- Punishment
In the Puranas we hear God punishes.
He lovingly restrains us from further sin.
The sinful hand is paralysed - the sinful tongue has cancer - the evil eye is blinded!
Wisdom and worry do not go together!
If your wisdom cannot guide you, what is it?
- Con-fusion
Without confusion there is no fusion.
- Karma
It is neither possible nor necessary to know our Karma.
No one can do anything to us unless it is our Karma.
Some say: "Foreknowledge will enable us to modify it: to make good use of even bad Karma".
True: if we always try to be good and do good, this modification will be automatic!
We do not carry over our neuroses from birth to birth.
We carry forward our tendencies, and we are thrown into certain circumstances by our Karma.
When we fail to adjust those tendencies into those circumstances, we create neuroses.
- Motive
In order not to slip into apathy, it is good to have a good selfish motive:
"I am doing this to go to Heaven" - then, "I am doing this to please God", - then, "I am doing this to purify my heart." - then, no motive!
What is the difference between verbal and visual anthropomorphism?
The Bible and Quran present a verbal anthropomorphism - and the Hindu makes it visual, in idols.
- Reward
Do not look for external differences between a saint and a layman.
It is the inner attitude that counts.
The worldly man is attached to the action and expects reward.
The saint? He is unattached and expects no reward for his service.