Morning Prayer to God

O Lord of this world, prostrations unto Thee! Thou art my Master, real Mother, real Father, real Friend and Guide. Protect me. I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy Will be done.

O adorable Lord, salutations unto Thee! Give me a pure intellect. Give me light, strength, health and long life. Make me a good celibate.

O Almighty Lord, remove all my weaknesses and evil qualities. Make me pure and virtuous. Make me obedient, loving and courteous. May I remember Thee always.

Night Prayer to God

O sweet Lord, forgive me for my sins and wrong actions. I thank Thee for all Thy gifts. Thou art so kind and loving. Let me always repeat Thy all-powerful Divine Name.

O all-merciful Lord, make me dutiful. Give me success in my school work. Make me a good, brilliant child. Adorations unto Thee!

O Lord, give me good memory. Let me love all. Let me love the flowers, birds and animals. Let me serve all. Let me see Thee in all beings and creatures. Protect me, my parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends. Glory unto Thee, O Lord!

Prayer During the Day

O sweet Lord, I am your little child. You are my real Father and Mother. Guide me. Teach me to be a good, obedient child. Teach me to be kind, humble and gentle. Teach me to speak sweetly. Teach me to speak the truth always. Protect me when I am in danger or am being tempted. O Lord, when Thou art near, why should I fear?

Inspiring Sayings

VIJAYA: Sir, will you be kind and gracious enough to tell us something about prayer? There are so many books written on the subject and so many talks given by preachers on it that I find it all a bit confusing. Will you kindly simplify it for us?

TEACHER: True prayer, my children, is really thinking of or communing with the Lord at all times. Perhaps in the beginning, one asks God for many things. This is but natural, because He is our true Father, Mother, Friend and Guide. So we do not hesitate to approach Him for fulfilling our desires.

As we think of God and call upon Him more and more, as we rely upon Him and surrender to Him, our prayer becomes pure and unselfish. Then we cease to ask Him for anything, because we realise that He already knows what is good and necessary for us. We then love God only for the sake of love. This is pure love.

KRISHNA: Sir, how is it possible to love God if we have not seen Him?

TEACHER: It is very simple, my child. It is so simple that you are likely not to believe it. The truth is that all that we behold in this universe, all its beings and creatures, is nothing but the form of God.

VIJAYA: How is that possible, Sir? How can He become all these things that we see with the physical eyes? You always tell us to see God in all names and forms. How can this world be God?

TEACHER: My child, can something come out of nothing?

VIJAYA: No, Sir, that is impossible. Something cannot come out of nothing.

TEACHER: Then you agree, my dear, that something can only come out of something?

VIJAYA: Yes, Sir.

TEACHER: Then you agree again that this world, which is something, could only have come out of something. In other words, that something out of which this world has come, is God. Therefore, in essence this world is God, is it not?

VIJAYA: Sir, I am forced to agree with your argument because it is so sound and logical.

TEACHER: My child, is the iceberg different from the ocean? No. It is nothing but the ocean. It has come out of the ocean and will go back into the ocean. It is nothing but a form of the ocean. So also, all this creation of God that we call the universe, has come out of Him and will ultimately dissolve in Him.

SOHAN: Sir, you have simplified your answers by giving us such beautiful analogies. Now we know that this world with all its beings and creatures is nothing but the form of God.

KRISHNA: Sir, now we understand more clearly why we should not hurt another or cheat another, because, as you have always said, when we hurt or cheat another, we are really hurting and cheating God or ourselves.

TEACHER: That is perfectly true, my child.

VIJAYA: Sir, coming back to prayer, please give us a simple technique that will enable us to think of God all the time during the day.

SOHAN: The technique you give, Sir, must be such that it can be practised anywhere, not only in our prayer room or in a place of worship, but even in a supermarket! Even there we must be able to remember God, is it not?

TEACHER: Yes, my child. The sure and easy technique that never fails is to repeat His Divine Name at all times. Select any Divine Name from the holy scriptures and repeat it mentally at all times. Repeat it especially before you commence your studies, before you eat, and when you go to bed. If you repeat the Divine Name before you fall off to sleep, you will get up in the morning repeating it. You will even repeat it in your dreams.

KRISHNA: Sir, it is difficult to repeat the Divine Name while concentrating on other things, like mathematics, for example.

TEACHER: It is difficult, no doubt, but not impossible, my child. Through much practice the Divine Name will ring in the mind without a break. It will not interrupt your work in any way.

SOHAN: Sir, how does the power of the Divine Name work?

TEACHER: It works just like the power in a seed. The power in a seed is locked within it. In order to make this power active and bring forth a tree, we have to plant the seed and water it. The latent power in it breaks forth into a tree.

In a similar manner, as we go on repeating the Divine Name, the mystic power latent in it enters into our being and brings us peace, bliss and joy.

VIJAYA: Sir, in times of danger, will the Divine Name help us?

TEACHER: Of course, it will. There is not a shadow of doubt about its potency in times of danger. Saints and devotees of God have proved its power at such times. When you are confronted by an assailant who is likely to harm you, the Divine Name will instantly throw him back. The Divine Name will protect you from all fear. It will help you to overcome depression. In your school work, too, it will enable you to concentrate and remember better.

KRISHNA: Sir, then repeating the Divine Name at all times is the best form of prayer, is it not?

TEACHER: Yes, my child, it is the best form of prayer. To such repetition you must add faith and self-surrender. You must cheerfully accept all the problems, tests and trials in life as coming to you by the Will of God. There will be unbroken peace, joy and happiness. Life will then become a song.

VIJAYA: Sir, one question has been nagging me all the time. Why did God create this universe?

TEACHER: (laughing) Why should He not? Why do you wish to tell God what to do and what not to? All this creation is His Divine Play. If you get close to Him through the kind of prayer I have suggested, you will understand His play, and not until then, even if you rack your brains.

VIJAYA: Sir, even though we sometimes drive you into a tight corner with our childish questions, you are able to wriggle out of it easily and smoothly!

All laugh heartily.

SOHAN: Sir, today you have given us the key to unlock the door to bliss, peace and happiness.

TEACHER: That is God’s gift to you, my children, for your sincerity and love for spiritual knowledge.

KRISHNA: Thank you, Sir, for answering our questions in such an interesting and simple manner.

TEACHER: May God guide and protect you, my sweet ones!

KRISHNA: Sir, in my readings during the last few days I often came across the expression “service of man is worship of God”. You also mentioned it in passing during our talks. Will you kindly explain it to us more fully?

SOHAN: Sir, I too, was a little puzzled when I heard this expression mentioned by Krishna in the course of our discussions, because we usually associate worship with some holy place, like a temple, church, mosque or our little shrine at home.

TEACHER: My dear children, the expressions “service of man is worship of God”, “work is worship”, “service is worship” all mean the same thing. These terms are being used more frequently by modern saints. If you accept fully the concept that the whole world is the form or expression of God, as I explained to you earlier, then it is easy to understand that service of man is really worship of God.

SOHAN: Sir, now the expression is becoming somewhat clearer to me. But please explain to me the need to perform this kind of worship, when we can more readily go to a holy place and contact God by praying and singing Divine songs and repeating His Name. We can perform worship of God even in our little prayer room or shrine at home and reach God instead of serving others.

