, we will also advance spiritually.
Forget and forgive
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We should not develop ill feelings inside our heart against the man who has insulted or injured us. This is worse than open anger. This is mental cancer. We should not nourish grievances. Forget and forgive is the noble advice. This is not just an idealist maxim. This is the only way to retain our peace. The habit of nurturing our grievances is highly injurious to oneself. We will lose sleep. We will poison our sleep. We will poison our blood. We will develop blood pressure and end up a nervous wreck.
After all, the injury or insult was done to us once. Now it is past. It is all over. It is split milk. Why do we want to perpetuate the misery of that injury or insult by constantly remembering it? Why do we want to feed the dying embers of hatred and ill will? Is it not high foolishness? How can we worship God with a mind that is full of hatred.even dog does not sit in a filthy place. Prayer is nothing, but inviting the lord to sit in our hearts’ chambers.
We are not to aspire for worldly glory
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The easiest way to restlessness is to aspire for worldly glory or worldly recognition. This is the surest way to mental and physical stress. We are to remember, the people that say hosanna today are those that will be at the vanguard of “crucify him” tomorrow, when things are no longer at their fancy. The way about this is to try and be modest. Life is as simple as one makes it and as complicated as we program it to be. We are to read about the history of those who set out to leave their footprints in the sand of time. How many of them fell? And how only very few actually succeeded partially. In this regard, we will be prone to be accused of being lilly-livered. Worry not, if we are accused of threading the path of low resistance. What is there to resist anyway in a fleeting world – described as a bridge we are merely to pass through and not build upon.only fools aspire to build on a bridge. Be not one.
Purify yourself
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Are we fed up with our environment and we allow this to disturb our peace? For our peace of mind, we are not to bother much trying to change or alter the environment, instead, we should change ourselves for the better. We will then discover that the environment that has remained bad for us, perhaps for years will mysteriously begin to dance and change for the better. The more we grow in purity, the more congenial and harmonious our environment will become. This of course strikes at our attitude. In all situations, we must adopt the right attitude. We may not be able to change the course of events, but we can adopt the right attitude that will enable us maintain our peace of mind in all circumstances.
Reduce your wants
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We are not to multiply our wants and then feel like a beggar. Instead we should reduce our wants and feel like a king. Why should we enter a cloth shop and see many varieties presented before our eyes when we have enough clothing at home? Either we will buy unnecessary things, or feel sad, “oh, i don’t have this, ah, how i wish i could buy that” this is telling us that even the window shopping we all do causally creates a craving in us.
Peace of mind and material greed are incompatibles.
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they do not gel. We are to make our choice.
We must reduce our wants to the barest minimum consistent with modesty. The fewer the wants and possessions the greater the peace of mind. Possession gives pain. The point is so obvious that it needs no explanation. Let us use a public transport if we cant own a car. Live in a rented house if we cant possess our own house. What does it matter? Both the car and the house we will leave behind.
Some people suffer, not for lack of right knowledge or wisdom; but for lack of the willpower to exercise that wisdom in their daily life.
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if we want peace of mind, at once, we should stop doing all those things which we know we should not do and importantly, we should start doing only those things which we should be doing. This will set us on the right track, and when we are on the righttrack, God’s grace will flow into our life and make it more and more sublime. We will gain peace of mind and radiate peace all around us.
We must continuously practice faith, love,selflessness,charity and devotion. All these qualities, and virtues wouldn’t rise in us overnight, they have to be assiduously cultivated before they become a natural habit and an integral part of our being. This is the task before us.
Do not disturb the peace of others
If we hate others, if we injure others, if we abuse our servants, if we taunt our children or friends, if we ill-treat our wife at home and subordinates in the office, if we cheat people in business, if we do all these and much more and still expect peace of mind, we are asking for the impossible. Certainly, we do not deserve it. A man who disturbs the peace of others has no right to expect peace of mind for himself. So let us beware.
Peace of mind arises out of spiritual growth.
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it is true that spiritual life is an inward process, as well as an inward life. But it is equally true that such growth is greatly aided by external support and greatly marred by external incompatibles. We shouldn’t give up these powerful external aids. Rather, we are to resort to them purposefully for quicker evolution. When we have advanced enough, all the negative tendencies will drop off by themselves.
Do something positive
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We are to continually be doing something positive, something worthwhile. We are not to waste time in indecision “shall i do this? Or shall i do that?” We will spend days, weeks, even months and years – futile, mentally debating and end up doing nothing. We are to keep doing something good, all the time, we should allow no gap in our concrete activity. Let there be no spare moments, no wasted moments in our lives. Even a few careless moments can pull us down in life. We are to value our time and spend it most profitably.
Even if we are resting physically we must not keep the mind vacant. We should occupy ourselves in healthy reading or mental prayer. All havoc starts in the mind. Harsh words and evil deeds originate in the mind. If we can keep the source clean. The river of our lives will flow as crystal.
Doing things gives self-confidence. It does not matter if we fail the first time. We can rectify our mistakes and succeed the next time.
