First of all, we must wage war on weakness. We must be bold and brave; for weakness is sin incarnate! Drive it away at once — this depressing, blood-sucking vampire! Say you are bold, the offspring of Might; believe that you are a son of Father, the Supreme! Before all else, be daring, be sincere. Then it is clear you have the right to enter the kingdom of heaven.

With even the least weakness you cannot be truly sincere, and so long as your thoughts and words do not agree, the dirt within shall not be cleansed. Once word and thought become alike, dirt cannot collect within. The hidden rubbish floats up in words and sin cannot remain within.

Failure need not be weakness; to fail to try is weakness. If despite your all-out effort in anything, you fail to succeed, no harm; carry on; don't stop! That unblemished effort must carry you toward the goal.

Weak minds are always suspicious. They can never trust. Their faith has been lost; so they are generally sickly, tricky, sensually inclined. For them, all of life is a burning. Ultimately joy and sorrow are dissolved in despair. What is pleasure, what is pain, they cannot differentiate. If asked, they sigh, “What's the difference!” Ever restless, their lives deteriorate in dullness.

To be anxious about one’s own distress, suffering or death, or seeing that of others and to be broken, bewildered and distraught thereby is weakness. But the eyes of those who are strong are always seeking for a remedy in everything they do and in such a way that no one is shattered while in that condition. To find the remedy with love, as did Lord Buddha, is the sign of a courageous heart. Say not you are timid! Say not you are a coward! Say not you are evil- minded! Look towards Father! Speak fervently, “Oh, I am Your son. Within me there is no more dullness, no more weakness. I am no longer a coward!

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Repent, but see that you have not to repent again.

When you will be repentant for your misdeeds, at that very moment you will be pardoned by the Supreme Father, and you will understand it by the heavenly consolation you find in your heart. That will make you courteous, peaceful and cheerful.

It should be understood that he who repents but commits the same blunder again, must fall soon into deadening misery. To repent in words only is not repentance at all. It is rather an obstruction to feeling repentance at heart. When real repentance comes, all its signs express themselves in varying degrees.

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Almost all the miseries men have in the world come from their addiction to Kamini-Kanchan (women and gold). It is better to remain as far away as possible from these two. Lord Ramakrishna enjoined on everyone to remain far, far, far away from Kamini-Kanchan.

If Kaam (lust) be dropped from Kamini, ‘ini’ (she) becomes Ma. Poison becomes elixir. And Ma is always Mother, never Kamini. To add ‘gi’ to Ma is catastrophe. Beware! Don’t lose thyself taking Ma as ‘Magi’ (fallen woman). Everyone’s mother is the mother of the world. Every woman is another form of one’s own mother. Think in this fashion. If filial thoughts be not heartfelt, one should not touch women. The farther away from them one remains, the better. Not to look upon their faces is better yet.

He who only wails, “My passion and pride do not go, do not go”, will find they never go. One should become habituated to those activities and thoughts which have no scent of pride and passion; then the mind forgets them.

If thoughts of passion and pride do not arise in the mind, how can they show up? The way out is to remain always absorbed in higher thoughts and activities. Investigation into the science of creation, mathematics and chemistry controls lust. Any kind of enticing conversation on Kamini-Kanchan can bring attraction for them. So, the farther one stays away from such talks, the better.

******

Contraction is dejection. Expansion is delight. There is a lack of happiness in that which brings weakness and fear in the heart and that has grief. Desire unfulfilled is misery. Don’t expect anything. Be prepared for every situation. What can grief do to you? Nobody is miserable by nature. If one wishes, he can drive it out. Pray to the Supreme Father:

“Thy will is good.
I don't know what
will make me good.
Let Thy will be
fulfilled in me.”

And be ready to accept that. Joy will remain and sorrow will not touch you. Be not the cause of another’s grief; none will be the cause of your grief. Misery and happiness are both modes of mind. To have thoughts and do deeds befitting the desire is misery. You may serve the world in a thousand ways, but you cannot destroy misery until the sense of inadequacy is removed from the heart. Dharma alone can do that.

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If you want to prosper in sadhana (avowed activity), give up hypocrisy. With the hope of getting a good name from others, the hypocrite mainly deceives himself and due to his little faith, he deprives himself of the real gift of others. You may speak volumes, but you can never find real happiness unless you become truly elevated.

The inner feeling does not come out in the words of hypocrites; so, their faces remain cold even with words of joy. What can words do? The spirit does not throb within the heart. The sea of bliss is bitter-salty to the hypocrite. Though he goes to the ocean, it cannot quench his thirst.

The simple man, like a swallow, has eyes turned upwards. The hypocrite, like a vulture, has eyes always downward. Be little, no matter, but keep your eyes turned upward. What is the use of being big, but like a vulture with eyes always looking down from on high?

Be not a hypocrite! Don’t be deceived and don’t deceive others.

******

This is very true: whenever the tendency grows to see another’s fault, then that fault has made its home in you. Then and there, without delay, that evil tendency should be smashed and swept away! Then you are safe. Otherwise, all will be destroyed.

If your eyes see only others’ evil, you will never be able to love anyone. And he who cannot see truth, can never be true. Your eyes will be as unclouded as your mind and so clear the world will appear before you.

At first, try with all your might to find good in what you see, and breed this habit in your very bones! If your tongue be always slanderous — unable to speak good of others, never pass an opinion on anyone. Try within to hate your own habit and grimly determine to be rid of that hell of slander in the future. To vilify others is to defile oneself with their defects. To speak good of others makes one’s own nature good unconsciously.

But one should not praise others with a selfish motive. That is flattery. Generally, in such cases, thoughts and words do not agree. This is very bad and the faculty to express one’s independent opinion is lost thereby.

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The stay of all existence is Dharma, and He is the Supreme Fulfiller. Dharma never becomes many. It is always one. There is no variety of it. Views may be many even as many as there are people. Still, Dharma cannot be many.

In my opinion, to speak of Hindu Dharma, Christian Dharma, Mohammedan Dharma, Buddhist Dharma, etc. is wrong; rather, they are so many views. In fact, there is no opposition in the different views, the same way as the One in many forms.

Each faith is for the expansion of avowed activity. That can be in many forms and as much as is gained by the expansion, as much the realization-wisdom. So, Dharma is based upon the realization — to be ‘real’ in nature.

******

If you long for good, give up conceit of knowledge. Listen to everyone and do whatever helps to expand your heart. No other passion creates such a hindrance to knowledge as does conceit of knowledge. If you want to teach, think not you are a teacher only. “I am a teacher” — this ‘teach-conceit’ hinders one from learning.

As far away as you keep pride, as far your vision or wisdom expands.

When the ego dissolves, then and there the soul becomes the possessor of all qualities — the Absolute.