TEACHER: Yes, my child, that is perfectly true. That kind of worship is necessary, but if our concept of God is so wide and broad as to embrace the whole world, why not perform His worship in all names and forms of the world as well?

SOHAN: Sir, my argument is whether there is any real necessity for this kind of worship when we can reach God without it?

TEACHER: This is a beautiful question, my dear. There is an absolute necessity for this kind of worship. This worship of God by means of selfless service is especially important during the early stages of one’s journey towards God.

Remember, my child, that the vision of God can only be had when the mind is perfectly pure. This purity of mind means the absence of all negative qualities like lust, anger, greed, jealousy, pride, selfishness, etc. The heart and mind must be filled only with Divine qualities, like love, mercy, truthfulness, courage, etc.

KRISHNA: Sir, could we not destroy negative qualities and develop the Divine ones by means of prayer in our home shrine or at a holy place?

TEACHER: Yes, that is quite possible. Prayer and daily worship at home will enable you to achieve purity of mind, but how will you know that you have attained all the Divine qualities that I have mentioned? How will you know that you are free from the negative qualities if you do not test yourself by engaging in some kind of selfless service?

SOHAN: Sir, I see some light now. I see what you mean. For example, if we do not perform selfless service we will be unable to realise to what extent we have developed the quality of love or mercy or tolerance, to what extent we have conquered anger, lust and greed.

TEACHER: Exactly so. Only in the field of service will you be able to get a good idea of the contents of your mind. For example, you may feel that you are very religious and pious and a great devotee of God, but if a poor beggar appears at your door, you may turn him out without hesitation. But if selfless service of God is also part of your method of worship, you will instantly see the Lord in that beggar and serve him with all love and affection.

KRISHNA: Sir, will not our worship of God become a mockery if we rudely turn a beggar away when we have all the means of giving him something?

TEACHER: Perhaps it will, my child. That is the beauty of selfless service. The great advantage of it is that you will be able to test your spiritual progress more easily. The gains and losses, successes and failures, praises and insults, and setbacks and trials that you encounter while performing selfless service will enable you to purify your mind quickly, more quickly perhaps than worship at home. Without such purity of mind the Divine Light of God will not descend in our heart.

KRISHNA: Sir, what about those who serve in hospitals or those who do social work? Why do they not have the vision of God. Is their work not worship of God, Sir?

TEACHER: You have raised a very important point, my child, a point which is crucial to remember while engaged in selfless service so that it may become worship of God. If the inner Divine feeling is absent while you perform your service to God, then naturally, it will not bring the desired results and not take you nearer to Him.

SOHAN: Sir, what is that inner feeling, may we know?

TEACHER: Do those who serve the sick in hospitals and those who engage in social work have the feeling that they are serving God, and God alone, in the sick and the poor?

This then, is the first important thing to remember if you wish to convert your service of others into worship of God: to feel that you are serving the Lord, and the Lord alone, in all those names and forms. This feeling must always fill your heart and perfume your actions.

The second important point is to remember at all times that it is God’s power that is working through you.

The third most important point is not to expect any kind of reward, or name and fame, or even gratitude, for the service you render to others as such. If name and fame and applause come to you unasked, you should remain serene in mind and feel that they belong to God only.

The final thing to remember is to render every such act of service to the highest degree of perfection. It should not be done in a careless, slip-shod manner, just because you are not getting any reward from it. Since it is worship of God, it must be done flawlessly and with full concentration of mind. In such service, punctuality, regularity, truth, kindness, love and all other virtues will come into play.

Gradually, not only service of others, but every act you do will become an act of worship. Even sticking a stamp to an envelope will become worship, as you will dedicate that act to God. Then you will understand fully the meaning of the term “work is worship”. This is the last and final stage of perfection in service.

KRISHNA: Sir, this is indeed a beautiful kind of worship of God, because it can be practised at all times. It does not have to be confined only to a holy place or the shrine at home.

SOHAN: Sir, worship of God by means of selfless service seems easy enough, but it may be difficult to keep up the Divine feelings you have mentioned, because we will have to encounter many problems during our service activities.

TEACHER: My child, it is because it is very difficult and challenging that it is worth practising. Moreover, if you kindly reflect a while, you will readily agree that it is lack of this kind of selfless worship of God, and our failure to see Him in all names and forms, that is the root cause of all the disharmony, hatred, jealousy, intolerance and killing that we find in the world. The end result is that there seems to be no limit to man’s suffering and misery.

KRISHNA: Sir, everyone these days talks about peace, harmony and love, but still these values are not to be seen in the daily lives of the people.

TEACHER: My child, love is not a word to be talked about. It has to be put into practice and selfless service is truly love in action. God alone can bring peace and harmony into our lives. But we do not allow Him to do so, because we fail to see Him in all names and forms and to serve Him as such.

KRISHNA: Sir, what is the difference between worldly love and the love that we get in worshipping God in all names and forms?

TEACHER: In worldly love, my dear, there is attachment, there is passion, there is expectation of something in return. This kind of love is confined to a narrow circle. Worldly love very often ends in pain, sorrow, suffering and misery. Divine love, on the other hand, is love without expecting anything in return. It is love for the sake of love alone. It is love of God in man. Such a love gives of itself freely and with great joy.

My dear ones, if you try to see God in all names and forms, will you hate another? Will you look down upon another? Will you be jealous of another? Will you be quite intolerant of another’s religious beliefs or his ways of living? Will you try to harm, rob or kill another? Will you sneer and find fault with another? No, you will certainly not.

SOHAN: Sir, worshipping God by means of selfless service seems to be one of the most potent methods of bringing about peace, love and harmony in the world, is it not?

TEACHER: Yes, my child, its potency is sure and certain.

The joy of selfless service has to be experienced to be believed. In such selfless service, you will lovingly serve the poor and needy, you will gladly share what you have with others, your heart will melt at the suffering of the sick. Remember, my sweet ones, that it is God alone who moans in pain, it is He alone who pleads for a morsel of food, it is He alone who moves about even in the garb of a drunken man. Open your inner eye, dear ones, and behold Him in all. This is true worship of God. This is the last and final truth of life.

VIJAYA: Sir, how to get about performing this kind of worship of God?

TEACHER: Join some service-oriented organisation, my child. There are many organisations that are rendering service in this selfless spirit. You will gain experience and make rapid progress. Visit institutions caring for the poor and needy. Extend your service even to animals, birds and plants. Make an immediate start, then see the rich gifts of peace, joy and happiness that you derive from such service.

May you all, who are God’s Spiritual Darlings, expand your heart to embrace His entire creation! May His Grace pour upon you all! May you see the Lord in all names and forms—even in animals, birds and other creatures—and worship Him by means of pure selfless service! This is my gift to you today.

VIJAYA: Thank you, Sir, for your love and blessings upon us this evening.

BE GOOD, DO GOOD Good, Do Good: Take immense delight in serving others, in doing good to others. There is a peculiar joy and bliss in doing selfless service.

Expand. Purify your heart. Live in the true spirit of selfless service. Live every second for the ideal and goal of life. Then and then alone will you realise the true glory of selfless service.

In this fascinating series of articles you will learn about the wonderful world of thoughts. You will learn how they operate and how to master them.