Do not purchase trouble
There is a term that is called “purchasing trouble” we should try not to purchase trouble. Rather, we are to cut down our external activities more and more consistent with our responsibilities. We should learn to spend more and more time in an inward life of prayer, introspection and meditation. Perfect peace of mind arises when the mind itself settles down. Mind means thoughts. Thought means restlessness. The lesser the activity, the fewer the thoughts, the fewer the thoughts, the greater the peace of mind. Thoughtlessness is the highest state where perfect peace reigns.
See obstacles as surmountable challenges
Some may get upset when they attempt to do something good and obstacles come in, it is natural for obstacles to crop up in the way of any good work. They come to test the mettle of the performer of the good work, they come to test our sincerity, our patience, and faith. We will experience that the stronger our resolve to do something worthwhile, the more powerful the opposing forces.
We must not feel frustrated,we must never give up, never yield
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We are to overcome the obstacles by faith in God and faith in ourselves. We cannot win laurels in any field without undergoing tests and tribulations, it is unfair to expect a degree while showing reluctance to study and unwillingness to undergo qualifying test.
If we fight shy of obstacles, then we can do nothing worthwhile in life, we will at best vegetate, but that is not living. True living must be purposeful. We must have goals to reach, ideas to strive for, and goals cannot be reached without encountering opposition. Opposition should not upset our peace of mind. It should strengthen our will to fight the battle of life heroically. This will be possible if we learn to accept the opposing forces as an inevitable part of phenomenal life, as unavoidable evil.
Never regret
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Never regret, we are to learn the lessons from our past experience. We are to remember the lessons, we should let the lessons guide our future actions. We should not brood ov8,er the past. Do not regret. If i had done that, i would have become this, if only i had, – it is all futile thinking, waste of time and energy, because worry depletes energy, worry itself is negative. The fact is, whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. It could not have happened in any other way.
Everything from the tiniest movement of a particle to the mightiest disturbances in the universe , everything in the past, present and future, every cause and every effect, has been ordained in certain way by the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent will of God, things happen as they are destined to happen. Whatever will be will be. No man has the power to alter the course of God’s will. Que sera sera is eternally true, universally true. To regret, to brood is to show our cowardice in the face of the inevitability of events, and to disturb our peace of mind for nothing. Wisdom lies in seeing the working of God’s will in every happening, and remaining at peace with ourselves and the world.
Grow spiritually
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When we are in utter despair, the advice is that we should turn to lofty scriptures. Reading the works of great souls will assist us greatly. Spend time in meditation, and long walks with repetition of the holy names. These are methods to revive our shattered mind and body and give ourselves a new joy and confidence.
We must never take to drinking or loose living, vainly imagining that we can forget our worries this way. Impossible, this cure is worse than the disease. Sleeping tablets? They solve no problem. They only perpetuate our weakness of will to face up to realities. Suicide? Utter foolishness. We will turn into a ghost. More troubles than being a human being.
Let your good thoughts gel with your action
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Once we have set an ideal for ourselves, we should begin to be true to ourselves. We should bring about a greater measure of co-ordination between our thought, word and deed. We should say what we think and do what we say. We are to shed all hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is a sworn enemy of the peace of mind.
On the material plane, we are to compare ourselves with those who are less fortunate than us, and on the spiritual plane we are to compare ourselves with those who are developed than us. This will induce in us material contentment and awaken in us spiritual discontent. That way lies progress and peace. But if we do the other way round, by, comparing ourselves with those who are materially more well-off and spiritually inferior – which many often do, it will cause us the disastrous effects of material discontent and spiritual pride. A sure way to hell indeed.
We are to talk only with purpose, and abstain from all unnecessary talk, we must speak measured words. Even innocent, well-meant words are atimes misunderstood and this produces discord. We must never go to advise any one on any issue, unless we are asked to. We should do all we can to mind our business all times.
Make others happy
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Are we utterly selfish, or do we see the needy as nuisance? A selfish man can have no peace. On the other hand, if we are selfless, if we serve others without motive, we will feel great peace and fulfillment at once. Sincere and motiveless service yields pure joy. Let us make others happy, we will begin to delight in their happiness. This is something which is open to everyone to experience. We are to serve others in a small way or a big way as is given to us. But we must serve without thought of reward or recognition. We must serve for the sake of service.we are to engage in service at every turn, whenever opportunity offers itself.
Limit your associations
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Let us stick to few tested friends. Do not multiply acquaintances. Do not try to become intimate with everyone. Familiarity breeds contempts. It disturbs emotions, and ultimately upsets the peace of mind.
Never argue
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Never argue, never enter into an argument. Why do you want to win an argument? It offers us no tangible benefit. It will only inflate our self pride, bruise the ego of other man and lead to ultimately friction between friends.
Let the other man hold his opinion. There are incorrigible idiots in this world who can never be convinced or made to be reasonable. In other words, we should not become mad ourselves in trying to resist a mad person. On this, we should remember the popular story of the man having his bath in a river.the mad man picked up his cloth and fled.without thinking it twice, the purportedly sane man who was having his bath jumped out naked and chased after the mad man to recover his cloth. The poser this created was,who was more insane between the duo?)