Thought is indeed a great force. It is at your disposal all the time. If you sincerely wish to improve this world, it is not necessary for you to appear on a public platform and give lectures to people. You have to simply purify your thoughts. There is nothing more powerful than a pure thought. You can change the whole world by means of your pure, noble and positive thoughts.

Your mind is like a radio set. It receives and sends out numerous thoughts. From where does it receive them? And where do your thoughts go to?

A person whose heart is full of love and peace, sends out thoughts of love and peace. Such thoughts of love and peace travel with great speed in all directions. They enter the minds of people everywhere and produce in them similar thoughts of love and peace. On the other hand, one whose mind is full of revenge and hatred, sends out harmful thoughts, which enter the minds of thousands of others and stir in them similar thoughts of revenge and hatred.

When you throw a stone into a pool of still water, it will produce a succession of concentric waves travelling around from the point where the stone fell into the water. In the same manner, when a thought—whether good or evil—crosses the mind of a person, it gives rise to vibrations in the mental atmosphere. These vibrations travel far and wide in all directions throughout the world.

Thus we see that we are actually living in a boundless world of thoughts. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that thought alone is the whole world. If the mind, which is the cause of all thoughts vanishes, then the external objects will also disappear from the world around us.

This at once teaches us a simple lesson: It is our mind that decides whether someone is an enemy or a friend, whether we should experience sorrow or joy, whether something is bad or good. Each one of us creates our own world of evil and good through imagination. The sweetness of sweets or the sourness of lemons does not lie in the object itself but in our minds.

Our thoughts bind us thus. He who can control thoughts is a veritable God on this earth.

MARVELS OF THOUGHT VIBRATIONS

As we have seen, thoughts can be sent from one person to another. You are surrounded by an ocean of thought. You are floating in the ocean of thought. You absorb certain thoughts and repel others.

Every thought that you send out is a vibration which never perishes. Its vibration affects every particle of the universe.

Suppose your thoughts are pure, holy and noble. They will set other minds with similar thoughts to vibrate in sympathy with your own thoughts. So without knowing, all those who are like you, take the thoughts you have sent out, and in return send out similar thoughts. The result is that even without your knowledge, you are setting in motion great forces that will work together to weaken the bad thoughts sent out by wicked and selfish people.

There must have been a time, for example, when you lost your temper with a friend. Did you ask yourself why it happened? The reason for quarrels, even between friends, is that each one has his own way of thinking and understanding, just as each one has his own unique facial features and voice. No two people look identical; even so, no two people think alike. When you are not able to understand the views of somebody else, friction very often arises. Tempers flare even amongst those who are close to each other. Their friendship does not last long.

The way to overcome this problem is to get in tune with the thought vibrations of the other person. This may sound difficult but it is not so. What causes our understanding to get distorted and our mind clouded and confused? It is jealousy, anger, hatred, passion and selfishness. These harmful thoughts produce distorted images in the mind and ruin our understanding.

So if we always entertain thoughts of love, nobility, friendliness and purity, then we will easily get in tune with the thoughts of others.

THOUGHTS HAVE TREMENDOUS POWER

Thought has very great power. Thought can heal diseases. Thought can change the way people think. It can do anything. It can work wonders. Its power cannot be imagined.

Not all thoughts have the same power. The most powerful thoughts arise in a person who is pure. The thoughts of the sages of yore were so powerful that they influence people even to this day. They are firmly recorded in the ether.

If the food we eat is pure, the thoughts also become pure. He who has pure thoughts speaks with power and produces a deep impression on the minds of his listeners. He influences thousands of people through his pure thoughts.

A pure thought is sharper than the edge of a blade. Therefore, always entertain only pure and sublime thoughts. In order to do this, you have to study very carefully the sections in this series of articles on how to cultivate good thoughts.

Thought is the greatest force on earth. It is the most powerful weapon in the armour of man. A pure, noble thought transforms, renews and rebuilds. It is much more powerful than electricity. Thoughts control our lives. They mould our character and shape our destiny.

Notice how a single thought expands into many thoughts within a short time. Suppose you get an idea to have a party for your friends. The one thought of “tea” at once invites thoughts of sugar, milk, cakes, biscuits, tea-cups, tables, chairs, napkins, table-cloth, etc.

The whole world is nothing but the expansion of thoughts. When thoughts expand outward towards the objects of this world we are led to bondage. The reverse process of giving up thoughts, or renunciation, leads us to peace, freedom and bliss.

Thoughts are like things. Just as you can hand over an orange to your friend and take it back, in a similar manner you can send out a useful, powerful thought to your friend, and also take it back.

Every thought has weight, shape, size, power, colour, form and quality. A sage who has perfect control over his thoughts can see all this directly with his inner eye. This power can be developed by all.

Suppose your mind is perfectly calm and entirely free of thoughts. Then, as soon as a thought arises, the mind at once assumes the form of that particular thought. Every thought that we are likely to have, can in some way be connected with a name and form.

Form, name and thought are inseparable. Wherever there is one of the three, the other two are also present. Wherever there is name, there you will find that form and thought are also present.

Thoughts also have colour. For instance, a loving thought has a yellow colour. A thought charged with anger and hatred is of a dark red colour. A selfish thought has a brown colour. Sages can see these colours in the aura of a person.

Every thought has an image. A table is a mental image plus the external object that we call by that name. Whatever you see outside has its counterpart in the mind. How is it that the image of a big mountain seen through the tiny little eye appears in the mind? This is a marvel of marvels. The fact is that the image of a mountain already exists in a potential form in the mind. The mind is like a canvas sheet that contains the imprints of the pictures of all the objects seen outside.

THE WORLD: A PROJECTION OF THOUGHT

If you now carefully think about all that you have read so far, you will realise that this whole world is only a form of your own mind. This indeed is a great discovery. It takes us to the very heart of the purpose of our life. The central aim of all the different spiritual practices is to purify and control this mind, which is nothing but a storehouse of the mental impressions that you have generated.

Thoughts compel us to act. The activity creates fresh mental impressions, and new thoughts are born in the mind. Thus, an endless cycle of thoughts and actions is set in motion. Spiritual practices strike at the very root of this vicious cycle. How does it do it? It checks, controls and stops the main function of the mind, the thought process. When thought is fully controlled, then knowledge of God dawns upon us.

Thoughts have the power of creating or destroying the world in the twinkling of an eye. The mind creates the world according to its own thought. It is the mind that is the root cause of the tree of worldly existence. If we learn how to control our thoughts, we can destroy this tree at once and free ourselves forever.

Usually you store up a great deal of useless information in your mind. You should learn to unmind the mind. Unlearn whatever is of no use to you. Then only can you fill your mind with Divine thoughts. You will gain new mental strength when all the scattered rays of the mind are collected and utilised for a useful purpose.

Collecting the scattered rays in this way is no easy task. You need to have great patience and a strong will to succeed. But the effort is well worth making. You will be bathed in the ocean of bliss when all thoughts have subsided in the mind. This state cannot be described. You will have to feel it yourself.

Just as fire is absorbed into its source when the fuel is burnt out, so also the mind is absorbed into its source—God—when all thoughts have been fully destroyed. This wonderful state is called by many names—God-consciousness, Kingdom of God, etc. This is the final goal of all human endeavour.

Lincoln, the boy, was tender. Lincoln, the youth was sympathetic and Lincoln, the man, was merciful. History abounds with the humaneness of this great soul, and his life proves that humanity and humaneness go hand in hand.

Abraham Lincoln, a past president of U.S.A., was the friend of every creature of fur and feather, and we are told that he was especially devoted to his dog, Honey. He found this dog one very hot day when he was on his way to the old mill with a sack of meal to be ground.

The dog had a broken leg and had been abandoned by its owner. Leaving the heavy sack of meal for the time being, Lincoln picked up the little dog and carried him to a nearby spring, where he bathed the injured leg and gave him fresh water to drink. Then he took him home and put the leg in a splint and made a nice, clean bed for him in a shady place. The two became devoted friends.

Honey accompanied Lincoln on all of his errands and would stand by patiently until each task was completed. They would go blithely home through the woods together, Lincoln whistling a merry tune and the dog running back and forth in a perfect frenzy of joy.

One time, when they were out walking together, Lincoln got caught in a cave between two rocks. He could not free himself, and Honey, sensing the danger, ran home and barked so loudly and furiously that a search party at once accompanied him to the cave and his master was rescued.

Whenever Honey did wrong, Lincoln would reprove him kindly and gently, for he realised that animals, like human beings, often do wrong because they do not know any better, and that gentle words and kindness will correct the fault when harsh words and accusations fail.

Honey trusted and loved his master because of his tender kindness, and Lincoln in turn prayed each night that God would make Honey a good dog.

Lincoln’s childlike prayer had an irresistible appeal—”God help mother, help father, help sister, help everybody; help me to read and write. Watch over Honey and make him a good dog, and keep us all from getting lost in the wilderness. Amen.”

It will be recalled that the Lincoln family migrated from Kentucky to Illinois with numerous families. They made the journey by ox team, travelling as far as possible during the day and camping near a stream or other water supply as evening came on. One morning, after a night beside a wide but quiet and shallow creek, the cavalcade awoke to find that a slight skim of ice had formed during the night and spanned the surface of the creek from shore to shore. One by one the families drove their teams through the chilly waters until all had crossed.

Then a little yellow dog rushed down to the edge of the water on the far side of the stream. While the camp had been breaking up, this little dog had gone into the woods and had not noticed the departure of the pioneers. When he did return, all had gone. Not daring to cross, he began to beg help by barking, but not one had time or cared to wet his feet for a dog. There were already too many dogs in the camp.

No one had time for this four-legged little creature, at least no one but a lank little fellow known as Abe Lincoln. He heard its cries. Try as he would, he could not stop his ears to the plaintive call. So amid the derision of his fellow travellers, he removed his boots, rolled up his trousers, and waded across to the other bank. Gathering the little dog in his arms, he quickly returned and resumed his place in the pioneering band.

All through life, Lincoln stood ready to defend and protect the helpless. On one occasion he came upon a pig that was stuck in the mud. It had wandered out into a soft meadow and, despite its struggles, was sinking deeper and deeper. Lincoln had on his best clothes and at first determined not to bother about the pig, but after he had passed by, he was overwhelmed with pity for the poor beast and went back and rescued it, although his clothes were almost completely ruined by the slime and mud.

Another time, as a young lawyer, Lincoln was travelling on horseback with several of his companions through deep woods and across wide prairies. As they passed a grove of trees, joyous with the song of birds, they noticed a fledgling which had fallen from the nest. They continued on their way, but had gone only a short distance, when Lincoln got down from his horse and, going back to the place where the helpless bird lay fluttering on the ground, lifted it tenderly and placed it on a branch near the nest.

When he rejoined his companions, one of them chided him for delaying the whole party for what he considered a mere trifle.

“My friend,” Lincoln replied, “I can only say this: that I feel better for it. I would not sleep tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.”

On another occasion, when visiting General Grant’s headquarters during the Civil War, he was attracted to three motherless kittens crawling on the floor. He took them up tenderly, soothed their piteous crying, and instructed one of the staff officers to see that the little waifs were given plenty of good milk and treated with the utmost kindness. Lincoln had occasion to return to that office three or four times afterwards, and each time he looked for the baby kittens and fondled them tenderly.

Kindness was ever the watchword of his nature, and his associates were startled again and again in the stress of battle, or in the confusion of his exacting political activities, to see him do some simple, kindly act toward man or beast.

Mothers whose sons were sacrificed in the war had much evidence of his kindness, tangible and otherwise. Children who were made fatherless by the great struggle touched his heart strings and moved him to tears. Helpless himself, in the midst of their helplessness, he carried on what he knew to be a fight for humanity, but he suffered keenly withal, and could never seem to shake off the burden of another’s sorrow. No one can read the Gettysburg address without feeling the humaneness of this great soul.

The big female camel lay dying in the corner of the dirty yard. Lack of food and hard work had taken their toll, and the baby camel which had been born to her in the night had taken away all the strength she had left. It lay sprawled in the mud beside her, half its body in one of the many puddles made by the heavy rain of the night. Weakly the mother tried to draw her baby towards her but failed. She lay back, breathing with difficulty.

The row of half a dozen other camels, all tethered in the yard, looked on without concern. Perhaps they did not even notice the mother camel and her baby. Their own troubles would come all too soon.

An hour passed, and the men who owned the camels came to collect them to travel on to their port of call. A big, stout man with a beard bent over the female camel, and straightened himself with a grunt of annoyance.

“Dead,” he said tersely. “I thought she wouldn’t live the night.”

His voice showed annoyance but no concern. He was soon joined by a younger man with protruding teeth.

“What about the young one?” asked the latter.

“Dead, too,” replied the other, turning the baby over roughly with his foot, but not bothering to look more closely.

“Then, better get off quickly,” advised the younger man, “otherwise some sweeper may soon come along and tell us to remove the bodies.”

Suiting his words to action, he quickly saddled his own camel, and within a few minutes, the whole line of camels was once again on the move.

Meanwhile, the baby camel lay motionless on the cold damp ground, unconscious of the dirt or the smell, or the flies which settled on the wound made by the man’s rough shoe. She was waiting now to rejoin her mother in death.

Only a few hundred metres away, a human mother was weeping without restraint. She was returning from the river Yamuna, where the ashes of her only son had just been thrown. Vijay, aged twelve, her most beloved child, the light of her eyes and soul, had his short life ended by the carelessness of a taxi-driver, who had not even stopped after the accident.

In vain her husband tried to console her. And the seven year old girl at her side wept in sympathy with her mother.

“Vijay, Vijay!” sobbed the distraught mother. “What shall I do, now that you are gone? Who will plough the fields when your father is too old, and who will care for us when we are no longer able to work?”

At last, her husband, unable to take leave from his work any longer, walked ahead, while the sobbing woman and her child slowly followed behind him.

It was the child who saw the baby camel first, as they both took a short-cut through the yard. She let go of her mother’s sari and ran to investigate. At first sight she thought that it was a dog. Seeing that it was a baby camel instead, she ran back to her mother, excitement quickly drying her tears.

“Ma, ma!” she cried excitedly, tugging at her mother’s sari, “it is a camel, a tiny baby camel.”

But her mother was too wrapped up in her own grief to pay any attention and ignored the child.

“Ma!” the child tugged harder. “It is a baby camel and it is sick. If Vijay had been here he would have helped it.”

At the mention of her son’s name, the woman’s attention was aroused.

“What did you say?” she asked in a dazed voice.