We are accordingly advised not waste our time and energy on ill-minded people. We will suffer exhaustion and earn enmity. Worse still, people may not be able to distinguish between the mad and the sane,once the sane descends to the level of the insane.
Positively, we are to do all we can to minimize life’s tragedies, but we should not worry an iota. Each individual is governed by his past karma (or call it retribution) and no one has the power to alter anyone else’s fate by so much as a hair-breadth. Even when ‘a’ seems to be helping or harming ‘b’, it is God (nay, it is ‘b’ previous karma) which is working through ’a’ and not ‘a’ himself. Once we have understood this, we will not worry about others or about ourselves. Worry saps energy and wastes time. It is timorous and lilly-livered. The man who worries displays ignorance of spiritual laws.
Gain God’s friendship
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No one is interested in you. We are to remember this point well. Therefore, we should not expect the world to rush to our rescue in every bad situation. It will just not happen. Be up and doing, with faith in God. If God supports you and all the world oppose you, you will succeed. But if we lose God and gain all the world’s support, we will yet fail. It is far better to aspire to gain God’s friendship. It is the greatest wealth. Once we have that, peace of mind is ours. We now have everything. Fear has fled. Anxiety has disappeared.
See God in all. Feel united in sprit with everything. We are not separate from the rest of the creation. God is just another name for that mysterious life principle in us. Call it life, call it consciousness, or call it existence. This mysterious principle is all – pervading, eternal, and one without cause and effect. Feel happy. Think, talk and walk in a manner befitting the grandeur of thy inner being – the God within you. Shed all meanness, crookedness, corniness and selfishness which are all the hall-marks of a degraded man. Feel one with all in spirit. Our life will begin to move along right lines. Our spiritual evolution will be rapid. We will have all the peace of mind that we want.
Obey the will of God
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Learn to accept, accept every happening in our lives as the will of God. “o lord! Thy will be done” – let this be our only reaction to every twist and turn in life. God is our real friend. He gives various experiences – good and bad – only to mould us, chisel us, shape us into an effective instrument for the working out of his will. Allow yourself to be shaped by his divine hands. Abandon yourself to his care.
Do not struggle. Do not oppose. Allow yourself to be tossed by God’s will. Have no individual ego. You can do this only if you recognize the existence of God and the will of God imperatively. Learn to see the absolute supremacy of God’s will over all human initiatives and endeavours.
Humility not weakness
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Humility is not weakness, it is strength. The more the humility, the greater the accretion to strength. Our lives will flow smoothly, and because we offer no resistance to God’s will, there will be no friction, there will be no failure too, because we do not attempt to achieve anything by our own choice and will. Our lives will turn out to be a tremendous success. Because God’s wisdom and strength will enter the vacuum of our being, having been emptied of our egoism, it will be filled in the same manner as air rushes into a vacuum and fills it. This is the law.
Believe utterly in the unreality of the world
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The fundamental mistake that people without peace of mind make, is to imagine that the whole world is made for their enjoyment, and that everything, and everybody in this wide universe, and indeed the whole world should blend to their plans. We must not try to extract enjoyment from this world. It is as silly as trying to extract nectar from cobra’s fangs!
There are times we will have to contend with disappointment, frustration, failure, and misery. Therefore,we are to see the world for what it is. The world is made for our experience, for our evolution. We are meant to grow wiser and spiritually richer with every experience. Experience is education. It is only the fool who thinks that this world is made for his pleasure.
Meditate
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Most importantly, to assist our peace of mind, let us spare time regularly in meditation. Apart from other advantages, meditation calms the mind and induces elevation of the soul . We should start our day with meditation and end it with it. We must not just wake up and hit the road like the animals do, without appreciating the one who has given us the privilege of another day. If we start our day with meditation, throughout the day, the tendency enhanced by the early meditation will persist in our minds all day. Our minds will be less extroverted, while the centrifugal tendency shall be largely curtailed.
Finally,
Let us learn to live in the will of god.
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On this christ said in matthew 6 vs 27 to wit; which of you for taking thought can add a cubit unto his stature.
Further to this;
We are to believe utterly in the unreality of the world. All the seers of yore have proclaimed in no uncertain terms, that the phenomenal world is only a dream world. And that phenomenal experience is only a dream experience. In unison the advanced souls expounded thus;
King solomon described the world as vanity
Christ admonished: lay up your treasures not upon the face of the earth, but in heaven where thieves cannot break through nor moth corrupt, for where lie our treasures, there our heart will be.
St. Kabir taught: nothing survives the ravages of time. Everything shall pass – only the word of god endures for ever.
Tusli sahib a muslim saint echoed : kalam-i-illahi or the word of god is your only true friend,every thing else in impermanent.
The great budha expounds: let go the world and let in the lord.
We are to remember, they said all these, only after personally experiencing the unreality of the world, and the reality of pure consciousness. They were no fools, nor are we wiser.
Ipso facto; when confronted with bitter experience, we are to tell ourselves: “all this is unreal. We are all pure consciousness. We are,because we are all spiritual beings, merely in the world to undergo human experience.this is for the simple fact that the Lord-God dwells in us all.
I thank you & God bless.
Aare (dr.) Kola Oyefeso FGPS, FCMA.
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