“Vijay—Vijay would have helped her, helped the baby camel,” insisted the child, quickly seizing up her advantage. “Vijay always helped sick animals and birds. Vijay would not have left a baby camel to die without trying to help it.”

By this time the woman’s attention was fully aroused.

“A baby camel?” she asked. “Where?”

The child quickly led her to it and pointed, “Here it is,” she said. “Do you think it is dead?” she asked anxiously, as her mother stooped down and laid her hand on the little cold body.

“I’m not sure. Wait.”

The woman felt with kind hands and was soon rewarded by a slight tremor coming from the heart.

“No, he is still alive, but only just alive. Hurry, quickly to Shankarji’s fruit shop and ask if we may borrow his barrow for half an hour.”

The child needed no second bidding and was off like the wind, while the kindly woman lovingly massaged the small, cold body of the baby camel with her expert hands, to bring back the circulation.

In less than ten minutes the child was back with the barrow. “I brought a sack as well to cover him up,” she cried eagerly.

It did not take long for Renu and her mother to push the little camel to their farm. There, warmth, massage and warm milk did all that was necessary to bring the baby back to life.

The farmer was amazed at the change in his wife, from whom he had expected tears for another month.

“Why you want to bother so much about that baby camel I cannot understand,” he once remarked mildly.

His wife looked up and met his eyes. “It is what Vijay would have wished,” she answered simply. And the farmer turned his head away, for he knew that it was true.

Day by day the baby camel’s health improved, and he was now Renu’s devoted playmate.

“I am going to call him Kaju,” she announced. “It was the name of Vijay’s pigeon, and it brought luck when he sent it to race for him. Perhaps this new Kaju will bring us luck, too.”

Her father grunted mildly, “H’m! It’s more likely that he was the lucky one to be picked up by you and your mother,” he observed.

And so, quite quickly a year went by, and Renu became the sister of another brother—a small, lovely baby—this time named Vinod, who tumbled about in the dust and grew surprisingly fast.

“Ma,” Renu observed one day as she stood watching Vinod, now aged five years, playing with Kaju, his faithful companion, “do you remember what you said the day after Vijay had died? You said that there would be no one to look after you when you were old, and that there would be no one to till the soil and plough the fields. Well, now there is no need for you to worry anymore, for Vinod will do it, and Kaju will be there to help him.”

Sri Swami Sahajananda

Once, there was a little lad of about 6 years. His mother had bought him a toy gun to play with.

One afternoon the lad heard a shot and a loud cry from a ditch near his home. He rushed there to see what the cause of it was. On arrival he saw a man with a gun in his hand and a bleeding gun shot wound on his breast. The lad had a sweet nature and used to address elders as “Papa”.

He at once knelt down and asked, “Papa, what has happened to you?”

The man replied, “I have been a great sinner. I harassed, robbed and killed many innocent people by shooting them. I felt terribly guilty. Now, the time has come for me to pay for my sins, so I shot myself.”

And with that he breathed his last.

The little lad rushed to his mother and conveyed the news. He led her to the dead man and told her what he had uttered.

The mother immediately summoned the police. While waiting for them she advised her son, “My child, I now see that the toy gun I gave you is not good for you.”

“Mummy, there are no bullets in my gun. It is only a toy. How can it harm anyone?”

Just then the police arrived and heard all that had happened. They praised the lad for his bravery. Noticing the toy gun in his hand, one of the policemen told him, “My child, you have seen what happened. That gun in your hand is not good for you. You should throw it away.”

The lad at once rushed to the nearby ditch and threw his gun away. The policeman was so touched by this action that he embraced the boy and lovingly kissed him.

The next day the same policeman came to the home and, praising the lad for his bravery and obedience, presented him with a beautiful toy motor car.

The boy took the toy with him to school and all his friends played with it. When he came home the mother asked him what he had done with his toy car. The boy suddenly remembered, saying, “Oh! Mummy, my friends and I played with it but I forgot and left it behind near the school door.”

“I hope it is still there tomorrow,” his mother remarked.

The next day the toy car was found where it had been left and the lad played with it together with his friends. This time he was careful to leave it in the classroom before returning home.

See the beautiful and noble qualities of this little child. Courage, instant obedience, ability to share his toys with his friends, and a sense of detachment to material things. See the honesty of his school friends also. Such is the nature of pure, guileless children, both boys and girls!

Sri Swami Sivananda

Conscience is the light of the Soul that burns within the chambers of your heart. It is the little spark of celestial fire which makes known to you the presence of the Indweller, the author of the Divine laws of truth and holiness. It raises the voice in protest whenever anything is thought of or done contrary to the interest of its master.

Conscience is the voice of the Self which says “yes” or “no” when you are involved in a moral struggle. It is a call from within to do an act or to avoid it. Conscience is the internal monitor.

Conscience is a form of truth which is the knowledge of our own acts and feelings as right or wrong. It is a sensitive balance to weigh actions. It is a guiding voice from within, the faculty or principle by which we distinguish right from wrong. The sense of duty is conscience. Scrupulousness is conscience. Conscience is a silent teacher.

Conscience is a moral faculty. It is a delicate instrument or sense that tells you then and there what is right and what is wrong. It is the soundless inner voice that shows you the path of virtue and godliness. It is indeed very, very delicate. It is very easy to stifle it, but it is so very clear that it is impossible to mistake it.

Conscience is above reason and discussion. It is a sudden, dictatory command to plunge deep into the depths of virtue, or to rise high above the level of vice. The positive elements which adorn conscience are truth, courage and justice.

Conscience is the awareness of the moral goodness or evil of one’s own conduct or motives, together with a feeling of obligation to do right or to be good. It is a needle that points steadily to the pole star of God’s eternal justice. It is your preceptor. It dictates to you: “Do this action, it is right.” It warns you: “That action is wrong, do not do it.”

Conscience is a great ledger. All your offences are written and registered in this ledger. It is a terrible witness.

Conscience is the best Minister of Justice. It threatens, promises, rewards and punishes, keeping all under its control. If conscience stings you once, it is an admonition, if twice, it is a condemnation. To act against the conscience is to act against reason and Divine Law.

HOW CONSCIENCE OPERATES

When you do a wrong action, your conscience pricks you. You experience pin-pricks. It says to you in a clear, small and shrill voice: “Do not do this wrong action, my friend. It will bring you misery.” A wise man at once ceases to act further.

Conscience warns you like a teacher or a friend, before it punishes you as a judge. It tells you to behave in the right manner.

Cowardice asks: “Is it safe?” Avarice asks: “Is there any gain in it?” Vanity asks: “Can I become great?” Lust asks: “Is there pleasure in it?” But conscience asks: “Is it right?” Conscience prompts you to choose the right way instead of the wrong, and tells you that you ought to do the right thing.

WHEN CONSCIENCE CAN BE RELIED UPON

Do not mistake the promptings of the lower mind for the voice of the Soul. That mind which tends towards luxury and evil is the lower mind. It is the instinctive mind.

The voice of the instinctive mind will mislead you. The lower mind is the cause of one’s downfall. The higher mind which tends towards virtue is the pure mind. This higher mind elevates and guides man, acting as a true preceptor. You should try to listen to the voice of the pure mind. Annihilate the lower mind by increasing purity. You will be quite safe.

Conscience can act freely and fully only when one has abandoned self-interest in everything one does.

The conscience of Mukherji will not allow him to do a thing, while the conscience of Chatterji may allow him to do that very thing. Therefore you cannot rely on conscience entirely, until you have cleared your mind and feeling of personal prejudice and predilections.

HOW CONSCIENCE IS STIFLED AND DESTROYED

Conscience is obscured by human sin and weakness. The faint inner voice of the Spirit is stifled by the rumbling of emotional conflicts, base impulses and dictates of the flesh. It is awakened and sharpened to new clearness through purity of conduct and practice of ethical virtues.

Conscience becomes blunt through misuse. It is even destroyed through abuse and misuse. It becomes perverted through wickedness. Uttering falsehood and taking bribes destroy the conscience altogether.

In the world people think of one thing, say another thing and do a third. This is horrible, and nothing but crookedness. You must carefully watch your thought, speech and action. The little you gain by telling lies is no gain at all. You pollute your conscience and infect your subconscious mind. The habit of telling lies will be carried over to your next birth also, and you will undergo suffering from birth to birth.

You have become insincere on account of intoxication, through selfishness and greed. You do not know exactly what you are doing. You have a very clouded understanding. Your conscience will prick you severely and your heart will bleed when you come to your senses. Your heart should bleed through repentance, only then can you purify yourself.

The habit of taking bribes is very common. If you ask anybody working in an office: “What is your salary, Mr Jayadev?” He will say: “Well, my salary is only Rs. 50 but my income is about Rs. 75.” This “income” is nothing but bribes. People are ignorant. Even the so-called educated people have no idea of the law of action and reaction, of impressions of the subconscious mind and their force. If you take bribes, you will be punished for such wrong actions. The impression of taking bribes will force you to repeat this habit even in the next birth, and you will become a dishonest man again. Your thoughts and actions are registered in the subconscious mind. You will carry your dishonesty from birth to birth and undergo great suffering.

Reduce your wants and live honestly within your means. You will have a clean conscience. You will always be free from anxiety and all kinds of worries. You will have a peaceful death. I hope you now understand the gravity of this law of action and reaction. Become a virtuous man and be truthful from the very second you read these lines. Never, never join those offices which are amenable to corruption and temptation. If you do so you will also be corrupted.

THE BEST PROFESSIONS

Never wish to become a police officer. The whole play of Maya is here. You will become a slayer of the Self. You will not have peace of mind even for a second. Eventually your conscience will be killed.

Advocates also kill their conscience and soul by twisting truth and uttering deliberate falsehood.

The doctor’s profession is indeed noble, but on account of greed, doctors become worldly-minded. The avaricious doctor fills a bottle with water and coloured tinctures and charges heavily. He extorts money by overcharging for injections and visits. Mercy, sympathy and honesty have fled from his heart.

When the mind is filled with greed, passion and dishonesty, conscience is destroyed.

In business also there is much corruption. From morning till night you will be busy telling lies. God is very far from a businessman.

The educational line is very good. There are very few chances of taking bribes or committing sin. You can lead a quiet life.

The agricultural profession will make you quite independent. You will be free from the distractions of a modern city and can lead a peaceful life.

Therefore, become a noble doctor, a teacher, a professor or an agriculturist. You can remain virtuous.

THE SUBTLE MECHANISM OF CONSCIENCE

A virtuous man alone can use the instrument of conscience. He alone can hear the inner voice of the Soul clearly. In a wicked man this faculty is dead. The sensitive nature of his conscience has been destroyed by sin or corruption. Hence he is unable to discriminate right from wrong.

If you do wrong actions and sinful deeds and treat them lightly today, you will not hesitate to perform serious crimes tomorrow. If you allow one sin to enter and dwell in your conscience, you certainly pave the way for the entry of a thousand sins. Your conscience will become blunt and lose its sensitivity. The habit of doing evil deeds will pervade the whole body like the poison of a scorpion.

When an honest man begins to take bribes for the first time, he shudders. His conscience quivers and trembles, and he feels very uneasy. If he repeats the act several times, his conscience becomes blunt. He does not feel any uneasiness at all. If a chaste man begins to visit a house of ill-fame for the first time, his conscience pricks him and he shudders. If he goes there frequently, it becomes blunt and he feels nothing. The inner mechanism of conscience is very subtle. Keep it always sensitive by doing virtuous deeds only.

Always keep the conscience bright and sharp by adhering to truth, righteousness and virtue. It will be your constant, elevating companion.

Virtuous acts, charity, benevolence, nobility, generosity, acts of mercy, and practice of truthfulness, celibacy and non-injury sharpen the conscience.

Food plays an important role in the development of a pure conscience. Pure food helps a man to have a clean conscience. The consumption of animal food makes the mind impure and blunts the conscience. It produces a hard crust on the surface of the conscience and clouds it totally.

A man of clear conscience is ever pure, joyful and cheerful. A man of guilty conscience is morose and cheerless.

A man of pure and clean conscience sleeps happily and wakes up happily. He moves about happily in this world. He attains happiness in this world and in the next. A man of guilty conscience is restless and unhappy in this world and in the next also. A man of guilty conscience is dead even while living.

A clean conscience discerns evil quickly and shuns it. A good conscience bestows on you ease, serenity, joy and happiness. It prevents calamities, troubles, afflictions and miseries.

A good conscience is the temple of God, the paradise of bliss. It helps the aspirant to reach the goal quickly.

What good health is to the body, good conscience is to the soul. There is an inward satisfaction of conscience when a good action is done, when virtue is practised, when you lead a virtuous life.

The most natural beauty in the world is honesty and moral truth. Be beautiful within. Have a clean conscience. Be virtuous in thought, word and deed. Physical beauty fades ultimately.

Conscience speaks in all the Lord’s creation, but the impure human intellect does not comprehend it. Purify your mind, O arrogant, self-willed man! Hear His voice and become wise.

Sri Swami Sivananda

PROGRESS IN CONCENTRATION

As you practise the exercises in concentration published earlier, you will soon come to know your own capacities, weaknesses and limitations. You may sometimes feel that you can never succeed. But do not allow such thoughts to dominate and gain victory over you. You should have patience, a strong will and untiring persistence. You must be very regular in your practice, otherwise laziness and adverse forces will take you away from your point of concentration, just as the wind carries away a boat on the waters of the ocean.

In the beginning it is advisable to concentrate on gross objects. It is easy. You will not be disappointed with your effort. It will give you great encouragement to continue with the practice. Later on you can attempt to concentrate on subtle objects and on abstract ideas.

There are many useful signs by which you can tell whether you are progressing in concentration or not. One of the foremost of them is that you will become more intensely aware of the things around you, of your speech, thoughts and actions. You will develop the power of deep thinking. Your thinking will now become clearer. Your powers of reasoning and deducing will be greatly increased. You will get answers and solutions from within.

Another point you must remember is that in the beginning it will be very difficult to fix the mind on one thought alone. Aim at reducing the number of thoughts. Fix the mind on one subject. Limit your thoughts to just that subject. If you think of a rose, permit thoughts connected with the rose only. Think of different kinds of roses, and the fragrance and colours associated with them, etc. But check the aimless wandering of the mind. Do not think of other flowers. This discipline must be practised daily. Eternal vigilance is necessary to control one’s restless thoughts.

Concentration is certainly an uphill task. The progress is slow and much effort is needed to tame the wild nature of the restless mind. In the beginning, this effort will tax you very much. The task will appear very unpleasant. But later you will rejoice, as you will get immense strength and internal peace.

Armed with patience, perseverance, vigilance, iron will and fiery determination, you can crush the thoughts of your mind as easily as you crush a lemon in your hand. But mere crushing alone will not be sufficient. The thoughts may arise again. They should be rooted out just like you extract a loose tooth.

LEVELS OF CONCENTRATION

The mind exists in five different forms. In the first state the rays of the mind are scattered on many objects. It is restless and jumps from one object to another. The mind, by nature, is like a restless dog on a leash. It tugs and has no wish to remain still. It requires much effort to keep it in one place.

In the second state the mind is dull and forgetful. In the third state the rays of the mind are being slowly gathered together. In this state the mind is sometimes steady and at other times not. As this state advances, the mind enters the fourth state. This is the state in which it is perfectly one-pointed. Here there is only one idea present. This is the state we must attain in concentration.

There is a state even higher than the fourth state. This is achieved when the mind is completely under our control.

We have to gradually raise our mind from the lower level to the higher. In the beginning, the mind will be extremely restless, and you may lose concentration as much as, say, eighty times in one hour. After some practice, it may wander seventy times only. Within a year it may run fifty times, within two years thirty times. A stage will come when it will not wander about at all. It will be fixed in the thought of God only. In this state it will not run out even if you try your level best to make it do so!

Some Western psychologists believe that it is not possible to fix the mind on one point exclusively. They say that if that can be done, the mind will be destroyed and nothing can be achieved. This is not correct according to Eastern metaphysical science and the experience of God-realised sages. The sage works wonders with his one-pointed mind. He unravels the hidden treasures of the Soul with the help of the powerful searchlight of a one-pointed mind. After this one-pointed state is reached, he achieves full control over his mind. In this state all thoughts subside completely. The mind gets quite blank. Then the sage destroys the blank state also, by identifying himself with God, from whom the mind borrows its light. These matters are Greek and Latin to the Western psychologists. Hence, they grope in darkness. They have no idea of God being the silent witness of the activities of the mind.

AIDS TO CONCENTRATION

There are several useful practices and hints which, if used properly, will help you to master concentration.

1. BREATH CONTROL: Sit with the spine erect. Breathe in slowly and smoothly through the nostrils. There should be no sound, and the breathing should be deep and slow. Hold the breath for a couple of seconds and breathe out gently and smoothly, again without any sound. This is one round. Do five or more rounds at a sitting. This exercise calms the mind and gives one energy. It also concentrates the mind, and purifies and sharpens it.

You already know that there is a very close link between breath and concentration. When you are deeply absorbed in some book, your breathing becomes very slow. On the other hand, when the mind is in a state of great agitation, you breathe rapidly. When you are angry, the breath becomes very irregular. You have no control of the mind.

2. CHANTING: As soon as you sit for your concentration, chant some hymn or sacred syllable three to six times. The mystic sounds are very powerful. They help to drive away all worldly thoughts and make the mind serene. You may also repeat a Divine Name of your choice if you like.

3. CONSERVING ENERGY: Observing silence for one or two hours daily helps concentration. It is called Mouna in Sanskrit. It means “the vow of silence”. Too much exertion, too much walking, talking and eating, too much mixing with people—all these also distract the attention of the mind.

Let your tongue speak nothing but the truth, let your eyes see nothing but what is good, let your ears listen to nothing but what is Divine, let your hands do nothing but what is good for others. This is the sure way of conserving your energy.

4. COAXING THE MIND: You will have to coax the mind in the beginning, as if it were a little child. The mind is very much like an ignorant child. Speak to it in a loving and coaxing way: “O mind, why do you run after the false, worthless objects? You will undergo much suffering. Look at the picture of the Lord, the beauty of beauties. You will get eternal happiness. Why do you run to hear worldly love songs? Hear the praises of the Lord. Hear the soul-stirring hymns and get elevated. You will enjoy peace and bliss.”

In this way you can train the mind to leave off its old vicious habits and get itself fixed on the Lord.

5. CHEERFULNESS: Cheerfulness and calmness are great aids to successful concentration. Cheerfulness is an art which can be quite easily cultivated. Be always cheerful and happy. Away with depression and gloom. There is nothing more infectious than depression. A gloomy person sends out unpleasant and morbid vibrations to all those around him. He cannot radiate joy, love and peace. So never come out of your room if you are gloomy and depressed, lest you should spread the disease to others!

Live only to be a blessing to others. Radiate joy, love and peace. Depression eats at the very core of your being and plays havoc. It is verily a deadly plague. It arises because of some failure, setback, severe illness, argument, or wrong thinking and feeling. Separate yourself from these negative feelings. Identify yourself with the Soul. Then no outside influence will affect you. You will be safe. Drive away the feeling of depression and gloom at once by means of enquiry, by singing a few elevating songs, by chanting the Divine Name, by going out for a brisk walk in the open air, and by thinking of the quality of joy. Try to be happy in all conditions.

One way of remaining cheerful always is to be friendly with your equals, have love for those who are distressed, and cultivate obedience towards superiors and virtuous persons. Learn not to pass judgement on either sinners or the wicked.

6. A DAILY PROGRAMME: Utilise every moment wisely. A daily routine of work, spiritual practices and study of the scriptures will ensure success. Never waste a single second. An idle moment is the devil’s opportunity.

First sit in a comfortable posture. Keep the head, neck and trunk in one straight line. Relax the muscles, nerves and brain.

You can concentrate on either a gross form or on a subtle form. A black dot, a candle flame, a bright star, the moon, a picture of a saint, are all gross forms. You may select some sacred tunes with regular rhythm and intonation. By these means the mind very gradually turns inward and gets itself focussed. As this state deepens, you will enjoy peace and bliss.

It is advisable to concentrate on a concrete form in the beginning, on some beautiful scene or the picture of a saint. Meditate on the saint’s qualities. If you concentrate on a sacred hymn, associate the ideas of purity, truth, bliss and perfection with the sacred sound. Feel the Presence of God while you concentrate and meditate in the above manner.

Concentration on a subtle form means concentrating with eyes closed. Sit before your favourite picture, close the eyes, and visualise the picture at the space between the eyebrows or in the heart.

The space between the eyebrows is called Ajna Chakra or Trikuti in Sanskrit. It is the seat of the mind. The mind can be controlled easily if you concentrate gently at the Trikuti. Practise this gaze from half a minute to half an hour.

Saints also teach the nasal gaze. You can gaze steadily at the tip of the nose. Another seat of concentration is the crown of the head.
Concentration is a mental process. It needs an inward turning of the mind. It is not a muscular exercise. There should be no undue strain on the brain. You should not wrestle with the mind.

Sri Swami Sivananda

Sivananda Sunlit Path is a programme designed to help children overcome drug and alcohol habits and those suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies, etc. The difference between the Sivananda Sunlit Path Programme and other programmes of a similar nature, is that the programme has a deep and abiding spiritual basis, and was launched by a God-realised saint, Sri Swami Sahajananda, Spiritual Head of Divine Life Society of South Africa.

Divine Life Society of South Africa held a successful mini Sunlit Path Programme in Newcastle on Sunday, 1 November 2009 at the Shri Satya Sai Centre. Thirteen enthusiastic youth and children signed the pledge form to keep away from drugs, etc., and to adopt a healthy life-style. Free literature and certificates were presented to the children. Talks and Bhajans were rendered by members of our Estcourt branch. We record our gratitude to the following for their supportive role: Sri Karna Chetty of the Sai Centre in Newcastle, Sri Ranjana Ramsahaye and Sri Ajeesh Lalparsad and team from Divine Life Society, Estcourt Branch.

Proud new Sunlit Club members at the Newcastle Sunlit Path Programme

Our first programme for the year 2010 was held on Sunday, 28 February in conjunction with the Saiva Sithantha Sungum at the A.M.Moolla Spes Nova School Hall in Lenham, Phoenix. About 300 people attended the function and we are pleased to report that thirty two children signed the pledge form to stay away from bad habits. This brings the total membership of the Sunlit Club to over 900 members.

The function commenced with invocatory prayers by members of the Divine Life Society and an invocation dance by a member of the Saiva Sithantha Sungum. Members of both organisations presented items during the programme. The function proved to be very successful with a spiritual atmosphere filling the hall.

Sri Deva Pillay, President of the Saiva Sithantha Sungum, in his welcome, lauded Pujya Swami Sahajananda’s vision in launching a programme that is of vital importance in our community. He said, “Sri Swami Sahajananda’s Divine knowledge had the power to transform and enlighten people adequately. His vision was appropriate then, is practical today and will also be relevant in time to come. The ‘Sunlit Path’ is a very apt name given by our most revered Swamiji for the drug-overcoming programme. As the sun gives light and solar energy to the entire world, so too this ‘Sunlit Path’ must give hope, strength and encouragement to everyone, irrespective of caste, colour, language, religion, etc., so that our youth can become better human beings as envisaged by Pujya Swamiji. It is here that we want to express our deep gratitude and indebtedness to Pujya Swamiji himself for initiating this unique Sunlit Path Programme.”

In providing an overview of the programme, Sri Vidyanand of the Divine Life Society said that Pujya Swamiji had received correspondence from parents concerned about the problems of drugs, alcohol abuse and suicide amongst the youth. This was the forerunner to the formation of the Sunlit Path Programme.

Attention was drawn to the pledge forms, diaries and Sunlit Path magazine which help members to sustain their resolves. He informed the audience that a certificate is awarded to all members who sign the pledge forms and join the club. It was announced that a follow-up Workshop for Sunlit Path Club members will be held on 12 September 2010 at Sivananda International Cultural Centre, La Mercy. At this workshop, members will be given an opportunity to talk about their lapses. Guidance will be given to them in a carefully controlled environment. Those who successfully overcame their bad habits will be given the opportunity to inspire others.

Smt Priya Maharaj read an inspiring message by Pujya Swami Sahajananda which started off with a poem entitled, “I am Pain, Thy Teacher”. The two major themes of this poem are: “Simple living and high thinking” and “Prayer solves all problems”.

Celina Perumal and Kerisha Ramiah read articles guiding the youth girls and parents respectively. It was highlighted that an expectant mother who prays and entertains pure thoughts will give birth to a pious and moral child. It was also stated that parents must be good role-models for their children.

In the presentation on TV, drugs, alcohol and the play of hostile forces, Sri Premanand drew attention to the dangers of undesirable television scenes on impressionable minds. Mother Mirra of Sri Aurobindo Ashram said that hostile forces have a quota to accomplish, in respect of evil deeds, as is evident in the story of the Desert Fathers that was read out. He also focused on the unrelenting law of cause and effect. Parents and children therefore ought to be mindful that every action will have a similar reaction.

The guest speaker, Professor Kantilal Bhowan, Head of the School of Management at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, directed his talk to the youth and encouraged them to sign the pledge forms. He provided salient and startling statistics in respect of drug and alcohol abuse. Drugs and alcohol have become a formidable industry throughout the world, said Professor Bhowan. In the U.S.A. one out of four students are addicts. He also related that the primary problem among youth in South Africa is alcohol, followed by dagga and mandrax. It was pointed out that children in South Africa are also addicted to painkillers, petrol-sniffing, “sugars”, etc.

The audience was most impressed with the statement, “Just as we have security companies to protect our homes, the Sunlit Path Club is your security company to protect your character and behaviour from wrong habits.”

Drawing from personal experience from his childhood days, Professor Bhowan showed clearly that children are vulnerable to street temptations. His friends tried to induce him to start smoking but in vain— thanks to the advice given to him by his mother in his tender and impressionable years. At that point, he thanked his mother for all of his successes in life. He also narrated how one of his friends was imprisoned due to taking drugs.

He concluded by saying, “Listen to your parents, teachers and Pujya Swamiji because they love you. If you obey them and stay away from bad habits then you will improve in your studies, sport, etc. If you are afflicted by drugs, gambling, evil company, etc. you won’t be able to make it in the competitive world now, and even later when you take up employment. Spirituality will protect you and give you success in life.”

In the humorous sketch, “Bunti & Babli”, youth of the DLS Phoenix branch skilfully portrayed the following important messages: “It is never too late to change one’s life” and “Don’t let peer pressure make you follow the wrong path in life”.

Proud new Sunlit Club members at the Phoenix Sunlit Path Programme

Deveshnie Mudaly presented a paper on the value of prayer, foot massage, diet and celibacy. She said that abstinence from sex before marriage, correct diet, a healthy lifestyle and prayer form the basis of a sound moral, spiritual and ethical lifestyle.

DLS youth boys presented a discussion forum on depression and suicide. It was stated that depression leads to pessimism, which in turn leads to alcohol and drug abuse, and eventually possible suicide. It was emphasised that leading a spiritual life can solve and dissolve all problems.

In the summation, Dr Mawalall Chatraghoon spoke about the moral and spiritual education that the Sivananda Sunlit Path Programme offers. He said, “It provides a firm foundation for youth and adults to follow a noble life-style, free of the immoral vices prevalent in our society. It is the responsibility of all present at this function, to make a tangible difference in the lives of those in our immediate vicinity, and the world at large, by spreading the message of the ‘Sivananda Sunlit Path Programme’.”

INSPIRING QUOTATIONS FROM THE PROGRAMME

“A constant attitude of gratitude to God for having provided you with your physical and material needs, will give you an abiding sense of contentment and peace, and free you from depression, cares and worries.”

—Sri Swami Sivananda

—Sri Swami Sahajananda

Work in progress at Sivananda Sunlit Club Centre, Chatsworth

Children should not be allowed to use cellphones.We all know the dangers of it. Children might talk to those with good habits but they will also talk to those indulging in drugs, alcohol, TV and other bad habits. Boys will freely talk to girls and girls will freely talk to boys. This may lead to a lot of trouble.

Children or parents may appear in court for the crimes of the children, and if they are devotees of Divine Life Society the name of our Society and Master will be spoilt. We have given elaborate instructions in our journals on how to bring up Spiritual Darlings. If parents do not heed the instructions, they are entirely responsible for the bad habits of their children.

Henceforth, all those who allow their children to use cellphones will be banned from attending any of our Satsangs at any of our Ashrams in the country. Divine Life Society will not be held responsible for any of the problems of children using cellphones.